CN108307516B

CN108307516B - Data transmission method and related equipment

Info

Publication number: CN108307516B
Application number: CN201610875272.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 韩锋; 李宏; 谭巍
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2016-09-30
Filing date: 2016-09-30
Publication date: 2021-08-13
Anticipated expiration: 2036-09-30
Also published as: WO2018059313A1; CN108307516A

Abstract

The invention discloses a data transmission method and related equipment, wherein the method comprises the following steps: the sending end equipment generates a data packet, wherein the data packet comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating the PDU session corresponding to the data packet. And the sending end equipment sends the data packet to receiving end equipment, and the receiving end equipment determines the PDU session corresponding to the data packet according to the first indication information. By adopting the invention, the receiving terminal equipment can accurately identify which PDU session the data packet corresponds to.

Description

Data transmission method and related equipment

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a data transmission method and related devices.

Background

In a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, a plurality of Packet Data Network (PDN) connections may be established between a User Equipment (UE) and a Data Network. A packet Data Gateway (PGW) may establish an exclusive Data Radio Bearer (DRB) for each PDN connection. Different PDN connections are distinguished based on different DRBs. Also, if multiple traffic streams are included in the same PDN connection, the traffic streams with different Quality of Service (QoS) also need to be distinguished based on different DRBs. For example, please refer to fig. 1, which is a diagram illustrating a mapping between a data packet and a DRB in the prior art. In fig. 1, the UE establishes two PDN connections, PDN connection 1 and PDN connection 2. The data network corresponding to the PDN connection 1 is the PDN network 1, and the data network corresponding to the PDN connection 2 is the PDN network 2. The PDN connection 1 includes 2 service data flows, which are a service data flow 1 and a service data flow 2. The PDN connection 2 also comprises 2 traffic data flows, traffic data flow 3 and traffic data flow 4, respectively. The QoS of the service data flow 1 is the same as that of the service data flow 3, and the QoS of the service data flow 2 is the same as that of the service data flow 4. PGW1 maps traffic data stream 1 and traffic data stream 2 to DRB1 and DRB2, respectively, and PGW2 maps traffic data stream 3 and traffic data stream 4 to DRB3 and DRB4, respectively.

When the UE sends a data packet in a traffic data flow 1 in the PDN connection 1 to an evolved Node B (eNB), the DRB1 is used to transmit the data packet. And the eNB determines that the data packet corresponds to the PDN connection 1 according to the DRB1, and further sends the data packet to the PGW 1. The PGW1 determines that the packet corresponds to the PDN connection 1 according to the DRB1, and further sends the packet to the PDN network 1.

As can be seen from the above, in the LTE system, the data packet is identified between the UE and the core network by the DRB used for transmitting the data packet. In the fifth Generation (5G) wireless communication network, a concept of a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session is introduced, where the PDU session refers to a connection established between a terminal device and a Data network. When a UE establishes multiple PDU sessions simultaneously, how to accurately identify which PDU session a data packet corresponds to in the data transmission process is a technical problem that is currently under discussion.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a data transmission method and related equipment, and receiving end equipment can accurately identify which PDU session a data packet corresponds to.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a data transmission method. The method comprises the following steps: the sending end equipment generates a data packet, wherein the data packet comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating a PDU session corresponding to the data packet. And the sending end equipment sends the data packet to the receiving end equipment. By carrying the first indication information in the data packet, the receiving end device can accurately identify the PDU session corresponding to the data packet according to the first indication information. Therefore, data packets of different PDU sessions can be distinguished without independent DRBs, the number of DRBs can be saved, and the overhead of control signaling is reduced.

With reference to the first aspect, in a first implementation manner of the first aspect, the data packet further includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate a network slice corresponding to the data packet. By carrying the second indication information in the data packet, the receiving end device can accurately identify which PDU session in which network slice the data packet corresponds to in combination with the first indication information and the second indication information. Therefore, data packets of different PDU sessions in different network slices can be distinguished without independent DRBs, the number of DRBs can be saved, and the overhead of control signaling is reduced.

With reference to the first aspect, in a second implementation manner of the first aspect, the first indication information is further used to indicate a network slice corresponding to the data packet. The first indication information can simultaneously indicate which PDU session in which network slice the data packet corresponds to, so that the number of bytes carried in the data packet in the transmission process can be reduced, and the transmission overhead is reduced.

With reference to the first aspect, or the first implementation manner of the first aspect, or the second implementation manner of the first aspect, in a third implementation manner of the first aspect, the data packet further includes third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate a Quality of Service (QoS) parameter of a Service data stream to which the data packet belongs. By carrying the third indication information in the data packet, the receiving end device can accurately identify the QoS parameter of the service data stream to which the data packet belongs according to the third indication information, thereby performing a corresponding scheduling decision on the data packet. And data transmission of data packets with the same QoS parameters based on the same DRB can be realized without considering which PDU session or even which network slice the data packet corresponds to, the number of DRBs can be saved, and further the overhead of control signaling is reduced.

With reference to the first aspect, or the first implementation manner of the first aspect, or the second implementation manner of the first aspect, in a fourth implementation manner of the first aspect, the first indication information is further used to indicate a QoS parameter of a service data flow to which the data packet belongs. The first indication information can simultaneously indicate the PDU session corresponding to the data packet and the QoS parameter of the service data stream to which the data packet belongs, so that the number of bytes carried in the data packet in the transmission process can be reduced, and the transmission overhead is reduced.

With reference to the first aspect, or any one of the first to third implementation manners of the first aspect, in a fifth implementation manner of the first aspect, the first indication information includes an identifier of a PDU session, where the identifier of the PDU session is allocated by the core network control plane device for the PDU session and is used to identify the PDU session. Additional mapping can be saved by following the identification of PDU sessions in the control plane in the user plane.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the first to third implementation manners of the first aspect, in a sixth implementation manner of the first aspect, the first indication information includes an indicator of a PDU session, where the indicator of the PDU session is allocated for the PDU session by the radio access network device or the core network control plane device and is used to identify the PDU session in a user plane. A procedure in which the transmitting-end device acquires an indicator of a PDU session before generating a data packet is described. And the sending end equipment acquires the indicator of the PDU session corresponding to the identification of the PDU session from the first mapping table. The first mapping table comprises a corresponding relation between a PDU session identifier set and a PDU session indicator set, the PDU session identifier is allocated for the PDU session by the core network control plane device and is used for identifying the PDU session on the control plane, and the byte length of the PDU session indicator is smaller than that of the PDU session identifier. By carrying the indicator of the PDU session in the data packet instead of the identification of the PDU session, the byte length of transmission can be reduced, thereby saving transmission overhead.

With reference to the sixth implementation manner of the first aspect, in a seventh implementation manner of the first aspect, if the sending end device is a terminal device and the receiving end device is a radio access network device, the terminal device receives the first mapping table sent by the radio access network device before acquiring, from the first mapping table, the indicator of the PDU session corresponding to the identifier of the PDU session.

With reference to the seventh implementation manner of the first aspect, in an eighth implementation manner of the first aspect, a description is given of a process in which the terminal device receives the first mapping table sent by the radio access network device. The terminal device receives a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection reconfiguration message sent by the Radio access network device, wherein the RRC connection reconfiguration message comprises a first mapping table.

With reference to the first implementation manner of the first aspect, in a ninth implementation manner of the first aspect, the second indication information includes an identifier of a network slice, where the identifier of the network slice is allocated by the core network control plane device for the network slice and is used to identify the network slice. Additional mapping relationships may be saved by following the identification of network slices in the control plane at the user plane.

With reference to the first implementation manner of the first aspect, in a tenth implementation manner of the first aspect, the second indication information includes an indicator of a network slice, where the indicator of the network slice is allocated for the network slice by the radio access network device or the core network control plane device and is used to identify the network slice in a user plane. A process of acquiring an indicator of a network slice before a transmitting-end device generates a data packet is described. The sending end device obtains the indicator of the network slice corresponding to the identifier of the network slice from a second mapping table, the second mapping table includes a corresponding relationship between the identifier set of the network slice and the indicator set of the network slice, the identifier of the network slice is allocated for the network slice by the core network control plane device and is used for identifying the network slice at the control plane, and the byte length of the indicator of the network slice is smaller than the byte length of the identifier of the network slice. By carrying the indicator of the network slice in the data packet instead of the identification of the network slice, the byte length of transmission can be reduced, thereby saving transmission overhead.

With reference to the tenth implementation manner of the first aspect, in an eleventh implementation manner of the first aspect, if the sending end device is a terminal device and the receiving end device is a radio access network device, the terminal device receives the second mapping table sent by the radio access network device before acquiring, from the second mapping table, the indicator of the network slice corresponding to the identifier of the network slice.

With reference to the eleventh implementation manner of the first aspect, in a twelfth implementation manner of the first aspect, a description is given of a procedure in which the terminal device receives the second mapping table sent by the radio access network device. And the terminal equipment receives the RRC connection reconfiguration message sent by the radio access network equipment, wherein the RRC connection reconfiguration message comprises a second mapping table.

With reference to the fourth implementation manner of the first aspect, in a thirteenth implementation manner of the first aspect, the first indication information includes an identifier of a QoS parameter of a service data flow to which the data packet belongs, and the identifier of the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs is allocated by the core network control plane device for the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs.

With reference to the second implementation manner of the first aspect, in a fourteenth implementation manner of the first aspect, the first indication information includes a first indicator, where the first indicator is allocated by the radio access network device or the core network control plane device for network slicing and PDU session and is used to identify the network slicing and PDU session on the user plane. The indicator can simultaneously indicate which PDU session in which network slice the data packet corresponds to, so that the number of bytes carried in the data packet in the transmission process can be reduced, and the transmission overhead is reduced.

With reference to the fourteenth implementation manner of the first aspect, in a fifteenth implementation manner of the first aspect, the first indicator allocated by the radio access network device is the same as or different from the first indicator allocated by the core network control plane device.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a data transmission method. The method comprises the following steps: the receiving end equipment receives a data packet sent by the sending end equipment, wherein the data packet comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating a PDU session corresponding to the data packet. And the receiving terminal equipment determines the PDU session corresponding to the data packet according to the first indication information. By carrying the first indication information in the data packet, the receiving end device can accurately identify the PDU session corresponding to the data packet according to the first indication information. Therefore, data packets of different PDU sessions can be distinguished without independent DRBs, the number of DRBs can be saved, and the overhead of control signaling is reduced.

With reference to the second aspect, in a first implementation manner of the second aspect, the data packet further includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate a network slice corresponding to the data packet. By carrying the second indication information in the data packet, the receiving end device can accurately identify which PDU session in which network slice the data packet corresponds to in combination with the first indication information and the second indication information. Therefore, data packets of different PDU sessions in different network slices can be distinguished without independent DRBs, the number of DRBs can be saved, and the overhead of control signaling is reduced.

With reference to the second aspect, in a second implementation manner of the second aspect, the first indication information is further used to indicate a network slice corresponding to the data packet. The first indication information can simultaneously indicate which PDU session in which network slice the data packet corresponds to, so that the number of bytes carried in the data packet in the transmission process can be reduced, and the transmission overhead is reduced.

With reference to the second aspect, or the first implementation manner of the second aspect, or the second implementation manner of the second aspect, in a third implementation manner of the second aspect, the data packet further includes third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate a QoS parameter of a service data flow to which the data packet belongs. By carrying the third indication information in the data packet, the receiving end device can accurately identify the QoS parameter of the service data stream to which the data packet belongs according to the third indication information, thereby performing a corresponding scheduling decision on the data packet. And data transmission of data packets with the same QoS parameters based on the same DRB can be realized without considering which PDU session or even which network slice the data packet corresponds to, the number of DRBs can be saved, and further the overhead of control signaling is reduced.

With reference to the second aspect, or the first implementation manner of the second aspect, or the second implementation manner of the second aspect, in a fourth implementation manner of the second aspect, the first indication information is further used to indicate a QoS parameter of a service data flow to which the data packet belongs. The first indication information can simultaneously indicate the PDU session corresponding to the data packet and the QoS parameter of the service data stream to which the data packet belongs, so that the number of bytes carried in the data packet in the transmission process can be reduced, and the transmission overhead is reduced.

With reference to the second aspect, or any one of the first to third implementation manners of the second aspect, in a fifth implementation manner of the second aspect, the first indication information includes an identifier of a PDU session, where the identifier of the PDU session is allocated by the core network control plane device for the PDU session and is used to identify the PDU session. Additional mapping can be saved by following the identification of PDU sessions in the control plane in the user plane.

With reference to the second aspect, or any one of the first to third implementation manners of the second aspect, in a sixth implementation manner of the second aspect, the first indication information includes an indicator of a PDU session corresponding to the identification of the PDU session, where the indicator of the PDU session is allocated for the PDU session by the radio access network device or the core network control plane device and is used for identifying the PDU session in a user plane. The identification of the PDU session is allocated by the core network control plane device for the PDU session and used to identify the PDU session at the control plane, the indicator of the PDU session having a byte length smaller than the byte length of the identification of the PDU session. By carrying the indicator of the PDU session in the data packet instead of the identification of the PDU session, the byte length of transmission can be reduced, thereby saving transmission overhead.

With reference to the sixth implementation manner of the second aspect, in a seventh implementation manner of the second aspect, if the sending end device is a terminal device and the receiving end device is a radio access network device, the radio access network device sends the first mapping table to the terminal device before receiving the data packet sent by the terminal device.

