CN111866759B

CN111866759B - Group communication method and device

Info

Publication number: CN111866759B
Application number: CN201910365491.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李汉成; 朱强华; 张艳平; 丁辉
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-04-30
Filing date: 2019-04-30
Publication date: 2022-04-12
Anticipated expiration: 2039-04-30
Also published as: CN111866759A

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides a group communication method and device, which can realize the report of the statistical information of the session granularity of an outlet and the QoS operation. The method comprises the following steps: a user plane network element receives a group message; the user plane network element determines a group session matched with the group message; the user plane network element copies and distributes the group message to a plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element through the group session; or the user plane network element copies and distributes the group message to a plurality of outlets of the user plane network element through the group session.

Description

Group communication method and device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a group communication method and apparatus.

Background

Currently, the Technical Standard (TS) 29.244 (3rd generation partnership project, 3GPP) defines a method for forwarding a packet by a user plane, and the architecture of the method is shown in fig. 1. The working mechanism is that after a User Plane Function (UPF) network element receives a message from an entrance (such as an N3 interface), a session to which the message belongs is determined according to a fifth generation (5th generation, 5G) user plane protocol label (such as a Tunnel End Identifier (TEID)) of the message. The UPF network element then uses the Packet Detection Rule (PDR) (possibly one or more) in the N4session context (N4session context) of the session to match with the characteristic information of the packet, finding the PDR that matches with it. The PDR specifies a Forwarding Action Rule (FAR), a quality of service (QoS) enforcement rule (QER), and a Usage Reporting Rule (URR) corresponding to the packet. And the UPF network element may perform drop (drop), forward (forward), buffer (buffer), and report control plane (notify) or duplicate (duplicate) operations on the packet according to the FAR. And the UPF network element can execute QoS operation on the message according to the QER. The UPF network element may perform statistics information reporting on the message according to the URR. Finally, the message is sent out of the egress (e.g., the N6 interface). The key actions include an appointed exit identifier and an exit action in the process that the UPF network element executes forwarding processing on the message according to the FAR. The egress action may include, for example, adding an outer header (outer header creation), a transport level marking (transport level marking), a forwarding policy (forwarding policy), or a header enhancement (header enhancement), etc.

However, if the above scheme is applied to group communication, since the scheme can only process in a specific session of an ingress, only the session-granularity statistics information reporting and QoS operation of the ingress can be achieved, and the session-granularity statistics information reporting and QoS operation of the egress cannot be achieved.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a group communication method and device, which can realize the report of statistical information of session granularity of an outlet and QoS operation.

In order to achieve the above purpose, the embodiment of the present application adopts the following technical solutions:

in a first aspect, a group communication method is provided, which includes: a user plane network element receives a group message; the user plane network element determines a group session matched with the group message; the user plane network element copies and distributes the group message to a plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element through the group session. Optionally, the plurality of first sessions includes one or more user sessions, and/or one or more fifth generation local area network 5GLAN sessions. In the scheme, in a group communication scene, the user plane network element can determine the group session matched with the group user message, and copy and distribute the group message to a plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element through the group session, and the first sessions can realize statistical information reporting and QoS operation, so that based on the scheme, not only can the statistical information reporting and QoS operation of the session granularity of an inlet be realized, but also the statistical information reporting and QoS operation of the session granularity of an outlet can be realized.

In one possible design, the replicating and distributing the group packet to the plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element through the group session by the user plane network element includes: the user plane network element copies the group message through the group session; the user plane network element forwards the copied group message to a local switch (local switch) through the group session; and the user plane network element distributes the copied group message to a plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element through the local exchange. In the embodiment of the present application, the group session copies the group packet, and the copied group packet is locally exchanged and distributed, compared with the existing method of copying and distributing a packet in a user session, the method not only can implement centralized configuration and is convenient to manage, but also for broadcast, considering that the processing rule of the broadcast packet is known, that is, the broadcast packet is copied in the broadcast domain and sent to other users (including a terminal device corresponding to the N3/N9 interface or other user plane network elements corresponding to the Nx interface or a data network corresponding to the N6 interface) except for the sender of the broadcast packet, only one default policy needs to be created as a broadcast policy, and a broadcast policy does not need to be created in each user session, so that the number of configuration policies on the user plane network elements can be simplified.

In one possible design, the replicating and distributing the group packet to the plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element through the group session by the user plane network element includes: the user plane network element copies the group message through the group session; and the user plane network element distributes the copied group message to a plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element through the group session. In the embodiment of the present application, the group packet is copied and distributed by local exchange, compared with the existing method of copying and distributing the packet in the user session, not only centralized configuration and convenient management can be achieved, but also for broadcast, it is considered that the processing rule of the broadcast packet is known, that is, the broadcast packet is copied in the broadcast domain and sent to other users (including terminal devices corresponding to N3/N9 interfaces or other user plane network elements corresponding to Nx interfaces or data networks corresponding to N6 interfaces) except for the sender of the broadcast packet, so that only one default policy needs to be created as the broadcast policy, and a broadcast policy does not need to be created in each user session, thereby simplifying the number of configuration policies on the user plane network elements.

In one possible design, the replicating and distributing the group packet to the plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element through the group session by the user plane network element includes: the user plane network element forwards the group message to the local exchange through the group session; the user plane network element copies the group message through the local exchange; and the user plane network element distributes the copied group message to a plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element through the local exchange. In the embodiment of the present application, the group session copies and distributes the group packet, and compared with the existing method of copying and distributing the packet in the user session, not only centralized configuration and convenient management can be achieved, but also for broadcast, considering that the processing rule of the broadcast packet is known, that is, the broadcast packet is copied in the broadcast domain and sent to other users (including terminal equipment corresponding to the N3/N9 interface, other user plane network elements corresponding to the Nx interface, or data networks corresponding to the N6 interface) except for the sender of the broadcast packet, only one default policy needs to be created as the broadcast policy, and there is no need to create a broadcast policy in each user session, so that the number of configuration policies on the user plane network elements can be simplified.

In one possible design, the group session is a broadcast session; the group session includes a second FAR indicating that a plurality of first sessions corresponding to the group message are all sessions in a broadcast domain; and/or the second FAR indicates that the forwarding mode or the destination interface corresponding to the group message is broadcast. Based on the scheme, the group message after the group session processing can be matched to all the sessions in the broadcast domain.

In one possible design, the group session is a multicast session; the group session includes a third FAR indicating that the outlet identifier corresponding to the group packet is the identifiers of the plurality of first sessions; and/or the third FAR indicates that different peer tunnel identifiers of the first session are added to each group message in the copied group message as an outer layer message header. Based on the scheme, the group message after the group session processing can be matched to a plurality of first sessions.

In one possible design, the method further includes: and the user plane network element determines a plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element according to the first session identifier and/or the opposite end tunnel identifier of the first session. Based on the scheme, the user plane network element can determine a plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element receiving the group message.

In a second aspect, a group communication method is provided, the method comprising: a user plane network element receives a group message; the user plane network element determines a group session matched with the group message; the user plane network element copies and distributes the group message to a plurality of outlets of the user plane network element through the group session. Optionally, the plurality of outlets may comprise, for example, one or more N3 interfaces, and/or one or more N9 interfaces, and/or one or more Nx interfaces, and/or one or more N6 interfaces. On one hand, in the embodiment of the present application, the group session copies and distributes the group packet, compared with the existing method of copying and distributing the packet in the user session, which not only can implement centralized configuration and is convenient for management, but also for broadcast, considering that the processing rule of the broadcast packet is known, that is, the broadcast packet is copied in the broadcast domain and sent to other users (including the terminal device corresponding to the N3/N9 interface, other user plane network elements corresponding to the Nx interface, or the data network corresponding to the N6 interface) except for the sender of the broadcast packet, only one default policy needs to be created as the broadcast policy, and there is no need to create a broadcast policy in each user session, so that the number of configuration policies on the user plane network elements can be simplified. On the other hand, in the embodiment of the application, the group session directly distributes the group message to the plurality of outlets, so that the processing process of the group message on the user plane network element can be reduced.

With reference to the first aspect or the second aspect, in a possible design, the group message includes a group address; the determining, by the user plane network element, the group session matched with the group packet includes: and the user plane network element determines the group session matched with the group message according to the group address. Since the user plane network element in the embodiment of the present application receives the group packet from the group session, the group packet from the data network (i.e., the group packet transmitted in the downlink) can be processed, and compared with the case of receiving the group packet from the user session, the processing procedure of the group packet at the user plane network element can be reduced, and in addition, statistical information reporting and QoS operation of the group granularity can be performed.

