CONTROL AND MANAGEMENT OF REFLECTIVE QoS

Abstract

Aspects of the disclosure provide a method for reflective quality of service (QoS) control and management at a user equipment (UE). The method can include creating a derived QoS rule belonging to a session and having a QoS flow identifier (QFI). The derived QoS rule includes a precedence value that is set to one of a precedence value associated with a session identifier (ID) of the session received from a core network (CN) of a wireless communication system during a session establishment procedure for establishing the session, a precedence value associated with the QFI received from the CN during the session establishment procedure for establishing the session or when a downlink QoS flow having the QFI is added to the session, or a precedence value that is defined by an operator of the wireless communication system.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of quality of service (QoS) control at a user equipment (UE) that supports reflective QoS, comprising:
 receiving, by the UE, a downlink packet in a session, the downlink packet including a QoS flow identifier (QFI);   deriving, by the UE, a first QoS rule according to the QFI, wherein the downlink packet is marked with the QFI, and the first QoS rule derived by the UE is for the session and having the QFI;   setting a precedence value of the first QoS rule derived by the UE to
 a precedence value associated with a session identifier (ID) of the session received from a core network (CN) of a wireless communication system during a session establishment procedure for establishing the session, or 
 a predefined precedence value; 
   receiving a message from the CN indicating the session ID of the session and a first reflective QoS (RQ) timer value; and   starting a timer associated with the first QoS rule, the timer set to the first RQ timer value,   wherein the precedence value corresponds to an order for evaluating the first QoS rule derived by the UE for transmitting an uplink packet in the session when at least one other QoS rule for the session is available.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving a message from the CN indicating the session ID of the session and a second RQ timer value after receiving the first RQ timer value; and   restarting the timer associated with the first QoS rule according to the second RQ timer value.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving a message from the CN including the session ID of the session and an operation code of modification or deletion; and   modifying or deleting the first QoS rule derived by the UE for the session in response to receiving the message.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 transmitting a message to the CN for stopping the reflective QoS in the session or in one or more QoS flows in the session, the message
 specifying the session according to the session ID of the session, or 
 specifying the one or more QoS flows of the session according to the session ID and one or more QFIs associated with the one or more QoS flows. 
   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving a first message indicating whether the CN supports the reflective QoS or not; and   in response to receiving the first message indicating that the CN supports the reflective QoS, starting, by the UE, a monitoring operation for detecting the downlink packet or other downlink packets in the session that carry reflective QoS indication (RQI).   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , the method further comprising:
 after receiving the first message, receiving a second message indicating that the CN does not support the reflective QoS anymore; and   in response to receiving the second message indicating that the CN does not support the reflective QoS anymore, stopping, by the UE, the monitoring operation.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 performing a monitoring operation for detecting the downlink packet or other downlink packets in the session that carry reflective QoS indication (RQI);   receiving a message for stopping the monitoring operation; and   in response to receiving the message for stopping the monitoring operation, stopping, by the UE, the monitoring operation.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein
 the message is received from the CN, and   the message specifies the session according to the session ID of the session or the QFI.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein
 the message is received from an access network (AN) of the wireless communication system, and   the message specifies the session according to the session ID of the session, the QFI, or a radio bearer ID.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 transmitting a message requesting the CN to stop supporting the reflective QoS for the session.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the downlink packet is marked with the QFI and a reflective QoS indicator (RQI). 
     
     
         12 . A user equipment (UE) that supports reflective quality of service (QoS), the UE comprising:
 circuitry configured to:
 receive a downlink packet in a session, the downlink packet including a QoS flow identifier (QFI); 
 derive a first QoS rule according to the QFI, wherein the downlink packet is marked with the QFI, and the first QoS rule derived by the UE is for the session and having the QFI; 
 set a precedence value of the first QoS rule derived by the UE to
 a precedence value associated with a session identifier (ID) of the session received from a core network (CN) of a wireless communication system during a session establishment procedure for establishing the session, or 
 a predefined precedence value; 
 
 receive a message from the CN indicating the session ID of the session and a first reflective QoS (RQ) timer value; and 
 start a timer associated with the first QoS rule, the timer set to the first RQ timer value, 
   wherein the precedence value corresponds to an order for evaluating the first QoS rule derived by the UE for transmitting an uplink packet in the session when at least one other QoS rule for the session is available.   
     
     
         13 . The UE of  claim 12 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to:
 receive a message from the CN indicating the session ID of the session and a second RQ timer value after receiving the first RQ timer value; and   restart the timer associated with the first QoS rule according to the second RQ timer value.   
     
     
         14 . The UE of  claim 12 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to:
 receive a message from the CN including the session ID of the session and an operation code of modification or deletion; and   modify or delete the first QoS rule derived by the UE for the session in response to receiving the message.   
     
     
         15 . The UE of  claim 12 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to:
 transmit a message to the CN for stopping the reflective QoS in the session or in one or more QoS flows in the session, the message
 specifying the session according to the session ID of the session, or 
 specifying the one or more QoS flows of the session according to the session ID and one or more QFIs associated with the one or more QoS flows. 
   
     
     
         16 . The UE of  claim 12 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to:
 receive a first message indicating whether the CN supports the reflective QoS or not; and   in response to receiving the first message indicating that the CN supports the reflective QoS, start a monitoring operation for detecting the downlink packet or other downlink packets in the session that carry reflective QoS indication (RQI).   
     
     
         17 . The UE of  claim 16 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to:
 after receiving the first message, receive a second message indicating that the CN does not support the reflective QoS anymore; and   in response to receiving the second message indicating that the CN does not support the reflective QoS anymore, stop the monitoring operation.   
     
     
         18 . The UE of  claim 12 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to:
 perform a monitoring operation for detecting the downlink packet or other downlink packets in the session that carry reflective QoS indication (RQI);   receive a message for stopping the monitoring operation; and   in response to receiving the message for stopping the monitoring operation, stop the monitoring operation.   
     
     
         19 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE) that supports reflective quality of service (QoS), cause the UE to perform a method, the method comprising:
 receiving a downlink packet in a session, the downlink packet including a QoS flow identifier (QFI);   deriving a first QoS rule according to the QFI, wherein the downlink packet is marked with the QFI, and the first QoS rule derived by the UE is for the session and having the QFI;   setting a precedence value of the first QoS rule derived by the UE to
 a precedence value associated with a session identifier (ID) of the session received from a core network (CN) of a wireless communication system during a session establishment procedure for establishing the session, or 
 a predefined precedence value; 
   receiving a message from the CN indicating the session ID of the session and a first reflective QoS (RQ) timer value; and   starting a timer associated with the first QoS rule, the timer set to the first RQ timer value,   wherein the precedence value corresponds to an order for evaluating the first QoS rule derived by the UE for transmitting an uplink packet in the session when at least one other QoS rule for the session is available.   
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 19 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors of the UE, cause the UE to perform the method that further comprises:
 receiving a message from the CN indicating the session ID of the session and a second RQ timer value after receiving the first RQ timer value; and   restarting the timer associated with the first QoS rule according to the second RQ timer value.