CN111901895B

CN111901895B - Method and device for establishing user plane

Info

Publication number: CN111901895B
Application number: CN201910373243.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 姚琦; 李飞; 丁辉
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-05-06
Filing date: 2019-05-06
Publication date: 2022-07-12
Anticipated expiration: 2039-05-06
Also published as: CN111901895A; WO2020224555A1

Abstract

The application provides a method and a device for establishing a user plane. Based on the method, the session control network element can receive the first request and the information of the auxiliary base station, so that in the process of establishing the first connection according to the first request, the session control network element selects a proper user plane network element according to the information of the auxiliary base station, and establishes a connected user plane path according to the user plane network element. The scheme can be applied to the redundant connection scene.

Description

Method and device for establishing user plane

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of mobile communications technologies, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for establishing a user plane.

Background

When a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session is established in a current network, a User Plane Function (UPF) element needs to be selected, the UPF is used to serve the newly established PDU session, and the PDU session can be used for a terminal device to access a data network.

For a scenario where the main base station and the auxiliary base station provide services for the same terminal device, the network side may also select a UPF for the auxiliary base station. However, when the terminal device accesses the data network through the secondary base station, it may not be able to provide a high-quality service for the terminal device.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a method and a device for establishing a user plane, which can be used for optimizing an access configuration scheme of access network equipment aiming at UE under a 5G vertical industry scene.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a method of establishing a user plane, which may be implemented by a session control network element. Based on the method, a session control network element may receive a first request, where the first request is used to request establishment of a first connection, and also receive information of a secondary base station, where the session control network element selects a first user plane network element according to the information of the secondary base station, the first user plane network element serves the first connection, and sends tunnel information of the first user plane network element and second information to a primary base station, where the second information is used to indicate that a user plane of the first connection passes through the secondary base station, and the session control network element may also send the tunnel information of the secondary base station to the first user plane network element.

By adopting the method, the session control network element can receive the first request and the information of the auxiliary base station, so that in the process of establishing the first connection according to the first request, the session control network element selects a proper user plane network element according to the information of the auxiliary base station and establishes a connected user plane path according to the user plane network element.

In one possible design, the information of the secondary base station may include an identification (ID or ID) of a cell (cell) of the secondary base station, and/or an identification of the secondary base station, and/or tunnel information of the secondary base station. According to the information of the secondary base station, the session control network element may select an appropriate user plane network element, for example, select a user plane network element with a shorter distance from the secondary base station to improve the transmission quality and/or the transmission rate between the secondary base station and the user plane network element, where the information of the secondary base station may be used to indicate the location of the secondary base station, or may be used to query the location of the secondary base station, for example, the information of the secondary base station may include part or all of the identifier of the secondary base station, the identifier of the cell of the secondary base station, or the tunnel information of the secondary base station. In an implementation, when the information of the secondary base station does not include the tunnel information of the secondary base station, the session control network element may further receive the tunnel information of the secondary base station. The tunnel information of the secondary base station is used to establish a connection between the secondary base station and the user plane network element, and therefore, the session control network element needs to receive the tunnel information of the secondary base station when the information of the secondary base station does not include the tunnel information of the secondary base station. And the information of the auxiliary base station is sent to the access and mobile management network element by the main base station, and the access and mobile management network element sends the information of the auxiliary base station to the session control network element.

In one possible design, the session control network element may further receive a second request from the master base station, the second request requesting establishment of a second connection; if the second connection needs to be processed redundantly (or called as being processed redundantly, being processed redundantly), the session control network element sends first information to the master base station, where the first information is used to indicate a user plane where the second connection is established through the master base station, or the first information is used to notify the master base station that the second session needs to be processed redundantly, that is, a connection redundant with the second connection is established. The above steps may be executed before the session control network element receives the first request, so that with the above design, the main base station may determine, according to the received first information, that dual connectivity needs to be established, and send information of the secondary base station to the access and mobility management network element. The access and mobility management network element may send the information of the secondary base station to the session control network element.

In a possible design, if the first connection needs redundancy processing, the second information may be used to indicate the user plane of the first connection established through the secondary base station, or the second information may be used to inform the primary base station that the first session needs redundancy processing, i.e. there is a connection that is redundant with the first connection. By adopting the method, the session control network element can determine that the redundant connection needs to be established according to the first request, and accordingly, the session control network element sends the second information to the main base station, and the second information is used for the main base station to select the auxiliary base station and send the information of the auxiliary base station to the session control network element.

In a possible design, if the first request includes the information of the master base station, the session control network element may further determine a second user plane network element according to the information of the master base station, where the second user plane network element serves the first connection; when the session control network element selects the first user plane network element according to the information of the auxiliary base station, the session control network element may reselect the first user plane network element to serve the first connection according to the information of the auxiliary base station; or, the session control network element may insert the first user plane network element between the auxiliary base station and the second user plane network element, where the first user plane network element is an intermediate user plane network element. By adopting the above design, if the session control network element has selected the user plane network element according to the information of the primary base station before the first connection is established, the session control network element can reselect according to the information of the secondary base station, and it is determined that a new user plane network element serves for the first connection. Or, the session control network element may insert an intermediate user plane network element between the secondary base station and the selected user plane network element, where the intermediate user plane network element is selected according to the information of the secondary base station, so as to establish a connection between the secondary base station and the intermediate user plane network element and a connection between the intermediate user plane network element and the user plane network element selected according to the primary base station, thereby implementing establishment of a user plane path and optimizing a connection between the secondary base station and the user plane network element. Further, the information of the main base station includes part or all of the following information: an identity of the master base station; or, an identity of a cell of the master base station; or tunnel information of the master base station.

In one possible design, the session control network element may be an SMF network element.

In one possible design, the user plane network element may be a UPF network element.

In one possible design, the access and mobility management network element may be an AMF network element.

In one possible design, the first connection and the second connection may be PDU sessions.

In a second aspect, the present application provides a method of establishing a user plane, which may be implemented by a master base station. The main base station sends a first request, and the first request is used for requesting to establish a first connection; the main base station sends the information of the auxiliary base station; the master base station receives tunnel information and second information of a first user plane network element, the first user plane network element serves the first connection, and the second information is used for indicating that a user plane of the first connection passes through the auxiliary base station; and the main base station sends the tunnel information of the first user plane network element to the auxiliary base station.

In one possible design, the information for the secondary base station may include some or all of the following information: an identity of the secondary base station; or, an identity of a cell of the secondary base station; or tunnel information of the secondary base station. And when the information of the auxiliary base station does not comprise the tunnel information of the auxiliary base station, the main base station can send the tunnel information of the auxiliary base station to the access and mobile management network element.

In one possible design, the primary base station may select a secondary base station through which to establish dual connectivity. The process of establishing the dual connectivity may be performed immediately after the selection of the secondary base station, or may not be performed after the selection of the secondary base station.

In one possible design, the primary base station may send a second request requesting establishment of a second connection; the master base station may receive first information indicating a user plane for establishing the second connection through the master base station.

In one possible design, the primary base station receives second information indicating the user plane for establishing the first connection through the secondary base station.

In one possible design, the first request may include information of the master base station. Further, the information of the master base station may include some or all of the following information: an identity of the master base station; or, an identity of a cell of the primary base station; or tunnel information of the master base station.

In one possible design, the access and mobility management element may be an AMF element.

In a third aspect, the present application provides a method for establishing a user plane, which may be implemented by an access and mobility management network element. According to the method, an access and mobility management network element receives a first request from a master base station, the first request requesting establishment of a first connection; the access and mobility management network element sending the first request to a first session control network element; the access and mobility management network element receives information of the auxiliary base station from the main base station; and the access and mobility management network element receives tunnel information and second information of a first user plane network element from the first session control network element, wherein the second information is used for indicating that the first connected user plane passes through the auxiliary base station, and the access and mobility management network element sends the tunnel information and the second information of the first user plane network element to the main base station.

In one possible design, the information of the secondary base station includes part or all of tunnel information of the secondary base station, an identifier of the secondary base station, or an identifier of a cell of the secondary base station. Further, when the information of the secondary base station does not include the tunnel information of the secondary base station, the access and mobility management element may further receive the tunnel information of the secondary base station from the primary base station, and send the tunnel information of the secondary base station to the first session control element.

In one possible design, the access and mobility management element may further receive a second request from the master base station, where the second request is for requesting a second connection, send the second request to the first session control element, receive first information from the first session control element, where the first information is for indicating a user plane for establishing the second connection through the master base station, and send the first information to the master base station.

In one possible design, the access and mobility management network element may further receive a second request from the master base station, the second request requesting establishment of a second connection, send the second request to a second session control network element, receive first information from the second session control network element, the first information indicating a user plane for establishing the first connection through the master base station, and send the first information to the master base station.

In one possible design, the access and mobility management element may further receive second information from the first session control element, the second information indicating the user plane for establishing the first connection through a secondary base station; and the access and mobile management network element sends the second information to the main base station.

In one possible design, the first request may include information of the master base station. Further, the information of the main base station includes part or all of the following information: an identification of the primary base station; or, an identity of a cell of the master base station; or tunnel information of the master base station.

