CN113873454A

CN113873454A - Communication method and device

Info

Publication number: CN113873454A
Application number: CN202010622136.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 潘奇; 黄正磊; 孙海洋
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-06-30
Filing date: 2020-06-30
Publication date: 2021-12-31
Anticipated expiration: 2040-06-30
Also published as: CN113873454B; WO2022002119A1

Abstract

The application provides a communication method and device. In this application, the session management network element may associate the first charging key value with the first traffic information, and the first traffic information and the first charging key value may be used to determine the cost for transmitting the data of the first service in the first link. And the SMF may associate the second charging key value with the second traffic information, and the second traffic information and the second charging key value may be used to determine a cost for transmitting the data of the first service through the second link. Therefore, the network side is supported to carry out flow statistics and charging aiming at different links of the same service, and flow statistics with higher precision and finer granularity is realized.

Description

Communication method and device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a communication method and apparatus.

Background

In the current mobile communication technology, a terminal (UE) may transmit service data through a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session. Generally, a PDU session is associated to a link (or data bearer) comprising a UE, an access network element and a user plane element. The network can perform flow statistics on the service data transmitted through the PDU session, and is used for realizing functions of flow statistics, charging and the like.

In order to improve throughput of UE service data, it is required to support the same terminal to transmit service data through multiple different links, and to provide quality of service (QoS) guarantee for each link, where paths of different links connected to an access network element may be different, for example, different links correspond to different relay devices.

When the service data is transmitted through a plurality of links, the network cannot distinguish the data volume of the service data transmitted by each link, and only flow statistics can be performed according to the PDU session, and the flow statistics mode needs to be improved.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a communication method and a communication device, which are used for improving a flow statistical mode when multilink transmission service data is transmitted.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which may be implemented by a session management network element or a component (e.g., a chip, a circuit, or the like) of the session management network element. The session management network element may be a Session Management Function (SMF).

According to the method, the session management network element may send first information to the policy management network element, where the first information at least includes information of a first link and information of a second link, and the first link and the second link are used for transmitting data of a first service of the terminal device. The session management network element receives charging key value information from the policy management network element, wherein the charging key value information comprises a first charging key value and a second charging key value, the charging key value information is determined at least according to the first information, the first charging key value corresponds to the first link, and the second charging key value corresponds to the second link. The session management network element may further obtain first traffic information and second traffic information, where the first traffic information is used to indicate the data volume of the first service transmitted through the first link, the second traffic information is used to indicate the data volume of the first service transmitted through the second link, the first traffic information and the first charging key value are used to determine the cost for transmitting the data of the first service through the first link, and the second traffic information and the second charging key value are used to determine the cost for transmitting the data of the first service through the second link.

By adopting the method, the session management network element can associate the first charging key value with the first flow information, and the first flow information and the first charging key value can be used for determining the cost of the first link for transmitting the data of the first service. And the SMF may associate the second charging key value with the second traffic information, and the second traffic information and the second charging key value may be used to determine a cost for transmitting the data of the first service through the second link. Therefore, the network side is supported to carry out flow statistics and charging aiming at different links of the same service, and flow statistics with higher precision and finer granularity is realized.

In one possible design, the first information includes one or more of the second information, the third information, or the first indication information. The second information is used for indicating the proportion of the data volume of the first service transmitted by the first link to the data volume of the first service. The third information is used for indicating the proportion of the data volume of the first service transmitted by the second link to the data volume of the first service. The first indication information is used for indicating that the data of the first service of the terminal equipment is transmitted at least through the first link and the second link. In addition, the first information may further include information of the relay device of the first link and/or information of the relay device of the second link. Here, the information of the relay device may include an identification of the relay terminal (relay UE ID).

In one possible design, the second information and the third information may be from the terminal device or an access network element, wherein the terminal device is connected to the access network element through the first link and the second link.

In one possible design, the session management network element may receive third traffic information from a user plane network element, where the third traffic information indicates a data volume of the first service. The session management network element may determine the first traffic information according to the second information and the third traffic information, and determine the second traffic information according to the third information and the third traffic information. By adopting the design, the first flow information and the second flow information can be determined by the session management network element in a calculation mode, the statistical efficiency of the flow information is improved, the user plane network element side only needs to obtain the third flow information according to the existing traffic statistical mode, the change of the user plane network element side is small, and the implementation is convenient.

In one possible design, the session management network element may receive the first identity and the second identity from the terminal device. The first identifier corresponds to data transmitted through the first link, and the second identifier corresponds to data transmitted through the second link. Alternatively, the session management network element may send the first identifier and the second identifier to an access network element.

In one possible design, the session management network element may further send the first identifier and the second identifier to a user plane network element. The first identifier is used for determining the data volume of the first service transmitted through the first link, and the second identifier is used for determining the data volume of the first service transmitted through the second link. The session management network element may receive the first traffic information and the second traffic information from the user plane network element. By adopting the design, the session management network element can configure the user plane network element to count the first traffic information and the second traffic information so as to improve the counting precision.

In one possible design, the session management network element may receive the first traffic information and the second traffic information from an access network element to which the terminal device is connected via the first link and the second link. By adopting the design, the first flow information and the second flow information can be counted by the network element of the access network, the change to the network side is small, and the implementation is convenient.

In a second aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, which may be performed by a policy management network element or a component thereof. The policy management network element may include a Policy Control Function (PCF).

According to the method, the policy management network element may receive first information from the session management network element, where the first information includes at least information of a first link and information of a second link, and the first link and the second link are used for transmitting data of a first service of the terminal device. The policy management network element sends a first charging key value and a second charging key value to the user plane network element, the charging key value information comprises a first charging key value and a second charging key value, the charging key value information is determined at least according to the first information, the first charging key value corresponds to the first link, and the second charging key value corresponds to the second link.

In one possible design, the first information includes one or more of the second information, the third information, or the first indication information. The second information is used for indicating the proportion of the data volume of the first service transmitted by the first link to the data volume of the first service. The third information is used for indicating the proportion of the data volume of the first service transmitted by the second link to the data volume of the first service. The first indication information is used for indicating that the data of the first service of the terminal equipment is transmitted at least through the first link and the second link. In addition, the first information may further include information of the relay device of the first link and/or information of the relay device of the second link. Here, the information of the relay device may include an identification of the relay terminal.

In a third aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, which may be performed by a user plane network element or a component thereof. The user plane network element may include a User Plane (UPF).

According to the method, the user plane network element may receive the first identity and the second identity from the session management network element. And determining, by the user plane network element, first traffic information according to the first identifier, where the first traffic information indicates a data volume of a first service transmitted through a first link, and determining, according to the second identifier, second traffic information indicating a data volume of the first service transmitted through a second link, where the first link and the second link are used for transmitting data of the first service of a terminal device. And the user plane network element sends the first traffic information and the second traffic information to the session management network element.

In one possible design, the first identifier corresponds to data transmitted over the first link and the second identifier corresponds to data transmitted over the second link.

In a fourth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, which may be performed by a terminal device or a component thereof. The terminal device may comprise a UE.

According to the method, the terminal device may send a first identifier and a second identifier to a session management network element, where the first identifier may be used for determining the data volume of the first service transmitted through the first link, and the second identifier may be used for determining the data volume of the first service transmitted through the second link; the first link and the second link are used for transmitting data of the first service of the terminal device.

In a possible design, the terminal device may send a data packet of a first service through the first link, where the data packet of the first service sent through the first link includes the first identifier. The terminal device may further send the data packet of the first service through the second link, where the data packet of the first service sent through the second link includes the second identifier.

In one possible design, the terminal device may further send the first identifier and the second identifier to an access network element, and the terminal device is connected to the access network element through the first link and the second link.

In a fifth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, which may be performed by a terminal device or a component thereof. The terminal device may comprise a UE.

According to the method, the terminal device may send transmission ratio information to a session management network element, where the transmission ratio information at least includes second information and third information, the second information is used to indicate a ratio of a data amount of a first service transmitted by a first link to a data amount of the first service, and the third information is used to indicate a ratio of a data amount of the first service transmitted by a second link to the data amount of the first service. The terminal device transmits data of the first service at least through the first link and the second link according to the transmission ratio information.

In a sixth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, which may be performed by an access network element or a component thereof. The access network element may comprise a (radio) access network (R) AN network element, such as a base station.

According to the method, the access network element can receive the data packet of the first service from the terminal equipment through the first link, and receive the data packet of the first service from the terminal equipment through the second link. The access network element adds a first identifier to a data packet of the first service received through the first link, where the first identifier is used for determining the data volume of the first service transmitted through the first link, and adds a second identifier to a data packet of the first service received through the second link, where the second identifier is used for determining the data volume of the first service transmitted through the second link.

In one possible design, the access network element may receive the first identity and the second identity from the terminal device. Or, the access network element receives the first identifier and the second identifier from a session management network element.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which may be performed by an access network element or a component thereof. The access network element may comprise AN (R) AN network element, such as a base station.

According to the method, the access network element can receive the data packet of the first service from the terminal equipment through the first link, and receive the data packet of the first service from the terminal equipment through the second link. The access network element may further determine second information and third information according to the link information of the first link and the link information of the second link, where the second information is used to indicate a ratio of the data volume of the first service transmitted by the first link to the data volume of the first service, and the third information is used to indicate a ratio of the data volume of the first service transmitted by the second link to the data volume of the first service. The access network element sends the second information and the third information to the session management network element.

In a possible design, the link information of the first link includes an identifier of a relay device corresponding to the first link, and/or a first identifier included in a data packet of the first service transmitted by the first link. The link information of the second link includes an identifier of the relay device corresponding to the second link, and/or a second identifier, where the second identifier is included in the data packet of the first service transmitted by the second link.

In an eighth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, which may be performed by an access network element or a component thereof. The access network element may comprise AN (R) AN network element, such as a base station.

According to the method, the access network element can receive the data packet of the first service from the terminal equipment through the first link, and receive the data packet of the first service from the terminal equipment through the second link. And the access network element determines first traffic information and second traffic information according to the link information of the first link and the link information of the second link. The first traffic information is used for indicating the data volume of the first service transmitted through the first link, and the second traffic information is used for indicating the data volume of the first service transmitted through the second link. And the access network element sends the first traffic information and the second traffic information to a session management network element.

In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a communications device operable to perform the steps performed by the session management network element or components thereof in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect. The communication apparatus may implement the functions of the above methods in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module.

When formed by software modules, the communication device may include a communication module and a processing module coupled to each other, wherein the communication module may be used to support the communication device for communication, and the processing module may be used to perform processing operations on the communication device, such as generating information/messages to be transmitted or processing received signals to obtain information/messages.

In implementing the method of the first aspect, the communication module may send first information to the policy management network element, where the first information includes at least information of a first link and information of a second link, and the first link and the second link are used to transmit data of a first service of the terminal device. The communication module may further receive charging key value information from the policy management network element, where the charging key value information includes a first charging key value and a second charging key value, and the charging key value information is determined at least according to the first information, where the first charging key value corresponds to the first link, and the second charging key value corresponds to the second link. The processing module may obtain first traffic information and second traffic information, where the first traffic information is used to indicate a data volume of the first service transmitted through the first link, the second traffic information is used to indicate a data volume of the first service transmitted through the second link, the first traffic information and the first charging key are used to determine a cost for transmitting data of the first service through the first link, and the second traffic information and the second charging key are used to determine a cost for transmitting data of the first service through the second link.

In one possible design, the communication module may receive third traffic information from a user plane network element, where the third traffic information indicates a data volume of the first service. The processing module may determine the first flow information according to the second information and the third flow information, and determine the second flow information according to the third information and the third flow information.

In one possible design, the communication module may receive the first identifier and the second identifier from the terminal device. The first identifier corresponds to data transmitted through the first link, and the second identifier corresponds to data transmitted through the second link. Alternatively, the session management network element may send the first identifier and the second identifier to an access network element.

In one possible design, the communication module may further send the first identity and the second identity to a user plane network element. The first identifier is used for determining the data volume of the first service transmitted through the first link, and the second identifier is used for determining the data volume of the first service transmitted through the second link. The communication module may receive the first traffic information and the second traffic information from the user plane network element.

In one possible design, the communication module may receive the first traffic information and the second traffic information from an access network element to which the terminal device is connected via the first link and the second link.

