CN109150808B

CN109150808B - Communication method, device and system

Info

Publication number: CN109150808B
Application number: CN201710465300.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 应江威; 杨艳梅
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2017-06-19
Filing date: 2017-06-19
Publication date: 2021-11-09
Anticipated expiration: 2037-06-19
Also published as: CN109150808A; WO2018233451A1

Abstract

The invention discloses a communication method, a communication device and a communication system. The method comprises the following steps: the method comprises the steps that core network equipment obtains session associated information of terminal equipment; and the core network equipment determines the time delay information of the session according to the information associated with the session. The method can determine the switching time delay value of the terminal equipment according to the time delay information of the session, and improve the success rate of session switching.

Description

Communication method, device and system

Technical Field

The present invention relates to communication systems, and in particular, to a communication method, apparatus and system.

Background

In a 5G communication system, a core network mainly includes a Control Plane Function (CPF) and a User Plane Function (UPF). The CPF mainly includes an access control and mobility management function (AMF) and a Session Management Function (SMF). For example, the AMF entity is used to complete access authentication, security encryption, location registration, etc. of the terminal device; the SMF entity is used for the establishment, release and modification of a user plane transmission path, session-related processing, and the like. The UPF entity mainly completes the functions of routing and forwarding of user plane data and the like. The AMF entity and the SMF entity both belong to a core network device, and may be two physically combined but logically independent entities, or may be two physically independent entities.

Assuming that a terminal device has multiple sessions (sessions), and the multiple sessions are maintained by different SMF entities, when a Handover (HO) occurs to the terminal device, the AMF entity notifies the SMF entity maintaining the session of the terminal device that the handover occurs to the terminal device, so that the SMF entity determines whether to allow the session of the terminal device to be handed over to the target access network node. The AMF entity may set a handover delay timer, where the duration of the timer is a handover delay value (HO delay time), and if the AMF entity receives the determination results returned by all SMF entities maintaining the session of the terminal device before the timer expires, send an N2 message (carrying the mobility management related information and the session management related information) to the target access network node.

The size of the handover delay value affects the service of the terminal device, for example, if the handover delay value is too small, many session handover failures may be caused, and further, service interruption or poor service quality may be caused; if the value of the handover delay is too large, it may cause that the handover of some sessions with low delay requirements cannot meet the low delay requirements, thereby causing service interruption. Therefore, how to determine the handover delay value becomes an urgent problem to be solved.

Disclosure of Invention

Embodiments of the present invention provide a communication method, apparatus, and system, which can determine a handover delay value of a terminal device, and improve a success rate of session handover.

In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, including: the method comprises the steps that core network equipment obtains session associated information of terminal equipment; and the core network equipment determines the time delay information of the session according to the information associated with the session. The time delay information of the session is used for determining a switching time delay value of the terminal equipment so as to improve the success rate of switching the session.

With reference to the first aspect, in a first implementation manner of the first aspect, the session associated information includes at least one of the following information: the method comprises the steps of obtaining a QoS attribute QoS profile of a QoS flow of a session, a data network name DNN corresponding to the session, single network slice selection auxiliary information S-NSSAI corresponding to the session, auxiliary information provided by terminal equipment and a session continuity mode SSC mode of the session.

With reference to the first aspect or the first implementation manner of the first aspect, in a second implementation manner of the first aspect, the determining, by the core network device, the delay information of the session according to the session-related information includes: the core network equipment determines the time delay information of the session according to the time delay of the data packet in the QoS profile; or, the core network device determines the time delay information of the session according to the priority ARP distributed in the QoS profile; or, the core network device determines a delay tolerant type of the session according to at least one of the DNN and the S-NSSAI, and determines delay information of the session according to the delay tolerant type of the session; or, the core network device determines the time delay information of the session according to the corresponding relationship between the DNN and the time delay information and the DNN corresponding to the session; or the core network equipment determines the time delay information of the session according to the corresponding relation between the S-NSSAI and the time delay information and the S-NSSAI corresponding to the session; or, the core network device determines the auxiliary information provided by the terminal device as the time delay information of the session; or, the core network device determines the delay information of the session according to a preset corresponding relationship between the SSC mode and the delay information and the SSC mode of the session. A plurality of methods for determining session delay information are provided, and different requirements are met.

With reference to the second implementation manner of the first aspect, in a third implementation manner of the first aspect, the determining, by the core network device, the delay information of the session according to the packet delay in the QoS profile includes: the core network equipment acquires the minimum value of the data packet delay values in the QoS profiles of all the QoS flows of the session; and the core network equipment determines the minimum value or the time delay priority corresponding to the minimum value as the time delay information of the session.

With reference to the second implementation manner of the first aspect, in a fourth implementation manner of the first aspect, the determining, by the core network device, the delay information of the session according to the ARP of the priority level allocated in the QoS profile includes: the core network equipment acquires the highest priority of ARP in QoS profiles of all QoS flows of the session; and the core network equipment determines the time delay value corresponding to the highest priority or the time delay priority corresponding to the highest priority as the time delay information of the session.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the foregoing implementation manners of the first aspect, in a fifth implementation manner of the first aspect, the obtaining, by the core network device, session-related information of a terminal device includes: the core network equipment receives a session establishment request sent by the terminal equipment and acquires the session associated information according to the session establishment request; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the core network device determines the time delay information of the session according to the information associated with the session, and the determining includes: and the core network equipment determines that the information associated with the session is changed and determines the time delay information of the session according to the changed information associated with the session. When the information associated with the session is changed, the time delay information of the session can be updated in time, so that the switching time delay value of the terminal equipment can be further updated, and unreasonable switching failure is avoided.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the foregoing implementation manners of the first aspect, in a sixth implementation manner of the first aspect, when the core network device is an SMF entity, the method further includes: the SMF entity sends the time delay information of the session to an AMF entity; or, when the core network device is an AMF entity, the method further includes: and the AMF entity determines a switching delay value of the terminal equipment according to the delay information of the session. The AMF entity determines a switching delay value according to the time delay information of the session, so that the switching delay value is more appropriate, and the switching success rate is improved.

In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, including: the AMF entity receives time delay information of a session of the terminal equipment from the SMF entity; and the AMF entity determines a switching delay value of the terminal equipment according to the delay information of the session. The AMF entity determines a switching delay value according to the time delay information of the session, so that the switching delay value is more appropriate, and the switching success rate is improved.

With reference to the second aspect, in a first implementation manner of the second aspect, the method further includes: and the AMF entity stores the identification of the session, the time delay information of the session and the association relationship between the SMF entities.

With reference to the second aspect or the first implementation manner of the second aspect, in a second implementation manner of the second aspect, when the delay information is a delay priority, the determining, by the AMF entity, a handover delay value of the terminal device according to the delay information of the session includes: the AMF entity determines a time delay value of the session according to the time delay priority of the session and the switching strategy of the terminal equipment; and the AMF entity determines the switching delay value of the terminal equipment according to the delay value of the session.

With reference to the second implementation manner of the second aspect, in a third implementation manner of the second aspect, the determining, by the AMF entity, a handover delay value of the terminal device according to the delay value of the session includes: when the number of the sessions of the terminal equipment is 1, the switching delay value of the terminal equipment is the delay value of the sessions; or when the number of the sessions of the terminal device is greater than 1, the switching delay value of the terminal device is the minimum value of the delay values of all the sessions of the terminal device.

With reference to the second aspect or any one of the foregoing implementation manners of the second aspect, in a fourth implementation manner of the second aspect, the method further includes: the AMF entity stores the identification of the session, the time delay value of the session and the incidence relation between the SMF entities; or, the AMF entity stores the identifier of the session, the delay value of the session, the delay priority of the session, and the association relationship between the SMF entities.

