WO2025054842A1

WO2025054842A1 - Asymmetric reflective quality of service (qos) with multiple uplink qos flows

Info

Publication number: WO2025054842A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/118450
Authority: WO
Inventors: Liangping Ma; Kefeng ZHANG
Original assignee: Qualcomm Inc
Current assignee: Qualcomm Inc
Priority date: 2023-09-13
Filing date: 2023-09-13
Publication date: 2025-03-20
Anticipated expiration: 2026-03-13

Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. A user equipment (UE) may establish a packet data unit (PDU) session with a network entity. The UE may receive one or more downlink messages of the PDU session, where at least one downlink message of the one or more downlink messages includes an indication to map one or more uplink messages of the PDU session to one or more uplink quality of service (QoS) flows in accordance with a rule. The UE may transmit the one or more uplink messages, which may be mapped to the one or more uplink QoS flows based on a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink QoS flows based on the rule. In some examples, the first mapping may be based on a second mapping between a downlink QoS flow and a downlink service data flow.

Description

ASYMMETRIC REFLECTIVE QUALITY OF SERVICE (QOS) WITH MULTIPLE UPLINK QOS FLOWS

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

The following relates to wireless communications, including asymmetric reflective quality of service (QoS) with multiple uplink QoS flows.

BACKGROUND

Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power) . Examples of such multiple-access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems, which may be referred to as New Radio (NR) systems. These systems may employ technologies such as code division multiple access (CDMA) , time division multiple access (TDMA) , frequency division multiple access (FDMA) , orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) , or discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM) . A wireless multiple-access communications system may include one or more base stations, each supporting wireless communication for communication devices, which may be known as user equipment (UE) . A UE may establish a connection with a network entity to enable communications with the network, such as via a protocol data unit (PDU) session. The PDU session may be associated with one or more quality of service (QoS) flows for communicating uplink and downlink data.

SUMMARY

The described techniques relate to improved methods, systems, devices, and apparatuses that support asymmetric reflective quality of service (QoS) with multiple uplink QoS flows. For example, the described techniques provide for rules that define how uplink traffic may be mapped to one or more QoS flows. In particular, a user equipment (UE) may establish a packet data unit (PDU) session with a network entity. The UE may receive one or more downlink messages of the PDU session, and at least one downlink message of the one or more downlink messages may include an indication to map one or more uplink messages of the PDU session to one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with a rule. In some examples, the rule may be used to determine the first mapping of the one or more uplink messages to the one or more uplink QoS flows, and the first mapping may be based on a second mapping between a downlink QoS flow and a downlink service data flow (SDF) . The UE may transmit the one or more uplink messages to the network entity, where the one or more uplink messages may be mapped to the one or more uplink QoS flows based on the first mapping and in accordance with the rule. Such techniques may avoid or eliminate a mismatch between a desired QoS and a derived QoS resulting from the mechanism of symmetric reflective QoS, particularly for uplink QoS flows.

A method for wireless communications by a UE is described. The method may include establishing a PDU session with a network entity, receiving one or more downlink messages of the PDU session, where at least one downlink message of the one or more downlink messages includes an indication to map one or more uplink messages of the PDU session to one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with a rule, and transmitting the one or more uplink messages based on a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based on a second mapping between a downlink QoS flow and a downlink SDF.

A UE for wireless communications is described. The UE may include one or more memories storing processor executable code, and one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories. The one or more processors may individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to establish a PDU session with a network entity, receive one or more downlink messages of the PDU session, where at least one downlink message of the one or more downlink messages includes an indication to map one or more uplink messages of the PDU session to one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with a rule, and transmit the one or more uplink messages based on a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based on a second mapping between a downlink QoS flow and a downlink SDF.

Another UE for wireless communications is described. The UE may include means for establishing a PDU session with a network entity, means for receiving one or more downlink messages of the PDU session, where at least one downlink message of the one or more downlink messages includes an indication to map one or more uplink messages of the PDU session to one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with a rule, and means for transmitting the one or more uplink messages based on a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based on a second mapping between a downlink QoS flow and a downlink SDF.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communications is described. The code may include instructions executable by one or more processors to establish a PDU session with a network entity, receive one or more downlink messages of the PDU session, where at least one downlink message of the one or more downlink messages includes an indication to map one or more uplink messages of the PDU session to one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with a rule, and transmit the one or more uplink messages based on a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based on a second mapping between a downlink QoS flow and a downlink SDF.

Some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for mapping the one or more uplink messages of the PDU session to the one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with the rule, where the rule indicates information associated with the first mapping or the second mapping, or both.

In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the information indicates the downlink SDF or a QoS flow identifier (QFI) corresponding to the downlink QoS flow, or both.

In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the information indicates a quantity of the one or more uplink QoS flows and the one or more uplink messages may be mapped to the quantity of the one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with the rule.

In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the information indicates one or more packet filters associated with the first mapping and the one or more uplink messages may be mapped to a set of multiple uplink QoS flows including the one or more uplink QoS flows based on the one or more packet filters.

In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the information indicates a respective QFI for each uplink QoS flow of the one or more uplink QoS flows and the one or more uplink messages may be mapped to the one or more uplink QoS flows based on the respective QFIs.

In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the information includes instructions to assign a QFI to each uplink QoS flow of the one or more uplink QoS flows based on a QFI of the downlink QoS flow and the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium may include further operations, features, means, or instructions for assigning respective QFIs to the one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with the instructions.

In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the information indicates one or more QoS parameters associated with each of the one or more uplink QoS flows and the one or more uplink messages may be transmitted in accordance with the one or more uplink QoS parameters.

In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the one or more QoS parameters include an indication of a DRB associated with each uplink QoS flow of the one or more uplink QoS flows and the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium may include further operations, features, means, or instructions for mapping the one or more uplink QoS flows to each DRB indicated by the one or more QoS parameters, where the one or more uplink messages may be transmitted based on mapping the one or more uplink QoS flows to each DRB.

In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the one or more QoS parameters include a fifth generation (5G) QoS identifier (5QI) or an allocation and retention priority (ARP) , or any combination thereof, for each of the one or more uplink QoS flows.

In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the information includes an indication of a third mapping between the one or more QoS parameters and one or more DRBs and an indication to assign the QoS parameters to each of the one or more uplink QoS flows based on the third mapping.

Some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving a control message indicating a configuration of the rule, where the one or more uplink messages of the PDU session may be mapped to the one or more uplink QoS flows based on the configuration of the rule.

In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the indication to map the one or more uplink messages to the one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with the rule includes an attribute associated with a QoS profile.

Some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for determining that the UE may be to transmit two or more types of uplink traffic in the PDU session and transmitting a PDU session establishment request message, where the PDU session establishment request message includes an indication that the UE may be capable of mapping the one or more uplink messages to the one or more QoS flows based on the determination, and where establishing the PDU session with the network entity may be based on the PDU session establishment request message.

In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, each of the one or more uplink QoS flows may be associated with an uplink QFI and the downlink QoS flow may be associated with a downlink QFI and each of the uplink QFIs may be associated with one or more different QoS parameters than the downlink QFI.

In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, each of the one or more uplink QoS flows may be mapped to one or more DRBs that may be different than a second DRB mapped to the downlink QoS flow.

A method for wireless communications by a first network entity is described. The method may include establishing a PDU session with a UE, receiving, from a second network entity, a QoS profile associated with mapping one or more uplink messages of the PDU session to one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with a rule, transmitting one or more downlink messages of the PDU session, where at least one downlink message of the one or more downlink messages includes an indication to map the one or more uplink messages of the PDU session to the one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with the rule, and receiving the one or more uplink messages based on a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based on a second mapping between a downlink QoS flow and a downlink SDF.

A first network entity for wireless communications is described. The first network entity may include one or more memories storing processor executable code, and one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories. The one or more processors may individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the first network entity to establish a PDU session with a UE, receive, from a second network entity, a QoS profile associated with mapping one or more uplink messages of the PDU session to one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with a rule, transmit one or more downlink messages of the PDU session, where at least one downlink message of the one or more downlink messages includes an indication to map the one or more uplink messages of the PDU session to the one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with the rule, and receive the one or more uplink messages based on a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based on a second mapping between a downlink QoS flow and a downlink SDF.

Another first network entity for wireless communications is described. The first network entity may include means for establishing a PDU session with a UE, means for receiving, from a second network entity, a QoS profile associated with mapping one or more uplink messages of the PDU session to one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with a rule, means for transmitting one or more downlink messages of the PDU session, where at least one downlink message of the one or more downlink messages includes an indication to map the one or more uplink messages of the PDU session to the one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with the rule, and means for receiving the one or more uplink messages based on a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based on a second mapping between a downlink QoS flow and a downlink SDF.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communications is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to establish a PDU session with a UE, receive, from a second network entity, a QoS profile associated with mapping one or more uplink messages of the PDU session to one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with a rule, transmit one or more downlink messages of the PDU session, where at least one downlink message of the one or more downlink messages includes an indication to map the one or more uplink messages of the PDU session to the one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with the rule, and receive the one or more uplink messages based on a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based on a second mapping between a downlink QoS flow and a downlink SDF.

In some examples of the method, first network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, receiving the QoS profile may include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving a first packet header including an indication to activate, for the downlink QoS flow, the first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with the rule.

In some examples of the method, first network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the indication includes a bit and a QFI for the downlink QoS flow.

Some examples of the method, first network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving one or more general packet radio service (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) packets from a third network entity and mapping a bit from the indication included in the first packet header to a second packet header in accordance with activating the first mapping for the downlink QoS flow, where at least one of the one or more downlink messages includes the second packet header.

Some examples of the method, first network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for applying the rule to determine the first mapping, respective QFIs associated with the one or more uplink messages, one or more QoS parameters, or any combination thereof, where receiving the one or more uplink messages may be based on applying the rule.

Some examples of the method, first network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for transmitting, to the UE, a control message indicating a configuration of the rule, where the one or more uplink messages of the PDU session may be mapped to the one or more uplink QoS flows based on the configuration of the rule.

In some examples of the method, first network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the rule indicates information associated with the first mapping or the second mapping, or both.

In some examples of the method, first network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the information indicates the downlink SDF or a QFI corresponding to the downlink QoS flow, or both.

In some examples of the method, first network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the information indicates a quantity of the one or more uplink QoS flows and the one or more uplink messages may be mapped to the quantity of the one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with the rule.

In some examples of the method, first network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the information indicates one or more packet filters associated with the first mapping and the one or more uplink messages may be mapped to a set of multiple uplink QoS flows including the one or more uplink QoS flows based on the one or more packet filters.

In some examples of the method, first network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the information indicates a respective QFI for each uplink QoS flow of the one or more uplink QoS flows and the one or more uplink messages may be mapped to the one or more uplink QoS flows based on the respective QFIs.

In some examples of the method, first network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the information includes instructions to assign a QFI to each uplink QoS flow of the one or more uplink QoS flows based on a QFI of the downlink QoS flow.

In some examples of the method, first network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the information indicates one or more QoS parameters associated with each of the one or more uplink QoS flows and the one or more uplink messages may be received in accordance with the one or more uplink QoS parameters.

In some examples of the method, first network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the one or more QoS parameters include an indication of a DRB associated with each uplink QoS flow of the one or more uplink QoS flows, the one or more uplink QoS flows may be mapped to each DRB indicated by the one or more QoS parameters, and the one or more uplink messages may be received based on mapping the one or more uplink QoS flows to each DRB.

In some examples of the method, first network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the one or more QoS parameters include a 5QI or an ARP, or any combination thereof, for each of the one or more uplink QoS flows.

In some examples of the method, first network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the information includes an indication of a third mapping between the one or more QoS parameters and one or more DRBs and an indication to assign the QoS parameters to each of the one or more uplink QoS flows based on the third mapping.

A method for wireless communications by a second network entity is described. The method may include receiving a PDU session establishment request from a UE, the PDU session establishment request including an indication that the UE supports mapping one or more uplink messages of a PDU session to one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with a rule, transmitting a PDU session establishment acceptance message to the UE in response to the PDU session establishment request, and transmitting a QoS profile associated with mapping the one or more uplink messages of the PDU session to the one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with the rule.

A second network entity for wireless communications is described. The second network entity may include one or more memories storing processor executable code, and one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories. The one or more processors may individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the second network entity to receive a PDU session establishment request from a UE, the PDU session establishment request including an indication that the UE supports mapping one or more uplink messages of a PDU session to one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with a rule, transmit a PDU session establishment acceptance message to the UE in response to the PDU session establishment request, and transmit a QoS profile associated with mapping the one or more uplink messages of the PDU session to the one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with the rule.

Another second network entity for wireless communications is described. The second network entity may include means for receiving a PDU session establishment request from a UE, the PDU session establishment request including an indication that the UE supports mapping one or more uplink messages of a PDU session to one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with a rule, means for transmitting a PDU session establishment acceptance message to the UE in response to the PDU session establishment request, and means for transmitting a QoS profile associated with mapping the one or more uplink messages of the PDU session to the one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with the rule.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communications is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to receive a PDU session establishment request from a UE, the PDU session establishment request including an indication that the UE supports mapping one or more uplink messages of a PDU session to one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with a rule, transmit a PDU session establishment acceptance message to the UE in response to the PDU session establishment request, and transmit a QoS profile associated with mapping the one or more uplink messages of the PDU session to the one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with the rule.

Some examples of the method, second network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving an indication of a QoS policy including an indication to activate, for a downlink QoS flow, a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based on a second mapping between the downlink QoS flow and a downlink SDF, where transmitting the QoS profile may be based on receiving the QoS policy.

In some examples of the method, second network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, transmitting the QoS profile may include operations, features, means, or instructions for transmitting a first packet header including an indication to activate, for a downlink QoS flow, a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based on a second mapping between the downlink QoS flow and a downlink SDF.

In some examples of the method, second network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the indication includes a bit and a QFI for the downlink QoS flow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an example of a wireless communications system that supports asymmetric reflective quality of service (QoS) with multiple uplink QoS flows in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a network architecture that supports asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a wireless communications system that supports asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a process flow that supports asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGs. 5 and 6 show block diagrams of devices that support asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of a communications manager that supports asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 shows a diagram of a system including a device that supports asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGs. 9 and 10 show block diagrams of devices that support asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 shows a block diagram of a communications manager that supports asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 shows a diagram of a system including a device that supports asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGs. 13 through 15 show flowcharts illustrating methods that support asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Extended reality (XR) is a technology with potential to become a leading product in the personal electronics segment in the next decade. In some examples, XR technologies may include augmented reality (AR) technologies, virtual reality (VR) technologies, and/or mixed reality (MR) technologies, among other examples. In some aspects, uplink and downlink data traffic associated with XR applications may be relatively unbalanced, which may result in some complexity regarding how uplink or downlink data is handled. For example, uplink data related for XR applications may include information of relatively high importance about a user’s position, motion, and/or actions, and may have a relatively lower bitrate (e.g., on the order of 100’s of kilobits per second (Kbps) ) . Further, the uplink data may include pertinent information regarding a user’s position (e.g., poses) , the user’s movement (e.g., user actions) , environmental images corresponding to landmarks or key points for location and tracking services, among other examples. In some cases, each different type of uplink traffic may have different requirements (e.g., delay requirements) . Conversely, downlink data for XR applications may be primarily comprised of media data (e.g., video, audio) , having a relatively higher bitrate (e.g., on the order of megabits per second (Mbps) , or higher) .

