CN115915196A

CN115915196A - Link state detection method, communication device and communication system

Info

Publication number: CN115915196A
Application number: CN202111161076.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 于游洋; 时书锋
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-09-30
Filing date: 2021-09-30
Publication date: 2023-04-04

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides a link state detection method, a communication device and a communication system. The method comprises the following steps: the terminal device determines a first QoS flow for link status detection, and then requests the user plane network element to allocate an IP address for link status detection and/or a port number for link status detection to the first QoS flow, and a subsequent terminal device or user plane network element may detect the link status of the first QoS flow according to the IP address and/or the port number. The method realizes that the terminal equipment flexibly selects the QoS flow for detecting the link state, and improves the flexibility of detecting the link state.

Description

Link state detection method, communication device and communication system

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a link state detection method, a communication apparatus, and a communication system.

Background

The terminal device can transmit and receive data between the user plane link and the user plane network element, and the state of the link directly affects the performance indexes of data transmission and reception, such as packet loss rate, time delay and the like. Therefore, it is necessary to detect the state of the link to grasp the state of the link.

However, how to achieve flexible detection of link status remains to be solved.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a link state detection method, a communication device and a communication system, which are used for realizing flexible detection of a link state.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a link status detection method, which may be performed by a terminal device or a module (e.g., a chip) applied in the terminal device. Taking the terminal device executing the method as an example, the method comprises the following steps: the terminal equipment determines a first QoS flow for detecting the link state; the terminal equipment sends detection indication information and the identification information of the first QoS flow to a user plane network element, wherein the detection indication information is used for indicating that the first QoS flow is used for detecting the link state; the terminal equipment receives an IP address used for detecting the link state and/or a port number used for detecting the link state, which correspond to the first QoS flow from the user plane network element; the terminal equipment sends a link state detection packet on the first QoS flow, wherein the link state detection packet comprises the IP address and/or the port number; or the terminal device receives a link state detection packet on the first QoS flow, the link state detection packet including the IP address and/or the port number.

According to the above scheme, the terminal device determines a first QoS flow for link status detection, and then requests the user plane network element to allocate an IP address for link status detection and/or a port number for link status detection to the first QoS flow, and a subsequent terminal device or user plane network element may detect the link status of the first QoS flow according to the IP address and/or the port number. The method realizes that the terminal equipment flexibly selects the QoS flow for detecting the link state, and improves the flexibility of detecting the link state.

As a possible implementation method, the terminal device sends a first message to a user plane network element, where the first message includes identification information of the first QoS flow, and the first message is used to indicate that link state detection is performed on the first QoS flow.

According to the above scheme, the terminal device may indicate to the user plane network element to perform link state detection on the first QoS flow through the user plane, and indicate to perform link state detection on the first QoS flow through the first message, and it is not necessary to carry additional indication information in the first message to indicate to perform link state detection on the first QoS flow, which may reduce overhead.

As a possible implementation method, the terminal device sends a first message to a user plane network element, where the first message includes a detection indication and identification information of the first QoS flow, and the detection indication is used to indicate that link status detection is performed on the first QoS flow.

According to the above scheme, the terminal device may indicate to the user plane network element to perform link state detection on the first QoS flow through the user plane, and indicate to perform link state detection on the first QoS flow through the detection indication, and there is no requirement for the form of the first message itself, so that the applicable scenario of the scheme may be expanded.

As a possible implementation method, the terminal device sends the first message to the user plane network element on a second QoS flow; the terminal device receives a second message from the user plane network element on a third QoS flow, the second message comprising the IP address and/or the port number.

As a possible implementation method, the terminal device sends the detection indication information and the identification information of the first QoS flow to the user plane network element on a second QoS flow; the terminal device receives the IP address and/or the port number from the user plane network element on the second QoS flow.

As a possible implementation method, the terminal device sends a detection indication and the identification information of the first QoS flow to the user plane network element through the session management network element.

According to the above scheme, the terminal device may indicate the first QoS flow to the user plane network element for performing link state detection through the session management network element of the control plane, which may reduce the overhead of the user plane.

As a possible implementation method, the terminal device determines the first QoS flow for link state detection according to a local policy.

As a possible implementation method, the terminal device determines, according to a service requirement, the first QoS flow carrying the service for link state detection.

According to the scheme, the first QoS flow for bearing the service is determined according to the service requirement for link state detection, so that the QoS flow for link state detection can be accurately determined.

As a possible implementation method, the terminal device determines that the parameter of the first QoS flow satisfies a preset requirement, and then determines that the first QoS flow is used for link status detection, where the parameter of the first QoS flow includes but is not limited to: 5QI value, time delay and packet loss rate.

According to the scheme, the QoS flow for detecting the link state is determined according to the parameters of the QoS flow, so that the QoS flow for detecting the link state can be accurately determined.

As a possible implementation method, the terminal device generates a QoS rule according to the identification information of the first QoS flow, and the IP address and/or the port number; the terminal equipment determines that the link state detection packet is sent on the first QoS flow according to the QoS rule; or, the terminal device determines that the received link state detection packet is a detection packet on the first QoS flow according to the QoS rule.

As a possible implementation, the first QoS flow is a QoS flow in a session supporting multiple access technologies; the terminal device receives an access technology corresponding to the IP address and/or the port number from the user plane network element.

According to the above scheme, when allocating the IP address of the UPF for detecting the link state and/or the port number of the UPF for detecting the link state for the first QoS flow, the user plane network element also refers to the access technology corresponding to the first QoS flow, which is helpful for accurately allocating the IP address of the UPF for detecting the link state and/or the port number of the UPF for detecting the link state for the first QoS flow.

As a possible implementation method, the link status detection packet is a data packet corresponding to the performance detection function protocol.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a link status detection method, which may be performed by a user plane network element or a module (e.g., a chip) applied in the user plane network element. Taking the user plane network element to execute the method as an example, the method includes: a user plane network element receives detection indication information from terminal equipment and identification information of a first QoS flow, wherein the detection indication information is used for indicating the first QoS flow to be used for detecting a link state; the user plane network element allocates an IP address for detecting the link state and/or a port number for detecting the link state for the first QoS flow according to the detection indication information; the user plane network element sends the IP address and/or the port number to the terminal equipment; the user plane network element sends a link state detection packet on the first QoS flow, where the link state detection packet includes the IP address and/or the port number; or the user plane network element receives a link state detection packet on the first QoS flow, the link state detection packet including the IP address and/or the port number.

According to the above scheme, the terminal device requests the user plane network element to allocate an IP address for link status detection and/or a port number for link status detection to the first QoS stream, and the subsequent terminal device or user plane network element may detect the link status of the first QoS stream according to the IP address and/or port number. The method realizes that the terminal equipment flexibly selects the QoS flow for detecting the link state, and improves the flexibility of detecting the link state.

As a possible implementation method, the user plane network element receives a first message from the terminal device, where the first message includes identification information of the first QoS flow, and the first message is used to indicate that link status detection is performed on the first QoS flow.

As a possible implementation method, the user plane network element receives a first message from the terminal device, where the first message includes a detection indication and identification information of the first QoS flow, and the detection indication is used to indicate that link state detection is performed on the first QoS flow.

As a possible implementation method, the user plane network element receives the first message from the terminal device on a second QoS flow; the user plane network element sends a second message to the terminal device on a third QoS flow, the second message including the IP address and/or the port number.

As a possible implementation method, the user plane network element receives the detection indication information from the terminal device and the identification information of the first QoS flow on a second QoS flow; and the user plane network element sends the IP address and/or the port number to the terminal equipment on the second QoS flow.

As a possible implementation method, the user plane network element receives, through the session management network element, the detection indication from the terminal device and the identification information of the first QoS flow.

As a possible implementation method, the user plane network element generates an N4 rule according to the identification information of the first QoS flow, and the IP address and/or the port number, where the N4 rule includes flow description information and the identification information of the first QoS flow, and the flow description information includes the IP address and/or the port number; the user plane network element determines that the link state detection packet is sent on the first QoS flow according to the N4 rule; or, the user plane network element determines, according to the N4 rule, that the received link state detection packet is a detection packet on the first QoS flow.

As a possible implementation, the first QoS flow is a QoS flow in a session supporting multiple access technologies; and the user plane network element sends the access technology corresponding to the IP address and/or the port number to the terminal equipment.

According to the above scheme, when allocating the IP address of the UPF for detecting the link state and/or the port number of the UPF for detecting the link state for the first QoS flow, the user plane network element also refers to the access technology corresponding to the first QoS flow, which is beneficial to accurately allocating the IP address of the UPF for detecting the link state and/or the port number of the UPF for detecting the link state for the first QoS flow.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a link status detection method, which may be performed by a session management network element or a module (e.g., a chip) applied in the session management network element. Taking the session management network element to execute the method as an example, the method includes: a session management network element receives a detection indication and identification information of a first QoS flow from a terminal device, wherein the detection indication is used for indicating that the first QoS flow is used for detecting a link state; the session management network element sends the detection indication and the identification information of the first QoS flow to a user plane network element; the session management network element receives an IP address and/or a port number for link state detection corresponding to the first QoS flow from the user plane network element; and the session management network element sends the IP address and/or the port number to the terminal equipment.

As a possible implementation method, the session management network element receives a session establishment request message from the terminal device, where the session establishment request message includes the detection indication and the identification information of the first QoS flow; or, the session management network element receives a session modification request message from the terminal device, where the session modification request message includes the detection indication and the identification information of the first QoS flow.

As a possible implementation, the first QoS flow is a QoS flow in a session supporting multiple access technologies; the session management network element receives an access technology corresponding to the IP address and/or the port number from the user plane network element; and the session management network element sends the access technology corresponding to the IP address and/or the port number to the terminal equipment.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, which may be a terminal device or a module (e.g., a chip) applied in the terminal device. The apparatus has a function of implementing any of the implementation methods of the first aspect described above. The function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which may be a user plane network element or a module (e.g., a chip) applied in a user plane network element. The apparatus has a function of implementing any of the implementation methods of the second aspect described above. The function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which may be a session management network element or a module (e.g., a chip) applied in a session management network element. The apparatus has a function of implementing any of the implementation methods of the third aspect described above. The function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, including a processor and a memory; the memory is configured to store computer instructions, and when the apparatus is running, the processor executes the computer instructions stored in the memory to cause the apparatus to perform any of the implementation methods of the first aspect to the third aspect.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which includes means or means (means) for performing each step of any implementation method in the first to third aspects.