A sixth aspect provides a core network device comprising means or means (means) for performing the steps of any of the methods of the first aspect above.

In a seventh aspect, a core network device is provided, which includes a processor and a memory, where the memory is used to store a program, and the processor calls the program stored in the memory to execute any one of the methods in the first aspect above.

In an eighth aspect, there is provided a core network device comprising at least one processing element or chip for performing any of the methods of the first aspect above.

In a ninth aspect, there is provided a program which, when executed by a processor, is operable to perform any of the methods of the first aspect above.

A tenth aspect provides a computer-readable storage medium containing the program of the ninth aspect.

In an eleventh aspect, there is provided an AMF entity comprising means for performing the steps of any of the methods of the second aspect above.

In a twelfth aspect, there is provided an AMF entity comprising a processor and a memory, the memory for storing a program, the processor calling the program stored in the memory to perform any of the methods of the second aspect above.

In a thirteenth aspect, there is provided an AMF entity comprising at least one processing element or chip for performing any of the methods of the second aspect above.

In a fourteenth aspect, there is provided a program which, when executed by a processor, is adapted to perform any of the methods of the second aspect above.

In a fifteenth aspect, there is provided a computer readable storage medium containing the program of the fourteenth aspect.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art to obtain other drawings based on these drawings without inventive labor.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a network architecture;

fig. 2 is a flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a flow chart of another communication method provided by the embodiment of the invention;

fig. 4 is a flowchart of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a flowchart of a further communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a core network device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of an AMF entity according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic hardware structure diagram of a core network device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of an AMF entity according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Fig. 1 provides a network structure that can be applied to a next-generation communication system, for example, a 5G system. The following briefly introduces the various components of the network architecture as follows:

the terminal equipment: may include various handheld devices, vehicle mounted devices, wearable devices, computing devices or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem with wireless communication capabilities, as well as various forms of terminals (terminals), Mobile Stations (MSs), User Equipment (UEs), soft terminals, etc., such as water meters, electricity meters, sensors, etc.

Access Network (AN) node: similar to a base station of 3GPP or a non-3 GPP Access Point (AP) in a conventional network, the method provides a network access function for authorized users in a specific area, and can use transmission tunnels with different qualities according to user levels, service requirements and the like, for example, a 5G radio access network (5G-RAN) or a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) device. The AN node can manage wireless resources, provide access service for the terminal equipment, and further complete the forwarding of control signals and user data between the terminal equipment and the core network. For example, the AN node may be connected to a User Plane Function (UPF) entity through a user plane interface N3, and configured to transmit data of the terminal device; the AN node establishes a control plane signaling connection with the AMF entity through a control plane interface N2, and is used for realizing functions such as wireless access bearer control.

An AMF entity: the system is mainly responsible for functions of authentication of terminal equipment, mobility management, network slice selection, SMF entity selection and the like; as an anchor point of the signaling connection between the N1 and the N2, the SMF entity is provided with a route of a N1 or N2 Session Management (SM) message; and maintaining and managing the state information of the terminal equipment.

SMF entity: the QoS Control method mainly takes charge of session management of the terminal device, for example, selection of an UPF entity, IP address allocation, quality of service (QoS) management of a session, establishment, modification, and release of a session, obtaining Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rules (PCC rules), and generating a corresponding QoS attribute (QoS profile) for a session or a QoS flow (QoS flow) according to the PCC rules.

UPF entity: and the anchor point of the session connection is responsible for filtering data messages, transmitting or forwarding data, controlling the rate, generating charging information and the like of the user equipment.

Policy Control Function (PCF) entity: control policy information is generated and provided to the relevant network elements, for example: AMF entities, SMF entities.

Data Network (DN): providing external data network services.

Application Function (AF) entity: providing application layer services.

As shown in fig. 1, the above components communicate via a Next Generation (NG) path, e.g., an access network node communicates with a UPF entity via a NG3 path. In addition, the SMF entity and the AMF entity may be integrated in one entity device, or may be distributed on different entity devices, which is not specifically limited in this application.

As shown in fig. 2, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communication method, which is as follows.

201. The core network equipment acquires the session associated information of the terminal equipment.

The core network device may be an AMF entity or an SMF entity.

Wherein the session associated information may include at least one of the following information: QoS profile, Data Network Name (DNN) corresponding to the session, single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI) corresponding to the session, assistance information provided by the terminal device, and service and session continuity mode (SSC mode) of the session.

The following explains the above nouns:

the auxiliary information provided by the terminal device may include delay tolerance, a suggested delay value or a suggested delay priority. The delay tolerance may be used to indicate a maximum delay that can be supported by the terminal device or the session, and may be a delay value or a delay priority; the proposed delay value and the proposed delay priority may both be used to indicate the proposed delay for the terminal device. The suggested delay value may be a numerical value or a numerical identifier, for example, a identifies a delay of 0.1 ms; the suggested latency priority may be a priority level, e.g., priority 1, priority 2, or an identification of a priority level, e.g., a represents the highest priority. It should be noted that the auxiliary information may be auxiliary information of the terminal device, or may be auxiliary information of the session.

The QoS profile may be a QoS profile of a QoS flow of a session, and specifically may include at least one of packet delay, Allocation and Retention Priority (ARP), priority level (priority level), and 5QI value (5QI value). A session may correspond to multiple QoS flows, and each QoS flow may correspond to a QoS profile. The QoS profile may be stored in the core network device in advance, or may be obtained from a Unified Data Management (UDM) or from a Policy Control Function (PCF), for example, when the core network device is an SMF entity, the SMF entity obtains a PCC rule of the session from the PCF entity, where the PCC rule includes QoS profiles of all QoS flows of the session. For another example, the SMF entity may further obtain SM subscription information of the terminal device from the UDM, where the SM subscription information includes a default QoS profile.

The DNN for a session refers to the data that the session uses to transmit the DN indicated by the DNN.

The S-NSSAI corresponding to a session refers to information of a slice to which the session corresponds, i.e., the session is established through resources of the slice. The slice can be based on several technical groups such as cloud computing, virtualization, software defined networking, distributed cloud architecture and the like, and the network has management and cooperation capabilities through unified arrangement of an upper layer, so that a function of simultaneously supporting a plurality of logic networks based on a universal physical network infrastructure platform is realized. A slice may provide the same type of traffic or may be provided for use by a tenant (tent), e.g., the internet of vehicles is a DN, and one or more slices may be assigned to and serve the internet of vehicles. The operator network assigns an S-NSSAI to each slice.

SSC mode to indicate the traffic and session continuity mode of the session, e.g., SSC mode1 to indicate anchor invariance of IP addresses, support traffic continuity; the SSC mode2 indicates that the anchor point for the IP address is changeable, and may release the old session first and then inform the terminal device to establish a new session; the SSC mode3 is used to indicate that after a new session is established for the terminal device, the old session is then released.

It should be noted that the SSC mode may be carried in a session establishment request sent by the terminal device. The core network device may obtain an authorized SSC mode of the terminal device from the UDM, for example, the core network device obtains SM subscription information of the terminal device from the UDM, and the SM subscription information includes the authorized SSC mode. It is apparent that the SSC mode in the session establishment request can belong to the authorized SSC mode in the SM subscription information.

202. And the core network equipment determines the time delay information of the session according to the information related to the session.

The time delay information of the session may be used to indicate a maximum time delay that can be tolerated by the session during the handover process. In the handover procedure, a maximum time interval from when the core network device sends the message (e.g., N11, PDU switch request) through the session to when the core network device stops waiting for the response of the message is the maximum delay, for example, the AMF entity sends the PDU switch request to the SMF entity, and the AMF entity waits for the maximum time of the response of the SMF entity to the request message.

