TW202322599A - Managing end-to-end quality of service (qos) in a multi-network communication path - Google Patents

Abstract

In embodiments of systems and methods for managing end-to-end Quality of Service (QoS) in a communication path spanning a first communication network and a second communication network may include determining by a network element of the first communication network an end-to-end QoS requirement for communicating packets from a packet source to a packet destination via the communication path, determining by the network element a QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path, and configuring the first communication network to provide sufficient QoS to support the end-to-end QoS requirement based on the QoS provided by the second communication network.

Description

Manage end-to-end Quality of Service (QOS) across multiple network communication paths

This patent application asserts the benefits of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/263,495, filed November 3, 2021, entitled "Managing End-To-End Quality Of Service (QoS) In A Multi-Network Communication Path" Priority, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.

This case is about managing end-to-end Quality of Service (QoS) across multiple network communication paths.

Communication networks can be configured to provide quality of service (QoS) for applications, services or data flows. There is a resource cost in provisioning the network to provide a specific QoS, so in order to meet a specific QoS requirement, an Internet Service Provider usually tries to provide sufficient network resources without over- or under-commitment of network resources. Providing QoS for applications, services or data flows that involve communication across two or more different types of networks is even more complex.

Aspects include systems and methods performed by network elements of a communication network for managing end-to-end quality of service (QoS) in a communication path spanning at least two communication networks. Aspects may include an end-to-end QoS requirement determined by a network element of the first communication network for communicating a packet from a packet source to a packet destination via a communication path across the first communication network and the second communication network, determined by the network The path element determines QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path, and configures the first communication network to provide sufficient QoS to support end-to-end QoS requirements based on the QoS provided by the second communication network.

In some aspects, the first communication network may be a 5G network, and the second communication network may not be a 5G network (ie, the second communication network may be a non-5G network). In some aspects, determining, by the network element, QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path may include determining a packet error rate of the second communication network. In some aspects, configuring the first communication network to provide sufficient QoS to support end-to-end QoS requirements based on the QoS provided by the second communication network may include determining the first communication network based on a determined packet error rate of the second communication network The required packet error rate of the road.

In some aspects, determining, by the network element, the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path may include determining an available throughput of the second communication network. In some aspects, configuring the first communication network to provide sufficient QoS to support end-to-end QoS requirements based on the QoS provided by the second communication network may include determining the first communication network based on the determined available throughput of the second communication network The transmission capacity demand of the road.

In some aspects, determining the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path by the network element may include measuring the QoS achieved end-to-end, identifying the QoS provided by the first communication network, and based on the end-to-end achieved The QoS provided by the first communication network and the QoS provided by the first communication network determine the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path. In some aspects, identifying the QoS provided by the first communication network may include applying a packet delay measurement 5G QoS identifier (5QI) corresponding to a constant packet delay in the first communication network to the first communication network. In these aspects, based on the QoS achieved end-to-end and the QoS provided by the first communication network, determining the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path may include packet delay based on the end-to-end realization and the first The constant packet delay in the communication network determines the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path.

In some aspects, identifying the QoS provided by the first communication network may include applying a packet loss rate 5QI corresponding to a constant packet loss rate in the first communication network to the first communication network. In these aspects, based on the QoS achieved end-to-end and the QoS provided by the first communication network, determining the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path may include the packet loss rate based on the end-to-end realization and the first A constant packet loss rate in a communication network determines the QoS provided by a second communication network in the communication path.

In some aspects, identifying the QoS provided by the first communication network may include applying to the first communication network a packet loss rate 5QI associated with a packet loss measurement procedure that excludes packet loss in the first communication network. In these aspects, based on the QoS achieved end-to-end and the QoS provided by the first communication network, determining the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path may include packet loss and packet loss based on the end-to-end realization The measurement procedure determines the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path.

In some aspects, identifying the QoS provided by the first communication network may include applying to the first communication network an available bandwidth 5QI associated with an available bandwidth measurement procedure that configures the first communication network The resource of the path makes the packet loss of the first communication network substantially negligible relative to the packet loss of the second communication network. In these aspects, based on the QoS achieved end-to-end and the QoS provided by the first communication network, it is determined that the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path may include the available bandwidth and the available bandwidth based on the end-to-end realization. The bandwidth measurement program determines the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path.

In some aspects, identifying the QoS provided by the first communication network may include applying an available bandwidth 5QI associated with an available bandwidth measurement procedure to the first communication network, wherein data packets travel back-to-back in the first communication network transmission. In these aspects, based on the QoS achieved end-to-end and the QoS provided by the first communication network, it is determined that the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path may include the available bandwidth and the available bandwidth based on the end-to-end realization. The bandwidth measurement program determines the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path.

In some aspects, identifying the QoS provided by the first communication network may include associating a network measurement 5QI with a network measurement procedure for performing end-to-end measurements on measurement packets transmitted along the communication path Applied to the first communication network. In these aspects, based on the QoS achieved end-to-end and the QoS provided by the first communication network, the determination of the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path may include the QoS based on the end-to-end achieved and the network traffic The test procedure determines the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path.

Additional aspects include a network element having a processor configured to perform one or more operations of any of the methods outlined above. Additional aspects include a processing device for use in a network element configured with processor-executable instructions to perform the operations of any of the methods outlined above. Additional aspects include a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium having stored thereon processor-executable instructions configured to cause a processor of a network element to perform the operations of any one of the methods outlined above. Additional aspects include network elements having means for performing the function of any of the methods outlined above. Additional aspects include a system-on-chip for use in a network element, and the network element includes a processor configured to perform one or more operations of any of the methods outlined above.

Various embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. References to specific examples and implementations are for illustration purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the claimed items.

Various embodiments include systems and methods for managing end-to-end QoS in a communication path across a first communication network and a second communication network. Various embodiments may enable network elements to determine QoS requirements for a first communication network based on end-to-end QoS requirements and implemented QoS for a second communication network, such as across a 5G network and one or more non-5G networks communication path. Various embodiments may enable network elements to determine the implemented QoS of the second communication network(s) (eg, one or more non-5G networks).

The term "network element" is used herein to refer to any or all computing devices that are part of or communicate with a communication network, such as servers, routers, gateways, hub devices, switch devices, bridges equipment, repeater equipment or another electronic device including memory, communication components and programmable processors. Wireless devices that communicate with a network may be considered network elements of such a network.

As used herein, the terms "network", "communication network" and "system" may interchangeably refer to a portion or all of a communication network or an internetwork. A network may include a plurality of network elements. A network may include a wireless network and/or may support one or more functions or services of a wireless network.

As used herein, "wireless network," "cellular network," and "wireless communication network" may refer interchangeably to any or all of a service provider's wireless network associated with a wireless device and/or a subscription on a wireless device . The techniques described in this paper can be used in various wireless communication networks such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), FDMA, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), Single Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA ) and other networks. In general, any number of wireless networks can be deployed within a given geographic area. Each wireless network may support at least one radio access technology operable on one or more frequencies or frequency ranges. For example, a CDMA network may implement Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) (including Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) standards), CDMA2000 (including IS-2000, IS-95 and/or IS-856 standards), and the like. In another example, a TDMA network may implement GSM Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE). In another example, OFDMA networks can implement Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA) (including LTE standards), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM ® etc. Reference may be made to wireless networks using the LTE standard, and thus the terms "Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access", "E-UTRAN" and "eNodeB" may also be used interchangeably herein to refer to wireless networks. However, such references are provided as examples only and are not intended to exclude wireless networks using other communication standards. For example, although various third-generation (3G) systems, fourth-generation (4G) systems, and fifth-generation (5G) systems are discussed herein, such systems are for exemplary reference only, and future next-generation systems (e.g., 5G Sixth generation (6G) or higher systems) can be substituted in various instances.

The term "wireless device" is used herein to refer to wireless router devices, wireless appliances, cellular phones, smartphones, portable computing devices, personal or mobile multimedia players, laptops, tablets, smart computers , ultrabooks, PDAs, wireless email receivers, Internet-enabled multimedia cellular phones, medical equipment and equipment, biometric sensors/devices, wearable devices (including smart watches, smart clothing, smart glasses, Smart wristbands, smart jewelry (e.g., smart rings, smart bracelets), entertainment devices (e.g., wireless game controllers, music and video players, satellite radios, etc.), wireless network-enabled Internet of Things (IoT) Devices, including smart instrumentation/sensors, industrial manufacturing equipment, large and small machinery and appliances for home or business use, wireless communication components in automatic and semi-autonomous vehicles, wireless devices fixed or incorporated into various mobile platforms, Any or all of global positioning system equipment, and similar electronic equipment including memory, wireless communication components, and programmable processors.

The term "system on a chip" (SOC) is used herein to refer to a single integrated circuit (IC) die containing multiple resources or processors integrated on a single substrate. A single SOC may contain circuits for digital, analog, mixed-signal, and radio frequency functions. A single SOC can also include any number of general-purpose or special-purpose processors (digital signal processors, modem processors, video processors, etc.), memory blocks (such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, etc.), and resources (such as timing regulators, regulators, oscillators, etc.). The SOC may also include software for controlling integrated resources and processors and for controlling peripheral devices.

The term "system in package" (SIP) may be used herein to refer to a single module or package containing multiple resources, computing units, cores or processors on two or more IC dies, substrates or SOCs. For example, a SIP may include a single substrate upon which multiple IC wafers or semiconductor dies are stacked in a vertical configuration. Similarly, a SIP may include one or more multi-chip modules (MCMs) on which multiple IC or semiconductor die are packaged into a unified substrate. A SIP may also include multiple independent SOCs coupled together via high-speed communication circuits and tightly packaged, such as on a single motherboard or in a single wireless device. The proximity of the SOC facilitates high-speed communication and sharing of memory and resources.

Providing QoS for an application, service or data flow that involves communication across two or more different types of networks is complex. A communication network may be able to determine information about and configure the operation of its own network elements, including devices that communicate with or to those network elements (eg, devices connected to the communication network). However, communication networks may not have access to information about the operation of other communication networks. For example, an application client of a wireless device may communicate with another device (eg, an application server or another wireless device) via a communication path. The communication path between two endpoint devices ("peer-to-peer" communication path) can span multiple networks.

As an example, in order to provide an augmented reality application, the wireless smart glasses may communicate with (send and receive signals to and from) an application server via a communication path across multiple communication networks. For example, smart glasses can communicate with smartphones via Wi-Fi networks; smartphones can communicate with 5G network base stations via cellular communication links; 5G networks can communicate with Internet networks (such as the Internet); And the Internet can use the Ethernet including the application server to communicate with the wired network. In this example, the communication path between the smart glasses and the application server spans Wi-Fi network, 5G network, Internet and wired Ethernet. Augmented reality applications for smart glasses may require specific QoS to satisfy one or more application requirements. A network (eg, 5G network) may be able to configure its various network elements according to the QoS requirements of the application. However, 5G networks typically do not have control over the configuration or operation of network elements of the Wi-Fi network, internetwork, or wired Ethernet.

Various embodiments include methods and network devices configured to perform methods of managing end-to-end QoS in a communication path across a first communication network and a second communication network (which may include one or more other communication networks). For example, the first communication network may include a 5G network, and the second communication network may not be a 5G network. Various operations may be performed by network elements of the communication network serving as measurement entities. In various embodiments, network elements of the first communication network may determine end-to-end QoS requirements for communicating packets from a packet source to a packet destination via the communication path. For example, an application, service or data flow may request a QoS requirement, or may be associated with a QoS requirement. In various embodiments, QoS requirements may reflect performance requirements of applications, services, or data flows. Network elements of the first communication network may determine the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path. Based on the QoS provided by the second communication network, the network elements of the first communication network may configure the first communication network to provide sufficient QoS to support end-to-end QoS requirements.

