CN112217615B

CN112217615B - Method and device for supporting time-sensitive network

Info

Publication number: CN112217615B
Application number: CN201910615479.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 罗海燕; 黄曲芳; 戴明增
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-07-09
Filing date: 2019-07-09
Publication date: 2023-05-12
Anticipated expiration: 2039-07-09
Also published as: WO2021004191A1; CN112217615A

Abstract

A method and device for supporting time sensitive network are used for solving the problem that terminal equipment cannot distinguish between time sensitive network TSN package and service data package. The method comprises the following steps: the communication equipment receives a first message sent by the radio access network equipment, wherein the first message carries first information, and the first information is used for representing that a data packet transmitted by a first protocol data unit PDU session is a TSN packet; the communication device processes data packets transmitted by the first PDU session based on the first information.

Description

Method and device for supporting time-sensitive network

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a method and apparatus for supporting a time-sensitive network.

Background

The 3GPP R16 is discussed in the 5G RAN supporting an industrial time sensitive network (time sensitive network, TSN). The clock synchronization error required by the TSN network is within 1 us. The TSN system sends time service information to the TSN end nodes through the 5G network so as to achieve the purpose of clock synchronization of the TSN end nodes in the same time domain, and the clock time of each TSN is identical in popular terms.

Currently, the 5G RAN may support TSN through a transparent clock manner, that is, the 5G system radio access network device may receive time service information (such as precision time protocol (precision time protocol, PTP) messages) sent by the TSN system, and the 5G system radio access network device may transmit the time service information to a TSN end Node through an intermediate Node (Node-X). Node-X may facilitate TSN end Node and base station communication by way of L2 relay. When the base station forwards the TSN packet (such as TSN timing information) to the TSN end Node through the Node-X, the Node-X needs to send the TSN packet to an Ethernet module (Ethernet module) for processing, and then send the TSN packet to the TSN end Node through wireless. When the base station transmits service data, the Node-X only needs to adapt to the protocol layer and then forward the service data to the TSN end Node through a side link, and the service data does not need to be transmitted to the Ethernet module for processing. How to identify TSN packets and traffic data packets is a continuing problem for Node-X.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a method and a device for supporting a time-sensitive network, which are used for solving the problem that terminal equipment cannot distinguish TSN packets from service data packets.

In a first aspect, a method for supporting a time-sensitive network provided in an embodiment of the present application includes: the communication equipment receives a first message sent by the wireless access network equipment, wherein the first message carries first information, and the first information is used for representing that a data packet transmitted by a first protocol data unit (protocol data unit, PDU) session is a TSN packet; the communication device processes data packets transmitted by the first PDU session based on the first information. In the embodiment of the application, the wireless access network device indicates the communication device to enable the communication device to know whether the data packet transmitted by the PDU is the TSN packet, so that the communication device can treat the TSN packet and other service data packets in a distinguishing way.

In one possible design, the first information may be indicated by a type of the first PDU session. In the above design, the type of the first PDU session indicates whether the data packet transmitted by the PDU session is a TSN packet, so that signaling overhead can be saved.

In one possible design, the first information is indicated by INDICATION information carried by the first message, for example, the first message carries a TSN-INDICATION, where the TSN-INDICATION may indicate the first information, that is, the TSN-INDICATION indicates that a data packet transmitted by the first PDU session is a TSN packet. In the above design, the indication information is used to indicate whether the data packet transmitted by the PDU session is a TSN packet, so that the flexibility of indication can be improved.

In one possible design, the first message may include service data adaptation protocol layer (service data adaptation protocol, SDAP) layer configuration information, which may be included in the SDAP layer configuration information. Through the design, the communication device can judge whether the PDU session transmits TSN packets according to the SDAP layer configuration information.

In one possible design, when the communication device processes the data packet transmitted by the first PDU session based on the first information, the data packet transmitted by the first PDU session may be specifically transmitted to an Ethernet (Ethernet) module for processing. Through the design, the communication equipment determines that the received data packet is the TSN packet and can transmit the TSN packet to the Ethernet module for processing, so that the processed TSN packet can be transmitted to the TSN end node through wireless.

In one possible design, before the communication device receives the first message sent by the radio access network device, a second message may be sent by the radio access network device to the core network device, the second message being used to request establishment or modification of the first PDU session. In the above design, the communication device requests the core network device to modify or establish the first PDU session by sending a second message to the core network device.

In one possible design, the first message may be a radio resource control (radio resource control, RRC) reconfiguration message.

In a second aspect, a method for supporting a time-sensitive network provided in an embodiment of the present application includes: the wireless access network equipment receives a first message sent by the core network equipment, wherein the first message carries first information, and the first information is used for indicating that a data packet transmitted by a first PDU session is a TSN packet; the wireless access network device sends a second message to the communication device, wherein the first message carries second information, and the second information is used for representing that a data packet transmitted by the first PDU session is a TSN packet. In the embodiment of the present application, the radio access network device is indicated by the core network device, so that the radio access network device may indicate the communication device, and the communication device may learn whether the data packet transmitted by the first PDU session is a TSN packet, so that the communication device may treat the TSN packet and other service data packets differently.

In one possible design, the second information may be indicated by a type of the first PDU session. In the above design, the type of the first PDU session indicates whether the data packet transmitted by the PDU session is a TSN packet, so that signaling overhead can be saved.

In one possible design, the second information is indicated by INDICATION information carried by the second message, for example, the second message carries a TSN-INDICATION, where the TSN-INDICATION may indicate the second information, that is, the TSN-INDICATION indicates that the data packet transmitted by the first PDU session is a TSN packet. In the above design, the indication information is used to indicate whether the data packet transmitted by the PDU session is a TSN packet, so that the flexibility of indication can be improved.

In one possible design, the second message may include SDAP layer configuration information, the second information included in the SDAP layer configuration information. Through the design, the communication device can judge whether the PDU session transmits TSN packets according to the SDAP layer configuration information.

In one possible design, the first information may be indicated by a type of the first PDU session. In the above design, the core network device indicates whether the data packet transmitted by the PDU session is a TSN packet according to the type of the first PDU session, so that signaling overhead can be saved.

In one possible design, the third message sent by the communication device may be received before the radio access network device receives the first message sent by the core network device, the third message being used to request establishment or modification of the first PDU session, and forwarding the third message to the core network device. In the above design, the radio access network device may request the core network device to establish or modify the first PDU session by forwarding the third message of the communication device.

In one possible design, the second message may be an RRC reconfiguration message.

In one possible design, the first message may be a PDU session resource establishment request or a PDU session resource modification request.

In a third aspect, a method for supporting a time-sensitive network provided in an embodiment of the present application includes: the core network equipment determines that a data packet transmitted by a first PDU session is a TSN packet; the core network device sends a first message to the radio access network device, wherein the first message carries first information, and the first information is used for indicating that a data packet transmitted by the first PDU session is a TSN packet. In the embodiment of the present application, the core network device indicates the radio access network device, so that the radio access network device can learn whether the data packet transmitted by the PDU session is a TSN packet, and thus can treat the TSN packet and other service data packets differently.

In one possible design, before the core network device determines that the data packet transmitted by the first PDU session is a TSN packet, a second message sent by the communication device through the radio access network device may be received, where the second message is used to request establishment or modification of the first PDU session. In the above design, the core network device establishes or modifies the first PDU session for the communication device after receiving the second message from the communication device.

In a fourth aspect, a method for supporting a time-sensitive network provided in an embodiment of the present application includes: the communication equipment receives a first message sent by the wireless access network equipment, wherein the first message carries first information, and the first information is used for representing that a data packet transmitted by a first data radio bearer is a TSN packet; the communication device processes data packets transmitted by the first data radio bearer based on the first information. In the embodiment of the present application, the radio access network device indicates the communication device, so that the communication device knows whether the data packet transmitted by the first data radio bearer is a TSN packet, and the communication device can treat the TSN packet and other service data packets differently.

