CN110858991B

CN110858991B - Communication method and apparatus

Info

Publication number: CN110858991B
Application number: CN201810975151.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王文; 康艳超
Original assignee: Vivo Mobile Communication Co Ltd
Current assignee: Vivo Mobile Communication Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-08-24
Filing date: 2018-08-24
Publication date: 2021-09-17
Anticipated expiration: 2038-08-24
Also published as: CN110858991A

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a communication method and equipment, wherein the method comprises the following steps: and when the terminal moves between the type A network slice and the public land mobile network slice, determining a second network element shared by the type A network slice and the public land mobile network slice as an anchor point of the terminal session, wherein the second network element is set by an operator. In the embodiment of the invention, the service continuity of the terminal is ensured when the terminal moves between the type A network slice and the PLMN slice through the data plane entity shared between the type A network slice and the PLMN slice, thereby improving the reliability of communication.

Description

Communication method and apparatus

Technical Field

The embodiment of the invention relates to the technical field of communication, in particular to a communication method and equipment.

Background

Many vertical industries have communication requirements, such as: railway dispatching, automation control and the like. The Fifth generation mobile communication technology (5G) communication Network can provide a Local Area Network (LAN) type private communication service for the vertical industry, and meet the communication requirements of the vertical industry. The LAN service may refer to providing an Internet Protocol (IP) or non-IP type private communication service on a 3d Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) network system.

A Private Virtual Network (VPN) is a kind of Private Virtual Network that supports LAN type services. The concepts of PVN and LAN may be mixed and may be broadly referred to as private communication networks or private communication services. Private communication networks can be divided into type a networks (type-a networks) and type B networks (type-B networks), where a type a network may be a 3GPP network that is not intended for the public, but which may be in service continuity or mobile with the operator network. For a terminal of type a Network, the terminal may have two registrations, one with the type a Network and the other with the Network of the operator Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN). The type B network may be an isolated 3GPP network that does not interact with the operator network.

A method for supporting a type a network is implemented by using special slices, but a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session of a terminal cannot be switched between slices at present, so that the continuity of a service cannot be guaranteed when the terminal moves between the type a network slices and PLMN slices.

Disclosure of Invention

An object of the embodiments of the present invention is to provide a communication method and device, which solve the problem of service continuity when a terminal moves between a type a network slice and a PLMN slice.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communication method, which is applied to a first network element, where the method includes:

when the terminal moves between the type A network slice and the public land mobile network slice, determining a second network element shared by the type A network slice and the public land mobile network slice as an anchor point of the terminal session, wherein the second network element is set by an operator.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a first network element, including:

the determining module is configured to determine, as an anchor point of a terminal session, a second network element shared by the type a network slice and the public land mobile network slice when the terminal moves between the type a network slice and the public land mobile network slice, where the second network element is set by an operator.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a first network element, including: a processor, a memory and a program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, which program, when executed by the processor, carries out the steps of the communication method as described above.

In a fourth aspect, the embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, where the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the communication method as described above.

In the embodiment of the invention, the service continuity of the terminal is ensured when the terminal moves between the type A network slice and the PLMN slice through the data plane entity shared between the type A network slice and the PLMN slice, thereby improving the reliability of communication.

Drawings

Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating the preferred embodiments and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. Also, like reference numerals are used to refer to like parts throughout the drawings. In the drawings:

fig. 1 is a flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a UPF shared between a type a network slice and a PLMN slice according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a shared SMF and a shared UPF between a type a network slice and a PLMN slice according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a second flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the invention;

fig. 5 is a third flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a fourth flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a fifth flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a first network element according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a second schematic structural diagram of the first network element according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are some, not all, embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

The terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, in the description and claims of this application, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or elements is not necessarily limited to those steps or elements expressly listed, but may include other steps or elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Furthermore, the use of "and/or" in the specification and claims means that at least one of the connected objects, such as a and/or B, means that three cases, a alone, B alone, and both a and B, exist.

