CN114698145A

CN114698145A - Method and device for transmitting data

Info

Publication number: CN114698145A
Application number: CN202011604082.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王亚鑫; 李岩
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-12-29
Filing date: 2020-12-29
Publication date: 2022-07-01
Also published as: WO2022142792A1

Abstract

The method comprises the steps that first information is determined by a CU-CP, identification information of a DRB, identification information of a PDU session corresponding to the identification information of the DRB and identification information of a QoS flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB are sent to a CU-UPF (network element fused with the UPF and the CU-UP) through an SMF, so that the CU-UPF can serve as a tunnel between the DRB and a DU according to the first information, and the identification information of the corresponding QoS flow and the attribute information of the corresponding QoS flow are added into a downlink data packet according to the identification information of the DRB and the identification information of the QoS flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB, and the downlink data packet is sent through the tunnel. Therefore, the transmission of the attribute information of the downlink data packet and the corresponding QoS flow is realized.

Description

Method and device for transmitting data

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for transmitting data.

Background

The fifth generation (5G) communication technology introduces a Centralized Unit (CU)/Distributed Unit (DU) architecture, that is, an access network device (e.g., a base station) is divided into two parts, namely, a CU and a DU. The CU may be further divided into a centralized unit control plane (CU-CP) and a centralized unit user plane (CU-UP), and the CU-CP may be responsible for control plane functions and the CU-UP may be responsible for user plane functions.

With the maturity of CU/DU separation related technologies, it may become mainstream that a CU and a User Plane Function (UPF) are deployed in the same physical machine room. In order to reduce the number of data plane transmission hops, save cost, terminate data plane security nodes in a core network and the like, the possibility of combining UPF and CU-UP into a network element is finally provided. In a fusion scenario, how to transmit a downlink data packet and attribute information of a corresponding quality of service (QoS) flow (flow) is a problem to be solved urgently.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a method and a device for transmitting data, which can realize transmission of a downlink data packet and attribute information of a corresponding QoS flow in a fusion scene.

In a first aspect, a method for transmitting data is provided, including: the first user plane device receives first information from the session management network element, and establishes a tunnel with the DU for a Data Radio Bearer (DRB) according to the first information. And the first user plane device adds the identification information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet and the attribute information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet in the packet header of the downlink data packet according to the identification information of the DRB and the identification information of the QoS flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB, and sends the downlink data packet through the tunnel. The first information includes identification information of the DRB, identification information of a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session corresponding to the identification information of the DRB, and identification information of a QoS flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB.

The first user plane device is a converged network element, that is, the first user plane device has functions of a user plane network element (e.g., UPF) and CU-UP.

In the non-convergence scenario, the tunnel between the user plane network element and the CU-UP is an N3 tunnel, and one PDU session (session) corresponds to one N3 tunnel. The tunnel between the CU-UP and the DU is a DRB granularity tunnel, and the identification information and the attribute information of the QoS flow are terminated at the CU-UP and do not need to be sent to the DU. In the fusion scenario, the tunnel between the first user plane device and the DU is a tunnel with DRB granularity, and one PDU session may correspond to multiple tunnels with DRB granularity. After the fusion scene, according to the method for transmitting data provided by the present application, the session management network element sends the mapping relationship between the PDU session, the DRB, and the QoS flow to the first user plane device, so that the first user plane device can establish a tunnel with a DRB granularity between the PDU and the first user plane device according to the mapping relationship between the PDU session, the DRB, and the QoS flow, and can add the identifier of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet and the attribute information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet to the header of the downlink data packet according to the mapping relationship between the DRB and the QoS flow, and transmit the downlink data packet through the tunnel, thereby implementing transmission of the downlink data packet and the attribute information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementation manners of the first aspect, the establishing, by the first user plane device, a tunnel between the first user plane device and a distributed unit for the DRB according to the first information includes: and the first user plane device sends configuration information of an uplink port to the session management network element, wherein the uplink port is a destination port used by the distributed unit for uplink transmission through the tunnel.

Based on the scheme, after receiving the configuration information of the uplink port, the session management network element may send the configuration information of the uplink port to the first access network device. The first access network device may configure the uplink port according to the configuration information of the uplink port. Subsequently, the DU may use the uplink port to perform uplink transmission through the tunnel. Wherein the first access network device is a CU-CP.

For example, the configuration information of the uplink port may include an Internet Protocol (IP) address and a tunnel identifier, where the first user plane device is configured to receive an uplink data packet.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementation manners of the first aspect, the establishing, by the first user plane device, a tunnel between the first user plane device and a distributed unit for the DRB according to the first information includes: the first user plane device receives configuration information of a downlink port from the session management network element, wherein the downlink port is a target port used by the first user plane device for downlink transmission through the tunnel; and the first user plane device configures the downlink port according to the configuration information of the downlink port.

Based on the scheme, after the first user plane device configures the downlink port, the first user plane device may use the downlink port to perform downlink transmission through the tunnel.

For example, the configuration information of the downstream port may include an IP address and a tunnel identifier used by the first user plane device to send a downstream data packet.

It should be understood that the tunnel identifier used by the first user plane device for receiving the uplink data packet and the tunnel identifier used for sending the downlink data packet may be the same or different.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the attribute information includes a Paging Priority Identity (PPI).

Based on the scheme, after the DU receives the downlink data packet, if the terminal device is in a connected state, the DU may send the downlink data packet to the terminal device. The DU may report the PPI to the first access network device if the terminal device is in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) inactive (inactive) state. After receiving the PPI reported by the DU, the first access network device may select a local paging policy and initiate a paging request to the access and mobility management network element or other access network elements. In this way, the RRC inactive function can be reasonably supported in the fusion scene.

It should be understood that the access network device herein may be a CU-CP under a CU/DU separation architecture, or may also be an access network device under a non-separation architecture, such as a base station.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the attribute information includes a data delay (packet delay budget).

Based on the scheme, after the DU receives the downlink data packet, it can determine whether the downlink data packet can be transmitted on time according to the data delay carried by the downlink data packet. If the downlink data packet cannot be transmitted on time, the DU may perform scheduling priority adjustment on the downlink data packet. In this way, the PDB allocation function can be better supported in a converged scenario.

In a second aspect, a method for transmitting data is provided, including: the session management network element receives first information from the first access network device and sends the first information to the first user plane device. The first information includes identification information of a DRB, identification information of a protocol data unit PDU session corresponding to the identification information of the DRB, and identification information of a QoS flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB. The first information is used for establishing a tunnel with DRB granularity between the first user plane device and a distributed unit, and the identification information of the DRB and the identification information of the QoS flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB are used for adding the identification information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet and the attribute information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet in a packet header of the downlink data packet sent in the tunnel.

Wherein the first access network device is a CU-CP.

According to the method for transmitting data provided by the application, the first access network device may send a mapping relationship between a PDU session, a DRB, and a QoS flow to the first user plane device through the session management network element, so that the first user plane device may establish a tunnel with a DRB granularity between the PDU and the first user plane device according to the mapping relationship between the PDU and the QoS flow, add an identifier of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet and attribute information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet to a header of the downlink data packet according to the mapping relationship between the DRB and the QoS flow, and transmit the downlink data packet through the tunnel, thereby implementing transmission of the downlink data packet and the attribute information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet.

