CN112153757B

CN112153757B - Communication method, device and system

Info

Publication number: CN112153757B
Application number: CN201910580962.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 耿婷婷; 胡星星; 严乐
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-06-29
Filing date: 2019-06-29
Publication date: 2023-03-10
Anticipated expiration: 2039-06-29
Also published as: CN112153757A; WO2021000818A1

Abstract

The application provides a communication method and a communication device. In the technical solution provided by the present application, a first access network device receives resource information corresponding to a second service from a core network device, and the first access network device sends a response message to the core network device according to the resource information, where the response message includes a configuration result of session resources corresponding to the second service, where the second service is a service that cannot be supported by the first access network device or a first cell. By the method of the embodiment of the application, a data transmission channel of a second service between the access network device and the core network device can be established for the terminal device in advance, so that the terminal device can be supported to realize the service which is not supported by the first access network device under the first access network device.

Description

Communication method, device and system

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly, to communication methods, apparatuses, and systems.

Background

In the current communication development, the concept of a private network is proposed. It is understood that a private network is to be understood in relation to a public network, which may be understood as a private network, such as an internal network built by a company, school or factory. In general, a terminal device that is not subscribed to a private network is not allowed to access the private network. A private network, which may also be referred to as a non-public network (NPN), is generally identified by a private network identification (NPN ID). Generally, a terminal device can only communicate with the NPN corresponding to its supported NPN ID, and can only initiate a service at the NPN corresponding to its contracted NPN ID. The service initiated in the NPN may be referred to as an NPN service, and the service initiated in the public network may be referred to as a Public Network (PN) service.

In a possible case, the private network may be one or more cells deployed by an operator, and as a possible implementation, the one or more cells only allow access or residence of terminal devices subscribed to the private network. A private network in this manner may also be referred to as a Closed Access Group (CAG) cell, or a non-standalone (NSA) NPN cell. A CAG cell may not support a PN service, and when a terminal device capable of supporting both PN and NPN services accesses the CAG cell, if the terminal device has a PN service requirement, how to initiate a corresponding PN service in the CAG cell is an urgent problem to be solved. It will be appreciated that similar problems may exist with other network architectures.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a communication method and a communication device, so that a terminal device can be supported to implement a service that is not supported by a first access network device under the first access network device, for example, the terminal device can implement connection with a PN cell established in a CAG cell, and initiate the PN service.

In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, in which a first access network device receives resource information corresponding to a second service from a core network device; and the first access network equipment sends a response message to the core network equipment according to the resource information, wherein the response message comprises a configuration result of session resources corresponding to the second service.

The resource information includes a session identifier and session resource configuration information, the second service is a service that is not supported by the first cell but is supported by the second cell, the service supported by the first cell is the first service, the first cell belongs to the first access network device and is a current serving cell of the terminal device, and the second cell is a cell belonging to the second access network device or a cell belonging to the first access network device but is different from the first cell.

By the method, the configuration of the session resource related to the second service between the core network device and the first access network device can be realized, for example, a data transmission channel of the second service between the access network device and the core network device can be established for the terminal device in advance. Further, after the terminal device and the second access network device (or the second cell) establish a connection, the establishment of a data transmission channel between the second access network device (or the second cell) and the core network is quickly completed, so that the second access network device (or the second cell) can quickly transmit data of the second service, and the time delay for transmitting the data of the second service is reduced.

In a possible design, before the first access network device receives the resource information corresponding to the second service from the core network device, the first access network device may further receive first information from the terminal device, where the first information includes network identification information. Through the first information, the terminal requests the first access network equipment to initiate the second service.

In yet another possible design, after receiving the first information from the terminal device, the first access network device may further send second information to the core network device, where the second information includes information used to determine, for the terminal device, the resource information corresponding to the second service. The core network device learns that the resource information corresponding to the second service needs to be allocated to the terminal device, so that the resource information corresponding to the second service can be allocated.

In yet another possible design, the first access network device may indicate the session information that needs to be suspended to the core network device through a response message, so that the core network device knows which sessions need to be suspended, for example, sessions related to the second service need to be suspended. Therefore, when downlink data of the second service arrives, the core network equipment cannot directly send the data to the first access network equipment, and therefore the downlink data of the second service can be prevented from being lost.

In another possible design, the session information that needs to be suspended may be indicated to the core network device through the second information.

In another possible design, the first access network device may determine, according to the measurement result, to add the second access network device as the secondary station or to add the second cell as the secondary cell.

In yet another possible design, after the second access network device is added as a secondary site or the second cell is added as a secondary cell, the first access network device sends, to the core network device, indication information for activating a session corresponding to the second service. For example, after receiving the indication information for activating the session corresponding to the second service, the core network device may determine the downlink receiving address of the second service, so that the downlink data of the second service may be sent to the correct downlink receiving address.

In still another possible design, before the first access network device receives the first information from the terminal device, the first access network device may further send corresponding capability information to the terminal device, for example, the first access network device indicates, to the terminal device, that the first access network device supports the second type of service performed by other access network devices, so that when knowing that the first access network device supports the second type of service that can be supported by other access network devices or other cells, the terminal device sends the first information to the first access network device, requests to initiate the second service, and reduces unnecessary signaling on the terminal device side.

In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, where a core network device sends resource information corresponding to a second service to a first access network device, and the core network device receives a response message from the first access network device, where the response message includes a configuration result of session resources corresponding to the second service.

The resource information includes a session identifier and session resource configuration information, the second service is a service that is not supported by a first cell but is supported by a second cell, the service supported by the first cell is a first service, the first cell belongs to the first access network device and is a current serving cell of the terminal device, and the second cell is a cell belonging to the second access network device or a cell belonging to the first access network device but is different from the first cell.

In a possible design, the core network device may further receive second information from the first access network device, where the second information includes information used to determine, for the terminal device, the resource information corresponding to the second service.

In yet another possible design, the core network device may receive information of the session that needs to be suspended from the first access network device through a response message.

In yet another possible design, the core network device may receive information of the session that needs to be suspended from the first access network device through the second information.

In another possible design, the core network device receives, from the first access network device, indication information for activating a session corresponding to the second service.

In a possible design of the communication method of the first aspect or the second aspect, the first information further includes: slice identification information corresponding to the network identification information.

In a possible design of the communication method of the first aspect or the second aspect, the session resource configuration information includes uplink reception address information corresponding to the session identifier.

In a possible design of the communication method of the first aspect or the second aspect above, the session identifier is a protocol data unit, PDU, session identifier.

In a possible design of the communication method of the first aspect or the second aspect, the resource information further includes at least one of a network identifier and a slice identifier corresponding to the session identifier.

In a possible design of the communication method of the first aspect or the second aspect, the session information to be suspended includes at least one of: the pending PDU session identification, network identification information is needed.

In a possible design of the communication method of the first aspect or the second aspect, the activating indication information of the session corresponding to the second service includes: and the session identification corresponds to the second service.

In a possible design of the communication method of the first aspect or the second aspect, the above indicating information for activating the session corresponding to the second service further includes: and the downlink receiving address information corresponding to the second access network equipment.

