CN113497734B

CN113497734B - UPF configuration method, UPF selection method and equipment

Info

Publication number: CN113497734B
Application number: CN202010269349.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 陶源; 侯云静; 王胡成; 舒敏
Original assignee: Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Current assignee: Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-04-08
Filing date: 2020-04-08
Publication date: 2023-04-07
Anticipated expiration: 2040-04-08
Also published as: CN113497734A

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a UPF configuration method, a UPF selection method and equipment, wherein the UPF configuration method comprises the following steps: and configuring or reconfiguring VLAN information corresponding to the sending end or the receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end. The UPF selection method comprises the following steps: obtaining VLAN information corresponding to a sending end or a receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end; and selecting the UPF according to the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information. In the embodiment of the invention, because the UPF supports VLAN information corresponding to the sending end or the receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end, the UPF is prevented from being incapable of forwarding the data frame.

Description

UPF configuration method, UPF selection method and equipment

Technical Field

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

Background

The physical port of the User Plane Function (UPF) NetWork TSN converter (NW-TT) needs to be configured to support the capabilities of Virtual Local Area NetWork (VLAN)/Traffic Class (Traffic Class).

For a Time Sensitive Network (TSN) Data Protocol Unit (PDU) session, UPF selection needs to be performed based on the port capability of the UPF. When a current UPF has no corresponding configuration, a data frame corresponding to a VLAN/Traffic Class of a data frame sent by a terminal (e.g., user Equipment (UE)) is dropped on a UPF port.

Disclosure of Invention

An object of the embodiments of the present invention is to provide a method for configuring a UPF, a method for selecting a UPF, and a device, which solve the problem that when a current UPF does not have a corresponding configuration in a VLAN/Traffic Class corresponding to a data frame sent by a UE, the data frame is dropped on a UPF port.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for configuring a UPF, where the method is applied to a UPF, and the method is characterized by including:

and configuring or reconfiguring VLAN information corresponding to the sending end or the receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end.

Optionally, the configuring or reconfiguring VLAN information of a VLAN corresponding to the sending end or the receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end includes:

receiving first information;

and according to the first information, configuring or reconfiguring VLAN information corresponding to the sending end or the receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end.

Optionally, receiving first information includes:

receiving the first information from the AF or CNC;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

receiving an N4 session modification request from the SMF, the N4 session modification request indicating reconfiguration of the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

and sending the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information to the SMF.

Optionally, sending the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information to the SMF includes:

sending the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information to the SMF through N4 association establishment response information;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

and sending the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information to the SMF through N4 reporting information.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a method for configuring a UPF, where the method is applied to SMF, and the method includes:

determining to reconfigure the UPF;

and informing the UPF to reconfigure VLAN information corresponding to the sending end or the receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end.

Optionally, the determining to reconfigure the UPF includes:

and determining to reconfigure the UPF according to the information reported by the UPF.

Optionally, the information reported by the UPF includes one or more of the following:

the address of the sending end;

the sending end corresponds to VLAN information of a VLAN;

the Traffic Class corresponding to the data frame sent by the sending end;

the receiving end corresponds to VLAN information of the VLAN.

Optionally, the determining to reconfigure the UPF includes:

and determining to reconfigure the UPF according to the information sent by the centralized network configuration CNC.

Optionally, the CNC-sent information includes one or more of:

the address of the receiving end;

the receiving end corresponds to VLAN information of the VLAN;

the sending end corresponds to VLAN information of a VLAN;

and the Traffic Class corresponds to the data frame sent by the sending end.

Optionally, the determining to reconfigure the UPF includes:

and determining to reconfigure the UPF according to the reported information when the sending end initiates the PDU session modification.

Optionally, the information reported when the UE initiates PDU session modification includes one or more of the following:

the receiving end corresponds to VLAN information of the VLAN;

and the receiving end receives Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a method for selecting a UPF, where the method is applied to SMF, and the method includes:

obtaining VLAN information corresponding to a sending end or a receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end;

and selecting the UPF according to the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information.

Optionally, the obtaining VLAN information of the VLAN corresponding to the transmitting end or the receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the transmitting end or the receiving end includes:

obtaining VLAN information corresponding to a sending end or a receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end locally through the SMF;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

obtaining VLAN information corresponding to a sending end or a receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end through subscription information;

alternatively, the first and second liquid crystal display panels may be,

acquiring VLAN information allowed by PDU session through PDU session authentication/authorization flow;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

and acquiring VLAN information corresponding to the sending end or the receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end through the PDU session establishment request.

Optionally, the PDU session establishment request includes: protocol configuration options, including: VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the transmitting end and/or the receiving end.

Optionally, before locally obtaining VLAN information of a VLAN corresponding to the transmitting end or the receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by the transmitting end or the receiving end through the SMF, the method further includes:

and receiving VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information from the UPF and storing the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information in the local SMF.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a method for selecting a UPF, where the method is applied to an SMF, and the method includes:

receiving third information, the third information comprising one or more of: UPF reported information, CNC sent information, and reported information when the sending end initiates PDU session modification;

and determining to reselect the UPF according to the third information.

the address of the sender;

the sending end corresponds to VLAN information of a VLAN;

a Traffic Class corresponding to the data frame sent by the sending end;

the receiving end corresponds to VLAN information of the VLAN.

Optionally, the CNC-sent information includes one or more of:

the address of the receiving end;

the sending end corresponds to VLAN information of a VLAN;

and the Traffic Class corresponds to the data frame sent by the sending end.

the receiving end corresponds to VLAN information of the VLAN;

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a UPF, including:

and the configuration module is used for configuring or reconfiguring VLAN information corresponding to the sending end or the receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a UPF, including: a first transceiver and a first processor;

the first transceiver transmits and receives data under control of the first processor;

the first processor reads a program in a memory to perform the following operations: and configuring or reconfiguring VLAN information corresponding to the sending end or the receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an SMF, including:

a first determining module for determining a reconfiguration of a UPF;

and the notification module is used for notifying the UPF to reconfigure the VLAN information corresponding to the sending end or the receiving end and/or the Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an SMF, including: a second transceiver and a second processor;

the second transceiver transmits and receives data under the control of the second processor;

the second processor reads a program in the memory to perform the following operations: determining to reconfigure the UPF; and informing the UPF to reconfigure VLAN information corresponding to the sending end or the receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end.