In the embodiments of the present invention, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to mean serving as examples, illustrations or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "e.g.," an embodiment of the present invention is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, use of the word "exemplary" or "such as" is intended to present concepts related in a concrete fashion.

The techniques described herein are not limited to Long Time Evolution (LTE)/LTE Evolution (LTE-Advanced) systems, and may also be used for various wireless communication systems, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single-carrier Frequency-Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA), and other systems.

The terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably. CDMA systems may implement Radio technologies such as CDMA2000, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), and so on. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access, WCDMA) and other CDMA variants. TDMA systems may implement radio technologies such as Global System for Mobile communications (GSM). The OFDMA system may implement radio technologies such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), evolved-UTRA (E-UTRA), IEEE 802.11(Wi-Fi), IEEE802.16(WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are parts of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). LTE and higher LTE (e.g., LTE-A) are new UMTS releases that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE-A, and GSM are described in documents from an organization named "third Generation Partnership Project" (3 GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named "third generation partnership project 2" (3GPP 2). The techniques described herein may be used for both the above-mentioned systems and radio technologies, as well as for other systems and radio technologies.

Referring to fig. 1, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communication method, which is applied to a first network element, and includes the following specific steps:

step 101: when the terminal moves between a type-A Network (type-A Network) slice and a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) slice, a second Network element shared by the type-A Network slice and the Public Land Mobile Network slice is determined as an anchor (anchor) of a terminal session (session).

It is understood that the type-a network (type-a network) slice and the public land mobile network slice may correspond to the same operator or may correspond to different operators.

Wherein the second network element shared by the type a network slice and the public land mobile network slice corresponds to a data plane entity shared by the type a network slice and the public land mobile network slice, and the second network element (corresponding to the shared data plane entity) can be set by an operator.

The terminal session may be a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session, but is not limited thereto.

Scene 1:

referring to fig. 2, the first network element may be a first Session Management Function (SMF), and the second network element may be a first User Plane Function (UPF) shared by a type-a network slice and a public land mobile network slice.

In scenario 1, step 101 specifically includes: the SMF acquires first information related to the first UPF from a third network element; and determining the first UPF as an anchor point of the terminal session.

Alternatively, the third network element may be a Unified Data Repository (UDR) or the first SMF. Thus, when the terminal requests the PDU session establishment, the SMF can obtain the first information (e.g., identification information of the UPF) related to the first UPF from the UDR or through a pre-configured manner.

Optionally, before step 101, the method may further include: acquiring first subscription information, wherein the first subscription information comprises: first indication information indicating continuity of the terminal session between the type-A network slice and the public land mobile network slice.

The first subscription information may be subscription information related to terminal session management.

Wherein the first indication information may be a service continuity indication.

Alternatively, the first subscription information may be stored in a Unified Data Manager (UDM). Thus, when the terminal requests session establishment, the SMF may obtain the first subscription information related to terminal session management from the UDM, and determine that continuity of the terminal session is to be guaranteed between the type a network slice and the plmn slice.

When the terminal moves between the type-a network slice and the public land mobile network slice, the anchor point of the terminal session may remain unchanged, and the continuity of the terminal session may be guaranteed regardless of whether the intermediate (intermediate) UPF is changed.

Optionally, in step 101, the SMF obtains second information related to the first UPF according to the context of the terminal session; the SMF determines the first UPF as an anchor point of the terminal session.

Scene 2:

referring to fig. 3, the first network element may be: accessing a mobile Management Function (AMF), the second network element may include: a second UPF and a second SMF shared by the type A network slice and the public land mobile network slice.

In scenario 2, in step 101, the AMF obtains third information (for example, identification information of the second SMF) related to the second SMF from a fourth network element; and the AMF sends a session establishment request to the second SMF, and the second SMF acquires fourth information (for example, identification information of the second UPF) related to the second UPF from a fifth network element, wherein the second SMF and the second UPF are used as anchor points of the terminal session.

