CN108347748B

CN108347748B - Method, device and system for acquiring quality of service parameters

Info

Publication number: CN108347748B
Application number: CN201710056352.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 时书锋; 吴晓波; 丁辉
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2017-01-25
Filing date: 2017-01-25
Publication date: 2021-02-09
Anticipated expiration: 2037-01-25
Also published as: CN108347748A

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention discloses a method, a device and a system for acquiring service quality parameters, belonging to the technical field of wireless communication. The method comprises the following steps: after receiving a first request message from UE, a mobile management entity of a first network sends a second request message carrying UE information to a user data management entity, and the user data management entity determines to send a first QoS parameter of the UE in a second network to the mobile management entity of the first network according to the UE information and stored UE subscription information. After receiving the handover notification message from the UE, the mobility management entity of the first network determines the mobility management entity of the second network according to the information of the target access area carried in the handover notification message, and sends the first QoS parameter to the mobility management entity of the second network, thereby ensuring that the second network after handover can still meet the data transmission requirement of the UE.

Description

Method, device and system for acquiring quality of service parameters

Technical Field

The embodiment of the invention relates to the technical field of wireless communication, in particular to a method, a device and a system for acquiring service quality parameters.

Background

With the rapid development of wireless communication technology, Fifth Generation (5G) mobile communication technology has come. At the initial stage of network deployment, due to insufficient coverage of the 5G network, when a location of a User Equipment (UE) changes, handover of the UE between the 5G network and a fourth Generation (4G) network may occur in order to ensure session continuity. Because Quality of Service (QoS) parameters are an important guarantee for reliable data transmission, in the handover process, in order to ensure that a data transmission channel established by the network after handover can meet the data transmission requirement of the UE, QoS parameters need to be exchanged between the network before handover and the network after handover.

At present, a 5G network may implement inter-network handover through interaction between an Access Control And Mobility Management Function Entity (AMF) And a Mobility Management Entity (MME) in a 4G network, And then, taking the example that a UE is handed over from the 5G network to the 4G network as an example for explanation. When the access network equipment of the 5G network judges that the UE needs to switch the network, sending a switching notification message to the AMF, wherein the switching notification message carries information of a target access area, and the target access area is an access area to be accessed by the UE and can be determined by a currently accessed wireless access network according to the negotiation between the cell measurement information reported by the UE and the UE. And the AMF determines a target MME according to the information of the target access area and sends the QoS parameters of the UE in the current network to the target MME. The target MME maps the QoS parameters to QoS parameters under the 4G network according to a pre-configured strategy, and then the target MME can establish a data transmission channel for the UE by using the mapped QoS parameters, so that network switching is realized.

However, because the definition difference of the QoS parameters corresponding to the 5G network and the 4G network is large, during the network handover process, the target MME may not be able to directly map the QoS parameter of the UE in the 5G network to the QoS parameter in the 4G network according to the above preconfigured policy, so that the data transmission channel established by the 4G network after the handover may not meet the data transmission requirement of the UE.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the problem that a data transmission channel established after switching may not meet the data transmission requirement of a UE in the related art, embodiments of the present invention provide a method, an apparatus, and a system for acquiring a quality of service parameter. The technical scheme is as follows:

in a first aspect, a method for obtaining a quality of service parameter is provided, where the method includes:

in the embodiment of the invention, after receiving a first request message from UE, a mobility management entity of a first network sends a second request message carrying UE information to a user data management entity, so that the user data management entity determines to return a first QoS parameter of the UE in a second network according to the carried UE information and stored UE subscription information. After receiving the handover notification message from the UE, the mobility management entity of the first network determines, according to the information of the target access area carried in the handover notification message, the mobility management entity of the second network, and sends the first QoS parameter to the mobility management entity of the second network, in order to determine which mobility management entity in the second network needs to interact with to implement the handover between the networks.

By the method provided by the embodiment of the invention, the condition that the mobility management entity of the second network needs to map the QoS parameter in the first network into the QoS parameter in the second network is avoided, and the data transmission channel established by the mobility management entity of the second network after switching can meet the data transmission requirement of the UE.

In a specific implementation, the first request message includes an attach request message or a location area update request message or other messages; the second request message may be a location area update request message, or other message.

In a specific implementation, the first QoS parameter may be used for a mobility management entity of the second network to perform handover of the first network to the second network.

Optionally, if the UE information includes UE capability information, the UE data management entity determines to send a first quality of service QoS parameter to a mobility management entity of the first network according to the UE information and stored UE subscription information, including:

and if the user data management entity determines that the UE capability information indicates that the UE has the capability of accessing the second network and the UE subscription information supports the UE to access the second network, determining to send the first QoS parameter to a mobility management entity of the first network.

In the embodiment of the present invention, different UEs have different capabilities of accessing networks, and if the UE does not have the capability of accessing the second network, the UE cannot be switched from the first network to the second network. Or, if the UE subscription data does not support the UE to access the second network, the UE cannot be switched from the first network to the second network, and in this case, the UE data management entity may not issue the first QoS parameter to the mobility management entity of the first network. Therefore, in the process of issuing the first QoS parameter, the user data management entity judges whether the UE has the capability of accessing the second network and whether the UE subscription data supports the UE to access the second network so as to decide whether to issue the first QoS parameter, and thus, the data volume issued by the user data management entity can be reduced.

