CN110392400B

CN110392400B - Communication method and related equipment

Info

Publication number: CN110392400B
Application number: CN201810363233.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 胡翔; 夏渊
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-04-21
Filing date: 2018-04-21
Publication date: 2022-04-12
Anticipated expiration: 2038-04-21
Also published as: WO2019201322A1; CN110392400A

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention discloses a communication method and related equipment, wherein the method is applied to a session management function network element and comprises the following steps: selecting a first user plane function network element from M user plane function network elements according to subscription data of user equipment and service level protocol data of the M user plane function network elements, wherein the M user plane function network elements are the user plane function network elements which are connected with the session management function network element, the subscription data comprises the service level protocol data of the user equipment, the user equipment is the user equipment which triggers the selection of the user plane function network elements, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; and sending a first session establishment message to the first user plane function network element, wherein the first session establishment message is used for establishing a session for the user equipment. The embodiment of the invention can ensure that SLA data of the UPF network element which is selected by the SMF network element and used for establishing the session can meet the service requirement.

Description

Communication method and related equipment

Technical Field

The embodiment of the invention relates to the technical field of communication, in particular to a communication method and related equipment.

Background

A Session Management Function (SMF) network element is a 5G core network element and is responsible for selection and orientation of a User Plane network element, such as a User Plane Function (UPF) network element. A Service-Level Agreement (SLA) is a contract between a network Service provider and a client, defining Service types, Service qualities, etc. Currently, when an SMF Network element selects an UPF Network element for establishing a session, the Selection is performed according to a dynamic load of the UPF Network element, location Information of User Equipment (UE), Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI), and the like. As can be seen, when the SMF network element selects the UPF network element, the SLA data is not considered, so that the SLA data of the selected UPF network element may not meet the service requirement.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention discloses a communication method and related equipment, which are used for ensuring that SLA data of a UPF network element selected by an SMF network element and used for establishing a session can meet business requirements.

In a first aspect, a SMF network element selects a first UPF network element from M UPF network elements according to subscription data of a UE and SLA data of the M UPF network elements, and sends a first session establishment message to the first UPF network element, where the first session establishment message is used to establish a session for the UE. The M UPF network elements are UPF network elements that establish a connection with the SMF network element, the subscription data may include SLA data of the UE, the UE is a UE that triggers selection of the UPF network element, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1. Because the SMF network element can select the UPF network element established by the session for the UE according to the SLA data of the UPF network element and the SLA data of the UE, the SLA data of the UPF network element established by the session can be ensured to meet the requirements of the SLA data of the UE as much as possible, and the SLA data of the UPF network element selected by the SMF network element and used for establishing the session can be ensured to meet the service requirements.

In one embodiment, the SMF network element may receive the second session establishment message, and then select the first UPF network element from the M UPF network elements according to subscription data of the UE and SLA data of the M UPF network elements, and send the first session establishment message to the first UPF network element.

In one embodiment, the SMF network element may receive the session update message first, then select the first UPF network element from the M UPF network elements according to the subscription data of the UE and the SLA data of the M UPF network elements, and send the first session establishment message to the first UPF network element.

In one embodiment, when the SMF network element selects the first UPF network element from the M UPF network elements according to subscription data of the UE and SLA data of the M UPF network elements, when SLA data of at least one UPF network element in the M UPF network elements meets the SLA data of the UE, the first UPF network element may be selected from the at least one UPF network element; when the SLA data of the UPF network elements does not exist in the M UPF network elements and meets the SLA data of the UE, the UPF network element with the greatest similarity between the SLA data of the M UPF network elements and the SLA data of the UE may be determined as the first UPF network element.

In one embodiment, the SMF network element may receive SLA data of the M UPF network elements sent by the M UPF network elements.

In one embodiment, the SMF network element may send a subscription Data request message to a Unified Data Management (UDM) network element and receive subscription Data from a UE of the UDM network element. The subscription data request message is used for acquiring subscription data of the UE.

In one embodiment, the SLA data may include a delay metric, a single-user peak rate, a single-stream peak rate, a packet loss rate, and a minimum guaranteed bandwidth.

In an embodiment, the SMF network element may receive a session establishment response sent by the first UPF network element, and send a session deletion request message for deleting session information of the UE to the second UPF network element, where the second UPF network element is the UPF network element that establishes a session connection with the UE when receiving the session update message.

A second aspect discloses an SMF network element comprising means for performing the communication method provided by the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect.

A third aspect discloses an SMF network element comprising a processor for storing program code, a memory for executing the program code, and a transceiver for communicating with other communication devices. The program code stored in the memory, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform the communication method disclosed in the first aspect or any of its possible implementations.

A fourth aspect discloses a readable storage medium storing program code for an SMF network element to perform the communication method disclosed in the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.