Optionally, the fourth network element may be a UDR or an AMF; the fifth network element may be a UDR or a second SMF.

Optionally, the second SMF obtains second subscription information related to terminal session management from the UDM, where the second subscription information includes: second indication information indicating continuity of the terminal session between the type-A network slice and the public land mobile network slice.

The second subscription information may be subscription information related to terminal session management.

Wherein the second indication information may be a service continuity indication.

It is to be understood that the second subscription information may be the same as or different from the first subscription information, and the second indication information may be the same as or different from the first indication information.

When the terminal moves between the type-a network slice and the public land mobile network slice, the PDU session anchor point may remain unchanged, and the service continuity of the terminal may be guaranteed regardless of whether the intermediate (intermediate) UPF is changed.

Optionally, in step 101, the AMF determines a second SMF indicated in the terminal session according to the context of the terminal session; and sending fifth information related to the terminal session to a second SMF, and determining a second UPF indicated in the terminal session by the second SMF according to the context of the terminal session, wherein the second SMF and the second UPF are used as anchor points of the terminal session.

Example 1:

in order to satisfy the continuity of the terminal session when the terminal moves between the type a network slice and the PLMN slice, the UPF entity shared between the type a network slice and the PLMN slice may be set as an anchor point of the terminal session, see fig. 2, where the UPF at the intersection part is the shared UPF.

The identification information of the shared UPF may be stored in a Unified Data Repository (UDR), or pre-stored in the SMF.

It will be appreciated that the manner in which the identification information of the shared UPF is stored may be determined by the operator.

Example 2:

in order to satisfy the continuity of the terminal session when the terminal moves between the type a network slice and the PLMN slice, the SMF and UPF entities shared between the type a network slice and the PLMN slice may be set as anchor points of the terminal session, see fig. 3, where only the SMF and UPF at the intersection part are the shared SMF and the shared UPF.

Wherein, the identification information of the shared SMF can be stored in the UDR or prestored in the AMF.

It will be appreciated that the manner in which the identification information of the shared SMFs is stored may be determined by the operator.

Wherein the identification information of the shared UPF can be stored in the UDR or pre-stored in the shared SMF.

Example 3:

in order to satisfy the continuity of the terminal session when the terminal moves between the type a network slice and the PLMN slice, the terminal may sign an indication information indicating the continuity of the terminal session between the type a network slice and the PLMN slice at the time of subscription. The indication information may be stored in the UDM. When the SMF establishes the PDU session for the terminal, the SMF acquires the subscription information of the terminal from the UDM to provide a shared UPF for the PDU session, and the requirement of continuity of the terminal session when the terminal moves is met.

Optionally, the indication information may also be referred to as: a traffic continuity indication for indicating continuity of the terminal session between the type A network slice and the PLMN slice.

Example 4:

when a terminal creates a PDU session, the SMF acquires the subscription information of the terminal from the UDM, wherein the subscription information comprises: a traffic continuity indication for indicating continuity of the terminal session between the type A network slice and the PLMN slice.

The SMF finds a UPF from the UDR that a type a network slice shares with a PLMN slice, or finds a UPF from a UPF pre-configured in the SMF that a type a network slice shares with a PLMN slice.

Referring to fig. 4, the specific steps are as follows:

step 1: the terminal sends a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) request message of PDU session establishment to the AMF through 3GPP Access;

step 2: the AMF selects one SMF according to the type-A network slice;

and step 3: the AMF sends a PDU session establishment request to the SMF;

and 4, step 4: the SMF retrieves subscription information of the terminal from the UDM, and obtains a service continuity indication between a type-A network slice and a PLMN slice of the terminal;

and 5: the SMF selects a PCF according to a Policy Control Function (PCF) selection Policy, and interactively establishes a session management related Policy with the PCF;

step 6: the SMF retrieves UPF shared by type-A network slice and PLMN slice from UDR, or the SMF retrieves UPF shared by type-A network slice and PLMN slice from UPF in its own memory.