In some wireless communication systems, a user equipment (UE) may communicate with a network according to one or more quality of service (QoS) flows. Further, reflective QoS may be implemented in some examples, where the UE may implement an uplink QoS flow that is reflective of (e.g., the same as, similar to) a downlink QoS flow for downlink data traffic the UE receives from the network. For example, with reflective QoS, a mapping between uplink traffic, uplink QoS flow, and uplink data radio bearer (DRB) may be the same as a mapping between downlink traffic, downlink QoS flow, and downlink DRB. However, when applications (such as XR applications) have different characteristics for uplink traffic and downlink traffic (e.g., different uplink and downlink data rates, different types of uplink and downlink data, different latency requirements, which may be referred to as an asymmetry between uplink and downlink traffic) , reflective QoS may result in a QoS mismatch. In particular a QoS mismatch (e.g., a difference between a desired QoS and applied QoS) may occur for uplink traffic and the uplink QoS flow if a corresponding mapping based on downlink traffic and a downlink QoS flow is implemented for each type of uplink traffic. Such a QoS mismatch may result in inefficient communications between the UE and the network, and may further result in an inability to meet QoS requirements for some types of uplink data.

As described herein, a UE may implement asymmetric reflective QoS (e.g., reflective QoS that is applicable to asymmetric uplink and downlink traffic) according to a rule configured by the network. For example, based on the rule, the UE may derive a first mapping between the uplink traffic and one or more uplink QoS flows according to a second mapping between a downlink service data flow (SDF) and a downlink QoS flow. In some cases, the one or more uplink QoS flows may be mapped to different DRBs than the DRB used to carry the downlink QoS flow. In some cases, based on the rule and the first mapping, the UE may determine one or more uplink QoS flows, which may support the uplink data rate without wasting resources or increasing overhead. In some cases, the rule may specify the downlink SDF or the downlink QoS flow (e.g., identified by a QoS flow identifier (QFI) ) , the quantity of uplink flows to be created, the packet filters used to separate the uplink traffic into multiple uplink QoS flows, the QFIs of the uplink flows, the QoS treatment for each of the uplink QoS flows, or any combination thereof.

Aspects of the disclosure are initially described in the context of wireless communications systems and a process flow. Aspects of the disclosure are further illustrated by and described with reference to apparatus diagrams, system diagrams, and flowcharts that relate to asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a wireless communications system 100 that supports asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communications system 100 may include one or more network entities 105, one or more UEs 115, and a core network 130. In some examples, the wireless communications system 100 may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network, an LTE-APro network, a New Radio (NR) network, or a network operating in accordance with other systems and radio technologies, including future systems and radio technologies not explicitly mentioned herein.

The network entities 105 may be dispersed throughout a geographic area to form the wireless communications system 100 and may include devices in different forms or having different capabilities. In various examples, a network entity 105 may be referred to as a network element, a mobility element, a radio access network (RAN) node, or network equipment, among other nomenclature. In some examples, network entities 105 and UEs 115 may wirelessly communicate via one or more communication links 125 (e.g., a radio frequency (RF) access link) . For example, a network entity 105 may support a coverage area 110 (e.g., a geographic coverage area) over which the UEs 115 and the network entity 105 may establish one or more communication links 125. The coverage area 110 may be an example of a geographic area over which a network entity 105 and a UE 115 may support the communication of signals according to one or more radio access technologies (RATs) .

The UEs 115 may be dispersed throughout a coverage area 110 of the wireless communications system 100, and each UE 115 may be stationary, or mobile, or both at different times. The UEs 115 may be devices in different forms or having different capabilities. Some example UEs 115 are illustrated in FIG. 1. The UEs 115 described herein may be capable of supporting communications with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115 or network entities 105, as shown in FIG. 1.

As described herein, a node of the wireless communications system 100, which may be referred to as a network node, or a wireless node, may be a network entity 105 (e.g., any network entity described herein) , a UE 115 (e.g., any UE described herein) , a network controller, an apparatus, a device, a computing system, one or more components, or another suitable processing entity configured to perform any of the techniques described herein. For example, a node may be a UE 115. As another example, a node may be a network entity 105. As another example, a first node may be configured to communicate with a second node or a third node. In one aspect of this example, the first node may be a UE 115, the second node may be a network entity 105, and the third node may be a UE 115. In another aspect of this example, the first node may be a UE 115, the second node may be a network entity 105, and the third node may be a network entity 105. In yet other aspects of this example, the first, second, and third nodes may be different relative to these examples. Similarly, reference to a UE 115, network entity 105, apparatus, device, computing system, or the like may include disclosure of the UE 115, network entity 105, apparatus, device, computing system, or the like being a node. For example, disclosure that a UE 115 is configured to receive information from a network entity 105 also discloses that a first node is configured to receive information from a second node.

In some examples, network entities 105 may communicate with the core network 130, or with one another, or both. For example, network entities 105 may communicate with the core network 130 via one or more backhaul communication links 120 (e.g., in accordance with an S1, N2, N3, or other interface protocol) . In some examples, network entities 105 may communicate with one another via a backhaul communication link 120 (e.g., in accordance with an X2, Xn, or other interface protocol) either directly (e.g., directly between network entities 105) or indirectly (e.g., via a core network 130) . In some examples, network entities 105 may communicate with one another via a midhaul communication link 162 (e.g., in accordance with a midhaul interface protocol) or a fronthaul communication link 168 (e.g., in accordance with a fronthaul interface protocol) , or any combination thereof. The backhaul communication links 120, midhaul communication links 162, or fronthaul communication links 168 may be or include one or more wired links (e.g., an electrical link, an optical fiber link) , one or more wireless links (e.g., a radio link, a wireless optical link) , among other examples or various combinations thereof. A UE 115 may communicate with the core network 130 via a communication link 155.

One or more of the network entities 105 described herein may include or may be referred to as a base station 140 (e.g., a base transceiver station, a radio base station, an NR base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB) , a next-generation NodeB or a giga-NodeB (either of which may be referred to as a gNB) , a 5G NB, a next-generation eNB (ng-eNB) , a Home NodeB, a Home eNodeB, or other suitable terminology) . In some examples, a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140) may be implemented in an aggregated (e.g., monolithic, standalone) base station architecture, which may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single network entity 105 (e.g., a single RAN node, such as a base station 140) .

In some examples, a network entity 105 may be implemented in a disaggregated architecture (e.g., a disaggregated base station architecture, a disaggregated RAN architecture) , which may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed among two or more network entities 105, such as an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, an open RAN (O-RAN) (e.g., a network configuration sponsored by the O-RAN Alliance) , or a virtualized RAN (vRAN) (e.g., a cloud RAN (C-RAN) ) . For example, a network entity 105 may include one or more of a central unit (CU) 160, a distributed unit (DU) 165, a radio unit (RU) 170, a RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) 175 (e.g., a Near-Real Time RIC (Near-RT RIC) , a Non-Real Time RIC (Non-RT RIC) ) , a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) 180 system, or any combination thereof. An RU 170 may also be referred to as a radio head, a smart radio head, a remote radio head (RRH) , a remote radio unit (RRU) , or a transmission reception point (TRP) . One or more components of the network entities 105 in a disaggregated RAN architecture may be co-located, or one or more components of the network entities 105 may be located in distributed locations (e.g., separate physical locations) . In some examples, one or more network entities 105 of a disaggregated RAN architecture may be implemented as virtual units (e.g., a virtual CU (VCU) , a virtual DU (VDU) , a virtual RU (VRU) ) .

The split of functionality between a CU 160, a DU 165, and an RU 170 is flexible and may support different functionalities depending on which functions (e.g., network layer functions, protocol layer functions, baseband functions, RF functions, and any combinations thereof) are performed at a CU 160, a DU 165, or an RU 170. For example, a functional split of a protocol stack may be employed between a CU 160 and a DU 165 such that the CU 160 may support one or more layers of the protocol stack and the DU 165 may support one or more different layers of the protocol stack. In some examples, the CU 160 may host upper protocol layer (e.g., layer 3 (L3) , layer 2 (L2) ) functionality and signaling (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) , service data adaption protocol (SDAP) , Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) ) . The CU 160 may be connected to one or more DUs 165 or RUs 170, and the one or more DUs 165 or RUs 170 may host lower protocol layers, such as layer 1 (L1) (e.g., physical (PHY) layer) or L2 (e.g., radio link control (RLC) layer, medium access control (MAC) layer) functionality and signaling, and may each be at least partially controlled by the CU 160. Additionally, or alternatively, a functional split of the protocol stack may be employed between a DU 165 and an RU 170 such that the DU 165 may support one or more layers of the protocol stack and the RU 170 may support one or more different layers of the protocol stack. The DU 165 may support one or multiple different cells (e.g., via one or more RUs 170) . In some cases, a functional split between a CU 160 and a DU 165, or between a DU 165 and an RU 170 may be within a protocol layer (e.g., some functions for a protocol layer may be performed by one of a CU 160, a DU 165, or an RU 170, while other functions of the protocol layer are performed by a different one of the CU 160, the DU 165, or the RU 170) . A CU 160 may be functionally split further into CU control plane (CU-CP) and CU user plane (CU-UP) functions. A CU 160 may be connected to one or more DUs 165 via a midhaul communication link 162 (e.g., F1, F1-c, F1-u) , and a DU 165 may be connected to one or more RUs 170 via a fronthaul communication link 168 (e.g., open fronthaul (FH) interface) . In some examples, a midhaul communication link 162 or a fronthaul communication link 168 may be implemented in accordance with an interface (e.g., a channel) between layers of a protocol stack supported by respective network entities 105 that are in communication via such communication links.

In wireless communications systems (e.g., wireless communications system 100) , infrastructure and spectral resources for radio access may support wireless backhaul link capabilities to supplement wired backhaul connections, providing an IAB network architecture (e.g., to a core network 130) . In some cases, in an IAB network, one or more network entities 105 (e.g., IAB nodes 104) may be partially controlled by each other. One or more IAB nodes 104 may be referred to as a donor entity or an IAB donor. One or more DUs 165 or one or more RUs 170 may be partially controlled by one or more CUs 160 associated with a donor network entity 105 (e.g., a donor base station 140) . The one or more donor network entities 105 (e.g., IAB donors) may be in communication with one or more additional network entities 105 (e.g., IAB nodes 104) via supported access and backhaul links (e.g., backhaul communication links 120) . IAB nodes 104 may include an IAB mobile termination (IAB-MT) controlled (e.g., scheduled) by DUs 165 of a coupled IAB donor. An IAB-MT may include an independent set of antennas for relay of communications with UEs 115, or may share the same antennas (e.g., of an RU 170) of an IAB node 104 used for access via the DU 165 of the IAB node 104 (e.g., referred to as virtual IAB-MT (vIAB-MT) ) . In some examples, the IAB nodes 104 may include DUs 165 that support communication links with additional entities (e.g., IAB nodes 104, UEs 115) within the relay chain or configuration of the access network (e.g., downstream) . In such cases, one or more components of the disaggregated RAN architecture (e.g., one or more IAB nodes 104 or components of IAB nodes 104) may be configured to operate according to the techniques described herein.

In the case of the techniques described herein applied in the context of a disaggregated RAN architecture, one or more components of the disaggregated RAN architecture may be configured to support asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows as described herein. For example, some operations described as being performed by a UE 115 or a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140) may additionally, or alternatively, be performed by one or more components of the disaggregated RAN architecture (e.g., IAB nodes 104, DUs 165, CUs 160, RUs 170, RIC 175, SMO 180) .

A UE 115 may include or may be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable terminology, where the “device” may also be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, among other examples. A UE 115 may also include or may be referred to as a personal electronic device such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA) , a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. In some examples, a UE 115 may include or be referred to as a wireless local loop (WLL) station, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or a machine type communications (MTC) device, among other examples, which may be implemented in various objects such as appliances, or vehicles, meters, among other examples.

The UEs 115 described herein may be able to communicate with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115 that may sometimes act as relays as well as the network entities 105 and the network equipment including macro eNBs or gNBs, small cell eNBs or gNBs, or relay base stations, among other examples, as shown in FIG. 1.

The UEs 115 and the network entities 105 may wirelessly communicate with one another via one or more communication links 125 (e.g., an access link) using resources associated with one or more carriers. The term “carrier” may refer to a set of RF spectrum resources having a defined physical layer structure for supporting the communication links 125. For example, a carrier used for a communication link 125 may include a portion of a RF spectrum band (e.g., a bandwidth part (BWP) ) that is operated according to one or more physical layer channels for a given radio access technology (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR) . Each physical layer channel may carry acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals, system information) , control signaling that coordinates operation for the carrier, user data, or other signaling. The wireless communications system 100 may support communication with a UE 115 using carrier aggregation or multi-carrier operation. A UE 115 may be configured with multiple downlink component carriers and one or more uplink component carriers according to a carrier aggregation configuration. Carrier aggregation may be used with both frequency division duplexing (FDD) and time division duplexing (TDD) component carriers. Communication between a network entity 105 and other devices may refer to communication between the devices and any portion (e.g., entity, sub-entity) of a network entity 105. For example, the terms “transmitting, ” “receiving, ” or “communicating, ” when referring to a network entity 105, may refer to any portion of a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, a CU 160, a DU 165, a RU 170) of a RAN communicating with another device (e.g., directly or via one or more other network entities 105) .

The communication links 125 shown in the wireless communications system 100 may include downlink transmissions (e.g., forward link transmissions) from a network entity 105 to a UE 115, uplink transmissions (e.g., return link transmissions) from a UE 115 to a network entity 105, or both, among other configurations of transmissions. Carriers may carry downlink or uplink communications (e.g., in an FDD mode) or may be configured to carry downlink and uplink communications (e.g., in a TDD mode) .