When the communication device of the ninth aspect is implemented by hardware components, the communication device may comprise a processor. The steps performed by the session management network element or components thereof in the above first aspect or in any possible design of the first aspect may be performed by a processor. The communication device may include a communication interface (or transceiver, transceiving unit, communication unit), and the communication interface may be used to support the above device to communicate with other apparatuses or devices. In particular, the communication interface may be used to support communication by a communication device. When the above apparatus is implemented by hardware components, the apparatus may further include a memory operable to store a program executable by the processor to perform the steps performed by the above communication apparatus. In particular, the communication interface may be adapted to perform the steps performed by the communication module in the ninth aspect and/or the processor may be adapted to perform the steps performed by the processing module in the above ninth aspect.

In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a communications device operable to perform the steps performed by the policy management network element or components thereof in any of the possible designs of the second aspect or the second aspect described above. The communication apparatus may implement the functions of the above methods in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module.

The communication module may receive first information from a session management network element, where the first information includes at least information of a first link and information of a second link, and the first link and the second link are used for transmitting data of a first service of the terminal device. The communication module may send a first charging key and a second charging key to the user plane network element, where the charging key information includes the first charging key and the second charging key, the charging key information is determined at least according to the first information, the first charging key corresponds to the first link, and the second charging key corresponds to the second link. The processing module may determine the first charging key and the second charging key.

When the communication device of the tenth aspect is implemented by hardware components, the communication device may comprise a processor. The steps performed by the policy management network element or components thereof in the above second aspect or in any possible design of the second aspect may be performed by a processor. The communication device may include a communication interface that may be used to support the above device in communicating with other apparatuses or devices. In particular, the communication interface may be used to support communication by a communication device. When the above apparatus is implemented by hardware components, the apparatus may further include a memory operable to store a program executable by the processor to perform the steps performed by the above communication apparatus. In particular, the communication interface may be adapted to perform the steps performed by the communication module in the tenth aspect and/or the processor may be adapted to perform the steps performed by the processing module in the above tenth aspect.

In an eleventh aspect, the present application provides a communications apparatus operable to perform the steps performed by the user plane network element or a component thereof in any of the possible designs of the third aspect or the third aspect described above. The communication apparatus may implement the functions of the above methods in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module.

The communication module may receive the first identity and the second identity from the session management network element. The processing module determines first traffic information according to the first identifier, the first traffic information indicating a data volume of a first service transmitted through a first link, and determines second traffic information according to the second identifier, the second traffic information indicating a data volume of the first service transmitted through a second link, the first link and the second link being used for transmitting data of the first service of a terminal device. And the user plane network element sends the first traffic information and the second traffic information to the session management network element.

When the communication device of the eleventh aspect is implemented by hardware components, the communication device may comprise a processor. The steps performed by the user plane network element or components thereof in the above third aspect or any possible design of the third aspect may be performed by a processor. The communication device may include a communication interface that may be used to support the above device in communicating with other apparatuses or devices. In particular, the communication interface may be used to support communication by a communication device. When the above apparatus is implemented by hardware components, the apparatus may further include a memory operable to store a program executable by the processor to perform the steps performed by the above communication apparatus. In particular, the communication interface may be adapted to perform the steps performed by the communication module in the eleventh aspect and/or the processor may be adapted to perform the steps performed by the processing module in the above eleventh aspect.

In a twelfth aspect, the present application provides a communication device that may be used to perform the steps performed by the terminal device or its components in any of the possible designs of the fourth aspect or the fourth aspect described above. The communication apparatus may implement the functions of the above methods in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module.

The communication module may send, to a session management network element, a first identifier usable for determination of the data amount of the first service transmitted over the first link and a second identifier usable for determination of the data amount of the first service transmitted over the second link; the first link and the second link are used for transmitting data of the first service of the terminal device.

In one possible design, the communication module may send a packet of a first service through the first link, where the packet of the first service sent through the first link includes the first identifier. The communication module may further send the data packet of the first service through the second link, where the data packet of the first service sent through the second link includes the second identifier.

In one possible design, the communication module may further send the first identifier and the second identifier to an access network element to which the terminal device is connected via the first link and the second link.

When the communication device of the twelfth aspect is implemented by hardware components, the communication device may comprise a processor. The steps performed by the terminal device or components thereof in the fourth aspect above or in any possible design of the fourth aspect may be performed by a processor. The communication device may include a communication interface that may be used to support the above device in communicating with other apparatuses or devices. In particular, the communication interface may be used to support communication by a communication device. When the above apparatus is implemented by hardware components, the apparatus may further include a memory operable to store a program executable by the processor to perform the steps performed by the above communication apparatus. In particular, the communication interface may be adapted to perform the steps performed by the communication module in the twelfth aspect and/or the processor may be adapted to perform the steps performed by the processing module in the twelfth aspect above.

In a thirteenth aspect, the present application provides a communication device operable to perform the steps performed by the terminal device or its components in any of the possible designs of the fifth aspect or the fifth aspect described above. The communication apparatus may implement the functions of the above methods in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module.

The communication module may send transmission proportion information to the session management network element, where the transmission proportion information at least includes second information and third information, the second information is used to indicate a proportion of a data amount of the first service transmitted by the first link to a data amount of the first service, and the third information is used to indicate a proportion of a data amount of the first service transmitted by the second link to a data amount of the first service. The communication module sends the data of the first service at least through the first link and the second link according to the transmission ratio information.

When the communication device of the thirteenth aspect is implemented by hardware components, the communication device may comprise a processor. The steps performed by the terminal device or components thereof in the above fifth aspect or any possible design of the fifth aspect may be performed by a processor. The communication device may include a communication interface that may be used to support the above device in communicating with other apparatuses or devices. In particular, the communication interface may be used to support communication by a communication device. When the above apparatus is implemented by hardware components, the apparatus may further include a memory operable to store a program executable by the processor to perform the steps performed by the above communication apparatus. In particular, the communication interface may be adapted to perform the steps performed by the communication module in the thirteenth aspect and/or the processor may be adapted to perform the steps performed by the processing module in the above thirteenth aspect.

In a fourteenth aspect, the present application provides a communications apparatus operable to perform the steps performed by the access network element or components thereof in any of the possible designs of the sixth aspect or the sixth aspect described above. The communication apparatus may implement the functions of the above methods in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module.

The communication module may receive data packets of a first service from a terminal device over a first link and data packets of the first service from the terminal device over a second link. The processing module adds a first identifier to a data packet of the first service received through the first link, the first identifier being used for determining the data volume of the first service transmitted through the first link, and adds a second identifier to a data packet of the first service received through the second link, the second identifier being used for determining the data volume of the first service transmitted through the second link.

In one possible design, the communication module may receive the first identifier and the second identifier from the terminal device. Alternatively, the communication module may receive the first identity and the second identity from a session management network element.

When the communication device of the fourteenth aspect is implemented by hardware components, the communication device may comprise a processor. The steps performed by the access network element or components thereof in the above sixth aspect or any possible design of the sixth aspect may be performed by a processor. The communication device may include a communication interface that may be used to support the above device in communicating with other apparatuses or devices. In particular, the communication interface may be used to support communication by a communication device. When the above apparatus is implemented by hardware components, the apparatus may further include a memory operable to store a program executable by the processor to perform the steps performed by the above communication apparatus. In particular, the communication interface may be adapted to perform the steps performed by the communication module in the fourteenth aspect and/or the processor may be adapted to perform the steps performed by the processing module in the above fourteenth aspect.

In a fifteenth aspect, the present application provides a communications apparatus operable to perform the steps performed by the access network element or components thereof in any of the possible designs of the seventh aspect or aspects described above. The communication apparatus may implement the functions of the above methods in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module.

The communication module may receive data packets of a first service from a terminal device over a first link and data packets of the first service from the terminal device over a second link. The access network element may further determine second information and third information according to the link information of the first link and the link information of the second link, where the second information is used to indicate a ratio of the data volume of the first service transmitted by the first link to the data volume of the first service, and the third information is used to indicate a ratio of the data volume of the first service transmitted by the second link to the data volume of the first service. The access network element sends the second information and the third information to the session management network element.

When the communication device of the fifteenth aspect is implemented by hardware components, the communication device may comprise a processor. The steps performed by the access network element or components thereof in the seventh aspect above or in any possible design of the seventh aspect may be performed by a processor. The communication device may include a communication interface that may be used to support the above device in communicating with other apparatuses or devices. In particular, the communication interface may be used to support communication by a communication device. When the above apparatus is implemented by hardware components, the apparatus may further include a memory operable to store a program executable by the processor to perform the steps performed by the above communication apparatus. In particular, the communication interface may be adapted to perform the steps performed by the communication module in the fifteenth aspect and/or the processor may be adapted to perform the steps performed by the processing module in the above fifteenth aspect.

In a sixteenth aspect, the present application provides a communications apparatus operable to perform the steps performed by the access network element or the components thereof in any of the possible designs of the above-mentioned eighth aspect or eighth aspect. The communication apparatus may implement the functions of the above methods in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module.

The communication module may receive data packets of a first service from a terminal device over a first link and data packets of the first service from the terminal device over a second link. The processing module determines first traffic information and second traffic information according to the link information of the first link and the link information of the second link. The first traffic information is used for indicating the data volume of the first service transmitted through the first link, and the second traffic information is used for indicating the data volume of the first service transmitted through the second link. The communication module sends the first traffic information and the second traffic information to a session management network element.

When the communication device of the sixteenth aspect is implemented by a hardware component, the communication device may comprise a processor. The steps performed by the access network element or components thereof in the above eighth aspect or in any possible design of the eighth aspect may be performed by a processor. The communication device may include a communication interface that may be used to support the above device in communicating with other apparatuses or devices. In particular, the communication interface may be used to support communication by a communication device. When the above apparatus is implemented by hardware components, the apparatus may further include a memory operable to store a program executable by the processor to perform the steps performed by the above communication apparatus. In particular, the communication interface may be adapted to perform the steps performed by the communication module in the sixteenth aspect and/or the processor may be adapted to perform the steps performed by the processing module in the sixteenth aspect above.

In a seventeenth aspect, the present application provides a communication system. The communication system may comprise the communication apparatus as shown in the ninth aspect as well as the tenth aspect.

In a possible design, the communication system may further include the communication device shown in the eleventh aspect and the twelfth aspect.

In one possible design, the communication system may further include the communication device shown in the thirteenth aspect.

In one possible design, the communication system may further include the communication apparatus shown in the eleventh aspect and the fourteenth aspect.

In one possible design, the communication system may further include the communication device shown in the fifteenth aspect.

In one possible design, the communication system may further include the communication device shown in the sixteenth aspect.

In an eighteenth aspect, the present application provides a computer storage medium having instructions (or programs) stored therein, which when executed on a computer cause the computer to perform the method described in the first aspect or any one of the possible designs of the first aspect, any one of the possible designs of the second aspect or the second aspect, any one of the possible designs of the third aspect or the third aspect, any one of the possible designs of the fourth aspect or the fourth aspect, any one of the possible designs of the fifth aspect or the fifth aspect, any one of the possible designs of the sixth aspect or the sixth aspect, any one of the possible designs of the seventh aspect or the seventh aspect, or any one of the possible designs of the eighth aspect or the eighth aspect.

In a nineteenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, which may contain instructions, which when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method as set forth in the above first aspect or any one of the possible designs of the first aspect, any one of the possible designs of the second aspect or the second aspect, any one of the possible designs of the third aspect or the third aspect, any one of the possible designs of the fourth aspect or the fourth aspect, any one of the possible designs of the fifth aspect or the fifth aspect, any one of the possible designs of the sixth aspect or the sixth aspect, any one of the possible designs of the seventh aspect or the seventh aspect, or any one of the possible designs of the eighth aspect or the eighth aspect.

In a twentieth aspect, the present application provides a chip or a chip system comprising a chip, which chip may comprise a processor. The chip may also include a memory (or storage module) and/or a communication interface (or communication module). The chip may be adapted to perform the method described in the first aspect or any one of the possible designs of the first aspect, any one of the possible designs of the second aspect or the second aspect, any one of the possible designs of the third aspect or the third aspect, any one of the possible designs of the fourth aspect or the fourth aspect, any one of the possible designs of the fifth aspect or the fifth aspect, any one of the possible designs of the sixth aspect or the sixth aspect, any one of the possible designs of the seventh aspect or the seventh aspect, or any one of the possible designs of the eighth aspect or the eighth aspect. The chip system may be formed by the above chip, and may also include the above chip and other discrete devices, such as a memory (or a storage module) and/or a communication interface (or a communication module).