With reference to the first aspect or the second aspect, in a possible design, the determining, by the user plane network element, a group session matched with the group packet includes: the user plane network element determines a second session matched with the group message; the user plane network element forwards the group message to the local exchange through the second session; and the user plane network element determines the group session matched with the group message through the local exchange. Since the user plane network element in the embodiment of the present application receives the group packet from the second session, the entry control, the report of the statistical information of the session granularity of the entry, and the QoS operation can be performed on the group packet.

In combination with the first or second aspect, in one possible design, the second session includes a user session or a 5GLAN session.

With reference to the first aspect or the second aspect, in a possible design, the group packet processed by the second session retains a home tunnel identifier of the second session. Therefore, the sender of the group message can be excluded when the group message is subsequently forwarded.

With reference to the first aspect or the second aspect, in a possible design, the second session includes a first forwarding operation rule FAR, where the first FAR indicates that a forwarding manner or a destination interface corresponding to the group packet is broadcast or multicast.

With reference to the first aspect or the second aspect, in one possible design, the method further includes: a user plane network element receives a group session creating or modifying request from a session management network element; and the user plane network element creates or modifies the group session according to the request for creating or modifying the group session. Based on the scheme, the group session can be created through the triggering of the session management network element.

With reference to the first aspect or the second aspect, in one possible design, the method further includes: a user plane network element receives a group joining or leaving request; and the user plane network element creates or modifies the group session according to the group joining or leaving request. Based on the scheme, the user plane network element can automatically create the group session.

With reference to the first aspect or the second aspect, in a possible design, the group session includes processing policy information for processing group packets of one or more groups, where the processing policy information of the group packet of each of the one or more groups includes a forwarding policy of the group packet. That is to say, the group session in the embodiment of the present application may process group messages of multiple groups, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

In a third aspect, a user plane element is provided for implementing the various methods described above. The user plane network element includes modules, units, or means (means) corresponding to the above method, and the modules, units, or means may be implemented by hardware, software, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above functions.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a user plane network element, comprising: a processor and a memory; the memory is configured to store computer instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the user plane network element to perform the method of the first or second aspect.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided a user plane network element, comprising: a processor; the processor is configured to be coupled to the memory, and after reading the instructions in the memory, perform the method according to the instructions as described in the first aspect or the second aspect.

In a sixth aspect, there is provided a computer readable storage medium having stored therein instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of the first or second aspect.

In a seventh aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of the first or second aspect.

In an eighth aspect, there is provided an apparatus (which may be a chip or a system of chips, for example) comprising a processor configured to implement the functionality referred to in the first or second aspects above. In one possible design, the apparatus further includes a memory for storing necessary program instructions and data. When the device is a chip system, the device may be composed of a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete devices.

For technical effects brought by any one of the design manners in the third aspect to the eighth aspect, reference may be made to the technical effects brought by different design manners in the first aspect or the second aspect, and details are not described here.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic flow chart of a user plane forwarding packet defined by the existing 3GPP TS 29.244;

fig. 2a is a schematic communication diagram in a conventional broadcast scenario;

fig. 2b is a communication diagram in a conventional multicast scenario;

fig. 2c is a schematic diagram of a user plane architecture of a conventional 5GLAN service;

FIG. 3a is a schematic diagram of a user session provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3b is a schematic diagram of a 5GLAN session provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3c is a first schematic diagram of a group session according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3d is a schematic diagram of a group session according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a session on a user plane network element according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of an inlet and an outlet provided by an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a first flowchart illustrating a group communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a group communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a third flowchart illustrating a group communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a fourth flowchart illustrating a group communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a fifth flowchart illustrating a group communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a first schematic structural diagram of a user plane network element according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a user plane network element according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, a brief description of the related art of the present application is first given as follows.

First, 5G local area network (5G local area network, 5 GLAN):

the 5G lan service is a service provided by the current 5G network, and is mainly applied to home communication, enterprise office, factory manufacturing, internet of vehicles, power grid transformation, public security organs and the like. The 5GLAN service can provide private communication of an Internet Protocol (IP) type or a non-IP type (e.g., ethernet type) for two or more terminal devices in a group. For example, devices in a factory may form a group, and the devices in the group may send ethernet packets to each other; alternatively, office equipment (e.g., cell phones, computers or laptops, etc.) of employees in a department of an enterprise may be grouped together, send IP packets to each other, and so on. If the two terminal devices are not in the same group, the two terminal devices cannot communicate with each other.

Secondly, broadcasting:

broadcast is a pair of all communication modes, and one Local Area Network (LAN) (for example, 5GLAN) in a network corresponds to one broadcast domain. The terminal devices subscribed to the LAN may form a broadcast group (also referred to as a LAN group), where the terminal devices subscribed to the LAN may be referred to as terminal members of the broadcast group, that is, the terminal devices join the broadcast group (may join one or more broadcast groups) during the subscription process, and related implementations may refer to an existing scheme, which is not described herein.

Any terminal device in the broadcast group which has accessed the network can be used as a broadcast source to send a broadcast message; meanwhile, the broadcast message can be received as a broadcast member. For example, it is assumed that the terminal members already networked in the broadcast group include terminal device 1, terminal device 2, terminal device 3, terminal device 4, terminal device 5, and terminal device 6. Taking the terminal device 1 as a broadcast source as an example, the corresponding communication schematic diagram may be as shown in fig. 2a, that is, the broadcast packet sent by the terminal device 1 may be transmitted to the terminal device 2, the terminal device 3, the terminal device 4, the terminal device 5, and the terminal device 6 in the broadcast group respectively.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment of the present application, network entry of a terminal member of a broadcast group refers to establishment of a user plane connection, and a typical network entry manner is that a terminal initiates a Packet Data Unit (PDU) session establishment request.

The broadcast address in this embodiment of the present application may be that the destination IP addresses are all 1, such as 255.255.255.255; alternatively, the broadcast address in this embodiment may be a destination Media Access Control (MAC) address that is all 1, such as 0xff:0xff:0xff:0xff:0xff, which may specifically refer to the definition of the existing broadcast address, and is not described herein.

In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, for an unknown unicast packet or an unknown multicast packet, processing may also be performed in a broadcast manner. That is, for a unicast message or a multicast message which is not determined how to forward, broadcast processing may be performed according to needs or configuration, and the description is unified here and will not be repeated below.

Thirdly, multicasting:

in the embodiment of the present application, one multicast source and a plurality of multicast members may form one multicast group (also referred to as a multicast group for short). The multicast group address is used as a destination address, a source for sending the IP packet is called a multicast source, and a multicast user for receiving multicast data is called a multicast member. I.e. the multicast is directional, the direction being from the multicast source to the multicast members. The angles of the multicast source and the multicast members cannot be changed, otherwise, the multicast source and the multicast members belong to different multicast groups. For example, assume that the terminal members in the LAN group include terminal device 1, terminal device 2, terminal device 3, terminal device 4, terminal device 5, and terminal device 6. Taking the terminal device 1 as a multicast source and the terminal device 3, the terminal device 5, and the terminal device 6 as multicast members to form a multicast group as an example, the corresponding communication diagram can be as shown in fig. 2b, that is, the multicast message sent by the terminal device 1 can be respectively transmitted to the terminal device 3, the terminal device 5, and the terminal device 6 in the multicast group.

In this embodiment of the present application, a multicast source is determined by an application layer of an Open System Interconnection (OSI) model, and if a terminal device wants to receive multicast data, it may explicitly join a join message to a network by sending an Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) join message, and the network records that the terminal device joins a multicast group, and then forwards the multicast data sent by the multicast source to the terminal device, that is, a multicast member is dynamically joined to the multicast group, which may specifically refer to an existing implementation manner and is not described herein again.

The multicast address in this embodiment of the application may be an IP version 4 (IPv 4) address allocated by an Internet Assigned Number Authority (IANA), and the range is 224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255; or, the multicast address in this embodiment may also be a multicast MAC address in which the last 48 bits of the 48 bits are constantly 1, or the multicast address in this embodiment may also be another address, which may specifically refer to the definition of the existing multicast address, and is not described herein again.

Fourth, group and group session:

the group in the embodiment of the present application may include the broadcast group and the multicast group described above.

The group session in the embodiment of the present application may include a broadcast session or a multicast session, where the broadcast session corresponds to a broadcast group, and a group packet in the broadcast group may be referred to as a broadcast packet; the multicast session corresponds to a multicast group, and a message in the multicast group may be referred to as a multicast message.

Fifth, session on user plane network element:

in the embodiment of the present application, the session on the user plane network element includes one or more of a group session, a user session, or a 5GLAN session.

