CN119729059A

CN119729059A - Communication method and device

Info

Publication number: CN119729059A
Application number: CN202311294545.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 陆玉娇; 范强
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2023-09-28
Filing date: 2023-09-28
Publication date: 2025-03-28
Also published as: WO2025067076A1

Abstract

A communication method and device relates to the technical field of communication, and can ensure that data packets transmitted on a service quality stream meet synchronous requirements among the data packets while guaranteeing self service quality requirements, thereby improving communication performance. The method comprises the steps of obtaining a first data packet by a user plane network element, determining that synchronous requirements exist between the first data packet and a second data packet according to the first data packet, determining a service quality flow corresponding to the first data packet, and sending the first data packet to network equipment according to the service quality of the service quality flow. Wherein the quality of service of the quality of service flow meets the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

Description

Communication method and device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a communications method and apparatus.

Background

In a communication system, a communication device may forward data packets according to a quality of service (quality of service, qoS) flow (flow). For example, the communication device may determine, according to the QoS requirement of the data packet, a QoS flow corresponding to the data packet, so as to ensure that the transmission delay of the data packet transmitted on the QoS flow does not exceed the upper limit of the transmission delay corresponding to the QoS requirement as much as possible.

But the synchronization requirements between the data packets transmitted on the QoS flow and the data packets transmitted on the other QoS flow cannot be met by the above method.

Therefore, how to make the data packets transmitted on the QoS flow meet the synchronization requirement between the data packets while guaranteeing the QoS requirement of the data packets, and improving the communication performance is a problem to be solved.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a communication method and a communication device, which can ensure that data packets transmitted on QoS flows meet the synchronous requirements among the data packets while guaranteeing the QoS requirements of the data packets, thereby improving the communication performance.

In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, where the method may be performed by a user plane network element, or a component of the user plane network element, for example, a processor, a chip, or a system on a chip of the user plane network element, or may be implemented by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the user plane network element. The method is implemented by a user plane network element as an example, and comprises the steps of acquiring a first data packet by the user plane network element, determining that the first data packet and a second data packet have synchronous requirements according to the first data packet, determining a QoS (quality of service) flow corresponding to the first data packet, and sending the first data packet to network equipment according to the service quality of the QoS flow. Wherein the quality of service of the QoS flow meets the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

Based on the first aspect, the user plane network element can determine the QoS flow corresponding to the first data packet according to the existence of the synchronization requirement of the first data packet and the second data packet, so that the first data packet transmitted on the QoS flow can meet the synchronization requirement with the second data packet while guaranteeing the QoS requirement of the first data packet, and the communication performance can be improved.

In one possible implementation, the first data packet includes first indication information, and the user plane network element determines that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet according to the first indication information, or determines that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet when a time difference between the first data packet and the second data packet reaching the user plane network element is less than or equal to a first preset threshold. The first indication information is used for indicating that the first data packet and the second data packet have synchronous requirements.

Based on the possible implementation, the user plane network element can determine that the first data packet and the second data packet have synchronous requirements according to the first indication information or the time difference value of the first data packet and the second data packet reaching the user plane network element, and provide two feasibility schemes for determining that the first data packet and the second data packet have synchronous requirements.

In one possible implementation, the first indication information is further used for indicating synchronization delay information of the first data packet, or the user plane network element determines the synchronization delay information of the first data packet according to a time difference value of arrival of the first data packet and the second data packet at the user plane network element.

Based on the possible implementation, the user plane network element can determine the synchronization delay information of the first data packet according to the first indication information or the time difference value, can more accurately determine the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, further, the user plane network element can more accurately determine the QoS flow corresponding to the first data packet according to the synchronization delay information, so that the first data packet transmitted on the QoS flow can meet the synchronization requirement with the second data packet while guaranteeing the self QoS requirement, and the communication performance can be improved.

In one possible implementation, the QoS flow is determined based on the synchronization delay information.

Based on the possible implementation, the user plane network element can more accurately determine the QoS flow corresponding to the first data packet according to the synchronous delay information, meanwhile, the synchronous delay information can more finely divide the QoS flow corresponding to the data packet, the data packets with the same synchronous delay information can be transmitted on the same QoS flow, and the communication performance can be improved.

In one possible implementation, the user plane network element determines the QoS flow based on the synchronization delay information and one or more of a source Internet protocol address, a destination Internet protocol address, a source port number, a destination port number, or a transport layer protocol number.

Based on the possible implementation, the user plane network element can determine the QoS flow according to the above method to meet the synchronization requirement of the first data packet and the second data packet, and provide a feasibility scheme for determining the QoS flow.

In one possible implementation, when the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, the user plane network element determines that the third data packet and the second data packet have a synchronization requirement, and sends the third data packet to the network device according to the quality of service of the QoS flow.

Based on the possible implementation, when the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, the user plane network element can determine that the third data packet and the second data packet have synchronous requirements, and the user plane network element can directly transmit the third data packet on the QoS flow, without determining the synchronous requirements of the third data packet through the first indication information or the time difference value of the third data packet and the second data packet reaching the user plane network element, so that the working efficiency of the user plane network element can be improved, and the transmission cost can be reduced.

In one possible implementation, when the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, the user plane network element determines that the synchronization delay information of the third data packet is the same as the synchronization delay information of the first data packet, and sends the third data packet to the network device according to the service quality of the QoS flow.

Based on the possible implementation, when the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, the user plane network element can determine that the synchronization delay information of the third data packet is the same as the synchronization delay information of the first data packet, and the user plane network element can directly transmit the third data packet on the QoS flow, without determining the synchronization delay information of the third data packet through the first indication information or the time difference between the third data packet and the second data packet reaching the user plane network element, so that the working efficiency of the user plane network element can be improved, and the transmission cost can be reduced.

In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, where the method may be performed by a user plane network element, or a component of the user plane network element, for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system of the user plane network element, or may be implemented by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the user plane network element. The method is implemented by a user plane network element as an example, and comprises the steps of acquiring a first data packet by the user plane network element, determining that the first data packet and a second data packet have synchronous requirements according to the first data packet, and sending the first data packet and second indication information to network equipment, wherein the second indication information is used for indicating that the first data packet and the second data packet have synchronous requirements.

Based on the second aspect, the user plane network element sends the first data packet and the second indication information to the network device, so that the network device can determine that the first data packet and the second data packet have synchronous requirements according to the second indication information, and further the network device can meet the synchronous requirements between the first data packet and the second data packet as much as possible when forwarding the first data packet, and communication performance can be improved.

In one possible implementation, the first data packet includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating that the first data packet and the second data packet have a synchronization requirement according to the first indication information, or determining that the first data packet and the second data packet have a synchronization requirement according to the fact that a time difference value between the first data packet and the second data packet reaching a user plane network element is smaller than or equal to a first preset threshold value.

In one possible implementation, the user plane network element determines the second indication information according to the first indication information, or determines the second indication information according to a time difference between arrival of the first data packet and arrival of the second data packet at the user plane network element.

Based on the possible implementation, the user plane network element can determine the second indication information according to the first indication information and the time difference value of the arrival of the first data packet and the second data packet at the user plane network element, and provide two feasibility schemes for determining the second indication information.

In a possible implementation, the second indication information is further used to indicate synchronization delay information.

Based on the possible implementation, the second indication information indicates the synchronization delay information, so that the network device can more accurately determine the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and further the network device can meet the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet as much as possible when forwarding the first data packet, and the communication performance can be improved.

In one possible implementation, when the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, the user plane network element determines that the third data packet and the second data packet have a synchronization requirement, and sends the third data packet to the network device.

Based on the possible implementation, when the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, the user plane network element can determine that the third data packet and the second data packet have synchronous requirements, and the user plane network element can send the third data packet to the network without sending the second indication information, so that transmission overhead can be reduced.

In one possible implementation, when the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, the user plane network element determines that the synchronization delay information of the third data packet is the same as the synchronization delay information of the first data packet, and sends the third data packet to the network device.

Based on the possible implementation, when the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, the user plane network element can determine that the synchronization delay information of the third data packet is the same as the synchronization delay information of the first data packet, and the user plane network element can send the third data packet to the network without sending the second indication information, so that the transmission overhead can be reduced.

In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, where the method may be performed by a network device, or a component of the network device, for example, a processor, a chip, or a system-on-chip of the network device, or implemented by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the network device. The method is implemented by the network device as an example, and comprises the steps of receiving a first data packet and second indication information from a user plane function network element by the network device, determining a first Logical Channel (LCH)/first Data Radio Bearer (DRB) corresponding to the first data packet according to the second indication information, and sending the first data packet to the terminal device according to the first LCH/first DRB. The second indication information is used for indicating that the first data packet and the second data packet have synchronous requirements; the first LCH/first DRB satisfies the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

Based on the third aspect, the network device may determine, according to the second indication information, that the first data packet and the second data packet have a synchronization requirement, and may determine, according to the second indication information, the first LCH/first DRB, and further transmit the first data packet on the first LCH/first DRB, so as to satisfy the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and may improve communication performance.

Based on the possible implementation, the second indication information indicates the synchronization delay information, so that the network device can more accurately determine the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and further can more accurately determine the first LCH/first DRB through the synchronization delay information so as to meet the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and improve the communication performance.

In one possible implementation, when the second indication information is an index of the synchronization delay information, the network device determines the synchronization delay information according to the first mapping relationship, and determines the first LCH/first DRB according to the synchronization delay information. The first mapping relation comprises synchronous delay information and indexes of the synchronous delay information.

Based on the possible implementation, the network device can determine the synchronization delay information according to the index of the synchronization delay information and the first mapping relation, and further can more accurately determine the first LCH/first DRB according to the synchronization delay information, thereby providing a feasibility scheme for meeting the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

In a possible implementation, the first mapping is predefined or the first mapping is received from a session management network element.

Based on the possible implementation, the first preset relationship may be predefined or may be from a session management network element, and compared with the predefined, the session management network element may determine the first mapping relationship according to an actual communication situation, so that the first mapping relationship has more flexibility.

In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, where the method may be performed by a terminal device, or a component of the terminal device, for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system of the terminal device, or may be implemented by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the terminal device. The method is implemented by the terminal equipment as an example, and comprises the steps that the terminal equipment receives third indication information from the network equipment, determines second LCH/second DRB corresponding to a fourth data packet according to the third indication information, and sends the fourth data packet to the network equipment according to the second LCH/second DRB, wherein the third indication information is used for indicating one or more delay budgets and the second LCH/second DRB corresponding to each delay budgets, and the fourth data packet and the fifth data packet have synchronous requirements.

Based on the fourth aspect, the terminal device may determine, according to the third indication information, a second LCH/second DRB corresponding to the fourth data packet, so as to ensure that the fourth data packet can meet a synchronization requirement of the fourth data packet and the fifth data packet when transmitted on the second LCH/second DRB, and improve communication performance.

In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the method of the first aspect. The communication means may be a user plane network element in the first aspect or a device or component comprised in a user plane network element, such as a chip.

The communication device comprises corresponding modules, units or means (means) for implementing the above method, where the modules, units or means may be implemented by hardware, software, or implemented by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the functions described above.

In some possible implementations, the communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. The transceiver module may include a transmitting module and a receiving module, which are configured to implement the functions of the transmitting class and the receiving class in the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof, respectively. The processing module may be adapted to implement the processing functions of the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof. The system comprises a processing module, a processing module and a receiving and transmitting module, wherein the processing module is used for acquiring a first data packet, the processing module is also used for determining that the first data packet and a second data packet have synchronous requirements according to the first data packet, the processing module is also used for determining a service quality flow corresponding to the first data packet, the service quality of the service quality flow meets the synchronous requirements between the first data packet and the second data packet, and the receiving and transmitting module is used for transmitting the first data packet to network equipment according to the service quality of the service quality flow.

Optionally, the transceiver module and the processing module of the communication device in the fifth aspect may further perform the corresponding functions in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, and specific reference is made to the detailed description in the method examples, and the achieved benefits may also be referred to the foregoing related matters.

In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the method of the second aspect. The communication means may be a user plane network element in the first aspect or a device or component comprised in a user plane network element, such as a chip.

In some possible implementations, the communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. The transceiver module may comprise a transmitting module and a receiving module, respectively, for implementing the functions of the transmitting class and the receiving class in the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof. The processing module may be adapted to implement the processing functions of the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof. The system comprises a processing module, a sending module and a network device, wherein the processing module is used for acquiring a first data packet, the processing module is also used for determining that the first data packet and a second data packet have synchronous requirements according to the first data packet, and the sending module is used for sending the first data packet and second indication information to the network device, wherein the second indication information is used for indicating that the first data packet and the second data packet have synchronous requirements.

Optionally, the transceiver module and the processing module of the communication device in the sixth aspect may further perform the corresponding functions in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect, and specific reference is made to the detailed description in the method examples, and the achieved benefits may also be referred to the foregoing related matters.

A seventh aspect provides a communication device configured to implement the method of the third aspect. The communication means may be the network device of the third aspect or an apparatus or component comprised in the network device, such as a chip.

In some possible implementations, the communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. The transceiver module may comprise a transmitting module and a receiving module, respectively configured to implement the functions of the transmitting class and the receiving class in the third aspect and any possible implementation thereof. The processing module may be adapted to implement the processing functions of the third aspect and any possible implementation thereof. The terminal equipment comprises a user plane function network element, a receiving-transmitting module, a processing module and a receiving-transmitting module, wherein the receiving-transmitting module is used for receiving a first data packet and second indication information from the user plane function network element, the second indication information is used for indicating that the first data packet and the second data packet have synchronous requirements, the processing module is used for determining a first LCH/first DRB corresponding to the first data packet according to the second indication information, and the receiving-transmitting module is also used for transmitting the first data packet to the terminal equipment according to the first LCH/first DRB. Wherein the first LCH/first DRB satisfies a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

Optionally, the transceiver module and the processing module of the communication device in the sixth aspect may further perform the corresponding functions in any of the foregoing third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect, and specific reference is made to the detailed description in the method examples, where the achieved beneficial effects may also be referred to the foregoing related matters.