Advantageous effects in the second to twentieth aspects and possible designs thereof described above reference may be made to the description of advantageous effects of the method described in the first aspect and any of its possible designs.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic architecture diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2a is a schematic architecture diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2b is a schematic structural diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

In order to optimize a flow statistic mode of multilink service transmission, the application provides a communication method. The present application will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the specific methods of operation in the method embodiments described below may also be applied to either the apparatus embodiments or the system embodiments.

The following description will be given taking a 5G communication system as shown in fig. 1 as an example.

The network architecture shown in fig. 1 may include three parts: terminals, Data Networks (DNs), and operator networks.

The operator network may include Policy Control Function (PCF), Unified Data Repository (UDR), Application Function (AF), access and mobility management function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), access network (radio) access network (R) AN) network element, and User Plane Function (UPF) network elements or entities. In the above operator network, the parts other than the (radio) access network may be included in the category of a Core Network (CN). For convenience of description, the (R) AN will be referred to as RAN as AN example.

The mobility management network element is a control plane network element provided by an operator network, is responsible for access control and mobility management when a terminal accesses the operator network, and has functions such as mobility state management, user temporary identity allocation, user authentication and authorization and the like. In the 5G, the mobility management element may be an AMF, and in future communications such as the 6th generation (6G), the mobility management element may still be an AMF or have another name, which is not limited in this application.

The policy control network element is a control plane function provided by an operator for providing a policy of the PDU session to the session management network element. The policies may include charging related policies, quality of service (QoS) related policies, data flow identification and direction (or forwarding) policies, authorization related policies, and the like. In 5G, the policy control network element may be a PCF, and in future communications such as 6G, the policy control network element may still be a PCF, or have another name, which is not limited in this application.

The session management network element is a control plane network element provided by an operator network and is responsible for managing a PDU session of a terminal, or called, the session management network element serves the PDU session of the terminal. The PDU session is a channel for transmitting PDUs, and the terminal needs to transfer the PDUs with the DN through the PDU session. The PDU session is responsible for establishment, maintenance, deletion, etc. by the SMF. SMF includes session-related functions such as session establishment, modification, and release, including tunnel maintenance between the UPF and RAN, UPF selection and control, Service and Session Continuity (SSC) mode selection, roaming, and the like. The SMF may be used to select a UPF to serve a user, such as a UPF closer to the base station where the user is located, to reduce the user packet transmission and reception delay. In 5G, the session management network element may be an SMF, and in future communications such as 6G, the session management network element may still be an SMF, or have another name, which is not limited in this application.

In this application, the session management network element may further insert a Branch Point (BP) and/or an uplink classifier (UL CL) between the access network element of the terminal and the anchor point UPF as needed, and each BP/UL CL may be connected to multiple UPFs to implement service offloading. It should be understood that one UPF may be considered as BP/UL CL.

The user plane network element can be used for realizing functions of routing and forwarding of data packets, mobility anchor points, QoS processing, uplink classifiers and the like so as to support routing of service flows to a data network, support of multi-homing PDU sessions at branch points and the like.

The unified data warehousing network element may be configured to store user subscription data, such as QoS information subscribed by a user.

The AF may be used to select, reselect, locate, relocate the AS for the application, and interact with the core network. In practical applications, the AF may be a separate device independent from the AS, or the AF may be combined with the AS, and the present invention is not particularly limited thereto.

In fig. 1, N1, N2, N3, N4, N6, N9, Namf, Nsmf, Nudr, Npcf, Naf, and the like are interface serial numbers. The meaning of these interface sequence numbers can be referred to the meaning defined in the 3GPP related standard protocol, and is not limited herein.

In addition, the operator network may further include network elements or entities such as a Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF), a network data analysis function (NWDAF), a network open function (NEF), a network storage function (NRF), an authentication service unit (AUSF), or a service communication agent (service communication proxy).

As shown in fig. 1, the UE may access the DN through a PDU session managed by the SMF. Taking fig. 1 as an example, the UE may access the data network DN connected to the UPF through one PDU session to obtain data of an application server in the data network.

It should be understood that the number of links corresponding to the PDU session is not limited in this application, in other words, the path of the UE accessing the data network DN of the UPF connection is not specifically limited in this application. For example, the UE may access the DN through an access network element and a Uu interface link between the access network elements. In addition, currently, the UE may also relay to an access network element through at least one relay device, thereby accessing the DN.

The following describes a manner in which a remote terminal accesses a core network through multiple links, by taking fig. 2a and fig. 2b as examples.

As shown in fig. 2a, the remote terminal is connected to the access network device through a link 1 and a link 2, respectively, that is, the link 1 and the link 2 shown in fig. 2a correspond to the same access network device. Wherein, link 1 corresponds to a first relay terminal (or, link 1 includes a connection between a remote terminal and the first relay terminal and a connection between the first relay terminal and an access network element), and link 2 corresponds to a second relay terminal (or, link 2 includes a connection between a remote terminal and a second relay terminal and a connection between the second relay terminal and an access network element), so that the remote terminal can be connected to the access network element through the first relay terminal and the second relay terminal, respectively, and is connected to a 5G core network (5G core, 5GC) through the access network element.

It should be understood that in fig. 2a and 2b above, the remote terminal and the first relay terminal and/or the second relay terminal may be configured to support relay (relay) transmission, for example, the remote terminal in fig. 2a is connected to the access network element through the relay of the first relay terminal device. For example, the terminal 101 may be regarded as a first communication device, and the first communication device and a second communication device implement the communication method provided by the present application.

The connection mode between the remote terminal and the first relay terminal and the second relay terminal may be direct communication (PC5) over-the-air communication, for example, the remote terminal and the first relay terminal and/or the second relay terminal are connected by a Sidelink (SL) mode.

In addition, the present application does not limit the remote terminal to support a universal user to network interface (Uu air interface) communication, that is, the remote terminal may be connected to an access network element through the Uu air interface and receive service data from the access network element through the Uu air interface. Taking fig. 2a as an example, the remote terminal may access the access network element through a Uu air interface, and receive the service data through a Uu link between the remote terminal and the access network element, and the Uu air interface link between the remote terminal and the access network element in fig. 2a may be referred to as a link 3. Thus, for fig. 2a, the remote terminal may receive traffic data over link 1, link 2 and the Uu link between the remote terminal and/or the access network element. When acquiring service data, the service data from a remote terminal of a Data Network (DN) is transmitted to an access network element through a UPF, and in order to improve data transmission efficiency, the access network element may transmit the service data to the remote terminal through at least two links of link 1, link 2, and link 3.

Similarly, for the architecture shown in fig. 2b, the remote terminal may receive traffic data via link 4, link 5, link 6 (not shown), and/or link 7 (not shown).

Specifically, the remote terminal accesses the first access network device through the link 4 and accesses the second access network device through the link 5, and therefore the link 4 and the link 5 correspond to different access network devices respectively. Wherein, the link 4 corresponds to a first relay terminal (or, the link 4 includes a connection between a remote terminal and the first relay terminal and a connection between the first relay terminal and a first access network element), and the link 5 corresponds to a second relay terminal (or, the link 5 includes a connection between a remote terminal and a second relay terminal and a connection between the second relay terminal and a second access network element). The link 6 is a Uu air interface link between the remote terminal and the first access network element. The link 7 is a Uu air interface link between the remote terminal and the second access network element.

When the service data is acquired, the service data from the data network is respectively transmitted to the first access network element and the second access network element through the UPF. The data transmitted to the first access network element may be sent to the remote terminal through the link 4 and/or the link 6, and the data transmitted to the second access network element may be sent to the remote terminal through the link 5 and/or the link 7, so as to implement multilink data transmission.

It should be understood that the architecture shown in fig. 1 is applicable to a fifth generation (5G) system, a New Radio (NR) communication system, a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) system, a future mobile communication-based car networking system, and the like. It should be understood that the wireless communication system 100 provided in the embodiment of the present application is applicable to both a low frequency scene (sub 6G) and a high frequency scene (above 6G).

For example, the remote terminal, the first relay terminal and/or the second relay terminal (hereinafter, referred to as terminal device) shown in fig. 2a and 2b may be a terminal (terminal), a Mobile Station (MS), a mobile terminal (mobile terminal), or a chip, a system of chips. It should be understood that the terminal device is capable of communicating with and accepting network services provided by one or more network devices of one or more communication systems, including but not limited to the illustrated access network devices. The terminal equipment in the embodiments of the present application may be, for example, a mobile phone (or referred to as "cellular" phone), a computer with a mobile terminal, etc., and may also be a portable, pocket, hand-held, computer-included, or vehicle-mounted mobile device.

In addition, the first relay terminal and/or the second relay terminal may also be a relay device supporting relay communication, such as a transmission/reception node (TRP), an access point, a vehicle-mounted device, or a relay station.

The access network element shown in fig. 2a, the first access network element and/or the second access network element (hereinafter, referred to as an access network element) shown in fig. 2b may include a Base Station (BS), or include a base station and a radio resource management device for controlling the base station, and the like. The base station may be a TRP, a wireless controller in a Cloud Radio Access Network (CRAN) scenario, or a relay station, an access point, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a base station in a future 5G network, a base station in a future evolved PLMN network, or the like, for example, an NR base station, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

It should be understood that the remote terminal, the first relay terminal and/or the second relay terminal shown in fig. 2a and 2b may be regarded as the UE shown in fig. 1. If the remote terminal is the UE shown in fig. 1, the UE and the access network element may be connected through the first relay terminal and/or the second relay terminal. The access network element shown in fig. 2a and the first access network element and the second access network element shown in fig. 2b may be regarded as the access network elements shown in fig. 1. The DN shown in fig. 2a and 2b corresponds to the DN shown in fig. 1. The 5GC shown in fig. 2a and 2b may include network elements such as AMF, SMF, PCF, UDM, and AF shown in fig. 1, and the UPF shown in fig. 2a and 2b corresponds to the UPF shown in fig. 1.

In order to support statistics on data volume for each link in a case where a remote UE (hereinafter, referred to as UE) is connected to an access network element through multiple links, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. The method may be implemented by some or all of a terminal device (e.g., the UE shown in fig. 1 or the first communication device shown in fig. 2a or fig. 2 b), an access network element (e.g., the RAN shown in fig. 1 or the access network element shown in fig. 2 a), a session management element (e.g., SMF), a policy control element (e.g., PCF), or a user plane element (e.g., UPF). Wherein the first communication device may comprise the remote terminal device shown in fig. 2a or fig. 2 b. In fig. 2a or 2b, the second communication device and the third communication device may be respectively used as the first relay terminal and the second relay terminal. The mobility management network element, the session management network element, the policy control network element, and the user plane network element correspond to the mobility management network element, the session management network element, the policy control network element, and the user plane network element in fig. 1, respectively. The method provided by the embodiment of the present application is described below with UE, RAN, SMF, PCF, and UPF as execution subjects.

Illustratively, the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application may include the following steps shown in fig. 3:

s101: the SMF sends first information to the PCF, wherein the first information at least comprises information of a first link and information of a second link, and the first link and the second link are used for transmitting data of a first service of the UE.

For example, the first link is the link 1 shown in fig. 2a, and the second link is the link 2 shown in fig. 2 a. Wherein the first link and the second link may be connected to the same RAN or, as shown in fig. 2b, may access different RANs.

It should be understood that the first link and the second link are used for transmitting data of the first service of the UE, and refer to that the first link and the second link jointly transmit a plurality of data packets of the first service of the UE. In some cases, the UE may also transmit the data packets of the first service only using the first link or the second link, for example, if the UE finds that the transmission of the first link is interrupted or the transmission quality is not good, the UE may transmit all the data packets of the first service through the second link.

Illustratively, the first information is sent by the UE or RAN to the SMF.

Accordingly, the PCF receives the first information.

S102: PCF determines the information of charging key value according to the first information at least.

