CN115442853A

CN115442853A - Wireless communication method and device

Info

Publication number: CN115442853A
Application number: CN202110622488.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李汉成; 周汉
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-06-04
Filing date: 2021-06-04
Publication date: 2022-12-06
Also published as: WO2022252651A1

Abstract

The application provides a wireless communication method and a wireless communication device, and relates to the technical field of communication. Forwarding information for the first data flow is determined, the forwarding information representing information of a network element for forwarding the first data flow. Therefore, whether the processing time of the same network element for processing the first data stream and the second data stream conflicts or not can be determined according to the forwarding information of the first data stream. The application provides a solution for detecting processing time conflicts, and when the processing time conflicts of a first data stream and a second data stream are detected, the processing time of the first data stream can be determined, so that the conflict situation of the processing time conflicts of a plurality of data streams in the same network element is reduced.

Description

Wireless communication method and device

Technical Field

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

Background

In a deterministic transmission scheme based on the fifth generation mobile communication system (5 GS), a network element with open network capability (NEF) may obtain the time when a data stream reaches an ingress network element of the 5GS, and may determine the time when an egress network element of the 5GS transmits the data stream according to the time when the data stream reaches the ingress network element, and further configure the time when the egress network element transmits the data stream to the egress network element, and the egress network element may transmit the data stream according to the time.

The network element of 5GS may process multiple data streams, and the processing time of one network element for different data streams may generate conflicts, and no scheme capable of detecting such conflicts exists at present.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a wireless communication method and a wireless communication device, which are used for providing a method for detecting whether a plurality of data streams have time conflicts.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a wireless communication method, which may be performed by a fifth network element, or may be performed by a system on chip, where the system on chip may implement a function of the fifth network element. The fifth network element is, for example, a network open function network element, an application function network element, a user plane function network element, a session management function network element, a policy control function, a fourth network element, or a terminal device. For convenience of description, the fifth network element performs the method as an example. The method comprises the following steps: determining forwarding information of the first data stream, wherein the forwarding information comprises information of a first network element and/or information of a second network element for forwarding the first data stream; and if the first processing time conflicts with a second processing time of a second data stream, determining the processing time of the first data stream in the first network element and/or the processing time of the second network element, wherein the first processing time is the time for the first network element to process the first data stream, and the second processing time is the time for the first network element to process the second data stream, or the first processing time is the time for the second network element to process the first data stream, and the second processing time is the time for the second network element to process the second data stream.

In this embodiment, the fifth network element may determine information of a network element that forwards the first data stream, that is, forwarding information. After the forwarding information of the first data stream is determined, whether a conflict exists between the first processing time of the first data stream and the processing time of the second data stream of the same network element is determined according to the forwarding information of the first data stream, and a mechanism for detecting whether a time conflict exists among a plurality of data streams is provided. And, in case that it is determined that the time conflict exists between the first data stream and the second data stream, the processing time of the first data stream in the first network element may be determined, and/or the processing time of the first data stream in the second network element may be determined, which is equivalent to changing the processing time of the first network element and/or the processing time of the first data stream, thereby reducing the case that the processing time of the same network element conflicts with the processing times of multiple data streams, and providing a solution for solving the conflict between the processing times of multiple data streams in the same network element. Moreover, because the conflict situation of the processing time of the same network element on the multiple data streams is reduced, the failure of sending or receiving the data streams caused by the time conflict of the same network element or the incomplete sending or receiving situation of the data streams can be correspondingly reduced, so that the possibility of successfully receiving and/or sending the multiple data streams by the same network element is improved, the reliability of data stream transmission by the same network element is improved, and correspondingly, the reliability of the whole communication network where the network element is located is improved.

In a possible implementation manner, two manners of determining forwarding information of the first data stream are provided, and in the first manner, the fifth network element may receive the forwarding information from the user plane function network element, the network open function network element, the application function network element, the first network element, or the second network element; in the second manner, the fifth network element may determine the forwarding information according to related information of the first data stream, where the related information includes one or more of session information, information of the first network element, information of the second network element, and stream information, the stream information is information of a third network element or an identifier of the first data stream, and the third network element is a destination device or a source device of the first data stream.

In the first mode of this embodiment, the fifth network element may directly receive the forwarding information from other network elements, which relatively simplifies the process of determining the forwarding information by the fifth network element; in a second manner of this embodiment, the fifth network element may flexibly determine the forwarding information according to one or more items of the related information of the first data stream, which enriches the manner of determining the forwarding information.

In one possible embodiment, there are provided a plurality of ways to determine forwarding information according to specific information in the related information of the first data stream, including: if the related information includes session information, determining forwarding information corresponding to the session information, where the session information is, for example, an identifier of the session and/or an address of the session, and the like, for example, the session information is associated with information of the first network element, and/or the session information is associated with information of the second network element, then the fifth network element may determine forwarding information corresponding to the session information; or, if the related information includes the information of the first network element, determining forwarding information corresponding to the information of the first network element, for example, the fifth network element may use the information of the first network element as forwarding information, or the information of the first network element is associated with the information of the second network element, so that the fifth network element may determine the information of the second network element according to the information of the first network element, and use the determined information of the second network element as forwarding information, or the fifth network element may use the information of the first network element and the determined information of the second network element, which are included in the related information, as forwarding information; or, if the related information includes information of the second network element, determining forwarding information corresponding to the information of the second network element, for example, the fifth network element may use the information of the second network element as forwarding information, or the information of the first network element is associated with the information of the second network element, so that the fifth network element may determine the information of the first network element according to the information of the second network element, and use the determined information of the first network element as forwarding information, or the fifth network element may use the information of the second network element and the determined information of the first network element, which are included in the related information, as forwarding information; or if the related information includes the flow information, determining forwarding information corresponding to the flow information, where the meaning of the flow information may refer to the foregoing, and is not described herein again, for example, the flow information includes an identifier of the first data flow, and the identifier of the first data flow is associated with the forwarding information, so that the fifth network element may determine the forwarding information corresponding to the identifier of the first data flow after obtaining the identifier of the first data flow.

In this embodiment, the fifth network element may determine the forwarding information according to any one or more items of information in the related information, so that the manner of determining the forwarding information is enriched, and the flexibility of determining the forwarding information is improved.

In one possible embodiment, determining forwarding information corresponding to the flow information includes: according to the correspondence between the flow information and the forwarding information, the forwarding information corresponding to the flow information is determined, for example, address learning information, for example, the correspondence between the address of the third network element and the forwarding information, for example, the fifth network element prestores the address learning information, and after the fifth network element determines the address of the destination device of the first data flow, the forwarding information corresponding to the address of the destination device may be determined from the address learning information.

In this embodiment, the fifth network element may determine in advance or receive the correspondence between the stream information and the forwarding information from the other network elements, so that the corresponding forwarding information may be determined directly according to the stream information in the following, and the logic for determining the forwarding information is simpler.

In a possible implementation, a way of determining a correspondence between the flow information and the forwarding information is provided, and in particular, the correspondence between the flow information and the forwarding information may be received from a user plane function network element.

In this embodiment, the fifth network element may directly receive the corresponding relationship between the flow information and the forwarding information from the user plane function network element, which simplifies the process of obtaining the corresponding relationship by the fifth network element.

In one possible implementation, two ways of receiving information of the third network element are provided, the first way: receiving information of the third network element from the application function network element, for example, if the fifth network element is a network open function network element, the network open function network element may receive information of the third network element from the application function network element; and the second method comprises the following steps: the information of the third network element is received from the network open function network element, for example, the fifth network element is a user plane function network element, and then the user plane function network element may receive the information of the third network element from the network open function network element.

In this embodiment, the fifth network element may receive the information of the third network element from the application function network element or the network open function network element, and multiple sources of the information of the third network element received by the fifth network element are provided, so that the fifth network element may more flexibly receive the information of the third network element, which reduces the difficulty of the fifth network element receiving the information of the third network element, and correspondingly reduces the difficulty of the fifth network element determining the forwarding information based on the information of the third network element.

In a possible implementation, the flow information includes information of a third network element, and then the forwarding information corresponding to the information of the third network element may be determined according to first topology information, where the first topology information includes connection information between the first network element and at least one network element, and/or includes connection information between the second network element and at least one network element, and the at least one network element includes at least the third network element.

In this embodiment, the fifth network element may determine the information of the third network element of the first data stream, and may determine the first network element and/or the second network element that has a connection relationship with the third network element according to a topological relationship between the first network element and/or the second network element and the third network element, where the third network elements corresponding to the data streams may be different from each other, and the topological relationship may cover multiple network elements, so that the method in this embodiment may be applied to determining forwarding information of the data streams, and an application range of the method in this embodiment for determining the forwarding information is relatively wide. Moreover, the topology relationship may further include a port connection relationship between the network elements, so that the method in this embodiment may further determine the information of the ports of the first network element and/or the second network element, so that the fifth network element may specifically detect whether there is a conflict between the processing times of the multiple data streams at the ports of the first network element and/or the second network element.

In a possible implementation, a manner of obtaining the first topology information is provided, in which second topology information that is connection information between at least one network element may be received from an application function network element, and the first topology information is determined according to the second topology information and third topology information, where the third topology information includes connection information between the first network element and an adjacent network element of the first network element and/or connection information between the second network element and an adjacent network element of the second network element, and the adjacent network element belongs to the at least one network element.

In this embodiment, the fifth network element may directly receive the second topology information from the application function network element, so that the fifth network element is not required to maintain the second topology information, and the processing amount of the fifth network element may be reduced.

In a possible embodiment, during the transmission of the data stream, partial stream information of the first data stream may be determined, for example, an identifier of the first data stream and/or information of a destination device of the first data stream, and thus forwarding the data stream according to the identifier of the first data stream and/or the information of the destination device may be facilitated.

In this embodiment, the fifth network element may receive the identifier of the first data stream and/or the information of the destination device from the network open function network element, and the fifth network element does not need to allocate an identifier to the first data stream, which reduces processing of the fifth network element. Or, the fifth network element may directly allocate an identifier to the first data stream, so that a manner of determining the identifier of the first data stream is provided when the fifth network element cannot obtain the identifier of the first data stream from another network element.

In one possible embodiment, a manner is provided for determining the first processing time, in which a time of arrival of the first data stream at the first network element may be received, and the first processing time is determined based on the time and a time delay between the first network element and the second network element; alternatively, the time when the first data stream arrives at the second network element may be received, and the first processing time may be determined according to the time and the time delay between the first network element and the second network element.

In this embodiment, the fifth network element may calculate the first processing time according to the time when the first data stream arrives at the first network element or the second network element and the time delay between the first network element and the second network element, so that even if the fifth network element cannot directly obtain the first processing time, the first processing time may be calculated based on the method in this embodiment, thereby enriching the method for determining the first processing time by the fifth network element.

In a possible embodiment, when it is determined that the first processing time and the second processing time conflict, the processing time of the first data stream at the first network element and/or the processing time of the second network element may be determined, and there may be a plurality of ways to determine the processing time of the first data stream at the first network element and/or the second network element, for example, the fifth network element may adjust the time when the first data stream arrives at the first network element or the second network element, or may adjust the time delay between the first network element and the second network element, or may adjust the time when the first data stream arrives at the first network element or the second network element, and may adjust the time delay.

In this embodiment, when the first processing time and the second processing time conflict with each other, the time when the first data stream arrives at the first network element or the second network element and/or the time delay between the first network element and the second network element is/are adjusted, which is equivalent to directly or indirectly changing the first processing time, so that the possibility that the processing times of the first network element and/or the second network element conflict with each other for a plurality of data streams can be reduced, and the success rate of the first network element and/or the second network element for transmitting the data streams can be improved.

In a possible embodiment, if the processing time of the first data stream at the first network element is determined, the processing time of the first data stream at the first network element is configured to the first network element, and/or if the processing time of the first data stream at the second network element is determined, the processing time of the first data stream at the second network element may be configured to the second network element, and/or the processing time of the first data stream at the first network element and/or the processing time of the second network element is configured to the network open function network element.

In this embodiment, after determining the processing time of the first data stream at the corresponding network element, the processing time of the first data stream at the corresponding network element may be configured to the corresponding network element, so that the corresponding network element may process the first data stream according to the determined processing time. In addition, the processing time of the first data stream at the first network element and/or the second network element may be configured to the network element with the network open function, so that the network element with the network open function may predict the processing time of the first data stream at other network elements except the first network element and the second network element according to the processing time of the first data stream at the first network element and/or the second network element, and provide a time basis for the network element with the network open function to detect whether a conflict exists between the time of the next data stream and the time of the other data streams.

In a possible implementation manner, the fifth network element may configure the determined processing time of the first data stream at the first network element and/or the second network element to the session management function network element, so that the session management function network element may determine, according to the processing time of the first data stream at the first network element and/or the second network element, a time when the first data stream arrives at the access network element, thereby facilitating the access network element to schedule the first data stream according to the time when the first data stream arrives at the access network element, which is determined by the session management function network element.

The processing time of the first data stream in the first network element and/or the second network element can be determined, so that the problem of time conflict of multiple data streams in the first network element and/or the second network element can be solved.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a wireless communication method, where the method may be executed by a user plane function network element or a chip system, and the chip system may implement a function of the user plane function network element, and the following description is given by taking an example of execution of the user plane function network element, where the method includes: receiving flow information of a first data flow, wherein the flow information is information of a third network element and/or an identifier of the first data flow, and the third network element is a destination device or a source device of the first data flow; determining the forwarding information corresponding to the flow information, wherein the forwarding information includes information of a first network element and/or information of a second network element for forwarding the first data flow; the forwarding information is sent.

In this embodiment of the present application, since the user plane functional network element is responsible for routing and forwarding related functions of a user plane data packet, the user plane functional network element may directly learn, according to a path of a data stream transmitted before the third network element, information of the first network element and/or information of the second network element corresponding to the information of the third network element, so that there is no need to expand the functions of the user plane functional network element, and the user plane functional network element may quickly determine forwarding information after receiving the information of the third network element, so that there is no need for the user plane functional network element to forward the information of the first network element and/or the information of the second network element corresponding to the learned information of the third network element to other network elements, which relatively reduces data interaction.

In one possible embodiment, a way of receiving flow information of a first data flow is provided, i.e. the flow information of the first data flow may be received from a network capability openness network element or a fourth network element.

In this embodiment, the network element with an open network capability may be directly interfaced with the application function network element to obtain the flow information from the application function network element or the fourth network element, or the network element with an open network capability or the fourth network element may create the flow information by itself, that is, the network element with an open network capability or the fourth network element has multiple ways of determining the flow information, so that the user plane function network element has a higher possibility of successfully obtaining the flow information from the network element with an open network capability or the fourth network element.

In one possible embodiment, a manner of sending the forwarding information is provided, that is, the forwarding information may be sent to the network element with open network capability or a fourth network element.

In this embodiment, the network element with an open network capability or the fourth network element may receive the forwarding information, so as to determine whether a conflict exists between the first processing time of the first data stream and the second processing time of the second data stream, where the meaning of the first processing time and the second processing time may refer to the foregoing, and details are not described here, and it is not necessary for the network element with an open network capability to determine the forwarding information, so as to simplify the processing of the network element with an open network capability.

In addition, with regard to other technical effects brought about by the second aspect or the partial embodiments of the second aspect, reference may be made to the introduction of the technical effects of the first aspect or the corresponding embodiments.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a wireless communication method, where the method may be executed by an application function network element, or executed by a system on chip, where the system on chip may implement a function of the application function network element, and the method includes: receiving information of a third network element of the first data stream, wherein the third network element is a destination device or a source device of the first data stream; determining forwarding information of a first data stream corresponding to information of a third network element from first topology information, wherein the first topology information includes connection information between the first network element and at least one network element and/or includes connection information between a second network element and at least one network element, the at least one network element includes the third network element, and the forwarding information includes information of the first network element and/or information of the second network element for forwarding the first data stream; the forwarding information is sent.

In the embodiment of the application, the forwarding information is determined by the application function network element based on the topological relation between the first network element and/or the second network element and the third network element. And after determining the forwarding information, the application function network element may send the forwarding information to the network capability openness network element or another network element, so that the network capability openness network element or another network element detects whether a conflict exists between the first processing time of the first data stream and the second processing time of the second data stream according to the forwarding information.

In one possible embodiment, the method further comprises: receiving third topology information, wherein the third topology information includes connection information between the first network element and an adjacent network element of the first network element, and/or connection information between the second network element and an adjacent network element of the second network element, and the adjacent network element belongs to the at least one network element; and determining the first topology information according to second topology information and the third topology information, wherein the second topology information comprises connection information between the at least one network element.

In this embodiment, the application function network element may obtain part of the topology information, that is, the third topology information, in the first topology information from the network capability openness network element, so that the application function network element itself does not need to maintain a large amount of topology information, and processing of the application function network element is simplified.

In addition, with regard to other technical effects brought by the third aspect or some embodiments of the third aspect, reference may be made to the description of the technical effects of the first aspect or the corresponding examples.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which may be the fifth network element in the first aspect, or an electronic device (e.g., a system on chip) configured in the fifth network element, or a larger device including the fifth network element. The fifth network element comprises corresponding means (means) or modules for performing the first aspect or any of the alternative embodiments described above. For example, the communication device includes a processing unit (sometimes referred to as a processing module), and optionally, a transceiver unit (sometimes referred to as a transceiver module).

For example, the processing unit is configured to determine forwarding information of the first data flow, where the forwarding information includes information of a first network element and/or information of a second network element used for forwarding the first data flow; the processing unit is further configured to determine a processing time of the first data stream in the first network element and/or a processing time of the second network element if a conflict exists between the first processing time and the second processing time of the second data stream, where the first processing time is a time for the first network element to process the first data stream, and the second processing time is a time for the first network element to process the second data stream, or the first processing time is a time for the second network element to process the first data stream, and the second processing time is a time for the second network element to process the second data stream.

In an alternative embodiment, the communication device comprises a memory unit, and the processing unit is capable of coupling with the memory unit and executing programs or instructions in the memory unit to enable the communication device to perform the functions of the first network element.

In an alternative embodiment, the communication device comprises: a processor, coupled to the memory, configured to execute the instructions in the memory to implement the method performed by the fifth network element in the first aspect or various embodiments. Optionally, the communication device further comprises other components, such as an antenna, an input-output module, an interface, etc. These components may be hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which may be the user plane function network element in the second aspect, or an electronic device (e.g., a system on chip) configured in the user plane function network element, or a larger device including the user plane function network element. The user plane functionality network element comprises corresponding means or modules for performing the second aspect or any of the alternative embodiments described above. For example, the communication apparatus includes a transceiver unit (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver module) and a processing unit (sometimes also referred to as a processing module).

For example, the transceiver unit is configured to receive flow information of a first data flow, where the flow information is information of a third network element and/or an identifier of the first data flow, and the third network element is a destination device or a source device of the first data flow; the processing unit is configured to determine, according to a correspondence between the flow information and the forwarding information, the forwarding information corresponding to the flow information, where the forwarding information includes information of a first network element and/or information of a second network element used for forwarding the first data flow; the transceiver unit is further configured to send the forwarding information.

In an alternative embodiment, the communication device includes a memory unit, and the processing unit can be coupled to the memory unit and execute a program or instructions in the memory unit, so that the communication device can perform the functions of the user plane function network element.

In an alternative embodiment, the communication device comprises: a processor, coupled to the memory, for executing the instructions in the memory to implement the method performed by the user plane function network element in the second aspect or various embodiments. Optionally, the communication device further comprises other components, such as an antenna, an input-output module, an interface, etc. These components may be hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, where the communication apparatus may be the application function network element in the third aspect, or an electronic device (e.g., a chip system) configured in the application function network element, or a larger device including the application function network element. The application function network element comprises corresponding means or modules for performing the third aspect or any of the alternative embodiments described above. For example, the communication apparatus includes a transceiver unit (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver module) and a processing unit (sometimes also referred to as a processing module).

For example, the transceiver unit is configured to receive information of a third network element of a first data stream, where the third network element is a destination device or a source device of the first data stream; the processing unit is configured to determine forwarding information of a first data stream corresponding to information of a third network element from first topology information, where the first topology information includes connection information between the first network element and at least one network element and/or includes connection information between the second network element and at least one network element, the at least one network element includes the third network element, and the forwarding information includes information of the first network element and/or information of the second network element used for forwarding the first data stream; the transceiver unit is further configured to send the forwarding information.

In an alternative embodiment, the communication device comprises a memory unit, and the processing unit can be coupled to the memory unit and execute the program or instructions in the memory unit to enable the communication device to perform the functions of the application function network element.

In an alternative embodiment, the communication device comprises: a processor, coupled to the memory, for executing the instructions in the memory to implement the method performed by the application function network element in the third aspect or various embodiments. Optionally, the communication device further comprises other components, such as an antenna, an input-output module, an interface, etc. These components may be hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, where the chip system includes: a processor and an interface. The processor is configured to call and execute an instruction from the interface, and when the processor executes the instruction, the method according to the first aspect, the second aspect, or the third aspect is implemented.

In an eighth aspect, there is provided a computer readable storage medium for storing a computer program or instructions which, when executed, causes the method of the first, second or third aspect described above to be implemented.

A ninth aspect provides a computer program product comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the method of the first, second or third aspect described above to be carried out.

Drawings

Fig. 1A is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of 5 GS;

fig. 1B is a schematic diagram of a network architecture for implementing deterministic transmission based on 5 GS;

fig. 2A is an exemplary diagram of a 5GS normal transmission;

FIG. 2B is an exemplary diagram of a 5GS exception transmission;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application;

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

fig. 5 is an exemplary diagram of first topology information provided by an embodiment of the present application;

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

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

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

fig. 9 is a flowchart of yet another example of a wireless communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a further example of a wireless communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a flowchart of another example of a wireless communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

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

fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more clear, the present application will be further described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The particular methods of operation in the method embodiments may also be applied to apparatus embodiments or system embodiments.

Hereinafter, some terms in the embodiments of the present application are explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

1. The network element in the embodiment of the present application may be a single physical device, for example, a single device or node, or may be an apparatus integrating multiple devices or nodes. The network element shown in the embodiment of the present application may also be a logical concept, for example, a software module, or a network function corresponding to a service provided by each network element, where the network function may be understood as a virtualization function implemented in virtualization, or may be understood as a network function providing a service in a service network, for example, a User Plane Function (UPF) mainly responsible for routing and forwarding a user plane packet of a 5G core network, or a Session Management Function (SMF) specifically used for managing a Session, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

2. The terminal device in this embodiment may be referred to as a User Equipment (UE), a terminal, an access station, a UE station, a remote station, a wireless communication device, or a user equipment, and the terminal device is a device having a wireless transceiving function, and may be a fixed device, a mobile device, a handheld device, a wearable device, a vehicle-mounted device, or a wireless device (e.g., a communication module or a chip system, etc.) built in the above device. The terminal equipment is used for connecting people, objects, machines and the like, and can be widely used in various scenes, such as but not limited to the following scenes: cellular communication, device-to-device communication (D2D), vehicle-to-all (V2X), machine-to-machine/machine-type communication (M2M/MTC), internet of things (IoT), virtual Reality (VR), augmented Reality (AR), industrial control (industrial control), unmanned driving (self driving), remote medical (remote medical), smart grid (smart grid), smart furniture, smart office, smart wear, smart traffic, smart city (smart city), unmanned aerial vehicle, robot, etc. scenarios. The terminal can be cell-phone, panel computer, take the computer of wireless transceiving function, wearable equipment, vehicle, unmanned aerial vehicle, helicopter, aircraft, steamer, robot, arm, intelligent house equipment etc.. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific technology and the specific device form adopted by the terminal device. For convenience of description, in the embodiments of the present application, a terminal device is described by taking a UE as an example.

3. The network device in the embodiment of the present application includes, for example, an access network device (or referred to as an access network element), and/or a core network device (or referred to as a core network element).

The access network equipment is equipment with a wireless transceiving function and is used for communicating with the terminal equipment. The Access Network (R) AN device includes, but is not limited to, a base station (BTS, node B, eNodeB/eNB, or gbdeb/gNB) in the above communication system, a transceiver point (t (R) authentication reception point, TRP), a base station for subsequent evolution of third generation partnership project (3 gpp), AN Access Node in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, a wireless relay Node, a wireless backhaul Node, and the like. The base station may be: macro base stations, micro base stations, pico base stations, small stations, relay stations, etc. Multiple base stations may support the same access technology network as mentioned above, or may support different access technologies networks as mentioned above. A base station may include one or more co-sited or non-co-sited transmission receiving points. The network device may also be a wireless controller, a Centralized Unit (CU), and/or a Distributed Unit (DU) in a cloud radio access network (C (R) AN) scenario. The network device may also be a server, a wearable device, or a vehicle mounted device, etc. For example, the network device in vehicle to everything (V2X) technology may be a Road Side Unit (RSU). The following description will take the access network device as a base station as an example. The multiple network devices in the communication system may be base stations of the same type or different types. The base station may communicate with the terminal device, and may also communicate with the terminal device through the relay station. A terminal device may communicate with multiple base stations in different access technologies.

The core network equipment is used for realizing at least one of the functions of mobile management, data processing, session management, policy, charging and the like. The names of devices for implementing the core network function in systems with different access technologies may be different, and this is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. Taking a 5G system as an example, the core network device includes: access and mobility management function (AMF), SMF, or User Plane Function (UPF), etc.

In the embodiment of the present application, the apparatus for implementing the function of the network device may be a network device, or may be an apparatus capable of supporting the network device to implement the function, for example, a system on chip, and the apparatus may be installed in the network device. In the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, a device for implementing a function of a network device is taken as an example, and the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is described.

In this application, the number of nouns means "singular nouns or plural nouns" i.e. "one or more" unless otherwise specified. "at least one" means one or more, "a plurality" means two or more. "and/or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, meaning that there may be three relationships, e.g., a and/or B, which may mean: a alone, A and B together, and B alone, wherein A and B may be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship. For example, A/B, represents: a or B. "at least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of the singular or plural items. For example, at least one (one) of a, b, or c, represents: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a and b and c, wherein a, b and c can be single or multiple.

For ease of understanding, the network architecture of the 5G system is briefly described below.

The 3GPP standards organization sets up a next generation mobile communication network architecture (referred to as a 5G network architecture), where the 5G network architecture supports a radio technology (such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) or a 5G radio access network) defined by the 3GPP standards organization, please refer to fig. 1A, which is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of 5GS, the 5G network architecture shown in fig. 1A includes a terminal device, an access network, and a core network, and the terminal device accesses the core network through the access network, which are briefly described below.

For the introduction of the terminal device and the access network element of the access network, reference may be made to the contents discussed in the foregoing explanation section, and details are not described here again.

The core network includes core network elements and a Data Network (DN), and the core network elements include user plane network elements and control plane network elements. The user plane network element includes a User Plane Function (UPF) network element, and the UPF is mainly responsible for forwarding of packet data packets, quality of service (QoS) control, accounting information statistics, and the like. The control plane network element function is mainly responsible for service flow interaction, data packet forwarding strategy and QoS control strategy issue to the user plane network element. The following describes network elements that the control plane network element may comprise.

An access and mobility management function (AMF) network element is mainly responsible for accessing an access management function.

The SMF network element, which may be abbreviated as SMF, is configured to manage a Protocol Data Unit (PDU), create and delete a session, and maintain a PDU session context and forward user plane network element information.

A Policy Control Function (PCF) network element, which may also be referred to as PCF for short, is configured to generate and manage a user, session, and QoS flow processing policy.

An Application Function (AF) network element, which may also be referred to as AF for short, is a functional network element for providing various service services, and can interact with a core network through an NEF network element and interact with a policy management framework to perform policy management. It should be noted that, in practical applications, AFs may be divided into two types, one type belongs to a core network element, and the other type belongs to a third-party application server.

NEF network elements, also referred to as NEFs for short, are used to provide a framework, authentication and interface related to network capability openness, to pass information between 5G system network functions and other network functions.

The DN may be configured with a plurality of services, and may provide corresponding services for the terminal device, for example, services such as data and/or voice. For example, the DN includes a plurality of forwarding nodes and terminal devices connected to the respective forwarding nodes, where the terminal devices connected to the forwarding nodes, such as TSN terminals, etc., or the DN is a private network of an intelligent factory, where a sensor installed in a plant may be a terminal, a control server in which the sensor is deployed in the DN may provide a service for the sensor. The sensor can communicate with the control server, obtain the instruction of the control server, transmit the sensor data gathered to the control server, etc. according to the instruction. For another example, the DN is an internal office network of a company, the mobile phone or computer of the employee of the company may be a terminal, and the mobile phone or computer of the employee may access information, data resources, and the like on the internal office network of the company.

In fig. 1A, NSSF, nnef, nrrf, npcf, numm, naf, nausf, namf, and Nsmf are service interfaces provided by the Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF), NEF, network function repository function (NRF), PCF, unified Data Management (UDM), AF, authentication server function (AUSF), AMF, and SMF, respectively, and are used to invoke corresponding service operations. The relevant interfaces between the various network elements in the 5GS are described below.

N1, an interface between the UE and the control plane of the core network.

And N2, a communication interface between the access network element and the core network control plane.

And N3, a communication interface between the access network element and the UPF is used for transmitting the user data.

N4, communication interface between SMF and UPF, which is used to configure strategy for UPF.

N6, communication port between UPF and DN.

Referring to fig. 1B, a schematic diagram of a network architecture for implementing deterministic transmission based on 5GS is shown. The network architecture in which the 5GS interfaces with the TSN system, or may be understood as 5GS in the TSN system, includes the UPF, the RAN, and the UE, and further includes a device-side TSN translator (DS-TT) and a network-side TSN translator (NW-TT).

The mechanism for transmitting data stream based on 5GS is as follows: the data stream reaches the 5GS ingress port, is internally processed by the 5GS, and is transmitted from the 5GS egress port.

The ingress port and the egress port may be network elements in 5GS, for example, the ingress port is an ingress network element in 5GS, and the egress port is an egress network element in 5GS. For the uplink data flow, if the DS-TT and the UE are independently deployed, the input port of the 5GS is the DS-TT; if the DS-TT is integrated in the UE, the input port of the 5GS is the UE; if NW-TT and UPF are deployed independently, the exit port of the 5GS is NW-TT; the exit port of the 5GS is the UPF if the NW-TT is integrated in the UPF. For the downlink data stream, if the NW-TT and the UPF are independently deployed, the input port of the 5GS is the NW-TT; if the NW-TT is integrated in UPF, the ingress port of the 5GS is UPF; if DS-TT and UE are deployed independently, the exit port of the 5GS is DS-TT; the egress port of the 5GS is the UE if DS-TT is integrated in the UE. If in the UE-to-UE communication and the DS-TT is integrated in the UE, the ingress port and the egress port of the 5GS may be corresponding UEs, for example, UE1 and UE2 communication, the ingress port is UE1, and the egress port is UE2; if in UE-to-UE communication and DS-TT is deployed independently from UE, the ingress port and egress port of the 5GS may be corresponding DS-TT respectively, for example, UE1 and UE2 communicate, the ingress port is DS-TT1 corresponding to UE1, and the egress port is DS-TT2 corresponding to UE2. The transmission path in the UE-to-UE communication is, for example: UE1 (DS-TT 1) -RAN-UPF-UE2 (DS-TT 2).

Alternatively, the ingress port and the egress port may also be ports (ports) of a network element in the 5GS, for example, the ingress port is a port of an ingress network element in the 5GS, and the egress port is a port of an egress network element in the 5GS. For the uplink data flow, if the DS-TT and the UE are independently deployed, the input port of the 5GS is the port of the DS-TT; if the DS-TT is integrated in the UE, the input port of the 5GS is the port of the UE; if the NW-TT and the UPF are independently deployed, the exit port of the 5GS is the port of the NW-TT; the exit port of the 5GS is a port of the UPF if the NW-TT is integrated in the UPF. For the downlink data stream, if the NW-TT and the UPF are independently deployed, the input port of the 5GS is the port of the NW-TT; if NW-TT is integrated in UPF, the input port of 5GS is the port of UPF; if the DS-TT and the UE are independently deployed, the exit port of the 5GS is the port of the DS-TT; the egress port of the 5GS is the port of the UE if DS-TT is integrated in the UE. If in the communication from the UE to the UE and the DS-TT is integrated in the UE, the ingress port and the egress port of the 5GS may be the ports of the corresponding UE, respectively; if in the communication from the UE to the UE, the DS-TT and the UE are independently deployed, the inlet port and the outlet port of the 5GS can be the ports of the corresponding DS-TT respectively.

The DS-TT and the NW-TT are logic functions of a 5GS user plane, and the DS-TT can also be called as a TSN converter on the UE side and is used for connecting a TSN system on the terminal side when the 5GS user plane is in butt joint with the TSN; the NW-TT can also be called a TSN converter on the UPF side and is used for connecting a TSN system on the network side. The TSN converter converts the characteristics and information of the 5GS and adapts the information required by the TSN to be provided to the TSN system, or converts the information required by the TSN system to the characteristics or information for the 5GS to be provided to the 5GS. The DS-TT and the UE can be independently deployed, or the DS-TT and the UE can be integrated in the UE. The NW-TT and UPF can be deployed independently, or the NW-TT can be integrated in the UPF. Without specific description, the embodiments of the present application will be described by taking DS-TT integrated in UE and NW-TT integrated in UPF as examples.

Wherein the 5GS delay comprises the delay from the arrival of a packet at the ingress port of the 5GS to the egress port of the 5GS from which the packet is issued. The 5GS delay may be referred to as an internal processing time of 5GS or an internal processing delay of 5GS. The 5GS delay may include a UE-side residence time (i.e., a processing time of the data stream at the UE and a processing time of the TSN converter at the UE), or may include an UPF-side residence time (i.e., a processing time of the data stream at the UPF and a processing time of the TSN converter at the UPF), and a transmission delay between the UE and the UPF, where the transmission delay between the UE and the UPF is a Packet Delay Budget (PDB) of the data stream between the UE and the UPF.

In addition to fig. 1B, there may be other network architectures for implementing deterministic transmission based on 5GS, and in other network architectures, the 5GS user plane may also independently provide deterministic transmission capability (i.e. the 5GS is not in the TSN), and in this case, the user plane may not have DS-TT and/or NW-TT, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Currently, in a scheme for implementing deterministic transmission based on 5GS, the AF may send the time when a data stream arrives at a UE and/or a UPF and a 5GS delay (which may be referred to as 5GS delay) to the NEF.

After the NEF or other network elements except the NEF and the AF receive the time when the data stream arrives at the UE and/or the UPF from the AF and the 5GS delay, the other network elements may directly receive the time when the data stream arrives at the UE and/or the UPF from the AF and the 5GS delay, and also receive the time when the data stream arrives at the UE and/or the UPF from the NEF and the 5GS delay, and the NEF or other network elements may calculate the processing time of the data stream at the UE and/or the UPF, for simplifying the description, the NEF is described as an example in the following, and similar processes when the other network elements perform processing may be understood. If the UE receives the data stream, the processing time of the data stream at the UE may be understood as a receiving time window of the UE, or a time when the data stream starts to be received; if the UE transmits the data stream, the processing time of the data stream at the UE may be understood as a transmission time window of the UE, or a time when the data stream starts to be transmitted; if the UPF is to receive the data stream, the processing time of the data stream at the UPF can be understood as the receiving time window of the UPF, or the time to start receiving the data stream; if the UPF is to transmit the data stream, the processing time of the data stream at the UPF may be understood as the transmission time window of the UPF, or the time when transmission of the data stream begins. The receiving time window of a certain network element refers to a time period corresponding to the time period from the beginning of receiving the data stream to the end of receiving the data stream by the certain network element; the sending time window of a certain network element refers to a time period corresponding to the time period from the beginning of sending the data stream to the end of sending the data stream. The receiving time window and the transmitting time window may have various specific representation manners, for example, the receiving time window and the transmitting time window are both represented by two times, the receiving time window is represented by a start time when the data stream starts to be received and an end time when the data stream finishes being received, the transmitting time window is represented by a start time when the data stream starts to be transmitted and an end time when the data stream finishes being transmitted, or the receiving time window or the transmitting time window may also be represented by other forms, for example, the receiving time window is represented by a start time when the data stream starts to be received and a data amount of the data stream, and the transmitting time window is represented by a start time when the data stream starts to be transmitted and a data amount of the data stream, which is not limited in the specific representation forms of the time window in the embodiments of the present application.

For the uplink data stream, for example, the NEF may calculate the transmission time window of the uplink data stream at the UPF according to the time of the uplink data stream arriving at the UE and the 5GS delay. And after receiving the uplink data stream, the UE sends the uplink data stream to the UPF, and the UPF sends the uplink data stream outwards according to the calculated sending time window of the uplink data stream.

For the downlink data stream, the NEF may calculate a transmission time window of the downlink data stream at the UE according to the time when the data stream reaches the UPF and the 5GS delay. And after receiving the downlink data stream, the UPF sends the uplink data stream to the UE, and the UE sends the downlink data stream outwards according to the calculated sending time window of the downlink data stream.

According to the above scheme, if the same network element in the 5GS receives multiple data streams, the network element can normally receive the multiple data streams only when the receiving time windows of the multiple data streams by the network element do not conflict. Or, if the same network element in the 5GS transmits multiple data streams, the network element can normally transmit the multiple data streams only when the network element does not collide with the transmission time windows for the multiple data streams. For example, please refer to fig. 2A, which is an example of a 5GS normal transmission. Fig. 2A includes three data streams, which are denoted by f1, f2, and f3, respectively, and the three data streams are transmitted through the UPF without collision at the transmission time of the UPF, so that the UPF can transmit the corresponding data streams according to the respective transmission times of the three data streams, respectively.

However, there is no mechanism to detect whether there is a conflict between the processing times of multiple data streams in the same network element. In the transmission process, if a network element has a conflict with processing times of multiple data streams, the network element may not be able to send or receive the data streams according to a specified processing time, for example, an ingress port has a conflict, a different data stream cannot reach the ingress port at an expected time, or a different data stream randomly reaches the ingress port, an ingress network element corresponding to the ingress port may detect the time of the data stream reaching the ingress port, and then the ingress network element may discard the data stream with an abnormal time reaching the ingress port, or may have an abnormal time when a part of data in the data stream reaches the ingress port, and then the ingress network element may discard the part of data with the abnormal time, and may also cause a delay between the ingress port and the egress port not to coincide with the expected delay; if there is a collision at an output port, different data streams cannot be sent according to an expected time, so that an egress network element corresponding to the output port cannot send the data stream or part of data in the data stream, or delays sending the data stream or part of data in the data stream, or further delays sending the data stream to cause transmission congestion and cause random packet loss, and may also cause a delay between the input port and the output port to be inconsistent with an expected delay.

For example, referring to fig. 2B, an example of a 5GS exception is shown. Fig. 2B includes three data streams, which are respectively denoted by f4, f5, and f6, the three data streams arrive at the UE in the 5GS at the same time, and the 5GS delays corresponding to the three data streams are also the same, at this time, the three data streams collide with each other at the processing time of the UPF, so that the three data streams cannot be correctly transmitted by the UPF.

In view of this, the embodiments of the present application provide a technical solution. In the technical scheme, by determining the forwarding information of the data stream, whether the processing time of the same network element for a plurality of data streams conflicts or not can be determined, and a conflict detection scheme is provided. If the processing time of the same network element for the multiple data streams is determined to have conflict, the processing time of the network element and/or other network elements for the data streams can be correspondingly determined, so that the time conflict of the multiple data streams in the same network element can be reduced. Therefore, the conflict detection scheme provided by the embodiment of the application can effectively detect the time conflict of the network element in the data stream processing process, thereby reducing the probability of the occurrence of the conflict and improving the transmission quality and the transmission efficiency of the data stream.

The technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application may be applied to a 5G system, for example, the network architecture shown in fig. 1A or fig. 1B, or may also be applied to a next generation mobile communication system or other similar communication systems, or may also be applied to the network architecture shown in fig. 3 as follows. The application scenario shown in fig. 3 includes network elements such as AF, NEF, PCF, SMF, AMF, UPF, crtl, RAN, UE, and DS-TT.

Compared with the architecture of the 5GS shown in fig. 1A, the application scenario shown in fig. 3 is to add a new network element on the basis of the 5GS shown in fig. 1A, and for convenience of description, the new network element is referred to as a fourth network element Crtl. The fourth network element may be a control plane network element, and the fourth network element may communicate with the AF, NEF, PCF, and SMF, respectively. For example, the fourth network element may determine forwarding information of the first data stream, so as to determine whether there is a conflict between processing times of the multiple data streams by the same network element according to the forwarding information, and determine a processing time of the network element for processing the first data stream and/or a time of processing the first data stream by another network element except the network element when it is determined that there is a conflict between processing times of the multiple data streams by the same network element, so as to reduce or avoid a time conflict between the multiple data streams at the same network element.

In the application scenario shown in fig. 3, the wireless communication method in the embodiment of the present application is implemented by the fourth network element, so that a function does not need to be newly added to an existing network element of the 5GS, and the difficulty in deploying the core network can be relatively reduced. Of course, the wireless communication method in the embodiment of the present application may also be implemented by an existing network element in the 5GS, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

As an example, the fourth network element in the embodiment of the present application may be a network element having a function of Ctrl illustrated in fig. 3. For convenience of description, in the following description of the embodiment of the present application, the fourth network element is Ctrl as an example, that is, ctrl appearing in the following description of the embodiment of the present application may be replaced by the fourth network element. It should be noted that, in future communications, the fourth network element may still be referred to as Ctrl, or may also have another name, or the function of the fourth network element may also be integrated into another network element or split into multiple network elements, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

As an example, the user plane functional network element in the embodiment of the present application may be a network element having a function of the UPF shown in fig. 1A, fig. 1B, or fig. 3, and a TSN converter may be integrated in the user plane functional network element, or the TSN converter may also be deployed independently from the user plane functional network element. In addition, in the following description of the embodiment of the present application, it is assumed that the user plane function network element is a UPF, that is, the UPF appearing in the following description of the embodiment of the present application may be replaced by the user plane function network element. It should be noted that, in future communications, the user plane function network element may still be referred to as a UPF, or may also have another name, or the function of the user plane function network element may also be integrated into another network element or split into multiple network elements, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

As an example, the access and mobility management network element in the embodiment of the present application may be a network element having the function of the AMF shown in fig. 1A, fig. 1B, or fig. 3. For convenience of description, in the following description of the embodiment of the present application, an example is taken that the access and mobility management network element is an AMF, that is, the AMF appearing in the following description of the embodiment of the present application may be replaced by an access and mobility management network. It should be noted that, in future communications, the access and mobility management network element may still be referred to as an AMF, or may also have another name, or the functions of the access and mobility management network may also be integrated into another network element or split into multiple network elements, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

As an example, the session management network element in the embodiment of the present application may be a network element having the function of the SMF shown in fig. 1A, fig. 1B, or fig. 3. For convenience of description, in the following description of the embodiment of the present application, the session management network element is referred to as an SMF as an example, that is, the SMF appearing in the following description of the embodiment of the present application may be replaced by a session management network element. It should be noted that, in future communications, the session management network element may still be referred to as an SMF, or may also have another name, or the functions of the access and mobility management network may also be integrated into another network element or split into multiple network elements, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

As an example, the policy control network element in the embodiment of the present application refers to a network element having the function of the PCF shown in fig. 1A, fig. 1B, or fig. 3. For convenience of description, in the following description of the embodiment of the present application, the policy control network element is referred to as a PCF, that is, a PCF appearing in the following description of the embodiment of the present application may be replaced with a policy control function network element. It should be noted that, in future communications, the policy control network element may still be referred to as a PCF network element, or may also have another name, or the function of the policy control network element may also be integrated into another network element or split into multiple network elements, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

As an example, the network capability openness network element in the embodiment of the present application may be a network element having a function of the NEF shown in fig. 1A, fig. 1B, or fig. 3. For convenience of description, in the subsequent description of the embodiment of the present application, the network capability openness element is an NEF, that is, the NEF appearing in the subsequent description of the embodiment of the present application may be replaced by the network capability openness element. It should be noted that, in future communications, the network capability openness network element may still be referred to as NEF, or may also have another name, or the function of the network capability openness network element may also be integrated into another network element or split into multiple network elements, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

As an example, the application function network element in the embodiment of the present application may be a network element having the function of the AF shown in fig. 1A, fig. 1B, or fig. 3. For convenience of description, in the following description of the embodiment of the present application, it is assumed that the application function network element is an AF, that is, an AF appearing in the following description of the embodiment of the present application may be replaced by an application function network element. It should be noted that, in future communications, the application function network element may still be referred to as an AF, or may also have another name, or the function of the application function network element may also be integrated into another network element or split into multiple network elements, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

As an example, the access network element in the embodiment of the present application may be a network element having a function of the RAN shown in fig. 1A, fig. 1B, or fig. 3. For convenience of description, in the following description of the embodiments of the present application, the RAN is taken as an example, that is, the RAN appearing in the following embodiments of the present application may be replaced by an access network element. It should be noted that, in future communications, the access network element may still be referred to as a RAN, or may also have another name, or the function of the access network element may also be integrated into another network element or split into multiple network elements, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

As an example, the terminal device in this embodiment may be a network element having the function of the UE shown in fig. 1A, fig. 1B, or fig. 3, and the terminal may be integrated with a TSN converter, or the TSN converter is disposed independently from the terminal. For convenience of illustration, in the following description of the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device is taken as an example of a UE.

The wireless communication method provided by the embodiment of the application is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In various embodiments in this application, unless otherwise specified, the first network element and the second network element are different network elements, the first network element may be a UE, a UPF, or a RAN, and the second network element may be a UE, a UPF, or a RAN. In addition, in the figures corresponding to the embodiments of the present application, all the steps indicated by the dotted lines are optional steps.

Referring to fig. 4, a flowchart of a wireless communication method provided in this embodiment of the present application is shown, where the wireless communication method may be executed by a fifth network element or a chip system, the chip system may implement the function of the fifth network element, and the fifth network element is NEF, AF, UPF, ctrl, UE, PCF, or SMF, and the like.

In step 401, the fifth network element determines forwarding information of the first data stream, where the forwarding information includes information of the first network element and/or information of the second network element for forwarding the first data stream.

The first network element and the second network element may be two different types of network elements in a communication system, for example, referring to fig. 1A, fig. 1B, or fig. 3, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. For example, the first network element is a UPF, and the second network element is a UE; or the first network element is a UPF (unified power flow) network element, and the second network element is an access network element; or the first network element is UE, and the second network element is UPF; or the first network element is an access network element, and the second network element is UE; or the first network element is a UPF, the second network element is an access network element, and so on. The first network element and the second network element may be two network elements of the same type in a communication system, for example, in UE-to-UE communication, for example, the first network element is UE1, and the second network element is UE2.

For some network elements, there is a clear port definition, and a conflict exists only when multiple data streams are processed by the same port of the network element, so that the multiple data streams are sent from the same port of the same network element, or the multiple data streams are received by the same port of the same network element, and the situation that the processing time of the network element for the multiple data streams conflicts may occur; alternatively, there may be no port definition for some network elements, or there may be a conflict when some network elements process multiple data streams at the same time without concern for whether the multiple data streams are processed by one port of the network element, and in these cases, there may be a conflict between the processing time of the network element for multiple data streams, either when multiple data streams are received by the same network element, or when multiple data streams are transmitted from the same network element. To this end, the embodiments of the present application propose that a time collision may be detected by forwarding information of a network element of a plurality of data streams. Although the processing time of multiple data streams at a certain network element conflicts, the creation time of multiple data streams may not be the same, and then the fifth network element may have previously determined the information of the network element of a part of the multiple data streams, so the fifth network element only needs to determine the information of the network element of the current first data stream, and the determination manner of the forwarding information of multiple data streams is the same, so the first data stream is taken as an example in the embodiment of the present application.

Among them, the forwarding information may have the following two explanations.

The first explanation: the forwarding information may indicate information of a port of a network element that forwards the first data stream.

Under this interpretation, the forwarding information may comprise information of the ports of the network element or comprise information indirectly indicating the ports of the network element.

The forwarding information comprises information of the first network element and/or information of the second network element. The information of the first network element comprises one or more of information of a first port of the first network element, an identification of the first network element, or an identification of an instance of the first network element, and the information of the second network element comprises one or more of information of a second port of the second network element, an identification of the second network element, or an identification of an instance of the second network element. The first port comprises a port through which the first network element receives the first data stream, and/or a port through which the first network element sends the first data stream. The second port includes a port through which the second network element receives the first data stream, and/or a port through which the second network element sends the first data stream.

The instance of the network element may be understood as an object created by the network element and used for implementing a corresponding function, and when the instance is created, the identifier of the corresponding instance is correspondingly allocated to the instance, and the unique identifier represents the instance of the network element. If a network element is bound with a port, the binding of a port by a network element can be understood as that the network element only corresponds to a specific port of the network element, at this time, the network element may have a plurality of ports, but the identifier of the network element may only correspond to a specific port of the network element, the network element may also have only one port, and the port corresponds to the identifier of the network element, so that the identifier of the network element is also the information of the port of the network element substantially; or, if the instance of the network element is bound to a port, the binding of the instance of the network element to a port means that the instance of the network element corresponds to a port of the network element.

To facilitate a clearer understanding of the forwarding information, the following illustrates the forwarding information:

for example, the first data flow is an uplink data flow, and the forwarding information includes information of a port of a UPF that transmits the first data flow and information of a port of a UE that receives the first data flow. For another example, the first data flow is a downlink data flow, and the forwarding information includes information of a port of the UPF that receives the first data flow and information of a port of the UE that transmits the first data flow.

The second explanation: the forwarding information may indicate information of a network element that forwards the first data flow.

For example, for some network elements, a port may not be explicitly defined, but is substantially equivalent to a function with one or more ports, or for some network elements, the network element may have multiple ports, but does not concern whether multiple data streams are processed by the port of the network element, multiple data streams may be processed by one or more ports of the network element, only whether the multiple data streams are processed by the network element, or for some network elements, the network element has only one port, and does not concern the port of the network element itself, and the forwarding information may include information of the network element.

The fifth network element determines the forwarding information of the first data stream in various ways, which are described as examples below.

The first method is adopted.

And the fifth network element determines forwarding information according to the relevant information of the first data stream.

The related information of the first data flow includes, for example, one or more items of session information of the first data flow, information of the first network element, information of the second network element, or flow information of the first data flow. The session information of the first data flow, which may also be referred to as session information of the first data flow, may indicate the session in which the first data flow is transmitted, e.g. a PDU session, in case of a 5G system, which may be different in case of other communication systems. In various embodiments of the present application, a session is a PDU session as an example. The session information of the first data flow for example comprises an identification of a PDU session of the first data flow. The information of the first network element and the information of the second network element may refer to the foregoing, and are not described herein again. The flow information of the first data flow may comprise an identification of the first data flow or information of the third network element. The identification of the first data stream is used to identify the first data stream. The information of the third network element comprises information of a destination device of the first data stream or information of a source device of the first data stream. The information of the destination device comprises, for example, an identification of the destination device and/or an address of the destination device, which may be referred to as, for example, a destination address of the first data stream; the information of the source device comprises for example an identification of the source device and/or an address of the source device, for example referred to as a source address of the first data flow. In some cases, the identification of the first data flow may include a source address and/or a destination address.

The information related to the first data flow may be information pre-configured in the fifth network element or information specified by a protocol, or may be obtained from another network element. For example, the fifth network element is NEF or Ctrl, and the NEF or Ctrl may obtain the relevant information of the first data flow from the AF; for another example, the fifth network element is any one of UPF, UE, PCF, SMF, or Ctrl, and the fifth network element may obtain the relevant information of the first data flow from NEF. The source of the related information of the first data stream is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

In the first mode, the fifth network element may determine the forwarding information of the first data stream according to one or more items of the related information of the first data stream, so that multiple modes for determining the forwarding information are provided, and the fifth network element may determine the forwarding information according to any one or more items of the related information, thereby improving flexibility of determining the forwarding information by the fifth network element.

In the first mode, if the related information of the first data stream includes different information, the fifth network element may determine the manner of forwarding the information differently, which is described in the following example.

In this way, the fifth network element determines a first implementation of forwarding information, which may be referred to as sub-implementation 1.

And if the related information comprises the session information, the fifth network element determines the forwarding information of the first data flow according to the session information of the first data flow.

Before transmitting the first data flow, a session, e.g., a PDU session, may be created for the first data flow by a corresponding control plane network element, e.g., SMF, etc., and then information of the session, e.g., also referred to as session information, may be obtained by a fifth network element. The session information is, for example, an address of the session, which may also be referred to as a session address, and/or an identification of the session, which may also be referred to as a session identification. For example, after the SMF creates the session, the SMF may send the session information to the fifth network element, for example, the fifth network element is Ctrl, and the SMF directly sends the session information to Ctrl, or forwards the session information to the fifth network element through the PCF, or for example, the fifth network element is NEF, and the SMF may forward the session information to the NEF through the PCF. Or the SMF may store the session information in the UDM and the fifth network element reads the session information from the UDM.

As one example, the session information may be represented in information of an interface. For example, when SMF transmits information, an interface used by SMF to transmit information may be created, and the interface is in session granularity, that is, one session corresponds to one interface, and a network element corresponding to the interaction with the SMF may perform message transmission with the SMF through the interface, where the information of the interface substantially indicates the corresponding session.

The fifth network element stores a correspondence between the session information and the forwarding information, for example referred to as the first correspondence. Therefore, if the fifth network element obtains the session information of the first data flow, it may determine the forwarding information corresponding to the session information, that is, determine the forwarding information of the first data flow.

For example, the first corresponding relationship is a corresponding relationship between the session information and information of the first network element, and the forwarding information that can be obtained by the fifth network element includes information of the first network element; or, if the first corresponding relationship is a corresponding relationship between the session information and information of the second network element, the forwarding information that the fifth network element can obtain includes information of the second network element; or, if the first correspondence is a one-to-one relationship among the session information, the information of the first network element, and the information of the second network element, or if the first correspondence includes a first sub-correspondence between the session information and the information of the first network element, and a second sub-correspondence between the session information and the information of the second network element, the forwarding information that the fifth network element can obtain includes the information of the first network element and the information of the second network element.

For example, the fifth network element prestores a first correspondence between session information of the first data flow and information of the first network element, where the session information takes a session identifier as an example, the information of the first network element takes an identifier of a port of the UPF as an example, that is, the first correspondence is a correspondence between a session identifier "1" and an identifier "2" of the port of the UPF, and after the fifth network element determines that the session identifier of the first data flow is "1", it determines that the forwarding information includes an identifier "2" of the port of the UPF according to the session identifier and the first correspondence.

In sub-mode 1, the fifth network element can determine the forwarding information of the first data stream through the corresponding relationship, and the mode is simpler. And because corresponding session information is usually required to be created before the first data stream is transmitted, the fifth network element can easily obtain the session information, thereby reducing the difficulty of obtaining the session information by the fifth network element.

In this way, the fifth network element determines the second implementation manner of forwarding information, and this implementation manner may be referred to as a sub-manner 2.

And if the forwarding information comprises the information of the first network element, the fifth network element determines the forwarding information according to the information of the first network element.

For example, a source device of a first data flow may be capable of sensing a topology, that is, determining information of a first network element connected to the source device, and then the source device may carry the sensed information of the first network element in information of the first data flow (also referred to as flow information for short), where the information of the first data flow includes, for example, an identifier and/or a flow characteristic of the first data flow, and a fifth network element may obtain the information of the first network element from the information of the first data flow. Or, when creating a flow request of the first data flow, the flow request refers to a message requesting to create the first data flow, and the flow request may include information of the first network element, and the fifth network element may receive the flow request from another network element, so as to obtain information of the first network element according to the flow request, for example, the fifth network element is a NEF, the AF may create the flow request, and the NEF may obtain the flow request from the AF.

The stream characteristics of the data stream are used to describe the data stream characteristics of the service, for example, the stream characteristics of one data stream include one or more of the following: a destination address of the data stream, a source address of the data stream, a 5GS delay of the data stream, jitter of the data stream, a time of arrival of a burst traffic of the data stream at the UE and/or the UPF (burst arrival time at the UE and/or the UPF), a burst traffic size of the data stream (burst size), or a burst period of the data stream (burst periodicity). Jitter of a data stream refers to an error range of 5GS delay, for example, 5GS delay may fluctuate within a range due to noise, link quality, load, and the like, and the range is jitter. The time when the burst traffic of the data stream arrives at the UE or the UPF refers to the time when the data stream arrives at the UE or the UPF. Wherein a burst may be understood as a relatively high bandwidth data transmission in a short time. The burst traffic size of a data stream refers to the size of the data stream arriving at the UE or UPF. The burst period of a data stream means that the data stream arrives at the UE or the UPF at a certain period.

The fifth network element may use the information of the first network element as forwarding information. Or, the fifth network element may also store a correspondence between the information of the first network element and the information of the second network element, which may be referred to as a second correspondence, for example, so that after the fifth network element obtains the information of the first network element, the fifth network element may obtain the information of the second network element according to the second correspondence, thereby taking the information of the second network element as forwarding information. Or, after the fifth network element obtains the information of the second network element according to the second corresponding relationship, the information of the first network element and the information of the second network element may also be used as forwarding information.

For example, the fifth network element may determine a second correspondence between the information of the first network element and the information of the second network element, where the information of the first network element is, for example, an identifier of a port of the UPF, the information of the second network element is, for example, an identifier of a port of the UE, and the second correspondence is, for example: and the fifth network element obtains the corresponding relation between the identifier "1" of the port of the UPF for forwarding the first data flow and the identifier "3" of the port of the UE from the flow information of the first data flow, and forwards the first data flow from the port 1 of the UPF, so that the fifth network element can determine that the forwarding information includes the identifier "3" of the port of the UE and/or the identifier "1" of the port including the UPF according to the identifier "1" of the port of the UPF and the second corresponding relation.

In the sub-mode 2, the fifth network element may obtain the information of the first network element from the stream information or the stream request, and may also obtain the forwarding information according to the correspondence between the information of the first network element and the information of the second network element, and may obtain the forwarding information without using other information, which may relatively simplify the mode of determining the forwarding information by the fifth network element.

In this way, the fifth network element determines a third implementation of forwarding information, which may be referred to as sub-implementation 3.

And if the forwarding information comprises the information of the second network element, the fifth network element determines the forwarding information according to the information of the second network element.

For example, when the source device of the first data stream transmits the first data stream, the source device may sense the topology, that is, may determine information of the second network element connected to the source device, and then the source device may carry the sensed information of the second network element in the stream information of the first data stream, where the meaning of the stream information may refer to the foregoing, which is not described herein again, and the fifth network element may obtain the information of the second network element from the stream information. Or, when creating the flow request of the first data flow, the flow request includes information of the second network element, the fifth network element may obtain the information of the second network element from the flow request, and the meaning of the flow request may refer to the foregoing, and is not described herein again.

The fifth network element may use the information of the second network element as forwarding information. Alternatively, the fifth network element may also store a corresponding relationship between the information of the second network element and the information of the first network element, for example, referred to as a third corresponding relationship, so that after the fifth network element obtains the information of the second network element, the fifth network element may obtain the information of the first network element according to the third corresponding relationship, and use the information of the first network element as forwarding information. Or, after obtaining the information of the first network element according to the third corresponding relationship, the fifth network element may use the information of the first network element and the information of the second network element as forwarding information.

In sub-mode 3, the fifth network element may obtain the information of the second network element from the stream information or the stream request, and may also obtain the forwarding information according to the correspondence between the information of the first network element and the information of the second network element, and may obtain the forwarding information without using other information, which may relatively simplify the manner in which the fifth network element determines the forwarding information.

In this way, the fifth network element determines a fourth implementation of forwarding information, which may be referred to as sub-implementation 4.

If the related information includes information of the third network element in the stream information, the fifth network element may determine the forwarding information according to the information of the third network element. For example, the fifth network element may determine forwarding information corresponding to the obtained information of the third network element according to a fourth corresponding relationship between the information of the third network element and the forwarding information.

The fifth network element may obtain information of the third network element from the flow information or the flow request. Wherein, if the transmission direction of the first data stream is different, the information of the third network element may be different.

(1) The first data stream is an uplink data stream, the information of the third network element that can be obtained by the fifth network element includes information of the destination device, and forwarding information corresponding to the information of the destination device is determined according to a fourth correspondence between the information of the destination device and the forwarding information.

(2) If the first data stream is a downlink data stream, the information of the third network element, which can be obtained by the fifth network element, includes the information of the source device, and forwarding information corresponding to the information of the source device is determined according to a fourth corresponding relationship between the information of the source device and the forwarding information.

This relates to how the fifth network element obtains the fourth correspondence, which is described below as an example.

And a first method for obtaining the fourth corresponding relationship.

The fifth network element may obtain the address learning information. The address learning information is an implementation manner of the fourth corresponding relationship. The address learning information includes, for example, addresses of some or all of the network elements in the DN, and information of the first network element and/or the second network element corresponding to each of some or all of the addresses.

The address learning information may be preconfigured in the fifth network element, or the fifth network element may also learn to obtain the address learning information based on an address learning mechanism. The address learning mechanism includes, for example, that the fifth network element obtains the address learning information according to the information of the first network element and/or the information of the second network element corresponding to each of the partial or all network elements in the DN when transmitting other data streams. The other data stream is a different data stream from the first data stream, e.g., the other data stream refers to a data stream transmitted by the corresponding network element before transmitting the first data stream.

For example, the first data flow is an uplink data flow, the fifth network element determines that the destination address of the first data flow is address 1, and in the address learning information, address 1 of the destination device corresponds to the identifier 3 of the port of the UE, so that the fifth network element may determine that the forwarding information includes the identifier 3 of the port of the UE.

The first method for obtaining the fourth correspondence may be applied to, but is not limited to, unicast transmission or transmission of a destination address. After the fifth network element obtains the information of the third network element, the fifth network element can further obtain the forwarding information according to the address learning information learned in advance, and another way for obtaining the forwarding information is provided. In addition, according to the method for obtaining the fourth corresponding relationship, it is not necessary to expand the functions of the fifth network element or other network elements except the fifth network element too much, it is not necessary to perform an additional topology discovery process on the fifth network element or other network elements except the fifth network element, and the like, so that the processing amount of the fifth network element or other network elements except the fifth network element can be relatively simplified.

And a second method of obtaining a fourth corresponding relationship.

The fifth network element may obtain the first topology information. The first topology information is another implementation manner of the fourth corresponding relationship. The first topology information includes connection information between the first network element and at least one network element, and/or the first topology information includes connection information between the second network element and at least one network element. The at least one network element comprises a third network element.

If at least one network element only includes the third network element, that is, no intermediate device is needed between the first network element and the third network element, or an intermediate device is needed between the first network element and the third network element, but the intermediate device does not need to sense the data stream when forwarding the data stream, that is, the intermediate device can directly forward the data stream, in these cases, the first topology information includes connection information between the first network element and the third network element, and/or connection information between the second network element and the third network element. For example, taking the first network element and the fifth network element as both UPFs, and the third network element as a device (Dev) 1 as an example, the first topology information includes: UPF1 port 1, and Dev1 connected to port 1 of the UPF, the process of UPF discovering topology is for example: the Dev1 sends a topology discovery message to the UPF, the intermediate device between the Dev1 and the UPF directly forwards the topology discovery message to the UPF, and the UPF can determine the connection relationship between the port 1 of the UPF and the Dev1 through the received topology discovery message.

As an example, the fifth network element may obtain the first topology information from other network elements, e.g. the fifth network element may receive the second topology information from other network elements, which refer to network elements other than the fifth network element, e.g. AFs. The second topology information includes connection information between the first network element and an adjacent network element of the first network element, where the connection information between the first network element and the adjacent network element of the first network element includes an identifier of the first network element and an identifier of the adjacent network element of the first network element, or the connection information between the first network element and the adjacent network element of the first network element includes information of a port of the first network element and information of a port of the adjacent network element of the first network element, and/or includes connection information between the second network element and an adjacent network element of the second network element, where the adjacent network element belongs to at least one network element, where the connection information between the second network element and the adjacent network element of the second network element includes an identifier of the second network element and an identifier of the adjacent network element of the second network element, or the connection information between the second network element and the adjacent network element of the second network element includes information of a port of the second network element and information of a port of the adjacent network element of the second network element. If at least one network element only comprises a third network element, namely the third network element is directly connected with the second network element or the first network element, the second topology information obtained by the fifth network element is the first topology information.

Or, if at least one network element includes more than a third network element, that is, the third network element is connected to the second network element or the first network element through other network elements, the fifth network element may further determine the first topology information according to the second topology information and the third topology information. Wherein the third topology information includes connection information between at least one network element. The third topology information may be pre-configured in the fifth network element, or the fifth network element receives from another network element, which is not limited in this embodiment of the application, in this example, the fifth network element may obtain the second topology information from another network element, or obtain the second topology information and the third topology information from another network element, and the fifth network element does not need to update the second topology information in real time when the network topology changes, or even does not need to update the third topology information, and so on, which relatively reduces the processing amount of the fifth network element.

As another example, the first topology information may be pre-configured in the fifth network element. In this example, the fifth network element itself may have the corresponding first topology information prestored, and update the first topology information accordingly according to the change of the network topology, without obtaining the first topology information from other network elements, which relatively reduces interaction between the fifth network element and other network elements.

For example, please refer to fig. 5, which is an example of the first topology information provided in the embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 5, the DN includes a forwarding node SW, a first terminal device Dev1 and a second terminal device Dev2. Taking the first network element as an UPF as an example, the first topology information corresponding to the UPF includes an identifier of port 1 of the UPF, an identifier of port 1 of SW connected to port 1 of the UPF, an identifier of port 2 of the UPF, and information of Dev2 connected to port 2 of the UPF, and optionally, may further include information of port of Dev2 connected to port 2 of the UPF, such as an identifier of port 1 of Dev 2).

In the second method for obtaining the fourth corresponding relationship, another method for obtaining the fourth corresponding relationship is provided, and in the second method for obtaining the fourth corresponding relationship, the fifth network element or other network elements except the fifth network element do not need to use the transmission information of the data stream transmitted before the first data stream is transmitted, and only need to correspondingly determine the fourth corresponding relationship by sensing the network topology. And the topology information may relate to a connection relationship between multiple network elements, and destination devices or source devices related to different data streams may be different, so that the manner in which the fifth network element determines forwarding information based on the first topology information may be suitable for determining forwarding information of each data stream, that is, the method has good universality.

In this way, the fifth network element determines a fifth implementation of forwarding information, which may be referred to as sub-implementation 5. If the related information includes the identifier of the first data stream in the stream information, the fifth network element may pre-store a correspondence between the identifier of the first data stream and the forwarding information, for example, referred to as a fifth correspondence, and after obtaining the identifier of the first data stream, the fifth network element may determine the forwarding information according to the fifth correspondence. The fifth corresponding relationship may be pre-configured in the fifth network element, or in the case that the identifier of the first data stream includes information of the destination device and/or information of the source device of the first data stream, the fifth network element may also obtain the fifth corresponding relationship based on the method for obtaining the fourth corresponding relationship mentioned in the sub-method 4, which is not described herein again.

For example, the fifth network element determines that the identifier of the first data stream is identifier 1, and in the fifth correspondence, the identifier 1 of the first data stream corresponds to the identifier of port 1 of the UPF, and then the fifth network element may determine that the forwarding information includes the identifier of port 1 of the UPF.

The above-described sub-mode 1 to sub-mode 5 are examples of a mode of determining forwarding information for the fifth network element, and are not limited to this actually.

As an example, if the related information of the first data flow includes one or more of session information of the first data flow, information of the first network element, information of the second network element, information of the third network element, or an identification of the first data flow, the fifth network element may determine the forwarding information according to any one or more of the related information of the first data flow. Or, the fifth network element may determine the forwarding information according to information with the highest priority in information included in the related information of the first data flow, where the priority of each piece of information in the related information of the first data flow may be preconfigured by the fifth network element, or configured by another network element except the fifth network element, or specified by a protocol, or may be default, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

And the second way.

The fifth network element may receive the forwarding information from other network elements, which refer to network elements other than the fifth network element in the communication system. The manner of determining the forwarding information by other network elements may refer to the content of the sub-manner 1 to the sub-manner 5 discussed above, and is not described herein again.

For example, the fifth network element is Ctrl, and the AF may determine forwarding information of the first data flow, and Ctrl may obtain the forwarding information from the AF.

Similarly, the fifth network element may determine forwarding information of one or more other data streams besides the first data stream, for example, the other data streams include the second data stream, and the like. It should be noted that, the fifth network element may determine the order of the forwarding information of the first data stream and the forwarding information of the second data stream, which is not limited in this embodiment of the application. Alternatively, the forwarding information of the second data flow may be pre-configured in the fifth network element.

In step 402, if the first processing time conflicts with the second processing time of the second data stream, the fifth network element determines the processing time of the first data stream at the first network element and/or the processing time of the second network element. The first processing time is the time for the first network element to process the first data stream, and the second processing time is the time for the first network element to process the second data stream; or, the first processing time is a time for the second network element to process the first data stream, and the second processing time is a time for the second network element to process the second data stream.

If the process of receiving the data stream and the process of sending the data stream by the same network element are mutually influenced, for example, a port of a simplex network element, for example, RAN, the first processing time and the second processing time may be the time of the same type of processing performed by the same network element on the first data stream and the second data stream, or may be the time of different types of processing performed by the same network element on the first data stream and the second data stream.

If the process of receiving the data stream and the process of sending the data stream by the same network element are independent from each other, that is, the process of receiving the data stream and the process of sending the data stream by the same network element are not affected, the first processing time and the second processing time are the same type of processing time that the same network element respectively performs on the first data stream and the second data stream, and the same type of processing, for example, is the receiving processing or is the sending processing. For example, the first processing time is a time when the first network element receives the first data stream, and the second processing time is a time when the first network element receives the second data stream. Or, the first processing time is a time when the first network element sends the first data stream, and the second processing time is a time when the first network element sends the second data stream. Or, the first processing time is a time when the second network element receives the first data stream, and the second processing time is a time when the second network element receives the second data stream. Or, the first processing time is a time when the second network element sends the first data stream, and the second processing time is a time when the second network element sends the second data stream.

For example, the first processing time and the second processing time are understood as a concept of time instants, for example, the first processing time is a starting time instant for receiving a first data stream, and the second processing time is understood as a starting time instant for receiving a second data stream. The starting time of receiving the data stream is understood to be the time when the data stream starts to be received. For another example, the first processing time is a starting time of transmitting the first data stream, and the second processing time may be understood as a starting time of transmitting the second data stream. Here, the start time of transmitting a data stream is understood to be the time when the data stream starts to be transmitted.

Alternatively, the first processing time and the second processing time may also be understood as a concept of a time period, for example, the first processing time is a receiving time window for receiving the first data stream, and the second processing time is a receiving time window for receiving the second data stream. The starting time of the receiving time window of the data stream is the time for starting receiving the data stream, and the ending time is the time for finishing receiving the data stream. For another example, the first processing time is a sending time window for sending the first data stream, and the second processing time is a sending time window for sending the second data stream, where specific representations of the receiving time window and the sending time window may refer to the foregoing discussion, and are not described herein again.

Further, the fifth network element may determine whether there is a conflict between the first processing time and the second processing time after determining the forwarding information of the first data flow, the forwarding information of the second data flow, the first processing time, and the second processing time.

If the first processing time and the second processing time are time concepts, the first processing time and the second processing time are the same, or the first processing time or the second processing time is used as a starting time, and the time for processing the first data stream and the time for processing the second data stream are determined to be overlapped based on the capability of the network element, the first processing time and the second processing time are in conflict, and the first processing time and the second processing time are not the same, or the time for processing the first data stream and the time for processing the second data stream are determined to be not overlapped based on the capability of the network element, the first processing time and the second processing time are not in conflict.

Or, if the first processing time and the second processing time are a concept of a time period, if the first processing time and the second processing time completely overlap, or the first processing time and the second processing time partially overlap, or the overlapping portion of the first processing time and the second processing time is greater than a preset duty ratio, the first processing time and the second processing time are in conflict, and the preset duty ratio refers to a duty ratio between the overlapping portion of the first processing time and the second processing time and the first processing time, or a duty ratio between the overlapping portion of the first processing time and the second processing time; and if the first processing time and the second processing time do not overlap, or the overlapping part of the first processing time and the second processing time is less than or equal to the preset ratio, the conflict between the first processing time and the second processing time is not existed.

Or determining whether the first processing time and the second processing time have a conflict according to a scheduling mechanism, a receiving mechanism, or a sending mechanism on the same network element corresponding to the first processing time and the second processing time.

If the forwarding information directly or indirectly indicates the port of the first network element and/or the port of the second network element, and the first data stream and the second data stream are processed by the same port of the same network element, the fifth network element may detect whether there is a conflict between processing times of the first data stream and the second data stream by the same port of the same network element.

For example, taking the concept that the first processing time and the second processing time are time periods, and the first data stream and the second data stream are both received by port 1 of the UPF as an example, the fifth network element determines that the first processing time for port 1 of the UPF to receive the first data stream is: 13-31, determining that the second processing time for port 1 of the UPF to receive the second data stream is: 13-31, since there is a partial overlap of the first processing time and the second processing time, the fifth network element may determine that the first processing time and the second processing time conflict.

If the forwarding information indicates the first network element and/or the second network element but does not indicate the port of the network element, and the first data stream and the second data stream are processed by the same network element, the fifth network element may detect whether there is a conflict in the processing time of the same network element for the first data stream and the second data stream, respectively.

For example, taking the concept that the first processing time and the second processing time are time periods, and the first data stream and the second data stream are both sent by the RAN as an example, the fifth network element determines that the first processing time for the RAN to send the first data stream is: 14, 00-14, determining that a second processing time for the RAN to transmit the second data stream is: 14-00-14, the fifth network element may determine that the first processing time and the second processing time conflict because the first processing time and the second processing time completely overlap.

As an example, the first processing time and the second processing time may be pre-configured in the fifth network element, or determined by the fifth network element, and the fifth network element determines the first processing time as an example, which will be described below as an example of a manner in which the fifth network element determines the first processing time and the second processing time.

The meaning of the first processing time is different, and the manner of determining the first processing time may be various, which is described as an example below.

The determination method is as follows:

the first processing time is a time for the first network element to process the first data stream.

(1) The fifth network element receives the time when the first data stream arrives at the first network element, and then the fifth network element may directly use the time when the first data stream arrives at the first network element as the first processing time, or the fifth network element may determine the first processing time according to the time when the first data stream arrives at the first network element and the time length required by the first network element to process the first data stream. The time length required by the first network element to process the first data stream may be specified by a protocol and preconfigured in the fifth network element, or the fifth network element is calculated according to the stream characteristic of the first data stream, for example, the fifth network element is calculated according to the data volume of the first data stream.

(2) The fifth network element receives the time when the first data stream arrives at the second network element, and then the fifth network element may determine the first processing time according to the time when the first data stream arrives at the second network element and the time delay between the first network element and the second network element.

For example, the second network element is an ingress network element of the communication system, and the first network element is an egress network element of the communication system, then the fifth network element may use the sum of the time when the first data stream arrives at the second network element and the time delay between the first network element and the second network element as the first processing time. Or for example, the first network element is an ingress network element of the communication system, and the second network element is an egress network element of the communication system, then the fifth network element may use a difference between a time when the first data stream arrives at the second network element and a time delay between the first network element and the second network element as the first processing time.

Determining a second mode:

the first processing time is a time for the second network element to process the first data stream.

(1) The fifth network element receives the time when the first data stream arrives at the second network element, and then the fifth network element may directly use the time when the first data stream arrives at the second network element as the first processing time, or the fifth network element may determine the first processing time according to the time when the first data stream arrives at the second network element and the time required for the second network element to process the first data stream.

(2) The fifth network element receives the time when the first data stream arrives at the first network element, and then the fifth network element may determine the first processing time according to the time when the first data stream arrives at the first network element and the time delay between the first network element and the second network element.

For example, the first network element is an ingress network element of the communication system, and the second network element is an egress network element of the communication system, then the fifth network element may use the sum of the time when the first data stream arrives at the first network element and the time delay between the first network element and the second network element as the first processing time. Or for example, the second network element is an ingress network element of the communication system, and the first network element is an egress network element of the communication system, then the fifth network element may use a difference between a time when the first data stream arrives at the first network element and a time delay between the first network element and the second network element as the first processing time.

As an example, the manner in which the fifth network element determines the second processing time, which is determined by the fifth network element, may refer to the content of determining the first processing time, and is not described herein again.

If the fifth network element determines that the first processing time and the second processing time have a conflict, it may cause that the first network element and/or the second network element cannot process the first data stream normally, for example, cannot send all or part of the first data stream, or defers sending the first data stream to cause subsequent congestion, and further a situation of random packet loss occurs, and for example, cannot receive all or part of the first data stream, or defers receiving the first data stream to cause subsequent congestion, and further a situation of random packet loss occurs, in order to reduce or avoid the conflict that the first network element and/or the second network element process multiple data streams, in this embodiment of the present application, the fifth network element may determine the processing time of the first data stream in the first network element and/or the processing time of the first data stream in the second network element.

The fifth network element determines the processing time of the first data stream at the first network element and/or the processing time of the first data stream at the second network element, which may be implemented in various ways, as described in the following examples.

Case one.

If the first processing time and the second processing time correspond to the first network element, where the processing time of the data stream corresponds to the time that the network element can understand that the port of the network element processes the data stream, for example, the first processing time is the time that the first network element processes the first data stream, and the second processing time is the time that the first network element processes the second data stream. In case the first network element does not have a well-defined port or the first network element has one or more ports but does not care about the ports of the first network element, the fifth network element may determine the processing time of the first data stream at the first network element if it is determined that the first processing time and the second processing time conflict. As an example, the first network element may subsequently process the first data stream according to the retrieved processing time of the first data stream by the first network element.

There are many ways for the fifth network element to determine the processing time of the first data stream at the first network element, which are described in the following examples.

Example one.

The fifth network element may adjust the first processing time to obtain the processing time of the redetermined first data stream at the first network element.

Specifically, the fifth network element detects that the processing time of the first network element on the first data stream and the second data stream conflicts, that is, the processing time of the first network element on the multiple data streams conflicts is detected, and the first processing time is equivalent to an initial theoretical value of the processing time of the first network element on the first data stream, so that the fifth network element can directly adjust the first processing time, and thus, the processing time of the first network element on the first data stream is obtained again.

For example, if the first processing time and the second processing time are concepts of time, the fifth network element only needs to change the first processing time to obtain the processing time of the first network element on the first data stream; if the first processing time and the second processing time are concepts of time periods, the fifth network element may determine a time length corresponding to a part of an overlap between the first processing time and the second processing time, for example, may be referred to as an overlap time length, and adjust the first processing time according to the overlap time length, for example, add a start time and an end time of the first processing time to the overlap time length respectively, or subtract the overlap time length from the start time and the end time of the first processing time respectively, so as to obtain a processing time of the first network element on the first data stream.

Example two.

The fifth network element pre-configures the time when the first data stream arrives at the first network element, or obtains the time when the first data stream arrives at the first network element from other network elements, so that the fifth network element may adjust the time when the first data stream arrives at the first network element, and determine the processing time of the first data stream by the first network element according to the adjusted time when the first data stream arrives at the first network element.

If the processing time of the first network element to the first data stream to be determined is the receiving time of the first network element to the first data stream, and the processing time of the first network element to the first data stream to be determined is a concept of time, the adjusted time of the first data stream arriving at the first network element may be regarded as the determined processing time of the first network element to the first data stream.

If the processing time of the first data stream by the first network element that needs to be determined is the receiving time of the first data stream by the first network element, and the processing time of the first data stream by the first network element that needs to be determined is a concept of a time period, the fifth network element may use, as the starting time of the processing time of the first data stream by the first network element, the adjusted time of the first data stream reaching the first network element, and the sum of the adjusted time of the first data stream reaching the first network element and the time required by the first network element for receiving the first data stream, as the ending time of the processing time of the first data stream by the first network element. The time length required for the first network element to receive the first data stream may be understood as a time length consumed by the first network element from the beginning of receiving the first data stream to the end of receiving the first data stream, and the time length required for the first network element to receive the first data stream may be preconfigured in the fifth network element or obtained by the fifth network element from other network elements.

If the processing time of the first data stream by the first network element that needs to be determined is the sending time of the first data stream by the first network element, the fifth network element may obtain the processing time of the first data stream by the first network element according to the adjustment of the time when the first data stream reaches the first network element and the internal processing delay of the first network element for processing the first data stream. The internal processing delay of the first network element for processing the first data stream refers to a time length consumed by the first network element from the start of receiving the first data stream to the start of sending the first data stream by the first network element.

Example three.

The fifth network element pre-configures the 5GS delay of the first data stream, or obtains the 5GS delay of the first data stream from another network element, so that the fifth network element may adjust the 5GS delay of the first data stream, and determine the processing time of the first data stream by the first network element according to the adjusted 5GS.

The fifth network element may pre-configure the time when the first data stream reaches the ingress network element of the communication system, or the fifth network element may obtain the time when the first data stream reaches the ingress network element of the communication system from another network element, so the fifth network element may adjust the 5GS delay, for example, the fifth network element may increase the 5GS delay by the overlap duration, or may decrease the 5GS delay by the overlap duration, the meaning of the overlap duration may refer to the foregoing, which is not described herein again, and the sum of the adjusted 5GS delay and the time when the first data stream reaches the ingress network element of the communication system is used as the processing time of the first data stream by the first network element.

Example four.

The fifth network element adjusts the 5GS delay of the first data stream, and adjusts the time when the first data stream arrives at the ingress network element of the communication system, for example, the fifth network element may increase an overlapping duration in the time when the first data stream arrives at the ingress network element of the communication system, or may decrease the overlapping duration in the time when the first data stream arrives at the ingress network element of the communication system, the meaning of the overlapping duration may refer to the foregoing, which is not described herein again, and the processing time of the first network element on the first data stream is determined according to the adjusted 5GS delay and the adjusted time when the first data stream arrives at the ingress network element of the communication system.

Example four corresponds to a combination of example three and example two, where reference may be made to the foregoing for a manner in which the fifth network element obtains the 5GS delay and the time when the first data stream reaches the ingress network element of the communication system, and details are not described herein again.

In this case, if the first processing time and the second processing time are the concept of time, the processing time of the first data stream by the first network element that is re-determined is different from the second processing time, so that a conflict situation of the processing times of the first data stream and the second data stream by the first network element is avoided, and the first network element can subsequently process the first data stream according to the re-determined processing time of the first data stream by the first network element, thereby improving the reliability of processing the data stream by the first network element.

If the first processing time and the second processing time are the concept of a time period, and the fifth network element adjusts the initial value of the processing time of the first data stream, the first processing time can be adjusted along the direction of reducing the overlapping of the first processing time and the second processing time, so that the problem that the processing time of the first network element on the first data stream and the second data stream has time conflict can be reduced.

In case one, if the first processing time and the second processing time correspond to ports of the first network element, case one may include the following sub-cases. The processing time of the data stream corresponding to the port of the network element may be understood as the time for the port of the network element to process the data stream.

Sub-case 1.

The first processing time is a processing time of the first port of the first network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is a processing time of the first port of the first network element on the second data stream. The fifth network element may determine a processing time of the first data stream at the first port of the first network element if it is determined that the first processing time and the second processing time conflict. The first port is a port through which the first network element receives or transmits the first data stream.

The first processing time is a processing time of the first port of the first network element on the first data stream, which means that the fifth network element has obtained an initial value of the processing time of the first port of the first network element on the first data stream, so that the fifth network element can re-determine the processing time of the first port of the first network element on the first data stream. For the content of re-determining the processing time, reference may be made to the foregoing description, and details are not repeated here.

If the first processing time and the second processing time are notions of time, the fifth network element may re-determine a time different from the first processing time as the processing time of the first data stream by the first port of the first network element.

If the first processing time and the second processing time are concepts of time periods, the fifth network element may determine an overlap duration, and the meaning of the overlap duration may refer to the foregoing, which is not described herein again, and then the fifth network element may determine, according to the overlap duration, a processing time of the first port of the first network element on the first data stream, for example, the fifth network element may use a sum of a duration corresponding to the overlap duration and the first processing time as the processing time of the first port of the first network element on the first data stream; or, for example, the fifth network element may use the difference between the overlapping duration and the first processing time as the processing time of the first port of the first network element for the first data stream.

In this sub-case 1, when the processing time of the same port of the first network element on the multiple data streams conflicts, the first network element may determine the processing time of the first data stream, and because the processing time of the first port of the first network element determined again on the first data stream is different from the second processing time, or the overlapping portion of the processing time of the first port of the first network element determined again on the first data stream and the second processing time is reduced, the conflict problem is reduced, and it is convenient for the first port of the first network element to successfully process the first processing time and the second processing time subsequently.

For example, taking that the first data flow is an uplink data flow, the first network element is a UPF, the first port of the first network element is port 1 of the UPF that transmits the first data flow, the first processing time is port 1 of the UPF that transmits the first data flow, specifically 15: 15:00:58-15:01:08.

Sub-case 2.

The first processing time is a processing time of the first port of the first network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is a processing time of the first port of the first network element on the second data stream. And if the fifth network element determines that the first processing time and the second processing time have conflict, determining the processing time corresponding to the first data stream at the second port of the first network element. The first port is a port through which the first network element receives a data stream, and the second port is a port through which the first network element sends the data stream, or the first port is a port through which the first network element sends the data stream, and the second port is a port through which the first network element receives the data stream. Specifically, since the processing times of the multiple data streams on the first port of the first network element conflict with each other, it is more likely that the processing times of the multiple data streams on the second port of the first network element conflict with each other, and therefore the fifth network element may determine the corresponding processing time of the first data stream on the second port of the first network element.

When determining the processing time of the first data stream corresponding to the second port of the first network element, the processing time of the first data stream corresponding to the second port of the first network element may be determined according to the overlapping duration, and the meaning of the overlapping duration may refer to the foregoing, which is not described herein again.

For example, the fifth network element may determine the processing time of the first data stream corresponding to the second port of the first network element according to the sum of the processing time of the first network element at the first port, the time delay between the first port and the second port of the first network element, and the overlapping time duration. Or, for example, the fifth network element may determine a sum of a processing time of the first network element at the first port and a time delay between the first port and the second port of the first network element, and subtract the overlapping duration from the determined sum of the time delays, so as to determine a processing time corresponding to the first data stream at the second port of the first network element. The processing time of the first network element at the first port and the time delay between the first port and the second port of the first network element may be preconfigured in the fifth network element, or may be obtained by the fifth network element from another network element.

In this embodiment, a conflict between the processing time of the first data stream and the processing time of the second data stream by the second port may be reduced, and a conflict between the first processing time and the second processing time may also be reduced, for example, the first port is a port for transmitting the first data stream by the first network element, the second port is a port for receiving the first data stream by the first network element, the processing time of the first data stream at the second port of the first network element is determined, and actually, the processing time of the first data stream at the first port of the first network element is correspondingly changed.

For example, when the first data flow is an uplink data flow, the first network element is a UPF, the first port of the first network element is a port 1 that transmits a UPF of the first data flow, the second port of the first network element is a port 2 that receives a UPF of the first data flow, the first processing time is a transmission time of the port 1 that transmits the UPF, specifically 15.

Sub-case 3.

The first processing time is a processing time of the first port of the first network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is a processing time of the first port of the first network element on the second data stream. And if the fifth network element determines that the first processing time and the second processing time conflict, determining the processing time of the first data stream at the first port of the first network element and determining the processing time of the first data stream at the second port of the first network element. The meaning of the first port and the second port can refer to the foregoing, and are not described in detail herein. For determining the processing time of the first data stream at the first port of the first network element and determining the processing time of the first data stream at the second port of the first network element, reference may be made to the foregoing description, and details are not repeated herein.

For example, when the first data flow is an uplink data flow, the first network element is a UPF, the first port of the first network element is port 1 of the UPF which transmits the first data flow, the second port of the first network element is port 2 of the UPF which receives the first data flow, the first processing time is the transmission time of port 1 of the UPF, specifically 15-05.

And (5) the second case.

The first processing time is the processing time of the first network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is the processing time of the first network element on the second data stream. Or, the first processing time is a processing time of the first port of the first network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is a processing time of the first port of the first network element on the second data stream. Or, the first processing time is a processing time of the second port of the first network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is a processing time of the second port of the first network element on the second data stream. In this case, if the fifth network element determines that the first processing time and the second processing time conflict, and the processing times of the multiple data streams at the first network element conflict, it indicates that there is a high possibility that the processing times of the multiple data streams at the second network element conflict, and therefore, in this embodiment, the fifth network element may determine the processing time of the second network element for processing the first data stream.

There may be various ways of determining the processing time for the second network element to process the first data stream, and the following examples are introduced:

the first one.

And the fifth network element determines the processing time of the second network element for processing the first data stream according to the first processing time, the overlapping duration and the time delay between the first network element and the second network element. The meaning of the overlapping duration can refer to the foregoing, and is not described herein again.

For example, if the first network element is an ingress network element of 5GS, the fifth network element determines the first processing time and the sum of the time delays between the first network element and the second network element, and increases the overlapping duration based on the determined sum to determine the processing time for the second network element to process the first data stream. Or, the fifth network element determines the first processing time and the sum of the time delays between the first network element and the second network element, and reduces the overlapping duration on the basis of the determined sum, thereby determining the processing time for the second network element to process the first data stream. The time delay between the first network element and the second network element may be preconfigured in the fifth network element, or the fifth network element is obtained from other network elements, and the meaning of the overlapping duration may refer to the foregoing, and is not described herein again.

For example, if the first network element is an egress network element of 5GS, the fifth network element determines the first processing time and the difference between the time delays of the first network element and the second network element, increases the overlap duration based on the determined difference, and determines the processing time for the second network element to process the first data stream. And the fifth network element determines the first processing time and the time delay difference between the first network element and the second network element, subtracts the overlapping time length on the basis of the determined difference, and determines the processing time of the second network element for processing the first data stream.

And a second one.

And the fifth network element determines the processing time of the second network element for processing the first data stream according to the overlapping duration and the time of the first data stream reaching the second network element.

Wherein, the time of the first data flow arriving at the second network element may be pre-configured in the fifth network element, or the fifth network element is obtained from other network elements. The fifth network element uses the sum of the time when the first data stream arrives at the second network element and the overlapping duration as the processing time for the second network element to process the first data stream, or uses the difference between the time when the first data stream arrives at the second network element and the overlapping duration as the processing time for the second network element to process the first data stream. In case two, if the second network element has a port explicitly defined, case two may include the following sub-cases:

sub-case 4.

The first processing time is the processing time of the first network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is the processing time of the first network element on the second data stream. Or, the first processing time is a processing time of the first port of the first network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is a processing time of the first port of the first network element on the second data stream. Or, the first processing time is a processing time of the second port of the first network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is a processing time of the second port of the first network element on the second data stream. And if the fifth network element determines that the first processing time conflicts with the second processing time, determining the processing time of the first data stream at the third port of the second network element. The third port is a port through which the second network element receives or transmits the first data stream.

For example, taking that a first data stream is an uplink data stream, a first network element is a UPF, a second network element is a UE, a third port of the UE is port 3 of the UE that sends the first data stream, and a first processing time is a receiving time of the UPF for receiving the first data stream, specifically 16: 16:05:10-15:05:30.

Sub-case 5.

The first processing time is the processing time of the first network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is the processing time of the first network element on the second data stream. Or, the first processing time is a processing time of the first port of the first network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is a processing time of the first port of the first network element on the second data stream. Or, the first processing time is a processing time of the second port of the first network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is a processing time of the second port of the first network element on the second data stream. And if the fifth network element determines that the first processing time and the second processing time conflict, determining the processing time of the first data stream at the fourth port of the second network element. The third port is a port through which the second network element receives the data stream, and the fourth port is a port through which the second network element sends the data stream, or the third port is a port through which the second network element sends the data stream, and the fourth port is a port through which the second network element receives the data stream.

For determining the processing time of the first data stream at the fourth port of the second network element, reference may be made to the similar manner of determining the processing time of the first data stream at the second network element, and details are not described herein again.

For example, taking the first data stream as a downlink data stream, the first network element as a UPF, the second network element as a UE, the fourth port of the UE as a port 4 of the UE, and the first processing time is a sending time of the first data stream at a port 2 of the UPF, specifically: 17: 17-05: 17:07:55-17:08:05.

Sub-case 6.

The first processing time is the processing time of the first network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is the processing time of the first network element on the second data stream. Or, the first processing time is a processing time of the first port of the first network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is a processing time of the first port of the first network element on the second data stream. Or, the first processing time is a processing time of the second port of the first network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is a processing time of the second port of the first network element on the second data stream. And if the fifth network element determines that the first processing time and the second processing time conflict, determining the processing time of the first data flow at the third port of the second network element and determining the processing time of the first data flow at the third port of the second network element. The meaning of the third port and the fourth port may refer to the content discussed in the foregoing sub-case 5, and is not described herein again. The manner in which the fifth network element determines the processing time of the first data stream at the third port of the second network element, and the manner in which the fifth network element determines the processing time of the first data stream at the third port of the second network element may refer to the foregoing, and are not described herein again.

As an example, the first case and the second case can be combined, and any one of the sub-cases 1 to 3 can be combined with any one of the sub-cases 4 to 6.

The following is presented with the above sub-case 3 in combination with sub-case 5: the first processing time is a processing time of the first port of the first network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is a processing time of the first port of the first network element on the second data stream. And if the fifth network element determines that the first processing time conflicts with the second processing time, determining the processing time of the first data stream at the first port of the first network element, the processing time of the first data stream at the second port of the first network element, and the processing time of the first data stream at the fourth port of the second network element.

Any one of the above sub-cases 1 to 3 may be combined with any one of the above sub-cases 4 to 6, and are not listed one by one here.

Case three.

In the case that the first processing time is a processing time for the second network element to process the first data stream, the second processing time is a processing time for the second network element to process the second data stream, and the second network element does not explicitly define a port, or the second network element has one or more ports, but does not concern the port of the second network element, if it is determined that the first processing time and the second processing time have a conflict, that is, it indicates that the processing times of the first data stream and the second data stream by the fifth network element have a conflict, the fifth network element may determine the processing time of the first data stream in the second network element.

The manner in which the fifth network element determines the processing time of the first data stream in the second network element may refer to the content discussed in the foregoing description, and is not described here again.

In case three, if the first processing time and the second processing time correspond to ports of the second network element, case three may specifically include the following sub-cases. The processing time of the data stream corresponding to the port of the network element may be understood as the time for the port of the network element to process the data stream.

Sub-case 7.

The first processing time is a processing time of the third port of the second network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is a processing time of the third port of the second network element on the first data stream. And if the fifth network element determines that the first processing time and the second processing time conflict, determining the processing time of the first data stream at a third port of the third network element. The meaning of the third port can refer to the meaning of the third port discussed above, and is not described here. The manner for determining the processing time of the first data stream at the third port of the third network element may refer to the content discussed in the foregoing sub-case 1, and is not described herein again.

Sub-case 8.

The first processing time is a processing time of the third port of the second network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is a processing time of the third port of the second network element on the first data stream. The fifth network element may determine a processing time of the first data stream at a fourth port of the second network element if it is determined that the first processing time and the second processing time conflict. The meaning of the third port and the fourth port may refer to the meaning discussed above, and is not described herein again, and the content discussed above in sub-case 2 may be referred to for determining the processing time of the first data stream at the fourth port of the second network element, and is not described herein again.

Sub-case 9.

The first processing time is a processing time of the third port of the second network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is a processing time of the third port of the second network element on the first data stream. The fifth network element may determine a processing time of the first data stream at the third port of the second network element and a processing time of the first data stream at the fourth port of the second network element if it is determined that the first processing time and the second processing time are in conflict. The meaning of the third port and the fourth port can refer to the foregoing discussion, and will not be described herein. The content of determining the processing time of the first data stream at the third port of the second network element and the processing time of the first data stream at the fourth port of the second network element may refer to the content discussed in sub-case 3, and is not described herein again.

Case four.

The first processing time is the processing time of the second network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is the processing time of the second network element on the second data stream. Or, the first processing time is a processing time of the third port of the second network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is a processing time of the third port of the second network element on the second data stream. Or, the first processing time is a processing time of the fourth port of the second network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is a processing time of the fourth port of the second network element on the second data stream. If the fifth network element determines that the first processing time and the second processing time conflict with each other, because the processing times of the multiple data streams at the second network element conflict with each other, the probability that the processing times of the multiple data streams at the first network element conflict with each other is also high, and therefore in this embodiment of the present application, the fifth network element may determine the processing time of the first network element for processing the first data stream.

In case four, if the second network element has a port explicitly defined, case four may include the following sub-cases:

sub-case 10.

The first processing time is the processing time of the second network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is the processing time of the second network element on the second data stream. Or, the first processing time is a processing time of the third port of the second network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is a processing time of the third port of the second network element on the second data stream. Or, the first processing time is a processing time of the fourth port of the second network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is a processing time of the fourth port of the second network element on the second data stream. The fifth network element may determine a processing time of the first data stream at the first port of the first network element if it is determined that the first processing time and the second processing time conflict. The meaning of the first port can refer to the content discussed above, and is not described herein again. Determining the processing time of the first data stream at the first port of the first network element may refer to the content discussed in the foregoing sub-case 4, and is not described herein again.

Sub-case 11.

The first processing time is the processing time of the second network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is the processing time of the second network element on the second data stream. Or, the first processing time is a processing time of the third port of the second network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is a processing time of the third port of the second network element on the second data stream. Or, the first processing time is a processing time of the fourth port of the second network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is a processing time of the fourth port of the second network element on the second data stream. The fifth network element may determine a processing time of the first data stream at the second port of the first network element if it is determined that the first processing time and the second processing time conflict. The meaning of the second port can refer to the content discussed in the foregoing, and is not described in detail here. Determining the processing time of the first data stream at the second port of the first network element may refer to the content discussed in the foregoing sub-case 4, and is not described herein again.

Sub-case 12.

The first processing time is the processing time of the second network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is the processing time of the second network element on the second data stream. Or, the first processing time is a processing time of the third port of the second network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is a processing time of the third port of the second network element on the second data stream. Or, the first processing time is a processing time of the fourth port of the second network element on the first data stream, and the second processing time is a processing time of the fourth port of the second network element on the second data stream. The fifth network element may determine a processing time of the first data stream at the first port of the first network element and determine a processing time of the first data stream at the second port of the first network element if it is determined that the first processing time and the second processing time are in conflict. Determining the processing time of the first data stream at the second port of the first network element may refer to the content discussed in the foregoing sub-case 5, and is not described herein again.

As an example, the third case and the fourth case may be combined, and any one of the sub-cases 7 to 9 and any one of the sub-cases 10 to 12 may be combined with each other, which is not listed here.

As an example, in the embodiment of the present application, the processing time of the first data stream in the first network element and/or the second network element is taken as an example for description, actually, the fifth network element may also determine the processing time of the second data stream in the first network element and/or the second network element, and the fifth network element may also determine the processing time of the first data stream in the first network element and/or the second network element, and determine the processing time of the second data stream in the first network element and/or the second network element. For determining the processing time of the second data stream at the first network element and/or the second network element, reference may be made to the content of determining the processing time of the first data stream at the first network element and/or the second network element, which is discussed above and will not be described herein again.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 4, various ways of determining the forwarding information of the first data stream are provided, and whether a conflict exists between the processing times of the first data stream and the second data stream by the same network element can be determined according to the forwarding information, and a way of detecting a processing time conflict is provided. And when the time conflict is detected, the processing time of the first data stream in the first network element and/or the second network element can be flexibly determined, so that the condition of the processing time conflict of the same network element to a plurality of data streams is reduced or avoided.

In order to more clearly describe the wireless communication method according to the embodiment of the present application, the fifth network element may be one of NEF, AF, UPF, ctrl, UE, PCF, or SMF, and the fifth network element determines the forwarding information according to one of the foregoing modes 1 to 5, which is described as an example, and a process of the wireless communication method according to the embodiment of the present application is described as an example.

1. The fifth network element is the NEF, and the NEF determines the forwarding information based on the address learning information in the above-described manner 4.

Please refer to fig. 6, which is a flowchart illustrating a wireless communication method according to an embodiment of the present application, where fig. 6 illustrates an example in which a first data flow is an uplink data flow, a first network element is a UPF, a second network element is a UE, and forwarding information includes information of the UPF.

Step 601, UPF sends address learning information to NEF.

The UPF is preconfigured with address learning information in the DN or learns address learning information in the DN based on an address learning mechanism. The address learning information includes addresses of network elements in the DN and information of the UPF corresponding to each address. The information of the UPF includes: one or more of an identification of a UPF, an identification of an instance of a UPF, or information of a port of a UPF. The address learning mechanism can refer to the content discussed in fig. 4, and is not described here. The address learning information in this example is a specific example of the fourth correspondence relationship discussed above.

The UPF may report the address learning information to the NEF, or the UPF forwards the address learning information to the NEF through the SMF, or the UPF forwards the address learning information to the NEF through the PCF, or the UPF forwards the address learning information to the NEF through the SMF and the PCF in sequence, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

In step 602, the af sends a flow request to the NEF.

The flow request may include information of the third network element. If the first data flow is an uplink data flow, the information of the third network element is a destination address; and if the first data stream is a downlink data stream, the information of the third network element is a source address. It should be noted that fig. 6 illustrates an example in which the stream request includes a destination address.

As an example, the flow request may also include the time of arrival of the first data flow at the UE, or the NEF is pre-configured with the time of arrival of the first data flow at the UE.

The NEF may determine the transmission time of the UPF to transmit the first data stream, i.e. the first processing time of the first data stream, according to the time of arrival of the first data stream at the UE and the internal processing delay of the 5GS, where the first processing time may be understood as the transmission time of the UPF to theoretically transmit the first data stream. The internal processing delay of the 5GS may be configured by the AF to the NEF, or may be preconfigured in the NEF, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

As an example, the AF may determine a transmission time for the UPF to transmit the first data stream according to the time of arrival of the first data stream at the UE and the internal processing delay of the 5GS, and transmit the first processing time to the NEF.

Similarly, the NEF may obtain the transmission time of the UPF to transmit the second data stream, i.e., determine the second processing time. The manner of determining the second processing time may refer to the manner of determining the first processing time discussed above, and is not described herein again.

In another example, the NEF may also obtain the information of the third network element itself, and create the flow request itself.

Step 603, the nef determines the information of the UPF according to the address learning information and the destination address.

The NEF can determine information of the UPF corresponding to the destination address from the address learning information after obtaining the address learning information and the destination address.

In another possible embodiment, the NEF may send the information of the third network element to the UPF after obtaining the information of the third network element, and the UPF determines information of the UPF corresponding to the information of the third network element and sends the determined information of the UPF to the NEF. In this embodiment, the UPF may not report the address learning information, and the UPF only needs to feed back the information of the UPF corresponding to the information of the third network element to the NEF, thereby relatively reducing the interaction between the UPF and the NEF.

Similarly, the NEF may also obtain information of the UPF corresponding to the second data stream, and the manner of determining the information of the UPF corresponding to the second data stream may refer to the manner of determining the information of the UPF corresponding to the first data stream, which is discussed above, and is not described herein again.

And step 604, the NEF determines the sending time of the first data stream in the UPF if the first processing time and the second processing time are determined to have conflict according to the information of the UPF.

If the NEF determines that the first data stream and the second data stream both need to be transmitted from the same port of the UPF and determines that the first processing time and the second processing time conflict with each other, it indicates that the times for transmitting the first data stream and the second data stream from the same port of the UPF conflict with each other, so that the NEF may adjust the time for the first data stream to reach the UE and/or adjust the time delay between the UE and the UPF, which is equivalent to adjusting the transmission time for transmitting the first data stream by the UPF, i.e., equivalent to adjusting the first processing time, and the NEF may determine the adjusted first processing time according to the adjusted time for the first data stream to reach the UE and/or the adjusted time delay between the UE and the UPF, and use the adjusted first processing time as the transmission time of the first data stream in the UPF.

The time difference between the adjusted first processing time and the first processing time is referred to as an adjustment time, and the adjustment time may be a specific time adjustment value or a time adjustment interval.

In the embodiment of the present application, the NEF changes the transmission time of the first data stream in the UPF, so that the problem of collision between the transmission time of the first data stream in the UPF and the transmission time of the second data stream in the UPF can be reduced or avoided.

Fig. 6 illustrates an example of determining the transmission time of the first data stream in the UPF, and similarly, the NEF may further determine one or more of the reception time of the first data stream in the UPF, the reception time of the first data stream in the UE, or the transmission time of the first data stream in the UE, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Step 605, nef configures egress scheduling information to UPF.

The egress scheduling information at least includes the transmission time of the first data stream in the UPF, where the transmission time of the first data stream in the UPF is the transmission time of the first data stream in the UPF determined by the NEF in step 604, that is, the adjusted first processing time.

As another example, the NEF may configure the sending time of the first data flow at the UPF to the UPF through the PCF, or the NEF may configure the sending time of the first data flow at the UPF to the PCF, and the PCF may carry the sending time of the first data flow at the UPF in policy information, and forward the policy information to the UPF, where the policy information may include, in addition to the sending time of the first data flow at the UPF, quality of service information, monitoring information, and the like, and the monitoring information may include, for example, monitoring information for a delay, for example, a 5GS delay in the foregoing.

As another example, the NEF may configure the first data flow to the UPF at the time of transmission of the UPF by the PCF. Alternatively, the NEF may configure the first data stream to the UPF at the transmission time of the UPF through the SMF. Alternatively, the NEF may sequentially configure the first data flow to the UPF at the sending time of the UPF through the PCF and the SMF, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

When the NEF configures the egress scheduling information to the UPF, the NEF may also configure the flow information of the first data flow to the UPF, so that the UPF sends the first data flow according to the egress scheduling information.

As an example, if the NEF determines the receiving time of the first data stream at the UE and/or determines the transmitting time of the first data stream at the UE, the NEF may configure the receiving time of the first data stream at the UE and/or determine the transmitting time of the first data stream at the UE to the UE, and the manner of configuring the first data stream to the UE may refer to the manner of configuring the first data stream to the UPF, which is not described herein again.

As an example, if the NEF determines the receiving time of the first data stream in the UPF, the NEF may also configure the receiving time of the first data stream in the UPF as the UPF.

As an example, the scheduling information configured by the NEF for the UPF may be a granularity of a data stream, and it may be understood that the NEF configures scheduling information corresponding to each data stream for the UPF with the granularity of a data stream, where the scheduling information includes egress scheduling information and/or ingress scheduling information, the egress scheduling information includes a transmission time for indicating to transmit a data stream, and the ingress scheduling information includes a reception time for indicating to receive a data stream, for example, taking as an example that the scheduling information includes a transmission time for indicating to transmit a data stream, the NEF configures a transmission time of a first data stream at the UPF for the UPF, and the UPF may transmit the first data stream at the transmission time of the UPF according to the first data stream when the first data stream is subsequently transmitted.

As another example, the scheduling information configured by the NEF for the UPF may be port granularity, where port granularity may be understood as that the NEF may combine the scheduling information of the first data stream corresponding to the port with the scheduling information of other data streams and then transmit the combined scheduling information to the UPF, and taking the scheduling information as a transmission time window as an example, the NEF may combine the transmission time windows of multiple data streams into one large transmission time window and transmit the large transmission time window to the UPF, and the UPF transmits the multiple data streams based on the combined transmission time window. In this example, the UPF can flexibly process each data stream with reference to the time configured by the NEF, so that the processing resources of the UPF can be flexibly coordinated or the processing time of each data stream can be flexibly coordinated under the condition of reducing time conflict.

For example, port 1, where NEF configures UPF, transmits the first data stream and the second data stream at 13.

As another example, the scheduling information configured by the NEF for the UPF may be queue granularity, where queue granularity may be understood as that the NEF may merge the scheduling information of the first data flow in the queue with the scheduling information of other data flows and then send the merged scheduling information to the UPF, and a queue may be understood as a queue where a certain port of the UPF or the UPF sends a data flow. Taking the example that the scheduling information includes the sending time, the UPF may obtain the sending time of the multiple data streams corresponding to a certain port, and may flexibly schedule the multiple data streams according to each sending time when the multiple data streams are subsequently sent. In this example, the UPF may flexibly transmit the corresponding data stream according to the processing time of the data stream configured by the NEF, and flexibly coordinate the transmission time of multiple data streams under the condition of reducing the time conflict of the data streams, so as to improve the efficiency of the UPF in transmitting and receiving the data streams, so as to meet the transmission priority requirements of the data streams of different services.

For example, port 2, where NEF configures the UPF, starts transmitting the first and second data streams in the first queue from 11. Correspondingly, the UPF may transmit the second data stream at 11.

Step 606, nef sends the time of arrival of the first data stream at the UE and the adjustment time to the SMF.

The meaning of adjusting the time here can refer to the content discussed in the foregoing step 605, and is not described in detail here.

In step 607, the smf calculates a Time Sensitive Communication Assistance Information (TSCAI) according to the time of arrival of the first data stream at the UE and the adjustment time.

The TSCAI is information for assisting the RAN in scheduling, and refers to time when a data stream arrives at an access network element, and if the first data stream is an uplink data stream, the TSCAI is time when the UE sends the first data stream to the access network element, and if the first data stream is time when the first data stream arrives at the access network element.

Taking fig. 6 as an example, the SMF may determine the time when the UE transmits the first data stream, i.e., TSCAI, according to the time when the first data stream arrives at the UE, the adjustment time, and the internal processing time of the UE. For example, the time of arrival of the first data stream at the UE, the adjustment time, and the internal processing time of the UE are added, thereby obtaining TSCAI.

At step 608, the smf configures the TSCAI to the RAN.

The RAN, after receiving the TSCAI, may schedule a first data flow according to the TSCAI.

In the embodiment of steps 606-608, the RAN may schedule the first data flow with reference to the adjusted TACAI to reduce or avoid a time collision situation of the first data flow and the second data flow at the RAN.

Step 609, the nef sends the AF the send time of the first data stream at the UPF.

The transmission time of the first data stream in the UPF in step 609 refers to the first processing time after the foregoing adjustment.

The NEF sends the first data stream to the AF at the sending time of the UPF, and the AF may refer to the sending time of the first data stream at the UPF to determine the time for processing the data stream by another network element, where the another network element is a network element other than the UPF, for example, a terminal device or a forwarding node in the DN. The time for processing the data stream by the other network element includes: one or more of time for receiving the first data stream by the other network element, time for forwarding the first data stream by the other network element, or time for feeding back the first data stream by the other network element. The AF may subsequently determine the time when the next data stream arrives at the UE or the UPF according to the time when the first data stream is received and transmitted by other network elements.

Further, the NEF may feed back to the AF the time when the first data stream arrives at the UE and the transmission time of the first data stream at the UPF. The AF may determine, by combining the time when the first data stream arrives at the UE, the time delay between the UE and the UPF, and the time delay between the other network elements, the processing time for the other network elements to process the first data stream, where the processing time for the other network elements to process the first data stream may be the time for the other network elements to transmit and/or receive the first data stream.

As an example, steps 601-603 are optional parts, step 605 is an optional step, steps 606-608 are optional parts, and step 609 is an optional step.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 6, the NEF may determine forwarding information corresponding to the address learning information according to information of a third network element of the first data flow, so as to determine whether there is a conflict between transmission times of the first data flow and the second data flow on the same port of the UPF according to the forwarding information, which provides a solution for detecting a time conflict, and when a time conflict is detected, the time for the first network element or the second network element to process the first data flow may be adjusted, so as to reduce or avoid the problem of time conflict between multiple data flows in the UPF. Further, the NEF may also feed back the adjusted processing time and the like to the SMF, so that the SMF calculates the time for the adjusted first data stream to reach the RAN, and the RAN may perform data stream scheduling according to the time for the adjusted first data stream to reach the RAN, thereby reducing or avoiding the problem of collision of the processing time of multiple data streams at the RAN.

2. The fifth network element is Ctrl, and Ctrl determines forwarding information based on the address learning information in the above manner 4:

please refer to fig. 7, which is a flowchart illustrating a wireless communication method according to an embodiment of the present application, where in fig. 7, a first data stream is taken as a downlink data stream, a first network element is a UPF, a second network element is a UE, and forwarding information includes information of the UE as an example.

In step 701, the upf sends address learning information to Ctrl via PCF.

The address learning information shown in fig. 7 includes a corresponding relationship between information of the third network element and information of the UE corresponding to the third network element, which is an example of the fourth corresponding relationship in the foregoing.

As another example, the UPF may forward the address learning information to Ctrl through the SMF and PCF in sequence, or in the case where Ctrl and UPF may communicate directly, the UPF may send the address learning information directly to Ctrl.

Step 702, ctrl receives a flow request from AF through NEF.

The meaning of the stream request can refer to the content discussed above, and is not described in detail here. The example in fig. 7 is that the flow request includes a source address.

As another example, ctrl may receive flow requests from AF, where NEF mediation is not needed, reducing interactions in the communication system.

And step 703, ctrl determines the information of the UE according to the address learning information and the source address.

And 704, according to the information of the UE, if the first processing time and the second processing time are determined to have conflict, determining the sending time of the first data stream at the UE.

The first processing time is a sending time when the UE sends the first data stream, the second processing time is a sending time when the UE sends the first data stream, and the determination manner of the first processing time and the second processing time may refer to the content discussed with reference to fig. 4, which is not described herein again. If Ctrl determines that there is a conflict between the first processing time and the second processing time, the first processing time may be adjusted to obtain the transmission time of the first data stream at the UE, i.e., the adjusted first processing time.

Step 705a, ctrl configures the transmission time of the first data stream at the UE, the time when the first data stream reaches the UPF, and the adjustment time to the SMF.

As another example, ctrl may configure the sending time of the first data stream at the UE, the time when the first data stream reaches the UPF, and the adjustment time to the UPF through the PCF, or Ctrl may configure the sending time of the first data stream at the UE, the time when the first data stream reaches the UPF, and the adjustment time to the UPF sequentially through the PCF and the SMF, or Ctrl may configure the sending time of the first data stream at the UE, the time when the first data stream reaches the UPF, and the adjustment time to the UPF through the NEF, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Step 705b, the smf configures the first data stream to the UE at the UE's transmit time.

After receiving the transmission time of the first data stream at the UE, the UE may transmit the first data stream according to the transmission time, and since the NEF adjusts the transmission time of the first data stream at the UE, the problem of the transmission time collision of the first data stream and the second data stream at the UE may be reduced or avoided.

The smf calculates TSCAI based on the time the first data stream arrives at the UPF and the adjustment time, step 706.

The meaning of TSCAI can refer to the above discussion and is not repeated here.

In fig. 7, the SMF may calculate TSCAI based on the time the first data stream arrives at the UPF, the adjustment time, and the time delay between the UPF and the RAN. For example, the SMF may use the sum of the time when the first data stream arrives at the UPF, the adjustment time, and the time delay between the UPF and the RAN as TSCAI, that is, the time when the first data stream arrives at the RAN.

In step 707, the smf configures the TSCAI to the RAN.

Step 708, ctrl sends the first data stream to AF through NEF at UE transmission time.

As an example, step 701 is an optional step, step 702 is an optional step, step 705 is an optional step, steps 706-707 are optional parts, and step 708 is an optional step.

In the embodiment of the present application, forwarding information of a first data stream may be determined by a fourth network element Ctrl, and whether processing time of multiple data streams in a UE conflicts is determined according to the forwarding information, so that a method for detecting conflicts is provided. And when determining that the time for processing the multiple data streams by the same network element conflicts, adjusting the processing time for processing the first data stream by the network element so as to reduce or avoid the problem that the time conflicts exist in the UE for the multiple data streams. Further, ctrl may also feed back the adjusted time and the like to SMF, so that SMF calculates the time when the adjusted first data stream arrives at RAN, so that RAN may schedule the data stream according to the time when the adjusted first data stream arrives at RAN.

The above embodiments in fig. 6 and fig. 7 are respectively introduced by taking the fifth network element as NEF and Ctrl as examples, and if the fifth network element is AF, UPF, UE, PCF, or SMF, the procedures of the related wireless communication method may refer to the foregoing discussion, and are not repeated herein.

3. The fifth network element is an NEF, and the NEF determines the forwarding information based on the first topology information in the above manner 4:

please refer to fig. 8, which is a flowchart illustrating a wireless communication method according to an embodiment of the present application, where fig. 8 is an example in which a first data flow is an uplink data flow, a first network element is a UPF, a second network element is a UE, and forwarding information includes information of the UE.

Step 801, nef maintains third topology information.

The first network element is a UPF, and the second network element is a UE.

The NEF may maintain third topology information corresponding to the UPF, where the third topology information includes a connection relationship between the UPF and its neighboring network elements. Of course, actually, the NEF may also maintain third topology information corresponding to the UE, where the third topology information includes a connection relationship between the UE and its neighboring network element.

Step 802, the af sends the second topology information to the NEF.

The meaning of the second topology information can refer to the content discussed in fig. 4, and is not described herein.

The NEF obtains the third topology information and the second topology information, and then obtains the first topology information.

Step 803, nef receives a streaming request.

The flow request includes information of the third network element. If the first data stream is an uplink data stream, the information of the third network element is the information of the network element receiving the data stream from the UPF, namely the information of the destination device; if the first data stream is a downstream data stream, the third network element is the information of the network element that sends the data stream to the UPF, i.e., the information of the source device.

As an example, the flow request may further include information of the UE and/or information of a device in the UE-side user network, so as to determine to forward session information of the first data flow during subsequent transmission of the first data flow.

As another example, the flow request may be created locally by the NEF, in which case the NEF does not need to perform step 803, i.e. does not need to receive a flow request from the AF.

And step 804, the NEF determines the UPF information corresponding to the information of the third network element according to the first topology information.

And the NEF determines, according to the first topology information, information of the first network element and/or information of the second network element, which is used for processing the first data stream and corresponds to the information of the third network element, for example, information of a port of the UPF that sends the first data stream.

Further, the NEF may also determine, according to the identifier of the UE, and/or information of a device in the user network on the UE side, and the third topology information, session information for forwarding the first data stream, and further may determine information of a port of the UE that processes the first data stream.

In another possible embodiment, the NEF may maintain the first topology information, obtain information of the third network element from the AF, or obtain information of the third network element having the first data flow, and determine forwarding information corresponding to the information of the third network element according to the first topology information. In such an embodiment, the NEF does not need to obtain the second topology information from the AF, and signaling interaction between the AF and the NEF is relatively reduced.

Step 805, nef determines the forwarding rule.

The NEF may create a forwarding rule for the UPF that includes information for handling the UPF for the first data flow (e.g., the information for the UPF includes an identification of the port that sent the UPF for the first data flow when the first data flow is an upstream data flow, or the information for the UPF includes an identification of the port that received the UPF for the first data flow when the first data flow is a downstream data flow, for example).

As an example, the forwarding rule further comprises flow information of the first data flow, the flow information comprising an identification of the first data flow and/or a flow characteristic of the first data flow.

Wherein the identification and/or flow characteristics of the first data flow may be assigned by the NEF for the first data flow.

Step 806, nef configures the forwarding rules to the UPF.

For a first data flow whose destination address is a non-unicast address, the NEF may create a forwarding rule and configure the forwarding rule to the UPF. The forwarding rule is configured to the UPF, for example, the NEF directly sends the forwarding rule to the UPF, or configures the forwarding rule to the UPF through the PCF or the SMF, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. The UPF may receive or transmit the data stream according to the forwarding rule after obtaining the forwarding rule.

As an example, for the first data stream with the destination address being a unicast address, or the first data stream being a downstream data stream, the NEF does not need to separately create the forwarding rule, and the NEF may not need to configure the forwarding rule for the UPF.

In another example, the UPF may assign an identification to the first data flow.

In step 807, the nef determines that the first processing time and the second processing time are in conflict according to the information of the UPF, and then determines the receiving time of the first data stream at the UE.

The manner of determining the first processing time and the second processing time, and the manner of determining the receiving time of the first data stream at the UE may refer to the content discussed in fig. 6, and will not be described herein again.

In step 807, taking the example of determining the receiving time of the first data stream at the UE, the actual NEF may also determine one or more of the receiving time of the first data stream at the UPF, the transmitting time of the first data stream at the UPF, and the transmitting time of the first data stream at the UE.

Step 808, nef configures entry scheduling information to UPF via PCF.

The ingress scheduling information includes a reception time of the first data stream at the UE. The manner of configuring the entry scheduling information may refer to the content discussed in fig. 6, and is not described herein again.

Step 809, the nef sends the SMF the time of arrival of the first data stream at the UE and the adjustment time.

The time of sending the first data stream to the UE and the manner of adjusting the time may refer to the content discussed in fig. 6, and are not described herein again.

Step 810, the nef calculates TSCAI according to the time of arrival of the first data stream at the UE and the adjustment time.

The manner of calculating TSCAI may refer to that discussed above with reference to fig. 6, and will not be described further herein.

In step 811, the smf configures the TSCAI to the RAN.

Step 812, the nef feeds back the reception time of the first data stream at the UE to the AF.

As an example, steps 801-803 are optional parts, steps 805-806 are optional parts, step 808 is an optional step, steps 809-811 are optional parts, and step 812 is an optional step.

In the embodiment of the application, the NEF may determine forwarding information corresponding to the data streams through the topology information, and further determine whether there is a conflict between times of the UPF for processing the multiple data streams according to the forwarding information, and if there is a conflict, adjust a processing time of the UE for processing the first data stream, so as to reduce or avoid the time conflict. Further, the NEF may also feed back the adjusted time and the like to the SMF, so that the SMF calculates the time when the adjusted first data stream arrives at the RAN, and the RAN may perform data stream scheduling according to the adjusted time when the first data stream arrives at the RAN.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 8, the fifth network element is NEF, and when the fifth network element is AF, UPF, UE, PCF, ctrl, or SMF, the related process of the wireless communication method may also refer to the content discussed in fig. 8, and is not described herein again.

4. The fifth network element is a UPF:

please refer to fig. 9, which is a flowchart illustrating a wireless communication method according to an embodiment of the present application, in which fig. 9 illustrates an example in which a first data stream is a downlink data stream, a first network element is a UPF, a second network element is a UE, and forwarding information includes information of the UPF.

In step 901, the nef obtains a flow request from the AF.

The stream request may include the related information discussed above, and the meaning of the related information may refer to the content discussed above and will not be described herein.

Step 902, nef assigns an identification and/or flow characteristics of the first data flow.

If the related information obtained in step 901 includes the identifier of the first data stream, the NEF does not need to allocate an identifier to the first data stream, and the meaning of the stream feature may refer to the content discussed above, which is not described herein again, and if the related information obtained in step 901 includes the information of the third network element, the NEF does not need to allocate the information of the third network element to the first data stream.

Step 903, the UPF obtains relevant information from the NEF.

The UPF may obtain one or more of session information, information of the first network element, information of the second network element, and index information from the NEF, which is not limited in this application.

Step 904, the UPF determines information of the UPF corresponding to the relevant information.

The manner of determining the UPF information by the UPF may refer to any manner of determining the forwarding information discussed in fig. 4, and is not described herein again.

And step 905, the UPF determines that the first processing time and the second processing time have conflict according to the information of the UPF, and then determines the receiving time of the first data stream in the UPF.

The first processing time is a sending time of the UPF sending the first data stream, the second processing time is a sending time of the UPF sending the second data stream, and the determining of the first processing time and the second processing time may refer to the content discussed in fig. 4, which is not described herein again. If the UPF determines that the first processing time and the second processing time are in conflict, the UPF may re-determine a reception time for the UPF to receive the first data stream to reduce or avoid time conflicts for the UPF to process multiple data streams.

As an example, the UPF may further adjust a transmission time of the UPF to transmit the first data stream, i.e., adjust the first processing time, to obtain an adjusted first processing time.

Step 906, the UPF assigns an identification of the first data stream.

If the correlation information obtained in step 903 includes the identity of the first data stream or if the NEF assigns an identity to the first data stream, then the UPF need not perform step 906.

At step 907, the UPF configures the SMF with the time the first data stream arrived at the UPF and the adjustment time.

The meaning of adjusting the time can refer to the content discussed above, and is not described herein.

Step 908, the SMF calculates TSCAI based on the time of arrival of the first data stream at the UE and the adjustment time.

The TSCAI and the manner of calculating the TSCAI may refer to those discussed above and will not be described further herein.

At step 909, SMF configures TSCAI to RAN.

In step 910, the nef sends the AF the reception time of the first data stream at the UE.

In step 910, in addition to sending the reception time of the first data stream at the UE to the AF, the transmission time of the UPF for sending the first data stream may also be sent.

As an example, step 902 is an optional step, step 906 is an optional step, steps 907-909 are optional steps, and step 910 is an optional step.

In this embodiment, the UPF may obtain the relevant information from the NEF, determine forwarding information of the first data stream, determine whether a processing time of the UPF for processing the first data stream conflicts with processing times of other data streams according to the forwarding information, and if a conflict is detected, adjust the processing time of the UPF for processing the first data stream to reduce or avoid a situation of time conflict at the UPF. Further, the UPF may also feed back the adjusted time and the like to the SMF, so that the SMF calculates the adjusted time when the first data stream arrives at the RAN, and the RAN may perform data stream scheduling according to the adjusted time when the first data stream arrives at the RAN.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 9, the fifth network element is UPF, and when the fifth network element is AF, UPF, UE, PCF, or SMF, the related process of the wireless communication method may also refer to the foregoing discussion, and is not described herein again.

The embodiments shown in fig. 6 to fig. 9 are described by taking the fifth network element as an example to determine forwarding information in the above-mentioned manner one, and the following takes the fifth network element as an example to determine forwarding information in the above-mentioned manner two to illustrate the procedures of the wireless communication methods involved therein.

1. The fifth network element is NEF, which obtains forwarding information from AF:

referring to fig. 10, a flowchart of a wireless communication method according to an embodiment of the present application is shown, where in fig. 10, a first data flow is an uplink data flow, a first network element is a UPF, a second network element is a UE, and forwarding information includes information of the UPF, and the flowchart includes the following steps:

and 1001, determining the information of the UPF by the AF according to the first topology information and the information of the third network element.

The first topology information may be maintained by the AF itself, and the meaning of the first topology information and the information of the third network element may refer to the content discussed above, and is not described herein again.

In step 1002, the af sends information of the UPF to the NEF.

And step 1003, determining that the first processing time and the second processing time are in conflict by the NEF according to the information of the UPF, and determining the sending time of the first data stream in the UPF.

The meaning of the first processing time and the second processing time can refer to the content discussed in fig. 6, and will not be described herein.

Step 1004, nef creates a forwarding rule.

The meaning of the forwarding rule can refer to the content discussed in fig. 8, and is not described herein again.

Step 1005, nef configures the forwarding rules to the UPF.

Step 1006, the nef configures the first data flow to the UPF via the PCF at the UPF's transmit time.

Step 1007, nef sends the time of arrival of the first data stream at the UE and the adjustment time to the SMF.

And step 1008, the SMF calculates TSCAI according to the time of the first data flow reaching the UE and the adjusting time.

The meaning of TSCAI and the manner of calculating TSCAI can be found in the discussion above and will not be described further herein.

At step 1009, the smf configures the TSCAI to the RAN.

In step 1010, the nef feeds back the transmission time of the first data stream in the UPF to the AF.

As an example, step 1004-step 1005 are optional parts, step 1006 is an optional step, step 1007-step 1009 are optional parts, and step 1010 is an optional step.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 10, the AF may determine forwarding information according to the topology information, and the NEF may obtain the forwarding information directly from the AF, so that the NEF does not need to determine the forwarding information, and relatively reduces the processing amount of the NEF. And when detecting that the processing time of the UPF for processing the plurality of data streams has a conflict, the sending time of the UPF for sending the first data stream can be adjusted to reduce or avoid the time conflict of the UPF for processing the plurality of data streams.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 10, the fifth network element is an NEF for example, and when the fifth network element is an UPF, a UE, a PCF, an SMF, or a Ctrl, details of the process of the related wireless communication method may also refer to the contents discussed above, and details are not repeated here, and in addition, fig. 10 is an example where an AF determines forwarding information, and a manner of determining forwarding information by the Ctrl, the UE, the PCF, or the SMF, and the like may also refer to the process shown in fig. 10, and details are not repeated here.

2. The fifth network element is an NEF, and the NEF acquires forwarding information from the UPF:

fig. 11 is a schematic flowchart of a wireless communication method according to an embodiment of the present application, where in fig. 11, a first data flow is a downlink data flow, a first network element is a UPF, a second network element is a UE, and forwarding information includes information of the UPF.

Step 1101, nef receives a flow request from AF.

The stream request includes related information, and the meaning of the related information can refer to the content discussed in the foregoing, and is not described in detail here.

Step 1102, nef assigns an identification and/or flow characteristics of the first data flow.

The meaning of the stream characteristics can refer to the content discussed in the foregoing, and will not be described in detail here.

Step 1103, the nef sends the relevant information to the UPF.

And step 1004, determining the information of the UPF corresponding to the relevant information by the UPF.

Step 1005, UPF sends UPF information to NEF.

Step 1006, the nef determines that the first processing time and the second processing time are in conflict according to the information of the UPF, and then determines the receiving time of the first data stream at the UPF and the transmitting time of the first data stream at the UE.

The first processing time is the receiving time of the UPF for receiving the first data stream, and the second processing time is the receiving time of the UE for receiving the second data stream.

Step 1107, NEF assigns an identification of the first data stream.

Step 1108a, nef configures ingress scheduling information to the UPF.

The ingress scheduling information includes the first data stream configured to the UPF at the time of reception of the UPF.

Step 1108b, nef configures egress scheduling information to the UE.

The egress scheduling information includes a transmission time of the first data stream at the UE.

Step 1109, nef configures the SMF with the time of arrival of the first data stream at the UE and the adjustment time.

In step 1110, the smf calculates the TSCAI according to the time the first data stream arrives at the UE and the adjustment time.

Step 1111, the smf configures TSCAI to the RAN.

Step 1112, the af configures egress and ingress scheduling information to the NEF.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 11, the UPF may determine forwarding information corresponding to the first data stream, and the NEF may obtain the forwarding information from the UPF, and determine whether the times of processing the first data stream and the second data stream by the UPF are conflicting according to the forwarding information, which provides a way to detect the time conflict, and when it is determined that the times of processing the first data stream and the second data stream at the UPF are conflicting, re-determine the sending time of the first data stream at the UPF, thereby reducing or avoiding the time conflict between the first data stream and the second data stream at the UPF.

As an example, step 1102 is an optional step, step 1107 is an optional step, step 1108a is an optional step, step 1108b is an optional step, steps 1109-1111 are optional parts, and step 1112 is an optional step.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 11, the UPF may determine the forwarding information, and the NEF may obtain the forwarding information from the UPF, so that the NEF does not need to determine the forwarding information, and relatively reduces the processing amount of the NEF. And when detecting that there is a conflict between the processing times of the UPF for processing the multiple data streams, the receiving time of the UPF for sending the first data stream may be determined to reduce or avoid the time conflict between the UPF for processing the multiple data streams, and the sending time of the UE for sending the first data stream may also be determined to reduce or avoid the time conflict between the UE for processing the multiple data streams.

The above-mentioned embodiment shown in fig. 11 is described by taking the fifth network element as NEF, and when the fifth network element is AF, UE, PCF Ctrl, or SMF, the process of the wireless communication method related thereto may also refer to the content discussed in fig. 11, which is not described herein again, and fig. 11 is an example of determining forwarding information by UPF, and the manner of determining forwarding information by AF, ctrl, UE, PCF, or SMF may also refer to the process shown in fig. 11, which is not described herein again.

Fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a possible communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication apparatus shown in fig. 12 may be configured to implement the functions of the network opening network element, the application function network element, the session management network element, the policy control network element, the access network element, the user plane function network element, the fourth network element, or the terminal device in the foregoing method embodiment, so that the beneficial effects of the foregoing method embodiment may also be implemented. In an embodiment of the present application, the communication apparatus shown in fig. 12 may be a network open network element or a chip system having a function of the network open network element, or may be an application function network element or a chip system having a function of the application function network element, or may be a session management network element or a chip system having a function of the session management network element, or may be a policy control network element or a chip system having a function of the policy control network element, or may be an access network element or a chip system having a function of the access network element, or may be a user plane function network element or a chip system having a function of the user plane function network element, or may be a fourth network element or a chip system having a function of the fourth network element, or may be a terminal device or a chip system having a function of the terminal device.

As shown in fig. 12, the communication apparatus 1200 includes a transceiving unit 1201 and a processing unit 1202.

In an embodiment, the communication apparatus 1200 may be configured to implement the function of the fifth network element in the method embodiments shown in fig. 4, fig. 6, fig. 7, fig. 8, fig. 9, fig. 10, or fig. 11, and specific functions may refer to the description in the above method embodiments. For example, the communication apparatus 1200 may be configured to implement the function of NEF in the method embodiment shown in fig. 6, the function of Ctrl in the method embodiment shown in fig. 7, the function of NEF in the method embodiment shown in fig. 8, the function of UPF in the method embodiment shown in fig. 9, the function of NEF in the method embodiment shown in fig. 10, or the function of NEF in the method embodiment shown in fig. 11. Optionally, the transceiver 1201 in the communication apparatus 1200 is an optional unit.

In another embodiment, the communication apparatus 1200 may be used to implement the function of the AF in the method embodiment shown in fig. 10, and specific functions may refer to the description in the method embodiment.

In yet another embodiment, the communication apparatus 1200 may be used to implement the function of the UPF in the method embodiment shown in fig. 11, and specific functions may be referred to the description in the above method embodiment.

Fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a possible communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication apparatus shown in fig. 13 may be configured to implement the functions of the network opening network element, the application function network element, the session management network element, the policy control network element, the access network element, the user plane function network element, the fourth network element, or the terminal device in the foregoing method embodiment, so that the beneficial effects of the foregoing method embodiment may also be implemented. In the embodiment of the present application, reference may be made to the specific possible form of the communication apparatus shown in fig. 13, and details thereof are not repeated herein.

As shown in fig. 13, the communication device 1300 includes a processor 1301 and an interface 1302. The processor 1301 and the interface 1302 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface 1302 may be a transceiver or an input-output interface.

The communication device 1300 may include one or more processors 1301, and the processors 1301 may also be referred to as processing units, which may implement certain control functions. The processor 1301 may be a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, or the like. For example, it includes: baseband processor, central processing unit, etc. The baseband processor may be used to process communication protocols as well as communication data. The central processor may be used to control the communications device 1300, execute software programs, and/or process data. The different processors may be separate devices or may be provided in one or more processing circuits, e.g. integrated on one or more application specific integrated circuits.

Optionally, one or more memories 1303 are included in the communication device 1300 for storing instructions that can be executed on the processor, so that the communication device 1300 performs the methods described in the above method embodiments. The memory 1303 in the communications device 1300 is an optional component, illustrated in fig. 13 as a dashed box.

Optionally, the memory 1303 may further store data therein. The processor and the memory may be provided separately or may be integrated together.

Optionally, the communication device 1300 may further include a memory 1303, configured to store instructions executed by the processor 1301, or store input data required by the processor 1301 to execute the instructions, or store data generated after the processor 1301 executes the instructions.

In an embodiment, when the communication apparatus 1300 is used to implement the method embodiment shown in fig. 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11, the communication apparatus 1300 may be used to implement the function of the fifth network element in the method embodiment shown in fig. 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11, and the specific function may refer to the description in the above method embodiment.

In another embodiment, the communication apparatus 1300 may be used to implement the function of the AF in the method embodiment shown in fig. 10, and specific functions may be referred to the description in the above method embodiment.

In yet another embodiment, the communication apparatus 1300 may be used to implement the functions of the UPF in the method embodiment shown in fig. 11, and specific functions may be referred to the descriptions in the above method embodiments.

Alternatively, the functions of the transceiving unit 1201 may be implemented by the interface 1302, and the functions of the processing unit 1202 may be implemented by the processor 1301.

The method steps in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by software instructions executed by a processor. The software instructions may be comprised of corresponding software modules that may be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable hard disk, a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium may also be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC may reside in a base station or a terminal. Of course, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a base station or terminal.

In the above embodiments, the implementation may be wholly or partially realized by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, a base station, user equipment, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions may be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer program or instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center by wire or wirelessly. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that integrates one or more available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape; optical media such as digital video disks; but also semiconductor media such as solid state disks. The computer readable storage medium may be volatile or nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile types of storage media.

In the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or conflicting with respect to logic, the terms and/or descriptions in different embodiments have consistency and may be mutually cited, and technical features in different embodiments may be combined to form a new embodiment according to their inherent logic relationship.

When several embodiments provided in the present application are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to perform all or part of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the present application. The computer readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. Taking this as an example but not limiting: a computer-readable medium may include a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer.

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

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication, comprising:

determining forwarding information of a first data stream, wherein the forwarding information comprises information of a first network element and/or information of a second network element for forwarding the first data stream;

if a conflict exists between a first processing time and a second processing time of a second data stream, determining a processing time of the first data stream in the first network element and/or a processing time of the second network element, where the first processing time is a time for the first network element to process the first data stream, and the second processing time is a time for the first network element to process the second data stream, or the first processing time is a time for the second network element to process the first data stream, and the second processing time is a time for the second network element to process the second data stream.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining forwarding information for the first data flow comprises:

receiving the forwarding information from a user plane function network element, a network open function network element, an application function network element, the first network element or the second network element; or the like, or, alternatively,

determining the forwarding information according to the related information of the first data stream, where the related information includes one or more of session information, information of the first network element, information of the second network element, and stream information, the stream information includes information of a third network element and/or an identifier of the first data stream, and the third network element is a destination device or a source device of the first data stream.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein determining the forwarding information based on information associated with the first data flow comprises:

if the related information comprises the session information, determining the forwarding information corresponding to the session information; or the like, or, alternatively,

if the related information comprises the information of the first network element, determining the forwarding information corresponding to the information of the first network element; or the like, or, alternatively,

if the related information comprises the information of the second network element, determining the forwarding information corresponding to the information of the second network element; or the like, or, alternatively,

and if the related information comprises flow information, determining the forwarding information corresponding to the flow information.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein determining the forwarding information corresponding to the flow information comprises:

and determining the forwarding information corresponding to the flow information according to the corresponding relation between the flow information and the forwarding information.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the method further comprises:

and receiving the corresponding relation between the flow information and the forwarding information from a user plane function network element.

6. The method of any one of claims 2 to 5, further comprising:

receiving information of the third network element from an application function network element; or the like, or, alternatively,

and receiving the information of the third network element from a network open function network element.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein the flow information comprises information of the third network element; determining the forwarding information corresponding to the flow information, including:

determining the forwarding information corresponding to the information of the third network element according to first topology information, wherein the first topology information includes connection information between the first network element and at least one network element, and/or includes connection information between the second network element and at least one network element, and the at least one network element includes the third network element.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving second topology information from an application function network element, wherein the second topology information comprises connection information between the at least one network element;

determining the first topology information according to the second topology information and third topology information, where the third topology information includes connection information between the first network element and an adjacent network element of the first network element, and/or connection information between the second network element and an adjacent network element of the second network element, where the adjacent network element belongs to the at least one network element.

9. The method of any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising:

receiving one or both of the identifier of the first data stream and the information of the destination device from a network open function network element; or the like, or, alternatively,

and allocating an identifier for the first data flow.

10. The method of any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising:

receiving a time when the first data stream arrives at the first network element or the second network element;

and determining the first processing time according to the time and the time delay between the first network element and the second network element.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein determining a processing time of the first data stream at the first network element and/or a processing time of the second network element comprises:

and adjusting the time and/or the time delay, and determining the processing time of the first data stream in the first network element and/or the processing time of the second network element.

12. The method of any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising:

configuring the processing time of the first data stream at the first network element to the first network element; and/or the presence of a gas in the gas,

configuring the processing time of the first data stream in the second network element to the second network element; and/or the presence of a gas in the gas,

and sending the processing time of the first data stream in the first network element and/or the processing time of the first data stream in the second network element to a network open function network element.

13. The method of any one of claims 1 to 12, further comprising:

and configuring the processing time of the first data stream in the first network element and/or the processing time of the first data stream in the second network element to a session management function network element.

14. A method of wireless communication, comprising:

receiving flow information of a first data flow, wherein the flow information includes information of a third network element and/or an identifier of the first data flow, and the third network element is a destination device or a source device of the first data flow;

determining forwarding information corresponding to the flow information, wherein the forwarding information includes information of a first network element and/or information of a second network element used for forwarding the first data flow;

and sending the forwarding information.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein receiving flow information for a first data flow comprises:

and receiving the flow information of the first data flow from a network capability opening network element or a fourth network element.

16. The method of claim 14 or 15, wherein sending the forwarding information comprises:

and sending the forwarding information to a network capacity open network element or a fourth network element.

17. A method of wireless communication, comprising:

receiving information of a third network element of a first data stream, wherein the third network element is a destination device or a source device of the first data stream;

determining forwarding information of a first data stream corresponding to information of a third network element from first topology information, wherein the first topology information includes connection information between the first network element and at least one network element and/or includes connection information between the second network element and at least one network element, the at least one network element includes the third network element, and the forwarding information includes information of the first network element and/or information of the second network element for forwarding the first data stream;

and sending the forwarding information.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving third topology information, wherein the third topology information includes connection information between the first network element and an adjacent network element of the first network element, and/or connection information between the second network element and an adjacent network element of the second network element, and the adjacent network element belongs to the at least one network element;

determining the first topology information according to second topology information and the third topology information, wherein the second topology information includes connection information between the at least one network element.

19. A communications apparatus, comprising: a processor and a memory; the memory is used for storing one or more computer programs comprising computer executable instructions which, when executed by the communication apparatus, the processor executes the one or more computer programs stored by the memory to cause the communication apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 13, or to perform the method of any one of claims 14 to 16, or to perform the method of claim 17 or 18.

20. A chip system, comprising:

a processor and an interface, the processor being configured to invoke and execute instructions from the interface, the instructions, when executed by the processor, implementing the method of any of claims 1 to 13, or implementing the method of any of claims 14 to 16, or implementing the method of claim 17 or 18.

21. A computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 13, or to perform the method of any one of claims 14 to 16, or to perform the method of claim 17 or 18.