In some embodiments, the network element can determine the packet error rate of the second communication network. In these embodiments, the network element may determine a desired PER for the first communication network based on the determined PER for the second communication network. The terms "packet error rate" and "packet loss rate" are used interchangeably in this document. In some embodiments, the network element may determine the available throughput of the second communication network. In these embodiments, the network element may determine the throughput requirement of the first communication network based on the determined available throughput of the second communication network. In some embodiments, the network element may measure the end-to-end achieved QoS, identify the QoS provided by the first communication network, and based on the end-to-end achieved QoS and the QoS provided by the first communication network, determine the QoS provided by the second communication network within the path.

In some embodiments, the network element may apply a 5G QoS Identifier (5QI) associated with one or more network element configurations and/or with one or more measurement operations to one or more of the first communication network. A plurality of network elements to configure the network element(s) to perform operations such that the network elements can determine QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path. In some embodiments, any or all of the 5QIs described herein may be defined in a communication standard or technical standard. In some embodiments, a 5QI may be associated with one or more attributes or parameters, including constant packet delay, packet delay budget, packet error rate, preset priority, preset maximum data burst size, or another attribute or parameter at least one of the

In some embodiments, the network element may apply a packet delay measure 5QI corresponding to a constant packet delay in the first communication network, and based on the end-to-end realized packet delay and the constant packet delay in the first communication network, The QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path may be determined.

In some embodiments, the network element may apply a packet loss rate 5QI corresponding to a constant packet loss rate in the first communication network and based on the packet loss rate achieved end-to-end and the constant packet loss in the first communication network The rate can determine the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path.

In some embodiments, the network element may apply a packet loss rate 5QI associated with a packet loss measurement procedure that excludes packet loss in the first communication network, and based on the packet loss and packet loss measurement procedure implemented end-to-end , can determine the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path.

In some embodiments, the network element may apply an available bandwidth 5QI associated with an available bandwidth measurement procedure that configures resources of the first communication network such that packet loss of the first communication network is relative to The packet loss of the second communication network is basically negligible, and the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path can be determined based on the end-to-end available bandwidth and the available bandwidth measurement procedure.

In some embodiments, the network element may apply the available bandwidth 5QI associated with the available bandwidth measurement procedure, wherein data packets are transmitted back-to-back in the first communication network, and based on the available bandwidth and The available bandwidth measurement program can determine the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path.

In some embodiments, a network element may apply a network measurement 5QI associated with a network measurement procedure for performing end-to-end measurements of measurement packets transmitted along a communication path, based on an end-to-end The QoS and network measurement procedures implemented by the terminal can determine the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path.

Various embodiments may improve the operation of communication networks by enabling the configuration of network elements to provide QoS that meets the QoS requirements of devices, applications, or services. Various embodiments may improve the operation of a first communication network by enabling the determination of QoS provided by another communication network, which may include QoS not controlled by the first communication network, or which may not otherwise be provided to the first communication network. Informational web element.

FIG. 1A is a system block diagram illustrating an exemplary communication system 100 suitable for implementing any of the various embodiments. The communication system 100 may be a 5G New Radio (NR) network, or any other suitable network, such as a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network. Although Figure 1 illustrates a 5G network, next-generation networks may include the same or similar elements. Therefore, references to 5G networks and 5G network elements in the following description are for illustrative purposes and are not intended to be limiting.

The communication system 100 may include a heterogeneous network architecture including a core network 140 and various wireless devices (shown in FIG. 1 as user equipment (UE) 120a - 120e ). Communication system 100 may also include multiple base stations (shown as BS 110a, BS 110b, BS 110c, and BS 110d) and other network entities. A base station is an entity that communicates with wireless devices, and can also be called a Node B, LTE Evolved Node B (eNode B or eNB), Access Point (AP), Radio Head, Transceiver Point (TRP), New Radio Base Station (NR BS), 5G Node B (NB), Next Generation Node B (gNode B or gNB) or similar. Each base station can provide communication coverage for a specific geographic area. In 3GPP, the term "cell service area" may refer to a coverage area of a base station, a base station subsystem serving the coverage area, or a combination thereof, depending on the context in which the term is used. Core network 140 may be any type of core network, such as an LTE core network (eg, EPC network), a 5G core network, and the like.

The base stations 110a-110d may provide communication coverage for a macrocell service area, a picocell service area, a femtocell service area, another type of cell service area, or a combination thereof. A macrocell service area may cover a relatively large geographic area (eg, several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by wireless devices with service subscriptions. A picocell service area may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by wireless devices with service subscriptions. A femtocell service area may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may allow limited storage of wireless devices associated with the femtocell service area (e.g., wireless devices in a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG)). Pick. A base station in a macro cell service area may be called a macro BS. A base station in a pico cell service area may be referred to as a pico BS. A base station in a femto cell service area may be called a femto BS or a home BS. In the example shown in FIG. 1, base station 110a may be a macro BS for macrocell service area 102a, base station 110b may be a pico BS for picocell service area 102b, and base station 110c may be a Femto BS for femto cell service area 102c. The base stations 110a-110d can support one or more (eg, three) cell service areas. The terms "eNB", "base station", "NR-BS", "gNB", "TRP", "AP", "Node B", "5G NB" and "cell service area" are used interchangeably herein.

In some instances, the cell service area may not be static, and the geographic area of the cell service area may move depending on the location of the mobile base station. In some examples, the base stations 110a-110d can be interconnected with each other and with one of the communication system 100 via various types of backhaul interfaces, such as direct physical connections, virtual networks, or using any suitable combination of transport networks. or multiple other base stations or network nodes (not shown).

Base stations 110 a - 110 d may communicate with core network 140 via wired or wireless communication links 126 . Wireless devices 120a-120e may communicate with base stations 110a-110d via wireless communication link 122.

Wired communication link 126 can use a variety of wired networks (such as Ethernet, television cable, telephone, fiber optics, and other forms of physical network connections) that can use one or more wired communication protocols, such as Ethernet Ethernet, Point-to-Point Protocol, High-level Data Link Control (HDLC), Advanced Data Communication Control Protocol (ADCCP), and Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).

The communication system 100 may also include a relay station (such as the relay BS 110d). A relay station is an entity that can receive data transmissions from upstream stations (eg, base stations or wireless devices) and send data to downstream stations (eg, wireless devices or base stations). A relay station may also be a wireless device that can relay transmissions for other wireless devices. In the example shown in FIG. 1 , relay station 110d may communicate with macro base station 110a and wireless device 120d to facilitate communication between base station 110a and wireless device 120d. A relay station may also be called a relay base station, a relay base station, a relay, etc.

The communication system 100 may be a heterogeneous network including different types of base stations, such as macro base stations, pico base stations, femto base stations, relay base stations, and so on. The different types of base stations may have different transmit power levels, different coverage areas, and different effects on interference in the communication system 100 . For example, macro base stations may have higher transmit power levels (e.g., 5 to 40 watts), while pico, femto, and relay base stations may have lower transmit power levels (e.g., 0.1 to 2 watts).

A network controller 130 may be coupled to a group of base stations and may provide coordination and control for the base stations. The network controller 130 can communicate with the base stations via backhaul. Base stations may also communicate with each other directly or indirectly, eg, via wireless or wired backhaul.

Wireless devices 120a, 120b, 120c may be dispersed throughout communication system 100, and each wireless device may be stationary or mobile. A wireless device may also be called an access terminal, terminal, mobile station, subscriber unit, station, user equipment (UE), and so on.

The macro base station 110 a can communicate with the communication network 140 via a wired or wireless communication link 126 . The wireless devices 120a, 120b, 120c may communicate with the base stations 110a-110d via the wireless communication link 122.

The wireless communication links 122 and 124 may include a plurality of carrier signals, frequencies or frequency bands, and each carrier signal, frequency or frequency band may include a plurality of logical channels. Wireless communication links 122 and 124 may utilize one or more radio access technologies (RATs). Examples of RATs that can be used in wireless communication links include 3GPP LTE, 3G, 4G, 5G (such as NR), GSM, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Global Interoperable microwave access (WiMAX), time-division multiple access (TDMA), and other cellular RATs for mobile phone communication technologies. Further examples of RATs that may be used in one or more of the various wireless communication links within the communication system 100 include medium-range protocols such as Wi-Fi, LTE-U, LTE-Direct, LAA, MuLTEfire, and relatively short-range RATs such as ZigBee, Bluetooth, and Bluetooth Low Energy (LE).

Some wireless networks (eg, LTE) use Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) on the downlink and Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. OFDM and SC-FDM divide the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are usually also called tones, frequency bands, etc. Each subcarrier can be modulated with data. In general, modulation symbols are sent in the frequency domain using OFDM and in the time domain using SC-FDM. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers may be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) may depend on the system bandwidth. For example, the spacing of subcarriers may be 15 kHz, and the minimum resource allocation (called a "resource block") may be 12 subcarriers (or 180 kHz). Thus, for a system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 megahertz (MHz), the nominal fast file transfer (FFT) size might be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048, respectively. The system bandwidth can also be divided into sub-bands. For example, a sub-band may cover 1.08 MHz (i.e., 6 resource blocks), and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 resource blocks for a system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10 or 20 MHz, respectively sub-band.

Although some implementation descriptions may use terms and examples associated with LTE technology, some implementations may be applicable to other wireless communication systems, such as New Radio (NR) or 5G networks. NR can use OFDM with cyclic prefix (CP) on the uplink (UL) and downlink (DL), and includes support for half-duplex operation using time division duplex (TDD). A single component carrier bandwidth of 100 MHz can be supported. An NR resource block may span 12 subcarriers, with a subcarrier bandwidth of 75 kHz for a 0.1 millisecond (ms) duration. Each radio frame may consist of 50 subframes with a length of 10 ms. Therefore, each subframe may have a length of 0.2 ms. Each subframe can indicate the link direction (ie, DL or UL) used for data transmission, and the link direction of each subframe can be dynamically switched. Each subframe can include DL/UL data and DL/UL control data. Beamforming can be supported and the beam direction can be dynamically configured. Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission with precoding may also be supported. MIMO configurations in DL can support up to eight transmit antennas, multi-layer DL transmissions up to eight streams, and up to two streams per wireless device. Multi-layer transmission with up to 2 streams per wireless device can be supported. Aggregation of multiple cell service areas that can support up to eight service cell service areas. Alternatively, NR may support a different air interface than OFDM-based air interface.

Some wireless devices may be considered machine type communication (MTC) or evolved or enhanced machine type communication (eMTC) wireless devices. MTC and eMTC wireless devices include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, location tags, etc., which may interact with a base station, another device (e.g., a remote device), or some other entity communication. For example, a wireless computing platform may provide connectivity to or to a network (eg, a wide area network such as the Internet or a cellular network) via wired or wireless communication links. Some wireless devices may be considered Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and may also be implemented as NB-IoT (Narrowband Internet of Things) devices. The wireless devices 120a-120e may be included within housings that house elements of the wireless devices 120a-120e, such as processor elements, memory elements, similar elements, or combinations thereof.