The delay information may include a delay value or a delay value range or a delay priority or a delay category. The time delay value can be a numerical value or an identifier of the numerical value; the time delay value range can be a value interval or set, and also can be a value identification interval or set; the delay priority may be a delay priority class, for example, priority 1, priority 2, or an identifier of a priority class, for example, a represents the highest priority, and a delay priority may correspond to a delay value or a range of delay values; the delay category may be an identifier of the delay category, and may specifically include a high delay category and a low delay category, for example, b represents the low delay category, and one delay category may correspond to one delay value or a range of delay values.

Wherein, step 202 can be implemented in various ways as follows:

in the first mode, the core network device determines the delay information of the session according to the packet delay bucket in the QoS profile.

For example, the core network device obtains the minimum value of the packet delay values in the QoS profiles of all QoS flows of a session, and determines the minimum value or the delay priority corresponding to the minimum value as the delay information of the session.

For another example, when the QoS profile is the default QoS profile, the delay information corresponding to the packet delay value in the default QoS profile may be determined as the delay information of the session.

And secondly, the core network equipment determines the time delay information of the session according to the priority ARP distributed and maintained in the QoS profile.

For example, the core network device obtains the highest priority of the ARP in the QoS profiles of all QoS flows of a session, and determines a delay value corresponding to the highest priority or a delay priority corresponding to the highest priority as the delay information of the session.

For another example, when the QoS profile is the default QoS profile, the delay information corresponding to the ARP in the default QoS profile may be determined as the delay information of the session.

And thirdly, the core network equipment determines the time delay tolerance type of the session according to at least one of the DNN corresponding to the session and the S-NSSAI corresponding to the session, and determines the time delay information of the session according to the time delay tolerance type of the session.

Optionally, determining the delay information of the session according to the delay tolerant type of the session includes: and determining the time delay information of the session according to the corresponding relation between the preset time delay tolerance type and the time delay information and the time delay tolerance type of the session. The preset correspondence between the delay tolerance type and the delay information may include: the low delay tolerance corresponds to the first delay information, and the high delay tolerance corresponds to the second delay information; the first time delay information and the second time delay information are time delay values, and the first time delay information is smaller than the second time delay information; or both the first delay information and the second delay information are delay priorities, and the first delay information is higher than the second delay information.

The delay tolerance type can include high delay tolerance and low delay tolerance, and the high delay tolerance refers to that the maximum delay which can be tolerated by the session is large; low latency tolerance means that the maximum latency that the session can tolerate is small.

And fourthly, the core network equipment determines the time delay information of the session according to the corresponding relation between the DNN and the time delay information and the DNN corresponding to the session.

For example, the correspondence between DNN and latency information may include: one DNN corresponds to one preset time delay information; or, a DNN class corresponds to a preset delay information, which is not limited.

And fifthly, the core network equipment determines the time delay information of the session according to the corresponding relation between the S-NSSAI and the time delay information and the S-NSSAI corresponding to the session.

The corresponding relationship between the S-NSSAI and the time delay information may be that one S-NSSAI corresponds to one preset time delay information.

Alternatively, the correspondence between the S-NSSAI and the delay information may be replaced by a correspondence between a network type to which the S-NSSAI belongs and the delay information. For example, the S-NSSAI corresponding to the session is a slice of the internet of vehicles, and the internet of vehicles corresponds to a preset time delay information, and the time delay information corresponding to the internet of vehicles can be determined as the time delay information of the session.

And a sixth mode, the core network equipment determines the time delay information of the session according to the preset corresponding relation between the SSC mode and the time delay information and the SSC mode of the session.

The preset correspondence between the SSC mode and the delay information may include: SSC mode1 or SSC mode3 corresponds to first delay information, SSC mode2 corresponds to second delay information; the first delay information and the second delay information may be both delay values, and at this time, the first delay information is smaller than the second delay information; or, both the first delay information and the second delay information may be delay priorities, and at this time, the first delay information is higher than the second delay information.

And a seventh mode, the core network device determines the auxiliary information provided by the terminal device as the time delay information of the session. For example, when the assistance information is a suggested delay value or a suggested delay priority for the session, the suggested delay value or the suggested delay priority may be determined as the delay information for the session.

And determining the time delay information of the session according to the priority level in the QoS profile.

For example, the core network device obtains the minimum value of priority levels in QoS profiles of all QoS flows of a session, and determines the delay information corresponding to the minimum value as the delay information of the session. The core network device may be preconfigured with a corresponding relationship between priority level and the delay information, or may dynamically obtain the corresponding relationship from other devices, without limitation. Obviously, it is also possible to determine the delay information of all QoS flows according to the corresponding relationship between the priority level and the delay information, and select one delay information (for example, the highest priority or the smallest delay value) from the delay information of all QoS flows as the delay information of the session, without limitation.

And ninthly, determining the time delay information of the session according to the 5QI value in the QoS profile.

Wherein, the 5QI value has a corresponding relationship with the priority level and the packet delay budget. For example, a 5QI value may indicate a packet delay budget and a priority level, and the core network device may determine the delay information of the QoS flow according to the packet delay budget and the priority level indicated by the 5QI value. Specifically, a corresponding relationship may exist between the packet delay budget and the delay information, and a corresponding relationship may also exist between the priority level and the delay information, two pieces of delay information are determined according to the two parameters and the two corresponding relationships, respectively, and one piece of delay information (for example, the highest priority or the smallest delay value) is taken as the delay information of the QoS flow from the two pieces of delay information. Further, one of the delay information (for example, the highest priority or the smallest delay value) of all the QoS flows of the session is taken as the delay information of the session.

It should be noted that, assuming that the priority levels are the same and the packet delay buckets are different, the delay information determined according to the packet delay buckets and the priority levels is different; assuming that the priority levels are different and the packet delay fragments are the same, the delay information determined according to the packet delay fragments and the priority levels is also different.

Alternatively, the ninth method may be replaced with: and determining the time delay information of the session according to the priority level and the packet delay budget in the QoS profile. For specific implementation, reference may be made to the above description, which is not repeated.

For example, when the auxiliary information provided by the terminal device is the delay tolerance of the session, the core network device may determine the delay information of the session according to any one of the first to sixth manners, and if the determined delay information exceeds the delay tolerance of the session, the delay tolerance of the terminal device is taken as the delay information of the session, which is not listed one by one.

In the method provided by the above embodiment, the core network device determines the delay information of the session according to the session-related information of the terminal device, so as to further determine the handover delay value of the terminal device according to the delay information of the session (i.e., the maximum waiting time for which the AMF entity can wait for a response from the SMF entity in the handover process), so as to ensure that the handover of the session meets a specific delay requirement, so that the data service corresponding to the session is continued, and the success rate of handover of the session is improved.

It should be noted that the time delay information of the session in each embodiment of the present invention may be applied not only to the handover procedure, but also to other procedures, including: a service request Procedure (service request Procedure), or a registration Procedure (registration Procedure), or a Radio Access Network (RAN) side UE context release Procedure (UE context release in the AN Procedure), or a UE-initiated Packet Data Unit (PDU) Session Establishment Procedure (UE-requested PDU Session Establishment) message interaction between AN AMF entity and AN SMF entity. For example, in the service request flow, the AMF entity sends an N11 message (carrying PDU Session ID, UE location information) to the SMF entity, and may use the time delay information of the Session as the time for waiting for the SMF entity to send an N11 message (carrying N1 Session management information (PDU Session ID, PDU Session re-estimation indication) and N2 Session management information (PDU Session ID, QoS profile, CN N3Tunnel Info, S-NSSAI)) to the AMF entity. In the registration process, the AMF entity sends an N11 request message to the SMF entity, and may use the time delay information of the session as a time for waiting for the SMF entity to send an N11 response to the AMF entity. In the RAN-side UE context release procedure, the AMF entity sends an N11PDU session deactivation Request (N11PDU session deactivation Request) to the SMF entity, and may use the time delay information of the session as the time for waiting for the SMF entity to send an N11PDU session deactivation Response (N11PDU session deactivation Response) to the AMF entity.