In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the method of the fourth aspect. The communication means may be the terminal device in the fourth aspect or a device or component included in the terminal device, such as a chip.

In some possible implementations, the communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. The transceiver module may comprise a transmitting module and a transceiver module, for implementing the functions of the transmitting class and the receiving class in the fourth aspect and any possible implementation thereof, respectively. The processing module may be adapted to implement the processing functions of the fourth aspect and any possible implementation thereof. The network device comprises a network device, a receiving and transmitting module, a processing module and a receiving and transmitting module, wherein the network device is used for receiving third indication information from the network device, one or more delay budgets and second LCH/second DRB corresponding to each delay budget, the processing module is used for determining second LCH/second DRB corresponding to a fourth data packet according to the third indication information, the receiving and transmitting module is also used for transmitting the fourth data packet to the network device according to the second LCH/second DRB, and the fourth data packet and the fifth data packet have synchronous requirements.

Optionally, the transceiver module and the processing module of the communication device in the eighth aspect may further perform the corresponding functions in any possible implementation of the fourth aspect or the fourth aspect, and specific reference is made to the detailed description in the method examples, and the achieved benefits may also be referred to the foregoing related matters.

In a ninth aspect there is provided a communications apparatus comprising at least one processor for causing the communications apparatus to perform the method of any one of the above aspects or a possible implementation of any one of the above aspects by executing computer instructions stored in a memory or by logic circuitry. The communication means may be a user plane network element in the first aspect or any of the possible implementations of the first aspect, or an apparatus or a component comprised in a user plane network element, such as a chip, or the communication means may be a user plane network element in the second aspect or any of the possible implementations of the second aspect, or an apparatus or a component comprised in a user plane network element, such as a chip, or the communication means may be a network device in the third aspect or any of the possible implementations of the third aspect, or an apparatus or a component comprised in the network device, such as a chip, or the communication means may be a terminal device in the fourth aspect or any of the possible implementations of the fourth aspect, or an apparatus or component comprised in the terminal device, such as a chip.

In some possible implementations, the communication device further includes a memory for storing computer instructions and/or configuration files for the logic circuitry. In the alternative, the memory and the processor are integrated, or the memory is separate from the processor.

In a tenth aspect there is provided a communications device comprising a processor and a communications interface for inputting and/or outputting signals, the processor being operable to execute a computer program or instructions to cause the communications device to perform the method of any of the above aspects. The communication means may be a user plane network element in the first aspect or any of the possible implementations of the first aspect, or an apparatus or a component comprised in a user plane network element, such as a chip, or the communication means may be a user plane network element in the second aspect or any of the possible implementations of the second aspect, or an apparatus or a component comprised in a user plane network element, such as a chip, or the communication means may be a network device in the third aspect or any of the possible implementations of the third aspect, or an apparatus or a component comprised in the network device, such as a chip, or the communication means may be a terminal device in the fourth aspect or any of the possible implementations of the fourth aspect, or an apparatus or component comprised in the terminal device, such as a chip.

In some possible implementations, the communication interface is an interface circuit for reading and writing computer instructions, for example, the interface circuit is for receiving computer-executable instructions (the computer-executable instructions are stored in a memory, may be read directly from the memory, or may be transmitted via other devices) and transmitting them to the processor.

In some possible implementations, the communication interface is for communicating with a module external to the communication device.

In some possible implementations, the communication device may be a chip or a system-on-chip. When the device is a chip system, the chip system may include a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete devices.

An eleventh aspect provides a communication device comprising logic circuitry for inputting information and/or outputting information, and interface circuitry for performing the method of any of the above aspects, processing and/or generating output information in dependence upon the input information. The communication means may be a user plane network element in the first aspect or any of the possible implementations of the first aspect, or an apparatus or a component comprised in a user plane network element, such as a chip, or the communication means may be a user plane network element in the second aspect or any of the possible implementations of the second aspect, or an apparatus or a component comprised in a user plane network element, such as a chip, or the communication means may be a network device in the third aspect or any of the possible implementations of the third aspect, or an apparatus or a component comprised in the network device, such as a chip, or the communication means may be a terminal device in the fourth aspect or any of the possible implementations of the fourth aspect, or an apparatus or component comprised in the terminal device, such as a chip.

In a twelfth aspect, there is provided a computer readable storage medium having stored therein a computer program or instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the method of any of the above aspects to be performed.

In a thirteenth aspect, there is provided a computer program product which, when executed by a processor, causes the method of any of the above aspects to be performed.

It is to be understood that when the communication device provided in any one of the fourth to eleventh aspects is a chip, the above-described transmitting action/function may be understood as outputting information, and the above-described receiving action/function may be understood as inputting information.

The technical effects caused by any implementation manner of the fourth aspect to the thirteenth aspect may be referred to the technical effects caused by any possible implementation manner of the first aspect or the first aspect, or the technical effects caused by any possible implementation manner of the second aspect or the second aspect, or the technical effects caused by any possible implementation manner of the third aspect or the third aspect, or the technical effects caused by any possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect or the fourth aspect, which are not repeated herein.

A fourteenth aspect provides a communication system comprising the user plane network element of any one of the above first aspects or any one of the above second aspects, and the network device of any one of the above third aspects or any one of the above third aspects, and the terminal device of any one of the above fourth aspects or any one of the above fourth aspects.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a downlink service model according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a synchronization requirement of different data streams according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a QoS architecture according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a synchronization requirement of different data streams according to an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8 is an interaction diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a synchronization requirement for different data streams according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is an interactive schematic diagram of determining QoS flows according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is an interactive schematic diagram of determining QoS flows according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 12 is an interactive schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 13 is an interaction diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 14 is an interactive schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of a user plane network element according to an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 17 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 18 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The following describes embodiments of the present application in detail with reference to the drawings.

In the description of the present application, "/" means that the related objects are in a "or" relationship, for example, a/B may mean a or B, and "and/or" in the present application is merely an association relationship describing the related objects, means that three relationships may exist, for example, a and/or B, and that three cases of a alone, a and B together, and B alone exist, wherein a, B may be singular or plural, unless otherwise stated.

In the description of the present application, unless otherwise indicated, "a plurality" means two or more than two. "at least one of" or the like means any combination of these items, including any combination of single item(s) or plural items(s). For example, at least one (a, b, or c) of a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c may be represented, wherein a, b, c may be single or plural.

In addition, in order to facilitate the clear description of the technical solution of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, the words "first", "second", etc. are used to distinguish the same item or similar items having substantially the same function and effect. It will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that the words "first," "second," and the like do not limit the amount and order of execution, and that the words "first," "second," and the like do not necessarily differ.

In embodiments of the application, words such as "exemplary" or "such as" are used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" or "e.g." in an embodiment should not be taken as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "such as" is intended to present related concepts in a concrete fashion that may be readily understood.

It is appreciated that reference throughout this specification to "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present application. Thus, the various embodiments are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment throughout the specification. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. It should be understood that, in various embodiments of the present application, the sequence number of each process does not mean that the execution sequence of each process should be determined by the function and the internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

It can be understood that some optional features of the embodiments of the present application may be implemented independently in some scenarios, independent of other features, such as a scheme based on which the present features exist, so as to solve corresponding technical problems, achieve corresponding effects, or may be combined with other features according to requirements in some scenarios. Accordingly, the device provided in the embodiment of the present application may also implement these features or functions accordingly, which will not be described herein.

In the present application, the same or similar parts between the embodiments may be referred to each other unless specifically stated otherwise. In the various embodiments of the application, if there is no specific description or logical conflict, terms and/or descriptions between the various embodiments will be consistent and will reference each other. The embodiments of the present application described below do not limit the scope of the present application.

In order to facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, a brief description of the related art of the present application is given below.

1) Augmented reality (XR)

XR refers to a real and virtual combined environment generated by various computing technologies and wearable devices, and man-machine interactions. XR may take several forms, augmented reality (augmented reality, AR), mixed Reality (MR), and Virtual Reality (VR).

XR is one of the fifth generation (5th generation,5G) multimedia applications that is of great interest in the industry.

The Rel-17 standard of the third generation partnership project (3rd generation partnership project,3GPP) has modeled XR traffic characteristics, i.e., typically XR traffic periodically generates data frames at a frame rate.

Illustratively, for example, an AR service with a frame rate of 60fps, 60 frames of video images are generated per second, with one video frame occurring every 16.66 ms.

Wherein a video frame may be transmitted by a plurality of data packets, which may be divided into one or more sets of protocol data units (protocol data unit set, PDU sets).

The PDU set is a set formed by a plurality of data packets in a transmission layer, and is the minimum granularity of data processing of an application layer. In some application scenarios, the application layer can correctly parse the corresponding data unit only if it correctly receives all the data packets of one PDU set. In other application scenarios, the application layer may parse the corresponding data unit by correctly receiving a certain proportion of the data packets in the PDU set.

Optionally, the 3GPP also defines a burst of data (data burst), which may be a set of PDUs (e.g., an XR service frame) that are generated and transmitted by the data network device in a very short period of time.

Wherein a data burst may contain one or more PDU sets.

2) Data frame

Where the size of the data frame may vary, typically following a truncated gaussian distribution.

The mean of truncated gaussian distribution can be expressed as mean=r/F, with f=60 fps and r=20 Mbps for example, then mean=41.67 Kbytes, so that the size of the data frame is typically between 0.5 x mean and 1.5 x mean.

Where F is the frame rate and R is the rate of the data stream.

Due to the different sizes of the data frames, each frame may have a different coding delay when coded, and at the same time, there may be a different forwarding delay when forwarding XR data in the core network, resulting in that the time of arrival of XR data at the air interface side of each cycle may appear jitter, i.e. the data arrival time may fluctuate in the range of typically several milliseconds earlier or later than the expected cycle time.

3) XR service

XR traffic, among other things, generally has higher transmission delay requirements.

For example, taking the uplink AR service as an example, a typical packet delay budget (PACKET DELAY budgets, PDBs) is 30ms, that is, an upper limit of transmission delay between a packet arriving at a User Equipment (UE) access layer and a packet arriving at an N6 interface of a user plane network element is 30ms. If the packet is not successfully transmitted within the PDB required time, it is considered that the packet has timed out and is disabled.

Alternatively, the XR service may consider a packet set delay budget (PDU set delay budget, PSDB), which has a meaning similar to PDB, defining the upper transmission delay limit for a group of data packets (a set of PDUs). That is, PSDB may be defined as the upper limit of transmission delay that may be experienced by a PDU set between the UE and the N6 interface of the user plane network element, where in the uplink, PSDB refers to the transmission delay from the UE side of the first packet in the PDU set to the arrival of the last packet in the PDU set at the N6 interface of the user plane network element, and in the downlink, PSDB refers to the transmission delay from the first packet in the PDU set to the arrival of the last packet in the PDU set at the UE.

Therefore, the scheduling and transmission of data should be completed within the transmission delay budget as much as possible, so as to avoid the data timeout and thus affect the service experience, as shown in fig. 1 below, fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of the downlink service model in the XR service given by 3 GPP. Taking the video data packet as an example, the size of the video data packet may follow a certain probability distribution, and the time interval between the kth video data packet and the kth+1th video data packet is 1/fps, then the video data packet may reach the receiving end device according to the average 1/fps period, and if the kth video data packet does not reach the receiving end device in the PDB, the data timeout may be caused to affect the service experience.

Wherein, since the kth video data packet and the kth+1th video data packet have different sizes, jitter may be generated at the receiving end device, and the jitter of the arrival time of the video data packet may obey a certain probability distribution.

4) Multi-modal services

Optionally, XR traffic may also have a need for synchronization between different data packets. Synchronization requirements typically occur in multi-modal traffic.

For example, when VR viewing is performed, there may be both a video data stream and an audio data stream (i.e., for a certain frame or segment of video pictures, there is often audio corresponding thereto).

Illustratively, as shown in fig. 2 below, there are a plurality of video data packets on one video data stream, a plurality of audio data packets on one audio data stream, and video data packets and audio data packets within one period (i.e., within a dashed line frame) have an association, and the time difference between arrival of the video data packets and audio data packets at the receiving end device within each period should not be excessively large.

For example, the data network device may periodically generate video data packets, and for each video data packet in each period, there may be one or more audio data packets associated with the video data packet in content, with a requirement for synchronous transmission (e.g., the user needs to hear the corresponding sound while watching the picture to obtain a satisfactory viewing experience). If the corresponding video data packet and audio data packet arrive at the user player too much, the problems of asynchronous audio and video and the like may occur, so that the user experience is seriously degraded.

The 3GPP performs preliminary analysis on the synchronous demands among different data streams of the multi-mode service, and combines the sensitivity of human bodies to signals such as vision, hearing, touch and the like to give synchronous time threshold demands among different types of data.

Wherein for the synchronization time threshold requirement between audio and haptic, if an audio data packet arrives at the receiving end device first, the corresponding haptic data packet should arrive at the receiving end device within 12ms after the audio data packet, and if the haptic data packet arrives at the receiving end device first, the corresponding audio data packet should arrive at the receiving end device within 25 ms.

