CN110311934B

CN110311934B - Signaling connection release method and communication device

Info

Publication number: CN110311934B
Application number: CN201810240551.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 邓强
Original assignee: Telecommunications Science and Technology Research Institute Co Ltd
Current assignee: Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-03-22
Filing date: 2018-03-22
Publication date: 2020-10-20
Anticipated expiration: 2038-03-22
Also published as: CN110311934A; WO2019179130A1

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a signaling connection release method and a communication device, an access and mobility management functional entity can release signaling connection in time at different occasions according to the signaling connection release occasion indicated by release auxiliary information sent by an application functional entity, and the signaling connection release of a network is optimized, so that unnecessary resource consumption caused by untimely signaling connection release is avoided.

Description

Signaling connection release method and communication device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a signaling connection release method and a communication apparatus.

Background

Internet of Things (IoT) devices tend to run on batteries for years and even decades, so power conservation is an important requirement to consider for IoT solution design. Releasing signaling connection AS soon AS possible after data transmission is an important means for reducing power consumption of a terminal (User Equipment, UE), but the network itself does not know whether a data packet currently being transmitted is the last data packet, and therefore a terminal or an Application Server (AS) is needed to assist the network in determining the timing for releasing signaling connection.

However, in the prior art, only how to assist the network to perform signaling connection release when the terminal sends Uplink Data (Uplink Data) is considered, and how to assist the network to perform signaling connection release when the AS sends Downlink Data (Downlink Data) is not considered.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a signaling connection release method and a communication device, which are used for solving the problem of how to assist a network in signaling connection release when an AS sends downlink data.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for releasing a signaling connection, where an access and mobility management functional entity may release a signaling connection in time at different times according to a signaling connection release time indicated by release auxiliary information sent by an application functional entity, so as to optimize a network release signaling connection, thereby avoiding unnecessary resource consumption caused by untimely signaling connection release.

In a possible implementation manner, the access and mobility management functional entity receives release auxiliary information sent by the application functional entity through a user plane functional entity or a network open functional entity.

In one possible implementation, the release assistance information indicates any one of the following information:

only one downlink data transmission and no uplink data transmission are carried out between the application function entity and the terminal;

transmitting a downlink data and an uplink data between the application function entity and the terminal;

and a plurality of downlink data and one uplink data are transmitted between the application function entity and the terminal.

In a possible implementation manner, the release assistance information is a preset field in which the application function entity is disposed in an IP header of an internet protocol or a preset field in which the application function entity is disposed in a tunnel header.

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving, by the access and mobility management functional entity, release assistance information sent by the application functional entity through a user plane functional entity includes:

the access and mobility management function entity receives release assistance information sent by a session management function entity through an N11 message, wherein the release assistance information provided by the session management function entity is identified by the user plane function entity from an IP header or from the tunnel header and sent to the session management function entity through an N4 message, or the release assistance information provided by the session management function entity is identified by the session management function entity from an IP header.

and the access and mobility management functional entity receives release auxiliary information sent by the user plane functional entity through an interface message between the access and mobility management functional entity and the user plane functional entity.

In a possible implementation manner, if the release assistance information indicates that there is only one downlink data transmission and no uplink data transmission between the application function entity and the terminal, the performing, by the access and mobility management function entity, signaling connection release based on the release assistance information includes:

and after the access and mobility management functional entity sends the non-access layer message carrying the downlink data to a Radio Access Network (RAN) entity through an N2message, initiating a signaling connection release process.

In a possible implementation manner, if the release assistance information indicates that one downlink data and one uplink data are transmitted between the application function entity and the terminal, or that multiple downlink data and one uplink data are transmitted between the application function entity and the terminal, the accessing and mobility management function entity performs signaling connection release based on the release assistance information, including:

and the access and mobility management functional entity initiates a signaling connection release process after the uplink data is sent to the user plane functional entity through the session management functional entity or the uplink data is sent to the user plane functional entity by the access and mobility management functional entity.

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving, by the access and mobility management functional entity, release assistance information sent by the application functional entity through a network openness functional entity includes:

the access and mobility management functional entity receives a request message carrying the release auxiliary information sent by the network open functional entity, wherein the release auxiliary information provided by the network open functional entity is provided to the network open functional entity by the application functional entity in the request message;

the access and mobility management functional entity determines the release assistance information from the request message.

the access and mobility management functional entity receives a request message carrying the release auxiliary information, which is sent by a session management functional entity through an N11 message, wherein the release auxiliary information provided by the session management functional entity is provided to the session management functional entity by the network open functional entity, and the release auxiliary information provided by the network open functional entity is provided to the network open functional entity by the application functional entity in the request message;

and the access and mobility management functional entity determines the release auxiliary information from a request message sent by the session management functional entity.

and after the access and mobility management functional entity sends the downlink data to the terminal, initiating a signaling connection release process.

and the access and mobility management functional entity initiates a signaling connection release process after the uplink data is sent to the network open functional entity through the session management functional entity or the uplink data is sent to the network open functional entity by the access and mobility management functional entity.