Signal waveforms transmitted via a carrier may be made up of multiple subcarriers (e.g., using multi-carrier modulation (MCM) techniques such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM) ) . In a system employing MCM techniques, a resource element may refer to resources of one symbol period (e.g., a duration of one modulation symbol) and one subcarrier, in which case the symbol period and subcarrier spacing may be inversely related. The quantity of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme, the coding rate of the modulation scheme, or both) , such that a relatively higher quantity of resource elements (e.g., in a transmission duration) and a relatively higher order of a modulation scheme may correspond to a relatively higher rate of communication. A wireless communications resource may refer to a combination of an RF spectrum resource, a time resource, and a spatial resource (e.g., a spatial layer, a beam) , and the use of multiple spatial resources may increase the data rate or data integrity for communications with a UE 115.

The time intervals for the network entities 105 or the UEs 115 may be expressed in multiples of a basic time unit which may, for example, refer to a sampling period of T_s=1/ (Δf_max·N_f) seconds, for which Δf_max may represent a supported subcarrier spacing, and N_f may represent a supported discrete Fourier transform (DFT) size. Time intervals of a communications resource may be organized according to radio frames each having a specified duration (e.g., 10 milliseconds (ms) ) . Each radio frame may be identified by a system frame number (SFN) (e.g., ranging from 0 to 1023) .

Each frame may include multiple consecutively-numbered subframes or slots, and each subframe or slot may have the same duration. In some examples, a frame may be divided (e.g., in the time domain) into subframes, and each subframe may be further divided into a quantity of slots. Alternatively, each frame may include a variable quantity of slots, and the quantity of slots may depend on subcarrier spacing. Each slot may include a quantity of symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix prepended to each symbol period) . In some wireless communications systems 100, a slot may further be divided into multiple mini-slots associated with one or more symbols. Excluding the cyclic prefix, each symbol period may be associated with one or more (e.g., N_f) sampling periods. The duration of a symbol period may depend on the subcarrier spacing or frequency band of operation.

A subframe, a slot, a mini-slot, or a symbol may be the smallest scheduling unit (e.g., in the time domain) of the wireless communications system 100 and may be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI) . In some examples, the TTI duration (e.g., a quantity of symbol periods in a TTI) may be variable. Additionally, or alternatively, the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communications system 100 may be dynamically selected (e.g., in bursts of shortened TTIs (sTTIs) ) .

Physical channels may be multiplexed for communication using a carrier according to various techniques. A physical control channel and a physical data channel may be multiplexed for signaling via a downlink carrier, for example, using one or more of time division multiplexing (TDM) techniques, frequency division multiplexing (FDM) techniques, or hybrid TDM-FDM techniques. A control region (e.g., a control resource set (CORESET) ) for a physical control channel may be defined by a set of symbol periods and may extend across the system bandwidth or a subset of the system bandwidth of the carrier. One or more control regions (e.g., CORESETs) may be configured for a set of the UEs 115. For example, one or more of the UEs 115 may monitor or search control regions for control information according to one or more search space sets, and each search space set may include one or multiple control channel candidates in one or more aggregation levels arranged in a cascaded manner. An aggregation level for a control channel candidate may refer to an amount of control channel resources (e.g., control channel elements (CCEs) ) associated with encoded information for a control information format having a given payload size. Search space sets may include common search space sets configured for sending control information to multiple UEs 115 and UE-specific search space sets for sending control information to a specific UE 115.

In some examples, a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, an RU 170) may be movable and therefore provide communication coverage for a moving coverage area 110. In some examples, different coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may overlap, but the different coverage areas 110 may be supported by the same network entity 105. In some other examples, the overlapping coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may be supported by different network entities 105. The wireless communications system 100 may include, for example, a heterogeneous network in which different types of the network entities 105 provide coverage for various coverage areas 110 using the same or different radio access technologies.

The wireless communications system 100 may be configured to support ultra-reliable communications or low-latency communications, or various combinations thereof. For example, the wireless communications system 100 may be configured to support ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) . The UEs 115 may be designed to support ultra-reliable, low-latency, or critical functions. Ultra-reliable communications may include private communication or group communication and may be supported by one or more services such as push-to-talk, video, or data. Support for ultra-reliable, low-latency functions may include prioritization of services, and such services may be used for public safety or general commercial applications. The terms ultra-reliable, low-latency, and ultra-reliable low-latency may be used interchangeably herein.

In some examples, a UE 115 may be configured to support communicating directly with other UEs 115 via a device-to-device (D2D) communication link 135 (e.g., in accordance with a peer-to-peer (P2P) , D2D, or sidelink protocol) . In some examples, one or more UEs 115 of a group that are performing D2D communications may be within the coverage area 110 of a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, an RU 170) , which may support aspects of such D2D communications being configured by (e.g., scheduled by) the network entity 105. In some examples, one or more UEs 115 of such a group may be outside the coverage area 110 of a network entity 105 or may be otherwise unable to or not configured to receive transmissions from a network entity 105. In some examples, groups of the UEs 115 communicating via D2D communications may support a one-to-many (1: M) system in which each UE 115 transmits to each of the other UEs 115 in the group. In some examples, a network entity 105 may facilitate the scheduling of resources for D2D communications. In some other examples, D2D communications may be carried out between the UEs 115 without an involvement of a network entity 105.

The core network 130 may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 130 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) or 5G core (5GC) , which may include at least one control plane entity that manages access and mobility (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME) , an access and mobility management function (AMF) ) and at least one user plane entity that routes packets or interconnects to external networks (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW) , a Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW) , or a user plane function (UPF) ) . The control plane entity may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management for the UEs 115 served by the network entities 105 (e.g., base stations 140) associated with the core network 130. User IP packets may be transferred through the user plane entity, which may provide IP address allocation as well as other functions. The user plane entity may be connected to IP services 150 for one or more network operators. The IP services 150 may include access to the Internet, Intranet (s) , an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) , or a Packet-Switched Streaming Service.

The wireless communications system 100 may operate using one or more frequency bands, which may be in the range of 300 megahertz (MHz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz) . Generally, the region from 300 MHz to 3 GHz is known as the ultra-high frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band because the wavelengths range from approximately one decimeter to one meter in length. UHF waves may be blocked or redirected by buildings and environmental features, which may be referred to as clusters, but the waves may penetrate structures sufficiently for a macro cell to provide service to the UEs 115 located indoors. Communications using UHF waves may be associated with smaller antennas and shorter ranges (e.g., less than 100 kilometers) compared to communications using the smaller frequencies and longer waves of the high frequency (HF) or very high frequency (VHF) portion of the spectrum below 300 MHz.

The wireless communications system 100 may utilize both licensed and unlicensed RF spectrum bands. For example, the wireless communications system 100 may employ License Assisted Access (LAA) , LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology using an unlicensed band such as the 5 GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band. While operating using unlicensed RF spectrum bands, devices such as the network entities 105 and the UEs 115 may employ carrier sensing for collision detection and avoidance. In some examples, operations using unlicensed bands may be based on a carrier aggregation configuration in conjunction with component carriers operating using a licensed band (e.g., LAA) . Operations using unlicensed spectrum may include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, P2P transmissions, or D2D transmissions, among other examples.

A network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, an RU 170) or a UE 115 may be equipped with multiple antennas, which may be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications, or beamforming. The antennas of a network entity 105 or a UE 115 may be located within one or more antenna arrays or antenna panels, which may support MIMO operations or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly, such as an antenna tower. In some examples, antennas or antenna arrays associated with a network entity 105 may be located at diverse geographic locations. A network entity 105 may include an antenna array with a set of rows and columns of antenna ports that the network entity 105 may use to support beamforming of communications with a UE 115. Likewise, a UE 115 may include one or more antenna arrays that may support various MIMO or beamforming operations. Additionally, or alternatively, an antenna panel may support RF beamforming for a signal transmitted via an antenna port.

Beamforming, which may also be referred to as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception, is a signal processing technique that may be used at a transmitting device or a receiving device (e.g., a network entity 105, a UE 115) to shape or steer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam, a receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device. Beamforming may be achieved by combining the signals communicated via antenna elements of an antenna array such that some signals propagating along particular orientations with respect to an antenna array experience constructive interference while others experience destructive interference. The adjustment of signals communicated via the antenna elements may include a transmitting device or a receiving device applying amplitude offsets, phase offsets, or both to signals carried via the antenna elements associated with the device. The adjustments associated with each of the antenna elements may be defined by a beamforming weight set associated with a particular orientation (e.g., with respect to the antenna array of the transmitting device or receiving device, or with respect to some other orientation) .

The wireless communications system 100 may be a packet-based network that operates according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, communications at the bearer or PDCP layer may be IP-based. An RLC layer may perform packet segmentation and reassembly to communicate via logical channels. A MAC layer may perform priority handling and multiplexing of logical channels into transport channels. The MAC layer also may implement error detection techniques, error correction techniques, or both to support retransmissions to improve link efficiency. In the control plane, an RRC layer may provide establishment, configuration, and maintenance of an RRC connection between a UE 115 and a network entity 105 or a core network 130 supporting radio bearers for user plane data. A PHY layer may map transport channels to physical channels.

In some cases, in the wireless communication system 100, a UE 115 may communicate with network entities 105 according to one or more QoS flows. However, in some applications, (e.g., XR applications) the uplink traffic and the downlink traffic may have different characteristics. For example, the uplink traffic may have a relatively lower data rate than the downlink traffic. Additionally, or alternatively, the uplink traffic may include different types of traffic. For example, the uplink traffic may include pertinent information regarding a user’s position (e.g., poses) , the user’s movement (e.g., user actions) , environmental images corresponding to landmarks or key points for location and tracking services, among other examples. In some cases, each different type of uplink traffic may have different requirements (e.g., delay requirements) . In such cases, reflective QoS (e.g., when an uplink QoS flow is the same as a downlink QoS flow) may result in a mismatch between the uplink traffic and the uplink QoS flow if the uplink QoS flow is the same as the downlink QoS flow and if a single QoS flow is implemented for each type of uplink traffic. Such a mismatch may result in inefficient communications between the UE 115 and the network entity 105.

Wireless communications system 100 may support techniques that enable uplink traffic to be mapped to one or more uplink QoS flows based on a rule, which may ensure an appropriate QoS is used for the uplink traffic while also minimizing signaling overhead in the wireless communications system 100 (e.g., via a signaled indication (such as an asymmetric QoS indication) to use the described techniques) . The UE 115 may implement asymmetric reflective QoS according to a rule configured by the network entity 105. Asymmetric reflective QoS may refer to techniques in which an uplink data is mapped to one or more QoS flows based on a mapping, where the mapping is based on downlink traffic. For example, based on a rule, the UE 115 may derive a first mapping between the uplink traffic and one or more uplink QoS flows according to a second mapping between a downlink SDF and a downlink QoS flow. In some cases, the one or more uplink QoS flows may be mapped to different DRBs than the DRB used to carry the downlink QoS flow. In some cases, based on the rule and the first mapping, the UE 115 may determine one or more uplink QoS flows which may support the uplink data rate without wasting resources or increasing overhead. In some cases, the rule may specify the downlink SDF or the downlink QoS flow (e.g., identified by a QFI) , the quantity of uplink flows to be created, the packet filters used to separate the uplink traffic into multiple uplink QoS flows, the QFIs of the uplink flows, the QoS treatment for each of the uplink QoS flows, or any combination thereof.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a network architecture 200 (e.g., a disaggregated base station architecture, a disaggregated RAN architecture) that supports asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The network architecture 200 may illustrate an example for implementing one or more aspects of the wireless communications system 100. The network architecture 200 may include one or more CUs 160-a that may communicate directly with a core network 130-a via a backhaul communication link 120-a, or indirectly with the core network 130-a through one or more disaggregated network entities 105 (e.g., a Near-RT RIC 175-b via an E2 link, or a Non-RT RIC 175-a associated with an SMO 180-a (e.g., an SMO Framework) , or both) . A CU 160-a may communicate with one or more DUs 165-a via respective midhaul communication links 162-a (e.g., an F1 interface) . The DUs 165-a may communicate with one or more RUs 170-a via respective fronthaul communication links 168-a. The RUs 170-a may be associated with respective coverage areas 110-a and may communicate with UEs 115-a via one or more communication links 125-a. In some implementations, a UE 115-a may be simultaneously served by multiple RUs 170-a.

Each of the network entities 105 of the network architecture 200 (e.g., CUs 160-a, DUs 165-a, RUs 170-a, Non-RT RICs 175-a, Near-RT RICs 175-b, SMOs 180-a, Open Clouds (O-Clouds) 205, Open eNBs (O-eNBs) 210) may include one or more interfaces or may be coupled with one or more interfaces configured to receive or transmit signals (e.g., data, information) via a wired or wireless transmission medium. Each network entity 105, or an associated processor (e.g., controller) providing instructions to an interface of the network entity 105, may be configured to communicate with one or more of the other network entities 105 via the transmission medium. For example, the network entities 105 may include a wired interface configured to receive or transmit signals over a wired transmission medium to one or more of the other network entities 105. Additionally, or alternatively, the network entities 105 may include a wireless interface, which may include a receiver, a transmitter, or transceiver (e.g., an RF transceiver) configured to receive or transmit signals, or both, over a wireless transmission medium to one or more of the other network entities 105.

In some examples, a CU 160-a may host one or more higher layer control functions. Such control functions may include RRC, PDCP, SDAP, or the like. Each control function may be implemented with an interface configured to communicate signals with other control functions hosted by the CU 160-a. A CU 160-a may be configured to handle user plane functionality (e.g., CU-UP) , control plane functionality (e.g., CU-CP) , or a combination thereof. In some examples, a CU 160-a may be logically split into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. A CU-UP unit may communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP unit via an interface, such as an E1 interface when implemented in an O-RAN configuration. A CU 160-a may be implemented to communicate with a DU 165-a, as necessary, for network control and signaling.

A DU 165-a may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more functions (e.g., base station functions, RAN functions) to control the operation of one or more RUs 170-a. In some examples, a DU 165-a may host, at least partially, one or more of an RLC layer, a MAC layer, and one or more aspects of a PHY layer (e.g., a high PHY layer, such as modules for FEC encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, or the like) depending, at least in part, on a functional split, such as those defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) . In some examples, a DU 165-a may further host one or more low PHY layers. Each layer may be implemented with an interface configured to communicate signals with other layers hosted by the DU 165-a, or with control functions hosted by a CU 160-a.

In some examples, lower-layer functionality may be implemented by one or more RUs 170-a. For example, an RU 170-a, controlled by a DU 165-a, may correspond to a logical node that hosts RF processing functions, or low-PHY layer functions (e.g., performing fast Fourier transform (FFT) , inverse FFT (iFFT) , digital beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, or the like) , or both, based at least in part on the functional split, such as a lower-layer functional split. In such an architecture, an RU 170-a may be implemented to handle over the air (OTA) communication with one or more UEs 115-a. In some implementations, real-time and non-real-time aspects of control and user plane communication with the RU (s) 170-a may be controlled by the corresponding DU 165-a. In some examples, such a configuration may enable a DU 165-a and a CU 160-a to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture, such as a vRAN architecture.

