WO2021093763A1

WO2021093763A1 - Data caching method and apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2021093763A1
Application number: PCT/CN2020/128081
Authority: WO
Inventors: 杨文进
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2019-11-11
Filing date: 2020-11-11
Publication date: 2021-05-20
Also published as: CN112788085B; CN112788085A

Abstract

Provided are a data caching method and apparatus, wherein same relate to the field of communications, and can alleviate the problem of the impact of massive signaling access on an unstructured data storage function (UDSF) when an AMF scales elastically or fails. The specific solution is: the UDSF determining that a first network function network element fails; and the UDSF sending, to a second network function network element, unstructured data corresponding to the first network function network element, wherein the second network function network element is a backup device of the first network function network element. The embodiments of the present application are used during the process of transferring cached unstructured data after an AMF scales elastically.

Description

Data caching method and device

This application claims the priority of a Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on November 11, 2019, the application number is 201911095573.6, and the application name is "a data caching method and device", the entire content of which is incorporated into this application by reference in.

Technical field

The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication technologies, and in particular, to a data caching method and device.

Background technique

The fifth-generation (5th-Generation, 5G) core system architecture of the Rel.15 standard is based on a service-based architecture (SBA), and the main purpose is to split each network function (NF) network element One or more network function network element services (NF service), each network function network element service intercommunication with other network function network element services through standard interfaces. As shown in Figure 1, the 5G system architecture allows any NF to store and read unstructured data in an unstructured data storage function (UDSF), such as user equipment (UE) context. Multiple NFs can share one UDSF network element, or have their own independent UDSF network elements.

When access and mobility management function (AMF) elastically scales or fails, multiple AMFs can share a UDSF network element, and each AMF saves its own UE context data to the UDSF. When one of the AMFs exits the service or fails, if the UE under the AMF initiates a service request again, the message is sent to the other AMFs, and the other AMFs obtain the UE context data from the UDSF, so as to continue to provide services to the UE without causing Business interruption ensures the user experience.

However, after AMF elastically scales or fails, a large amount of signaling access will have a great impact on UDSF. In addition, even one user may store multiple context data in the UDSF, and multiple data reading operations may be required, which will further deepen the impact of the signaling storm on the UDSF network element and increase the service delay.

Summary of the invention

The embodiments of the present application provide a data caching method and device, which can alleviate the impact of the signaling storm on the UDSF network element after the elastic scaling or failure, and reduce the service delay.

To achieve the foregoing objectives, the following technical solutions are adopted in the embodiments of the present application:

In a first aspect, a data caching method is provided, including: an unstructured data storage function UDSF determines that a first network function network element is faulty; the UDSF sends unstructured data corresponding to the first network function network element to a second network function network element , The second network function network element is a backup device of the first network function network element. Since the UDSF can manage the unstructured data of each network function network element, when the first network function network element fails, the UE or the network side in the prior art will request unstructured data from the UDSF, which will cause trust to the UDSF. Make an impact. In the embodiment of this application, when the UDSF determines that the first network function network element is faulty, it can actively push the unstructured data corresponding to the first network function network element and send it to the non-faulty second network function network element for the UE or the network side. It can request unstructured data from the second network function network element to alleviate the impact of UDSF signaling. Unstructured data can be contextual data. The second network function network element may be a backup entity of the first network function network element.

In a possible design, the UDSF determining that the first network function network element is faulty includes: if the UDSF receives a notification message from the network storage function NRF, and the notification message indicates that the first network function network element is faulty, the UDSF determines the first network function The network element is faulty. Since NRF can manage the registration, update or de-registration of each NF, when the first network function network element fails, NRF can know that the first network function network element is faulty, and then NRF can detect the first network function network element failure. The event is notified to other NFs, including the second network function network element, UDSF, SMF, etc., and the UDSF can determine the failure of the first network function network element according to the event. In a possible design, the first network function network element may also notify the RAN of a message that the first network function network element is unavailable. In this way, when RNA or other network function network elements, etc., receive a service request, the service request can be sent to the network function network element that is the backup of the first network function network element.

In a possible design, the notification message includes the correspondence between different identifiers and the identifier of the standby entity of the first network function network element; the standby entity includes the second network function network element; the non-identifier corresponding to each identifier Structured data is different. UDSF sending the unstructured data corresponding to the first network function network element to the second network function network element includes: UDSF sends the unstructured data corresponding to the first network function network element to the second network function network element according to the corresponding relationship Part of the data; the part of the data includes unstructured data under the identifier corresponding to the identifier of the second network function network element. This is because if the backup entity of the first network function network element is multiple second network function network elements, when UDSF pushes all the unstructured data of the first network function network element to each second network function network element, it will This leads to greater data redundancy on the second network function network element, and waste of memory resources. If only part of the data is sent to a second network function network element, the cache hit rate may decrease. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present application, the UDSF can push part of the unstructured data to the standby network function network element according to the identifier, which can save the memory resources of the network function network element and can also improve the cache hit rate.

In one possible design, the identifier is the globally unique access and mobility management function AMF identifier GUAMI.

In a possible design, the UDSF sending the unstructured data corresponding to the first network function network element to the second network function network element includes: the UDSF sends the first network function network element to the second network function network element according to the priority of the unstructured data. Unstructured data corresponding to network function network elements. In some embodiments, the priority of unstructured data may be: priority of time or priority of data, etc. The cache hit rate of high-priority users or high-priority services can be improved to ensure user experience.

