CN111866987A

CN111866987A - Communication method and device

Info

Publication number: CN111866987A
Application number: CN201910354381.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李汉成; 周汉
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-04-29
Filing date: 2019-04-29
Publication date: 2020-10-30
Anticipated expiration: 2039-04-29
Also published as: WO2020221266A1; CN111866987B

Abstract

The application provides a communication method and device. The method comprises the following steps: the core network equipment receives forwarding path information, wherein the forwarding path information comprises a destination MAC address of the TSN stream; and the core network equipment determines a forwarding strategy of the TSN stream according to the destination MAC address, and then sends the forwarding strategy to the UE or the UPF. Because the forwarding strategy determined by the core network device includes the destination MAC address of the TSN stream, the device (e.g., UE, UPF) using the forwarding strategy can determine the corresponding forwarding strategy according to the destination MAC address in the received message, and send the message of the TSN stream according to the forwarding strategy, that is, send the message of the TSN stream to the TSN terminal of the TSN system, thereby implementing correct transmission of the message of the TSN stream by the 5G system switching node, and contributing to improving communication quality.

Description

Communication method and device

Technical Field

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

Background

In a Network architecture in which a third generation partnership project (3 GPP) Network (taking the 5th generation (5G) system as an example) and a delay Sensitive Network (TSN) are interconnected, the 5G system and a TSN converter (TSN converter) are integrally used as a logical TSN switching node (referred to as a 5G system switching node).

In the 5G network architecture, the terminal device is used as a receiver or a sender of the stream, and a source address/destination address of a forwarding policy configured on a node of a user plane of the 5G system is an address of the terminal device. However, in the network architecture where 5G and TSN are interworked, the destination Media Access Control (MAC) address of the TSN stream is the MAC address of the TSN terminal, or is the multicast address/local address, not the address of the terminal device.

Therefore, the forwarding policy in the 5G system cannot implement forwarding of the TSN stream in the network architecture where the 5G and the TSN are intercommunicated, that is, the switching node of the 5G system cannot implement forwarding of the TSN stream.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a communication method and a communication device, which are used for realizing the forwarding of a TSN stream by a 5G system switching node.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, including: the method comprises the steps that terminal equipment receives a message of a time delay sensitive network TSN flow, wherein the message comprises a target Media Access Control (MAC) address; the terminal equipment determines a forwarding strategy of the TSN stream according to the destination MAC address, wherein the forwarding strategy comprises the destination MAC address; and the terminal equipment sends the message according to the forwarding strategy. According to the scheme, the terminal equipment can send the TSN stream message based on the TSN stream forwarding strategy, correct transmission of the TSN stream message by the 5G system switching node is achieved, and the communication quality is improved.

In a possible implementation method, the terminal device receives the forwarding policy from a session management network element, a policy control network element, or a user plane network element.

In one possible implementation, the TSN stream is an upstream stream; the terminal equipment sends the message according to the forwarding strategy, and the method comprises the following steps: and the terminal equipment sends the message to a user plane network element through the session corresponding to the forwarding strategy.

In a possible implementation method, the forwarding policy further includes auxiliary information, where the auxiliary information includes an identifier of a receiving port and/or an identifier of a virtual local area network VLAN; the terminal equipment determines a forwarding strategy according to the destination MAC address, and the method comprises the following steps: and the terminal equipment determines the forwarding strategy according to the destination MAC address and the auxiliary information.

In one possible implementation, the TSN stream is a downstream stream; the forwarding strategy also comprises an identifier of a sending port, and the sending port is a port on the terminal equipment; the terminal equipment sends the message according to the forwarding strategy, and the method comprises the following steps: and the terminal equipment sends the message through the sending port.

In a possible implementation method, the forwarding policy further includes an identifier of a VLAN; the terminal equipment determines a forwarding strategy according to the destination MAC address, and the method comprises the following steps: and the terminal equipment determines the forwarding strategy according to the destination MAC address and the VLAN identifier.

In a second aspect, the present application provides a method of communication, the method comprising: a user plane network element receives a message of a delay-sensitive network TSN stream, wherein the message comprises a destination MAC address; the user plane network element determines a forwarding strategy of the TSN stream according to the destination MAC address, wherein the forwarding strategy comprises the destination MAC address; and the user plane network element sends the message according to the forwarding strategy. According to the scheme, the user plane network element can send the TSN stream message based on the TSN stream forwarding strategy, correct transmission of the TSN stream message by the 5G system switching node is achieved, and the improvement of communication quality is facilitated.

In a possible implementation method, the user plane network element receives the forwarding policy from a session management network element or an application function network element; or, the user plane network element receives forwarding path information from a session management network element or an application function network element, and determines the forwarding policy according to the forwarding path information, where the forwarding path information includes the destination MAC address.

In one possible implementation, the TSN stream is an upstream stream; the forwarding strategy also comprises an identifier of a sending port, and the sending port is a sending port of the user plane network element; the user plane network element sends the message according to the forwarding strategy, and the sending comprises: and the user plane network element sends the message through the sending port.

In a possible implementation method, the forwarding policy includes a forwarding rule FAR, where the FAR includes an identifier of the sending port; or, the forwarding policy includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate the identifier of the sending port or is used to indicate the identifier of the sending port and the destination MAC address.

In a possible implementation method, the forwarding policy further includes an identifier of a VLAN; the user plane network element determines a forwarding strategy according to the destination MAC address, and the method comprises the following steps: and the user plane network element determines the forwarding strategy according to the destination MAC address and the VLAN identifier.

In one possible implementation, the TSN stream is a downstream stream; the user plane network element sends the message according to the forwarding strategy, and the sending comprises: and the user plane network element sends the message to the terminal equipment through the session corresponding to the forwarding strategy.

In one possible implementation, the message includes priority information; the user plane network element determines a 5G service quality indicator 5QI according to the priority information; the sending, by the user plane network element, the packet to the terminal device through the session corresponding to the forwarding policy includes: and the user plane network element sends the message to the terminal equipment through the session corresponding to the forwarding strategy according to the 5 QI.

In a possible implementation method, the forwarding policy further includes auxiliary information, where the auxiliary information includes an identifier of a receiving port and/or an identifier of a virtual local area network VLAN; the user plane network element determines a forwarding strategy according to the destination MAC address, and the method comprises the following steps: and the user plane network element determines the forwarding strategy according to the destination MAC address and the auxiliary information.

In one possible implementation, the forwarding policy includes a packet detection rule PDR, where the PDR includes auxiliary information including an identification of a receiving port and/or an identification of a VLAN; or, the forwarding policy includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate auxiliary information or to indicate the auxiliary information and the destination MAC address.

In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method, including: the core network equipment receives forwarding path information, wherein the forwarding path information comprises a destination MAC address of a TSN stream; the core network equipment determines a forwarding strategy of the TSN flow according to the destination MAC address; and the core network equipment sends the forwarding strategy. The forwarding strategy determined by the core network device includes the destination MAC address of the TSN stream, so that the device (e.g., UE, UPF) using the forwarding strategy can determine the corresponding forwarding strategy according to the destination MAC address in the received message, and send the message of the TSN stream according to the forwarding strategy, that is, send the message of the TSN stream to the TSN terminal of the TSN system, thereby implementing correct transmission of the message of the TSN stream by the 5G system switching node, and contributing to improving communication quality.

In a possible implementation method, the forwarding path information further includes auxiliary information, and the forwarding policy further includes the auxiliary information; the auxiliary information is at least one of the following information: the identification of the sending port, the identification of the receiving port and the identification of the VLAN.

In a possible implementation method, the core network device is a policy control network element; the core network device receives forwarding path information, including: the core network equipment receives the forwarding path information from an application function network element or a session management network element; the sending, by the core network device, the forwarding policy includes: and the core network equipment sends the forwarding strategy to terminal equipment and/or a user plane network element through a session management network element.

In a possible implementation method, the core network device obtains a service type corresponding to a session of the terminal device; and the core network equipment determines 5QI corresponding to the forwarding strategy according to the service type.

In a possible implementation method, the acquiring, by the core network device, a service type corresponding to a session of the terminal device includes: the core network equipment acquires the service type corresponding to the session of the terminal equipment reported by the terminal equipment; or, the core network device obtains priority information corresponding to the session of the terminal device reported by the terminal device, and determines the service type according to the priority information.