Wherein for the synchronization time threshold requirement between visual and tactile, if a video data packet arrives at the receiving end device first, the corresponding tactile data packet should arrive at the receiving end device within 30ms, and if a tactile data packet arrives at the receiving end device first, the corresponding video data packet should arrive at the receiving end device within 20 ms.

Wherein for the requirement of the synchronous time threshold between video and audio, if the audio data packet arrives at the receiving end device first, the corresponding video data packet should arrive at the receiving end device within 20ms, and if the video data packet arrives at the receiving end device first, the corresponding audio data packet should arrive at the receiving end device within 20 ms.

5) QoS flow (QoS flow)

The 5G mobile communication system can forward and transmit the data packet based on the QoS flow and ensure the service quality of the data packet. A schematic diagram of a QoS architecture based 5G system may be shown in fig. 3, where in fig. 3, the core network device is a user plane network element, and the network device is a next generation base station (thenext generation node B, gNB).

The user plane network element (which is a 5G core network device) of fig. 3 may establish one or more protocol data unit sessions (protocol data unit session, PDU session) for one terminal device, where a QoS flow is a data flow having the same source and destination address and the same QoS requirement in one PDU session, and the QoS flow is based on a Tunnel (i.e., NG-U Tunnel) transmission of a Next Generation (NG) interface user plane (user pannel).

Wherein in the downlink, the user plane network element maps the data packet with the same characteristics into the same QoS flow by identifying the characteristics of the data packet, including the source internet protocol (internetprotocaol, IP) address, destination IP address, source port number, destination port number, and transport layer protocol number of the data packet, i.e., the data packet header carries the identification information (QoS flow identity, QFI) of the QoS flow to which the data packet belongs.

In the uplink, the user plane network element may display or implicitly configure the mapping relationship between the data packet characteristics and the QoS flows to the UE, and the UE maps the uplink data packets to be transmitted to different QoS flows.

It is understood that data packets transmitted on different QoS flows may be independent of each other when transmitted in a 5G mobile communication system. For each QoS flow, the user plane network element may send its QoS profile (QoSprofile) to the radio access network (radio access network, RAN) for indicating the corresponding quality of service for each QoS flow.

For example, in a 5G mobile communication system, the quality of service expected to be obtained for a data packet transmitted on a QoS flow may be represented by a PDB, a packet error rate (packet error rate, PER), or the like.

In the RAN of fig. 3, the gNB may establish one or more DRBs for one PDU session (session), and map each data stream onto the DRBs for air interface transmission.

Illustratively, multiple data streams may be mapped onto one DRB, but one data stream cannot be mapped onto multiple DRBs. Data streams with the same or similar quality of service will typically be mapped onto the same DRB, providing the same quality of service guarantee over the air.

For example, the gNB may map a data stream onto a DRB, and send the data stream to the terminal device through the DRB, and the terminal device may determine a data packet according to the received data stream.

Optionally, data transmission and QoS guarantee may be implemented according to QoS flow granularity.

For example, taking time delay as an example, the gNB may ensure that the transmission time delay of the data packet transmitted on the QoS flow does not exceed the requirement of its PDB or PSDB as much as possible according to the quality of service requirement.

However, the above method of delay guarantee only considers the upper limit of transmission delay of the data packet transmitted on the QoS flow, and does not consider the correlation relationship between the data packet transmitted on other QoS flows (for example, there is a need for synchronization between different data packets of the same service).

Optionally, when generating data, the data network device may determine, according to the correlation of the data content, whether the data packet has a synchronization requirement with the data packet transmitted on the other QoS flow.

Illustratively, time-frequency packets and audio packets in the same video frame, for example, an audio data stream, may have a portion of the audio packets in the audio data stream associated with one or more video packets in the video data stream, i.e., there is a synchronization requirement (i.e., the sound of a person speaking in a video frame should be synchronized with the mouth action frame of the person, thereby ensuring a normal viewing experience), while another portion of the audio packets may not be associated with the video packets in the video data stream (i.e., the sound of background music typically does not affect the viewing experience even if not kept strictly synchronized with the frame).

For example, taking the transmission delay as an example, during data transmission, the two audio packets actually have different transmission delay requirements. For the audio data packet with the synchronization requirement, the transmission delay (such as PDB) requirement of the audio data packet is only needed to be considered, and for the audio data packet with the synchronization requirement, the synchronization requirement is considered while the transmission delay requirement of the audio data packet is met, so that the time difference between the audio data packet and the associated video data packet reaches the receiving end device is ensured not to exceed the synchronization threshold,

In a specific scenario, as shown in fig. 4 below, it is assumed that XR traffic is simultaneously present with audio packets and haptic packets, and carried in different QoS flows, respectively. The PDB requirement for audio packets is 30ms and the PDB requirement for haptic packets is 5ms.

Wherein the data network device may generate a set of haptic data packets and an audio data packet, such as the data packets shown in the dashed box in fig. 4, which have a correlation in content and thus need to meet the synchronization requirement. When the data packet is transmitted, only the PDB is used for providing a guarantee, the audio data packet can reach the user equipment after 30ms, and the synchronous requirement of the audio data packet and the tactile data packet is 25ms, so that the user can feel sound lag, and the immersive experience of the user is influenced.

In order to meet the synchronization requirement, the PDB requirement of the QoS flow may be adjusted, and as in fig. 4, the PDB of the audio data flow may be set to 25ms, so that transmission may be ensured to be completed within the synchronization time to meet the synchronization requirement. However, adjusting the PDB of the audio data stream may cause excessive consumption of network resources, that is, the PDB is applicable to all the data packets in the QoS stream, and there may be some audio data packets in the audio data stream where the audio data packets in fig. 4 are located, which are not required to meet the synchronization requirement, for example, the audio data packets correspond to independent background music, where, if these audio data packets without the synchronization requirement are also guaranteed according to a time delay of 25ms, network capacity may be reduced.

In summary, how to make the data packets transmitted through QoS flows meet the synchronization requirement between the data packets while guaranteeing the own quality of service requirement, and improving the communication performance is a problem to be solved.

The application provides a communication method for solving the technical problems, which comprises the steps of acquiring a first data packet by a user plane network element, determining that the first data packet and a second data packet have synchronous requirements according to the first data packet, determining a QoS flow corresponding to the first data packet, and sending the first data packet to network equipment according to the service quality of the QoS flow. Wherein the quality of service of the QoS flow meets the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

In the embodiment of the application, the user plane network element can determine the QoS flow corresponding to the first data packet according to the synchronous requirement of the first data packet and the second data packet, so that the first data packet transmitted on the QoS flow can meet the synchronous requirement with the second data packet while guaranteeing the self QoS requirement, and the communication performance can be improved.

The technical solution of the embodiment of the present application may be used in various communication systems, for example, a 3GPP communication system, which may be a fourth generation (4 th generation, 4G), a long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE), a 5G mobile communication system, a new air interface (NR), or a system of LTE and 5G hybrid networking, or a non-TERRESTRIAL NETWORK, NTN system, or a mobile communication system that evolves after 5G such as a sixth generation (6th generation,6G), a vehicle networking (vehicle to everything, V2X) system, or a device-to-device (D2D) communication system, a machine-to-machine (machine to machine, M2M) communication system, an internet of things (internet of things, ioT), a narrowband internet of things (narrow band-internet of things, NB-IoT), other next generation communication systems, a perception communication integrated system, a satellite communication system, or the like. The communication system may also be a non-3 GPP communication system, such as, without limitation, a wireless local area network (wireless local area network, WLAN) system such as, for example, wireless Fidelity (WIRELESSFIDELITY, wi-Fi).

The communication system to which the present application is applied may be as shown in fig. 5 below, and may include one or more terminal devices, network devices, core network devices, and data network devices.

Wherein the data network device of fig. 5 may be configured to generate a data frame, which may include one or more data packets.

The data network device may be an application server, for example.

The core network device in fig. 5 may include, without limitation, a user plane network element, a mobility management network element, a session management network element, an application function network element, and other network elements.

The user plane network element mainly responds to the session management network element request and serves as a connection point between the RAN and a Data Network (DN).

The mobility management network element is mainly responsible for access authentication, mobility management, signaling interaction among various functional network elements, signaling security termination of a non-access stratum (NAS) layer, and the like of the terminal equipment, for example, the mobility management network element manages registration state, reachability state, N1/N2 interface signaling transmission, access authentication and authorization, connection state of the user, user registration network access, tracking area update, cell switching user authentication, key security, and the like of the user.

The session management network element mainly provides session management (such as session establishment, modification and release) of the terminal equipment session, network protocol (internetprotocol, IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of the user plane network element, and the like.

The application function network element is mainly an intermediate function entity for providing interaction between the data network device in DN and the network element in core network, and transmits the requirement (such as service quality requirement or user state event subscription) of the application side to the network side, through which the data network device can realize dynamic control of network service quality and charging, obtain the running information of a certain network element in the core network, and the like. In the embodiment of the application, the application function network element can be a function entity deployed by an operator, or can be a function entity deployed by a service provider, and the service provider can be a third party service provider, or can be a service provider in the operator without limitation.

Illustratively, the network element or entity corresponding to the user plane network element may be a user plane function (user plane function, UPF) in the 5G communication system, the network element or entity corresponding to the mobility management network element may be an access and mobility management function (access andmobility management function, AMF) in the 5G communication system, the network element or entity corresponding to the session management network element may be a session management function (session management function, SMF) in the 5G communication system, the network element or entity corresponding to the application function network element may be an application function (application function, AF) in the 5G communication system, and so on.

The terminal device in fig. 5 may be located within a beam/cell coverage area of the network device, and the network device may provide communication services for the terminal device.

The present application can be applied to various communication scenarios, such as beam measurement, channel estimation, signal detection, etc.

The above-described communication system and communication scenario to which the present application is applied are merely examples, and the communication system and communication scenario to which the present application is applied are not limited thereto, nor are the above description to which the present application is applied.

The terminal device in fig. 5 may be a device with a wireless transceiver function or a chip system disposed on the device, and may allow a user to access a network, which is a device for providing voice and/or data connectivity to the user. The terminal device may also be referred to as a UE, a subscriber unit (subscriber unit), a terminal (terminal) or Mobile Station (MS), or a Mobile Terminal (MT), etc.

Optionally, the terminal device in the embodiment of the present application may be a user side device for implementing a wireless communication function, for example, a terminal or a chip that may be used in the terminal. The terminal may be a UE, a subscriber unit, an access terminal, a terminal unit, a terminal station, a mobile station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a wireless communication device, a terminal agent, or a terminal apparatus in a 5G network or a public land mobile network (public land mobilenetwork, PLMN) that evolves after 5G. An access terminal may be a cellular telephone, a smart phone, a cordless telephone, a session initiation protocol (session initiation protocol, SIP) phone, a wireless data card, a wireless local loop (wireless local loop, WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities (handset), a laptop (lapop computer), a tablet, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, an unmanned plane, a robot, a point of sale (POS) machine, a customer terminal device (customer-premises equipment, CPE) or wearable device, a Virtual Reality (VR) terminal device, augmented reality (augmented reality, AR) terminal equipment, wireless terminals in industrial control (industrial control), wireless terminals in unmanned (SELF DRIVING), wireless terminals in telemedicine (remote media), wireless terminals in smart grid (SMART GRID), wireless terminals in transportation safety (transportation safety), wireless terminals in machine type communication (MACHINE TYPE communication, MTC), wireless terminals in smart city (SMART CITY), wireless terminals in smart home (smart home) (e.g., smart camera, projector, display screen, television, stereo, refrigerator, washing machine, etc.), sensor nodes in smart city (e.g., smart water meter, smart electricity meter, smart air detection node, etc.), smart devices in smart office (e.g., printer, projector, etc.), infrastructure in daily life (e.g., vending machine, super self-service navigation station, self-service cashier device, self-service ordering machine, etc.), etc. Or the terminal may be a terminal with communication functionality in the IoT, such as a terminal in V2X (e.g., an internet of vehicle device), a terminal in D2D communication, or a terminal in M2M communication, etc. The terminal may be mobile or stationary.

The network device in fig. 5 may be any device deployed in an access network and capable of performing wireless communication with a terminal device, or may be a chip or a chip system that may be disposed in the device, or may be a logic node or a logic module or a function implemented in a software manner, and may be used to implement a radio physical control function, a resource scheduling and radio resource management function, a radio access control function, a mobility management function, and other functions. Specifically, the network device may be a device supporting wired access, or may be a device supporting wireless access.

Alternatively, the network device in the embodiment of the present application is a device for accessing a terminal device to a wireless network, where the network device may be a node in a radio access network (radio access network, RAN), or may be a base station, which may be referred to as a radio access network node (or device).

For example, the network device may comprise a base transceiver station (base transceiver station, BTS) in a Global System for Mobile communications (global system for mobile communication, GSM) or code division multiple Access (code division multiple access, CDMA) network. Or the network device may comprise a NodeB in a wideband code division multiple access (wideband code division multiple access, WCDMA) network. Or the network device may include an evolved base station (NodeB or eNB or e-NodeB, evolutional Node B) in an LTE system or LTE-advanced (LTE-a) system, such as a conventional macro base station eNB and a micro base station eNB in a heterogeneous network scenario. Or the network device may comprise a next generation node B (next generation node B, gNB) in the NR system. Or the network device may be a network device in a future evolved PLMN. Or the network device may include a transmission reception point (transmission reception point, TRP), a home base station (e.g., home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), a baseband pool (BBU pool), or a wireless fidelity (WIRELESS FIDELITY, wi-Fi) AP, etc. Or the network device may include a base station in NTN, i.e. may be deployed on a flight platform or satellite, where the network device may act as a layer 1 (L1) relay, or may act as a base station, or may act as an access backhaul integrated (INTEGRATED ACCESS AND bAck information hual, IAB) node. Or the network device may be a device in the IoT that implements base station functionality, such as drone communication, V2X, D2D, or M2M. Or the network device may be a wireless controller in the context of a cloud wireless access network (cloud radio access network, CRAN). Or the network device may also be a wearable device or an in-vehicle device.