In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes a processor and an interface circuit, where the processor is configured to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit, and perform any implementation method in the first to third aspects. The processor includes one or more.

In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, including a processor coupled to a memory, where the processor is configured to call a program stored in the memory to execute any implementation method in the first to third aspects. The memory may be located within the device or external to the device. And the processor may be one or more.

In an eleventh aspect, this embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, where instructions are stored, and when the computer-readable storage medium is run on a communication device, the computer-readable storage medium causes the method in any implementation of the first aspect to the third aspect to be performed.

In a twelfth aspect, the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program or an instruction, when the computer program or the instruction is executed by a communication device, the method of any implementation method in the first to third aspects is executed.

In a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, including: a processor configured to perform any of the implementation methods of the first to third aspects.

In a fourteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, including a session management network element and a user plane network element. The session management network element is configured to receive a detection indication from a terminal device and identification information of a first QoS flow, where the detection indication is used to indicate that the first QoS flow is used for link state detection; sending the detection indication and the identification information of the first QoS flow to a user plane network element; receiving an IP address and/or a port number for link state detection corresponding to the first QoS flow from the user plane network element; sending the IP address and/or the port number to the terminal equipment; the user plane network element is configured to receive the detection indication from the session management network element and the identification information of the first QoS flow; allocating the IP address and/or the port number for link state detection to the first QoS flow according to the detection indication; and sending the IP address and/or the port number to the session management network element.

As a possible implementation method, the session management network element is specifically configured to receive a session establishment request message from the terminal device, where the session establishment request message includes the detection indication and the identification information of the first QoS flow; or receiving a session modification request message from the terminal device, wherein the session modification request message comprises the detection indication and the identification information of the first QoS flow.

As a possible implementation, the first QoS flow is a QoS flow in a session supporting multiple access technologies; the user plane network element is further configured to send, to the session management network element, the access technology of the user plane network element corresponding to the IP address and/or the port number. The session management network element is further configured to receive an access technology corresponding to the IP address and/or the port number from the user plane network element; and sending the access technology corresponding to the IP address and/or the port number to the terminal device.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a service-oriented architecture;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a point-to-point interface;

FIG. 3 (a) is a diagram of a PDU session supporting a single access technique;

FIG. 3 (b) is a diagram of a PDU session supporting multiple access techniques;

fig. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a link status detection method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a link status detection method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a link status detection method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic flowchart of a link status detection method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

To address the challenges of wireless broadband technology, and to maintain the leading advantages of third Generation partnership project (3 GPP) networks, the 3GPP standards group has established a Next Generation mobile communication network System (Next Generation System) architecture, referred to as the fifth Generation (5 g) network architecture. The architecture not only supports a wireless access technology (such as a Long Term Evolution (LTE) access technology, a 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) access technology, and the like) defined by a 3GPP standard group to access to a 5G Core Network (CN), but also supports a non-3GPP (non-3 GPP) access technology to access to the core network through a non-3GPP conversion function (non-3 GPP interworking function, n3 iwf) or a next generation access gateway (ngPDG).

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a service-oriented architecture. The 5G network architecture shown in fig. 1 may include a terminal device, an access network device, and a core network device. The terminal device accesses a Data Network (DN) through the access network device and the core network device. The core network device includes, but is not limited to, part or all of the following network elements: a Unified Data Management (UDM) network element, a Unified Database (UDR), a network open function (NEF) network element, an Application Function (AF) network element, a Policy Control Function (PCF) network element, an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, a Session Management Function (SMF) network element, a User Plane Function (UPF) network element, a network storage function (NRF) network element, an authentication server function (AUSF) network element, and an AUSF network element.

The terminal equipment may be User Equipment (UE), a mobile station, a mobile terminal, etc. The terminal device can be widely applied to various scenes, for example, device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-equipment (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), internet of things (IOT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, automatic driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearing, smart transportation, smart city, and the like. The terminal equipment can be a mobile phone, a tablet personal computer, a computer with a wireless transceiving function, wearable equipment, a vehicle, an urban air vehicle (such as an unmanned aerial vehicle, a helicopter and the like), a ship, a robot, a mechanical arm, intelligent household equipment and the like.

The access network device may be a Radio Access Network (RAN) device or a wired access network (FAN) device. The wireless access network equipment comprises 3GPP access network equipment, non-trusted non-3GPP access network equipment and trusted non-3GPP access network equipment. 3GPP access network devices include, but are not limited to: an evolved NodeB (eNodeB) in LTE, a next generation NodeB (gNB) in a 5G mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or a module or unit that performs part of functions of the base station, such as a Centralized Unit (CU), a Distributed Unit (DU), and the like. Untrusted non-3GPP access network devices include, but are not limited to: an untrusted non-3GPP access gateway or an N3IWF device, an untrusted local area network (WLAN) Access Point (AP), a switch, and a router. Trusted non-3GPP access network devices include, but are not limited to: trusted non-3GPP access gateway, trusted WLAN AP, switch, router. Wired access network devices include, but are not limited to: wired access gateway (wired access gateway) or fixed telephone network equipment, switches and routers.

The access network equipment and the terminal equipment may be fixed or mobile. The access network equipment and the terminal equipment can be deployed on the land, including indoor or outdoor, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on the water surface; it may also be deployed on airborne airplanes, balloons and satellite vehicles. The embodiment of the application does not limit the application scenes of the access network equipment and the terminal equipment.

The AMF network element comprises functions of executing mobility management, access authentication/authorization and the like. In addition, it is also responsible for transferring user policy between the terminal equipment and the PCF.

The SMF network element includes functions of performing session management, performing a control policy issued by the PCF, selecting the UPF, allocating an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the terminal device, and the like.

The UPF network element comprises functions of completing user plane data forwarding, session/stream level-based charging statistics, bandwidth limitation and the like.

And the UDM network element comprises functions of executing and managing subscription data, user access authorization and the like.

UDRs include access functions for executing types of data such as subscription data, policy data, application data, and the like.

And the NEF network element is used for supporting the opening of the capability and the event.

And the AF network element is used for transmitting the requirements of the application side on the network side, such as QoS requirements or user state event subscription and the like. The AF may be a third party functional entity, or may be an application service deployed by an operator, such as an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) voice call service.

The PCF network element comprises the policy control functions of charging, qoS bandwidth guarantee, mobility management, terminal policy decision and the like aiming at the conversation and the service flow level. The PCF network element includes an access and mobility management policy control network element (AM PCF) and a session management policy control function (SM PCF) network element, the AM PCF network element may provide a mobility management policy, and the SM PCF network element may provide a session management policy.

The NRF network element can be used for providing a network element discovery function and providing network element information corresponding to the network element type based on the request of other network elements. NRF also provides network element management services such as network element registration, update, de-registration, and subscription and push of network element status.

And the AUSF network element is responsible for authenticating the terminal equipment and verifying the legality of the terminal equipment.

The DN can be used for deploying various services and can provide services such as data and/or voice and the like for the terminal equipment. For example, the DN is a private network of an intelligent factory, a sensor installed in a workshop of the intelligent factory can be a terminal device, a control server of the sensor is deployed in the DN, and the control server can provide service for the sensor. The sensor can communicate with the control server, obtain the instruction of the control server, transmit the sensor data gathered to the control server, etc. according to the instruction. For another example, the DN is an internal office network of a company, the mobile phone or computer of the employee of the company may be a terminal device, and the mobile phone or computer of the employee may access information, data resources, and the like on the internal office network of the company.

In fig. 1, nausf, nnef, nfr, namf, npcf, nsmf, nudm, nudr, and Naf are the service interfaces provided by the AUSF, NEF, NRF, AMF, PCF, SMF, UDM, UDR, and AF, respectively, and are used to invoke corresponding service operations. N1, N2, N3, N4 and N6 are interface serial numbers, and the meaning of the interface serial numbers is as follows:

1) N1: the interface between the AMF and the terminal device may be used to deliver Non Access Stratum (NAS) signaling (e.g., including QoS rules from the AMF) to the terminal device, and the like.

2) And N2: the interface between the AMF and the access network device may be used to transfer radio bearer control information from the core network side to the access network device.

3) N3: the interface between the access network equipment and the UPF is mainly used for transmitting uplink and downlink user plane data between the access network equipment and the UPF.

4) N4: the interface between the SMF and the UPF may be used to transfer information between the control plane and the user plane, including controlling the issuing of forwarding rules, qoS rules, traffic statistics rules, etc. for the user plane and the reporting of information for the user plane.

5) N6: and the UPF and DN interface is used for transmitting the uplink and downlink user data stream between the UPF and the DN.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a point-to-point interface, where introduction of functions of network elements may refer to introduction of functions of corresponding network elements in fig. 1, and details are not repeated. The main differences between fig. 2 and fig. 1 are: the interfaces between the control plane network elements in the core network in fig. 1 are served interfaces, and the interfaces between the control plane network elements in the core network in fig. 2 are point-to-point interfaces.

Also, fig. 2 shows an application scenario for access to a core network via a 3GPP access technology and/or an untrusted non-3GPP access technology. For trusted 3GPP access scenarios, the "untrusted non-3GPP access" in fig. 2 may be replaced with a "trusted non-3GPP access", and the "N3IWF" in fig. 2 may be replaced with a "trusted non-3GPP access gateway". For the wired access scenario, the "untrusted non-3GPP access" in fig. 2 may be replaced with "wired access", and the "N3IWF" in fig. 2 may be replaced with "wired access gateway".

It is to be understood that the above network elements or functions may be network elements in a hardware device, or may be software functions running on dedicated hardware, or virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). As a possible implementation method, the network element or the function may be implemented by one device, or may be implemented by multiple devices together, or may be a functional module in one device, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

As an implementation method, the user plane network elements in the embodiment of the present application may be the above-mentioned UPF network elements, or may be network elements having the functions of the above-mentioned UPF network elements in future communications, such as a sixth generation (6 generation,6 g) network. For convenience of description, the user plane network element is referred to as a UPF network element, and the UPF network element is referred to as a UPF for short.