In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, where after determining that there is a need for a second service, first information is sent to a first access network device to request initiation of the second service, where the second service is a service that is not supported by a first cell but is supported by a second cell, the service supported by the first cell is the first service, the first cell belongs to the first access network device and is a current serving cell of a terminal device, the second cell is a cell belonging to the second access network device or a cell belonging to the first access network device but different from the first cell, and the first information includes network identification information.

In one possible design, the method further comprises: receiving corresponding capability information from the first access network device, for example, the first access network device indicates to the terminal device that the first access network device supports performing a second type of service through other access network devices, so that the terminal device sends the first information to the first access network device when knowing that the first access network device supports performing the second type of service through other access network devices or other cells, requests to initiate the second service, and reduces unnecessary signaling at the terminal device side.

In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, where a first access network device adds an auxiliary site but does not activate the auxiliary site, then receives resource information corresponding to a second service from a core network device, completes session configuration corresponding to the second service between the auxiliary sites, sends session establishment information to the core network device, and instructs the auxiliary site and a terminal device to activate, respectively, the auxiliary site and the terminal device.

In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, which comprises means, components or circuits for implementing the communication method of the first aspect. The communication means may be an access network device or may be a component for an access network device.

In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, which comprises means, components or circuits for implementing the communication method of the second aspect. The communication means may be a core network device or may be a component for a core network device.

In a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes a module, a component or a circuit for implementing the communication method of the third aspect. The communication means may be a terminal device or may be a component for a terminal device.

In an eighth aspect, there is provided a communication apparatus comprising means, components or circuits for implementing the communication method of the third aspect.

In a ninth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. The computer readable storage medium has program code stored therein. The program code includes instructions for performing the communication method in the above aspects.

For example, the computer readable medium may have stored therein a program code including instructions for executing the communication method in the first aspect.

For example, the computer-readable medium may have stored therein a program code including instructions for executing the communication method in the second aspect.

For example, the computer-readable medium may have stored therein a program code including instructions for executing the communication method in the third aspect.

For example, the computer-readable medium may have stored therein a program code including instructions for executing the communication method in the fourth aspect.

In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions. The computer program product, when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute the instructions of the method in the aspects described above.

In an eleventh aspect, there is provided a communication system comprising any one or more of the communication devices described above.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a possible communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an access network device and a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating one possible communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a possible communication method according to another embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a possible communication method according to another embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to yet another embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical scheme of the embodiment of the application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, an LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, an LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) system, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication system, a future fifth generation (5 g) system, a New Radio (NR), or the like.

As shown in fig. 1, a communication system 10 is provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication system 10 includes

access network devices

20 and 40, and one or more terminal devices 30. In one possible approach, access network device 20 may interact with access network device 40 and terminal device 30 may communicate with one or more of access network device 20 and access network device 40.

At present, the deployment mode of the private network may include one or more of the following:

1. the private network may be a cell configured with a dedicated base station and/or a cell under a core network, and the terminal device supporting the private network may reside and initiate a service in the base station and/or the core network, and the 3GPP protocol generally refers to such a private network as an independent (SA) NPN cell.

2. The private network can also be a slice (slice) of the public network, that is, a slice in the public network can be configured as the private network, all the terminal devices can reside in the network, and after the terminal devices enter a connection state to initiate a service request, the network assigns the service of the terminal device to the corresponding private network slice according to the slice information corresponding to the service, that is, according to whether the service is a private network service.

3. The private network may be one or more cells deployed by an operator.

It is understood that both of the above modes 2 and 3 can be understood as the arrangement of the NSA NPN. X2/Xn connection can be established between any two base stations of the deployment modes 1, 2 and 3, and X2/Xn connection can be established between the base station of any private network in the deployment modes 1, 2 and 3 and the base station corresponding to the public network. And/or, a connection may be established between any two core networks of the deployment modes 1, 2, and 3, or a connection may be established between a core network of any private network of the deployment modes 1, 2, and 3 and a core network of the public network, or the core network of the private network and the core network of the public network are the same core network.

It is understood that private and public networks are two different network types. In general, a cell in a private network sends a private network identifier to which the cell belongs, and only a terminal device having subscription information with the private network identifier may reside in and/or access the private network cell. In some cases, the private network may also be referred to as an intranet, and the public network as a public network. For example, the private network may be a network that allows only the terminal device corresponding to the network, which is identified with the subscription information, to reside and/or access.

It can be understood that the above private network deployment manner is an example, and other deployment manners may also exist, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Alternatively, the access network device 20 may be an access network device corresponding to a private network, for example, referred to as a private network base station or a CAG base station. The access network device 40 may be an access network device corresponding to a public network, for example, referred to as a Public Network (PN) base station or a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) base station.

After the private network is introduced, the terminal device may be classified according to the network type supported by the terminal device, including: (1) private network terminal equipment: a terminal device that only signs a contract with a private network, such as an intelligent terminal in a factory; (2) Terminal equipment supporting both a private network and a public network, such as terminal equipment of a private network access user; (3) public network terminal equipment: a terminal device which only signs a contract with a public network is not suitable for a private network. For the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device 30 is a terminal device that can support both a private network and a public network.

It should be understood that the methods of the embodiments of the present application may be applicable to communication systems that include more or fewer apparatuses or devices, or may include devices or apparatuses with similar functionality.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 2, a schematic structural diagram of an access network device (such as the access network device 20 or the access network device 40) and a terminal device 30 provided in the embodiment of the present application is shown.

The terminal device 30 includes at least one processor (illustrated in fig. 2 by including one processor 301) and at least one transceiver (illustrated in fig. 2 by including one transceiver 303). Optionally, the terminal device 30 may further include at least one memory (exemplarily illustrated in fig. 2 by including one memory 302), at least one output device (exemplarily illustrated in fig. 2 by including one output device 304) and at least one input device (exemplarily illustrated in fig. 2 by including one input device 305).

The processor 301, the memory 302 and the transceiver 303 are connected by a communication line. The communication link may include any path that conveys information between the aforementioned components.

The processor 301 may be a general-purpose Central Processing Unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of programs in accordance with the present disclosure. In a specific implementation, the processor 301 may also include a plurality of CPUs, and the processor 301 may be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor, as an embodiment. A processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, or processing cores that process data, such as computer program instructions.

The memory 302 may be a device having a storage function. Such as, but not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static memory devices that can store static information and instructions, random Access Memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic memory devices that can store information and instructions, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage, optical disk storage (including compact disk, laser disk, optical disk, digital versatile disk, blu-ray disk, etc.), magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. The memory 302 may be separate and coupled to the processor 301 via a communication link. The memory 302 may also be integrated with the processor 301.

Memory 302 may be used to store, among other things, computer-executable instructions and/or data for performing aspects of the subject application, and may interact with processor 301. In one possible design, the processor 301 is configured to execute computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 302 to implement the communication method described in the embodiments of the present application. Optionally, the computer execution instruction in the embodiment of the present application may also be referred to as an application program code or a computer program code, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application. Alternatively, some or all of the computer executable instructions may be stored in the processor.

The transceiver 303 may use any transceiver or other device for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as ethernet, radio Access Network (RAN), wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), or the like. The transceiver 303 includes a transmitter Tx and a receiver Rx. The transceiver 303 may also be an interface circuit.

The output device 304 is in communication with the processor 301 and may display information in a variety of ways. For example, the output device 304 may be a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), a Light Emitting Diode (LED) display device, a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) display device, a projector (projector), or the like.