The user session on the user plane network element may specifically be a session established by the user plane network element according to a tunnel identifier (for example, a TEID) allocated by the session management network element or the user plane network element when the terminal device establishes the PDU session, and may also be understood as an anchor point of the PDU session of the terminal device on the core network side. Its function is to anchor the terminal equipment to the user plane network element (i.e. to connect a terminal equipment), so as to receive messages (e.g. group messages) sent by the terminal equipment through the user session and send messages (e.g. group messages) to the terminal equipment through the user session.

The 5GLAN session on the user plane network element may be specifically a session established on the user plane network element according to a data forwarding requirement when the 5GLAN is created/modified. The 5-GLAN session is used for controlling data forwarding between different user plane network elements of the 5-GLAN service, and can also control data forwarding between different terminal devices on the same user plane network element of the 5-GLAN service based on realization. Fig. 2c is a schematic diagram of a user plane architecture of a conventional 5GLAN service. Wherein, the terminal equipment establishes a session to the user plane network element providing the 5GLAN service, thereby accessing to the user plane network element providing the 5GLAN service. A user plane network element providing 5GLAN services may interwork with an existing LAN in the data network, e.g. communicate with a Personal Computer (PC) in the LAN, via an N6 interface; or, the user plane network element providing the 5GLAN service may also associate sessions of different terminal devices through connection between the internal user plane network element and the user plane network element, so as to implement private communication, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

The group session on the user plane network element may specifically be a session established on the user plane network element when creating group communication or creating/modifying 5 GLAN. The group session is used for forwarding a group packet between any two of the terminal device, the user plane network element, and the Data Network (DN) according to a specific regular path.

For example, as shown in fig. 3a, when the terminal device 1 establishes the PDU session, assuming that the user plane network element accessed by the terminal device 1 is the user plane network element 1, the user plane network element 1 may establish the user session 1 according to the tunnel identifier 1 allocated by the session management network element or the user plane network element 1.

Alternatively, for example, as shown in fig. 3b, when a 5-GLAN session 1 is created on a user plane network element 1, the 5-GLAN session 1 may contain tunnel information between the 5-GLAN session 1 on the user plane network element 1 and a 5-GLAN session 2 on the user plane network element 2. Optionally, the 5g lan session 1 may include a forwarding rule of the group packet to the terminal device 2 connected to the user plane network element 1.

It should be noted that fig. 3b exemplarily illustrates that the 5GLAN session 1 of the user plane network element 1 and the 5GLAN session 2 of the user plane network element 2 are 5GLAN sessions corresponding to the same 5GLAN group, and certainly, there may be other 5GLAN sessions corresponding to the 5GLAN groups on the user plane network element 2, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Or, exemplarily, as shown in fig. 3c, when a multicast session is created on the user plane network element 1, the multicast session is used to copy a multicast packet and send the copied multicast packet to the user session 1 or the 5GLAN session 1; optionally, it comprises defining to receive the multicast message from the terminal device 3. The description of the user session 1 may refer to fig. 3a, and the description of the GLAN session 5 may refer to fig. 3b, which is not repeated herein.

Alternatively, for example, as shown in fig. 3c, when a broadcast session is created on the user plane network element 1, the broadcast session is used to duplicate a broadcast packet and send the duplicated broadcast packet to all sessions in the broadcast domain, such as the user session 1 or the 5GLAN session 1. The description of the user session 1 may refer to fig. 3a, and the description of the GLAN session 5 may refer to fig. 3b, which is not repeated herein.

Or, for example, as shown in fig. 3d, when a multicast session is created on the user plane network element 1, the multicast session is used to copy a multicast packet and send the copied multicast packet to the terminal device 2, the 5g lan session 2 on the user plane network element 2, and the data network (i.e., the N6 side); optionally, it comprises defining to receive the multicast message from the terminal device 3.

Or, for example, as shown in fig. 3d, when a broadcast session is created on the user plane network element 1, the broadcast session is used to copy a broadcast packet and send the copied broadcast packet to all outlets in the broadcast domain, such as an N3/N9 interface corresponding to the terminal device 2, an Nx interface corresponding to the user plane network element 2, and an N6 interface corresponding to the data network.

In addition, as shown in fig. 4, in this embodiment of the application, a session on a user plane network element may include one or more PDRs (such as PDR1, PDR2, PDR3, PDR4, and PDR … … in fig. 4), where the PDRs are used to match received packets (such as group packets). And each PDR designates FAR, QER and URR corresponding to the message. After determining the RDR (such as the PDR2 in fig. 4) matching the packet, the UPF network element may perform drop (drop), forward (forward), cache (buffer), report control plane (notify), or copy (duplicate) operations on the packet according to the FAR specified by the PDR. The UPF network element can execute QoS operation to the message according to the QER appointed by the PDR. The UPF network element can report the statistical information of the message according to the URR specified by the PDR. And the key actions comprise an appointed exit identifier and an exit action in the process that the UPF network element executes forwarding processing on the message according to the FAR appointed by the PDR. The egress action may include, for example, adding an outer header (outer header creation), a transport level marking (transport level marking), a forwarding policy (forwarding policy), or a header enhancement (header enhancement), etc.

Sixth, inlet and outlet:

the entry in the embodiment of the present application refers to a physical interface/logical interface for receiving a user packet on a user plane network element, and the exit refers to a physical interface/logical interface for sending a user packet on a user plane network element. As shown in fig. 5. The logical interface between the terminal equipment and the user plane network element is an N3/N9 interface, the logical interface between the user plane network element and other user plane network elements is an Nx interface, and the physical interface/logical interface between the user plane network element and the DN is an N6 interface.

It should be noted that fig. 5 is merely for convenience of description, and the inlet and the outlet are illustrated separately. Of course, the entry and the exit may correspond to the same physical interface/logical interface, or may correspond to different physical interfaces/logical interfaces, which are described in a unified manner herein, and this is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Where in the description of the present application, "/" indicates a relationship where the objects associated before and after are an "or", unless otherwise stated, for example, a/B may indicate a or B; in the present application, "and/or" is only an association relationship describing an associated object, and means that there may be three relationships, for example, a and/or B, and may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, wherein A and B can be singular or plural. Also, in the description of the present application, "a plurality" means two or more than two unless otherwise specified. "at least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of the singular or plural items. For example, at least one (one) of a, b, or c, may represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, wherein a, b, c may be single or multiple. In addition, in order to facilitate clear description of technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish the same items or similar items having substantially the same functions and actions. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the terms "first," "second," etc. do not denote any order or quantity, nor do the terms "first," "second," etc. denote any order or importance. Also, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to mean serving as examples, illustrations or illustrations. Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" or "e.g.," 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 relevant concepts in a concrete fashion for ease of understanding.

The technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application can be applied to various communication systems. For example: the present invention may be applied to a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system or a New Radio (NR) system (which may also be referred to as a 5G system), and may also be applied to other new systems facing the future, for example, a programmable user plane system, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present invention. In addition, the term "system" may be used interchangeably with "network".

Optionally, if the scheme provided in the embodiment of the present application is applied to an NR system, the user plane network element in the embodiment of the present application may correspond to a UPF network element in the NR system, which is described in a unified manner herein and is not described in detail below.

First, a main idea of a group communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application is given.

The main idea of the group communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is to configure a group session on a user plane network element, where the group session is used for matching and processing a group packet. In a group communication scenario, after receiving a group message, a user plane network element determines a group session matched with the group message, and then copies and distributes the group message to a plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element through the group session. The related description of the group session may refer to the noun explanation part, which is not described herein again. The plurality of first sessions herein may include one or more user sessions, and/or one or more 5g lan sessions. The related descriptions of the user session and the 5GLAN session refer to the noun explanation part, which is not described herein. In the scheme, in a group communication scene, the user plane network element can determine the group session matched with the group user message, and copy and distribute the group message to a plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element through the group session, and the first sessions can realize statistical information reporting and QoS operation, so that based on the scheme, not only can the statistical information reporting and QoS operation of the session granularity of an inlet be realized, but also the statistical information reporting and QoS operation of the session granularity of an outlet can be realized.

The group communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application is described in several possible implementation manners.

For example, in a possible implementation manner, taking a plurality of first sessions including session 1 and session 2 as an example, as shown in fig. 6, the group communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may include the following steps:

s601, after the user plane network element receives the group packet (for example, the group packet may be from a terminal device corresponding to the N3/N9 interface, or another user plane network element corresponding to the Nx interface, or a data network corresponding to the N6 interface), determining a group session matched with the group packet.

S602, the user plane network element copies the group message through the group session, and forwards the copied group message to a local switch (local switch) through the group session.

S603, the user plane network element distributes the copied group message to a session 1 and a session 2 of the user plane network element through local exchange.

S604, after the user plane network element processes the group message through the session 1 and the session 2, the group message is sent out from the corresponding outlet.

In step S601, among others:

the group session may include processing policy information of one or more group packets, where the processing policy information of each group packet includes a forwarding policy of a corresponding group packet, and is used to process the group packet of the corresponding group. The forwarding policy of the group packet may include, for example, a PDR, and the PDR specifies FAR, QER, and URR corresponding to the group packet.

Taking the group message as a multicast message and the group session as a multicast session as an example, after receiving the multicast message, the user plane network element may match a PDR in a certain multicast session according to a multicast address in the multicast message (optionally according to a receiving port or tunnel information in the multicast message).

Or, taking the group message as a broadcast message and the group session as a broadcast session as an example, after receiving the broadcast message, the user plane network element may match the PDR in the broadcast session according to the broadcast address in the broadcast message.

Or, for an unknown unicast packet or an unknown multicast packet, the PDR in the broadcast session may be matched according to characteristic information of the packet, where the characteristic information of the packet may be, for example, a partial field in an address or other information, and this is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, in a 5GLAN scenario, both the multicast session and the broadcast session may be integrated with the 5GLAN session, that is, the PDR, FAR, and the like for processing the multicast packet or the broadcast packet may be configured in the 5GLAN session. The description is unified here and will not be repeated below.

Wherein, in the step S602:

the PDR in the group session indicates the FAR mark for processing the group message, and the user plane network element copies and forwards the group message according to the rule in the FAR indicated by the PDR in the group session. In the forwarding process, it is necessary to indicate the information of the receiving end of the group packet and to indicate the sending port as internal forwarding.

Taking the group message as a broadcast message and the group session as a broadcast session as an example, the broadcast session may include a second FAR indicating that a plurality of first sessions corresponding to the group message are all sessions in a broadcast domain; and/or the second FAR indicates that a forwarding policy (forwarding policy) or a destination interface (destination interface) corresponding to the group message is broadcast.

Or, taking the group message as a multicast message and the group session as a multicast session as an example, the multicast session may include a third FAR indicating that the outlet identifier corresponding to the group message is the identifiers of the plurality of first sessions; and/or the third FAR indicates that different opposite end tunnel identifications of the first session are added to each group message in the copied group message as an outer layer message header. For example, the FAR in the multicast session may indicate an exit identifier corresponding to the copied multicast packet, where an exit identifier corresponding to one multicast packet is an identifier of session 1, and an exit identifier corresponding to another multicast packet is an identifier of session 2. The identifier of session 1 may be, for example, an opposite-end tunnel identifier of session 1 or a home-end tunnel identifier of session 1, and the identifier of session 2 may be, for example, an opposite-end tunnel identifier of session 2 or a home-end tunnel identifier of session 2. Or, for example, the FAR in the multicast session may instruct that the opposite-end tunnel identifier of session 1 is added to one of the copied multicast messages as an outer message header, and the opposite-end tunnel identifier of session 2 is added to another one of the copied multicast messages as an outer message header.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment of the present application, if the session 2 is a 5GLAN session, the FAR in the group session may not need to indicate that the exit identifier is an identifier of the 5GLAN session, or may not need to indicate that an opposite-end tunnel identifier of the 5GLAN session is added to the group packet as an outer-layer message header, but only indicate that the FAR is processed in the 5GLAN corresponding to the current session (ingress session), that is, the exit information is a 5GLAN group, which is described in this unified manner and is not described in detail below.

In step S603, the method further includes:

the local exchange in the embodiment of the application can realize the receiving and distributing functions of the copied group message.

Taking the group session as the broadcast session, the local exchange may distribute the copied broadcast packet to all sessions in the broadcast domain.

Or, taking the group session as the multicast session as an example, the local exchange may determine the session 1 of the user plane network element according to the identifier of the session 1 and/or the identifier of the peer tunnel of the session 1, and the local exchange may determine the session 2 of the user plane network element according to the identifier of the session 2 and/or the identifier of the peer tunnel of the session 2.

The group message exchanged locally matches the PDR in the session on the user plane network element, and can further match the corresponding session, such as session 1 and session 2 in fig. 6.

In step S604, the method further includes:

the group message is forwarded according to FAR indicated by PDR in the matched session (such as session 1 and session 2), for example, after adding/modifying GTP-U header, the group message is sent out from the egress. In addition, when the method is adopted, the group message can be processed by QER and URR indicated by PDR in the matched session, thereby realizing the report of statistical information of the session granularity of the outlet and QoS operation.

On one hand, since the user plane network element receives the group packet from the group session in the embodiment of the present application, not only the group packet (i.e., the downlink group packet) from the data network can be processed, but also the processing procedure of the group packet at the user plane network element can be reduced compared with the case of receiving the group packet from the user session, and in addition, statistical information reporting and QoS operation of the group granularity can be performed. On the other hand, in the embodiment of the present application, the group packet is copied by the group session, and the copied group packet is locally exchanged and distributed, compared with the existing method of copying and distributing a packet in a user session, not only centralized configuration and convenient management can be achieved, but also for broadcast, considering that the processing rule of the broadcast packet is known, that is, the broadcast packet is copied in the broadcast domain and sent to other users (including a terminal device corresponding to the N3/N9 interface or other user plane network elements corresponding to the Nx interface or a data network corresponding to the N6 interface) except for the sender of the broadcast packet, only one default policy needs to be created as the broadcast policy, and there is no need to create a broadcast policy in each user session, so that the number of configuration policies on the user plane network elements can be simplified. In another aspect, in the embodiment of the present application, a group packet is sent from multiple first sessions (e.g., session 1 and session 2 in fig. 6), so that egress control can be performed on the group packet, and statistics information reporting and QoS operation of the egress session granularity can be performed.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 6, step S601 in the embodiment of the present application may be replaced by steps S605 to S607 in fig. 6:

s605, after receiving the group message (for example, the group message may be from a terminal device corresponding to the N3/N9 interface or another user plane network element corresponding to the Nx interface), the user plane network element determines a second session matching the group message.

In the embodiment of the present application, the second session is taken as session 3 as an example for description. The session 3 may be a user session or a 5GLAN session, which is not specifically limited in this application.

And S606, the user plane network element forwards the group message to the local exchange through the second session.

For example, the FAR indicated by the PDR in the second session may indicate that the local exchange processing is performed on the group packet, and the user plane network element may forward the group packet to the local exchange through the second session.

Optionally, in this embodiment of the present application, the home-end tunnel identifier of the second session is reserved in the group packet processed by the second session. That is to say, when the FAR in the second session sends the group packet to the local switch, the FAR needs to indicate the sender information of the group packet, for example, to reserve the GTP-U header of the group packet, and further indicate that the group packet comes from a certain terminal device or from another user plane network element corresponding to the Nx interface. The group packet processed by the second session retains the home-end tunnel identifier of the second session, so that the sender of the group packet can be excluded when the group packet is forwarded in steps S607 and S602. Of course, if the manner of step S601 is adopted, since the group packet is directly processed by the FAR processing the group packet after entering the user plane network element, the sender information of the group packet can be obtained, which is described in a unified manner herein and will not be described in detail below.

S607, the user plane network element determines the group session matched with the group message through local exchange.

For example, the PDR in the group session may match the group packet that is locally exchanged according to the address of the group packet and an entry (local exchange), and may further match to the corresponding group session.

In the embodiment of the present application, since the user plane network element receives the group packet from the second session, the entry control, the report of the statistical information of the session granularity of the entry, and the QoS operation can be performed on the group packet.

Or, in another possible implementation manner, taking a plurality of first sessions including session 1 and session 2 as an example, as shown in fig. 7, the group communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may include the following steps:

s701, after the user plane network element receives the group packet (for example, the group packet may be from a terminal device corresponding to the N3/N9 interface, or another user plane network element corresponding to the Nx interface, or a data network corresponding to the N6 interface), determining a group session matched with the group packet.

S702, the user plane network element forwards the group message to the local exchange through the group session.

S703, the user plane network element copies and distributes the group message to session 1 and session 2 of the user plane network element through local exchange.

S704, after the user plane network element processes the group message through the session 1 and the session 2, the group message is sent out from the corresponding outlet.

The related description of step S701 may refer to step S601, which is not described herein again.

The related description of step S704 may refer to step S604, and is not repeated herein.

In step S702, among others:

the PDR in the group session indicates the FAR mark for processing the group message, and the user plane network element forwards the group message according to the rule in the FAR indicated by the PDR in the group session. In the process of forwarding processing, it is necessary to indicate that the sending port is internal forwarding.

Wherein, in the step S703:

the local exchange in the embodiment of the application can realize the functions of receiving, copying and distributing the group message.

For example, taking a group message as a broadcast message and a group session as a broadcast session as an example, the local exchange may indicate that a plurality of first sessions corresponding to the broadcast message are all sessions in a broadcast domain; and/or, the local exchange may indicate that a forwarding policy (forwarding policy) or a destination interface (destination interface) corresponding to the broadcast packet is broadcast. Further, the local exchange may duplicate and distribute the broadcast message to all sessions within the broadcast domain.

Or, for example, taking the group packet as a multicast packet and the group session as a multicast session as an example, the local exchange may indicate that the outlet identifiers corresponding to the multicast packet are identifiers of multiple first sessions, and/or the local exchange may indicate that an opposite-end tunnel identifier of a different first session is added to each multicast packet in the copied multicast packets as an outer-layer message header. For example, the local exchange may copy the multicast packets and indicate that the outlet identifier corresponding to one of the multicast packets is the identifier of session 1, and the outlet identifier corresponding to another multicast packet is the identifier of session 2. The identifier of session 1 may be, for example, an opposite-end tunnel identifier of session 1 or a home-end tunnel identifier of session 1, and the identifier of session 2 may be, for example, an opposite-end tunnel identifier of session 2 or a home-end tunnel identifier of session 2. Or, for example, the local switch may copy the multicast packets, and indicate one of the multicast packets to add the peer tunnel identifier of session 1 as an outer header, and another multicast packet to add the peer tunnel identifier of session 2 as an outer header. Further, the local exchange may distribute the replicated multicast packets to session 1 and session 2.

The locally exchanged group messages match the PDRs in the sessions on the user plane network element and can then be matched to the corresponding sessions, such as session 1 and session 2 in fig. 6.

On one hand, since the user plane network element receives the group packet from the group session in the embodiment of the present application, not only the group packet (i.e., the downlink group packet) from the data network can be processed, but also the processing procedure of the group packet at the user plane network element can be reduced compared with the case of receiving the group packet from the user session, and in addition, statistical information reporting and QoS operation of the group granularity can be performed. On the other hand, in the embodiment of the present application, the group packet is copied and distributed by local exchange, compared with the existing copy and distribution packet in the user session, not only centralized configuration and convenient management can be achieved, but also for broadcast, considering that the processing rule of the broadcast packet is known, that is, the broadcast packet is copied in the broadcast domain and sent to other users (including terminal equipment corresponding to the N3/N9 interface, other user plane network elements corresponding to the Nx interface, or data networks corresponding to the N6 interface) except for the sender of the broadcast packet, only one default policy needs to be created as the broadcast policy, and there is no need to create a broadcast policy in each user session, so that the number of configuration policies on the user plane network elements can be simplified. In another aspect, in the embodiment of the present application, a group packet is sent from multiple first sessions (e.g., session 1 and session 2 in fig. 7), so that egress control can be performed on the group packet, and statistics information reporting and QoS operation of the egress session granularity can be performed.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 7, step S701 in this embodiment of the application may also be replaced by steps S605 to S607 in fig. 7, and the description of steps S605 to S607 may refer to the embodiment described in fig. 6, which is not repeated herein.

Or, in another possible implementation manner, taking a plurality of first sessions including session 1 and session 2 as an example, as shown in fig. 8, the group communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may include the following steps:

s801, after receiving the group packet (for example, the group packet may be from a terminal device corresponding to the N3/N9 interface, or another user plane network element corresponding to the Nx interface, or a data network corresponding to the N6 interface), the user plane network element determines a group session matched with the group packet.

S802, the user plane network element copies the group message through the group session, and the copied group message is distributed to the session 1 and the session 2 of the user plane network element through the group session.

And S803, after the user plane network element processes the group message through the session 1 and the session 2, sending the group message out from the corresponding outlet.

The related description of step S801 may refer to step S601, and is not repeated herein.

The related description of step S803 may refer to step S604, and is not repeated herein.

In step S802, among others:

the PDR in the group session indicates the FAR mark for processing the group message, and the user plane network element copies and forwards the group message according to the rule in the FAR indicated by the PDR in the group session. In the forwarding process, information indicating the receiving end of the group packet is required.

On one hand, since the user plane network element receives the group packet from the group session in the embodiment of the present application, not only the group packet (i.e., the downlink group packet) from the data network can be processed, but also the processing procedure of the group packet at the user plane network element can be reduced compared with the case of receiving the group packet from the user session, and in addition, statistical information reporting and QoS operation of the group granularity can be performed. On the other hand, in the embodiment of the present application, the group session copies and distributes the group packet, compared with the existing method of copying and distributing the packet in the user session, which not only can implement centralized configuration and is convenient for management, but also for broadcast, considering that the processing rule of the broadcast packet is known, that is, the broadcast packet is copied in the broadcast domain and sent to other users (including the terminal device corresponding to the N3/N9 interface, other user plane network elements corresponding to the Nx interface, or the data network corresponding to the N6 interface) except for the sender of the broadcast packet, only one default policy needs to be created as the broadcast policy, and there is no need to create a broadcast policy in each user session, so that the number of configuration policies on the user plane network elements can be simplified. In another aspect, in the embodiment of the present application, a group packet is sent from multiple first sessions (e.g., session 1 and session 2 in fig. 6), so that egress control can be performed on the group packet, and statistics information reporting and QoS operation of the egress session granularity can be performed.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 8, step S801 in the embodiment of the present application may also be replaced by steps S605 to S607 in fig. 8, and the description of steps S605 to S607 may refer to the embodiment described in fig. 6, which is not repeated herein.

Alternatively, in another possible implementation manner, the group session may not need to be configured in this embodiment. For example, taking an example that the plurality of first sessions include session 1 and session 2, as shown in fig. 9, the group communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may include the following steps:

s901, after the user plane network element receives the group message (for example, the group message may be from a terminal device corresponding to the N3/N9 interface or other user plane network elements corresponding to the Nx interface), determining a second session matched with the group message.

And S902, the user plane network element forwards the group message to the local exchange through the second session.

For example, the second session may include a first FAR indicating that the local exchange processing is performed on the group packet, and the user plane network element may forward the group packet to the local exchange through the second session.

Or, for example, the second session may include a first FAR indicating that the forwarding manner or the destination interface corresponding to the group packet is broadcast or multicast, and the user plane network element may forward the group packet to the local switch through the second session.

Optionally, in this embodiment of the present application, the home-end tunnel identifier of the second session is reserved in the group packet processed by the second session. That is to say, when the FAR in the second session sends the group packet to the local switch, the FAR needs to indicate the sender information of the group packet, for example, to reserve the GTP-U header of the group packet, and further indicate that the group packet comes from a certain terminal device or from another user plane network element corresponding to the Nx interface. The group packet processed by the second session retains the home-end tunnel identifier of the second session, so that the sender of the group packet can be excluded when the group packet is forwarded in step S903.

S903, the user plane network element copies and distributes the group message to the session 1 and the session 2 of the user plane network element through local exchange.

And S904, after the user plane network element processes the group message through the session 1 and the session 2, sending the group message out from a corresponding outlet.

The relevant description of step S901 may refer to step S601, and is not repeated herein.

The related description of step S903 may refer to step S703, which is not described herein again.

The related description of step S904 may refer to step S604, and is not repeated herein.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment of the application, if the second session includes the first FAR, the first FAR indicates that the forwarding manner or the destination interface corresponding to the group packet is broadcast or multicast, at this time, the user plane network element may also not have local exchange, but the user plane network element copies and distributes the group packet to session 1 and session 2 of the user plane network element according to its own processing logic, and then the user plane network element processes the group packet through session 1 and session 2, and then sends the group packet out from a corresponding outlet, that is, the local exchange may be regarded as a processing logic of the user plane network element, which is described in this specification in a unified manner, and details are not repeated below.

On one hand, since the user plane network element in the embodiment of the present application receives the group packet from the second session, it is able to perform entry control on the group packet, and report statistical information of the session granularity of the entry and perform QoS operation. On the other hand, in the embodiment of the present application, the group packet is copied and distributed by local exchange, compared with the existing packet copied and distributed in the user session, not only centralized configuration and convenient management can be achieved, but also for broadcast, considering that the processing rule of the broadcast packet is known, that is, the broadcast packet is copied in the broadcast domain and sent to other users (including terminal equipment corresponding to the N3/N9 interface, other user plane network elements corresponding to the Nx interface, or data networks corresponding to the N6 interface) except for the sender of the broadcast packet, only one default policy needs to be created as the broadcast policy, and there is no need to create a broadcast policy in each user session, so that the number of configuration rules on the user plane network elements can be simplified. In another aspect, in the embodiment of the present application, a group packet is sent from multiple first sessions (e.g., session 1 and session 2 in fig. 9), so that egress control can be performed on the group packet, and statistics information reporting and QoS operation of the egress session granularity can be performed.