Optionally, in a first implementation scenario of the foregoing embodiment, step 201 may include: the core network equipment receives a session establishment request sent by the terminal equipment, and acquires the session associated information according to the session establishment request.

In one example, a NAS message sent by the terminal device carries a session establishment request, where the session establishment request may include at least one of an SSC mode and assistance information provided by the terminal device, and the NAS message may further carry at least one of a DNN and an S-NSSAI. For example, the NAS message carries a session setup request, DNN, and S-NSSAI. When the core network device is the AMF entity, the session-related information may be acquired from the NAS message; when the core network device is an SMF entity, the AMF entity may obtain a session establishment request from the NAS message and send the session establishment request to the SMF entity, and further, if the NAS message further carries at least one of DNN and S-NSSAI, the AMF entity also sends at least one of DNN and S-NSSAI to the SMF entity.

In another example, the session establishment request is used as a trigger condition for the core network device to acquire the session-related information. For example, when receiving the session establishment request sent by the terminal device, the core network device obtains the default QoS profile of the terminal device from the UDM. For another example, when the core network device receives the session establishment request sent by the terminal device, the core network device obtains the PCC rule of the session from the PCF entity. For another example, when the core network device is an SMF entity, and the SMF entity receives a session establishment request sent by the terminal device, the S-NSSAI of the session is acquired from the AMF entity.

It should be noted that, the core network device may indirectly receive, through other network-side devices, the session establishment request sent by the terminal device, which is not limited.

In the implementation scenario, the core network device obtains the session-related information in the session establishment process to further determine the time delay information of the session.

Optionally, in a second implementation scenario of the foregoing embodiment, step 202 includes: the core network equipment determines that the information associated with the session is changed and determines the time delay information of the session according to the changed information associated with the session.

Alternatively, when the session associated information is changed, the core network device determines the time delay information of the session according to the changed session associated information.

For example, if the minimum value of the packet delays of all QoS flows in the QoS profile of the session changes, the delay information determined according to the changed session-related information also changes. Assuming that the minimum value becomes smaller, the maximum delay indicated by the delay information also becomes smaller; assuming that the minimum value becomes larger, the maximum delay indicated by the delay information also becomes larger.

For another example, if the highest priority in the ARP of all QoS flows in the QoS profile becomes higher, the maximum delay indicated by the delay information becomes smaller; the highest priority in the ARP of all QoS flows in QoS profile becomes lower, the maximum delay indicated by the delay information becomes larger.

The determination of the time delay information of the session according to the changed information associated with the session may also be implemented in the above-mentioned manner one to nine, and is not described in detail again.

Through the implementation scenario, the core network device can update the time delay information of the session in time, so that the core network device (e.g., the AMF entity) can update the handover time delay value in time (e.g., the AMF entity can wait for the maximum waiting time from the SMF entity to respond in the handover process), thereby ensuring that the handover of the session can meet the specific time delay requirement and avoiding the session handover failure caused by the untimely update of the handover time delay value.

Optionally, in a third implementation scenario of the foregoing embodiment, the core network device is an AMF entity, and the method further includes:

203. and the AMF entity determines a switching delay value of the terminal equipment according to the delay information of the session.

In one example, when the delay information of the session is the delay priority, step 203 may include step 2031 and step 2032.

2031. And the AMF entity determines the time delay value of the session according to the time delay priority of the session and the switching strategy of the terminal equipment.

The switching policy of the terminal device may include a corresponding relationship between the delay priority and the delay value, and the switching policy may be obtained from the PCF entity without limitation.

Alternatively, the handover policy in step 2031 may be replaced by a preset corresponding relationship between the delay priority and the delay value, which is not limited.

2032. And the AMF entity determines the switching delay value of the terminal equipment according to the delay value of the session.

For example, the delay value corresponding to the delay priority is obtained according to the correspondence between the delay priority and the delay value in the handover policy.

Step 2032 may determine the handover delay value of the terminal device according to the delay information of all sessions of the terminal device, determine or update the handover delay value of the terminal device each time the delay information of one session is obtained, and update the handover delay value of the terminal device according to the delay information of the session in the session handover process of the terminal device.

In one example, step 2032 comprises:

when the number of the sessions of the terminal equipment is 1, the switching delay value of the terminal equipment is the delay value of the sessions; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

and when the number of the sessions of the terminal equipment is greater than 1, the switching delay value of the terminal equipment is the minimum value of the delay values of all the sessions of the terminal equipment.

In another example, in the handover process, the AMF entity updates the handover delay value of the terminal device according to the delay information of the session. Assuming that the terminal device has 3 sessions, the method in the above example may be adopted to determine the handover delay value of the terminal device after the AMF entity obtains the delay information of any one session (e.g., session 1), and when the AMF entity obtains the delay information of other sessions (e.g., session 2) of the terminal device, the handover delay value of the terminal device may be updated according to the delay information of session 1 and session 2; when the AMF entity obtains the delay information of session 3, the handover delay value of the terminal device may be updated according to the delay information of session 1, session 2, and session 3. By adopting the dynamic updating mode, the switching delay value of the terminal equipment is dynamically updated, so that the session of the terminal equipment can meet the switching delay value as much as possible, and the success rate of session switching is improved.

In yet another example, the handoff delay value is updated or determined during the handoff process based on the success of the session handoff. Assuming that the terminal device has 4 sessions, session 1 is maintained by SMF1, corresponding to a delay value of 1, e.g. 10 ms; session 2 is maintained by SMF2, corresponding to a delay value of 2, e.g., 20 ms; session 3 is maintained by SMF3, corresponding to a delay value of 3, e.g., 30 ms; session 4 is maintained by SMF4 for a delay value of 4, e.g. 40ms, then the AMF entity may determine the handover delay value from the delay values of the four sessions as follows:

in mode1, the AMF entity sends a session handover request to SMF1, SMF2, SMF3, and SMF4 simultaneously, and starts a timer, starting from 0. When the AMF entity receives the handover response message of session 1 and the Timer does not exceed the delay value of session 1 by 10ms, for example, Timer equals 3ms, the handover delay value of the terminal device may be updated according to the delay value of session 1 (for example, the delay value of session 1 is determined as the handover delay value of the terminal device, and the handover delay value equals 10 ms); when the AMF entity receives the handover response message of session 2, the timing of the Timer does not exceed the current handover delay value, and the timing of the Timer does not exceed the delay value of session 2 by 20ms, for example, when Timer is 5ms, since the delay value of session 2 is 20ms, which is less than the handover delay value by 10ms, the handover delay value is continuously kept unchanged, that is, the handover delay value is 10 ms; when the AMF entity receives the handover response message of session 3, the Timer does not exceed the current handover delay value, and the Timer does not exceed the delay value of session 3, for example, when Timer is 8ms, since the delay value of session 3 is 30ms, which is greater than the handover delay value by 10ms, the handover delay value is kept unchanged, that is, the handover delay value is 10 ms. When the timing of the timer reaches the handover delay value (10ms), if the handover response message of session 4 has not been received, the AMF entity immediately sends an N2 interface handover request message to the target base station. Of course, when the AMF entity receives the handover response messages of all sessions, even if the timing of the timer does not reach the current handover delay value, the AMF entity immediately sends the N2 interface handover request message to the target base station.