The SMO 180-a may be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning of non-virtualized and virtualized network entities 105. For non-virtualized network entities 105, the SMO 180-a may be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements which may be managed via an operations and maintenance interface (e.g., an O1 interface) . For virtualized network entities 105, the SMO 180-a may be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (e.g., an O-Cloud 205) to perform network entity life cycle management (e.g., to instantiate virtualized network entities 105) via a cloud computing platform interface (e.g., an O2 interface) . Such virtualized network entities 105 can include, but are not limited to, CUs 160-a, DUs 165-a, RUs 170-a, and Near-RT RICs 175-b. In some implementations, the SMO 180-a may communicate with components configured in accordance with a 4G RAN (e.g., via an O1 interface) . Additionally, or alternatively, in some implementations, the SMO 180-a may communicate directly with one or more RUs 170-a via an O1 interface. The SMO 180-a also may include a Non-RT RIC 175-a configured to support functionality of the SMO 180-a.

The Non-RT RIC 175-a may be configured to include a logical function that enables non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Learning (ML) workflows including model training and updates, or policy-based guidance of applications/features in the Near-RT RIC 175-b. The Non-RT RIC 175-a may be coupled to or communicate with (e.g., via an A1 interface) the Near-RT RIC 175-b. The Near-RT RIC 175-b may be configured to include a logical function that enables near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via data collection and actions over an interface (e.g., via an E2 interface) connecting one or more CUs 160-a, one or more DUs 165-a, or both, as well as an O-eNB 210, with the Near-RT RIC 175-b.

In some examples, to generate AI/ML models to be deployed in the Near-RT RIC 175-b, the Non-RT RIC 175-a may receive parameters or external enrichment information from external servers. Such information may be utilized by the Near-RT RIC 175-b and may be received at the SMO 180-a or the Non-RT RIC 175-a from non-network data sources or from network functions. In some examples, the Non-RT RIC 175-a or the Near-RT RIC 175-b may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the Non-RT RIC 175-a may monitor long-term trends and patterns for performance and employ AI or ML models to perform corrective actions through the SMO 180-a (e.g., reconfiguration via O1) or via generation of RAN management policies (e.g., A1 policies) .

A UE 115-a in the network architecture 200 may implement asymmetric reflective QoS (e.g., reflective QoS techniques for asymmetric uplink and downlink traffic) according to a rule. For example, based on the rule, the UE 115-a may derive a first mapping between the uplink traffic and one or more uplink QoS flows according to a second mapping between an SDF and a downlink QoS flow. In some cases, the one or more uplink QoS flows may be mapped to different DRBs than the DRB used to carry the downlink QoS flow. In some cases, based on the rule and the first mapping, the UE may determine one or more uplink QoS flows, which may support the uplink data rate without wasting resources or increasing overhead. In some cases, the rule may specify the downlink SDF or the downlink QoS flow (e.g., identified by a QFI) , the quantity of uplink flows to be created, the packet filters used to separate the uplink traffic into multiple uplink QoS flows, the QFIs of the uplink flows, the QoS treatment for each of the uplink QoS flows, or any combination thereof.

In some aspects, the rule used for the asymmetric reflective QoS may define various parameters that the UE 115-a may use for determining the mapping between the uplink traffic and the one or more uplink QoS flows. For example, the parameters associated with the rule may specify: the downlink SDF, or the downlink QoS flow (e.g., indicated using a QFI) , or both; a quantity of the uplink QoS flows used for uplink transmission; one or more packet filters for separating the uplink traffic into the one or more uplink QoS flows; respective QFIs associated with the one or more uplink QoS flows; and additional information about the one or more uplink QoS flows (e.g., a corresponding DRB for each uplink QoS flow, one or more QoS parameters for each uplink QoS flow, a mapping between QoS parameters and a DRB) , among other examples.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a wireless communications system 300 that supports asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communications system 300 may include a network entity 105-a and a UE 115-a, which may represent examples of a network entity 105 and a UE 115 as described with reference to FIGs. 1 and 2. The network entity 105-a may communicate with the UE 115-a during a packet data unit (PDU) session 305 within a geographic coverage area 110-a. The wireless communications system 300 may include a core network 130-a, which may be an example of a core network 130 as described with reference to FIGs. 1 and 2. The core network 130-a may include one or more control plane and user plane entities (e.g., a UPF or other user plane entities) , as described with reference to FIG. 1. The core network 130-a may also include one or more session management functions (SMFs) , access and mobility management functions (AMFs) , protected management frames (PMFs) , data networks, or any combination thereof. In some cases, there may be a link 325 between the network entity 105-a and the core network 130.

During the PDU session 305, the UE 115-a may communicate with the network entity 105-a according to one or more QoS flows. In some cases, the network entity 105-a may implement reflective QoS, where an uplink mapping (e.g., a first mapping) between the uplink traffic, uplink QoS flow, and an uplink DRB may be the same as a downlink mapping (e.g., a second mapping) between the downlink traffic, the downlink QoS flow, and the downlink DRB. The uplink mapping may be referred to as asymmetric reflective QoS. However, in some applications, (e.g., extended reality (XR) applications) the uplink traffic and the downlink traffic may have different characteristics. Additionally, or alternatively, the uplink traffic may include different types of traffic (e.g., user position information, user movement information, environmental information) . In some cases, each different type of uplink traffic may have different requirements (e.g., delay requirements) . In such cases, reflective QoS may result in a mismatch between the uplink traffic and the uplink QoS flow if the uplink QoS flow is the same as the downlink QoS flow and if a single QoS flow is implemented for each type of uplink traffic, which may increase overhead and waste communication resources.

The network entity 105-a and the UE 115-a may implement asymmetric reflective QoS such that a transmission of one or more uplink messages 315 associated with different types of uplink traffic may be associated with different uplink QoS flows. For example, the uplink QoS flow associated with uplink message 315-a may be different than the uplink QoS flow associated with uplink message 315-b. Additionally, or alternatively, the one or more uplink QoS flows may be different than the downlink QoS flow associated with the downlink message 310. In some cases, each QoS flow may be associated with a QFI. For example, each of the one or more uplink QoS flows may be associated with an uplink QFI and the downlink QoS flow may be associated with a downlink QFI. In some cases, each of the uplink QFIs may be different than the downlink QFI. For example, each uplink QFI may be associated with different QoS parameters (e.g., 5G QoS identifier (5QI) , allocation and retention priority (ARP) , or others) than the downlink QFI, and may be associated with different QoS treatments.

To facilitate asymmetric reflective QoS, the network entity 105-a may transmit one or more downlink messages 310 as part of the PDU session 305, which may include a mapping indication 320, which may be an indication to map one or more uplink messages 315 (e.g., uplink messages 315-a and 315-b) of the PDU session 305 to one or more QoS flows according to a rule. For example, according to the rule, the UE 115-a may determine the uplink mapping between the uplink messages 315 and one or more uplink QoS flows. For example, the UE 115-a may analyze the downlink mapping between a downlink message 310 and a downlink QoS flow, and according to information associated with the rule, the UE 115-a may map the uplink messages 315 to one or more uplink QoS flows (e.g., the first mapping) and the UE 115-a may transmit the uplink messages 315-a according to the mapping. In some cases, the uplink mapping may further include mapping each uplink QoS flow to a different DRB, which may different than the DRB used to transmit the downlink messages 310.

The network entity 105-a or the core network 130-a may configure the rule. For example, as part of the PDU session 305, the UE 115-a may receive a control message indicating a configuration of the rule. In some cases, the network entity 105-a may indicate (e.g., convey) the rule, an indication to use the rule, or any combination thereof by an attribute associated a QoS profile. For example, the attribute may be associated with asymmetric reflective QoS (e.g., the rule may be indicated via an Asymmetric Reflective QoS with Multiple uplink QoS flows Attribute (ARQMA) ) , or a re-interpreted reflective QoS attribute (RQA) (e.g., an RQA of a QoS profile may be re-used to indicate aspects of the asymmetric reflective QoS techniques described herein) . In some cases, the rule may be included in the mapping indication 320.

Information associated with the rule may indicate information associated with the uplink mapping, the downlink mapping, or both. For example, in some cases, the rule, or information associated with the rule, may indicate the downlink SDF, the downlink QFI corresponding to the downlink SDF, or both. In some cases, the information associated with the rule may indicate a quantity of uplink QoS flows the UE 115-a may create. For example, the information associated with the rule may indicate the UE 115-a to create two uplink QoS flows, one for the one or more uplink messages 315-a and one for the one or more uplink message 315-b. In some cases, the information associated with the rule may indicate one or more packet filters associated with the uplink mapping. For example, the UE 115-a may use the one or more packet filters to separate uplink traffic into multiple uplink QoS flows (e.g., a first uplink QoS flow associated with uplink messages 315-a and a second uplink QoS flow associated with uplink messages 315-b) . A packet filter may include fields indicating the type of media associated with each uplink QoS flow, each uplink message 315, or both. For instance, a packet filter may include an IP 5-tuple and packet header fields (e.g., payload type field in an real-time transport protocol (RTP) packet header) indicating the type of media (e.g., pose data vs images) , or the Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) field in an IP packet header indicating the priority of the associated IP packet) .

In some cases, the information associated with the rule may indicate a respective QFI for each uplink QoS flow, and the UE 115-a may map transmissions of uplink messages 315 to the one or more QoS flows according to the respective QFIs. In some cases, the information associated with the rule may indicate instructions for the UE 115-a to assign a respective QFI to each uplink QoS flow based on, or according to, the downlink QFI associated with the downlink QoS flow. For example, if the downlink QFI is x, then the QFI associated with the one or more uplink messages 315-a may be x+1, and the QFI associated with the one or more uplink messages 315-b may be x+2, and so on.

In some cases, the information associated with the rule may indicate one or more QoS parameters (e.g., a QoS treatment) associated with each of the uplink QoS flows. For example, the one or more QoS parameters may include an indication of a DRB associated with each uplink QoS flow. In another example, the QoS parameters may include a 5QI, an ARP, or any combination thereof, for each of the one or more uplink QoS flows. In some cases, the information associated with the rule may indicate a mapping between QoS parameters and one or more DRBs (e.g., a third mapping) . In some cases, the UE 115-a may assign the QoS parameters to each uplink QoS flow and map the QoS parameters to one or more DRBs according to the third mapping. For example, if the 5QI for the downlink QoS flow is 90 when the downlink QFI is x, and if the uplink QFI for the one or more uplink messages 315-a is x+1, then the associated 5QI is 88, and if the uplink QFI for the one or more uplink messages 315-b is x+2, then the associated 5QI is 4.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a process flow 400 that supports asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the process flow 400 may implement various aspects of the present disclosure described with reference to FIGs. 1–3. The process flow 400 may include a UE 115-b, a network entity 105-b, an AMF 130-b, an SMF 130-c, a UPF 130-d, a PCF 130-e, and a data network 130-f, which may be examples of the UE 115, the network entity 105, and the core network 130 as described with reference to FIGs. 1–3.

It is understood that the devices and nodes described by the process flow 400 may communicate with or be coupled with other devices or nodes that are not illustrated. For example, the UE 115-b and the network entity 105-b may communicate with one or more other UEs 115, network entities 105, or other devices. Alternative examples of the following may be implemented, where some steps are performed in a different order than described or are not performed at all. In some cases, a step may include additional features not mentioned below, or further steps may be added.

In some cases, at 405, the UE 115-b may determine an indication for transmitting multiple types of uplink traffic. For example, the UE 115-b may determine that to perform an XR application, the UE 115-b may transmit different types of uplink traffic in the same XR application session.

At 410, the UE 115-b may transmit and the network entity 105-b, the AMF 130-b, the SMF 130-c, or any combination thereof may receive, a PDU session establishment request. In some cases, the PDU session establishment request may include an indication that the UE supports mapping one or more uplink transmissions to one or more uplink QoS flows (e.g., the uplink mapping or the first mapping as described with reference to FIG. 3) . In some cases, the indication included in the PDU session establishment request may be based at least in part on determining the indication for transmitting multiple types of uplink traffic at 405.

At 415, the PCF 130-e may transmit, and the SMF 130-c may receive, a QoS policy. In some cases, the QoS policy may indicate the use of mapping or more uplink transmissions to one or more uplink QoS flows for a downlink SDF. In some aspects, the indication provided by the QoS policy may be referred to as an Asymmetric Reflective QoS with Multiple uplink QoS flows (ARQM) indicator, or some similar terminology.

At 420, the SMF 130-c may transmit, and the UE 115-b, network entity 105-b, or any combination thereof, may receive, a PDU session establishment accept message based at least in part on receiving the PDU session establishment request message at 410.

At 425, The SMF 130-c may transmit, and the network entity 105-b may receive, a QoS profile associated with mapping the one or more uplink messages of the PDU session to the one or more uplink QoS flows in accordance with the rule as described with reference to FIG. 3.

At 430, the SMF 130-c may transmit, and the UPF 130-d may receive an activation indication for the downlink SDF. The activation indication may be associated with mapping the one or more uplink messages of the PDU session to the one or more uplink QoS flows.

At 435, the data network 130-f, which may be an example of an external data network 130-f, transmits and the UPF 130-d receives, the downlink traffic. The downlink traffic may include one or more data packets.

At 440, the UPF 130-d may add an indicator and a downlink QFI of the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink SDF to a general packet radio service (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) packets. The indicator may include a bit indicating to map the one or more uplink messages of the PDU session to the one or more uplink QoS flows.

At 445, the UPF 130-d may transmit, and the network entity 105-b may receive, the GTP packet.

At 450, the network entity 105-b may copy the indicator (e.g., the bit) from the GTP packet header to the header of a downlink message to indicate the UE 115-b to activate mapping the one or more uplink messages to the one or more uplink QoS flows. The network entity 105-b may also map the downlink message to a DRB.

At 455, the network entity 105-b may transmit the downlink message to a DRB, and the DRB may in turn deliver the downlink message to the UE 115-b. In some cases, the network entity 105-b may transmit more than one downlink message, but at least one downlink message that includes the indicator to perform the uplink mapping.

At 460, the UE 115-b may detect the indicator to map the one or more uplink messages of the PDU session to the one or more uplink QoS flows (e.g., the bit) . In some cases, the indicator may also include the rule for mapping the one or more uplink messages to the one or more uplink QoS flows. The UE 115-b may also determine the downlink mapping (e.g., the second mapping as described with reference to FIG. 3) between the downlink SDF and the downlink QoS flow. In some cases, the UE 115-b may store the downlink mapping.

At 465, the UE 115-b may map the one or more uplink messages to the one or more uplink QoS flows. In some cases, the UE 115-b may also map the one or more uplink messages to one or more DRBs. The UE 115-b may perform the mapping based at least in part on the downlink mapping, the indication, the rule, information associated with the rule, or any combination thereof as describe3d with reference to FIG. 3.