In one possible implementation, the signaling connection includes at least one of a radio resource control, RRC, signaling connection, an N2 signaling connection, and a non-access stratum, NAS, signaling connection.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communication apparatus, including:

a memory to store instructions;

a processor, configured to read the instruction in the memory, and after the transceiver receives the release assistance information sent by the application function entity, perform the following processes:

and releasing the signaling connection based on the release auxiliary information, wherein the release auxiliary information is used for indicating the time for releasing the signaling connection.

In one possible implementation, the transceiver is configured to:

and receiving the release auxiliary information sent by the application function entity through the user plane function entity or the network open function entity.

only one downlink data transmission and no uplink data transmission are carried out between the application function entity and the user equipment terminal;

In one possible implementation, the transceiver is configured to:

receiving release assistance information sent by a session management function entity through an N11 message, wherein the release assistance information provided by the session management function entity is identified by the user plane function entity from an IPheader or from the tunnel header and sent to the session management function entity through an N4 message, or the release assistance information provided by the session management function entity is identified by the session management function entity from an IP header.

In one possible implementation, the transceiver is configured to:

and receiving the release auxiliary information sent by the user plane functional entity through the interface message between the access and mobility management functional entity and the user plane functional entity.

In a possible implementation manner, if the release assistance information indicates that there is only one downlink data transmission and no uplink data transmission between the application function entity and the terminal, the processor is configured to:

and after the transceiver sends the non-access stratum message carrying the downlink data to a Radio Access Network (RAN) entity through an N2message, initiating a signaling connection release process.

In a possible implementation manner, if the release assistance information indicates that one downlink data and one uplink data are transmitted between the application function entity and the terminal, or that a plurality of downlink data and one uplink data are transmitted between the application function entity and the terminal, the processor is configured to:

and after the transceiver sends the uplink data to the user plane functional entity through the session management functional entity, or after the transceiver sends the uplink data to the user plane functional entity, initiating a signaling connection release process.

In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver is configured to receive a request message carrying the release assistance information and sent by the network openness function entity, where the release assistance information provided by the network openness function entity is provided to the network openness function entity by the application function entity in the request message;

the processor is configured to determine the release assistance information from the request message.

In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver is configured to receive a request message carrying the release assistance information, which is sent by a session management functional entity through an N11 message, where the release assistance information provided by the session management functional entity is provided by the network openness functional entity to the session management functional entity, and the release assistance information provided by the network openness functional entity is provided by the application functional entity to the network openness functional entity in the request message;

the processor is configured to determine the release assistance information from a request message sent by the session management function entity.

and initiating a signaling connection release process after the transceiver sends the downlink data to the terminal.

after the transceiver sends the uplink data to the network open function entity through the session management function entity, or after the transceiver sends the uplink data to the network open function entity, a signaling connection release process is initiated.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides another communication apparatus, including:

a receiving module, configured to receive release auxiliary information sent by an application function entity, where the release auxiliary information is used to indicate a time for releasing a signaling connection;

and the releasing module is used for releasing the signaling connection based on the auxiliary releasing information.

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving module is configured to receive release auxiliary information sent by the application function entity through a user plane function entity or a network open function entity.

In one possible implementation manner, the receiving module is configured to:

In a possible implementation manner, if the release auxiliary information indicates that there is only one downlink data transmission and no uplink data transmission between the application function entity and the terminal, the release module is configured to:

and after the non-access stratum message carrying the downlink data is sent to a Radio Access Network (RAN) entity through an N2message, initiating a signaling connection release process.

In a possible implementation manner, if the release auxiliary information indicates that one downlink data and one uplink data are transmitted between the application function entity and the terminal, or that multiple downlink data and one uplink data are transmitted between the application function entity and the terminal, the release module is configured to:

and after the session management functional entity sends the uplink data to the user plane functional entity or sends the uplink data to the user plane functional entity, initiating a signaling connection release process.

In one possible implementation manner, the receiving module is configured to:

receiving a request message carrying the release auxiliary information sent by the network open functional entity, wherein the release auxiliary information provided by the network open functional entity is provided to the network open functional entity by the application functional entity in the request message;

determining the release assistance information from the request message.

In one possible implementation manner, the receiving module is configured to:

receiving a request message carrying the release auxiliary information, which is sent by a session management functional entity through an N11 message, wherein the release auxiliary information provided by the session management functional entity is provided to the session management functional entity by the network open functional entity, and the release auxiliary information provided by the network open functional entity is provided to the network open functional entity by the application functional entity in the request message;

determining the release assistance information from a request message sent by the session management function entity.

and initiating a signaling connection release process after the downlink data is sent to the terminal.

In a possible implementation manner, if the release auxiliary information indicates that one downlink data and one uplink data are transmitted between the application function entity and the terminal, or that a plurality of downlink data and one uplink data are transmitted between the application function entity and the terminal, the release module is configured to:

after the session management functional entity sends the uplink data to the network open functional entity, or after the session management functional entity sends the uplink data to the network open functional entity, a signaling connection release process is initiated.