In general, any number of communication systems and any number of wireless networks may be deployed in a given geographic area. Each communication system and wireless network can support a specific radio access technology (RAT) and can operate on one or more frequencies. A RAT may also be referred to as a radio technology, an air interface, and the like. Frequency may also be called carrier, channel, etc. Each frequency can support a single RAT in a given geographic area to avoid interference between communication systems of different RATs. In some cases, 4G/LTE and/or 5G/NR RAT networks may be deployed. For example, a 5G non-standalone (NSA) network can use 4G/LTE RAT on the 4G/LTE RAN side of the 5G NSA network and 5G/NR RAT on the 5G/NR RAN side of the 5G NSA network. The 4G/LTE RAN and 5G/NR RAN may be connected to each other and to the 4G/LTE core network (eg, Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network) in the 5G NSA network. Other exemplary network configurations may include 5G Standalone (SA) networks, where the 5G/NR RAN is connected to the 5G core network.

In some implementations, two or more wireless devices 120a-120e (eg, shown as wireless device 120a and wireless device 120e) can communicate directly using one or more sidechain channels 124 (eg, without using base station 110a -110d as an intermediary to communicate with each other). For example, wireless devices 120a-120e may use peer-to-peer (P2P) communication, device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) protocol (which may include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) protocol, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) protocol or similar), a mesh or similar network, or a combination thereof. In such cases, wireless devices 120a-120e may perform scheduling operations, resource selection operations, and other operations described elsewhere herein as performed by base stations 110a-110d.

1B-1D are system block diagrams illustrating exemplary communication systems 150, 160, 170, and 180 suitable for implementing any of the various embodiments. Referring to Figures 1A-1D, communication systems 150, 160, 170, and 180 illustrate exemplary end-to-end communication paths between two endpoint devices across multiple communication networks. It should be understood that the examples shown in communication systems 150, 160, 170, and 180 are non-limiting and that other implementations of an end-to-end communication path between two end-point devices across multiple communication networks are possible.

Referring to FIG. 1B, an application client executing on UE 152a (eg, wireless devices 120a-120e) may communicate with an application client executing on UE 158 (eg, wireless devices 120a-120e). The communication path between UE 152a and UE 158 may span two networks, such as 5G network 151a and non-5G network 151b. In some embodiments, 5G network 151a may include UE 152a (which may communicate with gNB 152b via cellular communication link 153), 5G core network 152c, and User Plane Function (UPF) 152d (which may implement 5G network 151a and non-5G network 151b). The non-5G network 151b may include an interconnection network (such as the Internet 154), a Wi-Fi access point (AP) 156, and a wireless device 158 (which can communicate with the Wi-Fi access point via a Wi-Fi wireless communication link 157). 156 Communications).

Referring to FIG. 1C, an application client executing on UE 162a (eg, wireless devices 120a-120e) may communicate with an application client executing on UE 168 (eg, wireless devices 120a-120e). The communication path between UE 162a and UE 168 may span two networks, such as 5G network 161a and non-5G network 161b. In some embodiments, 5G network 161a may include UE 162a (which may communicate with gNB 162b via cellular communication link 163), 5G core network 162c, and user plane function 162d (which may enable communication between 5G network 161a and non- communication between the 5G network 161b). The non-5G network 161b may include an internetwork (such as the Internet 164 ), a 4G network 166a , a 4G base station (such as an eNB 166b ), and a wireless device 168 capable of communicating with the eNB 166b via a 4G wireless communication link 167 .

Referring to FIG. 1D , the communication system 170 may include three networks. An application client executing on a wireless device 174 (shown as smart glasses) in the first non-5G network 171b can communicate with an application server 176 in the second non-5G network 171c via the 5G network 171a. In this way, the communication path between the wireless device 174 and the application server 176 can span three communication networks. In some embodiments, the first non-5G network 171b can include a wireless device 174 that can communicate with a wireless device (UE) 172a via a Wi-Fi communication link 173 . 5G network 171a may include UE 172a (which can communicate with gNB 172b via cellular communication link 175), 5G core network 172c, and user plane function 172d (which enables 5G network 171a to communicate with a second non-5G network 171c communications between). The second non-5G network 171c can include an application server 176 that can communicate with the 5G network via a wired communication link 177 .

Referring to FIG. 1E, the communication system 180 may include three networks. An application client executing on a wireless device 184 (shown as smart glasses) in the first non-5G network 181b can communicate with an application server 188 in the second non-5G network 181c via the 5G network 181a. In this manner, the communication path between the wireless device 184 and the application server 188 can span three communication networks. In some embodiments, the first non-5G network 181b can include a wireless device 184, which can communicate with a wireless device (UE) 182a via a Wi-Fi communication link 181b. 5G network 181a may include UE 182a (which can communicate with gNB 182b via cellular communication link 183), 5G core network 182c, and user plane function 182d (which enables 5G network 181a to communicate with a second non-5G network 181c communications between). The second non-5G network 181c may include an internetwork (such as the Internet) 186 (which can communicate with the 5G network via a wired communication link 185) and an application server 188 (which can communicate with the internetwork via a wired communication link 187). 186 Communications).

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating elements of an exemplary computing and wireless modem system 200 suitable for implementing any of the various embodiments. Various embodiments may be implemented on a number of single-processor and multi-processor computer systems, including system-on-chip (SOC) or system-in-package (SIP).

1 and 2, an exemplary computing device 200 (which may be a SIP in some embodiments) is shown including two SOCs 202, 204 coupled to a clock 206, a voltage regulator 208, and a wireless transceiver 266, which Configured to send and receive wireless communications to/from a wireless device (eg, 120a-120e) or base station (eg, 110a-110d) via an antenna (not shown). In some implementations, the first SOC 202 can operate as a wireless device's central processing unit (CPU), which executes software applications by performing arithmetic, logic, control, and input/output (I/O) operations specified by instructions instruction. In some implementations, the second SOC 204 can operate as a dedicated processing unit. For example, the second SOC 204 may operate as a dedicated 5G processing unit responsible for managing high-capacity, high-speed (such as 5 Gbps, etc.) and/or ultra-high frequency short-wavelength (such as 28 GHz mmWave spectrum, etc.) communications.

The first SOC 202 may include a digital signal processor (DSP) 210, a modem processor 212, a graphics processor 214, an application processor 216, one or more coprocessors 218 connected to one or more processors, such as vector coprocessor), memory 220, custom circuitry 222, system components and resources 224, interconnect/bus module 226, one or more temperature sensors 230, thermal management unit 232, and thermal power package (TPE ) element 234. The second SOC 204 may include a 5G modem processor 252, a power management unit 254, an interconnect/bus module 264, a plurality of millimeter wave transceivers 256, a memory 258, and various additional processors 260, such as application processors, packet processor, etc.

Each processor 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260 may include one or more cores, and each processor/core may perform operations independently of the other processors/cores. For example, the first SOC 202 may include a processor executing a first type of operating system (such as FreeBSD, LINUX, OS X, etc.) and a processor executing a second type of operating system (such as MICROSOFT WINDOWS 10). Additionally, any or all of the processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260 may be included as part of a processor cluster architecture (such as a synchronous processor cluster architecture, an asynchronous or heterogeneous processor cluster architecture, etc.) part.

The first and second SOCs 202, 204 may include various system elements, resources, and custom circuitry for managing sensor data, analog-to-digital conversion, wireless data transfer, and for performing other specialized operations such as decoding data packets and processing Encodes audio and video signals for rendering in web browsers. For example, system components and resources 224 of the first SOC 202 may include power amplifiers, voltage regulators, oscillators, phase-locked loops, peripheral bridges, data controllers, memory controllers, system controllers, access ports, timing processors and other similar components for supporting processors and software clients executing on wireless devices. System components and resources 224 and/or custom circuits 222 may also include circuits that interface with peripheral devices, such as cameras, electronic displays, wireless communication devices, external memory chips, and the like.

The first and second SOCs 202 , 204 may communicate via an interconnect/bus module 250 . Various processors 210 , 212 , 214 , 216 , 218 may be interconnected to one or more memory components 220 , system components and resources 224 , custom circuitry 222 and thermal management unit 232 via interconnect/bus module 226 . Similarly, processor 252 may be interconnected to power management unit 254 , mmWave transceiver 256 , memory 258 , and various additional processors 260 via interconnect/bus module 264 . The interconnect/bus modules 226, 250, 264 may include reconfigurable logic gate arrays and/or implement a bus architecture (such as CoreConnect, AMBA, etc.). Communications can be provided by advanced interconnects, such as high performance on-chip networks (NoCs).

The first and/or second SOC 202, 204 may also include input/output modules (not shown) for communicating with resources external to the SOC, such as the clock 206 and the voltage regulator 208 . Resources external to the SOC, such as clock 206, voltage regulator 208, may be shared by two or more internal SOC processors/cores.

In addition to the exemplary SIP 200 discussed above, some implementations may be implemented in a wide variety of computing systems that may include a single processor, multiple processors, multi-core processors, or any combination thereof.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating components of a software architecture 300 suitable for implementing any of the various embodiments, including a radio protocol stack for user and control planes in wireless communications. Referring to FIGS. 1-3 , a wireless device 320 may implement a software architecture 300 to facilitate communication system (eg, 100) wireless devices 320 (eg, wireless devices 120a-120e, 200) and base stations 350 (eg, base stations 110a- 110d). In various embodiments, layers in the software architecture 300 may form logical connections with corresponding layers in the software of the base station 350 . Software architecture 300 may be distributed among one or more processors (eg, processors 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260). Although described with respect to one radio protocol stack, in a multi-SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) wireless device, software architecture 300 may include multiple protocol stacks, each protocol stack may communicate with a different SIM (e.g., two protocol stacks) respectively associated with the two SIM cards in the dual-SIM card wireless communication device). Although described below with reference to LTE communication layers, the software architecture 300 may support any of a variety of standards and protocols for wireless communication, and/or may include additional protocol stacks that support any of a variety of wireless communication standards and protocols.

The software architecture 300 may include a non-access layer (NAS) 302 and an access layer (AS) 304 . NAS 302 may include support for packet filtering, security management, mobility control, session management, and communication between the SIM(s) of the wireless device (such as SIM(s) 204 ) and its core network 140 and signaling functions and protocols. AS 304 may include functions and protocols to support communication between SIM(s) such as SIM(s 204 ) and supported entities accessing the network such as base stations. In particular, AS 304 may include at least three layers (Layer 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3), each of which may contain various sub-layers.

In the user and control planes, Layer 1 (L1) of AS 304 may be a physical layer (PHY) 306, which may oversee the function of transmitting and/or receiving over the air interface via a wireless transceiver (eg, 266). Examples of such physical layer 306 functions may include cyclic redundancy check (CRC) attachment, coding blocks, scrambling and descrambling, modulation and demodulation, signal measurement, MIMO, and the like. The physical layer may include various logical channels, including a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

Layer 2 (L2) of AS 304 may be responsible for the link between wireless device 320 and base station 350 via physical layer 306 in the user and control planes. In some implementations, Layer 2 may include a Medium Access Control (MAC) sublayer 308, a Radio Link Control (RLC) sublayer 310, a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) 312 sublayer, and a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP ) 317 sublayers, each sublayer forming a logical connection terminating at the base station 350.