Optionally, if the UE information includes UE location information, the UE data management entity determines to send a first quality of service QoS parameter to a mobility management entity of the first network according to the UE information and stored UE subscription information, including:

and if the user data management entity determines that the second network is deployed at the position corresponding to the UE position information and the UE subscription information supports the UE to access the second network, determining to send the first QoS parameter to a mobility management entity of the first network.

In the embodiment of the present invention, whether the second network is deployed at the current location of the UE is considered, and if the second network is deployed at the current location of the UE and the UE subscription information supports the UE to access the second network, the UE data management entity issues the first QoS parameter to the mobility management entity of the first network, so that the data volume issued by the UE data management entity may also be reduced.

Optionally, if the UE information includes UE capability information and UE location information, the UE data management entity determines, according to the UE information and stored UE subscription information, to send a first quality of service QoS parameter to a mobility management entity of the first network, where the determining includes:

and if the user data management entity determines that the UE capability information indicates that the UE has the capability of accessing the second network and the second network is deployed at the position corresponding to the UE position information and the UE subscription information supports the UE to access the second network, determining to send the first QoS parameter to a mobility management entity of the first network.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the UE information may also include UE capability information and UE location information, and in this case, the UE capability information and whether the second network is deployed at the current location of the UE need to be considered comprehensively, and whether the first QoS parameter is issued to the mobility management entity of the first network is decided in combination with the UE subscription information. That is, only when the UE information indicates that the UE has the capability of accessing the second network, the second network is deployed at the current location of the UE, and the UE subscription information supports the UE to access the second network, the UE data management entity issues the first QoS parameter to the mobility management entity of the first network, so that the data volume issued by the UE data management entity is also reduced.

Optionally, after the mobility management entity of the first network determines the mobility management entity of the second network according to the information of the target access area carried in the handover notification message, a second QoS parameter may also be sent to the mobility management entity of the second network, where the second QoS parameter is a QoS parameter of the UE in the first network.

In a practical application scenario, after the UE is handed over from the first network to the second network as the location of the UE changes, the UE may also be handed over from the second network back to the first network, so that when the UE is handed over back to the first network, the mobility management entity of the second network directly sends the second QoS parameter of the UE in the first network to the mobility management entity of the first network, and when the UE is handed over from the first network to the second network, the mobility management entity of the first network may also send the second QoS parameter to the mobility management entity of the second network. After receiving the second QoS parameter, the mobility management entity of the second network may store the second QoS parameter, so that the second QoS parameter may be directly sent to the mobility management entity of the first network when switching back to the first network in a later period.

In a specific implementation, the second QoS parameter may be used for a mobility management entity of the second network to perform handover of the second network to the first network.

In a second aspect, an apparatus for obtaining quality of service parameters is provided, where the apparatus is configured to implement the method for obtaining quality of service parameters performed by the mobility management entity of the first network in the first aspect.

In a third aspect, a system for obtaining a quality of service parameter is provided, where the system includes:

the mobile management entity of the first network is used for receiving a first request message from User Equipment (UE) and then sending a second request message carrying UE information to the user data management entity;

the user data management entity is used for receiving a second request message sent by a mobile management entity of the first network; determining to send a first QoS parameter of the UE in a second network to a mobility management entity of the first network according to the carried UE information and the stored UE subscription information;

the mobility management entity of the first network is further configured to receive a first QoS parameter sent by the user data management entity, determine a mobility management entity of a second network according to information of a target access area carried in a handover notification message after receiving the handover notification message from the UE, and send the first QoS parameter to the mobility management entity of the second network, so that the mobility management entity of the second network performs handover from the first network to the second network using the first QoS parameter.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a computer storage medium, which includes instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to the first aspect.

In a fifth aspect, embodiments of the present invention also provide a computer program product containing instructions, which when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to the first aspect.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a communication chip, where the communication chip is applied in a mobility management entity of a first network, and the communication chip includes: the mobility management entity of the first network may further perform the method for acquiring the qos parameter according to the first aspect, where the mobility management entity of the first network is configured to perform the method for acquiring the qos parameter according to the first aspect.

The technical effects obtained by the second aspect to the third aspect of the embodiments of the present invention are similar to the technical effects obtained by the corresponding technical means in the first aspect, and are not described herein again.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a quality of service parameter acquisition system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a quality of service parameter acquisition system in accordance with another exemplary embodiment;

fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram illustrating a mobility management entity 110 of a first network according to an exemplary embodiment;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of a user data management entity 130 according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for obtaining quality of service parameters in accordance with an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for obtaining quality of service parameters in accordance with another exemplary embodiment;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram illustrating an apparatus for acquiring a quality of service parameter according to an exemplary embodiment.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention more apparent, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system for acquiring a quality of service parameter according to an exemplary embodiment, in which a mobility management entity 110 of a first network, a mobility management entity 120 of a second network, and a user data management entity 130 are mainly included. Wherein the mobility management entity 110 of the first network is connected with the mobility management entity 120 of the second network and the user data management entity 130, respectively.

In a specific implementation, the system further includes a UE140, and the UE140 may transmit information with the mobility management entity 110 of the first network through a radio access network. The UE140 may be any communication terminal, such as a mobile phone, which can be used for implementing mobile communication, and the embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto.