At 470, the UE 115-b may transmit, and the network entity 105-b, the UPF 130-d, the data network 130-f, or any combination thereof may receive, the one or more uplink messages.

In some cases, at 475, the network entity 105-b may use the rule to derive the mapping from the one or more uplink messages to the uplink QoS flows, the QFIs, and the associated QoS parameters. In some cases, this may support consistency between the UE 115-b and the network entity 105-b without increasing overhead signaling.

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram 500 of a device 505 that supports asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 505 may be an example of aspects of a UE 115 as described herein. The device 505 may include a receiver 510, a transmitter 515, and a communications manager 520. The device 505, or one or more components of the device 505 (e.g., the receiver 510, the transmitter 515, and the communications manager 520) , may include at least one processor, which may be coupled with at least one memory, to, individually or collectively, support or enable the described techniques. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) .

The receiver 510 may provide a means for receiving information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows) . Information may be passed on to other components of the device 505. The receiver 510 may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas.

The transmitter 515 may provide a means for transmitting signals generated by other components of the device 505. For example, the transmitter 515 may transmit information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows) . In some examples, the transmitter 515 may be co-located with a receiver 510 in a transceiver module. The transmitter 515 may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas.

The communications manager 520, the receiver 510, the transmitter 515, or various combinations thereof or various components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows as described herein. For example, the communications manager 520, the receiver 510, the transmitter 515, or various combinations or components thereof may be capable of performing one or more of the functions described herein.

In some examples, the communications manager 520, the receiver 510, the transmitter 515, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in communications management circuitry) . The hardware may include at least one of a processor, a digital signal processor (DSP) , a central processing unit (CPU) , an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a microcontroller, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof configured as or otherwise supporting, individually or collectively, a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure. In some examples, at least one processor and at least one memory coupled with the at least one processor may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., by one or more processors, individually or collectively, executing instructions stored in the at least one memory) .

Additionally, or alternatively, the communications manager 520, the receiver 510, the transmitter 515, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in code (e.g., as communications management software or firmware) executed by at least one processor. If implemented in code executed by at least one processor, the functions of the communications manager 520, the receiver 510, the transmitter 515, or various combinations or components thereof may be performed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA, a microcontroller, or any combination of these or other programmable logic devices (e.g., configured as or otherwise supporting, individually or collectively, a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure) .

In some examples, the communications manager 520 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, obtaining, monitoring, outputting, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the receiver 510, the transmitter 515, or both. For example, the communications manager 520 may receive information from the receiver 510, send information to the transmitter 515, or be integrated in combination with the receiver 510, the transmitter 515, or both to obtain information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.

The communications manager 520 may support wireless communications in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. For example, the communications manager 520 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for establishing a packet data unit session with a network entity. The communications manager 520 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving one or more downlink messages of the packet data unit session, where at least one downlink message of the one or more downlink messages includes an indication to map one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with a rule. The communications manager 520 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for transmitting the one or more uplink messages based on a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based on a second mapping between a downlink quality of service flow and a downlink SDF.

By including or configuring the communications manager 520 in accordance with examples as described herein, the device 505 (e.g., at least one processor controlling or otherwise coupled with the receiver 510, the transmitter 515, the communications manager 520, or a combination thereof) may support techniques for improved efficiency and enhanced communications, including ensuring that QoS requirements are met for uplink data. For example, the described techniques may enable reduced signaling overhead by signaling an indicator (e.g., an asymmetric reflective QoS indicator) signaling that a UE may use a rule to map uplink data to one or multiple uplink QoS flows. Further, the described techniques may enable delay-sensitive traffic (e.g., XR data) to meet QoS requirements, thereby ensuring that data carried by uplink QoS flows satisfy an expected user experience of the application and/or associated services.

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram 600 of a device 605 that supports asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 605 may be an example of aspects of a device 505 or a UE 115 as described herein. The device 605 may include a receiver 610, a transmitter 615, and a communications manager 620. The device 605, or one or more components of the device 605 (e.g., the receiver 610, the transmitter 615, and the communications manager 620) , may include at least one processor, which may be coupled with at least one memory, to support the described techniques. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) .

The receiver 610 may provide a means for receiving information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows) . Information may be passed on to other components of the device 605. The receiver 610 may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas.

The transmitter 615 may provide a means for transmitting signals generated by other components of the device 605. For example, the transmitter 615 may transmit information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows) . In some examples, the transmitter 615 may be co-located with a receiver 610 in a transceiver module. The transmitter 615 may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas.

The device 605, or various components thereof, may be an example of means for performing various aspects of asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows as described herein. For example, the communications manager 620 may include a PDU establishment component 625, a downlink message reception component 630, an uplink message transmission component 635, or any combination thereof. The communications manager 620 may be an example of aspects of a communications manager 520 as described herein. In some examples, the communications manager 620, or various components thereof, may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, obtaining, monitoring, outputting, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the receiver 610, the transmitter 615, or both. For example, the communications manager 620 may receive information from the receiver 610, send information to the transmitter 615, or be integrated in combination with the receiver 610, the transmitter 615, or both to obtain information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.

The communications manager 620 may support wireless communications in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The PDU establishment component 625 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for establishing a packet data unit session with a network entity. The downlink message reception component 630 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving one or more downlink messages of the packet data unit session, where at least one downlink message of the one or more downlink messages includes an indication to map one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with a rule. The uplink message transmission component 635 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for transmitting the one or more uplink messages based on a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based on a second mapping between a downlink quality of service flow and a downlink SDF.

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram 700 of a communications manager 720 that supports asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The communications manager 720 may be an example of aspects of a communications manager 520, a communications manager 620, or both, as described herein. The communications manager 720, or various components thereof, may be an example of means for performing various aspects of asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows as described herein. For example, the communications manager 720 may include a PDU establishment component 725, a downlink message reception component 730, an uplink message transmission component 735, a mapping component 740, an uplink traffic type component 745, a PDU request component 750, a QFI assignment component 755, a control message reception component 760, or any combination thereof. Each of these components, or components or subcomponents thereof (e.g., one or more processors, one or more memories) , may communicate, directly or indirectly, with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) .

The communications manager 720 may support wireless communications in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The PDU establishment component 725 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for establishing a packet data unit session with a network entity. The downlink message reception component 730 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving one or more downlink messages of the packet data unit session, where at least one downlink message of the one or more downlink messages includes an indication to map one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with a rule. The uplink message transmission component 735 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for transmitting the one or more uplink messages based on a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based on a second mapping between a downlink quality of service flow and a downlink SDF.

In some examples, the mapping component 740 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for mapping the one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule, where the rule indicates information associated with the first mapping or the second mapping, or both.

In some examples, the information indicates the downlink SDF or a QFI corresponding to the downlink quality of service flow, or both. In some examples, the information indicates a quantity of the one or more uplink quality of service flows. In some examples, the one or more uplink messages are mapped to the quantity of the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule.

In some examples, the information indicates one or more packet filters associated with the first mapping. In some examples, the one or more uplink messages are mapped to a set of multiple uplink quality of service flows including the one or more uplink quality of service flows based on the one or more packet filters. In some examples, the information indicates a respective QFI for each uplink quality of service flow of the one or more uplink quality of service flows. In some examples, the one or more uplink messages are mapped to the one or more uplink quality of service flows based on the respective QFIs.

In some examples, the information includes instructions to assign a QFI to each uplink quality of service flow of the one or more uplink quality of service flows based on a QFI of the downlink quality of service flow, and the QFI assignment component 755 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for assigning respective QFIs to the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the instructions. In some examples, the information indicates one or more quality of service parameters associated with each of the one or more uplink quality of service flows. In some examples, the one or more uplink messages are transmitted in accordance with the one or more uplink quality of service parameters.

In some examples, the one or more quality of service parameters include an indication of a DRB associated with each uplink quality of service flow of the one or more uplink quality of service flows, and the mapping component 740 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for mapping the one or more uplink quality of service flows to each DRB indicated by the one or more quality of service parameters, where the one or more uplink messages are transmitted based on mapping the one or more uplink quality of service flows to each DRB.

In some examples, the one or more quality of service parameters include a 5QI or an ARP, or any combination thereof, for each of the one or more uplink quality of service flows. In some examples, the information includes an indication of a third mapping between the one or more quality of service parameters and one or more DRBs and an indication to assign the quality of service parameters to each of the one or more uplink quality of service flows based on the third mapping.

In some examples, the control message reception component 760 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving a control message indicating a configuration of the rule, where the one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session are mapped to the one or more uplink quality of service flows based on the configuration of the rule. In some examples, the indication to map the one or more uplink messages to the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule includes an attribute associated with a quality of service profile.

In some examples, the uplink traffic type component 745 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for determining that the UE is to transmit two or more types of uplink traffic in the packet data unit session. In some examples, the PDU request component 750 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for transmitting a packet data unit session establishment request message, where the packet data unit session establishment request message includes an indication that the UE is capable of mapping the one or more uplink messages to the one or more quality of service flows based on the determination, and where establishing the packet data unit session with the network entity is based on the packet data unit session establishment request message.

In some examples, each of the one or more uplink quality of service flows is associated with an uplink QFI and the downlink quality of service flow is associated with a downlink QFI. In some examples, each of the uplink QFIs is associated with one or more different quality of service parameters than the downlink QFI. In some examples, each of the one or more uplink quality of service flows is mapped to one or more DRBs that are different than a second DRB mapped to the downlink quality of service flow.

FIG. 8 shows a diagram of a system 800 including a device 805 that supports asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 805 may be an example of or include the components of a device 505, a device 605, or a UE 115 as described herein. The device 805 may communicate (e.g., wirelessly) with one or more network entities 105, one or more UEs 115, or any combination thereof. The device 805 may include components for bi-directional voice and data communications including components for transmitting and receiving communications, such as a communications manager 820, an input/output (I/O) controller 810, a transceiver 815, an antenna 825, at least one memory 830, code 835, and at least one processor 840. These components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more buses (e.g., a bus 845) .

The I/O controller 810 may manage input and output signals for the device 805. The I/O controller 810 may also manage peripherals not integrated into the device 805. In some cases, the I/O controller 810 may represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral. In some cases, the I/O controller 810 may utilize an operating system such as or another known operating system. Additionally, or alternatively, the I/O controller 810 may represent or interact with a modem, a keyboard, a mouse, a touchscreen, or a similar device. In some cases, the I/O controller 810 may be implemented as part of one or more processors, such as the at least one processor 840. In some cases, a user may interact with the device 805 via the I/O controller 810 or via hardware components controlled by the I/O controller 810.

In some cases, the device 805 may include a single antenna 825. However, in some other cases, the device 805 may have more than one antenna 825, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. The transceiver 815 may communicate bi-directionally, via the one or more antennas 825, wired, or wireless links as described herein. For example, the transceiver 815 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 815 may also include a modem to modulate the packets, to provide the modulated packets to one or more antennas 825 for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the one or more antennas 825. The transceiver 815, or the transceiver 815 and one or more antennas 825, may be an example of a transmitter 515, a transmitter 615, a receiver 510, a receiver 610, or any combination thereof or component thereof, as described herein.

The at least one memory 830 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM) . The at least one memory 830 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code 835 including instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor 840, cause the device 805 to perform various functions described herein. The code 835 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or another type of memory. In some cases, the code 835 may not be directly executable by the at least one processor 840 but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein. In some cases, the at least one memory 830 may contain, among other things, a basic I/O system (BIOS) which may control basic hardware or software operation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices.

The at least one processor 840 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof) . In some cases, the at least one processor 840 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some other cases, a memory controller may be integrated into the at least one processor 840. The at least one processor 840 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the at least one memory 830) to cause the device 805 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows) . For example, the device 805 or a component of the device 805 may include at least one processor 840 and at least one memory 830 coupled with or to the at least one processor 840, the at least one processor 840 and at least one memory 830 configured to perform various functions described herein. In some examples, the at least one processor 840 may include multiple processors and the at least one memory 830 may include multiple memories. One or more of the multiple processors may be coupled with one or more of the multiple memories, which may, individually or collectively, be configured to perform various functions herein. In some examples, the at least one processor 840 may be a component of a processing system, which may refer to a system (such as a series) of machines, circuitry (including, for example, one or both of processor circuitry (which may include the at least one processor 840) and memory circuitry (which may include the at least one memory 830) ) , or components, that receives or obtains inputs and processes the inputs to produce, generate, or obtain a set of outputs. The processing system may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein. As such, the at least one processor 840 or a processing system including the at least one processor 840 may be configured to, configurable to, or operable to cause the device 805 to perform one or more of the functions described herein. Further, as described herein, being “configured to, ” being “configurable to, ” and being “operable to” may be used interchangeably and may be associated with a capability, when executing code stored in the at least one memory 830 or otherwise, to perform one or more of the functions described herein.

The communications manager 820 may support wireless communications in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. For example, the communications manager 820 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for establishing a packet data unit session with a network entity. The communications manager 820 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving one or more downlink messages of the packet data unit session, where at least one downlink message of the one or more downlink messages includes an indication to map one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with a rule. The communications manager 820 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for transmitting the one or more uplink messages based on a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based on a second mapping between a downlink quality of service flow and a downlink SDF.

By including or configuring the communications manager 820 in accordance with examples as described herein, the device 805 may support techniques for more efficient utilization of communication resources and improved coordination between devices. For instance, by including or configuring the communications manager 820 in accordance with examples as described herein, the device 805 may support improved efficiency and enhanced communications, including ensuring that QoS requirements are met for uplink data. For example, the described techniques may enable reduced signaling overhead by signaling an indicator (e.g., an asymmetric reflective QoS indicator) signaling that a UE may use a rule to map uplink data to one or multiple uplink QoS flows. Further, the described techniques may enable delay-sensitive traffic (e.g., XR data) to meet QoS requirements, thereby ensuring that data carried by uplink QoS flows satisfy an expected user experience of the application and/or associated services.

In some examples, the communications manager 820 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, monitoring, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the transceiver 815, the one or more antennas 825, or any combination thereof. Although the communications manager 820 is illustrated as a separate component, in some examples, one or more functions described with reference to the communications manager 820 may be supported by or performed by the at least one processor 840, the at least one memory 830, the code 835, or any combination thereof. For example, the code 835 may include instructions executable by the at least one processor 840 to cause the device 805 to perform various aspects of asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows as described herein, or the at least one processor 840 and the at least one memory 830 may be otherwise configured to, individually or collectively, perform or support such operations.