The input device 305 is in communication with the processor 301 and may accept user input in a variety of ways. For example, the input device 305 may be a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen device, or a sensing device, among others.

The access network device 20 includes at least one processor (illustrated in fig. 2 as including one processor 201), at least one transceiver (illustrated in fig. 2 as including one transceiver 203), and at least one network interface (illustrated in fig. 2 as including one network interface 204). Optionally, the access network device 20 may further include at least one memory (exemplarily illustrated in fig. 2 by including one memory 202). The processor 201, the memory 202, the transceiver 203, and the network interface 204 are connected via a communication line. The network interface 204 is configured to connect with a core network device through a link (e.g., S1 interface), or connect with a network interface of another access network device through a wired or wireless link (e.g., X2 interface) (not shown in fig. 2), which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Optionally, the access network device in this embodiment is a device that accesses the terminal device 30 to a wireless network, and may be an evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB) in a Long Term Evolution (LTE); or a base station in eLTE; or a base station in a fifth generation (5 th generation,5 g) network or a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) for future evolution, a broadband network service gateway (BNG), a convergence switch or a non-third generation partnership project (3 rd generation partnership project,3 gpp) access device, and the like, which are not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application. Optionally, the base station in the embodiment of the present application may include various forms of base stations, for example: a macro base station, a micro base station (also referred to as a small station), a relay station, an access point, and the like, which are not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application. It is to be understood that the access network device in the embodiment of the present application may also be referred to as a network device.

In one network configuration, an access network device may include a Centralized Unit (CU) node, or a Distributed Unit (DU) node, or include a CU node and a DU node, or include a control plane CU node (CU-CP node) and a user plane CU node (CU-UP node) and a DU node.

The communication between the access network device and the terminal device follows a certain protocol layer structure. For example, the control plane protocol layer structure may include functions of protocol layers such as a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, a Media Access Control (MAC) layer, and a physical layer. The user plane protocol layer structure can comprise functions of protocol layers such as a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, an MAC layer, a physical layer and the like; in one implementation, a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer may be further included above the PDCP layer.

The functions of these protocol layers may be implemented by one node, or may be implemented by a plurality of nodes; for example, in an evolved structure, a RAN device may include a Centralized Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU), and a plurality of DUs may be centrally controlled by one CU.

The CU and the DU may be divided according to protocol layers of the radio network, for example, functions of a PDCP layer and above protocol layers are provided in the CU, and functions of protocol layers below the PDCP layer, for example, functions of an RLC layer and a MAC layer, are provided in the DU. Alternatively, the CU has functions above the PDCP layer (including PDCP, RRC, and SDAP), and the DU has functions below the PDCP layer (including RLC, MAC, and PHY).

This division of the protocol layers is only an example, and it is also possible to divide the protocol layers at other protocol layers, for example, at the RLC layer, and the functions of the RLC layer and the protocol layers above are set in the CU, and the functions of the protocol layers below the RLC layer are set in the DU; alternatively, the functions are divided into some protocol layers, for example, a part of the functions of the RLC layer and the functions of the protocol layers above the RLC layer are provided in the CU, and the remaining functions of the RLC layer and the functions of the protocol layers below the RLC layer are provided in the DU. In addition, the processing time may be divided in other ways, for example, by time delay, a function that needs to satisfy the time delay requirement for processing time is set in the DU, and a function that does not need to satisfy the time delay requirement is set in the CU.

Optionally, the terminal device 30 in the embodiment of the present application may be a device for implementing a wireless communication function, such as a terminal or a chip that can be used in the terminal. The terminal device may be a User Equipment (UE), an access terminal, a terminal unit, a terminal station, a mobile station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a wireless communication device, a terminal agent, a terminal apparatus, or the like in a 5G network or a PLMN which is evolved in the future. The access terminal may be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device or a wearable device, a Virtual Reality (VR) terminal device, an Augmented Reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control), a wireless terminal in self driving (self), a wireless terminal in remote medical (remote medical), a wireless terminal in smart grid (smart grid), a wireless terminal in transport security (transport security), a wireless terminal in city (smart), a wireless terminal in smart home (smart), etc. The terminal equipment may be mobile or fixed.

Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the access network device and the terminal device shown in fig. 1 or fig. 2 may also be referred to as a communication apparatus, which may be a general device or a special device, and this is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the application.

In a case that the first network does not support the service of the second network (for example, in a scenario where a private network and a public network coexist), how the terminal device performs the service for the second network in the first network is a problem to be solved in the embodiment of the present application.

An embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, as shown in fig. 3, which may include:

s302, the core network device sends resource information corresponding to the second service to the first access network device.

Accordingly, the first access network device receives the resource information.

When the second service is needed, the core network device allocates resource information corresponding to the second service and sends the resource information to the first access network device.

The resource information may include a session identifier and session resource configuration information.

The second service may be a service that is not supported by the first access network device but is supported by the second access network device; alternatively, the second service is a service that is not supported by the first cell but is supported by the second cell. The first cell is a current serving cell of the terminal device (belonging to the first access network device), and the second cell may be one or more cells covered by the second access network device or may be one or more other cells except the first cell covered by the first access device.

In this embodiment, a service supported by the first access network device or the first cell may be referred to as a first service. It can be understood that the first service and the second service respectively correspond to services that can be supported by a first access network device (or a first cell) and a second access network device (or a second cell), and each of the first service and the second service may include at least one type of service.

In one possible design, the session identifier may be a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session identifier, and the session resource configuration information includes uplink receiving address information corresponding to the session identifier.

Optionally, the uplink receiving address information may include General Packet Radio Service Tunneling Protocol (GTP) channel address information. The GTP tunnel address includes the IP address and/or endpoint identification of the GTP tunnel. The IP Address may be a Transport Layer Address (TLA), and the Endpoint identifier may be a GTP Tunnel Endpoint identifier (GTP-TEID).

Optionally, the resource information may further include at least one of a network identifier and a slice identifier corresponding to the session identifier, where the network identifier may be, for example, a PLMN identifier.

In a possible design, the first access network device may be a base station corresponding to a private network, for example, a CAG base station, and the second access network device may be a base station corresponding to a public network, in which case, the second service may be a PN service.

In another possible design, the first access network device may be a base station corresponding to a public network, and the second access network device may be a base station corresponding to a private network, in which case, the second service may be a private network service.

In another possible design, the first access network device may be a base station corresponding to a first private network, such as a CAG base station 1, and the second access network device may be a base station corresponding to a second private network, such as a CAG base station 2, where the first private network and the second private network are two different private networks. At this time, the second service may be a second private network service.

It can be understood that the core network device may actively (or directly) send the resource information corresponding to the second service to the first access network device when there is a second service requirement, that is, directly perform S302. Optionally, the terminal device at this time may be a terminal device in a connected state.

In addition, the core network device may send resource information corresponding to the second service to the first access network device based on a request of the first access network device, and then S300 and S301 may be further included before S302. It is understood that S300 and S301 are applicable to a connected terminal device or a non-connected terminal device. The unconnected state may include an idle state or a deactivated state.