In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an SMF, including:

the acquiring module is used for acquiring VLAN information corresponding to the transmitting end or the receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by the transmitting end or the receiving end;

and the selection module is used for selecting the UPF according to the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information.

In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an SMF, including: a third transceiver and a third processor;

the third transceiver transmits and receives data under the control of the third processor;

the third processor reads a program in the memory to perform the following operations: obtaining VLAN information corresponding to a sending end or a receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end; and selecting UPF according to the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information.

In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an SMF, including:

a third receiving module, configured to receive third information, where the third information includes one or more of the following: UPF reported information, CNC sent information, and reported information when the sending end initiates PDU session modification;

and the second determining module is used for determining to reselect the UPF according to the third information.

In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an SMF, including: a fourth transceiver and a fourth processor;

the fourth transceiver transmits and receives data under the control of the fourth processor;

the fourth processor reads a program in the memory to perform the following operations: receiving third information, the third information comprising one or more of: UPF reported information, CNC sent information, and reported information when the sending end initiates PDU session modification; and determining to reselect the UPF according to the third information.

In a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a communication device, including: a processor, a memory and a program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, which program, when executed by the processor, performs steps comprising a method as set forth in the first to fourth aspects.

In a fourteenth aspect, the present invention also provides a computer readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, where the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the method as described in the first to fourth aspects.

In the embodiment of the invention, because the UPF supports VLAN information corresponding to the sending end or the receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end, the UPF is prevented from being incapable of forwarding the data frame.

Drawings

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

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a 5G system;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a UPF configuration method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a second flowchart of a UPF configuration method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method for UPF selection according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a second flowchart of a UPF selection method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is one of the flowcharts of reporting configuration information to an SMF by a UPF according to the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a second flowchart of reporting configuration information from the UPF to the SMF according to the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a third flowchart of a method for UPF selection according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a method for UPF reselection, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of a method of UPF reconfiguration according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a method for PUF reselection or reconfiguration according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a second flowchart of a UPF reselection or reconfiguration method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is one of the UPF diagrams of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a second schematic diagram of a UPF according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is one of the schematic diagrams of an SMF of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a second schematic diagram of an SMF according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 17 is a third schematic diagram of an SMF according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 18 is a fourth schematic diagram of an SMF according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 19 is a fifth schematic of an SMF according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 20 is a sixth schematic of an SMF according to an embodiment of the invention;

fig. 21 is a schematic diagram of a communication network element according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Currently, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.1TSN is becoming a standard Ethernet technology for industry 4.0 aggregation networks. Fifth generation mobile communication technology (5g) and TSN can coexist in a factory deployment and meet major requirements, such as flexibility of 5G and extremely low latency of TSN. But it is foreseeable that the 5G TSN technology will be widely applied in the fields of industrial control, machine manufacturing, high definition audio and video transmission, etc.

The 5G TSN technology has modification requirements for a terminal, a base station, a transmission network, and a core network, and the terminal and the UPF need to support a time sensitive network converter (TSN Translator, TT) function. The 5G system (5G system, 5gs) can be seen as a Bridge (Bridge) consisting of a port on the UPF (PDU Session Anchor, PSA) Side, a user plane tunnel between the UE and the UPF, and a port on the terminal-Side TSN Translator (DS-TT).

Fig. 1 is a system architecture presented as Bridge at 5GS, and the main network functions are introduced as follows:

CNC (Centralized Network Configuration), can be applied to Network devices (bridges).

The CUC (Centralized User Configuration) can be applied to User equipment (e.g., end Station (ES)).

An Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) for registration, connection Management, and the like.

UPF (User plane Function), the main functions include: an external PDU session node interconnected to the data network, message routing and forwarding.

The SMF (Session Management Function) is used for Session establishment, deletion, user plane selection and control, UE Internet Protocol (IP) allocation, and the like.

An AF (Application Function) that interacts with a 3GPP core network to provide services. Based on the operator deployment situation, the trusted AF may directly interact with a related Network Function (NF), while the non-trusted AF may not directly interact with the NF, but should use an external public framework to perform through the NEF. The TSN AF is an AF that interacts with the 5G system control plane on behalf of the TSN domain (including CUC/CNC).

The PCF (Policy Control Function) supports a unified Policy framework to manage network behavior and provide Policy rules for the Control plane NF to execute.

UDM (Unified Data Management), which stores information of the UE, such as subscription information, and information that a PDU session has been established.

NEF (Network Exposure Function), which provides a Function of securely exposing services and capabilities provided by the 3GPP Network to external Network-related functions.

UDRs (Unified Data Repository), storage of subscription Data, and UDM FEs retrieval of subscription Data. Storage of policy information, and retrieval of policy information by the PCF.

5G defines AF, sending an AF Request (Request) to a non-trusted domain (NEF) or to a trusted domain (PCF), which contains a series of parameters including target DNN, application ID, N6 routing requirements, application location, etc. The PCF generates Policy Control and Charging (PCC) rules for the service flow of the Session of the target PDU according to the information parameters provided by the AF in combination with its own Policy Control, and selects a suitable UPF for it through the SMF. The TSN AF can interact with the 5G system control plane on behalf of the TSN domain (including CUC/CNC).

A Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) is a group of logical devices and users, which are not limited by physical locations and can be organized according to functions, departments, applications, and other factors, and communication between them can be regarded as being in the same Network segment. Ieee802.1q is a protocol for adding VLAN identification information to a data frame after IEEE authentication. IEEE802.1Q appended with VLAN ID (VID) is a field for identification of VLAN, the field is 12-bit, and the VID supports 4096 (12 power of 2) VLAN identification. Among 4096 possible VIDs, VID =0 is used to identify the frame priority. 4095 (FFF) as a reserved value, so the maximum possible value for VLAN configuration is 4094. The effective VLAN ID range is typically 1-4094.