The network device may also be a module or unit capable of implementing the functions of the base station part, for example, the network device may be a centralized unit (centralunit, CU), a Distributed Unit (DU), a CU-Control Plane (CP), a CU-User Plane (UP), or a Radio Unit (RU), etc. The CUs and DUs may be provided separately or may be included in the same network element, e.g. in a baseband unit (BBU). The RU may be included in a radio frequency device or unit, such as in a remote radio unit (remote radio unit, RRU), an active antenna processing unit (ACTIVE ANTENNA unit, AAU), or a remote radio head (remote radiohead, RRH).

In different systems, CUs (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DUs or RUs may also have different names, but the meaning will be understood by those skilled in the art. For example, the network device may be a network device or a module of a network device in an open radio access network (ora) system. In ORAN systems, a CU may also be referred to as an open (O) -CU, a DU may also be referred to as an O-DU, a CU-CP may also be referred to as an O-CU-CP, a CU-UP may also be referred to as an O-CU-UP, and a RU may also be referred to as an O-RU. Any unit of CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in the present application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of software and hardware modules.

Optionally, the base station in the embodiment of the present application may include various base stations, for example, macro base stations, micro base stations (also called as small stations), relay stations, APs, home base stations, TRP, transmitting points (TRANSMITTING POINT, TP), or mobile switching centers, which are not limited in particular.

Illustratively, as shown in fig. 6 below, taking a 5G transmission network as an example, assume that the network device is a gNB (including a CU and a DU, where the CU and the DU may be communicated with each other), the terminal device is an XR device, and the core network device is a user plane network element.

For example, in the downlink, the data network device may generate a data frame (the data frame may include one or more data packets) and send the one or more data packets to the user plane network element through the N6 interface, and the user plane network element may forward the received one or more data packets to the gNB through the N3 interface, and further, the gNB may send the one or more data packets to the XR device through the Uu air interface.

For another example, in the uplink, the XR device generates a data frame (the data frame may include one or more data packets) and sends the one or more data packets to the gNB via the Uu air interface, and the gNB may forward the received one or more data packets to the user plane network element via the N3 interface, and further, the user plane network element may forward the one or more data packets to the data network device via the N6 interface.

It should be noted that, the communication system described in the embodiment of the present application is for more clearly describing the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation to the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, and those skilled in the art can know that, with the evolution of the network architecture and the appearance of the new service scenario, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is applicable to similar technical problems.

In a specific implementation, the terminal device, the network device, the core network device, and the data network device shown in fig. 5 and fig. 6 may each adopt a composition structure shown in fig. 7, or include components shown in fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a communication apparatus 70 according to an embodiment of the present application, where the communication apparatus 70 may be a terminal device or a chip or a system on chip in the terminal device, or may be a network device or a chip or a system on chip in the network device, or may be a core network device or a chip or a system on chip in the core network device, or may be a chip or a system on chip in the data network device.

As shown in fig. 7, the communication device 70 includes one or more processors 701. Further, the communication device 70 may also include a communication bus 702 and at least one communication interface (fig. 7 is only exemplary, with the communication device 70 including a communication interface 704 and a processor 701 being illustrated as an example). Optionally, the communication device 70 may also include a memory 707.

The processor 701 may be a general purpose central processing unit (central processing unit, CPU), microprocessor, application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of programs in accordance with aspects of the present application, or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions). The processor may be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor.

In a particular implementation, as one embodiment, the processor 701 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 in FIG. 7.

The communication bus 702 may be a peripheral component interconnect (PERIPHERAL COMPONENT INTERCONNECT, PCI) bus, or an extended industry standard architecture (extended industry standard architecture, EISA) bus, or the like. The bus may be classified as an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in fig. 7, but not only one bus or one type of bus. The communication bus 702 is used to connect the different components in the communication device 70 such that communication interactions between the different components in the communication device 70 are possible.

The communication interface 704 may be a transceiver module for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as Ethernet (RAN), or wireless local area network (wireless local area networks, WLAN), etc. The communication interface 704 may be, for example, a transceiver, a device such as a transceiver, or the like. Alternatively, the communication interface 704 may be a transceiver circuit located in the processor 701, so as to implement signal input and signal output of the processor.

The memory 707 may be a device having a storage function. For example, but not limited to, a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (random access memory, RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (ELECTRICALLY ERASABLEPROGRAMMABLE READ-only memory, EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (compact disc read-only memory) or other optical disk storage, optical disk storage (including compact discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs, blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. The memory may be implemented on its own and coupled to the processor via communication bus 702. The memory may also be integrated with the processor.

The memory 707 is used to store computer-executable instructions for performing aspects of the present application and is for controlling execution by the processor 701, as an example. The processor 701 is configured to execute computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 707 to implement the methods provided in embodiments of the present application.

Alternatively, in an embodiment of the present application, the processor 701 may perform functions related to processing in a method provided in the following embodiment of the present application, where the communication interface 704 is responsible for communicating with other devices or communication networks, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited in detail.

Alternatively, the computer-executable instructions in the embodiments of the present application may be referred to as application program codes, which are not particularly limited in the embodiments of the present application.

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication apparatus 70 may further include an output device 705 and an input device 706. The output device 705 communicates with the processor 701 and may display information in a variety of ways. For example, the output device 705 may be a liquid crystal display (liquid crystaldisplay, LCD), a light emitting diode (LIGHT EMITTING diode, LED) display device, a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) display device, or a projector (projector), or the like. The input device 706 is in communication with the processor 701 and may receive input from a user in a variety of ways. For example, the input device 706 may be a mouse, keyboard, touch screen device, or sensing device, among others.

It should be noted that the constituent structure shown in fig. 7 does not constitute a limitation of the communication apparatus, and the communication apparatus may include more or less components than those shown in fig. 7, or may combine some components, or may be arranged in different components.

The communication method provided by the embodiment of the application will be explained in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will be understood that, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device, the network device, the core network device, and the data network device may perform some or all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application, these steps or operations are merely examples, and other operations or variations of the various operations may also be performed in the embodiments of the present application. Furthermore, the various steps may be performed in a different order presented in accordance with embodiments of the application, and it is possible that not all of the operations in the embodiments of the application may be performed.

Fig. 8 is an interaction schematic diagram of a communication method according to the present application. The communication method is described by taking interaction between a user plane network element and a network device as an example. Of course, the main body for executing the actions of the user plane network element in the method may also be a device/module in the user plane network element, for example, a chip, a processor, a processing unit, etc. in the user plane network element, and the main body for executing the actions of the network device in the method may also be a device/module in the network device, for example, a chip, a processor, a processing unit, etc. in the network device, which is not limited in particular in the embodiment of the present application. The processing performed by a single execution body (e.g., a user plane network element or network device) in embodiments of the present application may also be divided into execution bodies that are performed by multiple execution bodies that may be logically and/or physically separated. For example, referring to fig. 8, the communication method includes the steps of:

s801, a user plane network element acquires a first data packet.

Alternatively, the user plane network element may receive a first data packet from the data network device.

Illustratively, the user plane network element may receive a first data packet from an application server.

S802, the user plane network element determines that the first data packet and the second data packet have synchronous requirements according to the first data packet.

Illustratively, in fig. 9 below, taking the case that there is a synchronization requirement for a packet within a dashed frame as an example, a packet uploaded in a first data stream is a first packet 1-a first packet 16, a packet transmitted in a second data stream is a second packet 1 and a second packet 2, it can be seen from fig. 9 that a portion of the first packet (e.g., the first packet 1-the first packet 8) transmitted in the first data stream has a synchronization requirement for a second packet (e.g., the second packet 1) transmitted in the second data stream, and another portion of the packet (i.e., the first packet 9-the first packet 11) transmitted in the first data stream does not have a synchronization requirement for a packet (e.g., the second packet 1) transmitted in the second data stream.

Based on the user plane network element determining that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, the present application proposes two possible implementations:

In a first possible implementation, the first data packet may include first indication information, and the user plane network element may determine that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet according to the first indication information.

The first indication information is used for indicating that the first data packet and the second data packet have synchronous requirements.

The first indication information may be in an IP header of the first data packet or in a real-time transport protocol (real-time transport protocol, RTP) header, which is not limited.

In a first exemplary embodiment, the first indication information may be a bit, and when the bit value is 1, the first indication information may be used to indicate that there is a need for synchronization between the first data packet and the second data packet, and when the bit value is 0, the first indication information may be used to indicate that there is no need for synchronization between the first data packet and the second data packet. Or when the bit value is 0, the first indication information can be used for indicating that the first data packet and the second data packet have synchronous requirements, and when the bit value is 1, the first indication information can be used for indicating that the first data packet and the second data packet do not have synchronous requirements.

For example, taking fig. 9 as an example, the bit value of the first indication information carried in the first data packet 1-first data packet 8 may be 1 (indicating that there is a synchronization requirement with the second data packet 1), the bit value of the first indication information carried in the first data packet 9-first data packet 11 may be 0 (indicating that there is no synchronization requirement with the second data packet 1), or the bit value of the first indication information carried in the first data packet 1-first data packet 8 may be 0 (indicating that there is a synchronization requirement with the second data packet 1), and the bit value of the first indication information carried in the first data packet 9-first data packet 11 may be 1 (indicating that there is an out-of-synchronization requirement with the second data packet 1).

In a second exemplary embodiment, the first indication information may be an optional field, where when the first data packet carries the first indication information, the first indication information may be used to indicate that there is a synchronization requirement for the first data packet and the second data packet, and when the first data packet does not carry the first indication information, it may indicate that there is no synchronization requirement for the first data packet and the second data packet.

For example, taking fig. 9 as an example, the first data packet 1-first data packet 8 carries first indication information (indicating that there is a synchronization requirement with the second data packet 1), and the first data packet 9-first data packet 11 does not carry first indication information (indicating that there is no synchronization requirement with the second data packet 1).

In a second possible implementation, when the time difference between the arrival of the first data packet and the arrival of the second data packet at the user plane network element is less than or equal to a first preset threshold, the user plane network element may determine that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

The first preset threshold may be determined according to an actual communication scenario or an actual communication requirement.

The user plane network element may distinguish that the first data packet and the second data packet have a synchronization requirement based on its own capability, that is, when a time difference between the first data packet and the second data packet reaching the user plane network element is less than or equal to a first preset threshold, the user plane network element determines that the first data packet and the second data packet have a synchronization requirement, and when a time difference between the first data packet and the second data packet reaching the user plane network element is greater than the first preset threshold, the user plane network element determines that the first data packet and the second data packet do not have a synchronization requirement.

Based on the two possible implementations, the user plane network element can determine that the first data packet and the second data packet have synchronous demands according to the first indication information or the time difference value of the first data packet and the second data packet reaching the user plane network element, and provide two feasibility schemes for determining that the first data packet and the second data packet have synchronous demands.

S803, the user plane network element determines the QoS flow corresponding to the first data packet.

Wherein the quality of service of the QoS flow meets the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

It should be noted that the user plane network element may identify the characteristics of the data packet according to one or more of a source internet protocol address, a destination internet protocol address, a source port number, a destination port number, or a transport layer protocol number, so that the data packet with the same characteristics may be mapped to the same QoS flow (i.e., the QFI of the QoS flow is carried in the data packet header).

Optionally, the user plane network element may determine, according to the presence of a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, a QoS flow corresponding to the first data packet, so as to distinguish between processing data packets (i.e., the data packet with the synchronization requirement may be mapped to one QoS flow, and the data packet without the synchronization requirement may be mapped to another QoS flow).

Illustratively, the user plane network element may determine the QoS flow according to the first indication information and one or more of a source internet protocol address, a destination internet protocol address, a source port number, a destination port number, or a transport layer protocol number, or the user plane network element may determine the QoS flow according to one or more of a time difference between the first data packet and the second data packet reaching the user plane network element and the source internet protocol address, the destination internet protocol address, the source port number, the destination port number, or the transport layer protocol number.

Based on determining the QoS flow corresponding to the first data packet, the present application proposes a possible embodiment, as shown in fig. 10 below, taking the first data packet including the first indication information as an example, the data network device may generate the first data packet 1-first data packet 8, and carry the first indication information 1 on the first data packet 1-first data packet 4, and carry the first indication information 2 on the first data packet 5-first data packet 8. After receiving the first data packet from the application service, the user plane network element can map the first data packet to a corresponding QoS flow according to the carried first indication information.

For example, taking an example that the bit value of the first indication information 1 is 1 to indicate that the first data packet and the second data packet have a synchronization requirement, and the bit value of the first indication information 2 is 0to indicate that the first data packet and the second data packet do not have a synchronization requirement, the user plane network element may map the first data packet 1-first data packet 4 onto the QoS flow 1 according to the first indication information 1, and the user plane network element may map the first data packet 5-first data packet 8 onto the QoS flow 2 according to the first indication information 2.