With reference to the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: the session management network element receives configuration information of an uplink port from the first user plane device, where the uplink port is a destination port used by the distributed unit for uplink transmission through the tunnel with the DRB granularity; and the session management network element sends the configuration information of the uplink port to the first access network device.

With reference to the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: the session management network element receives configuration information of a downlink port from the first access network device, where the downlink port is a destination port used by the first user plane device for downlink transmission through the tunnel with the DRB granularity; and the session management network element sends the configuration information of the downlink port to the first user plane device.

With reference to the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the attribute information includes a PPI.

With reference to the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, before the session management network element receives the first information from the first access network apparatus, the method further includes:

and the session management network element sends the related information of the PDU session and the QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU session to the first access network device, wherein the related information of the PDU session and the QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU session are used for determining the first information.

In a third aspect, a method for transmitting data is provided that may be performed by a first access network device. The method comprises the following steps: determining first information, wherein the first information comprises identification information of a Data Radio Bearer (DRB), identification information of a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session corresponding to the identification information of the DRB, and identification information of a quality of service (QoS) flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB; and sending the first information to a session management network element, enabling the session management network element to send the first information to a first user plane device, where the first information is used for establishing a tunnel with a DRB granularity between the first user plane device and a distributed unit, and the identification information of the DRB and the identification information of the QoS flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB are used for adding the identification information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet and the attribute information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet in a packet header of the downlink data packet sent in the tunnel.

According to the method for transmitting data provided by the application, the first access network device may configure a mapping relationship between a PDU session, a DRB, and a QoS flow to the first user plane device through the session management network element, so that the first user plane device may establish a tunnel with a DRB granularity between the PDU and the first user plane device according to the mapping relationship between the PDU and the QoS flow, add an identifier of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet and attribute information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet to a header of the downlink data packet according to the mapping relationship between the DRB and the QoS flow, and transmit the downlink data packet through the tunnel, thereby implementing transmission of the downlink data packet and the attribute information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet.

With reference to the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: receiving configuration information of an uplink port from the session management network element, where the uplink port is a destination port used by the distributed unit for uplink transmission through the tunnel; and configuring the uplink port according to the configuration information of the uplink port.

With reference to the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: and sending configuration information of a downlink port to the session management network element, where the downlink port is a destination port used by the first user plane device for downlink transmission through the tunnel.

With reference to the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the attribute information includes a paging priority indication, PPI.

With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, before the gNB-CU-CP generates the first information, the method further includes: receiving the related information of the PDU session from the session management network element and the QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU session; and determining the first information according to the related information of the PDU session and the QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU session.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a first user plane device comprising means for performing the method of the first aspect or any one of its possible implementations.

In a fifth aspect, a session management network element is provided, which comprises modules or units for performing the method of the second aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect.

In a sixth aspect, a first access network apparatus is provided, which includes various means or units for performing the method in any one of the possible implementation manners of the third aspect or the third aspect.

In a seventh aspect, a communications apparatus is provided that includes a processor. The processor is coupled to the memory and is operable to execute the instructions in the memory to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of the possible implementations of the first to third aspects or the first to third aspects. Optionally, the apparatus further comprises a memory. Optionally, the apparatus further comprises an interface circuit, the processor being coupled to the interface circuit.

In an eighth aspect, a processor is provided, comprising: input circuit, output circuit and processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive a signal through the input circuit and transmit a signal through the output circuit, so that the processor performs the method of any one of the possible implementations of the first to third aspects or the first to third aspects.

In a specific implementation process, the processor may be a chip, the input circuit may be an input pin, the output circuit may be an output pin, and the processing circuit may be a transistor, a gate circuit, a flip-flop, various logic circuits, and the like. The input signal received by the input circuit may be received and input by, for example and without limitation, a receiver, the signal output by the output circuit may be output to and transmitted by a transmitter, for example and without limitation, and the input circuit and the output circuit may be the same circuit that functions as the input circuit and the output circuit, respectively, at different times. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific implementation manner of the processor and various circuits.

In a ninth aspect, a communications apparatus is provided that includes a processor and a memory. The processor is configured to read instructions stored in the memory, and may receive a signal via the receiver and transmit a signal via the transmitter to perform the method of any one of the possible implementations of the first to third aspects or the first to third aspects.

Optionally, the number of the processors is one or more, and the number of the memories is one or more.

Alternatively, the memory may be integral to the processor or provided separately from the processor.

In a specific implementation process, the memory may be a non-transient memory, such as a Read Only Memory (ROM), which may be integrated on the same chip as the processor, or may be separately disposed on different chips.

The communication device in the above ninth aspect may be a chip, the processor may be implemented by hardware or may be implemented by software, and when implemented by hardware, the processor may be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, or the like; when implemented in software, the processor may be a general-purpose processor implemented by reading software code stored in a memory, which may be integrated with the processor, located external to the processor, or stand-alone.

In a tenth aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising: a computer program (which may also be referred to as code, or instructions), which when executed, causes a computer to perform the method of any of the possible implementations of the first to third aspects or the first to third aspects described above.

In an eleventh aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, which stores a computer program (which may also be referred to as code or instructions) that, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any one of the possible implementations of the first to third aspects or the first to third aspects.

In a twelfth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes the first user plane device, the session management network element, and the first access network device.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a CU/DU separation architecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a gbb protocol stack division according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a gNB protocol stack partitioning according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a communication system under a CU/DU separation architecture according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a communication system in a fusion scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 6 is a data plane protocol stack architecture diagram in a fusion scenario according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a user plane tunnel in a non-fusion scenario according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 8 is a schematic view of a user plane tunnel in a fusion scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 9 is a schematic flow chart of a method for transmitting data according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 10 is a schematic flow chart of a method for transmitting data according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 11 is a schematic flow chart of a method for transmitting data according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solution in the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The technical scheme of the embodiment of the application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, a LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, a LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), a fifth generation (5G) system, a New Radio (NR) or other communication systems that may appear in the future, and the like.

A terminal device in this embodiment may refer to a User Equipment (UE), an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user equipment. The terminal device may also be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a 5G network, or a terminal device in a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) for future evolution, and the like, which are not limited in this embodiment.

The access network device in the embodiment of the present application may be a device for communicating with the terminal device. For example, the access network device may be a base station (base station), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a Transmission Reception Point (TRP), a next generation base station (next generation NodeB, gNB) in a 5G mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system or an access node in a WiFi system, a wireless controller in a Cloud Radio Access Network (CRAN) scenario, a relay station, an access point, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, an access network device in another communication system that evolves in the future, and the like. The application does not limit the specific technology and the specific equipment form adopted by the network access equipment.

Herein, the name of the interface between the units shown in the figures is only an example, and the name of the interface in the specific implementation may be other names, which is not specifically limited in this application. For example, the interface between CU and DU may be referred to as F1 interface, or may use other names.

Under the CU/DU separation architecture, the access network equipment is divided into two parts of CU and DU. This will be described in detail below, taking the access network device as the gNB as an example.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a CU/DU separation architecture. Referring to fig. 1, the gNB is split into DUs and CUs, a plurality of DUs may share one CU, and one DU may connect a plurality of CUs. CUs can be classified into CU-UP and CU-CP. The CU-UP and CU-CP may be interfaced with each other, for example, via E1. The CU-UP and CU-CP may be connected with the DU, respectively, for example, the CU-CP may be connected with the DU through F1-C (control plane) and the CU-UP may be connected with the DU through F1-U (user plane). One CU-CP can control multiple CU-UPs, possibly flexibly grouped, distributed in different areas to serve DUs in different areas. One CU-UP may be connected to one or more DUs.

Fig. 2 and 3 each show a protocol stack partitioning diagram. Referring to fig. 2, the CU-CP includes a control plane of a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer and a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer. Referring to fig. 3, the CU-UP includes a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer and a user plane of a PDCP layer. Referring to fig. 2 and 3, the DU mainly includes a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, and a Physical (PHY) layer. Wherein DU is distributed deployed, CU-CP and CU-UP can be deployed centrally.

Fig. 4 shows a schematic diagram of a communication system under a CU/DU separation architecture. Referring to fig. 4, the system includes a terminal device, a DU, a first access network device (i.e., CU-CP), a CU-UP, a user plane network element, a data network, an access and mobility management network element, a session management network element, a policy control network element, and a unified data management network element.

A user plane network element: mainly responsible for packet routing and forwarding.

Data network: it may be an operator Service, an internet access or a third party Service, such as an IP Multimedia Service (IMS), the internet, etc.

Access and mobility management network elements: the method is mainly responsible for mobility management in the mobile network, such as user location update, user registration network, user switching and the like.

A session management network element: the method is mainly responsible for session management in the mobile network, such as session establishment, modification and release. The specific functions include allocating an IP address to a user, selecting a user plane network element providing a message forwarding function, and the like.

The strategy control network element: and is responsible for providing policies, such as quality of service (QoS) policies, slice selection policies, and the like, to access and mobility management network elements, session management network elements, and the like.

Unified data management network element: for storing user data such as subscription information, authentication/authorization information.

It should be understood that each of the above devices or network elements may be a device with corresponding functions, a software/hardware module (e.g., a chip) inside the device, and the like. It should also be understood that any device or network element referred to in this application may be implemented in software, or in a combination of software and hardware.

In one example, the system shown in fig. 4 may be a 5G system. In this case, the terminal device, the user plane network element, the data network, the access and mobility management network element, the session management network element, the policy control network element, and the unified data management network element may respectively correspond to the UE, the User Plane Function (UPF), the Data Network (DN), the access and mobility management function (AMF), the Session Management Function (SMF), the Policy Control Function (PCF), and the Unified Data Management (UDM) in the 5G system.

It should be understood that the system shown in fig. 4 may also be a 4G system or other systems (e.g., future 6G system, etc.), which is not limited in this application.

With the maturity of CU/DU separation related technologies, it may become mainstream that a CU and a user plane network element are deployed in the same physical machine room. In order to reduce the data plane transmission hop number, save the cost, terminate the data plane security node in the core network, and the like, there is a possibility that the user plane network element and the CU-UP are fused into one network element. Specifically, the user plane of the SDAP layer and the PDCP layer is placed in a convergence network element (i.e., a first user plane device), and managed by a session management network element. In addition, it can be considered to cancel the management authority of the CU-CP to the converged network element (cancel the original E1 interface), or to reserve only part of the authority that does not affect security.

Referring to fig. 5, fig. 5 shows a system architecture when a user plane network element and a CU-UP are merged into one network element, taking a 5G system as an example. In fig. 5, the converged network element is denoted as: CU-UPF. It should be understood that the converged network element may also be other names, and for ease of understanding and description herein, the converged network element is merely taken as an example CU-UPF.

Referring to fig. 6, fig. 6 shows a data plane protocol stack architecture diagram in a fusion scenario. As shown in fig. 6, the DN includes a general packet radio service tunneling protocol user plane (GTP-U) layer, a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) layer, an Internet Protocol (IP) layer, an L2 layer (layer 2), and an L1 layer (layer 1). The Next Generation (NG) protocol stack of the CU-UPF comprises a GTP-U layer, a UDP layer, an IP layer, an L2 layer and an L1 layer. AN Access Network (AN) protocol stack of the CU-UPF includes AN SDAP layer and a PDCP layer. The DU includes an RLC layer, a MAC layer, and a PHY layer. The UE includes an Application (APP) layer, a SDAP layer, a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer, and a PHY layer. The L2 layer is a link layer, for example, the L2 layer may be a data link layer in an Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference model. The L1 layer may be a physical layer, for example, the L1 layer may be a physical layer in the OSI reference model. Referring to fig. 6, after the data packet received by the fusion network element CU-UPF from the DN is processed by the SDAP layer and the PDCP layer, it is directly connected to the DU through the F1-U interface.

Referring to fig. 7, in the non-convergence scenario, a tunnel between the UPF and the RAN is an N3 tunnel, and one PDU session (session) corresponds to one N3 tunnel. In the fusion scenario, the tunnel granularity changes as the data plane protocol changes. Referring to fig. 8, in the fusion scenario, the tunnel between the CU-UPF and the DU is a DRB-granularity tunnel (which may also be referred to as an FI-U tunnel), and one PDU session may correspond to multiple DRB-granularity tunnels. After the tunnel granularity is changed, how to transmit the data packet and the attribute information of the corresponding QoS flow is an urgent problem to be solved.

In view of the above, the present application provides a method for transmitting data, which can solve the above problems. The scheme provided by the present application is described below by taking the name of the network element in the 5G system as an example.

It should be understood that the method described below may be applied to the system shown in fig. 5. The CU-UPF, DU, CU-CP, SMF, and AMF involved in the method respectively correspond to the first user plane device, the distributed unit, the first access network device, the session management network element, and the access and mobility management network elements, the connection relationship between these network elements may refer to fig. 5, the protocol stack of CU-UPF may refer to fig. 6, and the tunnel between CU-UPF and DU may refer to fig. 8.

Fig. 9 is a schematic flow chart of a method for transmitting data provided herein. The steps of the method 100 shown in fig. 9 are explained below.

S110, the CU-CP determines first information.

The first information includes identification information of the DRB, identification information of a PDU session corresponding to the identification information of the DRB, and identification information of a QoS flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB. For example, the DRB may be one of the DRBs shown in fig. 8, and accordingly, the PDU session and the QoS flow corresponding to the identification information that may be the DRB may be the PDU session and the QoS flow corresponding to the DRB shown in fig. 8.

It should be understood that the QoS flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB is one or more QoS flows, and accordingly, the identification information of the QoS flow included in the first information is the identification information of one or more QoS flows. The identification information of the QoS flow may be a QoS Flow Identification (QFI) or other identifications, which is not limited in this application.

For convenience of understanding, the DRB is referred to as DRB #1, the PDU session corresponding to the DRB is referred to as PDU session #1, and the QoS flows corresponding to the identification information of the DRB are referred to as QoS flow #1 to QoS flow # 3.

It is understood that DRB #1 belongs to PDU session #1, in other words DRB #1 is established for PDU session # 1. QoS flow #1 to QoS flow #3 are mapped to DRB # 1.

In this embodiment, the CU-CP may determine the first information according to the related information of the PDU session #1 and the QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU session # 1. The related information of the PDU session #1 and the QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU session #1 are transmitted by the SMF.

Specifically, after receiving the related information of the PDU session #1 and the QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU session #1, which are transmitted by the SMF through the AMF, the CU-CP determines to allocate the DRB #1 to the PDU session #1, and allocates and maps the QoS flows #1 to #3 to the DRB # 1.

Illustratively, the related information of PDU session #1 may include one or more of the following: identification information of PDU session #1, an identification of single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI) corresponding to PDU session #1, an Aggregate Maximum Bit Rate (AMBR) of a session corresponding to PDU session #1, or a type of PDU session # 1.

Illustratively, the QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU session #1 may include identification information of the QoS flow corresponding to the PDU session #1 (i.e., identification information of the QoS flows #1 to # 3) and a QoS profile (QoS profile) of the QoS flow corresponding to the PDU session # 1.

S120, the CU-CP sends first information to the SMF. Accordingly, the SMF receives the first information from the CU-CP.

Specifically, the CU-CP sends the first message to the AMF, and then the AMF sends the first message to the SMF.

S130, the SMF sends first information to the CU-UPF. Accordingly, the CU-UPF receives the first information from the SMF.

And S140, the CU-UPF establishes a tunnel with the DU for the DRB #1 according to the first information.

Specifically, the CU-UPF configures the SDAP entity and the PDCP entity according to the first information, and stores a mapping relationship between the identification information of the DRB #1 and the identification information of the QoS flows #1 to #3 in the SDAP entity.

Optionally, step S140 may further include: and the CU-UPF sends configuration information of an uplink port to the SMF, wherein the uplink port is a target port used for uplink transmission of the DU through the tunnel.

Specifically, the CU-UPF sends the configuration information of the uplink port to the SMF, the SMF further sends the configuration information of the uplink port to the CU-CP through the AMF, and the CU-CP configures the uplink port according to the configuration information of the uplink port. Subsequently, the DU may use the uplink port to perform uplink transmission through the tunnel.

Illustratively, the configuration information of the upstream port may include an IP address and a tunnel identifier used by the CU-UPF to receive the upstream packet.

Optionally, step S140 may further include: the CU-UPF receives configuration information of a downlink port from the SMF, wherein the downlink port is a target port used by the CU-UPF for downlink transmission through the tunnel; and the CU-UPF configures the downlink port according to the configuration information of the downlink port.

Specifically, the CU-CP may send the configuration information of the downstream port to the SMF through the AMF, the SMF further sends the configuration information of the downstream port to the CU-UPF, and the CU-UPF configures the downstream port according to the configuration information of the downstream port. Subsequently, the CU-UPF may use the downstream port for downstream transmission through the tunnel.

Illustratively, the configuration information of the downstream port may include an IP address and a tunnel identifier used by the CU-UPF to send downstream packets.

And S150, the CU-UPF adds the identification of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet and the attribute information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet into the packet header of the downlink data packet according to the identification information of the DRB #1 and the identification information of the QoS flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB # 1.

Specifically, after receiving a downlink data packet, the CU-UPF first determines a PDU session and a QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet. If the downlink data packet corresponds to the PDU session #1, the downlink data packet corresponds to one of the QoS flows #1 to # 3. Taking the QoS flow #1 corresponding to the downlink data packet as an example, the CU-UPF may determine that the downlink data packet corresponds to the DRB #1 according to the mapping relationship between the QoS flow #1 and the DRB # 1. Then, the CU-UPF may add the identification information of DRB #1, the identification information of QoS flow #1, and the attribute information of QoS flow #1 to the header of the downlink packet.

Alternatively, the attribute information of the QoS flow #1 may be PPI of the QoS flow # 1.

Optionally, the attribute information of the QoS flow #1 may also be a data delay (packet delay budget) of the QoS flow # 1.

It should be noted that the execution of S150 is not dependent on the steps before S150, and S150 may be executed as long as the CU-UPF obtains the mapping relationship between DRB #1 and QoS flow # 1.

And S160, the CU-UPF sends the downlink data packet through the tunnel. Accordingly, the DU receives the downlink packet through the tunnel.

After receiving the downlink data packet, the DU may perform subsequent processing according to the attribute information of the QoS stream #1 carried by the downlink data packet.

For example, after the DU receives the downlink data packet, if the UE is in a connected state, the DU may send the downlink data packet to the UE. If the UE is in an RRC inactive (inactive) state, the DU can report the PPI of the QoS flow #1 to the CU-CP, and after the CU-CP receives the PPI reported by the DU, a local paging strategy can be selected and a paging request is initiated to the AMF or other access network elements. In this way, the RRC inactive function can be reasonably supported in the fusion scene.

For another example, after receiving the downlink data packet, the DU may determine whether the downlink data packet can be transmitted on time according to the data delay of the QoS flow #1 carried by the downlink data packet. If the downlink data packet cannot be transmitted on time, the DU may perform scheduling priority adjustment on the downlink data packet. In this way, the PDB allocation function can be better supported in a converged scenario.

According to the method for transmitting data provided by the application, the CU-CP configures the mapping relation among the PDU session, the DRB and the QoS flow to the CU-UPF through the SMF, so that the CU-UPF can establish a tunnel with DRB granularity between DUs according to the mapping relation, and can add the identification of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet and the attribute information of the corresponding QoS flow in the packet header of the downlink data packet according to the mapping relation between the DRB and the QoS flow, and transmit the downlink data packet through the tunnel, thereby realizing the transmission of the downlink data packet and the attribute information of the corresponding QoS flow.

In the method provided in the present application, the first information may be sent before the RRC reconfiguration is completed, or may be sent when the RRC reconfiguration is completed, which is described below with reference to the embodiments shown in fig. 10 and fig. 11.

It should be noted that the RAN shown in fig. 10 and 11 does not include the function of CU-UP. In addition, the same concepts or terms appearing hereinafter as those described above, for example, the related information of the PDU session #1, the QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU session #1, the first information, etc., may refer to the above description unless otherwise specified.

Fig. 10 is a schematic flow chart of a method for transmitting data provided herein. The steps of the method 200 are explained below.

S201, the UE sends a PDU session establishment request message to the AMF through the RAN.

The PDU session setup request message is used to request to setup PDU session #1, and the PDU session setup request message instructs the SMF to select a converged network element, i.e., CU-UPF.

S202, the AMF selects the SMF according to the request of the UE and the local policy.

S203, the AMF sends a PDU session setup request message to the SMF.

S204, the SMF queries (updates) the UDM for subscription information.

The subscription information may include related information of PDU session #1 and QoS parameters corresponding to PDU session # 1.

S205, the SMF feeds back a PDU session setup response message to the AMF.

S206, carrying out the authentication and authorization of the PDU conversation.

S207 a-S207 b, select PCF and carry out the association of the session management policy.

S208, the SMF selects the CU-UPF.

And S209, adjusting the session management policy.

S210 a-S210 b, and establishing N4 context in CU-UPF.

For example, the session establishment modification request in S210a may be an N4 session establishment modification request, and the session establishment modification response in S210b may be an N4 session establishment modification response.

With regard to steps S201 to S210b, reference may be made to the prior art. Unlike the prior art, the UPF is selected in the prior art, and the CU-UPF is selected in the embodiment of the application. In addition, one or more steps of S201 to S210b are optional steps, and specific steps are optional steps and under what conditions to perform, and reference may also be made to the prior art.

S211 to S212, the SMF transmits the information related to the PDU session #1 and the QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU session #1 to the RAN (specifically, CU-CP).

Specifically, the SMF first sends the information related to the PDU session #1 and the QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU session #1 to the AMF, and then the AMF sends the information related to the DU session #1 and the QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU session #1 to the RAN.

For example, the related information of the PDU session #1 and the QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU session #1 in S211 may be carried by the naf _ Communication _ N1N2Message _ Transfer.

For example, the related information of the PDU session #1 and the QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU session #1 in S212 may be carried by the N2 session request message.

S213, the RAN (specifically, CU-CP) determines the first information according to the related information of the PDU session #1 and the QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU session # 1.

S214-S215, the RAN (specifically, CU-CP) sends the first information to the SMF.

For example, the first information in S214 may be carried by the N2 session response message.

For example, the first information in S215 may be carried by Namf _ Communication _ N1N2Message _ Transfer.

S216, the SMF sends the first information to the CU-UPF.

Illustratively, the first information may be carried by an N4 session modification request message.

Regarding steps S213 to S216, the above steps S110 to S130 can be referred to.

S217, the CU-UPF configures the SDAP entity and the PDCP entity according to the first information, and stores the mapping relation between the identification information of the DRB #1 and the identification information of the QoS flows #1 to #3 in the SDAP entity.

S218, the CU-UPF sends the configuration information of the uplink port to the SMF.

For example, the configuration information of the upstream port may be carried by an N4 session modification response message.

S219 to S220, the SMF sends the configuration information of the uplink port to the RAN (specifically, CU-CP).

For example, the configuration information of the uplink port in S219 may be carried by the Namf _ Communication _ N1N2Message _ Transfer.

For example, the configuration information of the upstream port in S220 may be carried by an N2 session request message.

S221, the RAN configures the uplink port.

Specifically, the CU-CP sends the configuration information of the uplink port to the DU, and the DU configures the uplink port according to the configuration information of the uplink port.

S222, the RAN (specifically, CU-CP) allocates related resources to complete establishment and adjustment of UE context related to session on the RAN side. The RAN and the UE allocate corresponding channel resources (i.e., access network resources) through AN RRC Reconfiguration (RRC Reconfiguration) procedure, and establish AN air interface connection of PDU session # 1.

Regarding step S222, reference may be made to related contents in the prior art, and details are not repeated here.

S223, the RAN feeds back RRC reconfiguration complete information and configuration information of the downlink port to the AMF. At this time, the configuration of the uplink tunnel is completed, and uplink data transmission is started.

For example, the RRC reconfiguration complete information and the configuration information of the downlink port may be carried by an N2 session response message.

For example, the RRC reconfiguration complete message and the configuration information of the downlink port may be carried by the RRC reconfiguration complete message.

S224, the AMF forwards the configuration information of the RAN downlink port to the SMF.

Optionally, the configuration information of the downlink port may be carried by a PDU session update context request message.

S225, the SMF sends the configuration information of the downstream port to the CU-UPF.

Optionally, the configuration information of the downstream port may be carried by an N4 session modification request message.

And S226, the CU-UPF configures the downlink port according to the configuration information of the downlink port. At this time, the configuration of the downlink tunnel is completed, and downlink data transmission is started.

And S227, when the CU-UPF receives the downlink data packet, adding the identification of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet and the attribute information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet into the packet head of the downlink data packet according to the identification information of the DRB #1 and the identification information of the QoS flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB # 1.

This step may refer to S150, which is not described herein.

And S228, the CU-UPF sends the downlink data packet through the tunnel.

This step may refer to S160.

In the method, there may be some subsequent procedures, for example, the SMF registers in the UDM, the SMF feeds back an SM context update condition to the AMF, and meanwhile, the UE that may subscribe to the AMF may perform a mobility notification service, a PDU session establishment failure procedure, and the like. All of these procedures can refer to the prior art, and are not described herein again.

According to the method for transmitting data provided by the embodiment of the application, before configuring access network resources (AN resources) in a PDU session establishment flow, a CU-CP sends a mapping relationship between a PDU session, a DRB and a QoS flow to a CU-UPF through AN SMF, so that the CU-UPF can establish a tunnel with a DRB granularity between DUs according to the mapping relationship, and can add AN identifier of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet and attribute information of the corresponding QoS flow to a header of the downlink data packet according to the mapping relationship between the DRB and the QoS flow, and transmit the downlink data packet through the tunnel, thereby realizing transmission of the downlink data packet and the attribute information of the corresponding QoS flow.

Fig. 11 is a schematic flow chart of a method for transmitting data provided herein. The steps of the method 300 are explained below.

S301 to S312 are the same as S201 to S212.

S313, the same as S222, that is, the RAN (specifically, CU-CP) allocates related resources, and completes establishment and adjustment of the UE context related to the session on the RAN side. The RAN and the UE allocate corresponding channel resources (i.e., access network resources) through AN RRC Reconfiguration (RRC Reconfiguration) procedure, and establish AN air interface connection of PDU session # 1.

S314, the RAN (specifically, CU-CP) determines the first information according to the related information of the PDU session #1 and the QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU session # 1.

Regarding this step, reference may be made to step S110 hereinabove.

S315, the RAN (specifically, CU-CP) sends the first information, the content in the reconfiguration complete message, and the configuration information of the downlink port to the AMF.

For example, the first information, the content in the reconfiguration complete message in the foregoing description, and the configuration information of the downstream port may be carried by an N2 session response message.

S316, the AMF sends the first information and the configuration information of the downlink port to the SMF.

For example, the first information and the configuration information of the downlink port may be carried by a PDU session update context request message.

S317, the SMF sends the first information and the configuration information of the downstream port to the CU-UPF.

For example, the first information and the configuration information of the downstream port may be carried by an N4 session request message.

S318, the CU-UPF configures the SDAP entity and the PDCP entity according to the first information, saves the mapping relation between the identification information of the DRB #1 and the identification information of the QoS flows #1 to #3 in the SDAP entity, and configures the downlink port according to the configuration information of the downlink port. At this time, the configuration of the downlink tunnel is completed, and downlink data transmission is started.

And S319, when the CU-UPF receives the downlink data packet, adding the identification of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet and the attribute information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet into the packet header of the downlink data packet according to the identification information of the DRB #1 and the identification information of the QoS flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB # 1.

This step may refer to S150, which is not described herein.

Before S319, there may be a procedure in which the AMF feeds back the SM context update to the AMF, and at the same time, the UE mobility notification service that may subscribe to the AMF. For these processes, reference may be made to the prior art, and details are not repeated here.

And S320, the CU-UPF sends the downlink data packet through the tunnel.

This step may refer to S160.

S321, the CU-UPF sends the configuration information of the uplink port to the SMF.

S322 to S323, the SMF sends the configuration information of the uplink port to the RAN (specifically, CU-CP).

S324, the RAN configures the uplink port.

Specifically, the CU-CP sends the configuration information of the uplink port to the DU, and the DU configures the uplink port according to the configuration information of the uplink port. At this time, the configuration of the uplink tunnel is completed, and uplink data transmission is started.

Regarding the subsequent flows that may exist, for example, the SMF performs registration in the UDM, the PDU session establishment fails, and the like, all refer to the prior art, and are not described herein again.

According to the method for transmitting data provided by the embodiment of the application, after AN access network resource (AN resource) is configured in a PDU session establishment flow, a CU-CP sends a mapping relationship between a PDU session, a DRB and a QoS flow to a CU-UPF through AN SMF, so that the CU-UPF can establish a tunnel with a DRB granularity between the PDU and the CU-UPF according to the mapping relationship, and can add AN identifier of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet and attribute information of the corresponding QoS flow to a header of the downlink data packet according to the mapping relationship between the DRB and the QoS flow, and transmit the downlink data packet through the tunnel, thereby realizing transmission of the downlink data packet and the attribute information of the corresponding QoS flow. In addition, the embodiment can complete the configuration of the downlink tunnel between the CU-UPF and the DU through one-time interaction between the CU-CP and the CU-UPF, simplify the flow and save the signaling resources.

The method provided by the embodiment of the present application is described in detail above with reference to fig. 9 to 11. Hereinafter, the apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail with reference to fig. 12 and 13.

Fig. 12 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 12, the communication apparatus 2000 may include a transceiving unit 2100 and a processing unit 2200.

The transceiving unit 2100 may include a transmitting unit and/or a receiving unit. The transceiving unit 2100 may be a transceiver (including a transmitter and/or receiver), an input/output interface (including an input and/or output interface), a pin or a circuit, etc. The transceiving unit 2100 may be configured to perform the steps of transmitting and/or receiving in the above-described method embodiments.

The processing unit 2200 may be a processor (which may include one or more processors), a processing circuit with a processor function, etc., and may be used to perform other steps besides transmitting and receiving in the above-described method embodiments.

Optionally, the communication device may further include a storage unit, which may be a memory, an internal storage unit (e.g., a register, a cache, etc.), an external storage unit (e.g., a read-only memory, a random access memory, etc.), and the like. The storage unit is configured to store instructions, and the processing unit 2200 executes the instructions stored in the storage unit to enable the communication device to perform the method.

In one design, the communication device 2000 may correspond to the first user plane device (i.e., CU-UPF) in the above method embodiments, and may perform the operations performed by the first user plane device.

Specifically, the transceiving unit 2100 is configured to receive first information from a session management network element, where the first information includes identification information of a data radio bearer DRB, identification information of a protocol data unit PDU session corresponding to the identification information of the DRB, and identification information of a quality of service QoS flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB; a processing unit 2200, configured to establish a tunnel with a distributed unit for the DRB according to the first information; the processing unit 2200 is further configured to add, in a header of a downlink data packet, the identification information of the QoS stream corresponding to the downlink data packet and attribute information of the QoS stream corresponding to the downlink data packet according to the identification information of the DRB and the identification information of the QoS stream corresponding to the identification information of the DRB; the transceiving unit 2100 is further configured to send the downlink data packet through the tunnel.

Optionally, the processing unit 2200 is specifically configured to: and controlling the transceiver unit 2100 to send configuration information of an uplink port to the session management network element, where the uplink port is a destination port used by the distributed unit for uplink transmission through the tunnel.

Optionally, the processing unit 2200 is specifically configured to: controlling the transceiver unit 2100 to receive configuration information of a downlink port from the session management network element, where the downlink port is a destination port used by the device for downlink transmission through the tunnel; and configuring the downlink port according to the configuration information of the downlink port.

Optionally, the attribute information comprises a paging priority indication PPI.

It should be understood that the transceiver 2100 and the processing unit 2200 may also perform other operations performed by the first user plane device in the above method embodiments, and are not described in detail here.

In one design, the communication device 2000 may correspond to the session management network element (i.e., SMF) in the above-described method embodiment, and may perform the operations performed by the session management network element.

Specifically, the transceiving unit 2100 is configured to receive first information from a first access network device, where the first information includes identification information of a data radio bearer DRB, identification information of a protocol data unit PDU session corresponding to the identification information of the DRB, and identification information of a quality of service QoS flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB; the transceiving unit 2100 is further configured to send the first information to a first user plane device, where the first information is used for establishing a tunnel with a DRB granularity between the first user plane device and a distributed unit, and the identification information of the DRB and the identification information of the QoS flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB are used for adding the identification information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet and the attribute information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet in a packet header of the downlink data packet sent in the tunnel.

Optionally, the transceiver 2100 is further configured to: receiving configuration information of an uplink port from the first user plane device, where the uplink port is a destination port used by the distributed unit for uplink transmission through the tunnel with the DRB granularity; and sending the configuration information of the uplink port to the first access network device.

Optionally, the transceiving unit 2100 is further configured to: receiving configuration information of a downlink port from the first access network device, where the downlink port is a destination port used by the first user plane device for downlink transmission through the tunnel with the DRB granularity; and sending the configuration information of the downlink port to the first user plane device.

Optionally, the transceiver 2100 is further configured to: and sending the related information of the PDU session and the QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU session to the first access network device, wherein the related information of the PDU session and the QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU session are used for determining the first information.

It should be understood that the transceiving unit 2100 and the processing unit 2200 may also perform other operations performed by the session management network element in the above method embodiments, which are not described in detail herein.

In one design, the communication device 2000 may correspond to the first access network device (i.e., CU-CP) in the above-described method embodiments, and may perform operations performed by the first access network device.

Specifically, the processing unit 2200 is configured to determine first information, where the first information includes identification information of a data radio bearer DRB, identification information of a protocol data unit PDU session corresponding to the identification information of the DRB, and identification information of a quality of service QoS flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB; a transceiving unit 2100, configured to send the first information to a session management network element, so as to enable the session management network element to send the first information to a first user plane device, where the first information is used to establish a tunnel with DRB granularity between the first user plane device and a distributed unit, and the identification information of the QoS flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB are used to add, in a packet header of a downlink data packet sent in the tunnel, the identification information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet and attribute information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet.

Optionally, the transceiver 2100 is further configured to receive configuration information of an uplink port from the session management network element, where the uplink port is a destination port used by the distributed unit for uplink transmission through the tunnel; the processing unit 2200 is further configured to configure the uplink port according to the configuration information of the uplink port.

Optionally, the transceiver unit 2100 is further configured to send configuration information of a downlink port to the session management network element, where the downlink port is a destination port used by the first user plane device for downlink transmission through the tunnel.

Optionally, the transceiver unit is further configured to 2100, receive, from the session management network element, the relevant information of the PDU session and a QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU session; the processing unit 2200 is further configured to determine the first information according to the related information of the PDU session and the QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU session.

It should be understood that the transceiver 2100 and the processing unit 2200 may also perform other operations performed by the first access network apparatus in the above method embodiments, and a detailed description thereof is omitted here.

Moreover, the communication apparatus 2000 may also correspond to other network elements in the above method embodiments, such as AMF, DN, and the like, and may perform operations performed by the corresponding network elements.

It should be understood that the division of the units is only a functional division, and other division methods may be possible in actual implementation.

It should also be understood that the above-described processing unit may be implemented by hardware, by software, or by a combination of hardware and software.

Fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in the present application. As shown in fig. 13, the communication device 3000 may implement the functions implemented by any network element in any of the above method embodiments, for example, the communication device 3000 may correspond to a CU-UPF, a CU-CP or a DU in any of the above method embodiments.

The communication device 3000 may include a processor 3001. The processor 3001, which may also be referred to as a processing unit, may perform certain control functions. The processor 3001 may be configured to control the communication device 3000, execute software programs, and process data of the software programs.

In an alternative design, the processor 3001 may also store instructions and/or data that can be executed by the processor 3001 to cause the communications apparatus 3000 to perform the operations performed by any one of the network elements (e.g., CU-UPF, CU-CP, or DU) in the above-described method embodiments.

Optionally, the communication device 3000 may include a memory 3002, which may store instructions executable on the processor, so that the communication device 3000 performs the operations performed by any one of the network elements in the method embodiments described above. Optionally, the memory may further store data therein. Optionally, instructions and/or data may also be stored in the processor. The processor and the memory may be provided separately or may be integrated together. For example, the correspondence described in the above method embodiments may be stored in a memory or in a processor.

Optionally, the communication device 3000 may include a transceiver 3003. The transceiver 3003, which may also be referred to as a transceiving unit, a transceiver, or a transceiving circuit, is mainly used for receiving signals (such as a downlink packet or first information, etc.) from other apparatuses or network elements and/or transmitting signals (such as a downlink packet or first information, etc.) to other apparatuses or network elements.

The processor 3001, the memory 3002, and the transceiver 3003 may communicate with each other via internal connection paths to transfer control and/or data signals.

It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be an integrated circuit chip having signal processing capability. In implementation, the steps of the above method embodiments may be performed by integrated logic circuits of hardware in a processor or instructions in the form of software. The processor may be a general-purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, a system on chip (SoC), a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Network Processor (NP), a Micro Controller Unit (MCU), a Programmable Logic Device (PLD) or other integrated chip.

The memory in the embodiments of the present application may be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. The non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a Programmable ROM (PROM), an Erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically Erasable EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. Volatile memory can be Random Access Memory (RAM), which acts as external cache memory. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM, enhanced SDRAM, SLDRAM, Synchronous Link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to comprise, without being limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, the present application further provides a computer program product, including: computer program code which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the operations performed by any of the network elements (e.g. the first user plane device, the session management network element or the first access network device, etc.) of any of the preceding method embodiments.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, a computer-readable medium is also provided, where the program code is stored, and when the program code is executed on a computer, the computer is caused to perform the operations performed by any one of the foregoing method embodiments (e.g., the first user plane device, the session management network element, or the first access network device).

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, the present application further provides a system, which includes one or more network elements in any method embodiment.

The embodiment of the application also provides a communication device, which comprises a processor and an interface; the processor is configured to perform the method of any of the above method embodiments.

It should be understood that the communication device may be a chip. For example, the processing device may be a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an off-the-shelf programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, a system on chip (SoC), a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Network Processor (NP), a digital signal processing circuit (DSP), a microcontroller (micro controller unit, MCU), a Programmable Logic Device (PLD) or other integrated chip. The various methods, steps, and logic blocks disclosed in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented or performed. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like. The steps of the method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented by a hardware decoding processor, or implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module may be located in ram, flash memory, rom, prom, or eprom, registers, etc. storage media as is well known in the art. The storage medium is located in a memory, and a processor reads information in the memory and completes the steps of the method in combination with hardware of the processor.

In the above embodiments, all or part of the implementation may be realized by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When loaded and executed on a computer, cause the processes or functions described in accordance with the embodiments of the application to occur, in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a network of computers, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored on a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another, for example, from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wire (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device, such as a server, a data center, etc., that incorporates one or more of the available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a Solid State Disk (SSD)), among others.

The network device in the foregoing various apparatus embodiments completely corresponds to the terminal device and the network device or the terminal device in the method embodiments, and the corresponding steps are executed by a corresponding module or unit, for example, a communication unit (transceiver) executes the steps of receiving or transmitting in the method embodiments, and other steps besides transmitting and receiving may be executed by a processing unit (processor). The functions of the specific elements may be referred to in the respective method embodiments. The number of the processors may be one or more.

As used in this specification, the terms "component," "module," "system," and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a computing device and the computing device can be a component. One or more components may reside within a process or thread of execution and a component may be localized on one computer and distributed between 2 or more computers. In addition, these components can execute from various computer readable media having various data structures stored thereon. The components may communicate by way of local or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., data from two components interacting with another component in a local system, distributed system, or across a network such as the internet with other systems by way of the signal).

It should be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present application. Thus, the various embodiments are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment throughout the specification. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

It should be understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, the numbers "first" and "second" … are only used for distinguishing different objects, such as for distinguishing different network devices, and do not limit the scope of the embodiment of the present application, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto.

It should also be understood that, in this application, "when …", "if" and "if" all refer to a network element that performs the corresponding process under certain objective circumstances, and are not time-critical, nor do they require certain deterministic actions to be performed by the network element, nor do they imply that other limitations exist.

It is also understood that, in the present application, "at least one" means one or more, "a plurality" means two or more.

It should also be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, "B corresponding to a" means that B is associated with a, from which B can be determined. It should also be understood that determining B from a does not mean determining B from a alone, but may be determined from a and/or other information.

It should also be understood that the term "and/or" herein is merely one type of association that describes an associated object, meaning that three relationships may exist, e.g., a and/or B may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. In addition, the character "/" herein generally indicates that the former and latter related objects are in an "or" relationship.

Items appearing in this application as similar to "include one or more of the following: the meaning of the expressions A, B, and C "generally means that the item may be any of the following, unless otherwise specified: a; b; c; a and B; a and C; b and C; a, B and C; a and A; a, A and A; a, A and B; a, A and C, A, B and B; a, C and C; b and B, B, B and C, C and C; c, C and C, and other combinations of A, B and C. The above description is made by taking 3 elements of a, B and C as examples of optional items of the item, and when the expression "item" includes at least one of the following: a, B, … …, and X ", i.e., more elements in the expression, then the items to which the item may apply may also be obtained according to the aforementioned rules.

It is understood that, in the embodiments of the present application, a terminal device and/or a network device may perform some or all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application, and these steps or operations are merely examples, and the embodiments of the present application may also perform other operations or various modifications of the operations. Further, the various steps may be performed in a different order presented in the embodiments of the application, and not all operations in the embodiments of the application may be performed.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the implementation. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

It is clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described systems, apparatuses and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and are not described herein again.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described apparatus embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the units is only one type of logical functional division, and other divisions may be realized in practice, for example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not executed. In addition, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be in an electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the embodiment.

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

The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application or portions thereof that substantially contribute to the prior art may be embodied in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium and including instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media capable of storing program codes, such as a U disk, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory ROM, a random access memory RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

The above description is only for the specific embodiments of the present application, but the scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of the changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present application, and shall be covered by the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for transmitting data, comprising:

a first user plane device receives first information from a session management network element, wherein the first information comprises identification information of a Data Radio Bearer (DRB), identification information of a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session corresponding to the identification information of the DRB, and identification information of a quality of service (QoS) flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB;

the first user plane device establishes a tunnel between the first user plane device and the distributed unit for the DRB according to the first information;

the first user plane device adds the identification information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet and the attribute information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet into the packet header of the downlink data packet according to the identification information of the DRB and the identification information of the QoS flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB;

and the first user plane device transmits the downlink data packet through the tunnel.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first user plane device establishing a tunnel with a distributed unit for the DRB according to the first information, comprising:

and the first user plane device sends configuration information of an uplink port to the session management network element, wherein the uplink port is a destination port used by the distributed unit for uplink transmission through the tunnel.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first user plane device establishing a tunnel with a distributed unit for the DRB according to the first information, comprising:

the first user plane device receives configuration information of a downlink port from the session management network element, wherein the downlink port is a target port used by the first user plane device for downlink transmission through the tunnel;

and the first user plane device configures the downlink port according to the configuration information of the downlink port.

4. The method of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the attribute information comprises a Paging Priority Indication (PPI).

5. A method for transmitting data, comprising:

a session management network element receives first information from a first access network device, wherein the first information comprises identification information of a Data Radio Bearer (DRB), identification information of a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session corresponding to the identification information of the DRB, and identification information of a quality of service (QoS) flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB;

the session management network element sends the first information to a first user plane device, where the first information is used for establishing a tunnel with DRB granularity between the first user plane device and a distributed unit, and the identification information of the DRB and the identification information of the QoS flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB are used for adding the identification information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet and the attribute information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet in a packet header of a downlink data packet sent in the tunnel.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the method further comprises:

the session management network element receives configuration information of an uplink port from the first user plane device, where the uplink port is a destination port used by the distributed unit for uplink transmission through the tunnel with the DRB granularity;

and the session management network element sends the configuration information of the uplink port to the first access network device.

7. The method of claim 5 or 6, further comprising:

the session management network element receives configuration information of a downlink port from the first access network device, where the downlink port is a destination port used by the first user plane device for downlink transmission through the tunnel with the DRB granularity;

and the session management network element sends the configuration information of the downlink port to the first user plane device.

8. The method of any of claims 5 to 7, wherein the attribute information comprises a Paging Priority Indication (PPI).

9. The method of any of claims 5 to 8, wherein prior to the session management network element receiving the first information from the first access network device, the method further comprises:

10. A method for transmitting data, comprising:

determining first information, wherein the first information comprises identification information of a Data Radio Bearer (DRB), identification information of a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session corresponding to the identification information of the DRB, and identification information of a quality of service (QoS) flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB;

and sending the first information to a session management network element, enabling the session management network element to send the first information to a first user plane device, where the first information is used for establishing a tunnel with a DRB granularity between the first user plane device and a distributed unit, and the identification information of the DRB and the identification information of the QoS flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB are used for adding the identification information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet and the attribute information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet in a packet header of the downlink data packet sent in the tunnel.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving configuration information of an uplink port from the session management network element, where the uplink port is a destination port used by the distributed unit for uplink transmission through the tunnel;

and configuring the uplink port according to the configuration information of the uplink port.

12. The method of claim 10 or 11, wherein the method further comprises:

and sending configuration information of a downlink port to the session management network element, where the downlink port is a destination port used by the first user plane device for downlink transmission through the tunnel.

13. The method of any of claims 10 to 12, wherein the attribute information comprises a paging priority indication, PPI.

14. The method of any of claims 10 to 13, wherein prior to the gNB-CU-CP generating the first information, the method further comprises:

receiving the related information of the PDU session from the session management network element and the QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU session;

and determining the first information according to the related information of the PDU session and the QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU session.

15. A first user plane device, comprising:

a transceiver unit, configured to receive first information from a session management network element, where the first information includes identification information of a Data Radio Bearer (DRB), identification information of a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session corresponding to the identification information of the DRB, and identification information of a quality of service (QoS) flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB;

the processing unit is used for establishing a tunnel between the DRB and the distributed unit according to the first information;

the processing unit is further configured to add, in a header of a downlink data packet, identification information of a QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet and attribute information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet according to the identification information of the DRB and the identification information of the QoS flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB;

the transceiver unit is further configured to send the downlink data packet through the tunnel.

16. The apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein said processing unit is specifically configured to:

and controlling the transceiver unit to send configuration information of an uplink port to the session management network element, where the uplink port is a destination port used by the distributed unit for uplink transmission through the tunnel.

17. The apparatus according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the processing unit is specifically configured to:

controlling the transceiver unit to receive configuration information of a downlink port from the session management network element, where the downlink port is a destination port used by the device for downlink transmission through the tunnel;

and configuring the downlink port according to the configuration information of the downlink port.

18. The apparatus of any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein the attribute information comprises a Paging Priority Indication (PPI).

19. A session management network element, comprising:

a transceiving unit, configured to receive first information from a first access network device, where the first information includes identification information of a data radio bearer DRB, identification information of a protocol data unit PDU session corresponding to the identification information of the DRB, and identification information of a quality of service QoS flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB;

the transceiving unit is further configured to send the first information to a first user plane device, where the first information is used for establishing a tunnel with a DRB granularity between the first user plane device and a distributed unit, and the identification information of the DRB and the identification information of the QoS flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB are used for adding the identification information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet and the attribute information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet in a packet header of the downlink data packet sent in the tunnel.

20. The session management network element of claim 19, wherein the transceiving unit is further to:

receiving configuration information of an uplink port from the first user plane device, where the uplink port is a destination port used by the distributed unit for uplink transmission through the tunnel with the DRB granularity;

and sending the configuration information of the uplink port to the first access network device.

21. A session management network element according to claim 19 or 20, wherein the transceiving unit is further configured to:

receiving configuration information of a downlink port from the first access network device, where the downlink port is a destination port used by the first user plane device for downlink transmission through the tunnel with the DRB granularity;

and sending the configuration information of the downlink port to the first user plane device.

22. A session management network element as claimed in any of claims 19 to 21, wherein the attribute information comprises a paging priority indication PPI.

23. The session management network element according to any of claims 19 to 22, wherein the transceiving unit is further configured to:

and sending the related information of the PDU session and the QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU session to the first access network device, wherein the related information of the PDU session and the QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU session are used for determining the first information.

24. A first access network apparatus, comprising:

a processing unit, configured to determine first information, where the first information includes identification information of a data radio bearer DRB, identification information of a protocol data unit PDU session corresponding to the identification information of the DRB, and identification information of a quality of service QoS flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB;

a receiving and sending unit, configured to send the first information to a session management network element, so that the session management network element is enabled to send the first information to a first user plane device, where the first information is used to establish a tunnel with DRB granularity between the first user plane device and a distributed unit, and the identification information of the QoS flow corresponding to the identification information of the DRB are used to add, in a packet header of a downlink data packet sent in the tunnel, the identification information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet and attribute information of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data packet.

25. The apparatus of claim 24,

the transceiver unit is further configured to receive configuration information of an uplink port from the session management network element, where the uplink port is a destination port used by the distributed unit for uplink transmission through the tunnel;

the processing unit is further configured to configure the uplink port according to the configuration information of the uplink port.

26. The apparatus according to claim 24 or 25, wherein the transceiver unit is further adapted to,

27. The apparatus of any one of claims 24 to 26, wherein the attribute information comprises a Paging Priority Indication (PPI).

28. The apparatus of any one of claims 24 to 27,

the receiving and sending unit is further configured to receive, from the session management network element, the relevant information of the PDU session and the QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU session;

the processing unit is further configured to determine the first information according to the related information of the PDU session and the QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU session.

29. A communications apparatus, comprising: a processor coupled with a memory, the memory to store a program or instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 14.

30. A readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program or instructions, which when executed, cause a computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 14.

31. A computer program product comprising computer program instructions for causing a computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 14.

32. A communication system, comprising: the first user plane device of any of claims 15 to 18, the session management network element of any of claims 19 to 23, and the first access network device of any of claims 24 to 28.