In one possible design, the first session control network element and the second session control network element may both be SMF network elements. The first session control network element and the second session control network element may be the same session control network element or different session control network elements.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a method of establishing a user plane, which may be implemented by a session control network element, an access and mobility management network element, and a master base station. According to the method, a main base station sends a first request to an access and mobility management network element, wherein the first request is used for requesting to establish a first connection; the access and mobility management network element sends the first request to a session control network element; the main base station sends the information of the auxiliary base station to the access and mobility management network element, and the access and mobility management network element sends the information of the auxiliary base station to the session control network element; the session control network element selects a first user plane network element according to the information of the auxiliary base station, and the first user plane network element serves the first connection; the session control network element sends the tunnel information and the second information of the first user plane network element to an access and mobility management network element, wherein the second information is used for indicating the first connected user plane to pass through the auxiliary base station, and the access and mobility management network element sends the tunnel information and the second information of the first user plane network element to a main base station; the main base station sends the tunnel information of the first user plane network element to the auxiliary base station; the session control network element may also send the tunnel information of the secondary base station to the first user plane network element.

In one possible design, the first connection may be a PDU session.

In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device. The communication means may be adapted to perform the steps performed by the session control network element in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect, and the communication means may implement the functions in the methods in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module. For example, when formed by software modules, the communication device may include a communication module and a processing module coupled to each other, wherein the communication module may be used to support the communication device for communication, and the processing module may be used to perform processing operations on the communication device, such as generating information/messages to be transmitted or processing received signals to obtain the information/messages. When formed of hardware components, the communication device may include a transceiver, a memory, and a processor, among others, coupled to each other.

When the method of the first aspect is executed, the communication module may be configured to receive a first request, where the first request is used to request establishment of a first connection, and receive information of a secondary base station; the processing module may be configured to select a first user plane network element according to the information of the auxiliary base station, where the first user plane network element serves the first connection; the communication module may further send the tunnel information and second information of the first user plane network element to a master base station, and send the tunnel information of the auxiliary base station to the first user plane network element, where the second information is used to indicate that the first connected user plane passes through the auxiliary base station.

In one possible design, the information of the secondary base station includes some or all of tunnel information of the secondary base station, an identity of the secondary base station, or an identity of a cell of the secondary base station.

In one possible design, when the information of the secondary base station does not include the tunnel information of the secondary base station, the communication module may further receive the tunnel information of the secondary base station.

In one possible design, the communication module may further receive a second request from the master base station, the second request requesting establishment of a second connection; if the second connection needs to be redundantly processed, the communication module may further send first information to the master base station, where the first information is used to indicate a user plane where the second connection is established through the master base station.

In a possible design, if the first connection needs to be redundantly processed, the communication module may further send second information to the primary base station, where the second information is used to indicate the user plane where the first connection is established through the secondary base station.

In one possible design, the first request includes information of the master base station, and the processing module may further determine a second user plane network element according to the information of the master base station, the second user plane network element serving the first connection; selecting a first user plane network element according to the information of the auxiliary base station, wherein the processing module can reselect the first user plane network element to serve the first connection according to the information of the auxiliary base station; or, the processing module may insert the first user plane network element between the auxiliary base station and the second user plane network element, where the first user plane network element is an intermediate user plane network element.

In one possible design, the information of the master base station includes some or all of the following information: an identity of the master base station; or, an identity of a cell of the master base station; or tunnel information of the master base station.

In one possible design, the first connection may be a PDU session.

In addition, the above communication apparatus may also be implemented by hardware components. When the above communication device is implemented by hardware components, the communication device may comprise a processor, which may be configured to perform the steps performed by the above processing modules. When the above communication device is implemented by hardware components, the communication device may further include a transceiver, and the steps performed by the above communication module may be performed by the transceiver. The communication device may also include a memory operable to store a program for execution by the processor to perform the steps performed by the above processing module.

In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communications apparatus. The communication device may be configured to perform the steps performed by the main base station in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect, and the communication device may implement the functions of the methods in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module. For example, when formed by software modules, the communication device may include a communication module and a processing module coupled to each other, wherein the communication module may be used to support the communication device for communication, and the processing module may be used to perform processing operations on the communication device, such as generating information/messages to be transmitted or processing received signals to obtain the information/messages. When formed of hardware components, the communication device may include a transceiver, a memory, and a processor, among others, coupled to each other.

In performing the method of the second aspect, the communication module may be configured to send a first request, where the first request is used to request establishment of a first connection; the communication module can also send the information of the auxiliary base station; the communication module may further receive tunnel information and second information of a first user plane network element, where the first user plane network element serves the first connection, and the second information is used to indicate that a user plane of the first connection passes through the auxiliary base station; the communication module may further send the tunnel information of the first user plane network element to the auxiliary base station.

In one possible design, the information of the secondary base station includes part or all of tunnel information of the secondary base station, an identifier of the secondary base station, or an identifier of a cell of the secondary base station. Further, when the information of the secondary base station does not include the tunnel information of the secondary base station, the communication module may further send the tunnel information of the secondary base station to the access and mobility management network element.

In one possible design, the processing module may be configured to select a secondary base station and establish dual connectivity through the secondary base station.

In one possible design, the communication module may further send a second request requesting establishment of a second connection; the communication module may also receive first information indicating a user plane for establishing the second connection through the master base station.

In one possible design, the communication module may also receive second information indicating the user plane for establishing the first connection through the secondary base station.

In one possible design, the first request includes information of the master base station. Further, the information of the main base station includes part or all of the following information: an identity of the master base station; or, an identity of a cell of the primary base station; or tunnel information of the master base station.

In one possible design, the first connection may be a PDU session.

In addition, the above communication apparatus may also be implemented by hardware components. When the above communication device is implemented by hardware components, the communication device may comprise a processor, which may be configured to perform the steps performed by the above processing modules. When the above communication device is implemented by a hardware component, the communication device may further include a transceiver, and the steps performed by the above communication module may be performed by the transceiver. The communication device may also include a memory operable to store a program for execution by the processor to perform the steps performed by the above processing module.

In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device. The communication means may be adapted to perform the steps performed by the access and mobility management network elements in any of the possible designs of the third aspect or the third aspect, and the communication means may implement the functions of the methods described above in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module. For example, when formed by software modules, the communication device may include a communication module and a processing module coupled to each other, wherein the communication module may be used to support the communication device for communication, and the processing module may be used to perform processing operations on the communication device, such as generating information/messages to be transmitted or processing received signals to obtain the information/messages. When formed of hardware components, the communication device may include a transceiver, a memory, and a processor, among others, coupled to each other.

In carrying out the method of the third aspect, the communication module may be configured to receive a first request from the master base station, the first request requesting establishment of a first connection; the communication module may also send the first request to a first session control network element; the communication module may also receive information of a secondary base station from the primary base station; the communication module may further receive tunnel information and second information of a first user plane network element from the first session control network element, and send the tunnel information and the second information of the first user plane network element to the master base station, where the second information is used to indicate that the first connected user plane passes through the secondary base station.

In one possible design, the information of the secondary base station includes some or all of tunnel information of the secondary base station, an identity of the secondary base station, or an identity of a cell of the secondary base station. Further, when the information of the secondary base station does not include the tunnel information of the secondary base station, the communication module may further receive the tunnel information of the secondary base station from the primary base station, and send the tunnel information of the secondary base station to the first session control network element.

In one possible design, the communication module may further receive a second request from the master base station, where the second request is used to request establishment of a second connection, send the second request to a second session control network element, receive first information from the second session control network element, where the first information is used to indicate a user plane for establishing the first connection through the master base station, and send the first information to the master base station.

In one possible design, the communication module may further receive second information from the first session control network element, the second information indicating the user plane for establishing the first connection through the secondary base station; the communication module may also send the second information to the master base station.

In one possible design, the first request includes information of the master base station. Further, the information of the main base station includes part or all of the following information: an identity of the master base station; or, an identity of a cell of the master base station; or tunnel information of the master base station.

In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, which may include the communication device of any one or more of the fifth, sixth or seventh aspects.

In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer storage medium having stored therein instructions (or programs) that, when invoked for execution on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method described in the first aspect or any one of the possible designs of the first aspect, or to perform the method described in the second aspect or any one of the possible designs of the second aspect, or to perform the method described in the third aspect or any one of the possible designs of the third aspect.

In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, which may contain instructions, which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method as described in the first aspect or any one of the possible designs of the first aspect, or to perform the method as described in the second aspect or any one of the possible designs of the second aspect, or to perform the method as described in the third aspect or any one of the possible designs of the third aspect.

In an eleventh aspect, the present application provides a chip or a chip system comprising a chip, which chip may comprise a processor. The chip may also include a memory and/or a communication module. The chip may be adapted to perform a method as described in the first aspect or any one of the possible designs of the first aspect, or to perform a method as described in the second aspect or any one of the possible designs of the second aspect, or to perform a method as described in the third aspect or any one of the possible designs of the third aspect. The chip system may be formed by the above chip, and may also include the above chip and other discrete devices, such as a communication module.

Advantageous effects in the fourth to eleventh aspects and possible designs thereof described above reference may be made to the description of advantageous effects of the method described in the first aspect and any possible design thereof, or the second aspect and any possible design thereof, or the third aspect and any possible design thereof.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic architecture diagram of a wireless communication system provided in the present application;

fig. 2 is a block diagram of another wireless communication system provided herein;

fig. 3 is a block diagram of another wireless communication system provided herein;

fig. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a method for establishing a user plane according to the present application;

fig. 5 is a schematic flowchart of another method for establishing a user plane according to the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic flowchart of another method for establishing a user plane according to the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in the present application;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in the present application;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in the present application.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more clear, the present application will be further described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The particular methods of operation in the method embodiments may also be applied to apparatus embodiments or system embodiments.