In one possible design, when the communication device processes the data packet transmitted by the first data radio bearer based on the first information, the data packet transmitted by the first data radio bearer may be transmitted to the Ethernet module for processing. Through the design, the communication equipment determines that the received data packet is the TSN packet and can transmit the TSN packet to the Ethernet module for processing, so that the processed TSN packet can be transmitted to the TSN end node through wireless.

In one possible design, before the communication device receives the first message sent by the radio access network device, a second message may also be sent by the radio access network device to the core network device, the second message being used to request establishment or modification of the first PDU session. In the above design, the communication device requests the core network device to modify or establish the first PDU session by sending a second message to the core network device.

In one possible design, the first message may be an RRC reconfiguration message.

In a fifth aspect, a method for supporting a time-sensitive network provided in an embodiment of the present application includes: the wireless access network equipment receives a first message sent by the core network equipment, wherein the first message carries first information, and the first information is used for indicating a quality of service (QoS) stream for transmitting TSN packets in a first PDU session; the wireless access network device sends a second message to the communication device, wherein the second message carries second information, and the second information is used for representing that data packets transmitted by the first data radio bearer are TSN packets, and one or more QoS flows for transmitting the TSN packets in the first PDU session are mapped to the first data radio bearer. In the embodiment of the present application, the core network device indicates the QoS flow of the TSN packet transmitted in the first PDU session of the radio access network device, so that after mapping the QoS flow of the first PDU session to the data radio bearer, the radio access network device may indicate which data radio bearer of the communication device transmits the data packet as the TSN packet, so that the communication device may treat the TSN packet and other service data packets differently.

In one possible design, the radio access network device may further receive a second message sent by the communication device before receiving the first information sent by the core network device, where the second message is used to request to establish or modify the first PDU session; and forwarding the second message to the core network device. In the above design, the radio access network device may request the core network device to establish or modify the first PDU session by forwarding the third message of the communication device.

In a sixth aspect, a method for supporting a time-sensitive network provided in an embodiment of the present application includes: the core network equipment determines a QoS flow for transmitting TSN packets in a first PDU session; the core network device sends a first message to the radio access network device, wherein the first message carries first information, and the first information is used for indicating a QoS flow for transmitting TSN packets in a first PDU session. In the embodiment of the present application, the core network device indicates the QoS flows of the TSN packets transmitted in the first PDU session of the radio access network device, so that the radio access network device can learn which data packets transmitted by the QoS flows are TSN packets, and can distinguish the QoS flows of transmitting only the TSN packets from those of transmitting other service data packets.

In one possible design, the core network device may receive a second message sent by the communication device over the radio access network device requesting establishment or modification of the first PDU session before determining the QoS flow for transmission of TSN packets in the first PDU session. In the above design, the core network device establishes or modifies the first PDU session for the communication device after receiving the second message from the communication device.

In a seventh aspect, a method for supporting a time-sensitive network provided in an embodiment of the present application includes: the communication equipment receives a data packet sent by the wireless access network equipment, wherein the data packet carries a TSN indication, and the TSN indication is used for indicating that the data packet is a TSN data packet. The communication device transmits the data packet to the Ethernet module for processing.

In one possible design, the TSN indication may be carried in an adaptation layer header of the data packet or a MAC header of the data packet.

In an eighth aspect, a method for supporting a time-sensitive network provided in an embodiment of the present application includes: the wireless access network receives a data packet sent by core network equipment, wherein the data packet carries TSN indication, and the TSN indication is used for indicating that the data packet is a TSN data packet; the radio access network device forwards the data packet to the communication device.

In a ninth aspect, a method for supporting a time-sensitive network provided in an embodiment of the present application includes: the core network equipment receives the data packet sent by the server; the core network equipment determines the data packet as a TSN data packet; the core network device carries the TSN indication in the data packet, and sends the data packet carrying the TSN indication to the wireless access network device.

In a tenth aspect, a method for supporting a time-sensitive network provided in an embodiment of the present application includes: the communication equipment receives first information sent by the radio access network equipment and at least one QFI list respectively corresponding to the DRB, wherein the QFI list corresponding to the DRB comprises identifiers of all QoS flows mapped to the DRB, and the first information is used for indicating the QoS flows for transmitting TSN data packets in a first PDU session. The communication device receives a data packet sent by the radio access network device, wherein the data packet carries QFI parameters. The communication device determines whether the data packet is a TSN packet based on the QFI parameter carried by the data packet.

In one possible design, the communication device may transmit the data packet to the Ethernet module for processing when determining that the data packet is a TSN packet.

In one possible design, the first information may include indication information corresponding to each QoS flow of the first PDU session, where the indication information corresponding to the QoS flow is used to indicate whether the QoS flow transmits TSN packets.

In one possible design, the first information may include indication information corresponding to QoS flows for transmitting TSN packets in the first PDU session, where the indication information corresponding to the QoS flows is used to indicate that the QoS flows transmit TSN packets.

In one possible design, the first information may include indication information corresponding to QoS flows that do not transmit TSN packets in the first PDU session, where the indication information corresponding to the QoS flows is used to indicate that the QoS flows do not transmit TSN packets.

In an eleventh aspect, a method for supporting a time-sensitive network provided in an embodiment of the present application includes: the wireless access network device receives first information sent by the core network device, wherein the first information is used for indicating QoS flow for transmitting TSN packets in a first PDU session. The wireless access network device maps each QoS flow of the first PDU session to a DRB, and sends first information and at least one QFI list respectively corresponding to the DRB to the communication device, wherein the QFI list corresponding to the DRB comprises identifiers of each QoS flow mapped to the DRB. The radio access network device sends a data packet to the communication device, the data packet carrying QFI parameters.

In a twelfth aspect, a method for supporting a time-sensitive network provided in an embodiment of the present application includes: the core network device determines whether each QoS flow of the first PDU session transmits TSN packets. The core network device sends first information to the radio access network device, where the first information is used to indicate a QoS flow for transmitting TSN packets in the first PDU session.

In a thirteenth aspect, the present application provides an apparatus for supporting a time-sensitive network, where the apparatus may be a device for communication, and may also be a chip or a chipset within a device for communication, where the device for communication may be a communication device, a radio access network device, or a core network device. The apparatus may include a processing unit and a transceiving unit. When the apparatus is a device for communication, the processing unit may be a processor and the transceiving unit may be a communication interface; the apparatus may further include a storage unit, which may be a memory; the storage unit is configured to store instructions, and the processing unit executes the instructions stored by the storage unit, so that the communication device performs the corresponding functions in the first aspect, the fourth aspect, the seventh aspect, and the tenth aspect, or so that the radio access network device performs the corresponding functions in the second aspect, the fifth aspect, the eighth aspect, and the eleventh aspect, or so that the core network device performs the corresponding functions in the third aspect, the sixth aspect, the ninth aspect, and the twelfth aspect. When the apparatus is a chip or a chipset within a device for communication, the processing unit may be a processor and the transceiving unit may be an input/output interface, pins or circuitry, etc.; the processing unit executes the instructions stored by the storage unit to cause the communication device to perform the respective functions of the first, fourth, seventh and tenth aspects, or to cause the radio access network device to perform the respective functions of the second, fifth, eighth and eleventh aspects, or to cause the core network device to perform the respective functions of the third, sixth, ninth and twelfth aspects. The memory unit may be a memory unit (e.g., a register, a cache, etc.) within the chip or chipset, or a memory unit (e.g., a read only memory, a random access memory, etc.) within the communication device that is external to the chip or chipset.

In a fourteenth aspect, the present application also provides a computer readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of the above aspects.

In a fifteenth aspect, the present application also provides a computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed, cause the method of the above aspects to be performed.

In a sixteenth aspect, the present application provides a chip comprising a processor and a communication interface for receiving code instructions and transmitting to the processor. The processor is used for calling the code instructions transmitted by the communication interface to execute the method in each aspect.