In the control plane, Layer 3 (L3) of AS 304 may include Radio Resource Control (RRC) sublayer 3 . Although not shown, software architecture 300 may include additional Layer 3 sub-layers, as well as various upper layers above Layer 3. In some implementations, the RRC sublayer 313 may provide functions including broadcasting system information, paging, and establishing and releasing RRC signaling connections between the wireless device 320 and the base station 350 .

In various embodiments, the SDAP sublayer 317 may provide mapping between quality of service (QoS) flows and data radio bearers (DRBs). In some implementations, the PDCP sublayer 312 can provide uplink functions including multiplexing between different radio bearers and logical channels, sequence number appending, handover data handling, integrity protection, encryption, and header compression. In the downlink, the PDCP sublayer 312 may provide functions including in-sequence delivery of data packets, duplicate data packet detection, integrity verification, decryption and header decompression.

In the uplink, the RLC sublayer 310 may provide segmentation and concatenation of upper layer data packets, retransmission of lost data packets, and automatic repeat request (ARQ). In the downlink, the functions of the RLC sublayer 310 may include reordering data packets to compensate for out-of-order reception, reassembling upper layer data packets, and ARQ.

In the uplink, the MAC sublayer 308 may provide functions including multiplexing between logical and transport lanes, random access procedures, logical lane prioritization, and hybrid ARQ (HARQ) operation. In the downlink, MAC layer functions may include channel mapping, demultiplexing, discontinuous reception (DRX) and HARQ operation within the cell service area.

Although the software architecture 300 can provide the function of transmitting data via physical media, the software architecture 300 can further include at least one host layer 314 to provide data transmission services to various applications in the wireless device 320 . In some implementations, application-specific functionality provided by at least one host layer 314 may provide an interface between the software architecture and the general-purpose processor 206 .

In other implementations, the software architecture 300 may include one or more higher logical layers (such as transport, communication phase, presentation, application, etc.) that provide host layer functionality. For example, in some implementations, software architecture 300 may include a network layer, such as an Internet Protocol (IP) layer, where logical connections terminate at a packet data network (PDN) gateway (PGW). In some implementations, the software architecture 300 may include an application layer where a logical connection terminates at another device (such as an end user device, server, etc.). In some implementations, software architecture 300 may further include a hardware interface 316 in AS 304 between physical layer 306 and communication hardware, such as one or more radio frequency (RF) transceivers.

4 is a block diagram illustrating elements of a system 400 configured to manage end-to-end QoS in a communication path across a first communication network and a second communication network, according to various embodiments. 1-4, system 400 may include network elements 402 of a 5G network, such as wireless devices (eg, 110a-110d, 200, 320), base stations (eg, 120a-120e, 200, 350) or 5G Another network element in the network, including core network 140 or any network element of 5G networks 151a, 161a, 171a, and 181a.

Network element 402 may be a computing device (e.g., a server or similar computer) including a computer coupled to electronic storage 426 and transceiver 427 (which may be a wired transceiver and/or a wireless transceiver, e.g., 266). or multiple processors 428 . In network element 402, transceiver 427 may be configured to receive messages sent in transit and to pass such messages to processor(s) 428 for processing. Similarly, processor 428 may be configured to send a message to transceiver 427 for transmission. The network element 402 can send messages to and receive messages from the communication network 424 via wired and/or wireless communication links.

Referring to base station 402 , processor(s) 428 may be configured by machine readable instructions 406 . Machine-readable instructions 406 may include one or more instruction modules. The instruction modules may include computer program modules. The command module may include one or more of the end-to-end QoS module 408, the QoS decision module 410, the network measurement module 412, the QoS configuration module 414, or other command modules.

The end-to-end QoS module 408 can be configured to determine the end-to-end QoS requirements for communicating packets from a packet source to a packet destination via a communication path.

The QoS determining module 410 can be configured to determine the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path. The QoS determining module 410 can be configured to determine the packet error rate of the second communication network. The QoS determining module 410 can be configured to determine the available traffic of the second communication network. The QoS decision module 410 can be configured to measure the QoS achieved end-to-end, identify the QoS provided by the first communication network, and determine the communication path based on the QoS achieved end-to-end and the QoS provided by the first communication network. QoS provided by the second communication network.

The network measurement module 412 may be configured to apply a packet delay measurement 5QI corresponding to a constant packet delay in the first communication network to the first communication network, and based on the QoS achieved end-to-end and the first communication network The constant packet delay in determines the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path. In some embodiments, the network measurement module 412 may be configured to apply a packet loss rate 5QI corresponding to a constant packet loss rate in the first communication network to the first communication network, and based on the end-to-end implementation The QoS and the constant packet loss rate in the first communication network determine the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path. In some embodiments, the network measurement module 412 may be configured to apply a packet loss rate 5QI associated with a packet loss measurement procedure that excludes packet loss in the first communication network to the first communication network, and based on The end-to-end implemented QoS and packet loss measurement procedures determine the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path.

In some embodiments, the network measurement module 412 may be configured to apply to the first communication network the available bandwidth 5QI associated with the available bandwidth measurement procedure configuring the first communication network The resources of the path make the packet loss of the first communication network basically negligible compared with the packet loss of the second communication network, and based on the end-to-end QoS and available bandwidth measurement procedures, it is determined that the second communication network in the communication path QoS provided by the road. In some embodiments, the network measurement module 412 can be configured to apply the available bandwidth 5QI associated with the available bandwidth measurement procedure to the first communication network, wherein the data packets are back-to-back in the first communication network transmit, and determine the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path based on the end-to-end realized QoS and the available bandwidth measurement procedure. In some embodiments, the network measurement module 412 may be configured to apply to the first communication network a network measurement 5QI associated with a network measurement procedure for performing a quantity transmitted along a communication path The end-to-end measurement of the packet is measured, and the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path is determined based on the end-to-end realized QoS and the network measurement procedure. In some aspects, the measurement packet may be a test packet, a probe packet, or an application packet between two endpoint devices.

The QoS configuration module 414 can be configured to configure the first communication network to provide sufficient QoS to support end-to-end QoS requirements based on the QoS provided by the second communication network. The QoS configuration module 414 can be configured to determine a desired PER of the first communication network based on the determined PER of the second communication network. The QoS configuration module 414 may be configured to determine the throughput requirement of the first communication network based on the determined available throughput of the second communication network.

Electronic storage 426 may include non-transitory storage media that store information electronically. Electronic storage media for electronic storage 426 may include system storage provided integrally (i.e., substantially non-removable) with network element 402 and/or removable storage (which may be accessed via, for example, a port (e.g., Universal Serial A serial bus (USB port, firewire port, etc.) or a drive (eg, a disk drive, etc.) is removably connected to one or both of the network elements 402). Electronic storage 426 may include one or more optically readable storage media (e.g., optical discs, etc.), magnetically readable storage media (e.g., magnetic tape, hard disk, floppy disk, etc.), charge-based storage media (e.g., EEPROM , RAM, etc.), solid-state storage media (eg, flash memory drives, etc.) and/or other electronically readable storage media. Electronic storage 426 may include one or more virtual storage resources (eg, cloud storage, VPN networks, and/or other virtual storage resources). Electronic storage 426 may store software algorithms, information determined by processor(s) 428, information received from network element 402, or other information that enables network element 402 to perform as described herein.

Processor(s) 428 may be configured to provide information processing capabilities in network element 402 . Thus, processor(s) 428 may include digital processors, analog processors, digital circuits designed to process information, analog circuits designed to process information, state machines, and/or One or more of the other mechanisms. Although processor(s) 428 are shown as a single entity, this is for illustration purposes only. In some embodiments, processor(s) 428 may include a plurality of processing units and/or processor cores. The processing units may be physically located within the same device, or the processor(s) 428 may represent the processing functionality of a plurality of devices operating in conjunction. Processor(s) 428 may be configured via software; hardware; firmware; some combination of software, hardware, and/or firmware; and/or for Other mechanisms for disposing processing power on top to execute modules 408-414 and/or other modules. As used herein, the term "module" may refer to any element or collection of elements that performs the functionality attributed to the module. This may include one or more physical processors during execution of processor-readable instructions, circuits, hardware, storage media, or any other element.

The descriptions of functionality provided by the various modules 408-414 described below are for purposes of illustration and not limitation, as any of the modules 408-414 may provide more or less functionality than described. For example, one or more of the modules 408-414 may be excluded and some or all of their functionality may be provided by other modules 408-414. As another example, processor(s) 428 may be configured to execute one or more additional modules, which may perform some or all of the functionality ascribed below to one of modules 408-414.

5 is a process flow diagram illustrating a method 500 performed by a processor of a computing device acting as a network element for enhancing coverage for initial access, according to various embodiments. Referring to FIGS. 1-5 , the operations of method 500 may be performed by network elements (eg, 402 ), base station equipment (such as base station 110a - 110d, 200, 350) or a processor (such as processor 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428) of a computing device of a wireless device (eg, 110a-110a, 200, 320).

In various embodiments, a processor may perform the operations of blocks 502 and 504 in any order or substantially simultaneously (indicated by dashed boxes).

In block 502, the processor may determine an end-to-end QoS requirement for communicating a packet from a packet source to a packet destination via a communication path. In some embodiments, the communication path may span two or more communication networks, such as a first communication network and a second communication network. In some embodiments, the first communication network may include a 5G network, and the second communication network may include a non-5G network. In some embodiments, a processor may determine end-to-end QoS requirements associated with an application or application client executing on an endpoint device (eg, 152a, 162a, 172a, 182a). In some embodiments, the processor may receive a message including an end-to-end QoS requirement from an application or an application client. In some embodiments, the processor may determine the end-to-end QoS requirements based on one or more messages from applications, application clients, and/or endpoint devices. Means for performing the operations of block 502 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and peer-to-peer QoS module 408 .

In block 504, the processor may determine QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path. In some embodiments, the processor can determine the packet error rate of the second communication network. In some associations, the processor may determine the available throughput of the second communication network. In some embodiments, the processor can measure the QoS achieved end-to-end, identify the QoS provided by the first communication network, and based on the QoS achieved end-to-end and the QoS provided by the first communication network, determine the QoS provided by the second communication network. Means for performing the operations of block 504 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and QoS decision modules of computing devices acting as network elements. Group 410.

In block 506, the processor may configure the first communication network to provide sufficient QoS to support the end-to-end QoS requirement based on the QoS provided by the second communication network. In some embodiments, the processor may send one or more messages to one or more network elements of the first communication network to configure operation of the one or more network elements of the first communication network to perform QoS operations To provide sufficient QoS to support end-to-end QoS requirements. Means for performing the operations of block 506 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and QoS configuration modules of computing devices acting as network elements. Group 414.

FIGS. 6A-6I are process flow diagrams illustrating operations 600a-600i that may be performed by a processor of a computing device configured to act as a network element, according to various embodiments, as a method for communicating across a first communication network and Part of method 500 of managing end-to-end QoS in a communication path of the second communication network. 6J and 6K are conceptual diagrams illustrating exemplary packet loss measurements. FIG. 6L is a conceptual diagram illustrating exemplary available bandwidth measurements. 1-6L, operations 600a-600i may be performed by core network 140 or network elements (eg, 402) of 5G networks 151a, 161a, 171a, and 181a, base station equipment (such as base stations 110a-110d, 200, 350) or a processor (such as processor 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428) of a wireless device (eg, 110a-110d, 200, 320).

Referring to FIG. 6A, blocks 602 and 604 are examples of operations that may be performed as part of blocks 502 and 504 in FIG. 5, respectively. In various embodiments, a processor may perform the operations of blocks 602 and 604 in any order or substantially simultaneously (indicated by dashed boxes).