The following explains the present application with respect to terms:

at least one means one, or more than one, i.e., including one, two, three, and more than one.

Plural, refers to two, or more than two, that is, includes two, three and more than two.

Carrying may mean that a certain message is used to carry certain information or data, or that a certain message is composed of certain information.

Coupling refers to indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units or modules, and may be electrical, mechanical or other forms for information interaction between the devices, units or modules.

In addition, it should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, "and/or" describes an association relationship of associated objects, which means that three relationships may exist, for example, a and/or B may mean: a alone, both A and B, and B alone, where A, B may be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "at least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of the singular or plural items. For example, at least one (one) of a, b, or c, may represent: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a, b and c, wherein a, b and c can be single or multiple.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present application will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. First, a wireless communication system provided in the embodiment of the present application is introduced, a method for establishing a user plane provided in the embodiment of the present application is applicable to the system, then a method for establishing a user plane provided in the embodiment of the present application is introduced, and finally a communication apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present application is introduced.

As shown in fig. 1, a wireless communication system 100 provided by the embodiment of the present application may include a terminal device 101 and a network device 102.

It should be understood that the wireless communication system 100 provided in the embodiment of the present application is applicable to both the low frequency scenario (sub 6G) and the high frequency scenario (above 6G). The application scenarios of the wireless communication system 100 provided in the embodiment of the present application include, but are not limited to, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, a Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, a Time Division Duplex (TDD) system, a fifth generation system or a New Radio (NR) communication system, and a future communication system.

The terminal device 101 shown above may be a user equipment, a terminal (terminal), a Mobile Station (MS), a mobile terminal (mobile terminal), and the like, and the terminal device 101 is capable of communicating with one or more network devices of one or more communication systems and accepting network services provided by the network devices, where the network devices include, but are not limited to, the illustrated network device 102. The terminal device 101 in the embodiment of the present application may be, for example, a mobile phone (or referred to as "cellular" phone), a computer with a mobile terminal, and the like, and the terminal device 101 may also be a portable, pocket, hand-held, computer-embedded, or vehicle-mounted mobile apparatus. The terminal apparatus 101 may also be a communication chip having a communication module.

The network device 102 shown above may comprise an access network device (or access network site) as described herein. In particular, network device 102 may include an access network device. In this application, an access network device refers to a device that provides a network access function, such as a Radio Access Network (RAN) base station, and the like. The network device 102 may specifically include a Base Station (BS), or include a base station and a radio resource management device for controlling the base station, and the network device 102 may be a relay station (relay device), an access point, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, and a base station in a future 5G network, a base station in a future evolved Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) network, or an NR base station, and the like, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. The network device 102 may also be a communication chip having a communication module.

In the execution process of the method described in the present application, the network device 102 may serve as a RAN base station to provide a wireless network connection to the terminal device 101, for example, the network device 102 may serve as an access network base station in a 4G access network, evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN), or the network device 102 may serve as an access network base station in a 5G access network, 5G RAN, or the network device 102 may serve as an access network base station in a future wireless communication system.

A possible wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present application is described below with a 5G core network as an example. As shown in fig. 2, an exemplary 5G wireless communication system may include a 5G core network 201, and the wireless communication system may further include a 5G access network 202, wherein the 5G core network 201 and the 5G access network 202 may interact with each other through an interface. In the scenario of the wireless communication system, the functional entity for implementing the method according to the embodiment of the present application may be a network element (such as an AMF) and/or a terminal device in the 5G core network 201. Specifically, the terminal device 101 according to the embodiment of the present application may include a terminal device connected to a base station in the 5G access network 202, for example, the UE 203 shown in fig. 2, where the UE 203 is connected to the access network base station 204 through a wireless link, and the access network base station 204 may be a base station in the 5G access network 202; the terminal device 101 according to the embodiment of the present application may further include a UE connected to the relay, for example, the UE 205 shown in fig. 2, where the UE 205 is connected to the relay station 206, and the relay station 206 is connected to the access network base station 204 through a relay link. The network device 102 according to the embodiment of the present application may be an access network base station 204 in a 5G access network 202 as shown in fig. 2, or may be a relay station 206 connected to the access network base station 204 as shown in fig. 2.

In addition, taking a 5G network as an example, another possible architecture of the wireless communication system provided in the embodiment of the present application is described with reference to fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a fifth generation network architecture based on a service-oriented architecture. The network architecture shown in fig. 3 may include three parts, a terminal device part, a Data Network (DN) and an operator network part.

The operator network may include a Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF), a network open function (NEF) network element, a network storage function (NRF) network element, a Policy Control Function (PCF) network element, a Unified Data Management (UDM) network element, AN Application Function (AF) network element, a network vision and awareness function (network vision and awareness function, NVAF) network element, AN authentication server function (authentication server function, AUSF) network element, AN access and mobility management function (access and mobility management function, AMF) network element, a session management function (session management function, SMF) network element, AN access network (SMF) network element, a radio access network (user plane) network element, and a user plane network element. In the operator network described above, the parts other than the (radio) access network part may be referred to as Core Network (CN) parts. For convenience of description, the (R) AN will be referred to as RAN as AN example. It should be understood that the above parts of the network elements and the connection relationship between the network elements are not shown in fig. 3.

The UE shown in fig. 3 may be a device with wireless transceiving function, which may be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on the water surface (such as a ship and the like); and may also be deployed in the air (e.g., airplanes, balloons, satellites, etc.). The UE may be a mobile phone (mobile phone), a tablet (pad), a computer with a wireless transceiving function, a Virtual Reality (VR) terminal, an Augmented Reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control), a wireless terminal in self driving (self driving), a wireless terminal in remote medical (remote medical), a wireless terminal in smart grid (smart grid), a wireless terminal in transportation safety (transportation safety), a wireless terminal in smart city (smart city), a wireless terminal in smart home (smart home), and the like. The terminal device 101 shown in the present application may include a UE as shown in fig. 3.

The terminal device may also access the DN via an operator network, use operator services deployed on the DN, and/or services provided by a third party. The third party may be a service party other than the operator network and the terminal device, and may provide services such as data and/or voice for the terminal device. The specific expression form of the third party may be determined according to an actual application scenario, and is not limited herein.

The mobility management network element shown above is a control plane network element provided by an operator network, and is responsible for access control and mobility management when the terminal device accesses the operator network, and includes functions of mobility state management, user temporary identity assignment, user authentication and authorization, and the like. In 5G, the mobility management network element may be an AMF network element, and in future communications such as the 6th generation (6G), the mobility management network element may still be an AMF network element or have another name, which is not limited in this application.

The session management network element (or called session control network element) is a control plane network element provided by an operator network, and is responsible for managing a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session of a terminal device. A PDU session is a channel for transmitting PDUs, and a terminal device needs to transfer PDUs to and from the DN through the PDU session. The PDU session is established, maintained, deleted and the like by the SMF network element. The SMF network element includes Session management (e.g., Session setup, modification, and release, including tunnel maintenance between the UPF and RAN), selection and control of the UPF network element, Service and Session Continuity (SSC) mode selection, roaming, and other Session-related functions. In 5G, the session management network element may be an SMF network element, and in future communications such as 6G, the session management network element may still be an SMF network element, or have another name, which is not limited in this application.

The user plane functional network element (or called user plane network element) shown above is a gateway provided by an operator, and is a gateway for communication between an operator network and a DN. The UPF network element comprises user plane related functions such as data packet routing and transmission, packet detection, Service usage reporting, Quality of Service (QoS) processing, legal monitoring, uplink packet detection, downlink data packet storage and the like. In 5G, the user plane network element may be a UPF network element, and in future communications such as 6G, the user plane network element may still be a UPF network element or have another name, which is not limited in this application.

The above policy control network element is a control plane function provided by an operator, and is used for providing a policy of a PDU session to an SMF network element. The policies may include charging related policies, QoS related policies, authorization related policies, and the like. In 5G, the policy control network element may be a PCF network element, and in future communications such as 6G, the policy control network element may still be a PCF network element, or have another name, which is not limited in this application.

The access network device refers to a device providing a wireless communication function for a terminal. Access network devices include, but are not limited to: next generation base station (G node B, gNB), evolved node B (eNB), Radio Network Controller (RNC), Node B (NB), Base Station Controller (BSC), Base Transceiver Station (BTS), home base station (e.g., home evolved node B, or home node B, HNB), Base Band Unit (BBU), transmission point (TRP), Transmission Point (TP), mobile switching center, etc. in 5G.

As shown in fig. 3, in the dual connectivity architecture, the access network device may include a master base station (master gbb, MgNB) and a secondary base station (secondary gbb, SgNB), where the master base station and the secondary base station provide services for the same UE, and the master base station may perform control plane interaction with the core network, as shown in fig. 3, the master base station may communicate with the AMF through an N2 interface, and the secondary base station does not perform control plane interaction (there is no N2 connection between the secondary base station and the AMF), and is only used for transmitting traffic flow.

It should be understood that the primary base station described herein, including but not limited to a primary base station in a completed dual-connectivity architecture that has already been established, may also include an access network device that is a primary base station in a dual-connectivity architecture that is about to be established. Similarly, the secondary base station described herein includes, but is not limited to, a secondary base station in an already established dual connectivity architecture, and may further include an access network device serving as a secondary base station in a dual connectivity architecture to be established.