In a possible case, the access mobility management function (AMF) may send resource information corresponding to the second service to the first access network device, and part or all of the session resource configuration information may be sent to the first access network device after being received from a Session Management Function (SMF). It can be understood that, part or all of the session resource configuration information may also be generated by the AMF itself, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited. In addition, the embodiment of the present application does not limit or describe in detail the interaction or implementation inside the core network device, and the AMF and the SMF may be collectively referred to as the core network device. The AMF may also be called an AMF entity and the SMF may also be called an SMF entity.

S300, the terminal device sends first information to the first access network device.

Accordingly, the first access network device receives the first information. Wherein the first information comprises network identification information.

It may be understood that, when determining that there is a second service requirement, the terminal device may request the first access network device to initiate the second service, for example, the terminal may send first information including network identification information to the first access network device. And the terminal equipment indicates the first access network equipment that the terminal equipment has the requirement for carrying out the second service through the first information. It is to be appreciated that the second traffic can include uplink traffic and/or downlink traffic.

Optionally, the terminal device may determine that there is a second service requirement when the terminal device actively initiates the second service or passively initiates the second service. One possible situation that the terminal device passively initiates the second service may be: and when the terminal equipment is in an idle state or a deactivation state, determining that a second service exists according to the received paging message. For example, when there is a downlink second service requirement, the core network device may notify the terminal device of the second service through the paging procedure. The embodiment of the application does not limit how the terminal device determines that the second service requirement exists.

Accordingly, in case that the second service is a PN service, the network identification information may include a PLMN identification (PLMNID); in the case where the second service is a private network service, the network identification information may include a PLMN ID and a private network identification; in the case where the second service is a second private network service, the network identification information may include a PLMN ID and a second private network identification.

Optionally, the first Information may further include a Slice identifier, such as Single Network Slice Selection support Information (S-NSSAI), for indicating a Slice identifier under the Network identifier.

When the first access network device receives the network identifier from the terminal device, it may be determined that the terminal device requests initiation of the second service.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the content of the first information is not limited, as long as the first access network device can know that the terminal device requests the first access network device to initiate the second service.

Optionally, the terminal device may further send, when requesting to initiate the second service to the first access network device, a measurement result of a cell corresponding to the network identifier supporting the second service to the first access network device. It is understood that the measurement result of the cell may also be sent in other procedures, for example, before S300, to the first access network device.

It may be understood that, in a possible design, in the case that the second service is a service supported by the second access network device or a cell under the second access network device, the first access network device may determine whether there is the second access network device after receiving the request of the terminal device. For example, when the first access network device and the adjacent access network device establish an X2/Xn interface connection, it may be determined whether a second access network device supporting the second service exists in the adjacent access network device through information exchanged between the access network devices.

S301, the first access network device sends second information to the core network device.

After receiving the request of the terminal device, the first access network device requests the core network device to allocate the resource corresponding to the second service to the terminal device, and the core network device executes S302 based on the request of the first access network device.

The second information may include information for determining resource information corresponding to the second service for the terminal device. Optionally, the second information may also be a request information.

In a possible implementation manner, the second information may include network identification information. The network identification information here is the network identification information received by the first access network device from the terminal device. Optionally, the second information may further include a non-access stratum (NAS) Protocol Data Unit (PDU), where the NAS PDU is used to indicate the service request information of the terminal device. Alternatively, the NAS PDU and the network identification information may be referred to as service setup information.

Through the second information, the core network device learns that the resource information corresponding to the second service needs to be allocated to the terminal device, so that the resource information corresponding to the second service can be allocated. Optionally, the AMF may forward the second information to the SMF after receiving the second information from the terminal device.

Further, after S302, the method may further include:

s303, the first access network device sends a response message to the core network device according to the resource information, where the response message includes a configuration result of session resources corresponding to the second service and information of a session that needs to be suspended.

The first access network device performs feedback of a configuration result of the session resource corresponding to the second service to the core network device through the response message based on the allocation information of the core network device, for example, indicating to the core network device which PDU session ID corresponds to successful configuration of the session resource, and/or which PDU session ID corresponds to failed configuration of the session resource. It can be understood that, the corresponding session resource is configured successfully, which indicates that the corresponding channel related to the second service is opened, so that the terminal device may be supported to establish a connection with the second access network device (or the second cell) under the first access network device, thereby initiating the second service. Further, it may support that the configuration of the session resource related to the second service between the core network device and the first access network device is implemented, for example, a data transmission channel of the second service between the access network device and the core network device may be established in advance for the terminal device, so that after the terminal device establishes a connection with the second access network device (or the second cell), the establishment of the data transmission channel between the second access network device (or the second cell) and the core network is completed quickly, so that the second access network device (or the second cell) may transmit the data of the second service quickly, and reduce a time delay for transmitting the data of the second service.

In addition, the first access network device indicates the session information that needs to be suspended to the core network device through the response message, so that the core network device knows which sessions need to be suspended, for example, sessions related to the second service need to be suspended. That is to say, the first access network device instructs the core network device to suspend using the channel related to the second service, so that the core network device may not directly send data to the first access network device when downlink data of the second service arrives, thereby avoiding loss of the downlink data of the second service.

Optionally, the information of the session that needs to be suspended may include at least one of the following: the pending PDU session identification and network identification information is needed. It is to be understood that the session information that needs to be suspended may also be sent through a message other than the response message, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

In one possible design, after receiving the information of the session to be suspended, the core network device, for example, the AMF may send the information of the session to be suspended to the SMF, and further, the SMF sends the information of the session to be suspended to a User Plane Function (UPF). The corresponding session may be suspended at the core network and the access network device.

In the embodiment of the application, the core network device and the first access network device allocate resource information corresponding to the second service in advance, so that after the first access network device establishes the connection between the terminal device and the second access network device, the data transmission channel between the second access network device and the core network device is quickly established, and the second access network device can quickly transmit the data of the second service of the terminal device. In addition, the first access network device indicates to the core network device to suspend the session related to the second service, so that the loss of the downlink data of the second service can be avoided. For example, when downlink data related to the second service arrives, if the core network device directly sends the data to the first access network device, but at this time, the second access network device may not be successfully added as an auxiliary site, the downlink data may be lost.

Optionally, after S303, the method may further include:

s304, the first access network device determines whether there is a second access network device that can be added as a Secondary Node (SN).

A secondary station may also be referred to herein as a secondary node or secondary station.

The first access network device may determine whether there is a second access network device that may be added as the SN based on the cell measurement result and/or the beam measurement result sent by the terminal device, and may refer to the second access network device that may be added as the SN as a target access network device. If there is a second access network device that can be added as SN, S305 is further performed. If the second access network device which can be added as the SN is not found within a certain time period, the subsequent process may not be executed, and the first access network device sends the indication information to the core network device to indicate the core network device to release the resource related to the second service.

Optionally, before S304, the terminal device may report the cell and/or beam measurement result based on the measurement configuration information (also referred to as measurement indication information) of the first access network device. The measurement configuration information includes a network identifier and cell information and/or frequency point information. The network identification comprises PLMN ID and/or CAG ID2; the cell information may include: at least one of a Cell Global Identifier (CGI), a Physical Cell Identifier (PCI), and a Cell Identifier of the Cell. The terminal device measures according to the configuration information, stores the measurement result and reports the measurement result to the first access network device. It can be understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, the timing when the first access network device performs measurement configuration on the terminal device is not limited. The steps of the first access network device configuring the terminal device for measurements and receiving the measurement results from the terminal device may be performed before any of the steps S300-S304.

It is to be understood that the target access network device determined in S304 may be one or more second access network devices.

S305, the first access network device adds the second access network device as SN.

In a possible manner, the process of adding, by the first access network device, the second access network device as the SN may include: the first access network device sends an addition request (addition request) to the second access network device, and the second access network device feeds back an addition response (addition response) to the first access network device.

The addition request may include a session identifier corresponding to the second service and a network identifier corresponding to the session identifier. The addition request may further include cell information that the terminal device may access, where the cell information may be measurement report information corresponding to the cell, or may be cell identification information. It can be understood that, if the second access network device cannot configure the session resource corresponding to the second service, the first access network device needs to send an addition request to the other determined target access network devices. Then, the first access network device receives an addition response from the second access network device, where the addition response may be used to indicate that session resources corresponding to the second service may be established between the terminal device and the second access network device.

And if all the target access network equipment cannot establish the session resources corresponding to the second service, the SN addition process fails, the subsequent process is not executed, and the first access network equipment and the core network equipment release the resources related to the second service.

After the SN addition is successful, S306 is executed: and the first access network equipment sends indication information for activating the session corresponding to the second service to the core network equipment.

The indication information for activating the session corresponding to the second service may include: and the session identifier corresponding to the second service.

Optionally, the indication information for activating the session corresponding to the second service may further include: and downlink receiving address information corresponding to the second access network equipment or the second cell. The downlink receiving address information may include a GTP tunnel address. The GTP tunnel address includes the IP address and/or endpoint identification of the GTP tunnel. Optionally, the IP Address may be a Transport Layer Address (TLA), and the Endpoint identifier may be a GTP Tunnel Endpoint identifier (GTP-TEID).

Optionally, S307 may be further executed: the first access network equipment sends configuration information of the cell under the SN to the terminal equipment, and the configuration information is used for indicating the terminal equipment to establish connection with the cell under the SN.

The configuration information of the cell may include at least one of identification or index information of the cell, random access configuration information of the cell, physical channel configuration of the cell, and Medium Access Control (MAC) configuration of the cell.

For example, after receiving the indication information for activating the session corresponding to the second service, the core network device may determine the downlink receiving address of the second service, so that the downlink data of the second service may be sent to the correct downlink receiving address. As can be seen, the terminal device may complete communication related to the second service between the terminal device and the second access network device through a Dual Connectivity (DC), it can be understood that the second service may be control plane data or user plane data, and transmission links of the control plane data and the user plane data are different, for example, for uplink data, the user plane data directly reaches the core network device through the second access network device, and the control plane data reaches the core network device through the first access network device by the second access network device, and the downlink data is similar, which is not described herein again. Therefore, the first access network device can support the terminal device to implement the second service in the first access network device in a DC mode, and meanwhile, data loss is avoided.

It can be understood that, the embodiment of the present application is described by taking the example of adding the second access network device to the terminal device, but is not limited to this scenario. The embodiment of the application can be applied to any scene of adding the second cell to the terminal device, and the second cell can be a cell under the second access network device or other cells different from the current service cell of the terminal device under the first access network device. That is, the communication related to the second service may be performed by Carrier Aggregation (CA). Compared with the above-mentioned communication related to the second service by the DC method, the flows of S304-S305, and S307 respectively replaced by cell addition, i.e., S304-S305, and S307 are respectively replaced by S304A, S305A, and S307A (these three replacing steps are not shown in the figure) as follows:

S304A: the first access network device determines whether there is a second cell that can be added as a secondary cell (Scell).

The first access network device may determine whether there is a second cell that may be added as an Scell based on the cell measurement result and/or the beam measurement result sent by the terminal device, and may refer to the second cell that may be added as the Scell as a target cell. If there is a second cell that can be added as Scell, S305A is further performed. If the second cell which can be added as the Scell is not found within a certain time duration, the subsequent process may not be executed, and the first access network device sends the indication information to the core network device to indicate the core network device to release the resource related to the second service.

S305A: and the first access network equipment adds the second cell as the secondary cell.

S307A: and the first access network equipment sends the configuration information of the second cell to the terminal equipment.

The terminal device may establish a connection with the second cell according to the configuration information of the second cell.

As shown in fig. 4, another embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, and compared with the embodiment shown in fig. 3, the first access network device in the embodiment shown in fig. 4 has different occasions to indicate the information of the session that needs to be suspended, so that there is a certain difference in the flow of the method. The embodiment shown in fig. 4 comprises:

s400, the first access network equipment receives first information from the terminal equipment.

S400 is similar to S300, and reference may be made to the description at S300, which is not described herein again.

S401, the first access network device sends second information to the core network device.

Here, regarding S401, a part may refer to the description at S301, and on the basis of the description at S301, information of a session that needs to be suspended may also be indicated by the second information. That is, the second information may further include information of a session that needs to be suspended. Through S401, the service establishment information may be sent to the core network device, and the core network device may be indicated to suspend the corresponding session, that is, request to suspend the corresponding session. By the method, the core network equipment can determine the session information needing to be suspended in time, so that whether resources are allocated to the suspended session or not is determined according to the resource use condition of the core network equipment. It may be understood that the information indicating the session that needs to be suspended to the core network device through the second information may also be information indicating the session that needs to be suspended to the core network device after receiving the first information through other information, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. The information for determining the resource information corresponding to the second service and the information of the session that needs to be suspended for the terminal device may be sent through one message or may be sent through different messages.

The core network device may determine whether to suspend the session based on a request of the first access network device.

S402, the first access network device receives resource information corresponding to the second service and suspension status information of the session from the core network device.

In S402, reference may be made to the relevant description at S302 regarding the core network and the resource information portion corresponding to the second service sent by the device to the first access network device. In addition, the core network device may also feed back the suspension of the session to the first access network device, for example, the first access network device indicates whether the suspended session is suspended. The corresponding situation may be fed back for each session at the session granularity, or all indicated sessions may be fed back as a whole, for example, whether all sessions are suspended is fed back, and the like. In addition, the SMF may determine whether to suspend the session, or may be another functional entity of the core network device, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

S403, the first access network device sends a response message to the core network device according to the resource information, where the response message includes a configuration result of session resources corresponding to the second service.

Wherein, for the configuration result of sending the session resource corresponding to the second service through the response message, reference may be made to the corresponding description at S303, which is not described herein again.

S404, the first access network device determines whether there is a second access network device that can be added as a SN.

S405, the first access network device adds the second access network device as a SN.

S406, the first access network device sends, to the core network device, indication information for activating a session corresponding to the second service.

S407, the first access network device sends configuration information of the cell under the SN to the terminal device, and the configuration information is used for indicating the terminal device to establish connection with the cell under the SN.

The above-mentioned S404-S407 can further refer to the related descriptions at S304-S307, which are not described herein again. To this end, the terminal device may complete communication related to the second service with the second access network device in a DC manner.

It can be understood that the embodiment shown in fig. 4 is exemplified by performing communication related to the second service in a DC manner, and a similar procedure is also applicable to performing communication related to the second service in a CA manner, except that a procedure of adding an SN is replaced by a procedure of adding a cell, which may refer to corresponding descriptions of the foregoing embodiments and is not described herein again.

Optionally, based on the embodiment of fig. 3 or fig. 4, before S300 or S400, the method may further include: the first access network device indicates to the terminal device that the first access network device supports a second type of service through other access network devices, where the second type is a type to which the second service belongs. That is to say, the first access network device may notify the terminal device of the capability of the first access network device through the third information, so that the terminal device knows whether the first access network device supports the second type of service through other access network devices or other cells, and executes S300 when the first access network device indicates that the first access network device can support the second type of service through other access network devices or other cells, thereby reducing unnecessary signaling on the terminal device side and saving signaling and power consumption.

The third information may be used by the terminal device to determine whether the first access network device supports transmission of the second type of service through other access network devices or other cells, or the third information may be used by the terminal device to determine whether the first access network device supports transmission of the second type of service through DC or CA.

Optionally, the third information may indicate network information to which a service supported by the first access network device belongs. The network information may include at least one of network identification and/or cell information. The network identifier may include a PLMN ID and/or an NPN ID (for example, the terminal is currently in a cell of CAG ID1, and the cell may support a service of CAG ID 2); the cell information may include: at least one of a Cell Global Identifier (CGI), a Physical Cell Identifier (PCI), and a Cell Identifier of the Cell. Alternatively, this approach may be understood as an implicit indication. The indication may also be indicated in an explicit manner, and the indication manner is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

Further, the third information may be at least one bit of information, and may be sent to the terminal device if the first access network device supports or does not support the second type of service through other access network devices, for example, if the first access network device supports the second type of service, the third information is sent. When the terminal device receives the third information, it indicates that the first access network device supports the second type of service through other access network devices, and when the first access network device does not support the second type of service, the terminal device does not send the third information, otherwise, the third information is similar, which is not illustrated here. Or may be enumerated, i.e. indicate to the terminal device whether or not the second type of traffic is supported via other access network devices. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific indication manner of the third information.

In the embodiment of the application, the first access network device may notify the core network device of the session information that needs to be suspended in time, so that the core network device may determine whether to allocate resource information to the suspended session according to the resource usage of the core network device in time. In addition, the core network equipment allocates the resource information corresponding to the second service to the first access network equipment in advance, so that the data of the second service of the terminal equipment can be quickly transmitted. In addition, the first access network device indicates to the core network device to suspend the session related to the second service, so that the loss of downlink data of the second service can be avoided.

As shown in fig. 5, a further embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which is different from the embodiments shown in fig. 3 and fig. 4, in that the embodiment shown in fig. 5 first adds SNs and then establishes a data transmission channel related to the second service on the core network side. The communication method comprises the following steps:

s500, the terminal device sends the first information to the first access network device.

S500 is similar to S300, and reference may be made to the description at S300, which is not described herein again. Based on the first information, the first access network device learns that the terminal device requests to initiate the second service.

It may be understood that, before S500, the first access network device may send the third information to the terminal device, which may specifically refer to the relevant description of the foregoing embodiments.

S500 is an optional step.

S501, adding SN by the first access network equipment.

For example, the first access network device learns that the terminal device requests to initiate the second service according to the first information in S500, and thus determines to configure the SN for the terminal device, and then the first access network device adds the SN for the terminal device. The SN is the second access network device. The flow of adding SN for the terminal device by the first access network device may refer to the descriptions at S304 and S305.

Alternatively, the first access network device may not add the SN according to the first information, such as the first access network device adding the SN regardless of whether there is the first information.

Optionally, in the process of adding the SN by the first access network device, the SN may be instructed not to activate the SN, or instructed not to activate a cell on the SN.

Optionally, the first access network device may further send, to the terminal device, configuration information of a cell under the SN, where the configuration information is used to instruct the terminal device to establish a connection with the cell under the SN, and the configuration information may be, for example, reconfiguration information. Optionally, the first access network device may indicate that the SN is not activated to the terminal device, so that the terminal device does not need to detect a control channel of the SN, and unnecessary energy consumption is avoided.

S502, the core network device sends the information of the allocated resource corresponding to the second service to the first access network device.

In a possible manner, it may also be understood that the core network device sends a service establishment request, and requests the first access network device to establish a service transmission channel corresponding to the second service for the terminal.

Optionally, before S502, the method may further include: and the first access network equipment requests the core network equipment to allocate resources corresponding to the second service for the terminal equipment.

And S503, the session configuration corresponding to the second service is completed between the first access network device and the SN.

Wherein, the session configuration here may be a PDU session configuration of the second service. Specifically, the first access network device sends the PDU session configuration of the second service to the SN, and the SN sends the setup information of the PDU session of the second service on the SN to the first access network device. For example, the setup information of the PDU session may include downlink address information of the PDU session on the SN.

S504, the first access network device sends a response message to the core network device, where the response message includes session establishment information.

For example, the establishment information of the session may include downlink address information of the established PDU session on the SN.

And S505, the first access network equipment sends indication information to the SN, wherein the indication information is used for indicating activation of the SN.

S506, the first access network equipment sends an indication activation SN to the terminal equipment.

In a possible design, the first access network device may send, to the terminal device, configuration information of a cell under the SN, where the configuration information is used to instruct the terminal device to establish a connection with the cell under the SN, thereby implicitly instructing the terminal device to activate the SN; in yet another possible design, the first access network device may also explicitly instruct the terminal device to activate the SN, for example, by instructing the terminal device to activate the SN through at least one bit of indication information.

After the SN is activated, the terminal equipment can complete communication related to the second service with the SN in a DC mode.

It is understood that the procedure for completing the communication related to the second service by means of CA is similar to the procedure shown in fig. 5, except that the procedure of adding SN in S501 is replaced by the procedure of adding a cell, the session configuration between the first access network device and the SN in S503 is replaced by the session configuration between the first access network device and the Scell, and the activation of the SN in S505 and S506 is replaced by the activation of the Scell.

By the method of the embodiment of the application, a mechanism supporting the first access network device to support the second service in a DC/CA manner is provided, and further, when the first access network device does not establish a service transmission channel corresponding to the second service with the core network device, the SN or Scell is indicated to be inactivated, so that unnecessary energy consumption of the terminal device can be avoided.

Optionally, the flows shown in fig. 3 to fig. 5 do not affect the communication between the terminal device and the first access network device (or the first cell), that is, the terminal device may normally perform the first service in the foregoing process.

It is to be understood that the steps or operations in the above-described method embodiments of the present application are merely examples, and other operations or variations of the operations may be performed by the embodiments of the present application. Further, the various steps may be performed in a different order presented in the embodiments of the application, and not all operations in the embodiments of the application may be performed.

It is to be understood that, in the foregoing embodiments of the present application, the method implemented by the terminal device may also be implemented by a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit) configurable in the terminal device, the method implemented by the access network device (the first access network device or the second access network device), the method implemented by the core network device, or the method implemented by the component configurable in the core network device. In addition, the first access network device may also be referred to as a first node, the second access network device may also be referred to as a second node, and the core network device may also be referred to as a core network node.

It is to be understood that, in the above embodiments of the method, the first access network device and the second access network device may be base stations; or, the first access network device is a CU, the second access network device is a DU, and the first cell and the second cell may belong to the same DU, or the first cell belongs to a first DU under the CU and the second cell belongs to a second DU under the CU (that is, the second access network device); alternatively, other network forms are possible, and the present embodiment is not limited thereto.

