WO2022179500A1

WO2022179500A1 - Communication method and apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2022179500A1
Application number: PCT/CN2022/077274
Authority: WO
Inventors: 郭�东
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2021-02-26
Filing date: 2022-02-22
Publication date: 2022-09-01
Also published as: CN114979964B; CN114979964A

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus. The method comprises: establishing a first channel between a server and the user plane network element where a terminal apparatus is located; the server sending service data to the user plane network element according to an address and a port identifier of the first channel and by means of the first channel; and then the user plane network element distributing the service data to the terminal apparatus that is associated with the first channel. When a plurality of terminal apparatuses under the same user plane network element request service data from the same server, the server can transmit the service data to the user plane network element by means of the same first channel, and the user plane network element performs service data distribution on the plurality of terminal apparatuses, such that multicast transmission is realized, and the downlink burden on the server and the downlink data bearing pressure can be reduced.

Description

A communication method and device

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority of the Chinese patent application with the application number 202110219575.2 and the application title "a communication method and device" filed with the China Patent Office on February 26, 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated into this application by reference.

technical field

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

Background technique

Currently, the Internet Protocol (IP) defines three transmission modes of IP data packets, including unicast (unicast), broadcast (broadcast) and multicast (multicast). Among them, compared with the unicast transmission mode, the information transmitted in the multicast transmission mode is copied and distributed at the network nodes as far away as possible from the information source, so the user equipment (UE) is increased in the multicast transmission mode. The number does not result in a heavier load on the information source and a significant increase in the consumption of network resources. In addition, compared with the broadcast transmission method, the multicast transmission method does not cause waste of network resources and can improve the security of information transmission because the transmitted information is only sent to the receivers who need the information.

At present, due to issues such as public and private network address penetration, service servers (servers) deployed on the public network under services such as over the top (OTT) do not support multicast transmission when sending downlink data to UEs, and can only be transmitted by the server. Data is sent separately for different UEs, so the downlink transmission burden of the server is heavy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present application provides a communication method and device to reduce the downlink transmission burden of a server.

In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, the method being executable by a server. The server may be, for example, an OTT service server deployed on the public network. The server may receive a first request from a terminal device, where the first request is used to obtain data, and the first request includes the address of the terminal device, the identifier of the first port of the terminal device, the address and identification of the third port of the server. The server may also send a second request to the network opening network element, where the second request is used to request the establishment of a first channel, and the first channel is used for communication between the server and the user plane network element where the terminal device is located. The second request includes the address of the terminal device, the identifier of the first port, the address of the server, and the identifier of the third port. The server may also receive the address of the first channel and the identifier of the second port of the first channel from the network opening network element. The server can also send first data, the destination address of the first data is the address of the first channel, the destination port of the first data is the second port, and the source address of the first data is the server address, and the source port of the first data is the third port.

Using the above method, a first channel can be established between the server and the user plane network element where the terminal device is located, and the server sends the service data to the user plane network element through the first channel according to the address and port identifier of the first channel, and then sends the service data to the user plane network element through the first channel. The user plane network element distributes the service data to the terminal device associated with the first channel. When multiple terminal devices under the same user plane network element request service data from the same server, the server can transmit the service data to the user plane network element through the same first channel, and the user plane network element can perform service data on the multiple terminal devices. distribution, and realize multicast transmission, which can save the downlink burden of the server and reduce the downlink data bearing pressure.

Exemplarily, the network open network element may be, for example, NEF, and the user plane network element may be, for example, UPF.

In a possible design, the first data may be transmitted using a user datagram protocol or a transmission control protocol.

In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, and the method can be performed by a network opening network element. The network open network element may be, for example, NEF or the like. The network opening network element may receive a second request from the server, where the second request is used to request the establishment of a first channel, and the first channel is used for transmission between the server and the user plane network element where the terminal device is located , the second request includes the address of the terminal device, the identifier of the first port of the terminal device, the address of the server, and the identifier of the third port of the server. The network opening network element may also send a third request to the session management network element where the terminal device is located, where the third request is used to request to establish the first channel, and the third request includes the address of the terminal device, The identifier of the first port of the terminal device, the address of the server, and the identifier of the third port. The network opening network element may also receive the address of the first channel and the identifier of the second port of the first channel from the session management network element. The network opening network element may also send the address of the first channel and the identifier of the second port to the server.

In a possible design, the network opening network element may further determine the session management network element where the terminal device is located according to the address of the terminal device.

In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, and the method can be performed by a session management network element. The session management network element may be, for example, an SMF. The session management network element may receive a third request from the network opening network element, where the third request is used to request to establish a first channel, and the first channel is used for communication between the server and the user plane network element where the terminal device is located. The third request includes the address of the terminal device, the identifier of the first port of the terminal device, the address of the server, and the identifier of the third port of the server. The session management network element may also send a fourth request to the user plane network element where the terminal device is located, where the fourth request is used to request to establish the first channel, and the fourth request includes the address of the terminal device, The identifier of the first port of the terminal device, the address of the server, and the identifier of the third port. The session management network element may also receive the address of the first channel and the identifier of the second port of the first channel from the user plane network element. The session management network element may also send the address of the first channel and the identifier of the second port of the first channel to the network opening network element.

In a possible design, the session management network element may further determine the user plane network element where the terminal device is located according to the address of the terminal device.

In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, and the method can be performed by a user plane network element. The user plane network element may be, for example, a UPF or the like. The user plane network element where the terminal device is located receives a fourth request from the session management network element where the terminal device is located, where the fourth request is used to request the establishment of a first channel, and the first channel is used for the server to communicate with the For transmission between user plane network elements, the fourth request includes the address of the terminal device, the identifier of the first port of the terminal device, the address of the server, and the identifier of the third port of the server. The user plane network element may also send the address of the first channel and the identifier of the second port of the first channel to the session management network element. The user plane network element may also receive first data, the destination address of the first data is the address of the first channel, the destination port of the first data is the second port, and the source of the first data The address is the address of the server, and the source port of the first data is the third port. The user plane network element may also send second data, the destination address of the second data is the address of the terminal device, the destination port of the second data is the first port, and the source address of the second data is the address of the server, and the source port of the second data is the third port.

In a possible design, the first data and the second data are transmitted using a user datagram protocol or a transmission control protocol.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which can implement the method implemented by a server in the first aspect or any possible design thereof. The apparatus comprises corresponding units or components for carrying out the above-described method. The units included in the apparatus may be implemented by software and/or hardware. The apparatus may be, for example, a server, or a chip, a chip system, a module or a processor that can support the server to implement the above method.

Exemplarily, the communication device may include modular components such as a communication module and a processing module, and these modules may perform the corresponding functions of the server in the first aspect or any possible design thereof. Wherein, the transceiver unit may include a receiving module or a receiving unit for performing a receiving function, and a sending module or a sending unit for performing a sending function. When the communication device is a server, the transceiver unit may be a sending unit when performing the sending step, the transceiver unit may be a receiving unit when performing the receiving step, and the transceiver unit may be replaced by a transceiver, the sending unit may be replaced by a transmitter, and the receiving unit Can be replaced by the receiver. The transceiver unit may include an antenna, a radio frequency circuit, and the like, and the processing unit may be a processor, such as a baseband chip. When the communication device is a component having the above server function, the transceiver unit may be a radio frequency unit, and the processing unit may be a processor. When the communication device is a chip system, the transceiver unit may be an input/output interface of the chip system, and the processing unit may be a processor of the chip system, such as a central processing unit (central processing unit, CPU).

The transceiving unit may be configured to perform the actions of receiving and/or sending performed by the server in the first aspect or any possible designs thereof. The processing unit may be used to perform control actions other than the receiving and sending performed by the server in the first aspect or any possible designs thereof.