Based on the dual connectivity architecture shown in fig. 3, the network can maintain two connections through the primary base station and the secondary base station, respectively: the user plane path of the first connection includes a connection between the UE and the primary base station and a connection between the primary base station and the UPF1, and the user plane path of the second connection includes a connection between the UE and the secondary base station and a connection between the secondary base station and the UPF2, where the two connections access the same data network, such as a data network with the same Data Network Name (DNN). When the two connections transmit the same data, the two connections may be referred to as redundant connections. In 5G, the connection may refer to a PDU session, and in future communication such as 6G, the connection may still be a PDU session, or may have other names, which is not limited in this application.

Taking the above connection as a PDU session as an example, the UE shown in fig. 3 can access the data network through the primary base station and the UPF1 through the first PDU session, and meanwhile, the UE can access the data network through the secondary base station and the UPF2 through the second PDU session. Wherein, the UPF1 is selected by SMF1, and the first PDU session is established by SMF 1. The UPF2 is selected by SMF2 and the second PDU session is responsible for establishment by SMF 2. It should be understood that the architecture shown in fig. 3 is only an example, and it is not excluded in the present application that the first PDU session and the second PDU session are both established by the same SMF, and the UPF1 and the UPF2 are both selected by the SMF, and the UPF1 and the UPF2 can be connected to the SMF through the N4 interface, respectively.

In fig. 3, Namf, Nsmf, Xn, N2, N3, N4, and N6 are interface serial numbers. The meaning of these interface sequence numbers can be referred to as that defined in the 3GPP standard protocol, and is not limited herein.

For convenience of description, in the following of the present application, the AMF network element is referred to as AMF for short, the SMF network element is referred to as SMF for short, the RAN device is referred to as RAN for short, and the terminal device is referred to as UE.

It should be understood that the network device 102 shown in fig. 1 above can be used as a main base station and/or a secondary base station in the 5G wireless communication system shown in fig. 3, and the terminal device 101 can access the network through the network device 102.

To solve the problems mentioned in the background art, the present application provides a method for establishing a user plane. According to the method, the main base station can request the network side to establish the connection of the user plane path through the auxiliary base station, and the information of the auxiliary base station is sent to the network side, so that the session control network element at the network side can select a proper user plane network element according to the information of the auxiliary base station, and the connected user plane path is established according to the user plane network element, so that the session control network element can select the user plane network element according to the information of the auxiliary base station in the connection establishing process.

In the following, the method provided in the embodiments of the present application is respectively described by embodiments, taking a session management network element as an SMF and a user plane network element as an UPF as an example.

As shown in fig. 4, the method provided by the embodiment of the present application may include the following steps:

s101: the master base station sends a first request for requesting establishment of a first PDU session. Wherein the first request can be sent by the terminal device, and the first request is forwarded or transmitted to the AMF through the main base station and sent to the SMF by the AMF. Accordingly, the SMF receives the first request.

S102: the primary base station transmits information of the secondary base station. Wherein, the information of the secondary base station can be sent to the AMF by the main base station and sent to the SMF by the AMF. Accordingly, the SMF receives information of the secondary base station. It should be noted that the timing at which the main base station transmits the information of the secondary base station is not limited, and the information of the secondary base station may be transmitted simultaneously before the main base station transmits the first request, after the main base station transmits the first request, or while the main base station transmits the first request.

S103: and the SMF selects a first UPF according to the information of the secondary base station, and the first UPF serves the first PDU session. The first UPF serving the first PDU session includes that the first UPF is a session anchor UPF of the first PDU session, that is, a PDU session anchor, or the first UPF is a middle UPF, that is, an intermediate UPF.

S104: the SMF transmits tunnel information (tunnel information) of the first UPF and the second information to the master base station. The information of the first UPF can be sent to the AMF by the SMF and sent to the main base station by the AMF, and then the information of the first UPF is sent to the auxiliary base station by the main base station. Second information usable to indicate the user plane for establishing the first connection through the secondary base station. The primary base station may determine to transmit the tunnel information of the first UPF to the secondary base station based on the second information.

For example, the second information may include Redundant Sequence Number (RSN) information (e.g., a value of RSN) of the first session. The RSN information of the PDU session can be used to indicate whether the user plane of the PDU session is via the primary base station or the secondary base station for the user plane path of the redundant PDU session under dual connectivity. For example, the SMF may transmit RSN information of the first PDU session in the first request as the second information to the master base station, or the SMF may inquire RSN information of the first PDU session according to the first request.

S105: and the SMF sends the tunnel information of the secondary base station to the first UPF. Based on the above steps, the first UPF obtains the tunnel information of the secondary base station, and the secondary base station obtains the tunnel information of the first UPF, so that a user plane path of the first PDU session can be established between the secondary base station and the first UPF.

It should be understood that there is no strict timing limitation between the steps shown in S101 and S102, that is, the step of S102 may be preceded or the step of S101 may be preceded, and the present application is not limited specifically. There is no strict timing limitation between the steps shown in S104 and S105, that is, the step of S104 may be performed first, or the step of S105 may be performed first, and the present application is not limited specifically.

By adopting the method, in the process of establishing the first PDU session, the SMF can select the first UPF serving for the first PDU session according to the information of the secondary base station, and establish the user plane path of the first PDU session according to the first UPF, wherein the user plane path of the first PDU session comprises the connection between the terminal equipment and the secondary base station and the connection between the secondary base station and the first UPF.

In the above step shown in S101, the main base station may carry information of the main base station in the first request during sending the first request, where the information of the main base station includes information that may be used to indicate a location of the main base station, such as an identifier of the main base station, an identifier of a cell of the main base station, or some or all of tunnel information of the main base station, and the tunnel information of the main base station may be allocated by the main base station. Wherein the information of the primary base station is usable by the SMF to select a UPF for establishing the PDU session according to the selected UPF to optimize the user plane path of the PDU session via the primary base station.

The information of the secondary base station related to the above procedure may be used to indicate the location or the identity of the secondary base station, for example, the information of the secondary base station may include information (e.g., cell id) of a cell of the secondary base station, or tunnel information of the secondary base station, or the information of the secondary base station may include an identity (RAN node id) of the secondary base station node or an identity of a tracking area in which the secondary base station node is located, such as a Tracking Area Identity (TAI). As an example, the SMF may select the UPF according to information of a cell of the secondary base station or a TAI where the secondary base station node is located, so as to optimize the connection quality between the secondary base station and the UPF, for example, select the UPF closest to the secondary base station in geographic distance, so as to reduce the transmission delay. For another example, according to the identity of the node of the selected secondary base station or the identity of the cell of the secondary base station, the UPF with the minimum delay with the secondary base station is selected, or the UPF with the best QoS is selected. As another example, the tunnel information of the secondary base station includes information of a cell of the secondary base station, or an identifier of a secondary base station node, or an identifier of a tracking area where the secondary base station node is located, so that the SMF may select the UPF according to the information of the cell of the secondary base station or the TAI information where the secondary base station node is located. When the information of the secondary base station does not include the tunnel information of the secondary base station, the SMF may further receive the tunnel information of the secondary base station before the step shown in S105, and in this case, the tunnel information of the secondary base station may be transmitted to the SMF by the primary base station via the AMF.

In the embodiment of the present application, the method described above may be applied to the establishment of a redundant PDU session. As an example, before the implementation of the step shown in S102, if it is determined that the redundant PDU session needs to be established, the SMF may indicate to the primary base station that the redundant PDU session needs to be established, and the primary base station selects the secondary base station based on the indication and sends information of the secondary base station to the SMF, where the SMF selects the first UPF according to the information of the secondary base station. In this application, in a dual connectivity scenario, a UE can access different UPFs through a primary base station and a secondary base station respectively and access the same data network through the different UPFs respectively, so as to access the data network through two different PDU sessions, where a user plane path of one PDU session includes a connection between the UE and the primary base station and a connection between the primary base station and one UPF, and a user plane path of another PDU session includes a connection between the UE and the secondary base station and a connection between the secondary base station and another UPF, and the two PDU sessions may be referred to as redundant PDU sessions (or redundant connections or redundant sessions, or sometimes also referred to as redundant paths).

It should be understood that the present application does not limit the application of the above method to the establishment of the redundant PDU session only, and the above example is only illustrative and should not be construed as a limitation of the present application. For example, the method described above may also be used in a scenario where a PDU session via the secondary base station needs to be established in the dual connectivity architecture, and when two PDU sessions need to be established in the dual connectivity architecture and the two PDU sessions pass through the primary base station and the secondary base station respectively, the PDU session via the secondary base station may be established according to the method described in the present application.

In the implementation of the method, if the redundant PDU session needs to be established, the SMF can send an instruction to the main base station, so that the main base station can select the auxiliary base station and feed back the information of the auxiliary base station to the SMF.

For example, it may be determined that a redundant PDU session needs to be established based on a second request requesting the SMF to establish a second PDU session, which may be used for the terminal device to connect to the same data network, or to access a data network with the same DNN as the first session. The first PDU session and the second PDU session are not necessarily in a sequential relationship, that is, the first PDU session may be established before the second PDU session, or the first PDU session may be established after the second PDU session. The RAN creates double connection, and the UE requests to establish the first PDU session and the second PDU session. In one example, the RAN first creates a dual connection, then establishes a first PDU session, and finally establishes a second PDU session; in another example, the RAN first creates a dual connection, then establishes a second PDU session, and finally establishes a first PDU session; in another example, the second PDU session is established first, then the RAN creates dual connectivity, and finally the first PDU session is established.

