CN109818917B

CN109818917B - Communication method and device thereof

Info

Publication number: CN109818917B
Application number: CN201711209692.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 朱强华; 熊春山; 周铮
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2017-11-21
Filing date: 2017-11-21
Publication date: 2021-10-26
Anticipated expiration: 2037-11-21
Also published as: CN109818917A; WO2019101041A1

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides a communication method and a device thereof, wherein the method comprises the following steps: the UPF receives a downlink data packet of a non-IP type PDU session, wherein the access network tunnel information of the non-IP type PDU session is not stored in the UPF; the UPF determines a marking value corresponding to the downlink data packet according to the transmission layer IP packet header information of the downlink data packet or the inner layer packet header information of the downlink data packet; and the UPF sends a downlink data notification to a Session Management Function (SMF), wherein the downlink data notification comprises a mark value corresponding to the downlink data packet, and the mark value corresponding to the downlink data packet is used for the SMF to determine a paging strategy identifier of the downlink data packet. The embodiment of the application can realize the determination of the non-IP type PDU conversation mark value, and further determine the paging strategy.

Description

Communication method and device thereof

Technical Field

The embodiment of the application relates to the technical field of communication, in particular to a communication method and a device thereof.

Background

A terminal device (e.g., a User Equipment (UE)) registered in a mobile network has three states: an idle state, a connected state, and an in-active state. In idle state, the network may know a registration area, i.e., Tracking Area List (TAL), where the UE is located, and if the network needs to send data to the UE, the network first needs to send a paging request to all base stations in the TAL where the UE is located, and the base stations page the UE, and the UE sends a service registration request to enter a connected state. In the UE in the connected state, the network knows the base station to which the UE is connected, and can directly send data to the UE. In the in-active state, the network may transfer the location management and reachability management functions to the base station to which the UE is connected, and the base station may manage the UE, such as paging of the UE, buffering of data, and the like, on behalf of the network.

As shown in fig. 1, a network-triggered service request process mainly occurs when downlink data for the UE exists on a network side, and at this time, the UE is in an idle state, a User Plane Function (UPF) notifies a Session Management Function (SMF) in steps 2a and 2b, the SMF sends an N11message (a UE availability call request) to an access and mobility management function (AMF) in steps 3a and 3b, the AMF sends a paging command to each Radio Access Network (RAN) in the TAL, the RAN pages the UE in step 5, and the UE executes the service request process triggered by the UE in step 7. Then, in step 8, the paging of the UE is stopped, and finally the UPF transmits the downlink data of the UE. If AMF finds that UE is not reachable or UE can only page for legal service, AMF needs to inform SMF, SMF informs UPF of failure, UPF starts data processing strategy, and temporarily buffers or discards.

In the process shown in fig. 1, for a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session (session) of an Internet Protocol (IP) type (type), a flag value, for example, a Differentiated Service Code (DSCP) value, may be determined according to an inner IP packet header, so as to help the AMF to decide a paging policy of the UE. The paging policy may include, for different flows or services in one PDU session: paging retransmission mechanism, i.e. frequency or time interval of paging; whether to page the UE when the AMF is highly loaded; whether to apply sub-area paging, for example, paging is first issued in a last Tracker (TA) or a cell (cell) of the UE, and then paging is performed in the entire registration area of the UE.

Fifth generation mobile communication technology (5)^th-Generation, 5G) standard defines that a 5G network supports three types of sessions, IP (e.g. IPv4, IPv6) type PDU sessions, Ethernet (Ethernet) type PDU sessions and Unstructured (Unstructured) type PDU sessions. A scheme of determining a DSCP value for an IP type PDU session is currently given, but a scheme of how to determine a DSCP value for a non-IP type PDU session is not given.

Disclosure of Invention

The technical problem to be solved by the embodiments of the present application is to provide a communication method and a device thereof, which can determine a non-IP type PDU session flag value, and further determine a paging policy.

A first aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, including:

the UPF receives a downlink data packet of the non-IP type PDU session, and the access network tunnel information of the non-IP type PDU session is not stored in the UPF;

the UPF determines a marking value corresponding to the downlink data packet according to the transmission layer IP packet header information of the downlink data packet or the inner layer packet header information of the downlink data packet;

the UPF sends a downlink data notification to the SMF, wherein the downlink data notification includes a tag value corresponding to a downlink data packet, the tag value corresponding to the downlink data packet is used for the SMF to determine a Paging Policy Indication (PPI) of the downlink data packet, and the PPI is used for the AMF to determine a paging policy of the downlink data packet.

In a second aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a UPF, comprising means or units (means) for performing the steps of the first aspect above.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a UPF, including at least one processing element and at least one memory element, where at least one memory element is used to store programs and data, and at least one processing element is used to execute the method provided in the first aspect of the present application.

In a fourth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a UPF comprising at least one processing element (or chip) for performing the method of the first aspect above.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a program, which when executed by a processor is configured to perform the method of the first aspect.

In a sixth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a program product, such as a computer-readable storage medium, including the program of the fifth aspect.

It can be seen that, in the first to sixth aspects, the UPF determines the flag value corresponding to the downlink data packet through the transport layer IP header information of the downlink data packet or the inner layer header information of the downlink data packet, so as to implement that the UPF determines the flag value of the non-IP type PDU session, thereby facilitating the AMF to determine the paging policy.

Wherein the flag value may be a DSCP value. The transport layer IP header information may include N6/N9 tunnel IP header information, and the N6/N9 tunnel IP header information may include N6/N9 tunnel IP header DSCP values. The inner layer header information may be a priority, and the priority may be a priority code point (DEI/pcport code point, PCP), a Drop Eligibility Indicator (DEI), or a PCP + DEI.

In a possible implementation manner, the UPF configures the flag value generation rule of the non-IP type PDU session in advance, that is, configures the flag value generation rule of the non-IP type PDU session before receiving the downlink data packet of the non-IP type PDU session. The flag value generation rule may be a rule for generating a flag value according to a mapping relationship between the priority and the flag value, that is, a corresponding flag value is searched for according to a mapping relationship between the priority and the flag value. The flag value generation rule may be a rule for generating a flag value from N6/N9 tunnel IP header information, that is, a value of N6/N9 tunnel IP header DSCP included in N6/N9 tunnel IP header information is determined as a flag value. And the UPF configures a mark value generation rule in advance so that when a downlink data packet of the non-IP type PDU session is received, the mark value corresponding to the downlink data packet can be determined by combining the mark value generation rule and the information of the downlink data packet.

In a possible implementation manner, the UPF determines N6/N9 tunnel IP header information of the downlink data packet according to transport layer IP packet header information of the downlink data packet, that is, extracts N6/N9 tunnel IP header information of the downlink data packet, determines a flag value corresponding to the downlink data packet according to N6/N9 tunnel IP header information of the downlink data packet and a rule for generating a flag value according to N6/N9 tunnel IP header information, that is, determines N6/N9 tunnel IP header DSCP value of the downlink data packet as a flag value corresponding to the downlink data packet, thereby implementing determination of a non-IP type PDU session flag value. This approach is applicable to both ethernet type PDU sessions and unstructured type PDU sessions.

In a possible implementation manner, the UPF determines the priority of the downlink data packet according to the inner-layer packet header information of the downlink data packet, that is, extracts the priority of the downlink data packet, and determines the flag value corresponding to the downlink data packet according to the priority of the downlink data packet and the rule of generating the flag value according to the mapping relationship between the priority and the flag value, that is, searches the flag value corresponding to the priority of the downlink data packet, thereby implementing the determination of the non-IP type PDU session flag value. This approach is suitable for an ethernet type PDU session that can obtain priority.

A seventh aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a communication method, including:

the UPF acquires the transmission layer IP packet header information of the downlink data packet or the inner layer packet header information of the downlink data according to the configuration information;

and the UPF sends a downlink data notification to the SMF, wherein the downlink data notification comprises transmission layer IP header information of a downlink data packet or inner layer header information of the downlink data packet, and the transmission layer IP header information of the downlink data packet or the inner layer header information of the downlink data packet is used for the SMF to determine a mark value corresponding to the downlink data packet.

In an eighth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a UPF, which includes units or means (means) for performing the steps of the seventh aspect above.

In a ninth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a UPF, including at least one processing element and at least one memory element, where the at least one memory element is configured to store programs and data, and the at least one processing element is configured to execute the method provided in the seventh aspect of the present application.

In a tenth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a UPF including at least one processing element (or chip) for performing the method of the seventh aspect above.

In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a program, which when executed by a processor is configured to perform the method of the seventh aspect.

In a twelfth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a program product, such as a computer-readable storage medium, including the program of the eleventh aspect.

It can be seen that, in the seventh to twelfth aspects, the UPF sends, according to the configuration information, the transport layer IP header information of the downlink data packet or the inner layer packet information of the downlink data packet to the SMF, so that the SMF determines the tag value corresponding to the downlink data packet according to the transport layer IP header information of the downlink data packet or the inner layer packet information of the downlink data packet, thereby implementing that the SMF determines the tag value of the non-IP type PDU session, and further facilitating the AMF to determine the paging policy.

In a possible implementation manner, the UPF configures the configuration information in advance, that is, configures the configuration information before receiving the downlink data packet of the non-IP type PDU session, where the configuration information is used to specify that the downlink data notification needs to include transport layer IP header information or inner layer header information. The UPF can acquire information from the downlink data packet in a targeted manner through the configuration information, and carries corresponding information in the downlink data notification.

A thirteenth aspect of embodiments of the present application provides a communication method, including:

the SMF receives a downlink data notification sent by the UPF, wherein the downlink data notification comprises transmission layer IP packet header information of a downlink data packet or inner layer packet header information of downlink data;

the SMF determines a marking value corresponding to the downlink data packet according to the transmission layer IP packet header information of the downlink data packet or the inner layer packet header information of the downlink data;

the SMF determines the PPI of the downlink data packet according to the corresponding marker value of the downlink data packet;

the SMF sends a request message to the AMF, wherein the request message comprises a PPI, and the PPI is used for the AMF to determine a paging strategy of a downlink data packet.

In a fourteenth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide an SMF, which includes means or units (means) for performing the steps of the thirteenth aspect above.

In a fifteenth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide an SMF, comprising at least one processing element and at least one memory element, wherein the at least one memory element is configured to store programs and data, and the at least one processing element is configured to perform the method provided in the thirteenth aspect of the present application.

In a sixteenth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide an SMF comprising at least one processing element (or chip) for performing the method of the above thirteenth aspect.

In a seventeenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a program, which when executed by a processor is configured to perform the method of the above thirteenth aspect.

In an eighteenth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a program product, such as a computer-readable storage medium, including the program of the seventeenth aspect.

It can be seen that, in the thirteenth to eighteenth aspects, the SMF determines the flag value corresponding to the downlink data through the transport layer IP packet header information of the downlink data packet sent by the UPF or the inner layer packet header information of the downlink data packet, so that the SMF determines the flag value of the non-IP type PDU session, thereby facilitating the AMF to determine the paging policy.

In one possible implementation, the SMF pre-configures a flag value generation rule for a non-IP type PDU session. The flag value generation rule may be a rule for generating a flag value according to a mapping relationship between the priority and the flag value, that is, a corresponding flag value is searched for according to a mapping relationship between the priority and the flag value. The flag value generation rule may be a rule for generating a flag value from N6/N9 tunnel IP header information, that is, a value of N6/N9 tunnel IP header DSCP included in N6/N9 tunnel IP header information is determined as a flag value. And the UPF configures a mark value generation rule in advance so that when a downlink data packet of the non-IP type PDU session is received, the mark value corresponding to the downlink data packet can be determined by combining the mark value generation rule and the information of the downlink data packet.

In a possible implementation manner, the SMF determines N6/N9 tunnel IP header information of a downlink data packet according to transport layer IP packet header information of the downlink data packet, that is, extracts N6/N9 tunnel IP header information of the downlink data packet, determines a flag value corresponding to the downlink data packet according to N6/N9 tunnel IP header information of the downlink data packet and a rule for generating a flag value according to N6/N9 tunnel IP header information, that is, determines N6/N9 tunnel IP header DSCP value of the downlink data packet as a flag value corresponding to the downlink data packet, thereby implementing determination of a non-IP type PDU session flag value. This approach is applicable to both ethernet type PDU sessions and unstructured type PDU sessions.

In a possible implementation manner, the SMF determines the priority of the downlink data packet according to the inner-layer packet header information of the downlink data packet, that is, extracts the priority of the downlink data packet, and determines the flag value corresponding to the downlink data packet according to the priority of the downlink data packet and the rule of generating the flag value according to the mapping relationship between the priority and the flag value, that is, searches the flag value corresponding to the priority of the downlink data packet, thereby implementing the determination of the non-IP type PDU session flag value. This approach is suitable for an ethernet type PDU session that can obtain priority.

The nineteenth aspect of the embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, including:

the UPF acquires the session type of the non-IP type PDU session and the priority of the downlink data packet according to the configuration information;

and the UPF sends a downlink data notification to the SMF, wherein the downlink data notification comprises the session type and the priority of the downlink data packet.

In a twentieth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a UPF comprising means for performing the steps of the nineteenth aspect above.

In a twenty-first aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a UPF, including at least one processing element and at least one memory element, where the at least one memory element is configured to store programs and data, and the at least one processing element is configured to execute the method provided in the nineteenth aspect of the present application.

In a twenty-second aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a UPF comprising at least one processing element (or chip) for performing the method of the above nineteenth aspect.

In a twenty-third aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a program, which when executed by a processor is configured to perform the method of the above nineteenth aspect.

In a twenty-fourth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a program product, such as a computer-readable storage medium, including the program of the twenty-third aspect.

It can be seen that in the above nineteenth to twenty-fourth aspects, the UPF sends the session type and the priority of the downlink data packet to the SMF, the SMF sends these information to the AMF, and finally the AMF determines the paging policy, thereby implementing the determination of the paging policy for the non-IP type PDU session.

In one possible implementation, the UPF pre-configures the configuration information to specify the session type and priority for the downstream data notification to send to the SMF.

A twenty-fifth aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, where the method is applied to a non-IP type PDU session, and access network tunnel information of the non-IP type PDU session is not stored in a UPF, and the method includes:

the AMF receives the priority of the downlink data packet of the session type and the non-IP type PDU session sent by the SMF;

and the AMF determines a paging strategy of the downlink data packet according to the session type and the priority of the downlink data packet.

In a twenty-sixth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide an AMF comprising means or units for performing the steps of the twenty-fifth aspect above.

In a twenty-seventh aspect, embodiments of the present application provide an AMF, comprising at least one processing element and at least one memory element, wherein the at least one memory element is configured to store programs and data, and the at least one processing element is configured to perform the method provided in the twenty-fifth aspect of the present application.

In a twenty-eighth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide an AMF comprising at least one processing element (or chip) for performing the method of the twenty-fifth aspect above.

In a twenty-ninth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a program, which when executed by a processor, is configured to perform the method of the twenty-fifth aspect above.

In a thirtieth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a program product, such as a computer-readable storage medium, including the program of the twenty-ninth aspect.

It can be seen that, in the twenty-fifth to thirty aspects above, the AMF determines the paging policy of the downlink data packet according to the session type and the priority of the downlink data packet, thereby implementing the determination of the paging policy of the non-IP type PDU session.

In a possible implementation manner, the AMF configures in advance a paging policy generation rule of a non-IP type PDU session, where the paging policy generation rule includes generating a paging policy according to a session type and a priority, so that the AMF can directly generate the paging policy according to the session type and the priority when receiving the session type and the priority, thereby implementing determination of the paging policy of the non-IP type PDU session.

A thirty-first aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a communication method, where the method is applied to a non-IP type PDU session, and access network tunnel information of the non-IP type PDU session is not stored in a UPF, and the method includes:

the SMF receives a downlink data notification sent by the UPF, wherein the downlink data notification comprises a session type of a non-IP type PDU session and the priority of a downlink data packet;

the SMF sends the session type and the priority of the downstream packet to the AMF.

In a thirty-second aspect, embodiments of the present application provide an AMF comprising means or units for performing the steps of the twenty-fifth aspect above.

In a thirty-third aspect, embodiments of the present application provide an AMF, including at least one processing element and at least one memory element, where the at least one memory element is configured to store programs and data, and the at least one processing element is configured to execute the method provided in the twenty-fifth aspect of the present application.

In a thirty-fourth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide an AMF comprising at least one processing element (or chip) for performing the method of the twenty-fifth aspect above.

In a thirty-fifth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a program, which when executed by a processor, is configured to perform the method of the above twenty-fifth aspect.

In a sixteenth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a program product, such as a computer-readable storage medium, including the program of the twenty ninth aspect.

It can be seen that, in the thirty-first to thirty-sixth aspects, the SMF receives the session type and the priority of the downlink data packet from the UPF, and sends them to the AMF, and the AMF determines the paging policy of the downlink data according to the session type and the priority of the downlink data packet, thereby implementing the determination of the paging policy of the non-IP type PDU session.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments or the background art of the present application, the drawings required to be used in the embodiments or the background art of the present application will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network triggered service request flow;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture to which embodiments of the present application are applied;

FIG. 3 is a bit diagram of DSCP and IP priority in IPv4 header;

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

fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to a second embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method according to a third embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to a fourth embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method according to a fifth embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic logical structure diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic physical structure diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

Please refer to fig. 2, which is a schematic diagram of a network architecture to which the present invention is applied. The network architecture diagram may be a network architecture diagram of a 5G system, and includes AN authentication server function (AUSF), Unified Data Management (UDM), access and mobility management (AMF), a Session Management Function (SMF), a Policy Control Function (PCF), AN Application Function (AF), a terminal device, AN Access Network (AN), a User Plane Function (UPF), and a Data Network (DN). The access network may be a Radio Access Network (RAN).

The interface between the terminal equipment and the AMF is AN N1 interface, (R) the interface between the AN and the AMF is AN N2 interface, (R) the interface between the AN and the UPF is AN N3 interface, the interface between the UPF and the SMF is AN N4 interface, the interface between the PCF and the AF is AN N5 interface, the interface between the UPF and the DN is AN N6 interface, the interface between the SMF and the PCF is AN N7 interface, the interface between the AMF and the UDM is AN N8 interface, the interface between the UPF and the UPF is AN N9 interface, the interface between the UDM and the SMF is AN N10 interface, the interface between the SMF and the AMF is AN N11 interface, the interface between the AMF and the AUSF is AN N12 interface, the interface between the AUSF and the UDM is AN N13 interface, the interface between the AMF and the AMF is AN N14 interface, and the interface between the AMF and the AMF is AN N15 interface.

The terminal device is an entrance for interaction between a mobile user and a network, and can provide basic computing capacity and storage capacity, display a service window for the user and accept operation input of the user. The terminal equipment establishes a signal connection, a data connection, with the (R) AN, thereby transmitting control signals and traffic data to the mobile network.

The (R) AN is similar to a base station in a traditional network, is deployed at a position close to terminal equipment, provides a network access function for authorized users in a specific area, and can transmit user data by using transmission tunnels with different qualities according to the level of the users, the service requirements and the like. The (R) AN can manage the resources of the AN, reasonably utilize the resources, provide access service for the terminal equipment according to the requirement and forward the control signals and the user data between the terminal equipment and the core network.

The core network is responsible for maintaining subscription data of the mobile network, managing network elements of the mobile network, and providing functions of session management, mobility management, policy management, security authentication and the like for the terminal equipment. When the terminal equipment is attached, providing network access authentication for the terminal equipment; when the terminal equipment has a service request, network resources are distributed to the terminal equipment; updating network resources for the terminal equipment when the terminal equipment moves; when the terminal equipment is idle, a quick recovery mechanism is provided for the terminal equipment; when the terminal equipment is detached, releasing network resources for the terminal equipment; when the terminal equipment has service data, providing a data routing function for the terminal equipment, such as forwarding uplink data to a data network; or receiving downlink data of the terminal equipment from the data network, forwarding the downlink data to the (R) AN, and then sending the downlink data to the terminal equipment. The core network includes UPF, AUSF, AMF, SMF, UDM, PCF and AF. The core network user plane comprises UPF, and the core network control plane comprises AUSF, AMF, SMF, UDM, PCF and AF.

And the UPF executes user data packet forwarding according to the routing rule of the SMF. AUSF, responsible for the security authentication of the terminal equipment. And the AMF is responsible for access management and mobility management of the terminal equipment. And the SMF is responsible for session management of the terminal equipment. And the UDM is responsible for user subscription context management. And the PCF is responsible for user policy management. And AF, responsible for user application management.

The data network is a data network for providing service for users, and generally, the client is located in the terminal device, and the server is located in the data network. The data network may be a private network, such as a local area network, an external network that is not controlled by an operator, such as the Internet (Internet), or a private network that is co-deployed by an operator, such as for configuring an IP multimedia network subsystem (IMS) IMS service.

The DSCP prioritizes by encoding values using used 6 bits and unused 2 bits in a type of service (ToS) identification byte of an IP header of each packet. It is understood that the DSCP is to encode an identification byte in an IP header of a packet to classify service classes and prioritize services in order to guarantee quality of service (QoS) of communication.

In the IPv4 header, the ToS field is 1 byte (8 bits), the first three bits are IP priority (IP Precedence), and these three bits can be divided into eight priorities, i.e. the IP priority field can be applied to flow classification, and a larger value indicates a higher priority. The three-bit IP priority field can only be used to prioritize eight services, which is sufficient in the age with single service type and little traffic. However, when the network is actually deployed, eight priorities are far from enough, so that ToS is newly defined, the first six bits are defined as DSCP, and the last two bits are reserved. Thus, the DSCP value ranges from 0 to 63. Fig. 3 is a bit diagram of DSCP and IP priority in IPv4 header.

As can be seen from the above, for an IP type PDU session, the DSCP value can be directly determined according to the ToS field in the IP packet. However, for a non-IP type PDU session, the DSCP value cannot be determined, for example, an existing ethernet frame format does not exist, and no ethernet frame format can provide a priority field, so that the DSCP value cannot be determined according to the priority field, and for example, an unstructured data packet is invisible to a UPF, and the UPF cannot acquire the DSCP value.

In view of this, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and a device thereof, which provide a method for determining a DSCP for a non-IP type PDU session, so as to facilitate determining a paging policy for the non-IP type session.

Note that the marking value (marking value) referred to in the embodiments of the present application may be a DSCP value, and the embodiments of the present application are described taking the DSCP value as an example.

Currently, the non-IP type PDU session includes an ethernet type PDU session and an unstructured type PDU session, and may also include other non-IP type PDU sessions as the standard develops or the communication technology develops. The embodiment of the present application is described with respect to an ethernet type PDU session and an unstructured type PDU session, and it should be understood that other non-IP type PDU sessions should fall within the protection scope of the embodiment of the present application.

The communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail from the perspective of multi-port interaction with reference to fig. 4 to 8.

Referring to fig. 4, a flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application is shown, where the embodiment may include, but is not limited to, step S401 to step S407:

step S401, UPF configures the mark value generation rule of non-IP type PDU conversation.

The UPF configures a tag value generation rule for an Ethernet type PDU session and a tag value generation rule for an unstructured type PDU session.

For the Ethernet type, the format of the Ethernet frame is modified in the 802.1Q/P standard, and a 4-byte 802.1Q label (tag) is added between a source Media Access Control (MAC) address field and a cooperation type field. The Priority (PRI) in these four bytes can be used as class of service (CoS) of the ethernet frame, and the CoS is similar to ToS of layer three, except that the CoS is differentiated at layer two and the ToS is differentiated at layer three. It will be appreciated that CoS is similar to ToS, and priority can be obtained from the CoS field.

The priority may be a Priority Code Point (PCP), a Drop Eligibility Indicator (DEI), or a PCP + DEI. The PCP is used for marking the priority level of the data frame, and the DEI is used for marking the discarding priority level of the message.

If the priority can be obtained from the CoS field, the flag value generation rule is a rule for generating a flag value according to a mapping relationship between the DEI and/or the PCP and the flag value, and specifically, may be a rule for determining a flag value according to a mapping relationship between a value of the DEI and/or the PCP field and the flag value. It is understood that DEI and/or PCP is a priority of inner layer packets (inner packets), which are packets that the terminal device can apply.

If the priority field can not be acquired from the CoS field, the marking value generation rule is a rule for generating the marking value according to the IP header information of the N6/N9 tunnel. The N6 tunnel is a tunnel between the UPF and the data network, and when the IP header information of the N6 tunnel is transmitted between the UPF and the data network, the IP header information of the N6 tunnel is carried in a data packet; the N9 tunnel is a tunnel between UPF and UPF, and when the N9 tunnel IP header information is transmitted between UPF and UPF, the N9 tunnel IP header information is carried in the data packet. It can be understood that the N6/N9 tunnel IP header information is carried after the data packet is transmitted through the N6/N9 tunnel, and the N6/N9 tunnel IP header information can be regarded as the transmission layer IP header information.

The N6/N9 tunnel IP header information includes a DSCP value, and the DSCP value is similar to the DSCP in the IPv4 packet header, so the rule for generating the tag value according to the N6/N9 tunnel IP header information is the rule for using the DSCP value included in the N6/N9 tunnel IP header information as the tag value corresponding to the downlink data packet.

For unstructured types, since unstructured type data is invisible to UPF and has no priority indication, the flag value cannot be determined according to the mapping relationship between DEI and/or PCP and the flag value, the flag value can be generated according to N6/N9 tunnel IP header information, and then for unstructured types, the flag value generation rule is the rule for generating the flag value according to N6/N9 tunnel IP header information.

From the above summary, for the unstructured PDU session, the UPF configures the flag value generation rule as a rule for generating the flag value according to the N6/N9 tunnel IP header information, that is, the DSCP value included in the N6/N9 tunnel IP header information is used as the flag value corresponding to the downlink packet. For the Ethernet type PDU session, under the condition that the priority can be obtained, the UPF configures the mark value generation rule thereof as a rule for generating the mark value according to the mapping relation between the priority and the mark value, namely a rule for generating the mark value according to the mapping relation between the DEI and/or the PCP and the mark value, and under the condition that the priority cannot be obtained, the UPF configures the mark value generation rule thereof as a rule for generating the mark value according to the N6/N9 tunnel IP header information.

In step S402, the UPF receives a downlink packet of the non-IP type PDU session.

The UPF receives a downlink data packet of a non-IP type PDU session from the data network, wherein access network tunnel information of the non-IP type PDU session is not stored in the UPF.

It will be appreciated that before the UPF receives downstream packets of the non-IP type PDU session from the data network, the terminal device establishes the non-IP type PDU session and the terminal device is in an idle state.

Step S403, the UPF determines a flag value corresponding to the downlink data packet according to the transmission layer IP packet header information of the downlink data packet or the inner layer packet header information of the downlink data packet.

When receiving the downlink data packet, the UPF determines the transmission layer IP packet header information of the downlink data packet or the inner layer packet header information of the downlink data packet. The transport layer IP header information of the downlink data packet is the transport layer IP header information added to the downlink data packet during the transmission process of the downlink data packet, and may include N6/N9 tunnel IP header information. The inner layer packet header information of the downlink data packet is the inner layer packet information of the downlink data packet, and may include a priority.

The UPF determines the flag value corresponding to the downlink data packet by combining the transmission layer IP header information of the downlink data packet or the inner layer header information of the downlink data packet according to the flag value generation rule of the non-IP type PDU session configured in step S401.

In a possible implementation manner, if the UPF can determine the N6/N9 tunnel IP header information of the downlink data packet according to the transport layer IP header information of the downlink data packet, that is, the transport layer IP header information includes N6/N9 tunnel IP header information, the UPF determines the flag value corresponding to the downlink data packet according to the N6/N9 tunnel IP header information of the downlink data packet and the rule for generating the flag value according to the N6/N9 tunnel IP header information, that is, the DSCP value included in the N6/N9 tunnel IP header information of the downlink data packet is determined as the flag value corresponding to the downlink data packet.

In a possible implementation manner, if the UPF can determine the priority of the downlink data packet according to the inner-layer header information of the downlink data packet, that is, the inner-layer header information includes the priority, the UPF determines the flag value corresponding to the downlink data packet according to the priority of the downlink data packet and a rule that the flag value is generated according to a mapping relationship between the priority and the flag value, that is, searches for the flag value corresponding to the priority of the downlink data packet according to the mapping relationship between the priority and the flag value, that is, searches for the flag value corresponding to the DEI and/or the PCP of the downlink data packet according to the mapping relationship between the DEI and/or the PCP and the flag value.

In one possible implementation, the UPF may determine the flag value corresponding to the downstream packet by comprehensively considering parameters such as the session type, the address type, and the N6/N9 tunnel IP header information/priority. Wherein, the session type is an unstructured type or an Ethernet type, and the address type is multicast or broadcast. The specific method by which the UPF determines the marking value based on these parameters is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

Step S404, the UPF sends a downlink data notification to the SMF, where the downlink data notification includes a flag value corresponding to the downlink data packet. Accordingly, the SMF receives the downstream data notification from the UPF.

When the UPF determines the flag value corresponding to the downlink packet, the UPF transmits a downlink data notification (downlink data notification) including the flag value corresponding to the downlink packet determined by the UPF to the SMF. The downstream data notification may further include a session Identifier (ID) of the non-IP type PDU session, where the session identifier is used to identify different non-IP type PDU sessions.

Step S405, the SMF determines the PPI corresponding to the downlink data packet according to the mark value corresponding to the downlink data packet.

When receiving a downlink data notification sent by a UPF, the SMF determines a Paging Policy Identification (PPI) corresponding to the downlink data packet according to a flag value corresponding to the downlink data packet carried by the downlink data notification. And a mapping relation exists between the marking value and the PPI, and the PPI corresponding to the marking value can be determined according to the marking value.

Step S406, the SMF sends a request message to the AMF, where the request message includes a PPI corresponding to the downlink data packet. Accordingly, the AMF receives the request message from the SMF.

And the SMF sends a request message to the AMF under the condition of determining the PPI corresponding to the downlink data packet, wherein the request message comprises the PPI corresponding to the downlink data packet determined by the SMF and also can comprise a session identifier of a non-IP type PDU session. The request message may be a request to invoke a terminal device reachability service.

Step S407, the AMF determines a paging strategy of the downlink data packet according to the PPI corresponding to the downlink data packet, and performs paging.

And the AMF determines a paging strategy of the downlink data packet according to the PPI corresponding to the downlink data packet under the condition of receiving the request message, and pages.

The paging strategy may include a paging retransmission mechanism, that is, a frequency or a time interval of paging; whether to page the terminal device when the AMF is highly loaded; whether to apply sub-area paging, for example, first sending a page to the last tracker or cell of the terminal device, and then paging the whole registration area of the terminal device.

The AMF may send a page response to the SMF indicating a page success or page failure. If the paging response indicates paging failure, the SMF sends a paging failure indication to the UPF, so that the UPF starts a data processing strategy of the response, such as buffering or discarding.

The AMF determines a paging strategy, and the paging process comprises the following steps:

a, AMF sends paging command to each wireless access network in the tracking area list, namely sends paging command to each base station in the tracking area list.

And b, the base station sends a paging request to the terminal equipment.

And c, the terminal equipment executes a service request process triggered by the terminal equipment, the service request process comprises the steps that the terminal equipment sends a service request signaling to the AMF through the base station, the AMF carries out safety authentication on the terminal equipment through AUSF, the SMF recovers user plane resources on the network side for the non-IP type PDU session, and the network side updates a tunnel address on the base station side and a forwarding tunnel. Through the service request flow triggered by the terminal equipment, the terminal equipment can enter a connection state, and recover the user plane resources of the non-IP type PDU session so as to transmit the downlink data of the data network.

d, the terminal equipment enters a connection state and successfully recovers the user plane resources of the non-IP type PDU session;

and e, the UPF sends the downlink data issued by the data network to the terminal equipment.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 4, a flag value generation rule of a non-IP type PDU session is configured through the UPF, and in the case of receiving a downlink data packet, transport layer IP header information of the downlink data packet or inner layer header information of the downlink data packet is combined with the flag value generation rule, so as to determine a flag value corresponding to the downlink data packet, and send the flag value to the SMF, so that the SMF determines a PPI of the downlink data packet, the SMF sends the PPI of the downlink data packet to the AMF, and the AMF determines a paging policy and performs paging, so as to determine the flag value of the non-IP type PDU session, so as to determine a paging policy and determine the paging policy of the non-IP type PDU session.