The mobility management entity 110 of the first network may be configured to send a second request message to the user data management entity 130 after receiving the first request message from the UE140, so as to obtain a first QoS parameter from the user data management entity 130, where the first QoS parameter is a QoS parameter of the UE140 in the second network. The mobility management entity 110 of the first network is further configured to, after receiving the handover notification message from the UE140, determine the mobility management entity 120 of the second network according to the information of the target access area carried in the handover notification message, and send the first QoS parameter to the mobility management entity 120 of the second network. Since the first QoS parameter is a QoS parameter of the UE in the second network, and can be used for the mobility management entity of the second network to perform the handover from the first network to the second network, it is avoided that the mobility management entity 120 of the second network needs to map the QoS parameter in the first network to the QoS parameter in the second network, and it is further ensured that the data transmission channel established by the mobility management entity 120 of the second network after the handover can meet the data transmission requirement of the UE 140.

In a specific implementation, the first request message may be an attach request message; the location area update request message may also be, for example, the first request message is a tracking area location update request message; of course, the first request message may also be other messages, which is not limited in this application.

In a specific implementation, the second request message may be a location area update request message, or may also be another message, which is not limited in this application.

In a specific implementation, the handover notification message may be a handover notification message, or may be a message with other names, and is not limited to the application.

In a specific implementation, the mobility management entity 110 of the first network may be further configured to obtain a second QoS parameter of the UE140 in the first network from the user data management entity 130, and establish a data transmission channel for the UE140 using the second QoS parameter. In addition, in the process of sending the first QoS parameter to the mobility management entity 120 of the second network, the mobility management entity 110 of the first network may also send a second QoS parameter to the mobility management entity 120 of the second network, so that the mobility management entity 120 of the second network performs handover from the second network to the first network, thereby increasing a network handover rate, avoiding that the mobility management entity 120 of the second network needs to obtain the QoS parameter from the user data management entity 130, and reducing signaling interaction of the user data management entity 130.

The mobility management entity 120 of the second network is mainly configured to receive the first QoS parameter sent by the mobility management entity 110 of the first network, and perform handover from the first network to the second network by using the first QoS parameter.

The user data management entity 130 is mainly configured to store a first QoS parameter of the UE140 in the second network, and the user data management entity 130 is further configured to store UE subscription information, where the UE subscription information may be used to indicate whether to support the UE140 to access the first network and the second network. In addition, the user data management entity 130 is further configured to determine to send the first QoS parameter to the mobility management entity 110 of the first network according to the UE information and the stored UE subscription information after receiving the second request message sent by the mobility management entity 110 of the first network, so that the data delivery amount of the user data management entity 130 can be reduced. In a specific implementation, the user data management entity 130 may be further configured to store a second QoS parameter of the UE140 in the first network, and issue the second QoS parameter simultaneously when issuing the first QoS parameter.

It should be noted that the interaction between the entities in the above system can be implemented by using the method for acquiring the quality of service parameter shown in the embodiment of fig. 5 or fig. 6 below.

It should be further noted that, in the embodiment of the present invention, the first network is a network to which the UE140 currently accesses, and the second network is a network to which the UE140 is to access, for example, the first network may be a 4G network, and the second network is a 5G network, at this time, the embodiment of the present invention relates to a method for acquiring a quality service parameter in a handover process from the 4G network to the 5G network. Or, the first network may also be a 5G network, and the second network is a 4G network, where the method for acquiring a quality of service parameter in a handover process from the 5G network to the 4G network is provided in the embodiment of the present invention.

The mobility management entity 110 of the first network differs according to the type of the first network, for example, when the first network is a 4G network, the mobility management entity 110 of the first network may be an MME, and when the first network is a 5G network, the mobility management entity 110 of the first network may be an AMF having a similar function as the MME.

Similarly, the mobility management entity 120 of the second network is different according to the type of the second network, for example, when the second network is a 4G network, the mobility management entity 120 of the second network is an MME, and when the second network is a 5G network, the mobility management entity 120 of the second network is an AMF.

In addition, the user Data Management entity 130 is different according to the type of the first network, for example, when the first network is a 4G network, the user Data Management entity 130 may be a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), and when the first network is a 5G network, the user Data Management entity 130 may be a Unified Data Management entity (UDM). In a possible implementation manner, when the HSS and the UDM are deployed in a unified manner, the user data management entity 130 may also be an entity after the HSS and the UDM are deployed in a unified manner.

Referring to fig. 2, fig. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system for obtaining quality of service parameters according to another exemplary embodiment. The system mainly comprises an AMF210, an MME220 and a UDM 230. The AMF210 and the MME220 can be connected via a Next Generation (NG) x interface, and the AMF210 is connected to the UDM 230.

In a handover scenario from a 5G network to a 4G network, the AMF210 corresponds to the mobility management entity 110 of the first network in the system of fig. 1, the MME220 corresponds to the mobility management entity 120 of the second network in the system of fig. 1, and the UDM230 corresponds to the user data management entity 130 in the system of fig. 1.

In a specific implementation, the System may further include a Session Management Function (SMF) 240, a Packet Data Gateway (PGW) 250, a Serving Gateway (S-GW) 260, a Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG RAN)270, and an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) 280. The SMF240 and the NG RAN270 may be used to establish a Data transmission channel for UE140 in a 5G network in cooperation with AMF210, for example, to establish a Packet Data Unit (PDU) session for UE 140. The PGW250, the S-GW260, and the E-UTRAN280 may also be used to cooperate with the MME220 to establish a Data transmission channel for the UE140 in a 4G Network, for example, to establish a Packet Data Network (PDN) connection for the UE 140.