Or, in another possible implementation manner, in this embodiment of the present application, it is also not necessary to distribute the group packet to multiple first sessions. For example, as shown in fig. 10, the group communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may include the following steps:

s1001, after receiving the group packet (for example, the group packet may be from a terminal device corresponding to the N3/N9 interface, or another user plane network element corresponding to the Nx interface, or a data network corresponding to the N6 interface), the user plane network element determines a group session matched with the group packet.

S1002, the user plane network element copies and distributes the group message to a plurality of outlets through the group session.

The related description of step S1001 may refer to step S601, and is not repeated herein.

Wherein, in the step S1002:

the PDR in the group session indicates the FAR mark for processing the group message, and the user plane network element copies and forwards the group message according to the rule in the FAR indicated by the PDR in the group session. Wherein, in the process of forwarding processing, an exit identifier needs to be specified. The outlet identifier may be, for example, N6, N3, N9, Nx, or the like, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

On one hand, since the user plane network element receives the group packet from the group session in the embodiment of the present application, not only the group packet (i.e., the downlink group packet) from the data network can be processed, but also the processing procedure of the group packet at the user plane network element can be reduced compared with the case of receiving the group packet from the user session, and in addition, statistical information reporting and QoS operation of the group granularity can be performed. On the other hand, in the embodiment of the present application, the group session copies and distributes the group packet, compared with the existing method of copying and distributing the packet in the user session, which not only can implement centralized configuration and is convenient for management, but also for broadcast, considering that the processing rule of the broadcast packet is known, that is, the broadcast packet is copied in the broadcast domain and sent to other users (including the terminal device corresponding to the N3/N9 interface, other user plane network elements corresponding to the Nx interface, or the data network corresponding to the N6 interface) except for the sender of the broadcast packet, only one default policy needs to be created as the broadcast policy, and there is no need to create a broadcast policy in each user session, so that the number of configuration policies on the user plane network elements can be simplified. In another aspect, in the embodiment of the present application, the group session directly distributes the group packet to multiple outlets, so that the processing procedure of the group packet at the user plane network element can be reduced.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 10, the step S1001 in the embodiment of the present application may also be replaced by the steps S605 to S607 in fig. 10, and the description of the steps S605 to S607 may refer to the embodiment described in fig. 6, which is not repeated herein.

Optionally, in the group communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the method for configuring the group session may include that the user plane network element receives a request for creating or modifying the group session from the session management network element; and the user plane network element creates or modifies the group session according to the request for creating or modifying the group session. For example, when a group is created or a terminal device/session/interface joins or leaves the group, the session management network element may implement creating/modifying the group packet processing policy by creating or modifying the group session request. Different from the existing user session creating or modifying strategy, the group message processing strategy in the embodiment of the application corresponds to the group session.

Or, optionally, in the group communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the method for configuring a group session may include: a user plane network element receives a group joining or leaving request; and the user plane network element creates or modifies the group session according to the group joining or leaving request. That is, the user plane network element may perform the creation/modification of the group packet processing policy by itself, for example, after the user plane network element receives the group join or leave request, the group session may be created or modified according to the group join or leave request.

Optionally, considering that the processing rule of the broadcast packet is known, that is, the broadcast packet is copied in the broadcast domain and sent to other users (including the terminal device corresponding to the N3/N9 interface, or other user plane network elements corresponding to the Nx interface, or the data network corresponding to the N6 interface) other than the sender of the broadcast packet, in this embodiment of the present application, the broadcast session may also be configured without the above-mentioned manner of configuring the group session, but the processing policy corresponding to the broadcast session is considered as the default processing policy on the user plane network element, and the default processing policy may not be limited to the processing manner of the PDR and the FAR. For example, the processing policy corresponding to the group session in fig. 6, fig. 7, fig. 8, or fig. 10 may be a default policy on the user plane network element. And when the broadcast message is not matched with other sessions with high priority, executing forwarding processing according to the default strategy.

It is to be understood that, in the above embodiments, the method and/or steps implemented by the user plane network element may also be implemented by a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit) that can be used for the user plane network element.

The above embodiments mainly introduce the solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application from the perspective of method flows. It is to be understood that the user plane network element includes hardware structures and/or software modules for performing the functions. Those of skill in the art would readily appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware or combinations of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is performed as hardware or computer software drives hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

In the embodiment of the present application, the functional modules may be divided for the user plane network element according to the above method example, for example, each functional module may be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions may be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module can be realized in a hardware mode, and can also be realized in a software functional module mode. It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the division of the module is schematic, and is only one logic function division, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation.

For example, in a case where the functional modules are divided in an integrated manner, fig. 11 shows a schematic structural diagram of the user plane network element 110. The user plane network element 110 comprises a transceiver module 1101 and a processing module 1102. The transceiver module 1101, which may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, is used to implement a transceiving function, and may be, for example, a transceiving circuit, a transceiver, or a communication interface.

The transceiver module 1101 is configured to receive a group message; a processing module 1102, configured to determine a group session matched with the group packet; the processing module 1102 is further configured to copy and distribute the group packet to the plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element 110 through the group session.

Optionally, the processing module 1102 is further configured to copy and distribute the group packet to a plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element 110 through the group session, where the method includes: the processing module 1102 is further configured to copy a group packet through a group session; the copied group message is forwarded to the local exchange through the group session; the copied group message is distributed to a plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element 110 by local switching.

Or, optionally, the processing module 1102 is further configured to copy and distribute the group packet to a plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element 110 through the group session, where the method includes: the processing module 1102 is further configured to copy a group packet through a group session; the copied group message is distributed to a plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element 110 through the group session.

Or, optionally, the processing module 1102 is further configured to copy and distribute the group packet to a plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element 110 through the group session, where the method includes: the processing module 1102 is further configured to forward the group packet to the local exchange through the group session; copying group messages through local exchange; the copied group message is distributed to a plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element 110 by local switching.

Optionally, the group session is a broadcast session; the group session comprises a second FAR, and the second FAR indicates that a plurality of first sessions corresponding to the group message are all sessions in the broadcast domain; and/or the second FAR indicates that the forwarding mode or the destination interface corresponding to the group message is broadcast.

Or, optionally, the group session is a multicast session; the group session comprises a third FAR, and the third FAR indicates that the outlet identifications corresponding to the group message are the identifications of the plurality of first sessions; and/or the third FAR indicates that different opposite end tunnel identifications of the first session are added to each group message in the copied group message as an outer layer message header.

Optionally, the processing module 1102 is further configured to determine a plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element 110 according to the first session identifier and/or the peer tunnel identifier of the first session.

Or, optionally, the group message includes a group address; the processing module 1102 is configured to determine a group session matched with the group packet, and includes: the processing module 1102 is configured to determine a group session matched with the group packet according to the group address.

Optionally, the processing module 1102 is configured to determine a group session matched with the group packet, and includes: a processing module 1102, configured to determine a second session matched with the group packet; forwarding the group message to the local exchange through the second session; and determining the group session matched with the group message through local exchange.

Optionally, the second session comprises a user session or a 5GLAN session.

Optionally, the group packet processed by the second session retains the home-end tunnel identifier of the second session.

Optionally, the second session includes a first forwarding rule FAR, where the first FAR indicates that the forwarding manner or destination interface corresponding to the group packet is broadcast or multicast.

Optionally, the transceiver module 1101 is further configured to receive a request for creating or modifying a group session from a session management network element; the processing module 1102 is further configured to create or modify a group session according to the request for creating or modifying a group session.

Optionally, the transceiver module 1101 is further configured to receive a group join or leave request; the processing module 1102 is further configured to create or modify a group session according to the group join or leave request.

All relevant contents of each step related to the above method embodiment may be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and are not described herein again.

In the present embodiment, the user plane network element 110 is presented in a form of dividing each functional module in an integrated manner. A "module" as used herein may refer to an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor and memory that execute one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and/or other devices that provide the described functionality. In a simple embodiment, the user plane network element 110 may take the form shown in fig. 12, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

As shown in fig. 12, the user plane network element 120 includes one or more processors 1201, a communication line 1202, and at least one communication interface (which is only exemplarily illustrated in fig. 12 to include the communication interface 1204 and one processor 1201), and optionally may further include a memory 1203.

The processor 1201 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a special ASIC, or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of programs according to the present disclosure.

The communication link 1202 may include a path for connecting different components.