FIG. 9 shows a block diagram 900 of a device 905 that supports asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 905 may be an example of aspects of a network entity 105 as described herein. The device 905 may include a receiver 910, a transmitter 915, and a communications manager 920. The device 905, or one or more components of the device 905 (e.g., the receiver 910, the transmitter 915, and the communications manager 920) , may include at least one processor, which may be coupled with at least one memory, to, individually or collectively, support or enable the described techniques. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) .

The receiver 910 may provide a means for obtaining (e.g., receiving, determining, identifying) information such as user data, control information, or any combination thereof (e.g., I/Q samples, symbols, packets, protocol data units, service data units) associated with various channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels, channels associated with a protocol stack) . Information may be passed on to other components of the device 905. In some examples, the receiver 910 may support obtaining information by receiving signals via one or more antennas. Additionally, or alternatively, the receiver 910 may support obtaining information by receiving signals via one or more wired (e.g., electrical, fiber optic) interfaces, wireless interfaces, or any combination thereof.

The transmitter 915 may provide a means for outputting (e.g., transmitting, providing, conveying, sending) information generated by other components of the device 905. For example, the transmitter 915 may output information such as user data, control information, or any combination thereof (e.g., I/Q samples, symbols, packets, protocol data units, service data units) associated with various channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels, channels associated with a protocol stack) . In some examples, the transmitter 915 may support outputting information by transmitting signals via one or more antennas. Additionally, or alternatively, the transmitter 915 may support outputting information by transmitting signals via one or more wired (e.g., electrical, fiber optic) interfaces, wireless interfaces, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the transmitter 915 and the receiver 910 may be co-located in a transceiver, which may include or be coupled with a modem.

The communications manager 920, the receiver 910, the transmitter 915, or various combinations thereof or various components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows as described herein. For example, the communications manager 920, the receiver 910, the transmitter 915, or various combinations or components thereof may be capable of performing one or more of the functions described herein.

In some examples, the communications manager 920, the receiver 910, the transmitter 915, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in communications management circuitry) . The hardware may include at least one of a processor, a DSP, a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, a microcontroller, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof configured as or otherwise supporting, individually or collectively, a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure. In some examples, at least one processor and at least one memory coupled with the at least one processor may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., by one or more processors, individually or collectively, executing instructions stored in the at least one memory) .

Additionally, or alternatively, the communications manager 920, the receiver 910, the transmitter 915, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in code (e.g., as communications management software or firmware) executed by at least one processor. If implemented in code executed by at least one processor, the functions of the communications manager 920, the receiver 910, the transmitter 915, or various combinations or components thereof may be performed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA, a microcontroller, or any combination of these or other programmable logic devices (e.g., configured as or otherwise supporting, individually or collectively, a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure) .

In some examples, the communications manager 920 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, obtaining, monitoring, outputting, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the receiver 910, the transmitter 915, or both. For example, the communications manager 920 may receive information from the receiver 910, send information to the transmitter 915, or be integrated in combination with the receiver 910, the transmitter 915, or both to obtain information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.

The communications manager 920 may support wireless communications in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. For example, the communications manager 920 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for establishing a packet data unit session with a UE. The communications manager 920 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving, from a second network entity, a quality of service profile associated with mapping one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with a rule. The communications manager 920 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for transmitting one or more downlink messages of the packet data unit session, where at least one downlink message of the one or more downlink messages includes an indication to map the one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule. The communications manager 920 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving the one or more uplink messages based on a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based on a second mapping between a downlink quality of service flow and a downlink SDF.

Additionally, or alternatively, the communications manager 920 may support wireless communications in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. For example, the communications manager 920 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving a packet data unit session establishment request from a UE, the packet data unit session establishment request including an indication that the UE supports mapping one or more uplink messages of a packet data unit session to one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with a rule. The communications manager 920 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for transmitting a packet data unit session establishment acceptance message to the UE in response to the packet data unit session establishment request. The communications manager 920 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for transmitting a quality of service profile associated with mapping the one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule.

By including or configuring the communications manager 920 in accordance with examples as described herein, the device 905 (e.g., at least one processor controlling or otherwise coupled with the receiver 910, the transmitter 915, the communications manager 920, or a combination thereof) may support techniques for improved efficiency and enhanced communications, including ensuring that QoS requirements are met for uplink data. For example, the described techniques may enable reduced signaling overhead by signaling an indicator (e.g., an asymmetric reflective QoS indicator) signaling that a UE may use a rule to map uplink data to one or multiple uplink QoS flows. Further, the described techniques may enable delay-sensitive traffic (e.g., XR data) to meet QoS requirements, thereby ensuring that data carried by uplink QoS flows satisfy an expected user experience of the application and/or associated services.

FIG. 10 shows a block diagram 1000 of a device 1005 that supports asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1005 may be an example of aspects of a device 905 or a network entity 105 as described herein. The device 1005 may include a receiver 1010, a transmitter 1015, and a communications manager 1020. The device 1005, or one or more components of the device 1005 (e.g., the receiver 1010, the transmitter 1015, and the communications manager 1020) , may include at least one processor, which may be coupled with at least one memory, to support the described techniques. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) .

The receiver 1010 may provide a means for obtaining (e.g., receiving, determining, identifying) information such as user data, control information, or any combination thereof (e.g., I/Q samples, symbols, packets, protocol data units, service data units) associated with various channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels, channels associated with a protocol stack) . Information may be passed on to other components of the device 1005. In some examples, the receiver 1010 may support obtaining information by receiving signals via one or more antennas. Additionally, or alternatively, the receiver 1010 may support obtaining information by receiving signals via one or more wired (e.g., electrical, fiber optic) interfaces, wireless interfaces, or any combination thereof.

The transmitter 1015 may provide a means for outputting (e.g., transmitting, providing, conveying, sending) information generated by other components of the device 1005. For example, the transmitter 1015 may output information such as user data, control information, or any combination thereof (e.g., I/Q samples, symbols, packets, protocol data units, service data units) associated with various channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels, channels associated with a protocol stack) . In some examples, the transmitter 1015 may support outputting information by transmitting signals via one or more antennas. Additionally, or alternatively, the transmitter 1015 may support outputting information by transmitting signals via one or more wired (e.g., electrical, fiber optic) interfaces, wireless interfaces, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the transmitter 1015 and the receiver 1010 may be co-located in a transceiver, which may include or be coupled with a modem.

The device 1005, or various components thereof, may be an example of means for performing various aspects of asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows as described herein. For example, the communications manager 1020 may include a PDU session component 1025, a QoS profile component 1030, a downlink message transmission component 1035, an uplink message reception component 1040, a PDU accept component 1045, or any combination thereof. The communications manager 1020 may be an example of aspects of a communications manager 920 as described herein. In some examples, the communications manager 1020, or various components thereof, may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, obtaining, monitoring, outputting, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the receiver 1010, the transmitter 1015, or both. For example, the communications manager 1020 may receive information from the receiver 1010, send information to the transmitter 1015, or be integrated in combination with the receiver 1010, the transmitter 1015, or both to obtain information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.

The communications manager 1020 may support wireless communications in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The PDU session component 1025 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for establishing a packet data unit session with a UE. The QoS profile component 1030 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving, from a second network entity, a quality of service profile associated with mapping one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with a rule. The downlink message transmission component 1035 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for transmitting one or more downlink messages of the packet data unit session, where at least one downlink message of the one or more downlink messages includes an indication to map the one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule. The uplink message reception component 1040 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving the one or more uplink messages based on a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based on a second mapping between a downlink quality of service flow and a downlink SDF.

Additionally, or alternatively, the communications manager 1020 may support wireless communications in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The PDU session component 1025 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving a packet data unit session establishment request from a UE, the packet data unit session establishment request including an indication that the UE supports mapping one or more uplink messages of a packet data unit session to one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with a rule. The PDU accept component 1045 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for transmitting a packet data unit session establishment acceptance message to the UE in response to the packet data unit session establishment request. The QoS profile component 1030 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for transmitting a quality of service profile associated with mapping the one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule.

FIG. 11 shows a block diagram 1100 of a communications manager 1120 that supports asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The communications manager 1120 may be an example of aspects of a communications manager 920, a communications manager 1020, or both, as described herein. The communications manager 1120, or various components thereof, may be an example of means for performing various aspects of asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows as described herein. For example, the communications manager 1120 may include a PDU session component 1125, a QoS profile component 1130, a downlink message transmission component 1135, an uplink message reception component 1140, a PDU accept component 1145, a rule component 1150, a control message component 1155, a QoS policy component 1160, a packet transmission component 1165, a packet reception component 1170, a bit mapping component 1175, or any combination thereof. Each of these components, or components or subcomponents thereof (e.g., one or more processors, one or more memories) , may communicate, directly or indirectly, with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) which may include communications within a protocol layer of a protocol stack, communications associated with a logical channel of a protocol stack (e.g., between protocol layers of a protocol stack, within a device, component, or virtualized component associated with a network entity 105, between devices, components, or virtualized components associated with a network entity 105) , or any combination thereof. In some examples, the PDU session component 1125, the PDU accept component 1145, and the QoS profile component 1130 may be examples of, or may be implemented by, an SMF, as described herein.

The communications manager 1120 may support wireless communications in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The PDU session component 1125 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for establishing a packet data unit session with a UE. The QoS profile component 1130 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving, from a second network entity, a quality of service profile associated with mapping one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with a rule. The downlink message transmission component 1135 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for transmitting one or more downlink messages of the packet data unit session, where at least one downlink message of the one or more downlink messages includes an indication to map the one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule. The uplink message reception component 1140 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving the one or more uplink messages based on a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based on a second mapping between a downlink quality of service flow and a downlink SDF.

In some examples, to support receiving the quality of service profile, the QoS profile component 1130 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving a first packet header including an indication to activate, for the downlink quality of service flow, the first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule.

In some examples, the indication includes a bit and a QFI for the downlink quality of service flow.

In some examples, the packet reception component 1170 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving one or more general packet radio service (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) packets from a third network entity. In some examples, the bit mapping component 1175 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for mapping a bit from the indication included in the first packet header to a second packet header in accordance with activating the first mapping for the downlink quality of service flow, where at least one of the one or more downlink messages includes the second packet header.

In some examples, the rule component 1150 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for applying the rule to determine the first mapping, respective QFIs associated with the one or more uplink messages, one or more quality of service parameters, or any combination thereof, where receiving the one or more uplink messages is based on applying the rule.

In some examples, the control message component 1155 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for transmitting, to the UE, a control message indicating a configuration of the rule, where the one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session are mapped to the one or more uplink quality of service flows based on the configuration of the rule.

In some examples, the rule indicates information associated with the first mapping or the second mapping, or both. In some examples, the information indicates the downlink SDF or a QFI corresponding to the downlink quality of service flow, or both. In some examples, the information indicates a quantity of the one or more uplink quality of service flows. In some examples, the one or more uplink messages are mapped to the quantity of the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule.

In some examples, the information includes instructions to assign a QFI to each uplink quality of service flow of the one or more uplink quality of service flows based on a QFI of the downlink quality of service flow. In some examples, the information indicates one or more quality of service parameters associated with each of the one or more uplink quality of service flows. In some examples, the one or more uplink messages are received in accordance with the one or more uplink quality of service parameters.

In some examples, the one or more quality of service parameters include an indication of a DRB associated with each uplink quality of service flow of the one or more uplink quality of service flows. In some examples, the one or more uplink quality of service flows are mapped to each DRB indicated by the one or more quality of service parameters. In some examples, the one or more uplink messages are received based on mapping the one or more uplink quality of service flows to each DRB.

Additionally, or alternatively, the communications manager 1120 may support wireless communications in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, the PDU session component 1125 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving a packet data unit session establishment request from a UE, the packet data unit session establishment request including an indication that the UE supports mapping one or more uplink messages of a packet data unit session to one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with a rule. The PDU accept component 1145 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for transmitting a packet data unit session establishment acceptance message to the UE in response to the packet data unit session establishment request. In some examples, the QoS profile component 1130 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for transmitting a quality of service profile associated with mapping the one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule.

In some examples, the QoS policy component 1160 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving an indication of a quality of service policy including an indication to activate, for a downlink quality of service flow, a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based on a second mapping between the downlink quality of service flow and a downlink SDF, where transmitting the quality of service profile is based on receiving the quality of service policy.

In some examples, to support transmitting the quality of service profile, the packet transmission component 1165 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for transmitting a first packet header including an indication to activate, for a downlink quality of service flow, a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based on a second mapping between the downlink quality of service flow and a downlink SDF. In some examples, the indication includes a bit and a QFI for the downlink quality of service flow.

FIG. 12 shows a diagram of a system 1200 including a device 1205 that supports asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1205 may be an example of or include the components of a device 905, a device 1005, or a network entity 105 as described herein. The device 1205 may communicate with one or more network entities 105, one or more UEs 115, or any combination thereof, which may include communications over one or more wired interfaces, over one or more wireless interfaces, or any combination thereof. The device 1205 may include components that support outputting and obtaining communications, such as a communications manager 1220, a transceiver 1210, an antenna 1215, at least one memory 1225, code 1230, and at least one processor 1235. These components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more buses (e.g., a bus 1240) .

The transceiver 1210 may support bi-directional communications via wired links, wireless links, or both as described herein. In some examples, the transceiver 1210 may include a wired transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wired transceiver. Additionally, or alternatively, in some examples, the transceiver 1210 may include a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. In some examples, the device 1205 may include one or more antennas 1215, which may be capable of transmitting or receiving wireless transmissions (e.g., concurrently) . The transceiver 1210 may also include a modem to modulate signals, to provide the modulated signals for transmission (e.g., by one or more antennas 1215, by a wired transmitter) , to receive modulated signals (e.g., from one or more antennas 1215, from a wired receiver) , and to demodulate signals. In some implementations, the transceiver 1210 may include one or more interfaces, such as one or more interfaces coupled with the one or more antennas 1215 that are configured to support various receiving or obtaining operations, or one or more interfaces coupled with the one or more antennas 1215 that are configured to support various transmitting or outputting operations, or a combination thereof. In some implementations, the transceiver 1210 may include or be configured for coupling with one or more processors or one or more memory components that are operable to perform or support operations based on received or obtained information or signals, or to generate information or other signals for transmission or other outputting, or any combination thereof. In some implementations, the transceiver 1210, or the transceiver 1210 and the one or more antennas 1215, or the transceiver 1210 and the one or more antennas 1215 and one or more processors or one or more memory components (e.g., the at least one processor 1235, the at least one memory 1225, or both) , may be included in a chip or chip assembly that is installed in the device 1205. In some examples, the transceiver 1210 may be operable to support communications via one or more communications links (e.g., a communication link 125, a backhaul communication link 120, a midhaul communication link 162, a fronthaul communication link 168) .