It should be noted that, of course, the above is only described by taking the system shown in fig. 1 as an example, and in another embodiment, the system shown in fig. 1 may also be applied to any other system capable of implementing handover between different networks, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram illustrating a mobility management entity 110 of a first network according to an exemplary embodiment, where the mobility management entity 110 includes a transmitter 1101, a receiver 1102, a memory 1103, a processor 1104, and a communication bus 1105. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the structure of the mobility management entity 110 shown in fig. 3 does not constitute a limitation to the mobility management entity 110, and may include more or less components than those shown, or combine some components, or arrange different components, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

The transmitter 1101 may be configured to transmit data and/or signaling and the like to the user data management entity 130 or the mobility management entity 120 of the second network. The receiver 1102 may be configured to receive data and/or signaling and the like sent by the user data management entity 130 or the mobility management entity 120 of the second network. The memory 1103 may be configured to store data sent by the user data management entity 130, and the memory 1103 may also be configured to store one or more running programs and/or modules for executing the method for obtaining the quality of service parameter. In a specific implementation, the memory 1103 may also be used to call up a number of running programs and/or modules in an external software system.

Wherein the processor 1104 is a control center of the mobility management entity 110. The processor 1104 may be a general-purpose Central Processing Unit (CPU), microprocessor, Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or one or more Integrated circuits configured to control the execution of programs in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure. The processor 1104 may implement the method for obtaining the quality of service parameter provided in the embodiment of fig. 5 or fig. 6 below by running or executing the software program and/or module stored in the memory 1103 and calling the data stored in the memory 1103.

The communication bus 1105 may include a path that communicates information between the processor 1104 and the memory 1103.

Fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram illustrating a user data management entity 130 according to an exemplary embodiment, where the user data management entity 130 includes a transmitter 1301, a receiver 1302, a memory 1303, a processor 1304, and a communication bus 1305. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the structure of the user data management entity 130 shown in fig. 4 does not constitute a limitation to the user data management entity 130, and may include more or less components than those shown, or combine some components, or arrange different components, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

The transmitter 1301 may be configured to transmit data and/or signaling and the like to the mobility management entity 110 of the first network or the mobility management entity 120 of the second network. The receiver 1302 may be configured to receive data and/or signaling and the like sent by the mobility management entity 110 of the first network or the mobility management entity 120 of the second network. The memory 1303 may be configured to store data such as the first QoS parameter, the second QoS parameter, and the UE subscription information, and the memory 1303 may also be configured to store one or more operating programs and/or modules for executing the method for acquiring the quality of service parameter. In particular implementations, the memory 1303 may also be used to call up multiple running programs and/or modules in an external software system.

Wherein the processor 1304 is a control center of the user data management entity 130. The processor 1304 may be a general purpose central processing unit CPU, microprocessor, application specific integrated circuit ASIC, or one or more integrated circuits configured to control the execution of programs in accordance with the teachings of the present application. The processor 1304 may implement the method for acquiring the qos parameter provided in the embodiment of fig. 5 or fig. 6 below by running or executing the software program and/or module stored in the memory 1303 and calling the data stored in the memory 1303.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for obtaining quality of service parameters, according to an example embodiment. The method may be applied to the system shown in fig. 1 or fig. 2. Here, a method for implementing the qos parameter acquisition in an interactive manner by using the multiple entities is described as an example, where the first network is a 5G network, the second network is a 4G network, in this case, the mobility management entity of the first network may correspond to an AMF, the mobility management entity of the second network may correspond to an MME, and the user data management entity may correspond to a UDM.

Step 501: the AMF receives a first request message from the UE.

In a practical implementation, the UE may send the first request message to the AMF through the NG RAN. Here, the first request message is only used as an attach request message or a location area update request message for example.

Step 502: and the AMF sends a second request message to the UDM, wherein the second request message carries the UE information. The UDM receives the second request message sent by the AMF. Here, the second request message is taken as a location area update request message as an example.

Wherein the UE information includes at least one of UE capability information and UE location information. The UE capability information may be used to indicate whether the UE has the capability of accessing the 5G network and the 4G network, and the UE location information is used to indicate a current location of the UE.

Step 503: and the UDM determines to send the first QoS parameter to the AMF according to the UE information and the stored UE subscription information.

At this time, the first QoS parameter is a QoS parameter of the UE in the 4G network. In the 4G network, the first QoS parameter mainly includes a quality of service Class Identifier (QCI), an Allocation and Reservation Priority (ARP), a User Equipment Maximum aggregation bandwidth (UE-AMBR), an Access Point Name (APN) -AMBR, and the like.

After receiving the second request message, the UDM may decide whether to issue the first QoS parameter to the AMF according to the UE information and the stored UE subscription information, and when it is determined that the first QoS parameter needs to be issued to the AMF, perform an operation of sending the first QoS parameter to the AMF.

In a specific implementation, according to different contents included in the UE information, the specific implementation process may include any one of the following possible implementation manners:

the first mode is as follows: and if the UE information includes UE capability information, determining to send the first QoS parameter to the AMF when the UDM determines that the UE capability information indicates that the UE has a capability of accessing the 4G network and that the UE subscription information supports the UE to access the 4G network.