The charging key information at least comprises a first charging key and a second charging key.

The first charging key value corresponds to a first link, and the second charging key value corresponds to a second link.

S103: PCF sends charging key information to SMF.

Accordingly, the SMF may receive the charging key information.

S104: the SMF acquires first traffic information and second traffic information.

Wherein the first traffic information indicates a data amount of the first service transmitted through the first link, and the second traffic information indicates a data amount of the first service transmitted through the second link.

Accordingly, the SMF may associate the first charging key with the first traffic information, and the first traffic information and the first charging key may be used for determining a cost for transmitting data of the first service through the first link. And the SMF may associate the second charging key value with the second traffic information, and the second traffic information and the second charging key value may be used to determine a cost for transmitting the data of the first service through the second link. Then, the SMF may send the traffic statistics information corresponding to each charging key to a charging function (CHF) for determining the cost, for example, the SMF may send the first charging key and the corresponding first traffic information to the CHF, and send the second charging key and the corresponding second traffic information.

Illustratively, the first traffic information and the second traffic information may be determined by the SMF or sent to the SMF by the UPF or RAN.

By adopting the method, the SMF can obtain the charging key value and the flow information corresponding to the first link, so that the charging key value and the flow statistical information are sent to the CHF, the CHF charges the data volume of the first service of the UE transmitted by the first link, the SMF can obtain the charging key value and the flow information corresponding to the second link, so that the charging key value and the flow statistical information are sent to the CHF, and the CHF charges the data volume of the first service of the UE transmitted by the second link.

It should be understood that the above flow shown in fig. 3 is described by taking the UE transmitting through the first link and the second link as an example, and the implementation may also be referred to when the UE transmits data through more links. For example, the UE further transmits data of the first service through the third link, the charging key value information obtained by the SMF from the PCF may further include a third charging key value (the way in which the SMF obtains the third charging key value may refer to the way in which the SMF obtains the first charging key value and the second charging key value), the SMF may further obtain traffic information corresponding to the third link (the way in which the SMF obtains the traffic information corresponding to the third link may refer to the obtaining method of the first traffic information and the obtaining method of the second traffic information), and send the third charging key value and the traffic information corresponding to the third link to the CHF.

In one possible example, the first information includes at least one of the second information, the third information, the first indication information, information of a relay device corresponding to the first link, or information of a relay device corresponding to the second link.

The second information is used for indicating the proportion of the data volume of the first service transmitted by the first link to the data volume of the first service, and the third information is used for indicating the proportion of the data volume of the first service transmitted by the second link to the data volume of the first service. The data volume of the first service refers to all data volumes of the first service sent by the UE, the data volume of the first service transmitted by the first link refers to the data volume of the first service sent by the UE through the first link, and the data volume of the first service transmitted by the second link refers to the data volume of the first service sent by the UE through the second link. The second information and the third information may be referred to as an offload factor (offload factor) of the first link and the second link, respectively, for example, the second information indicates that the data amount of the first service transmitted by the first link accounts for 1/3 of the total data amount of the first service, and the third information indicates that the data amount of the first service transmitted by the second link accounts for 2/3 of the total data amount of the first service.

For example, the second information and the third information may be sent by the UE or RAN to the SMF.

The UE may determine the second information according to the transmission performance supported by the first link and the transmission performance required by the UE to transmit the data of the first service, and determine the third information according to the transmission performance supported by the second link and the transmission performance required by the UE to transmit the data of the first service.

Taking the transmission performance as an example of the bandwidth, the second information and the third information may respectively indicate a ratio of the bandwidth of the first link and the bandwidth of the second link to the bandwidth required by the traffic of the first communication device. Specifically, if the first communication device knows that the bandwidth of the first link (e.g., the bandwidth supported by the relay device of the first link) is 10Mbit/s, the bandwidth of the second link (e.g., the bandwidth supported by the relay device of the second link) is 5Mbit/s, and further, the bandwidth required for the traffic of the first communication device is 15Mbit/s, the second information and the third information are fields indicating "2/3" and "1/3", respectively. For example, the second information may also indicate a corresponding relationship between the first link and the load share ratio, for example, the second information is used to indicate a relay device corresponding to the first link and the load share ratio corresponding to the first link (e.g., 2/3).

The RAN may determine the second information and the third information according to a ratio of a data amount of the first traffic transmitted through the first link to a data amount of the first traffic transmitted through the second link. Wherein the UE is connected to the RAN through a first link and a second link.

Specifically, the RAN may count the data amount of the data packet of the first service transmitted through the first link according to the information of the relay device of the first link, and/or count the data packet of the first service transmitted through the second link according to the information of the relay device of the second link, and count the data amount of the data packet of the first service transmitted through the second link. The information of the relay device of the first link may be an underlying identifier of the relay device of the first link, such as an identifier of a Radio Link Control (RLC) or Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, or a layer 2 identifier of the relay device of the first link. The identifier of the relay device of the second link may be a bottom layer identifier of the relay device of the second link, such as an RLC layer identifier or a MAC layer identifier, or a layer 2 identifier of the relay device of the second link.

If the data of the first service of the UE are both transmitted through the first link or the second link, the RAN may determine that the data amount of the first service is a sum of the data amount of the data packets of the first service transmitted through the first link and the data amount of the data packets of the first service transmitted through the second link. The second information may be a ratio of a data amount of the data packet of the first service and a data amount of the first service transmitted through the first link within a preset time period or a preset data amount range. The third information may be a ratio of a data amount of the data packet of the first service and a data amount of the first service transmitted through the second link within a preset time period or a preset data amount range.

The above first indication information may be used to indicate that data of the first traffic of the UE is transmitted through at least the first link and the second link. And/or the first indication information may be used to indicate the first link and the second link, for example, the first indication information may include an identification of the first link and an identification of the second link. The identifier of the first link comprises an identifier of the relay device corresponding to the first link, and the identifier of the second link comprises an identifier of the relay device corresponding to the second link.

Specifically, after receiving the first indication information from the UE, the RAN, or the AMF, the SMF may learn that data of the first service of the UE is transmitted through at least the first link and the second link, and send the first indication information to the PCF.

The information of the relay device corresponding to the first link and the information of the relay device corresponding to the second link may be sent to the SMF by the RAN, or sent to the AMF by the RAN, and forwarded to the SMF by the AMF. If the first link is the link 1 shown in fig. 2a, the relay device corresponding to the first link may include the first relay terminal, and if the second link is the link 2 shown in fig. 2a, the relay device corresponding to the first link may include the second relay terminal.

For example, the RAN may obtain the information of the relay device during the UE accessing the RAN through the relay device. For example, if the UE accesses the RAN through the first relay terminal shown in fig. 2a, the RAN may store an identity (relay UE ID) of the first relay terminal as the information of the relay device, for example, the identity of the relay terminal may be the identity information of the UE-side RLC/MAC layer entity.

In a possible implementation manner of S104, the SMF may determine the first traffic information according to the second information and the third traffic information, and determine the second traffic information according to the third information and the third traffic information. The third flow information is used to indicate the data volume of the first service of the UE, and the third flow information may be from the UPF. The third flow information may specifically be a data amount of the first service of the UE transmitted by a certain service flow (e.g., QoS flow) in the PDU session counted by the UPF.

In this example, the second information and the third information may be from the UE or from the RAN. Wherein the UE is connected to the RAN through a first link and a second link. The second information and the third information can be determined by the aforementioned description.

In another possible implementation of S104, the SMF may receive the first traffic information and the second traffic information from the UPF.

In this manner, the SMF may send a first identifier and a second identifier to the UPF, where the first identifier is used for determining the data amount of the first service transmitted through the first link, and the second identifier is used for determining the data amount of the first service transmitted through the second link. Therefore, the UPF can count the data volume of the first identifier carried in the data packet of the first service of the UE according to the first identifier to obtain the first flow information, and the UPF can count the data volume of the second identifier carried in the data packet of the first service of the UE according to the second identifier to obtain the second flow information.

It should be understood that the SMF may also send a third identifier and a fourth identifier to the UPF, where the third identifier corresponds to the first identifier, and the fourth identifier corresponds to the second identifier, for example, the third identifier is determined according to the first identifier, and the fourth identifier is determined according to the second identifier, then the UPF may obtain the first traffic information by counting, according to the third identifier, the data volume of the first identifier carried in the data packet of the first service of the UE, and the UPF may obtain the first traffic information by counting, according to the fourth identifier, the data volume of the second identifier carried in the data packet of the first service of the UE.

In this implementation, the RAN may identify, according to link information of the first link, a packet of the first service transmitted through the first link, where the RAN may carry a first identifier in a GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTP) layer of a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) of the packet when forwarding the packet to the UPF through the N3 interface, and identify, according to link information of the second link, a packet of the first service transmitted through the second link, and carry a second identifier in a GTP layer of the general packet radio service of the packet when forwarding the packet to the UPF through the N3 interface. The link information of the first link includes at least one of a first identifier, information of the relay device of the first link, or second indication information, and the link information of the second link includes at least one of the second identifier, the information of the relay device of the second link, or third indication information.

In a first specific implementation, when the UE sends a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer or Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer of a packet when the packet of the first service is sent through the first link, the UE may carry a first identifier for enabling the UPF to recognize that the packet is transmitted through the first traffic, and then, according to the first identifier, when the packet of the first service is sent through the first link, the RAN may carry the first identifier on the PDCP layer or the SDAP layer of the packet for enabling the UPF to recognize that the packet is transmitted through the first link. Similarly, when the UE sends the data packets of the first service through the second link, the UE may carry a second identifier on the PDCP layer or the SDAP layer of the data packets, so that the UPF may recognize that the data packets are transmitted through the second link.

In a second specific implementation, after receiving the data packet from the UE, the RAN may identify, according to the second indication information carried in the data packet, the data packet of the first service transmitted through the first link, and identify, according to the third indication information, that the data packet is the data packet of the first service of the UE transmitted through the second link. The second indication information may be different from the first identifier, and may be carried by the UE on a PDCP layer or an SDAP layer of a data packet when the data packet of the first service is sent through the first link. The third indication information may be different from the second identifier, and may be carried by the UE on a PDCP layer or an SDAP layer of a packet when the UE transmits the packet of the first service through the second link.

In a third specific implementation, the RAN may learn, according to the information (such as the identifier of the relay device) of the first link, that the data packet of the first service is forwarded to the RAN by the UE through the relay device of the first link, so as to learn that the data packet is the data packet of the first service transmitted through the first link. And/or the RAN may learn, according to the information of the relay device of the second link, that the data packet of the first service is forwarded to the RAN by the UE through the relay device of the second link, so as to learn that the data packet is the data packet of the first service transmitted through the first link.

In the above embodiments, the first identity and the second identity may be determined by the UE and indicated to the SMF. Alternatively, the SMF may assign the first identity and the second identity and indicate the assigned first identity and second identity to the UE and/or the RAN. The first identifier corresponds to data transmitted through the first link, and the second identifier corresponds to data transmitted through the second link. The first identity may subsequently be carried by the UE in a data packet sent to the RAN over the first link and the second identity may be carried in a data packet sent to the RAN over the second link. For example, the SMF may carry the first identifier and the second identifier in the session establishment accept message, and send the first identifier and the second identifier to the UE through the session establishment accept message. In addition, if the SMF assigns the first identity and the second identity, the SMF may also send the first identity and the second identity to the RAN.

In another possible implementation of S104, the SMF may receive the first traffic information and the second traffic information from the RAN.

The RAN may identify, according to the link information of the first link, a data packet of the first service sent by the UE through the first link, and count the data amount of the data packet of the first service sent by the UE through the first link, to obtain first traffic information, and the RAN may identify, according to the link information of the second link, a data packet of the first service sent by the UE through the second link, and count the data amount of the data packet of the first service sent by the UE through the second link, to obtain second traffic information. The link information of the first link includes at least one of a first identifier, information of the relay device of the first link, or second indication information, and the link information of the second link includes at least one of the second identifier, the information of the relay device of the second link, or third indication information.

Several possible flow statistics methods provided by the embodiments of the present application are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In a specific example, when the UE transmits uplink data through the first link and the second link, if the SMF determines, according to the second information and the third information from the UE, the data amount respectively transmitted by the first link and the second link, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may include the following steps shown in fig. 4:

s201: and the UE sends the second information and the third information to the SMF.

The second information is used for indicating the proportion of the data volume of the first service transmitted by the first link to the total data volume of the first service, and the third information is used for indicating the proportion of the data volume of the first service transmitted by the second link to the total data volume of the first service. For example, the second information indicates that the data amount of the first service transmitted by the first link accounts for 1/3 of the total data amount of the first service, and the third information indicates that the data amount of the first service transmitted by the second link accounts for 2/3 of the total data amount of the first service.

For example, the second information and the third information may be determined by the UE according to transmission performance of the first link and the second link and transmission performance of the first service required by the UE. Taking the transmission performance as an example of the bandwidth, the second information and the third information may respectively indicate a ratio of the bandwidth of the first link and the bandwidth of the second link to a bandwidth required by the service of the first communication device (hereinafter referred to as an offload factor). Specifically, if the first communication device knows that the bandwidth of the first link (e.g., the bandwidth supported by the relay device of the first link) is 10Mbit/s, the bandwidth of the second link (e.g., the bandwidth supported by the relay device of the second link) is 5Mbit/s, and the bandwidth required by the traffic of the first communication device is 15Mbit/s, the second information and the third information are fields of the indication (2/3) and the indication (1/3), respectively. For example, the second information may further include a correspondence between the first link and the load share ratio, for example, the second information is used to indicate the first relay terminal and the load share ratio corresponding to the first relay terminal (e.g., (2/3)).

For example, the UE may send the second information and the third information to the SMF during the establishment or modification of the PDU session. For example, the second information and the third information may be carried in a PDU session establishment request (PDU session establishment request) or a PDU session modification request (PDU session modification request) sent by the UE to the AMF, and sent by the AMF to the SMF through a PDU session creation session management context service (Nsmf _ pdusesion _ creation session context) or a PDU session update session management context service (Nsmf _ pdusesion _ update smcontext).

Accordingly, the SMF receives the second information and the third information.

S202: the SMF sends the second information and the third information to the PCF.

For example, the second information and the third information may be carried in a session management Policy association establishment request (SM Policy association request) or a session management Policy association modification request (SM Policy association modification request).

Accordingly, the PCF receives the second information and the third information.

S203: and the PCF determines a first charging key value and a second charging key value according to the second information and the third information.

In addition, the PCF can also clearly access the terminal to the network through two links according to the second information and the third information.

The first charging key value corresponds to the second information, or the first charging key value corresponds to the first link. The second charging key corresponds to the third information, or the second charging key corresponds to the second link.

S204: and the PCF sends the first charging key value and the second charging key value to the SMF.

Illustratively, the first charging key and the second charging key may be carried in a session management policy association establishment response (SM policy association request response) or a session management association policy modification response (SM policy association modification response).

Accordingly, the SMF receives the first charging key and the second charging key.

It should be understood that if the second information and the third information in S201 are carried in the PDU session setup request, after S204, a conventional PDU session setup procedure may be performed. If the second information and the third information in S201 are carried in the PDU session modification request, after S204, a conventional PDU session modification procedure may be performed.

S205: the UPF sends a traffic report to the SMF.

Illustratively, the traffic Report may be carried in an N4 Session Report (N4 Session Report).

The UPF can send a flow report according to the reporting time after the counted data volume of the first service reaches a threshold value or an event needing to report the flow occurs. For example, the UPF may send the traffic report periodically or at a preset time. For another example, the UPF may send the traffic report after the counted data amount of the first service reaches a preset threshold. As another example, the UPF may send a traffic report after determining that an event requiring traffic reporting occurs, e.g., the UPF receives a traffic report request from the SMF.

For example, if the UPF reports the traffic report periodically or according to time, the traffic report is used to indicate the data volume of the first service counted in the period or time period. The traffic report may indicate that the amount of data for the first service is the threshold value if the UPF sends the traffic report according to the threshold value.

Accordingly, the SMF receives the traffic report.

S206: the SMF determines first traffic information based on the second information and the traffic report, and determines second traffic information based on the third information and the traffic report.

Wherein the first traffic information is used to indicate the data volume of the first service transmitted through the first link, for example, the second information indicates the total data volume of the first service, and 1/3 is transmitted through the first link, then the first traffic information is determined according to 1/3 and the traffic volume of the first service indicated by the traffic report. Similarly, the second traffic information is used to indicate the data amount of the first service transmitted through the second link. The second traffic information may be determined based on the third information and the traffic of the first service indicated by the traffic report.

For example, the SMF may associate the first traffic information with a first charging key for charging the data volume of the first service transmitted by the first link, and may associate the second traffic information with a second charging key for charging the data volume of the first service transmitted by the second link.

By adopting the method, the SMF can determine the first flow information and the second flow information, and then the charging or current limiting operation can be carried out on the data respectively sent by the UE through the first link and the second link according to the first flow information and the second flow information, so that the charging precision is improved and the flow statistics with finer granularity is realized. For example, the SMF may send the first charging key, the first traffic information, the second charging key, and the second traffic information to the CHF.

When the UE sends uplink data through the first link and the second link, if the UPF determines the data amount respectively transmitted by the first link and the second link, where the UE indicates to the network side that the data of the first service is transmitted through at least the first link and the second link, the communication method provided in this embodiment of the present application may include the following steps shown in fig. 5:

s301: and the UE sends the first identifier and the second identifier to the SMF and sends indication information corresponding to the first identifier and indication information corresponding to the second identifier to the RAN.

The first identifier and the second identifier may be carried in a PDU session setup request or a PDU session modification request.

The indication information corresponding to the first identifier and the indication information corresponding to the second identifier may be carried in RRC signaling sent in the PDU session establishment or modification process, or in an RRC layer of the PDU session establishment request or the PDU session modification request. The indication information corresponding to the first identifier may be used to indicate that the first identifier is carried in a GTP layer of a data packet when the RAN forwards the data packet of the first service transmitted through the first link to the UPF. The indication information corresponding to the second identifier may be used to indicate that the RAN carries the second identifier in a GTP layer of the data packet when forwarding the data packet of the first service transmitted through the first link to the UPF.

For example, the UE may further send indication information to the SMF to indicate the network side to detect the first identifier and the second identifier carried in the GTP layer of the data packet corresponding to the service flow transmission in the PDU session, and indicate the network side to respectively count the data amount of the data packet carrying the first identifier in the GTP layer and the data amount of the data packet carrying the second identifier in the GTP layer. Or, after the network side defaults to receive the first identifier and the second identifier from the UE, the data amount of the data packet carrying the first identifier in the GTP layer and the data amount of the data packet carrying the second identifier in the GTP layer may be counted respectively.

Accordingly, the SMF receives the first identity and the second identity.

S302: the SMF sends the first identity and the second identity to the PCF.

For example, the first identifier and the second identifier may be carried in the session management policy association establishment request.

If the UE sends the indication information to the SMF, the SMF can also send the indication information to the PCF.

Accordingly, the PCF receives the first identity and the second identity.

S303: and the PCF determines a first charging key value and a second charging key value according to the first identifier and the second identifier.

The first charging key value corresponds to the first identifier, or the first charging key value corresponds to the first link. The second charging key corresponds to the second identifier, or the second charging key corresponds to the second link.

S304: and the PCF sends the first charging key value and the second charging key value to the SMF.

Illustratively, the first charging key and the second charging key may be carried in a session management policy association establishment response.

S305: the SMF sends the first PDR and the second PDR to the UPF.

The first PDR comprises the first identifier and is used for indicating the UPF to detect the data packet carrying the first identifier on a GTP (GTP-U) layer and counting the data volume of the data packet carrying the first identifier on the GTP layer; the second PDR includes the second identifier, and is configured to instruct the UPF to detect the data packet carrying the second identifier on the GTP layer, and count the data amount of the data packet carrying the second identifier on the GTP layer.

It should be understood that if the first identity and the second identity in S301 are carried in the PDU session setup request, after S305, a conventional PDU session setup procedure may be performed. If the first identifier and the second identifier in S301 are carried in the PDU session modification request, after S305, a conventional PDU session modification procedure may be performed.

S306: and the UE sends the data packet of the first service to the RAN through the first link and the second link respectively.

Optionally, the data packet of the first service sent through the first link carries the first identifier. And the data packet of the first service sent through the second link carries the second identifier. For example, the UE may carry the first identifier or the second identifier in a PDCP layer or an SDAP layer of the data packet.

S307: and the RAN forwards a data packet of the first service to the UPF, wherein the data packet of the first service transmitted by the UE through the first link carries a first identifier, and the data packet of the first service transmitted by the UE through the second link carries a second identifier.

If the data packet of the first service sent by the UE carries the first identifier, the RAN may determine that the data packet is transmitted through the first link, so that the first identifier is carried on a GTP layer of the data packet when the data packet of the first service is forwarded to the UPF. If the data packet of the first service sent by the UE carries the second identifier, the RAN may determine that the data packet is transmitted through the second link, so that the second identifier may be carried on a GTP layer of the data packet when the data packet of the first service is forwarded to the UPF.

Or, the RAN may carry the first identifier in the data packet according to the information of the relay device of the first link, and when forwarding the data packet to the UPF, the RAN may carry the second identifier in the data packet according to the information of the relay device of the second link, and/or carry the first identifier in the data packet according to the information of the relay device of the second link, and the data packet of the first service. The information of the relay device of the first link and the information of the relay device of the second link may be acquired by the RAN in a process in which the UE accesses the RAN through the first link and the second link, respectively. After receiving the data packet of the first service, the RAN adds a first identifier to the GTP layer if the relay device is identified as the relay device corresponding to the first link according to the information of the relay device that transmits the data packet of the first service, or adds a second identifier to the GTP layer if the relay device is identified as the relay device corresponding to the second link.

Accordingly, the UPF receives the data packet of the first service.

S308: and the UPF obtains first flow information according to the data volume of the data packet carrying the first identifier counted by the first PDR, and obtains second flow information according to the data volume of the data packet carrying the second identifier counted by the second PDR.

S309: the UPF sends the first traffic information and the second traffic information to the SMF.

For example, the SMF may associate the first traffic information with a first charging key for charging the data volume of the first service transmitted by the first link, and may associate the second traffic information with a second charging key for charging the data volume of the first service transmitted by the second link. For example, the SMF may send the first charging key, the first traffic information, the second charging key, and the second traffic information to the CHF.

By adopting the method, the UPF can respectively identify the data packets of the first service of the UE according to the first identification and the second identification carried in the data packets, the data packets sent through the first link and the data packets sent through the second link, the first flow information and the second flow information are counted, the counting result is reported to the SMF, and the subsequent SMF can respectively carry out charging or current limiting and other operations on the data sent by the UE through the first link and the second link according to the first flow information and the second flow information, thereby improving the charging precision and realizing finer-grained flow counting.

When the UE sends uplink data through the first link and the second link, if the UPF determines the data volume of the first service transmitted by the first link and the data volume of the first service transmitted by the second link according to the second information and the third information from the RAN, respectively, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may include the following steps shown in fig. 6:

s401: the UE transmits information of the relay device of the first link and information of the relay device of the second link to the AMF.

The information of the relay device of the first link and the information of the relay device of the second link may be carried in a PDU session establishment request or a PDU session modification request.

Optionally, the RRC layer of the PDU session setup request or the PDU session modification request may carry indication information.

The indication information may be carried in RRC signaling sent in the PDU session establishment or modification process, or in an RRC layer (extended RRC layer) of the PDU session establishment request or the PDU session modification request. The indication information may be used to indicate that the RAN, after receiving the data packets transmitted through the first link and the second link, counts the data amount of the data packets transmitted through the first link and the data amount of the data packets transmitted through the second link to obtain the second information and the third information. The second information is used for indicating the proportion of the data volume of the first service transmitted by the first link to the total data volume of the first service, and the third information is used for indicating the proportion of the data volume of the first service transmitted by the second link to the total data volume of the first service. For example, the second information indicates that the data amount of the first service transmitted by the first link accounts for 1/3 of the total data amount of the first service, and the third information indicates that the data amount of the first service transmitted by the second link accounts for 2/3 of the total data amount of the first service.

Accordingly, the AMF receives information of the relay device of the first link and information of the relay device of the second link. It should be understood that the information of the relay device described herein may be a relay UE ID of the relay device.

S402: the AMF transmits information of the relay device of the first link and information of the relay device of the second link to the SMF.

Accordingly, the SMF receives information of the relay device of the first link and information of the relay device of the second link.

S403: the SMF sends the information of the relay device of the first link and the information of the relay device of the second link to the PCF.

Accordingly, the PCF receives information of the relay device of the first link and information of the relay device of the second link.

S404: and the PCF determines a first charging key value and a second charging key value according to the information of the relay equipment of the first link and the information of the relay equipment of the second link.

Wherein the first charging key value corresponds to the first link. The second charging key value corresponds to the second link.

S405: and the PCF sends the first charging key value and the second charging key value to the SMF.

It should be understood that if the information of the relay device of the first link and the information of the relay device of the second link in S401 are carried in the PDU session setup request, after S405, a conventional PDU session setup procedure may be performed. If the information of the relay device of the first link and the information of the relay device of the second link in S401 are carried in the PDU session modification request, after S405, a conventional PDU session modification procedure may be performed.

S406: and the UE sends the data packet of the first service to the RAN through the first link and the second link respectively.

Optionally, the PDCP layer or the SDAP layer of the data packet of the first service sent through the first link carries the first identifier. The PDCP or the SDAP layer of the data packet of the first service sent through the second link carries the second identifier. For example, the UE may carry the first identifier or the second identifier in a PDCP layer or an SDAP layer of the data packet.

S407: the RAN receives the data packet of the first service from the UE and counts the data volume of the data packet of the first service transmitted through the first link and the data volume of the data packet of the first service transmitted through the second link.

If the PDCP or the SDAP layer of the data packet of the first service sent by the UE carries the first identifier, the RAN may determine that the data packet is transmitted through the first link, so as to count the data amount of the data packet of the first service transmitted through the first link. If the PDCP or the SDAP layer of the data packet of the first service sent by the UE carries the second identifier, the RAN may determine that the data packet is transmitted through the second link, so that the data amount of the data packet of the first service transmitted through the second link may be determined.

Or, the RAN may count the data amount of the data packet of the first service transmitted through the first link according to the information of the relay device of the first link, and/or count the data packet of the first service transmitted through the second link according to the information of the relay device of the second link, and count the data amount of the data packet of the first service transmitted through the second link. The information of the relay device of the first link and the information of the relay device of the second link may be acquired by the RAN in a process that the UE accesses the RAN through the first link and the second link, respectively, or may be sent to the RAN by the UE through RRC signaling. After receiving the data packet of the first service, if the relay device is identified as the relay device corresponding to the first link according to the information of the relay device transmitting the data packet of the first service, the RAN may count the data amount of the data packet of the first service transmitted through the first link according to the data packet, or if the relay device is identified as the relay device corresponding to the second link, the RAN may count the data amount of the data packet of the first service transmitted through the second link according to the data packet.

S408: the RAN determines the second information and the third information according to the data volume of the data packet of the first service transmitted through the first link and the data volume of the data packet of the first service transmitted through the second link.

For example, the RAN may count the data amount of the data packets of the first service transmitted through the first link according to the information of the relay device of the first link, and/or count the data packets of the first service transmitted through the second link according to the information of the relay device of the second link, and count the data amount of the data packets of the first service transmitted through the second link. If the data of the first service of the UE are both transmitted through the first link or the second link, the RAN may determine that the data amount of the first service is a sum of the data amount of the data packets of the first service transmitted through the first link and the data amount of the data packets of the first service transmitted through the second link. The second information may be a ratio of a data amount of the data packet of the first service and a data amount of the first service transmitted through the first link within a preset time period or a preset data amount range. The third information may be a ratio of a data amount of the data packet of the first service and a data amount of the first service transmitted through the second link within a preset time period or a preset data amount range.

S409: the RAN sends the second information and the third information to the SMF.

Accordingly, the SMF receives the second information and the third information.

S410: the UPF sends a traffic report to the SMF.

Illustratively, the traffic report is carried in an N4 session report.

Accordingly, the SMF receives the traffic report.

S411: the SMF determines first traffic information from the second information and the traffic report and second traffic information from the third information and the traffic report.

By adopting the method, the SMF can determine the first flow information and the second flow information, and then the charging or current limiting operation can be carried out on the data respectively sent by the UE through the first link and the second link according to the first flow information and the second flow information, so that the charging precision is improved and the flow statistics with finer granularity is realized.

When the UE sends uplink data through the first link and the second link, if the UPF determines the data amount respectively transmitted by the first link and the second link, where the RAN indicates to the network side that the data of the first service of the UE is transmitted through at least the first link and the second link, the communication method provided in this embodiment of the present application may include the following steps shown in fig. 7:

s501: the RAN sends link information of the first link and link information of the second link to the SMF.

Wherein the link information of the first link includes the first identifier or the information of the relay device of the first link. The link information of the second link includes the second identification or information of the relay device of the second link. It should be understood that the information of the relay device described herein may be a relay UE ID of the relay device.

The link information of the first link and the link information of the second link may be carried in access network information (AN info), and the RAN may send the AN info to the SMF together with a session establishment request, where the session establishment request is from the UE. The RAN may acquire link information of the first link and link information of the second link during the UE accesses to the RAN.

Accordingly, the SMF receives link information of the first link and link information of the second link.

S502: and the SMF determines a first identifier and a second identifier according to the link information of the first link and the link information of the second link, and sends the first identifier and the second identifier to the RAN.

For example, the SMF may further send indication information corresponding to the first identity and indication information corresponding to the second identity to the RAN. The indication information corresponding to the first identifier may be used to indicate that the first identifier is carried in a GTP layer of a data packet when the RAN forwards the data packet of the first service transmitted through the first link to the UPF. The indication information corresponding to the second identifier may be used to indicate that the RAN carries the second identifier in a GTP layer of the data packet when forwarding the data packet of the first service transmitted through the first link to the UPF.

S503: the SMF sends the first identity and the second identity to the PCF.

Accordingly, the PCF receives the first identity and the second identity.

S504: and the PCF determines a first charging key value and a second charging key value according to the first identifier and the second identifier.

S505: and the PCF sends the first charging key value and the second charging key value to the SMF.

S506: the SMF sends the first PDR and the second PDR to the UPF.

The first PDR comprises the first identifier and is used for indicating the UPF to detect the data packet carrying the first identifier on the GTP layer and counting the data volume of the data packet carrying the first identifier on the GTP layer; the second PDR includes the second identifier, and is configured to instruct the UPF to detect the data packet carrying the second identifier on the GTP layer, and count the data amount of the data packet carrying the second identifier on the GTP layer.

It should be understood that if the first identifier and the second identifier in S501 are carried in the PDU session setup request, after S506, a conventional PDU session setup procedure may be performed. If the first identifier and the second identifier in S501 are carried in the PDU session modification request, after S506, a conventional PDU session modification procedure may be performed.

S507: and the UE sends the data packet of the first service to the RAN through the first link and the second link respectively.

S508: and the RAN forwards a data packet of the first service to the UPF, wherein the data packet of the first service transmitted through the first link carries a first identifier, and the data packet of the first service transmitted through the second link carries a second identifier.

The RAN may transmit a data packet of the first service through the first link according to the information of the relay device of the first link, and carry the first identifier in the data packet, and/or transmit a data packet of the first service through the second link according to the information of the relay device of the second link, and carry the second identifier in the data packet. The information of the relay device of the first link and the information of the relay device of the second link may be acquired by the RAN in a process that the UE accesses the RAN through the first link and the second link, respectively, or may be sent to the RAN by the UE through RRC signaling.

Accordingly, the UPF receives the data packet of the first service.

S509: and the UPF obtains first flow information according to the data volume of the data packet carrying the first identifier counted by the first PDR, and obtains second flow information according to the data volume of the data packet carrying the second identifier counted by the second PDR.

S510: the UPF sends the first traffic information and the second traffic information to the SMF.

By adopting the method, in the data packet of the first service of the UE, the UPF can respectively identify the first flow information of the data packet sent by the first link and the second flow information of the data packet sent by the second link according to the first identifier and the second identifier carried in the data packet, and report the statistical result to the SMF, and the subsequent SMF can respectively carry out operations such as charging or current limiting on the data sent by the UE through the first link and the second link according to the first flow information and the second flow information, thereby improving the charging precision and realizing the flow statistics with finer granularity. In the flow shown in fig. 7, data volume statistics for the first link and the second link can be achieved without improving the existing UE.

When the UE sends uplink data through the first link and the second link, if the RAN determines the data amount respectively transmitted by the first link and the second link, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may include the following steps shown in fig. 8:

s601: and the UE sends the first identifier and the second identifier to the SMF and sends indication information corresponding to the first identifier and indication information corresponding to the second identifier to the RAN. Then, S604 is executed.

The indication information corresponding to the first identifier and the indication information corresponding to the second identifier may be carried in RRC signaling sent in the PDU session establishment or modification process. The indication information corresponding to the first identifier may be used to indicate that the first identifier is carried in a GTP layer of a data packet when the RAN forwards the data packet of the first service transmitted through the first link to the UPF. The indication information corresponding to the second identifier may be used to indicate that the RAN carries the second identifier in a GTP layer of the data packet when forwarding the data packet of the first service transmitted through the first link to the UPF.

Illustratively, the UE may further send indication information to the SMF, and the SMF instructs the RAN side to detect the first identifier and the second identifier carried in the PDCP or SDAP layer of the service flow packet corresponding to the PDU session.

Accordingly, the SMF receives the first identity and the second identity.

Alternatively, the steps shown in S602-S603 are performed.

S602: the RAN sends link information of the first link and link information of the second link to the SMF.

The link information of the first link includes a first identifier or an identifier of a relay device of the first link. The link information of the second link includes the second identification or the identification of the relay device of the second link.

S603: and the SMF distributes a first identifier and a second identifier according to the link information of the first link and the link information of the second link, and the SMF sends the first identifier and the second identifier to the RAN. Thereafter, S604 is performed.

For example, the SMF may further send indication information corresponding to the first identity and indication information corresponding to the second identity to the RAN. The indication information corresponding to the first identifier may be used to indicate, to the RAN, that a packet sent by the UE over the first link may carry the first identifier in the PDCP layer or the SDAP layer, where the first identifier corresponds to the packet sent over the first link, and the RAN may count the data amount of the packet carrying the first identifier. The indication information corresponding to the second identifier may be used to indicate, to the RAN, that a packet sent by the UE through the first link may carry a first identifier in a PDCP layer or an SDAP layer, where the first identifier corresponds to the packet sent through the first link, and the RAN may count a data amount of the packet carrying the second identifier.

S604: the SMF sends the first identity and the second identity to the PCF.

Accordingly, the PCF receives the first identity and the second identity.

S605: and the PCF determines a first charging key value and a second charging key value according to the first identifier and the second identifier.

S606: and the PCF sends the first charging key value and the second charging key value to the SMF.

It should be understood that if the first identifier and the second identifier in S601 or S602 are carried in the PDU session setup request, after S606, a conventional PDU session setup procedure may be performed. If the first identifier and the second identifier in S601 or S602 are carried in the PDU session modification request, after S606, a conventional PDU session modification procedure may be performed.

S607: and the UE sends the data packet of the first service to the RAN through the first link and the second link respectively.

Accordingly, the RAN receives data packets of the first service from the UE.

S608: the RAN receives a data packet of a first service from the UE, counts the data volume of the data packet of the first service transmitted through a first link to obtain first flow information, and counts the data volume of the data packet of the first service transmitted through a second link to obtain second flow information.

If the PDCP or the SDAP layer of the data packet of the first service sent by the UE carries the first identifier, the RAN may determine that the data packet is transmitted through the first link, so as to count the data amount of the data packet of the first service transmitted through the first link, and obtain the first traffic information. If the PDCP or the SDAP layer of the data packet of the first service sent by the UE carries the second identifier, the RAN may determine that the data packet is transmitted through the second link, so as to obtain the second traffic information through the data volume of the data packet of the first service transmitted through the second link.

Or, the RAN may count the data amount of the data packet of the first service transmitted through the first link according to the information of the relay device of the first link, and/or count the data packet of the first service transmitted through the second link according to the information of the relay device of the second link, and count the data amount of the data packet of the first service transmitted through the second link. The information of the relay device of the first link and the information of the relay device of the second link may be acquired by the RAN in a process that the UE accesses the RAN through the first link and the second link, respectively, or may be sent to the RAN by the UE through RRC signaling. After receiving the data packet of the first service, if the relay device is identified as the relay device corresponding to the first link according to the information of the relay device transmitting the data packet of the first service, the RAN may count the data amount of the data packet of the first service transmitted through the first link according to the data packet to obtain the first traffic information, or if the relay device is identified as the relay device corresponding to the second link, the RAN may count the data amount of the data packet of the first service transmitted through the second link according to the data packet to obtain the second traffic information.

S609: the RAN indicates to the AMF a correspondence of the first traffic information and the first link and a correspondence of the second traffic information and the second link.

Accordingly, the AMF obtains the correspondence between the first traffic information and the first link and the correspondence between the second traffic information and the second link.

S610: the AMF indicates the corresponding relation between the first flow information and the first link and indicates the corresponding relation between the second flow information and the second link to the SMF.

The AMF may create a session management context service or update the session management context service through the PDU session, and indicate a correspondence between the first traffic information and the first link and a correspondence between the second traffic information and the second link.

Accordingly, the SMF acquires the correspondence between the first traffic information and the first link and the correspondence between the second traffic information and the second link.

By adopting the method, the RAN can determine the first flow information and the second flow information, the SMF is indicated with the first flow information and the second flow information, and then the SMF can carry out charging or current limiting and other operations on data respectively sent by the UE through the first link and the second link according to the first flow information and the second flow information, so that the charging precision is improved and finer-grained flow statistics is realized.

Based on the same concept, in order to implement each function in the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, the present application also provides a communication device. The communication device can be used for realizing the functions of the session management network element, the user plane network element, the policy management network element, the terminal equipment or the access network element. The communication means may comprise a hardware structure and/or a software module, and the functions described above are realized in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module. Whether any of the above-described functions is implemented as a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the technical solution.

As shown in fig. 9, a communication apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present application may include a communication module 901 and a processing module 902, where the communication module 901 and the processing module 902 are coupled to each other. The communication apparatus 900 may be configured to perform the steps performed by a session management network element, a user plane network element, a policy management network element, a terminal device, or an access network element as shown in fig. 3-8 above. The communication module 901 may be used to support the communication device 900 for communication, and the communication module 901 may also be referred to as a communication unit, a communication interface, a transceiver module, or a transceiver unit. The communication module 901 may have a wireless communication function, and may communicate with another communication device by a wireless communication method, for example. The processing module 902 may also be referred to as a processing unit, and may be configured to support the communication apparatus 900 to perform the processing actions of the session management network element, the user plane network element, the policy management network element, the terminal device, or the access network element in the foregoing method embodiments, including but not limited to: generate information, messages, etc. transmitted by the communication module 901, and/or demodulate and decode signals received by the communication module 901.

Specifically, when performing an action performed by the session management network element, the communication module 901 may send, to the policy management network element, first information, where the first information includes at least information of a first link and information of a second link, and the first link and the second link are used for transmitting data of a first service of the terminal device. The communication module 901 may further receive charging key information from the policy management network element, where the charging key information includes a first charging key and a second charging key, where the charging key information is determined at least according to the first information, the first charging key corresponds to the first link, and the second charging key corresponds to the second link. The processing module 902 may obtain first traffic information and second traffic information, where the first traffic information is used to indicate a data volume of the first service transmitted through the first link, the second traffic information is used to indicate a data volume of the first service transmitted through the second link, the first traffic information and the first charging key value are used for determining a cost for transmitting data of the first service through the first link, and the second traffic information and the second charging key value are used for determining a cost for transmitting data of the first service through the second link.

In one possible design, the communication module 901 may receive third traffic information from a user plane network element, where the third traffic information indicates a data amount of the first service. The processing module 902 may determine the first flow information according to the second information and the third flow information, and determine the second flow information according to the third information and the third flow information.

In one possible design, the communication module 901 may receive the first identifier and the second identifier from the terminal device. The first identifier corresponds to data transmitted through the first link, and the second identifier corresponds to data transmitted through the second link. Alternatively, the session management network element may send the first identifier and the second identifier to an access network element.

In one possible design, the communication module 901 may also send the first identifier and the second identifier to a user plane network element. The first identifier is used for determining the data volume of the first service transmitted through the first link, and the second identifier is used for determining the data volume of the first service transmitted through the second link. The communication module 901 may receive the first traffic information and the second traffic information from the user plane network element.

In one possible design, the communication module 901 may receive the first traffic information and the second traffic information from an access network element to which the terminal device is connected via the first link and the second link.

In performing the action performed by the policy management network element, the communication module 901 may receive first information from the session management network element, where the first information includes at least information of a first link and information of a second link, and the first link and the second link are used for transmitting data of a first service of the terminal device. The communication module 901 may send a first charging key and a second charging key to the user plane network element, where the charging key information includes the first charging key and the second charging key, the charging key information is determined at least according to the first information, the first charging key corresponds to the first link, and the second charging key corresponds to the second link. The first charging key and the second charging key may be determined by the processing module 902.

In performing the action performed by the user plane network element, the communication module 901 may receive the first identification and the second identification from the session management network element. The processing module 902 determines, according to the first identifier, first traffic information indicating a data volume of a first service transmitted through a first link, and determines, according to the second identifier, second traffic information indicating a data volume of the first service transmitted through a second link, where the first link and the second link are used for transmitting data of the first service of a terminal device. And the user plane network element sends the first traffic information and the second traffic information to the session management network element.

In performing the action performed by the terminal device, the communication module 901 may send, to the session management network element, a first identifier and a second identifier, where the first identifier may be used for determining the data amount of the first service transmitted through the first link, and the second identifier may be used for determining the data amount of the first service transmitted through the second link; the first link and the second link are used for transmitting data of the first service of the terminal device.

In one possible design, the communication module 901 may send a data packet of a first service through the first link, where the data packet of the first service sent through the first link includes the first identifier. The communication module 901 may further send the data packet of the first service through the second link, where the data packet of the first service sent through the second link includes the second identifier.

In one possible design, the communication module 901 may further send the first identifier and the second identifier to an access network element to which the terminal device is connected via the first link and the second link.

In performing the action performed by the terminal device, the communication module 901 may send transmission proportion information to the session management network element, where the transmission proportion information at least includes second information and third information, the second information is used to indicate a proportion of a data amount of the first service transmitted by the first link to a data amount of the first service, and the third information is used to indicate a proportion of a data amount of the first service transmitted by the second link to a data amount of the first service. The communication module 901 sends the data of the first service at least through the first link and the second link according to the transmission ratio information.

In performing the actions performed by the access network element, the communication module 901 may receive the data packet of the first service from the terminal device through the first link, and receive the data packet of the first service from the terminal device through the second link. The processing module 902 adds a first identifier to the data packet of the first service received through the first link, the first identifier being used for determining the data amount of the first service transmitted through the first link, and adds a second identifier to the data packet of the first service received through the second link, the second identifier being used for determining the data amount of the first service transmitted through the second link.

In one possible design, the communication module 901 may receive the first identifier and the second identifier from the terminal device. Alternatively, the communication module 901 may receive the first identity and the second identity from a session management network element.

In performing the actions performed by the access network element, the communication module 901 may receive the data packet of the first service from the terminal device through the first link, and receive the data packet of the first service from the terminal device through the second link. The access network element may further determine second information and third information according to the link information of the first link and the link information of the second link, where the second information is used to indicate a ratio of the data volume of the first service transmitted by the first link to the data volume of the first service, and the third information is used to indicate a ratio of the data volume of the first service transmitted by the second link to the data volume of the first service. The access network element sends the second information and the third information to the session management network element.

In performing the actions performed by the access network element, the communication module 901 may receive the data packet of the first service from the terminal device through the first link, and receive the data packet of the first service from the terminal device through the second link. The processing module 902 determines first traffic information and second traffic information according to the link information of the first link and the link information of the second link. The first traffic information is used for indicating the data volume of the first service transmitted through the first link, and the second traffic information is used for indicating the data volume of the first service transmitted through the second link. The communication module 901 sends the first traffic information and the second traffic information to a session management network element.

In addition, in another possible implementation manner, if the session management network element is implemented by a hardware component, the structure of the session management network element may also be as shown in fig. 10. For ease of understanding, only the structure necessary to perform the method illustrated in the present application is shown in fig. 10, and the present application is not limited to a communication device having many more components. The communication device 1000 may include a communication interface 1001, a memory 1002, and a processor 1003. The communication interface 1001 may be used for communication by a communication device, such as for transmitting or receiving signals by wire and/or wirelessly, thereby transmitting and/or receiving information, data, messages, and the like. The memory 1002 is coupled to the processor 1003 and is used for storing programs and data necessary for the communication device 1000 to realize the functions. The processor 1003 is configured to support the communication device 1000 to perform the processing functions performed by the session management network element in the above-described method, such as determining to generate information, messages sent by the communication interface 1001, and/or demodulating and decoding signals received by the communication interface 1001, and so on. The memory 1002 and the processor 1003 may be integrated or independent of each other.

Illustratively, the communication interface 1001 may include a wired communication interface operable to enable the communication device 1000 to receive and transmit signaling and/or data via a wired manner. The communication interface 1001 may also be referred to as a transceiving unit or a communication unit. Alternatively, the communications interface 1001 may include a wireless transceiver (e.g., including a modem and/or antenna) that may be used to enable the communications device 1000 to receive and transmit signaling and/or data wirelessly. The communication interface 1001 may also be referred to as a wireless transceiver or a wireless communication unit.

The processor 1003 may be implemented by a processing chip or a processing circuit.

In performing the action performed by the session management network element, the communication interface 1001 may send first information to the policy management network element, where the first information includes at least information of a first link and information of a second link, and the first link and the second link are used for transmitting data of a first service of the terminal device. The communication interface 1001 may further receive charging key information from the policy management network element, where the charging key information includes a first charging key and a second charging key, and the charging key information is determined at least according to the first information, where the first charging key corresponds to the first link, and the second charging key corresponds to the second link. The processor 1003 may obtain first traffic information and second traffic information, where the first traffic information is used to indicate a data volume of the first service transmitted through the first link, the second traffic information is used to indicate a data volume of the first service transmitted through the second link, the first traffic information and the first charging key are used for determining a cost for transmitting data of the first service through the first link, and the second traffic information and the second charging key are used for determining a cost for transmitting data of the first service through the second link.

In one possible design, communication interface 1001 may receive third traffic information from a user plane network element, where the third traffic information indicates a data volume of the first service. The processor 1003 can determine the first flow information according to the second information and the third flow information, and determine the second flow information according to the third information and the third flow information.

In one possible design, the communication interface 1001 may receive the first identification and the second identification from the terminal device. The first identifier corresponds to data transmitted through the first link, and the second identifier corresponds to data transmitted through the second link. Alternatively, the session management network element may send the first identifier and the second identifier to an access network element.

In one possible design, the communication interface 1001 may also send the first identity and the second identity to a user plane network element. The first identifier is used for determining the data volume of the first service transmitted through the first link, and the second identifier is used for determining the data volume of the first service transmitted through the second link. The communication interface 1001 may receive the first traffic information and the second traffic information from the user plane network element.

In one possible design, the communication interface 1001 may receive the first traffic information and the second traffic information from an access network element to which the terminal device is connected via the first link and the second link.

In performing the action performed by the policy management network element, the communication interface 1001 may receive first information from the session management network element, where the first information includes at least information of a first link and information of a second link, and the first link and the second link are used for transmitting data of a first service of the terminal device. The communication interface 1001 may send a first charging key and a second charging key to the user plane network element, where the charging key information includes the first charging key and the second charging key, the charging key information is determined at least according to the first information, the first charging key corresponds to the first link, and the second charging key corresponds to the second link. The first charging key and the second charging key may be determined by the processor 1003.

In performing the action performed by the user plane network element, the communication interface 1001 may receive the first identity and the second identity from the session management network element. The processor 1003 determines, according to the first identifier, first traffic information indicating a data amount of a first service transmitted through a first link, and determines, according to the second identifier, second traffic information indicating a data amount of the first service transmitted through a second link, where the first link and the second link are used for transmitting data of the first service of a terminal device. And the user plane network element sends the first traffic information and the second traffic information to the session management network element.

In performing the action performed by the terminal device, the communication interface 1001 may send to the session management network element a first identification usable for determination of the data amount of the first traffic transmitted over the first link and a second identification usable for determination of the data amount of the first traffic transmitted over the second link; the first link and the second link are used for transmitting data of the first service of the terminal device.

In one possible design, the communication interface 1001 may send a packet of a first service via the first link, where the packet of the first service sent via the first link includes the first identifier. The communication interface 1001 may further send the data packet of the first service through the second link, where the data packet of the first service sent through the second link includes the second identifier.

In one possible design, the communication interface 1001 may further send the first identifier and the second identifier to an access network element to which the terminal device is connected via the first link and the second link.

In performing the action performed by the terminal device, the communication interface 1001 may send, to the session management network element, transmission proportion information, where the transmission proportion information includes at least second information and third information, the second information is used to indicate a proportion of a data amount of the first service transmitted by the first link to a data amount of the first service, and the third information is used to indicate a proportion of a data amount of the first service transmitted by the second link to a data amount of the first service. The communication interface 1001 transmits data of the first service through at least the first link and the second link according to the transmission duty information.

In performing the actions performed by the access network element, the communication interface 1001 may receive data packets of the first service from the terminal device over the first link and data packets of the first service from the terminal device over the second link. The processor 1003 adds a first identifier to the data packet of the first service received through the first link, the first identifier being used for determining the data amount of the first service transmitted through the first link, and adds a second identifier to the data packet of the first service received through the second link, the second identifier being used for determining the data amount of the first service transmitted through the second link.

In one possible design, the communication interface 1001 may receive the first identity and the second identity from the terminal device. Alternatively, the communication interface 1001 may receive the first identity and the second identity from a session management network element.

In performing the actions performed by the access network element, the communication interface 1001 may receive data packets of the first service from the terminal device over the first link and data packets of the first service from the terminal device over the second link. The access network element may further determine second information and third information according to the link information of the first link and the link information of the second link, where the second information is used to indicate a ratio of the data volume of the first service transmitted by the first link to the data volume of the first service, and the third information is used to indicate a ratio of the data volume of the first service transmitted by the second link to the data volume of the first service. The access network element sends the second information and the third information to the session management network element.

In performing the actions performed by the access network element, the communication interface 1001 may receive data packets of the first service from the terminal device over the first link and data packets of the first service from the terminal device over the second link. The processor 1003 determines first traffic information and second traffic information according to the link information of the first link and the link information of the second link. The first traffic information is used for indicating the data volume of the first service transmitted through the first link, and the second traffic information is used for indicating the data volume of the first service transmitted through the second link. The communication interface 1001 sends the first traffic information and the second traffic information to a session management network element.

Based on the same concept as the method embodiment, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, where a computer program (or instruction) is stored, and when the program is executed by a processor, the computer executes the operations performed by the session management network element, the policy management network element, the user plane network element, the terminal device, and/or the access network element in any possible implementation manner of the method embodiment and the method embodiment.

Based on the same concept as the method embodiment, the present application further provides a computer program product, which when being invoked by a computer, enables the computer to implement the operations performed by the session management network element, the policy management network element, the user plane network element, the terminal device and/or the access network element in any possible implementation manner of the method embodiment and the method embodiment.

Based on the same concept as the method embodiment, the present application further provides a chip or a chip system, where the chip is coupled to the transceiver and is used to implement the operations executed by the session management network element, the policy management network element, the user plane network element, the terminal device, and/or the access network element in any possible implementation manner of the method embodiment and the method embodiment. The chip system may include the chip, as well as components including memory, communication interfaces, and the like.

Based on the same concept as the method embodiment, the present application further provides a communication system, which may be used to implement the operations executed by the session management network element, the policy management network element, the user plane network element, the terminal device, and/or the access network element in any possible implementation manner of the method embodiment and the method embodiment. Illustratively, the communication system has a structure as shown in any of fig. 1, fig. 2a or fig. 2 b. The communication system may be used to perform the procedures shown in any of fig. 4-8.

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

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

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

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

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the present application without departing from the scope of the application. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is intended to include such modifications and variations as well.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

a session management network element sends first information to a policy management network element, where the first information at least includes information of a first link and information of a second link, and the first link and the second link are used to transmit data of a first service of a terminal device;

the session management network element receives charging key value information from the policy management network element, wherein the charging key value information comprises a first charging key value and a second charging key value, the charging key value information is determined at least according to the first information, the first charging key value corresponds to the first link, and the second charging key value corresponds to the second link;

the session management network element obtains first traffic information and second traffic information, where the first traffic information is used to indicate a data volume of the first service transmitted through the first link, the second traffic information is used to indicate a data volume of the first service transmitted through the second link, the first traffic information and the first charging key value are used to determine a cost for transmitting the data of the first service through the first link, and the second traffic information and the second charging key value are used to determine a cost for transmitting the data of the first service through the second link.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first information comprises at least one of:

second information, where the second information is used to indicate a ratio of a data volume of the first service transmitted by the first link to a data volume of the first service;

third information, where the third information is used to indicate a ratio of a data volume of the first service transmitted by the second link to a data volume of the first service;

first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that data of the first service of the terminal device is transmitted at least through the first link and the second link.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the second information and the third information are from the terminal device; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the second information and the third information come from an access network element, and the terminal device is connected to the access network element through the first link and the second link.

4. The method of claim 2 or 3, wherein the obtaining of the first traffic information and the second traffic information by the session management network element comprises:

the session management network element receives third flow information from a user plane network element, wherein the third flow information indicates the data volume of the first service;

the session management network element determines the first traffic information according to the second information and the third traffic information;

and the session management network element determines the second traffic information according to the third information and the third traffic information.

5. The method of any of claims 1-2 or 4, further comprising:

the session management network element receives a first identifier and a second identifier from the terminal equipment; the first identification corresponds to data transmitted through the first link, and the second identification corresponds to data transmitted through the second link; and/or the presence of a gas in the gas,

and the session management network element sends the first identifier and the second identifier to an access network element.

6. The method of any of claims 1-2, 4, or 5, further comprising:

the session management network element sends a first identifier and a second identifier to a user plane network element, wherein the first identifier is used for determining the data volume of the first service transmitted through the first link, and the second identifier is used for determining the data volume of the first service transmitted through the second link;

the acquiring, by the session management network element, the first traffic information and the second traffic information includes:

the session management network element receives the first traffic information and the second traffic information from the user plane network element.

7. The method of any of claims 1-3, 5 or 6, wherein the obtaining, by the session management network element, the first traffic information and the second traffic information comprises:

and the session management network element receives the first traffic information and the second traffic information from an access network element, and the terminal equipment is connected to the access network element through the first link and the second link.

8. A method of communication, comprising:

a policy management network element receives first information from a session management network element, where the first information at least includes information of a first link and information of a second link, and the first link and the second link are used to transmit data of a first service of a terminal device;

the policy management network element sends a first charging key value and a second charging key value to the user plane network element, wherein the charging key value information comprises the first charging key value and the second charging key value, the charging key value information is determined at least according to the first information, the first charging key value corresponds to the first link, and the second charging key value corresponds to the second link.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first information comprises at least one of:

10. A method of communication, comprising:

the user plane network element receives a first identifier and a second identifier from the session management network element;

the user plane network element determines first traffic information according to the first identifier, where the first traffic information indicates a data volume of a first service transmitted through a first link, and determines second traffic information according to the second identifier, where the second traffic information indicates a data volume of the first service transmitted through a second link, and the first link and the second link are used for transmitting data of the first service of a terminal device;

and the user plane network element sends the first traffic information and the second traffic information to the session management network element.

11. The method of claim 10, comprising:

the first identifier corresponds to data transmitted through the first link, and the second identifier corresponds to data transmitted through the second link.

12. A method of communication, comprising:

the terminal equipment sends a first identifier and a second identifier to a session management network element, wherein the first identifier is used for determining the data volume of the first service transmitted through the first link, and the second identifier is used for determining the data volume of the first service transmitted through the second link;

the first link and the second link are used for transmitting data of the first service of the terminal equipment.

13. The method of claim 12, comprising:

the terminal device sends the data packet of the first service through the first link, and the data packet of the first service sent through the first link includes the first identifier;

and the terminal equipment sends the data packet of the first service through the second link, wherein the data packet of the first service sent through the second link comprises the second identifier.

14. The method of claim 12 or 13, further comprising:

and the terminal equipment sends the first identifier and the second identifier to an access network element, and the terminal equipment is connected to the access network element through the first link and the second link.

15. A method of communication, comprising:

the terminal equipment sends transmission ratio information to a session management network element, wherein the transmission ratio information at least comprises second information and third information, the second information is used for indicating the proportion of the data volume of the first service transmitted by a first link to the data volume of the first service, and the third information is used for indicating the proportion of the data volume of the first service transmitted by a second link to the data volume of the first service;

and the terminal device sends the data of the first service at least through the first link and the second link according to the transmission ratio information.

16. A method of communication, comprising:

an access network element receives a data packet of a first service from a terminal device through a first link and receives the data packet of the first service from the terminal device through a second link;

the access network element adds a first identifier to a data packet of the first service received through the first link, where the first identifier is used for determining the data volume of the first service transmitted through the first link;

and the access network element adds a second identifier to the data packet of the first service received through the second link, where the second identifier is used to determine the data volume of the first service transmitted through the second link.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

the access network element receives the first identifier and the second identifier from the terminal equipment; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

and the access network element receives the first identifier and the second identifier from a session management network element.

18. A method of communication, comprising:

the access network element determines second information and third information according to the link information of the first link and the link information of the second link, where the second information is used to indicate a proportion of the data volume of the first service transmitted by the first link to the data volume of the first service, and the third information is used to indicate a proportion of the data volume of the first service transmitted by the second link to the data volume of the first service;

and the access network element sends the second information and the third information to the session management network element.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the link information of the first link comprises:

an identifier of a relay device corresponding to the first link; and/or the presence of a gas in the gas,

a first identifier included in a data packet of the first service transmitted by the first link;

the link information of the second link includes:

the identifier of the relay device corresponding to the second link; and/or the presence of a gas in the gas,

a second identifier included in a data packet of the first service transmitted by the second link.

20. A method of communication, comprising:

the access network element determines first traffic information and second traffic information according to the link information of the first link and the link information of the second link; the first traffic information is used for indicating the data volume of the first service transmitted by the first link, and the second traffic information is used for indicating the data volume of the first service transmitted by the second link;

and the access network element sends the first traffic information and the second traffic information to a session management network element.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the link information of the first link comprises:

the link information of the second link includes:

22. A communications apparatus, comprising:

a communication module for the communication device to communicate;

processing means for performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 7.

23. A communications apparatus, comprising:

a communication module for the communication device to communicate;

processing means for performing the method of claim 8 or 9.

24. A communications apparatus, comprising:

a communication module for the communication device to communicate;

processing means for performing the method of claim 10 or 11.

25. A communications apparatus, comprising:

a communication module for the communication device to communicate;

processing means for performing the method of any one of claims 12-14.

26. A communications apparatus, comprising:

a communication module for the communication device to communicate;

a processing module for performing the method of claim 15.

27. A communications apparatus, comprising:

a communication module for the communication device to communicate;

processing means for performing the method of claim 16 or 17.

28. A communications apparatus, comprising:

a communication module for the communication device to communicate;

processing means for performing the method of claim 18 or 19.

29. A communications apparatus, comprising:

a communication module for the communication device to communicate;

processing means for performing the method of claim 20 or 21.

30. A communication system comprising a communication device according to claims 22 and 23.

31. The communication system according to claim 30, further comprising a communication device according to claims 24 and 25.

32. The communication system of claim 30, further comprising the communication device of claim 26.

33. The communication system according to claim 30, further comprising a communication device according to claims 24 and 27.

34. The communication system of claim 30, further comprising the communication device of claim 28.

35. The communication system of claim 30, further comprising the communication device of claim 29.

36. A computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored therein, which when invoked for execution on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any of claims 1-21.