A seventeenth aspect of the present application provides a communication system, which includes a communication device, a radio access network device, and a core network device, where the communication device is configured to perform the corresponding functions in the first aspect, the fourth aspect, the seventh aspect, and the tenth aspect, the radio access network device is configured to perform the corresponding functions in the second aspect, the fifth aspect, the eighth aspect, and the eleventh aspect, and the core network device is configured to perform the corresponding functions in the third aspect, the sixth aspect, the ninth aspect, and the twelfth aspect.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic architecture diagram of a communication system provided in the present application;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a method for supporting TSN by a 5G RAN provided in the present application;

fig. 3A is a schematic diagram of a protocol layer for processing a TSN packet provided in the present application;

fig. 3B is a schematic diagram of a protocol layer for processing a service data packet provided in the present application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a Node-X processing packet according to the present application;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a method for supporting a time sensitive network provided herein;

fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of QoS flow mapping to DRBs provided in the present application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus for supporting a time-sensitive network according to the present application;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of another apparatus for supporting a time-sensitive network according to the present application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of another apparatus for supporting a time-sensitive network according to the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of still another apparatus for supporting a time-sensitive network provided in the present application.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention more clear, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention.

The method for supporting the TSN can be applied to a communication system supporting the TSN. The architecture of the communication system may include a radio access network device 101 and a communication device 102, and may further include a core network device 103, where the communication device 102 may be connected to a TSN end node, and the core network device 103 may be connected to the TSN system, as shown in fig. 1. The communication system according to the embodiments of the present application may be various types of communication systems, for example, may be a long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE), may be a fifth generation (5G) communication system, may also be a universal terrestrial radio access (universal terrestrial radio access, UTRA), evolved UTRA (E-UTRAN), new radio technology (NR), GSM/EDGE radio access network-circuit switched domain (GSM EDGE radio access network-circuit switched, GERAN-CS), GSM/EDGE radio access network-data switched domain (GSM EDGE radio access network-packet switched, GERAN-PS), code division multiple access (code division multiple access, CDMA) 2000-1XRTT, multiple radio access technology Dual Connectivity (MR-DC), and the like, and may also be a hybrid architecture of various communication systems, such as LTE and 5G hybrid architecture.

The radio access network device 101 may be a common base station (such as a Node B or an eNB), may be a new radio controller (new radio controller, NR controller), may be a gNode B (gNB) or an en-gNB in a 5G system, may be a centralized network element (centralized unit), may be a new radio base station, may be a remote radio module, may be a micro base station, may be a relay, may be a distributed network element (distributed unit), may be a receiving point (transmission reception point, TRP) or a transmission point (transmission point, TP), or any other radio access device, but the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto.

The communication device 102 may be a terminal device, or may be a relay station such as a customer premise equipment (customer premise equipment, CPE), or the communication device 102 may be a function of a base station. A terminal device, also called User Equipment (UE), is a device that provides voice and/or data connectivity to a user, such as a handheld device, an in-vehicle device, etc. that has a wireless connection function. Common terminals include, for example: a cell phone, tablet, notebook, palm top, mobile internet device (mobile internet device, MID), wearable device, such as a smart watch, smart bracelet, pedometer, etc. For ease of description, the embodiments herein collectively refer to communication device 102 as Node-X.

The core network device 103, which may be a mobility management entity (mobility management entity, MME), may be a Service Gateway (SGW), may be an access management function (Access and Management Function, AMF), a user plane function (user plane function, UPF) or the like in a 5G system, may provide further network connectivity, such as a telephone network and/or a data communication network (e.g. the Internet). The base station may be connected to the core network device via a link (e.g., S1 or NG interface).

If the communication system supports the TSN, the TSN system may send time service information to a TSN end node (TSN endpoint) through the communication network, so as to achieve the purpose of achieving clock synchronization at the TSN end node in the same time domain, which is colloquially that the clock time of each node in the TSN system is consistent.

The 5G RAN may support TSN by using a transparent clock manner, as shown in fig. 2, where the TSN system sends TSN packets, such as PTP messages, to the 5G network device (such as UPF), where the PTP messages are used to provide public accurate time service information, so as to implement deterministic service transmission. The following describes the TSN supported by the 5G RAN, taking PTP messages as an example. The TSN system sends a PTP message to a 5G network device (e.g., UPF), the UPF records the time of receiving the PTP message, i.e., the ingress time (ingress time) t0, and adds a correction term, correction field=x, to the PTP message, where the correction term is used for the TSN end node to correct the timing information. The UPF transmits the modified PTP message to the 5G UE through the 5G system, and simultaneously transmits the ingress time t0 to the 5G UE. The ingress time t0 can be sent together with the PTP message or can be sent separately. After receiving the PTP message and the ingress time t0, the 5G UE transmits the two information to an Ethernet Module (Ethernet Module) for processing, where the Ethernet Module may be a functional unit in the 5G UE. The Ethernet Module adjusts the correction field=x in the PTP message to be the correction field=x+t1-t 0, and then sends the correction field=x+t1-t 0 to the TSN endpoint, where t1 is the time when the Ethernet Module sends the PTP message, and t1-t0 is the transmission delay between the ingress 5G system (i.e. the time when the 5G network system receives the PTP message) and the egress 5G system (i.e. the time when the Ethernet Module sends the PTP message to the TSN end node). The Ethernet Module finally sends a PTP message to the TSN end node at egress time (egress time) t 1. The 5G UE and the TSN end node adopt a wired connection mode.

Currently, it is contemplated to introduce an intermediate Node-X (i.e. communication device 102) between the radio access network device and the TSN end Node, where Node-X may be a terminal device, may be a relay station, may be a function of the radio access network device, or the like. Node-X is a 5g ue for radio access network equipment, and Node-X and TSN end nodes are connected wirelessly. Node-X may facilitate communication between the TSN end Node and the radio access network device by way of an L2 relay. By way of example, fig. 3A, 3B respectively illustrate one possible terminal-to-Network Relay function (UE-to-Network Relay) user plane protocol stack, wherein an L2Relay UE (e.g., node-X) and a UE may communicate via a side link (sidelink), wherein the UE may include a function of a 5G UE and a function of a TSN UE (also referred to as a TSN end Node), the UE having the function of the 5G UE when the Node-X transmits a traffic packet (e.g., a mobile Network traffic packet), and the UE having the function of the TSN end Node when the Node-X transmits the TSN packet.

According to the protocol layers shown in fig. 3A, when the radio access network device forwards the TSN packet to the UE (the UE is equal to the TSN end Node at this time) through the Node-X, the Node-X needs to process the TSN packet sequentially through each protocol Layer, such as Physical (PHY) Layer-media intervention control (media access control, MAC) Layer-radio link Layer control protocol (radio link control, RLC) Layer-Adaptation Layer, and the like, and after processing through each protocol Layer, transmit the processed PTP message to the Ethernet module for processing, and then send the PTP message after processing through the Ethernet module to the TSN end Node in a wireless manner. The wireless access network device sends TSN package or business data package to Node-X through unicast, wherein the TSN package is not encrypted, and the business data package is encrypted. If the TSN packet has a packet data convergence protocol (packet data convergence protocol, PDCP) layer, the radio access network device needs to inform the Node-X how many bits (bits) the PDCP Sequence Number (SN) corresponding to the data radio bearer (data radio bearer, DRB)/Logical Channel ID (LCID) of the Node-X TSN end Node is, so that the Node-X can obtain the Ethernet packet after removing the PDCP header.

According to the protocol layer shown in fig. 3B, when the radio access network device sends a service data packet (such as a mobile network service data packet) to the UE (the UE is equivalent to the 5G UE at this time), the Node-X does not need to send the service data packet to the Ethernet module and then forwards the service data packet to the 5G UE, but only needs to transmit the service data packet to the adaptation layer and then forwards the service data packet through the side link (for example, L2 relay, the Node-X may forward the service data packet after processing the service data packet in the PHY layer/MAC layer/RLC layer/adaptation layer), and when forwarding, the header of the protocol layer between the Node-X and the terminal device, for example, the header of the RLC layer, the header of the MAC layer and the header of the PHY layer need to be encapsulated outside the service data, as shown in fig. 4. Therefore, how to identify TSN packets and traffic data packets is a continuing problem for Node-X.