As an implementation method, the session management network elements in this embodiment may be the above SMF network elements, or may be network elements having the functions of the above SMF network elements in future communications such as a 6G network. For convenience of description, the session management network element is an SMF network element as an example, and the SMF network element is simply referred to as SMF.

Currently, one PDU session may be accessed to the core network through one access technology, or may be accessed to the core network through two or more access technologies. When a PDU session is accessed to the core network through one access technology, it is also referred to as the PDU session supports a single access technology, or as a single access PDU session. When a PDU session is accessed to a core network through two or more access technologies, the PDU session is also referred to as supporting multiple access technologies, or referred to as a multiple-access PDU session.

As shown in fig. 3 (a), a single access technology is supported for a PDU session. One or more QoS flows are established on the PDU session, each QoS flow corresponding to a link (or transmission path). A QoS flow is used to transport packets of one or more services. Taking fig. 3 (a) as an example, qoS flow 1 is used for transmitting a packet of service 1 and a packet of service 2, qoS flow 2 is used for transmitting a packet of service 3, and QoS flow 3 is used for transmitting a packet of service 4, a packet of service 5, and a packet of service 6.

As shown in fig. 3 (b), a diagram for supporting multiple access technology for a PDU session. The figure takes the PDU session supporting two access technologies as an example. Each access technology on the multiple access PDU session may be established with one or more QoS flows, one link (or transmission path) for each QoS flow. Each QoS flow is used to transmit data packets of one or more services, for example, qoS flow 1, qoS flow 2, and QoS flow 3 are carried in the multi-access PDU session, where QoS flow 1 and QoS flow 2 are transmitted through access technology 1 and access technology 2, and QoS flow 3 is transmitted through access technology 1.

In the example of fig. 3 (b), as one implementation method, the two access technologies are any two of a 3GPP access technology, a non-3GPP access technology, and a wired access technology. As another implementation method, one of the two access technologies is a trusted non-3GPP access technology, and the other access technology is a 3GPP access technology, a non-trusted non-3GPP access technology, or a wired access technology. As another implementation method, one of the two access technologies is an untrusted non-3GPP access technology, and the other access technology is a 3GPP access technology or a wired access technology. As an implementation method, the two access technologies are any two of a 5G RAN access technology, an LTE access technology, a WLAN access technology, or a fixed telephone network access technology.

In order to detect the link status of a Qos flow, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for detecting a link status. Specifically, the embodiments of the present application may detect the link status of one or more QoS flows, that is, detect the link status of QoS flow granularity. In one implementation, the link status of one or more QoS flows may also be used to reflect the connection status of the access technology corresponding to the QoS flow.

Taking the PDU session supporting the single access technology shown in fig. 3 (a) as an example, the PDU session carries QoS flow 1, qoS flow 2 and QoS flow 3. Illustratively, the link status of one or more of QoS flow 1, qoS flow 2, or QoS flow 3 may be detected, and optionally, the link status of one or more of QoS flow 1, qoS flow 2, or QoS flow 3 may be used to reflect the connection status of access technology 1, such as the link status of QoS flow 1 to reflect the connection status of access technology 1, the link status of QoS flow 2 to reflect the connection status of access technology 1, the link status of QoS flow 3 to reflect the connection status of access technology 1, the link status of QoS flow 1 and QoS flow 2 to reflect the connection status of access technology 1, and so on.

Taking the PDU session supporting multiple access technologies as shown in fig. 3 (b) as an example, the PDU session corresponds to access technology 1 and access technology 2, qoS flow 1, qoS flow 2, and QoS flow 3 are transmitted on access technology 1, qoS flow 1 and QoS flow 2 are transmitted on access technology 2, that is, qoS flow 1 and QoS flow 2 are both transmitted through two access technologies, and QoS flow 3 is transmitted through one access technology. Illustratively, the link status of one or more of QoS flow 1 corresponding to access technology 1, qoS flow 2 corresponding to access technology 1, or QoS flow 3 may be detected, alternatively, the link status of one or more of QoS flow 1 corresponding to access technology 1, qoS flow 2 corresponding to access technology 1, or QoS flow 3 corresponding to access technology 1 may be used to reflect the connection status of access technology 1, such as using the link status of QoS flow 1 corresponding to access technology 1 to reverse the connection status of access technology 1, or using the link status of QoS flow 2 corresponding to access technology 1 to reflect the connection status of access technology 1, or using the link status of QoS flow 3 to reflect the connection status of access technology 1, or using the link status of QoS flow 1 corresponding to access technology 1 and QoS flow 2 corresponding to access technology 1 to reflect the connection status of access technology 1, and so on. For example, the link status of QoS flow 1 corresponding to access technology 2 and/or QoS flow 2 corresponding to access technology 2 may be detected, and optionally, the link status of QoS flow 1 corresponding to access technology 2 and/or QoS flow 2 corresponding to access technology 2 may be used to reflect the connection status corresponding to access technology 2, such as reflecting the connection status of access technology 2 using the link status of QoS flow 1 corresponding to access technology 2, reflecting the connection status of access technology 2 using the link status of QoS flow 2 corresponding to access technology 2, or reflecting the connection status of access technology 1 using the link status of QoS flow 1 corresponding to access technology 2 and QoS flow 2 corresponding to access technology 2.

Fig. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a link status detection method according to an embodiment of the present application. The method comprises the following steps:

in step 401, the smf determines the QoS flow for link state detection.

Taking the PDU session supporting the single access technology shown in fig. 3 (a) as an example, if the SMF determines that the QoS flow for link state detection includes QoS flow 1, it means that the SMF determines to transmit a link state detection packet using QoS flow 1, thereby reflecting the link state of QoS flow 1. If the SMF determines that the QoS flow for link state detection includes QoS flow 1 and QoS flow 2, it means that the SMF determines to transmit a link state detection packet using QoS flow 1 and QoS flow 2, reflecting the link states of QoS flow 1 and QoS flow 2.

Taking the PDU session supporting multiple access technologies as shown in fig. 3 (b) as an example, for link 1 corresponding to access technology 1, if the SMF determines that the QoS flow for link state detection includes QoS flow 1 corresponding to access technology 1, this means that the SMF determines to transmit a link state detection packet using QoS flow 1 corresponding to access technology 1, so as to reflect the link state of QoS flow 1. If the SMF determines that the QoS flow for link state detection includes QoS flow 1 corresponding to access technology 1 and QoS flow 2 corresponding to access technology 1, this means that the SMF determines to transmit a link state detection packet using QoS flow 1 corresponding to access technology 1 and to transmit a link state detection packet using QoS flow 2 corresponding to access technology 1, thereby reflecting the link state of QoS flow 1 and the link state of QoS flow 2.

The embodiment of the present application does not limit a specific implementation method for determining, by an SMF, a QoS flow for link state detection. For example, the SMF may determine the QoS flow for link state detection based on local policy or operator policy.

In step 402, the smf sends identification information of the QoS flow for link state detection to the UPF.

The identification information of the QoS flow is also referred to as QoS Flow Identification (QFI).

The number of QFIs that the SMF sends to the UPF for link state detection may be one or more. If the number of QFIs sent is multiple, the SMF may send a QFI list to the UPF, where the QFI list includes multiple QFIs.

In step 403, the UPF allocates the IP address of the UPF for link state detection and/or the port number of the UPF for link state detection to the QoS flow.

The QoS flow is the QoS flow sent by the SMF to the UPF for link status detection.

As an implementation method, if a QoS flow for link state detection corresponds to multiple access technologies, the UPF allocates different IP addresses and/or different port numbers to the same QoS flow corresponding to different access technologies. For example, taking fig. 3 (b) as an example, the UPF may allocate an IP address 1 of the UPF for link status detection and/or a port number 1 of the UPF for link status detection to the QoS flow 1 corresponding to access technology 1, and allocate an IP address 2 of the UPF for link status detection and/or a port number 2 of the UPF for link status detection to the QoS flow 1 corresponding to access technology 2. In one implementation method, the IP address 1 of the UPF is different from the IP address 2 of the UPF, and the port number 1 of the UPF is different from the port number 2 of the UPF. In another implementation method, the IP address 1 of the UPF is the same as the IP address 2 of the UPF, and the port number 1 of the UPF is different from the port number 2 of the UPF. In another implementation method, the IP address 1 of the UPF is different from the IP address 2 of the UPF, and the port number 1 of the UPF is the same as the port number 2 of the UPF.

In step 404, the UPF sends the SMF the IP address of the UPF for link state detection and/or the port number of the UPF for link state detection.

For example, in step 401, the identification information of the QoS flow for link status detection sent by the SMF to the UPF includes: QFI1, QFI2 and QFI3, and indicates that these QoS flows correspond to access technology 1, then in this step 404, the UPF sends the IP address and/or port number of the UPF corresponding to QFI1, the IP address and/or port number of the UPF corresponding to QFI2, and the IP address and/or port number of the UPF corresponding to QFI3 to the SMF. Wherein QFI1, QFI2 and QFI3 are different from each other. In a particular implementation, the UPF may send the QFI of the QoS flow for link state detection and the IP address of the UPF and/or the port number of the UPF corresponding to the QFI to the SMF. Such as the UPF sending to the SMF (QFI 1, IP address 1 of the UPF corresponding to QFI1 and/or port number 1 of the UPF), (QFI 2, IP address 2 of the UPF corresponding to QFI2 and/or port number 2 of the UPF), and (QFI 3, IP address 3 of the UPF corresponding to QFI3 and/or port number 3 of the UPF).

In one implementation, when the QoS flow for link state detection supports multiple access technologies, the UPF may also send an access technology corresponding to the IP address of the UPF and/or the port number of the UPF to the SMF.

In step 405, the smf sends the IP address of the UPF for link state detection and/or the port number of the UPF for link state detection to the terminal device.

In one implementation, when the QoS flow for link state detection supports multiple access technologies, the SMF may further send an access technology corresponding to the IP address of the UPF and/or the port number of the UPF to the terminal device.

After receiving the IP address and/or the port number of the UPF corresponding to the QoS flow for link status detection, the terminal device may send a link status detection packet using the IP address and/or the port number to detect the link status of the QoS flow. Alternatively, the UPF may detect the link status of the QoS flow by transmitting a link status detection packet using the IP address and/or port number. The two methods for detecting QoS flow states are described below.

For convenience of description, the first and second methods will be described below by taking the example of detecting the link state of the QoS flow 1 corresponding to the access technology 1 by the QoS flow 1 corresponding to the access technology 1 in fig. 3 (b). Specifically, the identification information of QoS flow 1 is QFI1.

In the first method, the terminal device initiates the detection of the QoS flow status, which specifically includes the following steps 406 to 409.

In step 406, the terminal device sends a first link status detection packet to the UPF through the QoS flow to be detected. Accordingly, the UPF receives the first link state detection packet.

The first link state detection packet includes a header and a first detection message. The packet header carries QFI1, a destination IP address and a destination port number, where QFI1 is used to identify a QoS flow for transmitting the first link status detection packet, and the QoS flow is a QoS flow to be detected. Wherein the destination IP address is an IP address of a UPF for link state detection and/or the destination port number is a port number of a UPF for link state detection.

As an implementation method, the header of the first link state detection packet also carries a source port number and/or a source IP address. The source port number is a port number of the terminal device and the source IP address is an IP address of the terminal device. As an implementation method, any QoS flow on a terminal device corresponds to the same port number and/or the same IP address of the terminal device.

It is to be understood that the first link state detection packet is a special packet that is not used to transmit data of a service but is used to detect the link state of a QoS flow.

As an implementation method, the first link state detection packet is a data packet corresponding to a Performance Measurement Function (PMF) protocol, and may also be referred to as a PMF data packet or a PMF link state detection packet, and a first detection message in the first link state detection packet may be referred to as a PMF message or a PMF detection message.

Step 407, the upf sends a second link status detection packet to the terminal device through the QoS flow to be detected. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the second link state detection packet.

After receiving the first link state detection packet, the UPF determines that a destination IP address in the first link state detection packet is an IP address of the UPF for link state detection, and/or determines that a destination port number in the first link state detection packet is a port number of the UPF for link state detection, and then determines that the first link state detection packet is a data packet for detecting a link state of a QoS flow, so that the UPF immediately generates a second link state detection packet, and then sends the second link state detection packet to the terminal device through the QoS flow to be detected (i.e., the QoS flow carrying the first link state detection packet).

The second link state detection packet includes a header and a second detection message. The packet header carries QFI1, a source IP address, a source port number, a destination IP address, and a destination port number, where QFI1 is used to identify a QoS flow for transmitting the second link state detection packet, the QoS flow is a QoS flow to be detected, the destination IP address is an IP address of the terminal device, the destination port number is a port number of the terminal device, the source IP address is an IP address of a UPF for link state detection, and the source port number is a port number of a UPF for link state detection.

It is to be understood that the second link state detection packet is a special packet that is not used to transmit data of a service but is used to detect the link state of a QoS flow.

After receiving the second link state detection packet, the terminal device determines that the source IP address in the second link state detection packet is the IP address of the UPF used for link state detection, and/or determines that the source port number in the second link state detection packet is the port number of the UPF used for link state detection, and then determines that the second link state detection packet is a data packet used for detecting the link state of the QoS flow.

As an implementation method, if the first link state detection packet is a packet corresponding to a PMF protocol, the second link state detection packet is also a packet corresponding to the PMF protocol. The second link state detection packet may also be referred to as a PMF data packet or a PMF link state detection packet, and the second detection message in the second link state detection packet may be referred to as a PMF message or a PMF detection message.

In step 408, the terminal device determines the link status of the QoS flow to be detected.

For example, the terminal device may determine the link state of the QoS flow according to the time when the first link state detection packet is sent and the time when the second link state detection packet is received, where the link state includes information such as a time delay, a packet loss rate, and a load.

In the second method, the UPF initiates the detection of the state of the QoS flow, specifically including the following steps 410 to 413.

In step 409, the upf sends a first link status detection packet to the terminal device via the QoS flow to be detected. Correspondingly, the terminal equipment receives the first link state detection packet.

The first link state detection packet includes a header and a first detection message. The packet header carries QFI1, a source IP address, a source port number, a destination IP address, and a destination port number, where QFI1 is used to identify a QoS flow for transmitting the first link state detection packet, the QoS flow is a QoS flow to be detected, the destination IP address is an IP address of the terminal device, the destination port number is a port number of the terminal device, the source IP address is an IP address of a UPF for link state detection, and the source port number is a port number of the UPF for link state detection.

As one implementation method, the first link state detection packet is a data packet corresponding to a PMF protocol, the first link state detection packet may also be referred to as a PMF data packet or a PMF link state detection packet, and a first detection message in the first link state detection packet may be referred to as a PMF message or a PMF detection message.

In step 410, the terminal device sends a second link status detection packet to the UPF through the QoS flow to be detected. Accordingly, the UPF receives the second link state detection packet.

After receiving the first link state detection packet, the terminal device determines that a source IP address in the first link state detection packet is an IP address of a UPF for link state detection and/or determines that a source port number in the first link state detection packet is a port number of the UPF for link state detection, and then determines that the first link state detection packet is a data packet for detecting a link state of a QoS flow, so that the terminal device immediately generates a second link state detection packet, and then sends the second link state detection packet to the UPF through the QoS flow to be detected (i.e., the QoS flow carrying the first link state detection packet).

The second link state detection packet includes a header and a second detection message. The packet header carries QFI1, a destination IP address and a destination port number, where QFI1 is used to identify a QoS flow for transmitting the second link status detection packet, the QoS flow is a QoS flow to be detected, the destination IP address is an IP address of a UPF for link status detection, and the destination port number is a port number of the UPF for link status detection.

As an implementation method, the header of the second link state detection packet also carries a source port number and/or a source IP address. The source port number is the port number of the end device and the source IP address is the IP address of the end device. As an implementation method, any QoS flow on a terminal device corresponds to the same port number and/or the same IP address of the terminal device.

After receiving the second link state detection packet, the UPF determines that a destination IP address in the second link state detection packet is an IP address of the UPF for link state detection, and/or determines that a destination port number in the second link state detection packet is a port number of the UPF for link state detection, and then determines that the second link state detection packet is a data packet for detecting a link state of a QoS flow.

As an implementation method, if the first link state detection packet is a data packet corresponding to a PMF protocol, the second link state detection packet is also a data packet corresponding to the PMF protocol. The second link state detection packet may also be referred to as a PMF data packet or a PMF link state detection packet, and the second detection message in the second link state detection packet may be referred to as a PMF message or a PMF detection message.

Step 411, the upf determines the link status of the QoS flow to be detected.

The implementation method of this step 411, similar to the step 408 described above, can refer to the foregoing description.

Through the scheme, the SMF determines the QoS flows for detecting the link state, then informs the UPF to generate the IP address of the UPF for detecting the link state and/or the port number of the UPF for detecting the link state for the QoS flows, and the SMF transmits the IP address of the UPF for detecting the link state and/or the port number of the UPF for detecting the link state generated by the UPF to the terminal device, so that the link state of the QoS flows can be detected between the terminal device and the UPF according to the IP address of the UPF for detecting the link state and/or the port number of the UPF for detecting the link state.

However, the above scheme has some problems, for example, the above scheme is that the SMF determines a QoS flow for link status detection, and then the SMF notifies the UPF to generate an IP address of the UPF for link status detection and/or a port number of the UPF for link status detection for the QoS flow, and the terminal device receives the IP address of the UPF for link status detection and/or the port number of the UPF for link status detection corresponding to the QoS flow. Accordingly, the terminal device can detect the link status only based on these QoS flows, and the terminal device cannot freely select the QoS flow for link status detection.

Taking fig. 3 (a) as an example, if the SMF determines to detect the link status of QoS flow 1, the terminal device may receive the IP address of the UPF for link status detection and/or the port number of the UPF for link status detection corresponding to QoS flow 1, and the subsequent terminal device detects the link status of QoS flow 1 according to the IP address of the UPF for link status detection and/or the port number of the UPF for link status detection corresponding to QoS flow 1, and the terminal device cannot detect the link status of other QoS flows, such as detecting the link status of QoS flow 2 or QoS flow 3.

Taking fig. 3 (b) as an example, if the SMF determines to detect the link status of QoS flow 1 corresponding to access technology 1, the terminal device may receive the IP address of the UPF for link status detection and/or the port number of the UPF for link status detection corresponding to QoS flow 1, where the IP address and/or the port number correspond to access technology 1, and the subsequent terminal device may only detect the link status of QoS flow 1 corresponding to access technology 1, but may not detect the link status of other QoS flows corresponding to access technology 1, such as detecting the link status of QoS flow 2 or QoS flow 3 corresponding to access technology 1.

In order to solve the problem, the embodiment of the application provides a corresponding solution. Fig. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a link status detection method according to an embodiment of the present application. The method comprises the following steps:

in step 501, a terminal device determines a first QoS flow for link status detection.

In an implementation method, a terminal device determines a first QoS flow for link state detection according to a local policy.

In another implementation method, a terminal device determines, according to a service requirement, a first QoS flow for carrying the service to be used for link state detection. For example, if a certain service is a delay sensitive and/or packet loss sensitive service, it is determined that a first QoS flow carrying the service is used for link state detection.

In another implementation method, the terminal device determines that a parameter of a first QoS flow satisfies a preset requirement, and then determines that the first QoS flow is used for link state detection, where the parameter of the first QoS flow includes but is not limited to: 5G QoS identifier (5G QoS identifier, 5QI) value, time delay, packet loss rate. For example, the preset requirement here may be that the packet loss rate is higher than a certain threshold, the delay is larger than a certain threshold, or the 5QI value is some specific value.

Step 502, the terminal device sends detection indication information and identification information of the first QoS flow to the UPF. Accordingly, the UPF receives the detection indication information and the identification information of the first QoS flow.

The detection indication information is used for indicating that the first QoS flow is used for link state detection, or the detection indication information is used for indicating that the IP address of the UPF used for link state detection and/or the port number of the UPF used for link state detection are allocated for the first QoS flow, or the detection indication information is used for indicating that the first QoS flow is subjected to link state detection.

And step 503, the UPF allocates the IP address of the UPF for detecting the link state and/or the port number of the UPF for detecting the link state for the first QoS flow according to the detection indication information.

The IP address of the UPF for link state detection and/or the port number of the UPF for link state detection may also be referred to as an IP address for link state detection and/or a port number for link state detection corresponding to the first QoS flow.

In step 504, the upf sends the IP address for link state detection and/or the port number for link state detection corresponding to the first QoS flow to the terminal device.

In a specific implementation, the UPF may send, to the terminal device, identification information of the first QoS flow and an IP address for link status detection and/or a port number for link status detection corresponding to the first QoS flow.

As an implementation method, if the first QoS flow is a QoS flow in a session supporting multiple access technologies, that is, the first QoS flow corresponds to multiple access technologies, the UPF further sends, to the terminal device, an access technology corresponding to the IP address used for detecting the link state and/or the port number used for detecting the link state. The UPF may send, to the terminal device, an access technology corresponding to the IP address for link state detection and/or the port number for link state detection through the user plane, or may send, to the terminal device, an access technology corresponding to the IP address for link state detection and/or the port number for link state detection through the SMF of the control plane.

According to the scheme, the terminal device determines a first QoS flow for link state detection, and then requests the UPF to allocate an IP address for link state detection and/or a port number for link state detection for the first QoS flow, and a subsequent terminal device or UPF can detect the link state of the first QoS flow according to the IP address and/or the port number. The method realizes that the terminal equipment flexibly selects the QoS flow for detecting the link state, and improves the flexibility of detecting the link state.

As an implementation method, after the terminal device receives an IP address for link status detection and/or a port number for link status detection corresponding to a first QoS flow, the terminal device may generate a QoS rule according to identification information of the first QoS flow, and the IP address for link status detection and/or the port number for link status detection, where the QoS rule includes flow description information and identification information of the first QoS flow, and the flow description information includes the IP address for link status detection and/or the port number for link status detection. Subsequently, if the terminal device needs to send the link state detection packet carrying the IP address and/or the port number, it may determine, according to the QoS rule, that the link state detection packet is sent on the first QoS flow, or, according to the QoS rule, determine that the received link state detection packet carrying the IP address and/or the port number is a detection packet on the first QoS flow. Or, if the received link state detection packet carrying the IP address and/or the port number also carries the first QFI, the terminal device may determine that the link state detection packet is a detection packet on the first QoS flow according to the first QFI in the link state detection packet.

As an implementation method, after the UPF generates an IP address for link status detection and/or a port number for link status detection corresponding to a first QoS flow, the UPF may generate an N4 rule according to identification information of the first QoS flow, and the IP address for link status detection and/or the port number for link status detection, where the N4 rule includes flow description information and identification information of the first QoS flow, and the flow description information includes the IP address for link status detection and/or the port number for link status detection. Subsequently, if the UPF needs to send the link status detection packet carrying the IP address and/or the port number, the UPF may determine, according to the N4 rule, that the link status detection packet is sent on the first QoS flow, or, according to the N4 rule, the UPF determines that the received link status detection packet carrying the IP address and/or the port number is the detection packet on the first QoS flow. Or, if the received link status detection packet carrying the IP address and/or the port number also carries the first QFI, the UPF may determine that the link status detection packet is a detection packet on the first QoS flow according to the first QFI in the link status detection packet.

As an implementation method, after receiving an IP address and/or a port number for link status detection corresponding to a first QoS flow, a terminal device may actively initiate to detect a link status of the first QoS flow according to the IP address and/or the port number, or may also actively initiate to detect a link status of the first QoS flow by a UPF according to the IP address and/or the port number.

If the detection of the link status of the first QoS flow is actively initiated by the terminal device, the following steps 505 and 506 are further included after the step 504.

In step 505, the terminal device sends a link state detection packet (hereinafter referred to as a first link state detection packet) to the UPF on the first QoS flow. Accordingly, the UPF receives the link state detection packet.

The first link state detection packet includes an IP address for link state detection and/or a port number for link state detection corresponding to the first QoS flow.

Step 506, the upf sends a link state detection packet (hereinafter referred to as a second link state detection packet) to the terminal device on the first QoS flow. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the link status detection packet.

The second link state detection packet includes an IP address for link state detection and/or a port number for link state detection corresponding to the first QoS flow.

As an implementation method, reference may be made to the description of step 406 and step 407 above for specific implementation of step 505 and step 506 above.

After steps 505 and 506, the terminal device may determine the link status of the first QoS flow, for example, the terminal device may determine the link status of the first QoS flow according to the time when the first link status detection packet is sent and the time when the second link status detection packet is received, where the link status includes information such as latency, packet loss rate, load, jitter, and the like.

If the detection of the link status of the first QoS flow is actively initiated by the UPF, the following steps 507 and 508 are also included after the above step 504.

In step 507, the upf sends a link state detection packet (hereinafter referred to as a first link state detection packet) to the terminal device on the first QoS flow. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the link status detection packet.

In step 508, the terminal device sends a link state detection packet (hereinafter referred to as a second link state detection packet) to the UPF on the first QoS flow. Accordingly, the UPF receives the link state detection packet.

As an implementation method, reference may be made to the description of step 409 and step 410 for specific implementation of step 507 and step 508.

After steps 507 and 508, the UPF may determine the link status of the first QoS flow, for example, the UPF may determine the link status of the first QoS flow according to the time when the first link status detection packet is sent and the time when the second link status detection packet is received, where the link status includes information such as delay, packet loss rate, load, jitter, and the like.

The steps 502 and 504 can be implemented by a user plane method, or by a control plane method, which will be described separately below.

1. User plane method

As an implementation method, the step 502 specifically includes: the terminal device sends a first message to the UPF, where the first message includes identification information of a first QoS flow, and the first message is used to indicate to perform link state detection on the first QoS flow, where the detection indication information in step 502 specifically refers to a name of the first message. Illustratively, the terminal device may send the first message to the UPF on the second QoS flow, and correspondingly, the step 504 is specifically: the terminal device receives a second message from the UPF on the third QoS flow, the second message including an IP address for link state detection and/or a port number for link state detection corresponding to the first QoS flow. The second QoS flow may be a default QoS flow or any QoS flow, and the third QoS flow may be a default QoS flow or any QoS flow. The second QoS flow and the third QoS flow may be the same QoS flow or different QoS flows.

As another implementation method, the step 502 specifically includes: the terminal device sends a first message to the UPF, where the first message includes a detection indication and identification information of the first QoS flow, and the detection indication is used to indicate that link status detection is performed on the first QoS flow, where the detection indication information of step 502 specifically refers to the detection indication, and the detection indication may be bit information or special characters. For example, the terminal device may send the first message to the UPF on the second QoS flow, and correspondingly, step 504 is specifically: the terminal equipment receives a second message from the UPF on the third QoS flow, wherein the second message comprises the IP address for detecting the link state and/or the port number for detecting the link state corresponding to the first QoS flow. The second QoS flow may be a default QoS flow or any QoS flow, and the third QoS flow may be a default QoS flow or any QoS flow. The second QoS flow and the third QoS flow may be the same QoS flow or different QoS flows.

As another implementation method, the step 502 specifically includes: and the terminal equipment sends the detection indication information and the identification information of the first QoS flow to the UPF on the second QoS flow. Correspondingly, step 504 is specifically: the end device receives the IP address and/or port number from the UPF on the second QoS flow. The second QoS flow may be a default QoS flow or any QoS flow.

2. Control plane method

As an implementation method, the step 502 specifically includes: the terminal device sends a detection indication and identification information of the first QoS flow to the UPF through the SMF, where the detection indication is used to indicate that link state detection is performed on the first QoS flow, and the detection indication information of step 502 specifically refers to the detection indication, and the detection indication may be bit information or special characters. Correspondingly, the step 504 specifically includes: and the UPF sends the IP address for the link state detection and/or the port number for the link state detection corresponding to the first QoS flow to the terminal equipment through the SMF.

The terminal device sends the detection indication and the identification information of the first QoS flow to the UPF through the SMF, which specifically means: the terminal equipment sends a detection indication and identification information of the first QoS flow to the SMF, and then the SMF sends the detection indication and the identification information of the first QoS flow to the UPF. For example, the terminal device may carry the detection indication and the identification information of the first QoS flow in a session establishment request message to send to the SMF in a session establishment procedure, or the terminal device may carry the detection indication and the identification information of the first QoS flow in a session modification request message to send to the SMF in a session modification procedure.

The UPF sends, to the terminal device through the SMF, an IP address used for detecting a link state and/or a port number used for detecting a link state, where the IP address and/or the port number corresponding to the first QoS flow are used for detecting a link state, and specifically means: the UPF sends the IP address for link state detection and/or the port number for link state detection corresponding to the first QoS flow to the SMF, and then the SMF sends the IP address for link state detection and/or the port number for link state detection corresponding to the first QoS flow to the terminal equipment.

As one implementation method, the SMF may generate a QoS rule based on the identification information of the first QoS flow, and the IP address of the UPF for link status detection and/or the port number of the UPF for link status detection corresponding to the first QoS flow, where the QoS rule includes flow description information and the identification information of the first QoS flow, and the flow description information includes the IP address of the UPF for link status detection and/or the port number of the UPF for link status detection, and then the SMF sends the QoS rule to the terminal device.

As an implementation method, the SMF may generate an N4 rule based on the identification information of the first QoS flow and the IP address of the UPF for link state detection and/or the port number of the UPF for link state detection corresponding to the first QoS flow, the N4 rule including flow description information and the identification information of the first QoS flow, the flow description information including the IP address of the UPF for link state detection and/or the port number of the UPF for link state detection, and then the SMF transmits the N4 rule to the UPF.

The following specifically describes the scheme of the embodiment corresponding to fig. 5 with reference to the embodiment corresponding to fig. 6 and the embodiment corresponding to fig. 7.

Fig. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a link status detection method according to an embodiment of the present application. The method is that a terminal device requests a UPF to allocate the IP address of the UPF used for detecting the link state and/or the port number of the UPF used for detecting the link state for a certain QoS flow through a user plane.

The method comprises the following steps:

step 601, the terminal device initiates a PDU session setup request message.

The PDU session setup request message is for requesting setup of a PDU session.

The PDU session establishment request message is carried in the NAS transmission message and is sent to the AMF through the access network equipment, and then the AMF sends the PDU session establishment request message in the NAS message to the SMF. The access network device may be a 3GPP access network device, a non-3GPP access network device, or a wired access network device, which is not limited in this application.

The PDU conversation establishing request message carries a multi-access PDU conversation request indication for indicating that the PDU conversation requested to be established is the multi-access PDU conversation. If the PDU session establishment request message does not carry a multi-access PDU session request indication, the PDU session establishment request message is used for requesting to establish a single-access PDU session.

In step 602, the smf sends a policy request message to the PCF. Accordingly, the PCF receives the policy request message.

The policy request message is used to request the policy information related to the PDU session.

Step 603, the pcf sends a policy response message to the SMF. Accordingly, the SMF receives the policy response message.

The policy response message includes policy information, the policy information includes QoS policy, and optionally the policy information further includes offloading policy. The offloading policy is used to indicate an offloading mode of a service flow, where the offloading mode includes a load balancing mode, a minimum delay mode, a primary/standby mode, a redundant transmission mode, or a priority mode.

The SMF generates an N4 rule (N4 rule) and a QoS rule (QoS rule) based on policy information issued by the PCF, and optionally further generates a distribution rule, that is, an Access Traffic Steering, switching and Splitting (Switching and Splitting, sss) rule.

The N4 rule includes flow description information for matching the data packet, such as information of IP quintuple, and the N4 rule further includes a forwarding rule for indicating a transmission mode of the data packet.

The distribution rule is used for indicating a distribution mode of the service flow, the distribution rule comprises service flow description information and a distribution mode, and the service flow description information is used for matching the service flow.

In step 604, the SMF sends the N4 rule to the UPF. Accordingly, the UPF receives the N4 rule.

Specifically, the SMF sends the N4 rule to the UPF through an N4 interface between the SMF and the UPF.

In step 605, the smf sends a PDU session setup accept message to the terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the PDU session setup accept message.

Specifically, the SMF sends a PDU session setup accept message to the AMF, and the AMF sends an NAS message carrying the PDU session setup accept message to the terminal device via the access network device.

The PDU session establishment accept message carries the QoS rules, and optionally also carries the offload rules.

The successful establishment of the single access PDU session or the multiple access PDU session is completed through the above steps 601 to 605. Hereinafter, the single access PDU session and the multiple access PDU session are collectively referred to as a PDU session.

After the PDU establishment is complete, one or more QoS flows may be established in the PDU session, each for transmitting data packets for one or more services. The relationship between QoS flows over the PDU session can be referred to the previous description.

In step 606, the terminal device determines a first QoS flow for link state detection in the PDU session.

The specific implementation method of this step may refer to the description in step 501 above.

In step 607, the terminal device sends the first data packet to the UPF via the second QoS flow. Accordingly, the UPF receives the first packet.

The first data packet includes a header and a first message, the header includes a second QFI, the first message includes a first QFI, and optionally, the first message further includes a detection indication, and the detection indication is used to indicate that the first QoS flow is used for link status detection. Wherein the first message is to indicate that the first QoS flow is for link state detection if the first message does not include the detection indication.

The first QFI is identification information of a first QoS flow, which is a QoS flow for link state detection. The second QFI is identification information of a second QoS flow, which is either a default QoS flow or any one of the QoS flows in the PDU session. The first QoS flow may or may not be the same as the second QoS flow.

The UPF assigns the first QFI with the IP address of the UPF for link state detection and/or the port number of the UPF for link state detection, step 608.

And if the first message carries a detection indication, the UPF allocates the IP address of the UPF for detecting the link state and/or the port number of the UPF for detecting the link state for the first QFI according to the detection indication. And if the first message does not carry the detection indication, the UPF allocates the IP address of the UPF for detecting the link state and/or the port number of the UPF for detecting the link state for the first QFI according to the name of the first message.

Wherein, if the established PDU session is a multi-access PDU session, the IP address and/or port number allocated by the UPF for the first QFI is also related to the access technology. Specifically, the first QoS flow corresponds to two or more access technologies, and the UPF allocates different IP addresses and/or different port numbers to the first QoS flows corresponding to different access technologies.

In step 609, the UPF generates an N4 rule according to the first QFI, and the IP address of the UPF for link status detection and/or the port number of the UPF for link status detection.

The N4 rule includes flow description information including an IP address of a UPF for link state detection and/or a port number of the UPF for link state detection, and a first QFI, the N4 rule being for associating a link state detection packet to a first QoS flow. That is, subsequently, if the UPF generates the link status detection packet corresponding to the first QoS flow, the UPF may determine, according to the N4 rule, that the link status detection packet carrying the IP address and/or the port number corresponds to the first QFI, so as to transmit the link status detection packet on the first QoS flow indicated by the first QFI, thereby implementing link detection on the first QoS flow.

The upf sends a second packet to the end device via the third QoS flow, step 610. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the second data packet.

The second data packet comprises a header and a second message, the header comprises a third QFI, and the second message comprises the first QFI and the IP address of the UPF for link state detection and/or the port number of the UPF for link state detection.

If the PDU session is a multi-access PDU session, the second message also contains an access technology corresponding to the IP address of the UPF for detecting the link state and/or the port number of the UPF for detecting the link state.

The third QFI is identification information of a third QoS flow, which is a default QoS flow, or any one of the QoS flows in the PDU session, or the second QoS flow.

In step 611, the terminal device stores the corresponding relationship between the first QFI and the IP address of the UPF for detecting the link status and/or the port number of the UPF for detecting the link status.

Subsequently, if the terminal device needs to send a link status detection packet on the first QoS flow, it may be determined that the generated link status detection packet carries the IP address of the UPF for link status detection and/or the port number of the UPF for link status detection, which correspond to the first QFI, according to the corresponding relationship.

In an implementation method, the terminal device further stores an access technology corresponding to an IP address of a UPF for link state detection and/or a port number of the UPF for link state detection.

And step 612, the terminal device generates a QoS rule according to the first QFI, and the IP address of the UPF for detecting the link state and/or the port number of the UPF for detecting the link state.

The QoS rule includes flow description information including an IP address of a UPF for link state detection and/or a port number of the UPF for link state detection and a first QFI, the QoS rule being for associating a link state detection packet to a first QoS flow. That is, subsequently, if the terminal device generates a link state detection packet corresponding to the first QoS flow, the terminal device may determine, according to the QoS rule, that the link state detection packet carrying the IP address and/or the port number corresponds to the first QFI, so as to transmit the link state detection packet on the first QoS flow indicated by the first QFI, thereby implementing link detection on the first QoS flow.

According to the scheme, the QoS flow for the link state detection is determined by the terminal equipment, and the IP address of the UPF for the link state detection and/or the port number of the UPF for the link state detection are/is requested to the network side through the user side. The scheme can realize that the terminal equipment flexibly selects the QoS flow for detecting the link state, and is beneficial to improving the flexibility and the accuracy of the link state detection.

After step 612 above, detecting the link status of the first QoS flow may be initiated by the terminal device. The specific implementation process of the method is similar to the foregoing steps 406 to 408, and reference may be made to the foregoing description.

The detection of the link status of the first QoS flow may also be initiated by the UPF after step 612 above. The specific implementation process of the method is similar to the foregoing steps 409 to 411, and reference may be made to the foregoing description.

Fig. 7 is a schematic flowchart of a link status detection method according to an embodiment of the present application. The method is that the terminal equipment requests the UPF to allocate the IP address of the UPF used for detecting the link state and/or the port number of the UPF used for detecting the link state for a certain QoS flow through a control plane.

The method comprises the following steps:

in step 701, the terminal device determines a first QoS flow for link status detection in a PDU session.

The PDU session is a PDU session that has been successfully established, which carries one or more QoS flows, and may be a single access PDU session or a multiple access PDU session. The first QoS flow is included in the QoS flows that the PDU will carry.

The method for determining the first QoS flow by the terminal device may refer to the description in step 606 above.

In step 702, the terminal device initiates a PDU session modify request message.

The PDU session modify request message is for requesting modification of the PDU session.

The PDU session modification request message is carried in the NAS transmission message and is sent to the AMF through the access network equipment, and then the AMF sends the PDU session modification request message in the NAS message to the SMF. The access network device may be a 3GPP access network device, a non-3GPP access network device, or a wired access network device, which is not limited in this application.

The PDU session modification request message carries the first QFI and the detection indication. The first QFI is identification information of a first QoS flow, which is a QoS flow for link state detection. The detection indication is used for indicating that the first QoS flow corresponding to the first QFI is a QoS flow for link state detection.

In step 703, the SMF sends an N4 message to the UPF. Accordingly, the UPF receives the N4 message.

Specifically, the SMF determines to send an N4 message to the UPF through an N4 interface between the SMF and the UPF according to the received detection indication, where the N4 message carries the first QFI and the detection indication. That is, the detection indication triggers the SMF to send an N4 message carrying the first QFI and the detection indication to the UPF.

And step 704, the UPF allocates the IP address of the UPF for the link state detection and/or the port number of the UPF for the link state detection to the first QFI according to the detection indication.

The method for realizing the UPF can also update the IP address and/or the port number of the UPF for the link state detection, which are already allocated before, while allocating the IP address and/or the port number of the UPF for the link state detection to the first QFI, for example, the IP address and/or the port number of the UPF for the link state detection corresponding to the second QFI. The second QFI-indicated QoS flow herein refers to any one or more QoS flows other than the first QoS flow.

Step 705, the UPF sends an N4 message to the SMF. Accordingly, the SMF receives the N4 message.

The N4 message carries the first QFI, and the IP address of the UPF for link status detection and/or the port number of the UPF for link status detection.

If the PDU session in which the first QoS flow is located is a multi-access PDU session, the N4 message also contains an access technology corresponding to the IP address of the UPF for link state detection and/or the port number of the UPF for link state detection.

In an implementation method, the N4 message further carries an updated IP address of the UPF for link status detection and/or an updated port number of the UPF for link status detection, which correspond to the second QFI.

In step 706, the SMF generates QoS rules and N4 rules.

Optionally, if the N4 message in step 705 further carries an updated IP address of the UPF for link state detection and/or an updated port number of the UPF for link state detection, which correspond to the second QFI, the SMF in this step may update the QoS rule and/or the N4 rule, which correspond to the second QFI, to obtain an updated QoS rule and/or an N4 rule, which correspond to the second QFI.

In step 707, the SMF sends the N4 rule to the UPF. Accordingly, the UPF receives the N4 rule.

The N4 rule is the N4 rule generated by the SMF in step 706 and corresponding to the first QFI.