A fifth aspect discloses a communication method, in which a UPF network element sends SLA data of the UPF network element to an SMF network element, the SLA data of the UPF network element is used for selecting a first UPF network element for session establishment for a UE, and receives a first session establishment message from the SMF network element; a session is established for the UE. Wherein, the SMF network element is an SMF network element that establishes a connection with the UPF network element. Because the SMF network element can select the UPF network element for the session establishment for the UE according to the SLA data of the UPF network element, the SLA data of the UPF network element for the session establishment can be ensured to meet the requirements of the SLA data of the UE as much as possible, and the SLA data of the UPF network element for the session establishment, which is selected by the SMF network element, can be ensured to meet the business requirements.

In one embodiment, the UPF network element may determine the SLA data of the UPF network element before sending the SLA data of the UPF network element to the SMF network element.

In one embodiment, the UPF network element may receive a session deletion request message for deleting the session information of the UE sent by the SMF network element, and delete the session information of the UE.

A sixth aspect discloses a UPF network element comprising means for performing the communication method provided by the fifth aspect or any possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect.

A seventh aspect discloses a UPF network element comprising a processor for storing program code, a memory for executing the program code, and a transceiver for communicating with other communication devices. The program code stored in the memory, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform the communication method disclosed in the fifth aspect or any of the possible implementations of the fifth aspect.

An eighth aspect discloses a readable storage medium storing program codes for a UPF network element to execute the communication method disclosed by any one of the possible implementations of the fifth aspect or the fifth aspect.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of another network architecture disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating another communication method disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating another communication method disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of an SMF network element disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of another SMF network element disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a UPF network element disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of another UPF network element disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The embodiment of the invention discloses a communication method and related equipment, which are used for ensuring that SLA data of a UPF network element selected by an SMF network element and used for establishing a session can meet business requirements. The following are detailed below.

In order to better understand a communication method and related devices disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention, a network architecture used in the embodiments of the present invention is described below. Referring to fig. 1, fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 1, the Network architecture may include a UE, a (Radio Access Network (R) AN device, a UPF Network element, a Data Network (DN), AN Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) Network element, AN SMF Network element, and a UDM Network element. The UE and (R) AN devices may communicate directly; the UE and the AMF network element have a communication interface, and the communication interface can be an N1 interface; (R) the AN device presents a communication interface with the AMF network element, which may be AN N2 interface; (R) the AN device presents a communication interface with the UPF network element, which may be AN N3 interface; the UPF network element and DN have communication interface, which can be N6 interface; the communication interface exists between the UPF network element and the SMF network element, and the communication interface can be an N4 interface. The AMF network element can provide a service interface Namf, the SMF network element can provide a service interface Nsmf, and the UDM network element can provide a service interface Nudm. The AMF network element, the SMF network element and the UDM network element can communicate through a service interface.

Referring to fig. 2, fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of another network architecture according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 2, the network architecture may include a UE, AN (R) AN device, a UPF network element, a DN, AN AMF network element, AN SMF network element, and a UDM network element. The UE and (R) AN devices may communicate directly; the UE and the AMF network element have a communication interface, and the communication interface can be an N1 interface; (R) the AN device presents a communication interface with the AMF network element, which may be AN N2 interface; (R) the AN device presents a communication interface with the UPF network element, which may be AN N3 interface; the UPF network element and DN have communication interface, which can be N6 interface; a communication interface exists among different UPF network elements, and the communication interface can be an N9 interface; a communication interface exists between the UPF network element and the SMF network element, and the communication interface can be an N4 interface; a communication interface exists among different AMF network elements, and the communication interface can be an N14 interface; the AMF network element and the SMF network element have a communication interface, and the communication interface can be an N11 interface; the AMF network element and the UDM network element have a communication interface, and the communication interface can be an N8 interface; the SMF network element and the UDM network element have a communication interface, which may be an N10 interface.

The UE may be a handheld terminal, a notebook computer, a subscriber unit (subscriber unit), a cellular phone (cellular phone), a smart phone (smart phone), a Wireless data card, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) computer, a tablet computer, a Wireless modem (modem), a handheld device (hand-held), a laptop computer (laptop computer), a cordless phone (cordless telephone) or a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Machine Type Communication (MTC) terminal or other devices that can access a network.

The UE and the (R) AN equipment communicate with each other by adopting a certain air interface technology. The (R) AN equipment includes RAN equipment and AN equipment, the RAN equipment is a third Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) wireless network equipment, and the AN equipment is a non (non)3GPP defined access network equipment. The RAN device is mainly responsible for functions of radio resource management, Quality of Service (QoS) management, data compression, encryption, and the like on the air interface side. The RAN equipment may include various forms of base stations, such as: macro base stations, micro base stations (also referred to as small stations), relay stations, access points, etc. The AN device allows the UE and the 3GPP core network to use a non-3 GPP technology for interconnection and interworking, where the non-3 GPP technology may be a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network, and the like.