If redundancy processing is required for the second PDU session, the SMF may send a first message to the primary base station. Illustratively, the first information may include RSN information of the second session.

For example, the SMF may send RSN information for the second PDU session in the second request to the primary base station. Or, if the second request does not include the RSN information of the second PDU session, the SMF may query the subscription information of the network slice according to the DNN of the second PDU session and network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI) in the second request, and obtain the RSN information of the second PDU session from the subscription information. Alternatively, the SMF may determine the RSN information for the first PDU session after determining that the session requires redundancy processing based on the subscription information. Alternatively, the first information may include information indicating a user plane for establishing the second PDU session through the master base station (here, the master base station after completion of the dual connectivity establishment) so that the information may indicate that the second PDU session requires redundancy processing, and the information may be indicated by a specific message and/or a specific bit configured to a specific value. Alternatively, the first information may include information indicating that the second PDU session requires redundancy processing, which may be indicated by a specific message and/or a specific bit configured to a specific value.

As an example, before the step shown in S102, the primary base station sends a second request to the SMF, where the second request is used to request to establish a second PDU session, and if it is determined that redundancy processing needs to be performed on the second PDU session according to the second request, the SMF may send the above first information to the primary base station. The second request may include RSN information of the second PDU session, and/or the second request may include DNN and S-NSSAI of the second PDU session. The SMF determines the method that needs to perform redundancy processing on the second PDU session, and may refer to the introduction when the SMF determines that the first PDU session needs to perform redundancy processing.

The main base station can select the auxiliary base station to establish the double connection or only select the auxiliary base station to establish the double connection in advance based on the first information, and sends the information of the auxiliary base station to the SMF, so that the SMF selects the first UPF according to the information of the auxiliary base station. Or, after the second PDU session is established, the SMF may select the secondary base station to establish dual connectivity, and send the information of the secondary base station to the AMF, and the AMF may send the information of the secondary base station to the SMF, including sending the information of the secondary base station to the SMF by the AMF when the first PDU session is established. Alternatively, the AMF may request the reporting of the information of the secondary base station to the primary base station after determining that the UE enters the dual connectivity mode. The SMF can report service to the AMF subscription position, and the AMF receives the information of the auxiliary base station and informs the SMF.

In addition, it may be determined that a redundant PDU session needs to be established based on the first request received in S101, and when the redundant PDU session needs to be established, the SMF may transmit second information to the primary base station to indicate the user plane for establishing the first connection through the secondary base station.

Illustratively, the above second information may include RSN information of the first session. For example, the SMF may transmit RSN information of the first PDU session in the first request as the second information to the master base station. Or, if the first request does not include the RSN information of the first PDU session, the SMF may query the subscription information of the network slice according to the DNN and S-NSSAI of the first PDU session in the first request, and obtain the RSN information of the first PDU session from the subscription information, or, after determining that the session needs redundancy processing according to the subscription information, determine the RSN information of the first PDU session from the subscription information. Alternatively, the second information may include information for indicating a user plane for establishing the first PDU session through the secondary base station (here, the secondary base station after the dual connection establishment is completed), so that the second information may be used to indicate that the first PDU session requires redundancy processing, and the information may be indicated by a specific message and/or a specific bit configured to a specific value. Alternatively, the second information may include information indicating that the first PDU session requires redundancy processing, which may be indicated by a specific message and/or a specific bit configured to a specific value.

Optionally, the primary base station may select the secondary base station and establish the dual connectivity based on the second information. Or the main base station only selects the auxiliary base station to pre-establish the double connection, and sends the information of the auxiliary base station to the SMF, so that the SMF selects the first UPF according to the information of the auxiliary base station. Or, the primary base station may select the secondary base station to establish the dual connectivity after the second PDU session is established, and send the information of the secondary base station to the AMF, and the AMF may send the information of the secondary base station to the SMF, including that the AMF sends the information of the secondary base station to the SMF when the first PDU session is established. Alternatively, the AMF may request the reporting of the information of the secondary base station to the primary base station after determining that the UE enters the dual connectivity mode. The SMF can report service to the AMF subscription position, and the AMF receives the information of the auxiliary base station and informs the SMF.

Optionally, the primary base station may create a dual connection before establishing the second PDU session, the AMF may request the primary base station to report information of the secondary base station after the UE enters the dual connection mode, and correspondingly, the AMF receives the information of the secondary base station reported by the primary base station. The SMF can report service to the AMF subscription position, and the AMF receives the information of the auxiliary base station and informs the SMF.

Illustratively, whether a redundant PDU session needs to be established may be determined by the SMF or other network element. Taking SMF as an example, the SMF may determine whether the second PDU session requires the establishment of a redundant PDU session according to the above second request. And/or the SMF may determine whether the first PDU session requires establishment of a redundant PDU session based on the first request.

The following describes a manner of determining whether a redundant PDU session needs to be established, taking the first request as an example. The method for determining whether a redundant PDU session needs to be established according to the second request can refer to the description herein.

For example, the first request may carry a first redundant session indication, for example, RSN information of the first session. A determination may be made from the redundancy indication that the first PDU session requires redundancy processing. Optionally, an association relationship between RSN information of two PDU sessions that are redundant PDU sessions to each other may be obtained according to the configuration, so that whether RSN information of a session associated with RSN information of a first PDU session exists may be determined according to the association relationship, and if so, it is determined that the first PDU session needs to be redundancy processed. For example, it is known that the session with RSN information RSN _1 and the session with RSN information RSN _2 are redundant sessions, and when the RSN information carried in the first request is RSN _1, it may be determined that the first PDU session needs to be redundantly processed.

It should be noted that, when determining whether a redundant PDU session needs to be established according to the first request, the SMF may not need to sense the association relationship between the RSN information in the first request and other RSN information, and may determine that the session needs redundant processing directly by the presence of RSN information in the first request and/or the second request, for example, the RSN information is a specific message and/or a specific bit indication configured as a specific value. Wherein the RSN information in the first redundant session indication may be the same RSN information as the first information.

Illustratively, the first request may carry the DNN of the data network requesting access and information of the network slice requesting access, such as carrying the S-NSSAI. The SMF may determine whether redundancy processing is required for the first PDU session based on the DNN and the S-NSSAI of the first PDU session. For example, the SMF may query subscription information of the network slice according to the DNN and the S-NSSAI to determine whether redundant processing is required for the first connection, and if the subscription information indicates that the session with DNN of DNN _1 and S-NSSAI of S-NSSAI _1 and the session with DNN of DNN _2 and S-NSSAI of S-NSSAI _2 are redundant sessions, the SMF1 determines that the first session needs redundant processing when the first request carries DNN _1 and S-NSSAI _ 1. DNN _1 and DNN _2 may be the same, or S-NSSAI _1 and S-NSSAI _2 may be the same.

For example, in step S102, the SMF may also receive information of the primary base station, so that the SMF may determine that there is dual connectivity according to the information of the primary base station and the information of the secondary base station, and further determine that a redundant PDU session needs to be established. The information of the primary base station and the information of the secondary base station may be received at different time points or in different messages.

For example, in the step shown in S103, before the SMF selects the first UPF according to the information of the secondary base station, it may be determined that the first PDU session requires redundancy processing, and/or a user plane of the first PDU session is established by the secondary base station. For example, when the SMF receives the information of the primary base station and the information of the secondary base station at the same time, if the SMF determines that the user plane of the first PDU session is established through the secondary base station, the SMF may select the first UPF according to the information of the secondary base station.

Step S103, the SMF selects the first UPF according to the information of the secondary base station, further comprising: the SMF determines that the first PDU session needs to establish a user plane of the first PDU session through the secondary base station, and the SMF selects the first UPF according to the information of the secondary base station.

As another example, in step S102, the AMF determines, according to the configuration or subscription information, that the first PDU session requires to establish the user plane of the first PDU session through the secondary base station, the AMF only sends the information of the secondary base station to the SMF, and the SMF selects the UPF according to the information of the secondary base station, at this time, the SMF does not need to determine whether the information of the primary base station or the information of the secondary base station is used to select the UPF.

In addition, the SMF may also determine that the first PDU session needs to be subjected to redundancy processing according to a policy configured on the SMF or a policy provided by the PCF, which is not specifically limited in this application.

Based on the architecture shown in fig. 3, a method for establishing a user plane according to an embodiment of the present application may include the steps shown in fig. 5:

s201: the UE transmits a session establishment request (corresponding to a second request in the above-described method embodiment, hereinafter referred to as a second request) for requesting establishment of a PDU session of the user plane path via the master base station (corresponding to a second PDU session in the above-described method embodiment, hereinafter referred to as a second PDU session) to the AMF through the master base station. And the main base station plays a role in transparent transmission in the process of sending the second request. Illustratively, the primary base station also encapsulates information of the primary base station, such as one or more of an identity of the primary base station, an identity of a cell of the primary base station, or tunnel information of the primary base station, in the process of passing the second request through to the AMF.

S202: the AMF sends the second request to SMF 1. Accordingly, SMF1 receives the second request.

S203: SMF1 determines that the second PDU session requires redundancy processing. Specifically, when the second request carries a second redundant session indication, the SMF1 may determine that the second PDU session needs to be subjected to redundancy processing according to the second redundant session indication. Alternatively, when the second request does not carry the second redundant session indication, SMF1 may query the subscription information to determine RSN information for the second PDU session based on the DNN and S-NSSAI of the second PDU session carried in the second request. For example, SMF1 may also select a UPF based on the second request and establish the second PDU session, e.g., when the second request includes information of the primary base station, SMF1 may select UPF1 based on the information of the primary base station and establish a user plane connection between the UE and the primary base station and UPF 1.

