WO2021089018A1

WO2021089018A1 - Communication method, apparatus and system

Info

Publication number: WO2021089018A1
Application number: PCT/CN2020/127295
Authority: WO
Inventors: 李汉成; 周汉
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2019-11-08
Filing date: 2020-11-06
Publication date: 2021-05-14
Also published as: CN112787838A

Abstract

A communication method, apparatus and system, wherein in the present application, a control plane network element may acquire time information of an ingress port of a data stream, and the time information of the ingress port of the data stream indicates a time window for the ingress port to process messages in the data stream. After that, according to the time information of the ingress port of the data stream and an internal transmission delay, time information of an egress port of the data stream is determined. The time information of the egress port of the data stream indicates a time window for the egress port to process the messages in the data stream. The internal transmission delay is a transmission delay between the ingress port and the egress port. Then, the time information of the egress port is sent to a network element corresponding to the egress port. The network element corresponding to the egress port buffers the messages in the data stream until the time window indicated by the time information, and processes the messages in the data stream within the time window. By using the foregoing manner, the time window during which the egress port of the data stream processes the messages in the data stream may be determined more accurately, and the deterministic transmission of the data stream in TSN may be achieved.

Description

Communication method, device and system

Cross-references to related applications

This application claims the priority of a Chinese patent application filed with the Chinese Patent Office, the application number is 201911090502.7, and the application name is "a communication method, device, and system" on November 8, 2019. The entire content is incorporated into this application by reference. in.

Technical field

This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method, device and system.

Background technique

Different from the disadvantages of traditional Ethernet that cannot provide high-reliability data transmission and guarantee delay transmission, a delay-sensitive network (TSN) is created on the basis of traditional Ethernet. TSN has both real-time and certainty. It can guarantee the reliability of service data transmission, and it can also predict the end-to-end transmission delay in the data transmission process.

In order to use TSN to realize end-to-end reliable data transmission in the fifth-generation mobile communication (5th-generation, 5G) system, the 5G system is virtualized as a switching node in the TSN, forming a network architecture for the intercommunication between the 5G system and the TSN In this type of network architecture, the configuration network element in the TSN can indicate the control plane network element in the 5G system, and establish a data flow between the user equipment (UE) and the user plane network element.

In order to ensure the transmission delay of the data stream, the configuration network element in the TSN can configure the time information of the ingress and egress ports in the data stream. Taking this data flow as an upstream flow as an example, the configuration network element in TSN can configure the time information of the transmission class (traffic class) of the user plane network element side port. The traffic class time information carries the user plane network element to send the The traffic class of the packet in the data stream. When the user plane network element buffers the packet in the data stream to the start time of the time window indicated by the traffic class, the buffered packet is sent within the time window.

However, the time information of a traffic class on the user-plane network element side port can correspond to multiple data streams, that is, within the time window indicated by the time information of the traffic class, the user-plane network element can send packets in multiple data streams. Text. As long as the current time reaches the time interval indicated by the time information of the traffic class, the user plane network element will send the buffered packets of the multiple data streams. The user plane network element cannot precisely control the data flow in any one of them. The transmission time of the outgoing port cannot guarantee the end-to-end transmission delay in TSN.

Summary of the invention

This application provides a communication method, device, and system to realize the deterministic transmission of data stream in TSN.

In the first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. The method includes: first, the control plane network element may first obtain the time information of the ingress port of the data stream, and the time information of the ingress port of the data stream indicates that the ingress port processes the data stream. The time window of the message in. After that, the control plane network element determines the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream according to the time information of the ingress port of the data stream and the internal transmission delay. The time information of the outgoing port of the data stream indicates the time for the port to process the packets in the data stream. Window, the internal transmission delay is the transmission delay between the ingress port and the egress port. Then, the control plane network element sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the outgoing port.

Through the above method, after the control plane network element receives the time information of the ingress port of the data stream, it can determine the time information of the egress port of the data stream. For a single data stream, the outgoing port of the data stream can be determined more accurately. The time window during which the port sends the packet in the data flow, so that the network element corresponding to the outgoing port can process the packet in the data flow according to the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow.

In a possible design, the specific type of the control plane network element is not limited in this embodiment of the application. For example, the control plane network element may be an application function network element. When the element sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream, the application function network element can send the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the policy control function network element, and the policy control function network element sends the outgoing port of the data stream to the session management network element. Time information of the port. Then, the session management network element may send the time information of the egress port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the egress port of the data stream.

Through the above method, after the application function network element receives the time information of the ingress port of the data stream, it can perform pre-processing to determine the time information of the egress port of the data stream, and then send it to the session management network element for convenience. The subsequent session management network element may directly send the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream.

In a possible design, when the application function network element sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the session management network element through the policy control function network element, it can also send identification information to identify the outgoing port of the data stream. The time information is for the data stream or the outgoing port. The identification information is not limited in this embodiment of the application. Any information that can identify the data flow or the outgoing port is applicable to the embodiments of this application. Illustratively, the identification information may be the flow characteristics of the data flow or the identification of the outgoing port. .

Through the above method, the application function network element can identify the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream by sending the identification information, so that the session management network element can easily identify the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream and the data stream or the outgoing port. .

In a possible design, the control plane network element can also be a policy control function network element. When the policy control function network element sends the time information of the data flow out port to the network element corresponding to the data flow out port, the policy control function The functional network element may send the time information of the egress port of the data stream to the session management network element; after that, the session management network element sends the time information of the egress port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the egress port of the data stream.

Through the above method, after the policy control function network element receives the time information of the ingress port of the data stream, it can perform pre-processing to determine the time information of the egress port of the data stream, and then send it to the session management network element, It is convenient for the subsequent session management network element to directly send time information to the outgoing port of the data stream.

In a possible design, when the policy control function network element sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the session management network element, it can send identification information at the same time to identify that the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream is specific to the Of the data stream or the outgoing port. The identification information is not limited in this embodiment of the application. Any information that can identify the data flow or the outgoing port is applicable to the embodiments of this application. Illustratively, the identification information may be the flow characteristics of the data flow or the identification of the outgoing port. .

Through the above method, the policy control function network element can identify the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream by sending the identification information, so that the session management network element can easily identify that the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream corresponds to the data stream or the outgoing port. .

In a possible design, there are many ways for the policy control function network element to send the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the session management network element, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. For example, the policy control function network element The rule creation request may be forwarded to the session management network element. The forwarding rule creation request is used to request the creation of a forwarding rule for the session carrying the data stream, and the forwarding rule creation request includes the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream.

Through the above method, carrying the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream in the forwarding rule creation request can effectively save signaling.

In a possible design, the control plane network element may also be a session management network element, and the session management network element determines the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream according to the time information of the ingress port of the data stream and the internal transmission delay; after that, Send the time information of the egress port of the data flow to the network element corresponding to the egress port. Among them, after the session management network element receives the time information of the ingress port of the data stream, it can be based on the corresponding relationship between the stream characteristics, the egress port identifier, and the ingress port identifier of the data stream stored in advance (the corresponding relationship may be from the application function network). The data flow is obtained by determining the outgoing port of the data stream, and then determining the network element corresponding to the outgoing port of the data stream, and sending the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the port.

Through the above method, after the session management network element receives the time information of the ingress port of the data stream, it can conveniently determine the time information of the egress port of the data stream based on the internal transmission delay.

In a possible design, when the control plane network element sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the ingress port, it can send identification information at the same time to identify that the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream is for Of the data stream or of the outgoing port. The identification information is not limited in this embodiment of the application. Any information that can identify the data flow or the outgoing port is applicable to the embodiments of this application. Illustratively, the identification information may be the flow characteristics of the data flow or the identification of the outgoing port. .

If the control plane network element is an application function network element, the application function network element sends the time information and identification information of the outgoing port of the data flow to the policy control function network element, and then the policy control function network element sends the data to the session management network element The time information and identification information of the outgoing port of the stream; the session management network element then sends the time information and identification information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the ingress port.

If the control plane network element is a policy control function network element, the policy control function network element sends the time information and identification information of the outgoing port of the data flow to the session management network element; the session management network element then sends the information to the network element corresponding to the ingress port Time information and identification information of the outgoing port of the data stream.

If the control plane network element is a session management network element, the session management network element sends the time information and identification information of the outgoing port of the data flow to the network element corresponding to the ingress port.

Through the above method, the control plane network element can identify the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream by sending the identification information, so that the session management network element can easily identify that the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream corresponds to the data stream or the outgoing port.

In a possible design, there are many ways in which the time information of the ingress port of the data stream indicates the time window for the ingress port to process the packets in the data stream. Two of them are listed below:

In the first type, the time information of the ingress port of the data stream includes the first reference time of the gating period and the first gating list, and the first gating list is used to indicate the gating state of the time window included in the gating period.

The second type, the time information of the ingress port of the data stream includes the earliest time and the latest time that the data stream arrives at the ingress port.

Through the above method, the time information of the ingress port of the data stream has multiple indication methods, and the applicable scenarios are more flexible and the scope is wider.

In a possible design, the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream indicates that there are many ways for the port to process the time window of the packet in the data stream. Three of them are listed below:

In the first type, the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream includes: the second reference time of the gating period and the gating list, and the second reference time is determined according to the first reference time and the internal transmission delay.

The second type, the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream includes: the time information of the incoming port of the data stream and the internal transmission delay.

In the third type, the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream includes: the first reference time of the gating period and the second gating list, and the second gating list is determined according to the first gating list and the internal transmission delay.

Fourth, the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow includes part or all of the following: the earliest time that the data flow reaches the outgoing port, and the latest time that the data flow reaches the outgoing port.

Through the above method, the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream has a variety of different and flexible indication methods, which is effectively applicable to a variety of different scenarios and expands the scope of application.

In a possible design, if the data flow is a data flow from the first terminal device to the second terminal device, since the packets in the data flow will be transmitted to the user plane network element in the middle, the control plane network element can be based on the data flow The time information of the ingress port and the first transmission delay determine the time information of the user plane network element. The first transmission delay is used to indicate the transmission delay between the first terminal device and the user plane network element, and the time of the user plane network element The information indicates the time window for the user plane network element to process the message in the data stream; after that, the control plane network element sends the user plane network element time information to the user plane network element.

Through the above method, the control plane network element can effectively control the time window for the user plane network element to process the packets in the data stream by sending the user plane network element time information to the user plane network element, thereby enabling more accurate time data flow Deterministic transmission.

In a possible design, if the data flow is a data flow from the first terminal device to the second terminal device, the control plane network element may also determine the user plane network based on the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow and the second transmission delay. The second transmission delay is used to indicate the transmission delay between the second terminal device and the user-plane network element, and the time information of the user-plane network element side port indicates how the user-plane network element processes packets in the data stream. Time window; after that, the control plane network element sends the time information of the user plane network element to the user plane network element.

Through the above method, the control plane network element can effectively control the time window for the user plane network element to process the packets in the data stream by sending the user plane network element time information to the user plane network element, thereby enabling the data stream to be implemented more accurately Deterministic transmission.

In a possible design, if the data flow is the data flow from the first terminal device to the user plane network element, the network element corresponding to the outgoing port is the user plane network element, and the control plane network element can send the data flow to the user plane network element Time information of the outgoing port.

In a possible design, if the data flow is a data flow from a user plane network element to the second terminal device or a data flow from the first terminal device to the second terminal device, the network element corresponding to the outgoing port is the second terminal device , The control plane network element may send the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the second terminal device.

In the second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, the method includes: a terminal device receives time information of an outgoing port of a data stream, and the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream instructs the outgoing port of the data stream to process a report in the data stream. The time window of the message; the terminal device can first buffer the messages in the data stream until the time window is reached, and then process the messages in the data stream within the time window.

Through the above method, after receiving the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream, the terminal device can process the packets in the data stream according to the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to realize the deterministic transmission of the data stream.

In a possible design, the terminal device buffers the packets in the data stream, and after reaching the time window (for example, reaching the start time of the time window or reaching a certain time in the time window), the data stream can be The message in the data stream can be sent directly within the time window, or the message can be sent to the egress queue within the time window, and the message is sent based on the scheduling rule of the egress queue.

Through the above method, the terminal device can flexibly process the packets in the data stream within the time window in different ways.

In a possible design, when the terminal device receives the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream, it can also receive identification information. The identification information is used for the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream. Out of the port. The identification information is not limited in this embodiment of the application. Any information that can identify the data flow or the outgoing port is applicable to the embodiments of this application. Illustratively, the identification information may be the flow characteristics of the data flow or the identification of the outgoing port. .

After receiving the identification information, the terminal device can determine the port according to the identification information; wherein, when the identification information is the flow feature of the data stream, the terminal device can determine the corresponding relationship according to the flow feature of the data stream and the outgoing port identifier. For ports, it should be noted that the corresponding relationship may be sent to the terminal device in advance by the application function network element through the session management network element, and this embodiment of the present application does not limit the manner in which the terminal device obtains the corresponding relationship.

Through the above method, the terminal device can easily identify that the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream corresponds to the data stream or the outgoing port.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. The method includes: a user plane network element receives time information of an outgoing port of a data stream, and the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream indicates that the outgoing port of the data stream is sending the data stream. The time window of the message; the user plane network element can first buffer the message in the data stream until the time window is reached; after that, the user plane network element processes the message in the data stream in the time window.