Mode2, the AMF entity simultaneously sends a session handover request to SMF1, SMF2, SMF3, and SMF4, and starts a Timer, which starts to count from 0, when the AMF entity receives a handover response message of session 2, the Timer does not exceed the current handover delay value, and the Timer does not exceed the delay value of session 2 by 20ms, for example, when the Timer is 3ms, the handover delay value of the terminal device may be updated according to the delay value of session 2 (for example, the delay value of session 2 is determined as the handover delay value of the terminal device, that is, the handover delay value is 20 ms); when the AMF entity receives the handover response message of session 3, the timing of the Timer does not exceed the current handover delay value, and the timing of the Timer does not exceed the delay value of session 3 by 30ms, for example, when Timer is 5ms, since the delay value of session 3 is 30ms, which is less than the handover delay value by 20ms, the handover delay value is continuously kept unchanged, that is, the handover delay value is 20 ms; when the AMF entity receives the handover response message of session 1, the timing of the Timer does not exceed the current handover delay value, and the timing of the Timer does not exceed the delay value of session 1 by 10ms, for example, when Timer is 8ms, since the delay value of session 1 is 10ms, which is less than the handover delay value by 20ms, the handover delay value is updated, that is, the handover delay value is 10 ms; when the AMF entity receives the handover response message of session 4, the timing of the Timer does not exceed the current handover delay value, and the timing of the Timer does not exceed the delay value of session 4 by 40ms, for example, when Timer is 9ms, since the delay value of session 4 is 40ms, which is smaller than the handover delay value by 10ms, the handover delay value is continuously kept unchanged, i.e., the handover delay value is 10 ms. When the timing of the timer reaches the current handover delay value (10ms), if the handover response message of session 4 has not been received at this time, the AMF entity immediately sends an N2 interface handover request message to the target base station. Of course, when the AMF entity receives the handover response messages of all sessions, the AMF entity immediately sends an N2 interface handover request message to the target base station even if the Timer does not reach the handover delay value.

By adopting the dynamic updating mode, the switching delay value of the terminal equipment is dynamically updated, so that the session of the terminal equipment can meet the switching delay value as much as possible, and the success rate of session switching is improved.

It should be noted that, optionally, the AMF entity may obtain the time delay information of the session in the session establishment procedure, or may temporarily obtain the time delay information of the session in the handover process, for example: the SMF entity sends the time delay information of the session to the AMF entity in a session switching response.

It should be noted that, when the time delay information of the session is the time delay value, step 203 is step 2032, which is not described again.

Further optionally, the method further includes:

the AMF entity stores the identification of the session, the time delay information of the session and the association relationship between the SMF entities of the session. The SMF entity in the association relationship may be embodied by an identifier, which is not described in detail.

In the implementation scenario, the AMF entity determines the delay value of the terminal device according to the delay information of the session, so as to ensure the successful handover of all sessions of the terminal device.

Optionally, in a fourth implementation scenario of the foregoing embodiment, the core network device is an SMF entity, and the method further includes:

203', the SMF entity sends the time delay information of the session to the AMF entity.

The time delay information of the session may be carried in a session management request acknowledgement (SM request ack) message and sent to the AMF entity. The time delay information of the session may also be carried in any message (e.g., a session handover response message) sent by the SMF entity to the AMF entity during the HO.

Correspondingly, after receiving the delay information of the session, the AMF entity may further determine the handover delay value of the terminal device according to the delay information, which may be implemented by using the method provided in step 203, or may also use the following method:

in the switching process, the AMF entity updates the switching time delay value of the terminal equipment according to the received time delay information of the session. For example, assuming that the terminal device has 3 sessions, after receiving the delay information of any one session (e.g., session 1), the AMF entity may determine the handover delay value of the terminal device by using the method in step 2032, and when receiving the delay information of other sessions (e.g., session 2) of the terminal device, the AMF entity may update the handover delay value of the terminal device according to the delay information of session 1 and session 2; when receiving the delay information of session 3, the AMF entity may update the handover delay value of the terminal device according to the delay information of session 1, session 2, and session 3.

By adopting the dynamic updating mode, the switching time delay value of the terminal equipment dynamically changes, so that the session of the terminal equipment can meet the switching time delay value as much as possible, and the success rate of session switching is improved.

In the implementation scenario, the SMF entity sends the time delay information of the session to the AMF entity, so that the AMF entity further determines the handover time delay value of the terminal device according to the time delay information of the session.

The above embodiments may be combined with each other, for example, the third and fourth embodiments may be combined with the first or second embodiment, respectively, and are not limited.

As shown in fig. 3, another communication method is provided in the embodiment of the present invention, which is as follows.

301. The SMF entity acquires the session associated information of the terminal equipment.

302. And the SMF entity determines the time delay information of the session according to the information related to the session.

303. And the SMF entity sends the time delay information of the session to the AMF entity.

Wherein, the steps 301 and 302 can refer to the related description of the step 201-202 in the embodiment shown in fig. 2, and the step 303 can refer to the step 203', which is not described again.

304. The AMF entity receives delay information of a session of the terminal device from the SMF entity.

305. And the AMF entity determines the switching delay value of the terminal equipment according to the delay information of the session.

The delay information may include a delay value or a delay priority, which may refer to the description in the embodiment shown in fig. 2 and is not described again. The switching delay value is used for representing the maximum waiting time that the AMF entity can wait for the response from the SMF entity in the switching process, so that the switching of the session can meet the specific delay requirement, and the corresponding data service of the session can be ensured to be continuously carried out.

In addition, step 304 may specifically refer to the related description of step 203, and is not described again.

Optionally, the method further includes:

the AMF entity stores the identification of the session, the time delay information of the session and the association relationship between the SMF entities.

Optionally, the method further includes:

the AMF entity stores the identification of the session, the time delay value of the session and the association relationship between the SMF entities; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the AMF entity stores the identification of the session, the time delay value of the session, the time delay priority of the session and the association relation between the SMF entities.

In the method provided by the above embodiment, the SMF entity determines the delay information of the session according to the session-related information of the terminal device, and sends the delay information of the session to the AMF entity, so that the AMF entity determines the switching delay value of the terminal device according to the delay information of the session, thereby ensuring that the switching of the session meets the specific delay requirement, allowing the data service corresponding to the session to continue, and improving the success rate of switching the session.

It should be noted that, the sessions mentioned in the above method embodiments may be PDU sessions, and are not limited in advance. The following description will take PDU sessions as an example.

As shown in fig. 4, another communication method is provided in the embodiment of the present invention, which is as follows.

401. And the terminal equipment sends a PDU session establishment request (PDU session establishment request) to the AMF entity.

The PDU Session establishment request may be carried in NAS signaling, where the NAS signaling may be Mobility Management (MM) NAS signaling, and the NAS signaling may further include S-NSSAI corresponding to the PDU Session, DNN corresponding to the PDU Session, and an identifier of the PDU Session (PDU Session ID).

Wherein, the PDU session establishment request may carry a PDU Type (PDU Type) for indicating an IP address Type of the PDU session, for example, IPv4 or IPv 6; the SSC mode may also be carried, and auxiliary information (assist information) may also be carried, for example: suggested delay (delayed delay time).

402. The AMF entity selects an SMF entity for the PDU session according to the PDU session establishment request.

Exemplarily, the PDU session establishment request is carried in an NAS message, which may also carry S-NSSAI and DNN, and the AMF entity may select an SMF entity according to the S-NSSAI and DNN acquired from the NAS message, which belongs to the prior art and is not described again.

403. The AMF entity sends a PDU session establishment request to the selected SMF entity.

Wherein, the PDU session setup request may be sent to the SMF entity through a session management request (SM request) message.

Optionally, when the NAS signaling further includes S-NSSAI corresponding to the PDU session, or DNN corresponding to the PDU session, step 403 further includes: the AMF entity sends S-NSSAI and/or DNN to the SMF entity.

404. The SMF entity acquires SM subscription information of the terminal equipment from the UDM.

The SM subscription information may be SM related subscription information, and for example, may include an authorized PDU type (authorized PDU type), an authorized SSC mode (authorized SSC mode), and a default QoS profile (default QoS profile).

405. The SMF entity acquires PCC rules of the PDU session from the PCF entity.

Wherein, the PCC rules may include QoS profile of the PDU session.

Illustratively, the SMF entity initiates a PDU-CAN Session Establishment procedure to the PCF entity, and in this process, the PCF entity may send the PCC rules to the SMF entity.

It should be noted that step 404 and 405 are optional steps. If the SMF entity selected in step 403 does not store the SM subscription information of the terminal device, step 404 is executed.

406. And the SMF entity determines the time delay information of the PDU session according to the information associated with the PDU session.

Wherein, the PDU session associated information may include at least one of: QoS profile, DNN, S-NSSAI, assist information, and SSC mode.

Specifically, the QoS profile may be the default QoS profile in step 404, may be the QoS profile in the PCC rules in step 405, or may be a combination of the two. The SSC mode can be the SSC mode in step 401, the authorized SSC mode in step 404, or a combination of both, without limitation.

For the delay information, the QoS profile, DNN, S-NSSAI, attribute information, and SSC mode, reference may be made to the relevant description in the embodiment shown in fig. 2, which is not repeated.

407. And the SMF entity sends the time delay information of the PDU session to the AMF entity.

Wherein, the time delay information of the PDU session can be sent to the AMF entity by being carried in the SM request ACK message.

408. And the AMF entity stores the association relation among the ID of the SMF entity, the ID of the PDU session and the delay information.

Alternatively, the association relationship stored in step 408 may also be an association relationship among an ID of the SMF entity, an ID of the PDU session, a delay priority of the PDU session, and a delay value corresponding to the delay priority.

It should be noted that this step 408 may be optionally performed, that is, the AMF entity may not save the time delay information of the session.

409. And the AMF entity determines the switching delay value of the terminal equipment according to the time delay information of the PDU session.

In step 409, reference may be made to the related description of step 203, which is not described again.

It should be noted that, when the terminal device has only one session, step 409 may be executed after the PDU session establishment procedure is ended; when there are at least two sessions for the terminal device, step 409 may be performed after the AMF entity collects delay information of all sessions for the terminal device, without limitation.

Optionally, step 409 may be followed by other steps of PDU session establishment, without limitation.

Optionally, the method further includes:

410. when the information associated with the PDU session is changed, the SMF entity determines the updating time delay information of the PDU session according to the changed information associated with the session, and sends the updating time delay information of the PDU session to the AMF entity.

For example, the update delay information of the PDU session may be transmitted to the AMF entity through an N11 message.

The determination, by the SMF entity, of the update delay information of the PDU session according to the changed session-related information may refer to the relevant description in step 202, which is not described again.

In addition, for the change of the PDU session related information, refer to the related description in the second implementation scenario of the embodiment shown in fig. 2, which is not repeated.

411. And the AMF entity updates the switching time delay of the terminal equipment according to the updating time delay information of the PDU session.

Further, the method can also comprise the following steps: the AMF entity updates the association in step 408 according to the update delay information of the PDU session.

As shown in fig. 5, another communication method is provided in the embodiment of the present invention, which is as follows.

501. The terminal equipment sends a PDU session establishment request to the AMF entity.

The PDU session establishment request may refer to the related description in step 401, and is not described in detail.

502. The AMF entity acquires the information related to the PDU session.

503. And the AMF entity determines the time delay information of the PDU session according to the information associated with the PDU session.

Step 503 may refer to the related description of step 202, and is not described again.

504. The AMF entity selects an SMF entity for the PDU session according to the PDU session establishment request.

For example, the AMF entity may select the SMF entity according to the S-NSSAI and DNN acquired in the NAS message, which belongs to the prior art and is not described again.

It should be noted that the order of execution of steps 503 and 504 may be interchanged, and is not limited.

505. The AMF entity sends the PDU session establishment request to the selected SMF entity.

506. The SMF entity receives the PDU session establishment request and selects a UPF entity for the PDU session.

507. The SMF entity sends a PDU session establishment acceptance (PDU session initialization accept) to the AMF entity.

Wherein the PDU session setup accept may be carried in an SM request ack message.

508. And the AMF entity stores the association relation among the ID of the SMF entity, the PDU session ID and the delay information.

Alternatively, the association relationship stored in step 508 may also be an association relationship among the ID of the SMF entity, the PDU session ID, the delay priority of the PDU session, and the delay value corresponding to the delay priority.

509. And the AMF entity determines the switching delay value of the terminal equipment according to the time delay information of the PDU session.

It should be noted that this step may be optionally performed, that is, the AMF entity may not store the time delay information of the session.

Step 509 may refer to the related description of step 203, which is not described again.

It should be noted that, when the terminal device has only one session, step 509 may be executed after the PDU session establishment procedure is ended; when there are at least two sessions for the terminal device, step 509 may be performed after the AMF entity collects delay information of all sessions for the terminal device, without limitation.

In the method provided by the above embodiment, the AMF entity determines the time delay information of the session according to the session-related information of the terminal device, and determines the handover time delay value of the terminal device according to the time delay information of the session, so as to ensure that the handover of the session meets the specific time delay requirement, so that the data service corresponding to the session is continued, and the success rate of the handover of the session is improved.

Optionally, the method further includes:

510. when the information associated with the PDU session is changed, the AMF entity determines the updating time delay information of the PDU session according to the changed information associated with the session.

Wherein, determining the update delay information of the PDU session according to the changed session related information may refer to the related description in step 202, which is not described again.

511. And the AMF entity updates the switching time delay of the terminal equipment according to the updating time delay information of the PDU session.

Further, the method can also comprise the following steps: the AMF entity updates the association in step 508 according to the update delay information of the PDU session.

It should be noted that the terms and steps in the above embodiments can be referred to and referred to one another, and are not repeated.

As shown in fig. 6, an embodiment of the present invention provides a core network device 600, where the core network device 600 includes: an acquisition unit 601 and a determination unit 602.

An obtaining unit 601, configured to obtain session-related information of a terminal device.

A determining unit 602, configured to determine time delay information of the session according to the session-related information acquired by the acquiring unit 601.

Optionally, the session associated information comprises at least one of the following information: QoS profile of a QoS flow of a session, DNN corresponding to the session, S-NSSAI corresponding to the session, auxiliary information provided by the terminal equipment and SSC mode of the session.

The delay information may include a delay value or a delay priority.

For example, the QoS profile, DNN, S-NSSAI, the auxiliary information provided by the terminal device, the delay value, the delay priority, and the SSC mode may all refer to the description in the embodiment shown in fig. 2, and are not described again.

The determining of the time delay information of the session according to the information associated with the session may adopt the first to ninth manners provided in step 202, or may be a combination of the manners, and specifically may include:

determining the time delay information of the session according to the time delay of the data packet in the QoS profile; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

determining the time delay information of the session according to the ARP in the QoS profile; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

determining a time delay tolerance type of the session according to at least one of the DNN and the S-NSSAI, and determining time delay information of the session according to the time delay tolerance type of the session; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

determining time delay information of the session according to the corresponding relation between the DNN and the time delay information and the DNN corresponding to the session; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

determining the time delay information of the session according to the corresponding relation between the S-NSSAI and the time delay information and the S-NSSAI corresponding to the session; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

determining auxiliary information provided by the terminal equipment as time delay information of the session; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

determining the time delay information of the session according to the corresponding relation between the preset SSC mode and the time delay information and the SSC mode of the session; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

The preset correspondence between the SSC mode and the delay information may include: SSC mode1 or SSC mode3 corresponds to first delay information, SSC mode2 corresponds to second delay information;

the first time delay information and the second time delay information are time delay values, and the first time delay information is smaller than the second time delay information; or both the first delay information and the second delay information are delay priorities, and the first delay information is higher than the second delay information.

