Associating transport identifiers with quality of service flows

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12538372-B2
Application number	US-202318166643-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 9, 2023
Priority date	Aug 11, 2020
Publication date	Jan 27, 2026
Grant date	Jan 27, 2026

Abstract

Methods, apparatus, and systems that can be implemented to associate User Datagram Protocol (UDP) based connection identifiers with appropriate Quality of Service (QoS) flows are disclosed to enable Access Traffic Steering, Switching and Splitting functionality at lower layers and to allow accurate measurements of Round-Trip Time for all traffic on a session. In one example aspect, a wireless communication method includes determining, by one or more nodes in a core network for a session that comprises at least one QoS flow, at least two identifiers identifying two connections associated with the at least one QoS flow. The two connections are established according to a UDP based protocol. The method also includes establishing, by the one or more nodes in the core network, a mapping between the at least two connection identifiers and the at least one QoS flow.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method for wireless communication, comprising:
determining, by one or more nodes in a core network for a session that comprises at least one Quality of Service (QOS) flow, at least two identifiers identifying two connections associated with the at least one QoS flow, wherein the two connections are established according to a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) based protocol, wherein the one or more nodes comprise a User Plane Function (UPF) node and a Policy Control Function (PCF) node, and wherein the at least two connection identifiers are transmitted from the UPF node to the PCF node; establishing, by the PCF node of the one or more nodes in the core network, a mapping between the at least two identifiers and the at least one QoS flow, wherein a first connection of the two connections is configured to provide access to a network using a first access technology specified in a protocol suite and a second connection of the two connections is configured to provide access to the network using a second access technology specified in a different protocol suite; and transmitting, by the PCF node of the one or more nodes in the core network, the mapping between the at least two connection identifiers and the at least one QoS flow to a communication device.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the UDP based protocol comprises a Quick UDP Internet Connections (QUIC) protocol that provides stream-multiplexed and secure transmissions.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining of the at least two identifiers comprises:
determining, during a session establishment procedure to establish a session, destination identifiers for the two connections.

4 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the at least one QoS flow comprises a default QoS flow, and wherein the determining of the at least two identifiers comprises:
determining, during a session modification procedure to modify the session, source and destination identifiers for the two connections.

5 . The method of claim 1 , comprising:
receiving, by the one or more nodes in the core network, a packet from a communication device using a connection, wherein the packet comprises a header that includes a destination identifier corresponding to the connection and a source identifier identifying the communication device, and wherein the connection is determined according to an Access Traffic Steering, Switching and Splitting rule.

6 . The method of claim 1 , comprising:
receiving, by the one or more nodes in the core network, a packet from a communication device using a connection that is associated with a QoS flow, wherein the packet comprises a header that includes a destination identifier corresponding to the connection and a source identifier identifying the communication device, and wherein the QoS flow is determined according to a QOS rule.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the UDP based protocol comprises a Performance Measurement Function Protocol, wherein the at least two identifiers comprise Internet Protocol (IP) addresses associated with the two connections or port numbers associated with the two connections, wherein the method further comprises:
transmitting, by the one or more nodes in the core network, the mapping between the at least two identifiers and the at least one QoS flow to a communication device to enable the communication device to perform packet filtering based on the mapping according to a QoS rule.

8 . A method for wireless communication, comprising:
receiving, by a communication device from one or more nodes in a core network for a session that comprises at least one Quality of Service (QOS) flow, a mapping between at least two identifiers identifying two connections and the at least one QoS flow, wherein the two connections are established according to a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) based protocol, and wherein a first connection of the two connections is configured to provide access to a network using a first access technology specified in a protocol suite and a second connection of the two connections is configured to provide access to the network using a second access technology specified in a different protocol suite, wherein the one or more nodes comprise a User Plane Function (UPF) node and a Policy Control Function (PCF) node, wherein the at least two connection identifiers are transmitted from the UPF node to the PCF node, and wherein the mapping between the at least two connection identifiers and the at least one QoS flow is transmitted from the PCF node to the communication device; and performing, by the communication device, an operation based on the mapping.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the UDP based protocol comprises a Quick UDP Internet Connections (QUIC) protocol that provides stream-multiplexed and secure transmissions, and wherein the mapping comprises destination identifiers for the two connections or source and destination identifiers for the two connections.

10 . The method of claim 8 , wherein performing the operation comprises at least one of:
(1) transmitting, by the communication device, a packet to the one or more nodes in the core network using a connection that is determined according to an Access Traffic Steering, Switching and Splitting rule, wherein the packet comprises a header that includes a destination identifier corresponding to the connection and a source identifier identifying the communication device; (2) transmitting, by the communication device, a packet to the one or more nodes in the core network using a connection associated with a QoS flow that is determined according to a QoS rule, wherein the packet comprises a header that includes a destination identifier corresponding to the connection and a source identifier identifying the communication device; or (3) performing, by the communication device, a packet filtering operation based on the mapping according to a QoS rule, wherein the UDP based protocol comprises a Performance Measurement Function Protocol, wherein the at least two identifiers comprise Internet Protocol (IP) addresses associated with the two connections or port numbers associated with the two connections.

11 . A communication apparatus implemented as one or more nodes in a core network for a session that comprises at least one Quality of Service (QOS) flow, comprising a processor configured to:
determine, by the one or more nodes in the core network, at least two identifiers identifying two connections associated with the at least one QoS flow, wherein the two connections are established according to a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) based protocol, wherein the one or more nodes comprise a User Plane Function (UPF) node and a Policy Control Function (PCF) node, and wherein the at least two connection identifiers are transmitted from the UPF node to the PCF node; establish, by the PCF node of the one or more nodes in the core network, a mapping between the at least two identifiers and the at least one QoS flow, wherein a first connection of the two connections is configured to provide access to a network using a first access technology specified in a protocol suite and a second connection of the two connections is configured to provide access to the network using a second access technology specified in a different protocol suite; and transmit, by the PCF node of the one or more nodes in the core network, the mapping between the at least two connection identifiers and the at least one QoS flow to a communication device.

12 . The communication apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the UDP based protocol comprises a Quick UDP Internet Connections (QUIC) protocol that provides stream-multiplexed and s

Assignees

• Zte Corp

Inventors

• Zhou Xingyue
• Zhu Jinguo

Classifications

• H04W76/11

  Allocation or use of connection identifiers · CPC title

• H04W28/0273

  adapting protocols for flow control or congestion control to wireless environment, e.g. adapting transmission control protocol [TCP] (wireless network protocols or protocol adaptations to wireless operation, e.g. wireless application protocol H04W80/00) · CPC title

• H04L69/18

  Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols · CPC title

• H04W76/16 Primary

  Involving different core network technologies, e.g. a packet-switched [PS] bearer in combination with a circuit-switched [CS] bearer · CPC title

• H04L69/22

  Parsing or analysis of headers · CPC title