With the above method, after receiving the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream, the user plane network element can process the packets in the data stream according to the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to realize deterministic transmission of the data stream.

In a possible design, the user plane network element processes the packets in the data stream in the time window, and can directly send the packets in the data stream within the time window of the data stream, or it can also transfer the packets in the buffered data stream. The message is sent to the egress queue of the egress port, and the message is sent based on the scheduling rule of the egress queue.

Through the above method, the user plane network element can use different ways to flexibly process the packets in the data stream within the time window.

In a possible design, when the user plane network element receives the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream, it can also receive identification information. The identification information is used for the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream. The time information is specific to the data stream. Or the outgoing port. The identification information is not limited in this embodiment of the application. Any information that can identify the data flow or the outgoing port is applicable to the embodiments of this application. Illustratively, the identification information may be the flow characteristics of the data flow or the identification of the outgoing port. .

After the user plane network element receives the identification information, it can determine the out port according to the identification information; where, when the identification information is the flow feature of the data flow, the user plane network element can identify the port according to the flow feature of the data flow and the egress port. The corresponding relationship determines the port. It should be noted that the corresponding relationship may be pre-sent to the user plane network element by the application function network element through the session management network element. This embodiment of the application does not limit the manner in which the user plane network element obtains the corresponding relationship. .

Through the above method, the user plane network element can easily identify that the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream corresponds to the data stream or outgoing port.

In the fourth aspect, the embodiments of the present application also provide a communication system. For beneficial effects, reference may be made to the description of the first aspect, the second method, and the third aspect, which will not be repeated here. The communication system includes control plane network elements and user plane network elements.

The control plane network element is used to obtain the time information of the ingress port of the data stream. The time information of the ingress port of the data stream indicates the time window for the ingress port to process packets in the data stream; according to the time information and internal information of the ingress port of the data stream The transmission delay determines the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream. The time information of the outgoing port of the data stream indicates the time window for the port to process packets in the data stream. The internal transmission delay is used to indicate the transmission between the ingress port and the egress port. Time delay; sending the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow to the network element corresponding to the outgoing port of the data flow;

The network element corresponding to the outgoing port of the data stream is used to receive the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream; buffer the packets in the data stream until the time window is reached; process the data in the time window indicated by the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream Packets in the stream.

In a possible design, when the data flow is a data flow between terminal devices, or a data flow is a data flow from a user plane network element to a terminal device, the network element corresponding to the outgoing port of the data flow is the terminal device; When the data flow is a data flow from a terminal device to a user plane network element, the network element corresponding to the outgoing port of the data flow is the user plane network element.

In a possible design, the network element corresponding to the outgoing port of the data flow sends the packets in the buffered data flow to the egress queue of the outgoing port in the time window indicated by the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow, based on the egress queue The scheduling rules for sending packets.

In a possible design, the control plane network element is an application function network element, and when the control plane network element sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the outgoing port of the data stream, it is specifically used for:

Through the policy control function network element and the session management network element, the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream is sent to the network element corresponding to the outgoing port of the data stream.

In a possible design, when the policy control function network element sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the data outgoing port through the session management network element, it is specifically used for:

Through the policy control function network element, the time information and identification information of the outgoing port of the data flow are sent to the session management network element. The identification information includes part or all of the following: flow characteristics of the data flow and identification of the outgoing port.

In a possible design, the control plane network element is a policy control function network element. When the control plane network element sends the time information of the data flow out port to the network element corresponding to the data flow out port, it is specifically used for: policy control The functional network element sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the outgoing port of the data stream through the session management network element.

In a possible design, when the policy control function network element sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the session management network element, it is specifically used for:

The time information and identification information of the outgoing port of the data flow are sent to the session management network element. The identification information includes some or all of the following: the flow characteristics of the data flow and the identification of the outgoing port.

The rule creation request is forwarded to the session management network element. The forwarding rule creation request is used to request the creation of a forwarding rule of the session carrying the data stream. The forwarding rule creation request includes the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream.

In one possible design, the control plane network element is a session management network element.

In a possible design, the time information of the ingress port of the data stream includes the first reference time of the gating period and the first gating list, and the first gating list is used to indicate the gates of the time window included in the gating period. In the control state, the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream includes: the second reference time of the gating period and the first gating list, and the second reference time is determined according to the first reference time and the internal transmission delay.

In a possible design, the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream includes: the time information of the incoming port of the data stream and the internal transmission delay.

In a possible design, the time information of the ingress port of the data stream includes the first reference time of the gating period and the first gating list, and the first gating list is used to indicate the gates of the time window included in the gating period. Control status, the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream includes: the first reference time of the gating period and the second gating list, and the second gating list is determined according to the first gating list and the internal transmission delay.

In a possible design, when the control plane network element sends the time information of the egress port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the egress port, it is specifically used for:

The time information and identification information of the outgoing port of the data flow are sent to the network element corresponding to the outgoing port. The identification information includes some or all of the following: flow characteristics of the data flow, and identification of the outgoing port.

In a possible design, in a case where the data flow is a data flow from the first terminal device to the second terminal device, the communication system further includes a user plane network element;

The control plane network element is also used to determine the time information of the user plane network element according to the time information of the ingress port of the data stream and the first transmission delay. The first transmission delay is used to indicate the connection between the first terminal device and the user plane network element The time information of the user plane network element indicates the time window for the user plane network element to process the packet in the data stream; the time information of the user plane network element is sent to the user plane network element.

The user plane network element is used to receive the time information of the user plane network element, and process the packets in the data stream in the time window indicated by the time information of the user plane network element.

In a possible design, when the data flow is a data flow from the first terminal device to the second terminal device, the communication system further includes a user plane network element;

The control plane network element is also used to determine the time information of the user plane network element according to the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream and the second transmission delay. The second transmission delay is used to indicate the connection between the second terminal device and the user plane network element. The time information of the port on the user-plane network element side indicates the time window for the user-plane network element to process packets in the data stream; the time information of the user-plane network element is sent to the user-plane network element;

In the fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device, which is applied to a control plane network element, and the beneficial effects can be referred to the description of the first aspect and will not be repeated here. The device has the function of realizing the behavior in the method example of the first aspect described above. The function can be realized by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-mentioned functions. In a possible design, the structure of the device includes a receiving unit, a sending unit, and a processing unit. These units can perform the corresponding functions in the method example of the first aspect. For details, please refer to the detailed description in the method example. Do repeats.

In the sixth aspect, the embodiments of the present application also provide a communication device, the communication device is applied to a terminal device, and the beneficial effects can be referred to the description of the second aspect and will not be repeated here. The device has the function of realizing the behavior in the method example of the second aspect. The function can be realized by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-mentioned functions. In a possible design, the structure of the device includes a receiving unit, a sending unit, and a processing unit. These units can perform the corresponding functions in the method example of the second aspect. For details, please refer to the detailed description in the method example. Do repeats.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device, which is applied to a user plane network element, and the beneficial effects can be referred to the description of the third aspect and will not be repeated here. The device has the function of realizing the behavior in the method example of the third aspect. The function can be realized by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-mentioned functions. In a possible design, the structure of the device includes a receiving unit, a sending unit, and a processing unit. These units can perform the corresponding functions in the method example of the third aspect. For details, please refer to the detailed description in the method example. Do repeats.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device, which is applied to a session management network element, and the beneficial effects can be referred to the description of the first aspect and will not be repeated here. The structure of the communication device includes a processor and a memory, and the processor is configured to support the base station to perform the corresponding functions in the above-mentioned method in the first aspect. The memory is coupled with the processor, and it stores program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. The structure of the communication device also includes a communication interface for communicating with other devices.

In the ninth aspect, the embodiments of the present application also provide a communication device, the communication device is applied to a terminal device, and the beneficial effects can be referred to the description of the second aspect and will not be repeated here. The structure of the communication device includes a processor and a memory, and the processor is configured to support the base station to perform the corresponding functions in the method of the second aspect described above. The memory is coupled with the processor, and it stores program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. The structure of the communication device also includes a communication interface for communicating with other devices.

In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device, the communication device is applied to a user plane network element, and the beneficial effects can be referred to the description of the third aspect and will not be repeated here. The structure of the communication device includes a processor and a memory, and the processor is configured to support the base station to perform the corresponding function in the method of the third aspect described above. The memory is coupled with the processor, and it stores program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. The structure of the communication device also includes a transceiver for communicating with other devices.

In an eleventh aspect, the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium, which when run on a computer, cause the computer to execute the methods described in the above aspects.

In the twelfth aspect, this application also provides a computer program product containing instructions, which when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute the methods described in the above aspects.

In a thirteenth aspect, the present application also provides a computer chip connected to a memory, and the chip is configured to read and execute a software program stored in the memory, and execute the methods described in the foregoing aspects.

Description of the drawings

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the network architecture of the 5G system;

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the network topology of TSN;

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of TSN's centralized management architecture;

Figure 4a is a schematic diagram of a network architecture provided by an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 4b is a schematic diagram of a network architecture provided by an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the transmission of a data stream provided by an embodiment of this application;

6 to 10 are schematic diagrams of a communication method provided by embodiments of this application;

11 to 15 are schematic diagrams of the structure of a communication device provided by an embodiment of this application.

Detailed ways

This application provides a communication method and device for more accurate deterministic transmission of data streams.

In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the application more clear, the application will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the description of the application, unless otherwise specified, "/" indicates that the associated objects are a kind of The "or" relationship, for example, A/B can mean A or B; the "and/or" in this application is only an association relationship describing the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and/or B can mean: A alone exists, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. Also, in the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more than two.

The embodiment of this application relates to a communication method in which the 5G system and TSN are combined to virtualize the 5G system into a switching node in the TSN. The following first describes the 5G system, TSN and the network architecture applicable to the embodiment of this application. .

Please refer to Figure 1, which is a schematic diagram of the network architecture of the 5G system. The network architecture is a 5G network architecture. The network elements in the 5G architecture include terminal equipment. In FIG. 1, the terminal equipment is the UE as an example. The network architecture also includes radio access network (RAN), access and mobility management function (AMF) network elements, session management function (SMF) network elements, user plane Function (user plane function, UPF) network element, policy control function (policy control function, PCF) network element, application function (AF) network element, data network (data network, DN), etc.

The main function of RAN is to control users to access the mobile communication network through wireless. RAN is a part of mobile communication system. It implements a wireless access technology. Conceptually, it resides between a certain device (such as a mobile phone, a computer, or any remote control machine) and provides a connection to its core network. The AMF network element is responsible for the terminal's access management and mobility management. In practical applications, it includes the mobility management function in the MME in the LTE network framework, and adds the access management function.

The SMF network element is responsible for session management, such as user session establishment.

The UPF network element is a functional network element of the user plane, which is mainly responsible for connecting to external networks. It includes the related functions of the LTE service gateway (serving gateway, SGW) and the public data network gateway (public data network GateWay, PDN-GW).

The DN is responsible for the network that provides services for the terminal. For example, some DNs provide the terminal with Internet access, and some other DNs provide the terminal with short message functions.

The main function of the PCF network element is to perform policy control, similar to the policy and charging rules function (PCRF) network element in LTE, which is mainly responsible for the generation of policy authorization, service quality and charging rules, and Corresponding rules are issued to UPF network elements through SMF network elements to complete the installation of corresponding policies and rules.

The AF network element can be a third-party application control platform or the operator’s own equipment. The AF network element can provide services for multiple application servers. The AF network element is a functional network element that can provide various business services. NEF network elements interact with the core network and can interact with the policy management framework for policy management.

In addition, although not shown, the core network control plane function network elements also include network exposure function (NEF), unified data management (unified data management, UDM), and network element unified data repository (UDR) Network element, NEF network element is used to provide the framework, authentication and interface related to network capability opening, and transfer information between 5G system network functions and other network functions; UDR network element is mainly used to store user-related contract data and policy data , Used for open structured data and application data; UDM network elements can store the user's subscription information to achieve a backend similar to the HSS in 4G.

The terminal equipment in this application, also known as user equipment (UE), is a device with wireless transceiver function, which can be deployed on land, including indoor or outdoor, handheld or vehicle-mounted; and can also be deployed on water. On board (such as ships, etc.); it can also be deployed in the air (such as airplanes, balloons, and satellites, etc.). Terminal devices can be mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver functions, virtual reality (VR) terminals, augmented reality (AR) terminals, industrial control (industrial control) The wireless terminal in the self-driving (self-driving), the wireless terminal in the remote medical (remote medical), the wireless terminal in the smart grid (smart grid), the wireless terminal in the transportation safety (transportation safety), the smart Wireless terminals in the city (smart city), wireless terminals in the smart home (smart home), etc.

The TSN is introduced below. TSN generally includes a bridge and an end station. The data terminal and the switching node can form a network topology, and the switching node can forward packets through its configuration or forwarding rules created. Forward the message to the data terminal or other switching node.

There are multiple network topologies formed by data terminals and switching nodes, which can be configured according to application scenarios. Refer to Figure 2, which is a schematic diagram of a simple network topology of TSN, which includes multiple data terminals and switching nodes.

TSN is based on Layer 2 transmission. The TSN standard defines the behavior of data terminals and switching nodes and the scheduling method for switching nodes to forward data streams (a data stream is composed of one or more packets, and the data terminal and switching node forward the data stream. That is, one or more packets are transmitted, and the packets can become packets in the data stream), so as to achieve reliable time-delayed transmission. The switching node in the TSN uses the destination media access control address (MAC) address, Internet Protocol (IP) address or other message characteristics of the message as the flow characteristics of the data flow, according to The delay requirement of the data stream is used for resource reservation and scheduling planning, so as to ensure reliability and transmission delay according to the generated scheduling strategy.