Traffic Class (Traffic Class) is a Class used to speed up the transmission of frames generated by critical services or time sensitive services, and has a value range of 0 to 7.

In the ethernet, VLAN information is configured on a bridge port by Operation Administration and Maintenance (OAM). In a 5G system, the SMF may obtain a list of VLAN IDs (VIDs) allowed for this PDU session from the DN-AAA server during a Secondary authentication/authorization (Secondary authentication/authorization) procedure. In the prior art, the CNC/AF may be allowed to dynamically configure VLAN information, and report the VLAN information of the 5G system to the CNC via a port management information container (port management information container) defined by the 3GPP standard, and the CNC configures the VLAN information to the 5G system.

Currently, several configurations for VLANs are defined. For a TSN PDU session, the physical port of UPF (NW-TT) needs to be configured to support VLAN/Traffic Class capabilities, and UPF selection needs to be performed based on the port capability of UPF. Currently, no UPF selection mechanism is provided, so that the UPF cannot support VLAN/Traffic Class corresponding to a data frame transmitted by End Station (ES), for example:

1) If the UPF does not configure information (VLAN ID) of the target ES corresponding to the data frame, the UPF cannot be forwarded to the target ES.

2) The ES no longer uses the VLAN/Traffic Class that has been configured in UPF.

In this case, the data frame is dropped on the UPF port, resulting in abnormal transmission. Thus, there is a need to configure, reconfigure, or reselect a UPF. There is currently no mechanism for UPF configuration, reconfiguration or reselection based on UPF (NW-TT) VLAN/Traffic Class port capability for TSN PDU sessions.

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are some, not all, embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments, which can be obtained by a person skilled in the art without inventive step based on the embodiments of the present invention, are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

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

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

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

The terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably. CDMA systems may implement Radio technologies such as CDMA2000, universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), and so on. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access, WCDMA) and other CDMA variants. TDMA systems may implement radio technologies such as Global System for Mobile communications (GSM). The OFDMA system may implement radio technologies such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), evolved-UTRA (E-UTRA), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, flash-OFDM, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are parts of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). LTE and higher LTE (e.g., LTE-A) are new UMTS releases that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE-A, and GSM are described in documents from an organization named "third Generation Partnership project" (3 rd Generation Partnership project,3 GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named "third generation partnership project 2" (3 GPP 2). The techniques described herein may be used for both the above-mentioned systems and radio technologies, as well as for other systems and radio technologies.

Referring to fig. 2, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for configuring a UPF, where an execution main body of the method is a UPF, and the method includes the specific steps of: step 201.

Step 201: and configuring or reconfiguring VLAN information corresponding to the sending end or the receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end.

The transmitting end may include: UE or ES, the receiving end includes: target UE or target ES.

It can be understood that configuring VLAN information of a VLAN corresponding to a transmitting end or a receiving end and/or configuring "configuration" in Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by the transmitting end or the receiving end is equivalent to pre-configuring VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information locally in a UPF.

For example, VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information are preconfigured on the UPF through OAM.

In some embodiments, in step 201, the method may include: receiving first information; and according to the first information, configuring or reconfiguring VLAN information corresponding to the sending end or the receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end.

For example, an N4 session modification request (corresponding to the first information) is received from the SMF, where the N4 session modification request indicates reconfiguration VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information.

As another example, the first information is received from the AF or CNC, i.e., the UPF configures VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information based on the first information received from the AF or CNC.

Optionally, the first information includes, but is not limited to, one or more of:

(1) VLAN information (such as VLAN ID) for each port;

a port refers to a physical port of a UPF.

(2) The number of ports;

(3) The number of VLANs supported by Bridge to a maximum;

(4) Configuring whether an output data frame at a Bridge port has VLAN information or not in a VLAN-Aware mode;

(5) Traffic Class information supported by each port.

It is understood that one or more of the above (1) to (5) are preconfigured on the UPF by OAM.

In some embodiments, after step 201, the method further comprises: and sending the configured or reconfigured VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information to the SMF.

For example, after the preconfigured VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information, the UPF may send N4 Association Setup Response information (N4 Association Setup Response) to the SMF, carrying the configured VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information, see fig. 6.

For another example, after the preconfigured VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information, the UPF sends the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information to the SMF via N4 Report (N4 Report) information, see fig. 7.

In the embodiment of the invention, the UPF is configured with the VLAN information corresponding to the sending end or the receiving end and/or the Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end, so that the UPF is prevented from being incapable of forwarding the data frame.

Referring to fig. 3, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for configuring a UPF, where an execution subject of the method is an SMF, and the method includes: step 301 and step 302.

Step 301: determining to reconfigure the UPF;

for example, if the currently selected UPF cannot support VLAN information and/or Traffic Class corresponding to a data frame transmitted by the UE or the ES, it is determined to reconfigure the UPF.

Step 302: and informing the UPF to reconfigure VLAN information corresponding to the sending end or the receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end.

For example, the SMF sends an N4 session modify request to the UPF, informing the UPF to reconfigure VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information.

Further, the SMF sends an N4 session modification response to the UPF.

In some embodiments, in step 301, the reconfiguration of the UPF may be determined according to information reported by the UPF, such as information reported by N4 (alternatively referred to as Ethernet context).

(1) An address of a transmitting end (such as a UE or ES);

such as the MAC address of the UE or ES.

(2) VLAN information of a corresponding VLAN of a transmitting end (e.g., UE or ES);

for example, the UE or ES corresponds to a VLAN ID of a VLAN.

(3) A transmitting end (such as UE or ES) transmits a Traffic Class corresponding to a data frame;

(4) The receiving end (e.g., target UE or ES) corresponds to VLAN information of the VLAN.