Please refer to fig. 5, which is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to a second embodiment of the present application, where in this embodiment, the same or similar places as those in the embodiment shown in fig. 4 are referred to with reference to the detailed description in fig. 4, which is not repeated herein, and the embodiment shown in fig. 5 may include, but is not limited to, step S501-step S510:

step S501, the UPF configures a mark value generation rule of the non-IP type PDU session.

Step S502, PCF determines the mapping relation between service data flow and mark value or the mapping relation between service quality flow and mark value.

The terminal device establishes a non-IP type PDU session, such as an ethernet type PDU session or an unstructured type PDU session. In the process of establishing a non-IP type PDU session by a terminal device, the SMF sends a session request message to the PCF, where the session request message may be a PDU session enable request message (PDU-CAN session message).

The PCF, upon receiving the request sent by the SMF, obtains information such as a service type, Service Data Flow (SDF) information, a protocol type, N6 interface information, and the like from an application function AF/network open function (NEF), and obtains user subscription information from the unified data management UDM. The PCF determines the mapping relationship between the SDF and the tag value in each non-IP type PDU session or determines the mapping relationship between the quality of service (QoS) flow and the tag value in each non-IP type PDU session according to the obtained information.

It will be appreciated that the PCF dynamically decides the mapping between the SDF and the tag value for each non-IP type PDU session or the mapping between the QoS flow and the tag value for each non-IP type PDU session based on the obtained information. This is a fine-grained flag value generation rule. The flag value generation rule of the UPF configuration is a coarse-grained flag value generation rule. The method for determining the marking value by the coarse granularity and the fine granularity may be performed in one of steps S506a and S506 b.

In step S503, the PCF sends a session message to the SMF, where the session message includes a mapping relationship between the service data flow and the flag value and an SDF identifier (SDF ID), or includes a mapping relationship between the quality of service flow and the flag value and a quality of service flow identifier (QFI). Accordingly, the SMF receives the session message from the PCF.

And under the condition of deciding the mapping relation between the SDF of each non-IP type PDU conversation and the mark value or the mapping relation between the QoS flow of each non-IP type PDU conversation and the mark value, the PCF sends a conversation message to the SMF, wherein the conversation message CAN be a conversation response message used for responding to a conversation request message and CAN be a PDU conversation enabling response message (PDU-CAN conversation message).

In one possible implementation, the session message includes an SDF identification (SDF ID) of the non-IP type PDU session and a mapping of the SDF to a tag value. In one possible implementation, the session message includes the QFI of the non-IP type PDU session and the mapping of the quality of service flow to the flag value.

In step S504, the SMF sends an N4 message to the UPF, where the N4 message includes the SDF ID and mapping relationship between the service data stream and the flag value, or includes the QFI and mapping relationship between the service quality stream and the flag value. Accordingly, the UPF receives the N4 message from the SMF.

The base station side configures the user plane path resource for the non-IP type PDU session, the UPF configures the user plane path resource for the non-IP type PDU session, and the SMF configures the mapping relation between the SDF and the mark value or the mapping relation between the QoS flow and the mark value to the UPF, namely, the mapping relation between the SDF and the mark value or the mapping relation between the QoS flow and the mark value is sent to the UPF. At this time, the terminal device is in an idle state.

The SMF sends the mapping of SDFs and tag values or the mapping of QoS flows and tag values to the UPF via an N4 message. Wherein, N4 is the interface between the UPF and the SMF, and the N4 message is the message transmitted between the UPF and the SMF through the N4 interface. The N4 message also includes the SDF ID or QFI of the non-IP type PDU session. The N4 message may also include a session identification (session ID) for the non-IP type PDU session.

The UPF may store the mapping relationship when receiving the mapping relationship between the SDF and the tag value or the mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the tag value.

In step S505, the UPF receives the downlink data packet of the non-IP type PDU session.

And the UPF determines the transmission layer IP packet header information of the downlink data packet or the inner layer packet header information of the downlink data packet under the condition of receiving the downlink data packet of the non-IP type PDU session.

If the transport layer IP header information of the downlink packet includes N6/N9 tunnel IP header information, or the inner layer header information of the downlink packet includes priority, step S506a is executed.

If the transport layer IP header information of the downlink packet does not include the N6/N9 tunnel IP header information, and the inner layer header information of the downlink packet does not include the priority, step S506b is executed. It can be understood that, at this time, the corresponding tag value of the downlink data packet cannot be determined according to the transport layer IP header information or the inner layer header information of the downlink data packet.

In step S506a, the UPF determines a flag value corresponding to the downlink data packet according to the transport layer IP header information of the downlink data packet or the inner layer header information of the downlink data packet.

In step S506b, the UPF determines the label value corresponding to the downlink data packet according to the mapping relationship included in the N4 message.

And under the condition that the UPF cannot determine the corresponding marking value of the downlink data packet according to the transmission layer IP packet header information or the inner layer packet header information of the downlink data packet, the UPF determines the corresponding marking value of the downlink data packet according to the SDF ID and the mapping relation between the SDF and the marking value, or determines the corresponding marking value of the downlink data packet according to the QFI and the mapping relation between the service quality flow and the marking value.

Step S507, the UPF sends a downlink data notification to the SMF, where the downlink data notification includes a flag value corresponding to the downlink data packet. Accordingly, the SMF receives the downstream data notification from the UPF.

Wherein, the downlink data notification includes a flag value corresponding to the downlink data packet.

Step S508, the SMF determines the PPI corresponding to the downlink data packet according to the flag value corresponding to the downlink data packet.

In step S509, the SMF sends a request message to the AMF, where the request message includes the PPI corresponding to the downlink data packet. Accordingly, the AMF receives the request message from the SMF.

Step S510, the AMF determines a paging policy of the downlink data packet according to the PPI corresponding to the downlink data packet, and performs paging.

The embodiment shown in fig. 5 is added with a flow for a PCF to dynamically decide a mapping relationship between an SDF and a flag value or a mapping relationship between a qos flow and a flag value on the basis of the embodiment shown in fig. 4, so that, in a case where a flag value corresponding to a downlink data packet cannot be determined according to transport layer IP packet header information or inner layer packet header information of the downlink data packet, the flag value corresponding to the downlink data packet can be determined according to the mapping relationship between the SDF and the flag value or the mapping relationship between the qos flow and the flag value, and the flag value of a non-IP type PDU session is determined in two ways, so as to determine a paging policy and implement paging policy determination of the non-IP type PDU session.

Referring to fig. 6, which is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in the third embodiment of the present application, the embodiment shown in fig. 6 may include, but is not limited to, step S601-step S609:

step S601, the SMF configures a mark value generation rule of the non-IP type PDU session.

The SMF configures a flag value generation rule of an Ethernet type PDU session and a flag value generation rule of an unstructured type PDU session.

Aiming at the unstructured PDU session, the SMF configures a flag value generation rule as a rule for generating a flag value according to N6/N9 tunnel IP header information, namely, a DSCP value included in the N6/N9 tunnel IP header information is used as a flag value corresponding to a downlink data packet. For the Ethernet type PDU session, if the priority can be obtained, the SMF configures the mark value generation rule thereof as a rule for generating a mark value according to the mapping relation between the priority and the mark value, and if the priority cannot be obtained, the SMF configures the mark value generation rule thereof as a rule for generating a mark value according to the IP header information of the N6/N9 tunnel.

Step S602, the UPF configures configuration information, where the configuration information specifies that the downlink data notification includes transport layer IP header information or inner layer header information.

The UPF configures configuration information, where the configuration information is used to specify what content the UPF needs to include for downlink data notification sent to the SMF, and specifically needs to include transport layer IP header information or inner layer header information, that is, needs to include N6/N9 tunnel IP header information or priority.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the execution sequence of step S601 and step S602 is not limited.

In step S603, the UPF receives the downlink data packet of the non-IP type PDU session.

It should be noted that the SMF and UPF are configured before the terminal device establishes the non-IP type PDU session.

Step S604, the UPF obtains the transport layer IP header information of the downlink data packet or the inner layer header information of the downlink data according to the configuration information.

And the UPF acquires the transmission layer IP packet header information of the downlink data packet or the inner layer packet header information of the downlink data when receiving the downlink data packet of the non-IP type PDU session according to the content specified by the configuration information. The transport layer IP header information comprises N6/N9 tunnel IP header information, and the inner layer header information comprises priority.

Step S605, the UPF sends a downlink data notification to the SMF, where the downlink data notification includes transport layer IP header information of a downlink data packet or inner layer header information of the downlink data packet. Accordingly, the SMF receives the downstream data notification from the UPF.

And the UPF sends a downlink data notification to the SMF according to the content specified by the configuration information, wherein the downlink data notification comprises the transmission layer IP header information of the downlink data packet or the inner layer header information of the downlink data packet.

When receiving the downlink data notification, the SMF may feed back a downlink data notification acknowledgement (downlink data notification ack) to the UPF to notify the UPF that the SMF receives the downlink data notification.

Step S606, the SMF determines a flag value corresponding to the downlink data packet according to the transport layer IP packet header information of the downlink data packet or the inner layer packet header information of the downlink data packet.

When receiving the downlink data notification, the SMF determines a tag value corresponding to the downlink data packet according to transport layer IP header information of the downlink data packet or inner layer header information of the downlink data packet included in the downlink data notification.

In a possible implementation manner, the SMF determines a flag value corresponding to the downlink data packet according to N6/N9 tunnel IP header information of the downlink data packet and a rule for generating a flag value according to N6/N9 tunnel IP header information, that is, the flag value included in N6/N9 tunnel IP header information of the downlink data packet is determined as the flag value corresponding to the downlink data packet.

In a possible implementation manner, the SMF determines a flag value corresponding to the downlink data packet according to the priority of the downlink data packet and a rule for generating the flag value according to the mapping relationship between the priority and the flag value, that is, searches for the flag value corresponding to the priority of the downlink data packet according to the mapping relationship between the priority and the flag value, that is, searches for the flag value corresponding to the DEI and/or the PCP of the downlink data packet according to the mapping relationship between the DEI and/or the PCP and the flag value.

In a possible implementation manner, if the configuration information specifies that the downlink data notification further needs to include other information, such as parameters of a session type, an address type, and the like, the downlink data notification sent by the UPF to the SMF further includes these information, the SMF may determine a flag value corresponding to the downlink data packet according to these parameters, and a specific method for the SMF to determine according to these parameters is not limited in this embodiment of the application.

In step S607, the SMF determines the PPI of the downlink packet according to the flag value corresponding to the downlink packet.

The SMF can determine the PPI corresponding to the downlink data packet according to the marker value corresponding to the downlink data packet. In addition to determining the PPI according to the flag value, the PPI may also be determined according to a session type and a priority.

In step S608, the SMF sends a request message to the AMF, where the request message includes the PPI corresponding to the downlink data packet. Accordingly, the AMF receives the request message from the SMF.

Step S609, the AMF determines a paging strategy of the downlink data packet according to the PPI corresponding to the downlink data packet, and pages the downlink data packet.

The specific implementation of step S608 and step S609 can refer to the specific description of step S406 and step S407 in the embodiment shown in fig. 4, and is not described herein again.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 6, the flag value generation rule is configured by the SMF, and the UPF configures the content to be carried in the downlink data notification, whereas in the embodiment shown in fig. 4, the flag value generation rule is configured by the UPF, so that the function of the UPF can be simplified, but the function of the SMF is complicated, and the same effect as that of the embodiment shown in fig. 4 can be achieved.

As an optional embodiment, based on the embodiment shown in fig. 6, a flow for PCF to dynamically decide a mapping relationship between SDF and a flag value or a mapping relationship between qos flow and a flag value may be added, where the added flow may be similar to fig. 5, but the SMF is not required to send an N4 message carrying a mapping relationship to the UPF, and the SMF may determine the PPI according to the mapping relationship between SDF and a flag value and SDF ID carried in the session message, or include the mapping relationship between qos flow and a flag value and QFI determination flag value, so as to implement the determination of the flag value of the non-IP type PDU session in two ways, so as to determine the paging policy and implement the paging policy determination of the non-IP type PDU session.

Referring to fig. 7, a flowchart of a communication method according to a fourth embodiment of the present application is shown, where the embodiment shown in fig. 7 may include, but is not limited to, step S701 to step S707:

step S701, AMF configures a paging strategy generation rule of a non-IP type PDU session, wherein the paging strategy generation rule comprises a paging strategy generated according to a session type and a priority.

Step S702, the UPF configures configuration information that specifies that the downstream data notification includes a session type and a priority.

The configuration information specifies that downstream data notifications sent by the UPF to the SMF include session types and priorities for non-IP type PDU sessions. The session type may be an ethernet type or an unstructured type.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the execution sequence of step S701 and step S702 is not limited.

In step S703, the UPF receives the downlink packet of the non-IP type PDU session.

It should be noted that the configuration of the AMF and the UPF is performed before the terminal device establishes the non-IP type PDU session.

Step S704, the UPF obtains the session type and the priority of the downlink data packet according to the configuration information.

And the UPF acquires the session type of the non-IP type PDU session and the priority of the downlink data packet according to the configuration information.

Step S705, the UPF sends a downlink data notification to the SMF, where the downlink data notification includes the session type and the priority of the downlink data packet. Accordingly, the SMF receives the downstream data notification from the UPF.

At step S706, the SMF sends an N11message to the AMF, the N11message including the session type and the priority of the downstream packet. Accordingly, the AMF receives the N11message from the SMF.

Wherein, N11 is an interface between the AMF and the SMF, and the N11message is a message transmitted between the AMF and the SMF through an N11 interface.

After receiving the N11message, the AMF may feed back an N11message acknowledgement (N11message ack) to the SMF to inform the SMF that the AMF has received the N11 message.

Step S707, the AMF determines the paging strategy of the downlink data packet according to the session type and the priority of the downlink data packet, and pages.

And when receiving the N11message, the AMF determines a paging strategy of the downlink data packet according to the session type and the priority of the downlink data packet, and pages the downlink data packet.

The AMF determines the paging policy, and the process of paging may refer to the specific description in the embodiment shown in fig. 4, which is not described herein again.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 7, the SMF and the UPF do not configure a flag value generation rule, and the AMF determines the paging policy directly according to the session type and the priority of the downlink data packet, so that the functions of the SMF and the UPF can be simplified, and the determination of the flag value of the non-IP type PDU session can also be realized, so as to determine the paging policy and realize the determination of the paging policy of the non-IP type PDU session.

Referring to fig. 8, which is a schematic flow diagram of a communication method according to a fifth embodiment of the present application, fig. 8 extends a PCF dynamic decision mapping relationship to a scenario in which a middle UPF (I-UPF) and an anchor UPF (anchor, a-UPF) are present, that is, a scenario in which multiple UPFs are present in a session, based on the embodiment shown in fig. 5, and the same portions as those in fig. 5 are specifically described with reference to fig. 5 and are not described herein again. The embodiment shown in fig. 8 may include, but is not limited to, steps S801-S809:

step S801, the I-UPF configures a mark value generation rule of the non-IP type PDU session.

It should be noted that the flag value generation rule for the non-IP type PDU session configured by I-UPF can be synchronized to a-UPF.

It will be appreciated that the I-UPF is the UPF in the remote area, primarily responsible for forwarding, and the a-UPF is the UPF in the central area, primarily responsible for performing the core functions.

Step S802, PCF determines the mapping relation between service data flow and mark value or the mapping relation between service quality flow and mark value.

In step S803, the PCF sends a session message to the SMF, where the session message includes the SDF ID and the mapping relationship between the SDF and the flag value, or includes the QFI and the mapping relationship between the quality of service flow and the flag value. Accordingly, the SMF receives the session message from the PCF.

In step S804, the SMF sends an N4 message to the a-UPF, where the N4 message includes the SDF ID and mapping relationship between the service data stream and the flag value, or includes the QFI and mapping relationship between the service quality stream and the flag value. Accordingly, the A-UPF receives the N4 message from the SMF.

The base station side configures the user plane path resource for the non-IP type PDU session, the A-UPF and the I-UPF configure the user plane path resource for the non-IP type PDU session, and the SMF configures the mapping relation between the SDF and the mark value or the mapping relation between the QoS flow and the mark value to the A-UPF, namely, the mapping relation between the SDF and the mark value or the mapping relation between the QoS flow and the mark value is sent to the A-UPF. At this time, the terminal device is in an idle state.

In step S805, the A-UPF receives the downlink data packet of the non-IP type PDU session.

In step S806a, the a-UPF determines a flag value corresponding to the downlink data packet according to the N6 tunnel IP header information of the downlink data packet or the inner layer packet header information of the downlink data packet.

And the A-UPF determines the corresponding marking value of the downlink data packet according to the N6 tunnel IP header information of the downlink data packet or the inner layer packet header information of the downlink data packet.

In step S806b, the a-UPF determines the corresponding tag value of the downlink data packet according to the mapping relationship included in the N4 message.

And the A-UPF determines the corresponding label value of the downlink data packet according to the mapping relation included in the N4 message.

In step S807, the a-UPF sets the flag value corresponding to the downlink data packet to the DSCP value of the N9 tunnel IP header.

The A-UPF sets the mark value corresponding to the downlink data packet as the DSCP value of the IP header of the N9 tunnel, so that the DSCP value of the IP header of the N9 tunnel can be carried by the downlink data packet when the downlink data packet is transmitted to the I-UPF through the N9 interface, and the DSCP value of the IP header of the N9 tunnel can be obtained by the I-UPF when the downlink data packet is received.

Step S808, the A-UPF sends a downlink data packet to the I-UPF, wherein the downlink data packet comprises the DSCP value of the IP header of the N9 tunnel. Accordingly, the I-UPF receives the downstream data packet from the A-UPF.

Since the downstream data packet sent by the A-UPF to the I-UPF is transmitted through the N9 interface, the downstream data packet will carry the DSCP value of the IP header of the N9 tunnel.

In step S809, the I-UPF sends a downstream data notification to the SMF, where the downstream data notification includes the DSCP value of the N9 tunnel IP header. Accordingly, the SMF receives the downstream data notification from the I-UPF.

When receiving the downstream data notification, the SMF may use the DSCP value of the N9 tunnel IP header included in the downstream data notification as a flag value.

In step S810, the SMF determines the PPI corresponding to the downlink packet according to the DSCP value of the N9 tunnel IP header.

And the SMF determines the PPI corresponding to the downlink data packet according to the DSCP value of the IP header of the N9 tunnel.

Step S811, the SMF sends a request message to the AMF, where the request message includes a PPI corresponding to the downlink data packet. Accordingly, the AMF receives the request message from the SMF.

Step S812, the AMF determines a paging policy of the downlink data packet according to the PPI corresponding to the downlink data packet, and performs paging.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 8, the embodiment shown in fig. 5 is extended to scenarios of I-UPF and a-UPF, if there are multiple I-UPFs, the DSCP value of the IP header of the N9 tunnel may be forwarded between the multiple I-UPFs, and finally sent to the SMF by one I-UPF through a downlink data notification, which may also implement the determination of the flag value of the non-IP type PDU session, so as to determine the paging policy and implement the paging policy determination of the non-IP type PDU session.

As an alternative embodiment, in the embodiment shown in fig. 8, the flow of PCF dynamic decision mapping relationship may be deleted, that is, the embodiment shown in fig. 4 is extended to the scenarios of I-UPF and a-UPF, so as to achieve the same effect as the embodiment shown in fig. 4.

The method of the embodiments of the present application is set forth above in detail and the apparatus of the embodiments of the present application is provided below.

Referring to fig. 8, which is a schematic diagram of a logical structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the communication device 40 may include a processing unit 401 and a transceiver unit 402. The communication device 40 may be a UPF or SMF or AMF in the embodiment shown in fig. 4-7, or may be an I-UPF or a-UPF or SMF or AMF in the embodiment shown in fig. 8.

If the communication device 40 is a UPF in the embodiment shown in fig. 4-7, the transceiver 402 may be configured to communicate with the SMF and the data network, for example, execute step S402 and step S404 in the embodiment shown in fig. 4, execute step S504, step S505 and step S507 in the embodiment shown in fig. 5, execute step S603 and step S605 in the embodiment shown in fig. 6, and execute step S703 and step S705 in the embodiment shown in fig. 7. The processing unit 401 may be used to perform operations for controlling the UPF, such as performing steps S401 and S403 in the embodiment shown in fig. 4, performing steps S501, S506a, and S506b in the embodiment shown in fig. 5, performing steps S602 and S604 in the embodiment shown in fig. 6, and performing steps S702 and S704 in the embodiment shown in fig. 7. Specifically, reference may be made to corresponding descriptions in the embodiments shown in fig. 4 to fig. 7, which are not described herein again.

If the communication device 40 is a-UPF in the embodiment shown in fig. 8, the transceiver unit 402 may be used to communicate with I-UPF, SMF and data network, for example, execute steps S804, S805 and S808 in the embodiment shown in fig. 8. The processing unit 401 may be used to perform operations of controlling the A-UPF, such as performing step S806a, step S806b, and step S807 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 8. Specifically, reference may be made to the description of the embodiment shown in fig. 8, which is not repeated herein.

If the communication device 40 is an I-UPF in the embodiment shown in fig. 8, the transceiving unit 402 may be configured to communicate with the a-UPF and the SMF, for example, to perform steps S808 and S809 in the embodiment shown in fig. 8. The processing unit 401 may be used to perform operations to control a-UPF, such as performing step S801 in the embodiment shown in fig. 8. Specifically, reference may be made to the description of the embodiment shown in fig. 8, which is not repeated herein.

If the communication device 40 is the AMF in the embodiments shown in fig. 4-8, the transceiver 402 may be configured to communicate with the SMF and other communication devices, for example, execute step S406 in the embodiment shown in fig. 4, execute step S509 in the embodiment shown in fig. 5, execute step S608 in the embodiment shown in fig. 6, execute step S706 in the embodiment shown in fig. 7, and execute step S811 in the embodiment shown in fig. 8. The processing unit 401 may be configured to perform operations for controlling the AMF, such as performing step S407 in the embodiment shown in fig. 4, performing step S510 in the embodiment shown in fig. 5, performing step S609 in the embodiment shown in fig. 6, performing step S701 and step S707 in the embodiment shown in fig. 7, and performing step S812 in the embodiment shown in fig. 8. Specifically, reference may be made to corresponding descriptions in the embodiments shown in fig. 4 to fig. 8, which are not described herein again.

If the communication device 40 is an SMF in the embodiments shown in fig. 4 to 8, the transceiver 402 may be configured to communicate with an AMF, a UPF, and other communication devices, for example, execute step S404 and step S406 in the embodiment shown in fig. 4, execute step S503, step S504, step S507, and step S509 in the embodiment shown in fig. 5, execute step S605 and step S608 in the embodiment shown in fig. 6, execute step S705 and step S706 in the embodiment shown in fig. 7, and execute step S803, step S804, step S809, and step S811 in the embodiment shown in fig. 8. The processing unit 401 may be configured to perform operations for controlling the AMF, such as performing step S405 in the embodiment shown in fig. 4, performing step S508 in the embodiment shown in fig. 5, performing step S601, step S606 and step S607 in the embodiment shown in fig. 6, and performing step S810 in the embodiment shown in fig. 8. Specifically, reference may be made to corresponding descriptions in the embodiments shown in fig. 4 to fig. 8, which are not described herein again.

Please refer to fig. 9, which is a simplified schematic diagram of an entity structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application, where the communication device 50 may be the UPF, SMF, or AMF in the embodiments shown in fig. 4 to 7, or may be the I-UPF, a-UPF, SMF, or AMF in the embodiment shown in fig. 8. The communication device 50 includes a transceiver 501, a processor 502, and a memory 503. The transceiver 501, processor 502 and memory 503 may be interconnected via the bus 504 or may be otherwise connected. The related functions implemented by the processing unit 401 shown in fig. 8 may be implemented by one or more processors 502. The relevant functions implemented by the transceiving unit 402 shown in fig. 8 may be implemented by the transceiver 501.

The memory 503 includes, but is not limited to, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or a portable read-only memory (CD-ROM), and the memory 503 is used for related instructions and data.

The transceiver 501 is used for transmitting data and/or signaling and for receiving data and/or signaling.

The processor 502 may include one or more processors, such as one or more Central Processing Units (CPUs), and in the case that the processor 502 is one CPU, the CPU may be a single-core CPU or a multi-core CPU.

If the communication device 50 is a UPF, the processor 502 is configured to support the UPF to execute the steps S401 and S403 in the embodiment shown in fig. 4, execute the steps S501, S506a, and S506b in the embodiment shown in fig. 5, execute the steps S602 and S604 in the embodiment shown in fig. 6, and execute the steps S702 and S704 in the embodiment shown in fig. 7.

If the communication device 50 is a-UPF, the processor 502 is configured to support a-UPF to perform steps S806a, S806b, and S807 in the embodiment shown in fig. 8.

If the communication device 50 is an I-UPF, the processor 502 is configured to support the I-UPF to execute step S801 in the embodiment shown in fig. 8.

If the communication device 50 is an AMF, the processor 502 is configured to support the AMF to execute step S407 in the embodiment shown in fig. 4, execute step S510 in the embodiment shown in fig. 5, execute step S609 in the embodiment shown in fig. 6, execute step S701 and step S707 in the embodiment shown in fig. 7, and execute step S812 in the embodiment shown in fig. 8.

If the communication device 50 is an SMF, the processor 502 is configured to support the SMF to execute step S405 in the embodiment shown in fig. 4, execute step S508 in the embodiment shown in fig. 5, execute step S601, step S606, and step S607 in the embodiment shown in fig. 6, and execute step S810 in the embodiment shown in fig. 8.

The memory 503 is used to store program codes and data of the communication apparatus 50.

The transceiver 501 is used for communicating with other communication devices, and if the communication device 50 is a UPF, the transceiver 501 is used for communicating with an SMF and a data network; if the communication device is a-UPF, the transceiver 501 is used to communicate with I-UPF, SMF, and data network; if the communication device is an I-UPF, the transceiver is used for communicating with the A-UPF and the SMF; if the communication device is an AMF, the transceiver 501 is used for communicating with an SMF and other communication devices; if the communication device is an SMF, the transceiver 501 is used to communicate with AMFs, UPFs, and other communication devices.

For the steps executed by the processor 502 and the transceiver 501, reference may be specifically made to the descriptions of the embodiments shown in fig. 4 to fig. 8, and details are not repeated here.

It will be appreciated that fig. 9 only shows a simplified design of the communication device. In practical applications, the communication devices may also respectively include other necessary elements, including but not limited to any number of transceivers, processors, controllers, memories, communication units, etc., and all communication devices that can implement the present application are within the protection scope of the present application.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a communication system including the AMF, SMF, and UPF shown in fig. 4, 6, and 7, or including the AMF, PCF, SMF, and UPF shown in fig. 5, or including the AMF, PCF, SMF, I-UPF, and a-UPF shown in fig. 8.

One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that all or part of the processes in the methods of the above embodiments may be implemented by hardware related to instructions of a computer program, which may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and when executed, may include the processes of the above method embodiments. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media capable of storing program codes, such as ROM or RAM, magnetic or optical disks, etc. Accordingly, a further embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored therein instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of the above aspects.

Yet another embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product containing instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of the above aspects.

Those of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the implementation. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

It is clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described systems, apparatuses and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and are not described herein again.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described apparatus embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the units is only one logical division, and other divisions may be realized in practice, for example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not executed. In addition, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be in an electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the embodiment.

In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit.

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 or transmitted over a computer-readable storage medium. The computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by wire (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)), or wirelessly (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, comprising:

a User Plane Function (UPF) receives a downlink data packet of a non-Internet Protocol (IP) type Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session, wherein access network tunnel information of the non-IP type PDU session is not stored in the UPF;

and the UPF sends a downlink data notification to a Session Management Function (SMF), wherein the downlink data notification comprises a mark value corresponding to the downlink data packet, and the mark value corresponding to the downlink data packet is used for the SMF to determine a paging strategy identifier (PPI) of the downlink data packet.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein prior to the UPF receiving the downstream packet of the non-IP type PDU session, further comprising:

and the UPF configures a mark value generation rule of the non-IP type PDU session, wherein the mark value generation rule is a rule for generating a mark value according to the mapping relation between the priority and the mark value or a rule for generating a mark value according to the IP header information of the N6/N9 tunnel.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the determining, by the UPF, the tag value corresponding to the downlink data packet according to transport layer IP header information of the downlink data packet or inner layer header information of the downlink data packet includes:

the UPF determines the IP header information of the N6/N9 tunnel of the downlink data packet according to the IP header information of the transmission layer of the downlink data packet;

the UPF determines a marking value corresponding to the downlink data packet according to N6/N9 tunnel IP header information of the downlink data packet and the rule of generating the marking value according to N6/N9 tunnel IP header information;

or, the UPF determines the priority of the downlink data packet according to the inner layer packet header information of the downlink data packet;

and the UPF determines the mark value corresponding to the downlink data packet according to the priority of the downlink data packet and the rule of generating the mark value according to the mapping relation between the priority and the mark value.

4. A method of communication, comprising:

the UPF receives a downlink data packet of a non-IP type PDU session, wherein the access network tunnel information of the non-IP type PDU session is not stored in the UPF;

the UPF sends a downlink data notification to the SMF, wherein the downlink data notification comprises transmission layer IP header information of the downlink data packet or inner layer header information of the downlink data packet, and the transmission layer IP header information of the downlink data packet or the inner layer header information of the downlink data packet is used for the SMF to determine a marking value corresponding to the downlink data packet.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein prior to the UPF receiving the downlink packet of the non-IP type PDU session, further comprising:

the UPF configures the configuration information, and the configuration information specifies that the downlink data notification includes transport layer IP header information or inner layer header information.

6. A method of communication, comprising:

the SMF receives a downlink data notification sent by the UPF, wherein the downlink data notification comprises transmission layer IP packet header information of a downlink data packet or inner layer packet header information of the downlink data;

the SMF determines the PPI of the downlink data packet according to the marker value corresponding to the downlink data packet;

the SMF sends a request message to an AMF, wherein the request message comprises the PPI, and the PPI is used for the AMF to determine a paging strategy of the downlink data packet.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein before the SMF receives the downlink data notification sent by the UPF, the method further comprises:

and the SMF configures a DSCP generation rule of the non-IP type PDU session, wherein the DSCP generation rule is a rule for generating a marking value according to a mapping relation between the priority and the marking value or a rule for generating the marking value according to N6/N9 tunnel IP header information.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the SMF determines the tag value corresponding to the downlink data packet according to transport layer IP header information of the downlink data packet or inner layer header information of the downlink data packet, and includes:

the SMF determines the IP header information of an N6/N9 tunnel of the downlink data packet according to the IP header information of a transmission layer of the downlink data packet;

the SMF determines a marking value corresponding to the downlink data packet according to N6/N9 tunnel IP header information of the downlink data packet and the rule of generating the marking value according to N6/N9 tunnel IP header information;

or, the SMF determines the priority of the downlink data packet according to the inner layer packet header information of the downlink data packet;

and the SMF determines a mark value corresponding to the downlink data packet according to the priority of the downlink data packet and the rule for generating the mark value according to the mapping relation between the priority and the mark value.

9. A communication device, characterized in that the communication device is adapted to perform the method according to any of claims 1-3.

10. A communication device, characterized in that the communication device is adapted to perform the method according to any of claims 4-5.

11. A communication device, characterized in that the communication device is adapted to perform the method according to any of claims 6-8.

12. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that a computer program is stored for implementing the method of any one of claims 1 to 8.