The data terminal can be divided into a sender (talker) and a receiver (listener). The sender of the data stream (stream) is called the sender (talker), and the receiver of the data stream is called the receiver (listener); When the end or the receiving end sends a data stream request to the TSN, the TSN configuration will start. The TSN configuration includes configuring the switching node on the path from the sending end to the receiving end.

Optionally, the TSN may also include configuration network elements for implementing TSN configuration, such as centralized network configuration (CNC) network elements and centralized user configuration (CUC) network elements.

Please refer to Figure 3, which is a schematic diagram of TSN's centralized management architecture. The centralized management architecture is one of the three architectures defined by 802.1qcc in the TSN standard. The centralized management architecture includes the sending end, the receiving end, the switching node, and the CNC network. Yuan and CUC network elements. It should be noted that the number of network elements and the network topology shown in FIG. 3 are only examples, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited.

Among them, the switching node reserves resources for data streams according to the definition of the TSN standard, and schedules and forwards data packets.

The CNC network element is responsible for managing the topology of the TSN user plane and the information of the switching node, and according to the flow creation request provided by the CUC network element, generating the transmission path of the data stream and the forwarding rules on the data terminal and each switching node, and then the switching node The forwarding rules (such as the flow characteristics of the data flow, the identification of the ingress and egress port during data transmission, etc.) and scheduling information (such as the time information of the ingress port, the information of the flow classification corresponding to the egress port, etc.) are issued to the corresponding Switch node. Among them, the time information of the ingress port and the information of the flow classification corresponding to the egress port can be seen in the related description below.

Among them, the information of the switching node includes the port information of the switching node (such as the ingress and egress of data transmission) and the delay information (such as the internal transmission delay of the switching node), and the information of the switching node can be pre-defined by the switching node. Reported to the CNC network element.

In TSN, the time information of the ingress port is based on the data stream, which means that it supports the definition of 802.1Qci. In 802.1Qci, the size of the gating period is specified, and the gating period is divided into multiple small time windows. The time information of the ingress port includes the start time of the gating period (also called the first reference time) and The first gate control list, the first gate control list indicates the gate control state of each small time window in the gate control period, the gate control state is open or closed, and the gate control state is open means that it is in the small time window Able to process (inbound port processing refers to receiving messages or buffering messages) messages in the data stream, and the gating state being closed means that the transmission of messages in the data stream is prohibited within the small time window.

In TSN, the flow classification information corresponding to the egress port uses traffic class as the granularity, that is, it supports the definition of 802.1Qbv. The flow classification information corresponding to the egress port includes the flow classification of the egress port and the gate corresponding to the flow classification. Control list. In 802.1Qbv, multiple traffic classes are predefined. Each traffic class indicates a time window, and different traffic classes indicate different time windows. The gate control list corresponding to the flow classification indicates that the traffic class indicates the gate control status of a time window, the gate control status is open or closed, and the gate control status is open means that it can be processed within the time window (outgoing port processing refers to sending Message or buffered message) For messages in the data stream, the gating state is closed means that the processing of the messages in the data stream is prohibited within the time window. Under 802.1Qbv, a time window indicated by a traffic class can aggregate multiple data streams. In other words, packets in multiple data streams can be transmitted within a time window indicated by a traffic class.

In the embodiment of the present application, the 5G system may be used as a virtual switching node, and the information of the virtual switching node also includes port information and delay information of the virtual switching node.

Specifically, the ports of the virtual switching node are divided into ingress ports and egress ports for transmitting uplink and downlink data. The ingress ports of the virtual switching node include the ports on the UE side and the ports on the UPF side. For example, the ports on the UE side receive uplink data, and the UPF side receives the ports. The port for downlink data, the outgoing port of the virtual switching node includes the port on the UE side and the port on the UPF side, such as the port on the UE side for sending downlink data, and the port on the UPF side for sending uplink data (downlink port).

The CUC network element is used to obtain the TSN capability of the data terminal, that is, the number of ports of the data terminal, the MAC address of each port, and the 802.1 capability supported by each port. On this basis, the CUC network element can collect the flow creation request of the data terminal, after matching the flow creation request of the sending end and the receiving end, request the CNC network element to create a data flow, and confirm the forwarding rules generated by the CNC network element. Matching the flow creation request of the sender and the receiver refers to the flow creation request sent by the sender and the receiver to the CUC network element. The flow creation request includes some information, such as the destination MAC address of the requested data stream, and the CUC network element. Match the flow creation request with the destination MAC addresses of the data flows requested by different data terminals. If the destination MAC addresses of the data flows requested by the two data terminals are the same, the same data flow requested by the two data terminals will match If it succeeds, the data stream can be created. Otherwise, there is only a stream creation request from the sender or receiver, and the data stream cannot be created.

It is understandable that CNC network elements and CUC network elements are control plane network elements in TSN.

In addition to data or message forwarding, the switching node in TSN also needs to have other functions, such as having a topology discovery function, determining the switch identification and switch port identification, and supporting the link layer discovery protocol (link layer discovery protocol, LLDP) and other protocols. For another example, the transmission delay may be determined, and after the internal transmission delay of the switching node is detected, the detected transmission delay may be reported to the configuration network element.

As shown in FIG 4a, A network architecture diagram applicable to the present application, wherein a combination of the fifth generation mobile communication (5 ^th -generation, 5G) and TSN system network architecture. As shown in Figure 4a, the schematic diagram of the network architecture, the control plane of the TSN adaptation function is added to the AF network element, the user plane (UP) 1 of the TSN adaptation function is added to the UPF network element, and the TSN is added to the UE The UP2 of the adaptation function, these three together with the 5G system form a logical switching node, that is, a virtual switching node, as the switching node in the TSN. Although in Figure 4a, UPF and UP1, UE and UP2 are drawn separately, in fact, UP1 and UP2 are the logical functions of the user plane TSN adaptation function. UP1 can be deployed on UPF network elements, or UP1 can be UPF network elements In the same way, UP2 can be deployed on the UE, or UP2 can be the internal function module of the UE.

Among them, the TSN adaptation function refers to adapting the characteristics and information of the 5G network to the information required by the TSN, and communicating with the network elements in the TSN through the interface defined by the TSN.

Among them, the AF network element serves as the connection node between the 5G system and the TSN. The AF network element can interact with the CNC network element in the TSN and provide the CNC network element with the information of the logical switching node according to the requirements of the TSN switching node. The user-oriented TSN adaptation function The control plane of the TSN adaptation function provides the necessary information, that is, UP1 can provide the necessary information to the AF network element, for example, it can provide the information of the switching node in the TSN, can identify the TSN to which the CNC network element belongs, and can also provide the PCF in the 5G system The network element provides the DNN of TSN.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment of the present application, the UE-side port included in the virtual switching node may be a UE or UP2 physical port, and may include one or more UE-side physical ports. The ports on the UE side can be based on UE granularity, that is, one UE corresponds to one port, and different UEs correspond to different ports; it can also be based on PDU session granularity, that is, one session corresponds to one port, and different sessions correspond to different ports; It can also be based on TSN granularity, that is, one TSN domain corresponds to one or more ports, and the same virtual port cannot correspond to different TSN domains.

The ports on the UPF side included in the virtual switching node are physical ports of UPF or UP1. One UPF or UP1 can include multiple physical ports. One physical port of UPF or UP1 corresponds to one virtual switching node, but a virtual switching node can include one UPF or multiple physical ports of UP1, or multiple UPF or UP1. Multiple physical ports.

As shown in Figure 4b, it is a schematic diagram of another network architecture applicable to this application. In Figure 4b, the user plane with the TSN adaptation function deployed on the UE or the user plane with the TSN adaptation function is the internal functional module of the UE. UP2 and UP2 in 4a are used to obtain the port information of the UE and send it to the AF network element through the control plane.

It should be noted that in the network framework shown in Figures 4a and 4b, SMF network elements can interact with AF network elements through PCF network elements or NEF network elements, or directly interact with AF network elements. This embodiment of the application does not limited.

In FIG. 4b, the AF network element is a logical network element, which can be a component in another logical network element (for example, a component in an SMF network element), or other control plane function network element, and its name is not limited here. In Figure 4b, the virtual switching node includes two UEs, namely UE1 and UE2. The data terminal 1 is connected to a port on the UE1 side (such as port 1), and the data terminal 2 is connected to a port on the UE2 side (such as port 2). The UPF network element is connected to other data terminals (such as data terminal 3) or switching nodes through a port (such as port 3) on the UPF network element side. It should be noted that in FIG. 4b, the device connected to the UE side is a data terminal as an example. In fact, the UE side can also be connected to a switching node, which is not limited in this embodiment of the application.

In the network architecture where the 5G system and TSN are combined, the data stream is transmitted in the TSN network based on the definition of TSN, and when passing through the 5G user plane, the transmission mechanism of the 5G system is used for transmission. In the 5G system, the data stream sent from the UPF network element side to the UE side is a downstream stream, which can be carried in the session of the UE; and the data stream sent from the UE side to the UPF network element side is an upstream stream.

It should be noted that the network architecture shown in FIGS. 4a to 4b is only a network architecture in which the 5G system and TSN are combined. In the following introduction, the communication methods involved in the embodiments of the present application are compared based on the schematic diagrams of the network architecture shown in FIGS. 4a to 4b. Introduce, in fact, the embodiment of this application does not limit the combination of other communication systems and 5G systems. When other communication systems are combined with 5G systems, the 5G system can obtain relevant information for transmitting the data stream from other communication systems (such as this application). The time information of the ingress port of the data stream in the embodiment, etc.).

At present, in the network architecture of 5G system and TSN intercommunication, in order to realize deterministic transmission, CNC network element configures the time information of the ingress port of the data stream for the ingress port of the data stream, and configures the corresponding egress port for the egress port of the data stream. Traffic classification information. And through the control plane network element in the 5G system, the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream and the time information of the flow classification corresponding to the ingress port of the data stream are delivered to the UE or the UPF network element. For example, for an upstream flow, the flow classification information corresponding to the outgoing port of the data flow is delivered to the UPF network element, and the time information of the incoming port of the data flow can be delivered to the UE. For example, for a downstream stream, the time information of the ingress port of the data stream can be delivered to the UPF network element, and the flow classification information corresponding to the egress port of the data stream can be delivered to the UE.

However, because the time information of the outgoing port of the flow classification corresponding to the data flow is based on the traffic class, within the time interval corresponding to a traffic class, the outgoing port of the 5G system can not only send the packets in the data flow, but also Sending other data stream packets causes the 5G system to be unable to distinguish the exact time window for sending one of the data streams.

For example, as shown in Figure 5, in the network architecture of the 5G system and TSN intercommunication, there are two data streams that need to pass through the virtual switching node (that is, the 5G system), namely data stream 1 and data stream 2, and data stream 1. The ingress port of data stream 2 is port A, the ingress port of data stream 2 is port B, and the outgoing ports of data stream 1 and data stream 2 are both port C.

The CNC network element knows in advance that the internal transmission delay of the 5G system is 5 milliseconds (ms). Based on this, the CNC network element configures the time information of port A for data stream 1 and data stream 2, the time information of port B, and the corresponding port C Traffic classification information. The time information of port A and the time information of port B and the flow classification information corresponding to port C are delivered to the corresponding network element through the control plane in 5G.

The time information of port A indicates that the time window for data stream 1 to arrive at port A is 0 to 1 ms. The time information of port B indicates that the time window for data stream 2 to arrive at port B is 1 to 2 ms. The flow classification information corresponding to port C indicates that the gating status of the time window indicated by flow classification 1 is open, where the time window indicated by flow classification 1 is 5 to 7 ms, and the time window indicated by flow classification 1 has been pre-configured in the UE and UPF side.

If the transmission delay of data stream 1 within the 5G system meets the pre-reported internal transmission delay, the time window for the data stream 1 to reach port C should be 5-6 ms, and this time window belongs to the time window indicated by flow classification 1. If the transmission delay of data stream 2 within the 5G system meets the pre-reported internal transmission delay, the time window for the data stream 2 to reach port C should be 6-7 ms, and this time window belongs to the time window indicated by flow classification 1.

However, due to the particularity of the 5G system, the transmission delay of the data stream within the 5G system is not necessarily equal to the internal transmission delay reported in advance. For example, the actual transmission delay of data stream 1 inside the 5G system is 5ms, which meets the internal transmission delay reported in advance; the actual transmission delay of data stream 2 inside the 5G system is 3ms, which does not meet the internal transmission delay reported in advance .

Then the time window for the data stream 1 to actually reach the port C should be 5-6ms, and the time window for the data stream 2 to reach the port C should be 4-5ms. In this case, the network element corresponding to port C transmits the packets in the data stream in the time window indicated by flow classification 1, according to the instructions of the flow classification information corresponding to port C, and the packets of data flow 2 will precede those of data flow 1. The message is sent out from port C.

The actual transmission delay in the 5G system during the transmission of the data stream 2 does not meet the pre-reported internal transmission delay, and the deterministic transmission of the data stream 2 cannot be realized.