The communication interface 1204, which may be a transceiver module, is used to communicate with other devices or communication networks, such as ethernet, Radio Access Network (RAN), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), etc. For example, the transceiver module may be a transceiver, or the like. Optionally, the communication interface 1204 may also be a transceiver circuit located in the processor 1201, so as to implement signal input and signal output of the processor.

The memory 1203 may be a device having a storage function. Such as, but not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that may store static information and instructions, Random Access Memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices that may store information and instructions, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage, optical disk storage (including compact disk, laser disk, optical disk, digital versatile disk, blu-ray disk, etc.), magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. The memory may be separate and coupled to the processor via communication link 1202. The memory may also be integral to the processor.

The memory 1203 is used for storing computer execution instructions for executing the scheme of the present application, and the processor 1201 controls the execution of the computer execution instructions. The processor 1201 is configured to execute computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 1203, so as to implement the group communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application.

Alternatively, in this embodiment of the application, the processor 1201 may also perform functions related to processing in the group communication method provided in the following embodiments of the application, and the communication interface 1204 is responsible for communicating with other devices or a communication network, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the application.

Optionally, the computer-executable instructions in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as application program codes, which are not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

In particular implementations, processor 1201 may include one or more CPUs such as CPU0 and CPU1 in fig. 12, for example, as an example.

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the user plane network element 120 may include multiple processors, for example, the processor 1201 and the processor 1208 in fig. 12. Each of these processors may be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. A processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and/or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

In this embodiment, the user plane network element 120 may further include an output device 1205 and an input device 1206, as an example. An output device 1205, in communication with the processor 1201, may display information in a variety of ways. For example, the output device 1205 may be a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), a Light Emitting Diode (LED) display device, a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) display device, a projector (projector), or the like. The input device 1206 is in communication with the processor 1201 and may receive user input in a variety of ways. For example, the input device 1206 may be a mouse, keyboard, touch screen device, or sensing device, among others.

The user plane network element 120 may be a general-purpose device or a special-purpose device. For example, the user plane network element 120 may be a server, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a web server, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wireless terminal device, an embedded device, or a device with a similar structure as in fig. 12. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the type of the user plane network element 120.

Specifically, the functions/implementation procedures of the transceiver module 1101 and the processing module 1102 in fig. 11 can be implemented by the processor 1201 in the user plane network element 120 shown in fig. 12 calling a computer stored in the memory 1203 to execute instructions. Alternatively, the function/implementation process of the processing module 1102 in fig. 11 may be implemented by the processor 1201 in the user plane network element 120 shown in fig. 12 calling a computer executing instruction stored in the memory 1203, and the function/implementation process of the transceiver module 1101 in fig. 11 may be implemented by the communication interface 1204 in the user plane network element 120 shown in fig. 12.

Since the user plane network element 110 provided in this embodiment can execute the group communication method, the technical effect obtained by the user plane network element can refer to the method embodiment, and is not described herein again.

It should be noted that one or more of the above modules or units may be implemented in software, hardware or a combination of both. When any of the above modules or units are implemented in software, which is present as computer program instructions and stored in a memory, a processor may be used to execute the program instructions and implement the above method flows. The processor may be built in a SoC (system on chip) or ASIC, or may be a separate semiconductor chip. The processor may further include a necessary hardware accelerator such as a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a PLD (programmable logic device), or a logic circuit for implementing a dedicated logic operation, in addition to a core for executing software instructions to perform an operation or a process.

When the above modules or units are implemented in hardware, the hardware may be any one or any combination of a CPU, a microprocessor, a Digital Signal Processing (DSP) chip, a Micro Controller Unit (MCU), an artificial intelligence processor, an ASIC, an SoC, an FPGA, a PLD, a dedicated digital circuit, a hardware accelerator, or a non-integrated discrete device, which may run necessary software or is independent of software to perform the above method flow.

Optionally, an embodiment of the present application further provides a user plane network element (for example, the user plane network element may be a chip or a chip system), where the user plane network element includes a processor, and is configured to implement the method in any of the method embodiments described above. In one possible design, the user plane network element further includes a memory. The memory for storing the necessary program instructions and data, the processor may invoke the program code stored in the memory to instruct the user plane network element to perform the method of any of the above method embodiments. Of course, the memory may not be in the user plane network element. When the user plane network element is a chip system, the user plane network element may be formed by a chip, and may also include a chip and other discrete devices, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

In the above embodiments, the implementation may be wholly or partially realized by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. The procedures or functions described in accordance with the embodiments of the present application are all or partially generated upon loading and execution of computer program instructions on a computer. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a network of computers, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored on a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another, for example, from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wire (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or can comprise one or more data storage devices, such as a server, a data center, etc., that can be integrated with the medium. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., Solid State Disk (SSD)), among others.

While the present application has been described in connection with various embodiments, other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed application, from a review of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the word "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

Although the present application has been described in conjunction with specific features and embodiments thereof, it will be evident that various modifications and combinations can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Accordingly, the specification and figures are merely exemplary of the present application as defined in the appended claims and are intended to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents within the scope of the present application. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is intended to include such modifications and variations as well.

Claims

1. A group communication method, comprising:

a user plane network element receives a group message;

the user plane network element determines a group session matched with the group message, wherein the group session comprises a broadcast session or a multicast session, the broadcast session corresponds to a broadcast group, and the multicast session corresponds to a multicast group;

the user plane network element copies and distributes the group message to a plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element through the group session, and the method comprises the following steps:

the user plane network element forwards the group message to a local exchange through the group session;

the user plane network element copies the group message through the local exchange;

and the user plane network element distributes the copied group message to a plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element through the local exchange.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of first sessions comprises one or more user sessions, and/or one or more fifth generation local area network 5GLAN sessions.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the replicating, by the user plane network element, the group packet into a plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element through the group session comprises:

the user plane network element copies the group message through the group session;

the user plane network element forwards the copied group message to a local exchange through the group session;

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the group session is a broadcast session;

the group session comprises a second FAR, and the second FAR indicates that a plurality of first sessions corresponding to the group message are all sessions in a broadcast domain; and/or the presence of a gas in the gas,

and the second FAR indicates that the forwarding mode or the destination interface corresponding to the group message is broadcast.

5. The method according to any of claims 1-4, wherein the group message includes a group address; the determining, by the user plane network element, the group session matched with the group packet includes:

and the user plane network element determines the group session matched with the group message according to the group address.

6. The method according to any of claims 1-4, wherein the determining, by the user plane network element, the group session that matches the group packet comprises:

the user plane network element determines a second session matched with the group message;

the user plane network element forwards the group message to a local exchange through the second session;

and the user plane network element determines the group session matched with the group message through the local exchange.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the second session comprises a user session or a 5GLAN session.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the group packet after being processed by the second session retains a home tunnel identifier of the second session.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the group packet after being processed by the second session retains a home tunnel identifier of the second session.

10. The method according to claim 6, wherein the second session includes a first forwarding action rule FAR, and the first FAR indicates that a forwarding manner or a destination interface corresponding to the group packet is broadcast or multicast.

11. The method according to claim 7, wherein the second session includes a first forwarding action rule FAR, and the first FAR indicates that a forwarding manner or a destination interface corresponding to the group packet is broadcast or multicast.

12. The method according to claim 8, wherein the second session includes a first forwarding action rule FAR, and the first FAR indicates that a forwarding manner or a destination interface corresponding to the group packet is broadcast or multicast.

13. The method according to claim 9, wherein the second session includes a first forwarding action rule FAR, and the first FAR indicates that a forwarding manner or a destination interface corresponding to the group packet is broadcast or multicast.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, further comprising:

the user plane network element receives a group session creating or modifying request from a session management network element;

and the user plane network element creates or modifies the group session according to the request for creating or modifying the group session.

15. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

16. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

17. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

18. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

19. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

20. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

21. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

22. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

23. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

24. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, further comprising:

the user plane network element receives a group joining or leaving request;

and the user plane network element creates or modifies the group session according to the group joining or leaving request.

25. A group communication method, comprising:

a user plane network element receives a group message;

the user plane network element determines a group session matched with the group message, wherein the group session is a multicast session and corresponds to a multicast group;

the user plane network element copies and distributes the group message to a plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element through the group session;

the group session comprises a third FAR, and the third FAR indicates that the outlet identifications corresponding to the group message are the identifications of the plurality of first sessions; and/or the presence of a gas in the gas,

and the third FAR indicates that different opposite-end tunnel identifiers of the first session are added to each copied group message as an outer-layer message header.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the plurality of first sessions comprises one or more user sessions, and/or one or more fifth generation local area network 5GLAN sessions.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the replicating, by the user plane network element, the group packet into the first plurality of sessions of the user plane network element via the group session comprises:

28. The method of claim 25, wherein the replicating, by the user plane network element, the group packet into the first plurality of sessions of the user plane network element via the group session comprises:

and the user plane network element distributes the copied group message to a plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element through the group session.

29. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

and the user plane network element determines a plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element according to the first session identifier and/or the opposite end tunnel identifier of the first session.

30. The method according to any of claims 25-29, wherein a group address is included in the group message; the determining, by the user plane network element, the group session matched with the group packet includes:

31. The method according to any of claims 25-29, wherein the determining, by the user plane network element, the group session that matches the group packet comprises:

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the second session comprises a user session or a 5-GLAN session.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein the group packet after being processed by the second session retains a home tunnel identifier of the second session.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein the group packet after being processed by the second session retains a home tunnel identifier of the second session.

35. The method according to claim 31, wherein the second session includes a first forwarding action rule FAR, and the first FAR indicates that a forwarding manner or a destination interface corresponding to the group packet is multicast.

36. The method according to claim 32, wherein the second session includes a first forwarding action rule FAR, and the first FAR indicates that a forwarding manner or a destination interface corresponding to the group packet is multicast.

37. The method according to claim 33, wherein the second session includes a first forwarding action rule FAR, and the first FAR indicates that a forwarding manner or a destination interface corresponding to the group packet is multicast.

38. The method according to claim 34, wherein the second session includes a first forwarding action rule FAR, and the first FAR indicates that a forwarding manner or a destination interface corresponding to the group packet is multicast.

39. The method according to any one of claims 25-29, further comprising:

40. The method of claim 30, further comprising:

41. The method of claim 31, further comprising:

42. The method of claim 32, further comprising:

43. The method of claim 33, further comprising:

44. The method of claim 34, further comprising:

45. The method of claim 35, further comprising:

46. The method of claim 36, further comprising:

47. The method of claim 37, further comprising:

48. The method of claim 38, further comprising:

49. The method according to any one of claims 25-29, further comprising:

the user plane network element receives a group joining or leaving request;

50. A user plane network element, wherein the user plane network element comprises: a transceiver module and a processing module;

the receiving and sending module is used for receiving the group message;

the processing module is configured to determine a group session matched with the group packet, where the group session includes a broadcast session or a multicast session, the broadcast session corresponds to a broadcast group, and the multicast session corresponds to a multicast group;

the processing module is further configured to copy and distribute the group packet to a plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element through the group session, and includes: forwarding the group message to a local exchange through the group session; copying the group message through the local exchange; and distributing the copied group message to a plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element through the local exchange.

51. The user plane network element of claim 50, wherein the plurality of first sessions comprises one or more user sessions, and/or one or more fifth generation local area network 5GLAN sessions.

52. The user plane network element of claim 50, wherein the processing module is further configured to distribute the group packet to the plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element by copying through the group session, and includes:

the processing module is further configured to copy the group packet through the group session; forwarding the copied group message to a local exchange through the group session; and distributing the copied group message to a plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element through the local exchange.

53. The user plane network element of claim 50, wherein the group session is a broadcast session; the group session comprises a second FAR, and the second FAR indicates that a plurality of first sessions corresponding to the group message are all sessions in a broadcast domain; and/or the presence of a gas in the gas,

54. A user plane network element as claimed in any one of claims 50 to 53, wherein the group message includes a group address; the processing module is configured to determine a group session matching the group packet, and includes:

and the processing module is used for determining the group session matched with the group message according to the group address.

55. The user plane network element of any of claims 50 to 53, wherein the processing module, configured to determine the group session matching the group packet, comprises:

the processing module is used for determining a second session matched with the group message; forwarding the group message to a local exchange through the second session; and determining the group session matched with the group message through the local exchange.

56. The user plane network element of claim 55, wherein the second session comprises a user session or a 5GLAN session.

57. The user plane network element of claim 55, wherein the group packet after being processed by the second session retains a home tunnel identifier of the second session.

58. The user plane network element of claim 56, wherein the group packet after being processed by the second session retains a home tunnel identifier of the second session.

59. The user plane network element of claim 55, wherein the second session includes a first forwarding action rule FAR, and the first FAR indicates that a forwarding manner or a destination interface corresponding to the group packet is broadcast or multicast.

60. The user plane network element of claim 56, wherein the second session includes a first Forwarding Action Rule (FAR), and the first FAR indicates that a forwarding manner or a destination interface corresponding to the group packet is broadcast or multicast.

61. The user plane network element of claim 57, wherein the second session includes a first forwarding action rule FAR, and the first FAR indicates that a forwarding manner or a destination interface corresponding to the group packet is broadcast or multicast.

62. The user plane network element of claim 58, wherein the second session includes a first forwarding action rule FAR, and the first FAR indicates that a forwarding manner or a destination interface corresponding to the group packet is broadcast or multicast.

63. The user plane network element of any one of claims 50 to 53,

the receiving and sending module is further configured to receive a request for creating or modifying a group session from a session management network element;

the processing module is further configured to create or modify the group session according to the request for creating or modifying the group session.

64. The user plane network element of claim 54,

65. The user plane network element of claim 55,

66. The user plane network element of claim 56,

67. The user plane network element of claim 57,

68. The user plane network element of claim 58,

69. The user plane network element of claim 59,

70. The user plane network element of claim 60,

71. The user plane network element of claim 61,

72. The user plane network element of claim 62,

73. The user plane network element of any one of claims 50 to 53,

the receiving and sending module is also used for receiving a group joining or leaving request;

the processing module is further configured to create or modify the group session according to the group join or leave request.

74. A user plane network element, wherein the user plane network element comprises: a transceiver module and a processing module;

the receiving and sending module is used for receiving the group message;

the processing module is used for determining the group session matched with the group message; the group session is a multicast session, and the multicast session corresponds to the multicast group;

the processing module is further configured to copy and distribute the group packet to a plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element through the group session; the group session comprises a third FAR, and the third FAR indicates that the outlet identifications corresponding to the group message are the identifications of the plurality of first sessions; and/or the third FAR indicates that different opposite end tunnel identifiers of the first session are added to each group message in the copied group messages respectively to serve as outer layer message headers.

75. The user plane network element of claim 74, wherein the plurality of first sessions comprises one or more user sessions, and/or one or more fifth generation local area network 5GLAN sessions.

76. The user plane network element of claim 74, wherein the processing module is further configured to distribute the group packet to the plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element by copying through the group session, and includes:

77. The user plane network element of claim 74, wherein the processing module is further configured to distribute the group packet to the plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element by copying through the group session, and includes:

the processing module is further configured to copy the group packet through the group session; and distributing the copied group message to a plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element through the group session.

78. The user plane network element of claim 74,

the processing module is further configured to determine a plurality of first sessions of the user plane network element according to the first session identifier and/or an opposite-end tunnel identifier of the first session.

79. The user plane network element of any of claims 74 to 78, wherein the group message comprises a group address; the processing module is configured to determine a group session matching the group packet, and includes:

80. The user plane network element of any one of claims 74 to 78, wherein the processing module, configured to determine the group session matching the group packet, comprises:

81. The user plane network element of claim 80, wherein the second session comprises a user session or a 5GLAN session.

82. The user plane network element of claim 80, wherein the group packet after being processed by the second session retains a home tunnel identifier of the second session.

83. The user plane network element of claim 81, wherein the group packet after being processed by the second session retains a home tunnel identifier of the second session.

84. The user plane network element of claim 80, wherein the second session includes a first forwarding action rule FAR, and the first FAR indicates that a forwarding manner or a destination interface corresponding to the group packet is multicast.

85. The user plane network element of claim 81, wherein the second session includes a first Forwarding Action Rule (FAR), and the first FAR indicates that the forwarding manner or destination interface corresponding to the group packet is multicast.

86. The user plane network element of claim 82, wherein the second session includes a first Forwarding Action Rule (FAR), and the first FAR indicates that a forwarding manner or a destination interface corresponding to the group packet is multicast.

87. The user plane network element of claim 83, wherein the second session includes a first forwarding action rule FAR, and the first FAR indicates that the forwarding manner or destination interface corresponding to the group packet is multicast.

88. The user plane network element of any one of claims 74 to 78,

89. The user plane network element of claim 79,

90. The user plane network element of claim 80,

91. The user plane network element of claim 81,

92. The user plane network element of claim 82,

93. The user plane network element of claim 83,

94. The user plane network element of claim 84,

95. The user plane network element of claim 85,

96. The user plane network element of claim 86,

97. The user plane network element of claim 87,

98. The user plane network element of any one of claims 74 to 78,