CN109962822B

CN109962822B - Wireless side transmission delay acquisition method and device

Info

Publication number: CN109962822B
Application number: CN201711428776.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 林高全; 韩立锋; 兰宇
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2017-12-26
Filing date: 2017-12-26
Publication date: 2021-02-09
Anticipated expiration: 2037-12-26
Also published as: CN109962822A

Abstract

The disclosure provides a method and a device for acquiring transmission delay of a wireless side, and belongs to the technical field of wireless communication. The method comprises the following steps: when the UE is switched from a first base station to a second base station, receiving a first data packet sent by the second base station, wherein the first data packet carries a first time point, and the first time point is a time point when the first data packet reaches a radio interface protocol layer of the first base station; acquiring the first time point; acquiring a time point when the first data packet leaves the UE wireless interface protocol layer as a second time point; and acquiring the transmission delay of the wireless side when the first data packet is switched according to the first time point and the second time point. According to the method and the device, the sending time and the arrival time of the data packet are obtained by recording the time point of the data packet arriving at the wireless interface protocol layer of the first base station and the time point of the data packet leaving the wireless interface protocol layer of the UE in the switching process, so that the wireless side transmission delay of the data packet in the switching process is accurately obtained.

Description

Wireless side transmission delay acquisition method and device

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of wireless communication technologies, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for acquiring a transmission delay on a wireless side.

Background

With the development of wireless communication technology, technologies such as automatic driving, intelligent manufacturing, remote control and the like gradually rise, and how to ensure low time delay and high reliability in a communication process becomes a technical problem of a mobile communication network. The industry and standardization organizations have started to actively lay out studies on how to support these future services, and the third Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) is the main standardization driver among them, and this technical problem also exists in the fifth Generation (5th Generation, 5G) mobile communication network. For the requirement of the 3GPP TR 38.913 for the air interface delay of the 5G Service, it is required that "uplink and downlink delays of enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) User plane packets are both 4ms, and uplink and downlink delays of high-reliability and Low Latency Communications (URLLC) User plane packets are both 0.5 ms", where the air interface delay refers to a delay for transmitting a Packet of a ((Service Data adaptation Protocol, SDAP) layer or a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer of a base station to an SDAP layer or a PDCP layer of a User Equipment (User Equipment, UE), or a delay for transmitting a Packet of an SDAP layer or a PDCP layer of a UE to an SDAP layer or a PDCP layer of a base station.

Whether due to movement of the UE or failure of a base station, handover of the UE from one base station to another is required in order to ensure continuity of UE communication and quality of service. In the handover process, if the base station to which the UE is originally connected receives the data packet of the core network element, the data packet cannot be directly sent to the UE, but the data packet needs to be sent to the base station to which the UE is to be handed over, and the data packet is forwarded to the UE by the handed over base station, which inevitably results in an increase in transmission delay of the data packet. Measuring the transmission delay generated in the switching process has important significance for the construction of a mobile communication network, so that a method capable of accurately acquiring the transmission delay of a data packet in the switching process is urgently needed.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the disclosure provides a method and a device for acquiring transmission delay of a wireless side, which can solve the problem that a method for accurately acquiring transmission delay of a data packet in a switching process is urgently needed in the prior art. The technical scheme is as follows:

in a first aspect, a method for acquiring transmission delay on a wireless side is provided, which is applied to a UE, and the method includes:

when the UE is switched from a first base station to a second base station, receiving a first data packet sent by the second base station, wherein the first data packet carries a first time point, and the first time point is a time point when the first data packet reaches a radio interface protocol layer of the first base station;

acquiring the first time point;

acquiring a time point when the first data packet leaves a radio interface protocol layer of the UE as a second time point;

and acquiring the wireless side transmission delay of the first data packet during switching according to the first time point and the second time point.

The data packets are downlink data packets, the first base station and the second base station may be 5G base stations (gNode B, gNB) or may be Central Units (CUs) in a Cloud Radio Access Network (Cloud-RAN) scenario, in a 5G Network, a base station may be reconfigured into a CU and a DU, the CU has a function of processing a Radio high-level protocol stack, and the DU mainly processes a physical layer function and a layer function with a higher real-time requirement. Of course, the method is also applicable to a fourth Generation (4 th Generation, 4G) (Long Term Evolution, LTE) mobile communication network, in which the first base station and the second base station are evolved Node bs (enbs) in the 4G network.

According to the method and the device for transmitting the data packet, the sending time and the arrival time of the data packet are obtained by recording the time point of the data packet arriving at the wireless interface protocol layer of the first base station and the time point of the data packet leaving from the wireless interface protocol layer of the UE in the switching process, and therefore the wireless side transmission delay of the data packet in the switching process can be accurately obtained.

In one possible implementation, the time point when the first packet leaves the radio interface protocol layer of the UE includes:

and the first data packet is output from a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer or a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer of the UE at a time point.

In one possible implementation manner, the outputting of the first data packet from the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer of the UE at a time point includes: and when the transmission mode of the SDAP layer is transparent transmission, the first data packet is output from the PDCP layer of the UE at a time point.

In a possible implementation manner, the first time point is carried in an SDAP Protocol data unit PDU or a PDCP Protocol data unit PDU header of the first data Packet by the second base station and issued to the UE, and the first time point is carried in a timestamp field in a General Packet Radio Service tunneling Protocol (GTP) extension header of the data Packet sent by the first base station and is transmitted to the second base station.

In one possible implementation, the first time point and the second time point are absolute times or the first time point and the second time point are relative times.

In a possible implementation manner, the obtaining, according to the first time point and the second time point, a wireless-side transmission delay of the first packet during handover includes: and subtracting the first time point from the second time point to obtain a time difference value obtained by calculation and using the time difference value as the transmission time delay of the wireless side.

In one possible implementation, the handover flag added by the second base station is included in the SDAP PDU header or the PDCP PDU header of the first packet.

In a second aspect, a method for acquiring transmission delay on a wireless side is provided, and is applied to a second base station, and the method includes:

when UE is switched from a first base station to a second base station, receiving a second data packet sent by the UE, wherein the second data packet carries a first time point, and the first time point is a time point when the second data packet reaches a radio interface protocol layer of the UE;

acquiring the first time point;

acquiring a time point when the second data packet leaves a radio interface protocol layer of the second base station as a second time point;

and acquiring the wireless side transmission delay of the second data packet during switching according to the first time point and the second time point.

The data packet is an uplink data packet, and the sending time and the arrival time of the data packet are obtained by recording the time point when the data packet arrives at the radio interface protocol layer of the UE and the time point when the data packet leaves the radio interface protocol layer of the second base station in the switching process, so that the wireless-side transmission delay of the data packet in the switching process can be accurately obtained.

In one possible implementation, the point in time when the second packet leaves the radio interface protocol layer of the second base station includes: the second packet is output from the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer of the second base station at a time point.

In one possible implementation manner, the outputting of the second packet from the second base station at the time point of the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer includes: and when the transmission mode of the SDAP layer is transparent transmission, the second data packet is output from the PDCP layer of the second base station at the time point.

In one possible implementation manner, the first time point is carried in a SDAP PDU or PDCP PDU header of the second data packet by the UE and is uploaded to the second base station.

In a possible implementation manner, the obtaining, according to the first time point and the second time point, a wireless-side transmission delay of the second packet during handover includes: and subtracting the first time point from the second time point to obtain a time difference value obtained by calculation and using the time difference value as the transmission time delay of the wireless side.

In one possible implementation, the handover flag added by the UE is included in the SDAP PDU or PDCU PDU header of the second data packet.

In a third aspect, a method for acquiring transmission delay on a wireless side is provided, which is applied to a UE, and the method includes:

when the UE is switched from a first distributed unit DU to a second DU, receiving a first data packet sent by a central unit CU through the second DU, wherein the first data packet carries a first time point, the first time point is a time point when the first data packet arrives at a radio interface protocol layer of the CU, and the CU is an upper network element of the first DU and the second DU;

acquiring the first time point;

The data packet is a downlink data packet, and the sending time and the arrival time of the data packet are obtained by recording the time point when the data packet arrives at the radio interface protocol layer of the CU and the time when the data packet departs from the radio interface protocol layer of the UE, so that the wireless-side transmission delay of the data packet in the switching process can be accurately obtained.

outputting the first data packet from an SDAP layer or a PDCP layer of the UE at a time point.

In one possible implementation manner, the first time point is carried in a timestamp field of a header of an SDAP PDU or a PDCP PDU of the first data packet by a CU and is issued to the UE.

In one possible implementation, the switch flag added by the CU is included in the SDAP PDU or PDCU PDU header of the first packet.