Since different UEs have different capabilities of accessing the network, for example, some UEs only have the capability of accessing the 4G network but do not have the capability of accessing the 5G network, and some UEs may have both the capability of accessing the 4G network and the capability of accessing the 5G network. In the embodiment of the present invention, if the UE does not have the capability of accessing the 4G network, the UE cannot be subsequently switched to the 4G network, and in this case, the UDM does not need to issue the first QoS parameter to the AMF. Therefore, if the UE information includes UE capability information, the UDM needs to determine whether the UE has a capability of accessing the 4G network according to the UE capability information, and if the UE capability information indicates that the UE has the capability of accessing the 4G network, it indicates that the UE can access the 4G network.

In addition, in an actual application scenario, the UE subscription information signed by the UE may include multiple types, for example, the UE subscription information indicates that only the UE is supported to access the 5G network, and the UE is not supported to access the 4G network, or the UE subscription information indicates that both the UE and the 4G network are supported. When the UE subscription information indicates that only the UE is supported to access the 5G network and the UE is not supported to access the 4G network, the UE cannot be subsequently switched to the 4G network, and under the condition, the UDM may also choose not to issue the first QoS parameter to the AMF.

Therefore, the UDM further needs to determine whether the UE subscription information supports the UE accessing the 4G network, and if the UE subscription information supports the UE accessing the 4G network, the UDM determines to send the first QoS parameter to the AMF. However, if the UE subscription information does not support the UE to access the 4G network, the UDM may not issue the first QoS parameter to the AMF even if the UE capability information indicates that the UE has the capability to access the 4G network. Thus, the data volume issued by the UDM can be reduced.

The second mode is as follows: and if the UE information includes UE location information, determining to send the first QoS parameter to the AMF when the UDM determines that the location corresponding to the UE location information is deployed with the 4G network and the UE subscription information supports the UE to access the 4G network.

In this implementation manner, whether the 4G network is deployed at the current location of the UE is considered, if the 4G network is deployed at the current location of the UE and the UE subscription information supports the UE to access the 4G network, the UDM issues the first QoS parameter to the AMF, otherwise, if the 4G network is not deployed at the current location of the UE, the UDM does not issue the first QoS parameter to the AMF, and thus, the data volume issued by the UDM may also be reduced.

The third mode is as follows: and if the UDM determines that the UE capability information indicates that the UE has a capability of accessing the 4G network and that the 4G network is deployed at a location corresponding to the UE location information and the UE subscription information supports the UE to access the 4G network, determining to send the first QoS parameter to the AMF.

In this implementation, the UE information may also include UE capability information and UE location information, and in this case, the UE capability information and whether a 4G network is deployed at the current location of the UE need to be considered comprehensively, and in combination with the UE subscription information, a decision is made whether to issue the first QoS parameter to the AMF. That is, only when the UE information indicates that the UE has the capability of accessing the 4G network, the 4G network is deployed at the current location of the UE, and the UE subscription information supports the UE to access the 4G network, the UDM issues the first QoS parameter to the AMF, so that the data volume issued by the UDM is also reduced.

Step 504: the UDM sends a first QoS parameter to the AMF, and the AMF receives the first QoS parameter sent by the UDM.

In a possible implementation manner, the AMF may store the first QoS parameter after receiving the first QoS parameter sent by the UDM.

Step 505: the AMF receives a switching notification message from the UE, wherein the switching notification message carries information of a target access area, and the target access area belongs to the 4G network.

The handover notification message from the UE may be sent to the AMF by the NG RAN according to a decision of cell measurement information reported by the UE. The handover notification message carries information of a target access area, where the information of the target access area may include at least one of a target cell identifier, a target base station identifier, and a target tracking area identifier. The target cell identifier is used for uniquely identifying a target cell, and the target cell is a cell to be accessed by the UE. The target base station identifier is used for uniquely identifying a target base station, and the target base station is a base station to which a cell to be accessed belongs. The target tracking area identifier is used for uniquely identifying a target tracking area, and the target tracking area refers to a tracking area where a cell to be accessed is located.

In a possible implementation manner, the AMF may determine whether the handover notification message belongs to handover between different types of networks according to the information of the target access area, for example, when the information of the target access area includes a target base station identifier, the AMF may determine a type of the target base station according to the target base station identifier, and determine whether the handover notification message belongs to handover between different types of networks according to the type.

Step 506: and the AMF determines the MME according to the information of the target access area carried in the switching notification message.

In order to determine which MME in the 4G network the first QoS parameter needs to be sent, that is, which MME in the 4G network interacts with to implement the inter-network handover, the AMF needs to determine the MME according to the information of the target access area carried in the handover notification message. In a possible implementation manner, the AMF may determine an MME resource pool according to information of the target access area, and then select an MME from the MME resource pool according to information of priority, capacity, load, and the like of the MME.

Step 507: the AMF sends the first QoS parameter to the MME, and the MME receives the first QoS parameter sent by the AMF.

In particular implementations, the first QoS parameter may be for the MME to perform handover of the 5G network to the 4G network.

In order to ensure that the data transmission channel established by the MME for the UE can meet the data transmission requirement of the UE, the AMF sends the first QoS parameter to the MME after determining the MME, so as to notify the MME to continue providing services for the UE, that is, notify the MME to establish the data transmission channel for the UE.