Optionally, the determining the delay information of the session according to the packet delay in the QoS profile includes:

acquiring the minimum value of data packet delay values in QoS profiles of all the QoS flows of the session;

and determining the delay priority corresponding to the minimum value or the minimum value as the delay information of the session.

Optionally, the determining the delay information of the session according to the ARP in the QoS profile includes:

acquiring the highest priority of ARP in QoS profiles of all QoS flows of the session;

and determining the time delay value corresponding to the highest priority or the time delay priority corresponding to the highest priority as the time delay information of the session.

Optionally, the determining the delay information of the session according to the delay tolerance type of the session includes:

and determining the time delay information of the session according to the corresponding relation between the preset time delay tolerance type and the time delay information and the time delay tolerance type of the session.

The corresponding relation between the preset delay tolerance type and the delay information comprises the following steps: the low delay tolerance corresponds to the first delay information and the high delay tolerance corresponds to the second delay information.

Optionally, the obtaining of the session-related information of the terminal device includes: receiving a session establishment request sent by terminal equipment, and acquiring session associated information according to the session establishment request.

Optionally, the determining the time delay information of the session according to the information associated with the session includes: and determining that the information associated with the session is changed, and determining the time delay information of the session according to the changed information associated with the session.

The core network device 600 may be an AMF entity or an SMF entity.

When the core network device 600 is an SMF entity, the core network device 600 may further include:

a sending unit 603, configured to send the time delay information of the session to the AMF entity.

When the core network device 600 is an AMF entity, the determining unit 602 is further configured to determine a handover delay value of the terminal device according to the delay information of the session.

It should be noted that, the core network device 600 may be configured to execute the steps of the core network device in the embodiment of the method shown in fig. 2, or the steps of the SMF entity in the embodiment shown in fig. 3 or 4, or the steps of the AMF entity in the embodiment shown in fig. 5, and related steps or terms may refer to the foregoing method embodiment, which is not described again.

The core network device provided in the foregoing embodiment determines the time delay information of the session according to the information associated with the session of the terminal device, so as to further determine the switching time delay value of the terminal device according to the time delay information of the session), so as to ensure that the switching of the session meets a specific time delay requirement, so that the data service corresponding to the session continues, and the success rate of switching the session is improved.

As shown in fig. 7, an embodiment of the present invention provides an AMF entity 700, where the AMF entity 700 includes: a receiving unit 701 and a determining unit 602.

A receiving unit 701, configured to receive, from an SMF entity, delay information of a session of a terminal device.

A determining unit 702, configured to determine a handover delay value of the terminal device according to the delay information of the session received by the receiving unit 701.

The delay information may include a delay value or a delay priority.

Optionally, the AMF entity 700 further includes:

the first saving unit 703 is configured to save an identifier of the session, delay information of the session, and an association relationship between the SMF entities.

Optionally, when the time delay information is a time delay priority, the determining a handover time delay value of the terminal device according to the time delay information of the session includes:

determining a time delay value of the session according to the time delay priority of the session and a switching strategy of the terminal equipment;

and determining the switching delay value of the terminal equipment according to the delay value of the session.

Optionally, the determining a handover delay value of the terminal device according to the delay value of the session includes:

and when the number of the sessions of the terminal equipment is more than 1, the switching delay value of the terminal equipment is the minimum value of the delay values of all the sessions of the terminal equipment.

Optionally, the AMF entity 700 further includes:

a second saving unit 704, configured to save an identifier of the session, a delay value of the session, and an association relationship between the SMF entities; or storing the identification of the session, the time delay value of the session, the time delay priority of the session and the association relation between the SMF entities.

It should be noted that the AMF entity 700 may be configured to perform the steps of the AMF entity in the embodiment shown in fig. 3 or 5, and related steps or terms may refer to the above-mentioned method embodiment, which is not described again.

The AMF entity provided in the foregoing embodiment receives the session delay information sent by the SMF entity, and determines the handover delay value of the terminal device according to the session delay information, so as to ensure that the handover of the session meets a specific delay requirement, so that the data service corresponding to the session continues, and the success rate of the handover of the session is improved.

As shown in fig. 8, another core network device 800 is provided in the embodiment of the present invention, where the core network device 800 may be an SMF entity or an AMF entity, and the core network device 800 includes a memory 801, a processor 802, and a communication interface 803.

A memory 801 for storing programs;

the processor 802 is configured to execute the program stored in the memory 801 to implement the actions of the core network device in the embodiment of the method shown in fig. 2, the actions of the SMF entity in the embodiment shown in fig. 3 or 4, or the actions of the AMF entity in the embodiment shown in fig. 5.

The processor 802 may be one or more, but is not limited to.

An embodiment of the present invention provides another core network device, where the core network device may include at least one chip, and the at least one chip is configured to execute an action of the core network device in the embodiment shown in fig. 2, an action of an SMF entity in the embodiment shown in fig. 3 or 4, or an action of an AMF entity in the embodiment shown in fig. 5.

As shown in fig. 9, an embodiment of the present invention provides another AMF entity 900, where the AMF entity 900 includes a memory 901, a processor 902, and a communication interface 903.

A memory 901 for storing a program;

a processor 902 for executing the programs stored in the memory 901 to implement the actions of the AMF entity in the embodiment shown in fig. 3 or 5.

The processor 902 may be one or more, but is not limited to.

An embodiment of the present invention provides another AMF entity, which may include at least one chip, where the at least one chip is used to perform the actions of the AMF entity in the embodiment shown in fig. 3 or 5.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a communication system, where the communication system includes an SMF entity and an AMF entity, the SMF entity may refer to the core network device shown in fig. 6 or 8, and the AMF entity may refer to the AMF entity shown in fig. 7 or 9.

In the above embodiments, the implementation may be wholly or partially realized by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer 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.

Claims

1. A method of communication, the method comprising:

the method comprises the steps that core network equipment obtains session associated information of terminal equipment;

the core network equipment determines the time delay information of the session according to the information associated with the session;

the core network equipment is an access control and mobility management function (AMF) entity or a Session Management Function (SMF) entity;

wherein the session associated information comprises at least one of the following information: a QoS attribute QoS profile of a QoS flow of the session, a data network name DNN corresponding to the session, single network slice selection auxiliary information S-NSSAI corresponding to the session, auxiliary information provided by the terminal device, and a session continuity mode SSC mode of the session;

wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the core network device determines the time delay information of the session according to the information associated with the session, and the determining includes:

the core network equipment determines the time delay information of the session according to the time delay of the data packet in the QoS profile; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the core network equipment determines the time delay information of the session according to the priority ARP distributed and maintained in the QoS profile; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the core network equipment determines the time delay tolerant type of the session according to at least one of the DNN and the S-NSSAI, and determines the time delay information of the session according to the time delay tolerant type of the session; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the core network equipment determines the time delay information of the session according to the corresponding relation between the DNN and the time delay information and the DNN corresponding to the session; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the core network equipment determines the time delay information of the session according to the corresponding relation between the S-NSSAI and the time delay information and the S-NSSAI corresponding to the session; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the core network equipment determines the auxiliary information provided by the terminal equipment as the time delay information of the session; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the core network equipment determines the time delay information of the session according to the corresponding relation between a preset SSC mode and the time delay information and the SSC mode of the session;

the preset corresponding relationship between the SSC mode and the delay information includes: SSC mode1 or SSC mode3 corresponds to first delay information, SSC mode2 corresponds to second delay information;

the first time delay information and the second time delay information are both time delay values, and the first time delay information is smaller than the second time delay information; or both the first delay information and the second delay information are delay priorities, and the first delay information is higher than the second delay information.