For this reason, the embodiments of the present application provide a communication method for realizing deterministic transmission of data in a 5G system. In the embodiment of the present application, the control plane network element first obtains the time information of the ingress port of the data stream, and determines the time information of the egress port of the data stream according to the time information of the ingress port of the data stream and the internal transmission delay, where The internal transmission delay is the transmission delay from the ingress port of the data stream to the egress port of the data stream; the control plane network element then sends the time information of the egress port of the data stream to the corresponding network element; the corresponding network element After receiving the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream, the packets in the data stream can be in the time window indicated by the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream. In the embodiment of the present application, for any data stream, in the case of acquiring the time information at the ingress port of the data stream, the time information of the egress port of the data stream can be determined according to the internal transmission delay, and then the time information can be targeted for a data stream. Stream, clearly determine the port processing time of the packet in the data stream, and then ensure the deterministic transmission of the data stream.

The following describes a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings. Referring to FIG. 6, the method includes:

Step 601: The control plane network element obtains the time information of the ingress port of the data stream, and the time information of the ingress port of the data stream indicates the time window for the ingress port to receive the packet in the data stream.

The embodiment of this application does not limit the manner in which the control plane network element obtains the time information of the ingress port of the data stream. For example, the control plane network element can be obtained from the TSN (such as the centralized network configuration network element in the TSN) or from Obtained from other networks, or pre-configured locally.

The information included in the time information of the ingress port of the data stream is not limited in this embodiment of the application. For example, the time information of the ingress port of the data stream may include the first reference time of the gating period and the first gating list. For another example, The time information of the ingress port of the data stream may include the earliest time and the latest time for the packets in the data stream to arrive at the ingress port. The earliest arrival time and the latest arrival time constitute a time window for the ingress port to receive the packets in the data stream. Any method that can indicate the time window for the ingress port to receive the packet in the data stream is applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

Step 602: The control plane network element determines the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream according to the time information of the ingress port of the data stream and the internal transmission delay. The time information of the outgoing port of the data stream indicates that the port sends the packet in the data stream. Time window, the internal transmission delay is used to indicate the transmission delay from the ingress port to the egress port.

In the embodiment of this application, the internal transmission delay may be pre-stored by the control plane network element, or it may be obtained by the control plane network element from other control plane network elements. For example, the control plane network element may be an application function network element. The function network element may store the internal transmission delay locally, or it may be obtained from the session management network element through the policy control function network element.

In the embodiment of the present application, the information included in the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream is not limited in the embodiment of the present application, and several of them are listed below:

The first type: if the time information of the ingress port of the data stream can include the first reference time of the gating period and the first gating list, the time information of the egress port of the data stream can include the second reference time of the gating period and The first gated list.

The control plane network element may determine the second reference time of the gating period according to the first reference time of the gating period and the internal transmission delay. For example, the control plane network element uses the sum of the first reference time of the gating period and the internal transmission delay as the second reference time of the gating period.

The second type: if the time information of the ingress port of the data stream can include the first reference time of the gating period and the first gating list, the time information of the egress port of the data stream can include the first reference time of the gating period and This second gated list.

Wherein, the control plane network element may determine the second gating list according to the first gating list and the internal transmission delay. For example, the control plane network element delays the time window in the first gate control list whose gate control state is open according to the internal transmission delay to obtain the second gate control list. The first gating list indicates that the gating status of the 3rd, 5th, and 10th time windows is open, and the length of the internal transmission delay is the size of the 2 time windows in the gating period, then the second gating list indicates the 5th The gate control status of the 7, 12 time windows is open. In other words, the time window in the first gating control list whose gating state is open is delayed according to the internal transmission delay, and the second gating control list can be obtained. The internal transmission delay can be a non-integer multiple of the time window in the gating period. In this case, the time window in the first gating list whose gated state is open is delayed according to the internal transmission delay. This application The embodiment is not limited.

The third type: the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream may include part or all of the following information: the earliest time that the packets in the data stream arrive at the outgoing port, and the latest time that the packets in the data stream arrive at the outgoing port .

Taking the time information of the ingress port of the data stream may include the first reference time of the gating period and the first gating list as an example, the control plane network element determines the earliest and latest time for the packets in the data stream to arrive at the egress port. Time to explain:

1. The earliest time that a packet in the data stream reaches the outgoing port

The control plane network element may determine the earliest time for the packet in the data stream to reach the ingress port according to the first reference time of the gating period and the first gating list. Exemplarily, the control plane network element may determine that the gate control state recorded in the first gate control list is the earliest time window opened, and calculate the start time of the time window according to the first reference time of the gate control period. The start time of the time window is the earliest time for the packets in the data stream to reach the ingress port.

After that, the control plane network element determines the earliest time for the packet in the data stream to reach the outgoing port according to the start time of the time window and the internal transmission delay.

For example, the first reference time of the gating period is 1 o'clock, and the pre-configured gating period size is 10 milliseconds, which can be converted into 100 time windows, so that the length of each time window is 100 microseconds. If the first gate control list indicates that the gate control status of the 3rd, 5th, and 10th time windows is on. Then the earliest time window in which the gate control state recorded in the first gate control list is open is the third time window. The start time of the third time window is 1:200 microseconds. If the internal transmission delay is 5 microseconds, the earliest time for the packet in the data stream to reach the outgoing port is equal to the sum of the start time of the third time window and the internal transmission delay, which is 1:205 microseconds.

2. The latest time that the packets in the data stream arrive at the outgoing port

The control plane network element may determine the latest time for the packet in the data stream to arrive at the ingress port according to the first reference time of the gating period and the first gating list. Exemplarily, the control plane network element may determine that the gate control state recorded in the first gate control list is the latest time window opened, and calculate the end time of the time window according to the first reference time of the gate control period. The end time of the time window is the latest time that the packets in the data stream arrive at the ingress port.

Then, the control plane network element determines the latest time for the packets in the data flow to reach the outgoing port according to the latest time for the packets in the data flow to reach the ingress port and the internal transmission delay.

For example, the first reference time of the gating period is 1 o'clock, and the pre-configured gating period size is 10 milliseconds, which can be converted into 100 time windows, so that the length of each time window is 100 microseconds. If the first gate control list indicates that the gate control status of the 3rd, 5th, and 10th time windows is on. The earliest time window in which the gate control state recorded in the first gate control list is open is the third time window. The start time of the third time window is 1:200 microseconds. If the internal transmission delay is 5 microseconds, the earliest time for the packet in the data stream to reach the outgoing port is equal to the sum of the start time of the third time window and the internal transmission delay, which is 1:205 microseconds. The latest time window in which the gate control state recorded in the first gate control list is opened is the 10th time window. The end time of the tenth time window is 1:1 millisecond. If the internal transmission delay is 5 microseconds, the latest time for the packets in the data stream to reach the outgoing port is equal to the sum of the end time of the tenth time window and the internal transmission delay, which is 1:1 ms, 5 microseconds. second.

The fourth type: the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream includes the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream and the internal transmission delay.

The control plane network element may also take the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream and the internal transmission delay as the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream without any processing, and the network element corresponding to the outgoing port of the data stream receives the data stream. The time information of the outgoing port is used to determine the earliest time and the latest time at which the packets in the data stream arrive at the outgoing port.

Step 603: The control plane network element sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the outgoing port.

Optionally, when the control plane network element sends the time information of the egress port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the ingress port, it can also send identification information at the same time to identify that the time information of the egress port of the data stream is for the data stream. Or the outgoing port. The identification information is not limited in this embodiment of the application. Any information that can identify the data flow or the outgoing port is applicable to the embodiments of this application. Illustratively, the identification information may be the flow characteristics of the data flow or the identification of the outgoing port. .

If the data flow is an upstream flow, the outgoing port is a port on the user plane network element side, and the control plane network element sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow to the user plane network element. If the data flow is a downstream flow, the outgoing port is a port on the terminal device side, and the control plane network element sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow to the terminal device. If the data flow is a data flow between terminal devices, for example, the data flow is a data flow from the first terminal device to the second terminal device, and the control plane network element sends the data flow to the second terminal device. Time information.

The embodiment of the present application does not limit the type of control plane network element. For example, the control plane network element is an application function network element. When the application function network element sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the outgoing port , Can be sent to the session management network element through the policy control function network element, and then sent to the network element corresponding to the outgoing port by the session management network element.

Exemplarily, the application function network element may send the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the policy control function network element when the policy control function network element is triggered to configure the PCC rule of the session carrying the data stream, and the policy control function network element When sending a forwarding rule creation request to the session management network element, the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream can be carried in the forwarding rule creation request, and the forwarding rule creation request is used to instruct the creation of a forwarding rule for the session carrying the data stream.

When the application function network element sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow to the policy control function network element, it can also send identification information, such as sending the identification of the outgoing port (indicating that the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow is for the outgoing port ) Or the stream characteristics of the data stream (the time information indicating the outgoing port of the data stream is for the data stream).

The manner in which the application function network element determines the identification of the outgoing port and the flow characteristics of the data flow is not limited in this embodiment of the application. For example, the application function network element may obtain the time information of the ingress port of the data flow while simultaneously To obtain the flow characteristics of the data flow, the application function network element can determine the flow of the data flow according to the acquired forwarding rules of the data flow (which records the flow characteristics of the data flow, the outgoing port identifier, the incoming port identifier and other information) The ID of the outgoing port corresponding to the feature.

When the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow and the flow characteristics of the data flow are used by the policy control function network element, the corresponding relationship between the flow characteristics of the data flow obtained from the application function network element and the identification of the incoming and outgoing ports of the data flow may be used. Determine the outgoing port identifier, and then determine that the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow is for the outgoing port.

After the policy control function network element sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the session management network element, it may also send identification information. The session management network element then sends the time information and identification information of the egress port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the egress port.

The manner in which the session management network element determines the port identifier based on the flow characteristics of the data flow is the same as the manner in which the policy control function network element determines the port identifier based on the flow characteristics of the data flow, which is not limited in this embodiment of the application.

For another example, the control plane network element is a policy control function network element. When the policy control function network element sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the outgoing port, it may send the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the outgoing port. It is sent to the session management network element, and then sent by the session management network element to the network element corresponding to the outgoing port.

Exemplarily, when the policy control function network element sends a forwarding rule creation request to the session management network element, it can carry the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream in the forwarding rule creation request, and the forwarding rule creation request is used to instruct the creation of the bearer The forwarding rule of the session of the data stream.

When the policy control function network element sends the time information of the egress port of the data stream to the session management network element, it can also send the identifier of the egress port (indicating that the time information of the egress port of the data stream is for the egress port) or the data The flow characteristics of the flow (the time information indicating the outgoing port of the data flow is for the data flow).

Wherein, the method for the policy control function network element to determine the identification of the outgoing port and the flow characteristics of the data stream is not limited in the embodiment of the application. For example, the data can be obtained at the same time when the time information of the ingress port of the data stream is obtained. The flow characteristics of the flow or the identification of the outgoing port. If the policy control function network element obtains the flow characteristics of the data flow, the policy control function network element can determine the flow characteristics of the data flow based on the flow characteristics, outgoing port identification, ingress port identification and other information of the data flow obtained from the application function network element Corresponding outgoing port ID.

When the session management network element receives the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow and the flow characteristics of the data flow, it can control the flow characteristics of the data flow obtained from the policy control function network element (or application function network element) and the data flow The corresponding relationship between the ingress and egress port identifiers of the flow is determined, and the egress port identifier is determined, and then the time information of the egress port of the data stream is determined for the egress port.

For another example, the control plane network element may also be a session management network element, and the session management network element may, after determining the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow, send the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow to the outgoing port The corresponding network element.

Exemplarily, the session management network element may carry the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream in the session creation/modification request, and send the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the outgoing port.

When the session management network element sends the time information of the egress port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the egress port, it may also send identification information.

It should be noted that when the identification information is sent between the application function network element, the policy control function network element, the session management network element, and the network element corresponding to the outgoing port, the specific type of the identification information may be different, for example, the application function network element The policy control function network element sends the flow characteristics of the data flow. After the policy control function network element determines the out port identifier according to the flow characteristics of the data flow, it can send the out port identifier to the session management network element, and then send the out port identifier to the session management network element. The corresponding network element sends out the port ID.

Step 604: The network element corresponding to the outgoing port receives the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream, and may send the packet in the data stream according to the time window indicated by the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream. Exemplarily, the network element corresponding to the outgoing port may first buffer the packets in the data stream after receiving the packets in the data stream, and when the time window is buffered, send the packets in the buffered data stream. Message.

When the network element corresponding to the outgoing port sends the buffered packets in the data stream, it can directly send the packets in the data stream through the outgoing port, or it can send the buffered packets in the data stream to the outgoing port. In the sending queue, the sending queue is scheduled based on the flow classification information.

Taking the network element corresponding to the egress port as the user plane network element as an example, the manner in which the network element corresponding to the egress port determines the time window indicated by the time information of the egress port of the data flow is described:

(1) If the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream includes the second reference time of the gating period and the first gating list, the user plane network element can be based on the second reference time of the gating period and the first The gate control list determines the earliest time that the packets in the data flow reach the outgoing port and the latest time that the packets in the data flow reach the outgoing port, and then determines the time window indicated by the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow .

Among them, the manner in which the user plane network element determines the earliest time for the packets in the data flow to reach the outgoing port and the latest time for the packets in the data flow to reach the outgoing port is determined by the control plane network element according to the first time of the gating period. A reference time and the first gating list determine the earliest time and the latest time for the packets in the data stream to arrive at the ingress port in a similar manner. For details, please refer to the foregoing content, which will not be repeated here.