In one possible implementation manner, the AMF may carry the first QoS parameter through a redirection request message or a handover request message, for example, the AMF may send a handover request message to the MME, where the handover request message carries the first QoS parameter. Alternatively, the AMF may also carry the first QoS parameter through other messages, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present invention.

In a specific implementation, step 507 may further include:

step 508: the MME performs a handover of the 5G network to the 4G network using the first QoS parameter.

After receiving the first QoS parameter, the MME may directly use the first QoS parameter to establish a data transmission channel for the UE, so as to implement handover from a 5G network to a 4G network. In practical implementations, the MME may cooperate with a PGW, S-GW, and E-UTRAN (not shown in fig. 5) to establish a data transmission channel for the UE in a 4G network, e.g., establish a PDN connection for the UE.

It should be noted that, for a specific implementation process of the MME using the first QoS parameter to establish the data transmission channel for the UE, reference may be made to related technologies, and embodiments of the present invention are not described in detail herein.

In a practical application scenario, after the UE is handed over from the 5G network to the 4G network, the UE may also be handed over back to the 5G network from the 4G network as the location of the UE changes, so that, in order to facilitate the handover back to the 5G network, the MME directly sends the second QoS parameter of the UE in the 5G network to the AMF, and when the UE is handed over from the 5G network to the 4G network, the AMF may also send the second QoS parameter to the MME. After receiving the second QoS parameter, the MME may store the second QoS parameter, so that the second QoS parameter may be directly sent to the AMF when switching back to the 5G network in a later period, thereby improving the rate of network switching.

The specific implementation method comprises the following steps: after receiving the second request message sent by the AMF, the UDM may send a second QoS parameter of the UE in the 5G network to the AMF, in addition to determining to send the first QoS parameter to the AMF according to the UE information and the UE subscription information. That is, the UDM issues the first QoS parameter and the second QoS parameter to the AMF simultaneously.

In the 5G network, the second QoS parameter mainly comprises priority, data delay, data error rate, UE-AMBR or the like.

Further, the AMF may cooperate with the SMF and NG RAN to establish a data transmission channel for the UE after receiving the second QoS parameter, for example, to establish a PDU session for the UE. It should be noted that, when the first request message is a location area update request message, the AMF and the SMF and NG RAN update the PDU session for the UE.

Further, after determining the MME according to the information of the target access area carried in the handover notification message, the AMF may further send the second QoS parameter to the MME, where the second QoS parameter is a QoS parameter of the UE in the 5G network, and may be used for the MME to perform handover from the 4G network to the 5G network.

In a possible implementation manner, the AMF may also carry the second QoS parameter through a handover request message or a redirection request message. In an actual implementation process, the AMF may carry the first QoS parameter and the second QoS parameter through the same request message, for example, the MME may carry the first QoS parameter and the second QoS parameter through a handover request message.

Of course, it should be noted that, the AMF determines, according to the information of the target access area carried in the handover notification message, that the MME sends the second QoS parameter to the MME, which is only an example, in another embodiment, when a handover from the 4G network to the 5G network is required, the MME may further obtain the second QoS parameter of the 5G network from the HSS in a similar manner as described above, and then send the second QoS parameter to the AMF, so that the AMF performs the handover from the 4G network to the 5G network using the second QoS parameter, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present invention.

By the method provided by the embodiment of the invention, the MME is prevented from mapping the QoS parameters in the 5G network to the QoS parameters in the 4G network, and the data transmission channel established by the switched MME can meet the data transmission requirement of the UE.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for obtaining quality of service parameters according to another example embodiment. The method may also be applied in the system shown in fig. 1 or fig. 2. Here, the first network is a 4G network, the second network is a 5G network, in this case, the mobility management entity of the first network may correspond to an MME, the mobility management entity of the second network may correspond to an AMF, and the user data management entity may correspond to an HSS, and the embodiment of the present invention takes as an example a method for implementing the qos parameter acquisition in an interactive manner by using the multiple entities.

Step 601: the MME receives a first request message from the UE.

In an actual implementation procedure, the UE may send the first request message to the MME through the E-UTRAN.

Step 602: and the MME sends a second request message to the HSS, wherein the second request message carries the UE information. The HSS receives a second request message sent by the MME.

The specific content included in the UE information may be referred to as described in step 502 in the embodiment of fig. 5.

Step 603: and the HSS determines to send the first QoS parameter to the MME according to the UE information and the stored UE subscription information.

At this time, the first QoS parameter is a QoS parameter of the UE in the 5G network, and the specific included information may be as described in the embodiment of fig. 5 above.

After receiving the second request message, the HSS may decide whether to issue the first QoS parameter to the MME according to the UE information and the stored UE subscription information, and when it is determined that the first QoS parameter needs to be issued to the MME, perform an operation of sending the first QoS parameter to the MME.

In a specific implementation, the UE information includes different contents, and a specific implementation process thereof is also different, and the specific implementation process may refer to an implementation process of the UDM in fig. 5, which determines to send the first QoS parameter to the AMF according to the UE information and the stored UE subscription information, and is not described in detail here.

Step 604: the HSS sends the first QoS parameter to the MME, and the MME receives the first QoS parameter sent by the HSS.

In a possible implementation manner, after receiving the first QoS parameter sent by the HSS, the MME may store the first QoS parameter.