The QoS file (the QoS file is a configuration file sent by the user plane network element to the network device, and may include delay requirement information corresponding to each QoS flow) may include a PDB of each QoS flow, for example, a PDB of QoS flow 1 is PDB1, a PDB of QoS flow 2 is PDB2, and PDB1< PDB2, so that the user plane network element may map a first data packet having a synchronization requirement to QoS flow 1, and may ensure the synchronization requirement of the first data packet 1-first data packet 4 as much as possible.

S804, the user plane network element sends the first data packet to the network device according to the QoS flow service quality, and the network device receives the first data packet from the user plane network element.

The user plane network element can guarantee the synchronous requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet according to the service quality of the QoS flow.

The quality of service of the QoS flow may be PDB, or PSDB, for example.

Optionally, after receiving the first data packet, the network device may map the data packet to the LCH or the DRB, and send the first data packet to the terminal device.

Based on the fact that the network device directly transmits the first data packet on the QoS stream, the network device can directly forward the first data packet to the terminal device without performing other processing on the first data packet, the effectiveness of the transmission of the first data packet can be improved, meanwhile, the load of the network device can be reduced, and the working efficiency of the network device can be improved.

Based on the communication method shown in fig. 8, the user plane network element can determine the QoS flow corresponding to the first data packet according to the synchronization requirement of the first data packet and the second data packet, so that the first data packet transmitted on the QoS flow can meet the synchronization requirement with the second data packet while guaranteeing the QoS requirement of the first data packet, and the communication performance can be improved.

Based on S802 in fig. 8, the first indication information may also be used to indicate synchronization delay information, and the user plane network element may determine synchronization delay information of the first data packet according to the first indication information, or the user plane network element may determine synchronization delay information of the first data packet according to a time difference between arrival of the first data packet and arrival of the second data packet at the user plane network element.

The synchronization delay information can more accurately indicate the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

Alternatively, the synchronization delay information may be a transmission delay budget (e.g., PDB or PSDB), or may be other parameters indicating a data transmission delay budget.

As shown in fig. 9, the first data packet 1-first data packet 8 transmitted on the first data stream and the second data packet 1 transmitted on the second data stream have synchronous requirements, and the generation time of the first data packet 1-first data packet 8 is different from each other, and thus, the transmission delay requirements (such as PDB) of the first data packet 1-first data packet 8 are different.

For example, it is assumed that the second data stream and the first data stream have a synchronization requirement that the PDB of the first data packet arrives at the terminal device later than the second data packet transmitted on the second data stream by at most 20ms, otherwise the synchronization experience is affected. The generation time of the first data packet 1-the first data packet 4 and the second data packet 1 is shorter, the PDB of the first data packet 1-the first data packet 4 can be larger, and the generation time of the first data packet 5-the first data packet 8 and the second data packet 1 is longer, the PDB of the first data packet 5-the first data packet 8 can be smaller. That is, when the generation time of the first packet 1-first packet 4 is at most 5ms later than the second packet 1, the PDB of the first packet 1-first packet 4 may be less than or equal to 15ms, and when the generation time of the first packet 5-first packet 8 is at most 5ms later than the second packet 1, the PDB of the first packet 5-first packet 8 may be less than or equal to 10ms.

The present application proposes two possible embodiments based on determining the synchronization delay information of the first data packet:

In a first possible embodiment, the user plane network element may determine synchronization delay information of the first data packet according to first indication information, where the first indication information may be the following several possible implementations:

in a first possible implementation, the first indication information may indicate that the first data packet and the second data packet have a synchronization requirement, and additional information may be added to indicate synchronization delay information of the first data packet, where in this possible implementation, the synchronization delay information is taken as a PDB as an example.

The first exemplary embodiment, taking the first indication information represented by 5 bits as an example, assumes that the first bit indicates that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and the last four bits indicate the PDB of the first data packet. When the bit value of the first bit is 1, it may indicate that the first data packet and the second data packet have a synchronization requirement, and when the bit value of the last four bits is 0001, it may indicate that the PDB of the first data packet is 1ms, when the bit value of the last four bits is 0010, it may indicate that the PDB of the first data packet is 2ms, and so on, when the bit value of the last four bits is 1111, it may indicate that the PDB of the first data packet is 15ms, and when the bit value of the first bit is 0, it may indicate that the first data packet and the second data packet do not have a synchronization requirement, and the last four bits may be any value or reserved.

Or when the bit value of the first bit is 0, it may indicate that there is a need for synchronization between the first data packet and the second data packet, then when the bit value of the last four bits is 0001, it may indicate that the PDB of the first data packet is 1ms, when the bit value of the last four bits is 0010, it may indicate that the PDB of the first data packet is 2ms, and so on, when the bit value of the last four bits is 1111, it may indicate that the PDB of the first data packet is 15ms, and when the bit value of the first bit is 1, it may indicate that there is no need for synchronization between the first data packet and the second data packet, and the last four bits may be any value or reserved.

For example, taking the case that the bit value of the first bit is 1, the synchronization requirement exists between the first data packet and the second data packet as an example, when the bit value of the first indication information is 11111, the user plane network element may determine that the PDB of the first data packet is 15ms according to the first indication information, and then the user plane network element may map the first data packet onto a QoS flow with the PDB of 15 ms.

In a second exemplary embodiment, the first indication information is represented by 3 bits, and it is assumed that the first bit indicates that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and the second two bits indicate interval indexes of synchronization delays. When the bit value of the first bit is 1, it may indicate that the first data packet and the second data packet have a synchronization requirement, and when the bit value of the second two bits is 00 (i.e., the interval index of synchronization delay is 0), it may indicate that the PDB of the first data packet is less than or equal to 5ms, when the bit value of the second two bits is 01 (i.e., the interval index of synchronization delay is 1), it may indicate that the PDB of the first data packet is less than or equal to 10ms, when the bit value of the second two bits is 10 (i.e., the interval index of synchronization delay is 2), it may indicate that the PDB of the first data packet is less than or equal to 15ms, and when the bit value of the second two bits is 11 (i.e., the interval index of synchronization delay is 3), it may indicate that the PDB of the first data packet is less than or equal to 20ms. When the bit value of the first bit is 0, it may indicate that there is no synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and the second two bits may be either value or reserved.

Or when the bit value of the first bit is 0, the synchronous requirement can be indicated to exist between the first data packet and the second data packet, when the bit value of the second two bits is 00 (i.e. the interval index of synchronous delay is 0), the PDB of the first data packet can be indicated to be less than or equal to 5ms, when the bit value of the second two bits is 01 (i.e. the interval index of synchronous delay is 1), the PDB of the first data packet can be indicated to be less than or equal to 10ms, when the bit value of the second two bits is 10 (i.e. the interval index of synchronous delay is 2), the PDB of the first data packet can be indicated to be less than or equal to 15ms, and when the bit value of the second two bits is 11 (i.e. the interval index of synchronous delay is 3), the PDB of the first data packet can be indicated to be less than or equal to 20ms. When the bit value of the first bit is 1, it may indicate that there is no synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and the second two bits may be either value or reserved.

For example, taking the case that the bit value of the first bit is 1, the synchronization requirement exists between the first data packet and the second data packet, when the bit value of the first indication information is 101, the user plane network element may determine that the PDB of the first data packet is less than or equal to 5ms according to the first indication information, and then the user plane network element may map the first data packet onto a QoS flow with the PDB of 5 ms.

A third exemplary embodiment, taking the first indication information represented by 3 bits as an example, assumes that the first bit indicates that there is a synchronization requirement for the first data packet and the second data packet, and the second two bits indicate the relative size of the PDB. Suppose that the data network device determines three PDBs (e.g., PDB1, PDB2, PDB3, and PDB1< PDB2< PDB 3) for the user plane network element.

When the bit value of the first bit is 1, it may indicate that the first data packet and the second data packet have a synchronization requirement, when the bit value of the second bit is 01, it may indicate that the value of PDB of the first data packet is minimum (i.e., PDB is PDB 1), when the bit value of the second bit is 10, it may indicate that the value of PDB of the first data packet is intermediate (i.e., PDB is PDB 2), when the bit value of the second bit is 11, it may indicate that the value of PDB of the first data packet is maximum (i.e., PDB is PDB 3), when the bit value of the first bit is 0, it may indicate that the first data packet and the second data packet do not have a synchronization requirement, and the second two bits may be any value or reserved.

Or when the bit value of the first bit is 0, it may indicate that the first data packet and the second data packet have a synchronization requirement, when the bit value of the second two bits is 01, it may indicate that the value of PDB of the first data packet is minimum (i.e. PDB is PDB 1), when the bit value of the second two bits is 10, it may indicate that the value of PDB of the first data packet is intermediate (i.e. PDB is PDB 2), when the bit value of the second two bits is 11, it may indicate that the value of PDB of the first data packet is maximum (i.e. PDB is PDB 3), and when the bit value of the first bit is 1, it may indicate that the first data packet and the second data packet do not have a synchronization requirement, and when the bit value of the first two bits may be any value or reserved.

For example, taking the case that the bit value of the first bit is 1, when the bit value of the first indication information is 101, the user plane network element may determine that the PDB of the first data packet is PDB1, that is, the PDB required by the first data packet is minimum, and the user plane network element may map the first data packet to the QoS flow corresponding to the PDB1, and similarly, when the bit value of the first indication information is 111, the user plane network element may determine that the PDB of the first data packet is PDB3, that is, the PDB required by the first data packet is maximum, and the user plane network element may map the first data packet to the QoS flow corresponding to the PDB 3.

In a second possible implementation, the first indication information may indicate that there is a synchronization requirement and indicates synchronization delay information, and in a second possible implementation, the first indication information indicates, through a value of a bit, synchronization delay information of the first data packet, so as to implicitly indicate whether there is a synchronization requirement, where a PDB is taken as an example.

The first example, taking the first indication information as an example, is represented by 4 bits, when the bit value is 0000, it indicates that there is no synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, when the bit value is 0001, it indicates that the PDB of the first data packet is 1ms, when the bit value is 0010, it indicates that the PDB of the first data packet is 2ms, and so on, when the bit value is 1111, it indicates that the PDB of the first data packet is 15ms.

In a second exemplary embodiment, the first indication information may be a synchronization delay interval index, for example, 2 bits, where the first data packet and the second data packet have no synchronization requirement when the bit value is 00 (i.e., the synchronization delay interval index is 0), where the PDB of the first data packet is less than or equal to 5ms when the bit value is 01 (i.e., the synchronization delay interval index is 1), where the PDB of the first data packet is less than or equal to 10ms when the bit value is 10 (i.e., the synchronization delay interval index is 2), and where the PDB of the first data packet is less than or equal to 15ms when the bit value is 11 (i.e., the synchronization delay interval index is 3).

In a third example, the first indication information may represent a relative size of the PDB. Suppose that the data network device determines three PDBs (e.g., PDB1, PDB2, PDB3, and PDB1< PDB2< PDB 3) for the user plane network element. Taking the first indication information as an example through 2 bits, when the bit value is 00, the first data packet and the second data packet are indicated that the synchronous requirement does not exist, when the bit value is 01, the PDB value of the first data packet is the smallest (namely PDB is PDB 1), when the bit value is 10, the PDB value of the first data packet is the middle value (namely PDB is PDB 2), and when the bit value is 11, the PDB value of the first data packet is the largest (namely PDB is PDB 1).

For example, taking the bit value of the first indication information associated with the first data packet 1 as 10, and the bit value of the first indication information associated with the first data packet 2 as 11 as an example, the user plane network element may determine that the value of the PDB of the first data packet 1 is minimum, and the user plane network element may map the first data packet 1 onto the corresponding QoS flow of the PDB1 and map the first data packet 2 onto the QoS flow corresponding to the PDB2, so as to respectively satisfy the synchronization requirements of the first data packet 1 and the first data packet 2.

Based on the above description of the first indication information indicating the synchronization delay information, as shown in fig. 10 below, taking the first packet including the first indication information as an example, the data network device may generate the first packet 1-first packet 11, and carry the first indication information 1 on the first packet 1-first packet 4, carry the first indication information 2 on the first packet 5-first packet 8, and carry the first indication information 3 on the first packet 9-first packet 11. After receiving the first data packet from the application service, the user plane network element can map the first data packet to a corresponding QoS flow according to the carried first indication information.

For example, taking the second example of the second possible implementation described above as an example, assume that the first indication information 1 is 01, the first indication information 2 is 10, the third indication information 3 is 11, and the QoS flow file may include PDBs of each QoS flow (e.g., PDB of QoS flow 1 is PDB1, PDB of QoS flow 2 is PDB2, PDB of QoS flow 3 is PDB3, and PDB1< PDB2< PDB 3). The user plane network element can map the first data packet 1-first data packet 4 onto the QoS flow 1 corresponding to the PDB1 according to the first indication information 1, the user plane network element can map the first data packet 5-first data packet 8 onto the QoS flow 2 corresponding to the PDB2 according to the first indication information 2, and the user plane network element can map the first data packet 9-first data packet 11 onto the QoS flow 3 corresponding to the PDB3 according to the first indication information 3.

In a second possible embodiment, the user plane network element may determine the synchronization delay information of the first data packet according to a time difference between arrival of the first data packet and arrival of the second data packet at the user plane network element.

For example, the PDB of the first packet may be 10ms when the time difference is 5ms, the PDB of the first packet may be 5ms when the time difference is 10ms, or less than or equal to 10ms when the time difference is 5ms, and less than or equal to 5ms when the time difference is 10 ms.

Based on the above-mentioned determined synchronization delay information of the first data packet, the user plane network element can determine the synchronization delay information of the first data packet according to the first indication information or the time difference value, and can more accurately determine the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

Optionally, the user plane network element may determine, according to the synchronization delay information, a QoS flow corresponding to the first data packet.

Illustratively, the user plane network element may determine the QoS flow based on the synchronization delay information and one or more of a source Internet protocol address, a destination Internet protocol address, a source port number, a destination port number, or a transport layer protocol number.

The user plane network element can more accurately determine the QoS flow corresponding to the first data packet according to the synchronous delay information, meanwhile, the synchronous delay information can more finely divide the QoS flow corresponding to the data packet, the data packets with the same synchronous delay information can be transmitted on the same QoS flow, and the communication performance can be improved.

Optionally, when the third data packet and the first data packet are in a data packet set, the user plane network element may determine that the first data packet and the second data packet have a synchronization requirement, and then the third data packet and the second data packet also have a synchronization requirement.

Optionally, when the third data packet and the first data packet are in a data packet set, the user plane network element may determine that the synchronization delay information of the third data packet is the same as the synchronization delay information of the first data packet.

Further, the user plane network element may send a third data packet to the network device according to the quality of service of the QoS flow.

The present application proposes two possible embodiments based on a first data packet and a third data packet in one data packet set:

In a possible embodiment, when a plurality of data packets (for example, including a first data packet and a plurality of third data packets) belong to the same data packet set (for example, the plurality of data packets have the same PDU set sequence number), and the first data packet carries the first indication information, synchronization needs exist between all the third data packets and the second data packet in the data packet set, and the third data packet does not need to carry the first indication information, so that the number of carrying the first indication information can be reduced, and transmission overhead can be reduced.

Or when the plurality of data packets (for example, the plurality of data packets comprise a first data packet and a plurality of third data packets) belong to the same data packet set (for example, the plurality of data packets have the same PDU set serial number), the user plane network element determines that the time difference value of the arrival time of the first data packet and the second data packet at the user plane network element is smaller than or equal to a first preset threshold value, synchronous perception exists between the first data packet and the second data packet, synchronous requirements exist between all third data packets and the second data packet in the data packet set, and the user plane network element does not need to determine the time difference value of the arrival time of the third data packet and the second data packet at the user plane network element, so that the working efficiency of the user plane network element can be improved.

Based on this possible embodiment, if the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, the third data packet may have a synchronization requirement with the second data packet, and the user plane network element may directly transmit the third data packet on the QoS flow, without determining the synchronization requirement of the third data packet by the first indication information or a time difference between the third data packet and the second data packet reaching the user plane network element, so that the working efficiency of the user plane network element may be improved, and the transmission overhead may be reduced.

In another possible embodiment, when a plurality of data packets (for example, including a first data packet and a plurality of third data packets) belong to the same data packet set (for example, the plurality of data packets have the same PDU set sequence number), and the first data packet carries first indication information (the first indication information is used for indicating synchronization delay information), synchronization delay information of all third data packets in the data packet set is the same as synchronization delay information of the first data packet, and the third data packet does not need to carry the first indication information, so that the number of carrying the first indication information can be reduced, and transmission overhead can be reduced.

Or when a plurality of data packets (for example, including a first data packet and a plurality of third data packets) belong to the same data packet set (for example, the plurality of data packets have the same PDU set serial number), the user plane network element determines the synchronization delay information of the first data packet according to the time difference value that the first data packet and the second data packet reach the user plane network element, the synchronization delay information of all the third data packets in the data packet set is the same as the synchronization delay information of the first data packet, and the user plane network element does not need to determine the time difference value that the three data packets and the second data packet reach the user plane network element, so that the working efficiency of the user plane network element can be improved.

Based on the possible embodiment, if the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, the synchronization delay information of the third data packet may be the same as the synchronization delay information of the first data packet, and the user plane network element may directly transmit the third data packet on the QoS flow, without determining the synchronization delay information of the third data packet by the first indication information or the time difference between the third data packet and the second data packet reaching the user plane network element, so that the working efficiency of the user plane network element may be improved, and the transmission overhead may be reduced.

It will be appreciated that the communication method shown in fig. 8-11 is a manner in which the user plane network element determines the QoS flow by modifying the mapping rule (i.e., maps the first data packet to the QoS flow based on the synchronization requirement of the first data packet and the second data packet). The application also provides a communication method, as shown in fig. 12 below, the user plane network element can also indicate that the first data packet and the second data packet have synchronous demands through the second indication information, the second indication information can determine a plurality of synchronous delay parameters for the same QoS flow on the premise of not changing the mapping rule, and can meet the synchronous demands of different data packets. Further, the network device may determine the first LCH/first DRB corresponding to the first data packet according to the second indication information, where the specific steps are as follows:

s1201, the user plane network element acquires a first data packet.

Here, S1201 corresponds to S801 described above, and will not be described here.

S1202, the user plane network element determines that the first data packet and the second data packet have synchronous requirements according to the first data packet.

The method for determining that the first data packet and the second data packet have the synchronization requirement in S1202 is identical to the method for determining that the first data packet and the second data packet have the synchronization requirement in S802, and is not described herein.

S1203, the user plane network element sends the first data packet and the second indication information to the network device, and the network device receives the first data packet and the second indication information from the user plane network element correspondingly.

The second indication information is used for indicating that the first data packet and the second data packet have synchronous requirements.

For example, taking the second indication information as 1 bit as an example, when the bit value is 1, the network device can determine that the first data packet and the second data packet have synchronous requirements, and when the bit value is 0, the network device can determine that the first data packet and the second data packet do not have synchronous requirements. Or when the bit value is 0, the network device can be enabled to determine that the first data packet and the second data packet have the synchronous requirement, and when the bit value is 1, the network device can be enabled to determine that the first data packet and the second data packet do not have the synchronous requirement.

In another exemplary embodiment, when the user plane network element sends the second indication information to the network device, the network device may determine that the first data packet and the second data packet have a synchronization requirement, and when the user plane network element does not send the second indication information to the network device, the network device may determine that the first data packet and the second data packet do not have a synchronization requirement.

The second indication information may be sent separately, or may be sent in the first data packet, or may be sent in the control information, without limitation.

For example, when the second indication information is carried in the first data packet, it may be ensured that the network device can identify the second indication information on a general packet radio service (general packetradio service, GPRS) tunneling protocol-user plane (GTP-U) extension header of the first data packet header.

Alternatively, unlike the user plane network element providing one delay requirement information for one QoS flow in fig. 8, the user plane network element may provide multiple delay requirement information for the QoS flow where the first data packet is located.

The delay requirement information may be a transmission delay budget (e.g., PDB or PSDB), or may be other parameters indicating a data transmission delay budget. Taking PDB as an example, the present application proposes two possible embodiments:

In a possible embodiment, the user plane network element may provide two PDBs (i.e. PDB1 and PDB2, and PBD1< PDB 2) for one QoS flow to the network device, and the network device may determine the PDB corresponding to the first data packet through the second indication information, so as to ensure the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

For example, taking the second indication information as 1 bit, the bit value of 1 indicates that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and PBD1< PDB2 is taken as an example, when the bit value of 1 is used, the network device may determine that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and may determine that the PDB corresponding to the first data packet is PDB1, thereby guaranteeing the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet according to PDB1, and when the bit value of 0 is used, the network device may determine that there is no synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and may determine that the PDB corresponding to the first data packet is PDB2.

In another possible embodiment, the ue may provide a default PDB (PDB 1) and an additional PDB (i.e. PDB 2) to the network device (PDB 1> PDB 2), where the network device may determine the PDB corresponding to the first data packet through the second indication information, so as to ensure the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

The network device may directly determine that the PDB of the first data packet is PDB1 when the user plane network element does not send the second indication information to the network device, and the network device may determine that the first data packet and the second data packet have a synchronization requirement according to the second indication information when the user plane network element sends the second indication information to the network device, and may determine that the PBD of the first data packet is PDB2, thereby guaranteeing the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet according to the PDB 2.

And S1204, the network equipment determines a first LCH/first DRB corresponding to the first data packet according to the second indication information.

For example, taking the second indication information as 1 bit, the bit value of 1 indicates that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and the PDB of the first LCH1 is smaller than that of the first LCH2, where when the bit value of 1 is used, the network device may transmit the first data packet through the first LCH1 to ensure the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and when the bit value of 0 is used, the network device may transmit the first data packet through the first LCH 2.

It should be noted that, in the O-RAN architecture, when the network device is a CU-DU, the CU may receive the first data packet and the second indication information from the user plane network element, and further, the CU may send the first data packet and the second indication information to the DU.

The second indication information may be carried on a GTP-U extension header of the first data packet and transmitted through the F1 interface.

It should be noted that, in the dual connectivity architecture (i.e., the network device is a primary base station and a secondary base station), the primary base station may receive the first data packet and the second indication information from the user plane network element, and further, the primary base station may send the first data packet and the second indication information to the secondary base station.

The second indication information may be carried on a GTP-U extension header of the first data packet and transmitted through an Xn interface.

And S1205, the network equipment sends a first data packet to the terminal equipment according to the first LCH/first DRB, and correspondingly, the terminal equipment receives the first data packet from the network equipment.

Optionally, the network device may further determine different transmission configuration parameters for the first data packet according to the second indication information.

Illustratively, the transmission configuration parameter may be a discard timer, a maximum number of retransmissions, etc.

For example, taking a timer as an example, the network device may determine a discard timer with a shorter duration for the first data packet, and the network device may send the first data packet in advance to avoid the discard timer from being overtime as much as possible, so as to ensure the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and when the timer is overtime, the first data packet fails.

Based on the communication method shown in fig. 12, the user plane network element sends the first data packet and the second indication information to the network device, so that the network device can determine that the first data packet and the second data packet have a synchronization requirement according to the second indication information, and further, the network device can meet the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet as much as possible when forwarding the first data packet, and the communication performance can be improved. Although the PDB requirement of the QoS flow is adjusted to ensure the synchronous requirement among the data packets, partial data packets possibly exist in the QoS flow and do not need to meet the synchronous requirement, so the method of the application can avoid excessive consumption of network resources as much as possible and can improve the communication capacity.

Optionally, the second indication information may also be used to indicate synchronization delay information, and several possible implementations are proposed in the present application:

in a first possible implementation, when the second indication information is an index of the synchronization delay information, the network device may determine the synchronization delay information corresponding to the second indication information according to the first mapping relationship.

The first mapping relationship may be an index of the synchronization delay information and synchronization delay information corresponding to the index of the synchronization delay information.

The first mapping relationship may be predefined, or may be a first mapping relationship received from a session management function network element for the network device, without limitation.

For example, taking the synchronization delay information as PDB as an example, the first mapping relationship may be that the index of the synchronization delay information is 0 and corresponds to PDB1, the index of the synchronization delay information is 1 and corresponds to PDB2, when the index of the synchronization delay information is 0, the network device may determine that the PDB of the first data packet is PDB1 from the first mapping relationship, and when the index of the synchronization delay information is 1, the network device may determine that the PDB of the first data packet is PDB1 from the first mapping relationship.

Further, the network device may determine a first LCH/first DRB corresponding to the first data packet according to the synchronization delay information.

It can be understood that the network device can determine the synchronization delay parameter according to the comparison index and the first mapping relation, and further can determine the first LCH/first DRB more accurately according to the synchronization delay parameter, thereby providing a feasibility scheme for meeting the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

In a second possible implementation, when the first indication information indicates the synchronization delay information, the user plane network element may determine synchronization delay information corresponding to the second indication information according to the first indication information.

In a possible embodiment, taking the synchronization delay information as PBD as an example, the first indication information is 2 bits, and the PBD corresponding to the bit value 00 < the PBD corresponding to the bit value 01 < the PBD corresponding to the bit value 10 < the PBD corresponding to the bit value 11.

An exemplary scenario is that a user plane network element provides two PDBs (PDB 1 and PDB2, PDB1< PDB 2) to a network device, where when the bit value of the first indication information is 00 or 01, the bit value of the second indication information may be 0, the PDB indicated by the second indication information is PDB1, and when the bit value of the first indication information is 10 or 11, the bit value of the second indication information may be 1, and the PDB indicated by the second indication information is PDB2. Or when the bit value of the first indication information is 00 or 01, the bit value of the second indication information can be 1, the PDB indicated by the second indication information is PDB1, and when the bit value of the first indication information is 10 or 11, the bit value of the second indication information can be 0, and the PDB indicated by the second indication information is PDB2.

Another exemplary scenario is that the user plane network element provides four PDBs (PDB 1, PDB2, PDB3 and PDB 4) to the network device, where PDB1< PDB2< PDB3< PDB 4), when the bit value of the first indication information is 00, the bit value of the second indication information may be 00, the PDB indicated by the second indication information is PDB1, when the bit value of the first indication information is 01, the bit value of the second indication information may be 01, the PDB indicated by the second indication information is PDB2, when the bit value of the first indication information is 10, the bit value of the second indication information may be 10, the PDB indicated by the second indication information is PDB3, when the bit value of the first indication information is 11, the bit value of the second indication information may be 11, and the PDB indicated by the second indication information is PDB4.

In a third possible implementation, the user plane network element may determine that the second indication information corresponds to the synchronization delay information according to a time difference between arrival of the first data packet and arrival of the second data packet at the user plane network element.

For example, taking an example that the user plane network element provides two PDBs (PDB 1 and PDB2, PDB1< PDB 2) to the network device, when the time difference value is less than or equal to the first preset threshold value, the bit value of the second indication information may be 1, the PDB indicated by the second indication information is PDB1, when the time difference value is greater than the first preset threshold value, the bit value of the second indication information may be 0, and the PDB indicated by the second indication information is PDB2. Or when the time difference is smaller than or equal to the first preset threshold, the bit value of the second indication information can be 0, the PDB indicated by the second indication information is PDB1, and when the time difference is larger than the first preset threshold, the bit value of the second indication information can be 1, and the PDB indicated by the second indication information is PDB2.