The at least one memory 1225 may include RAM, ROM, or any combination thereof. The at least one memory 1225 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code 1230 including instructions that, when executed by one or more of the at least one processor 1235, cause the device 1205 to perform various functions described herein. The code 1230 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or another type of memory. In some cases, the code 1230 may not be directly executable by a processor of the at least one processor 1235 but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein. In some cases, the at least one memory 1225 may contain, among other things, a BIOS which may control basic hardware or software operation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices. In some examples, the at least one processor 1235 may include multiple processors and the at least one memory 1225 may include multiple memories. One or more of the multiple processors may be coupled with one or more of the multiple memories which may, individually or collectively, be configured to perform various functions herein (for example, as part of a processing system) .

The at least one processor 1235 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a CPU, an FPGA, a microcontroller, a programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof) . In some cases, the at least one processor 1235 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some other cases, a memory controller may be integrated into one or more of the at least one processor 1235. The at least one processor 1235 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., one or more of the at least one memory 1225) to cause the device 1205 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows) . For example, the device 1205 or a component of the device 1205 may include at least one processor 1235 and at least one memory 1225 coupled with one or more of the at least one processor 1235, the at least one processor 1235 and the at least one memory 1225 configured to perform various functions described herein. The at least one processor 1235 may be an example of a cloud-computing platform (e.g., one or more physical nodes and supporting software such as operating systems, virtual machines, or container instances) that may host the functions (e.g., by executing code 1230) to perform the functions of the device 1205. The at least one processor 1235 may be any one or more suitable processors capable of executing scripts or instructions of one or more software programs stored in the device 1205 (such as within one or more of the at least one memory 1225) . In some examples, the at least one processor 1235 may include multiple processors and the at least one memory 1225 may include multiple memories. One or more of the multiple processors may be coupled with one or more of the multiple memories, which may, individually or collectively, be configured to perform various functions herein. In some examples, the at least one processor 1235 may be a component of a processing system, which may refer to a system (such as a series) of machines, circuitry (including, for example, one or both of processor circuitry (which may include the at least one processor 1235) and memory circuitry (which may include the at least one memory 1225) ) , or components, that receives or obtains inputs and processes the inputs to produce, generate, or obtain a set of outputs. The processing system may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein. As such, the at least one processor 1235 or a processing system including the at least one processor 1235 may be configured to, configurable to, or operable to cause the device 1205 to perform one or more of the functions described herein. Further, as described herein, being “configured to, ” being “configurable to, ” and being “operable to” may be used interchangeably and may be associated with a capability, when executing code stored in the at least one memory 1225 or otherwise, to perform one or more of the functions described herein.

In some examples, a bus 1240 may support communications of (e.g., within) a protocol layer of a protocol stack. In some examples, a bus 1240 may support communications associated with a logical channel of a protocol stack (e.g., between protocol layers of a protocol stack) , which may include communications performed within a component of the device 1205, or between different components of the device 1205 that may be co-located or located in different locations (e.g., where the device 1205 may refer to a system in which one or more of the communications manager 1220, the transceiver 1210, the at least one memory 1225, the code 1230, and the at least one processor 1235 may be located in one of the different components or divided between different components) .

In some examples, the communications manager 1220 may manage aspects of communications with a core network 130 (e.g., via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links) . For example, the communications manager 1220 may manage the transfer of data communications for client devices, such as one or more UEs 115. In some examples, the communications manager 1220 may manage communications with other network entities 105, and may include a controller or scheduler for controlling communications with UEs 115 in cooperation with other network entities 105. In some examples, the communications manager 1220 may support an X2 interface within an LTE/LTE-A wireless communications network technology to provide communication between network entities 105.

The communications manager 1220 may support wireless communications in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. For example, the communications manager 1220 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for establishing a packet data unit session with a UE. The communications manager 1220 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving, from a second network entity, a quality of service profile associated with mapping one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with a rule. The communications manager 1220 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for transmitting one or more downlink messages of the packet data unit session, where at least one downlink message of the one or more downlink messages includes an indication to map the one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule. The communications manager 1220 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving the one or more uplink messages based on a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based on a second mapping between a downlink quality of service flow and a downlink SDF.

Additionally, or alternatively, the communications manager 1220 may support wireless communications in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. For example, the communications manager 1220 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving a packet data unit session establishment request from a UE, the packet data unit session establishment request including an indication that the UE supports mapping one or more uplink messages of a packet data unit session to one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with a rule. The communications manager 1220 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for transmitting a packet data unit session establishment acceptance message to the UE in response to the packet data unit session establishment request. The communications manager 1220 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for transmitting a quality of service profile associated with mapping the one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule.

By including or configuring the communications manager 1220 in accordance with examples as described herein, the device 1205 may support techniques for more efficient utilization of communication resources and improved coordination between devices. For example, by including or configuring the communications manager 1220 in accordance with examples as described herein, the device 1205 may support improved efficiency and enhanced communications, including ensuring that QoS requirements are met for uplink data. For example, the described techniques may enable reduced signaling overhead by signaling an indicator (e.g., an asymmetric reflective QoS indicator) signaling that a UE may use a rule to map uplink data to one or multiple uplink QoS flows. Further, the described techniques may enable relatively high-importance and/or delay-sensitive traffic (e.g., XR data) to meet QoS requirements, thereby ensuring that data carried by uplink QoS flows satisfy an expected user experience of the application and/or associated services.

In some examples, the communications manager 1220 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, obtaining, monitoring, outputting, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the transceiver 1210, the one or more antennas 1215 (e.g., where applicable) , or any combination thereof. Although the communications manager 1220 is illustrated as a separate component, in some examples, one or more functions described with reference to the communications manager 1220 may be supported by or performed by the transceiver 1210, one or more of the at least one processor 1235, one or more of the at least one memory 1225, the code 1230, or any combination thereof (for example, by a processing system including at least a portion of the at least one processor 1235, the at least one memory 1225, the code 1230, or any combination thereof) . For example, the code 1230 may include instructions executable by one or more of the at least one processor 1235 to cause the device 1205 to perform various aspects of asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows as described herein, or the at least one processor 1235 and the at least one memory 1225 may be otherwise configured to, individually or collectively, perform or support such operations.

FIG. 13 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1300 that supports asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1300 may be implemented by a UE or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1300 may be performed by a UE 115 as described with reference to FIGs. 1 through 8. In some examples, a UE may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the described functions. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware.

At 1305, the method may include establishing a packet data unit session with a network entity. The operations of 1305 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1305 may be performed by a PDU establishment component 725 as described with reference to FIG. 7.

At 1310, the method may include receiving one or more downlink messages of the packet data unit session, where at least one downlink message of the one or more downlink messages includes an indication to map one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with a rule. The operations of 1310 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1310 may be performed by a downlink message reception component 730 as described with reference to FIG. 7.

At 1315, the method may include transmitting the one or more uplink messages based on a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based on a second mapping between a downlink quality of service flow and a downlink SDF. The operations of 1315 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1315 may be performed by an uplink message transmission component 735 as described with reference to FIG. 7.

FIG. 14 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1400 that supports asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1400 may be implemented by a network entity or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1400 may be performed by a network entity as described with reference to FIGs. 1 through 4 and 9 through 12. In some examples, a network entity may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the network entity to perform the described functions. Additionally, or alternatively, the network entity may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware.

At 1405, the method may include establishing a packet data unit session with a UE. The operations of 1405 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1405 may be performed by a PDU session component 1125 as described with reference to FIG. 11.

At 1410, the method may include receiving, from a second network entity, a quality of service profile associated with mapping one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with a rule. The operations of 1410 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1410 may be performed by a QoS profile component 1130 as described with reference to FIG. 11.

At 1415, the method may include transmitting one or more downlink messages of the packet data unit session, where at least one downlink message of the one or more downlink messages includes an indication to map the one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule. The operations of 1415 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1415 may be performed by a downlink message transmission component 1135 as described with reference to FIG. 11.

At 1420, the method may include receiving the one or more uplink messages based on a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based on a second mapping between a downlink quality of service flow and a downlink SDF. The operations of 1420 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1420 may be performed by an uplink message reception component 1140 as described with reference to FIG. 11.

FIG. 15 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1500 that supports asymmetric reflective QoS with multiple uplink QoS flows in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1500 may be implemented by a network entity or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1500 may be performed by a network entity as described with reference to FIGs. 1 through 4 and 9 through 12. In some examples, a network entity may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the network entity to perform the described functions. Additionally, or alternatively, the network entity may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware.

At 1505, the method may include receiving a packet data unit session establishment request from a UE, the packet data unit session establishment request including an indication that the UE supports mapping one or more uplink messages of a packet data unit session to one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with a rule. The operations of 1505 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1505 may be performed by a PDU session component 1125 as described with reference to FIG. 11.

At 1510, the method may include transmitting a packet data unit session establishment acceptance message to the UE in response to the packet data unit session establishment request. The operations of 1510 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1510 may be performed by a PDU accept component 1145 as described with reference to FIG. 11.

At 1515, the method may include transmitting a quality of service profile associated with mapping the one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule. The operations of 1515 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1515 may be performed by a QoS profile component 1130 as described with reference to FIG. 11.

The following provides an overview of aspects of the present disclosure:

Aspect 1: A method for wireless communications at a UE, comprising: establishing a packet data unit session with a network entity; receiving one or more downlink messages of the packet data unit session, wherein at least one downlink message of the one or more downlink messages includes an indication to map one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with a rule; and transmitting the one or more uplink messages based at least in part on a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based at least in part on a second mapping between a downlink quality of service flow and a downlink service data flow.

Aspect 2: The method of aspect 1, further comprising: mapping the one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule, wherein the rule indicates information associated with the first mapping or the second mapping, or both.

Aspect 3: The method of aspect 2, wherein the information indicates the downlink service data flow or a quality of service flow identifier (QFI) corresponding to the downlink quality of service flow, or both.

Aspect 4: The method of any of aspects 2 through 3, wherein the information indicates a quantity of the one or more uplink quality of service flows, and the one or more uplink messages are mapped to the quantity of the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule.

Aspect 5: The method of any of aspects 2 through 4, wherein the information indicates one or more packet filters associated with the first mapping, the one or more uplink messages are mapped to a plurality of uplink quality of service flows including the one or more uplink quality of service flows based at least in part on the one or more packet filters.

Aspect 6: The method of any of aspects 2 through 5, wherein the information indicates a respective quality of service flow identifier (QFI) for each uplink quality of service flow of the one or more uplink quality of service flows, the one or more uplink messages are mapped to the one or more uplink quality of service flows based at least in part on the respective QFIs.

Aspect 7: The method of any of aspects 2 through 6, wherein the information comprises instructions to assign a quality of service flow identifier (QFI) to each uplink quality of service flow of the one or more uplink quality of service flows based at least in part on a QFI of the downlink quality of service flow, the method further comprising: assigning respective QFIs to the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the instructions.

Aspect 8: The method of any of aspects 2 through 7, wherein the information indicates one or more quality of service parameters associated with each of the one or more uplink quality of service flows, and the one or more uplink messages are transmitted in accordance with the one or more uplink quality of service parameters.

Aspect 9: The method of aspect 8, wherein the one or more quality of service parameters include an indication of a data radio bearer (DRB) associated with each uplink quality of service flow of the one or more uplink quality of service flows, the method further comprising: mapping the one or more uplink quality of service flows to each DRB indicated by the one or more quality of service parameters, wherein the one or more uplink messages are transmitted based at least in part on mapping the one or more uplink quality of service flows to each DRB.

Aspect 10: The method of any of aspects 8 through 9, wherein the one or more quality of service parameters include a fifth generation (5G) quality of service identifier (5QI) or an allocation and retention priority (ARP) , or any combination thereof, for each of the one or more uplink quality of service flows.

Aspect 11: The method of any of aspects 8 through 10, wherein the information includes an indication of a third mapping between the one or more quality of service parameters and one or more data radio bearers (DRBs) and an indication to assign the quality of service parameters to each of the one or more uplink quality of service flows based at least in part on the third mapping.

Aspect 12: The method of any of aspects 2 through 11, further comprising: receiving a control message indicating a configuration of the rule, wherein the one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session are mapped to the one or more uplink quality of service flows based at least in part on the configuration of the rule.

Aspect 13: The method of any of aspects 1 through 12, wherein the indication to map the one or more uplink messages to the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule comprises an attribute associated with a quality of service profile.

Aspect 14: The method of any of aspects 1 through 13, further comprising: determining that the UE is to transmit two or more types of uplink traffic in the packet data unit session; and transmitting a packet data unit session establishment request message, wherein the packet data unit session establishment request message includes an indication that the UE is capable of mapping the one or more uplink messages to the one or more quality of service flows based at least in part on the determination, and wherein establishing the packet data unit session with the network entity is based at least in part on the packet data unit session establishment request message.

Aspect 15: The method of any of aspects 1 through 14, wherein each of the one or more uplink quality of service flows is associated with an uplink quality of service flow identifier (QFI) and the downlink quality of service flow is associated with a downlink QFI, and each of the uplink QFIs is associated with one or more different quality of service parameters than the downlink QFI.

Aspect 16: The method of aspect 15, wherein each of the one or more uplink quality of service flows is mapped to one or more data radio bearers (DRBs) that are different than a second DRB mapped to the downlink quality of service flow.

Aspect 17: A method for wireless communications at a first network entity, comprising: establishing a packet data unit session with a UE; receiving, from a second network entity, a quality of service profile associated with mapping one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with a rule; transmitting one or more downlink messages of the packet data unit session, wherein at least one downlink message of the one or more downlink messages includes an indication to map the one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule; and receiving the one or more uplink messages based at least in part on a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based at least in part on a second mapping between a downlink quality of service flow and a downlink service data flow.

Aspect 18: The method of aspect 17, wherein receiving the quality of service profile comprises: receiving a first packet header including an indication to activate, for the downlink quality of service flow, the first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule.

Aspect 19: The method of aspect 18, wherein the indication comprises a bit and a quality of service flow indicator (QFI) for the downlink quality of service flow.

Aspect 20: The method of any of aspects 18 through 19, further comprising: receiving one or more general packet radio service (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) packets from a third network entity; and mapping a bit from the indication included in the first packet header to a second packet header in accordance with activating the first mapping for the downlink quality of service flow, wherein at least one of the one or more downlink messages includes the second packet header.

Aspect 21: The method of any of aspects 17 through 20, further comprising: applying the rule to determine the first mapping, respective quality of service flow indicators (QFIs) associated with the one or more uplink messages, one or more quality of service parameters, or any combination thereof, wherein receiving the one or more uplink messages is based at least in part on applying the rule.

Aspect 22: The method of any of aspects 17 through 21, further comprising: transmitting, to the UE, a control message indicating a configuration of the rule, wherein the one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session are mapped to the one or more uplink quality of service flows based at least in part on the configuration of the rule.