With reference to the seventh implementation manner of the second aspect, in an eighth implementation manner of the second aspect, a process of sending, by the radio access network device, the first mapping table to the terminal device is described. And the radio access network equipment sends an RRC connection reconfiguration message to the terminal equipment, wherein the RRC connection reconfiguration message comprises a first mapping table.

With reference to the first implementation manner of the second aspect, in a ninth implementation manner of the second aspect, the second indication information includes an identifier of a network slice, where the identifier of the network slice is allocated by the core network control plane device for the network slice and is used to identify the network slice. Additional mapping relationships may be saved by following the identification of network slices in the control plane at the user plane.

With reference to the first implementation manner of the second aspect, in a tenth implementation manner of the second aspect, the second indication information includes an indicator of a network slice that identifies the corresponding network slice, where the indicator of the network slice is allocated by the radio access network device or the core network control plane device for the network slice and is used to identify the network slice in the user plane. The identification of the network slice is allocated by the core network control plane device for the network slice and is used to identify the network slice at the control plane, the indicator of the network slice having a byte length that is less than the byte length of the identification of the network slice. By carrying the indicator of the network slice in the data packet instead of the identification of the network slice, the byte length of transmission can be reduced, thereby saving transmission overhead.

With reference to the tenth implementation manner of the second aspect, in an eleventh implementation manner of the second aspect, if the receiving end device is a terminal device and the receiving end device is a radio access network device, before the radio access network device receives a data packet sent by the terminal device, the radio access network device sends the second mapping table to the terminal device.

With reference to the eleventh implementation manner of the second aspect, in a twelfth implementation manner of the second aspect, a procedure of sending, by the radio access network device, the second mapping table to the terminal device is described. And the radio access network equipment sends an RRC connection reconfiguration message to the terminal equipment, wherein the RRC connection reconfiguration message comprises a second mapping table.

With reference to the fourth implementation manner of the second aspect, in a thirteenth implementation manner of the second aspect, the first indication information includes an identifier of a QoS parameter of a service data flow to which the data packet belongs, and the identifier of the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs is allocated by the core network control plane device for the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs.

With reference to the second implementation manner of the second aspect, in a fourteenth implementation manner of the second aspect, the first indication information includes a first indicator, and the first indicator is allocated by the radio access network device or the core network control plane device for network slicing and PDU session and is used to identify the network slicing and PDU session in a user plane. The indicator can simultaneously indicate which PDU session in which network slice the data packet corresponds to, so that the number of bytes carried in the data packet in the transmission process can be reduced, and the transmission overhead is reduced.

With reference to the fourteenth implementation manner of the second aspect, in a fifteenth implementation manner of the second aspect, the first indicator allocated by the radio access network device is the same as or different from the first indicator allocated by the core network control plane device.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a sending-end device, which includes a processor, a memory, and a transceiver. Wherein, the memory is used for storing instructions, and the processor is used for calling the instructions stored in the memory to execute the following operations: and generating a data packet, wherein the data packet comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating the PDU session corresponding to the data packet. And transmitting the data packet to the receiving end equipment through the transceiver. By carrying the first indication information in the data packet, the receiving end device can accurately identify the PDU session corresponding to the data packet according to the first indication information. Therefore, data packets of different PDU sessions can be distinguished without independent DRBs, the number of DRBs can be saved, and the overhead of control signaling is reduced.

With reference to the third aspect, in a first implementation manner of the third aspect, the data packet further includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate a network slice corresponding to the data packet. By carrying the second indication information in the data packet, the receiving end device can accurately identify which PDU session in which network slice the data packet corresponds to in combination with the first indication information and the second indication information. Therefore, data packets of different PDU sessions in different network slices can be distinguished without independent DRBs, the number of DRBs can be saved, and the overhead of control signaling is reduced.

With reference to the third aspect, in a second implementation manner of the third aspect, the first indication information is further used to indicate a network slice corresponding to the data packet. The first indication information can simultaneously indicate which PDU session in which network slice the data packet corresponds to, so that the number of bytes carried in the data packet in the transmission process can be reduced, and the transmission overhead is reduced.

With reference to the third aspect, or the first implementation manner of the third aspect, or the second implementation manner of the third aspect, in a third implementation manner of the third aspect, the data packet further includes third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate a QoS parameter of a service data flow to which the data packet belongs. By carrying the third indication information in the data packet, the receiving end device can accurately identify the QoS parameter of the service data stream to which the data packet belongs according to the third indication information, thereby performing a corresponding scheduling decision on the data packet. And data transmission of data packets with the same QoS parameters based on the same DRB can be realized without considering which PDU session or even which network slice the data packet corresponds to, the number of DRBs can be saved, and further the overhead of control signaling is reduced.

With reference to the third aspect, or the first implementation manner of the third aspect, or the second implementation manner of the third aspect, in a fourth implementation manner of the third aspect, the first indication information is further used to indicate a QoS parameter of a service data flow to which the data packet belongs. The first indication information can simultaneously indicate the PDU session corresponding to the data packet and the QoS parameter of the service data stream to which the data packet belongs, so that the number of bytes carried in the data packet in the transmission process can be reduced, and the transmission overhead is reduced.

With reference to the third aspect, or any one of the first to third implementation manners of the third aspect, in a fifth implementation manner of the third aspect, the first indication information includes an identifier of a PDU session, where the identifier of the PDU session is allocated by the core network control plane device for the PDU session and is used to identify the PDU session. Additional mapping can be saved by following the identification of PDU sessions in the control plane in the user plane.

With reference to the third aspect, or any one of the first to third implementation manners of the third aspect, in a sixth implementation manner of the third aspect, the first indication information includes an indicator of a PDU session, where the indicator of the PDU session is allocated for the PDU session by the radio access network device or the core network control plane device and is used to identify the PDU session in a user plane. A process by which a processor obtains an indicator of a PDU session before generating a data packet is described. The processor obtains the indicator of the PDU conversation corresponding to the identification of the PDU conversation from the first mapping table. The first mapping table comprises a corresponding relation between a PDU session identifier set and a PDU session indicator set, the PDU session identifier is allocated for the PDU session by the core network control plane device and is used for identifying the PDU session on the control plane, and the byte length of the PDU session indicator is smaller than that of the PDU session identifier. By carrying the indicator of the PDU session in the data packet instead of the identification of the PDU session, the byte length of transmission can be reduced, thereby saving transmission overhead.

With reference to the sixth implementation manner of the third aspect, in a seventh implementation manner of the third aspect, if the sending end device is a terminal device and the receiving end device is a radio access network device, the transceiver receives the first mapping table sent by the radio access network device before the processor obtains the indicator of the PDU session corresponding to the identifier of the PDU session from the first mapping table.

With reference to the seventh implementation manner of the third aspect, in an eighth implementation manner of the third aspect, a description is given of a process in which the processor receives, through the transceiver, the first mapping table sent by the radio access network device. The processor receives an RRC connection reconfiguration message sent by the radio access network equipment through the transceiver, wherein the RRC connection reconfiguration message comprises a first mapping table.

With reference to the first implementation manner of the third aspect, in a ninth implementation manner of the third aspect, the second indication information includes an identifier of the network slice, where the identifier of the network slice is allocated by the core network control plane device for the network slice and is used to identify the network slice. Additional mapping relationships may be saved by following the identification of network slices in the control plane at the user plane.

With reference to the first implementation manner of the third aspect, in a tenth implementation manner of the third aspect, the second indication information includes an indicator of a network slice, where the indicator of the network slice is allocated for the network slice by the radio access network device or the core network control plane device and is used to identify the network slice in a user plane. The process of obtaining an indicator of a network slice before a processor generates a data packet is described. The processor obtains an indicator of a network slice corresponding to the identifier of the network slice from a second mapping table, where the second mapping table includes a correspondence between the identifier set of the network slice and the indicator set of the network slice, the identifier of the network slice is allocated by the core network control plane device for the network slice and is used for identifying the network slice at the control plane, and the byte length of the indicator of the network slice is smaller than the byte length of the identifier of the network slice. By carrying the indicator of the network slice in the data packet instead of the identification of the network slice, the byte length of transmission can be reduced, thereby saving transmission overhead.

With reference to the tenth implementation manner of the third aspect, in an eleventh implementation manner of the third aspect, if the sending end device is a terminal device and the receiving end device is a radio access network device, the processor receives, through the transceiver, the second mapping table sent by the radio access network device before acquiring, from the second mapping table, the indicator of the network slice corresponding to the identifier of the network slice.

With reference to the eleventh implementation manner of the third aspect, in a twelfth implementation manner of the third aspect, a description is given of a process in which the processor receives, through the transceiver, the second mapping table transmitted by the radio access network device. And the processor receives an RRC connection reconfiguration message sent by the radio access network equipment through the transceiver, wherein the RRC connection reconfiguration message comprises a second mapping table.

With reference to the fourth implementation manner of the third aspect, in a thirteenth implementation manner of the third aspect, the first indication information includes an identifier of a QoS parameter of a service data flow to which the data packet belongs, and the identifier of the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs is allocated by the core network control plane device for the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs.

With reference to the second implementation manner of the third aspect, in a fourteenth implementation manner of the third aspect, the first indication information includes a first indicator, where the first indicator is allocated by the radio access network device or the core network control plane device for network slicing and PDU session and is used to identify the network slicing and PDU session on the user plane. The indicator can simultaneously indicate which PDU session in which network slice the data packet corresponds to, so that the number of bytes carried in the data packet in the transmission process can be reduced, and the transmission overhead is reduced.

With reference to the fourteenth implementation manner of the third aspect, in a fifteenth implementation manner of the third aspect, the first indicator allocated by the radio access network device is the same as or different from the first indicator allocated by the core network control plane device.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a receiving end device. The receiving end device is a receiving end device and comprises a processor, a memory and a transceiver, wherein the memory is used for storing instructions, and the processor is used for calling the instructions stored in the memory to execute the following operations: the method comprises the steps that a data packet sent by sending end equipment is received through a transceiver, wherein the data packet comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating a PDU session corresponding to the data packet. And determining the PDU session corresponding to the data packet according to the first indication information. By carrying the first indication information in the data packet, the receiving end device can accurately identify the PDU session corresponding to the data packet according to the first indication information. Therefore, data packets of different PDU sessions can be distinguished without independent DRBs, the number of DRBs can be saved, and the overhead of control signaling is reduced.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in a first implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the data packet further includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate a network slice corresponding to the data packet. By carrying the second indication information in the data packet, the receiving end device can accurately identify which PDU session in which network slice the data packet corresponds to in combination with the first indication information and the second indication information. Therefore, data packets of different PDU sessions in different network slices can be distinguished without independent DRBs, the number of DRBs can be saved, and the overhead of control signaling is reduced.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in a second implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the first indication information is further used to indicate a network slice corresponding to the data packet. The first indication information can simultaneously indicate which PDU session in which network slice the data packet corresponds to, so that the number of bytes carried in the data packet in the transmission process can be reduced, and the transmission overhead is reduced.

With reference to the fourth aspect, or the first implementation manner of the fourth aspect, or the second implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in a third implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the data packet further includes third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate a QoS parameter of a service data flow to which the data packet belongs. By carrying the third indication information in the data packet, the receiving end device can accurately identify the QoS parameter of the service data stream to which the data packet belongs according to the third indication information, thereby performing a corresponding scheduling decision on the data packet. And data transmission of data packets with the same QoS parameters based on the same DRB can be realized without considering which PDU session or even which network slice the data packet corresponds to, the number of DRBs can be saved, and further the overhead of control signaling is reduced.

With reference to the fourth aspect, or the first implementation manner of the fourth aspect, or the second implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in a fourth implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the first indication information is further used to indicate a QoS parameter of a service data flow to which the data packet belongs. The first indication information can simultaneously indicate the PDU session corresponding to the data packet and the QoS parameter of the service data stream to which the data packet belongs, so that the number of bytes carried in the data packet in the transmission process can be reduced, and the transmission overhead is reduced.

With reference to the fourth aspect, or any one of the first to third implementation manners of the fourth aspect, in a fifth implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the first indication information includes an identifier of a PDU session, where the identifier of the PDU session is allocated by the core network control plane device for the PDU session and is used to identify the PDU session. Additional mapping can be saved by following the identification of PDU sessions in the control plane in the user plane.

With reference to the fourth aspect, or any one of the first to third implementation manners of the fourth aspect, in a sixth implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the first indication information includes an indicator that identifies a corresponding PDU session of the PDU session, where the indicator of the PDU session is allocated for the PDU session by the radio access network device or the core network control plane device and is used to identify the PDU session in a user plane. The identification of the PDU session is allocated by the core network control plane device for the PDU session and used to identify the PDU session at the control plane, the indicator of the PDU session having a byte length smaller than the byte length of the identification of the PDU session. By carrying the indicator of the PDU session in the data packet instead of the identification of the PDU session, the byte length of transmission can be reduced, thereby saving transmission overhead.

With reference to the sixth implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in a seventh implementation manner of the fourth aspect, if the sending end device is a terminal device and the receiving end device is a radio access network device, before the processor receives a data packet sent by the sending end device through the transceiver, the processor sends the first mapping table to the terminal device through the transceiver.

With reference to the seventh implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in an eighth implementation manner of the fourth aspect, a process of the processor sending the first mapping table to the terminal device through the transceiver is described. The processor sends an RRC connection reconfiguration message to the terminal equipment through the transceiver, wherein the RRC connection reconfiguration message comprises a first mapping table.