In a fourth aspect, a method for acquiring transmission delay on a wireless side is provided, which is applied to a CU, and includes:

when UE is switched from a first DU to a second DU, receiving a second data packet sent by the UE through the second DU, wherein the second data packet carries a first time point, and the first time point is a time point when the second data packet reaches a radio interface protocol layer of the UE;

acquiring the first time point;

acquiring a time point when the second data packet leaves a radio interface protocol layer of the CU, and taking the time point as a second time point;

The data packet is an uplink data packet, and the sending time and the arrival time of the data packet are obtained by recording the time point when the data packet arrives at the radio interface protocol layer of the UE and the time point when the data packet departs from the radio interface protocol layer of the CU, so that the wireless-side transmission delay of the data packet in the switching process can be accurately obtained.

In one possible implementation, the point in time that the second packet leaves the radio interface protocol layer of the CU includes: the second packet is output from the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer of the CU at a point in time.

In one possible implementation manner, the outputting of the second packet from the second base station at the time point of the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer includes: and when the transmission mode of the SDAP layer is transparent transmission, the second data packet is output from the PDCP layer of the CU at the time point.

In one possible implementation, the first time point is carried by the UE in a timestamp field of a header of a SDAP PDU or PDCP PDU of a second data packet and is transmitted to the CU via the second DU.

In one possible implementation manner, the SDAP PDU or PDCU PDU header of the second data packet includes a handover flag added by the UE.

In a fifth aspect, a wireless side transmission delay acquisition apparatus is provided, which is applied to a UE, and the apparatus includes a plurality of functional modules to implement the wireless side transmission delay acquisition method according to any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect and the first aspect, or the wireless side transmission delay acquisition method according to any one of the possible implementation manners of the third aspect and the third aspect.

A sixth aspect provides a wireless-side transmission delay acquisition apparatus, which is applied to a second base station, and the apparatus includes a plurality of functional modules to implement the wireless-side transmission delay acquisition method according to the second aspect and any possible implementation manner of the second aspect.

In a seventh aspect, a wireless-side transmission delay acquisition apparatus is provided, which is applied to a CU, and the apparatus includes a plurality of functional modules to implement the wireless-side transmission delay acquisition method according to any one of the foregoing fourth aspect and possible implementation manners of the fourth aspect.

In an eighth aspect, a UE is provided, where the UE stores a plurality of instructions, and the instructions are adapted to be used by a processor to load and execute the wireless-side transmission delay obtaining method according to the first aspect and any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect, or the wireless-side transmission delay obtaining method according to any one of the possible implementations of the third aspect and the third aspect.

In a ninth aspect, a base station is provided, wherein the base station stores a plurality of instructions, and the instructions are adapted to be used by a processor to load and execute the method for acquiring a transmission delay on a wireless side according to the second aspect and any possible implementation manner of the second aspect.

In a tenth aspect, a CU is provided, where the CU stores a plurality of instructions adapted to be used by a processor to load and execute the wireless-side transmission delay obtaining method of any one of the possible implementations of the third aspect and the fourth aspect.

In an eleventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, where instructions are stored on the computer-readable storage medium and executed by a processor to implement the method for acquiring a transmission delay on a wireless side in any one of the possible implementations of the first to fourth aspects and the first to fourth aspects.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an implementation environment provided by embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of an implementation environment provided by embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a UE300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 4 is a block diagram of a base station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 5 is a flowchart of a data packet transmission method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a transmission delay definition provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 7 is a flowchart of a method for acquiring a transmission delay on a wireless side according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a GTP extension header format when a time point is an absolute time according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a GTP extension header format when a time point is a relative time according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of a short sequence number timestamp provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of a long sequence number timestamp provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 12 is a flowchart of a method for acquiring a transmission delay on a wireless side according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of a data packet transmission process provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 14 is a flowchart of a method for acquiring a transmission delay on a wireless side according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 15 is a flowchart of a method for acquiring a transmission delay on a wireless side according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of a wireless-side transmission delay acquisition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 17 is a schematic structural diagram of a wireless-side transmission delay acquisition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 18 is a schematic structural diagram of a wireless-side transmission delay acquisition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 19 is a schematic structural diagram of a wireless-side transmission delay acquisition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

To make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present disclosure more apparent, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an implementation environment provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure, and referring to fig. 1, the implementation environment includes a user equipment UE, a base station, and a core network element. The implementation environment is a network architecture of a 5G network, in which the base station is a gNB.

The UE may establish a network connection with a base station to provide a communication service for a user.

The gNB is a base station used for resource scheduling in the 5G network, and can establish network connection with the UE and the core network element, and provide wireless network service for the UE and also provide wireless resource management service for the UE by acquiring network data from the core network element and sending the network data to the UE.

The Core network element may be a User Port Function (UPF), a Session Management Function (SMF), a Core Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), a Unified Data Management (UDM), and the like, and may provide services such as Mobility Management, User Access control, signaling processing, and the like for the UE through the base station.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of an implementation environment provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure, referring to fig. 1, the implementation environment includes a user equipment UE, a Distributed Unit (DU), a Central Unit (CU), and a core network element. The implementation environment is a network architecture of the Cloud-RAN.

The UE is a device that can establish a network connection with a base station and provide a communication service for a user, and is similar to the UE shown in fig. 1.

The above-mentioned gNB may be reconfigured into two functional entities, one CU and a plurality of DUs, and CUs may be placed in a centralized manner, and DU placement depends on the actual network environment. The DUs can be distributed in a centralized manner, for example, in a core urban area, the traffic density is high, the inter-site distance is small, and the DUs in an area with limited machine room resources can be distributed in a centralized manner. The DUs can also be distributed, for example, the DUs in the area with sparser traffic and larger inter-site distance can be distributed. The CU has a function of handling a Radio higher layer protocol stack, such as a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, a PDCP layer, and even can support an edge computing network, and meets a higher requirement of a future communication network for an emerging service for network delay, for example, the emerging service may be video, network shopping, virtual/augmented reality, and the like. The DU mainly handles physical layer functions and functions of layers with higher real-time requirements.

The core network element may be a UPF, an SMF, an AMF, a PCRF, a UDM, and the like, and may provide services such as mobility management, user access control, signaling processing, and the like for the UE through the base station, which is similar to the core network element shown in fig. 1.

The present embodiment provides a UE300, and the UE300 may be configured to perform the wireless side transmission delay acquisition method provided in the following embodiments. Referring to fig. 3, the UE300 includes:

UE300 may include Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry 110, memory 120 including one or more computer-readable storage media, input unit 130, display unit 140, sensor 150, audio circuitry 160, Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) module 170, processor 180 including one or more processing cores, and power supply 190. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the UE architecture shown in fig. 3 does not constitute a limitation of the UE, and may include more or fewer components than shown, or combine certain components, or a different arrangement of components. Wherein:

the RF circuit 110 may be used for receiving and transmitting signals during information transmission and reception or during a call, and in particular, receives downlink information from a base station and then sends the received downlink information to the one or more processors 180 for processing; in addition, data relating to uplink is transmitted to the base station. In general, RF circuitry 110 includes, but is not limited to, an antenna, at least one Amplifier, a tuner, one or more oscillators, a subscriber identity module (sim) card, a transceiver, a coupler, a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA), a duplexer, and the like. In addition, the RF circuitry 110 may also communicate with networks and other devices via wireless communications. The wireless communication may use any communication standard or protocol, including but not limited to Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), email, Short Messaging Service (SMS), etc.

The memory 120 may be used to store software programs and modules, and the processor 180 executes various functional applications and data processing by operating the software programs and modules stored in the memory 120. The memory 120 may mainly include a storage program area and a storage data area, wherein the storage program area may store an operating system, an application program required by at least one function (such as a sound playing function, an image playing function, etc.), and the like; the storage data area may store data (such as audio data, a phonebook, etc.) created according to the use of the UE300, and the like. Further, the memory 120 may include high speed random access memory, and may also include non-volatile memory, such as at least one magnetic disk storage device, flash memory device, or other volatile solid state storage device. Accordingly, the memory 120 may further include a memory controller to provide the processor 180 and the input unit 130 with access to the memory 120.

The input unit 130 may be used to receive input numeric or character information and generate keyboard, mouse, joystick, optical or trackball signal inputs related to user settings and function control. In particular, the input unit 130 may include a touch-sensitive surface 131 as well as other input devices 132. The touch-sensitive surface 131, also referred to as a touch display screen or a touch pad, may collect touch operations by a user on or near the touch-sensitive surface 131 (e.g., operations by a user on or near the touch-sensitive surface 131 using a finger, a stylus, or any other suitable object or attachment), and drive the corresponding connection device according to a predetermined program. Alternatively, the touch sensitive surface 131 may comprise two parts, a touch detection means and a touch controller. The touch detection device detects the touch direction of a user, detects a signal brought by touch operation and transmits the signal to the touch controller; the touch controller receives touch information from the touch sensing device, converts the touch information into touch point coordinates, sends the touch point coordinates to the processor 180, and can receive and execute commands sent by the processor 180. Additionally, the touch-sensitive surface 131 may be implemented using various types of resistive, capacitive, infrared, and surface acoustic waves. In addition to the touch-sensitive surface 131, the input unit 130 may also include other input devices 132. In particular, other input devices 132 may include, but are not limited to, one or more of a physical keyboard, function keys (such as volume control keys, switch keys, etc.), a trackball, a mouse, a joystick, and the like.

The display unit 140 may be used to display information input by or provided to the user and various graphical user interfaces of the UE300, which may be made up of graphics, text, icons, video, and any combination thereof. The Display unit 140 may include a Display panel 141, and optionally, the Display panel 141 may be configured in the form of a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), an Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED), or the like. Further, the touch-sensitive surface 131 may cover the display panel 141, and when a touch operation is detected on or near the touch-sensitive surface 131, the touch operation is transmitted to the processor 180 to determine the type of the touch event, and then the processor 180 provides a corresponding visual output on the display panel 141 according to the type of the touch event. Although in FIG. 3, touch-sensitive surface 131 and display panel 141 are shown as two separate components to implement input and output functions, in some embodiments, touch-sensitive surface 131 may be integrated with display panel 141 to implement input and output functions.

The UE300 may also include at least one sensor 150, such as light sensors, motion sensors, and other sensors. Specifically, the light sensor may include an ambient light sensor that may adjust the brightness of the display panel 141 according to the brightness of ambient light, and a proximity sensor that may turn off the display panel 141 and/or the backlight when the UE300 moves to the ear. As one of the motion sensors, the gravity acceleration sensor can detect the magnitude of acceleration in each direction (generally, three axes), can detect the magnitude and direction of gravity when the mobile phone is stationary, and can be used for applications of recognizing the posture of the mobile phone (such as horizontal and vertical screen switching, related games, magnetometer posture calibration), vibration recognition related functions (such as pedometer and tapping), and the like; as for other sensors such as a gyroscope, a barometer, a hygrometer, a thermometer, and an infrared sensor, which may be further configured by the UE300, detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.

The audio circuitry 160, speaker 161, microphone 162 may provide an audio interface between the user and the UE 300. The audio circuit 160 may transmit the electrical signal converted from the received audio data to the speaker 161, and convert the electrical signal into a sound signal for output by the speaker 161; on the other hand, the microphone 162 converts the collected sound signal into an electrical signal, which is received by the audio circuit 160 and converted into audio data, which is then processed by the audio data output processor 180 and then transmitted to, for example, another UE via the RF circuit 110, or the audio data is output to the memory 120 for further processing. The audio circuitry 160 may also include an earbud jack to provide communication of peripheral headphones with the UE 300.

WiFi belongs to short-range wireless transmission technology, and the UE300 can help the user send and receive e-mails, browse web pages, access streaming media, etc. through the WiFi module 170, which provides wireless broadband internet access for the user. Although fig. 3 shows the WiFi module 170, it is understood that it does not belong to the essential constitution of the UE300, and may be omitted entirely as needed within the scope not changing the essence of the invention.

The processor 180 is a control center of the UE300, connects various parts of the entire handset using various interfaces and lines, and performs various functions of the UE300 and processes data by operating or executing software programs and/or modules stored in the memory 120 and calling data stored in the memory 120, thereby performing overall monitoring of the handset. Optionally, processor 180 may include one or more processing cores; optionally, the processor 180 may integrate an application processor and a modem processor, wherein the application processor mainly handles operating systems, user interfaces, application programs, and the like, and the modem processor mainly handles wireless communications. It will be appreciated that the modem processor described above may not be integrated into the processor 180.

The UE300 further includes a power supply 190 (e.g., a battery) for supplying power to various components, and optionally, the power supply may be logically connected to the processor 180 via a power management system, so as to implement functions of managing charging, discharging, and power consumption via the power management system. The power supply 190 may also include any component including one or more of a dc or ac power source, a recharging system, a power failure detection circuit, a power converter or inverter, a power status indicator, and the like.

Although not shown, the UE300 may further include a camera, a bluetooth module, and the like, which are not described herein. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the display unit of the UE300 is a touch screen display, and the UE300 further includes a memory and one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors. When executed by a processor, the one or more programs implement a method for acquiring a transmission delay on a UE side as shown in any of the following embodiments.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram of a base station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For example, the base station may be provided as a gNB or CU, and the base station includes a transmitter, a receiver, a memory, and a processor coupled to the transmitter, the receiver, and the memory, respectively. Of course, the base station apparatus may further include general components such as an antenna, a baseband processing component, a medium radio frequency processing component, an input/output device, and the like, and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited in any way here. The base station is configured to execute a method for acquiring the transmission delay of the wireless side of the base station side provided in any of the following embodiments.

In an exemplary embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium, such as a memory, storing a computer program is also provided, which when executed by a processor, implements a wireless-side transmission delay acquisition method performed by a UE in the following embodiments. For example, the computer-readable storage medium may be a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM), a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, an optical data storage device, and the like.

In an exemplary embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium, such as a memory, storing a computer program is further provided, where the computer program is executed by a processor to implement a wireless-side transmission delay acquisition method performed by a base station or a CU in the following embodiments. For example, the computer-readable storage medium may be a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM), a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, an optical data storage device, and the like.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart of a data packet transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure, where the data packet transmission method is mainly implemented based on an interaction flow among a UE, a base station, and a core network element, in the flow, the UE may send a data packet to the core network element through the base station, and the core network element may also send a data packet to the UE through the base station. The wireless side transmission delay acquisition method can be applied to a 4G network and can also be applied to a 5G network, when the wireless side transmission delay acquisition method is applied to the 4G network, the base station can be an eNB, and when the wireless side transmission delay acquisition method is applied to the 5G network, the base station can be a CU. Referring to fig. 5, the method comprises the steps of:

501. and the core network element sends a data packet to the base station.

The content of the data packet may be a network resource corresponding to a network request sent by the UE, or may also be recommendation information periodically sent by the core network element.

502. When the base station receives the data packet, the base station records the time point when the data packet reaches the wireless interface protocol layer of the base station.

When the base station receives the data packet, the base station inputs the data packet to the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer for buffering, so that the base station can record the time point when the data packet reaches the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer of the base station.

The SDAP layer is located at the upper layer of the PDCP layer and is responsible for mapping Quality of Service flow (QoS flow) of the upper layer to a Data Resource Bearer (DRB). In particular, the specific process of the base station recording the point in time when the data packet arrives at the radio interface protocol layer in the base station may be in the form of a dotting timestamp. The time stamp may be a relative time, and a manner in which the base station and the UE have negotiated a recording time point and a manner in which a time interval is calculated by the relative time. The time stamp may also be an absolute time. For example,

Beijing time

10, 5 minutes, 15 seconds. Of course, when the time stamp is in absolute time, the UE and the base station need to be time synchronized.

The time point may be carried in the SDAP protocol data unit PDU or PDCP service data unit PDU header of the data packet by the base station and delivered to the UE. Thus, this step 502 may be:

when the base station receives the data packet, the base station records the time point when the data packet reaches the SDAP layer of the base station, and adds the time point into the SDAP PDU header of the data packet; or the like, or, alternatively,

when the base station receives the data packet, the base station records the time point of the data packet reaching the PDCP layer of the base station and adds the time point into the PDCP PDU header of the data packet.

In a specific embodiment, when the transmission mode of the SDAP layer is transparent transmission, the base station needs to perform the above-mentioned step of recording the time point when the data packet reaches the PDCP layer of the base station, and adding the time point to the PDCP PDU header of the data packet.

503. And the base station sends the data packet to the UE, wherein the data packet carries the time point.

504. The UE receives the data packet.

Steps 501 to 504 are processes in which a core network element sends a data packet to a UE through a base station, where the data packet is a downlink data packet.

505. When an upper layer protocol of the UE sends a data packet to a radio interface protocol layer of the UE, the UE records a time point when the data packet reaches the radio interface protocol layer of the UE.

The content of the data packet may be self-state data of the UE, and the self-state data of the UE may be radio signal state data periodically transmitted by the UE to the base station for indicating self-connection. Of course, the content of the data packet may also be a network request sent by the UE for acquiring network resources, and the specific content of the data packet is not limited in this disclosure.

Similar to the above step 502, the radio interface protocol layer may be an SDAP layer or a PDCP layer, and the time point may be carried in the header of the SDAP protocol data unit PDU or the PDCP service data unit PDU of the data packet by the UE and transmitted to the base station. The main execution of step 502 is the base station, and the main execution of step 505 is the UE.

Specifically, the step 505 may be:

when the SDAP layer of the UE receives the data packet, the UE records the time point when the data packet reaches the SDAP layer of the UE and adds the time point into the SDAP PDU header of the data packet; or the like, or, alternatively,

when the PDCP layer of the UE receives the data packet, the UE records the time point of the data packet arriving at the PDCP layer of the UE and adds the time point into the PDCP PDU header of the data packet.

In a specific embodiment, when the transmission mode of the SDAP layer is transparent transmission, the UE needs to perform the above-mentioned step of recording the time point when the data packet reaches the PDCP layer of the UE, and adding the time point to the header of the PDCP PDU of the data packet.

506. And the UE sends the data packet to the base station, wherein the data packet carries the time point.

507. When the base station receives the data packet, the base station may send the data packet to the core network element.

508. The core network element receives the data packet.

Steps 505 to 508 are processes of sending a data packet to a core network element by a UE through a base station, where the data packet is an uplink data packet.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a transmission delay definition provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure, referring to fig. 6, when a UE sends an uplink data packet to a base station, a data packet generated by the UE sequentially passes through an upper Layer protocol, a Radio interface protocol Layer, a Radio Link Control (RLC) Layer, a Media Access Control (MAC) Layer, and a Physical Layer (PHY) Layer, and is sent to the base station through the PHY Layer, and the PHY Layer of the base station receives the data packet and then transmits the data packet to the upper Layer protocol of the base station through the PHY Layer, the MAC Layer, the Radio interface protocol Layer, and the GTP-U Layer. The upper layer Protocol may be an Internet Protocol (IP), a User Datagram Protocol (UDP), or other upper layer protocols. The uplink delay defined in the LTE network is from the time when the PDCP layer of the UE receives a data packet to the time when the data packet is transmitted from the PDCP layer to the RLC layer, and the downlink delay is from the time when the PDCP layer of the base station receives a data packet to the time when the UE receives the data packet transmitted by the base station and returns an Acknowledgement (ACK) of a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ), and the time when the base station receives an ACK of the HARQ ends. The method for acquiring the wireless side transmission delay acquires the wireless side transmission delay in the process of switching the base station or the DU.

The following describes a method for acquiring transmission delay on the wireless side generated during transmission of uplink data packets and downlink data packets during handover by using the embodiments shown in fig. 7 and fig. 12, respectively.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart of a method for acquiring transmission delay on a wireless side according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, where the method for acquiring transmission delay is mainly implemented based on an interaction flow among a UE, a base station, and a core network element, and in the flow, the UE is switched from a first base station to a second base station. When the wireless side transmission delay acquisition method is applied to a 5G network, the first base station and the second base station may be a gNB or a CU in a Cloud-RAN scenario. Of course, the wireless side transmission delay acquisition method may also be applied to a 4G network, and accordingly, the first base station and the second base station may also be enbs. Referring to fig. 7, the process is a method for acquiring a wireless-side transmission delay of a downlink data packet, and the method includes the following steps:

701. the UE sends a measurement report to the first base station, which may include the radio signal quality of the neighboring cell.

The first base station is a base station that is providing network service for the UE, that is, a cell where the UE is currently located is within a coverage area of the first base station. The first base station issues different types of measurement tasks to the UE by using a mobility management algorithm according to different needs, wherein the process of sending the measurement tasks to the UE by the first base station may be as follows: the first base station carries a Measurement configuration (measConfig) cell in the RRC reconfiguration message to issue Measurement configuration to the UE. The measConfig may include a measurement object, a reporting configuration, a measurement identifier, a quantity configuration, and a measurement interval, where the measurement object refers to a neighboring cell, the reporting configuration may include a reporting criterion and a reporting format, the reporting criterion is that the criterion triggers the UE to send a measurement report, and the measurement report may be a periodic event description or a single event description. The reporting format is the amount of UE contained in the report and the related information, e.g. the number of reporting cells. And measurement detection refers to a period in which the UE performs measurement.

When the UE receives the measurement task sent by the first base station, that is, the UE receives the measurement configuration sent by the first base station, the UE can perform measurement on the measurement object, and perform result evaluation using the measurement reporting standard, and send a corresponding measurement report to the first base station when the evaluation measurement result meets the reporting standard. The measurement report may include the radio signal quality of the neighboring cell, and of course, the measurement report may also include the radio signal quality of the current cell.

702. When the first base station receives the measurement report, the first base station determines whether to execute the switching according to the signal quality of the adjacent cell carried by the measurement report, and determines whether the adjacent cell belongs to the jurisdiction of the first base station according to the cell configuration table when the switching is determined to be executed.

In a specific embodiment, when the first base station determines not to perform handover according to the signal quality of the neighboring cell carried by the measurement report, the first base station may continue to send a data packet from the core network element to the UE, receive the data packet sent by the UE, and send the data packet to the core network element.

703. And when the first base station determines to execute the switching and the first base station determines that the adjacent cell does not belong to the jurisdiction of the first base station according to the cell configuration table, the first base station sends a switching request to the second base station, wherein the switching request is used for indicating the second base station to prepare for switching the UE.

The coverage area of the second base station includes the neighboring cell to which the UE is to be handed over, i.e. the second base station is the base station to which the UE is to be handed over. In a possible implementation manner, when the first base station determines that the neighboring cell still belongs to its jurisdiction according to the cell configuration table, that is, when the neighboring cell is also within the coverage of the first base station, the UE is not handed over.

704. When the second base station receives the switching request, the second base station performs switching preparation for the UE and returns a switching confirmation message to the first base station after the switching preparation is completed.

The handover confirm message is used to inform the first base station that the second base station has completed handover preparation for the UE. When receiving the handover request, the second base station may reserve connection resources for the UE, so as to establish a connection between the UE and the second base station subsequently.

705. The core network element sends a data packet to the first base station.

706. When the first base station receives the data packet sent by the core network element, the first base station records the time point when the data packet reaches the radio interface protocol layer of the first base station.

Step 706 is similar to step 502, and will not be described herein.

In one possible implementation, when the data packet does not pass through the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer of the first base station, the first base station may record a time point when the GTP tunnel between the first base station and the core network element is released.

It should be noted that, in practical applications, the step 705 and the step 706 are only described as an example after the step 704, and the step 705 and the step 706 may be performed before any step from the step 701 to the step 704 or synchronously with any step from the step 701 to the step 704, only that the first base station receives the data packet, buffers the data packet in the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer, and does not send the data packet to the UE.

707. When the first base station receives the switching request confirmation message, the first base station sends a switching command to the UE, the first base station copies the time point of the data packet to a GTP extension header of the data packet and sends the data packet to the second base station, and the switching command is used for indicating the UE to switch.

It should be noted that, when the first base station receives the data packet in step 706, the time point when the data packet reaches the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer is recorded, and the data packet is only buffered in the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer and is not yet sent to the UE, and the first base station has already determined to perform base station handover on the UE, if the first base station continues to send the data packet to the UE, the data packet may not be completely transmitted to the UE due to a handover procedure. Thus, the first base station may send the data packet to the second base station, which forwards the data packet to the UE.

In practical applications, the handover command may be a Radio Resource Control Connection Reconfiguration (RRC Connection Reconfiguration) message, and the handover command may include Information Element Mobility Control Information (IE Mobility Control Information), which may include Information such as a physical cell code (ID) of the target cell, a T304 timer, a new UE identity, and a handover reason. Carrier frequency, etc. And if the mobile control information does not include the carrier frequency, the neighboring cell governed by the second base station is on the current frequency by default.

The first base station adds an extension head with a time stamp type in a GTP extension head for forwarding the data packet, copies the time point of the data packet reaching a wireless interface protocol layer to a time stamp field of the GTP extension head, and transmits the data packet to a second base station when the data packet is sent to the second base station. In a possible implementation manner, the first base station may copy the time point when the release of the GTP tunnel of the core network is completed to the timestamp field of the GTP extension header, that is, copy the timestamp of the first buffer of the data packet to the timestamp field of the GTP extension header, and when sending the data packet to the second base station, transfer the data packet to the second base station.

Because the resource preparation signaling for switching the base stations and the signaling data interaction between the base stations are both realized through the Xn interface, when the second base station receives the data packet, the Xn interface delay in the switching process can be determined according to the time point in the timestamp field of the GTP extension header of the data packet.

Since the time point can be absolute time or relative time, the GTP extension header can be in the format of fig. 8 and 9. Fig. 8 shows a GTP extended header format when a time point is absolute time, and fig. 9 shows a GTP extended header format when a time point is relative time. As shown in fig. 8, the GTP extension header may include 8 bytes, each of which may have a length of 8 bits (bits), the first byte may be 0x02, 0x02 is 2 in hexadecimal, and when the field is 2, it indicates that the length of the timestamp header part in units of 4 bytes is 2 unit lengths, i.e., 8 bytes. The second byte to the seventh byte are timestamp fields, which may carry a timestamp (Time-stamp), i.e., a Time point of carrying. The eighth byte is used to record the Type of the Next Extension Header Type. As shown in fig. 9, the GTP extension header may include 4 bytes, each of which may have a length of 8 bits (bits), the first field may be 0x01, 0x01 is 1 in hexadecimal, and when the field is 1, it indicates that the length of the timestamp header part in units of 4 bytes is 1 unit length, i.e., 4 bytes. The second byte to the third byte are timestamp fields, which may carry a timestamp (Time-stamp), i.e., a point in Time of carrying. The fourth field is used to record the Type of the Next extension Header (Next extension Header Type).

708. When the UE receives the switching command, the UE performs switching.

709. When the second base station receives the data packet, the second base station acquires the time point in the GTP extension header as a first time point, copies the time point into the SDAP PDU or the PDCP PDU header in the data packet, and adds a switching mark in the SDAP PDU or the PDCP PDU header.

The switch flag is used to indicate that the first data packet is a data packet transmitted in a switching process. This step 709 is a process of obtaining, by the second base station, the first data packet and the first time point carried by the first data packet, specifically, when the second base station receives the data packet sent by the first base station, copying the time point in the timestamp field of the GTP extension header of the data packet into the SDAP PDU header or the PDCP PDU header of the data packet, to obtain the first data packet and the first time point carried by the first data packet, that is, the first time point is the time point in the timestamp field of the GTP extension header of the data packet sent by the first base station.

As shown in fig. 10 and 11, the format of the switch flag and the first time point may include two formats, a short sequence number timestamp and a long sequence number timestamp, taking a PDCP PDU header as an example. Fig. 10 shows a schematic diagram of a short sequence number timestamp, and fig. 11 shows a schematic diagram of a long sequence number timestamp. As shown in fig. 10, the PDCP PDU header of the short sequence Number timestamp, wherein the first byte may be a PDCP Sequence Number (SN), the first bit of the second byte may be a handover flag (HO flag), the second byte up to the nth byte may be a timestamp (Time-Stamp) field, that is, the second byte up to the nth byte is a field, and the (N + 1) th byte may be the PDU Data (Data) content at the beginning. As shown in fig. 11, the PDCP PDU header with long sequence number timestamp, wherein the first byte and the second byte can be PDCP SN field, the first bit of the third byte can be a switch flag, the third byte up to the nth byte can be timestamp field, that is, the third byte up to the nth byte is a field, and the N +1 th byte can be PDU Data (Data) content at the beginning. The invention does not limit the byte number of the short serial number time stamp and the long serial number time stamp specifically, and the bit number of the switching mark is not limited.

710. And when the UE completes the switching, the UE sends a switching completion message to the second base station.

711. When the second base station receives the switching completion message, the second base station sends a first data packet to the UE and sends a packet switching request to the core network element, wherein the first data packet carries a first time point, and the packet switching request is used for informing the core network element that the base station connected with the UE is switched to the second base station through the first base station.

When the second base station receives the handover complete message, the second base station may communicate with the UE, and the second base station may forward the first data packet, which should be originally sent to the UE by the first base station, to the UE.

712. When the UE receives the first data packet, the UE extracts a first time point and a switching mark from the SDAP PDU or the PDCP PDU header of the first data packet, and records the time point when the first data packet leaves the radio interface protocol layer of the UE as a second time point.

The second time point may be an output time point of the first data packet from a service data adaptation protocol, SDAP, layer or a packet data convergence protocol, PDCP, layer of the UE.

In one possible implementation manner, when the transmission manner of the SDAP layer is transparent transmission, the UE records the output time of the first data packet from the PDCP layer of the UE.

713. And the UE acquires the wireless side transmission delay of the first data packet during switching according to the first time point and the second time point.

Specifically, the UE may subtract the first time point from the second time point to obtain a calculated time difference value as the transmission delay of the wireless side.

For example, taking recording and adding a time point at the SDAP layer as an example, the first base station may time-stamp a packet when the packet arrives at the SDAP layer of the first base station, add the time stamp to the SDAP PDU header of the packet, where the time stamp is T1, the first base station copies the time stamp T1 to the time stamp field of the GTP extension header and transmits the packet to the second base station, and the second base station may receive the packet, copy the time point in the time stamp field of the GTP extension header to the SDAP PDU header of the packet, regard the time point as a first time point, and regard the packet to which the first time point is added as a first packet. And the second base station sends the first data packet to the UE, the UE receives the first data packet, extracts the first time point T1, and records that the time point when the first data packet leaves the SDAP layer of the UE is T2, and then the wireless side transmission delay T of the first data packet is T2-T1.

It should be noted that, after obtaining the wireless-side transmission delay of the first data packet, the UE may send the delay calculation result to the second base station as a handover event, or send the delay calculation result to the second base station packet by packet.

714. When the core network element receives the packet switching request, the core network element responds to the packet switching request and sends a packet ending mark to the first base station.

The end-of-packet flag is used to inform the first base station that the UE has been handed over to the second base station.

715. When the first base station receives the packet end flag, the first base station transmits the packet end flag to the second base station.

716. When the second base station receives the packet end mark and sends a data packet to the UE, the second base station does not add a switching mark to the data packet.

The core network element does not send the first data packet of the UE to the first base station any more, but directly sends the first data packet to the second base station, and the second base station does not add the handover flag to the first data packet any more.

717. The second base station sends a context release notification to the first base station.

718. When the first base station receives the context release notification, releasing the context of the UE.

The context of the UE may include resources, links, and user information.

The embodiment shown in fig. 7 is a flow of the method for acquiring the wireless-side transmission delay of the downlink data packet, and the flow of the method for acquiring the wireless-side transmission delay of the uplink data packet is described below in fig. 12. Fig. 12 is a flowchart of a method for acquiring a transmission delay on a wireless side according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in which a UE is handed over from a first base station to a second base station. Referring to fig. 12, the process is a method for acquiring a wireless-side transmission delay of an uplink data packet, and the method includes the following steps:

1201. the UE sends a measurement report to the first base station, which may include the radio signal quality of the neighboring cell.

1202. When the first base station receives the measurement report, the first base station determines whether to execute the switching according to the signal quality of the adjacent cell carried by the measurement report, and determines whether the adjacent cell belongs to the jurisdiction of the first base station according to the cell configuration table when the switching is determined to be executed.

1203. And when the first base station determines to execute the switching and the first base station determines that the adjacent cell does not belong to the jurisdiction of the first base station according to the cell configuration table, the first base station sends a switching request to the second base station, wherein the switching request is used for indicating the second base station to prepare for switching the UE.

1204. When the second base station receives the switching request, the second base station performs switching preparation for the UE and returns a switching confirmation message to the first base station after the switching preparation is completed.

Steps 1201 to 1204 are similar to steps 701 to 704, and are not described herein again.

1205. When the first base station receives the switching request confirmation message, the first base station sends a switching command to the UE, and the switching command is used for indicating the UE to switch.

1206. When the UE receives the switching command, the UE performs switching.

The steps 1205 and 1206 are the same as the steps 707 and 708, and are not described herein again.

1207. When the upper layer protocol of the UE sends a second data packet to the wireless interface protocol layer of the UE, the UE records the time point of the second data packet reaching the wireless interface protocol layer of the UE as a first time point, and adds the first time point and a switching mark in the head of the SDAP PDU or the PDCP PDU.

The process of recording the time point when the second data packet arrives at the radio interface protocol layer of the UE in step 1207 is the same as that in step 505, and will not be described herein again. It should be noted that the UE may also add a handover flag to the second packet that has not been sent by the first base station in the buffer of the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer.

1208. And when the UE finishes switching, the UE sends a switching completion message and a second data packet to the second base station, wherein the second data packet carries the first time point.

After the handover of the UE is completed, communication may be established with the second base station, and then the second data packet is not transmitted to the first base station, but is transmitted to the second base station.

After this step 1208, when the UE receives the second data packet sent by the upper layer protocol, the step of adding the switch flag to the SDAP PDU header is no longer performed.

1209. When the second base station receives the handover completion message and the second data packet, the second base station extracts a first time point and a handover flag from an SDAP PDU or a PDCP PDU header of the second data packet, records a time point when the second data packet leaves a radio interface protocol layer of the second base station as a second time point, and sends a packet handover request to a core network element, wherein the packet handover request is used for informing the core network element that a base station connected with the UE has been handed over from the first base station to the second base station.

The step 1209 is a process of acquiring a first time point and acquiring a second time point at which the second base station buffers the second data packet, and similarly to the step 712, the main execution body of the step 1209 is the second base station, and the main execution body of the step 712 is the UE.

The second time point may be an output time point of the second packet from the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer of the UE.

In one possible implementation manner, when the transmission manner of the SDAP layer is transparent transmission, the second base station records the output time of the second data packet from the PDCP layer of the UE.

1210. And the second base station acquires the wireless side transmission delay of the second data packet during switching according to the first time point and the second time point.

Specifically, the second base station may subtract the first time point from the second time point, and obtain the calculated time difference as the transmission delay of the wireless side.

For example, taking the recording and adding of the time point at the SDAP layer as an example, the UE may time a timestamp when the second packet reaches the SDAP layer of the UE, and add the timestamp in the SDAP PDU header of the second packet, where the timestamp is T3, the UE may send the second packet to the second base station, the second base station may receive the second packet, and record that the time point when the second packet leaves the SDAP layer is T4, so that the transmission delay T of the second packet is T4-T3.

1211. When the core network element receives the packet switching request, the core network element responds to the packet switching request and sends a packet ending mark to the first base station.

1212. When the first base station receives the packet end flag, the first base station transmits the packet end flag to the second base station.

The steps 1211 and 1212 are similar to the steps 714 and 715, and are not described herein again.

1213. When the second base station receives the end-of-packet flag, the second base station sends a context release notification to the first base station.

1214. When the first base station receives the context release notification, the first base station releases the context of the UE.

Step 1213 and step 1214 are similar to step 717 and step 718, and are not described in detail herein.

The sending time and the arrival time of the data packet are obtained by recording the time point of the data packet arriving at the wireless interface protocol layer of the UE and the time point of the data packet leaving the wireless interface protocol layer of the second base station in the switching process, so that the wireless side transmission delay of the data packet in the switching process can be accurately obtained.

In the above embodiment, how to obtain the wireless-side transmission delay of the data packet by recording the sending time and the arrival time of the data packet in the transmission process is mainly described, in the above embodiment, a specific process of data packet transmission may be referred to fig. 13. Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of a data packet transmission process provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure, where the data packet transmission process includes: the core network element transmits a data packet to a first base station through GTP, the first base station transmits the data packet to a PHY layer of a second base station through an SDAP layer or a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, an MAC layer and the PHY layer, buffers the data packet through the MAC layer, the RLC layer, the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer in sequence, transmits the data packet to the PHY layer of the UE through the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer, the RLC layer, the MAC layer and the PHY layer, buffers the data packet through the MAC layer, the RLC layer, the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer in sequence, and transmits the data packet to an upper protocol, wherein the data packet is a downlink data packet. In another transmission process, a data packet generated in an upper layer protocol of the UE sequentially passes through the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer, the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and the PHY layer to send the data packet to the PHY layer of the second base station, and then passes through the MAC layer, the RLC layer, the SDAP layer, or the PDCP layer of the second base station to buffer the data packet, where the data packet is an uplink data packet.

In the 5G network, since one gNB may be reconstructed into one CU and a plurality of DUs, when switching between base stations, the base station in the above process may be the CU, and if switching is performed within the base station, the CU is not switched, but only switches the DU, and the CU is responsible for the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer, and when switching the DU, the switching step does not cross the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer of the CU. The following describes a method for acquiring the transmission delay of the wireless side in the handover process in the base station. Fig. 14 is a flowchart of a method for acquiring a transmission delay on a wireless side according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, where the method for acquiring a transmission delay on a wireless side is mainly implemented based on an interaction flow among a UE, a DU, and a CU, and in the flow, the UE is switched from a first DU to a second DU. Referring to fig. 14, the process is a method for acquiring a wireless-side transmission delay of a downlink data packet, and the method includes the following steps:

1401. the UE sends a measurement report to the first DU, which may include the radio signal quality of the neighboring cells.

1402. The first DU sends the measurement report to the CUs.

1403. When the CU receives the measurement report, the CU determines whether to execute the switching according to the signal quality of the adjacent cell carried by the measurement report, and determines whether the adjacent cell belongs to the jurisdiction of the CU according to the cell configuration table when the switching is determined to be executed.

In a specific embodiment, when the first DU determines not to perform handover according to the neighboring cell signal quality carried in the measurement report, the first DU may continue to send the first data packet from the core network element to the UE, receive the second data packet sent by the UE, and send the second data packet to the core network element.

1404. And when the CU determines to execute the switching and the CU determines that the adjacent cell belongs to the jurisdiction of the CU according to the cell configuration table, the CU sends a switching command to the UE, and the switching command is used for indicating the UE to switch.

In a possible implementation manner, when the CU determines that the neighboring cell does not belong to its jurisdiction according to the cell configuration table, the CU determines to perform a CU switching process on the UE and switches the UE to the target CU, for a specific process, please refer to the embodiments shown in fig. 7 and fig. 12, which is not described herein again.

1405. The CU records the time point when the first data packet arrives at the radio interface protocol layer of the CU as a first time point, and adds a switching flag in the SDAP PDU or PDCP PDU header.

The process of recording the first time point in step 1405 is the same as that in step 706 and step 502, where the radio interface protocol layer may be an SDAP layer or a PDCP layer, and the first time point is a time point when the first data packet arrives at the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer of the CU, and the time point may be carried in an SDAP PDU or a PDCP PDU header of the data packet by the CU and sent to the UE. Thus, the step 1402 may be:

when a CU receives the data packet, the CU records the time point when the data packet reaches the SDAP layer of the CU, and adds the time point into the SDAP PDU header of the data packet; or the like, or, alternatively,

when a CU receives the packet, the CU records a time point when the packet arrives at the PDCP layer of the CU, and adds the time point to a PDCP PDU header of the packet.

In a specific embodiment, when the transmission mode of the SDAP layer is transparent transmission, the CU needs to perform the above-mentioned step of recording the time point when the data packet arrives at the PDCP layer of the CU, and adding the time point to the header of the PDCP PDU of the data packet.

1406. And the CU sends the first data packet to a second DU, the second DU is a DU dominating an adjacent cell, and the first data packet carries a first time point and a switching mark.

The CU determines that the UE is to be handed over to the second DU, and thus sends the first packet to the second DU, which forwards the first packet to the UE.

1407. The second DU receives the first data packet.

1408. When the UE receives the switching command, the UE performs switching.

Step 1408 is similar to step 708, and will not be described herein.

1409. When the UE completes handover, the UE sends a handover complete message to the second DU, where the handover complete message is used to inform the second DU that the UE has completed handover.

1410. When the second DU receives the handover complete message, the second DU sends a first data packet to the UE and sends the handover complete message to the CU, where the first data packet carries a first time point and a handover flag, and the handover complete message is used to inform the CU that the DU connected to the UE has been handed over from the first DU to the second DU.

1411. When the UE receives the first data packet, the UE records a time point when the first data packet leaves a radio interface protocol layer of the UE as a second time point, and extracts the first time point and the switching mark.

The second time point is an output time point of the first packet from the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer of the UE. The second point in time. In one possible implementation, when the transmission mode of the SDAP layer is transparent transmission, the first data packet is output from the PDCP layer of the UE at a time point.

It should be noted that the first time point and the second time point may be absolute times, and the first time point and the second time point may also be relative times.

1412. And the UE acquires the wireless side transmission delay of the first data packet during switching according to the first time point and the second time point.

The same goes for steps 1409 to 1412 as for steps 710 to 713, except that the steps performed by the second base station in steps 710 to 713 are the steps performed, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the CU is used for performing the decision task, and the device after the handover is the second DU, which is not described herein again.

1413. When the CU receives the switching completion message, the switching mark is not added to the SDAP PDU or PDCP PDU header of the first data packet any more.

According to the method and the device, the sending time and the arrival time of the data packet are obtained by recording the time point when the data packet arrives at the wireless interface protocol layer of the CU and the time when the data packet departs from the wireless interface protocol layer of the UE, so that the wireless side transmission delay of the data packet in the switching process can be accurately obtained.

Fig. 15 is a flowchart of a method for acquiring wireless side transmission delay according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, where the flow is a wireless side transmission delay acquisition process in a DU switching process in a Cloud-RAN scenario, and the flow is mainly implemented based on an interaction flow among a UE, a DU, and a CU, and in the flow, the UE is switched from a first DU to a second DU. Referring to fig. 15, the process is a method for acquiring a wireless-side transmission delay of an uplink data packet, and the method includes the following steps:

1501. the UE sends a measurement report to the first DU, which may include the radio signal quality of the neighboring cells.

1502. The first DU sends the measurement report to the CUs.

1503. When the CU receives the measurement report, the CU determines whether to execute the switching according to the signal quality of the adjacent cell carried by the measurement report, and determines whether the adjacent cell belongs to the jurisdiction of the CU according to the cell configuration table when the switching is determined to be executed.

1504. And when the CU determines to execute the switching and the CU determines that the adjacent cell belongs to the jurisdiction of the CU according to the cell configuration table, the CU sends a switching command to the UE, and the switching command is used for indicating the UE to switch.

Steps 1501 to 1504 are the same as steps 1401 to 1404, and are not described herein again.

1505. When the UE receives the switching command, the UE performs switching.

Step 1505 is similar to step 1408, and will not be described herein.

1506. When the upper layer protocol of the UE sends a second data packet to the wireless interface protocol layer of the UE, the UE records the time point when the second data packet reaches the wireless interface protocol layer of the UE as a first time point, and adds a switching mark in the head of the SDAP PDU or the PDCP PDU.

Step 1506 is similar to step 1207, and will not be described herein.

1507. When the UE completes handover, the UE sends a handover complete message and a second data packet to the second DU, where the handover complete message is used to inform the second DU that the UE has completed handover, and the second data packet carries the first time point and the handover flag.

The first time point is carried by the UE in the SDAP PDU or PDCP PDU header timestamp field of the second data packet and transmitted to the CU via the second DU. The formats of the handover flag and the time point in the SDAP PDU or PDCP PDU header are shown in fig. 10 and 11, which are not repeated herein.

This step 1507 is the same as the above step 1208, and after this step 1507, when the UE receives the second packet sent by the upper layer protocol again, the step of adding the handover flag to the header of the SDAP PDU or the PDCP PDU is not performed any more.

1508. When the second DU receives the handover complete message and the second data packet, the second DU sends the handover complete message and the second data packet to the CU, and the handover complete message is used to inform the CU that the DU connected to the UE has been handed over from the first DU to the second DU.

1509. When the CU receives the switching completion message and the second data packet, recording the time point when the second data packet leaves the radio interface protocol layer of the CU, taking the time point as a second time point, and extracting the first time point and the switching mark in the SDAP PDU or PDCP PDU header of the second data packet.

The second time point may be an output time point of the second packet from the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer of the CU, and in one possible implementation, the second packet is output from the PDCP layer of the CU when the transmission mode of the SDAP layer is transparent transmission.

1510. And the CU acquires the wireless side transmission delay of the second data packet during switching according to the first time point and the second time point.

Step 1509 and step 1510 are similar to step 1209 and step 1210, and will not be described herein.

According to the method and the device, the sending time and the arrival time of the data packet are obtained by recording the time point when the data packet arrives at the wireless interface protocol layer of the UE and the time point when the data packet departs from the wireless interface protocol layer of the CU, so that the wireless side transmission delay of the data packet in the switching process can be accurately obtained.

All the above optional technical solutions may be combined arbitrarily to form the optional embodiments of the present disclosure, and are not described herein again.

Fig. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus for acquiring a wireless-side transmission delay according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, which is applied to a UE, and referring to fig. 16, the apparatus includes:

a receiving module 1601, configured to receive a first data packet sent by a second base station when the UE is handed over from a first base station to the second base station, where the first data packet carries a first time point, and the first time point is a time point when the first data packet arrives at a radio interface protocol layer of the first base station;

an obtaining module 1602, configured to obtain the first time point;

the obtaining module 1602 is further configured to obtain a time point when the first data packet leaves the radio interface protocol layer of the UE, as a second time point;

the obtaining module 1602 is further configured to obtain a wireless-side transmission delay of the first data packet during switching according to the first time point and the second time point.

In a specific embodiment, the time point when the first packet leaves the radio interface protocol layer of the UE includes: the first data packet is output from a service data adaptation protocol SDAP layer or a packet data convergence protocol PDCP layer of the UE at a time point.

In a specific embodiment, the outputting of the first packet from the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer of the UE at the time point includes: and when the transmission mode of the SDAP layer is transparent transmission, outputting the first data packet from the PDCP layer of the UE at a time point.

In a specific embodiment, the first time point is carried in a header of a SDAP protocol data unit PDU or a PDCP protocol data unit PDU of the first data packet by the second base station and is delivered to the UE, and the first time point is carried in a timestamp field in a GTP extension header of the data packet sent by the first base station and is delivered to the second base station.

In a particular embodiment, the first and second points in time are absolute times or the first and second points in time are relative times.

In an embodiment, the obtaining module 1602 is further configured to perform step 713.

In a specific embodiment, the SDAP PDU or PDCP PDU header of the first packet includes a handoff flag added by the second base station.

Fig. 17 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus for acquiring a wireless-side transmission delay according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, which is applied to a second base station, and referring to fig. 17, the apparatus includes:

a receiving module 1701, configured to receive a second data packet sent by a UE when the UE switches from a first base station to a second base station, where the second data packet carries a first time point, and the first time point is a time point when the second data packet arrives at a radio interface protocol layer of the UE;

an obtaining module 1702, configured to obtain the first time point;

the obtaining module 1702 is further configured to obtain a time point when the second data packet leaves the radio interface protocol layer of the second base station as a second time point;

the obtaining module 1702 is further configured to obtain a wireless-side transmission delay of the second data packet during the handover according to the first time point and the second time point.

In a specific embodiment, the point in time when the second packet leaves the radio interface protocol layer of the second base station includes: the second packet is output from the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer of the second base station at a time point.

In a specific embodiment, the outputting of the second packet from the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer of the second base station at the time point includes: and when the transmission mode of the SDAP layer is transparent transmission, outputting the second data packet from the PDCP layer of the second base station at a time point.

In a specific embodiment, the first time point is carried by the UE in a header of a SDAP PDU or PDCP PDU of the second data packet and is transmitted to the second base station.

In an embodiment, the obtaining module 1702 is further configured to perform step 1210.

In a specific embodiment, the SDAP PDU or PDCU PDU header of the second packet includes a handoff flag added by the UE.

Fig. 18 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus for acquiring a wireless-side transmission delay according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, which is applied to a UE, and referring to fig. 18, the apparatus includes:

a receiving module 1801, configured to receive, when the UE is switched from a first distributed unit DU to a second DU, a first data packet sent by a central unit CU through the second DU, where the first data packet carries a first time point, the first time point is a time point when the first data packet arrives at a radio interface protocol layer of the CU, and the CU is an upper network element of the first DU and the second DU;

an obtaining module 1802, configured to obtain the first time point;

the obtaining module 1802 is further configured to obtain, as a second time point, a time point when the first data packet leaves a radio interface protocol layer of the UE;

the obtaining module 1802 is further configured to obtain a wireless-side transmission delay of the first data packet during switching according to the first time point and the second time point.

In a specific embodiment, the time point when the first packet leaves the radio interface protocol layer of the UE includes: the first packet is output from an SDAP layer or a PDCP layer of the UE at a time point.

In a specific embodiment, the first time point is carried in a timestamp field of a header of an SDAP PDU or a PDCP PDU of the first data packet by the CU and is delivered to the UE.

In a specific embodiment, the obtaining module 1802 is further configured to perform step 1412.

In a particular embodiment, the SDAP PDU or PDCU PDU header of the first packet includes a switch flag added by the CU.

Fig. 19 is a schematic structural diagram of a wireless-side transmission delay acquisition apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure, and is applied to a CU, referring to fig. 19, where the apparatus includes:

a receiving module 1901, configured to receive a second data packet sent by a UE through a second DU when the UE switches from the first DU to the second DU, where the second data packet carries a first time point, and the first time point is a time point when the second data packet reaches a radio interface protocol layer of the UE;

an obtaining module 1902, configured to obtain the first time point;

the obtaining module 1902 is further configured to obtain a time point when the second packet leaves the radio interface protocol layer of the CU as a second time point;

the obtaining module 1902 is further configured to obtain a wireless-side transmission delay of the second data packet during the handover according to the first time point and the second time point.

In a specific embodiment, the point in time when the second packet leaves the radio interface protocol layer of the CU includes: the second packet is output from the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer of the CU at a point in time.

In a specific embodiment, the outputting of the second packet from the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer of the second base station at the time point includes: and when the transmission mode of the SDAP layer is transparent transmission, the second data packet is output from the PDCP layer of the CU at the time point.

In a specific embodiment, the first time point is carried by the UE in a timestamp field of a header of a SDAP PDU or PDCP PDU of the second packet and is transmitted to the CU via the second DU.

In one embodiment, the obtaining module 1902 is further configured to perform step 1510.

In a specific embodiment, the SDAP PDU or PDCU PDU header of the second packet includes a handover flag added by the UE.