It will be appreciated that if this information changes, the UPF needs to report again.

In other embodiments, the reconfiguration of the UPF is determined in step 301 based on information sent by the CNC function.

Optionally, the CNC-sent information includes one or more of:

(1) The address (list) of the receiving end (such as the target UE/ES);

(2) The receiving end (such as target UE or ES) corresponds to VLAN information of the VLAN;

(3) VLAN information of a corresponding VLAN of a transmitting end (e.g., UE or ES);

(4) Traffic Class of data frame transmitted by a transmitting end (such as UE or ES).

In other embodiments, in step 301, the reconfiguration of the UPF is determined according to information reported when the UE initiates a PDU session modification.

Optionally, the information reported when the sending end (such as the UE or the ES) initiates PDU session modification includes one or more of the following:

(1) VLAN information of a corresponding VLAN at a receiving end (such as target UE or ES);

(2) The receiving end (such as the target UE or ES) receives Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame.

In the embodiment of the invention, the UPF is reconfigured with the VLAN information corresponding to the sending end or the receiving end and/or the Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end, so that the condition that the UPF cannot forward the data frame is avoided.

Referring to fig. 4, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a method for selecting a UPF, where an execution subject of the method may be an SMF, and the method includes: step 401 and step 402.

Step 401: obtaining VLAN information corresponding to a VLAN (virtual local area network) of a sending end (UE or ES) or a receiving end (target UE or target ES) and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end;

step 402: and selecting the UPF according to the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information.

For example, the SMF selects a UPF that supports VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by the UE or the target ES.

Optionally, the manner of obtaining VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information in step 401 may include one or more of the following:

(1) Locally acquiring VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by a transmitting end (such as UE or ES) or a receiving end (such as target UE or target ES) through the SMF;

(2) Acquiring VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by a transmitting end (such as UE or ES) or a receiving end (such as target UE or target ES) through subscription information;

(3) Acquiring VLAN information allowed by PDU session through PDU session authentication/authorization flow;

(4) Obtaining VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by a transmitting end (such as a UE or an ES) or a receiving end (such as a target UE or a target ES) through a PDU session establishment request.

Optionally, the PDU session establishment request includes: protocol configuration options, wherein the protocol configuration options comprise: VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information are transmitted by a transmitting end (such as UE or ES) and/or a receiving end (such as target UE or target ES).

In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

receiving updated VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information from the UPF.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the SMF selects the UPF that supports the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the transmitting end (such as UE or ES) or the receiving end (such as target UE or target ES), so as to avoid that the UPF cannot forward the data frame.

Referring to fig. 5, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a method for selecting a UPF, where an execution subject of the method is an SMF, and the method includes: step 501 and step 502.

Step 501: receiving third information, the third information comprising one or more of: UPF reported information, CNC sent information, and reported information when the sending end initiates PDU session modification;

step 502: and determining to reselect the UPF according to the third information.

For example, the SMF reselects a UPF that supports VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by a transmitting end (e.g., a UE or an ES) or a receiving end (e.g., a target UE or a target ES).

In some embodiments, the information reported by the UPF includes one or more of:

(1) An address of a transmitting end (such as a UE or ES);

(3) A Traffic Class corresponding to a data frame sent by a sending end (such as a UE or an ES);

(4) The receiving end (target UE or target ES) corresponds to VLAN information of the VLAN.

In some embodiments, the information sent by the sender to the CNC includes one or more of:

(1) The address of the receiving end (target UE or target ES);

(3) And a Traffic Class corresponding to the data frame sent by the sending end (such as the UE or the ES).

In some embodiments, the information reported when the UE initiates PDU session modification includes one or more of:

(1) VLAN information of a VLAN corresponding to a receiving end (target UE or target ES);

(2) The receiving end (such as the target UE or the target ES) receives Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame.

In the embodiment of the invention, the SMF reselects the UPF supporting the VLAN information corresponding to the sending end (such as UE or ES) or the receiving end (such as target UE or target ES) and/or the Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end, so that the UPF is prevented from being incapable of forwarding the data frame.

Example one

This embodiment introduces a method for configuring VLAN information and Traffic Class information for a UPF, and reporting the configuration information to an SMF through an N4 interface, and selecting a suitable UPF in a PDU session establishment process.

And (I) information configuration.

1) Static VLAN information is configured (e.g., via OAM configuration) for the physical ports of the UPF (NW-TT), including virtual local area network identification (VLAN ID, VID) corresponding to each port, the number of ports, the maximum number of VLANs supported by the Bridge, whether outgoing data frames configured at the Bridge ports in VLAN-Aware mode are with or without VLAN ID, and other VLAN information.

For the VLAN-Aware mode, the source MAC address, VLAN ID and port number of the received packet need to be recorded in the MAC-VID table (as in table 1). For VLAN-Unaware mode, only the source MAC address and port number of the received packet are recorded.

TABLE 1

Port (Port)	MAC address	VLAN ID(VID)
			1	A	1
2	B	2
			3	C	2
4	D	1，2，3

In addition, the Traffic Class information supported by each port is configured.

2) The UPF reports the configuration information in 1) above to the SMF through the N4 association establishment procedure, see fig. 6.

1. The SMF sends association establishment request information to the UPF.

2. And the UPF replies association establishment response information to the SMF, wherein the association establishment response information comprises the configuration information in the step 1).

In other embodiments, when the UPF confirms that the configuration information needs to be reported, the UPF may also report the configuration information in 1) above to the SMF through an N4 reporting process, see fig. 7.

1. And the UPF sends N4 Report (N4 Report) information to the SMF, wherein the N4 Report information comprises the configuration information in the step 1).

2. The SMF replies an acknowledgement message (N4 Report ACK) to the UPF.

(II) UPF selection

Referring to fig. 8, the flow of upf selection is as follows:

step 1: the UE initiates a PDU session setup.

The PDU session setup request message includes the MAC address of the DS-TT ethernet port. If the UE obtains its latest VID from the connected ES, the VID of the ES with which it is likely to communicate, and the Traffic Class list, the information is included in Protocol Configuration Options (PCOs) and transmitted.

And 2, step: the AMF performs SMF selection.

And step 3: and the AMF sends Nsmf _ PDUSessionCreatesMContext Request information to the SMF to Request to establish AMF-SMF association supporting the PDU session.

And 4, step 4: the SMF invokes a Nudm _ SDM _ Get operation to request the UDM for the signed VLAN (VID) and Traffic Class.

And 5: and the SMF replies Nsmf _ PDUSession _ CreatesMContext Response information to the AMF, and the AMF-SMF association establishment is completed.

Step 6: if the available VLAN and Traffic Class information is configured only locally at the SMF (the SMF does not obtain the corresponding subscription information via step 4), the SMF performs a Secondary authentication/authorization of the PDU session, through which the list of VIDs allowed for this PDU session is obtained from the DN-AAA server.

And 7: the SMF selects the appropriate UPF based on locally stored VLAN and Traffic Class information (reported by the UPF), and the signed VLAN and Traffic Class information obtained in step 4, or the allowed VID list obtained in step 6, and the information contained in the PCO in step 1 (if any).

And 8: the SMF initiates the N4 session establishment/modification procedure and optionally the UPF sends updated VLAN and Traffic Class information to the SMF.

And step 9: PDU session establishment is done according to existing standard techniques.

Example two

In this embodiment, based on the information reported by N4 of the UPF, the SMF reselects the UPF.

Precondition: the information configuration (one) of the first embodiment is completed.

Referring to fig. 9, the flow of upf reselection is as follows:

step 1: the Source UPF (Source UPF) reports the Ethernet context (Ethernet context) to the SMF, including the MAC address of the current UE, the VLAN tag (including VID) of the UE and its communication destination, and the Traffic Class (which may be obtained with a three-layer data frame header, and is also mapped by the value in the priority field of the data frame (Ethernet frame) header). If the Ethernet context changes, the UPF needs to be reported again.

Step 2: the SMF replies to the source UPF with a report acknowledgement.

And step 3: the SMF determines that a PSA UPF change is required and selects a new target PSA UPF. This decision is triggered, for example, based on the Ethernet context information, that the currently selected UPF cannot support the VID and/or Traffic Class used by the UE.

And 4, step 4: the SMF sends an N4 Session Establishment Request (N4 Session Establishment Request) to the Target UPF (Target UPF), and receives an N4 Session Establishment Response (N4 Session Establishment Response) replied by the Target UPF.

And 5: perform possible RAN handover or no handover related operations.

And 6: the SMF sends an N4 Session Modification Request (N4 Session Modification Request) to the target UPF, and the Request information includes Ethernet context (e.g., MAC address and VLAN tag). The SMF receives an N4 Session Modification Response (N4 Session Modification Response) in reply to the target UPF.

And 7: alternatively, the target UPF may assist in updating the ethernet forwarding tables of the ethernet switches in the DN through various mechanisms, the use of which is specific to the DN and not described herein.

And step 8: the SMF sends an N4 Session Release Request to the source UPF and receives a response replied by the source UPF.

EXAMPLE III

In this embodiment, based on the information reported by the N4 of the UPF, the SMF triggers the UPF to reconfigure the VLAN and/or Traffic Class information.

Referring to fig. 10, the flow of the upf reconfiguration is as follows:

step 1: the source UPF reports Ethernet context to SMF, including MAC address of current UE, VLAN tag (including VID) of UE and its communication target ES, traffic Class (available in three layers of data frame header, also mapped by value in priority field of data frame (Ethernet) header). If the Ethernet context changes, the UPF needs to be reported again.

Step 2: the SMF replies to the UPF with a report acknowledgement.

And 3, step 3: SMF determines from Ethernet context that UPF needs to be reconfigured. Sending an N4 session modification request to the UPF triggers the UPF to reconfigure VLANs and Traffic Class information (e.g., VLAN autoconfiguration functions that support MVRP (Multiple VLAN Registration Protocol)).

And 4, step 4: the SMF sends an N4 session modification to the UPF indicating the UPF reconfiguration.

And 5: the UPF reconfigures the VLAN and Traffic Class information (e.g., UPF supports the VLAN auto-configuration function of MVRP).

And 6: the UPF replies to the N4 session modification response.

Example four

This embodiment describes that the CNC provides configuration information (Traffic forwarding information) by sending the latest VLAN and Traffic Class information to the CNC, and performs the UPF reselection or reconfiguration based on the configuration information.

Referring to fig. 11, the flow of upf reselection or reconfiguration is as follows:

step 1: alternatively, for the centralized architecture, the End Station 1 (ES 1) sends TSN service request information to the CUC, where the information includes the address (list) of the target ES, the VLAN (VID) corresponding to the ES, the Traffic Class (list) to be supported, and the VID (list) of the target ES. The CUC negotiates with the CNC, the CNC obtains Traffic forwarding information (including VID and target MAC address of the TSN stream) based on the request information, and the CNC sends the Traffic forwarding information and Traffic Class to the TSN AF.

Step 2: optionally, the UE (DS-TT) and UPF (NW-TT) report VLAN and Traffic Class information (including the configuration information of (one) in the first embodiment and VID and Traffic Class on the UE side) to the CNC by the AF through a 5GS Bridge information reporting process.

And 3, step 3: based on the information provided in step 1 or step 2, the AF operates through Npcf _ policyautomation _ Create Request or Npcf _ policyautomation _ Update Request service, or creates an AF Request, invokes the nff _ trafficinfiffice _ Create service operation and sends Traffic forwarding information and Traffic Class to the PCF through NEF, UDR, and possibly sends the information of (one) in the first embodiment to the PCF.

And 4, step 4: the PCF invokes an Npcf _ SMPolicyControl _ UpdateNotify service operation, sending the updated PCC rules (including VID and traffic class information) to the SMF.

Step 5-step 6: the SMF executes one of the following operations according to the PCC information:

(1) The UPF is reselected and the user plane is reconfigured (step 5).

(2) Sending an N4 session modify request to the UPF triggers the UPF reconfiguration (e.g., the UPF supports the VLAN auto-configuration function of MVRP) (steps 6a, 6b, and 6 c).

EXAMPLE five

This embodiment describes that the UE initiates PDU session modification for UPF reselection or reconfiguration.

Referring to fig. 12, the flow of upf reselection or reconfiguration is as follows:

step 1: the UE initiates a PDU session modification request. For example, the UE no longer uses the original VLAN/Traffic Class. The UE sends the latest VID of the ES to which it is connected, possibly the VID of the ES with which it is the communication destination (if any), and the Traffic Class list, including the information in the PCO.

Step 2: the AMF calls an Nsmf _ PDUSESION _ UpdateSMContext operation to send information to the SMF.

Step 3-4: the SMF determines that the UPF needs to be reselected or configured according to the received information, and executes one of the following operations:

(1) The UPF is reselected and the user plane is reconfigured (step 3).

(2) Sending an N4 session modification request to the UPF triggers the UPF reconfiguration (e.g., VLAN auto-configuration function supporting MVRP) (

steps

4a, 4b, and 4 c).

Referring to fig. 13, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a UPF, where the UPF1300 includes:

a configuring module 1302, configured to configure or reconfigure VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by a transmitting end (such as a UE or an ES) or a receiving end (such as a target UE or a target ES).

In some embodiments, the UPF1300 further includes:

the first receiving module is used for receiving first information; the configuration module 1302 is further configured to: and according to the first information, configuring or reconfiguring VLAN information corresponding to the sending end or the receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end.

In some embodiments, the first receiving module is further configured to: receiving the first information from the AF or CNC, or; an N4 session modification request is received from the SMF, the N4 session modification request indicating reconfiguration VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information.

In some embodiments, the UPF further comprises:

and the first sending module is used for sending the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information to the SMF.

Optionally, the first sending module is further configured to: sending the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information to the SMF through N4 association establishment response information; or sending the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information to the SMF through N4 reporting information.

The UPF provided by the embodiment of the present invention may implement the method embodiment shown in fig. 2, and the implementation principle and the technical effect are similar, which are not described herein again.

Referring to fig. 14, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a UPF, where the UPF1400 includes: a first transceiver 1401 and a first processor 1402;

the first transceiver 1401 transmits and receives data under the control of the first processor 1402;

the first processor 1402 reads a program in the memory to perform the following operations: and configuring or reconfiguring VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by a transmitting end (such as the UE or the ES) or a receiving end (such as the target UE or the target ES).

In some embodiments, the first processor 1402 reads a program in memory to perform the following operations: receiving the first information from the AF or CNC; alternatively, an N4 session modification request is received from the SMF, the N4 session modification request indicating reconfiguration VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information.

In some embodiments, the first processor 1402 reads a program in memory to perform the following operations: and sending the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information to the SMF.

In some embodiments, the first processor 1402 reads a program in memory to perform the following operations: sending the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information to the SMF through N4 association establishment response information; or sending the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information to the SMF through N4 reporting information.

The UPF provided in the embodiment of the present invention may implement the method embodiment shown in fig. 2, and the implementation principle and technical effect are similar, which are not described herein again.

Referring to fig. 15, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an SMF, where the SMF1500 includes:

a first determining module 1501 for determining a reconfiguration of a UPF;

a notifying module 1502 configured to notify the UPF to reconfigure VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by a transmitting end (such as a UE or an ES) or a receiving end (such as a target UE or a target ES).

In some embodiments, the first determining module 1501 is further configured to: and determining to reconfigure the UPF according to the information reported by the UPF.

(1) The address of the sender (such as UE or ES);

(3) A Traffic Class corresponding to a data frame sent by the sending end (such as UE or ES);

(4) The receiving end (e.g., target UE or target ES) corresponds to VLAN information of the VLAN.

In some embodiments, the first determining module 1501 is further configured to: and determining to reconfigure the UPF according to the information sent by the CNC function.

Optionally, the CNC-sent information includes one or more of:

(1) The address of the receiving end (such as a target UE or a target ES);

(2) The receiving end corresponds to VLAN information of the VLAN;

(3) A sending end (such as UE or ES) corresponds to VLAN information of a VLAN, and the UE is the sending end;

(4) And a Traffic Class corresponding to the data frame sent by the sending end (such as the UE or the ES).

In some embodiments, the first determining module 1501 is further configured to: and determining to reconfigure the UPF according to the reported information when the UE initiates the PDU session modification.

(1) VLAN information of a corresponding VLAN at a receiving end (such as a target UE or a target ES);

(2) And the receiving end receives Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame.

The SMF provided in the embodiment of the present invention may implement the method embodiment shown in fig. 3, which has similar implementation principles and technical effects, and this embodiment is not described herein again.

Referring to fig. 16, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an SMF, where the SMF1600 includes: a second transceiver 1601 and a second processor 1602;

the second transceiver 1601 transmits and receives data under the control of the second processor 1602;

the second processor 1602 reads the program in the memory to perform the following operations: determining to reconfigure the UPF; and informing the UPF to reconfigure VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by a transmitting end (such as UE or ES) or a receiving end (such as target UE or target ES).

In some embodiments, the second processor 1602 reads a program in memory to perform the following operations: and determining to reconfigure the UPF according to the information reported by the UPF.

(1) The address of the sender (such as UE or ES);

(2) VLAN information of a transmitting end (such as UE or ES) corresponding to a VLAN;

(4) The receiving end (such as a target UE or a target ES) corresponds to VLAN information of the VLAN.

In some embodiments, the second processor 1602 reads a program in memory to perform the following operations: and determining to reconfigure the UPF according to the information sent by the CNC function.

Optionally, the CNC-sent information includes one or more of:

(1) The address of the receiving end (such as a target UE or a target ES);

(2) The receiving end corresponds to VLAN information of the VLAN;

(4) And a Traffic Class corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the transmitting end (such as the UE or the ES).

In some embodiments, the second processor 1602 reads a program in memory to perform the following operations: and determining to reconfigure the UPF according to the reported information when the sending end (such as UE or ES) initiates the PDU session modification.

Optionally, the information reported when the transmitting end (such as the UE or the ES) initiates the PDU session modification includes one or more of the following:

(1) The receiving end (such as target UE or target ES) corresponds to VLAN information of the VLAN;

Referring to fig. 17, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an SMF, where the SMF1700 includes:

an obtaining module 1701, configured to obtain VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by a sending end (e.g., UE or ES) or a receiving end (e.g., target UE or target ES);

a selecting module 1702, configured to select a UPF according to the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information.

In some embodiments, the obtaining module 1701 is further configured to:

locally acquiring VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by a transmitting end (such as UE or ES) or a receiving end (such as target UE or target ES) through the SMF;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

acquiring VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by a transmitting end (such as UE or ES) or a receiving end (such as target UE or target ES) through subscription information;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

alternatively, the first and second liquid crystal display panels may be,

obtaining VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by a transmitting end (such as a UE or an ES) or a receiving end (such as a target UE or a target ES) through a PDU session establishment request.

In some embodiments, the PDU session setup request comprises: protocol configuration options, wherein the protocol configuration options comprise: VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by a transmitting end (such as UE or ES) and/or a receiving end (such as target UE or target ES).

In some embodiments, SMF1700 further comprises:

and the second receiving module is used for receiving VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information from the UPF and storing the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information in the SMF.

The SMF provided in the embodiment of the present invention may implement the method embodiment shown in fig. 4, which has similar implementation principles and technical effects, and this embodiment is not described herein again.

Referring to fig. 18, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an SMF, where the SMF1800 includes: a third transceiver 1801 and a third processor 1802;

the third transceiver 1801 transmits and receives data under the control of the third processor 1802;

the third processor 1802 reads a program in a memory to perform the following operations: acquiring VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by a transmitting end (such as UE or ES) or a receiving end (such as target UE or target ES); and selecting the UPF according to the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information.

In some embodiments, the third processor 1802 reads a program in memory to perform the following operations:

alternatively, the first and second liquid crystal display panels may be,

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

In some embodiments, the third processor 1802 reads a program in memory to perform the following operations: and receiving VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information from the UPF, and storing the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information in the SMF locally.

Referring to fig. 19, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an SMF, where the SMF1900 includes:

a third receiving module 1901, configured to receive third information, where the third information includes one or more of the following: information reported by UPF, information sent by CNC, and information reported when a sending terminal (such as UE or ES) initiates PDU session modification;

a third determining module 1902, configured to determine to reselect the UPF according to the third information.

(1) An address of a transmitting end (such as a UE or ES);

(2) The sending end (such as UE or ES) corresponds to VLAN information of a VLAN;

Optionally, the CNC-sent information includes one or more of:

(1) The address of the receiving end (target UE or target ES);

The SMF provided in the embodiment of the present invention may implement the method embodiment shown in fig. 5, which has similar implementation principles and technical effects, and this embodiment is not described herein again.

Referring to fig. 20, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an SMF, where the SMF2000 includes: a fourth transceiver 2001 and a fourth processor 2002;

the fourth transceiver 2001 transmits and receives data under the control of the fourth processor 2002;

the fourth processor 2002 reads a program in the memory to perform the following operations: receiving third information, the third information comprising one or more of: information reported by UPF, information sent by CNC, and information reported when a sending end (such as UE or ES) initiates PDU session modification; and determining to reselect the UPF according to the third information.

(1) An address of a transmitting end (such as a UE or ES);

(2) VLAN information of a corresponding VLAN of the sending terminal (such as UE or ES);

Optionally, the CNC-sent information includes one or more of:

(1) The address of the receiving end (target UE or target ES);

(1) VLAN information of a corresponding VLAN of a receiving end (target UE or target ES);

Referring to fig. 21, fig. 21 is a structural diagram of a communication network element to which the embodiment of the present invention is applied, and as shown in fig. 21, the communication network element 2100 includes: a processor 2101, a transceiver 2102, a memory 2103, and a bus interface, wherein:

in one embodiment of the present invention, the communication device 2100 further comprises: a program stored 2103 in the memory and executable on the processor 2101, the program implementing the steps in the embodiments shown in fig. 2-5 when executed by the processor 2101.

In FIG. 21, the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, with various circuits being linked together, in particular, one or more processors represented by the processor 2101 and a memory represented by the memory 2103. The bus architecture may also link together various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, power management circuits, and the like, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 2102 may be a number of elements, including a transmitter and a receiver, providing a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium, it being understood that the transceiver 2102 is an optional component.

The processor 2101 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 2103 may store data used by the processor 2101 when performing operations.

The communication network element provided in the embodiment of the present invention may execute the method embodiments shown in fig. 2 to fig. 5, which have similar implementation principles and technical effects, and this embodiment is not described herein again.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Claims

1. A method for configuring a User Plane Function (UPF) is applied to the UPF and is characterized by comprising the following steps:

configuring or reconfiguring VLAN information of a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) corresponding to a sending end or a receiving end and/or communication classification Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end;

the configuring or reconfiguring VLAN information corresponding to the sending end or the receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end includes:

receiving first information;

according to the first information, VLAN information of a VLAN corresponding to the sending end or the receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end is configured or reconfigured;

the receiving the first information comprises;

receiving the first information from an Application Function (AF) or a Centralized Network Configuration (CNC);

alternatively, the first and second liquid crystal display panels may be,

receiving an N4 session modification request from a Session Management Function (SMF), the N4 session modification request indicating a reconfiguration of the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

and sending the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information to the SMF.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein sending the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information to the SMF comprises:

alternatively, the first and second liquid crystal display panels may be,

4. A UPF configuration method is applied to SMF and is characterized by comprising the following steps:

determining to reconfigure the UPF;

informing the UPF to reconfigure VLAN information corresponding to the sending end or the receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end;

the reconfiguration of the VLAN information of the VLAN corresponding to the transmitting end or the receiving end and/or the Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the transmitting end or the receiving end by the UPF includes: the UPF receives first information; according to the first information, configuring or reconfiguring VLAN information corresponding to a sending end or a receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end; the UPF receiving the first information comprises; receiving the first information from an Application Function (AF) or a Centralized Network Configuration (CNC); or, receiving an N4 session modification request from a session management function SMF, the N4 session modification request indicating to reconfigure the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein determining to reconfigure the UPF comprises:

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the information reported by the UPF includes one or more of the following:

the address of the sending end;

the sending end corresponds to VLAN information of a VLAN;

a Traffic Class corresponding to the data frame sent by the sending end;

the receiving end corresponds to VLAN information of the VLAN.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the determining to reconfigure the UPF comprises:

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the CNC transmitted information includes one or more of:

the address of the receiving end;

the receiving end corresponds to VLAN information of the VLAN;

the sending end corresponds to VLAN information of a VLAN;

and the Traffic Class corresponds to the data frame sent by the sending end.

9. The method of claim 4, wherein determining to reconfigure the UPF comprises:

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the information reported when the sender initiates PDU session modification comprises one or more of the following:

the receiving end corresponds to VLAN information of the VLAN;

11. A UPF selection method applied to SMF is characterized by comprising the following steps:

selecting UPF according to the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information;

acquiring VLAN information corresponding to a sending end or a receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end, wherein the VLAN information comprises the following information:

locally acquiring VLAN information of a VLAN corresponding to a sending end or a receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end through the SMF;

alternatively, the first and second liquid crystal display panels may be,

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the PDU session setup request comprises: protocol configuration options, wherein the protocol configuration options comprise: VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the transmitting end and/or the receiving end.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein before locally obtaining VLAN information of a VLAN corresponding to a transmitting end or a receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by the transmitting end or the receiving end through the SMF, the method further comprises:

14. A UPF, comprising:

the configuration module is used for configuring or reconfiguring VLAN information corresponding to the sending end or the receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end;

the first receiving module is used for receiving first information; the configuration module is further to: according to the first information, configuring or reconfiguring VLAN information corresponding to a sending end or a receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end;

the first receiving module is further configured to: receiving the first information from the AF or CNC, or; an N4 session modification request is received from the SMF, the N4 session modification request indicating reconfiguration VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information.

15. A UPF, comprising: a first transceiver and a first processor;

the first processor reads a program in a memory to perform the following operations: configuring or reconfiguring VLAN information corresponding to a sending end or a receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end;

receiving first information;

according to the first information, configuring or reconfiguring VLAN information corresponding to a sending end or a receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end;

said receiving first information comprises;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

16. An SMF, comprising:

a first determining module for determining a reconfiguration of a UPF;

the notification module is used for notifying the UPF to reconfigure VLAN information corresponding to the sending end or the receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end;

the reconfiguration of the VLAN information of the VLAN corresponding to the transmitting end or the receiving end and/or the Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the transmitting end or the receiving end by the UPF includes: the UPF receives first information; according to the first information, configuring or reconfiguring VLAN information corresponding to a sending end or a receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end; the UPF receives first information; receiving the first information from an Application Function (AF) or a Centralized Network Configuration (CNC); or, receiving an N4 session modification request from a session management function SMF, the N4 session modification request indicating to reconfigure the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information.

17. An SMF, comprising: a second transceiver and a second processor;

the second processor reads a program in the memory to perform the following operations: determining to reconfigure the UPF; informing the UPF to reconfigure VLAN information corresponding to the sending end or the receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end;

the reconfiguration of the VLAN information of the VLAN corresponding to the transmitting end or the receiving end and/or the Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the transmitting end or the receiving end by the UPF includes: the UPF receives first information; according to the first information, configuring or reconfiguring VLAN information corresponding to a sending end or a receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end; the UPF receives first information; receiving the first information from an Application Function (AF) or a Centralized Network Configuration (CNC); or, receiving an N4 session modification request from a session management function, SMF, said N4 session modification request indicating to reconfigure said VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information.

18. An SMF, comprising:

the selection module is used for selecting UPF according to the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information;

the acquisition module is further configured to:

locally acquiring VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by a transmitting end or a receiving end through the SMF;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

acquiring VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by a transmitting end or a receiving end through subscription information;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

alternatively, the first and second liquid crystal display panels may be,

and acquiring VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to the data frame transmitted by the transmitting end or the receiving end through the PDU session establishment request.

19. An SMF, comprising: a third transceiver and a third processor;

the third processor reads a program in the memory to perform the following operations: obtaining VLAN information corresponding to a sending end or a receiving end and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a data frame transmitted by the sending end or the receiving end; selecting UPF according to the VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information;

the third processor reads a program in the memory to perform the following operations:

locally acquiring a sending end or a receiving end (VLAN information and/or Traffic Class information corresponding to a transmitted data frame) through the SMF;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

alternatively, the first and second liquid crystal display panels may be,

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

20. A communication device, comprising: a processor, a memory and a program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, the program, when executed by the processor, implementing steps of a method comprising the UPF configuration of any of claims 1 to 3; alternatively, the steps of implementing a method comprising a UPF configuration according to any of claims 4 to 10; alternatively, the steps of implementing a method comprising a UPF selection according to any of claims 11 to 13.

21. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that a computer program is stored thereon, which computer program, when being executed by a processor, carries out the steps of a method comprising the UPF configuration according to any of the claims 1 to 3; or, implementing a method comprising a UPF configuration according to any of claims 4 to 10; alternatively, the steps of implementing a method comprising a UPF selection according to any of claims 11 to 13.