With reference to the first implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in a ninth implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the second indication information includes an identifier of a network slice, where the identifier of the network slice is allocated by the core network control plane device for the network slice and is used to identify the network slice. Additional mapping relationships may be saved by following the identification of network slices in the control plane at the user plane.

With reference to the first implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in a tenth implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the second indication information includes an indicator of a network slice that identifies the corresponding network slice, where the indicator of the network slice is allocated by the radio access network device or the core network control plane device for the network slice and is used to identify the network slice in the user plane. The identification of the network slice is allocated by the core network control plane device for the network slice and is used to identify the network slice at the control plane, the indicator of the network slice having a byte length that is less than the byte length of the identification of the network slice. By carrying the indicator of the network slice in the data packet instead of the identification of the network slice, the byte length of transmission can be reduced, thereby saving transmission overhead.

With reference to the tenth implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in an eleventh implementation manner of the fourth aspect, if the receiving end device is a terminal device and the receiving end device is a radio access network device, before the processor receives the data packet sent by the sending end device through the transceiver, the processor sends the second mapping table to the terminal device through the transceiver.

With reference to the eleventh implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in a twelfth implementation manner of the fourth aspect, a process of the processor sending the second mapping table to the terminal device through the transceiver is described. And the processor sends an RRC connection reconfiguration message to the terminal equipment through the transceiver, wherein the RRC connection reconfiguration message comprises a second mapping table.

With reference to the fourth implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in a thirteenth implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the first indication information includes an identifier of a QoS parameter of a service data flow to which the data packet belongs, and the identifier of the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs is allocated by the core network control plane device for the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs.

With reference to the second implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in a fourteenth implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the first indication information includes a first indicator, where the first indicator is allocated by the radio access network device or the core network control plane device for network slicing and PDU session and is used to identify the network slicing and PDU session on the user plane. The indicator can simultaneously indicate which PDU session in which network slice the data packet corresponds to, so that the number of bytes carried in the data packet in the transmission process can be reduced, and the transmission overhead is reduced.

With reference to the fourteenth implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in a fifteenth implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the first indicator allocated by the radio access network device is the same as or different from the first indicator allocated by the core network control plane device.

In a fifth aspect, the present invention provides a sending end device, where the sending end device includes a module or a unit configured to execute the data transmission method described in the first aspect or any implementation manner of the first aspect.

In a sixth aspect, the present invention provides a receiving end device, which includes a module or a unit for executing the data transmission method described in any one of the implementation manners of the second aspect or the second aspect.

In a seventh aspect, the present invention provides a communication system, including a sending end device and a receiving end device, where the sending end device is the sending end device described in the third aspect or the fifth aspect, and the receiving end device is the receiving end device described in the fourth aspect or the sixth aspect.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. The drawings in the following description are directed to merely some embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a prior art mapping of data packets to DRBs;

fig. 2 is a schematic architecture diagram of a network system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario to which an embodiment of the invention relates;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a mapping between a data packet and a DRB according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a signaling interaction diagram of a data transmission method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of peer-to-peer protocol layers between a terminal device and a radio access network device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating packet marking at a PDCP layer according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of packet marking in a protocol layer newly added above a PDCP layer below an IP layer according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic flowchart of a terminal device obtaining a first mapping table according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a schematic flowchart of acquiring, by a terminal device, a second mapping table according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 11 is a packet format of the NG3 interface according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a sending-end device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a receiving end device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of another sending-end device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of another receiving-end device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The terminology used in the description of the embodiments of the invention herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a network system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 2, the terminal device 21 may simultaneously access one or more network slices, and the present embodiment is described by taking an example that the terminal device 21 simultaneously accesses three network slices, namely a network slice 23, a network slice 24, and a network slice 25. The network slices are split in the core network and all network slices share radio access network devices, e.g., network slice 23, network slice 24, and network slice 25 share radio access network device 22. And all network slices share a common core network control plane device 26, the functions that the common core network control plane device 26 may provide include: mobility management, user authentication, etc. Each network slice has a respective core network user plane device and a core network control plane device, and the functions provided by the core network control plane device of each network slice may include: session management, etc. Here, the core network control plane device unique to each network slice itself may be a session management device for establishing a session for the terminal device 21. The core network control plane device in the network slice is connected to the common core network control plane device 26 through an interface, which may be a Next Generation (NG) 2 interface.

One or more core network user plane devices may be included in each network slice, and one or more core network control plane devices may be included. The core network control plane device in the network slice is connected to the core network user plane device through an interface, which may be an NG 4 interface.

The terminal device 21 can be regarded as the device capable of communicating data with the radio access network device, and the present invention will be described in terms of UE in a general sense. Further, terminal device 21 may also be referred to as a mobile station, an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, a user equipment, or the like. The terminal device 21 may be a cellular phone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a Mobile station in a future 5G Network, or a terminal device in a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) Network that is evolved in the future, and the like.

The Radio access network device 22 may be a Radio access network device in New Radio technology (NR), and its functions include but are not limited to: mobility management, call processing, link management, security encryption, header compression, scheduling, encoding, modulation, demodulation, retransmission, segmentation, aggregation, radio frequency, etc. functions for the terminal device 21. In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, the radio access network device 22 further has an uplink signal measurement function, which can measure an uplink signal sent by the terminal device 21, and determine whether to trigger the terminal device 21 to start downlink measurement based on a measured value of the uplink signal. In addition, Radio access network device 22 may take other names in a New wireless (NR) system, including but not limited to: base Station (English: Base Station, abbreviated as BS) or evolved Base Station, etc. The terminal device 21 and the radio access network device 22 communicate with each other over the air interface.

Radio access network device 22 communicates with core network user plane devices in the network slice over an interface, which may be an NG3 interface. Radio access network device 22 communicates with a common core network control plane device over an interface, which may be an NG2 interface.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 3, the radio access network device 32 is connected to a core network user plane device 33, a core network user plane device 34, and a core network user plane device 35, respectively. The core network user plane device 33 and the core network user plane device 34 are connected to the data network 36, respectively. The core network user plane device 35 is connected to a data network 37. Types of data networks include, but are not limited to: internet (english: Internet), IP Multimedia Subsystem (english: IMS). Data network 36 is a different data network than data network 37. For example, data network 36 is of the Internet type and data network 37 is of the IMS type.

The PDU session described in the embodiments of the present invention refers to: a PDU connection established between the terminal device and the data network. Types of PDU sessions include, but are not limited to: IP type, ethernet type and non-IP type.

The session established between the terminal device 31 and the data network 36 via the core network user plane device 33 is PDU session 1. The session established between the terminal device 31 and the data network 36 via the core network user plane device 34 is PDU session 2. The session established between the terminal device 31 and the data network 37 via the core network user plane device 35 is PDU session 3. The session types of the three PDU sessions may be the same or different. For example, the session type of PDU session 1 is an IP type, the session type of PDU session 2 is an ethernet type, and the session type of PDU session 3 is a non-IP type.

The data transmission method provided by the embodiment of the invention can be applied to the following scenes. Scenario one, the core network user plane device establishes multiple PDU sessions for the terminal device 31. Scenario two, the terminal device 31 accesses a network slice, and the network slice establishes a plurality of PDU sessions for the terminal device 31. In the third scenario, the terminal device 31 has access to multiple network slices simultaneously, and each network slice establishes a PDU session for the terminal device 31. And in the fourth scenario, the terminal device 31 has access to multiple network slices simultaneously, some network slices establish a PDU session for the terminal device 31, and some network slices establish multiple PDU sessions for the terminal device 31. In the fifth scenario, the terminal device 31 has access to multiple network slices simultaneously, and each network slice establishes multiple PDU sessions for the terminal device 31.

Regardless of network slice, when the terminal device 31 supports multiple PDU sessions simultaneously, there is a need to transmit user plane data of multiple PDU sessions simultaneously between the terminal device 31 and the radio access network device 32. For Uplink (UL) data, the radio access network device 32 needs to distinguish which PDU session the received UL data packet belongs to, so as to perform packet encapsulation according to the NG3 interface encapsulation format, and further send the data packet to the core network user plane device supporting the PDU session. For Downlink (DL) data, the terminal device 31 also needs to verify the received DL packet and determine which PDU session the DL packet corresponds to. For example, the terminal device 31 is a Relay (Relay) UE, and after the terminal device 31 determines which PDU session the DL packet corresponds to, the DL packet is sent to the corresponding node.

After introducing the network slice concept, when the terminal device 31 has access to multiple network slices simultaneously, the terminal device 31 and the radio access network device 32 need to transmit user plane data belonging to PDU sessions in multiple network slices simultaneously. For UL data, the radio access network device 22 needs to distinguish which PDU session in which network slice the received UL data packet belongs to, so as to perform packet encapsulation according to the NG3 interface encapsulation format, and further send the data packet to the core network user plane device corresponding to the network slice. For DL data, the terminal device 31 also needs to verify the received DL data packet and confirm which PDU session in which network slice the DL data packet corresponds to. For example, the terminal device 31 is a relay UE, and after determining which PDU session in which network slice the DL packet corresponds to, the terminal device 31 transmits the packet to the corresponding node.

Further, the radio access network device 32 needs to acquire the QoS parameter of the service data stream to which the UL data packet belongs, so as to perform scheduling decision on the UL data packet according to the QoS parameter, thereby ensuring the QoS of an air interface. The terminal device 31 further needs to acquire the QoS parameter of the service data stream to which the DL data packet belongs, so as to determine the QoS parameter of the corresponding UL data packet according to the QoS parameter of the DL data packet, thereby performing transmission of the corresponding UL data packet.

Therefore, when the terminal device 31 simultaneously establishes a plurality of PDU sessions, how to effectively distinguish which PDU session the data packet corresponds to, and when the terminal device 31 simultaneously accesses a plurality of network slices, how to effectively distinguish which PDU session in which network slice the data packet corresponds to is a technical problem to be solved. In one implementation, data packets in different PDU sessions are distinguished from each other based on different DRBs, and when QoS parameters of multiple data packets in the same PDU session are different, the data packets need to be distinguished based on independent DRBs. After the concept of network slicing is introduced, data packets of different network slices are distinguished based on different DRBs, data packets in different PDU sessions in the same network slice are also distinguished based on different DRBs, and when QoS parameters of a plurality of data packets in the same PDU session are different, the data packets need to be distinguished based on independent DRBs. This implementation may have some drawbacks, for example, when the terminal device 31 has more network slices to access and more PDU sessions are supported, the larger the number of DRBs. The large number of DRBs causes many problems, for example, the control signaling overhead may be large. The reason is that: for each DRB, a set of parameters of Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Radio Link Control Protocol (RLC) and Media Access Control (MAC) need to be maintained. When the terminal device 31 performs Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection reconfiguration, handover, or even RRC connection reestablishment, the RRC connection reconfiguration message needs to carry all PDCP, RLC, and MAC parameters of the DRB, so that the Control signaling overhead is very large. In the data transmission method provided by the embodiment of the invention, the DRB mapping mode is optimized, namely no matter which PDU session the data packet comes from, the data packet can be mapped to the same DRB as long as the QoS parameters are the same, so that the number of the DRBs can be reduced, and the expense of control signaling is reduced. Or no matter which PDU session in which network slice the data packet comes from, the data packet can be mapped to the same DRB as long as the QoS parameters are the same, thereby reducing the number of DRBs and reducing the overhead of control signaling.

Specifically, referring to fig. 4, fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a mapping between a data packet and a DRB according to an embodiment of the present invention. The embodiment of the invention adopts a DRB sharing mode to carry out data transmission, namely, a plurality of service data streams can carry out UL and DL data transmission through one DRB as long as the service data streams have the same QoS parameter regardless of which PDU session in which network slice corresponds. If the QoS parameters of two service data flows are the same, that is, the QoS parameters of the data packets in the two service data flows are the same. Regardless of which PDU session in which network slice corresponds to a plurality of packets, UL and DL data transmission can be performed via one DRB as long as the same QoS parameters are provided.

In fig. 4, a terminal device has simultaneous access to network slice 41 and network slice 42, and network slice 41 and network slice 42 support two PDU sessions, respectively. The network slice 41 supports PDU session 1.1 and PDU session 1.2. The network slice 42 supports PDU session 2.1 and PDU session 2.2. PDU session 1.1 includes 2 service data flows, which are service data flow 1 and service data flow 2. PDU session 1.2 includes 2 traffic data flows, traffic data flow 3 and traffic data flow 4. PDU session 2.1 includes 2 traffic data flows, traffic data flow 5 and traffic data flow 6. PDU session 2.2 includes 2 traffic data flows, traffic data flow 7 and traffic data flow 8. The service data flow 1 and the service data flow 5 have the same QoS parameters, the service data flow 2 and the service data flow 6 have the same QoS parameters, the service data flow 3 and the service data flow 7 have the same QoS parameters, and the service data flow 4 and the service data flow 8 have the same QoS parameters. If the service data flows in different network slices need to be mapped onto different DRBs, and the service data flows in different PDU sessions in the same network slice need to be mapped onto different DRBs, and the service data flows with different QoS parameters in the same PDU session need to be mapped onto different DRBs, then the 8 service data flows need to be mapped onto 8 DRBs respectively. It should be noted that, although the description is made herein as a service data flow, it essentially refers to a data packet belonging to the service data flow.