Aspect 23: The method of aspect 22, wherein the rule indicates information associated with the first mapping or the second mapping, or both.

Aspect 24: The method of aspect 23, wherein the information indicates the downlink service data flow or a quality of service flow identifier (QFI) corresponding to the downlink quality of service flow, or both.

Aspect 25: The method of any of aspects 23 through 24, wherein the information indicates a quantity of the one or more uplink quality of service flows, and the one or more uplink messages are mapped to the quantity of the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule.

Aspect 26: The method of any of aspects 23 through 25, wherein the information indicates one or more packet filters associated with the first mapping, the one or more uplink messages are mapped to a plurality of uplink quality of service flows including the one or more uplink quality of service flows based at least in part on the one or more packet filters.

Aspect 27: The method of any of aspects 23 through 26, wherein the information indicates a respective quality of service flow identifier (QFI) for each uplink quality of service flow of the one or more uplink quality of service flows, the one or more uplink messages are mapped to the one or more uplink quality of service flows based at least in part on the respective QFIs.

Aspect 28: The method of any of aspects 23 through 27, wherein the information comprises instructions to assign a quality of service flow identifier (QFI) to each uplink quality of service flow of the one or more uplink quality of service flows based at least in part on a QFI of the downlink quality of service flow.

Aspect 29: The method of any of aspects 23 through 28, wherein the information indicates one or more quality of service parameters associated with each of the one or more uplink quality of service flows, and the one or more uplink messages are received in accordance with the one or more uplink quality of service parameters.

Aspect 30: The method of aspect 29, wherein the one or more quality of service parameters include an indication of a data radio bearer (DRB) associated with each uplink quality of service flow of the one or more uplink quality of service flows, the one or more uplink quality of service flows are mapped to each DRB indicated by the one or more quality of service parameters, and the one or more uplink messages are received based at least in part on mapping the one or more uplink quality of service flows to each DRB.

Aspect 31: The method of any of aspects 29 through 30, wherein the one or more quality of service parameters include a fifth generation (5G) quality of service identifier (5QI) or an allocation and retention priority (ARP) , or any combination thereof, for each of the one or more uplink quality of service flows.

Aspect 32: The method of any of aspects 29 through 31, wherein the information includes an indication of a third mapping between the one or more quality of service parameters and one or more data radio bearers (DRBs) and an indication to assign the quality of service parameters to each of the one or more uplink quality of service flows based at least in part on the third mapping.

Aspect 33: A method for wireless communications at a second network entity, comprising: receiving a packet data unit session establishment request from a UE, the packet data unit session establishment request including an indication that the UE supports mapping one or more uplink messages of a packet data unit session to one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with a rule; transmitting a packet data unit session establishment acceptance message to the UE in response to the packet data unit session establishment request; and transmitting a quality of service profile associated with mapping the one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule.

Aspect 34: The method of aspect 33, further comprising: receiving an indication of a quality of service policy including an indication to activate, for a downlink quality of service flow, a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based at least in part on a second mapping between the downlink quality of service flow and a downlink service data flow, wherein transmitting the quality of service profile is based at least in part on receiving the quality of service policy.

Aspect 35: The method of any of aspects 33 through 34, wherein transmitting the quality of service profile comprises: transmitting a first packet header including an indication to activate, for a downlink quality of service flow, a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based at least in part on a second mapping between the downlink quality of service flow and a downlink service data flow.

Aspect 36: The method of aspect 35, wherein the indication comprises a bit and a quality of service flow indicator (QFI) for the downlink quality of service flow.

Aspect 37: A UE for wireless communications, comprising one or more memories storing processor-executable code, and one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to perform a method of any of aspects 1 through 16.

Aspect 38: A UE for wireless communications, comprising at least one means for performing a method of any of aspects 1 through 16.

Aspect 39: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communications, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform a method of any of aspects 1 through 16.

Aspect 40: A first network entity for wireless communications, comprising one or more memories storing processor-executable code, and one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the first network entity to perform a method of any of aspects 17 through 32.

Aspect 41: A first network entity for wireless communications, comprising at least one means for performing a method of any of aspects 17 through 32.

Aspect 42: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communications, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform a method of any of aspects 17 through 32.

Aspect 43: A second network entity for wireless communications, comprising one or more memories storing processor-executable code, and one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the second network entity to perform a method of any of aspects 33 through 36.

Aspect 44: A second network entity for wireless communications, comprising at least one means for performing a method of any of aspects 33 through 36.

Aspect 45: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communications, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform a method of any of aspects 33 through 36.

It should be noted that the methods described herein describe possible implementations, and that the operations and the steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and that other implementations are possible. Further, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined.

Although aspects of an LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR system may be described for purposes of example, and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR terminology may be used in much of the description, the techniques described herein are applicable beyond LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR networks. For example, the described techniques may be applicable to various other wireless communications systems such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) , Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi) , IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX) , IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, as well as other systems and radio technologies not explicitly mentioned herein.

Information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

The various illustrative blocks and components described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed using a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a CPU, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor but, in the alternative, the processor may be any processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration) . Any functions or operations described herein as being capable of being performed by a processor may be performed by multiple processors that, individually or collectively, are capable of performing the described functions or operations.

The functions described herein may be implemented using hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented using software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored as or transmitted using one or more instructions or code of a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or combinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations.

Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one location to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM) , flash memory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that may be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL) , or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of computer-readable medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD) , floppy disk and Blu-ray disc. Disks may reproduce data magnetically, and discs may reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media. Any functions or operations described herein as being capable of being performed by a memory may be performed by multiple memories that, individually or collectively, are capable of performing the described functions or operations.

As used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as “at least one of” or “one or more of” ) indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C) . Also, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an example step that is described as “based on condition A” may be based on both a condition A and a condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall be construed in the same manner as the phrase “based at least in part on. ”

As used herein, including in the claims, the article “a” before a noun is open-ended and understood to refer to “at least one” of those nouns or “one or more” of those nouns. Thus, the terms “a, ” “at least one, ” “one or more, ” “at least one of one or more” may be interchangeable. For example, if a claim recites “a component” that performs one or more functions, each of the individual functions may be performed by a single component or by any combination of multiple components. Thus, the term “acomponent” having characteristics or performing functions may refer to “at least one of one or more components” having a particular characteristic or performing a particular function. Subsequent reference to a component introduced with the article “a” using the terms “the” or “said” may refer to any or all of the one or more components. For example, a component introduced with the article “a” may be understood to mean “one or more components, ” and referring to “the component” subsequently in the claims may be understood to be equivalent to referring to “at least one of the one or more components. ” Similarly, subsequent reference to a component introduced as “one or more components” using the terms “the” or “said” may refer to any or all of the one or more components. For example, referring to “the one or more components” subsequently in the claims may be understood to be equivalent to referring to “at least one of the one or more components. ”

The term “determine” or “determining” encompasses a variety of actions and, therefore, “determining” can include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (such as via looking up in a table, a database or another data structure) , ascertaining and the like. Also, “determining” can include receiving (e.g., receiving information) , accessing (e.g., accessing data stored in memory) and the like. Also, “determining” can include resolving, obtaining, selecting, choosing, establishing, and other such similar actions.

In the appended figures, similar components or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If just the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label, or other subsequent reference label.

The description set forth herein, in connection with the appended drawings, describes example configurations and does not represent all the examples that may be implemented or that are within the scope of the claims. The term “example” used herein means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration, ” and not “preferred” or “advantageous over other examples. ” The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the described techniques. These techniques, however, may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.

The description herein is provided to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be apparent to a person having ordinary skill in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

A user equipment (UE) , comprising:

one or more memories storing processor-executable code; and

one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:

establish a packet data unit session with a network entity;

receive one or more downlink messages of the packet data unit session, wherein at least one downlink message of the one or more downlink messages includes an indication to map one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with a rule; and

transmit the one or more uplink messages based at least in part on a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based at least in part on a second mapping between a downlink quality of service flow and a downlink service data flow.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:

map the one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule, wherein the rule indicates information associated with the first mapping or the second mapping, or both.
The UE of claim 2, wherein the information indicates the downlink service data flow or a quality of service flow identifier (QFI) corresponding to the downlink quality of service flow, or both.
The UE of claim 2, wherein:

the information indicates a quantity of the one or more uplink quality of service flows, and

the one or more uplink messages are mapped to the quantity of the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule.
The UE of claim 2, wherein:

the information indicates one or more packet filters associated with the first mapping; and

the one or more uplink messages are mapped to a plurality of uplink quality of service flows including the one or more uplink quality of service flows based at least in part on the one or more packet filters.
The UE of claim 2, wherein:

the information indicates a respective quality of service flow identifier (QFI) for each uplink quality of service flow of the one or more uplink quality of service flows; and

the one or more uplink messages are mapped to the one or more uplink quality of service flows based at least in part on the respective QFIs.
The UE of claim 2, wherein the information comprises instructions to assign a quality of service flow identifier (QFI) to each uplink quality of service flow of the one or more uplink quality of service flows based at least in part on a QFI of the downlink quality of service flow, and the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:

assign respective QFIs to the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the instructions.
The UE of claim 2, wherein:

the information indicates one or more quality of service parameters associated with each of the one or more uplink quality of service flows, and

the one or more uplink messages are transmitted in accordance with the one or more uplink quality of service parameters.
The UE of claim 8, wherein the one or more quality of service parameters include an indication of a data radio bearer (DRB) associated with each uplink quality of service flow of the one or more uplink quality of service flows, and the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:

map the one or more uplink quality of service flows to each DRB indicated by the one or more quality of service parameters, wherein the one or more uplink messages are transmitted based at least in part on mapping the one or more uplink quality of service flows to each DRB.
The UE of claim 8, wherein the one or more quality of service parameters include a fifth generation (5G) quality of service identifier (5QI) or an allocation and retention priority (ARP) , or any combination thereof, for each of the one or more uplink quality of service flows.
The UE of claim 8, wherein the information includes an indication of a third mapping between the one or more quality of service parameters and one or more data radio bearers (DRBs) and an indication to assign the quality of service parameters to each of the one or more uplink quality of service flows based at least in part on the third mapping.
The UE of claim 2, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:

receive a control message indicating a configuration of the rule, wherein the one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session are mapped to the one or more uplink quality of service flows based at least in part on the configuration of the rule.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the indication to map the one or more uplink messages to the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule comprises an attribute associated with a quality of service profile.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:

determine that the UE is to transmit two or more types of uplink traffic in the packet data unit session; and

transmit a packet data unit session establishment request message, wherein the packet data unit session establishment request message includes an indication that the UE is capable of mapping the one or more uplink messages to the one or more quality of service flows based at least in part on the determination, and wherein establishing the packet data unit session with the network entity is based at least in part on the packet data unit session establishment request message.
A first network entity, comprising:

one or more memories storing processor-executable code; and

one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the first network entity to:

establish a packet data unit session with a user equipment (UE) ;

receive, from a second network entity, a quality of service profile associated with mapping one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with a rule;

transmit one or more downlink messages of the packet data unit session, wherein at least one downlink message of the one or more downlink messages includes an indication to map the one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule; and

receive the one or more uplink messages based at least in part on a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based at least in part on a second mapping between a downlink quality of service flow and a downlink service data flow.
The first network entity of claim 15, wherein, to receive the quality of service profile, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the first network entity to:

receive a first packet header including an indication to activate, for the downlink quality of service flow, the first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule.
The first network entity of claim 16, wherein the indication comprises a bit and a quality of service flow identifier (QFI) for the downlink quality of service flow.
The first network entity of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the first network entity to:

receive one or more general packet radio service (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) packets from a third network entity; and

mapping a bit from the indication include in the first packet header to a second packet header in accordance with activating the first mapping for the downlink quality of service flow, wherein at least one of the one or more downlink messages includes the second packet header.
The first network entity of claim 15, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the first network entity to:

apply the rule to determine the first mapping, respective quality of service flow identifiers (QFIs) associated with the one or more uplink messages, one or more quality of service parameters, or any combination thereof, wherein receiving the one or more uplink messages is based at least in part on applying the rule.
The first network entity of claim 15, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the first network entity to:

transmit, to the UE, a control message indicating a configuration of the rule, wherein the one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session are mapped to the one or more uplink quality of service flows based at least in part on the configuration of the rule.
The first network entity of claim 20, wherein the rule indicates information associated with the first mapping or the second mapping, or both.
The first network entity of claim 21, wherein the information indicates the downlink service data flow or a quality of service flow identifier (QFI) corresponding to the downlink quality of service flow, or both.
The first network entity of claim 21, wherein:

the information indicates a quantity of the one or more uplink quality of service flows, and

the one or more uplink messages are mapped to the quantity of the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule.
The first network entity of claim 21, wherein:

the information indicates one or more packet filters associated with the first mapping; and

the one or more uplink messages are mapped to a plurality of uplink quality of service flows including the one or more uplink quality of service flows based at least in part on the one or more packet filters.
The first network entity of claim 21, wherein:

the information indicates a respective quality of service flow identifier (QFI) for each uplink quality of service flow of the one or more uplink quality of service flows; and

the one or more uplink messages are mapped to the one or more uplink quality of service flows based at least in part on the respective QFIs.
A second network entity, comprising:

one or more memories storing processor-executable code; and

one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the second network entity to:

receive a packet data unit session establishment request from a user equipment (UE) , the packet data unit session establishment request including an indication that the UE supports mapping one or more uplink messages of a packet data unit session to one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with a rule;

transmit a packet data unit session establishment acceptance message to the UE in response to the packet data unit session establishment request; and

transmit a quality of service profile associated with mapping the one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule.
The second network entity of claim 26, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the second network entity to:

receive an indication of a quality of service policy including an indication to activate, for a downlink quality of service flow, a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based at least in part on a second mapping between the downlink quality of service flow and a downlink service data flow, wherein transmitting the quality of service profile is based at least in part on receiving the quality of service policy.
The second network entity of claim 26, wherein, to transmit the quality of service profile, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the second network entity to:

transmit a first packet header including an indication to activate, for a downlink quality of service flow, a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based at least in part on a second mapping between the downlink quality of service flow and a downlink service data flow.
The second network entity of claim 28, wherein the indication comprises a bit and a quality of service flow identifier (QFI) for the downlink quality of service flow.
A method for wireless communications at a user equipment (UE) , comprising:

establishing a packet data unit session with a network entity;

receiving one or more downlink messages of the packet data unit session, wherein at least one downlink message of the one or more downlink messages includes an indication to map one or more uplink messages of the packet data unit session to one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with a rule; and

transmitting the one or more uplink messages based at least in part on a first mapping between the one or more uplink messages and the one or more uplink quality of service flows in accordance with the rule, the first mapping based at least in part on a second mapping between a downlink quality of service flow and a downlink service data flow.