Optionally, the communication device may further include a memory for storing computer program instructions. When the processing unit or the processing module invokes the computer program instructions and executes them, the first aspect or any possible possibility thereof may be performed by the transceiver unit or the communication module. The method executed by the server in the design.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which can implement the method implemented by a network open network element in the second aspect or any possible design thereof. The apparatus comprises corresponding units or components for carrying out the above-described method. The units included in the apparatus may be implemented by software and/or hardware. The apparatus may be, for example, a network open network element, or a chip, a chip system, a module, or a processor that can support the network open network element to implement the above method.

Exemplarily, the communication apparatus may include modular components such as a communication module and a processing module, and these modules may perform the corresponding functions of the network opening network element in the second aspect or any possible design thereof. Wherein, the transceiver unit may include a receiving module or a receiving unit for performing a receiving function, and a sending module or a sending unit for performing a sending function. When the communication device is an open network element, the transceiver unit may be a sending unit when performing the sending step, the transceiver unit may be a receiving unit when performing the receiving step, and the transceiver unit may be replaced by a transceiver, and the sending unit may be replaced by a transmitter , the receiving unit can be replaced by a receiver. The transceiver unit may include an antenna, a radio frequency circuit, and the like, and the processing unit may be a processor, such as a baseband chip. When the communication device is a component having the above-mentioned network opening network element function, the transceiver unit may be a radio frequency unit, and the processing unit may be a processor. When the communication device is a system-on-chip, the transceiver unit may be an input/output interface of the system-on-chip, and the processing unit may be a processor of the system-on-chip, such as a CPU.

The transceiving unit may be configured to perform the receiving and/or sending actions performed by the network opening network element in the second aspect or any possible design thereof. The processing unit may be configured to perform control actions other than reception and transmission performed by the network opening network element in the second aspect or any possible design thereof.

Optionally, the communication device may further include a memory for storing computer program instructions. When the processing unit or the processing module invokes the computer program instructions and executes them, the above-mentioned second aspect or any possible possibility thereof may be performed by the transceiver unit or the communication module. The method executed by the server in the design.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which can implement the method implemented by a session management network element in the third aspect or any possible design thereof. The apparatus comprises corresponding units or components for carrying out the above-described method. The units included in the apparatus may be implemented by software and/or hardware. The apparatus may be, for example, a session management network element, or a chip, a chip system, a module or a processor that can support the session management network element to implement the above method.

Exemplarily, modular components such as a communication module and a processing module, these modules can perform the corresponding functions of the session management network element in the third aspect or any possible design thereof. Wherein, the transceiver unit may include a receiving module or a receiving unit for performing a receiving function, and a sending module or a sending unit for performing a sending function. When the communication device is a session management network element, the transceiver unit may be a sending unit when performing the sending step, the transceiver unit may be a receiving unit when performing the receiving step, and the transceiver unit may be replaced by a transceiver, and the sending unit may be replaced by a transmitter , the receiving unit can be replaced by a receiver. The transceiver unit may include an antenna, a radio frequency circuit, and the like, and the processing unit may be a processor, such as a baseband chip. When the communication device is a component having the function of the above-mentioned session management network element, the transceiver unit may be a radio frequency unit, and the processing unit may be a processor. When the communication device is a system-on-chip, the transceiver unit may be an input/output interface of the system-on-chip, and the processing unit may be a processor of the system-on-chip, such as a CPU.

The transceiver unit may be configured to perform the receiving and/or sending actions performed by the session management network element in the third aspect or any possible design thereof. The processing unit may be configured to perform control actions other than receiving and sending performed by the session management network element in the third aspect or any possible design thereof.

Optionally, the communication device may further include a memory for storing computer program instructions. When the processing unit or the processing module invokes the computer program instructions and executes them, the above-mentioned third aspect or any possible possibility thereof may be performed by the transceiver unit or the communication module. The method executed by the server in the design.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which can implement the method implemented by a user plane network element in the fourth aspect or any possible design thereof. The apparatus comprises corresponding units or components for carrying out the above-described method. The units included in the apparatus may be implemented by software and/or hardware. The apparatus may be, for example, a user plane network element, or a chip, a chip system, a module, or a processor that can support the user plane network element to implement the above method.

Exemplarily, the communication apparatus may include modular components such as a communication module and a processing module, and these modules may perform the corresponding functions of the user plane network element in the fourth aspect or any possible design thereof. Wherein, the transceiver unit may include a receiving module or a receiving unit for performing a receiving function, and a sending module or a sending unit for performing a sending function. When the communication device is a user plane network element, the transceiver unit may be a sending unit when performing the sending step, the transceiver unit may be a receiving unit when performing the receiving step, and the transceiver unit may be replaced by a transceiver, and the sending unit may be replaced by a transmitter , the receiving unit can be replaced by a receiver. The transceiver unit may include an antenna, a radio frequency circuit, and the like, and the processing unit may be a processor, such as a baseband chip. When the communication device is a component having the above-mentioned user plane network element function, the transceiver unit may be a radio frequency unit, and the processing unit may be a processor. When the communication device is a system-on-chip, the transceiver unit may be an input/output interface of the system-on-chip, and the processing unit may be a processor of the system-on-chip, such as a CPU.

The transceiver unit may be configured to perform the receiving and/or sending actions performed by the user plane network element in the fourth aspect or any possible design thereof. The processing unit may be configured to perform control actions other than reception and transmission performed by the user plane network element in the fourth aspect or any possible design thereof.

Optionally, the communication device may further include a memory for storing computer program instructions. When the processing unit or the processing module calls and executes the computer program instructions, the above-mentioned fourth aspect or any possible possibility thereof may be performed by the transceiver unit or the communication module. The method executed by the server in the design.

In a ninth aspect, a communication method is provided, which is performed by a server, a network opening network element, a session management network element, and a user plane network element. include:

The server may receive a first request from a terminal device, where the first request is used to obtain data, and the first request includes the address of the terminal device, the identifier of the first port of the terminal device, the address and identification of the third port of the server. The server may also send a second request to the network opening network element, where the second request is used to request the establishment of a first channel, and the first channel is used for communication between the server and the user plane network element where the terminal device is located. The second request includes the address of the terminal device, the identifier of the first port, the address of the server, and the identifier of the third port.

The network opening network element may send a third request to the session management network element where the terminal device is located, where the third request is used to request to establish the first channel, and the third request includes the address of the terminal device, the The identifier of the first port of the terminal device, the address of the server, and the identifier of the third port.

The session management network element may send a fourth request to the user plane network element where the terminal device is located, where the fourth request is used to request to establish the first channel, and the fourth request includes the address of the terminal device, the The identifier of the first port of the terminal device, the address of the server, and the identifier of the third port.

After receiving the fourth request, the user plane network element may send the address of the first channel and the identifier of the second port of the first channel to the session management network element.

The session management network element may also receive the address of the first channel and the identifier of the second port of the first channel from the user plane network element. The session management network element may also send the address of the first channel and the identifier of the second port of the first channel to the network opening network element.

The network opening network element may also receive the address of the first channel and the identifier of the second port of the first channel from the session management network element. The network opening network element may also send the address of the first channel and the identifier of the second port to the server.

The server may also receive the address of the first channel and the identifier of the second port of the first channel from the network opening network element, and send first data, where the destination address of the first data is the The address of the first channel, the destination port of the first data is the second port, the source address of the first data is the address of the server, the source port of the first data is the third port .

After receiving the first data, the user plane network element can also send second data, the destination address of the second data is the address of the terminal device, the destination port of the second data is the first port, and the first port is the destination port of the second data. The source address of the second data is the address of the server, and the source port of the second data is the third port.

In a tenth aspect, a communication system is provided, the communication system includes the communication apparatus shown in the fifth aspect to the eighth aspect, that is to say, includes: a server for executing the method mentioned in the above first aspect, a server for executing the above The network opening network element of the method mentioned in the second aspect, the session management network element used for executing the method mentioned in the third aspect, and the user plane network element used for implementing the method mentioned in the fourth aspect, of course, can also It includes other devices or equipment, which is not specifically limited in this application.