In the embodiment of the present invention, since the service data flow 1 and the service data flow 5 have the same QoS parameter, the data packets in the two service data flows are mapped to the same DRB1 for transmission regardless of which PDU session in which network slice the two service data flows come from. Similarly, the service data flow 2 and the service data flow 6 have the same QoS parameter, and the data packets in the two service data flows are mapped to the same DRB2 for transmission. Service data flow 3 and service data flow 7 have the same QoS parameters, and the data packets in the two service data flows are mapped to the same DRB3 for transmission. The service data flow 4 and the service data flow 8 have the same QoS parameter, and the data packets in the two service data flows are mapped to the same DRB4 for transmission. Therefore, the DRB mapping method in the embodiment of the invention can reduce the number of DRBs. Therefore, by adopting the DRB mapping manner in the embodiment of the present invention, data packets transmitted on the same DRB may come from different network slices and different PDU sessions, and how to distinguish which network slice and which PDU session the transmitted data packet comes from is a technical problem to be solved by the embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment of the present invention, for the UL data packet, in order to perform the correct encapsulation and routing of the NG3 interface by the radio access network device, it is necessary to identify which PDU session the UL data packet corresponds to, so as to add an encapsulation header for different PDU sessions on the NG3 interface, and route the UL data packet to the core network user plane device corresponding to the different PDU sessions. Alternatively, in order for the radio access network device to perform the proper encapsulation and routing of the NG3 interface, it is necessary to identify which PDU session in which network slice the UL packet corresponds to, so as to add encapsulation headers for different network slices and different PDU sessions at the NG3 interface, and route the UL data to the core network user plane device corresponding to the PDU session in the different network slices at the NG3 interface. For DL data packets, when the terminal device serves as a relay, it is necessary to distinguish which PDU session the data packet corresponds to, and even which PDU session in which network slice the data packet corresponds to, so as to perform corresponding processing.

Please refer to fig. 5, which is a signaling interaction diagram of a data transmission method according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment of the present invention, a description is given of a data transmission process of an air interface. The sending end device is a terminal device, and the receiving end device is a radio access network device, or the sending end device is a radio access network device, and the receiving end device is a terminal device. As shown in fig. 5, the data transmission method includes the following steps:

s501: the sending end equipment generates a data packet, wherein the data packet comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating a PDU session corresponding to the data packet.

As one implementation, the first indication information includes an ID of the PDU session. The ID of the PDU session is allocated by the core network control plane device for the PDU session to which the packet belongs. The ID of the PDU session identifies the PDU session during the signaling interaction of the control plane. For example, in the signaling flow of session management, the session ID is explicitly indicated, and session parameter modification, release, and the like are performed on the session. Therefore, in this embodiment, when data transmission is performed on the user plane, the PDU session ID may also be used to identify the PDU session. This approach saves additional signaling indication and mapping relations.

As another implementation, the first indication information includes an indicator of a PDU session. The indicator of the PDU session is allocated by the wireless access network equipment for the PDU session to which the data packet belongs, and is used for identifying the PDU session in the user plane. In this case, the terminal device and the radio access network device each maintain a first mapping table, and the first mapping table is configured by the radio access network device. The first mapping table stores the mapping relation between the ID set of the PDU conversation and the indicator set of the PDU conversation. Wherein the set of IDs of PDU sessions comprises IDs of one or more PDU sessions, and the set of indicators of PDU sessions comprises indicators of one or more PDU sessions. The format of the first mapping table may be, for example, as shown in table 1.

TABLE 1

PDU session ID	Indicator of PDU session
		10001000	00
10002000	01

The ID of the PDU session in table 1 is obtained by the radio access network device from the core network control plane device. And the core network control plane equipment allocates an ID of one PDU session to each PDU session established by the terminal equipment, and the ID of the PDU session is used for identifying each PDU session in the control plane. The radio access network equipment assigns a corresponding indicator to the acquired ID of each PDU session for identifying the PDU session in the user plane. As can be seen from table 1, the terminal device establishes two PDU sessions, which are assumed to be PDU session 1 and PDU session 2, respectively, where the ID of PDU session 1 is 10001000 and the ID of PDU session 2 is 10002000. The radio access network equipment allocates an indicator of one short byte for the PDU session 1: 00 for identifying PDU session 1 in the user plane. The radio access network equipment allocates an indicator of one short byte for PDU session 2: 01 for identifying PDU session 2 in the user plane. Therefore, it can be seen that the ID of the PDU session consists of 8 bits, the indicator of the PDU session consists of 2 bits, and the byte length of the indicator of the PDU session is smaller than the byte length of the ID of the PDU session, so that when the data packet is transmitted over the air interface, the byte length of the transmission can be reduced by carrying the indicator of the PDU session, compared with the ID of the PDU session, thereby reducing the overhead of the air interface transmission. Note that the byte length of the ID of the PDU session is not limited to 8 bits. The byte length of the indicator of the PDU session is not limited to 2 bits.

Optionally, when the radio access network device allocates the indicator of the PDU session to the terminal device, the radio access network device may also allocate the indicator of the PDU session in different segments for different terminal devices, so that when the DL data packet carries the indicator of the PDU session, the receiving end device may accurately identify which terminal device the data packet corresponds to according to the indicator of the PDU session, and thus send the data packet to the corresponding terminal device.

It should be noted that, when a data packet is transmitted between the radio access network device and the core network user plane device, the encapsulation header of the NG3 interface may also carry an indicator of the PDU session in the first mapping table, that is, the indicator of the PDU session in the first mapping table may be used to encapsulate the data packet regardless of the air interface or the NG3 interface, so as to indicate the PDU session to which the data packet belongs.

As another implementation, the first indication information includes an indicator of a PDU session. The indicator of the PDU session is allocated by the core network control plane equipment for the PDU session to which the data packet belongs, and is used for identifying the PDU session in the user plane. In this case, the terminal device, the radio access network device, and the core network control plane device all maintain a third mapping table, and the third mapping table is configured by the core network control plane device. And the third mapping table stores the mapping relation between the ID set of the PDU conversation and the indicator set of the PDU conversation. Wherein the set of IDs of PDU sessions comprises IDs of one or more PDU sessions, and the set of indicators of PDU sessions comprises indicators of one or more PDU sessions. The format of the third mapping table may be, for example, as shown in table 2.

TABLE 2

PDU session ID	Indicator of PDU session
		10001000	00
10002000	01

The ID of the PDU session in table 2 is allocated by the core network control plane device for the PDU session, the core network control plane device allocates an ID of a PDU session to each PDU session established by the terminal device, and the ID of the PDU session is used for identifying each PDU session at the control plane. The core network control plane device also assigns an indicator of a corresponding PDU session to the ID of each PDU session for identifying the respective PDU session on the user plane. As can be seen from table 2, the terminal device establishes two PDU sessions, which are assumed to be PDU session 1 and PDU session 2, respectively, where the ID of PDU session 1 is 10001000 and the ID of PDU session 2 is 10002000. The core network control plane device allocates an indicator of a short byte to PDU session 1: 00 for identifying PDU session 1 in the user plane. The core network control plane device allocates an indicator of a short byte to PDU session 2: 01 for identifying PDU session 2 in the user plane. Therefore, it can be seen that the ID of the PDU session consists of 8 bits, the indicator of the PDU session consists of 2 bits, and the byte length of the indicator of the PDU session is smaller than the byte length of the ID of the PDU session, so that when the data packet is transmitted over the air interface, the transmitted byte length can be reduced, thereby reducing the overhead of air interface transmission. Note that the byte length of the ID of the PDU session is not limited to 8 bits. The byte length of the indicator of the PDU session is not limited to 2 bits.

It should be noted that, when a data packet is transmitted between the radio access network device and the core network user plane device, the encapsulation header of the NG3 interface may also carry an indicator of the PDU session in the third mapping table, that is, the PDU session indicator in the third mapping table may be used to encapsulate the data packet regardless of the air interface or the NG3 interface, so as to indicate the PDU session to which the data packet belongs. The packaging head of the NG3 interface will be described later.

It should be noted that, although the indicator corresponding to PDU session 1 in the third mapping table shown in table 2 is set to be the same as the indicator corresponding to PDU session 1 in the first mapping table shown in table 1, in a specific implementation, the indicator of the PDU session allocated by the radio access network device for a certain PDU session and the indicator of the PDU session allocated by the core network control plane device for a certain PDU session may be set to be different. For example, for UL data, the radio access network device sets the indicator of PDU session 1 to 00, and for DU data, the core network control plane device sets the indicator of PDU session 1 to 11.

Optionally, the data packet further includes third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate a QoS parameter of the data packet, and the QoS parameter of the data packet actually refers to a QoS parameter of a service data flow to which the data packet belongs. The QoS parameter is used for the radio access network device to make a corresponding scheduling decision for the received UL data packet based on the QoS parameter. Among these, QoS parameters include, but are not limited to: 1. maximum stream bit rate. 2. And ensuring the stream bit rate. 3. A priority level. 4. Packet delay budget. 5. The packet error rate. 6. And receiving the control parameter. For example, a QoS parameter with an ID of 100 corresponds to a QoS parameter of: the scheduling priority is 1, the bandwidth is 2Mbps, and the transmission delay is 5 seconds. The QoS parameters with ID of 101 are: the scheduling priority is 2, the bandwidth is 2.5Mbps, and the transmission delay is 2 seconds. In this implementation, the QoS parameters of the PDU session to which the packet belongs and the service data flow to which the packet belongs are separately indicated by using two pieces of indication information. After receiving the data packet, the receiving end device needs to determine which PDU session the data packet corresponds to and the QoS parameter of the data packet by combining the first indication information and the third indication information.

As an implementation manner, the third indication information includes an ID of a QoS parameter of a service data flow to which the data packet belongs. And the ID of the QoS parameter of the service data flow is distributed to the QoS parameter of the service data flow by the core network control plane equipment. The core network control plane device allocates a QoS parameter ID to all the service data flows included in each PDU session established by the terminal device, so as to identify the QoS parameters related to the service data flows. The ID of the QoS parameter of the traffic data flow identifies the QoS parameter of the traffic data flow during the signaling interaction of the control plane. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the user plane performs data transmission, the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs is also identified by using the ID of the QoS parameter of the service data flow.

Optionally, the first indication information may be used to indicate both a PDU session to which the data packet belongs and a QoS parameter of a service data flow to which the data packet belongs. That is, one piece of indication information can indicate the PDU session to which the data packet belongs and the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs, and compared with a mode in which two pieces of indication information are used to respectively indicate the PDU session to which the data packet belongs and the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs, when the data packet is transmitted through the air interface, the transmission bytes can be reduced, and the transmission overhead can be reduced. After receiving the data packet, the receiving end device can determine which PDU session the data packet corresponds to and the QoS parameter of the data packet only according to the first indication information.

As an implementation manner, when the ID of the QoS parameter of the service data flow can distinguish the PDU session to which the data packet belongs, the first indication information may also be the ID of the QoS parameter of the service data flow. Therefore, the PDU session to which the data packet belongs and the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs can be determined according to the ID of the QoS parameter of the service data flow. See, for example, table 3.

TABLE 3

As can be seen from table 3, the ID of the QoS parameter of the service data stream is composed of 8 bits, and the ID of the PDU session is composed of 8 bits. Wherein the ID of the corresponding PDU session with the QoS parameter ID of 000-011 is 10001000. The corresponding PDU session with QoS parameter ID 100-111 has ID 10002000, and so on. Therefore, the ID indicating the PDU session can be hidden by the section where the QoS parameter ID is located. Therefore, when the data packet is transmitted over the air interface, the data packet may only include the ID of the QoS parameter of the service data stream, and does not need to include the ID of the PDU session or the indicator of the PDU session, thereby reducing the length of bytes transmitted and reducing the overhead of the air interface.

Optionally, after introducing the concept of network slices in a 5G network, the terminal device may access one aware network slice simultaneously, and each network slice may support one or more PDU sessions. In this scenario, in addition to the indication information used for indicating the PDU session to which the data packet belongs and the indication information used for indicating the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the service data packet belongs, the data packet needs to be carried. Therefore, after receiving the UL data packet, the wireless access network equipment can identify the network slice to which the data packet belongs, and then route the data packet to the core network user plane equipment in the network slice.

Optionally, the data packet further includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate a network slice to which the data packet belongs. In this implementation, the PDU session to which the packet belongs and the network slice to which the packet belongs are separately indicated by using two indication information. After receiving the data packet, the receiving end device needs to determine which PDU session in which network slice the data packet corresponds to, by combining the first indication information and the second indication information.

As one implementation, the second indication information includes an ID of the network slice. The ID of the network slice is allocated by the core network control plane device to the network slice to which the packet belongs. The ID of the network slice identifies the network slice during the signaling interaction of the control plane. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the user plane performs data transmission, the ID of the network slice may be used to identify the network slice. This approach saves additional signaling indication and mapping relations.

As another implementation, the second indication information includes an indicator of the network slice. The indicator of the network slice is allocated by the radio access network device for the network slice to which the data packet belongs, and is used for identifying the network slice in the user plane. In this case, the terminal device and the radio access network device each maintain a second mapping table, and the second mapping table is configured by the radio access network device. The second mapping table stores the mapping relationship between the ID set of the network slice and the indicator set of the network slice. Wherein the set of network slice IDs comprises one or more network slice IDs and the set of network slice indicators comprises one or more network slice indicators. The format of the second mapping table may be, for example, as shown in table 4.

TABLE 4

ID of network slice	Indicator of network slice
		30001000	00
30002000	01

The ID of the network slice in table 4 is obtained by the radio access network device from the core network control plane device. The core network control plane device allocates an ID of one network slice to each network slice to which the terminal device has access, and the ID of the network slice is used for identifying each network slice in the control plane. And the wireless access network equipment allocates an indicator of a corresponding network slice to the acquired ID of each network slice, and the indicator is used for identifying the network slices on the user plane. As can be seen from table 4, the terminal device accesses two network slices, which are assumed to be network slice 1 and network slice 2, respectively, where the ID of network slice 1 is 30001000 and the ID of network slice 2 is 30002000. The radio access network device allocates an indicator of one short byte to the network slice 1: 00 for identifying network slice 1 at the user side. The radio access network device allocates an indicator of one short byte to network slice 2: 01, for identifying network slice 2 in the user plane. Therefore, it can be seen that the ID of the network slice consists of 8 bits, the indicator of the network slice consists of 2 bits, and the byte length of the indicator of the network slice is smaller than the byte length of the ID of the network slice, so that if a data packet is transmitted over an air interface, the byte length of the transmission can be reduced, thereby reducing the overhead of the air interface transmission. Note that the byte length of the ID of the network slice is not limited to 8 bits. The byte length of the indicator of the network slice is not limited to 2 bits.

It should be noted that, when a data packet is transmitted between the radio access network device and the core network user plane device, the encapsulation header of the NG3 interface may also carry an indicator of the network slice in the second mapping table, that is, the indicator of the network slice in the second mapping table may be used to encapsulate the data packet regardless of the air interface or the NG3 interface, so as to indicate the network slice to which the data packet belongs.

As another implementation, the second indication information includes an indicator of the network slice. The indicator of the network slice is allocated by the core network control plane device for the network slice to which the data packet belongs, and is used for identifying the network slice on the user plane. In this case, the terminal device, the radio access network device, and the core network control plane device all maintain a fourth mapping table, and the fourth mapping table is configured by the core network control plane device. The fourth mapping table stores a mapping relationship between the ID set of the network slice and the indicator set of the network slice. Wherein the set of network slice IDs comprises one or more network slice IDs and the set of network slice indicators comprises one or more network slice indicators. The format of the fourth mapping table may be, for example, as shown in table 5.

TABLE 5

ID of network slice	Indicator of network slice
		30001000	00
30002000	01

The ID of the network slice in table 5 is allocated by the core network control plane device for the network slice, the core network control plane device allocates an ID of one network slice to each network slice to which the terminal device has access, and the ID of the network slice is used to identify each network slice in the control plane. The core network control plane device also assigns an indicator of a corresponding network slice to the ID of each network slice, for identifying each network slice in the user plane. As can be seen from table 5, the terminal device accesses two network slices, which are assumed to be network slice 1 and network slice 2, respectively, where the ID of network slice 1 is 30001000 and the ID of network slice 2 is 30002000. The core network control plane device allocates an indicator of a short byte to the network slice 1: 00 for identifying network slice 1 at the user side. The core network control plane device allocates an indicator of a short byte to the network slice 2: 01, for identifying network slice 2 in the user plane. Therefore, it can be seen that the ID of the network slice consists of 8 bits, the indicator of the network slice consists of 2 bits, and the byte length of the indicator of the network slice is smaller than the byte length of the ID of the network slice, so that when the data packet is transmitted over the air interface, the transmitted byte length can be reduced, thereby reducing the overhead of air interface transmission. Note that the byte length of the ID of the network slice is not limited to 8 bits. The byte length of the indicator of the network slice is not limited to 2 bits.

It should be noted that, when a data packet is transmitted between the radio access network device and the core network user plane device, the encapsulation header of the NG3 interface may also carry an indicator of the network slice in the fourth mapping table, that is, the indicator of the network slice in the fourth mapping table may be used to encapsulate the data packet regardless of the air interface or the NG3 interface, so as to indicate the network slice to which the data packet belongs.

It should be noted that, although the indicator corresponding to network slice 1 in the fourth mapping table shown in table 5 is set to be the same as the indicator corresponding to network slice 1 in the second mapping table shown in table 4, in a specific implementation, the indicator allocated by the radio access network device for a certain network slice and the indicator allocated by the core network control plane device for a certain network slice may be set to be different. For example, for UL data, the radio access network device sets the indicator of network slice 1 to 00, and for DU data, the core network control plane device sets the indicator of network slice 1 to 11.

As an implementation manner, when the first indication information is an ID of the PDU session and the ID of the PDU session can distinguish the network slice, the ID of the PDU session may be used to indicate both the PDU session to which the data packet belongs and the network slice to which the data packet belongs. Therefore, the PDU session to which the data packet belongs and the network slice to which the data packet belongs can be determined according to the ID of the PDU session. After receiving the data packet, the receiving end device can determine which PDU session in which network slice the data packet corresponds to according to the first indication information. See, for example, table 6.

TABLE 6

PDU session ID	ID of network slice
		10001000	30001000
10001001	30001000
		……	30001000
10001010	30001000
		10002000	30002000
……	30002000
		10002010	30002000

As can be seen from table 6, the ID of the PDU session consists of 8 bits, and the ID of the network slice consists of 8 bits. Wherein the IDs of the PDU sessions are 10001000 and 10001010, and the IDs of the corresponding network slices are 30001000. The IDs of the corresponding network slices with the PDU session IDs 10002000-10002010 are 30002000, and so on. As can be seen, the ID of the network slice can be implicitly indicated by the interval in which the ID of the PDU session is located. Therefore, when the data packet is transmitted over the air interface, the data packet may only include the ID of the PDU session, and does not need to include the ID of the network slice or the indicator of the network slice, thereby reducing the length of the transmitted bytes and reducing the overhead of the air interface.

Similarly, when the first indication information is an indicator of a PDU session, and when the radio access network device or the core network control plane device assigns an indicator to the PDU session, the indicators of different segments may be assigned to different network slices, so that different network slices may be distinguished by the indicator of the PDU session, and at this time, the indicator of the PDU session may be used to indicate both the PDU session to which the packet belongs and the network slice to which the packet belongs. See, for example, table 7.

TABLE 7

PDU session fingerSign symbol	ID of network slice
		000	30001000
001	30001000
		010	30001000
011	30001000
		100	30002000
101	30002000
		110	30002000
111	30002000

As shown in table 7, the IDs of the network slices corresponding to the PDU session indicator 000-011 section are 30001000. The IDs of the corresponding network slices with the PDU session indicator of 100 and 111 are 30002000, and so on. As can be seen, the ID of the network slice can be implicitly indicated by the interval in which the ID of the PDU session is located. Therefore, when the data packet is transmitted over the air interface, the data packet may only include the ID of the PDU session, and does not need to include the ID of the network slice or the indicator of the network slice, thereby reducing the length of the transmitted bytes and reducing the overhead of the air interface. Therefore, the PDU session to which the data packet belongs and the network slice to which the data packet belongs can be determined according to the indicator of the PDU session. Therefore, when the data packet is transmitted over the air interface, the data packet may only include the indicator of the PDU session, and does not need to include the ID of the network slice or the indicator of the network slice, thereby reducing the length of the transmitted bytes and reducing the overhead of the air interface.

As an implementation manner, when the ID of the QoS parameter of the service data flow can distinguish the PDU session to which the data packet belongs and the network slice to which the data packet belongs, the first indication information may also be the ID of the QoS parameter of the service data flow. Therefore, according to the ID of the QoS parameter of the service data flow, the network slice to which the data packet belongs, the PDU session to which the data packet belongs, and the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs can be determined. After receiving the data packet, the receiving end device can determine which PDU session in which network slice the data packet corresponds to and the QoS parameter of the data packet only according to the first indication information. See, for example, table 8.

TABLE 8

As can be seen from table 8, the ID of the QoS parameter of the service data stream is composed of 8 bits, the ID of the PDU session is composed of 8 bits, and the ID of the network slice is composed of 8 bits. Wherein the ID of the corresponding PDU session with QoS parameter ID 000-011 is 10001000, and the ID of the corresponding network slice is 30001000. The IDs of the corresponding PDU sessions with QoS parameter IDs of 100-111 are 10002000, and the IDs of the corresponding network slices are 30002000, and so on. It can be seen that the ID indicating the PDU session and the ID of the network slice can be implicitly indicated by the section where the QoS parameter ID is located. Therefore, when the data packet is transmitted over the air interface, the data packet may only include the ID of the QoS parameter of the service data stream, and does not need to include the ID of the PDU session or the indicator of the PDU session or the ID of the network slice or the indicator of the network slice, thereby reducing the byte length of transmission and reducing the overhead of the air interface.

As an implementation manner, the first indication information is specifically a string of indicators, and the indicators may indicate the network slice to which the data packet belongs and the PDU session to which the data packet belongs, so that the radio access network device may determine the network slice to which the data packet belongs and the PDU session to which the data packet belongs according to the indicators. See, for example, table 9.

TABLE 9

Indicator symbol	PDU session ID	ID of network slice
			0000	10001000	30001000
0001	10002000	30002000
			0010	10003000	30001000
0011	10004000	30002000
			0100	10005000	30003000
0101	10006000	30003000
			0110	10007000	30004000

As can be seen from table 9, the indicator consists of 4 bits, and the byte length of the indicator is smaller than that of the ID of the PDU session and smaller than that of the ID of the network slice. The ID of the corresponding PDU session with indicator 0000 is 10001000 and the ID of the corresponding network slice is 30001000. The ID of the corresponding PDU session with indicator 0001 is 10002000, and the ID of the corresponding network slice is 30002000, and so on. It can be seen that the ID of the PDU session and the ID of the network slice can be indicated by 4 bits. Therefore, when the data packet is transmitted over the air interface, the data packet may only include the indicator, and does not need to include the PDU session ID or the PDU session indicator or the network slice ID or the network slice indicator, thereby reducing the byte length of transmission and reducing the overhead of the air interface. Wherein the byte length of the indicator is not limited to 4 bits.

Specifically, the indicator shown in table 9 may be allocated by the core network control plane device for network slicing and PDU session, or may be allocated by the radio access network device for network slicing and PDU session. Optionally, the indicator allocated by the radio access network device is used for both UL data and DL data to indicate the network slice and the PDU session. Or, for both UL data and DL data, the indicator allocated by the core network control plane device is used to indicate the network slice and the PDU session. Alternatively, the indicator may be allocated by the radio access network device for UL data and by the core network control plane for DL data. And, for the same PDU session in the same network slice, the indicator allocated to it by the radio access network device and the indicator allocated to it by the core network control plane device may be the same or different.

Optionally, when the radio access network device or the core network control plane device allocates the indicator, it may also allocate an indicator of different segment intervals for different terminal devices, where the indicator is used to distinguish different terminal devices, network slices, and PDU sessions. Therefore, when the indicator is carried in the DL data packet, the receiving end device can accurately identify which terminal device the data packet corresponds to according to the indicator, so as to send the data packet to the corresponding terminal device.

Optionally, the ID/indicator of the PDU session and the ID/indicator of the network slice in the embodiment of the present invention may be set as optional items as needed. For example, when the terminal device only accesses one network slice and only establishes one PDU session, only the ID of the QoS parameter needs to be added to the data packet; when the terminal equipment accesses a network slice and establishes a plurality of PDU sessions, only the ID/indicator of the PDU sessions needs to be increased, that is, the packet marks can be flexibly configured according to actual needs. In one embodiment, what packet tag is used can be configured by the radio access network device and notified to the terminal device; in another embodiment, the radio access network device and the terminal device comply simultaneously by means of a protocol-specified method.

As an implementation, the first indication information, the second indication information, and the third indication information may be encapsulated in the PDCP layer. Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a peer-to-peer protocol layer between a terminal device and a radio access network device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As can be seen from fig. 6, the peer layers of the terminal device and the radio access network device include: a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, an MAC layer, and a Physical layer (PHY).

In the embodiment of the invention, when receiving a data packet transmitted by an upper layer, a PDCP layer of a transmitting terminal device performs header compression of the PDCP, and after encryption, the following PDCP headers are additionally added besides the original PDCP layer header: and the ID of the PDU session is used for indicating the data of which PDU session the data packet belongs to, and the ID of the QoS parameter is used for indicating the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs. Or the following PDCP header is additionally added: the PDU session indicator is used for indicating the data of which PDU session the data packet belongs to, and the ID of the QoS parameter is used for indicating the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs. Or the following PDCP header is additionally added: ID of QoS parameter. The ID of the QoS parameter is used to indicate which PDU session the data packet belongs to and the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs. Or the following PDCP header is additionally added: and the ID of the PDU session is used for indicating the data of which PDU session in which network slice the data packet belongs to, and the ID of the QoS parameter is used for indicating the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs. Or the following PDCP header is additionally added: the indicator of the PDU session is used for indicating the data of which PDU session in which network slice the data packet belongs to, and the ID of the QoS parameter is used for indicating the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs. Or the following PDCP header is additionally added: the ID of the network slice is used for indicating the data of which network slice the data packet belongs to, the ID of the PDU session is used for indicating the data of which PDU session the data packet belongs to, and the ID of the QoS parameter is used for indicating the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs. Or the following PDCP header is additionally added: the data flow comprises an indicator of the network slice, an ID of the PDU session and an ID of the QoS parameter, wherein the indicator of the network slice is used for indicating the data of which network slice the data packet belongs to, the ID of the PDU session is used for indicating the data of which PDU session the data packet belongs to, and the ID of the QoS parameter is used for indicating the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs. Or the following PDCP header is additionally added: the ID of the network slice is used for indicating the data of which network slice the data packet belongs to, the indicator of the PDU session is used for indicating the data of which PDU session the data packet belongs to, and the ID of the QoS parameter is used for indicating the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs. Or the following PDCP header is additionally added: the data flow management method comprises an indicator of a network slice, an indicator of a PDU session and an ID of a QoS parameter, wherein the indicator of the network slice is used for indicating the data of which network slice the data packet belongs to, the indicator of the PDU session is used for indicating the data of which PDU session the data packet belongs to, and the ID of the QoS parameter is used for indicating the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs.

