CN111083718B

CN111083718B - Session management method, network function and network system

Info

Publication number: CN111083718B
Application number: CN201811228251.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 吴玲
Original assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Communications Ltd Research Institute
Current assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Communications Ltd Research Institute
Priority date: 2018-10-22
Filing date: 2018-10-22
Publication date: 2023-07-21
Anticipated expiration: 2038-10-22
Also published as: CN111083718A

Abstract

The invention provides a session management method, a network function and a network system, wherein the method comprises the following steps: when a first SMF establishing communication connection with the UPF fails, a second SMF is used as a backup of the first SMF; wherein the first SMF and the second SMF belong to the same SMF set; and establishing communication connection with the second SMF. Therefore, when the first SMF sends a fault, the UPF can select a second SMF from the SMF set to be used as a backup of the first SMF and establish communication connection with the second SMF, so that the downlink service is effectively ensured not to be interrupted due to the fault of the first SMF.

Description

Session management method, network function and network system

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a session management method, a network function, and a network system.

Background

Fifth generation (5) ^th Generation, 5G) in a mobile communication system, a series of problems may occur if a service (e.g., an uplink service or a downlink service) arrives after a Network Function (NF) fails. For example, a user establishes a session on a session management function (Session Management Function, abbreviated as SMF), and when the SMF fails, a user plane function (User Plane Function, abbreviated as UPF) that establishes a session with the failed SMF cannot transfer the downlink traffic to the SMF; alternatively, when the SMF fails, the uplink traffic first arrives, and the access and mobility management function (Access and Mobility Management Function, abbreviated as AMF) that establishes a session with the failed SMF cannot transmit uplink data to the SMF. From the above, when the SMF fails, the transmission of uplink traffic and downlink traffic is affected.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a session management method, a network function and a network system, which are used for solving the problem that when SMF fails, the transmission of uplink and downlink services is affected.

In order to solve the technical problems, the invention is realized as follows:

in a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a session management method, applied to a user plane function UPF, including:

when a first Session Management Function (SMF) establishing communication connection with the UPF fails, taking a second SMF as a backup of the first SMF; wherein the first SMF and the second SMF belong to the same SMF set;

and establishing communication connection with the second SMF.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a session management method, applied to an access mobility management function AMF, including:

when a first Session Management Function (SMF) establishing communication connection with the AMF fails, a second SMF is used as a backup of the first SMF; wherein the first SMF and the second SMF belong to the same SMF set;

and establishing communication connection with the second SMF.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a session management method, applied to a session management function SMF, including:

sending an SMF registration request message or an SMF service registration request to a network storage function NRF, wherein the SMF registration request message or the SMF service registration request comprises a packet in which the SMF is located;

and receiving a registration response message or a service registration response message sent by the NRF, wherein the registration response message or the service registration response message comprises an SMF set, and the SMF set comprises other SMFs with the same grouping as the SMF.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a session management method, applied to a network storage function NRF, including:

receiving an SMF registration request message or an SMF service registration request sent by a session management function SMF, wherein the SMF registration request message or the SMF service registration request comprises a packet in which the SMF is located;

and sending a registration response message or a service registration response message to the SMF, wherein the registration response message or the service registration response message comprises an SMF set, and the SMF set comprises other SMFs with the same grouping as the SMF.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a user plane function, including:

a first SMF backup obtaining module, configured to, when a first session management function SMF that establishes a communication connection with a user plane function UPF fails, take a second SMF as a backup of the first SMF; wherein the first SMF and the second SMF belong to the same SMF set;

and the first communication connection module is used for establishing communication connection with the second SMF.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an access mobility management function, including:

the second SMF backup acquisition module is used for taking the second SMF as a backup of the first SMF when the first session management function SMF which establishes communication connection with the access mobile management function AMF fails; wherein the first SMF and the second SMF belong to the same SMF set;

and the second communication connection module is used for establishing communication connection with the second SMF.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a session management function, including:

a second sending module, configured to send an SMF registration request message or an SMF service registration request to a network storage function NRF, where the SMF registration request message or the SMF service registration request includes a packet in which the SMF is located;

and a third SMF set receiving module, configured to receive a registration response message or a service registration response message sent by the NRF, where the registration response message or the service registration response message includes an SMF set, and the SMF set includes other SMFs that have the same packet as the SMF.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a network storage function, including:

a first receiving module, configured to receive an SMF registration request message or an SMF service registration request sent by a session management function SMF, where the SMF registration request message or the SMF service registration request includes a packet in which the SMF is located;

and a third sending module, configured to send a registration response message or a service registration response message to the SMF, where the registration response message or the service registration response message includes an SMF set, and the SMF set includes other SMFs that have the same packet as the SMF.