It should be noted that the Ethernet module and the Node-X may be in the same physical entity, for example, the Node-X has an Ethernet protocol layer. Alternatively, the Node-X and the Ethernet module may be connected by a wired interface in different physical entities, for example, the Ethernet module is an inventory controller in the factory, and a card supporting the Node-X function is inserted into the controller, so that the integration of the Node-X and the Ethernet module can be realized.

Based on this, the present application provides a method and apparatus for supporting a time sensitive network, which are used to solve the problem that Node-X in the prior art cannot identify TSN packets and service data packets. The method and the device are based on the same inventive concept, and because the principles of solving the problems by the method and the device are similar, the implementation of the device and the method can be referred to each other, and the repetition is not repeated.

Embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Embodiment one: the data packets transmitted by the first PDU session in the first embodiment are all TSN packets.

The method for supporting a time-sensitive network according to the first embodiment may be as shown in fig. 5, and the method may be applied to the communication system shown in fig. 1. The method specifically comprises the following steps:

s501, the core network device determines that a data packet transmitted by the first protocol data unit (protocol data unit, PDU) session is a TSN packet.

In a specific implementation, before step S501, the Node-X may send a second message to the core network device through the radio access network device, where the second message is used to request to establish or modify the first PDU session. And after receiving the second message sent by the Node-X, the wireless access network equipment forwards the second message to the core network equipment.

In some implementations, the second message may be sent by Node-X to itself establish or modify a PDU session.

In other embodiments, the message requesting to establish or modify the PDU session may also be sent by Node-X when establishing or modifying the PDU session for the TSN-end Node, i.e. the second message may be sent by the TSN-end Node to the core network device via Node-X.

S502, the core network device sends first information to the wireless access network device, wherein the first information is used for indicating that a data packet transmitted by the first PDU session is a TSN packet. Correspondingly, the radio access network device receives the first information.

In a specific implementation, the core network device may send the first information to the radio access network device through a third message, where the third message may be a PDU session resource establishment request (PDU Session Resource Setup Request) message or a PDU session resource modification request (PDU Session Resource Modify Request) message, i.e. the first information may be carried in the PDU Session Resource Setup Request/PDU Session Resource Modify Request message. The wireless access network device performs the signaling interaction with the core network device AMF, and establishes a user plane tunnel corresponding to PDU session with the core network device UPF, namely a general packet radio service technology (general packet radio service, GPRS) tunnel protocol user plane (GPRS tunneling protocol for user plane, GTP-U). The interface between the radio access network device and the UPF may be referred to as the NG3 interface, among other things. It should be understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, the third message is merely an exemplary illustration, and is not limited to a message carrying the first information, and in a specific implementation, the core network device may also send the first information through other messages, which is not limited herein.

S503, the wireless access network device sends a first message to the Node-X, wherein the first message carries second information, and the second information is used for representing that a data packet transmitted by the first PDU session is a TSN packet. Correspondingly, the Node-X may receive a first message sent by the radio access network device.

Here, the first message is merely an exemplary illustration, and the naming of the first message may be different in different systems, for example, in an NR system, the first message may be a radio resource control (radio resource control, RRC) reconfiguration (RRC Reconfiguration) message, in an LTE system, the first message may be referred to as an RRC connection reconfiguration (RRC Connection Reconfiguration) message, and in a future communication system, the first message may be named as another, such as an a message, where the a message may implement the function of the first message, and the a message may be understood as the first message in the first embodiment of the present application, which is not specifically limited herein.

S504, the Node-X processes the data packet transmitted by the first PDU session based on the second information.

For example, the Node-X may transmit the data packet transmitted by the first PDU session to an Ethernet (Ethernet) module for processing.

Specifically, if it is a TSN packet, node-X may send the TSN packet to Ethernet module for processing by Ethernet module (e.g., modifying the correction field to x+t1-t 0). And then, according to the identification of the TSN end node and the corresponding side link radio bearer (sidelink radio bearer, SL-RB) identification or SL logic channel identification (logical channel identity, LCID) which are given by the radio access network equipment at the adaptation layer, the TSN packet is sent to the corresponding TSN end node through the corresponding channel of the side link.

In the embodiment of the present application, through the indication of the core network device= > the radio access network device= > the Node-X, the Node-X is enabled to learn whether the data packet transmitted by the PDU session is a TSN packet, so that the TSN packet and other service data packets can be treated differently.

In a specific implementation, a user plane tunnel corresponding to a PDU session may be established between the radio access network device and the core network device (such as UPF), and specifically, information may be interacted between the core network device (such as AMF) and the radio access network device to establish the user plane tunnel between the radio access network device and the UPF. The user plane corresponding to the PDU session tunnels QoS flows (flows) with different QoS attributes, and one or more QoS flows with the same or similar QoS attributes may be mapped to one DRB by the radio access network device. For example, as shown in fig. 6, qoS flow1 and QoS flow2 of the PDU session are mapped to DRB1, qoS flow3 and QoS flow4 are mapped to DRB2, and QoS flow5, qoS flow6 and QoS flow7 are mapped to DRB3. Wherein the PDU session may share one SDAP entity, which may be responsible for mapping different QoS flows to different DRBs.

The core network device may indicate to the radio access network device whether the Type of the PDU Session is Ipv4, ipv6, ethernet, etc. through a PDU Session Type cell, and the description of the PDU Session Type cell in TS 23.501 is shown in table 1.

TABLE 1

In one implementation, the TSN indication may be introduced in the PDU Session Type, i.e. the TSN Type may be added in the enumerated Type of the PDU Session Type cell, where when the PDU Session Type cell indicates the TSN Type, the PDU Session contains TSN packets. In the first embodiment, the PDU session is indicated by the PDU session type to transmit the TSN packet, and when the PDU session type indicates that the PDU session transmits the TSN packet, all data packets transmitted by the PDU session are TSN packets.

That is, the first information may be indicated by the type of the first PDU session.

In one exemplary illustration, the TSN Type may be represented by a value of TSN, i.e., the PDU Session Type may be represented as:

PDU Session Type ENUMERATED{Ipv4，Ipv6，Ipv4v6，Ethernet，TSN,…}。

in another exemplary illustration, the existing values Ethernet may be replaced with Ethernet-TSN, which is the Type of TSN, and Ethernet-other, which may be expressed as PDU Session Type:

PDU Session Type ENUMERATED{Ipv4，Ipv6，Ipv4v 6，Etherne-other，Etherne-TSN,…}。

of course, in the implementation, the TSN type may also be indicated by other manners, which are not specifically limited herein.

In some embodiments, the second information may also be indicated by the type of the first PDU session. For example, a PDU-Session-Type cell may be added to an SDAP configuration cell, i.e., an SDAP-Config, in the RRC reconfiguration message, and a TSN indication may be introduced into the PDU-Session-Type, i.e., a TSN Type may be added to an enumeration Type of the PDU-Session-Type cell, where when the PDU-Session-Type cell indicates the TSN Type, all QoS flows indicating the PDU Session transmit TSN packets.

Illustratively, the TSN Type may be represented by a value of TSN, i.e., PDU-Session-Type may be represented as:

PDU-Session-Type ENUMERATED{Ipv4，Ipv6，Ipv4v6，Ethernet，TSN,…}。

alternatively, the existing value of Ethernet may be replaced by Ethernet-TSN and Ethernet-other, where Ethernet-TSN is the Type of TSN, i.e. PDU-Session-Type may be expressed as:

PDU-Session-Type ENUMERATED{Ipv4，Ipv6，Ipv4v6，Etherne-other，Etherne-TSN,…}。

in other embodiments, the second information may also be indication information (TSN-indication) corresponding to the PDU session, where the TSN-indication corresponding to the PDU session is used to indicate whether a data packet transmitted by the PDU session is a TSN packet. I.e. adding the TSN-indication of the PDU session in the first message to indicate whether the PDU session transmits TSN packets. For example, the TSN-indication cell is added to the SDAP configuration cell, i.e., the SDAP-Config, in the RRC reconfiguration message.