Please refer to fig. 7, which is a diagram illustrating packet marking in a PDCP layer according to an embodiment of the present invention. In fig. 7, the data/control indication and the PDCP sequence number in the packet format of the PDCP layer may refer to the existing communication protocol, and are not described herein again. The PDCP layer is exemplified by an indicator of an additional network slice, an indicator of a PDU session, and an ID of a QoS parameter. The length of the indicator of the network slice, the indicator of the PDU session, and the ID of the QoS parameter may be fixed in the communication protocol, or may be set by the radio access network device and notified to the terminal device through an RRC connection reconfiguration message.

As another implementation, the first indication information, the second indication information, and the third indication information may be encapsulated in a protocol layer newly added above the PDCP layer below the IP layer. In the embodiment of the invention, a layer is added between an IP layer and a PDCP layer and is specially used for packet marking. For the terminal device, the following header marks are added in the newly added layer: and the ID of the PDU session is used for indicating the data of which PDU session the data packet belongs to, and the ID of the QoS parameter is used for indicating the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs. Or adding the following head marks: the PDU session indicator is used for indicating the data of which PDU session the data packet belongs to, and the ID of the QoS parameter is used for indicating the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs. Or adding the following head marks: ID of QoS parameter. The ID of the QoS parameter is used to indicate which PDU session the data packet belongs to and the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs. Or adding the following head marks: and the ID of the PDU session is used for indicating the data of which PDU session in which network slice the data packet belongs to, and the ID of the QoS parameter is used for indicating the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs. Or adding the following head marks: the indicator of the PDU session is used for indicating the data of which PDU session in which network slice the data packet belongs to, and the ID of the QoS parameter is used for indicating the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs. Or adding the following head marks: the ID of the network slice is used for indicating the data of which network slice the data packet belongs to, the ID of the PDU session is used for indicating the data of which PDU session the data packet belongs to, and the ID of the QoS parameter is used for indicating the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs. Or adding the following head marks: the data flow comprises an indicator of the network slice, an ID of the PDU session and an ID of the QoS parameter, wherein the indicator of the network slice is used for indicating the data of which network slice the data packet belongs to, the ID of the PDU session is used for indicating the data of which PDU session the data packet belongs to, and the ID of the QoS parameter is used for indicating the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs. Or adding the following head marks: the ID of the network slice is used for indicating the data of which network slice the data packet belongs to, the indicator of the PDU session is used for indicating the data of which PDU session the data packet belongs to, and the ID of the QoS parameter is used for indicating the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs. Or adding the following head marks: the data flow management method comprises an indicator of a network slice, an indicator of a PDU session and an ID of a QoS parameter, wherein the indicator of the network slice is used for indicating the data of which network slice the data packet belongs to, the indicator of the PDU session is used for indicating the data of which PDU session the data packet belongs to, and the ID of the QoS parameter is used for indicating the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs.

After the increase, the data is transmitted to the PDCP layer for processing. Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating packet marking performed in a protocol layer newly added above a PDCP layer below an IP layer according to an embodiment of the present invention. The newly added protocol layer may be named an encapsulation layer. In fig. 8, an indicator of adding a network slice, an indicator of a PDU session, and an ID of a QoS parameter to an added layer will be described as an example. The length of the indicator of the network slice, the indicator of the PDU session, and the ID of the QoS parameter may be fixed in the communication protocol, or may be set by the radio access network device and notified to the terminal device through an RRC connection reconfiguration message.

Compared with the embodiment shown in fig. 7, in the embodiment shown in fig. 8, the indicator of the network slice, the indicator of the PDU session, and the ID of the QoS parameter are transferred as a data (data) part in the PDCP layer. After packet marking, at the PDCP layer, the following process can be performed for the indicator of the network slice, the indicator of the PDU session, and the QoS parameter: encrypting the indicator of the network slice, the indicator of the PDU session and the QoS parameter; an indicator of the added network slice, an indicator of the PDU session, and a QoS parameter are header-compressed at the PDCP layer. To support this, a new compression algorithm (profile) may be introduced. In one embodiment, the radio access network device may explicitly inform the terminal device of the encryption algorithm used, and the algorithm is always enabled; in another embodiment, the encryption may be used at the time of configuration, and otherwise turned off.

As another implementation, the first indication information, the second indication information, and the third indication information may be encapsulated in the RLC layer. The position of the indication information is not limited.

For the scheme of encapsulating the first indication information, the second indication information and the third indication information in the PDCP layer and encapsulating the first indication information, the second indication information and the third indication information above the PDCP layer below the IP layer, the radio access network device may define a multi-header structure, and the radio access network device informs the terminal device of the header structure to be adopted in an RRC configuration manner.

S502: the sending end equipment sends a data packet to the receiving end equipment, and the receiving end equipment receives the data packet sent by the sending end equipment.

It should be noted that, if the sending end device is a terminal device, the terminal device obtains the DRB template from the radio access network device in advance, before sending the data packet, the terminal device determines, according to the DRB template configured by the radio access network device, to which DRB the data packet needs to be mapped, and then sends the data packet to the radio access network device by using the DRB corresponding to the data packet. The DRB template configured by the wireless access network equipment is configured according to the QoS parameters of the data packets, and the data packets with the same QoS parameters are mapped to the same DRB for transmission.

If the sending terminal equipment is the wireless access network equipment, before sending the data packet, the wireless access network equipment determines which DRB the data packet needs to be mapped to according to a pre-configured DRB template, and then the data packet is sent to the terminal equipment by adopting the DRB corresponding to the data packet.

S503: and the receiving terminal equipment determines the PDU session corresponding to the data packet according to the first indication information.

As an implementation manner, the receiving end device may determine, according to the first indication information included in the data packet, a PDU session to which the data packet belongs. Further, the receiving end device may determine the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs according to third indication information included in the data packet. Optionally, the receiving end device may further determine, according to the first indication information, a PDU session to which the data packet belongs and a QoS parameter of a service data stream to which the data packet belongs.

After introducing the concept of the network slice, the receiving end device may determine the network slice and the PDU session to which the data packet belongs according to the first indication information included in the data packet. Further, the receiving end device may determine the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs according to third indication information included in the data packet. Optionally, the receiving end device may further determine, according to the first indication information, a network slice to which the data packet belongs, a PDU session, and a QoS parameter of a service data flow to which the data packet belongs.

Optionally, the receiving end device determines, according to the first indication information, a PDU session to which the data packet belongs, determines, according to the second indication information, a network slice to which the data packet belongs, and determines, according to the third indication information, a QoS parameter of a service data stream to which the data packet belongs.

Therefore, if the sending end device is a terminal device and the receiving end device is a radio access network device, when the terminal device sends a UL data packet to the radio access network device, in order to distinguish which PDU session corresponds to different data packets at an air interface, and even which PDU session in which network slice corresponds, the terminal device performs packet marking on the UL data packet, so that the radio access network device can identify which PDU session the data packet corresponds to, and even which PDU session in which network slice corresponds to, based on the packet marking, and perform packet encapsulation according to an NG3 interface encapsulation format, thereby sending the data packet to a core network user plane device corresponding to the PDU session, or sending the data packet to a core network user plane device corresponding to the PDU session in the network slice. For example, the first indication information carried in the data packet is the ID of PDU session 1: 10001000. after receiving the UL data packet, the radio access network device identifies that the PDU session corresponding to the data packet is PDU session 1 according to the ID of the PDU session, and then the radio access network device encapsulates the data packet by an NG3 interface and sends the data packet to the core network user plane device corresponding to the PDU session 1.

Furthermore, the QoS parameters of the service data flows of different UL data packets can be identified by performing packet marking on the data packets, so that the wireless access network equipment performs scheduling decision on the UL data packets based on the QoS parameters of the service data flows of the UL data packets.

If the sending end device is a radio access network device and the receiving end device is a terminal device, when the radio access network device sends a DL data packet to the terminal device, the radio access network device performs packet marking on the DL data packet in order to distinguish which PDU session the different data packets respectively correspond to at an air interface, and even which PDU session in which network slice corresponds to, so that the terminal device can identify which PDU session the data packet corresponds to, and even which PDU session in which network slice corresponds to, based on the packet marking, and further perform corresponding processing. For example, the terminal device is a relay UE, and the relay UE sends a data packet to the terminal device that established the PDU session, or sends a data packet to the terminal device that accesses the PDU session in the network slice. For example, the relay UE is connected to 3 terminal devices, where terminal device 1 accesses network slice 1 and establishes PDU session 1, terminal device 2 accesses network slice 2 and establishes PDU session 2, and terminal device 3 accesses network slice 3 and establishes PDU session 3. If the first indication information carried in the DL data packet received by the relay UE is the ID of PDU session 1: 10001000, the second indication information carried in the DL data packet is ID of network slice 1: 30001000, the relay UE determines that the packet corresponds to terminal device 1, and transmits the packet to terminal device 1.

Furthermore, the QoS parameters of the service data streams to which different data packets belong can be identified by performing packet marking on the data packets, so that the terminal device can determine the QoS parameters of corresponding UL data packets according to the QoS parameters of DL data packets, thereby performing transmission of corresponding UL data packets. Or, the relay UE performs scheduling decision on the DL data packet according to the QoS parameter of the DL data packet.

By implementing the embodiment of the invention, the receiving end equipment can accurately identify which PDU session the data packet corresponds to, even which PDU session in which network slice corresponds to, by performing packet marking on the data packet. Different data packets do not need to be distinguished based on different DRBs, so that the data packets with the same QoS characteristics can be mapped to the same DRB at an air interface for data transmission. The method and the device realize the differentiated treatment of different QoS data packets and realize the low complexity of the management of the air interface side of the data packets with the same QoS characteristics. Compared with the LTE scheme, the method based on DRB sharing in the scheme controls the number of DRBs to the maximum extent and reduces the overhead of control signaling.

Fig. 9 is a schematic flowchart illustrating a process of acquiring a first mapping table by a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The process includes the following steps.

S901: the terminal equipment sends a session establishment request message to the wireless access network equipment, and the wireless access network equipment receives the session establishment request message sent by the terminal equipment.

The session establishment request message is used for requesting the session management device to establish a bearer for transmitting data for the terminal device.

S902: the wireless access network equipment sends a session establishment request message to the session management equipment, and the session management equipment receives the session establishment request message sent by the wireless access network equipment.

S903: and the session management equipment establishes the user plane bearer for the terminal equipment according to the session establishment request message and distributes a session ID, a QoS parameter and an ID of the QoS parameter for the terminal equipment.

S904: the session management device sends a session establishment response message to the wireless access network device, and the wireless access network receives the session establishment response message sent by the session management device.

Wherein, the session establishment response comprises the ID of the PDU session, the QoS parameter and the ID of the QoS parameter.

S905: the wireless access network equipment distributes the indicator of the PDU conversation according to the ID of the PDU conversation, and generates and stores a first mapping table.

The first mapping table stores the mapping relationship between the PDU session ID and the PDU session indicator.

S906: the radio access network equipment sends an RRC connection reconfiguration message or a session establishment response message to the terminal equipment, and the terminal equipment receives the RRC connection reconfiguration message or the session establishment response message sent by the radio access network equipment.

The RRC connection reconfiguration message or the session establishment response message includes the first mapping table and the ID of the QoS parameter.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned session establishment procedure is only an example. In other manners, such as during handover, RRC reestablishment, and the like of the terminal device, the radio access network device may send the first mapping table to the terminal device through an RRC connection reconfiguration message.

It should be noted that, after introducing the network slicing concept, the radio access network device sends a session establishment request message to the common core network control plane device, and the common core network control plane device sends the session establishment request message to the session management device. The session management device receives a session establishment request message sent by a common core network control plane device, and the session management device here is a core network control plane device that is shared exclusively in each network slice. And the terminal equipment allocates PDU session ID by the specific session management function of the accessed network slice, or allocates PDU session ID by the common core network control plane equipment.

It should be noted that the process of the terminal device acquiring the third mapping table is similar to the embodiment shown in fig. 9, and the difference is that: the third mapping table is configured by the session management device. After receiving the session establishment request message sent by the radio access network device, the session management device establishes a user plane bearer for the terminal device, allocates a PDU session ID and an indicator of a PDU session, and generates and stores a third mapping table. And then the session management equipment sends a session establishment response message to the wireless access network equipment, wherein the session establishment response message comprises a third mapping table. The radio access network device acquires the third mapping table from the session establishment response message. And then the radio access network equipment sends an RRC connection reconfiguration message or a session establishment response message to the terminal equipment, and the terminal equipment acquires the third mapping table from the RRC connection reconfiguration message or the session establishment response message.

Fig. 10 is a schematic flowchart illustrating a process of acquiring a second mapping table by a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The process includes the following steps.

S1001: the terminal equipment sends an attachment request message to the wireless access network equipment, and the wireless access network equipment receives the attachment request message sent by the terminal equipment.

S1002: the radio access network equipment sends the attachment request message to the common core network control plane equipment, and the common core network control plane equipment receives the attachment request message sent by the radio access network equipment.