In a fourth aspect, the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to the first aspect.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments of the present invention will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art that other drawings can be obtained according to the drawings without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a signaling release method in the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a possible network architecture in a future system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a signaling connection release method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a schematic flow chart of a signaling connection release method when a data transmission path is an application function entity-user plane function entity-session management function entity-access and mobility management function entity-terminal in an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a signaling connection release method when a data transmission path is an application function entity-a user plane function entity-an access and mobility management function entity-a terminal in an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a signaling connection release method when a data transmission path is an application function entity-a network open function entity-an access and mobility management function entity-a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a signaling connection release method when a data transmission path is an application function entity-a network open function entity-a session management function entity-an access and mobility management function entity-a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention.

First, a scheme for implementing how to assist a network in signaling connection release when a terminal sends uplink data in the prior art is described as follows.

In order to support the transmission of infrequent small data (infrequent small data), a control plane (control plane) transmission scheme is defined in the 4G system, and the basic idea is that data transmission is performed between a terminal and a Mobility Management Entity (MME) through Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling, and data transmission is performed between the MME and a Serving GateWay (SGW) through an S11 user plane, instead of the traditional data transmission mode of terminal-base station (eNodeB, eNB) -SGW. On the basis of the control plane transmission scheme, a method for optimizing the release of the signaling connection is further defined, in which a terminal provides release assistance information (release association information) to an MME to help the MME determine when to release the signaling connection, and a specific scheme may refer to fig. 1.

A detailed description is given below in conjunction with fig. 1 to a control plane transmission scheme in an existing 4G system, where a main flow of the scheme may be described as follows:

s101: the terminal is in an IDLE (IDLE) state;

s102: a terminal establishes Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection and sends an NAS Protocol Data Unit (PDU) to an eNB;

wherein, the NAS PDU comprises Emergency Brake Intervention (EBI) information and uplink data; the terminal may further include release assistance information in the NAS PDU, which is used to indicate whether there is no uplink data or downlink data to be transmitted subsequently, or there is only one downlink data (e.g., an acknowledgement or response of the uplink data) after the uplink data.

S103: the eNB sends the NAS PDU to the MME via an S1-AP message.

S104: and the MME performs integrity check on the NAS PDU and decrypts the data in the NAS PDU.

S105: the MME transmits the uplink data to the SGW through S11-U, and the SGW transmits the uplink data to a packet data network GateWay (PDN GateWay way, PGW) through S5-U.

S106: based on the release assistance information provided by the terminal in S102, if there is no downlink data transmission, it means that all the application layer data interactions have been completed after the uplink data transmission is completed, and the MME immediately releases a signaling connection (the signaling connection includes an S1 connection and an RRC connection); otherwise, the PGW sends the downlink data to the SGW, and the SGW sends the downlink data to the MME.

S107: if the MME receives the downlink data, the downlink data is contained in the NAS PDU and is encrypted and integrity protected.

S108: the MME sends the NAS PDU to the eNB through an S1-AP message;

if the Release auxiliary information indicates that there is only one downlink data after the uplink data, which means that the next downlink data after the Release of the auxiliary information is the last data packet (packet) of the application layer data interaction, the MME immediately sends a terminal Context Release indication (terminal Context Release Command) message to the eNB after sending the downlink data, so as to indicate the eNB to immediately Release the RRC connection after sending the downlink data to the terminal.

S109: the eNB transmits the NAS PDU to the terminal through an RRC message. If the eNB receives the indication of the MME in S108, the eNB will initiate RRC connection and S1 connection release procedures.

It can be known from the above description that, in the prior art, only how to assist the network to perform signaling connection release when the terminal sends uplink data is considered, but how to assist the network to perform signaling connection release when the AS sends downlink data is not considered. In view of this, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for releasing signaling connection, so AS to solve a problem how to assist a network in releasing signaling connection when an AS sends downlink data.

Referring to fig. 2, two possible control plane transmission schemes are proposed based on a possible network architecture of a future communication system such as the fifth Generation mobile communication (5-Generation, 5G) proposed in the embodiment of the present invention, which are specifically introduced as follows:

the first scheme is as follows: data transmission is performed between the terminal and an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) entity through NAS Mobility Management (MM) messages, and data transmission is performed between the Access and Mobility Management Function entity and a User Plane Function (UPF) entity through a newly added User Plane interface, such as an Nx interface (shown by a dotted line 2 in fig. 2).

Scheme II: data transmission is performed between the terminal and a Session Management Function (SMF) entity through a NAS Session Management (SM) message, and data transmission is performed between the Session Management Function and a user plane Function through an N4 user plane interface (shown by a dotted line 1 in fig. 2).

N1, N2, … …, N6 and Nx in fig. 2 are all communication interfaces.

On the basis of the network architecture shown in fig. 2, an embodiment of the present invention provides a signaling connection release method, and the following briefly introduces the general idea of the method.