Specifically, the TSN-indication corresponding to the PDU session may be indicated by taking different values, for example, whether the data packet transmitted by the PDU session is a TSN packet may be indicated by taking the TSN-indication value as 1/0, which is exemplary, when the TSN-indication value is 1, the data packet transmitted by the PDU session may be indicated as a TSN packet, and when the TSN-indication value is 0, the data packet transmitted by the PDU session may be indicated as not a TSN packet. Of course, when the TSN-indication value is 0, it may also indicate that the data packet transmitted by the PDU session is a TSN packet, and when the TSN-indication value is 1, it indicates that the data packet transmitted by the PDU session is not a TSN packet. Alternatively, whether the data packet transmitted by the PDU session is a TSN packet may be indicated by the TSN-indication being true/false, and, by way of example, the TSN-indication may indicate that the data packet transmitted by the PDU session is a TSN packet when the TSN-indication is true, and may indicate that the data packet transmitted by the PDU session is not a TSN packet when the TSN-indication is false.

The TSN-indication corresponding to the PDU session may also be a conditional information element, for example, the corresponding TSN-indication is configured only when the TSN packet is transmitted by the PDU session, and the TSN-indication is not configured when the TSN packet is not transmitted by the PDU session, so that when the TSN-indication of the PDU session is included in the first message, the data packet transmitted by the PDU session may be indicated as the TSN packet. Alternatively, the PDU session may not transmit a TSN packet, but may correspond to a TSN-indication, but the PDU session may transmit a TSN packet without a TSN-indication, so when the first message includes the TSN-indication of the PDU session, it may indicate that the data packet transmitted by the PDU session is not a TSN packet. Illustratively, the conditional cell TSN-indicator contains only the value "true" or only the value "false".

As a possible implementation, the first message may include SDAP layer configuration information (SDAP-Config), and the second information may be included in the SDAP-Config.

For example, the SDAP-Config includes PDU-Session-Type, and the enumeration Type of PDU-Session-Type may include Ipv4, ipv6, ipv4v6, ethernet, and TSN, where when PDU-Session-Type is TSN, it may represent PDU Session transmission TSN packet, and the content of SDAP-Config may specifically include:

For example, the TSN indicator of the PDU may be included in the SDAP-Config, and the TSN indicator of the PDU session indicates whether the PDU session transmits the TSN packet by taking a value of 0/1, and the content of the SDAP-Config may specifically include:

thus, the communication device can know whether the PDU Session transmits the TSN packet according to the PDU-Session-Type or the TSN-indication contained in the SDAP-Config.

Furthermore, the first message may further include a mapping relationship between the DRB identifier and the PDU session, for example, in radio bearer configuration (radio bearer configuration), where the DRB-Identity has a corresponding SDAP-Config, so that the Node-X may obtain the mapping relationship between the DRB and the PDU session or the SDAP-Config. The final Node-X can thus know which DRB comes from the TSN packet.

Embodiment two: in the second embodiment, the data packets transmitted by the first PDU session are not necessarily all TSN packets, and the data packets transmitted by at least one QoS flow of the first PDU session are all TSNs. In the second embodiment, the QoS flows of the TSN packet only and the QoS flows of the traffic packet only are mapped to different DRBs, and the first DRB maps one or more QoS flows of the TSN packet only in the first PDU session, where the data packets transmitted by the first DRB are TSN packets. The method for supporting a time-sensitive network provided in the second embodiment may include:

S1, a core network device determines a quality of service QoS flow for transmitting TSN packets in a first protocol data unit PDU session.

In a specific implementation, before step S1, the Node-X may send a second message to the core network device through the radio access network device, where the second message is used to request to establish or modify the first PDU session. And after receiving the second message sent by the Node-X, the wireless access network equipment forwards the second message to the core network equipment.

S2, the core network equipment sends first information to the wireless access network equipment, wherein the first information is used for indicating a service quality QoS flow for transmitting TSN packets in a first PDU session. Correspondingly, the wireless access network device receives the first information.

In a specific implementation, the core network device may send the first information to the radio access network device through a third message, where the third message may be a PDU Session Resource Setup request message or a PDU Session Resource Modify Request message, i.e. the first information may be carried in a PDU Session Resource Setup/PDU Session Resource Modify request message. And the wireless access network equipment establishes a GTP-U corresponding to PDU session with the core network equipment UPF through the signaling interaction with the core network equipment AMF. The interface between the radio access network device and the UPF may be referred to as the NG3 interface, among other things. It should be understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, the third message is merely an exemplary illustration, and is not limited to a message carrying the first information, and in a specific implementation, the core network device may also send the first information through other messages, which is not limited herein.

S3, the wireless access network equipment sends a first message to the communication equipment, wherein the first message carries second information, the second information is used for representing that data packets transmitted by the first data radio bearer are TSN packets, and one or more QoS flows for transmitting the TSN packets in the first PDU session are mapped to the first data radio bearer. Correspondingly, node-X receives the first message.

Here, the first message is merely an exemplary illustration, and the naming of the first message may be different in different systems, for example, in an NR system, the first message may be an RRC reconfiguration (RRC Reconfiguration) message, in an LTE system, the first message may be referred to as an RRC connection reconfiguration (RRC Connection Reconfiguration) message, in a future communication system, the first message may be named as another, such as an a message, where the a message may implement the function of the first message, and the a message may be understood as the first message in the first embodiment of the present application, which is not specifically limited herein.

S4, the Node-X processes the data packet transmitted by the first DRB based on the first information.

For example, the Node-X may transmit the data packet transmitted by the first DRB to the Ethernet module for processing.

Specifically, if it is a TSN packet, node-X may send the TSN packet to Ethernet module for processing by Ethernet module (e.g., modifying the correction field to x+t1-t 0). And then, according to the identification of the TSN end node and the corresponding SL-RB identification or LCID, which are given by the wireless access network equipment at the adaptation layer, the TSN packet is sent to the corresponding TSN end node through a corresponding channel of the side link.

In the embodiment of the present application, indicated by the core network device= > radio access network device= > Node-X, the Node-X is enabled to learn which data packets transmitted by DRBs are TSN packets, so that the TSN packets and other service data packets can be treated differently. In one implementation, the first information may be specifically used to indicate QoS flows for transmitting TSN packets in the first PDU session, i.e. the core network device may indicate which QoS flows of the radio access network device may transmit TSN packets.

Specifically, the first information may include indication information corresponding to each QoS flow of the first PDU session, where the indication information corresponding to the QoS flow is used to indicate whether a data packet transmitted by the QoS flow is a TSN packet. The indication information corresponding to the QoS flow may be indicated by taking different values, for example, whether the data packet transmitted by the QoS flow is a TSN packet may be indicated by taking the indication information as 1/0, and for example, when the indication information is taken as 1, the data packet transmitted by the QoS flow may be indicated as a TSN packet, and when the indication information is taken as 0, the data packet transmitted by the QoS flow may be indicated as not a TSN packet. Of course, when the indication information value is 0, it may also indicate that the data packet transmitted by the QoS flow is a TSN packet, and when the indication information value is 1, it indicates that the data packet transmitted by the QoS flow is not a TSN packet. Alternatively, whether the data packet transmitted by the QoS flow is a TSN packet may be indicated by the indication information being true/false, which is exemplary, when the indication information is true, the data packet transmitted by the QoS flow may be indicated as a TSN packet, and when the indication information is false, the data packet transmitted by the QoS flow may be indicated as not a TSN packet.