S1003: and the public core network control plane equipment receives the attachment request of the terminal equipment according to the subscription information of the terminal equipment.

S1004: and the wireless access network equipment receives the attachment response message sent by the common core network control plane equipment.

And the attachment response message carries the ID of the network slice allocated to the terminal equipment by the common core network control plane equipment.

S1005: and the wireless access network equipment distributes the indicator of the network slice according to the ID of the network slice, and generates and stores a second mapping table.

The second mapping table stores a mapping relationship between the ID of the network slice and the indicator of the network slice.

S1006: the radio access network equipment sends an RRC connection reconfiguration message or an attachment response message to the terminal equipment, and the terminal equipment receives the RRC connection reconfiguration message or the attachment response message sent by the radio access network equipment. And the RRC connection reconfiguration message or the attachment response message comprises a second mapping table.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned session establishment procedure is only an example. In other manners, such as during handover, RRC reestablishment, and the like of the terminal device, the radio access network device may send the second mapping table to the terminal device through an RRC connection reconfiguration message.

It should be noted that the process of the terminal device acquiring the fourth mapping table is similar to the embodiment shown in fig. 10, and the difference is that: the fourth mapping table is configured by a common core network control plane device. After receiving the attach request message sent by the radio access network device, the public core network control plane device receives the attach request of the terminal device, allocates the ID of the network slice and the indicator of the network slice, and generates and stores a fourth mapping table. And then the common core network control plane device sends an attachment response message to the radio access network device, wherein the attachment response message comprises a fourth mapping table. The radio access network device acquires the fourth mapping table from the attach response message. And then the radio access network equipment sends an RRC connection reconfiguration message or an attachment response message to the terminal equipment, and the terminal equipment acquires the fourth mapping table from the RRC connection reconfiguration message or the attachment response message.

In addition, the embodiment shown in fig. 5 is also applicable to a data transmission process between the radio access network device and the core network user plane device. When the wireless access network sends the UL data packet to the core network user plane device, in order to distinguish which PDU session corresponds to different data packets, and even in order to distinguish which PDU session in which network slice corresponds to different data packets, the wireless access network device performs NG3 interface packet marking on the UL data packet, so that the core network user plane device can identify which PDU session the data packet corresponds to based on the packet marking, and even which PDU session in which network slice corresponds to, and then sends the data packet to the core network user plane device corresponding to the PDU session, or sends the data packet to the core network user plane device corresponding to the PDU session in the network slice. Furthermore, the QoS parameters of the service data flows of different data packets can be identified by performing packet marking on the data packets, so that the core network user plane equipment performs scheduling decision on the UL data packets based on the QoS parameters of the service data flows of the data packets. Wherein the NG3 interface is a communication interface between the radio access network device and the core network user plane device. As communication technology advances, the NG3 interface may also use other names, and embodiments of the present invention are not limited in particular.

When the core network user plane equipment sends a DL data packet to the wireless access network equipment, in order to distinguish which PDU session corresponds to different data packets, even in order to distinguish which PDU session in which network slice corresponds to different data packets, the core network user plane equipment carries out package marking on the DL data packet, so that the wireless access network equipment can identify which PDU session corresponds to the data packet, even which PDU session in which network slice corresponds to based on the package marking, and then sends the data packet to the terminal equipment which establishes the PDU session, or sends the data packet to the terminal equipment which accesses the network slice and establishes the PDU session. Furthermore, the QoS parameters of the service data flows of different data packets can be identified by performing packet marking on the data packets, so that the wireless access network equipment performs scheduling decision on the DL data packets based on the QoS parameters of the service data flows of the data packets.

Specifically, the packet format of the NG3 interface can be seen in fig. 11. In fig. 11, the NG3 interface packaging format includes the following fields: layer 1/layer 2 header, IP header, encapsulation header, PDU header, and PDU payload. The encapsulation header may include first indication information and third indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate a PDU session to which the data packet belongs, and the third indication information is used to indicate a QoS parameter of the data packet. Alternatively, the encapsulation header may include first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate the PDU session to which the data packet belongs and the QoS parameter of the data packet. Or, the encapsulation header may include first indication information and third indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate the network slice to which the packet belongs and the PDU session to which the packet belongs, and the third indication information is used to indicate the QoS parameter of the packet. Alternatively, the encapsulation header may include first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate the network slice to which the packet belongs, the PDU session to which the packet belongs, and the QoS parameter of the packet. Or, the encapsulation header may include first indication information, second indication information, and third indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate a PDU session to which the data packet belongs, the second indication information is used to indicate a network slice to which the data packet belongs, and the third indication information is used to indicate a QoS parameter of the data packet. The first indication information, the second indication information and the third indication information may refer to the relevant content of step S501, and are not described herein again.

Optionally, the ID/indicator of the PDU session and the ID/indicator of the network slice in the embodiment of the present invention may be set as optional items as needed. When the IP header and the ID of the QoS parameter of the packet cannot distinguish which PDU session of which network slice the packet belongs to, the encapsulation header includes an indicator of network slice ID/network slice, an ID/indicator of PDU session, and the QoS parameter ID of the packet. When the IP header and the ID of the QoS parameter of the packet cannot distinguish which PDU session of which network slice the packet belongs to, and whether the ID/indicator of the PDU session can distinguish which network slice the PDU session belongs to, i.e., different network slices have different indicator allocation intervals of PDU session ID/PDU session, the encapsulation header may include only the ID/indicator of the PDU session and the ID of the QoS parameter. The encapsulation header may only include the ID of the QoS parameter of the packet, as the IP header and the ID of the QoS parameter of the packet can distinguish which PDU session of which network slice the packet belongs to.

It should be noted that the embodiment of the present invention is also applicable to the data transmission procedure related to the PDN connection in the LTE system. Namely, data packets connected with different PDNs can be carried by using the same DRB as long as QoS parameters are the same, and the data packets carry first indication information for indicating the PDN connection to which the data packets belong, so that different data packets can distinguish which PDN connection they come from based on the first indication information. Therefore, different PDN connections in the existing LTE system may not be used for differentiation based on different DRBs, which may reduce the number of DRBs and thus reduce the overhead of control signaling.

In order to better implement the data transmission method of the embodiment of the present invention, the embodiment of the present invention further provides a related device for implementing the data transmission method.

Fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a sending-end device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The sending end device may be a terminal device, a radio access network device, or a core network user plane device. As shown in fig. 12, the sender device 120 includes a processor 1201, a memory 1202, and a transceiver 1203. Wherein the processor 1201, memory 1202, and transceiver 1203 may be connected by a bus or other means.

Optionally, the sender device 120 may further include a network interface 1204 and a power module 1205.

The processor 1201 may be a Digital Signal Processing (DSP) chip.

The Memory 1202 is used for storing instructions, and in a specific implementation, the Memory 1202 may be a Read-Only Memory (ROM) or a Random Access Memory (RAM).

The transceiver 1203 is used for transceiving signals.

The network interface 1204 is used for the transmitting device 120 to communicate data with other devices. The network interface 1204 may be a wired interface or a wireless interface.

The power module 1205 is used to supply power to each module of the sending-end device 120.

The processor 1201 is configured to perform the following operations:

and generating a data packet, wherein the data packet comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating the protocol data unit PDU session to which the data packet belongs.

The data packet is transmitted to the sink device through the transceiver 1203.

Optionally, the data packet further includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate a network slice corresponding to the data packet.

Optionally, the first indication information is further used to indicate a network slice corresponding to the data packet.

Optionally, the data packet further includes third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate a QoS parameter of a service data flow to which the data packet belongs.

Optionally, the first indication information is further used to indicate a QoS parameter of a service data flow to which the data packet belongs.

Optionally, the first indication information includes an identifier of the PDU session, where the identifier of the PDU session is allocated by the core network control plane device for the PDU session and is used to identify the PDU session.

Optionally, the first indication information includes an indicator of the PDU session, where the indicator of the PDU session is allocated by the radio access network device or the core network control plane device for the PDU session and is used for identifying the PDU session in the user plane. Before generating the data packet, the processor 1201 obtains an indicator identifying the corresponding PDU session from the first mapping table. The first mapping table comprises a corresponding relation between a PDU session identifier set and a PDU session indicator set, the PDU session identifier is allocated for the PDU session by the core network control plane device and is used for identifying the PDU session on the control plane, and the byte length of the PDU session indicator is smaller than that of the PDU session identifier.

Optionally, if the sending end device is a terminal device and the receiving end device is a radio access network device, before the processor 1201 obtains the indicator of the PDU session corresponding to the identifier of the PDU session from the first mapping table, the first mapping table sent by the radio access network device is received through the transceiver 1203.

Optionally, the processor 1201 receives, through the transceiver 1203, an RRC connection reconfiguration message sent by the radio access network device, where the RRC connection reconfiguration message includes the first mapping table.

Optionally, the second indication information includes an identifier of the network slice, where the identifier of the network slice is allocated by the core network control plane device for the network slice and is used to identify the network slice.

Optionally, the second indication information includes an indicator of the network slice, where the indicator of the network slice is allocated by the radio access network device or the core network control plane device for the network slice and is used for identifying the network slice in the user plane. Before the processor 1201 generates the packet, an indicator of the network slice corresponding to the identifier of the network slice is obtained from a second mapping table, where the second mapping table includes a correspondence between an identifier set of the network slice and an indicator set of the network slice, the identifier of the network slice is allocated by the core network control plane device for the network slice and is used for identifying the network slice at the control plane, and a byte length of the indicator of the network slice is smaller than a byte length of the identifier of the network slice.

Optionally, if the sending-end device is a terminal device and the receiving-end device is a radio access network device, the processor 1201 receives the second mapping table sent by the radio access network device through the transceiver 1203 before obtaining the indicator of the network slice corresponding to the identifier of the network slice from the second mapping table.

Optionally, a process of the processor 1201 receiving, through the transceiver 1203, the second mapping table sent by the radio access network device is described. The processor 1201 receives, through the transceiver 1203, an RRC connection reconfiguration message sent by the radio access network device, where the RRC connection reconfiguration message includes the second mapping table.

Optionally, the first indication information includes an identifier of a QoS parameter of a service data flow to which the data packet belongs, and the identifier of the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs is allocated by the core network control plane device for the QoS parameter of the service data flow to which the data packet belongs.

Optionally, the first indication information includes a first indicator, which is allocated by the radio access network device or the core network control plane device for the network slice and the PDU session and is used for identifying the network slice and the PDU session in the user plane.

Optionally, the first indicator allocated by the radio access network device is the same as or different from the first indicator allocated by the core network control plane device.

It should be noted that, for the functions of each functional module in the sending-end device 120 described in the embodiment of the present invention, reference may be made to the related description of the corresponding sending-end device in the embodiment shown in fig. 5, which is not described herein again.

Fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a receiving end device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The receiving end device may be a terminal device, a radio access network device, or a core network user plane device. As shown in fig. 13, the sink device 130 includes a processor 1301, a memory 1302, and a transceiver 1303. Wherein the processor 1301, memory 1302 and transceiver 1303 may be connected by a bus or other means.

Optionally, the sink device 130 may further include a network interface 1304 and a power module 1305.

The processor 1301 may be a DSP chip, among others.

The memory 1302 is used for storing instructions, and in particular implementation, the memory 1302 may be a ROM or a RAM.

The transceiver 1303 is used for transceiving signals.

The network interface 1304 is used for the sink device 130 to communicate data with other devices. The network interface 1304 may be a wired interface or a wireless interface.

The power module 1305 is used to provide power to each module of the receiving device 130.

Processor 1301 is configured to invoke instructions stored in memory 1302 to perform the following operations:

the transceiver 1303 receives a data packet sent by a sending end device, where the data packet includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate a PDU session corresponding to the data packet.

And determining the PDU session corresponding to the data packet according to the first indication information.

Optionally, the first indication information includes an indicator of the PDU session corresponding to the identification of the PDU session, where the indicator of the PDU session is allocated by the radio access network device or the core network control plane device for the PDU session and is used for identifying the PDU session in the user plane. The identification of the PDU session is allocated by the core network control plane device for the PDU session and used to identify the PDU session at the control plane, the indicator of the PDU session having a byte length smaller than the byte length of the identification of the PDU session.

Optionally, if the sending end device is a terminal device and the receiving end device is a radio access network device, the processor 1201 sends the first mapping table to the terminal device through the transceiver 1203 before receiving the data packet sent by the sending end device through the transceiver 1203.

Optionally, the processor 1201 sends, through the transceiver 1203, an RRC connection reconfiguration message to the terminal device, where the RRC connection reconfiguration message includes the first mapping table.

Optionally, the second indication information includes an indicator of the network slice, which identifies the corresponding network slice, and the indicator of the network slice is allocated by the radio access network device or the core network control plane device for the network slice and is used to identify the network slice in the user plane. The identification of the network slice is allocated by the core network control plane device for the network slice and is used to identify the network slice at the control plane, the indicator of the network slice having a byte length that is less than the byte length of the identification of the network slice.

Optionally, if the receiving end device is a terminal device and the receiving end device is a radio access network device, the processor 1201 sends the second mapping table to the terminal device through the transceiver 1203 before receiving the data packet sent by the sending end device through the transceiver 1203.

Optionally, the processor 1201 sends, through the transceiver 1203, an RRC connection reconfiguration message to the terminal device, where the RRC connection reconfiguration message includes the second mapping table.