Based on the two possible implementations, the network device can more accurately determine the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and further can better meet the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

Based on the above description of the second indication information indicating the synchronization delay information, in one possible embodiment, as shown in fig. 13 below, the user plane network element carries the second indication information 1 in the first data packet 1-first data packet 4, carries the second indication information 2 in the first data packet 5-first data packet 8, and does not carry the second indication information in the first data packet 9-first data packet 11, and simultaneously, the user plane network element provides three PDBs for the QoS flow (i.e., one default PBD (PDB 1 is 20 ms) and two extra PBDs (PDB 2 is 10ms and PDB3 is 5 ms)).

For example, taking PDB indicated by the second indication information 1 as PDB2, PDB indicated by the second indication information 2 as PDB3 as an example, the network device may determine that PDB of the first data packet 1-first data packet 4 is PDB2 according to the second indication information 1, and then the transmission delay of the first data packet 1-first data packet 4 is less than or equal to 10ms, the network device may determine that PDB of the first data packet 5-first data packet 8 is PDB3 according to the second indication information 2, and then the transmission delay of the first data packet 5-first data packet 8 is less than or equal to 5ms, and because the second indication information is not carried in the first data packet 9-first data packet 11, the network device may determine that PDB of the first data packet 9-first data packet 11 is PDB1, and then the transmission delay of the first data packet 9-first data packet 11 is less than or equal to 20ms.

In a possible embodiment, as shown in fig. 13, the network device may determine, according to the second indication information 1, that the PDB of the first data packet 1-first data packet 4 is PDB2, and further determine, according to the PDB2, the first LCH1 corresponding to the first data packet 1-first data packet 4 to ensure the transmission delay of the first data packet 1-first data packet 4, and determine, according to the second indication information 2, that the PDB of the first data packet 5-first data packet 8 is PDB3, and further determine, according to the PDB3, the first LCH2 corresponding to the first data packet 5-first data packet 8 to ensure the transmission delay of the first data packet 5-first data packet 8, and further determine, according to the PDB3, that the PDB of the first data packet 9-first data packet 11 is PDB1, and further determine, according to the first indication information, that the PDB corresponding to the first data packet 5-first data packet 8 is first LCH3 to ensure the transmission delay of the first data packet 9-first data packet 11.

It can be understood that the network device can determine the first LCH/first DRB corresponding to the first data packet according to the synchronization delay information more accurately, so as to meet the transmission delay requirement of the first data packet.

Optionally, when the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, the third data packet and the second data packet have synchronous requirements, or when the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, the synchronous delay information of the third data packet is the same as the synchronous delay information of the first data packet.

Further, the user plane network element may send a third data packet to the network device.

In a possible embodiment, when a plurality of data packets (e.g., including a first data packet and a plurality of third data packets) belong to the same data packet set (e.g., the plurality of data packets have the same PDU set sequence number), and the user plane network element sends the first data packet and the second indication information to the network device, all the third data packets in the data packet set and the second data packets have a synchronization requirement, and the user plane network element may send the third data packet directly to the network device without sending the second indication information.

Based on the possible embodiment, if the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, the third data packet and the second data packet have a synchronization requirement, and the user plane network element may not send the second indication information when sending the third data packet to the second network, so that transmission overhead may be reduced.

In another possible embodiment, when a plurality of data packets (e.g., including a first data packet and a plurality of third data packets) belong to the same data packet set (e.g., the plurality of data packets have the same PDU set sequence number), and the user plane network element sends the first data packet and second indication information (the second indication information is used to indicate synchronization delay information) to the network device, the synchronization delay information of all third data packets in the data packet set is the same as the synchronization delay information of the first data packet, and the user plane network element may directly send the third data packet to the network device without sending the second indication information.

Based on the possible embodiment, if the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, the synchronization delay information of the third data packet is the same as the synchronization delay information of the first data packet, and the user plane network element may not send the second indication information when sending the third data packet to the second network, so that transmission overhead may be reduced.

It should be noted that, the user plane network element may determine the QoS flow corresponding to the first data packet according to the synchronization requirement, and the network device directly forwards the first data packet, or the user plane network element may send the first data packet and the second indication information to the network device, and the network device determines the first LCH/first DRB corresponding to the first data packet according to the second indication information, or the user plane network element may determine the QoS flow corresponding to the first data packet according to the synchronization requirement, and further, the network device may determine the first LCH/first DRB corresponding to the first data packet according to the synchronization requirement, without limitation.

The communication methods described above with reference to fig. 8-13 are applied in the downlink, i.e. the data network device transmits the first data packet to the terminal device. In uplink, that is, when the terminal device transmits the fourth data packet to the data network device, the user plane network element and the network device may configure one or more transmission delay budgets and a second LCH/second DRB corresponding to each transmission delay budget for the terminal device in advance, after the terminal device generates the data packet, the terminal device may determine, according to the synchronization delay information between the data packets, a transmission delay budget capable of meeting the synchronization delay information from the third indication information, and transmit the data packet through a second LCH/second DRB corresponding to the transmission delay budget, as shown in fig. 14 below:

And S1401, the network equipment sends third indication information to the terminal equipment, and correspondingly, the terminal equipment receives the third indication information from the network equipment.

The third indication information is used for indicating one or more transmission delay budgets and a second LCH/second DRB corresponding to each transmission delay budget.

For example, taking the transmission delay budget as PDB as an example, the third indication information may indicate PDB1 and PDB2, where PDB1< PDB2, PDB1 corresponds to the second LCH1, and PDB2 corresponds to the second LCH2.

S1402, the terminal device determines a second LCH/second DRB corresponding to the fourth data packet according to the third indication information.

The fourth data packet and the fifth data packet have synchronous requirements.

For example, taking the transmission delay budget as PDB, PDB1 as corresponding to the second LCH1, PDB2 as corresponding to the second LCH2, and PDB1< PDB2 as an example, when the fourth data packet has a synchronization requirement, the terminal device may determine that the second LCH corresponding to the fourth data packet is the second LCH1, and when the fourth data packet does not have a synchronization requirement, the terminal device may determine that the second LCH corresponding to the fourth data packet is the second LCH2.

S1403, the terminal equipment sends a fourth data packet to the network equipment according to the second LCH/second DRB, and the network equipment receives the fourth data packet from the terminal equipment correspondingly.

Optionally, the terminal device may determine the timer according to the third indication information, and further send the fourth data packet in advance according to the duration of the timer, so as to meet the synchronization requirement of the fourth data packet, if the timer is overtime, the fourth data packet is invalid.

It should be noted that, the network device may forward the received fourth data packet to the user plane network element, and further, the user plane network element may forward the fourth data packet to the data network device, that is, the network device and the user plane network element do not perform other processing on the fourth data packet.

Based on the communication method shown in fig. 12, the terminal device may determine the second LCH/second DRB corresponding to the fourth data packet according to the third indication information, so as to ensure that the fourth data packet can meet the synchronization requirement of the fourth data packet and the fifth data packet when transmitted on the second LCH/second DRB, so as to improve the communication performance, and provide a feasibility scheme for meeting the synchronization requirement of the fourth data packet and the fifth data packet.

It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application may be implemented independently or in combination, and are not limited thereto. In the absence of specific recitations and logic conflict, the present disclosure provides that the terminology and/or descriptions between the various embodiments are consistent and may be referred to each other, and features of the various embodiments may be combined to form a new embodiment in accordance with their inherent logic relationship.

It is to be understood that, in the embodiments of the present application, the execution subject may perform some or all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application, these steps or operations are only examples, and the embodiments of the present application may also perform other operations or variations of the various operations. Furthermore, the various steps may be performed in a different order presented in accordance with embodiments of the application, and it is possible that not all of the operations in the embodiments of the application may be performed.

The above description has mainly been presented for the solution provided by the present application from the point of interaction between the devices. Correspondingly, the application also provides a communication device which is used for realizing the various methods. The communication apparatus may be a terminal device involved in the above method embodiment, or an apparatus including the terminal device, or a component that may be used for the terminal device, or the communication apparatus may be a network device involved in the above method embodiment, or an apparatus including the network device, or a component that may be used for the network device, or the communication apparatus may be a terminal device in the above method embodiment, or an apparatus including the terminal device, or a component that may be used for the terminal device.

It will be appreciated that the communication device, in order to achieve the above-described functions, comprises corresponding hardware structures and/or software modules performing the respective functions. Those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware or combinations of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is implemented as hardware or computer software driven hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

The embodiment of the application can divide the functional modules of the communication device according to the embodiment of the method, for example, each functional module can be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated in one processing module. The integrated modules may be implemented in hardware or in software functional modules. It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the division of the modules is schematic, which is merely a logic function division, and other division manners may be implemented in actual implementation.

In a first implementation scenario, taking the communication device as an example of the user plane network element in the above method embodiment, fig. 15 shows a schematic structural diagram of a user plane network element 150. The user plane network element 150 includes a processing module 1501 and a transceiver module 1502.

In some embodiments, the user plane network element 150 may further include a storage module (not shown in fig. 15) for storing program instructions and data.

In some embodiments, the transceiver module 1502, which may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, is configured to implement a transmitting and/or receiving function. The transceiver module 1502 may be formed by a transceiver circuit, transceiver or communication interface.

In some embodiments, the transceiver module 1502 may include a receiving module and a transmitting module for performing the steps of receiving and transmitting classes performed by the user plane network element in the above-described method embodiments, and/or for supporting other processes of the techniques described herein, respectively, and the processing module 1501 may be configured to perform the steps of processing classes (e.g., determining, generating, etc.) performed by the user plane network element in the above-described method embodiments, and/or for supporting other processes of the techniques described herein.

An exemplary processing module 1501 is configured to obtain a first data packet, the processing module 1501 is further configured to determine that a synchronization requirement exists between the first data packet and a second data packet according to the first data packet, the processing module 1501 is further configured to determine a quality of service flow corresponding to the first data packet, wherein a quality of service of the quality of service flow meets the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and the transceiver module 1502 is configured to send the first data packet to a network device according to the quality of service of the quality of service flow.

In a possible implementation, the processing module 1501 is further configured to determine that the first data packet and the second data packet have a synchronization requirement according to the first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the first data packet and the second data packet have the synchronization requirement, and the processing module 1501 is further configured to determine that the first data packet and the second data packet have the synchronization requirement when a time difference between arrival of the first data packet and the second data packet at the user plane network element is less than or equal to a first preset threshold.

In one possible implementation, the first indication information is further used to indicate synchronization delay information of the first data packet, or the processing module 1501 is further used to determine the synchronization delay information of the first data packet according to a time difference between arrival of the first data packet and arrival of the second data packet at the user plane network element.

In a possible implementation, the processing module 1501 is further configured to determine a quality of service flow according to the synchronization delay information.

In a possible implementation, the processing module 1501 is further configured to determine the quality of service flow based on the synchronization delay information and one or more of a source internet protocol address, a destination internet protocol address, a source port number, a destination port number, or a transport layer protocol number.

In a possible implementation, the processing module 1501 is further configured to determine that the third data packet and the second data packet have a synchronization requirement when the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, and the transceiver module 1502 is further configured to send the third data packet to the network device according to the quality of service of the quality of service flow.

In a possible implementation, the processing module 1501 is further configured to determine that the synchronization delay information of the third data packet is the same as the synchronization delay information of the first data packet when the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, and the transceiver module 1502 is further configured to send the third data packet to the network device according to the quality of service of the quality of service flow.

The system further includes a processing module 1501 configured to obtain a first data packet, the processing module 1501 further configured to determine, according to the first data packet, that there is a synchronization requirement for the first data packet and a second data packet, and a transceiver module 1502 configured to send the first data packet and second indication information to a network device, where the second indication information is configured to indicate that there is a synchronization requirement for the first data packet and the second data packet.

In a possible implementation, the processing module 1501 is further configured to determine the second indication information according to the first indication information, and the processing module 1501 is further configured to determine the second indication information according to a time difference between arrival of the first data packet and arrival of the second data packet at the user plane network element.

In a possible implementation, the processing module 1501 is further configured to determine that the third data packet and the second data packet have a synchronization requirement when the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, and the transceiver module 1502 is further configured to send the third data packet to the network device.

In a possible implementation, the processing module 1501 is further configured to determine that the synchronization delay information of the third data packet is the same as the synchronization delay information of the first data packet when the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, and the transceiver module 1502 is further configured to send the third data packet to the network device.

In the present application, the user plane network element 150 is presented in the form of dividing the respective functional modules in an integrated manner. A "module" herein may refer to an ASIC, an electronic circuit, a processor and memory that execute one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and/or other device that can provide the described functionality.

In some embodiments, the user plane network element 150 may take the form of the communication device 70 shown in fig. 7 as will occur to those of skill in the art in a hardware implementation.

As an example, the functions/implementation of the processing module 1501 in fig. 15 may be implemented by the processor 701 in the communication device 70 shown in fig. 7 calling computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 707. The functions/implementations of the transceiver module 1502 in fig. 15 may be implemented by the communication interface 704 in the communication device 70 shown in fig. 7.

In some embodiments, when the user plane network element 150 in fig. 15 is a chip or a chip system, the functions/implementation of the transceiver module 1502 may be implemented through an input/output interface (or a communication interface) of the chip or the chip system, and the functions/implementation of the processing module 1501 may be implemented through a processor (or a processing circuit) of the chip or the chip system.