And 7: the SMF judges whether to insert an interrupt UPF according to the PDU session information;

and 8: the SMF establishes an N4 session interface with an intermediary UPF and a shared UPF (equivalent to a UPF anchor), and sends downlink channel information of the intermediary UPF to the shared UPF.

And step 9: a session establishment procedure.

It should be noted that the session establishment procedure in step 9 is prior art, and will not be described here.

Example 5:

when the terminal establishes the PDU session, the AMF searches the SMF shared by the type A network slice and the PLMN slice from the UDR according to the context of the terminal and the PDU session establishment request information.

The shared SMF retrieves the subscription information of the terminal in the UDM, wherein the subscription information comprises: a traffic continuity indication for indicating continuity of the terminal session between the type A network slice and the PLMN slice.

Referring to fig. 5, the specific steps are as follows:

step 1: the terminal sends the NAS request message established by the PDU session to the AMF through the 3GPP access;

step 2: the AMF searches an SMF shared by a type A network slice and a PLMN slice from the UDR according to the context of the terminal and PDU session establishment request information, or the AMF searches an SMF shared by the type A network slice and the PLMN slice from pre-stored SMF information;

and step 3: the AMF sends a PDU session establishment request to the shared SMF;

and 4, step 4: the shared SMF retrieves the subscription information of the terminal from the UDM and acquires the service continuity indication of the terminal between the type A network slice and the PLMN slice;

and 5: SMF selects a PCF according to PCF selection strategy and establishes a session management related strategy with PCF interaction;

step 6: the SMF retrieves UPF shared by the type A network slice and the PLMN slice from the UDR, or the SMF retrieves UPF shared by the type A network slice and the PLMN slice from the UPF stored in the SMF;

and 7: the SMF judges whether to insert an intermediate UPF (intermediate) according to the PDU session information;

and 8: the SMF establishes an N4 session interface with an intermediary UPF and a shared UPF (equivalent to a UPF anchor), and sends downlink channel information of the intermediary UPF to the shared UPF;

and step 9: a session establishment procedure.

Example 6: when the terminal moves between the type A network slice and the PLMN slice, the shared UPF (equivalent to UPF anchor) is not changed for the PDU session switching process in the process of initiating registration update by the terminal.

Referring to fig. 6, the specific steps are as follows:

step 1: the terminal moves from the type A network slice to the PLMN network slice, and the terminal initiates a mobile registration updating process.

The steps of authentication, authorization and the like of the terminal are the prior art, and are not described herein.

Step 2: the AMF selects one SMF according to the SMF selection strategy;

and step 3: the AMF sends PDU session information which needs to be switched by the terminal to the SMF;

and 4, step 4: the SMF retrieves the corresponding shared UPF according to the information of the shared UPF indicated in the PDU session context;

and 5: the SMF judges whether to add or delete the intermediate UPF according to the context of the PDU session;

step 6: if the intermediate UPF is added. An N4 session management interface is established between the SMF and the newly added intermediary UPF;

and 7: SMF provides inter mediate UPF downlink channel information to shared UPF, and establishes N4 session interface with shared UPF;

and 8: the SMF interacts with the AMF and the RAN to complete the establishment of a PDU session data plane;

and step 9: the AMF sends a registration acceptance message to the terminal, and the terminal replies a registration completion message.

Example 7:

when the terminal moves between the type A network slice and the PLMN slice, the shared SMF and the shared UPF (equivalent to UPF anchor) are not changed for the PDU session switching process in the process of initiating registration update by the terminal.

Referring to fig. 7, the specific steps are as follows:

step 1: the terminal moves from the type A network slice to the PLMN slice, and the terminal initiates a mobile registration process;

Step 2: the AMF selects the shared SMF indicated in the PDU session according to the terminal session context;

and step 3: the AMF sends PDU session information which needs to be switched by the terminal to the shared SMF;

and 4, step 4: the shared SMF retrieves the corresponding shared UPF according to the information of the shared UPF indicated in the PDU session context;

and 5: the shared SMF judges whether to add or delete the intermediate UPF according to the context of the PDU session;

step 6: if the intermediate UPF is added. Sharing SMF and newly-added intermedate UPF to establish an N4 session management interface;

and 7: the shared SMF provides the inter-mediate UPF downlink channel information to the shared UPF and establishes an N4 session interface with the shared UPF;

and 8: the shared SMF interacts with the AMF and the RAN to complete the establishment of a PDU session data plane;

The embodiment of the present invention further provides a first network element, and since the principle of solving the problem of the first network element is similar to the communication method in the embodiment of the present invention, the implementation of the first network element may refer to the implementation of the method, and repeated parts are not described again.

Referring to fig. 8, an embodiment of the present invention provides a first network element, where the first network element 800 includes:

a determining module 801, configured to determine, as an anchor point of a terminal session, a second network element shared by the type a network slice and the public land mobile network slice when the terminal moves between the type a network slice and the public land mobile network slice, where the second network element is set by an operator.

In this embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the first network element is a first SMF, and the second network element is a first UPF shared by the type a network slice and the plmn slice.

In this embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the determining module is further configured to: and determining a second network element shared by the type A network slice and the public land mobile network slice as an anchor point of the terminal session when the terminal moves between the type A network slice and the public land mobile network slice.

In this embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the third network element is a UDR or a first SMF.

In this embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the first network element further includes: the acquisition module is used for acquiring first subscription information, wherein the first subscription information comprises: first indication information indicating continuity of the terminal session between the type A network slice and the public land mobile network slice.

In the embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the first subscription information is stored in the UDM.

In this embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the determining module is further configured to: acquiring second information related to the first UPF according to the context of the terminal session; and determining the first UPF as an anchor point of the terminal session.

In this embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the first network element is: the second network element includes: a second UPF and a second SMF shared by the type A network slice and the public land mobile network slice.

In this embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the determining module is further configured to: obtaining third information related to the second SMF from a fourth network element; sending a session establishment request to the second SMF, and acquiring, by the second SMF, fourth information related to the second UPF from a fifth network element; wherein the second SMF and the second UPF are used as anchor points of the terminal session.

In this embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the fourth network element is a UDR or the AMF; and the fifth network element is a UDR or the second SMF.

In this embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the second SMF is configured to acquire second subscription information from the UDM, where the second subscription information includes: second indication information indicating continuity of a terminal session between the type A network slice and the public land mobile network slice.

In this embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the determining module is further configured to: determining the second SMF indicated in the terminal session according to the context of the terminal session; and sending fifth information related to the terminal session to the second SMF, and determining the second UPF indicated in the terminal session by the second SMF according to the context of the terminal session, wherein the second SMF and the second UPF are used as anchor points of the terminal session.

In this embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the terminal session is a PDU session of the terminal.

Referring to fig. 9, fig. 9 is a structural diagram of a first network element applied in the embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 9, the first network element 900 includes: a processor 901, a transceiver 902, a memory 903, and a bus interface, wherein:

in one embodiment of the present invention, the network device 900 further comprises: a computer program stored on a memory 903 and executable on a processor 901, the computer program when executed by the processor 901 performing the steps of: when the terminal moves between the type A network slice and the public land mobile network slice, determining a second network element shared by the type A network slice and the public land mobile network slice as an anchor point of a terminal session, wherein the second network element is set by an operator.

In fig. 9, the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, with one or more processors represented by processor 901 and various circuits of memory represented by memory 903 being linked together. The bus architecture may also link together various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, power management circuits, and the like, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 902 may be a number of elements including a transmitter and a receiver that provide a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium.

The processor 901 is responsible for managing a bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 903 may store data used by the processor 901 in performing operations.

The first network element provided in the embodiment of the present invention may execute the above method embodiment, and the implementation principle and the technical effect are similar, which are not described herein again.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the disclosure herein may be embodied in hardware or in software instructions executed by a processor. The software instructions may consist of corresponding software modules that may be stored in RAM, flash memory, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, registers, hard disk, a removable hard disk, a compact disk, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium may also be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. Additionally, the ASIC may reside in a core network interface device. Of course, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a core network interface device.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that, in one or more of the examples described above, the functions described in this invention may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.

The above-mentioned embodiments, objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention are further described in detail, it should be understood that the above-mentioned embodiments are only exemplary embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements and the like made on the basis of the technical solutions of the present invention should be included in the scope of the present invention.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, embodiments of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

Embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

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

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the embodiments of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the embodiments of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, the present invention is also intended to encompass such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method applied to a first network element, the method comprising:

determining a second network element shared by the type A network slice and the public land mobile network slice as an anchor point of the terminal session when the terminal moves between the type A network slice and the public land mobile network slice, wherein the second network element is set by an operator, and the type A network is a third generation partnership project network which is not used for the public.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first network element is a first Session Management Function (SMF) and the second network element is a first User Plane Function (UPF) shared by the type-A network slice and the public land mobile network slice.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the determining the second network element sharing the type-A network slice with the public land mobile network slice as an anchor point for a terminal session comprises:

acquiring first information related to the first UPF from a third network element, wherein the first information is identification information of the first UPF;

and determining the first UPF as an anchor point of the terminal session.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the third network element is a unified data repository, UDR, or the first SMF.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein before the determining the second network element that shares the type-A network slice with the public land mobile network slice as an anchor point for a terminal session, the method further comprises:

acquiring first subscription information, wherein the first subscription information comprises: first indication information indicating continuity of the terminal session between the type A network slice and the public land mobile network slice.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first subscription information is stored in a Unified Data Management (UDM).

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the determining the second network element sharing the type-A network slice with the public land mobile network slice as an anchor point for a terminal session comprises:

acquiring second information related to the first UPF according to the context of the terminal session, wherein the second information is identification information of the first UPF;

and determining the first UPF as an anchor point of the terminal session.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first network element is: accessing a mobile management function (AMF), wherein the second network element is: a second UPF and a second SMF that the type A network slice shares with the public land mobile network slice.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the determining the second network element sharing the type-A network slice with the public land mobile network slice as an anchor point for a terminal session comprises:

acquiring third information related to the second SMF from a fourth network element, wherein the third information is identification information of the second SMF;

and sending a session establishment request to the second SMF, and acquiring, by the second SMF, fourth information related to the second UPF from a fifth network element, where the second SMF and the second UPF are used as anchor points of the terminal session, and the fourth information is identification information of the second UPF.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the fourth network element is a UDR or the AMF; and the fifth network element is a UDR or the second SMF.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the second SMF obtains second subscription information from the UDM, wherein the second subscription information comprises: second indication information indicating continuity of the terminal session between the type A network slice and the public land mobile network slice.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the determining the second network element sharing the type-a network slice with the public land mobile network slice as an anchor point for a terminal session comprises:

determining the second SMF indicated in the terminal session according to the context of the terminal session;

and sending fifth information related to the terminal session to the second SMF, where the fifth information includes an identifier of the terminal and an identifier of the terminal session, and the second SMF determines the second UPF indicated in the terminal session according to the context of the terminal session, where the second SMF and the second UPF are used as anchor points of the terminal session.

13. The method according to any of claims 1 to 12, wherein the terminal session is a protocol data unit, PDU, session of the terminal.

14. A first network element, comprising:

the determining module is used for determining a second network element shared by the type A network slice and the public land mobile network slice as an anchor point of a terminal session when the terminal moves between the type A network slice and the public land mobile network slice, wherein the second network element is set by an operator, and the type A network is a third generation partnership project network which is not used for the public.

15. A first network element, comprising: processor, memory and program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, which when executed by the processor implements the steps of the communication method according to any of claims 1 to 13.

16. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that a computer program is stored thereon, which computer program, when being executed by a processor, carries out the steps of the communication method according to one of claims 1 to 13.