In an eleventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, the computer-readable storage medium is used to store computer instructions or programs, and when the computer instructions or programs are run on a computer, the computer is made to execute the above-mentioned first aspect to the first aspect. The method described in the four aspects or any one of the possible embodiments thereof.

A twelfth aspect provides a computer program product which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the methods described in the above-mentioned first to fourth aspects or any possible designs thereof.

In a thirteenth aspect, there is provided a circuit, the circuit being coupled to a memory, the circuit being used to perform the method described in the above-mentioned first to fourth aspects or any one of possible implementations thereof. The circuit may include a chip circuit, a chip or a chip system, or the like.

The beneficial effects of the above second aspect to the thirteenth aspect and their possible designs can be referred to the beneficial effects of the first aspect and their possible designs, which will not be repeated here.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of another communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

5 is a schematic diagram of a process of a UE joining a multicast group of a first channel according to an embodiment of the present application;

6 is a schematic diagram of a data transmission process according to a first channel provided by an embodiment of the present application;

7 is a schematic diagram of a multicast group process in which a UE exits a first channel according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a process of using TCP to transmit downlink data according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed ways

In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In order to facilitate the understanding of the technical solutions of the present application, the following briefly introduces the technical terms involved in the present application.

1. UE refers to a user-oriented entity for receiving service data (or data). In this application, a UE may be understood as a terminal device, that is, an entity for realizing terminal functions. The terminal may include a handheld device with a wireless connection function, or a device connected to a networked medium such as a wireless modem and a router. The terminal can access the network through a radio access network (RAN), and obtain service data through the network. The network here can be an operator network, such as a 4G network or a 5G network. An operator network may include an access network (AN) and a core network (CN).

The terminal can be a terminal device, a wireless terminal device, a mobile terminal device, a device-to-device (D2D) device, a V2X device, a machine-to-machine/machine-type communication (machine-to-machine/machine-type) communications, M2M/MTC) equipment, Internet of things (Internet of things, IoT) equipment.

As an example and not a limitation, in this embodiment of the present application, the terminal may also be a wearable device. Wearable devices can also be called wearable smart devices or smart wearable devices, etc. It is a general term for the application of wearable technology to intelligently design daily wear and develop wearable devices, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing and shoes. Wait. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothing or accessories. Wearable device is not only a hardware device, but also realizes powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. In a broad sense, wearable smart devices include full-featured, large-scale, complete or partial functions without relying on smart phones, such as smart watches or smart glasses, and only focus on a certain type of application function, which needs to cooperate with other devices such as smart phones. Use, such as all kinds of smart bracelets, smart helmets, smart jewelry, etc. for physical sign monitoring.

The various terminals described above, if located on the vehicle (eg, placed or installed in the vehicle), can be considered as on-board equipment, for example, the on-board equipment is also called onboard unit (onboard unit, OBU).

In this embodiment of the present application, the entity used to implement the function of the terminal may be the terminal, or may be a device capable of supporting the terminal to implement the function, such as a module, chip, chip system, circuit, and/or transceiver, etc. The device may be Setup or install in the terminal. That is to say, the UE in this application can also be replaced by a terminal or a terminal device. The following description takes the UE as the execution subject as an example. Unless otherwise specified, the actions performed by the UE described below can also be performed by the terminal or the terminal device. implement.

2. Network equipment, including access network equipment and core network equipment.

(1) Access network equipment can be deployed in the access network to provide network access functions. Access network equipment such as radio access network (radio access network, RAN) base stations and so on. The access network equipment may specifically include a base station (base station, BS), such as a RAN base station, or a base station and a radio resource management device for controlling the base station, and the like. The access network device may further include a relay station or relay device, an access point, a base station in a future 5G network, a base station in a future evolved PLMN network, or an NR base station, and the like. The access network device can be a wearable device or a vehicle-mounted device. The access network device may also be a communication chip with a communication module.

For example, the access network equipment includes but is not limited to: the next generation base station (g nodeB, gNB) in 5G, the evolved node B (evolved node B, eNB) in the long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) system, wireless network Controller (radio network controller, RNC), wireless controller under cloud radio access network (CRAN) system, base station controller (base station controller, BSC), home base station (home evolved nodeB, or home node B, HNB), baseband unit (BBU), transmission point (transmitting and receiving point, TRP), transmitting point (transmitting point, TP), mobile switching center, global system for mobile communication (global aystem for mobile communication, A base transceiver station (BTS) in a GSM) or code division multiple access (code division multiple access, CDMA) network, or a node in a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) network A base station (nodebase station, NB) can also be an evolutional NB (eNB or eNodeB) in LTE, and can also be a base station device in a future 5G network or an access network device in a future evolved PLMN network. Can be a wearable device or an in-vehicle device.

Wherein, the communication between the UE and the access network device may be performed through an air interface. For example, air interface messages such as radio resource control (radio resource control, RRC) messages are transmitted between the UE and the access network device through the air interface.

It should be understood that the access network device can communicate with other network devices through the interface. Wherein, the access network device can communicate with other access network devices through the interface between the access network devices; and/or, the access network device can communicate with the core network device through the interface between the access network device and the core network device devices to communicate.

In some deployment manners, the access network device may include a centralized unit (centralized unit, CU) and a distributed unit (distributed unit, DU). The CU and DU can be deployed as one network node, called centralized deployment; or separately deployed as independent network nodes, called distributed deployment. communication.

The CU can implement some functions of the access network equipment, and the DU can implement some functions of the access network equipment. For example, the CU is responsible for processing non-real-time protocols and services, and implementing the functions of the RRC and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layers. In a possible structure, the CU may include a control plane (CP) and a user plane (UP).

The DU is responsible for processing physical layer protocols and real-time services, and implementing the functions of the radio link control (RLC) layer, the media access control (MAC) layer and the physical (PHY) layer. AAU implements some physical layer processing functions, radio frequency processing and related functions of active antennas. Because the information of the RRC layer will eventually become the information of the PHY layer, or, it is converted from the information of the PHY layer. It can be understood that the access network device may include CU and/or DU. In addition, the CU can be divided into devices in the access network, or the CU can be regarded as the access network device. The CU can also be divided into devices in the core network, or the CU is used as the device of the core network, which is not limited in this application.

Optionally, the access network device may be connected to the core network device, and the core network device may be used to provide network services for UEs connected to the access network device.

(2) Core network equipment may be deployed in the core network, and may include mobility management network elements, session management network elements, user plane network elements, and/or network open network elements, and the like. It should be understood that core network devices may correspond to different devices in different systems.

The mobility management network element is the control plane network element provided by the operator's network, which is responsible for the access control and mobility management when the UE accesses the operator's network. user functions. Taking a 5G communication system as an example, the user management network element may include an access and mobility management function (AMF). In future communication systems such as the 6th generation (the 6th generation, 6G) communication system, the mobility management network element may still be AMF, or have other names, which are not limited in this application.

The session management network element is a control plane network element provided by the operator's network, and is responsible for managing the data channel of the UE. Taking the 5G communication system as an example, the session management network element can be a session management function (SMF), and the data channel includes a packet data unit (PDU) session, so it can be said that the session management network element serves the terminal's PDU session. A PDU session is a channel used to transmit PDUs in an operator's network. The UE needs to transmit PDUs to each other through the PDU session and a user plane function (UPF), and the PDUs can carry service data. PDU sessions are established, maintained and deleted by the SMF. SMF can be used to select the UPF serving the UE and the UPF as the user plane anchor UPF of the UE. For example, the UPF closer to the access network device where the UE is located is selected as the anchor UPF to reduce the delay of users sending and receiving packets. In 5G, the session management network element may be SMF, and in future communication systems, the session management network element may still be SMF, or have other names, which are not limited in this application.