In block 602, the processor may determine an end-to-end packet error rate for communicating packets from a packet source to a packet destination via a communication path. In some embodiments, the communication path may span two or more communication networks, such as a first communication network and a second communication network. In some implementations, the first communication network and the second communication network may be different types of networks and/or implement different communication protocols (eg, 5G network and non-5G network). Means for performing the operations of block 602 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and peer-to-peer QoS module 408 .

In block 604, the processor may determine the packet error rate of the second communication network in block 602. Means for performing the operations of block 604 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and network traffic Measuring module 410.

In block 606, the processor may determine a desired PER for the first communication network based on the determined PER for the second communication network. Means for performing the operations of block 606 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and QoS decision modules of computing devices acting as network elements. Group 410.

The processor may then configure the first communication network to provide sufficient QoS to support the end-to-end QoS requirement based on the QoS provided by the second communication network at block 506 of the method 500 .

Referring to FIG. 6B, blocks 610 and 612 are examples of operations that may be performed as part of blocks 502 and 504 in FIG. 5, respectively. In various embodiments, the processor may perform the operations of blocks 610 and 612 in any order or substantially simultaneously (indicated by dashed squares).

In block 610, the processor may determine an end-to-end throughput requirement for communicating the packet from the packet source to the packet destination via the communication path. In some embodiments, the communication path may span two or more communication networks, such as a first communication network and a second communication network. In some implementations, the first communication network and the second communication network may be different types of networks and/or implement different communication protocols (eg, 5G network and non-5G network). Means for performing the operations of block 610 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and peer-to-peer QoS module 408 .

In block 612, the processor may determine the available throughput of the second communication network in block 610. Means for performing the operations of block 612 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and network traffic Measuring module 410.

In block 614, the processor may determine a throughput requirement of the first communication network based on the determined available throughput of the second communication network. Means for performing the operations of block 614 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and QoS decision modules of computing devices acting as network elements. Group 410.

The processor may then configure the first communication network to provide sufficient QoS to support the end-to-end QoS requirement based on the QoS provided by the second communication network at block 506 of the method 500 .

Referring to FIG. 6C, the determination in block 502 of the method 500 is used to communicate the end-to-end QoS requirements of the packet from the packet source to the packet destination via the communication path, or the determination in block 504 of the method 500 is in the communication path After determining the QoS provided by the second communication network, in block 620 the processor may measure the QoS achieved end-to-end. In some embodiments, the processor may perform one or more of packet delay, packet loss, packet departure and arrival time, packet dispersion, and/or another measurement to determine communication across the first communication network and the second communication network. The QoS achieved (provided) by an end-to-end communication path (eg, from one endpoint to another) of a communication network. Means for performing the operations of block 620 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and network traffic Measuring module 410.

In block 622, the processor may identify QoS provided by the first communication network. In some embodiments, the processor can determine the QoS provided by the first communication network. In some embodiments, the processor may select the QoS to be provided by the first communication network. In some embodiments, the processor can identify, select or set the QoS provided by the first communication network to be substantially constant or substantially constant. Means for performing the operations of block 622 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and QoS decision modules of computing devices acting as network elements. Group 410.

In block 624, the processor may determine QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path based on the end-to-end implemented QoS and the QoS provided by the first communication network. In some embodiments, by configuring the operation of one or more network elements of the first communication network to provide a substantially constant or substantially constant QoS, the processor may be configured based on the QoS achieved end-to-end and by the first communication network The substantially constant or substantially constant QoS provided determines the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path. Means for performing the operations of block 624 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and QoS decision modules of computing devices acting as network elements. Group 410.

The processor may then configure the first communication network to provide sufficient QoS to support the end-to-end QoS requirement based on the QoS provided by the second communication network at block 506 of the method 500 .

Referring to FIG. 6D, the decision in block 502 of the method 500 is used to communicate the end-to-end QoS requirements of the packet from the packet source to the packet destination via the communication path, or the decision in block 504 of the method 500 is used in the communication After in-path QoS provided by the second communication network, in block 630 the processor may apply a packet delay measurement 5G QoS identifier (5QI) corresponding to a constant packet delay in the first communication network to the first communication network . In some embodiments, the packet delay measurement 5QI may be configured and associated with the operation of providing a substantially constant or substantially constant packet delay to packets processed and/or transmitted by the first communication network. In some embodiments, responsive to the packet delay measurement 5QI, one or more network elements of the first communication network may be configured to provide a substantially constant Packet delay. In some embodiments, one or more network elements of the first communication network may include base stations (which may include media access control (MAC) schedulers, routing functions, etc.), one or more intermediate nodes and use Or flat function. Means for performing the operations of block 630 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and QoS configuration modules of computing devices acting as network elements. Group 414.

In block 632, the processor may measure the packet delay achieved end-to-end. Means for performing the operations of block 632 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and network traffic Measuring module 412.

In block 634, the processor may determine QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path based on the end-to-end realized packet delay and the constant packet delay in the first communication network. In some embodiments, the measurement packet may be sent end-to-end along a communication path across multiple communication networks (eg, a first communication network and a second communication network). In some embodiments, the processor can determine the packet delay of the second communication network based on the end-to-end packet delay and the substantially constant packet delay provided by the first communication network. In some embodiments, the packet delay provided by (caused by, caused by, related to) the second communication network can be expressed as Dn=De2e-Dc, where Dn represents the second communication network (which may be a non-5G communication network road), De2e represents the end-to-end packet delay, and Dc represents the substantially constant packet delay of the first communication network. Means for performing the operations of block 634 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and network traffic Measuring module 412.

The processor may then configure the first communication network to provide sufficient QoS to support the end-to-end QoS requirement based on the QoS provided by the second communication network at block 506 of the method 500 .

Referring to FIG. 6E, the decision in block 502 of the method 500 is used to communicate the end-to-end QoS requirements of the packet from the packet source to the packet destination via the communication path, or the decision in block 504 of the method 500 is used in the communication Following the in-path QoS provided by the second communication network, in block 640 the processor may apply a packet loss rate 5QI corresponding to a constant packet loss rate in the first communication network to the first communication network. In some embodiments, the packet loss rate 5QI may be configured and associated with the operation of providing a substantially constant or substantially constant packet loss rate to packets processed and/or transmitted by the first communication network. In some embodiments, responsive to the packet loss rate 5QI, one or more network elements of the first communication network may be configured to provide a substantially constant packet loss rate to packets processed and/or transmitted by the network elements of the first communication network loss rate. Means for performing the operations of block 640 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and QoS configuration modules of computing devices acting as network elements. Group 414.

In block 642, the processor may measure the packet loss rate achieved end-to-end. Means for performing the operations of block 642 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and network traffic Measuring module 412.

其中 Pn表示第二通訊網路（其可以是非5G通訊網路）的封包丟失率， Pe2e表示端到端封包丟失率，並且 Pc表示由第一通訊網路提供的基本恆定的封包丟失率。用於執行方塊644的操作的構件可以包括用作網路元素的計算設備的處理器210、212、214、216、218、252、260、428、無線收發器266、收發器427和網路量測模組412。 In block 644, the processor may determine a packet loss rate provided by the second communication network within the communication path based on the end-to-end realized packet loss rate and the constant packet loss rate in the first communication network. In some embodiments, measurement packets may be sent end-to-end along communication paths across multiple communication networks. In some embodiments, the processor may determine the packet loss rate for the second communication network based on an end-to-end packet loss rate and a substantially constant packet loss rate caused by (caused by, related to, provided by) the first communication network loss rate. In some embodiments, the packet loss rate provided by the second communication network can be expressed as:

Where Pn represents the packet loss rate of the second communication network (which may be a non-5G communication network), Pe2e represents the end-to-end packet loss rate, and Pc represents the substantially constant packet loss rate provided by the first communication network. Means for performing the operations of block 644 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and network traffic Measuring module 412.

The processor may then configure the first communication network to provide sufficient QoS to support the end-to-end QoS requirement based on the QoS provided by the second communication network at block 506 of the method 500 .

Referring to FIG. 6F, before measuring the QoS achieved end-to-end in said block 620, the processor may apply a packet loss rate 5QI associated with a packet loss measurement procedure that excludes packet loss in the first communication network to the second communication network. a communication network. In some embodiments, the packet loss rate 5QI may be configured and associated with the operation of providing a substantially constant or substantially constant packet loss rate to packets processed and/or transmitted by the first communication network. In some embodiments, responsive to the packet loss rate 5QI, one or more network elements of the first communication network may be configured to provide a substantially constant packet loss rate to packets processed and/or transmitted by the network elements of the first communication network loss rate. Means for performing the operations of block 650 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and QoS configuration modules of computing devices acting as network elements. Group 414.

In block 652, the processor may measure end-to-end achieved packet loss. Means for performing the operations of block 652 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and network traffic Measuring module 412.

In block 654, the processor may determine QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path based on the end-to-end implemented packet loss and packet loss measurement procedures. In some embodiments, measurement packets may be sent end-to-end along communication paths across multiple communication networks. In some embodiments, the processor may measure packet loss at multiple points along the communication path, and may perform one or more operations to rule out packet loss in the first communication network.

其中 Pn表示（一或多個）第二通訊網路的封包丟失率。以此種方式，處理器可以經由排除第一通訊網路中的封包丟失的封包丟失量測程序來決定可歸因於（一或多個）第二通訊網路的封包丟失率。 For example, referring to FIG. 6J , application client 690a (eg, executing on wireless device 174 ) may send a number N1 of packets addressed to application server 690e (eg, 176 , 188 ) during a first time period. An intermediary device, such as UE 690b (eg, UE 172a, 182a), may receive the number N2 of packets during the second time period. The second time period may include the same duration as the first time period and may have a first time offset (eg, the second time period may be later than the first time period by the first time offset). The first time offset may be based on the delay (eg, the packet will experience) from the application client 690a to the intermediary UE 690b. A network element of the 5G core network, such as UPF 690d (eg, UPF 172d of 5G core network 172c or another network element) may receive the number N3 of packets during the third time period. In some embodiments, the number N3 of packets may reflect packet loss at one or more network elements, such as at gNB 690c. The third time period may include the same duration as the first and second time periods and may have a second time offset (eg, the third time period may be later than the second time period by the second time offset). The application server 690e may receive the number N4 of packets during the fourth time period. The fourth time period may include the same duration as the first, second, and third time periods and may have a third time offset (eg, the fourth time period may be later than the third time period by the third time offset). In this example, the packet loss caused by (and associated with) the second communication network (or in this example, second communication networks 171b and 171c) can be expressed as:

Wherein Pn represents the packet loss rate of the (one or more) second communication network. In this way, the processor can determine a packet loss rate attributable to the second communication network(s) via a packet loss measurement procedure that excludes packet loss in the first communication network.

In various embodiments, the packet loss rate may be measured at more or fewer points along the communication path (ie, more or fewer N may be measured) depending on the configuration of the network. For example, the packet loss rate between two nearby or neighboring network elements (eg, UE co-located with a base station) may not be measured.

其中 Pn表示（一或多個）第二通訊網路的封包丟失率。以此種方式，處理器可以經由排除第一通訊網路中的封包丟失的封包丟失量測程序來決定可歸因於（一或多個）第二通訊網路的封包丟失率。用於執行方塊652的操作的構件可以包括用作網路元素的計算設備的處理器210、212、214、216、218、252、260、428、無線收發器266、收發器427和網路量測模組412。 As another example, referring to FIG. 6K, UE 692a (eg, UE 152a, 162a, 172a, 182a) may be co-located with an application client. In some embodiments, the application client may execute on UE 692a (eg, UE 152a, 162a), and UE 692a may be located near the device (eg, wireless device 174, 184) executing the application client. In this example, the UE 692a may send a number N1 of packets addressed to the application server 692de (eg, 158, 168) during the first time period. An intermediary device, such as UPF 692c (eg, UPF 152d, 162d), may receive the number N2 of packets during the second time period. The second time period may be the same duration as the first time period and may have a first time offset (eg, the second time period may be later than the first time period by the first time offset). The first time offset may be based on the delay (eg, the packet will experience) from UE 692a to intermediary UPF 692c. In some embodiments, the number N2 of packets may reflect packet loss at one or more network elements, such as at gNB 692b. The application server 692d may receive the number N3 of packets during the third time period. The third time period may be the same duration as the first and second time periods and may have a second time offset (eg, the third time period may be later than the second time period by the second time offset). In this example, the packet loss caused by (and associated with) the second communication network (or in this example, second communication networks 171b and 171c) can be expressed as:

Wherein Pn represents the packet loss rate of the (one or more) second communication network. In this way, the processor can determine a packet loss rate attributable to the second communication network(s) via a packet loss measurement procedure that excludes packet loss in the first communication network. Means for performing the operations of block 652 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and network traffic Measuring module 412.

The processor may then configure the first communication network to provide sufficient QoS to support the end-to-end QoS requirement based on the QoS provided by the second communication network at block 506 of the method 500 .

6G, the decision in block 502 of the method 500 is used to communicate the end-to-end QoS requirements of the packet from the packet source to the packet destination via the communication path, or the decision in block 504 of the method 500 is After QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path, the processor may apply to the first communication network the available bandwidth 5QI associated with an available bandwidth measurement procedure configuring the first communication network at block 660. The resources are such that the packet loss of the first communication network is substantially negligible relative to the packet loss of the second communication network.

In some embodiments, the available bandwidth 5QI may be configured and associated with operation to provide substantially negligible packet loss in the first network relative to packets processed and/or transmitted by the second communication network. In some embodiments, responsive to the available bandwidth measurement 5QI, one or more network elements of the first communication network may be configured to process and/or transmit packets in a manner that provides substantially negligible packet loss. For example, the processor may "overprovision" the transmission and/or processing resources of the first communication network such that the network element(s) in the first communication network do not contribute to the end-to-end communication path relative to the second communication network. bottleneck. In some embodiments, a network element of the first communication network may in this way supply a relatively short period of time, such as the duration of one or more measurement operations. Means for performing the operations of block 660 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and QoS configuration modules of computing devices acting as network elements. Group 414.

In block 662, the processor may measure the available bandwidth of the end-to-end implementation. Means for performing the operations of block 662 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and network traffic Measuring module 412.

In block 664, the processor may determine the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path based on the end-to-end realized available bandwidth and the available bandwidth measurement procedure. For example, the processor may measure end-to-end available bandwidth, data rate and/or bit rate. In such an embodiment, the processor may determine that the bandwidth, data rate and/or bit rate of the second network is substantially the same as the measured bandwidth, data rate and/or bit rate. In some embodiments, such an approach may be particularly useful for determining available bandwidth for UDP or TCP traffic. Means for performing the operations of block 664 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and network traffic Measuring module 412.

The processor may then configure the first communication network to provide sufficient QoS to support the end-to-end QoS requirement based on the QoS provided by the second communication network at block 506 of the method 500 .

Referring to FIG. 6H, the determination in block 502 of the method 500 is used to communicate the end-to-end QoS requirements of the packet from the packet source to the packet destination via the communication path, or the determination in block 504 of the method 500 is at After the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path, the processor may apply the available bandwidth 5QI associated with the available bandwidth measurement procedure to the first communication network in block 670, wherein the data packet is in the first communication network Medium to back-to-back transfers.

In some embodiments, responsive to available bandwidth 5QI, one or more network elements of the first communication network may be configured to process in a manner that introduces substantially negligible packet dispersion between or within transmitted packets and/or transmit packets back to back. For example, the available bandwidth 5QI may be associated with a packet dispersion technique such that network elements of the first communication network are configured to transmit packets in a manner that does not introduce or increase time intervals between transmitted packets. In some embodiments, the network elements of the first communication network may be configured to use General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol (GTP-U) in the user plane to encapsulate packets (eg, measurement packets) and send them via The GTP-U packets are transmitted in the GTP-U tunnel in the first communication network to achieve a substantially negligible time interval between packets. In some embodiments, transmitted packets may arrive at the UPF (eg, 152d, 162, 172d, 182d) back-to-back for routing to the second communication network. Means for performing the operations of block 670 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and QoS configuration modules of computing devices acting as network elements. Group 414.

In block 672, the processor may measure the available bandwidth of the end-to-end implementation. Means for performing the operations of block 672 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and network traffic Measuring module 412.

In block 674, the processor may determine QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path based on the end-to-end realized available bandwidth and the available bandwidth measurement procedure. In some embodiments, although the network element(s) of the first communication network are configured to transmit packets back-to-back in a manner that introduces substantially negligible packet dispersion between or within transmitted packets, The processor may measure the time interval between packets arriving at the endpoint devices (eg, 158, 168, 176, 188). In such an embodiment, the processor may determine the time interval between packets arriving at the endpoint device (eg, in the second communication network) to indicate the bandwidth provided by the second communication network.

For example, referring to Figure 6L, a 5G network may include UE 694a, gNB 694b, and UPF 694c. The UE 694a (which may comprise or be close to the application client) may send two packets [1] and [2] (eg, measurement packets) to the gNB 694b (eg, 152b, 162b, 172b, 182b). The gNB 694b may encapsulate packets [1] and [2] in a GTP-U packet and may send the GTP-U packet to the UPF 694c via a GTP-U tunnel (which may be identified by a tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID)). Packets [1] and [2] can arrive at UPF 694c back-to-back, and UPF 696c can send packets [1] and [2] to application server 694d in the non-5G network. The time interval between packets [1] and [2] may be measured at application server 694d. The time interval measured by the packet dispersion technique can reflect the available bandwidth of the non-5G network.

In such an embodiment, the network element may determine the available bandwidth measured through the packet distribution technique as the available bandwidth of the second communication network. In some embodiments, where the communication path spans two or more second communication networks (for example, as in communication systems 170 and 180), the network elements may use, for example, packet scatter techniques for each second communication network. The communication network performs the measurement, and the network element can determine the minimum value of the available bandwidth as the available bandwidth of all the second communications. Means for performing the operations of block 674 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and network traffic Measuring module 412.

The processor may then configure the first communication network to provide sufficient QoS to support the end-to-end QoS requirement based on the QoS provided by the second communication network at block 506 of the method 500 .

Referring to FIG. 6I, the decision in block 502 of the method 500 is used to communicate the packet from the packet source to the packet destination end-to-end QoS requirements via the communication path, or the decision in block 504 of the method 500 is After the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path, in block 680 the processor may apply the network measurement 5QI associated with the network measurement procedure to the first communication network for the QoS transmission along the communication path Measurement packets perform end-to-end measurements. In some embodiments, network measurement 5QI may be configured and associated with the operation of measurement-specific measurement packets (ie, packets used for measurement purposes that do not communicate other signaling or data). In some embodiments, in response to the packet delay measurement 5QI, one or more network elements of the first communication network may be configured to transmit network measurement packets in the QoS flow only for network measurement purposes. Means for performing the operations of block 680 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and QoS configuration modules of computing devices acting as network elements. Group 414.

In block 682, the processor may measure the QoS achieved end-to-end. Means for performing the operations of block 682 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and network traffic Measuring module 412.

In block 684, the processor may determine the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path based on the end-to-end implemented QoS and network measurements. In some embodiments, the network element can be used as a measurement entity to perform end-to-end measurement of measurement packets to determine the QoS provided by the second communication network. Means for performing the operations of block 684 may include processors 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 252, 260, 428, wireless transceivers 266, transceivers 427, and network traffic Measuring module 412.

The processor may then configure the first communication network to provide sufficient QoS to support the end-to-end QoS requirement based on the QoS provided by the second communication network at block 506 of the method 500 .

Figure 7 is a block diagram of components of a network element device suitable for various embodiments. Such network element devices (e.g., core network 140 or network elements (e.g., 402) of 5G networks 151a, 161a, 171a, and 181a, base station equipment (such as base stations 110a-110d, 200, 350), and /or similar) may include at least the elements shown in FIG. 7 . Referring to FIGS. 1-7 , such a network element device 700 generally includes a processor 701 coupled to a volatile memory 702 and a large-capacity non-volatile memory (such as a disk drive 708 ). The network element device 700 may also include a peripheral memory access device 706 coupled to the processor 701 , such as a floppy disk drive, compact disk (CD) or digital video disk (DVD) drive. The network element device 700 may also include a network access port 704 (or interface) coupled to the processor 701 for communicating with a network such as the Internet or a local area network coupled to other system computers and servers Create a data connection. The network element device 700 may include one or more antennas 707 for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic radiation that may be coupled to a wireless communication link. Network element device 700 may include additional access ports, such as USB, Firewire, Thunderbolt, and the like, for coupling to peripherals, external memory, or other devices.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of elements of a wireless device 800 suitable for use with various embodiments. In some embodiments, wireless device 800 may operate as a network element. Referring to Figures 1-8, various embodiments may be implemented on various wireless devices 800 (eg, wireless devices 120a-120e, 200, 320, 404), an example of which is shown in Figure 8 in the form of a smartphone. The wireless device 800 can include a first SOC 202 (eg, a SOC-CPU) coupled to a second SOC 204 (eg, a 5G capable SOC). The first and second SOC 202 , 204 may be coupled to internal memory 816 , display 812 and speaker 814 . In addition, the wireless device 800 may include an antenna 804 for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic radiation, which may be connected to a transceiver 427 coupled to one or more processors in the first and/or second SOC 202, 204 device. The wireless device 800 may include a menu selection button or rocker switch 820 for receiving user input.

The wireless device 800 may include a sound encoding/decoding (CODEC) circuit 810 that digitizes sound received from a microphone into data packets suitable for wireless transmission and decodes the received sound data packets to produce an analog signal that is provided to a speaker to produce sound . One or more processors in the first and second SOCs 202, 204, wireless transceiver 266, and CODEC 810 may include digital signal processor (DSP) circuitry (not separately shown).

The processors of the network element device 700 and the wireless device 800 may be any programmable microprocessor, microcomputer, or multiprocessor chip or chips that may be configured via software instructions (applications) to perform various functions, including Some of the implemented features are described below. In some wireless devices, multiple processors may be provided, such as one processor within SOC 204 dedicated to wireless communication functions and one processor within SOC 202 dedicated to executing other applications. Software applications may be stored in memory 702, 816 before being accessed and loaded into the processor. The processor may include internal memory sufficient to store application software instructions.

The various embodiments shown and described are provided as examples only to illustrate the various features of the claimed item. However, features shown and described with respect to any given embodiment are not necessarily limited to the associated embodiment and may be used or combined with other embodiments shown and described. Furthermore, the claims are not intended to be limited by any one exemplary embodiment. For example, one or more of methods and operations 500 and 600a-600i may replace one or more of methods and operations 500 and 600a-600i, or be combined with one or more of methods and operations 500 and 600a-600i Combination of operations.

The following paragraphs describe examples. Although some of the following embodiments are described in terms of exemplary methods, further exemplary implementations may include: the exemplary methods discussed in the following paragraphs implemented by a base station comprising a processor configured with processor-executable instructions , to perform the operations of the methods of the following embodiments; the exemplary method implemented by the base station discussed in the following paragraphs, including components for performing the functions of the methods of the following embodiments; and the exemplary method discussed in the following paragraphs , may be implemented as a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium having processor-executable instructions stored thereon, the instructions configured to cause a processor of the base station to perform the operations of the methods of the following embodiments.

Example 1. A method of managing end-to-end quality of service (QoS) in a communication path spanning at least two communication networks, comprising determining by network elements of a first communication network The end-to-end QoS requirements for the communication path of the packet from the packet source to the packet destination are determined by the network elements by the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path, and based on the QoS provided by the second communication network. The first communication network is configured to provide sufficient QoS to support end-to-end QoS requirements.

Example 2. The method of example 1, wherein the first communication network is a 5G network and the second communication network is not a 5G network.

Example 3. The method of any of examples 1 or 2, wherein determining, by the network element, QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path includes determining a packet error rate of the second communication network.

Example 4. The method according to example 3, wherein the first communication network is configured to provide sufficient QoS to support end-to-end QoS requirements based on QoS provided by the second communication network, including a packet error rate determination based on a determination of the second communication network The required packet error rate of the first communication network.

Example 5. The method of any one of examples 1 to 4, wherein determining, by the network element, QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path includes determining an available throughput of the second communication network.

Example 6. The method according to example 5, wherein the first communication network is configured to provide sufficient QoS to support end-to-end QoS requirements based on QoS provided by the second communication network, including an available throughput determination based on a determination of the second communication network The transmission capacity requirement of the first communication network.

Example 7. The method according to any one of examples 1 to 6, wherein determining by the network element the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path comprises measuring the QoS achieved end-to-end, identifying the QoS provided by the first communication network QoS, and based on the QoS realized end-to-end and the QoS provided by the first communication network, determine the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path.

Example 8. The method of example 7, wherein identifying the QoS provided by the first communication network comprises applying a packet delay measurement 5G QoS Identifier (5QI) corresponding to a constant packet delay in the first communication network to the first communication network path, and based on the QoS achieved end-to-end and the QoS provided by the first communication network, the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path is determined based on the packet delay achieved end-to-end and the constant packet in the first communication network The delay determines the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path.

Example 9. The method of example 7, wherein identifying the QoS provided by the first communication network comprises applying a packet loss rate 5QI corresponding to a constant packet loss rate in the first communication network to the first communication network, and based on the peer-to-peer The QoS implemented by the end and the QoS provided by the first communication network are determined in the communication path by the second communication network. QoS provided by the second communication network within the path.

Example 10. The method of example 7, wherein identifying the QoS provided by the first communication network comprises applying to the first communication network a packet loss rate 5QI associated with a packet loss measurement procedure that excludes packet loss in the first communication network , and the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path is determined based on the QoS achieved end-to-end and the QoS provided by the first communication network, including the packet loss and packet loss measurement procedures determined based on the end-to-end implementation in the communication path QoS provided by the second communication network.

Example 11. The method of example 7, wherein identifying the QoS provided by the first communication network comprises applying to the first communication network an available bandwidth 5QI associated with an available bandwidth measurement procedure that configures a QoS of the first communication network resources such that the packet loss of the first communication network is substantially negligible relative to the packet loss of the second communication network, and based on the QoS achieved end-to-end and the QoS provided by the first communication network, the second communication network within the communication path The provided QoS includes determining the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path based on the end-to-end realized available bandwidth and the available bandwidth measurement procedure.

Example 12. The method of example 7, wherein identifying the QoS provided by the first communication network comprises applying to the first communication network the available bandwidth 5QI associated with an available bandwidth measurement procedure in which the data packet is Back-to-back transmission in a communication network, and based on the QoS realized by end-to-end and the QoS provided by the first communication network, the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path includes the available bandwidth and the available bandwidth based on the end-to-end realization. The bandwidth measurement procedure determines the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path.

Example 13. The method of example 7, wherein identifying the QoS provided by the first communication network comprises applying to the first communication network a network measurement 5QI associated with a network measurement procedure for measuring QoS along the communication path The transmitted measurement packets perform end-to-end measurements, and determine the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path based on the QoS achieved end-to-end and the QoS provided by the first communication network including the QoS based on the end-to-end realization The QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path is determined with the network measurement procedure.

As used herein, the terms "component," "module," "system" and similar terms are intended to include computer-related entities such as, but not limited to, hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution , which is configured to perform a specific operation or function. For example, an element may be, but is not limited to being limited to, a process executing on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, or a computer. As an illustration, both an application executing on a wireless device and a wireless device may be referred to as an element. One or more elements can be resident within a process or thread of execution, and an element can be localized on one processor or core or distributed between two or more processors or cores. In addition, these elements can execute from various non-transitory computer-readable media having various instructions or data structures stored thereon. Components can communicate via local or remote procedures, function or program calls, electrical signals, data packets, memory read/write, and other known network, computer, processor, or process-related communication methods.

Many different cellular and mobile communication services and standards are available or expected in the future, all of which can be implemented and benefit from various embodiments. Such services and standards include, for example, 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, 3rd Generation Mobile (3G), 4th Generation (4G), 5th Generation Wireless mobile communication technology (5G) and the new generation of 3GPP technology, global system for mobile communication (GSM), universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), 3GSM, general packet radio service (GPRS), code division multiple access (CDMA) system ( For example, cdmaOne, CDMA1020TM), Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), Digital AMPS (IS-136/TDMA), Evolution Data Optimized (EV-DO), Digital Enhanced Wireless Telecommunications (DECT), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Wi-Fi Protected Access I and II (WPA, WPA2) and Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (iDEN). Each of these technologies involves the transmission and reception of, for example, voice, data, signaling and/or content information. It should be understood that any reference to terms and/or technical details related to a single telecommunications standard or technology is for illustrative purposes only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed item to a specific communication system or technology, unless expressly stated in the claimed item narrative.

The foregoing method descriptions and process flowcharts are provided as illustrative examples according to the embodiments only, and are not intended to require or imply that the operations of the various embodiments must be performed in the order presented. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the sequence of operations in the foregoing embodiments may be performed in any order. Words such as "thereafter," "then," "next," etc. are not intended to limit the order of operations; such words are used to guide the reader through the description of the methods. Furthermore, any reference to a claim element in the singular, eg, using the articles "a," "an," or "the," shall not be construed as limiting the element to the singular.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, components, circuits and algorithmic operations described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative elements, blocks, modules, circuits, and operations have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functions are implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. 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 claims.

Hardware for implementing the various illustrative logic, logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be a general purpose processor, digital signal processor (DSP), application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), A field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, individual gate or transistor logic, individual hardware elements, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein may be implemented or performed. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any general processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor can also be implemented as a combination of receiver smart objects, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. Alternatively, some operations or methods may be performed by circuitry specific to a given function.

In one or more embodiments, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or code on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium. The operations of the methods or algorithms disclosed herein may be embodied in processor-executable software modules or processor-executable instructions, which may reside on a non-transitory computer-readable or processor-readable storage medium. A non-transitory computer-readable or processor-readable storage medium can be any storage medium that can be accessed by a computer or a processor. By way of example, and not limitation, such non-transitory computer-readable or processor-readable storage media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage smart objects, or any other medium that can be used to store required code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Disk and disc, as used in this document, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disc, and Blu-ray disc, where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data via laser Optical reproduction of data. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of non-transitory computer-readable and processor-readable media. Furthermore, the operations of a method or algorithm may be resident on a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium and/or a computer-readable storage medium as one or any combination or collection of codes and/or instructions, which may be incorporated into a computer program product.

The foregoing description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the claimed items. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the scope of the claims. Thus, the present case is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the appended claims and the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

100: communication system 102a: macro cell service area 102b: pico cell service area 102c: femto cell service area 110a: macro BS 110b: pico BS 110c: femto BS 110d: relay BS 120a: wireless device 120b: wireless Device 120c: wireless device 120d: wireless device 120e: wireless device 122: wireless communication link 124: wireless communication link 126: wired communication link 130: network controller 140: communication network 150: communication system 151a: 5G network 151b: Non-5G Network 152a: UE 152b: gNB 152c: 5G Core Network 152d: User Plane Function (UPF) 153: Cellular Communication Link 154: Internet 156: Wi-Fi Access Point (AP) 157 : Wi-Fi wireless communication link 158: wireless device 160: communication system 161a: 5G network 161b: non-5G network 162a: UE 162b: gNB 162c: 5G core network 162d: user plane function 163: cellular communication link Road 164: Internet 166a: 4G network 166b: 4G base station 167: 4G wireless communication link 168: wireless device 170: communication system 171a: 5G network 171b: first non-5G network 171c: second non-5G network Network 172a: wireless device (UE) 172b: gNB 172c: 5G core network 172d: user plane function 173: Wi-Fi communication link 174: wireless device 175: cellular communication link 176: application server 177: wired Communication link 180: communication system 181a: 5G network 181b: Wi-Fi communication link 181c: second non-5G network 182a: UE 182b: gNB 182c: 5G core network 182d: user plane function 183: cellular communication Link 184: Wireless Device 185: Wired Communication Link 186: Internet 187: Wired Communication Link 188: Application Server 200: Computing and Wireless Modem System 202: First SOC 204: Second SOC 206: Clock 208: Voltage Regulator 210: Processor 212: Processor 214: Processor 216: Processor 218: Processor 220: Memory 222: Custom Circuitry 224: System Components and Resources 226: Interconnect/Bus Module 230: Temperature Sensor 232: Thermal Management Unit 234: Thermal Power Package (TPE) Component 250: Interconnect/Bus Module 252: Processor 254: Power Management Unit 256: Millimeter Wave Transceiver 258: Memory 260: Additional Processor 264: Interconnect/bus module 266: Wireless transceiver 300: Software architecture 302: Non-access layer (NAS) 304: Access layer (AS) 306: Physical layer (PHY) 308: Media access control (MAC ) sublayer 310: radio link control (RLC) sublayer 312: packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) sublayer 313: RRC sublayer 314: host layer 316: hardware interface 317: service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) sublayer Layer 320: wireless device 350: base station 400: end-to-end QoS system 402: network element 406: machine readable instruction 408: end-to-end QoS module 410: QoS decision module 412: network measurement module Group 414: QoS Configuration Module 424: Communication Network 426: Electronic Storage 427: Transceiver 428: Processor 500: Method 502: Operation 504: Operation 506: Operation 600a: Operation 600b: Operation 600c: Operation 600d: Operation 600e: Operation 600f: Operation 600g: Operation 600h: Operation 600i: Operation 602: Operation 604: Operation 606: Operation 610: Operation 612: Operation 614: Operation 620: Operation 622: Operation 624: Operation 630: Operation 632: Operation 634: Operation 640 :operation 642:operation 644:operation 650:operation 652:operation 654:operation 660:operation 662:operation 664:operation 670:operation 672:operation 674:operation 680:operation 682:operation 684:operation 690a:application client 690b :UE 690c:gNB 690d:UPF 690e:Application Server 692a:UE 692b:gNB 692c:UPF 692d:Application Server 694a:UE 694b:gNB 694c:UPF 694d:Application Server 700:Network Element Device 701:Processing Device 702: Volatile memory 704: Network access port 706: Peripheral memory access device 707: Antenna 708: Disk drive 800: Wireless device 804: Antenna 810: Sound encoding/decoding (CODEC) circuit 812: Display 814: loudspeaker 816: memory 820: rocker switch L1: first layer L2: second layer L3: third layer N ₁ : number N ₂ : number N ₃ : number N ₄ : number

FIG. 1A is a system block diagram illustrating an exemplary communication system 100 suitable for implementing any of the various embodiments.

1B-1E are system block diagrams illustrating exemplary communication systems suitable for implementing any of the various embodiments.

Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating elements of an exemplary computing and wireless modem system suitable for implementing any of the various embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of elements suitable for implementing any of the various embodiments of a software architecture including a radio protocol stack for user and control planes in wireless communications.

4 is a block diagram illustrating elements of a system configured to manage end-to-end QoS in a communication path across a first communication network and a second communication network, according to various embodiments.

Figure 5 is a process flow diagram illustrating a method performed by a processor of a network element for enhancing coverage of an initial access, according to various embodiments.

6A-6I are process flow diagrams illustrating operations 600a-600i that may be performed by a processor of a network element, as used in a communication path across a first communication network and a second communication network, according to various embodiments. Part of the approach to managing end-to-end QoS in .

6J and 6K are conceptual diagrams illustrating exemplary packet loss measurements.

FIG. 6L is a conceptual diagram illustrating exemplary available bandwidth measurements.

Figure 7 is a block diagram of components of a network element device suitable for various embodiments.

Figure 8 is a block diagram of elements of a wireless device suitable for various embodiments.

Domestic deposit information (please note in order of depositor, date, and number) none Overseas storage information (please note in order of storage country, institution, date, and number) none

500: method

502: Operation

504: Operation

506: Operation

Claims (31)

A computing device for use as a network element, comprising: A processor configured with processor-executable instructions to: determining an end-to-end quality of service (QoS) requirement for communicating packets from a packet source to a packet destination via a communication path across a first communication network and a second communication network; determine a QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path; and The first communication network is configured to provide sufficient QoS to support the end-to-end QoS requirement based on the QoS provided by the second communication network. The computing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first communication network is a 5G network and the second communication network is not a 5G network. The computing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured with processor-executable instructions to determine the second communication network in the communication path by determining a packet error rate of the second communication network The QoS provided. The computing device of claim 3, wherein the processor is further configured with processor-executable instructions for determining a desired packet error for the first communication network based on the determined packet error rate for the second communication network rate, to configure the first communication network to provide sufficient QoS to support the end-to-end QoS requirement based on the QoS provided by the second communication network. The computing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured with processor-executable instructions to determine the transmission rate by the second communication network in the communication path by determining an available transmission capacity of the second communication network The QoS provided. The computing device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the processor is further configured with processor-executable instructions for determining a throughput requirement of the first communication network based on the determined available throughput of the second communication network , to configure the first communication network to provide sufficient QoS to support the end-to-end QoS requirement based on the QoS provided by the second communication network. The computing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured with processor-executable instructions to determine the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path by: Measure the QoS achieved end-to-end; identifying QoS provided by the first communication network; and Based on the end-to-end realized QoS and the QoS provided by the first communication network, the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path is determined. The computing device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured with processor-executable instructions to perform the following operations: identifying the QoS offered by the first communication network by applying a packet delay measurement 5G QoS Identifier (5QI) corresponding to a constant packet delay in the first communication network to the first communication network; and by determining the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path based on the end-to-end achieved packet delay and the constant packet delay in the first communication network, based on the end-to-end achieved QoS and the QoS provided by the first communication network determine the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path. The computing device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured with processor-executable instructions to perform the following operations: identifying the QoS provided by the first communication network by applying a packet loss rate 5QI corresponding to a constant packet loss rate in the first communication network to the first communication network; and by determining the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path based on the end-to-end achieved packet loss rate and the constant packet loss rate in the first communication network based on the end-to-end realization The QoS provided by the first communication network and the QoS provided by the first communication network determine the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path. The computing device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured with processor-executable instructions to perform the following operations: identifying the QoS provided by the first communication network by applying to the first communication network a packet loss rate 5QI associated with a packet loss measurement procedure that excludes packet loss in the first communication network; and determining the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path based on the end-to-end achieved packet loss and the packet loss measurement procedure based on the end-to-end achieved QoS and by the first The QoS provided by the communication network determines the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path. The computing device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured with processor-executable instructions to perform the following operations: identifying the QoS provided by the first communication network by applying to the first communication network an available bandwidth 5QI associated with an available bandwidth measurement procedure configuring the first communication network The resources of the path make the packet loss of the first communication network substantially negligible relative to the packet loss of the second communication network; and by determining the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path based on the end-to-end realized available bandwidth and the available bandwidth measurement procedure, based on the end-to-end realized QoS and by the The QoS provided by the first communication network determines the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path. The computing device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured with processor-executable instructions to perform the following operations: identifying the QoS provided by the first communication network by applying an available bandwidth 5QI associated with an available bandwidth measurement procedure to the first communication network in which data packets travel back-to-back in the first communication network transmitted; and by determining the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path based on the end-to-end realized available bandwidth and the available bandwidth measurement procedure, based on the end-to-end realized QoS and by the The QoS provided by the first communication network determines the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path. The computing device of claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured with processor-executable instructions to: identifying by applying to the first communication network a network measurement 5QI associated with a network measurement procedure for performing end-to-end measurements on measurement packets transmitted along the communication path. the QoS provided by the communication network; and by determining the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path based on the end-to-end achieved QoS and the network measurement procedure, based on the end-to-end achieved QoS and by the first communication network The QoS provided by the path determines the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path. A method of managing end-to-end quality of service (QoS) in a communication path spanning at least two communication networks, comprising the steps of: determining, by a network element of a first communication network, an end-to-end QoS requirement for communicating packets from a packet source to a packet destination via a communication path across the first communication network and a second communication network; a QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path is determined by the network element; and The first communication network is configured to provide sufficient QoS to support the end-to-end QoS requirement based on the QoS provided by the second communication network. The method according to claim 14, wherein the first communication network is a 5G network and the second communication network is not a 5G network. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of determining, by the network element, the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path includes determining a packet error rate of the second communication network. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein the step of configuring the first communication network to provide sufficient QoS to support the end-to-end QoS requirement based on the QoS provided by the second communication network includes based on the second communication network The determined packet error rate determines a required packet error rate of the first communication network. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of determining, by the network element, the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path includes determining an available throughput of the second communication network. The method as recited in claim 18, wherein the step of configuring the first communication network to provide sufficient QoS to support the end-to-end QoS requirements based on the QoS provided by the second communication network includes based on the second communication network The determined available traffic determines a traffic requirement of the first communication network. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path determined by the network element comprises: Measure the QoS achieved end-to-end; identifying a QoS provided by the first communication network; and Based on the end-to-end realized QoS and the QoS provided by the first communication network, the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path is determined. The method as described in Claim 20, wherein: the step of identifying the QoS offered by the first communication network includes applying a packet delay measurement 5G QoS identifier (5QI) corresponding to a constant packet delay in the first communication network to the first communication network; and determining the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path based on the end-to-end achieved QoS and the QoS provided by the first communication network, including based on the end-to-end achieved packet delay and the first communication network The constant packet delay in a communication network determines the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path. The method as described in Claim 20, wherein: identifying the QoS provided by the first communication network includes applying a packet loss rate 5QI corresponding to a constant packet loss rate in the first communication network to the first communication network; and The step of determining the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path based on the end-to-end realized QoS and the QoS provided by the first communication network, including based on the end-to-end realized packet loss rate and the constant packet loss rate in the first communication network determine the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path. The method as claimed in claim 21, wherein: identifying the QoS provided by the first communication network includes applying to the first communication network a packet loss rate 5QI associated with a packet loss measurement procedure that excludes packet loss in the first communication network; and The step of determining the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path based on the QoS achieved by the end-to-end and the QoS provided by the first communication network, including packet loss and The packet loss measurement procedure determines the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path. The method as claimed in claim 21, wherein: The step of identifying the QoS provided by the first communication network includes applying to the first communication network an available bandwidth 5QI associated with an available bandwidth measurement procedure configuring the first resources of the communication network are such that a packet loss of the first communication network is substantially negligible relative to a packet loss of the second communication network; and The step of determining the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path based on the QoS achieved end-to-end and the QoS provided by the first communication network, including the available bandwidth based on the end-to-end realization and the available bandwidth measurement procedure to determine the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path. The method as claimed in claim 21, wherein: identifying the QoS provided by the first communication network includes applying to the first communication network an available bandwidth 5QI associated with an available bandwidth measurement procedure in which data packets are transmitted back-to-back in the first communication network ;and The step of determining the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path based on the QoS achieved end-to-end and the QoS provided by the first communication network, including the available bandwidth based on the end-to-end realization and the available bandwidth measurement procedure to determine the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path. The method as claimed in claim 21, wherein: The step of identifying the QoS provided by the first communication network includes associating a network measurement 5QI with a network measurement procedure for performing end-to-end measurements on measurement packets transmitted along the communication path applied to the first communication network; and The step of determining the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path based on the end-to-end achieved QoS and the QoS provided by the first communication network, including based on the end-to-end achieved QoS and the QoS provided by the second communication network A network measurement program determines the QoS provided by the second communication network in the communication path. A computing device for use as a network element, comprising: means for determining an end-to-end quality of service (QoS) requirement for communicating packets from a packet source to a packet destination via a communication path across a first communication network and a second communication network; means for determining, by the network element, a QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path; and Means for configuring the first communication network to provide sufficient QoS to support the end-to-end QoS requirement based on the QoS provided by the second communication network. The computing device as claimed in claim 27, wherein: means for determining, by the network element, the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path includes means for determining a packet error rate of the second communication network; and The means for configuring the first communication network to provide sufficient QoS to support the end-to-end QoS requirement based on the QoS provided by the second communication network includes determining a packet error rate based on the second communication network A component for determining a required packet error rate of the first communication network. The computing device of claim 27, wherein the means for determining, by the network element, the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path includes determining an available throughput of the second communication network components of the means for configuring the first communication network to provide sufficient QoS to support the end-to-end QoS requirement based on the QoS provided by the second communication network includes for the determined available transport based on the second communication network A component that determines a traffic requirement of the first communication network. The computing device as claimed in claim 27, wherein the means for determining the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path by the network element comprises: Components for measuring QoS achieved end-to-end; means for identifying a QoS provided by the first communication network; and means for determining the QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path based on the end-to-end implemented QoS and the QoS provided by the first communication network. A non-transitory processor-readable medium having stored thereon processor-executable instructions configured to cause a processor of a network element to perform operations, comprising: determining an end-to-end quality of service (QoS) requirement for communicating packets from a packet source to a packet destination via a communication path across a first communication network and a second communication network; a QoS provided by the second communication network within the communication path is determined by the network element; and The first communication network is configured to provide sufficient QoS to support the end-to-end QoS requirement based on the QoS provided by the second communication network.

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