S204: SMF1 sends the first information to the AMF. Illustratively, the first information can be used to indicate a user plane for establishing the second PDU session through the primary base station. Illustratively, the first information may include a second redundant session indication, e.g., RSN information for the second PDU session, and SMF1 may include the RSN information for the second PDU session included in the second request in the first information, or, when the second request does not include RSN information, SMF1 may query the subscription information to determine the RSN information for the second PDU session based on the DNN and S-NSSAI for the second PDU session carried in the second request. Accordingly, the AMF receives the first information.

S205: the AMF transmits the first information to the main base station. Accordingly, the main base station receives the first information.

S206: the primary base station selects the secondary base station in response to the first information. Alternatively, the primary base station may establish dual connection through the secondary base station after selecting the secondary base station. Illustratively, the secondary base station is selected to establish the dual connection, or only the secondary base station is selected to pre-establish the dual connection. The pre-establishing of the double connection comprises the steps that the main base station firstly selects a proper auxiliary base station to prepare for the subsequent establishment of the double continuous link without completing the establishment of the double connection.

S207: the primary base station carries the information of the secondary base station in an N2 message and sends the message to the AMF. For example, the information of the secondary base station may include location information of the secondary base station, such as an identity of the secondary base station, an identity of a cell of the secondary base station, and/or tunnel information of the secondary base station. Accordingly, the AMF receives information of the secondary base station.

S208: the AMF stores information of the secondary base station.

It is noted that the AMF acquiring the information of the secondary base station occurs during the process of creating the second PDU session in steps S206 to S208. As another example, the information of the secondary base station may also be transmitted to the AMF by the primary base station after the second PDU session is established and the dual connectivity is established by the primary base station. The AMF may request the main base station to report information of the secondary base station after determining that the UE enters the dual connectivity mode. For example, the SMF1 may report service to the AMF subscription location, and the AMF receives the information of the secondary base station and notifies the SMF 1. The AMF may also send information of the secondary base station to the second SMF, including the AMF sending information of the secondary base station to the second SMF when the first PDU session is established. As another example, the primary base station may create a dual connection before establishing the second PDU session, and the AMF may request the primary base station to report information of the secondary base station after the UE enters the dual connection mode, and correspondingly, the AMF receives the information of the secondary base station reported by the primary base station. The SMF can report service to the AMF subscription position, and the AMF receives the information of the auxiliary base station and informs the SMF.

S209: the UE transmits a session establishment request (corresponding to a first request in the above-described method embodiment, hereinafter referred to as a first request) for requesting establishment of a PDU session of the user plane path via the secondary base station (corresponding to a first PDU session in the above-described method embodiment, hereinafter referred to as a first PDU session) to the AMF through the primary base station. The first request may carry a first redundant session indication, such as redundant sequence number information (e.g., RSN value) for the first PDU session, or the first request may carry information requesting DNN and network slice for the first PDU session, such as S-NSSAI. Illustratively, the primary base station plays a role in the transparent transmission in the process of sending the first request. Accordingly, the AMF receives the first request.

S210: the AMF sends the first request and information of the secondary base station to the SMF 2. Accordingly, SMF2 receives the second request along with the information of the secondary base station. Wherein, SMF2 and SMF1 are the same SMF, or SMF2 and SMF1 are different SMFs. For example, the AMF may query the secondary base station for information after determining that the UE is in the dual connectivity mode, and send the first request and the secondary base station information to the SMF 2. The manner of obtaining the information of the secondary base station by the AMF is as described in S208, and is not described herein again. The AMF may acquire the information of the secondary base station before step S209, or may query in real time in step S209, which is not limited in the present invention. It should be understood that the AMF may send the first request and the information of the secondary base station to the SMF2 through one message, or may send the first request and the information of the secondary base station separately through different messages.

S211: the SMF2 selects a UPF that serves the first PDU session based on the information from the secondary base station. The SMF2 selects a first UPF according to the information of the secondary base station, comprising: the SMF2 determines that the first PDU session requires a user plane for establishing the first PDU session through the secondary base station, and the SMF2 selects the first UPF according to the information of the secondary base station.

S212: an N4 session is created between the SMF2 and the UPF, and the tunnel information of the UPF is allocated by the SMF2 or the UPF.

S213: the SMF2 transmits the tunnel information of the UPF and the second information to the primary base station via the AMF. Accordingly, the primary base station receives the tunnel information of the UPF.

Wherein the second information may include RSN information of the first PDU session. The RSN information may be obtained from the first request, or the RSN information of the first PDU session may be obtained from the subscription information by querying the subscription information according to the first request.

S214: and the main base station transmits the tunnel information of the UPF to the auxiliary base station.

S215: and the main base station sends the tunnel information of the auxiliary base station to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF receives the tunnel information of the secondary base station.

S216: the AMF transmits the tunnel information of the secondary base station to the SMF 2. Steps S215-S216 are optional. Specifically, when the information of the secondary base station involved in the step shown in S210 includes the tunnel information of the secondary base station, the steps shown in S215 to S216 may not be performed.

S217: the SMF2 transmits the information of the secondary base station to the UPF. Here, the tunnel information of the secondary base station may be included in the information of the secondary base station received by the SMF2 in S210, or may be sent by the AMF in the step shown in S206. At this point, the user plane path establishment procedure of the first PDU session is completed.

For example, when it is determined that a redundant session needs to be established based on the first request, another method for establishing a user plane provided by the embodiment of the present application may include the steps shown in fig. 6:

s301: the UE transmits a session establishment request (corresponding to a first request in the above-described method embodiment, hereinafter referred to as a first request) for requesting establishment of a PDU session of the user plane path via the secondary base station (corresponding to a first PDU session in the above-described method embodiment, hereinafter referred to as a first PDU session) to the AMF through the primary base station. The first request may carry a first redundant session indication, such as redundant sequence number information (e.g., RSN value) for the first session, or the first request may carry DNN for the first PDU session and network slice information, such as S-NSSAI. Illustratively, the primary base station plays a role in the transparent transmission in the process of sending the first request. Illustratively, the primary base station may also encapsulate information about the primary base station, such as including some or all of the identity of the primary base station, the identity of the cell of the primary base station, or the tunnel information of the primary base station, in the process of passing the second request through to the AMF.

S302: the AMF sends the first request to the SMF. Accordingly, the SMF receives the first request.

S303: the SMF determines that the first PDU session needs redundancy processing. Illustratively, when the information of the primary base station is included in the first request, the SMF may select a UPF (hereinafter referred to as UPF1) serving the first PDU session according to the information of the primary base station.

S304: the SMF sends the second information to the AMF. Illustratively, the second information can be used to indicate a user plane for establishing the first PDU session through the secondary base station. For example, the second information may include a first redundant session indication, e.g., RSN information of the first PDU session, and the SMF may carry the RSN information of the first PDU session included in the first request in the second information, or, when the first request does not include RSN information, the SMF may query the subscription information to determine the RSN information of the first PDU session according to the DNN and S-NSSAI of the first PDU session carried in the first request. Accordingly, the AMF receives the second information.

S305: the AMF transmits the second information to the primary base station. Accordingly, the main base station receives the second information.

S306: the primary base station selects the secondary base station in response to the second information. Alternatively, the primary base station may establish dual connection through the secondary base station after selecting the secondary base station. Illustratively, the secondary base station is selected to establish the dual connection, or only the secondary base station is selected to pre-establish the dual connection. The pre-establishing of the double connection comprises the steps that the main base station firstly selects a proper auxiliary base station to prepare for the subsequent establishment of the double continuous link without completing the establishment of the double connection.

S307: the primary base station carries the information of the secondary base station in an N2 message and transmits the message to the AMF. For example, the information of the secondary base station may include location information of the secondary base station, such as an identification of a cell including the secondary base station, and/or tunnel information of the secondary base station. Accordingly, the AMF receives information of the secondary base station.

S308: and the AMF sends the information of the secondary base station to the SMF. Accordingly, the SMF receives information of the secondary base station.

S309: the SMF selects a UPF (hereinafter referred to as UPF2) serving the first PDU session according to the information of the secondary base station. For example, the SMF may reselect (re-select) the UPF serving the first PDU session from UPF1 to UPF 2; alternatively, the SMF may insert an intermediate UPF (intermediate UPF) as UPF 2.

S310: an N4 session is created between the SMF and the UPF2, and tunnel information for the UPF2 is allocated by either the SMF or the UPF 2. Specifically, for the case where the SMF reselects the UPF serving the first PDU session from the UPF1 to the UPF2, the SMF or the UPF2 may allocate N3 session upstream tunnel information of the UPF 2. For the case where the SMF inserts an intermediate UPF, the SMF or the UPF2 may allocate N3 session upstream tunnel information of the UPF2, the SMF may also establish a connection between the UPF2 and the UPF1, such as an N9 connection, and the SMF or the UPF2 may allocate downstream tunnel information of the N9 session. In addition, if the information of the secondary base station received by the SMF in S308 includes the tunnel information of the secondary base station, in the implementation of S310, the SMF may send the tunnel information of the secondary base station to the UPF 2.

S311: the SMF sends a session update request or a session release request to the UPF 1. Specifically, for the case where the SMF reselects the UPF serving the first PDU session from the UPF1 to the UPF2, the SMF may send a session release request to the UPF1 to release the resources corresponding to the UPF 1. For the case where the SMF inserts an intermediate UPF, the SMF may send a session update request to the UPF1, which may carry the downlink tunnel information for the N9 session of UPF 2.

S312: the SMF transmits the N3 uplink tunnel information of the UPF2 and the second information to the master base station via the AMF. Accordingly, the primary base station receives the tunnel information of the UPF 2.

S313: and the main base station transmits the N3 uplink tunnel information of the UPF2 to the auxiliary base station.

S314: and the main base station sends the tunnel information of the auxiliary base station to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF receives the tunnel information of the secondary base station.

S315: and the AMF sends the tunnel information of the secondary base station to the SMF. Steps S314-S315 are optional steps. Specifically, when the information of the secondary base station involved in the step shown in S308 includes the tunnel information of the secondary base station, the steps shown in S314 to S315 may not be performed.

S316: the SMF sends the secondary base station information to the UPF 2. Here, the tunnel information of the secondary base station may be included in the information of the secondary base station received by the SMF2 in S210, or may be sent by the AMF in the step shown in S206. At this point, the user plane path establishment procedure of the first PDU session is completed.

Based on the same inventive concept as the above method embodiments, the present application embodiment further provides a communication device, which may have the functions of one or more of the session control network element, the master base station, or the access and mobility management network element in the above method embodiments, and may be configured to perform the corresponding steps provided by the above method embodiments. The functions can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by software or hardware to execute corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-described functions.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication apparatus 700 shown in fig. 7 may serve as a session control network element (including the SMF described in the foregoing method embodiment) according to the foregoing method embodiment, and perform the steps performed by the session control network element in the foregoing method embodiment. As shown in fig. 7, the communication device 700 may include a communication module 701 and a processing module 702, wherein the communication module 701 and the processing module 702 are coupled to each other. The communication module 701 may be used to support the communication device for communication, and the processing module 702 may be used to perform processing operations on the communication device, such as generating information/message to be transmitted or processing a signal received by the communication module 701 to obtain the information/message. The processing module 702 may also be used to support the communication device 700 in performing the processing actions in the above-described method embodiments.

In executing the method embodiment, the communication module 701 may be configured to receive a first request, where the first request is used to request to establish a first connection, and receive information of a secondary base station; the processing module 702 may be configured to select a first user plane network element according to the information of the secondary base station, where the first user plane network element serves the first connection; the communication module 701 may further send the tunnel information of the first user plane network element and second information to a master base station, where the second information is used to indicate that the first connected user plane passes through the secondary base station. The communication module 701 may further send the tunnel information of the secondary base station to the first user plane network element.

In one possible design, the information of the secondary base station includes part or all of tunnel information of the secondary base station, an identifier of the secondary base station, or an identifier of a cell of the secondary base station.

In one possible design, if the information of the secondary base station does not include the tunnel information of the secondary base station, the communication module 701 may further receive the tunnel information of the secondary base station.

In one possible design, the communication module 701 may also receive a second request from the master base station, the second request requesting establishment of a second connection; if the second connection needs to be redundantly processed, the communication module 701 may send first information to the master base station, where the first information is used to indicate a user plane where the second connection is established through the master base station.

In a possible design, if the first connection needs to be redundantly processed, the communication module 701 may send second information to the primary base station, where the second information is used to indicate the user plane where the first connection is established through the secondary base station.

In a possible design, the first request includes information of the primary base station, and the processing module 702 may further determine a second user plane network element according to the information of the primary base station, where the second user plane network element serves the first connection; after selecting the first user plane network element according to the information of the auxiliary base station, the processing module 702 may reselect the first user plane network element to serve the first connection according to the information of the auxiliary base station; alternatively, the processing module 702 may insert the first user plane network element between the auxiliary base station and the second user plane network element, where the first user plane network element is an intermediate user plane network element.

In one possible design, the first connection may be a PDU session.

In another implementation, the communication device provided in the embodiments of the present application may also be formed by hardware components, such as a processor, a memory, or a transceiver.

For example, if the communication device is a path information management network element, the structure of the communication device may be as shown in fig. 8. For ease of understanding, fig. 8 shows only the structure necessary to perform the method shown in the present application, which does not limit the communication device to have more components. The communication device 800 may include a transceiver 801, a memory 802, and a processor 803. The transceiver 801 may be used for communication by a communication device, such as for transmitting or receiving signals. The memory 802 is coupled to the processor 803 and is used for storing programs and data necessary for the communication apparatus 800 to realize various functions. The processor 803 is configured to enable the communication apparatus 800 to perform corresponding processing functions of the above-described methods, such as generating information, messages, and/or demodulating and decoding signals received by the transceiver 801, etc. The memory 802 and the processor 803 may be integrated or may be independent of each other.

In particular, the transceiver 801 may be an interface, such as an interface in a core network for communication between network elements.

It should be understood that the above memory 802 may also be external to the communication device 800, and in this case, the communication device 800 may include the transceiver 801 and the processor 803.

It should be understood that the transceiver 801 may be external to the communication device 800, and in this case, the communication device 800 may include the memory 802 and the processor 803. When the transceiver 801 and the memory 802 are both external to the communication device 800, the communication device 800 may include a processor 803.

When the above communication apparatus is implemented by the structure shown in fig. 8, the steps performed by the above processing module 702 may be performed by the processor 803, and the steps performed by the above communication module 701 may be performed by the transceiver 801. When the communication device 800 includes a memory 802, the memory 802 may be used to store programs for execution by the processor 803 to perform the steps performed by the processing module 702 above.

For example, the communication apparatus 900 shown in fig. 9 may serve as a main base station according to the above method embodiment, and perform the steps performed by the main base station in the above method embodiment. As shown in fig. 9, the communication apparatus 900 may include a communication module 901 and a processing module 902, where the communication module 901 and the processing module 902 are coupled to each other. The communication module 901 may be used to support the communication device for communication, and the processing module 902 may be used to perform processing operations on the communication device, such as generating information/message to be transmitted or processing a signal received by the communication module 901 to obtain the information/message. The processing module 902 may also be used to support the communications device 900 in performing the processing acts in the above-described method embodiments.

In performing the method embodiment, the communication module 901 may be configured to send a first request, where the first request is used to request to establish a first connection; the communication module 901 may also send information of the secondary base station; the communication module 901 may further receive tunnel information and second information of a first user plane network element, where the first user plane network element serves the first connection, and the second information is used to indicate that a user plane of the first connection passes through the secondary base station; the communication module 901 may further send the tunnel information of the first user plane network element to the secondary base station.

In a possible design, if the information of the secondary base station does not include the tunnel information of the secondary base station, the communication module 901 may further send the tunnel information of the secondary base station to the access and mobility management network element.

In one possible design, processing module 902 may be used to select a secondary base station and establish dual connectivity through the secondary base station.

In one possible design, the communication module 901 may also send a second request for requesting establishment of a second connection; the communication module 901 may further receive first information indicating a user plane for establishing the second connection through the master base station.

In one possible design, the communication module 901 may further receive second information indicating the user plane for establishing the first connection through the secondary base station.

In one possible design, the first request includes information of the primary base station. Further, the information of the main base station includes part or all of the following information: an identity of the master base station; or, an identity of a cell of the master base station; or tunnel information of the master base station.

In one possible design, the first connection may be a PDU session.

In addition, if the communication device is a master base station, the configuration thereof may be as shown in fig. 10. For ease of understanding, only the structure necessary to perform the method illustrated in the present application is shown in fig. 10, and the present application is not limited to the communication device having more components. The communications device 1000 may include a core network interface transceiver 1001, a memory 1002, a processor 1003, and an air interface transceiver 1004. The core network interface transceiver 1001 may be used for communication by a communication device, such as for transmitting or receiving signals. The memory 1002 is coupled to the processor 1003 and is used for storing programs and data necessary for the communication device 1000 to realize the functions. The processor 1003 is configured to support the communication device 1000 to perform corresponding processing functions in the above method, such as generating information, messages transmitted by the core network interface transceiver 1001, and/or demodulating and decoding signals received by the core network interface transceiver 1001, and so on. The memory 1002 and the processor 1003 may be integrated or independent of each other. An air interface transceiver 1004 may be used to support the communication device 1000 in receiving and transmitting signaling and/or data over a wireless air interface.

In particular, the core network interface transceiver 1001 may be a wired communication interface, such as an interface for communicating with a network element in a core network.

It should be understood that the above memory 1002 may also be external to the communication device 1000, and in this case, the communication device 1000 may include the core network interface transceiver 1001 and the processor 1003.

It is to be understood that the above core network interface transceiver 1001 and the air interface transceiver 1004 may be external to the communication device 1000, and in this case, the communication device 1000 may include the memory 1002 and the processor 1003. When the core network interface transceiver 1001, the memory 1002, and the air interface transceiver 1004 are all external to the communication device 1000, the communication device 1000 may include a processor 1003.

When the above communication apparatus is implemented by the structure shown in fig. 10, the steps performed by the above processing module 902 may be performed by the processor 1003, and the steps performed by the above communication module 901 may be performed by the core network interface transceiver 1001. When the communication device 1000 includes the memory 1002, the memory 1002 may be used to store programs for the processor 1003 to execute in order to perform the steps performed by the processing module 902 above.

For example, the communication apparatus 1100 shown in fig. 11 may serve as an access and mobility management function network element (including the AMF) according to the foregoing method embodiment, and perform the steps performed by the access and mobility management function network element in the foregoing method embodiment. As shown in fig. 11, the communication device 1100 may include a communication module 1101 and a processing module 1102, wherein the communication module 1101 and the processing module 1102 are coupled to each other. The communication module 1101 may be configured to support communication of the communication device, and the processing module 1102 may be configured to perform processing operations on the communication device, such as generating information/message to be transmitted or processing a signal received by the communication module 1101 to obtain the information/message. The processing module 1102 may also be used to enable the communications device 1100 to perform the processing acts in the above-described method embodiments.

In performing the method embodiments, the communication module 1101 may be configured to receive a first request from a master base station, the first request requesting establishment of a first connection; the communication module 1101 may further send the first request to a first session control network element; the communication module 1101 may also receive information of a secondary base station from the primary base station; the communication module 1101 may further receive tunnel information and second information of a first user plane network element from the first session control network element, and send the tunnel information and the second information of the first user plane network element to the master base station, where the second information is used to indicate that the first connected user plane passes through the secondary base station.

In one possible design, the information of the secondary base station does not include the tunnel information of the secondary base station, and the communication module 1101 may further receive the tunnel information of the secondary base station from the primary base station and send the tunnel information of the secondary base station to the first session control network element.

In one possible design, the communication module 1101 may further receive a second request from the master base station, where the second request is used to request establishment of a second connection, send the second request to a second session control network element, receive first information from the second session control network element, where the first information is used to indicate a user plane for establishing the first connection through the master base station, and send the first information to the master base station.

In one possible design, the communication module 1101 may further receive second information from the first session control network element, where the second information is used to indicate the user plane for establishing the first connection through the secondary base station; the communication module 1101 may also send the second information to the master base station.

In one possible design, the first request includes information of the primary base station. Further, the information of the main base station includes part or all of the following information: an identity of the master base station; or, an identity of a cell of the primary base station; or tunnel information of the master base station.

Alternatively, if the communication device is an access and mobility management element, the structure may be as shown in fig. 12. For ease of understanding, fig. 12 shows only the structure necessary to perform the method shown in the present application, which does not limit the communication device to have more components. The communication device 1200 may include a transceiver 1201, a memory 1202, and a processor 1203. The transceiver 1201 may be used for communication by a communication device, such as for transmitting or receiving signals. The memory 1202 is coupled to the processor 1203 and is used for storing programs and data necessary for the communication apparatus 1200 to realize various functions. The processor 1203 is configured to enable the communication apparatus 1200 to perform corresponding processing functions in the above-described methods, such as generating information, messages transmitted by the transceiver 1201, and/or demodulating and decoding signals received by the transceiver 1201, etc. The memory 1202 and the processor 1203 may be integrated or may be independent of each other.

In particular, the transceiver 1201 may be an interface, such as an interface for communication between network elements in a core network.

It should be understood that the above memory 1202 may also be external to the communication device 1200, and in this case, the communication device 1200 may include the transceiver 1201 and the processor 1203.

It should be understood that the above transceiver 1201 may also be external to the communication device 1200, in which case the communication device 1200 may include the memory 1202 and the processor 1203. When the transceiver 1201 and the memory 1202 are both external to the communication device 1200, the communication device 1200 may include a processor 1203.

When the above communication apparatus is implemented by the structure shown in fig. 12, the steps performed by the above processing module 1102 may be performed by the processor 1203, and the steps performed by the above communication module 1101 may be performed by the transceiver 1201. When the communication device 1200 comprises the memory 1202, the memory 1202 may be used for storing programs for the processor 1203 to execute in order to perform the steps performed by the above processing module 1102.

It should be understood that the above description of the components included in the communication device is illustrative, and is merely one possible example, and that the actual implementation may have another configuration. In addition, each component in the above communication apparatus may be integrated into one module, or may exist separately and physically. The integrated module may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional module, and should not be construed as limited to the structure shown in the above drawings.

Based on the same concept as the above method embodiments, embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, where the computer program, when executed by a processor, causes the computer to perform the operations performed by the session management network element, the primary base station, or the access and mobility management network element in any one of the possible implementations of the above method embodiments.

Based on the same concept as the method embodiments described above, the present application also provides a computer program product, which when being invoked by a computer, can enable the computer to implement the operations performed by the session management network element, the primary base station, or the access and mobility management network element in any one of the possible implementations of the method embodiments described above.

Based on the same concept as the method embodiment, the present application further provides a chip or a chip system, where the chip may be coupled to a transceiver, and is configured to implement the operations performed by the session management network element, the master base station, or the access and mobility management network element in any possible implementation manner of the method embodiment and the method embodiment. The chip system may include the chip.

Based on the same concept as the method embodiment, the present application further provides a communication system, which may be used to implement the operations performed by the session management network element, the master base station, or the access and mobility management network element in any one of the possible implementations of the method embodiment and the method embodiment. Illustratively, the communication system has a structure as shown in fig. 4.

Embodiments of the present application are described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus, and computer program products according to embodiments. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

a session control network element receives a first request from a main base station, wherein the first request is used for requesting to establish a first connection;

the session control network element sends second information to the master base station, wherein the second information is used for indicating that the user plane of the first connection passes through the auxiliary base station;

the session control network element receives information of the auxiliary base station from the main base station;

the session control network element selects a first user plane network element according to the information of the auxiliary base station, and the first user plane network element serves the first connection;

the session control network element sends the tunnel information and the second information of the first user plane network element to a master base station;

and the session control network element sends the tunnel information of the auxiliary base station to the first user plane network element.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the information of the secondary base station includes some or all of the following information:

an identity of the secondary base station; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

an identity of a cell of the secondary base station; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the tunnel information of the secondary base station.

3. The method of claim 1,

the method further comprises the following steps:

and the session control network element receives the tunnel information of the auxiliary base station.

4. The method of any one of claims 1-3, further comprising:

the session control network element receives a second request from the master base station, wherein the second request is used for requesting to establish a second connection;

and the session control network element sends first information to the master base station, wherein the first information is used for indicating a user plane for establishing the second connection through the master base station.

5. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3,

the second information is used for indicating the user plane of the first connection established through the secondary base station.

6. The method of any of claims 1-3, wherein the first request includes information of the master base station, the method further comprising:

the session control network element determines a second user plane network element according to the information of the main base station, wherein the second user plane network element serves the first connection;

the selecting, by the session control network element, the first user plane network element according to the information of the auxiliary base station includes:

the session control network element reselects the first user plane network element to serve the first connection according to the information of the auxiliary base station; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the session control network element inserts the first user plane network element between the auxiliary base station and the second user plane network element, and the first user plane network element is an intermediate user plane network element.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the information of the master base station includes some or all of the following information:

an identity of the master base station; alternatively, the first and second liquid crystal display panels may be,

an identity of a cell of the master base station; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

tunnel information of the master base station.

8. A method of communication, comprising:

the main base station sends a first request to a session control network element, wherein the first request is used for requesting to establish a first connection;

the master base station receives second information from the session control network element, wherein the second information is used for indicating that the user plane of the first connection passes through a secondary base station;

the main base station sends the information of the auxiliary base station to the session control network element;

the master base station receives tunnel information and the second information of a first user plane network element, wherein the first user plane network element serves the first connection;

and the main base station sends the tunnel information of the first user plane network element to the auxiliary base station.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the information of the secondary base station includes some or all of the following information:

an identity of the secondary base station; alternatively, the first and second liquid crystal display panels may be,

the tunnel information of the secondary base station.

10. The method of claim 8,

the method further comprises the following steps:

and the main base station sends the tunnel information of the auxiliary base station to an access and mobile management network element.

11. The method of any one of claims 8-10, wherein the method further comprises:

and the main base station selects an auxiliary base station and establishes double connection through the auxiliary base station.

12. The method of any one of claims 8-10, further comprising:

the main base station sends a second request, and the second request is used for requesting to establish a second connection;

and the main base station receives first information, wherein the first information is used for indicating a user plane for establishing the second connection through the main base station.

13. The method of any one of claims 8-10,

14. The method of any of claims 8-10, wherein the first request includes information of the master base station.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the information of the master base station includes some or all of the following information:

an identity of the master base station; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

tunnel information of the master base station.

16. A method of communication, comprising:

the main base station sends a first request to an access and mobile management network element, wherein the first request is used for requesting to establish a first connection;

the access and mobility management network element sends the first request to a session control network element;

the main base station receives second information from the session control network element;

the main base station sends the information of the auxiliary base station to the access and mobile management network element;

the access and mobility management network element sends the information of the auxiliary base station to the session control network element;

the session control network element sends the tunnel information and the second information of the first user plane network element to the access and mobility management network element;

the access and mobility management network element sends the tunnel information and the second information of the first user plane network element to the master base station;

17. A communications apparatus, comprising a processor;

the processor to read and execute instructions from the memory to perform the method of any of claims 1-7.

18. A communications apparatus, comprising a processor;

the processor to read and execute instructions from the memory to perform the method of any of claims 8-15.

19. A communication system comprising a communication device according to claim 17 and/or a communication device according to claim 18.

20. A computer storage medium having instructions stored therein, wherein when the instructions are invoked for execution on a computer, the computer performs the method of any of claims 1-15.

21. A chip coupled with a transceiver, the chip being configured to perform the method of any of claims 1-15.