In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a network system, including the above user plane function, the above access mobility management function, the above session management function, and the above network storage function.

In the embodiment of the invention, when a first SMF establishing communication connection with the UPF fails, a second SMF is used as a backup of the first SMF; wherein the first SMF and the second SMF belong to the same SMF set; and establishing communication connection with the second SMF. Therefore, when the first SMF sends a fault, the UPF can select a second SMF from the SMF set to be used as a backup of the first SMF and establish communication connection with the second SMF, so that the downlink service is effectively ensured not to be interrupted due to the fault of the first SMF.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings that are needed in the description of the embodiments of the present invention will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and other drawings may be obtained according to these drawings without inventive effort to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a session management method according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is one of flowcharts of a session management method according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is one of flowcharts of a session management method according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is one of flowcharts of a session management method according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5a is one of the block diagrams of the user plane function provided in the fifth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5b is a second block diagram of a user plane function provided by a fifth embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6a is one of the block diagrams of the user plane function provided in the sixth embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6b is a second block diagram of a user plane function provided by the sixth embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7a is one of the block diagrams of the user plane function provided in the seventh embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7b is a second block diagram of a user plane function provided by a seventh embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8a is one of the block diagrams of the user plane function provided by the eighth embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8b is a second block diagram of a user plane function provided by the eighth embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The following description of the embodiments of the present invention will be made clearly and fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which it is evident that the embodiments described are some, but not all embodiments of the invention. All other embodiments, which can be made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without making any inventive effort, are intended to be within the scope of the invention.

Example 1

Fig. 1 is one of flowcharts of a session management method according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 1, the embodiment of the present invention provides a session management method, which is applied to UPF, and includes the following steps:

step 101, when a first session management function SMF that establishes a communication connection with the UPF fails, taking a second SMF as a backup of the first SMF; wherein the first SMF and the second SMF belong to the same SMF set.

Specifically, the SMF set includes a second SMF having the same packet as the first SMF, and of course, the SMF set may also include the first SMF, which may be flexibly selected according to practical situations, and is not limited herein. Grouping the SMFs, wherein the SMFs belonging to the same group are included in the same SMF set. When the first SMF transmits a failure, other SMFs belonging to the same group as the first SMF may be used as backups of the first SMF. In this embodiment, the backup of the first SMF is referred to as the second SMF.

In the first step of downlink business, when a first SMF establishing communication connection with a UPF fails, the UPF selects a second SMF in the SMF set to serve as a backup of the first SMF, so that the second SMF can work instead of the failed first SMF.

Further, before this step, the session management method further includes obtaining the SMF set.

There are various ways to obtain the SMF set, for example, the SMF set may be preconfigured in the UPF, and the SMF set includes SMFs that are in the same packet as the first SMF.

In addition to the above pre-configuring the SMF set in the UPF, the UPF may obtain the SMF set by means of dynamic acquisition. For example, when a UPF establishes a communication connection with the first SMF, the set of SMFs transmitted by the first SMF is received. Because the SMF set is acquired when the communication connection is established with the first SMF, compared with the SMF set which is preconfigured in the UPF, the SMF set obtained by the UPF in the mode is more convenient to update and has stronger instantaneity, so that the grouping management of each SMF is more flexible.

For example, in a first period, the SMF set includes SMF1 and SMF2, and in a second period, the SMF set includes SMF1, SMF2, and SMF3. When the UPF establishes a communication connection with the first SMF in a first time period, the SMF set received by the UPF comprises SMF1 and SMF2;

when the UPF establishes a communication connection with the first SMF in the second period of time, the set of SMFs received by the UPF includes SMF1, SMF2, and SMF3.

It should be noted that the second SMF included in the SMF set needs to be a normal-use SMF, for example, an SMF that cannot be failed or disabled.

When there are a plurality of second SMFs included in the SMF set, the second SMF may be determined in a polling manner or determined in a load balancing manner. In addition to selection by the UPF to determine a second SMF, it is also possible to designate a certain second SMF as a backup for the first SMF directly in the set of SMFs, the UPF obtaining the second SMF directly from the designation when the first SMF fails.

The SMF set may specifically include an ID of the SMF, a packet ID of a packet in which the SMF is located, and the like.

And 102, establishing communication connection with the second SMF.

After determining the second SMF, the UPF establishes a communication connection with the second SMF for data transmission.

According to the session management method provided by the embodiment of the invention, when a first SMF establishing communication connection with the UPF fails, a second SMF is used as a backup of the first SMF; wherein the first SMF and the second SMF belong to the same SMF set; and establishing communication connection with the second SMF. Therefore, when the first SMF sends a fault, the UPF can select a second SMF from the SMF set to be used as a backup of the first SMF and establish communication connection with the second SMF, so that the downlink service is effectively ensured not to be interrupted due to the fault of the first SMF.

Further, step 102 includes:

and sending a downlink data notification to the second SMF so that the second SMF requests the user context from the UDSF according to the session ID, wherein the downlink data notification comprises the session ID, and the session ID is the identification of the session established between the User Equipment (UE) and the mobile data network where the first SMF is located.

After determining the second SMF, the UPF sends a downlink data notification to the second SMF, where the downlink data notification carries a session ID. For each packet, an unstructured data storage function (Unstructured Data Storage Function, abbreviated as UDSF) is provided, and the UDSF is a centralized data storage server, and user key information is stored on the UDSF. The second SMF requests the user context from the UDSF according to the session ID, and information of UE to be served by the second SMF can be obtained, wherein the UE is the UE establishing the session with the first SMF.

The UPF can establish communication connection with the second SMF by sending downlink data notification to the second SMF, so that the second SMF replaces the first SMF when the first SMF fails, and the purpose of effectively carrying out downlink service is achieved.

Example two

Fig. 2 is one of flowcharts of a session management method according to a second embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 2, the embodiment of the present invention provides a session management method, which is applied to an AMF, and includes the following steps:

step 201, when a first session management function SMF that establishes a communication connection with the AMF fails, taking a second SMF as a backup of the first SMF; wherein the first SMF and the second SMF belong to the same SMF set.

In the uplink service first step, when a first SMF establishing a communication connection with the AMF fails, the AMF selects a second SMF in the SMF set as a backup of the first SMF, so that the second SMF works instead of the failed first SMF.

There are various ways to obtain the SMF set, for example, the SMF set may be preconfigured in the AMF, and the SMF set includes SMFs that are in the same packet as the first SMF.

In addition to the foregoing pre-configuring the SMF set in the AMF, the AMF may obtain the SMF set by dynamically acquiring.

The step of obtaining the SMF set comprises the following steps: sending an SMF registration request or a service discovery request to a network storage function (Network Repository Function, NRF for short); and receiving a response SMF registration request or a response service discovery request of the NRF, wherein the response SMF registration request or the response service discovery request comprises the SMF set.

Specifically, SMF needs to be registered with NRF before being put into use. The registration process is as follows: the SMF transmits an SMF registration request message or an SMF service registration request to the NRF, the SMF registration request message or the SMF service registration request including a packet in which the SMF is located.

Through the above-described SMF registration procedure, the NRF may obtain the SMF having the same packet, i.e., obtain the SMF set, and when the AMF transmits an SMF registration request or a service discovery request to the NRF, the NRF may transmit the SMF set to the AMF in response to the SMF registration request or in response to the service discovery request. Therefore, compared with the SMF set which is preconfigured in the AMF, the SMF set obtained by the AMF in the mode is more convenient to update and has stronger instantaneity, so that the packet management of each SMF is more flexible.

When there are a plurality of second SMFs included in the SMF set, the second SMF may be determined in a polling manner or determined in a load balancing manner. In addition to being selected by the AMF to determine the second SMF, it is also possible to designate a certain second SMF as a backup for the first SMF directly in the set of SMFs, the AMF obtaining the second SMF directly from the designation when the first SMF fails.

Step 202, establishing communication connection with the second SMF.

After determining the second SMF, the AMF establishes a communication connection with the second SMF for data transmission.

When a first session management function SMF establishing communication connection with the AMF fails, the second SMF is used as a backup of the first SMF; wherein the first SMF and the second SMF belong to the same SMF set; and establishing communication connection with the second SMF. Thus, when the first SMF sends a fault, the AMF can select a second SMF from the SMF set to serve as a backup of the first SMF and establish communication connection with the second SMF, so that uplink service is effectively ensured not to be interrupted due to the fault of the first SMF.

Further, step 202 includes:

and sending a session establishment request to the second SMF so that the second SMF requests the user context to the UDSF according to the session ID, wherein the session establishment request comprises the session ID, and the session ID is the identification of the session established between the User Equipment (UE) and the mobile data network where the first SMF is located.

After determining the second SMF, the AMF sends a session establishment request to the second SMF, where the session establishment request carries a session ID. For each group, a UDSF is provided, which is a centralized data storage server, and user key information is stored on the UDSF. The second SMF requests the user context from the UDSF according to the session ID, and information of UE to be served by the second SMF can be obtained, wherein the UE is the UE establishing the session with the first SMF.

The AMF can establish communication connection with the second SMF by sending a session establishment request to the second SMF, so that the purpose that the second SMF replaces the first SMF when the first SMF fails is achieved, and uplink service is effectively performed is guaranteed.

Example III

Fig. 3 is one of flowcharts of a session management method according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 3, an embodiment of the present invention provides a session management method, which is applied to SMF, and includes the following steps:

step 301, an SMF registration request message or an SMF service registration request is sent to an NRF, where the SMF registration request message or the SMF service registration request includes a packet in which the SMF is located.

Before using, the SMF needs to register with the NRF, that is, send an SMF registration request message or an SMF service registration request to the NRF. The SMF registration request message or the SMF service registration request includes a packet in which the SMF is located, and it may be convenient for the NRF to include the SMF having the same packet in the SMF set.

Step 302, receiving a registration response message or a service registration response message sent by the NRF, where the registration response message or the service registration response message includes an SMF set, and the SMF set includes other SMFs having the same packet as the SMF. If the SMF is a first SMF, then other SMFs may be considered second SMFs.

According to the session management method provided by the embodiment of the invention, SMF registration request information or SMF service registration request is sent to NRF; and receiving a registration response message or a service registration response message sent by the NRF, wherein the registration response message or the service registration response message comprises an SMF set. Thus, when the SMF completes registration, the SMF set sent by the NRF is received, so that when communication connection is established with the UPF, the SMF set can be sent to the UPF, when the SMF sends a fault, the UPF can select another SMF from the SMF set as a backup of the fault SMF, and the normal operation of downlink service can be effectively ensured.

Further, when a communication connection is established with the user plane function UPF, the SMF set is sent to the UPF. When the SMF sends a fault, the UPF can select another SMF from the SMF set to be used as a backup of the fault SMF, so that the normal operation of downlink service can be effectively ensured.

Further, the session management method provided by an embodiment of the present invention further includes:

receiving a downlink data notification sent by the user plane function UPF; and requesting the user context from the unstructured data storage function UDSF according to the session ID, wherein the downlink data notification comprises the session ID, and the session ID is the identification of the session established between the user equipment UE and the mobile data network where the SMF is located.

Specifically, the SMF receives a UPF and sends a downlink data notification, where the downlink data notification carries a session ID. The SMF requests the UDSF for a user context according to the session ID, and can obtain information of UEs to be served by the SMF. When the SMF is a backup SMF, the UE is the UE establishing a session with the failed SMF; otherwise, the UE is the UE establishing the session with the SMF.

In this embodiment, the SMF may establish a communication connection with the UPF by receiving a downlink data notification sent by the UPF. When the SMF is a backup SMF, the SMF can replace the failed SMF to be connected with the UPF, so that the effective proceeding of the downlink service is ensured.

Further, the session management method provided by another embodiment of the present invention further includes:

receiving a session establishment request sent by an AMF; and requesting the user context from the unstructured data storage function UDSF according to the session ID, wherein the session establishment request comprises the session ID, and the session ID is the identification of the session established between the user equipment UE and the mobile data network where the SMF is located.

Specifically, the SMF receives a session establishment request sent by the AMF, where the session establishment request carries a session ID. The SMF requests the UDSF for a user context according to the session ID, and can obtain information of UEs to be served by the SMF. When the SMF is a backup SMF, the UE is the UE establishing a session with the failed SMF; otherwise, the UE is the UE establishing the session with the SMF.

In this embodiment, the SMF may establish a communication connection with the AMF by receiving a session establishment request sent by the AMF. When the SMF is a backup SMF, the backup SMF can replace the fault SMF to be connected with the AMF, so that the uplink service is ensured to be effectively carried out.

Example IV

Fig. 4 is one of flowcharts of a session management method according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 4, where the embodiment of the present invention provides a session management method applied to NRF, and includes the following steps:

step 401, receiving an SMF registration request message or an SMF service registration request sent by a session management function SMF, where the SMF registration request message or the SMF service registration request includes a packet in which the SMF is located.

Step 402, sending a registration response message or a service registration response message to the SMF, where the registration response message or the service registration response message includes an SMF set, and the SMF set includes other SMFs having the same packet as the SMF. If the SMF is a first SMF, then other SMFs may be considered second SMFs.

The session management method provided by the embodiment of the invention receives the SMF registration request message or SMF service registration request sent by the session management function SMF; and sending a registration response message or a service registration response message to the SMF, wherein the registration response message or the service registration response message comprises an SMF set. Thus, when the SMF completes registration, the SMF set sent by the NRF is received, so that when communication connection is established with the UPF, the SMF set can be sent to the UPF, when the SMF sends a fault, the UPF can select another SMF from the SMF set as a backup of the fault SMF, and the normal operation of downlink service can be effectively ensured.

Further, in another embodiment of the present invention, the session management method further includes: receiving an SMF registration request or a service discovery request sent by an AMF; and sending a response SMF registration request or a response service discovery request to the AMF, wherein the response SMF registration request or the response service discovery request comprises the SMF set.

Specifically, after the NRF receives the SMF registration request or the service discovery request sent by the AMF, the NRF may send the SMF set to the AMF in response to the SMF registration request or in response to the service discovery request, so that when the SMF that establishes a communication connection with the AMF fails, the AMF may select an SMF from the SMF set as a standby of the failed SMF, and establish a communication connection with the standby SMF, so as to ensure that uplink services effectively proceed.

Example five

Fig. 5a is one of the block diagrams of the user plane function provided in the fifth embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 5a, an embodiment of the present invention provides a user plane function 500, including:

a first SMF backup obtaining module 501, configured to, when a first session management function SMF that establishes a communication connection with a user plane function UPF fails, take a second SMF as a backup of the first SMF; wherein the first SMF and the second SMF belong to the same SMF set;

a first communication connection module 502, configured to establish a communication connection with the second SMF.

Further, as shown in fig. 5b, the above-mentioned user plane function 500 further includes:

a first SMF set receiving module 503, configured to receive, when a communication connection is established with the first SMF, the SMF set sent by the first SMF.

Further, the first communication connection module is used for:

and sending a downlink data notification to the second SMF so that the second SMF requests the user context from the unstructured data storage function UDSF according to the session ID, wherein the downlink data notification comprises the session ID, and the session ID is the identification of the session established between the user equipment UE and the mobile data network where the first SMF is located.

Since the user plane function 500 in this embodiment is an embodiment of the apparatus corresponding to the first embodiment, each step in the first embodiment can be implemented, and for avoiding repetition, a detailed description is omitted here.

Example six

Fig. 6a is one of the block diagrams of the access mobility management function provided in the sixth embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 6a, an embodiment of the present invention provides an access mobility management function 600, including:

a second SMF backup obtaining module 601, configured to, when a first session management function SMF that establishes a communication connection with an access mobility management function AMF fails, take the second SMF as a backup of the first SMF; wherein the first SMF and the second SMF belong to the same SMF set;

a second communication connection module 602, configured to establish a communication connection with the second SMF.

Further, as shown in fig. 6b, the access mobility management function 600 further includes:

a first sending module 603, configured to send an SMF registration request or a service discovery request to a network storage function NRF;

a second SMF set receiving module 604, configured to receive a response SMF registration request or a response service discovery request of the NRF, where the response SMF registration request or the response service discovery request includes the SMF set.

Further, the second communication connection module 602 is configured to:

and sending a session establishment request to the second SMF so that the second SMF requests the user context to an unstructured data storage function UDSF according to a session ID, wherein the session establishment request comprises the session ID, and the session ID is the identification of a session established between user equipment UE and a mobile data network where the first SMF is located.

Since the access mobility management function 600 in this embodiment is an embodiment of the apparatus corresponding to the second embodiment, each step in the second embodiment can be implemented, and for avoiding repetition, a detailed description is omitted here.

Example seven

Fig. 7a is one of the block diagrams of the access mobility management function provided in the sixth embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 7a, an embodiment of the present invention provides a session management function 700, including:

a second sending module 701, configured to send an SMF registration request message or an SMF service registration request to a network storage function NRF, where the SMF registration request message or the SMF service registration request includes a packet in which the SMF is located;

a third SMF set receiving module 702, configured to receive a registration response message or a service registration response message sent by the NRF, where the registration response message or the service registration response message includes an SMF set, and the SMF set includes other SMFs having the same packet as the SMF.

Further, as shown in fig. 7b, the session management function 700 provided in this embodiment further includes:

a first SMF set sending module 703, configured to send the SMF set to the UPF when a communication connection is established with the user plane function UPF.

a downlink data notification receiving module 704, configured to receive a downlink data notification sent by the user plane function UPF;

a request message sending module 705, configured to request a user context from an unstructured data storage function UDSF according to a session ID, where the downlink data notification includes the session ID, and the session ID is an identifier of a session established between a user equipment UE and a mobile data network where the SMF is located.

a session establishment request receiving module 706, configured to receive a session establishment request sent by an access mobility management function AMF;

a request message sending module 705, configured to request a user context to an unstructured data storage function UDSF according to a session ID, where the session establishment request includes a session ID, and the session ID is an identifier of a session established between a user equipment UE and a mobile data network where the SMF is located.

Since the session management function 700 in the present embodiment is an embodiment of a device corresponding to the third embodiment, each step in the third embodiment can be implemented, and for avoiding repetition, a detailed description is omitted here.

Example eight

Fig. 8a is one of the block diagrams of the network storage function provided by the eighth embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 8a, an embodiment of the present invention provides a network storage function 800, including:

a first receiving module 801, configured to receive an SMF registration request message or an SMF service registration request sent by a session management function SMF, where the SMF registration request message or the SMF service registration request includes a packet in which the SMF is located;

a third sending module 802, configured to send a registration response message or a service registration response message to the SMF, where the registration response message or the service registration response message includes an SMF set, and the SMF set includes other SMFs that have the same packet as the SMF.

Further, as shown in fig. 8b, the network storage function 800 further includes:

a second receiving module 803, configured to receive an SMF registration request or a service discovery request sent by an access mobility management function AMF;

a fourth sending module 804, configured to send a response SMF registration request or a response service discovery request to the AMF, where the response SMF registration request or the response service discovery request includes the SMF set.

Since the network storage function 800 in the present embodiment is an embodiment of a device corresponding to the fourth embodiment, each step in the fourth embodiment can be implemented, and for avoiding repetition, a detailed description is omitted here.

Further, the present invention also provides a network system, which includes the user plane function 500 in the fifth embodiment, the access mobility management function 600 in the sixth embodiment, the session management function 700 in the seventh embodiment, and the network storage function 800 in the eighth embodiment.

The embodiment of the invention also provides a computer readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, which when executed by a processor, implements the processes of the above-mentioned session management method embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effects, so that repetition is avoided, and no further description is given here. Wherein the computer readable storage medium is selected from Read-Only Memory (ROM), random access Memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), magnetic disk or optical disk.

It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one … …" does not exclude the presence of other like elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

From the above description of the embodiments, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the above-described embodiment method may be implemented by means of software plus a necessary general hardware platform, but of course may also be implemented by means of hardware, but in many cases the former is a preferred embodiment. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present invention may be embodied essentially or in a part contributing to the prior art in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium (e.g. ROM/RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk) comprising instructions for causing a terminal (which may be a mobile phone, a computer, a server, an air conditioner, or a network device, etc.) to perform the method according to the embodiments of the present invention.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, which are merely illustrative and not restrictive, and many forms may be made by those having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention and the scope of the claims, which are to be protected by the present invention.

Claims

1. A session management method applied to a user plane function UPF, comprising:

when a first Session Management Function (SMF) establishing communication connection with the UPF fails, taking a second SMF as a backup of the first SMF; wherein the first SMF and the second SMF belong to the same SMF set, the SMF set includes SMFs that are located in the same packet as the first SMF, and the second SMF and the first SMF have the same packet;

and establishing communication connection with the second SMF.

2. The session management method of claim 1, wherein prior to taking a second SMF as a backup for the first SMF, further comprising:

and acquiring the SMF set.

3. The session management method of claim 2, wherein obtaining the SMF set comprises:

and when a communication connection is established with the first SMF, receiving the SMF set sent by the first SMF.

4. A session management method according to any of claims 1-3, characterized in that said establishing a communication connection with said second SMF comprises:

5. A session management method applied to an access mobility management function AMF, comprising:

when a first Session Management Function (SMF) establishing communication connection with the AMF fails, a second SMF is used as a backup of the first SMF; wherein the first SMF and the second SMF belong to the same SMF set, the SMF set includes SMFs that are located in the same packet as the first SMF, and the second SMF and the first SMF have the same packet;

and establishing communication connection with the second SMF.

6. The session management method of claim 5, wherein prior to taking a second SMF as a backup for the first SMF, further comprising:

and acquiring the SMF set.

7. The session management method of claim 6, wherein obtaining the SMF set comprises:

sending an SMF registration request or a service discovery request to a network storage function NRF;

and receiving a response SMF registration request or a response service discovery request of the NRF, wherein the response SMF registration request or the response service discovery request comprises the SMF set.

8. The session management method according to any one of claims 5-7, wherein the establishing a communication connection with the second SMF comprises:

9. A user plane function, comprising:

a first SMF backup obtaining module, configured to, when a first session management function SMF that establishes a communication connection with a user plane function UPF fails, take a second SMF as a backup of the first SMF; wherein the first SMF and the second SMF belong to the same SMF set, the SMF set includes SMFs that are located in the same packet as the first SMF, and the second SMF and the first SMF have the same packet;

10. The user plane function of claim 9, further comprising:

and the first SMF set receiving module is used for receiving the SMF set sent by the first SMF when the communication connection is established with the first SMF.

11. The user plane function according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the first communication connection module is configured to:

12. An access mobility management function, comprising:

the second SMF backup acquisition module is used for taking the second SMF as a backup of the first SMF when the first session management function SMF which establishes communication connection with the access mobile management function AMF fails; wherein the first SMF and the second SMF belong to the same SMF set, the SMF set includes SMFs that are located in the same packet as the first SMF, and the second SMF and the first SMF have the same packet;

13. The access mobility management function according to claim 12, further comprising:

a first sending module, configured to send an SMF registration request or a service discovery request to a network storage function NRF;

and the second SMF set receiving module is used for receiving a response SMF registration request or a response service discovery request of the NRF, wherein the response SMF registration request or the response service discovery request comprises the SMF set.

14. The access mobility management function according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the second communication connection module is configured to:

15. A network system comprising a user plane function according to any of claims 9-11 and an access mobility management function according to any of claims 12-14.