Optionally, the user plane network element may also directly execute the gating state indicated by the first gating list according to the second reference time of the gating period and the first gating list.

(2) If the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream includes the first reference time of the gating period and the second gating list, the user plane network element can be based on the first reference time of the gating period and the second The gate control list determines the earliest time that the packets in the data flow reach the outgoing port and the latest time that the packets in the data flow reach the outgoing port, and then determines the time window indicated by the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow .

Optionally, the user plane network element may also directly execute the gating state indicated by the first gating list according to the first reference time of the gating period and the second gating list.

(3) If the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream includes the earliest time that the packets in the data stream arrive at the outgoing port and the latest time that the packets in the data stream arrive at the outgoing port, the time can be directly determined window.

(4) If the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream includes the earliest time for the packets in the data stream to reach the outgoing port, the user plane network element can determine the sending time of the data stream, based on the sending time of the data stream and the The earliest time that a message in the data stream reaches the outgoing port determines the latest time that a message in the data stream reaches the outgoing port, and then the time window is obtained. The user plane network element can also determine the sending period of the data stream (the sending period of the data stream can indicate the periodic interval at which the sending device of the data stream sends the data stream, that is, the start and end time of sending the data stream), and the data stream The time from the earliest time that the message in the message arrives at the outgoing port to the end of the sending period is used as the time window.

The manner in which the user plane network element determines the sending duration of the data stream is not limited in this embodiment of the application. For example, the user plane network element can predict the data volume of the data stream and the bandwidth of the user plane network element to receive packets. The sending duration of the data stream is estimated. For another example, the sending duration of the data stream may be a preset value. The sending period of the data stream may be pre-configured or sent by other network elements to the user plane network element. This embodiment of the present application does not limit the user plane network element to determine the sending period of the data stream.

(5) If the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream includes the latest time for the packets in the data stream to arrive at the outgoing port, the user plane network element can determine the sending time of the data stream, based on the sending time of the data stream and The latest time at which a message in the data stream arrives at the outgoing port determines the earliest time at which a message in the data stream reaches the outgoing port, and then the time window is obtained. The user plane network element can also determine the transmission period of the data stream (the transmission period of the data stream can indicate the transmission time of the data stream from the ingress port to the egress port), and start the transmission period to the arrival of the packets in the data stream. The latest time of the outgoing port is used as the time window.

(6) If the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream includes the time information of the ingress port of the data stream and the internal transmission delay, the user plane network element determines the arrival of the packet in the data stream according to the time information of the ingress port of the data stream The earliest time and the latest time of the ingress port, and then the user plane network element then determines the earliest time that the packets in the data stream arrive at the outgoing port according to the earliest time of the packets in the data stream arriving at the ingress port and the internal transmission delay. According to the latest time that the packets in the data stream arrive at the ingress port and the internal transmission delay, the latest time for the packets in the data stream to arrive at the egress port is determined.

It should be noted that the user plane network element may also determine a time window, add the first reference time to the internal transmission delay, and execute the first gate control list to indicate the gate control state.

When the network element corresponding to the outgoing port is a terminal device, the method for the terminal device to determine the time window indicated by the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream is the same as the way the user plane network element determines the time window indicated by the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream. The method is the same. For details, please refer to the foregoing content, which will not be repeated here.

As a possible implementation manner, if the control plane network element determines that the data stream can be a data stream from the first terminal device to the second terminal device, that is, the user plane network element needs to be among the data streams received from one terminal device. The message is sent to another terminal device. The control plane network element can determine the time information of the user network element, and the user plane network element is used to indicate the time window for the user plane network element to process packets in the data stream, and send the time information of the user plane network element to User plane network element.

The embodiment of the present application does not limit the manner in which the control plane network element determines that the data flow is a data flow between terminal devices. According to different types of control plane network elements, the manner in which the data flow is determined to be a data flow between terminal devices will be described. :

1. The control plane network element is an application function network element. The application function network element can determine that the data stream is a data stream between terminal devices according to the forwarding information of the data stream, where the forwarding information of the data stream includes the first data stream carrying the data stream. Information about a session and information about a second session that carries the data stream, where the first session is the session established by the first terminal device, and the information about the first session may be the identifier of the first session, or may be corresponding to the first session The port identifier on the side of the first terminal device. The second session is a session established by the second terminal device, and the information of the second session may be the identifier of the second session, or may be the port identifier of the second terminal device side corresponding to the second session.

The application function network element can determine that the data stream is a data stream between terminal devices according to the forwarding information of the data stream. After determining that the data stream is a data stream between terminal devices, it can send to the policy control function network element or the session management network element Indication information, the indication information is used to indicate that the data stream is a data stream between terminal devices. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the manner in which the indication information indicates that the data stream is a data stream between terminal devices, and a direct indication method can be used (For example, to indicate that the data flow is free of data flow between terminal devices), indirect instructions can also be used, such as carrying the port identifier of the first terminal device corresponding to the first session and the second terminal corresponding to the second session The port identifier on the device side, for example, when the application function network element triggers the policy control function network element to initiate the creation/modification process of the PCC rule of the first session, it sends the identifier of the second session or the second terminal device side corresponding to the second session The port ID.

After receiving the instruction information, the policy control function network element or the session management network element may determine that the data flow is a data flow between terminal devices according to the instruction information.

During the PCC rule configuration process of the first session, the policy control function network element receives the second session identifier and can determine that the data flow is a data flow between terminal devices; it receives the port on the second terminal device side corresponding to the second session Identification. If it is determined that the port identification on the second terminal device side is associated with the second session, it can be determined that the data flow is a data flow between terminal devices.

In the process of the forwarding rule of the first session, the session management network element receives the second session identifier, and can determine that the data flow is a data flow between terminal devices; it receives the port identifier on the second terminal device side corresponding to the second session If it is determined that the port identifier on the second terminal device side is associated with the second session, it can be determined that the data stream is a data stream between terminal devices.

2. The control plane network element is a policy control function network element or a session management network element. The way that the policy control function network element or session management network element determines that the data flow is a data flow between terminal devices can be found in the control plane network element as an application function In the case of a network element, when the indication information is an indirect indication, the policy control function network element or the session management network element determines that the data flow is a data flow between terminal devices, which will not be repeated here.

The following lists two ways for the control plane network element to determine the time information of the user plane network element:

Manner 1: The control plane network element determines the time information of the user plane network element according to the time information of the ingress port of the data stream, and the ingress port is the port on the first terminal device side (that is, the port on the terminal device side in the session).

The control plane network element may first obtain the first transmission delay, and the first transmission delay is the transmission delay between the first terminal device and the user plane network element. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the manner in which the control plane network element obtains the first transmission delay. The first transmission delay may be recorded locally by the control plane network element or sent to the control plane network element by other control plane network elements. of. For example, the control plane network element is a session management network element, and the session management network element may obtain the first delay information from a policy control function network element, or may obtain it from an application function network element through a policy control function network element.

After that, the control plane network element obtains the time information of the user plane network element according to the time information of the ingress port of the data stream and the first transmission delay. The control plane network element obtains the time information of the user plane network element according to the time information of the ingress port of the data flow and the first transmission delay, and the control plane network element obtains the data according to the time information of the ingress port of the data flow and the internal transmission delay. The method of the time information of the outgoing port of the stream is similar. For details, please refer to the foregoing content, which will not be repeated here.

Manner 2: The control plane network element determines the time information of the user plane network element according to the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream.

The control plane network element may first obtain the second transmission delay, and the second transmission delay is the transmission delay between the second terminal device and the user plane network element. The manner in which the control plane network element obtains the second transmission delay is the same as the manner in which the control plane network element obtains the first transmission delay. For details, please refer to the foregoing content, which will not be repeated here.

After that, the control plane network element obtains the time information of the user plane network element according to the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream and the second transmission delay. The control plane network element obtains the time information of the user plane network element according to the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream and the second transmission delay, and the control plane network element obtains the data according to the time information of the ingress port of the data stream and the internal transmission delay. The method of the time information of the outgoing port of the stream is similar. For details, please refer to the foregoing content, which will not be repeated here.

The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific composition of the time information of the user plane network element. For example, the time information of the user plane network element includes the third reference time of the gating period and the first gating list, where the time information of the gating period The third reference time is determined according to the first reference time of the gating period and the first transmission delay (the sum), or according to the second reference time of the gating period and the second transmission delay (the difference) of. For another example, the time information of the user plane network element may include part or all of the following information: the earliest time that a message in the data flow reaches the user plane network element, and the latest that a message in the data flow reaches the user plane network element time.

The method executed by the user plane network element after receiving the time information of the user plane network element is similar to the method executed by the user plane network element after receiving the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream. For details, please refer to the foregoing content and will not be repeated here. .

Based on the network architecture shown in Figures 4a to 4b, the application function network element is the AF network element, the session management network element is the SMF network element, the policy control function network element is the PCF network element, and the centralized network configuration network element is the CNC network element. As an example, the communication method shown in Figure 6 will be further introduced in conjunction with Figure 7:

Step 701: The CNC network element configures a first strategy, and the first strategy indicates that the first gating list in the time information of different data flows into the port is different.

It should be noted that each gate control list corresponds to a gate ID, and the first strategy indicates that the first gate control list in the ingress port time information of different data streams is different, which can be understood as the ingress ports of different data streams. The gate ID in the time information is different.

The embodiment of the present application does not limit the manner in which the CNC network element configures the first strategy. The first strategy may be set by default; it may also be configured by the CNC network element under the instructions of other network elements.

Exemplarily, the AF network element in the 5G system may send a first indication to the CNC network element, where the first indication indicates that the ingress port of the data stream does not reuse the same gate ID. The embodiment of this application does not limit the first indication method. For example, it can indicate that the data stream does not reuse the same gate ID through pre-appointed characters; it can also indicate the number of time information supported by the port of the virtual switching node and the data stream supported. The number of is the same, which indirectly indicates that the data stream does not reuse the same gate ID.

In addition, it should be noted that the embodiment of the application does not limit the way the AF network element obtains the first indication. The first indication may be generated by the AF, or sent by the UPF network element or the UE network element to the PCF through the SMF network element. For the network element, it can also be generated by the SMF network element and sent to the PCF network element, and then sent by the PCF network element to the AF network element. It can also be directly generated by the PCF network element and sent to the AF directly or through the NEF network element. Network element.

Step 702: After receiving the flow creation request, the CNC network element determines the transmission path of the data flow, the data terminal and the forwarding rules on each switching node (such as the flow characteristics of the data flow, the ingress port identification of the data flow, and the data flow). The identification of the outgoing port of the flow), the flow identification (identity document, ID) of the data flow, and the time information of the ingress port of the data flow on each switching node. The time information of the ingress port of the data stream on any switching node is used to indicate the ingress port processing of the data stream (the processing of the ingress port can be understood as receiving or buffering the packets in the data stream. ) The time window of the message in the data stream.

If the transmission path of the data stream includes a virtual switching node, the CNC network element can send to the AF network element the forwarding rule of the data stream on the virtual switching node, the correspondence between the stream identifier of the data stream and the stream characteristics of the data stream, and also The time information of the ingress port of the data flow on the virtual switching node (hereinafter referred to as the time information of the ingress port of the data stream) can be sent to the AF network element.

The data stream may be an upstream stream. Correspondingly, the time information of the ingress port of the data stream is the time information of the UE-side port of the data stream.

The data stream may be a downstream stream. Correspondingly, the time information of the ingress port of the data stream is the time information of the UPF side port of the data stream.

In the embodiment of this application, the AF network element obtains the time information of the ingress port of the data stream from the CNC network element as an example for description. In fact, the AF network element can also obtain the data stream’s ingress port information in other ways. The time information, for example, the time information of the ingress port of the data stream is pre-configured in the AF network element or calculated and generated by the AF network element.

It should be noted that the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 is applied to a network architecture that uses a 5G system as a virtual switching node in the TSN (the architecture shown in FIG. 4a or 4b). The embodiment shown in FIG. 6 can also be applied to other network architectures. The embodiment of this application is not limited. When applied to other network architectures, the time information acquired by the AF network element in step 702 may not be the time information of the ingress port. , It can be time information for PDU session or UE.

Step 703: The AF network element determines the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow according to the time information of the ingress port of the data flow and the internal transmission delay, and the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow is used to indicate the outgoing port of the data flow The time window for processing the packets in the data stream (the processing of the packets in the data stream by the egress port can be understood as sending or buffering the packets in the data stream).

The internal transmission delay is the transmission delay of the 5G system during data transmission. It is the transmission delay when data is transmitted between the UE (or UP2) and the UPF network element (or UP1 side), and is reported to the CNC network element from the 5G system. The internal transmission delay is the same.

The embodiment of the present application does not limit the indication mode of the time information of the ingress port of the data flow, and several of them are listed below:

The first type: the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow includes part or all of the following information: the earliest time for the packets in the data flow to reach the outgoing port, and the latest time for the packets in the data flow to reach the outgoing port.

The AF network element can determine the earliest time for the packet in the data flow to reach the outgoing port according to the sum of the earliest time for the packet in the data flow to reach the ingress port and the internal transmission delay. In this embodiment of the application, the data The earliest time for a packet in a stream to arrive at the outgoing port may also be referred to as the earliest time for the outgoing port of the data stream to process the packets in the data stream or the earliest time for the packets in the data stream to be sent from the outgoing port.