Since the ue 150 in this embodiment can execute the above method, the technical effects obtained by the method can be referred to the above method embodiment, and will not be described herein.

In a second implementation scenario, taking the communication apparatus as an example of the network device in the above method embodiment, fig. 16 shows a schematic structural diagram of a network device 160. The network device 160 includes a processing module 1601 and a transceiver module 1602.

In some embodiments, the network device 160 may also include a memory module (not shown in FIG. 16) for storing program instructions and data.

In some embodiments, transceiver module 1602, which may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, is configured to perform transmit and/or receive functions. The transceiver module 1602 may be formed by a transceiver circuit, transceiver, or communication interface.

In some embodiments, transceiver module 1602 may include a receive module and a transmit module for performing steps of receiving and transmitting classes performed by the network device in the above-described method embodiments, respectively, and/or for supporting other processes of the techniques described herein, and a processing module 1601 may be used for performing steps of processing classes (e.g., determining, generating, etc.) performed by the network device in the above-described method embodiments, and/or for supporting other processes of the techniques described herein.

An exemplary transceiver module 1602 is configured to receive a first data packet and second indication information from a user plane function network element, where the second indication information is configured to indicate that a synchronization requirement exists between the first data packet and the second data packet, a processing module 1601 is configured to determine a first LCH/first DRB corresponding to the first data packet according to the second indication information, where the first LCH/first DRB meets the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and the transceiver module 1602 is further configured to send the first data packet to a terminal device according to the first LCH/first DRB.

In a possible implementation, the processing module 1601 is further configured to determine, when the second indication information is an index of the synchronization delay information, the synchronization delay information according to a first mapping relationship, and the processing module 1601 is further configured to determine, according to the synchronization delay information, a first LCH/first DRB, where the first mapping relationship includes the synchronization delay information and the index of the synchronization delay information.

In a possible implementation, the first mapping relationship is predefined, or the transceiver module 1602 is further configured to receive the first mapping relationship from the session management network element.

In the present application, the network device 160 is presented in the form of dividing the respective functional modules in an integrated manner. A "module" herein may refer to an ASIC, an electronic circuit, a processor and memory that execute one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and/or other device that can provide the described functionality.

In some embodiments, the network device 160 may take the form of the communications apparatus 70 shown in fig. 7 as will occur to those of skill in the art in a hardware implementation.

As an example, the functions/implementation of the processing module 1601 in fig. 16 may be implemented by the processor 701 in the communication device 70 shown in fig. 7 calling computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 707. The functions/implementations of the transceiver module 1602 in fig. 16 may be implemented by the communication interface 704 in the communication device 70 shown in fig. 7.

In some embodiments, when the network device 160 in fig. 16 is a chip or a chip system, the functions/implementation of the transceiver module 1602 may be implemented by an input/output interface (or a communication interface) of the chip or the chip system, and the functions/implementation of the processing module 1601 may be implemented by a processor (or a processing circuit) of the chip or the chip system.

Since the network device 160 provided in this embodiment can perform the above method, the technical effects obtained by the method can be referred to the above method embodiment, and will not be described herein.

In a third implementation scenario, taking the communication device as an example of the terminal device in the above method embodiment, fig. 17 shows a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device 170. The terminal device 170 includes a processing module 1701 and a transceiver module 1702.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 170 may also include a memory module (not shown in fig. 17) for storing program instructions and data.

In some embodiments, the transceiver module 1702, which may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, is configured to implement transmit and/or receive functions. The transceiver module 1702 may be formed of a transceiver circuit, transceiver, or communication interface.

In some embodiments, the transceiver module 1702 may include a receiving module and a transmitting module, respectively, for performing the steps of receiving and transmitting the class performed by the terminal device in the above-described method embodiments and/or for supporting other processes of the techniques described herein, and the processing module 1701 may be configured to perform the steps of processing the class (e.g., determining, generating, etc.) performed by the terminal device in the above-described method embodiments and/or for supporting other processes of the techniques described herein.

The network device further includes a transceiver module 1702 configured to receive a third indication information from the network device, where the third indication information is used to indicate one or more delay budgets and a second LCH/second DRB corresponding to each delay budget, a processing module 1701 configured to determine, according to the third indication information, a second LCH/second DRB corresponding to a fourth data packet, where a synchronization requirement exists between the fourth data packet and the fifth data packet, and the transceiver module 1702 is further configured to send the fourth data packet to the network device according to the second LCH/second DRB.

In the present application, the terminal device 170 is presented in the form of dividing the respective functional modules in an integrated manner. A "module" herein may refer to an ASIC, an electronic circuit, a processor and memory that execute one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and/or other device that can provide the described functionality.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 170 may take the form of the communication apparatus 70 shown in fig. 7 as will occur to those of skill in the art in a hardware implementation.

As an example, the functions/implementation of the processing module 1701 in fig. 17 may be implemented by the processor 701 in the communications device 70 shown in fig. 7 invoking computer executable instructions stored in the memory 707. The functions/implementations of the transceiver module 1702 in fig. 17 may be implemented by the communication interface 704 in the communication device 70 shown in fig. 7.

In some embodiments, when the terminal device 170 in fig. 17 is a chip or a chip system, the functions/implementation of the transceiver module 1702 may be implemented through an input/output interface (or a communication interface) of the chip or the chip system, and the functions/implementation of the processing module 1701 may be implemented through a processor (or a processing circuit) of the chip or the chip system.

Since the terminal device 170 provided in this embodiment can perform the above method, the technical effects obtained by the method can be referred to the above method embodiment, and will not be described herein.

As one possible product form, the data network device, user plane network element, terminal device, or network device of the embodiments of the present application may also be implemented using one or more field programmable gate arrays (field programmable GATE ARRAY, FPGAs), programmable logic devices (programmable logic device, PLDs), controllers, state machines, gate logic, discrete hardware components, any other suitable circuit, or any combination of circuits capable of performing the various functions described throughout this application.

As another possible product form, the data network device, the user plane network element, the terminal device or the network device according to the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by a general bus architecture. For convenience of explanation, referring to fig. 18, fig. 18 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 180 according to an embodiment of the present application, where the communication device 180 includes a processor 1801 and a transceiver 1802. The communication means 180 may be a data network device or a chip or a module therein, the communication means 180 may be a user plane network element or a chip or a module therein, the communication means 180 may be a terminal device or a chip or a module therein, or the communication means 180 may be a network device or a chip or a module therein. Fig. 8 shows only the main components of the communication device 180. The communication device may further include a memory 1803 in addition to the processor 1801 and transceiver 1802.

Optionally, the processor 1801 is mainly configured to process the communication protocol and the communication data, and control the entire communication device, execute a software program, and process the data of the software program. The memory 1803 is mainly used for storing software programs and data. The transceiver 1802 may include radio frequency circuitry for primarily converting baseband signals to radio frequency signals and processing the radio frequency signals, and antennas. The antenna is mainly used for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves.

In the alternative, processor 1801, transceiver 1802, and memory 1803 may be coupled via a communication bus.

When the communication device is powered on, the processor 1801 may read the software program in the memory 1803, interpret and execute instructions of the software program, and process data of the software program. When data needs to be transmitted wirelessly, the processor 1801 performs baseband processing on the data to be transmitted, and outputs a baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit, and the radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signal and then transmits the radio frequency signal outwards in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is transmitted to the communication device, the radio frequency circuit receives a radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 1801, and the processor 1801 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

In another implementation, the radio frequency circuitry and antenna may be provided separately from the processor performing the baseband processing, e.g., in a distributed scenario, the radio frequency circuitry and antenna may be in a remote arrangement from the communication device.

In some embodiments, the embodiments of the present application further provide a communication device, where the communication device includes a processor, and the processor is configured to implement the method in any of the method embodiments described above. The communication device may be a data network device, a user plane network element, a terminal device or a network device in the above method embodiment.

As a possible implementation, the communication device further comprises a memory. The memory is used for storing necessary computer programs and data. The computer program may comprise instructions which the processor may invoke the instructions in the computer program stored in the memory to instruct the communication device to perform the method in any of the method embodiments described above. Of course, the memory may not be in the communication device.

As another possible implementation, the communication apparatus further includes an interface circuit, which is a code/data read/write interface circuit, for receiving computer-executable instructions (the computer-executable instructions are stored in a memory, may be read directly from the memory, or may be transmitted to the processor via other devices).

As a further possible implementation, the communication device further comprises a communication interface for communicating with a module outside the communication device.

It will be appreciated that the communication device may be a chip or a chip system, and when the communication device is a chip system, the communication device may be formed by a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete devices, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

The application also provides a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program or instructions which when executed by a computer, performs the functions of any of the method embodiments described above.

The application also provides a computer program product which, when executed by a computer, implements the functions of any of the method embodiments described above.

Those skilled in the art will understand that, for convenience and brevity, the specific working process of the system, apparatus and unit described above may refer to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiment, which is not described herein again.

It will be appreciated that the systems, apparatus and methods described herein may be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative, e.g., the division of the units is merely a logical function division, and there may be additional divisions when actually implemented, e.g., multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted or not performed. Alternatively, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed with each other may be an indirect coupling or communication connection via some interfaces, devices or units, which may be in electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, i.e. may be located in one place, or may be distributed over a plurality of network elements. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integrated in one unit.

In the above embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, it may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or a portion of the flow (or functionality) described in embodiments of the application is implemented. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable apparatus. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (digital subscriber line, DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device including one or more servers, data centers, etc. that can be integrated with the medium. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., solid State Disk (SSD)), etc. In an embodiment of the present application, the computer may include the apparatus described above.

Although the application is described herein in connection with various embodiments, other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed application, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

Although the application has been described in connection with specific features and embodiments thereof, it will be apparent that various modifications and combinations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are merely exemplary illustrations of the present application as defined in the appended claims and are considered to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents that fall within the scope of the application. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the present application without departing from the spirit or scope of the application. Thus, it is intended that the present application also include such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

Acquiring a first data packet;

Determining that the first data packet and the second data packet have synchronous requirements according to the first data packet;

Determining a service quality flow corresponding to the first data packet, wherein the service quality of the service quality flow meets the synchronous requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet;

And sending the first data packet to network equipment according to the service quality of the service quality flow.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that there is a synchronization requirement for the first data packet and the second data packet based on the first data packet comprises:

The first data packet comprises first indication information, and the first data packet and the second data packet are determined to have synchronous requirements according to the first indication information, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating that the first data packet and the second data packet have synchronous requirements, or

And when the time difference value of the first data packet and the second data packet reaching the user plane network element is smaller than or equal to a first preset threshold value, determining that the first data packet and the second data packet have synchronous requirements.

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that,

The first indication information is also used for indicating the synchronous delay information of the first data packet or

And determining the synchronous delay information of the first data packet according to the time difference value of the first data packet and the second data packet reaching the user plane network element.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of,

And determining the service quality stream according to the synchronous delay information.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein,

And determining the service quality stream according to the synchronous delay information and one or more of a source internet protocol address, a target internet protocol address, a source port number, a target port number or a transport layer protocol number.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, further comprising:

When a third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, determining that the third data packet and the second data packet have synchronous requirements;

and sending the third data packet to the network equipment according to the service quality of the service quality flow.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, further comprising:

When the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, determining that the synchronous delay information of the third data packet is the same as the synchronous delay information of the first data packet;

8. A method of communication, comprising:

Acquiring a first data packet;

And sending the first data packet and second indicating information to network equipment, wherein the second indicating information is used for indicating that the first data packet and the second data packet have synchronous requirements.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said determining that there is a synchronization requirement for the first data packet and the second data packet comprises:

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein,

And determining the synchronous delay information according to the time difference value of the first data packet and the second data packet reaching the user plane network element.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein,

Determining the second indication information according to the first indication information, or

And determining the second indication information according to the time difference value of the first data packet and the second data packet reaching the user plane network element.

12. The method according to any one of claims 8-11, further comprising:

The second indication information is also used for indicating synchronous delay information.

13. The method according to any one of claims 8-12, further comprising:

and sending the third data packet to the network equipment.

14. The method according to any one of claims 8-13, further comprising:

and sending the third data packet to the network equipment.

15. A communication device, comprising:

The processing module is used for acquiring a first data packet;

the processing module is further configured to determine, according to the first data packet, that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet;

the processing module is further configured to determine a quality of service flow corresponding to the first data packet, where quality of service of the quality of service flow meets a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet;

And the receiving and transmitting module is used for transmitting the first data packet to network equipment according to the service quality of the service quality flow.

16. A communication device, comprising:

The processing module is used for acquiring a first data packet;

And the receiving and transmitting module is used for transmitting the first data packet and the second indication information to the network equipment, wherein the second indication information is used for indicating that the first data packet and the second data packet have synchronous requirements.

17. A communication device comprising a processor for executing a computer program or instructions or for causing the communication device to perform the communication method as claimed in any one of claims 1-7 or causing the communication device to perform the communication method as claimed in any one of claims 8-14 by logic circuitry.

18. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that the computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions or a program, which, when run on a computer, cause the communication apparatus to perform the communication method according to any one of claims 1-7 or cause the communication apparatus to perform the communication method according to any one of claims 8-14.

19. A computer program product comprising computer instructions which, when executed, cause a communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 or cause a communication method according to any one of claims 8 to 14 to be performed.

20. A communication system comprising a user plane network element, wherein the user plane network element is configured to perform a communication method according to any of claims 1-7, and wherein the user plane network element is configured to perform a communication method according to any of claims 8-14.