The user plane network element is a data network element provided by the operator's network and is responsible for data transmission of the UE. Taking the 5G communication system as an example, the user plane network elements include UPF, which are used for PDU forwarding, routing policy execution, traffic reporting, and quality of service (QoS) processing. In addition to transmitting uplink and downlink service data with the UE through the PDU session, the UPF can also be used to send the information carried in the PDU from the UE to the server, and/or carry the information from the server in the PDU and send to the UE. The communication between the UPF and the UE may be performed based on the private network address, and the communication between the UPF and the server may be performed based on the public network address. In 5G, the user plane network element may be UPF. In the future communication system, the user plane network element may still be UPF, or have other names, which are not limited in this application.

The network opening network element is used to provide the external opening interface of the operator's network. Taking the 5G communication system as an example, the network exposure network element includes the network exposure function (NEF), which can provide the Internet with the network function (network function, NF) of the 5G network through interfaces such as application programming interface (API). ), such as providing functions such as open network data management, external application QoS customization capability opening, and UE mobility status event subscription. In 5G, the user plane network element may be NEF, and in future communication systems, the user plane network element may still be NEF, or have other names, which are not limited in this application.

3. OTT business refers to providing various application services to users through the Internet. OTT applications utilize the operator's network, while business data and services are provided by third parties other than the operator. For example, Internet television (OTT TV) services, audio and video conferencing, games, internet protocol television (IPTV), and live video services are typical OTT services. The server of the OTT service is used to provide service data of the OTT service to the UE. Currently, the server supports communication with the UE through at least one port.

The following describes the OTT service by taking the live video service as an example. As shown in Figure 1, the server of the live video service is deployed on the Internet public network, and generally uses public network addresses for communication. When the UE requests the server to obtain service data, it needs to send the UE's public network address IP31 and port identifier IP31 to the server according to the server's public network address IP11 and the identifier of the port (port) corresponding to the service (port11 as shown in the figure). , the server sends service data to the UE according to the public network address IP31 of the UE and the port identifier port31. That is to say, when UE1 and UE2 shown in FIG. 1 respectively request the same service data from the server, even if the UPF where UE1 is located is the same as the UPF where UE2 is located, and the service data of UE1 and UE2 are the same, the server still needs to The public network address IP31 and port identifier port31 send service data to UE1, and send service data to UE2 according to UE2's public network address IP32 and port identifier port32, that is, the service data is sent twice, but cannot be transmitted to UE1 and UE2 through multicast transmission. For data transmission, multicast gain cannot be obtained.

An embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which is used to provide a method for a server to send service data to multiple UEs through multicast transmission, so as to reduce the downlink burden of the server and reduce the bearer pressure of the downlink network. The communication method may be implemented by a network device and a server. Network equipment such as SMF, UPF and/or NEF, etc.

Optionally, any one of the network device and the server may include the structure shown in FIG. 2 and/or FIG. 3 .

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication apparatus provided in this embodiment, and the communication apparatus may be used to execute steps implemented by a network device and/or a server in this embodiment of the present application. Exemplarily, the structure may include a processing module 210 and a transceiver module 220 . Optionally, the communication device shown in FIG. 2 can be used to form a network device and/or a server, or to form a component with the network device and/or server implementation function shown in the present application, such as in the network device and/or server implementation. components such as chips and transceivers.

When the structure is a network device and/or a server, the transceiver module 220 may include a transceiver, and the transceiver may include a communication interface and the like. The processing module 210 may be a processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU). When the structure is a component having the functions of the network device and/or server shown in this application, the transceiver module 220 may be an interface circuit, and the processing module 210 may be a processor. When the structure is a chip system, the transceiver module 220 may be an input/output interface of the chip, and the processing module 210 may be a processor of the chip system, which may include one or more CPUs. It should be understood that the processing module 210 in this embodiment of the present application may be implemented by a processor or a circuit component related to the processor, and the transceiver module 220 may be implemented by a transceiver or a circuit component related to the transceiver.

For example, the processing module 210 may be configured to perform all operations performed by the network device and/or server in any of the embodiments of the present application except for transceiving operations, such as processing operations; and/or to support the techniques described herein other processes, such as generating messages, information and/or signaling sent by the transceiver module 220, and processing messages, information and/or signaling received by the transceiver module 220. Transceiver module 220 may be used to perform all receive and transmit operations performed by network devices and/or servers in any of the embodiments of the present application, and/or to support other processes of the techniques described herein.

In addition, the transceiver module 220 may be a functional module, and the functional module can perform a sending operation and/or can perform a receiving operation. For example, the transceiver module 220 can be used to perform all sending and receiving operations performed by network devices and/or servers. For example, when performing a sending operation, the transceiver module 220 can be considered as a sending module, and when performing a receiving operation, It is considered that the transceiver module 220 is a receiving module; alternatively, the transceiver module 220 can also be two functional modules, namely a sending module and a receiving module, the transceiver module 220 can be regarded as a general term for these two functional modules, wherein the sending module is used to complete the sending Operations, for example, the sending module can be used to perform all sending operations performed by the network device and/or the server, the receiving module can be used to complete the receiving operation, and the receiving module can be used to perform all the receiving operations performed by the network device and/or server .

FIG. 3 shows a schematic structural diagram of another communication device. The communication apparatus can be used to implement network equipment and/or servers, or components having functions of the network equipment and/or servers shown in this application. As shown in FIG. 3 , the communication device includes structures such as a processor, a memory, a radio frequency unit or a radio frequency circuit or an antenna. The processor is mainly used to process communication protocols and communication data, control communication devices, execute software programs, and process data of software programs. The memory is mainly used to store software programs and data. The radio frequency unit is mainly used for the conversion of baseband signals and radio frequency signals and the processing of radio frequency signals.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the communication device may include a transceiver unit 310 and a processing unit 320, wherein the transceiver unit 310 may include a sending unit and/or a receiving unit, or the processing unit 320 may be a device capable of transmitting and/or receiving The module that receives the function. For example, the transceiver unit 310 may include an antenna and/or a radio frequency circuit, and the processing unit 320 may include a processor and/or a memory. It should be understood that the communication device may include input and output devices as desired. The transceiver unit 310 may correspond to the transceiver module 220 in FIG. 2 , that is, the transceiver unit 310 can implement the transceiver module 220 ; the processing unit 320 may correspond to the processing module 210 in FIG. Action performed. The receiving unit here may include a receiver, a receiving interface or a receiving circuit, and the transmitting unit may include a transmitter, a transmitting interface or a transmitting circuit.

Optionally, the transceiver unit 310 may also be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver, etc., which may include transceiver elements such as an interface circuit. The processing unit 320 is mainly used to perform signal processing, control the communication device, and the like. The transceiver unit 310 and the processing unit 320 may be physically set together, or may be physically separated from each other.

The communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application will be described below with reference to the scenario shown in FIG. 1 .

As shown in FIG. 4 , the communication method establishes a channel between the server and the UPF where at least one UE is located through the NEF and the SMF where the UE is located, the server sends service data to the UPF through the channel, and then the UPF sends the service data to at least one UPF. A UE distributes to support multicast transmission.

It should be understood that in the communication method, actions such as processing performed by the UE, NEF, SMF, UPF and/or server may be performed by the processing module 210 shown in FIG. 2 and/or the processing unit 320 shown in FIG. 3 , and the UE, NEF, The receiving and sending actions performed by the SMF, the UPF and/or the server may be performed by the transceiver module 220 shown in FIG. 2 and/or the transceiver unit 310 shown in FIG. 3 . The UE is, for example, UE1 shown in FIG. 1 , and the server is, for example, the server of the live video service shown in FIG. 1 .

As shown in FIG. 5 , the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application may include the following steps:

S101: The UE sends a first request to the server, where the first request is used for requesting to acquire data. Accordingly, the server receives the first request from the UE.

The server can be deployed on the public network. The first request can be sent by the UE to the UPF through a PDU session, and sent by the UPF to the server. As shown in FIG. 1 , the first request may include the address IP31 of the UE and/or the identifier of the port port31 (hereinafter referred to as the first port) where the UE sends the first request. The first port may be associated with a service, for example, information and data associated with the service of the server are all received and sent through the first port. Taking the server as a live video service server as an example, the services associated with the first port, such as all services of the live video platform, or more fine-grained sub-services, such as the services of one or some live rooms in the live video platform, etc. etc., which are not specifically limited in this application.

Optionally, the first request may further include the address of the server and the identifier of the port of the server (hereinafter referred to as the third port). Alternatively, the source address of the first request is the address of the UE, and the source port of the first request is the first port. The destination address of the first request is the address of the server, and the destination port of the first request is the third port. It should be understood that the address of the server is the public network address of the server, and the address of the UE may be the public network address of the UE.

S102: The server sends a second request to the NEF, where the second request is used for requesting to establish a first channel, where the first channel is used for data transmission between the server and the UPF where the UE is located. Accordingly, the NEF receives the second request.

The second request may include the address of the UE and the identifier of the first port. It should be understood that a request in this application may also be replaced by an indication or notification. The port identification may be a port number in this application.

The second request may also include the address of the server and the identifier of the third port.

S103: The NEF sends a third request to the SMF where the UE is located, where the third request is used to request to establish the first channel.

Before sending the third request, the NEF may query the SMF where the UE is located according to the address of the UE carried in the second request. For example, the NEF searches the SMF where the UE is located according to the correspondence list between the address of the UE stored by itself and the SMF where the UE is located, or the NEF can use the unified data manager (UDM) and other network elements or The network function queries the SMF where the UE is located. The address of the UE carried in the second request may be a public network address, and the NEF may query the SMF where the UE is located according to the public network address of the UE, or the NEF may first convert the public network address of the UE to the private network address of the UE, Then query the SMF where the UE is located according to the private network address of the UE.

The above third request may include the public network address or private network address of the UE, the identifier of the first port, the address of the server, and the identifier of the third port. The SMF where the UE is located refers to the SMF that establishes and maintains the PDU session of the UE.

Optionally, the NEF may also query the UPF where the UE is located according to the address and/or identity of the UE, and carry the information of the UPF in the third request. The manner in which the NEF queries the UPF where the UE is located may refer to the description for the NEF querying the SMF where the UE is located.

S104: The SMF sends a fourth request to the UPF where the UE is located, where the fourth request is used to request the establishment of the first channel. Accordingly, the UPF receives the fourth request.

The fourth request may include the public network address or private network address of the UE, the identifier of the first port, the address of the server, and the identifier of the third port. The UPF where the UE is located is, for example, the anchor UPF of the PDU session of the UE.

Before sending the fourth request, the SMF may query the UPF where the UE is located according to the address IP11 of the UE carried in the third request, and the specific method may refer to the description when the NEF queries the SMF where the UE is located. Alternatively, if the third request carries the information of the UPF where the UE is located, the fourth request can be sent according to the information of the UPF. At this time, the SMF can no longer query the UPF where the UE is located according to the address and identity of the UE, so as to save processing overhead and Signaling overhead.

S105: The UPF sends the address IP2 of the first channel and the identifier of the port port2 (hereinafter referred to as the second port) of the first channel to the SMF. Accordingly, the SMF receives the address IP2 of the first channel and the identification of the second port port2 from the UPF.

The address of the first channel may be a public network address.

The first channel can be used to transmit service data of the UE between the server and the UPF, that is, the first channel (or the second port of the first channel) communicates with the UE (or the first port of the UE), the server ( or the third port of the server), indicating that the first channel is used to transmit downlink transmission between the UE and the server. The service data that originally needs to be sent to the UE through the third port is sent to the UPF where the UE is located through the first channel in this application. Therefore, both the UPF and the server need to store the address of the UE, the identifier of the first port, the first The address of the channel, the identifier of the second port, the address of the server, and the identifier of the third port.

Exemplarily, the first channel may be represented by the combination of the address of the first channel and the identifier of the second port, or by the combination of the address of the first channel, the identifier of the second port, the address of the server and the identifier of the third port. .

Wherein, if multiple UEs all receive service data from the same port of the same server, and the UPF where the multiple UEs are located is the same UPF, the UPF can select the same first channel to associate with multiple UEs and servers. That is, downlink data sent by the server to multiple UEs may be transmitted through the same first channel.

Taking the address of UE1 as IP31, the first port of UE1 as port31, the address of UE2 as IP32, and the port identifier port32 of UE2 as shown in Figure 1 as an example, when UE1 and UE2 are in the same UPF, and both UE1 and UE2 request requests from For the data of the server whose address is IP11 and whose port is port11, UE1 and UE2 respectively send a first request to the server, that is, execute S101 shown in FIG. 5 respectively. Thereafter, the UPF may receive the fourth request carrying the address IP31 of UE1, the identifier of port port31 of UE1, the address IP11 of the server, and the identifier of port port11 based on S105, and the IP32 of UE2, the identifier of port port32, and the address of the server. The fourth request for the identification of IP11 and port port11, it is known that UE1 and UE2 managed by it both need to obtain service data from the server whose address is IP11 and port is port11. The address and port of UE1 and the address and port of UE2 can be both Associated to the first channel numbered #1 in Table 1. Table 1 shows a schematic diagram of the association between the first channel stored in the UPF, the address and port of the UE, and the address and port of the server.

The first channel indicated by the number #1 may be established after the UPF receives the fourth request that carries the address IP31 of UE1 and the identifier of the port port31 of UE1, or the UPF receives the address IP32 and UE2 that carry the address of UE2 and UE2. The port identified by port32 is established after the fourth request.

Table 1

In Table 1, the first channel numbered #2 can be the channel between other servers (address is IP12, port is port12) and the UPF, the address of the first channel numbered #2 is IP22, and the port of the channel is port22, the address of the UE associated with the first channel is IP33 and the port is port33.

Optionally, if the first channel associated with the UE (or the address and the first port of the UE) and the server (or the address and the third port of the server) has not been established between the UPF and the server before performing S105, the UPF may establish the first channel. The first channel sends the address of the first channel and the identifier of the second port to the SMF. The process of creating the first channel includes but is not limited to allocating the address of the first channel and the identifier of the second port. If the first channel associated with the UE (or the address and the first port of the UE) and the server (or the address and the third port of the server) has been established between the UPF and the server, the UPF does not need to recreate the first channel, and can The address of the first channel and the identifier of the second port of the first channel are sent directly to the SMF.

S106: The SMF sends the address IP2 of the first channel and the identifier of the second port port2 to the NEF. Correspondingly, the NEF receives the address IP2 of the first channel and the identifier of the second port port2.

The address IP2 of the first channel and the identifier of the second port port2 may be carried in the information or message sent by the SMF to the NEF for notifying the establishment of the first channel.

S107: The NEF sends the address IP2 of the first channel and the identifier of the second port port2 to the server. Correspondingly, the server receives the address IP2 of the first channel and the identifier of the second port port2.

The address IP2 of the first channel and the identifier of the second port port2 may be carried in the information or message sent by the NEF to the server for notifying the establishment of the first channel.

As shown in FIG. 6 , after S107, the server may send the data sent by the third port (that is, the data of the service associated with the third port) through the first channel according to the address IP2 of the first channel and the identifier of the second port port2 to UPF, instead of sending service data for the address and port identifier of the UE, wherein the target address of the data is the address of the first channel, the target port of the data is the second port of the first channel, and the data The source address of the data is the address of the server, and the source port of the data is the third port of the server. Since the fourth request carries the address of the UE and the identifier of the first port of the UE, the UPF can send the data to the first port of the UE according to the address and the port identifier of the UE, where the target address of the data is the address of the UE. address, the target port of the data is the first port of the UE.

It should be understood that if the address of the first channel and the identifier of the second port respectively associated with multiple UEs received by the server are the same, that is, multiple UEs are associated with the same first channel, it means that multiple UEs have joined the same first channel. a multicast group. For example, for the first channel numbered #1 in Table 1, the address of the first channel for UE1 and the address of the first channel for UE2 received by the server are both IP21, and the port identifier of the first channel for UE1 and the address of the first channel for UE2 are both IP21. The ports of the first channel are both port21, which means that the multicast groups of UE1 and UE2 are the same. Subsequent servers can send service data to UE1 and UE2 through multicast, that is, send a piece of data through the first channel, and no longer separately based on UE1 and UE2. send service data to UE1 and UE2.

Therefore, using the method shown in FIG. 5, a first channel can be established between the server and the UPF where the UE is located, and the server sends the service data to the UPF through the first channel according to the address and port identifier of the first channel, and then the UPF sends the service data to the UPF through the first channel. The service data is distributed to all UEs associated with the first channel to realize multicast transmission, which can save the downlink burden of the server and reduce the downlink data bearing pressure.

After S107, the server may also send data whose target address is the address of the first channel and the target port is the second port to the UPF through the first channel, and the UPF may replace the destination address of the data with the address of the UE, and replace the target port with The first port, after which the data is sent to the UE. Therefore, for the UE, the obtained data is still sent by the server to the UE, the UE can still process the received data according to the prior art, and the multicast transmission of downlink data can be realized without changing the actions of the UE. In addition, as shown in FIG. 6 , the UE uplink data does not need to be sent to the server through the first channel.

Still taking the first channel numbered #1 shown in Table 1 as an example, when the UPF receives the data transmitted through the first channel numbered #1, it can learn from Table 1 that it needs to send the data to the address: The UE whose IP31 port is port31 and the UE whose address is IP32 and whose port is port32 realizes data distribution to UE1 and UE2.

As shown in Figure 7, if the UE no longer receives service data from the server, the UE can send a request (which can be called as the fifth request) indicating that the UE quits the multicast OR to the server, and the server sends the first request to the UPF through NEF and SMF. Sixth request, to request the UPF to delete the address and port identifier of the UE from the corresponding relationship between the first channel and the address and port identifier of the UE. Alternatively, the server may actively send the sixth request after the UE finishes the service transmission, so as to request the UPF to delete the address and port identifier of the UE from the corresponding relationship between the first channel and the address and port identifier of the UE. Therefore, the UPF can delete the UE address and port identification associated with the address and port identification of the server from the corresponding relationship as shown in Table 1. The UPF may also send the response information of the sixth request to the server through the SMF and the NEF, indicating that Table 1 has been updated according to the sixth request.

For example, after UE1 exits the service data transmission with the server whose address is IP11 and port is port11, the UPF can update Table 1 to obtain Table 2.

Table 2

In Table 2, the UEs associated with the first channel indicated by number #1 include UE2.

The above first request to the fourth request may also carry indication information of the transmission control protocol (transmission control protocol, TCP)/IP transmission protocol type adopted for transmitting the data. The transmission protocol type may be a user datagram protocol (user datagram protocol, UDP) type or a TCP type, or the like. If the UDP type indication information is carried, the server sends data to the UE and the UPF sends data to the UE using the UDP transmission protocol; if the TCP type indication information is carried, the server sends data to the UE and the UPF sends data to the UE using the UDP transmission protocol. TCP transport protocol.

If the UDP type is used, when the server sends data to the UPF, the header of the data packet carries the UDP checksum calculated according to the data and the checksum of the IP header. The UDP checksum is carried in the UDP header of the data packet. The IP header checksum is carried in the IP header of the packet. After receiving the data packet transmitted through the first channel, the UPF modifies the destination address in the IP header of the data packet to the address of the UE, and modifies the destination port in the UDP header of the data packet to the first port of the UE, and Update the IP header checksum in the IP header according to the modification of the destination address, and update the UDP checksum in the UDP header according to the modification of the destination port, and then pass the data packet through the general packet radio service (general packet radio service). ) tunnel is sent to the base station where the UE is located, the GPRS tunnel is a data channel that satisfies the GPRS tunneling protocol (GTP), and the GPRS tunnel may also be called a GTP tunnel.

If there are multiple UEs in the multicast group associated with the first channel, such as UE1 and UE2 as shown in FIG. 1 , the UPF generates a target address of UE1 and a target port of UE1 according to a piece of data transmitted by the first channel. One port of data, and update the UDP check digit and IP header checksum and other information, send the updated data packet to the base station where UE1 is located through the GTP tunnel, and generate an address with a target address of UE2 and a target port of UE2 The data of the first port is updated, and the UDP check digit and IP header checksum and other information are updated, and the updated data packet is sent to the base station where UE2 is located through the GTP tunnel.

In addition, if the UDP type is used, the uplink data sent by the UE to the server can be forwarded by the UPF to the server.

If the TCP type is adopted, in S101, the UE and the server use the TCP three-way handshake mechanism, the UE sends a first request to the server, and the server requests the UPF to establish a first channel through NEF and SMF according to the first request. In this case, the UPF is required to have a TCP proxy function, or in other words, the UPF needs to have the function of recording the TCP sequence number (sequence, seq) and the acknowledgment number (ack) in the TCP packets from both the UE and the server. The TCP sequence number is the sequence number of the first byte of the TCP message byte stream. The acknowledgment number indicates that the sender of the TCP message received the TCP message whose TCP sequence number is the acknowledgment number minus one, and the TCP sequence number of the desired message.

Exemplarily, the flow of the three-way handshake mechanism between the UE and the server in S101 is shown in steps S201 to S206 in FIG. 8 , the UPF needs to record the TCP sequence number and confirmation number of the TCP message between the UE and the server in S201 to S206.

Wherein, in S201, the UE sends a synchronization sequence number (synchronize sequence numbers, SYN) request for requesting access to the first port of the server, and the TCP sequence number of the request is 100. In S202, the UPF forwards the request to the server after recording the TCP sequence number of the SYN request. In S203, the server returns an access confirmation message of the first port to the UE, indicating that the access of the UE is approved. In S204, the UPF records the TCP sequence number and acknowledgment number of the TCP message shown in S203, and forwards the TCP message to the UE. In S205, the UE sends an acknowledgment TCP message. In S206, the UPF records the TCP sequence number and acknowledgment number of the message in S205, and forwards the TCP message to the server. It can be seen that in S206, the TCP sequence number of the TCP message sent by the UE to the server is 101, and the acknowledgment number is 201.

After the first channel is established, the UPF initiates a TCP three-way handshake process to the server, and then the server transmits the first data packet of service data to the UPF. Since the TCP sequence number and acknowledgment number of the TCP message in the three-way handshake process between the server and the UPF have nothing to do with the TCP sequence number and acknowledgment number of the TCP message in the three-way handshake process between the UE and the server, the data sent by the server is used to carry the data. The TCP sequence number and acknowledgment number of the TCP message of the packet are not continuous with the TCP sequence number and acknowledgment number of the TCP message sent to the server in S206. If the UPF directly forwards the TCP message carrying the data packet from the server to the UE, the UE Failure to correctly parse the TCP sequence number and acknowledgment number in the TCP packet may cause transmission failure. To solve this problem, the UPF needs to update the TCP sequence number and acknowledgment number of the TCP message from the server, so that the TCP sequence number and acknowledgment number of the TCP message received by the UE are continuous.

It should be understood that the step of UPF initiating the TCP three-way handshake process to the server is only performed after the first channel is established, that is, if after the UPF initiates the TCP three-way handshake process to the server, there are other UEs associated with the established first channel. The three-way handshake process between UPF and TCP.

The UPF performs the communication between the UPF and the server through the multicast channel module, including the transmission of data and other signaling between the UPF and the server. The group channel module may be a newly established module on the basis of the existing UPF, or may be a part of the existing UPF for performing the communication between the UPF and the server. The UPF can also perform the communication between the UPF and the UE through the UPF proxy module, such as performing the transmission of data, signaling, etc. between the UE and the UPF. The multicast channel module and the UPF proxy module may be physically set together, such as sharing a processor and/or memory, or they may be physically separated, such as using different processors and memories respectively.