In a second aspect, a data caching method is provided, including: a first network function network element determines that a second network function network element is faulty; the first network function network element obtains the information of the second network function network element from an unstructured data storage function UDSF Unstructured data. The difference from the first aspect is that the backup entity of the failed second network function network element, that is, the first network function network element can actively subscribe to the UDSF for unstructured data of the second network function network element. The effect can be seen in the first aspect.

In a possible design, the first network function network element determining that the second network function network element is faulty includes: if the first network function network element receives a notification message from the network storage function NRF, the notification message indicates the second network function network If the element is faulty, it is determined that the second network function network element is faulty. The effect of this design can be seen in the first aspect.

In a possible design, the notification message includes the correspondence between different identifiers and the identifier of the backup entity of the first network function network element; the backup entity includes the first network function network element; each identifier corresponds to The unstructured data of the first network function network element is different from the unstructured data storage function UDSF. The unstructured data stored by the second network function network element includes: the first network function network element receives the second network function from the UDSF Part of the data of the unstructured data corresponding to the network element; the part of the data includes the unstructured data under the identifier corresponding to the identifier of the second network function network element. The effect of this design can be seen in the first aspect.

In a possible design, the method further includes: the first network function network element receives a first request message, the first request message is used to obtain the first unstructured data; if the first network function network element determines that it is not stored locally For the first unstructured data, the first network function network element requests the UDSF to obtain the first unstructured data. That is, if the first network function network element has not obtained the first unstructured data from the UDSF in time, when the first network function network element has received the first request message, it may request the UDSF to obtain the first unstructured data.

In a third aspect, a communication device is provided, including: a processing unit, configured to determine a failure of a first network function network element; a transceiver unit, configured to send an unstructured network element corresponding to the first network function network element to a second network function network element Data, the second network function network element is a backup device of the first network function network element.

In a possible design, the processing unit is configured to, if it is determined that the transceiver unit is used to receive a notification message from the network storage function NRF, and the notification message indicates that the first network function network element is faulty, determine that the first network function network element is faulty .

In a possible design, the transceiver unit is used to send part of the unstructured data corresponding to the first network function network element to the second network function network element; part of the data includes the unstructured data of the terminal device corresponding to the same identifier Data; among them, the identifier is the globally unique access and mobility management function AMF identifier GUAMI.

In a possible design, the transceiver unit is configured to send the unstructured data corresponding to the first network function network element to the second network function network element according to the priority of the unstructured data.

In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, including: a processing unit, configured to determine the failure of a second network function network element; and a transceiver unit, configured to obtain the unstructured network element of the second network function network element from the unstructured data storage function UDSF data.

In a possible design, the processing unit is configured to, if the transceiver unit is configured to receive a notification message from the network storage function NRF, and the notification message indicates that the second network function network element is faulty, determine that the second network function network element is faulty.

In a possible design, the processing unit is configured to: obtain part of the unstructured data corresponding to the second network function network element from the UDSF; the part of the unstructured data includes unstructured data of the terminal device corresponding to the same identifier; where , Identified as the globally unique access and mobility management function AMF identifier GUAMI.

In a possible design, the transceiver unit is used to receive the first request message, which is used to obtain the first unstructured data; the transceiver unit is used to if the first network function network element determines that the first network element does not store the first request message locally. For unstructured data, a request is made to the UDSF to obtain the first unstructured data.

In a fifth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, including a program or instruction. When the program or instruction is executed by a processor, the method described in the first aspect and any one of the possible designs of the first aspect is carried out.

In a sixth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, including a program or instruction. When the program or instruction is executed by a processor, the method described in the first aspect and any one of the possible designs of the first aspect is carried out.

In a seventh aspect, a computer program product is provided. When the computer program product runs on a computer, the method described in the second aspect and any one of the possible designs of the second aspect is executed.

An eighth aspect provides a computer program product. When the computer program product runs on a computer, the method described in the second aspect and any one of the possible designs of the second aspect is executed.

In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which may include a first network function network element, a second network function network element, and a UDSF in any possible implementation manner of any of the above aspects. The UDSF can execute the data caching method in the first aspect and any possible design, and the first network function network element can execute the data caching method in the second aspect and any possible design.

Description of the drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of any NF caching context data to the UDSF according to an embodiment of the application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture provided by an embodiment of the application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a data caching method provided by an embodiment of the application;

4 is a schematic diagram of signaling interaction of a data caching method provided by an embodiment of the application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a data caching method provided by an embodiment of the application;

6A is a schematic flowchart of a data caching method provided by an embodiment of the application;

6B is a schematic flowchart of a data caching method provided by an embodiment of the application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of signaling interaction of a data caching method provided by an embodiment of the application;

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a network function network element provided by an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a network function network element provided by an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a network function network element provided by an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a network function network element provided by an embodiment of this application.

Detailed ways

For ease of understanding, some illustrations of concepts related to the embodiments of the present application are given as examples for reference. As follows:

AMF: It is the end point of the radio access network (Radio Access Network, RAN) signaling interface (N2), and the end point of the network attached storage (NAS) (N1) signaling. It is mainly responsible for the encryption and encryption of NAS messages. Complete security, responsible for registration, access, mobility, authentication, transparent SMS and context management and other functions. In addition, when interacting with an evolved packet system (EPS) network, it is also responsible for the distribution of the identification (ID) of the EPS bearer, etc.

UDSF: The 5G system architecture allows any NF to store and retrieve its unstructured data in UDSF (such as UE messages). The UDSF belongs to the same public land mobile network (PLMN) where the network function network element is located. NFs can share the UDSF used to store their respective unstructured data, or each NF can have its own corresponding UDSF (for example, the UDSF can be located near the corresponding NF).