Step 605: the MME receives a switching notification message from the UE, wherein the switching notification message carries information of a target access area, and the target access area belongs to the 5G network.

The handover notification message from the UE may be sent to the MME after being decided by the E-UTRAN according to the cell measurement information reported by the UE. The information of the target access area may be referred to as described in step 504 in the embodiment of fig. 5.

Step 606: and the MME determines the AMF according to the information of the target access area carried in the switching notification message.

In a possible implementation manner, the determining, by the MME, the implementation procedure of the AMF according to the information of the target access area carried in the handover notification message may include: the MME may determine the AMF resource pool according to the information of the target access area, and then select the AMF from the AMF resource pool according to information such as priority, capacity, and load of the AMF.

Step 607: the MME sends the first QoS parameter to the AMF. The AMF receives the first QoS parameter sent by the MME.

In a specific implementation, step 607 may further include:

step 608: the AMF performs a handover from the 4G network to the 5G network using the first QoS parameter.

After receiving the first QoS parameter sent by the MME, the AMF may directly use the first QoS parameter to establish a data transmission channel for the UE. In a practical implementation, the AMF may cooperate with an SMF, NG RAN (not shown in fig. 6) to establish a data transmission channel for the UE in the 5G network, e.g., to establish a PDU session for the UE.

It should be noted that, a specific implementation procedure of the AMF for establishing the data transmission channel for the UE using the first QoS parameter may refer to related art, and embodiments of the present invention are not described in detail herein.

In a practical application scenario, after the UE is handed over from the 4G network to the 5G network, the UE may also be handed over back to the 4G network from the 5G network as the location of the UE changes, so that, in order to facilitate the handover back to the 4G network, the AMF can directly send the second QoS parameter of the UE in the 4G network to the MME, and when the UE is handed over from the 4G network to the 5G network, the MME can also send the second QoS parameter to the AMF. After receiving the second QoS parameter, the AMF may store the second QoS parameter, so that the second QoS parameter may be directly sent to the MME in the later handover back to the 4G network, thereby improving the network handover rate.

The specific implementation method comprises the following steps: after receiving the second request message sent by the MME, the HSS may send, to the MME, the second QoS parameter of the UE in the 4G network, in addition to determining to send the first QoS parameter to the MME according to the UE information and the UE subscription information, that is, the HSS sends the first QoS parameter and the second QoS parameter to the MME at the same time.

Further, after receiving the second QoS parameter, the MME may cooperate with the PGW, the SGW, and the E-UTRAN to establish a data transmission channel for the UE using the second QoS parameter, for example, establish a PDN connection for the UE. It should be noted that, when the first request message is a location area update request message, the MME cooperates with the PGW, the SGW, and the E-UTRAN to update the PDN connection for the UE using the second QoS parameter.

Further, after determining the AMF according to the information of the target access area carried in the handover notification message, the MME may further send a second QoS parameter to the AMF, where the second QoS parameter is a QoS parameter of the UE in the 4G network, and is used for the AMF to perform handover from the 5G network to the 4G network.

In a possible implementation manner, the MME may also carry the second QoS parameter through a handover request message or a redirection request message, and in an actual implementation process, the MME may carry the first QoS parameter and the second QoS parameter through the same request message, for example, the MME may carry the first QoS parameter and the second QoS parameter through a handover request message.

Of course, it should be noted that, the MME determining, according to the information of the target access area carried in the handover notification message, that the second QoS parameter is sent to the AMF after the AMF is determined to be handed over from the 5G network to the 4G network is merely exemplary, in another embodiment, when it is required to switch back from the 5G network to the 4G network, the AMF may further obtain the second QoS parameter of the 4G network from the UDM in a manner similar to the above, and then send the second QoS parameter to the MME, so that the MME performs handover from the 5G network to the 4G network using the second QoS parameter, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present invention.

The method provided by the embodiment of the invention avoids the AMF from mapping the QoS parameter in the 4G network to the QoS parameter in the 5G network, and ensures that the data transmission channel established by the AMF after switching can meet the data transmission requirement of the UE.

Fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram illustrating a quality of service parameter obtaining apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment, where the quality of service parameter obtaining apparatus may be implemented by software, hardware, or a combination of the two. The apparatus for acquiring the quality of service parameter may include:

an information transceiver module 710, configured to perform steps 501 to 502 in the embodiment of fig. 5, or to perform steps 601 to 602 in the embodiment of fig. 6;

an information receiving module 720, configured to perform the operation performed by the AMF in step 504 in the embodiment in fig. 5, or perform the operation performed by the MME in step 604 in the embodiment in fig. 6;

a determining module 730, configured to perform steps 505 to 506 in the embodiment of fig. 5 described above, or to perform steps 605 to 606 in the embodiment of fig. 6;

the information sending module 740 is configured to perform the operation performed by the AMF in step 507 in the embodiment in fig. 5, or perform the operation performed by the MME in step 607 in the embodiment in fig. 6.

Optionally, the information sending module 740 is further configured to send a second QoS parameter to the mobility management entity of the second network, where the second QoS parameter is a QoS parameter of the UE in the first network.

By the device provided by the embodiment of the invention, the condition that the mobility management entity of the second network needs to map the QoS parameter in the first network into the QoS parameter in the second network is avoided, and the data transmission channel established by the mobility management entity of the second network after switching can meet the data transmission requirement of the UE is ensured.