Alternatively, the first information may include indication information corresponding to a QoS flow that transmits TSN packets, or include indication information corresponding to a QoS flow that does not transmit TSN packets, that is, the indication information corresponding to the QoS flow may be a conditional cell, for example, only the QoS flow that transmits TSN packets may correspond to the indication information, and the QoS flow that does not transmit TSN packets may not have the indication information, so that when the indication information of a certain QoS flow is included in the first information, it may indicate that a data packet transmitted by the QoS flow is a TSN packet. Alternatively, only the QoS flow that does not transmit the TSN packet corresponds to the indication information, and the QoS flow that transmits the TSN packet does not have the indication information, and thus, when the indication information of a certain QoS flow is not included in the first information, it may indicate that the data packet transmitted by the QoS flow is the TSN packet. For example, when the indication information is true/false to indicate whether the data packet of QoS streaming is a TSN packet, the indication information may only appear when the value is true, or the indication information may only appear when the value is false.

Taking PDU Session Resource Setup Request as an example, it is possible to indicate whether the data packet transmitted by QoS flow is a TSN packet by adding a TSN indicator corresponding to QoS in PDU Session Resource Setup Request. Further, a TSN indicator corresponding to QoS may be added to PDU Session Resource Setup Transfer cells of the PDU Session Resource Setup Request message. Illustratively, PDU Session Resource Setup Transfer cells may include the contents as shown in table 2.

TABLE 2

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Further, after receiving the first information sent by the core network device, the radio access network device may map the QoS flow of the TSN packet to different DRBs and the QoS flow of other TSN packets not transmitted. Thus, the radio access network device may add a TSN indication to the DRB in the first message (e.g., RRC reconfiguration message) to the Node-X, so as to facilitate the subsequent distinguishing and distinguishing processing of the Node-X.

In some embodiments, the second information may also be indication information corresponding to the first DRB, where the indication information corresponding to the first DRB is used to indicate that the data packet transmitted by the first DRB is a TSN packet. That is, the second information may be indication information of DRB granularity. Specifically, the indication information corresponding to the DRB may be indicated by taking different values, or the indication information corresponding to the DRB flow may be a conditional cell, for example, a TSN-indicator occurs when the value is true.

In a specific implementation, a TSN-indicator corresponding to the DRB may be added to the DRB-related configuration information (e.g., DRB-ToAddMod) of the first message. Taking DRB-ToAddMod as an example, a TSN-indicator may be added to DRB-ToAddMod, where the TSN-indicator may be a conditional cell, for example, the TSN-indicator appears when the value is true, or the TSN-indicator indicates by taking different values, where the DRB-ToAddMod cell may include:

Embodiment III: in the third embodiment, the data packets transmitted by the first PDU session are not necessarily all TSN packets, and the data packets transmitted by at least one QoS flow of the first PDU session are all TSNs. In the third embodiment, the QoS flow for transmitting only the TSN packet and the QoS flow for transmitting the traffic packet may be mapped to the same DRB, that is, the data packet transmitted by the DRB may include both the TSN packet and the traffic packet. The method for supporting a time-sensitive network provided in the third embodiment may include:

a1, node-X can send message for requesting to set up or modify PDU conversation to core network equipment through wireless access network equipment. And the radio access network equipment receives the message sent by the Node-X and forwards the message to the core network equipment. The wireless access network device establishes a user plane tunnel corresponding to PDU session with the core network device UPF through signaling interaction with the core network device AMF.

In some implementations, the message requesting to establish or modify a PDU session may be sent when Node-X establishes or modifies a PDU session for itself.

In other embodiments, the message requesting to establish or modify the PDU session may also be sent by the Node-X when establishing or modifying the PDU session for the TSN-end Node, that is, the message requesting to establish or modify the PDU session may be sent by the TSN-end Node to the core network device through the Node-X.

A2, the core network device indicates whether the data packet transmitted by each QoS flow of the PDU session of the radio access network device is a TSN packet.

A3, the wireless access network device maps the QoS flow to the DRB.

Here, the radio access network device may not map QoS flows of only the transmission TSN packet and QoS flows of only the transmission traffic packet separately when mapping QoS flows to DRBs, that is, qoS flows of only the transmission TSN packet and QoS flows of the transmission traffic packet may be mapped to the same DRB or may be mapped to different DRBs, which is not specifically limited herein.

For example, the radio access network device may determine which DRB to map into according to the QoS flow attributes, parameters, requirements, etc.

A4, the wireless access network device sends QoS flow identification (QoS flow indicator, QFI) list corresponding to each DRB to Node-X, and indicates whether each QoS flow transmits TSN package.

Specifically, the radio access network device may send TSN-indication of each QoS flow to the Node-X to indicate whether each QoS flow of the PDU session transmits TSN packets, where the TSN-indication of the QoS flow may indicate whether the QoS flow transmits TSN packets by taking different values. For example, whether the data packet transmitted by QoS flow is a TSN packet may be indicated by a TSN-indication value of 1/0, and, by way of example, when the TSN-indication value is 1, it may be indicated that the data packet transmitted by QoS flow is a TSN packet, and when the TSN-indication value is 0, it may be indicated that the data packet transmitted by QoS flow is not a TSN packet. Of course, when the TSN-indication value is 0, it may also indicate that the data packet transmitted by QoS flow is a TSN packet, and when the TSN-indication value is 1, it indicates that the data packet transmitted by QoS flow is not a TSN packet. Alternatively, whether the data packet transmitted by QoS flow is a TSN packet may be indicated by TSN-indication being true/false, and, by way of example, when the TSN-indication value is true, it may be indicated that the data packet transmitted by QoS flow is a TSN packet, and when the TSN-indication value is false, it may be indicated that the data packet transmitted by QoS flow is not a TSN packet.

Alternatively, the radio access network device may indicate whether or not each QoS flow of the PDU session transmits TSN packets by sending TSN-indication of the QoS flow transmitting the TSN packets to the Node-X. That is, the TSN-indication of QoS flow is a conditional cell, for example, the TSN-indication is only corresponding to when the QoS flow transmits a TSN packet, and the TSN-indication is not present when the QoS flow does not transmit a TSN packet, so that when the radio access network device sends the TSN-indication of a QoS flow to Node-X, it may indicate that the data packet transmitted by the QoS flow is a TSN packet. Or, the QoS flow does not transmit the TSN packet but corresponds to the TSN-indication, and the QoS flow does not transmit the TSN packet, so when the radio access network device sends the TSN-indication of a certain QoS flow to the Node-X, it may indicate that the data packet transmitted by the QoS flow is not a TSN packet. For example, when the TSN-indication is true/false to indicate whether the data packet transmitted by QoS flow is a TSN packet, the TSN-indication may only occur when the value is true.

And A5, after receiving the data packet from the wireless access network device, the Node-X reads the QFI parameter carried by the SDAP layer to judge whether the data packet is a TSN packet, thereby determining whether the data packet needs to be sent to the Ethernet layer for processing.

The foregoing embodiments one to three describe that the radio access network device notifies the Node-X data radio bearer whether to transmit the TSN packet or not or whether to include the QoS flow for transmitting the TSN packet by means of control plane signaling. The fourth embodiment describes a manner in which the UPF and the radio access network device carry indication information through the user plane data packet so that the Node-X can distinguish between the service packet and the data packet, where the indication information is used to indicate whether the load carried by the user plane data packet is a TSN packet. The method is equally applicable to the communication system shown in fig. 1. The method for supporting a time-sensitive network provided in the fourth embodiment specifically includes:

the Node-X may send a message to the core network device via the radio access network device requesting to establish or modify the PDU session. And the radio access network equipment receives the message sent by the Node-X and forwards the message to the core network equipment. The wireless access network device establishes a GTP-U tunnel corresponding to PDU session with the core network device UPF through signaling interaction with the core network device AMF. The interface between the radio access network device and the UPF may be referred to as the NG3 interface, among other things.

If the TSN packet and the service come from the same upper layer device (such as a TSN server or a Data Network (DN)), after the UPF receives the data packet sent by the upper layer device, it can determine whether the data packet is a TSN packet by reading the Ethernet packet header of the data packet. If the packet is a TSN packet, the UPF can increase the TSN indication in the GTP-U head of the NG3 interface of the data packet, so that the wireless access network device can carry the TSN indication when receiving and sending the data packet to the Node-X, thereby facilitating the subsequent distinguishing and distinguishing processing of the Node-X. When the radio access network device sends the TSN packet to the Node-X, the TSN packet may be used as a load, and an adaptation layer header, an RLC header, a MAC header (sub header), and a PHY header are encapsulated outside, where the encapsulated TSN packet may be referred to as a data packet.

Thus, as an example, the radio access network device may add a TSN indicator in the adaptation layer header of the data packet or add a TSN indicator in the MAC header (sub-header). The subsequent Node-X can determine whether the load of the data packet is a TSN packet by reading the adaptation layer header or the MAC header. The foregoing embodiments assume that the radio access network device sends the TSN packet to the terminal device in a unicast manner.

In another case, the radio access network device sends the TSN packet to the Node-X in a multicast mode, and the terminal device sends the TSN packet to the Node-X in a multicast mode. The radio access network device includes the following information in the multicast channel: the TSN identity is mapped to a multicast data channel or group identity. Taking the existing single cell point-to-multipoint (SC-PTM) mechanism as an example, SIB20 is used to broadcast configuration information of a single cell multicast control channel (single cell multicase control channel, SC-MCCH), and mainly includes a Repetition Period (RP), an offset (offset), a first subframe (first-subframe), a subframe interval (subframe duration), a modification period (Modification Period, MP), and the like. The SC-MCCH is used for broadcasting configuration information (SCPTM Configuration) of a single cell multicast data channel (single cell multicast traffic channel, SC-MTCH) and mainly comprises at least one of a temporary mobile group identity (temporary mobile group identity, TMGI) or a session identity, a correspondence with a group radio network temporary identity (group radio network temporary identifier, G-RNTI), discontinuous reception (discontinuous reception, DRX) parameters of each multicast data channel (multicast traffic channel, MTCH), etc. Here, we can include the correspondence between TSN identity and G-RNTI in SCPTM Configuration. And subsequently, when the Node-X or the G-RNTI of the terminal equipment corresponds to the multicast data, determining the multicast data as TSN packets. The Node-X sends the TSN packet to the Ethernet module for processing and then forwards the TSN packet in a multicast mode, for example, when the Node-X multicasts the TSN packet, the destination address contained in the MAC header for encapsulating the TSN packet can be set as G-RNTI. When the terminal equipment receives a data packet with the destination address of G-RNTI, the data packet is determined to be a TSN packet. One situation is that the terminal device may receive the G-RNTI and corresponding TSN identity sent by the base station.

Another case is that Node-X may broadcast a mapping relation informing the terminal device G-RNTI and TSN identity in advance.

Based on the same inventive concept as the method embodiment, the embodiment of the present application provides an apparatus for supporting a time-sensitive network, where the apparatus may include a processing unit 701 and a transceiver unit 702 as shown in fig. 7.

In one implementation, the apparatus is specifically configured to implement the functions of Node-X in the embodiments of fig. 2 to 6, where the apparatus may be the Node-X itself, or may be a chip or a chipset in the Node-X or a part of a chip for performing the functions of the related methods. Specifically, the transceiver unit 702 is configured to receive a first message sent by the radio access network device, where the first message carries first information, and the first information is used to characterize that a data packet transmitted by the first PDU session is a TSN packet; a processing unit 701, configured to process a data packet transmitted by the first PDU session based on the first information.

The first information may be indicated by a type of the first PDU session, for example. Alternatively, the first information may also be indicated by indication information carried by the first message.

Further, the first message may include SDAP layer configuration information, and the first information is included in the SDAP layer configuration information.

The processing unit 701, when processing the data packet transmitted by the first PDU session based on the first information, may specifically be configured to: and transmitting the data packet transmitted by the first PDU session to an Ethernet module for processing.

Furthermore, the transceiver unit 702 may be further configured to: before receiving the first message sent by the radio access network device, sending a second message to the core network device through the radio access network device, wherein the second message is used for requesting to establish or modify the first PDU session.

Illustratively, the first message is an RRC reconfiguration message.

In another implementation manner, the apparatus is specifically configured to implement the functions of the core network device in the embodiments of fig. 2 to 6, where the apparatus may be the core network device itself, or may be a chip or a chipset in the core network device or a part of a chip for performing the functions of the related methods. Specifically, the processing unit 701 is configured to determine that a data packet transmitted by the first PDU session is a TSN packet; the transceiver unit 702 is configured to send a first message to the radio access network device, where the first message carries first information, and the first information is used to indicate that a data packet transmitted by the first PDU session is a TSN packet.

The transceiver unit 702 may be further configured to: before the processing unit 701 determines that the data packet transmitted by the first PDU session is a TSN packet, a second message sent by the communication device through the radio access network device is received, where the second message is used to request to establish or modify the first PDU session.

The first message may be a PDU session resource establishment request or a PDU session resource modification request.

The division of the modules in the embodiments of the present application is schematically only one logic function division, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation, and in addition, each functional module in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated in one processor, or may exist separately and physically, or two or more modules may be integrated in one module. The integrated modules may be implemented in hardware or in software functional modules.

Where the integrated module may be implemented in hardware, the apparatus supporting the time-sensitive network may be as shown in fig. 8, and the processing unit 701 may be the processor 802. The processor 802 may be a central processing unit (central processing unit, CPU), or a digital processing module, or the like. The transceiver unit 702 may be a communication interface 801, and the communication interface 801 may be a transceiver, or may be an interface circuit such as a transceiver circuit, or may be a transceiver chip, or the like. The resource allocation apparatus further includes: a memory 803 for storing programs executed by the processor 801. The memory 803 may be a nonvolatile memory such as a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) or a Solid State Drive (SSD), or may be a volatile memory (RAM). Memory 803 is any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto.

The processor 802 is configured to execute the program code stored in the memory 803, and specifically configured to execute the actions of the processing unit 701, which are not described herein.

The specific connection medium between the communication interface 801, the processor 802, and the memory 803 is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In the embodiment of the present application, the memory 803, the processor 802 and the communication interface 801 are connected through a bus 804 in fig. 8, where the bus is indicated by a thick line in fig. 8, and the connection manner between other components is only schematically illustrated, but not limited thereto. The buses may be classified as address buses, data buses, control buses, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in fig. 8, but not only one bus or one type of bus.

Based on the same inventive concept as the method embodiment, the embodiment of the present application provides an apparatus for supporting a time-sensitive network, where the apparatus may include a processing unit 901, a first transceiver unit 902, and a second transceiver unit 903, as shown in fig. 9. The apparatus is specifically configured to implement the functions of the radio access network device in the embodiments of fig. 2 to 6, and the apparatus may be the radio access network device itself, or may be a chip or a chipset in the radio access network device or a part of the chip for performing the functions of the related methods. Specifically, the first transceiver 902 is configured to transceiver data between the radio access network device and the core network device; a second transceiver 903, configured to transceiver data between the radio access network device and the communication device; a processing unit 901 for executing: receiving, by the first transceiver unit 902, a first message sent by the core network device, where the first message carries first information, where the first information is used to indicate that a data packet transmitted by a first PDU session is a TSN packet; and sending a second message to the communication device through the second transceiver unit 903, where the second message carries second information, and the second information is used to characterize that a data packet transmitted by the first PDU session is a TSN packet.

The second information may be indicated by the type of the first PDU session, for example. Alternatively, the second information may also be indicated by indication information carried by the second message.

Further, the second message may include SDAP layer configuration information, and the second information is included in the SDAP layer configuration information.

The first information may be indicated by a type of the first PDU session, for example.

The processing unit 901 may further be configured to: receiving, by the second transceiver unit 903, a third message sent by the communication device, before receiving, by the first transceiver unit 902, the first message sent by the core network device, the third message being used to request to establish or modify the first PDU session; the third message is forwarded to the core network device via the first transceiving unit 902.