Network storage function (NF repository function, NRF): supports the service discovery function, that is, receives the NF-Discovery-Request (NF-Discovery-Request) sent by the network element, and then provides the discovered network element information to the requester; maintains available network element instances The characteristics of the network element and the service capabilities it supports; the characteristic parameters of a network element mainly include: network element instance ID, network element type, network fragment related ID, network element IP or domain name, network element capability information, and supported services Ability name, etc. It can also be said that NRF can be responsible for the registration and management of NF.

Session management function (SMF): The main functions include the end point of session management (SM) messages of NAS messages; the establishment, modification, and release of sessions; UE internet protocol (IP) ) Allocation management; dynamic host configuration protocol (dynamic host configuration protocol, DHCP) function; select and control user plane function (UPF) for a session; collect billing data and support billing interface; determine a session Service and session continuity (SSC) mode; downlink data indication, etc.

Unified data management (UDM): The main functions that are responsible include: generating the third generation partnership project (3rd generation partnership project, 3gpp) authentication certificate/authentication parameter; storing and managing the permanent user ID of the 5G system ; 3) Subscription information management; 4) Mobile-terminated-short message service (MT-SMS) delivery; 5) SMS management; 6) User’s service network element registration management (for example, the current terminal device Provide business AMF, SMF, etc.).

Policy control function entity (PCF): The main functions are: support a unified policy framework to manage network behaviors; provide policy rules for network entities to implement and execute; access to unified data repository (UDR) subscription information Wait.

RAN: It can be a radio access network in a 5G system, including two functional entities: a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU). CU assumes radio resource control (Radio Resource Control, RRC)/packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer functions, DU assumes radio link control (RLC) layer/media access control (medium access control) , MAC) layer / physical layer (physical, PHY) layer functions.

Auto scaling: A management service that automatically adjusts the scale of cloud resources based on monitoring indicators or preset policies. Automatic scaling supports timing and alarm scaling without manual intervention, which can reduce tedious manual operations. It can also be understood that with elastic scaling, scaling rules can be set according to business needs and policies, ECS instances are automatically added to ensure computing capacity when business needs grow, and elastic computing services (ECS) are automatically reduced when business needs drop. Examples to save costs. Elastic scaling is not only suitable for applications with constantly fluctuating business volume, but also for applications with stable business volume. For example, dynamically adjust computing resources according to business needs, such as automatically adding instances to the inspur server load balancer (InSLB) backend during business peaks, and reducing instances when the business is low; automatically replacing unhealthy InSLB backends Examples to ensure the normal operation of the business without manual intervention; set a regular schedule to automatically create a batch of cloud hosts before promotional activities, and cooperate with intelligent scaling to ensure the normal operation of the business.

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Among them, in the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, "/" means or, for example, A/B can mean A or B; "and/or" in this document is only a description of related objects The association relationship of indicates that there can be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and/or B, which can indicate: A alone exists, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, in the description of the embodiments of the present application, "plurality" refers to two or more than two.

Hereinafter, the terms “first” and “second” are only used for descriptive purposes, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of these features. In the description of the present embodiment, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more.

This application addresses the problem that a large number of signaling accesses have a great impact on UDSF after AMF elastic scaling or failure in a 5G system, and proposes a data caching method and device, which can be applied to NF elastic scaling or failure. How to cache the unstructured data stored on the above to another unfaulted NF to ensure uninterrupted services and reduce the impact of a large number of signaling accesses on the UDSF. Among them, the NF is not limited to AMF, but can also be UDM, PCF, NRF, etc.

As shown in Figure 2, the network architecture of the present application may include RAN on the access network side, SMF, NRF, AMF, and UDSF on the core network side. The main functions of each network element can be referred to the above description of related concepts. It should be noted that all network elements surrounding the AMF on the core network side in this application can be applied to this embodiment of this application. For example, AMF can be replaced with UDMA, PCF, or NRF, etc. This application takes AMF as an example for description.

Applying the above network architecture, this application addresses the problem of a large number of signaling accesses that have a great impact on UDSF after AMF elastic scaling or failure in a 5G system. The principle of the proposed solution can be: NF (such as AMF) supports data caching locally Function; when UDSF detects a certain NF failure, it can gradually push the unstructured data of the NF to the local cache of other NFs; or when other NFs detect a certain NF failure, subscribe to or push the NF's Unstructured data. In this way, when a certain NF fails, the existing technology is triggered by a business request to obtain unstructured data from the UDSF, and this application can actively push the unstructured data of the NF to the local cache of the unfaulted NF through the UDSF, or UDSF responds to the request of the unfaulted NF and pushes unstructured data to the unfaulted NF local cache. In this way, the service request of the terminal device can request the unfaulted NF, which can alleviate the impact of the signaling storm on the UDSF network element and reduce Business delay.

Based on the above principles, the embodiments of the present application will be described below.

The embodiment of the present application provides a data caching method. As shown in FIG. 3, the method includes:

301. The first network function network element stores unstructured data in the UDSF.

The embodiment of the present application takes unstructured data as context data as an example for description.

In some embodiments, the first network function network element is AMF1 as an example. Referring to FIG. 4, when the UE is performing service processing, the AMF1 can buffer the context data of the UE, and the AMF1 also sends the locally buffered context data to the UDSF for storage. Multiple context data sent by AMF can be stored in the UDSF.

302. The UDSF determines that the first network function network element is faulty.

In some embodiments, the UDSF determining that the first network function network element is faulty may include: if the UDSF receives a notification message from the NRF, and the notification message indicates that the first network function network element is faulty, the UDSF determines that the first network function network element is faulty.

In some embodiments, the first network function network element is AMF1 as an example.

When AMF1 fails, referring to FIG. 4, AMF1 can notify the RAN that AMF will withdraw from service, and at the same time notify the RAN that it can subsequently request service from a backup NF, such as AMF2. In this way, when the RAN receives the service request of the UE, it can send the service request to AMF2.

In addition, each NF provides external services through a service-oriented interface, and allows other NFs to access or call their own services. The NF that provides the service can be called the "NF service provider", and the NF that accesses or calls the service can be called the "NF service user", and these activities require the management and monitoring of the NRF. That is, when each NF is activated, it must register with the NRF to provide services. For example, if NF1 wants NF2 to provide services, first go to NRF for service discovery. In addition, when a certain NF information is changed, it will also be automatically synchronized to the NRF, and will also be deregistered with the NRF when the NF is powered off.

It can be seen that NRF can maintain information about deployed NFs, process NF discovery requests from other network elements, and can also register and manage NFs. That is, NRF needs to maintain real-time information about all network element services in the entire network.

When AMF1 elastically scales or fails, referring to Figure 4, if NRF receives a de-registration request sent by AMF1, NRF confirms that AMF1 is faulty. When NRF confirms that AMF1 is faulty, NRF can actively send a notification message to UDSF to notify AMF1 of the fault. The embodiment of the present application includes the elastic expansion and contraction within the scope of the failure.

Or, in some embodiments, the NRF can perform two-way periodic state detection with each NF. When a certain NF fails, the NRF can notify other related NFs of the abnormal state of the failed NF. Other NFs include UDSF, SMF and RAN, etc.

Or, in some embodiments, the first network function network element is AMF1 as an example. The UDSF determining that the first network function network element is faulty may include: the UDSF may periodically detect whether multiple AMFs corresponding to the UDSF are faulty. The multiple AMFs corresponding to the UDSF may be multiple AMFs that cache unstructured data in the UDSF. For example, when the cycle time arrives, when the UDSF sends a detection message to AMF1, if it does not receive a response from AMF1 within a certain period of time, the UDSF determines that AMF1 is faulty.

303. The UDSF sends unstructured data corresponding to the first network function network element to the second network function network element, and the second network function network element is a backup device of the first network function network element.

In some embodiments, referring to FIG. 4, when the UDSF determines that the first network function network element is faulty, the UDSF may actively push the cached unstructured data of the first network function network element AMF1 to the second network function network element AMF2.

Exemplarily, because the NRF can maintain the information of the deployed NF, the information includes the information of the backup NF once the NF fails, that is, the backup relationship between the NFs, such as the first network function network element AMF1 The backup NF of AMF2 is AMF2. When the UDSF determines that AMF1 is faulty, the UDSF can query the NRF to find that the backup NF of AMF1 is AMF2. In this way, the UDSF can send the locally cached context data of AMF1 to AMF2.

In this way, referring to FIG. 4, when the UE initiates a service request (service request) to the RAN, or the network side initiates a service process, for example, when the service request is used to request context data, the RAN can request a service from AMF2. Or, when a session request arrives at the SMF, the SMF has learned from the NRF that AMF1 has failed. At this time, the SMF can send the session request to AMF2. If the session request is used to request the UE or the network side to request context data, AMF 2 can request The local cache reads the context data and sends it to the SMF so that the SMF can continue to process the business process based on the context data.

Therefore, in the data caching method provided by the present application, when the UDSF detects a NF failure, it can push the unstructured data corresponding to the failed NF to the local cache of other unfaulted NFs, so that the UE or the network side The sent service request can obtain unstructured data from the standby NF in order to continue business processing. Compared with the prior art, if the UE does not obtain unstructured data from the failed AMF through the RAN, but all requests the UDSF to obtain the unstructured data, causing a signaling storm in the UDSF, the method in the embodiments of this application can reduce the need for UDSF network elements. The impact of the signaling, which can increase the service delay.

The embodiment of the present application also provides a data caching method, as shown in FIG. 5, including:

501. The second network function network element stores unstructured data in the UDSF.

For the implementation of step 501, refer to the implementation of the first network function network element in step 301.

502. The first network function network element determines that the second network function network element is faulty.

Referring to FIG. 4, the first network function network element is AMF2, and the second network function network element is AMF1 as an example.

In some embodiments, when AMF1 is elastically scalable or unavailable, a de-registration process can be sent to the NRF to notify the NRF that AMF1 has failed. The NRF can then notify other NFs of the AMF1 failure event, including the backup NF of AMF1 ( AMF2), UDSF and RAN, etc. When AMF2 obtains the event of AMF1 failure, AMF2 determines that AMF1 has failed. For example, if AMF2 receives a notification message from NRF, and the notification message indicates that AMF1 is faulty, it is determined that AMF1 is faulty.

503. The first network function network element obtains unstructured data of the second network function network element from the UDSF.

In some embodiments, when AMF2 determines that AMF1 is faulty, AMF2 may send a request message to UDSF. The request message is used to request context data corresponding to AMF1 cached in UDSF from UDSF.

In this way, when the UE initiates a service request or the network side initiates a service process, when the service request or service process reaches the SMF, the SMF has learned from the NRF that AMF1 has failed. At this time, the SMF can send the service request of the UE or the service process of the network side Sent to AMF2, AMF2 can read the context data requested by the UE or the network side from the local cache and send it to SMF, so that SMF can continue to process the business process according to the context data.

It should be noted that if AMF2 has received the UE's service request or network-side service process before it can obtain context data from UDSF in the future, and AMF2 has not read the context data from the local cache, AMF2 can request it from UDSF Context data.

In some embodiments, AMF2 receives the first request message, which is used to obtain the first unstructured data; if AMF2 determines that the first unstructured data is not stored locally, AMF2 requests the UDSF to obtain the first unstructured data化数据。 Data.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the difference from the previous embodiment is that in this embodiment, the backup NF of the failed NF can actively subscribe to the UDSF for unstructured data of the failed NF, and the effect is the same as the previous embodiment. .

In the above embodiment, although the UDSF can push context data to the local cache of other NFs, if there are multiple other NFs, that is, backup NFs, the data redundancy and cache hit rate are considered, that is, when each of the other NFs When all NFs cache the full amount of context data, it will cause greater data redundancy and waste memory resources; when some data of the context data is cached to the local cache of other NFs, the cache hit rate will drop again. Therefore, an embodiment of the present application also provides a data caching method, as shown in FIG. 6A, including:

601A. The first network function network element stores unstructured data in the UDSF.

For the implementation of step 601A, refer to step 301.

602A. The UDSF determines that the first network function network element is faulty.

For the implementation of step 602A, refer to step 302.

The difference from step 302 is that if the UDSF receives the notification message sent by the NRF to notify the AMF of the failure, the notification message also includes the correspondence between the different identifiers and the identifiers of the backup entities of the first network function network element. The backup entity includes a second network function network element. The unstructured data corresponding to each identifier is different.

In some embodiments, the identifier may be a globally unique access and mobility management function AMF identifier (globally unique AMF identifier, GUAMI).

In any AMF, when the AMF caches the context data of the UE, it can group the context data of multiple UEs according to GUAMI, that is, each AMF can store one or more GUAMIs. When a UE is registered with the AMF, the AMF can allocate a temporary identifier for the UE: 5G globally unique temporary identifier (5G-GUTI), and 5G-GUTI includes GUAMI. That is, the AMF can select a GUAMI and establish the corresponding relationship between the context data of the UE and the GUAMI. The AMF will also send the corresponding relationship between the context data of the UE and the GUAMI to the UDSF for caching. That is, the corresponding relationship between the context data of the UE in the AMF and the GUAMI is also cached in the UDSF.

603A. The UDSF sends partial data of unstructured data corresponding to the first network function network element to the second network function network element; the partial data includes unstructured data under the identifier corresponding to the identifier of the second network function network element.

In this embodiment, the first network function network element is AMF1, the second network function network element is AMF2, and the unstructured data is context data as an example.

Referring to FIG. 7, the context data of the UE corresponding to GUAMI1 and the context data of the UE corresponding to GUAMI2 are cached in AMF1. When AMF1 is elastically scalable (preparing to withdraw from service), for example, AMF1 can initiate a de-registration process to NRF. When NRF determines that AMF is faulty, NRF can notify other NFs (such as AMF1's backup NF (AMF2), SMF, and AMF with a second notification message). UDSF, etc.) The correspondence between the GUAMI and the identifier of the spare AMF. For example, the correspondence indicates that the context data corresponding to GUAMI1 cached in AMF1 needs to be migrated to the target AMF2, and the context data corresponding to GUAMI2 cached in AMF1 needs to be migrated to the target AMF3. When the UDSF receives the notification of AMF1, the UDSF can send the locally cached GUAMI1 and the context data corresponding to GUAMI1 to AMF2, and the locally cached GUAMI2 and the context data corresponding to GUAMI2 to AMF3.

In addition, when AMF1 is about to withdraw from the service, it also needs to send the corresponding relationship between the GUAMI and the identifier of the spare AMF to the RAN.

In this way, when the UE initiates a service request and arrives at the RAN, the RAN can send the service request to a backup AMF of AMF1 according to the correspondence between the GUAMI and the identifier of the backup AMF. Or, when the SMF receives the session message from the UE or the network side, the SMF has learned from the NRF that AMF1 has failed. At this time, the SMF can send the session message to a backup AMF according to the correspondence between the GUAMI and the backup AMF identifier. The AMF can read the context data requested by the UE or the network side from the local cache and send it to the SMF, so that the SMF can continue to process the business process according to the context data.

Therefore, the difference from the above embodiment is that UDSF can push the context data of the UE according to GUAMI, which can ensure that the context data and service processing of the UE are on the same AMF node, and the AMF can directly read the context data from the local cache. Need to obtain context data from UDSF. This not only reduces the signaling impact on the UDSF, but also saves the memory resources of the spare AMF.

Correspondingly, AMF2/AMF3 can also actively obtain UE context data corresponding to GUAMI on AMF1 from UDSF. For example, when AMF2 determines that AMF1 is faulty, it can subscribe to UDSF the context data of UE corresponding to GUAMI1 corresponding to AMF1; when AMF3 determines that AMF1 is faulty, it can subscribe to UDSF the context data of UE corresponding to GUAMI2 corresponding to AMF1.

This application also provides a data caching method. As shown in FIG. 6B, the method includes:

601B. The first network function network element stores unstructured data in the UDSF.

For the implementation of step 601B, refer to step 301.

602B. When the first network function network element determines that the first network function network element is overloaded, it sends indication information to the UDSF. The indication information is used to instruct the UDSF to send to the second network function network element the non-function network element corresponding to the first network function network element. Part of structured data.

There may be multiple ways for the first network function network element to determine that the first network function network element is overloaded. For example, the first network function network element determines that its own CPU is overloaded, or the first network function network element receives and receives data with a delay exceeding a preset value. Threshold etc.

Since the UDSF can store unstructured data corresponding to multiple network function network elements (including the first network function network element), or the UDSF stores unstructured data corresponding to the first network function network element, the first In order to relieve the pressure, the network function network element can send instruction information to the UDSF storing the unstructured data of the first network function network element to instruct the UDSF to store the unstructured data corresponding to the first network function network element in the UDSF. The data is sent to a second network function network element, and the second network function network element is a backup network element of the first network function network element.

In some embodiments, the indication information may be used to instruct the UDSF to send part of the unstructured data that meets the trigger condition to the second network function network element. For example, the indication information includes the identification of the GUAMI and the second network function network element, which means that the first network function network element instructs the UDSF to send the locally stored unstructured data corresponding to the domain GUAMI to the second network function network element.

603B. The UDSF receives instruction information from the first network function network element, and the UDSF sends partial data of unstructured data corresponding to the first network function network element to the second network function network element according to the instruction information.

If the indication information includes the identification of the GUAMI and the second network function network element, the UDSF may send the context data of multiple UEs corresponding to the GUAMI stored in the UDSF to the second network function network element according to the indication information.

In this way, when the UE initiates a service request and arrives at the RAN, the RAN can send the service request to a backup network element of the first network function network element, that is, the second network function network element, according to the correspondence between the GUAMI and the backup AMF identifier. Or, when the SMF receives the session message from the UE or the network side, the SMF has learned from the NRF that the first network function network element is overloaded, and has instructed the UDSF to send some unstructured data to the second network function network element. At this time, The SMF can send the session message to a second network function network element according to the correspondence between the GUAMI and the identifier of the standby second network function network element, and the second network function network element can read the context requested by the UE or the network side from the local cache The data is sent to the SMF so that the SMF can continue to process the business process based on the context data. In the above step 303, or step 602A or step 602B, when the UDSF sends the UE context data to the AMF, it can be pushed according to a certain strategy. Generally speaking, strategies usually include rules and triggers. When a trigger event occurs, data can be pushed according to the rules.

In some embodiments, the trigger mainly includes events, such as NF state change, etc. The embodiment of the present application may be to determine an AMF failure. The rules are mainly composed of conditions and actions. Wherein, the condition is similar to a database record query, describing records that meet the condition. For example, in the embodiment of the present application, the condition may be a condition for preferentially pushing context data. Actions mainly include push actions.

In some embodiments, by defining the push strategy of the UDSF, it is possible to meet the requirements of various scenarios, for example, preferentially push the context data that meets the conditions.

For example, in step 303, the UDSF sends the unstructured data corresponding to the first network function network element to the second network function network element according to the priority of the unstructured data.

For example, in step 603A, the UDSF sends partial data of the unstructured data corresponding to the first network function network element to the second network function network element according to the priority of the unstructured data.

In some embodiments, the priority of unstructured data may be: priority of time or priority of data, etc.

Exemplarily, if according to the priority of time, in step 303, the UDSF may preferentially push the context data of the UE corresponding to the service with the higher priority in time to the AMF2, that is, the context corresponding to the service with low latency is preferentially pushed. Data, and then push the context data of the UE corresponding to the lower-priority service. For example, according to the user location of the UE, in some areas with relatively high traffic volume, the UDSF may preferentially push the context data of the UE corresponding to the call service to the AMF2 to ensure the call quality of the UE user. Among them, the services with higher priority in time can also be ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) services, such as voice over long-term evolution (voice over long-term evolution, VoLTE) services and automatic Driving business, etc.

If according to the priority of the data, in step 303, the UDSF may preferentially push the context data of the UE with the higher priority in the data to the AMF2, for example, the context data of the UE corresponding to the VIP (very important person) user, to Ensure the user experience of high-priority users.

As a result, pushing unstructured data according to the priority of the data through the UDSF can improve the cache hit rate of high-priority users or high-priority services and ensure user experience.

It can be understood that, in order to realize the above-mentioned functions, the network function network element includes hardware and/or software modules corresponding to each function. In combination with the algorithm steps of the examples described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is executed by hardware or computer software-driven hardware depends on the specific application and design constraint conditions of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods for each specific application in combination with the embodiments to implement the described functions, but such implementation should not be considered as going beyond the scope of the present application.

In this embodiment, the network function network element can be divided into functional modules according to the foregoing method examples. For example, each functional module can be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above-mentioned integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware. It should be noted that the division of modules in this embodiment is illustrative, and is only a logical function division, and there may be other division methods in actual implementation.

In the case of dividing each function module corresponding to each function, FIG. 8 shows a schematic diagram of a possible composition of the network function network element 80 involved in the above embodiment. The network function network element may be the UDSF in the above embodiment. . As shown in FIG. 8, the network function network element 80 may include: a processing unit 801 and a transceiver unit 802.

Wherein, the processing unit 801 may be used to support the network function network element 80 to execute the above step 302, step 603A, step 603B, etc., and/or other processes used in the technology described herein.

The transceiving unit 802 may be used to support the network function network element 80 to perform the above step 303, step 603A, step 603B, etc., and/or other processes used in the technology described herein. For example, receiving notifications or unstructured data, etc., and/or other processes used in the techniques described herein.

It should be noted that all relevant content of the steps involved in the foregoing method embodiments can be cited in the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and will not be repeated here.

The network function network element 80 provided in this embodiment is used to execute the above-mentioned data caching method, so the same effect as the above-mentioned implementation method can be achieved.

In the case of an integrated unit, the network function network element 80 may include a processing module, a storage module, and a communication module. The processing module may be used to control and manage the actions of the network function network element 80, for example, it may be used to support the network function network element 80 to execute the steps performed by the processing unit 801 described above. The storage module may be used to support the network function network element 80 to store program codes and data. The communication module may be used to support communication between the network function network element 80 and other devices, such as communication with other NFs.

Among them, the processing module may be a processor or a controller. It can implement or execute various exemplary logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the disclosure of this application. The processor may also be a combination that implements computing functions, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of digital signal processing (DSP) and a microprocessor, and so on. The storage module may be a memory. The communication module may specifically be a transceiver, a radio frequency circuit, a Bluetooth chip, a Wi-Fi chip, and other devices that interact with other communication devices.

In an embodiment, when the processing module is a processor, the storage module is a memory, and the communication module is a transceiver, the network function network element 80 involved in this embodiment may be a network function network element 90 having the structure shown in FIG. 9 .

The embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device including one or more processors and one or more memories. The one or more memories are coupled with one or more processors, and the one or more memories are used to store computer program codes. The computer program codes include computer instructions. When the one or more processors execute the computer instructions, the communication device executes The above related method steps implement the data caching method in the above embodiment.

The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium that stores computer instructions in the computer-readable storage medium. When the computer instructions run on the UDSF, the UDSF executes the above-mentioned related method steps to implement the steps in the above-mentioned embodiments. Data caching method.

The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product. When the computer program product runs on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the above-mentioned related steps, so as to realize the data caching method executed by the UDSF in the above-mentioned embodiment.

In addition, the embodiments of the present application also provide a device. The device may specifically be a chip, component or module. The device may include a processor and a memory connected to each other. The memory is used to store computer execution instructions. When the device is running, The processor can execute the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory, so that the chip executes the data caching method executed by the UDSF in the foregoing method embodiments.

In the case of dividing each functional module corresponding to each function, FIG. 10 shows a schematic diagram of a possible composition of the network function network element 100 involved in the foregoing embodiment. The network function network element 100 may be the one in the foregoing embodiment. The first network function network element or the second network function network element, the network function network element may be AMF, or other network function network elements, such as UDMA, PCF, or NRF. As shown in FIG. 10, the network function network element 100 may include: a processing unit 1001 and a transceiver unit 1002.

Wherein, the processing unit 1001 may be used to support the network function network element 80 to perform the above-mentioned step 502, etc., and/or be used in other processes of the technology described herein.

The transceiver unit 1002 may be used to support the network function network element 100 to perform the above-mentioned step 503, etc., and/or be used in other processes of the technology described herein. For example, receiving notifications or unstructured data, etc., and/or other processes used in the techniques described herein.

The network function network element 100 provided in this embodiment is used to execute the above-mentioned data caching method, so the same effect as the above-mentioned implementation method can be achieved.

In the case of an integrated unit, the network function network element 100 may include a processing module, a storage module, and a communication module. The processing module may be used to control and manage the actions of the network function network element 100, for example, it may be used to support the network function network element 100 to perform the steps performed by the processing unit 1001. The storage module may be used to support the network function network element 100 to store program codes and data. The communication module may be used to support communication between the network function network element 100 and other devices, for example, communication with other NFs (such as UDSF, NRF, etc.).

Among them, the processing module may be a processor or a controller. It can implement or execute various exemplary logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the disclosure of this application. The processor may also be a combination that implements computing functions, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of digital signal processing (DSP) and a microprocessor, and so on. The storage module may be a memory. The communication module may specifically be a transceiver, a radio frequency circuit, a Bluetooth chip, a Wi-Fi chip, and other devices that interact with other electronic devices.

In an embodiment, when the processing module is a processor, the storage module is a memory, and the communication module is a transceiver, the network function network element 100 involved in this embodiment may be the AMF 110 having the structure shown in FIG. 11.

The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium that stores computer instructions, and when the computer instructions run on the AMF, the AMF is caused to execute the above-mentioned related method steps to implement the steps in the above-mentioned embodiments. Data caching method.

The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, which when the computer program product runs on a computer, causes the computer to execute the above-mentioned related steps, so as to realize the data caching method executed by the AMF in the above-mentioned embodiment.

In addition, the embodiments of the present application also provide a device. The device may specifically be a chip, component or module. The device may include a processor and a memory connected to each other. The memory is used to store computer execution instructions. When the device is running, The processor can execute the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory, so that the chip executes the data caching method executed by the AMF or other NFs in the foregoing method embodiments.

Among them, the UDSF, AMF, computer storage media, computer program products, or chips provided in this embodiment are all used to execute the corresponding methods provided above. Therefore, the beneficial effects that can be achieved can refer to the corresponding methods provided above. The beneficial effects of the method are not repeated here.

Another embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which may include the foregoing UDSF and the foregoing AMF, and may be used to implement the foregoing data caching method.

Through the description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can understand that for the convenience and conciseness of the description, only the division of the above-mentioned functional modules is used as an example. The function module is completed, that is, the internal structure of the device is divided into different function modules to complete all or part of the functions described above.

In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed device and method can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the modules or units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, for example, multiple units or components may be divided. It can be combined or integrated into another device, or some features can be omitted or not implemented. In addition, the displayed or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be in electrical, mechanical or other forms.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate. The parts displayed as units may be one physical unit or multiple physical units, that is, they may be located in one place, or they may be distributed to multiple different places. . Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the objectives of the solutions of the embodiments.

In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The above-mentioned integrated unit can be realized in the form of hardware or software functional unit.

If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application are essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solutions can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the software product is stored in a storage medium. It includes several instructions to make a device (may be a single-chip microcomputer, a chip, etc.) or a processor (processor) execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of the present application. The foregoing storage media include: U disk, mobile hard disk, read only memory (read only memory, ROM), random access memory (random access memory, RAM), magnetic disk or optical disk and other media that can store program codes.

The above content is only the specific implementation of this application, but the protection scope of this application is not limited to this. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in this application. Covered in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of this application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

A data caching method is characterized in that it includes:

The unstructured data storage function UDSF determines that the first network function network element is faulty;

The UDSF sends unstructured data corresponding to the first network function network element to a second network function network element, and the second network function network element is a backup device of the first network function network element.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the UDSF determining that the first network function network element is faulty comprises:

If the UDSF receives a notification message from a network storage function NRF, and the notification message indicates that the first network function network element is faulty, the UDSF determines that the first network function network element is faulty.
The method according to claim 2, wherein the notification message includes a correspondence between a different identifier and an identifier of a backup entity of the first network function network element; the backup entity includes the second network Functional network element; the unstructured data corresponding to each identifier is different for different users;

The sending by the UDSF to the second network function network element the unstructured data corresponding to the first network function network element includes:

The UDSF sends part of the data in the unstructured data corresponding to the first network function network element to the second network function network element according to the corresponding relationship, and the part of the data includes the same data as the second network function network element. Unstructured data under the identifier corresponding to the meta identifier.
The method according to claim 3, wherein the identifier is a globally unique access and mobility management function AMF identifier GUAMI.
The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sending, by the UDSF, to a second network function network element the unstructured data corresponding to the first network function network element comprises:

The UDSF sends the unstructured data corresponding to the first network function network element to the second network function network element according to the priority of the unstructured data.
A data caching method is characterized in that it includes:

The first network function network element determines that the second network function network element is faulty;

The first network function network element obtains the unstructured data of the second network function network element from an unstructured data storage function UDSF.
The method according to claim 6, wherein the first network function network element determining that the second network function network element is faulty comprises:

If the first network function network element receives a notification message from a network storage function NRF, and the notification message indicates that the second network function network element is faulty, it is determined that the second network function network element is faulty.
The method according to claim 7, wherein the notification message includes a correspondence between a different identifier and an identifier of a backup entity of the first network function network element; the backup entity includes the second network Functional network element; the unstructured data corresponding to each identifier is different;

The obtaining, by the first network function network element, the unstructured data stored by the second network function network element from the unstructured data storage function UDSF includes:

The first network function network element receives partial data of unstructured data corresponding to the second network function network element from the UDSF; the partial data includes data corresponding to the identifier of the second network function network element Unstructured data under the identifier.
The method according to claim 8, wherein the identifier is a globally unique access and mobility management function AMF identifier GUAMI.
The method according to claim 6, wherein the method further comprises:

Receiving, by the first network function network element, a first request message, where the first request message is used to obtain first unstructured data;

If the first network function network element determines that the first unstructured data is not stored locally, the first network function network element requests the UDSF to obtain the first unstructured data.
A communication device, characterized in that it comprises:

A processing unit, configured to determine the failure of the first network function network element;

The transceiver unit is configured to send unstructured data corresponding to the first network function network element to a second network function network element, where the second network function network element is a backup device of the first network function network element.
The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the processing unit is configured to, if it is determined that the transceiver unit is used to receive a notification message from a network storage function NRF, the notification message indicates the first network function If the network element is faulty, it is determined that the first network function network element is faulty.
The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the notification message includes a correspondence between a different identifier and an identifier of a backup entity of the first network function network element; the backup entity includes the second network Functional network element; the unstructured data corresponding to each identifier is different;

The transceiving unit is configured to send partial data of unstructured data corresponding to the first network function network element to the second network function network element according to the corresponding relationship; the partial data includes the data corresponding to the second network function network element; Unstructured data under the identifier corresponding to the identifier of the network function network element;

Wherein, the identifier is the globally unique access and mobility management function AMF identifier GUAMI.
The device according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the transceiving unit is configured to send to the second network function network element corresponding to the first network function network element according to the priority of unstructured data Unstructured data.
A communication device, characterized in that it comprises:

A processing unit, configured to determine the failure of the second network function network element;

The transceiver unit is configured to obtain the unstructured data of the second network function network element from the unstructured data storage function UDSF.
The device according to claim 15, wherein the processing unit is configured to, if the transceiver unit is configured to receive a notification message from a network storage function NRF, the notification message instructs the second network function network If the element is faulty, it is determined that the second network function network element is faulty.
The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the notification message includes a correspondence between a different identifier and an identifier of a backup entity of the first network function network element; the backup entity includes the second network function network element; Meta; the unstructured data corresponding to each identifier is different;

The transceiver unit is used to:

Partial data of unstructured data corresponding to the second network function network element is received from the UDSF; the part of data includes unstructured data under the identifier corresponding to the identifier of the second network function network element ；

Wherein, the identifier is the globally unique access and mobility management function AMF identifier GUAMI.
The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the transceiver unit is configured to receive a first request message, and the first request message is used to obtain first unstructured data;

The transceiving unit is configured to request the UDSF to obtain the first unstructured data if the first network function network element determines that the first unstructured data is not stored locally.
A computer-readable storage medium, characterized by comprising a program or instruction, when the program or instruction is executed by a processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is executed.
A computer-readable storage medium, characterized by comprising a program or instruction, when the program or instruction is executed by a processor, the method according to any one of claims 6 to 10 is executed.
A computer program product, characterized in that, when the computer program product runs on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is executed.
A computer program product, characterized in that, when the computer program product runs on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 6 to 10 is executed.