It should be noted that: the wireless side transmission delay acquiring apparatus provided in the above embodiment, when acquiring the wireless side transmission delay, is only illustrated by the division of the above functional modules, in practical applications, the above function distribution may be completed by different functional modules according to needs, that is, the internal structure of the device is divided into different functional modules, so as to complete all or part of the above described functions. In addition, the wireless side transmission delay acquisition apparatus and the wireless side transmission delay acquisition method provided in the above embodiments belong to the same concept, and specific implementation processes thereof are detailed in the method embodiments and are not described herein again.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that all or part of the steps for implementing the above embodiments may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by a program instructing relevant hardware, and the program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and the above-mentioned storage medium may be a read-only memory, a magnetic disk or an optical disk, etc.

The above description is meant as an alternative embodiment of the disclosure and not as a limitation of the disclosure, and any modification, equivalent replacement, or improvement made within the spirit and principle of the disclosure should be included in the scope of protection of the disclosure.

Claims

1. A method for acquiring transmission delay on a wireless side is applied to User Equipment (UE), and comprises the following steps:

when the UE is switched from a first base station to a second base station, receiving a first data packet sent by the second base station, wherein the first data packet carries a first time point, the first time point is a time point when the first data packet reaches a radio interface protocol layer of the first base station, the first data packet comprises a switching mark added by the second base station, and the switching mark is used for indicating that the first data packet is a data packet transmitted in a switching process;

acquiring the first time point;

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the point in time when the first packet leaves a radio interface protocol layer of the UE comprises:

3. The method of claim 2, wherein outputting the first packet from the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer of the UE at the time point comprises:

and when the transmission mode of the SDAP layer is transparent transmission, the first data packet is output from the PDCP layer of the UE at a time point.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first time point is carried in a header of a SDAP Protocol Data Unit (PDU) or a PDCP Protocol Data Unit (PDU) of a first data packet by a second base station and is delivered to the UE, and the first time point is carried in a timestamp field in a GTP extension header of a GPRS tunneling protocol of the data packet sent by the first base station and is delivered to the second base station.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first time point and the second time point are absolute times or the first time point and the second time point are relative times.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the obtaining the wireless-side transmission delay of the first packet at the time of handover according to the first time point and the second time point comprises:

and subtracting the first time point from the second time point to obtain a time difference value obtained by calculation and using the time difference value as the transmission time delay of the wireless side.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein a handover flag added by the second base station is included in a SDAP PDU or PDCP PDU header of the first packet.

8. A method for acquiring transmission delay on a wireless side is applied to a second base station, and comprises the following steps:

when UE is switched from a first base station to a second base station, receiving a second data packet sent by the UE, wherein the second data packet carries a first time point, the first time point is a time point when the second data packet reaches a radio interface protocol layer of the UE, the second data packet comprises a switching mark added by the UE, and the switching mark is used for indicating that the second data packet is a data packet transmitted in a switching process;

acquiring the first time point;

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the point in time when the second packet leaves the radio interface protocol layer of the second base station comprises:

the second packet is output from the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer of the second base station at a time point.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein outputting the second packet from the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer of the second base station at the time point comprises:

and when the transmission mode of the SDAP layer is transparent transmission, the second data packet is output from the PDCP layer of the second base station at the time point.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the first time point is carried by the UE in a SDAP PDU or PDCP PDU header of a second data packet and is transmitted to the second base station on-line.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the first time point and the second time point are absolute times or the first time point and the second time point are relative times.

13. The method according to claim 8, wherein the obtaining the wireless-side transmission delay of the second packet at the time of handover according to the first time point and the second time point comprises:

14. The method of claim 11, wherein a handover flag added by the UE is included in a SDAP PDU or PDCU PDU header of the second packet.

15. A method for acquiring transmission delay on a wireless side is applied to UE (user equipment), and comprises the following steps:

when the UE switches from a first distributed unit DU to a second DU, receiving a first data packet sent by a central unit CU through the second DU, where the first data packet carries a first time point, where the first time point is a time point when the first data packet arrives at a radio interface protocol layer of the CU, the CU is an upper network element of the first distributed unit DU and the second DU, the first data packet includes a switching flag added by the CU, and the switching flag is used to indicate that the first data packet is a data packet transmitted in a switching process;

acquiring the first time point;

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the point in time when the first packet leaves a radio interface protocol layer of the UE comprises:

17. The method of claim 16, wherein outputting the first packet from the UE at the SDAP layer or PDCP layer comprises:

18. The method of claim 15 wherein the first time point is carried by a CU in a timestamp field of a header of a SDAP PDU or PDCP PDU of the first packet and sent to the UE.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the first time point and the second time point are absolute times or the first time point and the second time point are relative times.

20. The method according to claim 15, wherein the obtaining the wireless-side transmission delay of the first packet at the time of handover according to the first time point and the second time point comprises:

21. The method of claim 18, wherein a handover flag added by the CU is included in a SDAP PDU or PDCU PDU header of the first packet.

22. A wireless side transmission delay acquisition method is applied to a CU, and comprises the following steps:

when a UE is switched from a first DU to a second DU, receiving a second data packet sent by the UE through the second DU, wherein the second data packet carries a first time point, the first time point is a time point when the second data packet reaches a radio interface protocol layer of the UE, the second data packet comprises a switching mark added by the UE, and the switching mark is used for indicating that the second data packet is a data packet transmitted in a switching process;

acquiring the first time point;

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the point in time that the second packet leaves the radio interface protocol layer of the CU comprises:

the second packet is output from the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer of the CU at a point in time.

24. The method as claimed in claim 23, wherein the outputting of the second packet from the SDAP layer or the PDCP layer of the CU at the time point comprises:

and when the transmission mode of the SDAP layer is transparent transmission, the second data packet is output from the PDCP layer of the CU at the time point.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein the first time point is carried by the UE in a SDAP PDU or PDCP PDU header timestamp field of a second data packet and transmitted to the CU over the second DU.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein the first time point and the second time point are absolute times or the first time point and the second time point are relative times.

27. The method of claim 22, wherein the obtaining the wireless-side transmission delay of the second packet at the time of handover according to the first time point and the second time point comprises:

28. The method of claim 25, wherein a handover flag added by the UE is included in a SDAP PDU or PDCU PDU header of the second packet.

29. A wireless side transmission delay acquisition device is applied to User Equipment (UE), and the device comprises:

a receiving module, configured to receive a first data packet sent by a second base station when the UE is handed over from a first base station to the second base station, where the first data packet carries a first time point, the first time point is a time point when the first data packet arrives at a radio interface protocol layer of the first base station, the first data packet includes a handover flag added by the second base station, and the handover flag is used to indicate that the first data packet is a data packet transmitted in a handover process;

an obtaining module, configured to obtain the first time point;

the obtaining module is further configured to obtain a time point when the first data packet leaves a radio interface protocol layer of the UE, as a second time point;

the obtaining module is further configured to obtain a wireless-side transmission delay of the first data packet during switching according to the first time point and the second time point.

30. A wireless side transmission delay acquisition device is applied to a second base station, and the device comprises:

a receiving module, configured to receive a second data packet sent by a UE when the UE switches from a first base station to a second base station, where the second data packet carries a first time point, the first time point is a time point when the second data packet arrives at a radio interface protocol layer of the UE, the second data packet includes a switching flag added by the UE, and the switching flag is used to indicate that the second data packet is a data packet transmitted in a switching process;

an obtaining module, configured to obtain the first time point;

the obtaining module is further configured to obtain a time point when the second packet leaves the radio interface protocol layer of the second base station, as a second time point;

the obtaining module is further configured to obtain a wireless-side transmission delay of the second data packet during switching according to the first time point and the second time point.

31. A wireless side transmission delay acquisition device is applied to UE, and the device comprises:

a receiving module, configured to receive, when the UE is switched from a first distributed unit DU to a second DU, a first data packet sent by a central unit CU through the second DU, where the first data packet carries a first time point, where the first time point is a time point when the first data packet arrives at a radio interface protocol layer of the CU, the CU is an upper network element of the first distributed unit DU and the second DU, the first data packet includes a switching flag added by the CU, and the switching flag is used to indicate that the first data packet is a data packet transmitted in a switching process;

an obtaining module, configured to obtain the first time point;

32. A wireless side transmission delay acquisition device applied to a CU (Central Unit), the device comprising:

a receiving module, configured to receive a second data packet sent by a UE through a second DU when the UE switches from a first DU to the second DU, where the second data packet carries a first time point, the first time point is a time point when the second data packet arrives at a radio interface protocol layer of the UE, the second data packet includes a switching flag added by the UE, and the switching flag is used to indicate that the second data packet is a data packet transmitted in a switching process;

an obtaining module, configured to obtain the first time point;

the obtaining module is further configured to obtain a time point when the second packet leaves the radio interface protocol layer of the CU as a second time point;