Optionally, in this step, the SMF further sends the updated N4 rule corresponding to the second QFI to the UPF.

And after receiving the N4 rule corresponding to the first QFI, the UPF stores the N4 rule.

And after receiving the updated N4 rule corresponding to the second QFI, the UPF updates the locally stored original N4 rule corresponding to the second QFI according to the updated N4 rule corresponding to the second QFI.

In step 708, the smf sends a PDU session modify response message to the terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the PDU session modification response message.

Specifically, the SMF sends a PDU session modification response message to the AMF, and the AMF sends an NAS message carrying the PDU session modification response message to the terminal device via the access network device.

The PDU session modification response message carries the first QFI, the IP address of the UPF for link status detection and/or the port number of the UPF for link status detection corresponding to the first QFI, and the QoS rule, which is the QoS rule corresponding to the first QFI generated by the SMF in step 705 above.

Optionally, the PDU session modification response message further carries an access technology corresponding to the IP address of the UPF for detecting the link status and/or the port number of the UPF for detecting the link status. Optionally, the PDU session modification response message further carries the second QFI, the updated IP address of the UPF for link status detection and/or the updated port number of the UPF for link status detection corresponding to the second QFI, and the updated QoS rule corresponding to the second QFI.

And after receiving the first QFI and the IP address of the UPF for detecting the link state and/or the port number of the UPF for detecting the link state, the terminal equipment stores the corresponding relation between the first QFI and the IP address of the UPF for detecting the link state and/or the port number of the UPF for detecting the link state. Subsequently, if the terminal device needs to send a link status detection packet on the first QoS flow, it may be determined that the generated link status detection packet carries the IP address of the UPF for link status detection and/or the port number of the UPF for link status detection, which correspond to the first QFI, according to the corresponding relationship.

In an implementation method, the terminal device further stores a QoS rule corresponding to a first QFI.

In the implementation method, the terminal device also searches the IP address and/or the port number of the UPF for detecting the link state before updating corresponding to the second QFI, and updates the IP address and/or the port number of the UPF for detecting the link state before updating corresponding to the second QFI.

According to the above scheme, a terminal device determines a QoS flow for link state detection, and requests the IP address of a UPF for link state detection and/or the port number of the UPF for link state detection to the network side through the control plane. The scheme can realize that the terminal equipment flexibly selects the IP address of the UPF for detecting the link state and/or the port number of the UPF for detecting the link state, and is beneficial to improving the flexibility and the accuracy of the link state detection.

As an implementation method, it may also be implemented that, in the PDU session establishment procedure, the first QoS flow is allocated with an IP address of a UPF used for link status detection and/or a port number of the UPF used for link status detection. For example, the PDU session modification request message of step 702 above may be replaced by a PDU session establishment request message, which is used to request the establishment of a PDU session. Correspondingly, the PDU session modification response message of step 706 is replaced by a PDU session setup accept message or a PDU session setup reply message.

Following the above step 708, detecting the link status of the first QoS flow may be initiated by the terminal device. The specific implementation process of the method is similar to the foregoing steps 406 to 408, and reference may be made to the foregoing description.

Detection of the link status of the first QoS flow may also be initiated by the UPF after step 708 above. The specific implementation process of the method is similar to the foregoing steps 409 to 411, and reference may be made to the foregoing description.

It is to be understood that, in order to implement the functions in the foregoing embodiments, the terminal device, the session management network element and the user plane network element include corresponding hardware structures and/or software modules for performing the respective functions. Those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that the various illustrative elements and method 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 in hardware or computer software driven hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the solution.

Fig. 8 and 9 are schematic structural diagrams of a possible communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the terminal device, the session management network element, or the user plane network element in the foregoing method embodiments, so that the advantageous effects of the foregoing method embodiments can also be achieved. In the embodiment of the present application, the communication device may be a terminal device, a session management network element, or a user plane network element, or may be a module (e.g., a chip) applied to the terminal device, the session management network element, or the user plane network element.

As shown in fig. 8, the communication device 800 includes a processing unit 810 and a transceiving unit 820. The communication device 800 is configured to implement the functions of the terminal device, the session management network element, or the user plane network element in the foregoing method embodiments.

In a first embodiment, the communication apparatus is configured to perform the operations performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiments, and includes: a processing unit 810 for determining a first QoS flow for link state detection; a transceiving unit 820, configured to send detection indication information and identification information of the first QoS flow to a user plane network element, where the detection indication information is used to indicate that the first QoS flow is used for link status detection; receiving an IP address and/or a port number for link state detection corresponding to the first QoS flow from the user plane network element; transmitting a link state detection packet on the first QoS flow, the link state detection packet including the IP address and/or the port number; or receiving a link state detection packet on the first QoS flow, the link state detection packet including the IP address and/or the port number.

As a possible implementation method, the transceiving unit 820 is configured to send a first message to a user plane network element, where the first message includes identification information of the first QoS flow, and the first message is used to indicate that link status detection is performed on the first QoS flow.

As a possible implementation method, the transceiving unit 820 is configured to send a first message to a user plane network element, where the first message includes a detection indication and identification information of the first QoS flow, and the detection indication is used to indicate that link state detection is performed on the first QoS flow.

As a possible implementation method, the transceiving unit 820 is configured to send the first message to the user plane element on a second QoS flow; receiving a second message from the user plane network element on a third QoS flow, the second message comprising the IP address and/or the port number.

As a possible implementation method, the transceiving unit 820 is configured to send the detection indication information and the identification information of the first QoS flow to the user plane element on a second QoS flow; receiving the IP address and/or the port number from the user plane network element on the second QoS flow.

As a possible implementation method, the transceiving unit 820 is configured to send, to the user plane network element through the session management network element, the detection indication and the identification information of the first QoS flow.

As a possible implementation method, the processing unit 810 is configured to determine that the first QoS flow is used for link state detection according to a local policy.

As a possible implementation method, the processing unit 810 is configured to determine, according to a requirement of a service, that the first QoS flow carrying the service is used for link state detection.

As a possible implementation method, the processing unit 810 is configured to determine that parameters of the first QoS flow satisfy preset requirements, and then determine that the first QoS flow is used for link status detection, where the parameters of the first QoS flow include, but are not limited to: 5QI value, time delay and packet loss rate.

As a possible implementation method, the processing unit 810 is configured to generate a QoS rule according to the identification information of the first QoS flow, and the IP address and/or the port number; determining that the link state detection packet is transmitted on the first QoS flow according to the QoS rule; or, according to the QoS rule, determining that the received link state detection packet is a detection packet on the first QoS flow.

As a possible implementation, the first QoS flow is a QoS flow in a session supporting multiple access technologies; a transceiving unit 820, configured to receive an access technology corresponding to the IP address and/or the port number from the user plane network element.

In a second embodiment, the communication device is configured to perform the operations performed by the user plane network element in the above method embodiment, including: a transceiving unit 820, configured to receive detection indication information and identification information of a first QoS flow from a terminal device, where the detection indication information is used to indicate that the first QoS flow is used for link state detection; a processing unit 810, configured to allocate, according to the detection indication information, an IP address used for link state detection and/or a port number used for link state detection for the first QoS flow; a transceiving unit 820, further configured to send the IP address and/or the port number to the terminal device; transmitting a link state detection packet on the first QoS flow, the link state detection packet including the IP address and/or the port number; or receiving a link state detection packet on the first QoS flow, the link state detection packet including the IP address and/or the port number.

As a possible implementation method, the transceiving unit 820 is configured to receive a first message from the terminal device, where the first message includes identification information of the first QoS flow, and the first message is used to indicate that link status detection is performed on the first QoS flow.

As a possible implementation method, the transceiving unit 820 is configured to receive a first message from the terminal device, where the first message includes a detection indication and identification information of the first QoS flow, and the detection indication indicates that link status detection is performed on the first QoS flow.

As a possible implementation method, the transceiving unit 820 is configured to receive the first message from the terminal device on a second QoS flow; and sending a second message to the terminal device on a third QoS flow, wherein the second message comprises the IP address and/or the port number.

As a possible implementation method, the transceiving unit 820 is configured to receive the detection indication information and the identification information of the first QoS flow from the terminal device on a second QoS flow; and sending the IP address and/or the port number to the terminal equipment on the second QoS flow.

As a possible implementation method, the transceiving unit 820 is configured to receive, through the session management network element, the detection indication and the identification information of the first QoS flow from the terminal device.

As a possible implementation method, the processing unit 810 is configured to generate an N4 rule according to the identification information of the first QoS flow and the IP address and/or the port number, where the N4 rule includes flow description information and the identification information of the first QoS flow, and the flow description information includes the IP address and/or the port number; determining that the link state detection packet is sent on the first QoS flow according to the N4 rule; alternatively, it is determined that the received link state detection packet is a detection packet on the first QoS flow according to the N4 rule.

As a possible implementation, the first QoS flow is a QoS flow in a session supporting multiple access technologies; a transceiving unit 820, configured to send an access technology corresponding to the IP address and/or the port number to the terminal device.

In a third embodiment, the communication device is configured to perform the operations performed by the session management network element in the foregoing method embodiments, including: a transceiving unit 820, configured to receive a detection indication and identification information of a first QoS flow from a terminal device, where the detection indication indicates that the first QoS flow is used for link state detection; sending the detection indication and the identification information of the first QoS flow to a user plane network element; receiving an IP address and/or a port number for link state detection corresponding to the first QoS flow from the user plane network element; and sending the IP address and/or the port number to the terminal equipment.

As a possible implementation method, the transceiving unit 820 is configured to receive a session establishment request message from the terminal device, where the session establishment request message includes the detection indication and the identification information of the first QoS flow; or receiving a session modification request message from the terminal device, wherein the session modification request message comprises the detection indication and the identification information of the first QoS flow.

As a possible implementation, the first QoS flow is a QoS flow in a session supporting multiple access technologies; a transceiving unit 820, configured to receive an access technology corresponding to the IP address and/or the port number from the user plane network element; and sending the access technology corresponding to the IP address and/or the port number to the terminal equipment.

The more detailed description about the processing unit 810 and the transceiver 820 can be directly obtained by referring to the related description in the above method embodiment, which is not repeated herein.

