Communication method, apparatus, and system

1 . A communication method, comprising:

receiving, by a user plane network element, characteristic information of a service data flow, wherein the characteristic information describes a characteristic of multiple data packet groups in the service data flow;

identifying, by the user plane network element, the multiple data packet groups in the service data flow based on the characteristic information of the service data flow, wherein the identifying, by the user plane network element, the multiple data packet groups in the service data flow based on the characteristic information of the service data flow comprises:

identifying, by the user plane network element based on the characteristic information of the service data flow, a first data packet group comprising a plurality of first data packets in the service data flow and a second data packet group comprising a plurality of second data packets in the service data flow;

adding, by the user plane network element, a first data packet group identifier to the plurality of first data packets of the first data packet group in the service data flow and a second data packet group identifier to the plurality of second data packets of the second data packet group in the service data flow, wherein the first data packet group identifier is different from the second data packet group identifier; and

sending, by the user plane network element, the multiple data packet groups to an access network device.

2 . The communication method according to claim 1 , wherein:

the characteristic information comprises a data feature of an initial packet of the multiple data packet groups; and

the identifying, by the user plane network element, the multiple data packet groups in the service data flow based on the characteristic information of the service data flow comprises:

identifying, by the user plane network element, the initial packet of the multiple data packet groups based on the data feature of the initial packet.

3 . The communication method according to claim 1 , wherein the characteristic information comprises a data feature of a tail packet of the multiple data packet groups; and

the identifying, by the user plane network element, the multiple data packet groups in the service data flow based on the characteristic information of the service data flow comprises:

identifying, by the user plane network element, the tail packet of the multiple data packet groups based on the data feature of the tail packet.

4 . The communication method according to claim 1 , wherein:

the characteristic information is from an application server;

the characteristic information is from a database, and the characteristic information in the database is from an application server; or

the characteristic information is from a session management network element, and the characteristic information in the session management network element is from an application server.

5 . The communication method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

sending, by a session management network element, the characteristic information to the user plane network element.

6 . The communication method according to claim 5 , wherein before sending, by the session management network element, the characteristic information to the user plane network element, the method further comprises:

sending, by a policy control function network element, a policy and charging control rule to the session management network element, wherein the policy and charging control rule comprises the characteristic information; and

receiving, by the session management network element, the policy and charging control rule.

7 . The communication method according to claim 6 , further comprising:

sending, by an application function entity through a network exposure function network element, service data flow information to the policy control function network element; and

generating, by the policy control function network element, the policy and charging control rule according to the service data flow information.

8 . A user plane network element, comprising:

one or more processors; and

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program to be executed by the one or more processors, the program including instructions that when executed by the one or more processors, cause the user plane network element to perform operations comprising:

receiving characteristic information of a service data flow, wherein the characteristic information describes a characteristic of multiple data packet groups in the service data flow;

identifying the multiple data packet groups in the service data flow based on the characteristic information of the service data flow, wherein the identifying the multiple data packet groups in the service data flow based on the characteristic information of the service data flow comprises:

identifying, based on the characteristic information of the service data flow, a first data packet group comprising a plurality of first data packets in the service data flow and a second data packet group comprising a plurality of second data packets in the service data flow:

adding a first data packet group identifier to the plurality of first data packets of the first data packet group in the service data flow and a second data packet group identifier to the plurality of second data packets of the second data packet group in the service data flow, wherein the first data packet group identifier is different from the second data packet group identifier; and

sending the multiple data packet groups to an access network device.

9 . The user plane network element according to claim 8 , wherein:

the characteristic information comprises a data feature of an initial packet of the multiple data packet groups; and

the identifying the multiple data packet groups in the service data flow based on the characteristic information of the service data flow comprises:

identifying the initial packet of the multiple data packet groups based on the data feature of the initial packet.

10 . The user plane network element according to claim 8 , wherein the characteristic information comprises a data feature of a tail packet of the multiple data packet groups; and

the identifying the multiple data packet groups in the service data flow based on the characteristic information of the service data flow comprises:

identifying the tail packet of the multiple data packet groups based on the data feature of the tail packet.

11 . The user plane network element according to claim 8 , wherein:

the characteristic information is from an application server;

the characteristic information is from a database, and the characteristic information in the database is from an application server; or

the characteristic information is from a session management network element, and the characteristic information in the session management network element is from an application server.

12 . A communication system, comprising a user plane network element and a session management network element, wherein:

the session management network element is configured to perform first operations comprising:

sending characteristic information of a service data flow to the user plane network element;

the user plane network element is configured to perform second operations comprising:

receiving the characteristic information of the service data flow, wherein the characteristic information describes a characteristic of multiple data packet groups in the service data flow;

identifying the multiple data packet groups in the service data flow based on the characteristic information of the service data flow, wherein the identifying the multiple data packet groups in the service data flow based on the characteristic information of the service data flow comprises:

identifying. based on the characteristic information of the service data flow, a first data packet group comprising a plurality of first data packets in the service data flow and a second data packet group comprising a plurality of second data packets in the service data flow;

adding a first data packet group identifier to the plurality of first data packets of the first data packet group in the service data flow and a second data packet group identifier to the plurality of second data packets of the second data packet group in the service data flow, wherein the first data packet group identifier is different from the second data packet group identifier; and

sending the multiple data packet groups to an access network device.

13 . The communication system according to claim 12 , wherein:

the characteristic information comprises a data feature of an initial packet of the multiple data packet groups; and

wherein identifying, by the user plane network element, the multiple data packet groups in the service data flow based on the characteristic information of the service data flow comprises:

identifying the initial packet of the multiple data packet groups based on the data feature of the initial packet.

14 . The communication system according to claim 12 , wherein the characteristic information comprises a data feature of a tail packet of the multiple data packet groups; and

the identifying the multiple data packet groups in the service data flow based on the characteristic information of the service data flow comprises:

identifying the tail packet of the multiple data packet groups based on the data feature of the tail packet.

15 . The communication system according to claim 12 , further comprising:

a policy control function network element configured to, before the session management network element sends the characteristic information to the user plane network element, send a policy and charging control rule to the session management network element, wherein the policy and charging control rule comprises the characteristic information; and

wherein the session management network element is configured to receive the policy and charging control rule.

16 . The communication system according to claim 15 , further comprising:

an application function entity configured to send, through a network exposure function network element, service data flow information to the policy control function network element; and

wherein the policy control function network element is configured to generate the policy and charging control rule according to the service data flow information.