The invention considers two transmission modes of data transmission between an Application Function (AF) entity, such AS AS and the like, and a user plane Function entity and data transmission between the Application Function entity and a Network open Function (NEF) entity.

Furthermore, in the method for data transmission between the application function entity and the user plane function entity, two transmission modes of a user plane function entity-a session management function entity and a user plane function entity-an access and mobility management function entity are considered; in the method for transmitting data between the application function entity and the network open function entity, two transmission modes of a network open function entity-access and mobility management function entity and a network open function entity-session management function entity are considered.

The basic idea of the present invention is how the application function entity provides the network with the release assistance information and how the access and mobility management function entities perform the procedure of the signaling connection release according to the release assistance information.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to fig. 3, an embodiment of the present invention provides a signaling connection release method, where a process of the method may be described as follows:

s301: the access and mobility management function entity receives release auxiliary information sent by the application function entity, and the release auxiliary information is used for indicating the time of signaling connection release;

s302: and the access and mobility management functional entity releases the signaling connection based on the release auxiliary information.

Namely, the access and mobility management functional entity can timely release the signaling connection at different occasions according to the signaling connection release occasion indicated by the release auxiliary information sent by the application functional entity, and optimize the network release signaling connection, thereby avoiding unnecessary resource consumption caused by untimely signaling connection release.

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving, by the access and mobility management functional entity, the release assistance information sent by the application functional entity may include, but is not limited to, the following two cases:

in case one, the access and mobility management functional entity may receive release assistance information sent by the application functional entity through the user plane functional entity.

In this case, the path of data transmission may include, but is not limited to, the following two ways:

mode 1: the path of data transmission can be application function entity-user plane function entity-session management function entity-access and mobility management function entity-terminal.

At this time, the access and mobility management function entity may receive release assistance information sent by the session management function entity through an N11 message, wherein the release assistance information provided by the session management function entity is identified by the user plane function entity from an internet protocol header (IP header) or from a tunnel header and is sent to the session management function entity through an N4 message; or the release assistance information provided by the session management function entity is identified from the IP header by the session management function entity.

In the first case 1, please refer to fig. 4, as an example, an implementation flow of the signaling connection release method in the embodiment of the present invention may be described as follows:

s401: the application function entity sets the release auxiliary information;

if the application function entity needs to indicate to the 5GS to release the auxiliary information, if the downlink data is IP type data, the application function entity can set the release auxiliary information in a preset field of an IP header; if the downlink data type is a non-IP (non-IP) type, the application functional entity may set the release assistance information indicated to the user plane functional entity in a preset field of a tunnel header of the tunnel information.

And the release assistance information may indicate, but is not limited to, any of the following:

and transmitting a plurality of downlink data and one uplink data between the application function entity and the terminal.

S402: and the application functional entity sends downlink data to the user plane functional entity.

S403: and the user plane functional entity identifies the release auxiliary information in the IP header or acquires the release auxiliary information from the tunnel information.

S404: the user plane functional entity sends the release auxiliary information to the session management functional entity through an N4 message;

when the N4 user plane is not established between the user plane functional entity and the session management functional entity, the session management functional entity sends a release auxiliary message to the session management functional entity through an N4 Data Notification (Data Notification) message; if the N4 user plane is already established between the user plane functional entity and the session management functional entity, the user plane functional entity may not parse the release assistance information, but may send downstream data to the session management functional entity.

S405: the session management functional entity sends the release auxiliary information to the access and mobility management functional entity through an N11 message;

further, if the session management function entity receives the release assistance information in S404, the session management function entity sends the release assistance information to the access and mobility management function entity through an N11 message, for example, the session management function entity sends the release assistance information to the access and mobility management function entity through a "N1N 2message transfer service (Namf _ Communication _ N1N2message transfer) message in the access and mobility management function Communication service"; if the session management functional entity receives the downlink data in S404, the session management functional entity may recognize the release assistance information in the IP header or the session management functional entity may obtain the release assistance information from the tunnel information and send the release assistance information to the access and mobility management functional entity through the N11 message.

S406: the Access and mobility management function entity sends a paging message to a Radio Access Network (RAN), and the RAN pages the terminal.

S407: the terminal initiates a Service Request procedure (Service Request procedure) to establish an RRC signaling connection, an N2 signaling connection, an NAS signaling connection, and the like.

S408: the access and mobility management function entity sends an N11 message to the session management function entity.

S409: and the session management functional entity and the user plane functional entity establish an N4 user plane through an N4 message.

S410: and the user plane functional entity sends downlink data to the session management functional entity.

S411: the session management function entity includes the downlink data in a non-access stratum message and sends the non-access stratum message to the access and mobility management function entity through an N11 message.

If the release assistance information indicates that there is only one downlink data transmission and no uplink data transmission between the application function entity and the terminal, the access and mobility management function sends a "terminal context release command (N2UE context release command)" message to the RAN immediately after S412 (i.e., S419), that is, the access and mobility management function entity initiates a signaling connection release procedure after sending a non-access stratum message carrying downlink data to the radio access network RAN entity through the N2 message.

S412: the access and mobility management functions send non-access stratum messages to the RAN via N2 messages.

S413: the RAN sends the non-access stratum message to the terminal through an RRC message.

S414-S418: the terminal may transmit uplink data through the control plane.

In S416, if the release assistance information indicates that one piece of downlink data and one piece of uplink data are transmitted between the application functional entity and the terminal, or if the release assistance information indicates that a plurality of pieces of downlink data and one piece of uplink data are transmitted between the application functional entity and the terminal, the access and mobility management function performs S419 immediately after S417, that is, the access and mobility management functional entity initiates a signaling connection release procedure after sending the uplink data to the user plane functional entity through the session management functional entity or after sending the uplink data to the user plane functional entity through the access and mobility management functional entity; otherwise, after executing S417, S418 and then S419 are executed.

S419: the Access and mobility management function initiates an Access Network release (ANrelease) procedure, that is, a signaling connection release procedure, and releases the connection between N2 and RRC signaling.

Mode 2: the path of data transmission may be application function entity-user plane function entity-access and mobility management function entity-terminal.

At this time, the access and mobility management functional entity may receive the release assistance information sent by the user plane functional entity through the interface message between the access and mobility management functional entity and the user plane functional entity.

In the first case mode 2, please refer to fig. 5, as an example, an implementation flow of the signaling connection release method in the embodiment of the present invention may be described as follows:

s501: the application function entity sets the release auxiliary information;

if the application function entity needs to indicate to the 5GS to release the auxiliary information, if the downlink data is IP type data, the application function entity can set the release auxiliary information in a preset field of an IP header; if the downlink data type is a non-IP type, the application function entity may set the release assistance information indicated to the user plane function entity in a preset field of a tunnel header of the tunnel information.

S502: and the application functional entity sends downlink data to the user plane functional entity.

S503: and the user plane functional entity identifies the release auxiliary information in the IP header or acquires the release auxiliary information from the tunnel information.

S504: the user plane functional entity sends an Nx message to the access and mobility management functional entity through an Nx interface, wherein the Nx message can carry release auxiliary information;

if the Nx user plane is not established, the user plane functional entity sends a release auxiliary message to an access and mobility management function through an Nx message; if the Nx user plane is already established, the user plane function can directly send downlink data to the access and mobility management functional entity.

S505: the access and mobility management function entity sends a paging message to the RAN, which pages the terminal.

S506: the terminal initiates a Service Request procedure (Service Request procedure) to establish an RRC signaling connection, an N2 signaling connection, an NAS signaling connection, and the like.

S507: and an Nx user plane is established between the access and mobility management functional entity and the user plane functional entity through the Nx message.

S508: and the user plane functional entity sends downlink data to the access and mobility management functional entity.

If the release assistance information indicates that there is only one downlink data transmission and no uplink data transmission between the application function entity and the terminal, the access and mobility management function entity immediately sends an "N2 UEcontext release command" message to the RAN after S509 (i.e., S515), that is, the access and mobility management function entity initiates a signaling connection release process after sending a non-access stratum message carrying downlink data to the radio access network RAN entity through an N2 message.

S509: the access and mobility management functional entity includes the downlink data in a non-access stratum message and sends the non-access stratum message to the RAN via an N2 message.

S510: the RAN sends the non-access stratum message to the terminal through an RRC message.

S511-S514: the terminal may transmit uplink data through the control plane.

In S512, if the release assistance information indicates that one piece of downlink data and one piece of uplink data are transmitted between the application functional entity and the terminal, or if the release assistance information indicates that a plurality of pieces of downlink data and one piece of uplink data are transmitted between the application functional entity and the terminal, the access and mobility management function performs S515 immediately after S513, that is, the access and mobility management functional entity initiates a signaling connection release procedure after sending the uplink data to the user plane functional entity through the session management functional entity or after sending the uplink data to the user plane functional entity; otherwise, after executing S513, S514 needs to be executed and S515 needs to be executed again.

S515: the access and mobility management function initiates AN AN release procedure, releasing the N2 and RRC signaling connection.

And in the second case, the access and mobility management functional entity may receive the release auxiliary information sent by the application functional entity through the network open functional entity.

That is, the access and mobility management functional entity may initiate a process of releasing the signaling connection according to the signaling connection release time indicated by the release auxiliary information sent by the network open functional entity.

mode 1: the path of data transmission can be application function entity-network open function entity-access and mobility management function entity-terminal.

At this time, the access and mobility management functional entity may receive a request message carrying the release auxiliary information sent by the network open functional entity, wherein the release auxiliary information provided by the network open functional entity is provided to the network open functional entity by the application functional entity in the request message; further, the access and mobility management function entity may determine to release the assistance information from the request message.

In the second mode 1, please refer to fig. 6, as an example, an implementation flow of the signaling connection release method in the embodiment of the present invention may be described as follows:

s601: the application function entity sends a request message to the network open function entity, wherein the request message can comprise downlink data and release auxiliary information;

if the application function entity needs to indicate to the 5GS to release the auxiliary information, if the downlink data is IP type data, the application function entity can set the release auxiliary information in a preset field of an IP header; if the downlink data type is a non-IP type, the application function entity may set the release assistance information in a preset field of a tunnel header of the tunnel information.

S602: the network open functional entity comprises downlink data and release auxiliary information in a request message sent to the access and mobility management functional entity;

the access and mobility management functional entity can determine to release the auxiliary information from the request message;

if the release assistance information indicates that there is only one downlink data transmission and no uplink data transmission between the application function entity and the terminal, the access and mobility management function immediately sends an "N2 UE contextrelease command" message to the RAN after S603 (i.e., S606), that is, the access and mobility management function entity initiates a signaling connection release process after sending downlink data to the terminal; if the release auxiliary information indicates that one downlink data and one uplink data are transmitted between the application function entity and the terminal, or a plurality of downlink data and one uplink data are transmitted between the application function entity and the terminal, the access and mobility management function entity initiates a signaling connection release process after sending the uplink data to the network open function entity.

S603: transmitting downlink data;

the implementation of the process may refer to S505-S506 and S509-S510 in the manner 2 in case one, which is not described herein again.

S604: and the access and mobility management functional entity returns a response message to the network open functional entity.

S605: the network open function entity returns a response message to the application function entity.

S606: the access and mobility management function initiates AN AN release procedure, releasing the N2 and RRC signaling connection.

Mode 2: the path of data transmission may be application function-network open function-session management function-access and mobility management function-terminal.

At this time, the access and mobility management functional entity may receive a request message carrying the release auxiliary information, which is sent by the session management functional entity through an N11 message, where the release auxiliary information provided by the session management functional entity is provided to the session management functional entity by the network open functional entity, and the release auxiliary information provided by the network open functional entity is provided to the network open functional entity by the application functional entity in the request message; furthermore, the access and mobility management function entity may determine to release the assistance information from a request message sent by the session management function entity.

In mode 2 of case two, please refer to fig. 7, as an example, an implementation flow of the signaling connection release method in the embodiment of the present invention may be described as follows:

s701: the application function entity sends a request message to the network open function entity, wherein the request message can comprise downlink data and release auxiliary information;

S702: the network open functional entity sends request information to the session management functional entity, wherein the request information comprises downlink data and release auxiliary information;

s703: the session management functional entity comprises downlink data and release auxiliary information in a request message sent to the access and mobility management functional entity;

if the release auxiliary information indicates that there is only one downlink data transmission and no uplink data transmission between the application function entity and the terminal, the access and mobility management function entity immediately sends an "N2 UEcontext release command" message to the RAN after S704 (i.e., S707), that is, the access and mobility management function entity initiates a signaling connection release process after sending downlink data to the terminal; if the release auxiliary information indicates that one downlink data and one uplink data are transmitted between the application function entity and the terminal, or a plurality of downlink data and one uplink data are transmitted between the application function entity and the terminal, the access and mobility management function entity initiates a signaling connection release process after sending the uplink data to the network open function entity through the session management function entity or after sending the uplink data to the network open function entity.

S704: transmitting downlink data;

S705: and the access and mobility management functional entity returns a response message to the network open functional entity.

S706: the network open function entity returns a response message to the application function entity.

S707: the access and mobility management function entity initiates AN AN release process, and releases the connection between the N2 and the RRC signaling.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned steps S401 to S419, S501 to S515, S601 to S606, and S701 to S707 are only for convenience of description and for understanding by those skilled in the art, and are not used to limit the sequence of the method flow of the present invention, in practical applications, any two or more of the above-mentioned steps may be combined to implement the signaling connection releasing method of the present invention, and the embodiment of the present invention is not limited.

Referring to fig. 8, based on the same inventive concept, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communication apparatus, where the base station includes: a memory 801, a processor 802, and a transceiver 803. The memory 801 and the transceiver 803 may be connected to the processor 802 through a bus interface (fig. 8 is taken as an example), or may be connected to the processor 802 through a dedicated connection line.

The memory 801 is used for storing instructions;

a processor 802, configured to read the instruction in the memory, and after the transceiver 803 receives the release assistance information sent by the application function entity, perform the following processes:

In one possible implementation, the transceiver 803 is configured to:

In a possible implementation manner, if the release assistance information indicates that there is only one downlink data transmission and no uplink data transmission between the application function entity and the terminal, the processor 802 is configured to:

after the transceiver 803 sends the non-access stratum message carrying the downlink data to a radio access network RAN entity through an N2message, a signaling connection release procedure is initiated.

In a possible implementation manner, if the release assistance information indicates that one downlink data and one uplink data are transmitted between the application function entity and the terminal, or that multiple downlink data and one uplink data are transmitted between the application function entity and the terminal, the processor 802 is configured to:

after the transceiver 803 sends the uplink data to the user plane functional entity through the session management functional entity, or after the transceiver 803 sends the uplink data to the user plane functional entity, a signaling connection release process is initiated.

In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver 803 is configured to receive a request message carrying the release assistance information sent by the network openness function entity, where the release assistance information provided by the network openness function entity is provided to the network openness function entity by the application function entity in the request message;

the processor 802 is configured to determine the release assistance information from the request message.

In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver 803 is configured to receive a request message carrying the release assistance information, which is sent by a session management functional entity through an N11 message, where the release assistance information provided by the session management functional entity is provided by the network openness functional entity to the session management functional entity, and the release assistance information provided by the network openness functional entity is provided by the application functional entity in the request message to the network openness functional entity;

the processor 802 is configured to determine the release assistance information from a request message sent by the session management function entity.

after the transceiver 803 sends the downlink data to the terminal, a signaling connection release procedure is initiated.

after the transceiver 803 sends the uplink data to the network open function entity through the session management function entity, or after the transceiver 803 sends the uplink data to the network open function entity, a signaling connection release procedure is initiated.

Where in fig. 8 the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, with one or more processors represented by processor 802 and various circuits of memory represented by memory 801 being linked together. The bus architecture may also link together various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, power management circuits, and the like, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 803 may be a plurality of elements, i.e., including a transmitter and a transceiver, providing a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium. The processor 802 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 801 may store data used by the processor 802 in performing operations.

Referring to fig. 9, based on the same inventive concept, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communication apparatus, including:

a receiving module 901, configured to receive release auxiliary information sent by an application function entity, where the release auxiliary information is used to indicate an opportunity of signaling connection release;

a releasing module 902, configured to release the signaling connection based on the release auxiliary information.

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving module 901 is configured to receive release auxiliary information sent by the application function entity through a user plane function entity or a network openfunction entity.

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving module 901 is configured to:

receiving release assistance information sent by a session management function entity through an N11 message, wherein the release assistance information provided by the session management function entity is identified by the user plane function entity from an IP header or from the tunnel header and sent to the session management function entity through an N4 message, or the release assistance information provided by the session management function entity is identified by the session management function entity from an IP header.

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving module 901 is configured to:

In a possible implementation manner, if the release auxiliary information indicates that there is only one downlink data transmission and no uplink data transmission between the application function entity and the terminal, the release module 902 is configured to:

In a possible implementation manner, if the release auxiliary information indicates that one downlink data and one uplink data are transmitted between the application function entity and the terminal, or that multiple downlink data and one uplink data are transmitted between the application function entity and the terminal, the release module 902 is configured to:

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving module 901 is configured to receive a request message carrying the release auxiliary information sent by the network openness function entity, where the release auxiliary information provided by the network openness function entity is provided to the network openness function entity by the application function entity in the request message;

determining the release assistance information from the request message.

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving module 901 is configured to:

Based on the same inventive concept, embodiments of the present invention provide a computer-readable storage medium,

the computer readable storage medium stores computer instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method described in fig. 3-7.

In particular implementations, the computer-readable storage medium includes: various storage media capable of storing program codes, such as a Universal Serial Bus flash drive (USB), a removable hard disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, and an optical disk.

In the embodiments of the present invention, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described embodiments of the apparatus are merely illustrative, and for example, the described unit or division of units is only one division of logical functions, and there may be other divisions when actually implemented, for example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or may be 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 or other form.

The functional units in the embodiments of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may be an independent physical module.

The integrated unit, if implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, all or part of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention may be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes instructions for causing a computer device, such as a personal computer, a server, or a network device, or a processor (processor) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods according to the embodiments of the present invention. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as a universal serial bus flash drive (usb flash drive), a removable hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

The above embodiments are only used to describe the technical solutions of the present application in detail, but the above embodiments are only used to help understanding the method of the embodiments of the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the embodiments of the present invention. Variations or substitutions that may be readily apparent to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for signaling connection release, comprising:

the access and mobility management functional entity receives release auxiliary information sent by an application functional entity, wherein the release auxiliary information is used for indicating the time of signaling connection release;

and the access and mobility management functional entity releases the signaling connection based on the release auxiliary information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the access and mobility management function entity receives release assistance information sent by the application function entity through a user plane function entity or a network open function entity.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the release side information indicates any one of the following information:

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the release assistance information is a preset field set by the application function entity in an internet protocol header (IP) header or a preset field set by the application function entity in a tunnel header.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the accessing and mobility management function entity receives the release assistance information sent by the application function entity through a user plane function entity, and comprises:

the access and mobility management function entity receives release assistance information sent by a session management function entity through an N11 message, wherein the release assistance information provided by the session management function entity is identified by the user plane function entity from an IP header or from a tunnel header and sent to the session management function entity through an N4 message, or the release assistance information provided by the session management function entity is identified by the session management function entity from an IP header.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the accessing and mobility management function entity receives the release assistance information sent by the application function entity through a user plane function entity, and comprises:

7. The method as claimed in claim 5 or 6, wherein if the release assistance information indicates that there is only one downlink data transmission and no uplink data transmission between the application function entity and the terminal, the accessing and mobility management function entity performs signaling connection release based on the release assistance information, including:

8. The method as claimed in claim 5 or 6, wherein if the release assistance information indicates that one downlink data and one uplink data are transmitted between the application function entity and the terminal, or that multiple downlink data and one uplink data are transmitted between the application function entity and the terminal, the accessing and mobility management function entity performs signaling connection release based on the release assistance information, including:

and the access and mobility management functional entity initiates a signaling connection release process after sending the uplink data to the user plane functional entity through a session management functional entity or after sending the uplink data to the user plane functional entity.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein the accessing and mobility management function entity receives the release assistance information sent by the application function entity through a network open function entity, and comprises:

10. The method of claim 2, wherein the accessing and mobility management function entity receives the release assistance information sent by the application function entity through a network open function entity, and comprises:

11. The method of claim 9 or 10, wherein if the release assistance information indicates that there is only one downlink data transmission and no uplink data transmission between the application function entity and the terminal, the accessing and mobility management function entity performs signaling connection release based on the release assistance information, including:

12. The method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein if the release assistance information indicates that one downlink data and one uplink data are transmitted between the application function entity and the terminal, or that multiple downlink data and one uplink data are transmitted between the application function entity and the terminal, the accessing and mobility management function entity performs signaling connection release based on the release assistance information, including:

and the access and mobility management functional entity initiates a signaling connection release process after sending the uplink data to the network open functional entity through a session management functional entity or after sending the uplink data to the network open functional entity.

13. The method of any one of claims 1-3, 5-6, and 9-10, wherein the signaling connection comprises at least one of a radio resource control, RRC, signaling connection, an N2 signaling connection, and a non-access stratum, NAS, signaling connection.

14. A communications apparatus, comprising:

a memory to store instructions;

15. The communications apparatus of claim 14, the transceiver to:

16. The communications apparatus of claim 15, wherein the release assistance information indicates any one of:

17. The communications apparatus according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the release assistance information is a preset field set by the application function entity in an internet protocol header (IP header) or a preset field set by the application function entity in a tunnel header.

18. The communications apparatus of claim 15, the transceiver to:

receiving release assistance information sent by a session management function entity through an N11 message, wherein the release assistance information provided by the session management function entity is identified by the user plane function entity from an IP header or from a tunnel header and sent to the session management function entity through an N4 message, or the release assistance information provided by the session management function entity is identified by the session management function entity from an IP header.

19. The communications apparatus of claim 15, the transceiver to:

and receiving the release auxiliary information sent by the user plane functional entity through an interface message between the access and mobility management functional entity and the user plane functional entity.

20. The communications apparatus as claimed in claim 18 or 19, wherein if the release assistance information indicates that there is only one downlink data transmission and no uplink data transmission between the application function entity and the terminal, the processor is configured to:

21. The communications apparatus as claimed in claim 18 or 19, wherein if the release assistance information indicates that one downlink data and one uplink data are transmitted between the application function entity and the terminal, or that a plurality of downlink data and one uplink data are transmitted between the application function entity and the terminal, the processor is configured to:

and after the transceiver sends the uplink data to the user plane functional entity through a session management functional entity, or after the transceiver sends the uplink data to the user plane functional entity, initiating a signaling connection release process.

22. The communications apparatus of claim 15,

the transceiver is configured to receive a request message carrying the release assistance information sent by the network open function entity, where the release assistance information provided by the network open function entity is provided to the network open function entity by the application function entity in the request message;

23. The communications apparatus of claim 15,

the transceiver is configured to receive a request message carrying the release assistance information, which is sent by a session management functional entity through an N11 message, where the release assistance information provided by the session management functional entity is provided by the network open functional entity to the session management functional entity, and the release assistance information provided by the network open functional entity is provided by the application functional entity to the network open functional entity in the request message;

24. The communications apparatus as claimed in claim 22 or 23, wherein if the release assistance information indicates that there is only one downlink data transmission and no uplink data transmission between the application function entity and the terminal, the processor is configured to:

25. The communications apparatus as claimed in claim 22 or 23, wherein if the release assistance information indicates that one downlink data and one uplink data are transmitted between the application function entity and the terminal, or that a plurality of downlink data and one uplink data are transmitted between the application function entity and the terminal, the processor is configured to:

after the transceiver sends the uplink data to the network open function entity through a session management function entity, or after the transceiver sends the uplink data to the network open function entity, a signaling connection release process is initiated.

26. The communications apparatus of any of claims 14-16, 18-19, and 22-23, wherein the signaling connection comprises at least one of a radio resource control, RRC, signaling connection, an N2 signaling connection, and a non-access stratum, NAS, signaling connection.

27. A communications apparatus, comprising:

28. A computer-readable storage medium characterized by:

the computer readable storage medium stores computer instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any of claims 1-13.