As shown in fig. 9, the communication device 900 includes a processor 910. As one implementation method, the communication device 900 further includes an interface circuit 920, and the processor 910 and the interface circuit 920 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 920 may be a transceiver or an input-output interface. As an implementation method, the communication device 900 may further include a memory 930 for storing instructions executed by the processor 910 or storing input data required by the processor 910 to execute the instructions or storing data generated by the processor 910 after executing the instructions.

When the communication device 900 is configured to implement the above method embodiments, the processor 910 is configured to implement the functions of the processing unit 810, and the interface circuit 920 is configured to implement the functions of the transceiving unit 820.

It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), other general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. The general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but may be any conventional processor.

The method steps in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by software instructions executed by a processor. The software instructions may be comprised of corresponding software modules that may be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read only memory, programmable read only memory, erasable programmable read only memory, electrically erasable programmable read only memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable hard disk, a CD-ROM, 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. In addition, the ASIC may reside in a base station or a terminal. Of course, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a base station or terminal.

In the above embodiments, all or part of the implementation may be realized by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, 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 programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, a base station, user equipment, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions may be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer program or instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by wire or wirelessly. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that integrates one or more available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape; optical media such as digital video disks; but also semiconductor media such as solid state disks. The computer readable storage medium may be volatile or nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile types of storage media.

In various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or conflicting, terms and/or descriptions between different embodiments have consistency and may be mutually referenced, and technical features in different embodiments may be combined to form a new embodiment according to their inherent logical relationships.

In the present application, "at least one" means one or more, "a plurality" means two or more. "and/or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, meaning that there may be three relationships, e.g., a and/or B, which may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, wherein A and B can be singular or plural. In the text description of the present application, the character "/" generally indicates that the preceding and following associated objects are in an "or" relationship; in the formula of the present application, the character "/" indicates that the preceding and following associated objects are in a "division" relationship.

It is to be understood that the various numerical references referred to in the embodiments of the present application are merely for descriptive convenience and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes do not mean the execution sequence, and the execution sequence of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic.

Claims

1. A method for link state detection, comprising:

the terminal equipment determines a first quality of service (QoS) flow for detecting a link state;

the terminal equipment sends detection indication information and identification information of the first QoS flow to a user plane network element, wherein the detection indication information is used for indicating that the first QoS flow is used for detecting a link state;

the terminal equipment receives an Internet Protocol (IP) address used for detecting a link state and/or a port number used for detecting the link state, which correspond to the first QoS flow from the user plane network element;

the terminal equipment sends a link state detection packet on the first QoS flow, wherein the link state detection packet comprises the IP address and/or the port number; or

The terminal device receives a link state detection packet on the first QoS flow, wherein the link state detection packet comprises the IP address and/or the port number.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the terminal device sending detection indication information and identification information of the first QoS flow to a user plane network element, comprises:

and the terminal equipment sends a first message to the user plane network element, wherein the first message comprises the identification information of the first QoS flow, and the first message is used for indicating the link state detection of the first QoS flow.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the terminal device sending the identification information and the detection indication information of the first QoS flow to a user plane network element comprises:

and the terminal equipment sends a first message to the user plane network element, wherein the first message comprises a detection indication and the identification information of the first QoS flow, and the detection indication is used for indicating the link state detection of the first QoS flow.

4. The method of claim 2 or 3, wherein the terminal device sending a first message to a user plane network element comprises:

the terminal equipment sends the first message to the user plane network element on a second QoS flow;

the receiving, by the terminal device, an IP address used for link state detection and/or a port number used for link state detection corresponding to the first QoS flow from the user plane network element includes:

and the terminal equipment receives a second message from the user plane network element on a third QoS flow, wherein the second message comprises the IP address and/or the port number.

5. The method of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the terminal device sending detection indication information and identification information of the first QoS flow to a user plane network element, comprises:

the terminal equipment sends the detection indication information and the identification information of the first QoS flow to the user plane network element on a second QoS flow;

the terminal device receives the IP address and/or the port number from the user plane network element on the second QoS flow.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the terminal device sending the identification information and the detection indication information of the first QoS flow to a user plane network element comprises:

and the terminal equipment sends a detection instruction and the identification information of the first QoS flow to the user plane network element through a session management network element.

7. The method of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the terminal device determining a first QoS flow for link state detection comprises:

and the terminal equipment determines that the first QoS flow is used for detecting the link state according to a local strategy.

8. The method of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the terminal device determining a first QoS flow for link state detection comprises:

and the terminal equipment determines the first QoS flow for bearing the service for detecting the link state according to the service requirement.

9. The method of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the terminal device determining a first QoS flow for link state detection comprises:

and if the terminal equipment determines that the parameters of the first QoS flow meet the preset requirements, determining that the first QoS flow is used for link state detection, wherein the parameters of the first QoS flow include but are not limited to: 5QI value, time delay and packet loss rate.

10. The method of any of claims 1 to 9, further comprising:

the terminal equipment generates a QoS rule according to the identification information of the first QoS flow and the IP address and/or the port number;

the terminal equipment determines that the link state detection packet is sent on the first QoS flow according to the QoS rule; or,

and the terminal equipment determines that the received link state detection packet is a detection packet on the first QoS flow according to the QoS rule.

11. The method of any of claims 1 to 10, wherein the first QoS flow is a QoS flow in a session that supports multiple access technologies; the method further comprises the following steps:

and the terminal equipment receives an access technology corresponding to the IP address and/or the port number from the user plane network element.

12. The method of any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the link state detection packet is a data packet corresponding to a performance detection function protocol.

13. A method for link state detection, comprising:

a user plane network element receives detection indication information and identification information of a first QoS (quality of service) flow from a terminal device, wherein the detection indication information is used for indicating that the first QoS flow is used for detecting a link state;

the user plane network element allocates an Internet Protocol (IP) address for detecting the link state and/or a port number for detecting the link state for the first QoS flow according to the detection indication information;

the user plane network element sends the IP address and/or the port number to the terminal equipment;

the user plane network element sends a link state detection packet on the first QoS flow, wherein the link state detection packet comprises the IP address and/or the port number; or

And the user plane network element receives a link state detection packet on the first QoS flow, wherein the link state detection packet comprises the IP address and/or the port number.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the receiving, by the user plane network element, the detection indication information and the identification information of the first quality of service QoS flow from the terminal device comprises:

and the user plane network element receives a first message from the terminal equipment, wherein the first message comprises identification information of the first QoS flow, and the first message is used for indicating the link state detection of the first QoS flow.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the receiving, by the user plane network element, the detection indication information and the identification information of the first quality of service QoS flow from the terminal device comprises:

and the user plane network element receives a first message from the terminal equipment, wherein the first message comprises a detection indication and identification information of the first QoS flow, and the detection indication is used for indicating the link state detection of the first QoS flow.

16. The method of claim 14 or 15, wherein the user plane network element receives a first message from the terminal device, comprising:

the user plane network element receives the first message from the terminal equipment on a second QoS flow;

the sending, by the user plane network element, the IP address and/or the port number to the terminal device includes:

and the user plane network element sends a second message to the terminal equipment on a third QoS flow, wherein the second message comprises the IP address and/or the port number.

17. The method of any of claims 13 to 15, wherein the receiving, by the user plane network element, the detection indication information and the identification information of the first QoS flow from the terminal device comprises:

the user plane network element receives the detection indication information from the terminal equipment and the identification information of the first QoS flow on a second QoS flow;

and the user plane network element sends the IP address and/or the port number to the terminal equipment on the second QoS flow.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the receiving, by the user plane network element, the detection indication information and the identification information of the first QoS flow from the terminal device comprises:

and the user plane network element receives the detection indication from the terminal equipment and the identification information of the first QoS flow through a session management network element.

19. The method of any of claims 13 to 18, further comprising:

the user plane network element generates an N4 rule according to the identification information of the first QoS flow and the IP address and/or the port number, where the N4 rule includes flow description information and the identification information of the first QoS flow, and the flow description information includes the IP address and/or the port number;

the user plane network element determines that the link state detection packet is sent on the first QoS flow according to the N4 rule; or,

and the user plane network element determines that the received link state detection packet is a detection packet on the first QoS flow according to the N4 rule.

20. The method of any of claims 13 to 19, wherein the first QoS flow is a QoS flow in a session supporting multiple access technologies; the method further comprises the following steps:

and the user plane network element sends the access technology corresponding to the IP address and/or the port number to the terminal equipment.

21. A method according to any one of claims 13 to 20, wherein said link state detection packet is a data packet corresponding to a performance detection function protocol.

22. A communication device comprising a processor and a memory; the memory is configured to store computer readable instructions, and the processor is configured to execute the computer readable instructions stored by the memory to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 12 or to perform the method of any of claims 13 to 21.

23. A computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer-readable program or instructions is stored, which, when executed by a communication device, implements the method of any one of claims 1 to 12, or performs the method of any one of claims 13 to 21.

24. A communication system, comprising:

a session management network element, configured to receive a detection indication from a terminal device and identification information of a first quality of service QoS flow, where the detection indication is used to indicate that the first QoS flow is used for link state detection; sending the detection indication and the identification information of the first QoS flow to a user plane network element; receiving an Internet Protocol (IP) address and/or a port number for link state detection corresponding to the first QoS flow from the user plane network element; sending the IP address and/or the port number to the terminal equipment;

the user plane network element is configured to receive the detection indication from the session management network element and the identification information of the first QoS flow; allocating the IP address and/or the port number for link state detection to the first QoS flow according to the detection indication; and sending the IP address and/or the port number to the session management network element.

25. The system according to claim 24, wherein the session management network element is specifically configured to receive a session establishment request message from the terminal device, where the session establishment request message includes the detection indication and the identification information of the first QoS flow; or receiving a session modification request message from the terminal device, where the session modification request message includes the detection indication and the identification information of the first QoS flow.

26. The system of claim 24 or 25, wherein the first QoS flow is a QoS flow in a session that supports multiple access technologies;

the user plane network element is further configured to send, to the session management network element, an access technology of the user plane network element corresponding to the IP address and/or the port number;

the session management network element is further configured to receive an access technology corresponding to the IP address and/or the port number from the user plane network element; and sending the access technology corresponding to the IP address and/or the port number to the terminal equipment.

27. A communication system, comprising:

a user plane network element for performing the method of any one of claims 13 to 21; and

and the session management network element is used for selecting the user plane network element.