The second message may be an RRC reconfiguration message.

Where the integrated module may be implemented in hardware, the apparatus supporting the time-sensitive network may be as shown in fig. 10, and the processing unit 901 may be a processor 1002. The processor 1002 may be a CPU, or a digital processing module, or the like. The first transceiver unit 902 may be a communication interface 1001a, and the second transceiver unit 903 may be a communication interface 1001b, where the communication interface 1001a and the communication interface 1001b may be transceivers, or may be interface circuits such as transceiver circuits, or may be transceiver chips, or the like. The resource allocation apparatus further includes: a memory 1003 for storing a program executed by the processor 1001. The memory 1003 may be a nonvolatile memory such as HDD or SSD, or may be a volatile memory such as RAM. Memory 1003 is any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited to such.

The processor 1002 is configured to execute program codes stored in the memory 1003, and specifically configured to execute the actions of the processing unit 901, which are not described herein.

The specific connection medium between the communication interface 1001a, the communication interface 1001b, the processor 1002, and the memory 1003 is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. In the embodiment of the present application, the memory 1003, the processor 1002, the communication interface 1001a and the communication interface 1001b are connected by a bus 1004 in fig. 10, the bus is shown by a thick line in fig. 10, and the connection manner between other components is only schematically illustrated and not limited. The buses may be classified as address buses, data buses, control buses, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in fig. 10, but not only one bus or one type of bus.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that embodiments of the present application may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present application may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present application may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

The present application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to the application. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present application without departing from the spirit or scope of the application. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims and the equivalents thereof, the present application is intended to cover such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A method of supporting a time-sensitive network, the method comprising:

the communication equipment receives a first message sent by radio access network equipment, wherein the first message carries first information, the first information is used for representing that a data packet transmitted by a first protocol data unit PDU session is a time sensitive network TSN packet, and the communication equipment is used for carrying out wireless communication between the radio access network equipment and a TSN terminal node;

and the communication equipment transmits the data packet transmitted by the first PDU session to an Ethernet module for processing based on the first information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first information is indicated by a type of the first PDU session; or the first information is indicated by indication information carried by the first message.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first message comprises service data adaptation protocol layer, SDAP, layer configuration information, the first information being included in the SDAP layer configuration information.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising, prior to the communication device receiving the first message sent by the radio access network device:

The communication device sends a second message to the core network device through the radio access network device, wherein the second message is used for requesting to establish or modify the first PDU session.

5. The method according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first message is a radio resource control, RRC, reconfiguration message.

6. A method of supporting a time-sensitive network, the method comprising:

the wireless access network equipment receives a first message sent by core network equipment, wherein the first message carries first information, and the first information is used for indicating that a data packet transmitted by a first protocol data unit PDU session is a time sensitive network TSN packet;

the wireless access network device sends a second message to the communication device, wherein the second message carries second information, the second information is used for representing that a data packet transmitted by the first PDU session is a TSN packet, and the communication device is used for wireless communication between the wireless access network device and a TSN end node.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the second information is indicated by a type of the first PDU session; or the second information is indicated by indication information carried by the second message.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the second message includes service data adaptation protocol layer, SDAP, layer configuration information, the second information included in the SDAP layer configuration information.

9. The method of claim 6, further comprising, before the radio access network device receives the first message sent by the core network device:

the wireless access network device receives a third message sent by the communication device, wherein the third message is used for requesting to establish or modify the first PDU session;

the radio access network device forwards the third message to the core network device.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the second message is a radio resource control, RRC, reconfiguration message.

11. The method according to any of claims 6 to 10, wherein the first message is a PDU session resource establishment request or a PDU session resource modification request.

12. A method of supporting a time-sensitive network, the method comprising:

the core network equipment determines that a data packet transmitted by a first protocol data unit PDU session is a time sensitive network TSN packet;

the core network device sends a first message to the radio access network device, wherein the first message carries first information, the first information is used for indicating to the communication device through the radio access network device that a data packet transmitted by the first PDU session is a TSN packet, and the communication device is used for wireless communication between the radio access network device and a TSN terminal node.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first information is indicated by a type of the first PDU session; or the first information is indicated by indication information carried by the first message.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising, prior to the core network device determining that the data packets transmitted by the first protocol data unit PDU session are time sensitive network TSN packets:

the core network device receives a second message sent by the communication device through the radio access network device, where the second message is used to request to establish or modify the first PDU session.

15. The method according to any of claims 12 to 14, wherein the first message is a PDU session resource establishment request or a PDU session resource modification request.

16. An apparatus for supporting a time-sensitive network, the apparatus for wireless communication between a radio access network device and a TSN end node, the apparatus comprising:

a transceiver unit, configured to receive a first message sent by a radio access network device, where the first message carries first information, where the first information is used to characterize that a data packet transmitted by a first protocol data unit PDU session is a time sensitive network TSN packet;

And the processing unit is used for transmitting the data packet transmitted by the first PDU session to an Ethernet module for processing based on the first information.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the first information is indicated by a type of the first PDU session; or the first information is indicated by indication information carried by the first message.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the first message comprises service data adaptation protocol layer, SDAP, layer configuration information, the first information being included in the SDAP layer configuration information.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the transceiver unit is further configured to:

and before receiving the first message sent by the radio access network equipment, sending a second message to the core network equipment through the radio access network equipment, wherein the second message is used for requesting to establish or modify the first PDU session.

20. The apparatus according to any of claims 16 to 19, wherein the first message is a radio resource control, RRC, reconfiguration message.

21. An apparatus for supporting a time-sensitive network, the apparatus comprising:

A first transceiver unit, configured to transmit data between the radio access network device and the core network device;

a second transceiver unit, configured to transmit data between the radio access network device and a communication device, where the communication device is configured to perform wireless communication between the radio access network device and a TSN end node of a time sensitive network;

a processing unit for performing:

receiving a first message sent by the core network device through the first transceiver unit, wherein the first message carries first information, and the first information is used for indicating that a data packet transmitted by a first protocol data unit PDU session is a TSN packet;

and sending a second message to the communication equipment through the second transceiver unit, wherein the second message carries second information, and the second information is used for representing that a data packet transmitted by the first PDU session is a TSN packet.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the second information is indicated by a type of the first PDU session; or the second information is indicated by indication information carried by the second message.

23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the second message comprises service data adaptation protocol layer, SDAP, layer configuration information, the second information being included in the SDAP layer configuration information.

24. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the processing unit is further operable to:

before the first transceiver unit receives a first message sent by the core network device, receiving, by the second transceiver unit, a third message sent by the communication device, where the third message is used to request to establish or modify the first PDU session;

forwarding the third message to the core network device through the first transceiver unit.

25. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the second message is a radio resource control, RRC, reconfiguration message.

26. The apparatus according to any of claims 21 to 25, wherein the first message is a PDU session resource establishment request or a PDU session resource modification request.

27. An apparatus for supporting a time-sensitive network, the apparatus comprising:

the processing unit is used for determining that the data packet transmitted by the first protocol data unit PDU session is a time sensitive network TSN packet;

the transceiver unit is configured to send a first message to a radio access network device, where the first message carries first information, where the first information is used to indicate, to a communication device through the radio access network device, that a data packet transmitted by the first PDU session is a TSN packet, and the communication device is used for wireless communication between the radio access network device and a TSN end node.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the first information is indicated by a type of the first PDU session; or the first information is indicated by indication information carried by the first message.

29. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the transceiver unit is further configured to:

and before the processing unit determines that the data packet transmitted by the first PDU session is a TSN packet, receiving a second message sent by the communication equipment through the wireless access network equipment, wherein the second message is used for requesting to establish or modify the first PDU session.

30. The apparatus according to any of claims 27 to 29, wherein the first message is a PDU session resource establishment request or a PDU session resource modification request.

31. A computer readable storage medium, characterized in that it stores therein a program or instructions that, when read and executed by one or more processors, implement the method of any of claims 1 to 15.