The above-mentioned scheme provided by the embodiment of the present application is introduced mainly from the perspective of interaction between network elements. Correspondingly, the embodiment of the application also provides a communication device, and the communication device is used for realizing the various methods. The communication device may be the terminal device referred to in the above method embodiments, or a device including the terminal device, or a component (chip or circuit) that can be used for the terminal device; alternatively, the communication device may be an access network device (e.g., a first access network device, a second access network device) involved in the foregoing various method embodiments, or a device including the foregoing access network device, or a component that can be used for an access network device; alternatively, the communication device may also be the core network device involved in the above method embodiments, or a component that can be used for the core network device. It is understood that the communication device comprises hardware structures and/or software modules for performing the respective functions in order to realize the functions. Those of skill in the art would readily appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware or combinations of hardware and computer software. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

In the embodiment of the present application, the communication apparatus may be divided into functional modules according to the method embodiments described above, for example, each functional module may be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions may be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module can be realized in a hardware mode, and can also be realized in a software functional module mode.

Hereinafter, the apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail with reference to fig. 6 to 8. It should be understood that the description of the apparatus embodiment and the description of the method embodiment correspond to each other, and therefore, for the sake of brevity, some contents that are not described in detail may be referred to as the above method embodiment.

Fig. 6 shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 600 according to an embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that the communication apparatus 600 may implement any function corresponding to the terminal device in any one of the embodiments shown in fig. 3 to fig. 4. The communication device may be a terminal device, or may be a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit) that is configurable in the terminal device. The communication device 600 includes: a processing unit 610 and a communication unit 620.

It should be noted that the communication unit in the embodiment of the present application may also be referred to as a transceiver unit (module), and the processing unit may be referred to as a processing module.

Illustratively, the processing unit 610 determines that a need for the second service exists.

A communication unit 620, configured to send first information to the first access network device to request to initiate the second service.

For the related description of the second service and the first information, reference may be made to the related description of the foregoing embodiment, which is not described herein again.

Optionally, the communication unit 620 may be further configured to receive, from the first access network device, information (third information) indicating that the first access network device supports a second type of service through another access network device, where the second type is a type to which the second service belongs. By receiving the third information, it can be known whether the first access network device supports the second type of service through other access network devices or other cells, so that when there is a need for the second service, the communication unit 620 requests the first access network device to initiate the second service.

Optionally, the communication unit 620 may be further configured to perform the first service with the first access network device.

Optionally, the communication device 600 may further include a storage unit 630. The memory unit 630 may be used to store computer-executable instructions and/or data or other information. The processing unit 610 may read instructions or data stored in the storage unit 630 to implement a corresponding scheme.

In one possible design, processing unit 610 may be a processor, such as processor 301 shown in FIG. 2. The communication unit 620 may be a transceiver, such as the transceiver 303 shown in fig. 2, or the communication unit 620 may also be a communication interface. The storage unit 630 may be a memory, such as 302 shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 7 illustrates a communication apparatus 700 provided in an embodiment of the present application, where the apparatus 700 may implement any function provided by the first access network device in any one of the embodiments illustrated in fig. 3 to 4. The communication device may be an access network device or may be a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit) that is configurable in an access network device.

The apparatus may include a receiving unit 710 and a transmitting unit 720.

The receiving unit 710 is configured to receive resource information corresponding to the second service from the core network device; a sending unit 720, where the first access network device sends a response message to the core network device according to the resource information, where the response message includes a configuration result of session resources corresponding to the second service.

Optionally, the receiving unit 710 may be further configured to receive the first information from the terminal device.

The sending unit 720 may further be configured to send the second information to the core network device.

Optionally, the communication apparatus 700 may further include a processing unit 730, where the processing unit 730 is configured to determine, according to the measurement result, to add the second access network device as the secondary station or determine that the second cell is the Scell. Further, the sending unit 720 and the receiving unit 710 may also be configured to complete interaction with a second access network device, implement a process of adding the second access network device as an SN, and send the cell configuration information under the SN to the terminal device by the sending unit 720; or, the processing unit 730 adds the second cell as Scell, and the transmitting unit 720 transmits the configuration information of the second cell to the terminal device.

In one possible design, the response message may carry information of the session to be suspended; alternatively, in yet another possible design, the session information needing to be suspended may be included in the second information.

Optionally, the sending unit 720 may be further configured to activate, to the core network device, indication information of a session corresponding to the second service.

Optionally, the sending unit 720 may be further configured to send third information by the terminal device.

Optionally, the communication device 700 may further include a storage unit. The memory unit may be used to store computer-executable instructions and/or data or other information. The processing unit 730 can read instructions or data stored in the storage unit to implement the corresponding scheme.

Reference may be made to the description in the corresponding method embodiment with regard to the content of the specific interaction flow, information or message.

The receiving unit 710 and the transmitting unit 720 may also be collectively referred to as a transmitting/receiving unit (module) or a communication unit.

In one possible design, processing unit 730 may be a processor, such as processor 201 shown in FIG. 2. The communication unit may be a transceiver, such as the transceiver 203 shown in fig. 2, or the communication unit may also be a communication interface. The storage unit may be a memory, such as memory 202 shown in FIG. 2.

Fig. 8 illustrates a communication apparatus 800 according to an embodiment of the present application, where the apparatus 800 may implement any function of a core network device in any embodiment shown in fig. 3 to fig. 4. The communication device may be a core network device, or may be a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit) that is configurable in the core network device.

Illustratively, the communication device 800 may include a transmitting unit 810 and a receiving unit 820.

A sending unit 810, configured to send resource information corresponding to the second service to the first access network device.

A receiving unit 820, configured to receive a response message from the first access network device.

Optionally, the receiving unit 820 may be further configured to receive second information from the first access network device.

In one possible design, the response message may carry information of the session to be suspended; alternatively, in yet another possible design, the second information may include information about a session that needs to be suspended, and optionally, the communication apparatus 800 may further include a processing unit 830 for determining whether to suspend the session.

Optionally, the receiving unit 820 may be further configured to receive, from the first access network device, indication information for activating a session corresponding to the second service.

Optionally, the communication device 800 may further include a storage unit. The memory unit may be used to store computer-executable instructions and/or data or other information. The processing unit 830 can read instructions or data stored in the storage unit to implement a corresponding scheme.

The transmitting unit 810 and the receiving unit 820 may also be collectively referred to as a transmitting/receiving unit (module) or a communication unit. The units in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as modules, for example, a receiving unit may be referred to as a receiving module.

In one possible design, the processing unit 830 may be a processor. The receiving unit and the transmitting unit may be transceivers or the receiving unit and the transmitting unit may also be communication interfaces. The storage unit may be a memory.

In addition, the present application may further provide a communication apparatus, which may implement any function corresponding to the first access network device in the embodiment shown in fig. 5. The communication device may be an access network device or may be a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit) that is configurable in an access network device. The communication device may include modules or units for implementing the corresponding functions of the first access network equipment in the embodiment shown in fig. 5.

Still another embodiment of the present application may provide a communication apparatus that can implement any function of the terminal device in the embodiment shown in fig. 5. The communication device may be a terminal device, or may be a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit) that is configurable in the terminal device. The communication device may comprise modules or units for implementing the corresponding functions of the terminal equipment in the embodiment shown in fig. 5.

Still another embodiment of the present application may further provide a communication apparatus, which may implement any function corresponding to the second access network device in the embodiment shown in fig. 5. The communication device may be an access network device or may be a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit) that is configurable in an access network device. The communication means may comprise modules or units for implementing the corresponding functionality of the second access network device in the embodiment shown in fig. 5.

The embodiment of the present application may further provide a communication apparatus that can implement any function corresponding to the core network device in the embodiment shown in fig. 5. The communication device may be a core network device, or may be a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit) that is configurable in the core network device. The communication apparatus may include a module or a unit for implementing the function corresponding to the core network device in the embodiment shown in fig. 5.

It is to be understood that each unit in the

communication apparatus

600, 700, or 800 may be separately arranged or integrated, and this is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. The units in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as modules, for example, a receiving unit may be referred to as a receiving module.

A "module" or "unit" in various embodiments of the present application may refer to an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor and memory that execute one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and/or other devices that may provide the described functionality.

The processors and transceivers described in the various embodiments of the present application may be implemented on Integrated Circuits (ICs), analog ICs, radio Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFICs), mixed signal ICs, application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), electronic devices, and the like. The processor and transceiver may also be fabricated using various 1C process technologies, such as Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS), N-type metal oxide semiconductor (NMOS), P-type metal oxide semiconductor (PMOS), bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT), bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS), silicon germanium (SiGe), gallium arsenide (GaAs), and the like. Alternatively, the processor may include one or more processors, for example, one or more CPUs, and in the case of one CPU, the CPU may be a single-core CPU or a multi-core CPU. The transceiver is used for transmitting and receiving data and/or signals, and receiving data and/or signals. The transceiver may comprise a transmitter for transmitting data and/or signals and a receiver for receiving data and/or signals, and may also be a communication interface. The memory includes, but is not limited to, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), and the memory is used for storing relevant instructions and/or data.

In one possible design, the chips mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may implement the related functions that can be implemented by a processor, or may implement the related functions that can be implemented by a processor and a transceiver, or may implement the related functions that can be implemented by a processor, a transceiver, and a memory. The chip can be a field programmable gate array, a special integrated chip, a system chip, a central processing unit, a digital signal processing circuit and a microcontroller for realizing related functions, and can also adopt a programmable controller or other integrated chips.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable medium, on which a computer program is stored, and the computer program, when executed by a computer, implements the communication method in any of the above method embodiments.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, and when executed by a computer, the computer program product implements the communication method in any of the method embodiments.

The present application also provides a communication system that may include the communication device shown in fig. 6. Optionally, the communication system may further include the communication device described in fig. 7 and/or fig. 8.

The present application further provides a communication system that may include the communication device shown in fig. 7. Optionally, the communication system may further include the communication device described in fig. 6 and/or fig. 8.

The present application further provides a communication system that may include the communication device shown in fig. 8. Optionally, the communication system may further include the communication device described in fig. 6 and/or fig. 7.

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

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

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

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

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

The functions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium if they are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as separate products. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application or portions thereof that substantially contribute to the prior art may be embodied in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium and including instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: u disk, removable hard disk, read only memory, random access memory, magnetic or optical disk, etc. for storing program codes.

The above description is only for the specific embodiments of the present application, but the scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily think of the changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present application, and shall be covered by the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

the method comprises the steps that a first access network device receives resource information corresponding to a second service from a core network device, wherein the resource information comprises a session identifier and session resource configuration information, the second service is a service which is not supported by a first cell but supported by a second cell, the first cell belongs to the first access network device and is a current service cell of a terminal device, and the second cell is a cell belonging to the second access network device or a cell belonging to the first access network device but different from the first cell;

and the first access network equipment sends a response message to the core network equipment according to the resource information, wherein the response message comprises a configuration result of session resources corresponding to the second service, and the response message also comprises information of sessions needing to be suspended.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein before the first access network device receives resource information corresponding to the second service from the core network device, the method further comprises: the first access network device receives first information from a terminal device, wherein the first information comprises network identification information.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first information further comprises: slice identification information corresponding to the network identification information.

4. The method according to any of claims 1-3, wherein said session resource configuration information comprises uplink receive address information corresponding to said session identity.

5. A method according to any of claims 1-3, wherein said session identity is a protocol data unit, PDU, session identity.

6. The method according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the resource information further comprises at least one of a network identity and a slice identity corresponding to the session identity.

7. The method of claim 2 or 3, wherein after the first access network device receives the first information from the terminal device, the method further comprises:

and the first access network equipment sends second information to the core network equipment, wherein the second information comprises information used for determining the resource information corresponding to the second service for the terminal equipment.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the second information further comprises: information of the suspended session is required.

9. The method according to any of claims 1-3 or 8, wherein the session information that needs to be suspended comprises at least one of: the pending PDU session identification, network identification information is needed.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 or 8, wherein after the first access network device sends a response message to the core network device according to the resource information, the method further includes: and determining to add the second access network equipment as an auxiliary station according to the measurement result.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein after adding the second access network device as a secondary site, further comprising: and the first access network equipment sends indication information for activating the session corresponding to the second service to the core network equipment.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the indicating information for activating the session corresponding to the second service comprises: and the session identifier corresponds to the second service.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the indication information for activating the session corresponding to the second service further comprises: and downlink receiving address information corresponding to the second access network equipment.

14. The method of claim 2, wherein prior to the first access network device receiving the first information from the terminal device, further comprising: and the first access network equipment indicates the first access network equipment to support the second type of service through other access network equipment to the terminal equipment, wherein the second type is the type to which the second service belongs.

15. A method of communication, comprising:

the core network equipment sends resource information corresponding to a second service to first access network equipment, wherein the resource information comprises a session identifier and session resource configuration information, the second service is a service which is not supported by a first cell but is supported by a second cell, the first cell belongs to the first access network equipment and is a current service cell of terminal equipment, and the second cell is a cell belonging to the second access network equipment or a cell belonging to the first access network equipment but is different from the first cell;

and the core network equipment receives a response message from the first access network equipment, wherein the response message comprises a configuration result of session resources corresponding to the second service, and the response message also comprises information of a session needing to be suspended.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

and the core network equipment receives second information from the first access network equipment, wherein the second information comprises information used for determining the resource information corresponding to the second service for the terminal equipment.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that the response message further comprises information that a suspended session is required.

18. The method of claim 15 or 16, further comprising:

and the core network equipment receives indication information for activating the session corresponding to the second service from the first access network equipment.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the indicating information for activating the session corresponding to the second service comprises: and the session identifier corresponds to the second service.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the indication information for activating the session corresponding to the second service further comprises: and receiving the address information corresponding to the second access network equipment in a downlink manner.

21. An access network device, comprising a processor configured to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, and a transceiver configured to communicate with the access network device.

22. A core network device, comprising a processor configured to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 15 to 20, and a transceiver configured to communicate with the core network device.

23. A communication system comprising an access network device according to claim 21 and a core network device according to claim 22.

24. A computer-readable medium, characterized in that it comprises a computer program which, when run by an apparatus, causes the apparatus to perform the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 14 or the communication method according to any one of claims 15 to 20.