The UPF network element is responsible for forwarding and receiving user data in the UE, can receive the user data from DN, and transmit to the UE through (R) AN equipment; user data may also be received from the UE through the (R) AN device and forwarded to the DN. The transmission resource and scheduling function for providing service for the UE in the UPF network element are managed and controlled by the SMF network element.

The AMF network element belongs to a core network element and is mainly responsible for signaling processing, for example: access control, mobility management, registration, de-registration, and gateway selection. When the AMF network element provides service for the session in the UE, a storage resource of a control plane is provided for the session, so as to store the session identifier, the SMF network element identifier associated with the session identifier, and the like.

The SMF network element is responsible for user plane network element selection, user plane network element redirection, Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation, session establishment, modification, release, and QoS control.

The UDM network element is responsible for user key management, user identification processing, access authorization of subscription data, network function entity management of UE, session and service continuity management, short message pushing, legal monitoring, subscription management and short message management.

Referring to fig. 3, based on the network architecture shown in fig. 1 or fig. 2, fig. 3 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 3, the communication method may include the following steps.

301. And the target UPF network element sends the SLA data of the target UPF network element to the SMF network element.

In this embodiment, the target UPF network element may monitor, in real time, at regular time, or periodically, the SLA data of the target UPF network element, and send, in regular time, periodically, the SLA data of the first UPF network element when the SLA data of the first UPF network element changes, or when receiving an SLA data acquisition request message from the SMF network element, the SLA data of the target UPF network element to the SMF network element. The SLA data of the UPF network element may include a delay index of the UPF network element, a single-user peak rate, a single-stream peak rate, a packet loss rate, a minimum guaranteed bandwidth, and the like. The change of the SLA data of the target UPF network element may be a change of at least one of a delay index, a single-user peak rate, a single-stream peak rate, a packet loss rate, and a minimum guaranteed bandwidth of the UPF network element. The target UPF network element is any one of M UPF network elements which establish connection with the SMF network element, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 2. The target UPF network element sends the SLA data of the target UPF network element to the SMF network element, and the SLA data can be sent through the expanded PFCP Node Report Request message and through the expanded N4/Sx interface.

302. And the SMF network element selects a first UPF network element from the M UPF network elements according to the subscription data of the UE and the SLA data of the M UPF network elements.

In this embodiment, when a UPF network element used for establishing a session needs to be selected for the UE, the SMF network element may select the first UPF network element from the M UPF network elements according to subscription data of the UE and SLA data of the M UPF network elements. The subscription data of the UE may include SLA data of the UE, and the SLA data of the UE may include a delay index of the UE, a single-user peak rate, a single-stream peak rate, a packet loss rate, and a minimum guaranteed bandwidth. The SLA data of the M UPF network elements used in this step is the latest SLA data received by the SMF network element from the M UPF network elements.

In this embodiment, when the SMF network element selects the first UPF network element from the M UPF network elements according to the subscription data of the UE and the SLA data of the M UPF network elements, the SLA data of the UE may be compared with the SLA data of the M UPF network elements one by one, and in the comparison process, the UPF network element in which the first SLA data of the M UPF network elements satisfies the SLA data of the UE may be determined as the first UPF network element, and at this time, the SLA data of the UPF network element that is not compared or is not compared may not be compared any more, so that the selection time of the UPF network element may be saved. Or after the SLA data of the UE and the SLA data of the M UPF network elements are all compared, when the comparison result shows that the SLA data of at least one UPF network element in the M UPF network elements meets the SLA data of the UE, if the number of the at least one UPF network element is 1, the UPF network element may be directly determined as the first UPF network element. If the number of the at least one UPF Network element is greater than 1, any one UPF Network element in the at least one UPF Network element may be determined as the first UPF Network element, or a UPF Network element with the smallest load in the at least one UPF Network element may be determined as the first UPF Network element, or a reference factor for selecting the UPF Network element in the current 5G standard may be selected, where the reference factor may include at least one of a dynamic load of the UPF Network element, a static capability of the UPF Network element under the same Data Network Name (DNN), a location accessibility of the UPF Network element to the SMF Network element, location information of the UE, a satisfaction degree of the UPF capability to a UE session requirement, a DNN Network to which the session belongs, a session and continuous service mode, subscription Data of the UE, a service routing Network identifier, an operator local policy, and an S-NSSAI i. The SLA data of the UPF network element meets the SLA data of the UE, namely each index in the SLA data of the UPF network element meets a corresponding index in the SLA data of the UE, namely the time delay index of the UPF network element is smaller than the time delay index of the UE, the single-user peak rate of the UPF network element is larger than the single-user peak rate of the UE, the single-stream peak rate of the UPF network element is larger than the single-stream peak rate of the UE, the packet loss rate of the UPF network element is smaller than the packet loss rate of the UE, and the minimum guaranteed bandwidth of the UPF network element is larger than the minimum guaranteed bandwidth of the UE.

In this embodiment, when the comparison result indicates that the SLA data of the UPF network element does not exist in the M UPF network elements and meets the SLA data of the UE, the similarity between the SLA data of the UE and the SLA data of each UPF network element in the M UPF network elements may be calculated, and then the UPF network element with the greatest similarity between the SLA data of the M UPF network elements and the SLA data of the UE may be determined as the first UPF network element. The UPF network element with the maximum number of indexes that the SLA data can satisfy the SLA data of the UE among the M UPF network elements may also be determined as the first UPF network element, for example: assuming that the number of the indexes of the SLA data is 5, four indexes in the SLA data of one UPF network element can satisfy corresponding indexes in the SLA data of the UE, and the UPF network element can be determined as the first UPF network element. When calculating the similarity, the proportion of each index in the SLA data may be uniformly distributed, or distributed according to the size of the importance degree, or distributed according to other manners.

303. The SMF network element sends a first session setup message to the first UPF network element.

In this embodiment, after selecting the first UPF network element from the M UPF network elements according to the subscription data of the UE and the SLA data of the M UPF network elements, the SMF network element sends a first session establishment message to the first UPF network element, where the first session establishment message may carry an identifier of the UE, and may be sent through an N4 interface.

304. And the first UPF network element establishes a session for the UE.

In this embodiment, after receiving the first session establishment message from the SMF network element, the first UPF network element establishes a session for the UE according to the first session establishment message.

In the communication method described in fig. 3, because the SMF network element can select the UPF network element for session establishment for the UE according to the SLA data of the UPF network element and the SLA data of the UE, the SLA data of the UPF network element for session establishment can be ensured to meet the requirements of the SLA data of the UE as much as possible, and thus, the SLA data of the UPF network element for session establishment selected by the SMF network element can be ensured to meet the service requirements.

Referring to fig. 4, based on the network architecture shown in fig. 1 or fig. 2, fig. 4 is a schematic flow chart of another communication method disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 4, the method may include the following steps.

401. And the target UPF network element sends the SLA data of the target UPF network element to the SMF network element.

Step 401 is the same as step 301, and please refer to step 301 for detailed description, which is not repeated herein.

402. And the SMF network element sends a signing data request message to the UDM network element.

In this embodiment, when the SMF network element needs the subscription data of the UE, a subscription data request message may be sent to the UDM network element, where the subscription data request message carries an identifier of the UE, so as to indicate that the subscription data request message is used to request the subscription data of the UE identified by the identifier.

403. And the UDM network element sends the subscription data of the UE to the SMF network element.

In this embodiment, after receiving the subscription data request message from the SMF network element, the UDM network element sends the subscription data identifying the identified UE to the SMF network element. After receiving the subscription data of the UE from the UDM network element, the SMF network element may perform SMF registration on the subscription data of the UE.

404. The SMF network element receives the second session establishment message.

In this embodiment, the second session establishment message received by the SMF network element may be from the AMF network element or from another network element. After receiving the second session establishment message, that is, during the session activation of the Packet Data Unit (PDU), the SMF network element may first determine whether subscription Data of the UE exists in the SMF network element, and when the subscription Data of the UE exists, step 405 may be directly performed, or may continue to determine whether SLA Data of the UPF network element exists in the SMF network element, and when the SLA Data of the UPF network element exists, step 405 is directly performed. When the SLA data of the UPF network element does not exist, the SMF network element sends an SLA data acquisition request message to the UPF network element connected to the SMF network element, and after the UPF network element connected to the SMF network element receives the SLA data acquisition request message from the SMF network element, step 401 will be executed. When the subscription data of the UE does not exist, step 402-step 403 may be executed first, and then step 405 may be executed directly, or it may be continuously determined whether SLA data of the UPF network element exists in the SMF network element.

In this embodiment, after receiving the second session establishment message, the SMF network element may also determine whether SLA data of the UPF network element exists in the SMF network element, and when the SLA data of the UPF network element exists, step 405 may be directly performed, or it may also continue to determine whether subscription data of the UE exists in the SMF network element, and when the subscription data of the UE does not exist, step 402 to step 403 may be performed first, and then step 405 is performed. When the subscription data of the UE exists, step 405 is directly performed. When the SLA data of the UPF network element does not exist, the SMF network element sends an SLA data acquisition request message to the UPF network element connected to the SMF network element, and after the UPF network element connected to the SMF network element receives the SLA data acquisition request message from the SMF network element, step 401 is executed, and then step 405 may be directly executed, or it may be continuously determined whether subscription data of the UE exists in the SMF network element.

405. And the SMF network element selects a first UPF network element from the M UPF network elements according to the subscription data of the UE and the SLA data of the M UPF network elements.

Step 405 is the same as step 302, and please refer to step 302 for detailed description, which is not repeated herein.

406. The SMF network element sends a first session setup message to the first UPF network element.

Step 406 is the same as step 303, and please refer to step 303 for detailed description, which is not described herein again.

407. And the first UPF network element establishes a session for the UE.

Step 407 is the same as step 304, and please refer to step 304 for detailed description, which is not repeated herein.

In the communication method described in fig. 4, because the SMF network element can select the UPF network element for session establishment for the UE according to the SLA data of the UPF network element and the SLA data of the UE, the SLA data of the UPF network element for session establishment can be ensured to meet the requirement of the SLA data of the UE as much as possible, and thus, the SLA data of the UPF network element for session establishment selected by the SMF network element can be ensured to meet the service requirement.

Referring to fig. 5, based on the network architecture shown in fig. 1 or fig. 2, fig. 5 is a schematic flowchart of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 5, the method may include the following steps.

501. And the target UPF network element sends the SLA data of the target UPF network element to the SMF network element.

Step 501 is the same as step 301, and please refer to step 301 for detailed description, which is not repeated herein.

502. And the SMF network element sends a signing data request message to the UDM network element.

Step 502 is the same as step 402, and please refer to step 402 for detailed description, which is not repeated herein.

503. And the UDM network element sends the subscription data of the UE to the SMF network element.

Step 503 is the same as step 403, and please refer to step 403 for detailed description, which is not described herein again.

504. The SMF network element receives the second session establishment message.

Step 504 is the same as step 404, and please refer to step 404 for detailed description, which is not repeated herein.

505. And the SMF network element selects a first UPF network element from the M UPF network elements according to the subscription data of the UE and the SLA data of the M UPF network elements.

Step 505 is the same as step 302, and please refer to step 302 for detailed description, which is not repeated herein.

506. The SMF network element sends a first session setup message to the first UPF network element.

Step 506 is the same as step 303, and please refer to step 303 for detailed description, which is not described herein again.

507. And the first UPF network element establishes a session for the UE.

Step 507 is the same as step 304, and please refer to step 304 for detailed description, which is not repeated herein.

508. The SMF network element receives a session update message.

In this embodiment, the session update message received by the SMF network element may be from the AMF network element or from another network element. The processing performed after the SMF network element receives the session update message is similar to the processing performed after the SMF network element receives the second session establishment message, and the detailed description refers to step 404 (at this time, step 405 is step 509, step 401 is step 501, step 402 is step 502, and step 403 is step 503), which is not described herein again.

In an embodiment, when the UDM network element detects that subscription data of the UE changes, the UDM network element sends a message that subscription data is changed to the SMF network element, where the message of the UE carries the subscription data after the UE changes, and after the SMF network element receives the message that subscription data from the UDM network element is changed, the SMF network element generates a session update message, and subsequent execution is similar to the above, and is not described herein again.

509. And the SMF network element selects a second UPF network element from the M UPF network elements according to the subscription data of the UE and the SLA data of the M UPF network elements.

Step 509 is similar to step 302, and please refer to step 302 for detailed description, which is not repeated herein.

510. And the SMF network element sends a third session establishment message to the second UPF network element.

Step 510 is similar to step 406, and please refer to step 406 for detailed description, which is not repeated herein.

511. And the second UPF network element establishes a session for the UE.

Step 511 is similar to step 407, and please refer to step 407 for detailed description, which is not repeated herein.

512. And the second UPF network element sends a session establishment response to the SMF network element.

In this embodiment, after the second UPF network element establishes the session for the UE, a session establishment response is sent to the SMF network element, which indicates that the session establishment for the UE by the second UPF network element is completed.

513. And the SMF network element sends a session deletion request message to the first UPF network element.

In this embodiment, after receiving the session establishment response from the second UPF network element, the SMF network element may send a session deletion request message to the first UPF network element. The first UPF network element is a UPF network element which is established by the session between the SMF network element and the UE when the SMF network element receives the session update message.

514. And the first UPF network element deletes the session information of the UE.

In this embodiment, after receiving the session deletion request message from the SMF network element, the first UPF network element deletes the session information of the UE according to the deletion instruction.

In the communication method described in fig. 5, because the SMF network element can select the UPF network element for session establishment for the UE according to the SLA data of the UPF network element and the SLA data of the UE, the SLA data of the UPF network element for session establishment can be ensured to meet the requirement of the SLA data of the UE as much as possible, and thus, the SLA data of the UPF network element for session establishment selected by the SMF network element can be ensured to meet the service requirement.

Referring to fig. 6, fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of an SMF network element according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 6, the SMF network element may include:

a selecting unit 601, configured to select a first UPF network element from M UPF network elements according to subscription data of a UE and SLA data of the M UPF network elements, where the M UPF network elements are UPF network elements that establish a connection with the SMF network element, the subscription data includes SLA data of the UE, the UE is a UE that triggers selection of the UPF network element, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1;

a communication unit 602, configured to send a first session setup message to the first UPF network element selected by the selecting unit 601, where the first session setup message is used to establish a session for the UE.

As a possible implementation manner, the communication unit 602 is further configured to receive the second session establishment message, then trigger the selection unit 601 to select a first UPF network element from the M UPF network elements according to the subscription data of the UE and the SLA data of the M UPF network elements, and trigger the communication unit 602 to send the first session establishment message to the first UPF network element selected by the selection unit.

As a possible implementation manner, the communication unit 602 is further configured to receive a session update message, then trigger the selection unit to select a first UPF network element from the M UPF network elements according to subscription data of the UE and SLA data of the M UPF network elements, and trigger the communication unit to send a session establishment request message to the first UPF network element.

As a possible implementation, the selection unit 601 may include:

when SLA data of at least one UPF network element in the M UPF network elements meets the SLA data of the UE, selecting a first UPF network element from the at least one UPF network element;

and when the SLA data of the UPF network elements does not exist in the M UPF network elements and meets the SLA data of the UE, determining the UPF network element with the maximum similarity between the SLA data of the M UPF network elements and the SLA data of the UE as a first UPF network element.

As a possible implementation manner, the communication unit 602 is further configured to receive SLA data of the M UPF network elements sent by the M UPF network elements.

As a possible implementation manner, the communication unit 602 is further configured to send a subscription data request message to the UDM network element, where the subscription data request message is used to obtain subscription data of the UE;

the communication unit 602 is further configured to receive subscription data of the UE from the UDM network element.

As a possible implementation, the SLA data may include a delay index, a single-user peak rate, a single-stream peak rate, a packet loss rate, and a minimum guaranteed bandwidth.

In addition, the SMF network element may further perform the method steps performed by the SMF network element in fig. 3 to fig. 5, and may further include other units that perform the method steps performed by the SMF network element in fig. 3 to fig. 5, which are not described herein again.

Referring to fig. 7, fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of another SMF network element disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 7, the SMF network element may include a processor 701, a memory 702, a transceiver 703, and a bus 704. The processor 701 may be a general purpose Central Processing Unit (CPU), a plurality of CPUs, a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of programs in accordance with the present invention. The Memory 702 may be, but is not limited to, a Read-Only Memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a Random Access Memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), a Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM) or other optical Disc storage, optical Disc storage (including Compact Disc, laser Disc, optical Disc, digital versatile Disc, blu-ray Disc, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. The memory 702 may be self-contained, and the bus 704 may be coupled to the processor 701. The memory 702 may also be integrated with the processor 701. Bus 704 may include a path that transfers information between the above components. The transceiver 703 may be a transceiver antenna, or may be another transceiver device. Wherein:

the memory 702 has a set of program codes stored therein, and the processor 701 is configured to call the program codes stored in the memory 702 to perform the following operations:

selecting a first UPF network element from M UPF network elements according to subscription data of the UE and SLA data of the M UPF network elements, wherein the M UPF network elements are UPF network elements which are connected with the SMF network element, the subscription data comprises the SLA data of the UE, the UE is the UE which triggers the selection of the UPF network elements, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1;

a transceiver 703, configured to send a first session setup message to the first UPF network element, where the first session setup message is used to instruct the first UPF network element to establish a session for the UE.

As a possible implementation manner, the transceiver 703 is further configured to receive the second session establishment message, then the processor 701 selects a first UPF network element from the M UPF network elements according to subscription data of the UE and SLA data of the M UPF network elements, and the transceiver 703 sends the first session establishment message to the first UPF network element.

As a possible implementation manner, the transceiver 703 is further configured to receive a session update message, then the processor 701 selects a first UPF network element from the M UPF network elements according to subscription data of the UE and SLA data of the M UPF network elements, and the transceiver 703 sends a session establishment request message to the first UPF network element.

As a possible implementation manner, the selecting, by the processor 701, a first UPF network element from the M UPF network elements according to subscription data of the UE and SLA data of the M UPF network elements includes:

As a possible implementation manner, the transceiver 703 is further configured to receive SLA data of M UPF network elements sent by the M UPF network elements.

As a possible implementation manner, the transceiver 703 is further configured to send a subscription data request message to the UDM network element, where the subscription data request message is used to obtain subscription data of the UE;

the transceiver 703 is further configured to receive subscription data of the UE from the UDM network element.

Referring to fig. 8, fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a UPF network element according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 8, the UPF network element may include:

a communication unit 801, configured to send the SLA data of the UPF network element to an SMF network element, where the SLA data of the UPF network element is used to select, for the UE, a first UPF network element for session establishment, and the SMF network element is a UPF network element that establishes a connection with the UPF network element;

a communication unit 801, further configured to receive a first session establishment message from the SMF network element;

an establishing unit 802 is configured to establish a session for the UE.

Wherein, after the communication unit 802 receives the first session establishment message from the SMF network element, it will trigger the establishment unit 802 to establish a session for the UE.

As a possible implementation manner, the UPF network element may further include:

a determining unit 803, configured to determine SLA data of the UPF network element.

After the determining unit 803 determines the SLA data of the UPF network element, it will trigger the communication unit 801 to send the SLA data of the UPF network element to the SMF network element.

In addition, the UPF network element may further perform the method steps performed by the UPF network element in fig. 3 to fig. 5, and may further include other units for performing the method steps performed by the UPF network element in fig. 3 to fig. 5, which are not described herein again.

Referring to fig. 9, fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of another UPF network element according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 9, the UPF network element may include a processor 901, memory 902, transceiver 903, and bus 904. The processor 901 may be a general purpose Central Processing Unit (CPU), multiple CPUs, a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of programs in accordance with the present invention. The Memory 902 may be, but is not limited to, a Read-Only Memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a Random Access Memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), a Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM) or other optical Disc storage, optical Disc storage (including Compact Disc, laser Disc, optical Disc, digital versatile Disc, blu-ray Disc, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. The memory 902 may be self-contained, and the bus 904 may be coupled to the processor 901. The memory 902 may also be integrated with the processor 901. Bus 904 may include a path that conveys information between the aforementioned components. The transceiver 903 may be a transceiver antenna, or may be another transceiver device. Wherein:

the memory 902 has stored therein a set of program codes, and the processor 901 is configured to invoke the program codes stored in the memory 902 to control the transceiver 903 to perform the following operations:

sending SLA data of the UPF network element to an SMF network element, wherein the SLA data of the UPF network element is used for selecting a first UPF network element established by a session for the UE, and the SMF network element is the UPF network element which is connected with the UPF network element;

receiving a first session establishment message from the SMF network element;

a session is established for the UE.

As a possible implementation, the processor 901 loop is used to call the program code stored in the memory 902 to perform the following operations:

and determining SLA data of the UPF network element.

The embodiment of the invention also discloses a readable storage medium, which stores program codes used by the SMF network element and/or the UPF network element to execute the communication methods shown in the figures 3-5.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that, in one or more of the examples described above, the functions described in this invention may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.

The above-mentioned embodiments, objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention are further described in detail, it should be understood that the above-mentioned embodiments are only exemplary embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements and the like made on the basis of the technical solutions of the present invention should be included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A communication method, applied to a session management function network element, comprising:

selecting a first user plane function network element from M user plane function network elements according to subscription data of user equipment and service level protocol data of the M user plane function network elements, wherein the M user plane function network elements are the user plane function network elements which are connected with the session management function network element, the subscription data comprises the service level protocol data of the user equipment, the user equipment is the user equipment which triggers the selection of the user plane function network element, M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, the service level protocol data of the user equipment comprises a time delay index, a single user peak rate, a single flow peak rate, a packet loss rate and a minimum guaranteed bandwidth of the user equipment, and the service level protocol data of the user plane function network elements comprises the time delay index, the single user peak rate, the single flow peak rate, the minimum guaranteed bandwidth of the user plane function network elements, Packet loss rate and minimum guaranteed bandwidth;

and sending a first session establishment message to the first user plane function network element, wherein the first session establishment message is used for establishing a session for the user equipment.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

and receiving a second session establishment message, executing the step of selecting a first user plane functional network element from the M user plane functional network elements according to the subscription data of the user equipment and the service level protocol data of the M user plane functional network elements, and sending the first session establishment message to the first user plane functional network element.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a session update message, and executing the steps of selecting a first user plane functional network element from the M user plane functional network elements according to subscription data of user equipment and service level protocol data of the M user plane functional network elements, and sending a first session establishment message to the first user plane functional network element.

4. The method according to any of claims 1-3, wherein said selecting a first user plane function network element from said M user plane function network elements based on subscription data of a user equipment and service level agreement data of said M user plane function network elements comprises:

when the service level protocol data of at least one user plane function network element in the M user plane function network elements meets the service level protocol data of the user equipment, selecting a first user plane function network element from the at least one user plane function network element;

when the service level protocol data of the user plane functional network element does not exist in the M user plane functional network elements and meets the service level protocol data of the user equipment, determining the user plane functional network element with the maximum similarity between the service level protocol data of the M user plane functional network elements and the service level protocol data of the user equipment as a first user plane functional network element.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, further comprising:

receiving service level protocol data of the M user plane functional network elements from the M user plane functional network elements.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, further comprising:

sending a data request message to a unified data management network element, wherein the data request message is used for acquiring subscription data of user equipment;

and receiving subscription data of the user equipment from the unified data management network element.

7. A communication method, applied to a user plane function network element, comprising:

sending service level protocol data of the user plane function network element to a session management function network element, wherein the service level protocol data of the user plane function network element is used for selecting a first user plane function network element for session establishment for user equipment based on subscription data of the user equipment, the subscription data comprises service level protocol data of the user equipment, the service level protocol data of the user equipment comprises a time delay index, a single-user peak rate, a single-stream peak rate, a packet loss rate and a minimum guaranteed bandwidth of the user equipment, the session management function network element is a session management function network element establishing a connection with the user plane function network element, the service level protocol data of the user plane functional network element comprises a time delay index, a single-user peak rate, a single-flow peak rate, a packet loss rate and a minimum guaranteed bandwidth of the user plane functional network element;

receiving a first session establishment message from the session management function network element;

a session is established for the user equipment.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein before sending the service level agreement data of the user plane function network element to the session management function network element, the method further comprises:

and determining service level protocol data of the user plane function network element.

9. A session management function network element, comprising:

a selecting unit, configured to select a first user plane function network element from M user plane function network elements according to subscription data of a user equipment and service level protocol data of the M user plane function network elements, where the M user plane function network elements are user plane function network elements that establish connection with the session management function network element, the subscription data includes service level protocol data of the user equipment, the user equipment is user equipment that triggers selection of the user plane function network element, the M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, the service level protocol data of the user equipment includes a delay index, a single-user peak rate, a single-flow peak rate, a packet loss rate, and a minimum guaranteed bandwidth of the user equipment, and the service level protocol data of the user plane function network element includes a delay index, a single-user peak rate, a network element of the user plane function, The method comprises the steps of (1) single-stream peak rate, packet loss rate and minimum guaranteed bandwidth;

a communication unit, configured to send a first session establishment message to the first user plane function network element selected by the selection unit, where the first session establishment message is used to establish a session for the user equipment.

10. The network element of claim 9, wherein the communication unit is further configured to receive a second session establishment message, trigger the selection unit to select a first user plane function network element from the M user plane function network elements according to subscription data of a user equipment and service level protocol data of the M user plane function network elements, and trigger the communication unit to send the first session establishment message to the first user plane function network element.

11. The network element of claim 9, wherein the communication unit is further configured to receive a session update message, trigger the selection unit to select a first user plane function network element from the M user plane function network elements according to subscription data of a user equipment and service level protocol data of the M user plane function network elements, and trigger the communication unit to send a first session establishment message to the first user plane function network element.

12. The session management function network element according to any of claims 9-11, wherein the selecting unit comprises:

13. The session management function network element of any of claims 9-11, wherein the communication unit is further configured to receive service level agreement data from the M user plane function network elements of the M user plane function network elements.

14. The network element of any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the communication unit is further configured to send a data request message to a unified data management network element, where the data request message is used to obtain subscription data of a user equipment;

the communication unit is further configured to receive subscription data of the user equipment from the unified data management network element.

15. A user plane functional network element, comprising:

a communication unit for sending service level protocol data of said user plane function network element to a session management function network element, the service level agreement data of the user plane function network element is used for selecting a first user plane function network element of session establishment for the user equipment based on subscription data of the user equipment, the subscription data comprises service level protocol data of the user equipment, the service level protocol data of the user equipment comprises a time delay index, a single-user peak rate, a single-stream peak rate, a packet loss rate and a minimum guaranteed bandwidth of the user equipment, the session management function network element is a session management function network element establishing a connection with the user plane function network element, the service level protocol data of the user plane functional network element comprises a time delay index, a single-user peak rate, a single-flow peak rate, a packet loss rate and a minimum guaranteed bandwidth of the user plane functional network element;

the communication unit is further configured to receive a first session establishment message from the session management function network element;

and the establishing unit is used for establishing a session for the user equipment.

16. The user plane functional network element of claim 15, wherein the user plane functional network element further comprises:

a determining unit, configured to determine service level protocol data of the user plane function network element.