The AF network element can determine the latest time that the packets in the data flow arrive at the outgoing port according to the sum of the latest time that the packets in the data flow arrive at the ingress port and the internal transmission delay. In this embodiment of the application, The latest time for the packets in the data flow to reach the outgoing port can also be called the latest time for the outgoing port of the data flow to process the packets in the data flow or the latest time for the packets in the data flow to be sent from the outgoing port. time.

The time information of the outgoing port of the data flow can include the latest time and the latest time for the packets in the data flow to reach the outgoing port at the same time, that is, the latest time and the latest time for the packets in the data flow to reach the outgoing port. It can be used as the time window for the outgoing port of the data stream to send the packets in the data stream, and the outgoing port of the data stream can process the packets in the data stream within the time window.

The second type: the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream includes the second reference time of the ingress port gating period and the first gating list of the ingress port of the data stream. Wherein, the second reference time of the ingress port gating period is determined according to the first reference time of the ingress port gating period and the internal transmission delay. The first reference time of the ingress port gating period is the pre-defined start time of the ingress port gating period.

The third type: the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream includes the first reference time of the ingress port gating period and the second gating list. Wherein, the second gate control list is determined according to the first gate control list and the internal transmission delay. The first reference time of the ingress port gating period is the pre-defined start time of the ingress port gating period.

The fourth type: the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream includes the time information of the incoming port of the data stream and the internal transmission delay.

The AF network element can directly use the time information of the ingress port of the data stream and the internal transmission delay as the time information of the egress port of the data stream without processing.

Step 704: The AF network element triggers the PCF network element to initiate the PCC rule creation/modification process of the PDU session carrying the data flow, and sends the information required to create/modify the PCC rule of the PDU session to the PCF network element, and transfer the data flow The time information of the outgoing port is sent to the PCF network element.

The information required to configure the PCC rules of the PDU session includes but is not limited to: the flow characteristics of the data flow, the delay information of the session, the identifier of the session, and so on.

Optionally, when the AF network element sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow to the PCF network element, it can also send the identification of the outgoing port (indicating that the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow is for the outgoing port) or the The flow characteristics of the data flow (the time information indicating the outgoing port of the data flow is for the data flow).

It should be noted that, when the CNC network element sends the time information of the ingress port of the data stream to the AF network element, it can send the ID of the data stream at the same time, and the AF network element can send the data stream according to the pre-received data stream. The correspondence between the characteristics, the ingress port identifier, the egress port identifier, and the ID of the data flow determines the egress port identifier and the flow characteristic of the data flow.

As a possible implementation manner, in the fourth way of indicating the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream, the AF network element may adopt the following two information sending methods:

Method 1: The time information of the ingress port of the data stream and the internal transmission delay are sent to the PCF network element through the port management container of the egress port.

At present, there are port management containers defined between AF network elements and PCF network elements, PCF network elements and SMF network elements, SMF network elements and UPF network elements, SMF network elements and UE, respectively, which have port management containers for ingress ports and egress ports. The port management container. The above two network elements can send the time information of the ingress port defined by 802.1Qci through the port management container of the ingress port, and the time information of the outgoing port defined by 802.1Qbv can be sent between the two network elements through the port management container of the egress port. Time information.

In the embodiment of the present application, the AF network element may send the time information of the ingress port of the data stream and the internal transmission delay through the port management container of the egress port.

It should be noted that if the PCF network element stores the internal transmission delay or the information required for calculating the internal transmission delay, the AF network element can only send the time information of the ingress port of the data stream through the port management container of the egress port. Among them, the information required to calculate the internal transmission delay includes, but is not limited to, the residence delay of the terminal device (the residence delay of the terminal device is the transmission delay of the message forwarded between the terminal device and its corresponding UP2) and the terminal Packet delay budget (PDB) from the device to the UPF network element.

Method 2: The time information of the ingress port of the data stream and the internal transmission delay are sent to the PCF network element through the port management container of the ingress port. This method is similar to the first method. For details, please refer to the foregoing content, which will not be repeated here.

Step 705: The PCF network element sends a forwarding rule creation request to the SMF network element, instructing to create a forwarding rule for the PDU session carrying the data flow. The forwarding rule creation request includes the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow and the creation of a forwarding rule to carry the data Information required by the forwarding rules of the PDU session of the flow (such as information such as the 5QI of the PDU session QoS flow).

Optionally, when the PCF network element sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow to the SMF network element, it can also send the identification of the outgoing port (indicating that the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow is for the outgoing port) or the The flow characteristics of the data flow (the time information indicating the outgoing port of the data flow is for the data flow).

Similarly, as a possible implementation, in the fourth way of indicating the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream, the PCF network element can use the following two information sending methods:

Method 1: The time information of the ingress port of the data stream and the internal transmission delay are sent to the SMF network element through the port management container of the egress port. This method is similar to the first method adopted by the PCF network element. For details, please refer to the foregoing content, which will not be repeated here.

It should be noted that if the SMF network element stores internal transmission delay or information required for calculating the internal transmission delay, the PCF network element can only send the time information of the ingress port of the data stream through the port management container of the egress port.

Method 2: The time information of the ingress port of the data stream and the internal transmission delay are sent to the PCF network element through the port management container of the ingress port. This method is similar to the second method adopted by the PCF network element. For details, please refer to the foregoing content, which will not be repeated here.

Step 706: After receiving the forwarding rule creation request, the SMF network element sends the network element corresponding to the port according to the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream.

Before the SMF network element sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the corresponding network element, it also needs to determine the outgoing port of the data stream, and then determine the network element corresponding to the outgoing port. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the manner in which the SMF network element determines the outgoing port of the data flow. For example, when the SMF network element receives the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream, it receives the identifier of the outgoing port. The SMF network element can determine the network corresponding to the outgoing port according to the correspondence between the port identifier stored locally and the PDU session. The element is a UE or a UPF network element. When the egress port identifier does not correspond to a PDU session, the network element corresponding to the egress port is a UPF network element; if it corresponds to a PDU session, the network element corresponding to the egress port is a UE.

1) The SMF network element sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the UPF network element.

After receiving the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream, the UPF network element may send the packet in the data stream according to the time window indicated by the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream. The manner in which the UPF network element determines the time window according to the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream can be referred to the foregoing content, and will not be repeated here.

After receiving the message in the data stream, the UPF network element may first buffer the received message in the data stream, and when the time window is buffered, send the buffered message in the data stream.

When the UPF network element sends the buffered packets in the data flow, it can first send the buffered packets in the data flow to the sending queue of the outgoing port. The sending queue of the outgoing port is based on the flow of the outgoing port. Sort information for scheduling.

In this manner, in the flow classification information of the egress port, the time window indicated by the flow classification whose gate control status is open can be later than the time window indicated by the time information of the egress port. For example, the time window indicated by the time information of the outgoing port is 6-7 ms, and the time window indicated by the flow classification is 8-10 ms. The UPF network element can buffer the buffered packets in the data flow for 6-7ms, and then send the buffered packets in the data flow to the sending queue of the outgoing port, and send the packets in the time window indicated by the flow classification. Packets in the data stream.

When the UPF network element sends the buffered packets in the data stream, it can also directly send the packets in the data stream through the outgoing port. In this manner, in the flow classification information of the egress port, the time window indicated by the flow classification whose gate control state is open includes the time window indicated by the time information of the egress port. For example, the time window indicated by the time information of the outgoing port is 6-7 ms, and the time window indicated by the flow classification is 5-10 ms. The UPF network element may directly send the buffered packets in the data stream in the time window indicated by the time information of the outgoing port.

2) The SMF network element sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the UE.

After receiving the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream, the UE network element may send the packet in the data stream according to the time window indicated by the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream. The UE sends the packets in the data stream according to the time window indicated by the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream and the manner in which the UPF network element sends the packets in the data stream according to the time window indicated by the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream is similar For details, please refer to the foregoing content, which will not be repeated here.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the AF network element determines the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow as an example. As a possible implementation manner, other network elements may also determine the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow. . Explained separately as follows:

As shown in FIG. 8, a communication method provided by an embodiment of this application, in which the PCF network element generates time information of the outgoing port of the data stream, the method includes:

Step 801: Same as step 701, please refer to the related description of step 701, which will not be repeated here.

Step 802: the same as step 702, please refer to the related description of step 702, which will not be repeated here.

Step 803: The AF network element triggers the PCF network element to initiate the PCC rule creation/modification process, creates/modifies the PCC rule of the PDU session carrying the data flow, and uses the port management container of the ingress port to manage the time information of the data flow’s ingress port Sent to the PCF network element.

Step 804: The PCF network element determines the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow according to the time information of the ingress port of the data flow with internal transmission delay. The manner in which the PCF network element determines the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream can refer to the related description of step 603, which is different from the execution subject of step 603 as the AF network element, and the execution subject of step 803 is the PCF network element.

Step 805: same as step 705, please refer to the related description of step 705, which will not be repeated here.

Step 806: same as step 706, please refer to the related description of step 706, which will not be repeated here.

As shown in FIG. 9, a communication method provided by an embodiment of this application, in which the SMF network element generates time information of the outgoing port of the data stream, the method includes:

Step 901: same as step 701, please refer to the related description of step 701, which will not be repeated here.

Step 902: Same as step 702, please refer to the related description of step 702, which will not be repeated here.

Step 903: the same as step 803, please refer to the related description of step 803, which will not be repeated here.

Step 904: The PCF network element sends a forwarding rule creation request to the SMF, and sends the time information of the ingress port of the data flow to the SMF network element through the port management container of the ingress port.

Step 905: The SMF network element determines the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow according to the time information of the incoming port of the data flow and the internal transmission delay stored locally.

In the step, the SMF network element also needs to determine the outgoing port of the data stream. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the manner in which the SMF network element determines the outgoing port of the data flow. For example, the information sent by the PCF network element to the SMF network element carries the identification of the outgoing port. For another example, the SMF network element locally stores the correspondence between data flow information (such as flow characteristics) and the outgoing port, and the SMF network element may Based on the correspondence between the data stream and the outgoing port, the outgoing port of the data stream is determined according to the information of the data stream carried in the PCC rule creation/modification request.

Step 906: the same as step 706, please refer to the related description of step 706, which will not be repeated here.

In the embodiments shown in Figures 6-9, the data flow is a data flow between the UE and the UPF network element, that is, the data flow is an upstream flow or a downstream flow, and the method provided in the embodiments of this application is also applicable to The data flow is the case of the data flow between UEs, that is, it can be applied to the network architecture as shown in FIG. 4b.

The following describes another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application with reference to FIG. 10. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, the data stream is the data stream from UE1 to UE2, and the data stream includes UE1 to UPF network elements. The upstream flow from the UPF network element to the UE2 and the downstream flow from the UPF network element to UE2 are described as examples. The internal transmission delay of the data flow includes the first transmission delay and the second transmission delay, and the first transmission delay is from UE1 to UPF. The transmission delay of the network element, and the second transmission delay is the transmission delay from UE2 to the UPF network element.

Step 1001: Same as step 901, please refer to the related description of step 901, which will not be repeated here.

Step 1002: Same as step 902, please refer to the related description of step 902, which will not be repeated here.

Step 1003: Same as step 903, please refer to the related description of step 903, which will not be repeated here.

Step 1004: the same as step 904, please refer to the related description of step 904, which will not be repeated here.

Step 1005: The SMF network element generates the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream according to the time information of the ingress port of the data stream and the internal transmission delay. If the data stream is a data stream between UEs, the data stream The time information of the egress port is the time information of the UE2 side port, and the time information of the UE2 side port indicates the time window for the UE to send the packet in the data stream.

When performing this step, the SMF network element needs to determine the outgoing port of the data stream. The method for determining the outgoing port of the data stream by the SMF network element can refer to the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 for the method for determining the outgoing port of the SMF network element. Please refer to the foregoing content, which will not be repeated here. In addition, the SMF network element also needs to obtain the internal transmission delay. The internal transmission delay may be recorded by the SMF network element, obtained from the AF network element through the PCF network element, or obtained from the PCF network element.

The SMF network element may directly obtain the internal transmission delay, or may obtain the first transmission delay and the second transmission delay. If the SMF network element records the first transmission delay locally, the SMF network element can only have the second transmission delay. Similarly, if the SMF network element records the second transmission delay locally, the SMF network element can only have the second transmission delay. 1. Transmission delay.

Step 1006: The SMF network element determines the time information of the UPF network element according to the time information of the ingress port of the data stream or the time information of the egress port of the data stream. The time information of the UPF network element is the same as the information indicated by the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow when the data flow is an upstream flow in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6.

If the SMF network element obtains the time information of the ingress port of the data flow, the SMF network element may determine the time information of the UPF network element according to the time information of the ingress port of the data flow and the first transmission delay. If the SMF network element obtains the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream, the SMF network element may determine the time information of the UPF network element according to the time information of the ingress port of the data stream and the second transmission delay. For the SMF network element to determine the time information of the UPF network element, refer to the manner in which the AF network element determines the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, which will not be repeated here.

It should be noted that the UPF network element and the UE may be in different clock domains, and the time information of the UPF network element side port generated by the SMF network element needs to be the time information of the port under the clock domain where the UPF network element is located.

Specifically, taking the SMF network element to determine the time information of the UPF network element side port according to the time information of the ingress port of the data stream and the first transmission delay as an example, the SMF network element may first determine the time information of the ingress port of the data stream and The first transmission delay is converted into the time information of the ingress port of the data stream under the clock domain where the UPF network element is located and the first transmission delay, and then according to the time information of the ingress port of the data stream under the clock domain where the UPF network element is located and The first transmission delay determines the time information of the UPF network element. The SMF network element can determine the time information of the UPF network element of the UE in the clock domain according to the time information of the ingress port of the data stream and the first transmission delay, and then, according to the clock between the clock domain where the UE is located and the clock domain where the UPF is located The offset (and frequency offset) converts the time information of the UPF network element of the UE in the clock domain into the time information of the UPF network element side port in the clock domain where the UPF network element is located. Among them, the frequency offset indicates the difference of the clock frequency in the two clock domains. The clock offset and the frequency offset may be obtained by the SMF network element from the PCF network element.

For example, the time information of the ingress port of the data stream indicates that the start time of the gating period is 1, the length of the gating period is 10 milliseconds (ms), and the offset of 2ms-3ms within the gating period is the open state of the gating state . If the clock domain where the UPF network element is located and the clock domain of the UE have a clock offset of 5ms based on 1 point, the frequency offset is 2 (indicating that the clock of the clock domain where the UPF network element is located is faster than the clock of the clock domain where the UE is located 1 times), the first transmission clock domain is recorded under the UE clock domain, and the size is 5ms.

The size of the first transmission delay in the UPF clock domain needs to be doubled, and the size is 10ms. The start time of the gating period in the clock domain where the UPF is located is 1:00 15ms (the gating under the clock domain where the UE is located) The start time 1 point plus the clock offset and the first transmission delay of the clock domain where the UPF network element is located), the length of the gating period is doubled to 20ms, and the gating state with an offset of 4-6ms within the gating period is turn on.

Step 1007: The SMF network element sends a first session creation/modification request to the UPF network element, where the first session creation/modification request includes the time information of the UPF network element. The first session creation/modification request may instruct to configure the forwarding rule of the session that sends the data stream or instruct to configure the forwarding rule of the session that receives the data stream.

It should be noted that, in step 1005, the SMF network element sends the time information of the UPF network element to the UPF network element through the first session creation/modification request as an example. The embodiment of this application does not limit the SMF network element to the UPF network element. The time information of the element is carried in other information and sent to the UPF network element.

After the UPF network element receives the time information of the UPF network element, it can buffer the packets in the data stream to the time interval indicated by the time information of the UPF network element and forward the packets in the data stream, that is, within the time interval Send the buffered packets in the data stream to UE2.

Step 1008: The SMF network element sends a second session creation/modification request to UE2, and the second session creation/modification request includes time information of the outgoing port of the data stream. The second session creation/modification request may indicate to configure the forwarding rule of the session that sends the data stream.

After UE2 receives the second session creation/modification request, it can buffer the packets in the data stream to the time window indicated by the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream and forward the packets in the data stream, that is, at this time The buffered packets in the data stream are sent out in the window.

Based on the same inventive concept as the method embodiment, the embodiment of the application also provides a communication device for executing the control plane network element (such as AF network element, PCF network element) in the method embodiment shown in FIGS. 6-9. , SMF network element). Related features can be found in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be repeated here. As shown in FIG. 11, the device includes a receiving unit 1101, a processing unit 1102, and a sending unit 1103.

The receiving unit 1101 is configured to obtain the time information of the ingress port of the data stream, and the time information of the ingress port of the data stream indicates the time window for the ingress port to process the packets in the data stream.

The processing unit 1102 is used for the control plane network element to determine the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream according to the time information of the ingress port of the data stream and the internal transmission delay. The time information of the outgoing port of the data stream indicates that the out port processes the data in the data stream. The time window of the message, the internal transmission delay is the transmission delay between the ingress port and the egress port.

The sending unit 1103 is configured to send time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the outgoing port.

In a possible implementation manner, the control plane network element is an application function network element. When the sending unit 1103 sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the outgoing port of the data stream, it can send to the policy control function network. The element sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream, and the policy control function network element sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the session management network element. Then, the session management network element may send the time information of the egress port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the egress port of the data stream.

In a possible implementation manner, the control plane network element is a policy control function network element. When the sending unit 1103 sends the time information of the data stream's egress port to the network element corresponding to the data stream's egress port, it sends to the session management network element Send the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream; then, the session management network element sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the outgoing port of the data stream.

In a possible implementation manner, there are many ways for the sending unit 1103 to send the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the session management network element, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. As an example, the sending unit 1103 may send the session information to the session management network element. The management network element forwarding rule creation request, the forwarding rule creation request is used to request the creation of a forwarding rule of the session carrying the data stream, and the forwarding rule creation request includes the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream.

In a possible implementation manner, the control plane network element is a session management network element, and the processing unit 1102 determines the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream according to the time information of the ingress port of the data stream and the internal transmission delay; after that, the sending unit 1103 sends the time information of the egress port of the data flow to the network element corresponding to the egress port. Among them, after the receiving unit 1101 receives the time information of the ingress port of the data stream, the processing unit 1102 may perform the corresponding relationship between the stream characteristics, the egress port identifier, and the ingress port identifier of the data stream stored in advance (the corresponding relationship may be from the application The functional network element determines the outgoing port of the data stream, and then determines the network element corresponding to the outgoing port of the data stream, and the sending unit 1103 sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the port.

In a possible implementation manner, when sending the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the ingress port, the sending unit 1103 may send identification information at the same time to identify that the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream is for Of the data stream or of the outgoing port. Exemplarily, the identification information may be the flow feature of the data flow or the identification of the outgoing port.

If the control plane network element is an application function network element, the sending unit 1103 sends the time information and identification information of the outgoing port of the data flow to the policy control function network element, and then the policy control function network element sends the data flow to the session management network element The time information and identification information of the outgoing port; the session management network element then sends the time information and identification information of the outgoing port of the data flow to the network element corresponding to the ingress port.

If the control plane network element is a policy control function network element, the sending unit 1103 sends the time information and identification information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the session management network element; the session management network element then sends the data stream to the network element corresponding to the ingress port The time information and identification information of the outgoing port.

If the control plane network element is a session management network element, the sending unit 1103 sends the time information and identification information of the outgoing port of the data flow to the network element corresponding to the ingress port.

In a possible implementation manner, the time information of the ingress port of the data stream indicates that there are many ways for the ingress port to process the time window of the packet in the data stream. Two of them are listed below:

In a possible implementation manner, the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream indicates that there are many ways for the port to process the time window of the packet in the data stream, three of which are listed below:

In a possible implementation manner, when the data stream is a data stream from the first terminal device to the second terminal device, the processing unit 1102 may determine the user according to the time information of the ingress port of the data stream and the first transmission delay. The time information of the plane network element. The first transmission delay is used to indicate the transmission delay between the first terminal device and the user plane network element. The time information of the user plane network element indicates how the user plane network element processes packets in the data stream. Time window; after that, the sending unit 1103 sends the time information of the user plane network element to the user plane network element.

In a possible implementation manner, when the data stream is a data stream from the first terminal device to the second terminal device, the processing unit 1102 may also determine according to the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream and the second transmission delay. The time information of the user plane network element, the second transmission delay is used to indicate the transmission delay between the second terminal device and the user plane network element, and the time information of the user plane network element side port indicates the data flow in the user plane network element processing The time window of the message; after that, the sending unit 1103 sends the time information of the user plane network element to the user plane network element.

In a possible implementation manner, when the data flow is a data flow from the first terminal device to the user plane network element, the network element corresponding to the outgoing port is the user plane network element, and the sending unit 1103 may send the data to the user plane network element. Time information of the outgoing port that sends the data stream.

In a possible implementation manner, when the data flow is a data flow from a user plane network element to the second terminal device or a data flow from the first terminal device to the second terminal device, the network element corresponding to the outgoing port is For the second terminal device, the sending unit 1103 may send the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the second terminal device.

Based on the same inventive concept as the method embodiment, an embodiment of the application also provides a communication device for executing the method executed by the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIGS. 6-9. For related features, see the above The method embodiments will not be repeated here. As shown in FIG. 12, the device includes a receiving unit 1201, a processing unit 1202, and a sending unit 1203.

The receiving unit 1201 is configured to receive time information of the outgoing port of the data stream, and the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream indicates the time window for the outgoing port of the data stream to process packets in the data stream;

The processing unit 1202 is configured to buffer the packets in the data stream until the time window is reached.

The sending unit 1203 processes the packets in the data stream within the time window.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit 1202 buffers the packets in the data stream, and after the time window is reached, the sending unit 1203 can directly send the packets in the data stream within the time window of the data stream, and the sending unit 1203 can also send the message to the egress queue within the time window, and send the message based on the scheduling rule of the egress queue.

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving unit 1201 may also receive identification information when receiving the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream. Exemplarily, the identification information may be the flow characteristic of the data stream or the identification of the outgoing port.

After the receiving unit 1201 receives the identification information, the processing unit 1202 can determine the output port according to the identification information; wherein, when the identification information is the stream characteristic of the data stream, the processing unit 1202 can determine the output port according to the stream characteristic and the output port identifier of the data stream. The corresponding relationship determines the port.

Based on the same inventive concept as the method embodiment, an embodiment of the application also provides a communication device for executing the method executed by the UPF network element described in the method embodiment shown in FIGS. 6-9. For related features, see The foregoing method embodiments will not be repeated here. As shown in FIG. 13, the device includes a receiving unit 1301, a processing unit 1302, and a sending unit 1303.

The receiving unit 1301 is configured to receive time information of the outgoing port of the data stream, and the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream indicates a time window for the outgoing port of the data stream to send packets in the data stream.

The processing unit 1302 is configured to buffer the packets in the data stream until the time window is reached.

The sending unit 1303 is configured to process packets in the data stream in a time window.

In a possible implementation manner, the sending unit 1303 processes the packets in the data stream in the time window, and can directly send the packets in the data stream within the time window of the data stream, or can transfer the packets in the buffered data stream. The message is sent to the egress queue of the egress port, and the message is sent based on the scheduling rule of the egress queue.

In a possible implementation, the receiving unit 1301 may also receive identification information when receiving the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream. Exemplarily, the identification information may be the flow feature of the data stream or the identification of the outgoing port.

After receiving the identification information, the receiving unit 1301 may determine the output port according to the identification information; wherein, when the identification information is the flow characteristic of the data flow, the processing unit 1302 may determine the corresponding relationship between the flow characteristics of the data flow and the identification of the outgoing port. Determine the out port.

The division of units in the embodiments of this application is illustrative, and is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit. In the device, it can also exist alone physically, or two or more units can be integrated into one module. The above-mentioned integrated unit can be realized in the form of hardware or software function module.

If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application essentially or the part that contributes to the existing technology or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium , Including several instructions to make a terminal device (which may be a personal computer, a mobile phone, or a network device, etc.) or a processor (processor) execute all or part of the steps of the method in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage media include: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (read-only memory, ROM), random access memory (random access memory, RAM), magnetic disk or optical disk and other media that can store program code .

In the embodiment of the present application, both the base station and the terminal device may be presented in the form of dividing various functional modules in an integrated manner. The "module" here may refer to a specific ASIC, a circuit, a processor and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and/or other devices that can provide the above-mentioned functions.

In a simple embodiment, those skilled in the art can imagine that the control plane network element may adopt the form shown in FIG. 14.

The communication device 1400 shown in FIG. 14 includes at least one processor 1401, a memory 1402, and optionally, a communication interface 1403.

The memory 1402 may be a volatile memory, such as a random access memory; the memory may also be a non-volatile memory, such as read-only memory, flash memory, hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (solid-state drive, SSD) or memory 1402 is any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program codes in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory 1402 may be a combination of the above-mentioned memories.

The specific connection medium between the foregoing processor 1401 and the memory 1402 is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. In the embodiment of the present application, the memory 1402 and the processor 1401 are connected through a bus 1404 in the figure, and the bus 1404 is represented by a thick line in the figure. Is limited. The bus 1404 can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and so on. For ease of representation, only one thick line is used in FIG. 14, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

The processor 1401 may have data transceiving functions and be able to communicate with other devices. In the device shown in Figure 14, an independent data transceiving module, such as a communication interface 1403, can also be set to send and receive data; the processor 1401 is communicating with other devices. During communication, data transmission can be performed through the communication interface 1403.

When the control plane network element adopts the form shown in FIG. 14, the processor 1401 in FIG. 14 can call the computer execution instructions stored in the memory 1402, so that the base station can execute all of the above-mentioned method embodiments. Describes the execution method of the control plane network element.

Specifically, the functions/implementation processes of the sending unit, the receiving unit, and the processing unit in FIG. 11 may all be implemented by the processor 1401 in FIG. 14 calling a computer execution instruction stored in the memory 1402. Alternatively, the function/implementation process of the processing unit in FIG. 11 may be implemented by the processor 1401 in FIG. 14 calling computer execution instructions stored in the memory 1402, and the function/implementation process of the sending unit and the receiving unit in FIG. 11 may be implemented by referring to FIG. 14. In the communication interface 1403 to achieve.

In a simple embodiment, those skilled in the art can imagine that the terminal device may adopt the form shown in FIG. 15.

The communication device 1500 shown in FIG. 15 includes at least one processor 1501, a memory 1502, and optionally, a transceiver 1503.

The memory 1502 may be a volatile memory, such as a random access memory; the memory may also be a non-volatile memory, such as a read-only memory, flash memory, hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (solid-state drive, SSD) or memory 1502 is any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program codes in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory 1502 may be a combination of the above-mentioned memories.

The specific connection medium between the foregoing processor 1501 and the memory 1502 is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. In the embodiment of the present application, the memory 1502 and the processor 1501 are connected by a bus 1504 in the figure, and the bus 1504 is represented by a thick line in the figure. The connection mode between other components is only for schematic illustration and is not quoted. Is limited. The bus 1504 can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and so on. For ease of presentation, only one thick line is used in FIG. 15 to represent it, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

The processor 1501 may have a function of data transceiving and can communicate with other devices. In the device shown in Figure 15, an independent data transceiving module, such as a transceiver 1503, can be set to send and receive data; the processor 1501 is communicating with other devices. During communication, the transceiver 1503 can be used for data transmission.

When the terminal device adopts the form shown in FIG. 15, the processor 1501 in FIG. 15 can call the computer execution instructions stored in the memory 1502, so that the terminal device can execute the terminal device in any of the foregoing method embodiments. method.

Specifically, the functions/implementation processes of the sending unit, the receiving unit, and the processing unit in FIG. 13 may all be implemented by the processor 1501 in FIG. 15 calling a computer execution instruction stored in the memory 1502. Alternatively, the function/implementation process of the processing unit in FIG. 13 may be implemented by the processor 1501 in FIG. 15 calling a computer execution instruction stored in the memory 1502, and the function/implementation process of the sending unit and the receiving unit in FIG. 13 may be implemented by The transceiver 1503 in FIG. 15 is implemented.

Those skilled in the art should understand that the embodiments of the present application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this application may adopt the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware. Moreover, this application may adopt the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program codes.

This application is described with reference to the flowcharts and/or block diagrams of the methods, equipment (systems), and computer program products according to the application. It should be understood that each process and/or block in the flowchart and/or block diagram, and the combination of processes and/or blocks in the flowchart and/or block diagram can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to the processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing equipment to generate a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing equipment are generated It is a device that realizes the functions specified in one process or multiple processes in the flowchart and/or one block or multiple blocks in the block diagram.

These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can guide a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to work in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including the instruction device. The device implements the functions specified in one process or multiple processes in the flowchart and/or one block or multiple blocks in the block diagram.

These computer program instructions can also be loaded on a computer or other programmable data processing equipment, so that a series of operation steps are executed on the computer or other programmable equipment to produce computer-implemented processing, so as to execute on the computer or other programmable equipment. The instructions provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one process or multiple processes in the flowchart and/or one block or multiple blocks in the block diagram.

Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the application without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. In this way, if these modifications and variations of this application fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalent technologies, this application is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

A communication method, characterized in that the method includes:

The control plane network element obtains the time information of the ingress port of the data stream, and the time information of the ingress port of the data stream indicates the time window for the network element corresponding to the ingress port to process the packet in the data stream;

The control plane network element determines the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow according to the time information of the incoming port of the data flow and the internal transmission delay, and the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow indicates the network corresponding to the outgoing port. Meta processing time window of the message in the data stream, the internal transmission delay is used to indicate the transmission delay between the ingress port and the egress port;

The control plane network element sends the time information of the egress port of the data flow to the network element corresponding to the egress port.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the control plane network element is an application function network element, and the control plane network element sends the output of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the output port of the data stream. Time information of the port, including:

The application function network element sends the time information of the egress port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the egress port of the data stream through the policy control function network element and the session management network element.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the control plane network element is a policy control function network element, and the control plane network element sends the data flow to the network element corresponding to the outgoing port of the data flow. Time information of the outgoing port, including:

The policy control function network element sends the time information of the egress port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the egress port of the data stream through the session management network element.
The method according to claim 3, wherein the policy control function network element sending time information of the egress port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the data egress port through the session management network element comprises:

The policy control function network element forwards a rule creation request to the session management network element, the forwarding rule creation request is used to request the creation of a forwarding rule for the session carrying the data stream, and the forwarding rule creation request includes the data Time information of the outgoing port of the flow.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the control plane network element is the session management network element.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the time information of the ingress port of the data stream includes any one of the following two types of information:

The first type is the first reference time of the gating period and the first gating list, where the first gating list is used to indicate the gating state of the time window included in the gating period;

The second type, the earliest time and the latest time that the data stream arrives at the ingress port;

The time information of the outgoing port of the data stream includes any one of the following four types of information:

The first type is the second reference time of the gating period and the first gating list, where the second reference time is determined according to the first reference time and the internal transmission delay;

The second type is the time information and internal transmission delay of the ingress port of the data stream;

The third type, the first reference time of the gating period and the second gating list, the second gating list is determined according to the first gating list and the internal transmission delay;

Fourth, part or all of the earliest time when the data flow reaches the outgoing port and the latest time when the data flow reaches the outgoing port.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the control plane network element sending the time information of the egress port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the egress port comprises:

The control plane network element sends the time information and identification information of the outgoing port of the data flow to the network element corresponding to the outgoing port, and the identification information includes some or all of the following: flow characteristics of the data flow, all State the identification of the port.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein, when the data stream is a data stream from a first terminal device to a second terminal device, the method further comprises:

The control plane network element determines the time information of the user plane network element according to the time information of the ingress port of the data stream and the first transmission delay, and the first transmission delay is used to indicate the first terminal device and the user Transmission delay between network elements on the plane, and the time information of the user plane network element indicates a time window for the user plane network element to process the packets in the data stream;

The control plane network element sends the time information of the user plane network element to the user plane network element.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein, when the data stream is a data stream from a first terminal device to a second terminal device, the method further comprises:

The control plane network element determines the time information of the user plane network element according to the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream and the second transmission delay, and the second transmission delay is used to indicate the second terminal device and the user The transmission delay between the plane network elements, and the time information of the user plane network element side port indicates the time window for the user plane network element to process the packets in the data stream;

The control plane network element sends the time information of the user plane network element to the user plane network element.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein when the data flow is a data flow from a first terminal device to a user plane network element, the control plane network element sends data to the data flow The time information of the outgoing port of the data stream sent by the network element corresponding to the outgoing port includes:

The control plane network element sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the user plane network element.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the data flow is a data flow from a user plane network element to a second terminal device or a data flow from a first terminal device to the second terminal device In the case of a flow, the control plane network element sending time information of the outgoing port of the data flow to the network element corresponding to the outgoing port of the data flow includes:

The control plane network element sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the second terminal device.
A communication method, characterized in that the method includes:

Receiving time information of an egress port of a data stream, where the time information of the egress port of the data stream indicates a time window for the egress port of the data stream to process packets in the data stream;

Buffer the packets in the data stream until the time window is reached

Process the packets in the data stream in the time window.
The method of claim 12, wherein processing the packets in the data stream in the time window comprises:

The message is sent to the egress queue within the time window, and the message is sent based on the scheduling rule of the egress queue.
The method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the time information of the outgoing port that receives the data stream comprises:

Receiving time information of the outgoing port of the data stream and receiving identification information, where the identification information is used to indicate that the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream is for the data stream or the outgoing port of the data stream;

Determine the outgoing port of the data stream according to the identification information.
A communication method, characterized in that the method includes:

The user plane network element receives the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream, where the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream indicates the time window for the outgoing port of the data stream to send the packet in the data stream;

The user plane network element buffers the packets in the data stream until the time window is reached;

The user plane network element processes the packets in the data stream in the time window.
The method according to claim 15, wherein the processing of the packets in the data stream by the user plane network element in the time window comprises:

The user plane network element sends the buffered packets in the data stream to the egress queue of the egress port in the time window, and sends the packets based on the scheduling rule of the egress queue.
The method according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the user plane network element receives time information of the outgoing port of the data stream, comprising:

The user plane network element receives the time information and identification information of the outgoing port of the data flow, where the identification information is used to indicate that the time information of the outgoing port of the data flow is for the data flow or the data flow Of the outgoing port;

The user plane network element determines the outgoing port of the data flow according to the identification information.
A communication system for controlling data stream transmission, characterized in that the communication system includes a control plane network element and a network element corresponding to the outgoing port of the data stream:

The control plane network element is configured to obtain the time information of the ingress port of the data stream, and the time information of the ingress port of the data stream indicates the time window for the ingress port to process the packets in the data stream; The time information of the ingress port of the data stream and the internal transmission delay determine the time information of the egress port of the data stream, and the time information of the egress port of the data stream indicates the time window for the egress port to process the packets in the data stream The internal transmission delay is used to indicate the transmission delay between the ingress port and the egress port; sending the time information of the egress port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the egress port of the data stream;

The network element corresponding to the outgoing port of the data stream is used to receive the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream; buffer the packets in the data stream until the time window is reached; and at the outgoing port of the data stream The time window indicated by the time information of the port processes the packets in the data stream.
The communication system according to claim 18, wherein the network element corresponding to the outgoing port of the data stream is specifically used for:

Send the buffered messages in the data flow to the egress queue of the egress port in the time window indicated by the time information of the egress port of the data flow, and send the message based on the scheduling rule of the egress queue.
The communication system according to claim 18, wherein the control plane network element is an application function network element, and the control plane network element sends the data flow to the network element corresponding to the outgoing port of the data flow. When exporting the time information of the port, it is specifically used for:

The time information of the egress port of the data stream is sent to the network element corresponding to the egress port of the data stream through the policy control function network element and the session management network element.
The communication system according to claim 18, wherein the control plane network element is a policy control function network element, and the control plane network element sends the data stream to the network element corresponding to the outgoing port of the data stream The time information of the egress port of the data stream is specifically used to send the time information of the egress port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the egress port of the data stream through the session management network element.
The communication system according to claim 21, wherein when the policy control function network element sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the data outgoing port through the session management network element, the specific Used for:

A rule creation request is forwarded to the session management network element, the forwarding rule creation request is used to request the creation of a forwarding rule for the session carrying the data flow, and the forwarding rule creation request includes time information of the outgoing port of the data flow .
The communication system according to claim 18, wherein the control plane network element is the session management network element.
The communication system according to any one of claims 18 to 23, wherein the time information of the ingress port of the data stream includes the first reference time of the gating period and the first gating list, and the first gating The list is used to indicate the gating status of the time window included in the gating period, and the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream includes: the second reference time of the gating period and the first gating list, the The second reference time is determined according to the first reference time and the internal transmission delay.
The communication system according to any one of claims 18 to 23, wherein when the control plane network element sends the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream to the network element corresponding to the outgoing port, it is specifically used for:

The time information and identification information of the outgoing port of the data flow are sent to the network element corresponding to the outgoing port, where the identification information includes part or all of the following: the flow characteristics of the data flow and the identification of the outgoing port.
The communication system according to any one of claims 18 to 24, wherein the data flow is a data flow between terminal devices, or the data flow is a data flow from a user plane network element to a terminal device , The network element corresponding to the outgoing port of the data stream is the terminal device, and in the case that the data stream is a data stream from the terminal device to the user plane network element, the network element corresponding to the outgoing port of the data stream It is a user plane network element.
The communication system according to any one of claims 18 to 26, wherein when the data stream is a data stream from a first terminal device to a second terminal device, the communication system further includes a user plane network element ；

The control plane network element is further configured to determine the time information of the user plane network element according to the time information of the ingress port of the data stream and the first transmission delay, and the first transmission delay is used to indicate the first transmission delay. The transmission delay between the terminal device and the user plane network element, where the time information of the user plane network element indicates the time window for the user plane network element to process the packet in the data stream; and send to the user plane network element The time information of the user plane network element;

The user plane network element is configured to receive time information of the user plane network element, and process the packets in the data stream in the time window indicated by the time information of the user plane network element.
The communication system according to any one of claims 18 to 26, wherein when the data stream is a data stream from a first terminal device to a second terminal device, the communication system further includes a user plane network element ；

The control plane network element is further configured to determine the time information of the user plane network element according to the time information of the outgoing port of the data stream and the second transmission delay, and the second transmission delay is used to indicate the second transmission delay. The transmission delay between the terminal device and the user plane network element, the time information of the user plane network element side port indicates the time window for the user plane network element to process the packets in the data stream; Sending the time information of the user plane network element;

The user plane network element is configured to receive time information of the user plane network element, and process the packets in the data stream in the time window indicated by the time information of the user plane network element.
A communication device, characterized by being used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.
A communication device, characterized in that it is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 12 to 14.
A communication device, characterized by being used to implement the method according to any one of claims 15 to 17.
A communication device, characterized by comprising a processor and a memory, the memory stores instructions, and when the processor executes the instructions, the device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11 .
A communication device, comprising a processor and a memory, the memory stores instructions, and when the processor executes the instructions, the device executes the method according to any one of claims 12 to 14 .
A communication device, comprising a processor and a memory, the memory stores instructions, and when the processor executes the instructions, the device executes the method according to any one of claims 15 to 17 .
A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that instructions are stored in the computer-readable storage medium, which when run on a computer, cause the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.
A computer program product containing instructions, which is characterized in that when it runs on a computer, it causes the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.
A computer chip, characterized in that the chip is connected to a memory, and the chip is used to read and execute a software program stored in the memory, and execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.