For example, as shown in Fig. 8, it is assumed that the length of the first data packet sent by the server to the UPF in S207 is 1000 bytes, and the destination address of the data packet is the address of the first channel. The target port is the second port of the first channel. After the multicast channel module receives the TCP message shown in S207, the multicast channel module forwards the data packet to the UPF proxy module in S208, and in S209, the UPF proxy module passes the TCP sequence number 201 and the confirmation number 102 The TCP message sends a data packet to the UE, the target address of the data packet sent to the UE is the address of the UE, and the target port of the data packet is the first port of the UE. Wherein, the address of the data packet may be replaced by the address of the UE by the UPF proxy module or the multicast channel module, and/or the target port of the data packet may be replaced by the first port of the UE. Then in S210, the UPF proxy module receives a response TCP message with a TCP sequence number of 102 and an acknowledgment number of 1201 from the UE. Wherein, the TCP packet whose TCP sequence number is 201 and whose acknowledgment number is 102 may be the multicast channel module, the UPF proxy module or other modules in the UPF by modifying the TCP sequence number and acknowledgment number of the TCP packet shown in S207 or generating a new one. Obtained in the form of TCP packets. At this time, for the UE, the TCP message received in S209 is still the continuous TCP message after the UE sends the TCP message shown in S205, and the UE can correctly receive and obtain the data carried in the TCP message shown in S209. In addition, after S210, the UPF may ignore (or not) forward the response TCP packet with the TCP sequence number 102 and the confirmation number 1201 shown in S210 to the server.

The response TCP message can be used to determine the data packet actually received by the UE. If the response TCP message indicates that the UE receives the data packet correctly, the UPF proxy module does not further forward the response TCP message, so the response TCP message does not will be sent to the server. If the response TCP message indicates that the UE did not receive the data packet correctly, the UPF proxy module can perform retransmission of the data packet. In addition, the UPF proxy module does not further forward the response TCP message, so the response TCP message will not be sent to the user. sent to the server.

Similarly, after UPF receives the second data packet from the server, UPF can set the TCP sequence number and acknowledgment number of the TCP message carrying the data packet to be continuous with the TCP sequence number and acknowledgment number of the TCP message shown in S210, This enables the UE to correctly receive the second data packet. The forwarding process of subsequent data packets may be performed with reference to the forwarding process of the first data packet and the second data packet.

It should be understood that when there are multiple UEs associated with the first channel, the UPF proxy module may maintain a TCP sending window for each UE associated with the first channel. The data to be sent by the UE may be included in the TCP sending window. When receiving data transmitted by the server through the first channel, the multicast channel module may instruct the UPF proxy module to send data to the UE, and the UPF proxy module sends the data through the UE's TCP sending window. When a new UE is associated with the first channel, the UPF starts from the latest message it receives through the first channel, and sends the data corresponding to the message to the UE.

Optionally, the multicast channel module can be used to indicate the association between the UE and the first channel to the UPF proxy module. For example, when the UE joins the multicast group associated with the first channel, the multicast channel module indicates to the UPF proxy module. The addition of the UE enables the UPF proxy module to maintain the TCP sending window of the UE. In addition, after the UE exits the multicast group associated with the first channel, the multicast channel module can instruct the UPF proxy module to exit the UE, so that the UPF proxy module stops maintaining the TCP sending window of the UE.

When the UE and the server end the transmission of the service data, the UE and the server may perform the four hand waving processes shown in S211 to S218 shown in FIG. 8 through the UPF.

In S211, the UE may indicate that it no longer sends data to the server through a finishing (finishing, FIN) TCP message, and the TCP sequence number and acknowledgment number of the TCP message are the same as those of the last TCP message carrying downlink data previously received by the UE. The TCP sequence number and the acknowledgment number are consecutive. For example, the TCP sequence number is xxxx and the acknowledgment number is yyyy. In S212, the UPF updates the TCP sequence number of the message shown in S211 to 102, and the confirmation number to 201, so that the server can correctly process the TCP message shown in S212, such as performing S213 and S215, and feeds back the confirmation TCP message to the UE The message sends a FIN TCP message to the UE indicating that the server no longer sends downlink data. In S217, the UE feeds back a confirmation TCP message to the server based on the received FIN TCP message, and the UPF sends the confirmation TCP message to the server through S218. Referring to how UPF handles the TCP sequence number and acknowledgment number in the TCP message shown in S211, the UPF can also process the TCP sequence number and acknowledgment of the TCP message shown in S213, S215, and S217 between the UE and the server during the hand-waving process. Adjust the number to obtain the TCP packets shown in S214, S216 and S218 respectively.

In addition, it should be understood that in the above example, when using TCP to transmit data, in addition to adjusting the TCP sequence number, acknowledgment number, destination address and destination port in the TCP message between the UE and the server, UPF also needs to adjust the data according to the adjusted data. The destination address of the packet updates the IP header checksum in the IP header, and updates the TCP checksum in the TCP header according to the adjusted TCP sequence number, acknowledgment number, and destination port.

Based on the same technical concept, the embodiments of the present application also provide a communication device, which is used to implement the above-mentioned communication by a server, a network open network element (such as NEF), a session management network element (such as SMF), and/or a user plane network element (such as UPF) and other functions. The device may include the structure shown in FIG. 2 and/or FIG. 3 . The communication system can be used to implement the steps performed by the server, the network opening network element, the session management network element and/or the user plane network element in the communication method shown in FIG. 5 to FIG. 8 .

Embodiments of the present application provide a communication system. The communication system may include the server, network opening network element, session management network element and/or user plane network element involved in the above embodiments. Optionally, the communication system may include the structure shown in FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 4 . The communication system can be used to implement the steps in the communication methods shown in FIGS. 5 to 8 .

Embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium, where the computer-readable storage medium is used to store a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer can implement the communication server, network open network element, Processes related to session management network elements and/or user plane network elements.

Embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product, where the computer program product is used to store a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer can implement the communication server, network open network element, and session management network element provided by the above method embodiments. and/or processes related to user plane network elements.

Embodiments of the present application further provide a chip or a chip system (or circuit), where the chip may include a processor, and the processor may be configured to invoke a program or instruction in a memory to execute the communication between the server and the open network provided by the above method embodiments. elements, session management network elements and/or user plane network elements. The chip system may include components such as the chip, memory or transceiver.

It can be understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a CPU, or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (digital signal processors, DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (application specific integrated circuits, ASICs), Field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

The method steps in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented in a hardware manner, or may be implemented in a manner in which a processor executes software instructions. Software instructions may be composed of corresponding software modules, and software modules 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 memory, registers, hard disk, removable hard disk, CD-ROM or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor, such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and storage medium may reside in an ASIC. Additionally, the ASIC may be located in a server, a network opening network element, a session management network element and/or a user plane network element. Of course, the processor and the storage medium may also exist in the network device or the terminal device as discrete components.

In the above-mentioned embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, it can 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 executed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, network equipment, user equipment, or other programmable apparatus. 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 downloaded from a website site, computer, A server or data center transmits by wire or wireless to another website site, computer, server or data center. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer, or a data storage device such as a server, data center, or the like that integrates one or more available media. The usable media may be magnetic media, such as floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes; optical media, such as digital video discs; and semiconductor media, such as solid-state drives.

In the various embodiments of the present application, if there is no special description or logical conflict, the terms and/or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referred to each other, and the technical features in different embodiments are based on their inherent Logical relationships can be combined to form new embodiments.

In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "plurality" means two or more. "And/or", which describes the relationship of the associated objects, indicates that there can be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and/or B, it can indicate that A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A, B can be singular or plural. In the text description of this application, the character "/" generally indicates that the related objects are a kind of "or" relationship; in the formula of this application, the character "/" indicates that the related objects are a kind of "division" Relationship.

It can be understood that, the various numbers and numbers involved in the embodiments of the present application are only for the convenience of description, and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The size of the sequence numbers of the above processes does not imply the sequence of execution, and the execution sequence of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic.

Claims

A communication method, comprising:

The server receives a first request from a terminal device, where the first request is used to acquire data, and the first request includes the address of the terminal device, the identifier of the first port of the terminal device, and the address of the server and the identifier of the third port of the server;

The server sends a second request to the network opening network element, where the second request is used to request the establishment of a first channel, and the first channel is used for communication between the server and the user plane network element where the terminal device is located. transmission, the second request includes the address of the terminal device, the identifier of the first port, the address of the server and the identifier of the third port;

receiving, by the server, the address of the first channel and the identifier of the second port of the first channel from the network open network element;

The server sends first data, the destination address of the first data is the address of the first channel, the destination port of the first data is the second port, and the source address of the first data is the address of the first channel. address of the server, and the source port of the first data is the third port.
The method of claim 1, wherein the first data is transmitted by using a user datagram protocol or a transmission control protocol.
A communication method, comprising:

The network opening network element receives a second request from the server, where the second request is used for requesting to establish a first channel, and the first channel is used for transmission between the server and the user plane network element where the terminal device is located, The second request includes the address of the terminal device, the identifier of the first port of the terminal device, the address of the server, and the identifier of the third port of the server;

The network opening network element sends a third request to the session management network element where the terminal device is located, where the third request is used to request to establish the first channel, and the third request includes the address of the terminal device, The identifier of the first port of the terminal device, the address of the server, and the identifier of the third port;

The network opening network element receives the address of the first channel and the identifier of the second port of the first channel from the session management network element;

The network opening network element sends the address of the first channel and the identifier of the second port to the server.
The method of claim 3, further comprising:

The network opening network element determines the session management network element where the terminal device is located according to the address of the terminal device.
A communication method, comprising:

The session management network element receives a third request from the network opening network element, where the third request is used to request the establishment of a first channel, and the first channel is used for transmission between the server and the user plane network element where the terminal device is located , the third request includes the address of the terminal device, the identifier of the first port of the terminal device, the address of the server, and the identifier of the third port of the server;

The session management network element sends a fourth request to the user plane network element where the terminal device is located, where the fourth request is used to request to establish the first channel, and the fourth request includes the address of the terminal device, The identifier of the first port of the terminal device, the address of the server, and the identifier of the third port;

The session management network element receives the address of the first channel and the identifier of the second port of the first channel from the user plane network element;

The session management network element sends the address of the first channel and the identifier of the second port of the first channel to the network opening network element.
The method of claim 5, further comprising:

The session management network element determines the user plane network element where the terminal device is located according to the address of the terminal device.
A communication method, comprising:

The user plane network element where the terminal device is located receives a fourth request from the session management network element where the terminal device is located, where the fourth request is used to request the establishment of a first channel, and the first channel is used for the server to communicate with the For transmission between user plane network elements, the fourth request includes the address of the terminal device, the identifier of the first port of the terminal device, the address of the server, and the identifier of the third port of the server;

sending, by the user plane network element, the address of the first channel and the identifier of the second port of the first channel to the session management network element;

The user plane network element receives first data, the destination address of the first data is the address of the first channel, the destination port of the first data is the second port, and the source of the first data The address is the address of the server, and the source port of the first data is the third port;

The user plane network element sends second data, the destination address of the second data is the address of the terminal device, the destination port of the second data is the first port, and the source address of the second data is the address of the server, and the source port of the second data is the third port.
The method of claim 7, wherein the first data and the second data are transmitted by using a user datagram protocol or a transmission control protocol.
A server, characterized in that it includes a processing module and a communication module:

The communication module is used for the server to communicate with the terminal device and the network open network element;

The processing module is configured to execute through the communication module:

Receive a first request from the terminal device, where the first request is used to obtain data, and the first request includes the address of the terminal device, the identifier of the first port of the terminal device, the address and an identification of the third port of the server;

Send a second request to the network opening network element, where the second request is used to request the establishment of a first channel, and the first channel is used for transmission between the server and the user plane network element where the terminal device is located , the second request includes the address of the terminal device, the identifier of the first port, the address of the server, and the identifier of the third port;

receiving the address of the first channel and the identifier of the second port of the first channel from the network opening network element;

Send first data, the destination address of the first data is the address of the first channel, the destination port of the first data is the second port, and the source address of the first data is the server's address address, the source port of the first data is the third port.
The server according to claim 9, wherein the first data is transmitted by using a user datagram protocol or a transmission control protocol.
A network open network element, characterized in that it includes a processing module and a communication module:

The communication module is used for the network open network element to communicate with the session management network element where the server and the terminal device are located;

The processing module is configured to execute through the communication module:

receiving a second request from the server, where the second request is used to request the establishment of a first channel, and the first channel is used for transmission between the server and the user plane network element where the terminal device is located, The second request includes the address of the terminal device, the identifier of the first port of the terminal device, the address of the server, and the identifier of the third port of the server;

Send a third request to the session management network element, where the third request is used to request the establishment of the first channel, and the third request includes the address of the terminal device and the identifier of the first port of the terminal device , the address of the server and the identifier of the third port;

receiving the address of the first channel and the identifier of the second port of the first channel from the session management network element;

The address of the first channel and the identifier of the second port are sent to the server.
The network opening network element according to claim 11, wherein the processing module is further configured to:

The session management network element where the terminal device is located is determined according to the address of the terminal device.
A session management network element, characterized in that a processing module and a communication module:

The communication module is used for the session management network element to communicate with the network open network element and the session management network element where the terminal device is located, where the session management network element is the session management network element where the terminal device is located;

The processing module is configured to execute through the communication module:

Receive a third request from the network opening network element, where the third request is used to request the establishment of a first channel, and the first channel is used for transmission between the server and the user plane network element, and the third request including the address of the terminal device, the identifier of the first port of the terminal device, the address of the server and the identifier of the third port of the server;

is used to send a fourth request to the user plane network element, where the fourth request is used to request to establish the first channel, and the fourth request includes the address of the terminal device and the first port of the terminal device the identifier of the server, the address of the server and the identifier of the third port;

receiving the address of the first channel and the identifier of the second port of the first channel from the user plane network element;

The address of the first channel and the identifier of the second port of the first channel are sent to the network opening network element.
The session management network element according to claim 13, wherein the processing module is further configured to:

The user plane network element where the terminal device is located is determined according to the address of the terminal device.
A user plane network element, characterized in that a processing module and a communication module:

The communication module is used for the user plane network element to communicate with the session management network element where the server and the terminal device are located, and the user plane network element is the user plane network element where the terminal device is located;

The processing module is configured to execute through the communication module:

Receive a fourth request from the session management network element, where the fourth request is used to request to establish a first channel, the first channel is used for transmission between the server and the user plane network element, so The fourth request includes the address of the terminal device, the identifier of the first port of the terminal device, the address of the server, and the identifier of the third port of the server, and the user plane network element is the terminal device. The user plane network element where it is located;

for sending the address of the first channel and the identifier of the second port of the first channel to the session management network element;

Receive first data from the server, the destination address of the first data is the address of the first channel, the destination port of the first data is the second port, and the source of the first data The address is the address of the server, and the source port of the first data is the third port;

Sending second data, the destination address of the second data is the address of the terminal device, the destination port of the second data is the first port, and the source address of the second data is the address of the server , the source port of the second data is the third port.
The user plane network element according to claim 15, wherein the first data and the second data are transmitted by using a user datagram protocol or a transmission control protocol.
A communication system, characterized by comprising the server according to claim 9 or 10, the network opening network element according to claim 11 or 12, the session management network element according to claim 13 or 14, and The user plane network element according to claim 15 or 16 is included.
A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that the computer-readable storage medium is used to store a computer program, and when the computer program is run on a computer, the computer is made to execute any one of claims 1 to 8 method described in item.
A computer program product, comprising: instructions, when the computer program product runs on a computer, causing the computer to execute the method of any one of claims 1-8.