In a possible implementation method, the core network device is a session management network element; the core network device receives forwarding path information, including: and the core network equipment receives the forwarding path information from an application function network element, a user plane network element or a strategy control network element. The sending, by the core network device, the forwarding policy includes: and the core network equipment sends the forwarding strategy to terminal equipment and/or a user plane network element.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, which may be a terminal device, and may also be a chip for the terminal device. The apparatus has the function of implementing the embodiments of the first aspect described above. The function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, which may be a user plane network element, and may also be a chip for a user plane network element. The apparatus has the function of implementing the embodiments of the second aspect described above. The function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, where the apparatus may be a core network device (such as a session management network element or a policy control network element), and may also be a chip for the core network device. The apparatus has a function of realizing the embodiments of the third aspect described above. The function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communications apparatus, comprising: a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store computer executable instructions that when executed by the processor cause the apparatus to perform the method as described in the preceding aspects.

In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, comprising: comprising means or units for performing the steps of the above-mentioned aspects.

In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication device comprising a processor and an interface circuit, the processor being configured to communicate with other devices via the interface circuit and to perform the method of the above aspects. The processor includes one or more.

In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor, coupled to a memory, for invoking a program stored in the memory to perform the method of the above aspects. The memory may be located within the device or external to the device. And the processor includes one or more.

In an eleventh aspect, the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored therein instructions, which, when run on a computer, cause the processor to perform the method of the above aspects.

In a twelfth aspect, the present application also provides a computer program product comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of the above aspects.

In a thirteenth aspect, the present application further provides a chip system, including: a processor configured to perform the method of the above aspects.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a service-oriented architecture;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a fully centralized TSN system architecture;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a 3GPP network and TSN interworking system architecture;

fig. 4 is a specific example of a 3GPP network and TSN interworking system;

fig. 5 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method provided in the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic flow chart of another communication method provided in the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic flow chart of another communication method provided in the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic flow chart of another communication method provided in the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of yet another communication device provided herein;

fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided in the present application;

fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided in the present application.

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. In the description of the present application, the term "plurality" means two or more unless otherwise specified.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a service-oriented architecture. The 5G network architecture shown in fig. 1 may include three parts, which are a terminal device part, a Data Network (DN) and an operator network part.

The operator network may include a network open function (NEF) network element, a Unified Data Repository (UDR), a Policy Control Function (PCF) network element, a Unified Data Management (UDM) network element, AN Application Function (AF) network element, AN access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, a Session Management Function (SMF) network element, a (radio) access network (R) AN, and a user plane function (user plane function, UPF) network element. In the operator network described above, the parts other than the (radio) access network part may be referred to as core network parts. For convenience of description, the (R) AN will be referred to as RAN as AN example.

A terminal device (also referred to as User Equipment (UE)) is a device with a wireless transceiving function, and can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, and handheld or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on the water surface (such as a ship and the like); and may also be deployed in the air (e.g., airplanes, balloons, satellites, etc.). The terminal device may be a mobile phone (mobile phone), a tablet computer (pad), a computer with a wireless transceiving function, a Virtual Reality (VR) terminal, an Augmented Reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control), a wireless terminal in self driving (self driving), a wireless terminal in remote medical (remote medical), a wireless terminal in smart grid (smart grid), a wireless terminal in transportation safety (transportation safety), a wireless terminal in smart city (smart city), a wireless terminal in smart home (smart home), and the like.

The terminal device may establish a connection with the carrier network through an interface (e.g., N1, etc.) provided by the carrier network, and use data and/or voice services provided by the carrier network. The terminal device may also access the DN via an operator network, use operator services deployed on the DN, and/or services provided by a third party. The third party may be a service party other than the operator network and the terminal device, and may provide services such as data and/or voice for the terminal device. The specific expression form of the third party may be determined according to an actual application scenario, and is not limited herein.

AN Access Network device, also called a (Radio) Access Network (R) AN device, is a device that provides a terminal with a wireless communication function. Access network equipment includes, for example but not limited to: next generation base station (gnodeB, gNB) in 5G, evolved node B (eNB), Radio Network Controller (RNC), Node B (NB), Base Station Controller (BSC), Base Transceiver Station (BTS), home base station (e.g., home evolved node B, or home node B, HNB), Base Band Unit (BBU), transmission point (TRP), Transmission Point (TP), mobile switching center, and the like.

The AMF network element is a control plane network element provided by an operator network and is responsible for access control and mobility management of terminal equipment accessing the operator network, for example, including functions of mobility state management, user temporary identity assignment, user authentication and authorization, and the like.

The SMF network element is a control plane network element provided by an operator network and is responsible for managing a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session of the terminal device. A PDU session is a channel for transmitting PDUs, and a terminal device needs to transfer PDUs to and from the DN through the PDU session. The PDU session is established, maintained, deleted and the like by the SMF network element. SMF network elements include Session-related functions such as Session establishment, modification and release, including tunnel maintenance between the UPF and RAN, selection and control of UPF network elements, Service and Session Continuity (SSC) mode selection, roaming, etc.

The UPF network element is a gateway provided by the operator, which is a gateway for the operator network to communicate with the DN. The UPF network element comprises user plane related functions such as data packet routing and transmission, packet detection, Service usage reporting, Quality of Service (QoS) processing, legal monitoring, uplink packet detection, downlink data packet storage and the like.

A DN, which may also be referred to as a Packet Data Network (PDN), is a network located outside an operator network, where the operator network may access multiple DNs, and multiple services may be deployed on the DNs, so as to provide services such as data and/or voice for a terminal device. For example, the DN is a private network of a certain intelligent factory, a sensor installed in a workshop of the intelligent factory can be a terminal device, a control server of the sensor is deployed in the DN, and the control server can provide services 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 device, 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.

The UDM network element is a control plane network element provided by an operator, and is responsible for storing information such as a user permanent identifier (SUPI), a security context (security context), subscription data, and the like of a subscription user in an operator network. These information stored by the UDM network element can be used for authentication and authorization of the terminal device to access the operator network. The subscriber of the operator network may be specifically a user using a service provided by the operator network, for example, a user using a mobile phone core card of china telecommunications, or a user using a mobile phone core card of china mobile, and the like. The above-mentioned Permanent Subscription Identifier (SUPI) of the subscriber may be the number of the mobile phone core card, etc. The credentials and security context of the subscriber may be a small file stored with an encryption key of the core card of the mobile phone or information related to encryption of the core card of the mobile phone, and used for authentication and/or authorization. The security context may be data (cookie) or token (token) stored on the user's local terminal (e.g., cell phone), etc. The subscription data of the subscriber may be a service associated with the mobile phone core card, such as a traffic package or a network using the mobile phone core card. It should be noted that the information related to the permanent identifier, the credentials, the security context, the authentication data (cookie), and the token equivalent authentication and authorization are not distinguished or limited in the present application for convenience of description. Unless otherwise specified, the embodiments of the present application will be described in the context of security, but the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to authentication, and/or authorization information in other expressions.

The NEF network element is a control plane network element provided by an operator. The NEF network element opens the external interface of the operator network to the third party in a secure manner. When the SMF network element needs to communicate with a network element of a third party, the NEF network element may serve as a relay for the communication between the SMF network element and the network element of the third party. When the NEF network element is used as a relay, it can be used as a translation of the identification information of the subscriber and a translation of the identification information of the network element of the third party. For example, when NEF sends the SUPI of a subscriber from the carrier network to a third party, the SUPI may be translated into its corresponding external Identity (ID). Conversely, when the NEF element sends an external ID (the third party's element ID) to the operator network, it can be translated to SUPI.

The PCF network element is a control plane function provided by the operator for providing the policy of the PDU session to the SMF network element. The policies may include charging related policies, QoS related policies, authorization related policies, and the like.

The AF network element is a functional network element for providing various service services, can interact with a core network through the NEF network element, and can interact with a policy management framework for policy management.

UDRs are used to store data.

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

It is to be understood that the above network elements or functions may be network elements in a hardware device, or may be software functions running on dedicated hardware, or virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). Optionally, the network element or the function may be implemented by one device, or may be implemented by multiple devices together, or may be a functional module in one device, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

In the forwarding process of the conventional ethernet network, when a large amount of data packets arrive at a forwarding port in a moment, the problem of large forwarding delay or packet loss is caused, so that the conventional ethernet network cannot provide a service with high reliability and guaranteed transmission delay, and cannot meet the requirements in the fields of automobile control, industrial internet and the like. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has defined a related TSN standard for the requirement of reliable delay transmission, which provides reliable delay transmission service based on two-layer switching, ensures reliability of delay-sensitive traffic data transmission, and predictable end-to-end transmission delay.

IEEE 802.1cc defines 3 configuration models for TSNs, one of which is a fully centralized TSN system architecture. As shown in fig. 2, the fully Centralized TSN system architecture is a schematic diagram, and includes a TSN terminal (TSN End Station), a TSN switch node (TSN Bridge), a Centralized User Configuration (CUC) Network element, and a Centralized Network Configuration (CNC) Network element. The CUC network element and the CNC network element belong to a network element of a control plane.

Wherein:

1) the TSN terminal is a sending end or a receiving end of the data stream;

2) the TSN switching node reserves resources for the data stream according to the definition of the TSN, and schedules and forwards the data message;

3) the method comprises the steps that CNC manages topology of a TSN user plane and capability information of TSN switching nodes (such as sending time delay of the TSN switching nodes and internal processing time delay among ports of the TSN switching nodes), a forwarding path of data streams and processing strategies (such as stream identification, ports for receiving and sending messages, a receiving time window, a sending period and the like) on a terminal and each TSN switching node are generated according to a stream creation request provided by CUC, and then the processing strategies on the TSN switching nodes are issued to the corresponding TSN switching nodes;

4) the CUC network element is used for collecting a stream creation request of the TSN terminal, such as receiving registration of a TSN sending terminal (Talker) and a TSN receiving terminal (Lister), receiving stream information, exchanging configuration parameters and the like, requesting to create a data stream to the CNC network element after matching the requests of the TSN sending terminal and the TSN receiving terminal, and confirming a processing strategy generated by the CNC network element.

After the CNC network element creates the TSN stream forwarding rule, the forwarding path of the stream on the TSN switching node can be determined by issuing a static table (static filtering entries) to the TSN switching node. The information of the static table includes a destination Media Access Control (MAC) address of the TSN stream, an identifier of a receiving port and an identifier of a transmitting port of the TSN stream on the TSN switching node, and optionally, the information of the static table further includes a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) Identifier (ID).

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a 3GPP network and TSN interworking system architecture. That is, the 5G architecture shown in fig. 1 and the TSN architecture shown in fig. 2 are combined, and the 3GPP 5G system and the TSN converter (TSN Translator) are taken as a logical TSN switching node (referred to as a 5G system switching node) as a whole. Fig. 3 only shows some network elements (i.e., an AMF network element, an SMF network element, a PCF network element, a RAN, a UE, an AF network element, and a UPF network element) in the 5G architecture.

Wherein:

1) and at the control plane, the 5G system exchanges information with a node in the TSN system through a TSN converter (i.e. an AF network element of the 5G) of the control plane, where the exchanged information includes: the switching capability information of the 5G system, the TSN configuration information, the time scheduling information of the TSN input/output port, the time synchronization information and the like.

2) On the user plane, the UPF network element of the 5G system receives the downlink TSN stream of the TSN system or transmits the uplink TSN stream to the TSN system through the TSN converter, wherein the TSN converter may be integrated with the UPF network element or deployed independently of the UPF network element.

3) In the user plane, the UE of the 5G system receives the uplink TSN stream of the TSN system or transmits the downlink TSN stream to the TSN system through the TSN converter, where the TSN converter may be integrated with the UE or deployed independently of the UE.

The solution of the present application is explained with respect to the network architecture shown in fig. 3.

The user plane network element in this application refers to a network element having the function of the UPF network element shown in fig. 3, and the TSN converter may be integrated in the user plane network element, or the TSN converter is deployed independently from the user plane network element. For convenience of description, the user plane network element is referred to as a UPF in the following description of the present application, and it should be noted that in future communications, the user plane network element may still be referred to as a UPF network element, or may also have another name, which is not limited in the present application. UPF appearing at any position in the application can be replaced by a user plane network element.

The session management network element in this application refers to a network element having the function of the SMF network element shown in fig. 3 or fig. 1. For convenience of description, the session management network element is referred to as an SMF in the following description of the present application, and it should be noted that in future communications, the session management network element may still be referred to as an SMF network element, or may also have another name, which is not limited in the present application. The SMF appearing at any subsequent place in the application can be replaced by a session management network element.

The policy control network element in this application refers to a network element having the function of the PCF network element shown in fig. 3 or fig. 1. For convenience of description, in the following description of the present application, the policy control network element is referred to as PCF, it should be noted that in future communications, the policy control network element may still be referred to as PCF network element, or may have other names, and the present application is not limited thereto. PCF appearing at any position in the application can be replaced by a strategy control network element.

The mobility management network element in this application refers to a network element having the function of the AMF network element shown in fig. 3 or fig. 1. For convenience of description, the mobility management element is referred to as an AMF in the following description of the present application, and it should be noted that in future communications, the policy control element may still be referred to as an AMF element, or may also have another name, which is not limited in the present application. The AMF appearing at any subsequent place in the application can be replaced by a mobility management network element.

The application function network element in this application refers to a network element having the function of the AF network element shown in fig. 3 or fig. 1. For convenience of description, the application function network element is referred to as an AF in the following description of the present application, it should be noted that in future communications, the application function network element may still be referred to as an AF network element, or may also have other names, and the present application is not limited thereto. AF appearing at any subsequent place of the application can be replaced by an application function network element.

The terminal device in this application refers to a device having the function of the UE shown in fig. 3, and the TSN converter may be integrated in the terminal device, or the TSN converter is disposed independently from the terminal device. For convenience of explanation, the terminal device is referred to as UE in the following description of the present application.

For the network architecture shown in fig. 3, the step of configuring, by the CNC network element, service type information (traffic pattern) of the TSN service for each switching node (including the 5G system switching node and other TSN switching nodes) according to the information reported by the 5G system switching node and other TSN switching nodes includes: a transmit time window, a receive time window, a stream period, etc. to remove delay jitter. In the following behavior example, the CNC network element sends the service type information of the TSN service to the PCF through the AF, the PCF issues the service type information to the UE, and the TSN converter on the UE side sends and processes the TSN stream according to the information such as the sending time window defined in the service type information.

In the network architecture shown in fig. 1, the UE is a receiver or sender of the flow, and the source/destination address of the forwarding policy configured on the node of the user plane of the 5G system is the address of the UE. For example, the forwarding policy on the UPF is: in the downlink direction, the stream with the destination address as the address of the UE is sent to the session corresponding to the UE; and in the uplink direction, receiving and forwarding the stream with the source address being the address of the UE from the session corresponding to the UE. For another example, the forwarding policy on the UE is: in the downlink direction, receiving a stream with a destination address of the UE address from the UPF through a session corresponding to the UE; and in the uplink direction, the stream with the source address as the UE address is sent to the UPF through the session corresponding to the UE.

However, in the architecture shown in fig. 3, the destination MAC address of the TSN stream is the MAC address of the TSN terminal, or the multicast address/local address, instead of the address of the UE. Therefore, the forwarding policy in the 5G system shown in fig. 1 cannot implement forwarding of TSN streams in the network architecture shown in fig. 3. Fig. 4 shows a specific example of a 3GPP network and TSN interworking system. For example, when TSN terminal 1 in the TSN system sends a traffic packet of the TSN stream to TSN terminal 2, the destination MAC address in the traffic packet is the MAC address of TSN terminal 2, not the address of the UE.

In order to implement the function of the 5G system as a TSN switching node in the network architecture shown in fig. 3, the 5G system needs to determine a forwarding policy of a user plane according to forwarding path information generated by a TSN control plane, so as to implement forwarding of a TSN stream.

To this end, the present application provides a communication method, as shown in fig. 5, the method including the steps of:

step 501, a core network device receives forwarding path information, where the forwarding path information includes a destination MAC address of a TSN stream.

The destination MAC address is a MAC address of a TSN terminal of the TSN system, or a multicast MAC address, or a local MAC address.

Optionally, the forwarding path information further includes auxiliary information, where the auxiliary information includes at least one of an identifier of a sending port, an identifier of a receiving port, and an identifier of a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN).

Step 502, the core network device determines a forwarding policy of the TSN stream according to the destination MAC address.

The forwarding policy of the TNS flow includes the destination MAC address. If the forwarding path information includes the auxiliary information, the forwarding policy may include the auxiliary information.

Step 503, the core network device sends a forwarding policy.

For example, the core network device may send the forwarding policy to the UE and/or the UPF, so that the UE and/or the UPF may receive and send the traffic packet of the TSN stream according to the forwarding policy.

Based on the above embodiment, the forwarding policy determined by the core network device includes the destination MAC address of the TSN stream, so that a device (e.g., UE, UPF) using the forwarding policy can determine a corresponding forwarding policy according to the destination MAC address and send the message of the TSN stream according to the forwarding policy, that is, send the message to the TSN terminal of the TSN system, thereby implementing correct transmission of the message of the TSN stream by the 5G system switching node, and contributing to improving communication quality.

As an implementation manner, the forwarding policy in the foregoing embodiment may be, for example:

first, forwarding strategy of UE

The forwarding policy on the UE may be generated by the SMF and sent to the UE, or generated by the PCF and sent to the UE via the SMF, or generated by the UE according to the received forwarding path information.

It should be noted that the UE may send information in the forwarding policy to the TSN converter on the UE side, and the TSN converter on the UE side is used to generate the forwarding policy. As an implementation manner, the UE may send part of information in the forwarding policy to the TSN converter on the UE side, for example, for the downlink packet, the forwarding policy information includes a destination MAC address, an identifier of a sending port, and a VLAN identifier, and then the UE may send the destination MAC address and the identifier of the sending port to the TSN converter, and for the VLAN identifier, may send the destination MAC address and the identifier of the sending port to the TSN converter, or may not send the destination MAC address and the identifier of the sending port to the TSN converter.

The forwarding policy on the UE is divided into a forwarding policy for an uplink TSN stream and a forwarding policy for a downlink TSN stream, which are described below.

1. Forwarding strategy for uplink TSN (traffic channel) flow

The forwarding policy corresponding to the upstream TSN flow includes a destination MAC address, and optionally includes auxiliary information, where the auxiliary information includes an identifier of a receiving port and/or an identifier of a VLAN. The identity of the receive port refers to the identity of the receive port of the TSN repeater on the UE.

As an implementation manner, after receiving a message of an uplink TSN stream, the UE determines a forwarding policy according to a destination MAC address in the message, and then sends the message to the UPF through a session corresponding to the forwarding policy.

As another implementation, after receiving a message of an uplink TSN stream, the UE determines a forwarding policy corresponding to the message according to a destination MAC address and auxiliary information in the message, and then sends the message to the UPF through a session corresponding to the forwarding policy.

2. Forwarding strategy for downlink TSN (traffic stream service)

The forwarding policy corresponding to the downlink TSN stream includes a destination MAC address and an identifier of a transmission port, and optionally includes an identifier of a VLAN. The identity of the transmission port refers to an identity of a transmission port of the UE, and specifically refers to an identity of a transmission port of a TSN repeater on the UE.

As an implementation manner, after receiving a message of a downlink TSN stream, a UE determines a forwarding policy according to a destination MAC address in the message, and then sends the message through a sending port corresponding to an identifier of the sending port in the forwarding policy, for example, sends the message to a TSN switching node or a TSN terminal of a TSN system.

As another implementation, after receiving a message of a downlink TSN stream, the UE determines a forwarding policy according to a destination MAC address and an identifier of a VLAN in the message, and then sends the message through a sending port corresponding to the identifier of the sending port in the forwarding policy, for example, sends the message to a TSN switching node or a TSN terminal of a TSN system.

Second, UPF forwarding strategy

The forwarding policy on the UPF may be generated by the UPF based on forwarding path information (the forwarding path information including the destination MAC address) from the AF or SMF, or the forwarding policy may be generated by the SMF and sent to the UPF, or the forwarding policy may be generated by the PCF and sent to the UPF via the SMF.

It should be noted that, the UPF may send information in the forwarding policy to the TSN converter on the UPF side, and the TSN converter on the UPF side is used to generate the forwarding policy. As an implementation manner, the UPF may send part of information in the forwarding policy to the TSN converter on the UPF side, for example, for the uplink packet, the forwarding policy information includes a destination MAC address, an identifier of a sending port, and a VLAN identifier, and then the UPF may send the destination MAC address and the identifier of the sending port to the TSN converter, and for the VLAN identifier, may send the destination MAC address and the identifier of the sending port to the TSN converter, or may not send the destination MAC address and the identifier of the sending port to the TSN converter.

The forwarding strategies on the UPF are divided into a forwarding strategy for an uplink TSN stream and a forwarding strategy for a downlink TSN stream, which are described below.

1. Forwarding strategy for uplink TSN (traffic channel) flow

The forwarding policy corresponding to the upstream TSN flow includes a destination MAC address and an identifier of a transmission port, and optionally includes an identifier of a VLAN. The identifier of the transmission port refers to an identifier of a transmission port of the UPF, and specifically refers to an identifier of a transmission port of a TSN repeater on the UPF.

As an implementation manner, after receiving a message of an uplink TSN stream, the UPF determines a forwarding policy according to a destination MAC address in the message, and then sends the message through a sending port corresponding to an identifier of the sending port in the forwarding policy, for example, sends the message to a TSN switching node or a TSN terminal of a TSN system.

As another implementation, after receiving a message of an uplink TSN stream, the UPF determines a forwarding policy according to a destination MAC address in the message and an identifier of a VLAN, and then sends the message through a sending port corresponding to the identifier of the sending port in the forwarding policy, for example, sends the message to a TSN switching node or a TSN terminal of a TSN system.

It should be noted that, when the forwarding policy for the upstream TSN stream on the UPF is received from the SMF, the SMF sends the forwarding policy for the UPF to indicate the destination MAC address and the sending port identifier of the TSN stream, and optionally further includes a VLAN identifier (VLAN ID).

1) The manner of indicating the destination MAC address may be: the SMF is indicated in a Packet Detection Rule (PDR) corresponding to the session sent to the UPF.

2) The manner of indicating the identity of the transmitting port may be: a new field is defined in a Forwarding Action Rule (FAR) to indicate an identifier of a sending port, or first indication information is sent to a UPF, where the first indication information is used to indicate the identifier of the sending port, and a specific implementation manner of the first indication information may be, for example, to extend an existing field, for example, to indicate an identifier of the sending port in an instance field, such as that different sending ports on the UPF correspond to different instance information, or to use an existing instance definition in combination with the identifier of the sending port as the instance information.

It should be noted that, as another implementation manner, the first indication information may also be used to indicate an identifier of a sending port and a destination MAC address. Namely, on one hand, the destination MAC address is indicated by the PDR, and on the other hand, the destination MAC address and the identification of the transmission port are indicated by the first indication information, where the destination MAC address indicated by the PDR is used for the UPF, and the destination MAC address and the identification of the transmission port indicated by the first indication information are used for the TSN converter corresponding to the UPF.

Of course, if the first indication information only indicates the identifier of the transmission port, the UPF may generate new indication information according to the destination MAC address indicated by the PDR and the identifier of the transmission port indicated by the first indication information, and send the new indication information to the TSN converter, where the new indication information indicates the identifier of the transmission port and the destination MAC address.

3) The VLAN id may be indicated in the PDR, or may be indicated in a similar manner to the VLAN id (such as indicated in the first indication information or indicated by other indication information), which may be referred to in the foregoing description.

2. Forwarding strategy for downlink TSN (traffic stream service)

The forwarding policy corresponding to the downlink TSN stream includes a destination MAC address, and optionally also includes auxiliary information, where the auxiliary information includes an identifier of a receiving port and/or an identifier of a VLAN. The identity of the receiving port refers to the identity of the receiving port of the TSN repeater on the UPF.

As an implementation manner, after receiving a message of a downlink TSN stream, the UE determines a forwarding policy according to a destination MAC address in the message, and then sends the message to the UE through a session corresponding to the forwarding policy.

As another implementation, after receiving a message of a downlink TSN stream, the UE determines a forwarding policy corresponding to the message according to a destination MAC address and auxiliary information in the message, and then sends the message to the UE through a session corresponding to the forwarding policy.

As another implementation manner, the message of the downlink TSN stream further includes priority information, and after receiving the message of the downlink TSN stream, the UE determines a forwarding policy corresponding to the message according to a destination MAC address in the message, and determines a 5G QoS indicator (5G QoS indicator, 5QI) according to the priority information in the message (one 5QI indicates a priority for sending the message), so that the UPF can send the message to the UE according to the 5QI through the forwarding policy corresponding to the message.

It should be noted that, when the forwarding policy for the downlink TSN stream on the UPF is received from the SMF, the SMF sends the forwarding policy for the UPF to indicate the destination MAC address of the TSN stream, and optionally further indicates the auxiliary information, where the auxiliary information includes the VLAN id and/or the id of the receiving port. Wherein:

1) The way to indicate the destination MAC address is: indicated in the PDR corresponding to the session sent to the UPF.

2) The manner of indicating the auxiliary information may be: defining a new field in the PDR to indicate the identity of the receiving port (e.g. defined in the ethernet filter of the PDR), or sending second indication information to the UPF, where the second indication information is used to indicate the auxiliary information, and a specific implementation manner of the second indication information may be, for example, extending an existing field, for example, indicating the identity of the receiving port in an instance field, such as that different receiving ports on the UPF correspond to different instance information, or using an existing instance definition in combination with the identity of the receiving port as the instance information.

It should be noted that, as another implementation manner, the second indication information may also be used to indicate the auxiliary information and the destination MAC address. Namely, on the one hand, the destination MAC address indicated by the PDR is used for the UPF, and on the other hand, the auxiliary information and the destination MAC address are indicated by the second indication information, wherein the destination MAC address indicated by the PDR is used for the corresponding TSN converter of the UPF.

Of course, if the second indication information indicates only the auxiliary information, the UPF may generate new indication information indicating the auxiliary information and the target MAC address from the destination MAC address indicated by the PDR and the auxiliary information indicated by the second indication information, and transmit the new indication information to the TSN converter.

It should be noted that the VLAN id may be indicated in the PDR in addition to the second indication information, which is not limited in this application.

The above is an introduction description of the forwarding policy on the UPF and the forwarding policy on the UE. In this application, the forwarding policy on the UE and the UPF is obtained from a core network device, where the core network device may be a PCF, a UPF, or an SMF, that is, in this application, the forwarding policy may be determined by the PCF, the forwarding policy may also be determined by the UPF, or the forwarding policy may also be determined by the SMF, which will be described below.

First implementation method, PCF determines forwarding strategy

Based on the realization method, PCF receives the forwarding path information from AF or SMF, the forwarding path information includes the destination MAC address, optionally also includes the information of receiving port identification, sending port identification, VLAN identification, etc., the forwarding path information comes from CNC network element, then PCF determines the forwarding strategy according to the forwarding path information and sends the forwarding strategy to SMF, SMF sends the forwarding strategy to UPF and/or UE.

As an implementation manner, the PCF may further obtain a service type corresponding to the session of the UE, and determine a 5QI corresponding to the forwarding policy according to the service type, where the 5QI is used to indicate the QoS flow corresponding to the 5QI to use the forwarding policy.

Optionally, the PCF may obtain a service type corresponding to the session of the UE reported by the UE, that is, the service type corresponding to the session of the UE is reported to the PCF by the UE. Or, the UE reports the priority information corresponding to the session of the UE to the PCF, and then the PCF determines the service type according to the priority information.

Implementation method two, UPF determines forwarding strategy

Based on the implementation method, the UPF receives forwarding path information from the AF, the forwarding path information includes a destination MAC address, and optionally includes information such as an identifier of a receiving port, an identifier of a sending port, and a VLAN identifier, the forwarding path information is from a CNC network element, and then determines a forwarding policy on the UPF according to the forwarding path information.

For the forwarding policy on the UE, the UPF may send the forwarding path information to the SMF, and the SMF determines the forwarding policy on the UE and sends the forwarding policy to the UE, or the UPF may send the forwarding path information to the UE, and the UE determines the forwarding policy on the UE.

Third implementation method, SMF determining forwarding strategy

Based on the realization method, the SMF receives the forwarding path information from the AF, UPF or PCF, the forwarding path information comprises a destination MAC address, and optionally also comprises information such as the identification of a receiving port, the identification of a sending port, the identification of a VLAN and the like, the forwarding path information is from a CNC network element, and then the SMF determines a forwarding strategy according to the forwarding path information and sends the forwarding strategy to the UE and/or the UPF.

The following describes a specific implementation process of determining the forwarding policy and sending the forwarding policy to the UE and/or the UE, with reference to a specific embodiment.

In the following embodiments shown in fig. 6 to fig. 8, the AF receives forwarding path information (e.g. static table) of the TSN flow from the control plane of the TSN, where the forwarding path information includes a destination MAC of the TSN flow, an identifier of a receiving port of the TSN flow on a switching node (e.g. UPF, UE), an identifier of a sending port, and optionally further includes a VLAN identifier. And then the AF sends the forwarding path information to PCF/SMF/UPF, and further creates a UPF forwarding strategy, and optionally creates a UE forwarding strategy. The mode of sending the message to PCF/SMF/UPF by AF may be direct sending or sending through NEF network element.

Fig. 6 is a schematic flow chart of another communication method provided in the present application. In the embodiment, the control plane of the TSN network issues forwarding path information to a control plane network element AF of a switching node of the 5G system, and after receiving the forwarding path information, the AF sends the forwarding path information to the PCF, and triggers the PCF to perform a QoS flow creating or updating process, thereby determining the user plane forwarding strategy.

The method comprises the following steps:

Step 601, the CNC sends the forwarding path information of the TSN stream on the 5G system switching node to the AF. Accordingly, the AF may receive the forwarding path information.

The forwarding path information includes a destination MAC address of the TSN stream, an identifier of a transmitting port on the switching node, and optionally, an identifier of a receiving port on the switching node, and a VLAN identifier.

The destination MAC address of the TSN stream is the MAC address of the TSN terminal (as the receiving end) in the TSN system, or the multicast MAC address, or the local MAC address. The identity of the transmit port on the switching node includes an identity of a transmit port of a TSN repeater on a UPF in the 5G system switching node and an identity of a transmit port of a TSN repeater on a UE in the 5G system switching node. The identification of the receive port on the switching node includes an identification of the receive port of the TSN repeater on the UE in the 5G system switching node and an identification of the receive port of the TSN repeater on the UPF in the 5G system switching node.

Step 602, the AF sends the forwarding path information of the TSN flow to the PCF. Accordingly, the PCF may receive the forwarding path information.

The specific implementation method of this step may be, for example, that the AF forwards a message carrying forwarding path information received from the CNC to the PCF, or that the AF parses the forwarding path information received from the CNC and then sends the forwarding path information through a cell between the AF and the PCF. The AF may send a message (carrying forwarding path information) directly to the PCF, or may send the message through the NEF.

Step 603, the PCF initiates the QoS flow creation/modification process, and sends the forwarding path information of the TSN flow to the SMF through the QoS flow creation/modification request.

Optionally, the PCF may also determine the forwarding policy according to the forwarding path information, and directly send the forwarding policy to the SMF in this step 603. The forwarding policy here refers to a forwarding policy on the UPF and a forwarding policy on the UE, and may specifically refer to the relevant description in the embodiment of fig. 5.

At step 604, the SMF sends the forwarding policy of the TSN stream to the UPF via an N4 session create/modify request.

It should be noted that the forwarding policy on the SMF may be determined based on the forwarding path information received from the PCF, or may be directly received from the PCF. The forwarding policy herein refers to a forwarding policy on the UPF, and may specifically refer to the relevant description in the embodiment of fig. 5.

In step 605, the SMF sends a forwarding policy for the TSN stream to the UE.

The forwarding policy herein refers to a forwarding policy on the UE, and may specifically refer to the relevant description in the embodiment of fig. 5.

This step is an optional step. Specifically, the step is performed when the user session corresponds to multiple UE ports (i.e., ports of a TSN repeater on the UE), or the UE ports correspond to multiple sessions, otherwise, the step may not be performed when one user session corresponds to one UE port.

And step 606, forwarding the TSN stream by the UPF according to the forwarding strategy.

In step 607, the UE forwards the TSN stream according to the forwarding policy.

This step is optional and is performed when step 605 is performed, and step 607 is not performed when step 605 is not performed.

In this embodiment, forwarding of the TSN stream is implemented based on the existing 5G management and forwarding architecture, and the method is also applicable to other scenarios in which a forwarding path is specified by specifying stream information and a forwarding port.

Fig. 7 is a schematic flow chart of another communication method provided in the present application. The method can be used for determining the user plane forwarding strategy, in the embodiment, the AF sends the forwarding path information of the TSN flow obtained from the TSN control plane to the SMF, and then the SMF triggers the QoS flow creation/modification flow, or the SMF directly creates the user plane forwarding strategy, and further the creation of the TSN flow forwarding strategy by the 5G system user plane is realized.

The method comprises the following steps:

step 701, similar to step 601 in the embodiment of fig. 6, can refer to the foregoing description.

In step 702, the AF sends forwarding path information to the SMF.

In step 703, the SMF sends forwarding path information to the PCF for triggering the QoS flow creation/modification procedure.

In this step, the SMF may directly forward the message carrying the forwarding path information received from the AF to the PCF, or send the forwarding path information through a cell defined between the SMF and the PCF.

Reference is made to the above description for steps 704-708, as well as steps 603-607 in the embodiment of fig. 6.

It should be noted that the steps 703 to 704 are optional steps. That is, when step 703-step 704 are executed, the SMF triggers the PCF to initiate the QoS flow creation/modification procedure, thereby implementing the creation of the TSN flow forwarding policy faced by the 5G system user. When the step 703 to the step 704 are not executed, the SMF directly creates the user plane forwarding policy, thereby implementing the creation of the TSN stream forwarding policy by the 5G system user plane.

In this embodiment, the forwarding of the TSN stream is implemented based on the existing 5G management and forwarding architecture, and the method is also applicable to other scenarios in which a forwarding path is specified by specifying TSN stream information and a forwarding port.

Fig. 8 is a schematic flow chart of another communication method provided in the present application. The method can be used for determining a user plane forwarding strategy, in this embodiment, an AF sends forwarding path information of a TSN flow obtained from a TSN control plane to a UPF, and then two processing modes are included: the first mode is that UPF sends the forwarding path information of TSN stream to SMF, and further triggers the QoS stream creation/modification flow (step 803-step 809); the second mode is that the UPF determines its own forwarding policy according to the forwarding path information of the TSN stream, and sends the forwarding path information of the TSN stream to the SMF or the UE as needed for creating a forwarding policy on the UE side (steps 810-814).

The method comprises the following steps:

step 801 is the same as step 701 of the embodiment of fig. 7.

Step 802, the AF sends forwarding path information of the TSN stream to the UPF.

The specific implementation method of this step may be, for example, that the AF forwards a message carrying forwarding path information received from the CNC to the UPF, or that the AF parses the forwarding path information received from the CNC, and then sends the forwarding path information through an information element between the AF and the UPF. The AF may directly send a message (carrying forwarding path information) to the UPF, or send the message through the NEF.

As one implementation, after this step 802, the following steps 803-809 are performed. As yet another implementation, after step 802, the following steps 810-814 are performed. The following are described separately.

Mode one (step 803 to step 809):

in step 803, the UPF sends the forwarding path information of the TSN stream to the SMF for creating a user plane forwarding policy.

Steps 804 to 809, like steps 703 to 708 in the embodiment of fig. 7, refer to the foregoing description.

It should be noted that steps 804 to 805 (corresponding to steps 703 to 704 in the embodiment of fig. 7) are also optional steps, and reference may be specifically made to the related description in the embodiment of fig. 7.

Mode two (steps 810-814):

And step 810, the UPF determines a forwarding strategy on the UPF according to the forwarding path information of the TSN stream.

The content of the forwarding policy determined by the UPF may refer to the related description of the embodiment of fig. 5.

In step 811, the UPF sends forwarding path information of the TSN stream to the SMF or the UE for creating a forwarding policy on the UE.

The forwarding path information includes a destination MAC address of the TSN stream, an identifier of a transmission port of the TSN converter on the UE, and optionally, an identifier of a reception port of the TSN converter on the UE and/or a VLAN identifier.

In step 812, the SMF determines a forwarding policy for the TSN stream of the UE and sends the forwarding policy to the UE.

This step is an optional step. This step is performed when the UPF sends forwarding path information to the SMF in step 811, otherwise it is not performed.

Step 813-step 814, similar to step 707-step 708 in the embodiment of fig. 7, can refer to the foregoing description.

Further, the present application also provides a method for determining QoS flows by an AF/PCF, which may be combined with any of the embodiments in fig. 5-9.

As an implementation manner, the method for determining the QoS flow by the AF/PCF includes: and when the AF/PCF acquires the service type information (traffic class), the AF/PCF determines 5QI according to the service type information, and further determines the QoS flow according to the 5 QI. One 5QI is used to indicate priority information of one QoS flow. The method for the AF/PCF to acquire the service type information includes, but is not limited to:

in the method 1, the forwarding path information received by the AF from the CNC includes service type information.

Optionally, the AF may send the service type information to the PCF.

And 2, when the forwarding path information received by the AF from the CNC does not contain the service type information, the AF requests the CNC/CUC to obtain the service type information corresponding to the TSN flow according to the target MAC of the TSN flow.

Optionally, the AF may send the service type information to the PCF.

And 3, when the forwarding path information received by the AF from the CNC does not contain the service type information, the AF waits for the subsequent configuration of the CNC and obtains the service type information from the subsequent configuration.

Optionally, the AF may send the service type information to the PCF.

And 4, reporting the port capability information (including the supported service type information) of the UE side to the AF/PCF by the UE.

And 5, reporting the VLAN identification supported by the port, the priority information corresponding to the VLAN identification and the service type information corresponding to the priority information to the AF/PCF by the UE/UPF, wherein the AF/PCF can acquire the corresponding relation among the VLAN identification, the priority information and the service type information. Therefore, when receiving the forwarding path information, the AF/PCF can obtain the priority information corresponding to the VLAN identifier on the UE/UPF port according to the receiving/sending port identifier and the VLAN identifier in the forwarding path information, and further obtain the service type information corresponding to the priority information.

Optionally, the AF may send the service type information to the PCF.

As another implementation manner, the QoS stream may also be directly created or modified first, 5QI is not specified in the QoS stream information, and then, after receiving the service packet of the TSN stream, the UPF determines the service type information according to the priority information in the packet, and then determines 5QI according to the service type information.

The above-mentioned scheme provided by the present application is mainly introduced from the perspective of interaction between network elements. It is to be understood that the above-described implementation of each network element includes, in order to implement the above-described functions, a corresponding hardware structure and/or software module for performing each function. Those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software, with the exemplary elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein. Whether a function is performed as hardware or computer software drives hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention.

As shown in fig. 9, which is a possible exemplary block diagram of a communication device according to the present application, the device 900 may be in the form of software or hardware. The apparatus 900 may include: a processing unit 902 and a communication unit 903. As an implementation, the communication unit 903 may include a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The processing unit 902 is used for controlling and managing the operation of the apparatus 900. The communication unit 903 is used to support communication of the apparatus 900 with other network entities. The apparatus 900 may further comprise a storage unit 901 for storing program codes and data of the apparatus 900.

The processing unit 902 may be a processor or a controller, and may be, for example, a general-purpose Central Processing Unit (CPU), a general-purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processing (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. Which may implement or perform the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure. The processor may also be a combination of computing functions, e.g., comprising one or more microprocessors, DSPs, and microprocessors, among others. The storage unit 901 may be a memory. The communication unit 903 is an interface circuit of the apparatus for receiving signals from other apparatuses. For example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the communication unit 903 is an interface circuit of the chip for receiving a signal from another chip or device, or an interface circuit of the chip for transmitting a signal to another chip or device.

The apparatus 900 may be a terminal device in any of the above embodiments, and may also be a chip for a terminal device. For example, when the apparatus 900 is a terminal device, the processing unit 902 may be a processor, and the communication unit 903 may be a transceiver, for example. Optionally, the transceiver may comprise radio frequency circuitry and the storage unit may be, for example, a memory. For example, when the apparatus 900 is a chip for a terminal device, the processing unit 902 may be a processor, for example, and the communication unit 903 may be an input/output interface, a pin, a circuit, or the like, for example. The processing unit 902 can execute a computer execution instruction stored in a storage unit, optionally, the storage unit is a storage unit in the chip, such as a register, a cache, and the like, and the storage unit may also be a storage unit located outside the chip in the terminal device, such as a read-only memory (ROM) or another type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a Random Access Memory (RAM), and the like.

In one embodiment, the apparatus 900 is a terminal device, and the communication unit 903 includes a transmitting unit and a receiving unit. A receiving unit, configured to receive a packet of a delay-sensitive network TSN stream, where the packet includes a destination media access control MAC address; a processing unit 902, configured to determine a forwarding policy of the TSN stream according to the destination MAC address, where the forwarding policy includes the destination MAC address; and the sending unit is used for sending the message according to the forwarding strategy.

In a possible implementation method, the receiving unit is further configured to receive the forwarding policy from a session management network element, a policy control network element, or a user plane network element.

In one possible implementation, the TSN stream is an upstream stream; the sending unit is specifically configured to send the packet to a user plane network element through a session corresponding to the forwarding policy.

In a possible implementation method, the forwarding policy further includes auxiliary information, where the auxiliary information includes an identifier of a receiving port and/or an identifier of a virtual local area network VLAN; the processing unit 902 is specifically configured to determine the forwarding policy according to the destination MAC address and the auxiliary information.

In one possible implementation, the TSN stream is a downstream stream; the forwarding policy further includes an identifier of a sending port, and the sending port is a sending port of the device; the sending unit is specifically configured to send the packet through the sending port.

In a possible implementation method, the forwarding policy further includes an identifier of a VLAN; the processing unit 902 is specifically configured to determine the forwarding policy according to the destination MAC address and the identifier of the VLAN.

It can be understood that, when the apparatus is used in the foregoing communication method, specific implementation procedures and corresponding beneficial effects may refer to the related description in the foregoing method embodiment, and are not described herein again.

As shown in fig. 10, which is a possible exemplary block diagram of a communication device according to the present application, the device 1000 may exist in the form of software or hardware. The apparatus 1000 may include: a processing unit 1002 and a communication unit 1003. As one implementation, the communication unit 1003 may include a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The processing unit 1002 is used for controlling and managing operations of the apparatus 1000. The communication unit 1003 is configured to support communication between the apparatus 1000 and other network entities. The device 1000 may further comprise a storage unit 1001 for storing program codes and data of the device 1000.

The processing unit 1002 may be a processor or a controller, and may be, for example, a CPU, a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. Which may implement or perform the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure. The processor may also be a combination of computing functions, e.g., comprising one or more microprocessors, DSPs, and microprocessors, among others. The storage unit 1001 may be a memory. The communication unit 1003 is an interface circuit of the apparatus for receiving signals from other apparatuses. For example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the communication unit 1003 is an interface circuit for the chip to receive a signal from another chip or device, or an interface circuit for the chip to transmit a signal to another chip or device.

The apparatus 1000 may be a user plane network element in any of the above embodiments, and may also be a chip for a user plane network element. For example, when the apparatus 1000 is a user plane network element, the processing unit 1002 may be a processor, for example, and the communication unit 1003 may be a transceiver, for example. Optionally, the transceiver may comprise radio frequency circuitry and the storage unit may be, for example, a memory. For example, when the apparatus 1000 is a chip for a user plane network element, the processing unit 1002 may be a processor, for example, and the communication unit 1003 may be an input/output interface, a pin, a circuit, or the like, for example. The processing unit 1002 may execute computer-executable instructions stored by a storage unit, which may alternatively be a storage unit in the chip, such as a register, a cache, etc., or a storage unit located outside the chip in the user plane network element, such as a ROM or other types of static storage devices that may store static information and instructions, a RAM, etc.

In one embodiment, the apparatus 1000 is a user plane network element, and the communication unit 1003 includes a sending unit and a receiving unit. The receiving unit is used for receiving a message of a delay-sensitive network TSN stream, wherein the message comprises a destination MAC address; a processing unit 1002, configured to determine a forwarding policy of the TSN stream according to the destination MAC address, where the forwarding policy includes the destination MAC address; and the sending unit is used for sending the message according to the forwarding strategy.

In a possible implementation method, the receiving unit is further configured to receive the forwarding policy from a session management network element or an application function network element; or, the forwarding policy module is configured to receive forwarding path information from a session management network element or an application function network element, and determine the forwarding policy according to the forwarding path information, where the forwarding path information includes the destination MAC address.

In one possible implementation, the TSN stream is an upstream stream; the forwarding policy further includes an identifier of a sending port, and the sending port is a sending port of the device; the sending unit is specifically configured to send the packet through the sending port.

In a possible implementation method, the forwarding policy further includes an identifier of a VLAN; the processing unit 1002 is specifically configured to determine the forwarding policy according to the destination MAC address and the identifier of the VLAN.

In one possible implementation, the TSN stream is a downstream stream; the sending unit is specifically configured to send the packet to a terminal device through a session corresponding to the forwarding policy.

In one possible implementation, the message includes priority information; the processing unit 1002 is further configured to determine a 5G quality of service indicator 5QI according to the priority information; the sending unit is specifically configured to send the packet to the terminal device through the session corresponding to the forwarding policy according to the 5 QI.

In a possible implementation method, the forwarding policy further includes auxiliary information, where the auxiliary information includes an identifier of a receiving port and/or an identifier of a virtual local area network VLAN;

the processing unit 1002 is specifically configured to determine the forwarding policy according to the destination MAC address and the auxiliary information.

As shown in fig. 11, which is a possible exemplary block diagram of a communication device according to the present application, the device 1100 may be in the form of software or hardware. The apparatus 1100 may include: a processing unit 1102 and a communication unit 1103. As one implementation, the communication unit 1103 may include a receiving unit and a sending unit. The processing unit 1102 is configured to control and manage operations of the apparatus 1100. The communication unit 1103 is used to support communication of the apparatus 1100 with other network entities. The apparatus 1100 may further comprise a storage unit 1101 for storing program codes and data of the apparatus 1100.

The processing unit 1102 may be a processor or a controller, such as a CPU, general purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, transistor logic device, hardware component, or any combination thereof. Which may implement or perform the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure. The processor may also be a combination of computing functions, e.g., comprising one or more microprocessors, DSPs, and microprocessors, among others. The storage unit 1101 may be a memory. The communication unit 1103 is an interface circuit of the apparatus for receiving signals from other apparatuses. For example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the communication unit 1103 is an interface circuit of the chip for receiving signals from other chips or devices, or an interface circuit of the chip for transmitting signals to other chips or devices.

The apparatus 1100 may be core network devices (such as a session management network element and a policy control network element) in any embodiment described above, and may also be chips used for the core network devices. For example, when the apparatus 1100 is a core network device, the processing unit 1102 may be a processor, and the communication unit 1103 may be a transceiver, for example. Optionally, the transceiver may comprise radio frequency circuitry and the storage unit may be, for example, a memory. For example, when the apparatus 1100 is a chip for a core network device, the processing unit 1102 may be a processor, for example, and the communication unit 1103 may be an input/output interface, a pin, a circuit, or the like, for example. The processing unit 1102 may execute computer-executable instructions stored in a storage unit, optionally, the storage unit is a storage unit in the chip, such as a register, a cache, and the like, and the storage unit may also be a storage unit located outside the chip in the core network device, such as a ROM or another type of static storage device that may store static information and instructions, a RAM, and the like.

In one embodiment, the apparatus 1100 is a core network device, and the communication unit 1103 includes a sending unit and a receiving unit. A receiving unit, configured to receive forwarding path information, where the forwarding path information includes a destination MAC address of a TSN stream; the processing unit is used for determining the forwarding strategy of the TSN flow according to the destination MAC address; and the sending unit is used for sending the forwarding strategy.

In a possible implementation method, the apparatus is a policy control network element; the receiving unit is specifically configured to receive the forwarding path information from an application function network element or a session management network element; the sending unit is specifically configured to send the forwarding policy to a terminal device and/or a user plane network element through a session management network element.

In a possible implementation method, the processing unit 1102 is further configured to obtain a service type corresponding to a session of the terminal device; and determining the 5QI corresponding to the forwarding strategy according to the service type.

In a possible implementation method, the processing unit 1102 is specifically configured to obtain the service type corresponding to the session of the terminal device reported by the terminal device; or, the method and the device are used for acquiring priority information corresponding to the session of the terminal device reported by the terminal device, and determining the service type according to the priority information.

In a possible implementation method, the apparatus is a session management network element; the receiving unit is specifically configured to receive the forwarding path information from an application function network element, a user plane network element, or a policy control network element; the sending unit is specifically configured to send the forwarding policy to a terminal device and/or a user plane network element.

As shown in fig. 12, a schematic diagram of a communication apparatus provided in the present application is shown, where the apparatus may be a terminal device, a user plane network element, a session management network element, or a policy control network element in the foregoing embodiments. The apparatus 1200 includes: a processor 1202, a communication interface 1203, a memory 1201. Optionally, the apparatus 1200 may also include a communication line 1204. The communication interface 1203, the processor 1202, and the memory 1201 may be connected to each other via a communication line 1204; the communication line 1204 may be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, or the like. The communication lines 1204 may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 12, but this is not intended to represent only one bus or type of bus.

The processor 1202 may be a CPU, microprocessor, ASIC, or one or more integrated circuits configured to control the execution of programs in accordance with the teachings of the present application.

The communication interface 1203 is implemented using any device, such as a transceiver, for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as ethernet, Radio Access Network (RAN), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), wired access network, etc.

The memory 1201 may be, but is not limited to, a ROM or other type of static storage device that may store static information and instructions, a RAM or other type of dynamic storage device that may store information and instructions, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, an optical disk storage (including a compact disk, a laser disk, an optical disk, a digital versatile disk, a blu-ray disk, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, 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 memory may be separate and coupled to the processor via a communication line 1204. The memory may also be integral to the processor.

The memory 1201 is used for storing computer-executable instructions for executing the present application, and is controlled by the processor 1202 to execute the instructions. The processor 1202 is configured to execute computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 1201, so as to implement the communication method provided by the above-described embodiment of the present application.

Optionally, the computer-executable instructions in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as application program codes, which are not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that: the various numbers of the first, second, etc. mentioned in this application are only used for the convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application, but also to indicate the sequence. "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 exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. The character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "at least one" means one or more. At least two means two or more. "at least one," "any," or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of singular or plural items. For example, at least one (one ) of a, b, or c, may represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, wherein a, b, c may be single or multiple. "plurality" means two or more, and other terms are analogous. Furthermore, for elements (elements) that appear in the singular form "a," an, "and" the, "they are not intended to mean" one or only one "unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, but rather" one or more than one. For example, "a device" means for one or more such devices.

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 instructions. When loaded and executed on a computer, cause the processes or functions described in accordance with the embodiments of the application to occur, in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a network of computers, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another, for example, from one website site, computer, server, or data center to another website site, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device including one or more available media integrated servers, data centers, and the like. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy Disk, hard Disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., Solid State Disk (SSD)), among others.

The various illustrative logical units and circuits described in this application may be implemented or operated upon by design of a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a digital signal processor core, or any other similar configuration.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in the embodiments herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software element executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software cells may be stored in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. For example, a storage medium may be coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC.

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

Although the present application has been described in conjunction with specific features and embodiments thereof, it will be evident that various modifications and combinations can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Accordingly, the specification and figures are merely exemplary of the present application as defined in the appended claims and are intended to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents within the scope of the present application. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the present application without departing from the scope of the application. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is also intended to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

the core network equipment receives forwarding path information, wherein the forwarding path information comprises a destination MAC address of a TSN stream;

the core network equipment determines a forwarding strategy of the TSN flow according to the destination MAC address;

and the core network equipment sends the forwarding strategy.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the forwarding path information further includes auxiliary information, then the forwarding policy further includes the auxiliary information;

the auxiliary information is at least one of the following information: the identification of the sending port, the identification of the receiving port and the identification of the virtual local area network VLAN.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the core network device is a policy control network element;

the core network device receives forwarding path information, including:

the core network equipment receives the forwarding path information from an application function network element or a session management network element;

the sending, by the core network device, the forwarding policy includes:

and the core network equipment sends the forwarding strategy to terminal equipment and/or a user plane network element through the session management network element.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the method further comprises:

The core network equipment acquires a service type corresponding to the session of the terminal equipment;

and the core network equipment determines a 5G service quality indicator 5QI corresponding to the forwarding strategy according to the service type.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the obtaining, by the core network device, the service type corresponding to the session of the terminal device includes:

the core network equipment acquires the service type reported by the terminal equipment; or,

and the core network equipment acquires the priority information corresponding to the session of the terminal equipment reported by the terminal equipment and determines the service type according to the priority information.

6. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the core network device is a session management network element;

the core network device receives forwarding path information, including:

the core network equipment receives the forwarding path information from an application function network element, a user plane network element or a strategy control network element;

the sending, by the core network device, the forwarding policy includes:

and the core network equipment sends the forwarding strategy to terminal equipment and/or a user plane network element.

7. A method of communication, comprising:

A user plane network element receives a message of a delay-sensitive network TSN stream, wherein the message comprises a destination MAC address;

the user plane network element determines a forwarding strategy of the TSN stream according to the destination MAC address, wherein the forwarding strategy comprises the destination MAC address;

and the user plane network element sends the message according to the forwarding strategy.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

the user plane network element receives the forwarding strategy from a session management network element or an application function network element; or,

and the user plane network element receives forwarding path information from a session management network element or an application function network element, and determines the forwarding strategy according to the forwarding path information, wherein the forwarding path information comprises the destination MAC address.

9. The method of claim 7 or 8, wherein the TSN stream is an upstream stream; the forwarding strategy also comprises an identifier of a sending port, and the sending port is a port on the user plane network element;

the user plane network element sends the message according to the forwarding strategy, and the sending comprises:

and the user plane network element sends the message through the sending port.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the forwarding policy includes a forwarding rule FAR, the FAR including an identification of the sending port; or,

the forwarding policy includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate an identifier of the sending port or to indicate the identifier of the sending port and the destination MAC address.

11. The method of claim 9 or 10, wherein the forwarding policy further comprises an identification of a virtual local area network, VLAN;

the user plane network element determines a forwarding strategy according to the destination MAC address, and the method comprises the following steps:

and the user plane network element determines the forwarding strategy according to the destination MAC address and the VLAN identifier.

12. The method of claim 7 or 8, wherein the TSN stream is a downstream stream; the user plane network element sends the message according to the forwarding strategy, and the sending comprises:

and the user plane network element sends the message to the terminal equipment through the session corresponding to the forwarding strategy.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the message includes priority information; the method further comprises the following steps:

the user plane network element determines a 5G service quality indicator 5QI according to the priority information;

The sending, by the user plane network element, the packet to the terminal device through the session corresponding to the forwarding policy includes:

and the user plane network element sends the message to the terminal equipment through the session corresponding to the forwarding strategy according to the 5 QI.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the forwarding policy further comprises auxiliary information comprising an identification of a receiving port and/or an identification of a virtual local area network, VLAN;

and the user plane network element determines the forwarding strategy according to the destination MAC address and the auxiliary information.

15. A method according to any of claims 12-14, wherein the forwarding policy comprises a packet detection rule, PDR, comprising side information including an identification of a receiving port and/or an identification of a VLAN; or,

the forwarding policy includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate auxiliary information or to indicate the auxiliary information and the destination MAC address.

16. A communications apparatus, comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to receive forwarding path information, where the forwarding path information includes a destination MAC address of a TSN stream;

The processing unit is used for determining the forwarding strategy of the TSN flow according to the destination MAC address;

and the sending unit is used for sending the forwarding strategy.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the forwarding path information further includes auxiliary information, the forwarding policy further includes the auxiliary information;

the auxiliary information is at least one of the following information: the identification of the sending port, the identification of the receiving port and the identification of the VLAN.

18. The apparatus according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the apparatus is a policy control network element;

the receiving unit is specifically configured to receive the forwarding path information from an application function network element or a session management network element;

the sending unit is specifically configured to send the forwarding policy to a terminal device and/or a user plane network element through the session management network element.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the processing unit is further configured to obtain a service type corresponding to a session of the terminal device; and determining the 5QI corresponding to the forwarding strategy according to the service type.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the processing unit is specifically configured to obtain the service type reported by the terminal device; or, the method and the device are used for acquiring priority information corresponding to the session of the terminal device reported by the terminal device, and determining the service type according to the priority information.

21. The apparatus of claim 16 or 17, wherein the apparatus is a session management network element;

the receiving unit is specifically configured to receive the forwarding path information from an application function network element, a user plane network element, or a policy control network element;

the sending unit is specifically configured to send the forwarding policy to a terminal device and/or a user plane network element.

22. A communications apparatus, comprising:

the receiving unit is used for receiving a message of a delay-sensitive network TSN stream, wherein the message comprises a destination MAC address;

a processing unit, configured to determine a forwarding policy of the TSN stream according to the destination MAC address, where the forwarding policy includes the destination MAC address;

and the sending unit is used for sending the message according to the forwarding strategy.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to receive the forwarding policy from a session management network element or an application function network element; or, the forwarding policy module is configured to receive forwarding path information from a session management network element or an application function network element, and determine the forwarding policy according to the forwarding path information, where the forwarding path information includes the destination MAC address.

24. The apparatus of claim 22 or 223, wherein the TSN stream is an upstream stream; the forwarding policy further includes an identifier of a sending port, where the sending port is a port on the device;

the receiving unit is specifically configured to send the packet through the sending port.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the forwarding policy comprises a forwarding rule, FAR, including an identification of the sending port; or,

26. The apparatus of any of claims 24 or 25, wherein the forwarding policy further comprises an identification of a VLAN;

the processing unit is specifically configured to determine the forwarding policy according to the destination MAC address and the identifier of the VLAN.

27. The apparatus of claim 22 or 23, wherein the TSN stream is a downstream stream; the sending unit is specifically configured to send the packet to a terminal device through a session corresponding to the forwarding policy.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the message includes priority information; the processing unit is further configured to determine a 5G quality of service indicator 5QI according to the priority information;

the sending unit is specifically configured to send the packet to the terminal device through the session corresponding to the forwarding policy according to the 5 QI.

29. The apparatus according to claim 27 or 28, wherein the forwarding policy further comprises auxiliary information comprising an identification of a receiving port and/or an identification of a virtual local area network, VLAN;

the processing unit is specifically configured to determine the forwarding policy according to the destination MAC address and the auxiliary information.

30. The apparatus according to any of claims 27-29, wherein the forwarding policy comprises a packet detection rule, PDR, comprising side information comprising an identification of a receiving port and/or an identification of a VLAN; or,