It should be noted that, for the functions of each functional module in the receiving end device 130 described in the embodiment of the present invention, reference may be made to the related description of the corresponding receiving end device in the embodiment shown in fig. 5, which is not described herein again.

Please refer to fig. 14, which is a schematic structural diagram of another sending-end device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 14, the transmitting-end device 140 includes: a generating module 1401 and a sending module 1402, wherein,

a generating module 1401, configured to generate a data packet, where the data packet includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate a protocol data unit PDU session to which the data packet belongs.

A sending module 1402, configured to send the data packet to the receiving end device.

Optionally, the first indication information includes an indicator of the PDU session, where the indicator of the PDU session is allocated by the radio access network device or the core network control plane device for the PDU session and is used for identifying the PDU session in the user plane. The transmitting-end device 140 further includes:

a first obtaining module, configured to obtain, from the first mapping table, an indicator of the PDU session corresponding to the identifier of the PDU session before the generating module 1401 generates the data packet. The first mapping table comprises a corresponding relation between a PDU session identifier set and a PDU session indicator set, the PDU session identifier is allocated for the PDU session by the core network control plane device and is used for identifying the PDU session on the control plane, and the byte length of the PDU session indicator is smaller than that of the PDU session identifier.

Optionally, if the sending end device is a terminal device, and the receiving end device is a radio access network device, the sending end device 140 further includes:

the first receiving module is configured to receive the first mapping table sent by the radio access network device before the first obtaining module obtains the indicator of the PDU session corresponding to the identifier of the PDU session from the first mapping table.

Optionally, the first receiving module is specifically configured to: and receiving an RRC connection reconfiguration message sent by the radio access network equipment, wherein the RRC connection reconfiguration message comprises a first mapping table.

Optionally, the second indication information includes an indicator of the network slice, where the indicator of the network slice is allocated by the radio access network device or the core network control plane device for the network slice and is used for identifying the network slice in the user plane. The transmitting-end device 140 further includes:

a second obtaining module, configured to obtain, before the generating module 1401 generates the data packet, an indicator of the network slice corresponding to the identifier of the network slice from a second mapping table, where the second mapping table includes a correspondence between an identifier set of the network slice and an indicator set of the network slice, the identifier of the network slice is allocated by the core network control plane device for the network slice and is used for identifying the network slice at the control plane, and a byte length of the indicator of the network slice is smaller than a byte length of the identifier of the network slice.

and a second receiving module, configured to receive the second mapping table sent by the radio access network device before the second obtaining module obtains, from the second mapping table, the indicator of the network slice corresponding to the identifier of the network slice.

Optionally, the second receiving module is specifically configured to: and receiving an RRC connection reconfiguration message sent by the radio access network equipment, wherein the RRC connection reconfiguration message comprises a second mapping table.

It should be noted that, for the functions of each functional module of the sending-end device 140 described in the embodiment of the present invention, reference may be made to the related description of the corresponding sending-end device in the embodiment shown in fig. 5, which is not described herein again.

Fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of another receiving end device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 15, the receiving-end apparatus 150 includes: a receiving module 1501 and a processing module 1502, wherein,

a receiving module 1501 is configured to receive a data packet sent by a sending end device, where the data packet includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate a PDU session corresponding to the data packet.

The processing module 1502 is configured to determine, according to the first indication information, a PDU session corresponding to the data packet.

Optionally, if the sending end device is a terminal device, and the receiving end device is a radio access network device, the receiving end device 150 further includes:

a first sending module, configured to send the first mapping table to the terminal device before the receiving module 1501 receives the data packet sent by the sending-end device.

Optionally, the first sending module is specifically configured to: and sending an RRC connection reconfiguration message to the terminal equipment, wherein the RRC connection reconfiguration message comprises the first mapping table.

Optionally, if the receiving end device is a terminal device, the receiving end device is a radio access network device, and the receiving end device 150 further includes:

a second sending module, configured to send the second mapping table to the terminal device before the receiving module 1501 receives the data packet sent by the sending-end device.

Optionally, the second sending module is specifically configured to: and sending an RRC connection reconfiguration message to the terminal equipment, wherein the RRC connection reconfiguration message comprises a second mapping table.

It should be noted that, for the functions of each functional module of the receiving end device 150 described in the embodiment of the present invention, reference may be made to the related description of the corresponding receiving end device in the embodiment shown in fig. 5, which is not described herein again.

The terms "first," "second," "third," "fourth," and the like in the description and in the claims and drawings, if any, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the data so used is interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the invention described herein are, for example, capable of operation in sequences other than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprises," "comprising," and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or elements is not necessarily limited to those steps or elements expressly listed, but may include other steps or elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that: all or a portion of the steps of implementing the above-described method embodiments may be performed by hardware associated with program instructions. The program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. When executed, the program performs steps comprising the method embodiments described above; and the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as ROM, RAM, magnetic or optical disks.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, and not to limit the same; while the invention has been described in detail and with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that: the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be modified, or some or all of the technical features may be equivalently replaced; and the modifications or the substitutions do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions depart from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method of data transmission, comprising: a sending terminal device generates a data packet, wherein the data packet comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session corresponding to the data packet;

the sending end equipment sends the data packet to receiving end equipment;

the data packet further comprises second indication information, and the second indication information is used for indicating the network slice corresponding to the data packet;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the first indication information is further used for indicating a network slice corresponding to the data packet.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first indication information comprises an identification of the PDU session, which is allocated by a core network control plane device for the PDU session and used for identifying the PDU session.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first indication information comprises an indicator of the PDU session, wherein the indicator of the PDU session is assigned by a radio access network device or a core network control plane device for the PDU session and is used for identifying the PDU session on a user plane; before the sending end device generates the data packet, the method further includes:

the sending end device obtains an indicator of the PDU session corresponding to the identifier of the PDU session from a first mapping table, where the first mapping table includes a correspondence between an identifier set of the PDU session and an indicator set of the PDU session, the identifier of the PDU session is allocated to the PDU session by a core network control plane device and is used for identifying the PDU session at a control plane, and a byte length of the indicator of the PDU session is smaller than a byte length of the identifier of the PDU session.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second indication information comprises an identification of the network slice, wherein the identification of the network slice is allocated by a core network control plane device for the network slice and is used to identify the network slice.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second indication information comprises an indicator of the network slice, wherein the indicator of the network slice is allocated for the network slice by a radio access network device or a core network control plane device and is used for identifying the network slice in a user plane; before the sending end device generates the data packet, the method further includes:

the sending end device obtains an indicator of the network slice corresponding to the identifier of the network slice from a second mapping table, where the second mapping table includes a correspondence between an identifier set of the network slice and an indicator set of the network slice, the identifier of the network slice is allocated to the network slice by the core network control plane device and is used for identifying the network slice at a control plane, and a byte length of the indicator of the network slice is smaller than a byte length of the identifier of the network slice.

6. A method of data transmission, comprising:

a sending terminal device generates a data packet, wherein the data packet comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session corresponding to the data packet;

the sending end equipment sends the data packet to receiving end equipment;

wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the first indication information comprises an indicator of the PDU session, the indicator of the PDU session is allocated for the PDU session by a radio access network device or a core network control plane device and is used for identifying the PDU session on a user plane; before the sending end device generates the data packet, the method further includes:

7. A method of data transmission, comprising: receiving end equipment receives a data packet sent by sending end equipment, wherein the data packet comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session corresponding to the data packet; the receiving end equipment determines the PDU session corresponding to the data packet according to the first indication information;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the first indication information includes an identification of the PDU session, which is allocated by a core network control plane device for the PDU session and used for identifying the PDU session.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the first indication information includes an indicator of the PDU session corresponding to the identification of the PDU session, the indicator of the PDU session being allocated by a radio access network device or a core network control plane device for the PDU session and being used for identifying the PDU session in a user plane, the identification of the PDU session being allocated by a core network control plane device for the PDU session and being used for identifying the PDU session in a control plane, and a byte length of the indicator of the PDU session is smaller than a byte length of the identification of the PDU session.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the second indication information comprises an identification of the network slice, wherein the identification of the network slice is allocated by a core network control plane device for the network slice and is used for identifying the network slice.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the second indication information comprises an indicator of the network slice corresponding to the identification of the network slice, wherein the indicator of the network slice is allocated by a radio access network device or a core network control plane device for the network slice and is used for identifying the network slice in a user plane, wherein the identification of the network slice is allocated by the core network control plane device for the network slice and is used for identifying the network slice in a control plane, and wherein a byte length of the indicator of the network slice is smaller than a byte length of the identification of the network slice.

12. A method of data transmission, comprising: receiving end equipment receives a data packet sent by sending end equipment, wherein the data packet comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session corresponding to the data packet; the receiving end equipment determines the PDU session corresponding to the data packet according to the first indication information;

wherein the first indication information includes an indicator of the PDU session corresponding to the identification of the PDU session, the indicator of the PDU session is allocated for the PDU session by a radio access network device or a core network control plane device and is used for identifying the PDU session in a user plane, the identification of the PDU session is allocated for the PDU session by a core network control plane device and is used for identifying the PDU session in a control plane, and a byte length of the indicator of the PDU session is smaller than a byte length of the identification of the PDU session.

13. A transmitting device, comprising a processor, a memory, and a transceiver, the memory configured to store instructions, and the processor configured to invoke the instructions stored in the memory to perform the following operations:

generating a data packet, wherein the data packet comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session corresponding to the data packet;

transmitting the data packet to a receiving end device through the transceiver;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

14. The sender device according to claim 13, wherein the first indication information includes an identification of the PDU session, which is allocated by a core network control plane device for the PDU session and used for identifying the PDU session.

15. The sender device of claim 13, wherein the first indication information comprises an indicator of the PDU session, the indicator of the PDU session being allocated by a radio access network device or a core network control plane device for the PDU session and used for identifying the PDU session on a user plane; before the processor generates the data packet, the processor is further configured to:

acquiring an indicator of the PDU session corresponding to the identifier of the PDU session from a first mapping table, where the first mapping table includes a correspondence between an identifier set of the PDU session and an indicator set of the PDU session, the identifier of the PDU session is allocated by a core network control plane device for the PDU session and is used for identifying the PDU session at a control plane, and a byte length of the indicator of the PDU session is smaller than a byte length of the identifier of the PDU session.

16. The sender device of claim 13, wherein the second indication information comprises an identification of the network slice, and wherein the identification of the network slice is allocated by a core network control plane device for the network slice and is used to identify the network slice.

17. The sender device of claim 13, wherein the second indication information comprises an indicator of the network slice, the indicator of the network slice being allocated for the network slice by a radio access network device or a core network control plane device and used for identifying the network slice in a user plane; before the processor generates the data packet, the processor is further configured to:

the processor obtains an indicator of the network slice corresponding to the identifier of the network slice from a second mapping table, where the second mapping table includes a correspondence between an identifier set of the network slice and an indicator set of the network slice, the identifier of the network slice is allocated by the core network control plane device for the network slice and is used for identifying the network slice at a control plane, and a byte length of the indicator of the network slice is smaller than a byte length of the identifier of the network slice.

18. A transmitting device, comprising a processor, a memory, and a transceiver, wherein the memory is configured to store instructions, and wherein the processor is configured to invoke the instructions stored in the memory to perform the following operations:

transmitting the data packet to a receiving end device through the transceiver;

wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the first indication information comprises an indicator of the PDU session, the indicator of the PDU session is allocated for the PDU session by a radio access network device or a core network control plane device and is used for identifying the PDU session on a user plane; before the processor generates the data packet, the processor is further configured to:

19. A receiving-end device, comprising a processor, a memory, and a transceiver, wherein the memory is configured to store instructions, and the processor is configured to call the instructions stored in the memory to perform the following operations:

receiving a data packet sent by sending end equipment through the transceiver, wherein the data packet comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session corresponding to the data packet;

determining a PDU session corresponding to the data packet according to the first indication information;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

20. The receiver apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the first indication information includes an identification of the PDU session, which is allocated by a core network control plane apparatus for the PDU session and used for identifying the PDU session.

21. The receiving end device of claim 20, wherein the first indication information includes an indicator of the PDU session corresponding to the identification of the PDU session, the indicator of the PDU session is allocated by a radio access network device or a core network control plane device for the PDU session and is used for identifying the PDU session on a user plane, the identification of the PDU session is allocated by a core network control plane device for the PDU session and is used for identifying the PDU session on a control plane, and a byte length of the indicator of the PDU session is smaller than a byte length of the identification of the PDU session.

22. The receiver apparatus according to any one of claims 19 to 21, wherein the second indication information includes an identification of the network slice, which is allocated by a core network control plane apparatus for the network slice and used for identifying the network slice.

23. The receiving end device of claim 19, wherein the second indication information includes an indicator of the network slice corresponding to the identification of the network slice, the indicator of the network slice being allocated by a radio access network device or a core network control plane device for the network slice and being used for identifying the network slice at a user plane, the identification of the network slice being allocated by the core network control plane device for the network slice and being used for identifying the network slice at a control plane, and a byte length of the indicator of the network slice is smaller than a byte length of the identification of the network slice.

24. A receiving-end device, comprising a processor, a memory, and a transceiver, wherein the memory is configured to store instructions, and the processor is configured to call the instructions stored in the memory to perform the following operations:

25. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that it stores a computer program which, when executed by hardware, is capable of implementing the method of any one of claims 1 to 6.

26. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that it stores a computer program which, when executed by hardware, is capable of implementing the method of any one of claims 7 to 12.