2. The method of claim 1, the latency information comprising a latency value or a latency priority.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining, by the core network device, the delay information of the session according to the packet delay in the QoS profile includes:

the core network equipment acquires the minimum value of the data packet delay values in the QoS profiles of all the QoS flows of the session;

and the core network equipment determines the minimum value or the time delay priority corresponding to the minimum value as the time delay information of the session.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining, by the core network device, the delay information of the session according to the allocation retention priority ARP in the QoS profile includes:

the core network equipment acquires the highest priority of ARP in QoS profiles of all QoS flows of the session;

and the core network equipment determines the time delay value corresponding to the highest priority or the time delay priority corresponding to the highest priority as the time delay information of the session.

5. The method of claim 1, the determining latency information for the session according to a latency tolerant type of the session, comprising:

determining the time delay information of the session according to a corresponding relation between a preset time delay tolerance type and the time delay information and the time delay tolerance type of the session; the corresponding relationship between the preset delay tolerance type and the delay information comprises: the low delay tolerance corresponds to the first delay information, and the high delay tolerance corresponds to the second delay information;

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the core network device obtaining session-related information of the terminal device includes: the core network equipment receives a session establishment request sent by the terminal equipment and acquires the session associated information according to the session establishment request; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the core network device determines the time delay information of the session according to the information associated with the session, and the determining includes: and the core network equipment determines that the information associated with the session is changed and determines the time delay information of the session according to the changed information associated with the session.

7. The method according to any of claims 1-5, when the core network device is an SMF entity, the method further comprising:

and the SMF entity sends the time delay information of the session to an AMF entity.

8. The method of claim 7, when the core network device is an SMF entity, the method further comprising:

9. The method according to any of claims 1-5, when the core network device is an AMF entity, the method further comprising:

and the AMF entity determines a switching delay value of the terminal equipment according to the delay information of the session.

10. A method of communication, the method comprising:

wherein the content of the first and second substances,

wherein the determining the delay information of the session according to the delay tolerant type of the session includes:

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the core network device obtains session-related information of the terminal device, and the session-related information includes: the core network equipment receives a session establishment request sent by the terminal equipment and acquires the session associated information according to the session establishment request; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

12. The method according to any of claims 10-11, when the core network device is an SMF entity, the method further comprising:

13. A method of communication, the method comprising:

an access control and mobility management function (AMF) entity receives time delay information of a session of terminal equipment from a Session Management Function (SMF) entity;

14. The method of claim 13, the latency information comprising a latency value or a latency priority.

15. The method of claim 13 or 14, further comprising:

and the AMF entity stores the identification of the session, the time delay information of the session and the association relationship between the SMF entities.

16. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 13, wherein when the delay information is a delay priority, the determining, by the AMF entity, a handover delay value of the terminal device according to the delay information of the session includes:

the AMF entity determines a time delay value of the session according to the time delay priority of the session and the switching strategy of the terminal equipment;

and the AMF entity determines the switching delay value of the terminal equipment according to the delay value of the session.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the AMF entity determines the handover delay value of the terminal device according to the delay value of the session, comprising:

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

the AMF entity stores the identification of the session, the time delay value of the session and the incidence relation between the SMF entities; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

and the AMF entity stores the identification of the session, the time delay value of the session, the time delay priority of the session and the association relationship between the SMF entities.

19. A core network device, characterized in that the core network device comprises:

an acquisition unit configured to acquire session-related information of a terminal device;

the determining unit is used for determining the time delay information of the session according to the information related to the session;

wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the determining the time delay information of the session according to the information associated with the session includes:

determining the time delay information of the session according to the ARP which is distributed and maintained in the QoS profile; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

determining a delay tolerant type of the session according to at least one of the DNN and the S-NSSAI, and determining delay information of the session according to the delay tolerant type of the session; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

determining the auxiliary information provided by the terminal equipment as the time delay information of the session; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

determining the time delay information of the session according to the corresponding relation between a preset SSC mode and the time delay information and the SSC mode of the session;

20. The core network device of claim 19, wherein the latency information comprises a latency value or a latency priority.

21. The core network device of claim 19, wherein the determining the delay information of the session according to the packet delay in the QoS profile includes:

and determining the minimum value or the time delay priority corresponding to the minimum value as the time delay information of the session.

22. The core network device of claim 19, wherein the determining the delay information of the session according to the allocation retention priority ARP of the QoS flow in the QoS profile includes:

23. The core network device of claim 19, wherein the determining the delay information of the session according to the delay tolerant type of the session comprises:

24. The core network device according to any of claims 19 to 23, wherein the obtaining of the session-related information of the terminal device includes: receiving a session establishment request sent by the terminal equipment, and acquiring the session associated information according to the session establishment request; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the determining the time delay information of the session according to the information associated with the session includes: and determining that the information associated with the session is changed, and determining the time delay information of the session according to the changed information associated with the session.

25. The core network device according to any of claims 19-23, wherein the core network device is an SMF entity, the core network device further comprising:

and the sending unit is used for sending the time delay information of the session to the AMF entity.

26. The core network device of claim 25, wherein the core network device is an SMF entity, and the core network device further comprises:

27. The core network device according to any of claims 19-23, the core network device being an AMF entity;

the determining unit is further configured to determine a handover delay value of the terminal device according to the delay information of the session.

28. A core network device, characterized in that the core network device comprises:

wherein the content of the first and second substances,

29. The core network device of claim 28, wherein the obtaining session-related information of the terminal device includes: receiving a session establishment request sent by the terminal equipment, and acquiring the session associated information according to the session establishment request; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

30. The core network device of any one of claims 28 to 29, wherein the core network device is an SMF entity, and the core network device further comprises:

31. An access control and mobility management function, AMF, entity, characterized in that the AMF entity comprises:

a receiving unit, configured to receive, from a session management function SMF entity, time delay information of a session of a terminal device;

and the determining unit is used for determining the switching time delay value of the terminal equipment according to the time delay information of the session.

32. The AMF entity of claim 31, wherein the latency information comprises a latency value or a latency priority.

33. The AMF entity of claim 31, further comprising:

and the first storage unit is used for storing the identification of the session, the time delay information of the session and the association relationship between the SMF entities.

34. The AMF entity according to any of claims 31 to 33, wherein when the delay information is a delay priority, the determining a handover delay value of the terminal device according to the delay information of the session includes:

35. The AMF entity of claim 34, wherein said determining a handover delay value for the terminal device based on the delay value for the session comprises:

36. The AMF entity of claim 34, further comprising:

a second storing unit, configured to store the identifier of the session, the time delay value of the session, and an association relationship between the SMF entities; or, storing the identifier of the session, the delay value of the session, the delay priority of the session and the association relationship between the SMF entities.

37. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that it stores three programs which, when executed by a computer device, are able to implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 12.

38. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that it stores three programs which, when executed by a computer device, are able to implement the method of any one of claims 13 to 18.

39. A core network device comprising a memory, a processor and a communication interface,

the memory is used for storing programs;

the processor is configured to execute the program stored in the memory to implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 12.

40. An access control and mobility management function, AMF, entity, comprising a memory, a processor and a communication interface,

the memory is used for storing programs;

the processor is configured to execute the program stored in the memory to implement the method of any one of claims 13 to 18.