It should be noted that: in the above-described embodiment, when the apparatus for acquiring qos parameters implements the method for acquiring qos parameters, only the division of the functional modules is used as an example, and in practical applications, the function distribution may be completed by different functional modules according to needs, that is, the internal structure of the device is divided into different functional modules, so as to complete all or part of the functions described above. In addition, the apparatus for acquiring qos parameters and the method for acquiring qos parameters provided in the above embodiments belong to the same concept, and specific implementation processes thereof are described in the method embodiments, and are not described herein again.

Additionally, in the above embodiments, all or part may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When loaded and executed on a computer, cause the processes or functions described in accordance with the embodiments of the invention to occur, in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a network of computers, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another, for example, from one website site, computer, server, or data center to another website site, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device, such as a server, a data center, etc., that incorporates one or more of the available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy Disk, hard Disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., Solid State Disk (SSD)), among others.

The above description should not be taken as limiting the embodiments of the invention, and any modifications, equivalents, improvements and the like which are within the spirit and principle of the embodiments of the invention should be included in the scope of the embodiments of the invention.

Claims

1. A method for obtaining quality of service parameters, the method comprising:

after receiving a first request message from User Equipment (UE), a mobility management entity of a first network sends a second request message to a user data management entity, wherein the second request message carries UE information;

the mobility management entity of the first network receives a first quality of service (QoS) parameter sent by the user data management entity, the UE information includes UE position information, the first QoS parameter is determined to be sent to the mobility management entity of the first network under the condition that the user data management entity determines that a second network is deployed at a position corresponding to the UE position information and UE subscription information supports the UE to access the second network, the first QoS parameter is a QoS parameter of the UE in the second network, and the UE position information is used for indicating the current position of the UE;

after receiving a handover notification message from the UE, determining a mobility management entity of the second network according to information of a target access area carried in the handover notification message, where the target access area belongs to the second network; the mobility management entity of the first network sends the first QoS parameter to the mobility management entity of the second network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE information further includes UE capability information, and the first QoS parameter is determined to be sent to a mobility management entity of the first network when the UE capability information is determined by the UE data management entity to indicate that the UE has the capability of accessing the second network and a location corresponding to the UE location information is deployed with the second network, and the UE subscription information supports the UE to access the second network.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein after the mobility management entity of the first network determines the mobility management entity of the second network according to the information of the target access area carried in the handover notification message, the method further comprises:

and the mobility management entity of the first network sends a second QoS parameter to the mobility management entity of the second network, wherein the second QoS parameter is the QoS parameter of the UE in the first network.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein after the mobility management entity of the first network determines the mobility management entity of the second network according to the information of the target access area carried in the handover notification message, the method further comprises:

5. The method according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first request message comprises an attach request message or a location area update request message.

6. An apparatus for obtaining quality of service parameters, applied to a first network, the apparatus comprising:

the information receiving and sending module is used for receiving a first request message from User Equipment (UE) and then sending a second request message to a user data management entity, wherein the second request message carries UE information;

an information receiving module, configured to receive a first quality of service QoS parameter sent by the user data management entity, where the UE information includes UE location information, the first QoS parameter is determined to be sent to the information receiving module when the user data management entity determines that a second network is deployed at a location corresponding to the UE location information and UE subscription information supports that the UE accesses the second network, the first QoS parameter is a QoS parameter of the UE in the second network, and the UE location information is used to indicate a current location of the UE;

a determining module, configured to determine, after receiving a handover notification message from the UE, a mobility management entity of the second network according to information of a target access area carried in the handover notification message, where the target access area belongs to the second network;

and the information sending module is used for sending the first QoS parameter to a mobility management entity of the second network.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the information sending module is further configured to:

and sending a second QoS parameter to a mobility management entity of the second network, wherein the second QoS parameter is the QoS parameter of the UE in the first network.

8. A system for obtaining quality of service parameters, the system comprising:

the mobile management entity of the first network is used for sending a second request message to the user data management entity after receiving a first request message from User Equipment (UE), wherein the second request message carries UE information;

the user data management entity is configured to receive a second request message sent by a mobility management entity of the first network;

the UE information comprises UE position information, the user data management entity is further used for sending a first QoS parameter to a mobility management entity of the first network under the condition that the UE information comprises the UE position information and a second network is deployed at a position corresponding to the UE position information and UE subscription information supports the UE to access the second network, wherein the first QoS parameter is a QoS parameter of the UE in the second network, and the UE position information is used for indicating the current position of the UE;

the mobility management entity of the first network is further configured to receive the first QoS parameter sent by the user data management entity; after receiving a handover notification message from the UE, determining a mobility management entity of the second network according to information of a target access area carried in the handover notification message, where the target access area belongs to the second network;

the mobility management entity of the first network is further configured to send the first QoS parameter to the mobility management entity of the second network.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the UE information further includes UE capability information, and the UE data management entity is configured to determine to send the first QoS parameter to a mobility management entity of the first network if it is determined that the UE capability information indicates that the UE has a capability of accessing the second network and a location corresponding to the UE location information is deployed with the second network, and the UE subscription information supports the UE to access the second network.

10. The system for acquiring qos parameters according to any one of claims 8 to 9, wherein after the mobility management entity of the first network determines the mobility management entity of the second network according to the information of the target access area carried in the handover notification message, the system is further configured to: