CN112291752B

CN112291752B - Network registration method and device

Info

Publication number: CN112291752B
Application number: CN202011281060.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 陈婉珺; 马瑞涛; 马泽芳; 任驰
Original assignee: China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd
Current assignee: China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-11-16
Filing date: 2020-11-16
Publication date: 2022-08-12
Anticipated expiration: 2040-11-16
Also published as: CN112291752A

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides a communication method and device, relates to the technical field of communication, and solves the technical problem that network resources are wasted because a terminal needs to be connected to anchor point equipment when communicating in other areas. The communication method comprises the following steps: the AMF entity determines that the residence time of the terminal in the service area of the AMF entity is greater than or equal to a preset time; the anchor point equipment of the terminal can not provide service for other terminals in the service area; under the condition that the terminal is determined not to transmit data, the AMF entity sends a request to a Policy Control Function (PCF) entity, wherein the request is used for requesting to determine whether to instruct the terminal to initiate network registration again; after receiving the re-registration strategy sent by the PCF entity, the AMF entity communicates with the terminal according to the re-registration strategy so as to realize the re-registration of the terminal.

Description

Network registration method and device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a network registration method and apparatus.

Background

In the fifth Generation mobile communication technology (5th-Generation, 5G) network, after the user establishes the PDU session in the current area registration network, the anchor point of the PDU session remains unchanged regardless of whether the terminal is still in the current area.

When the terminal leaves the current area and enters other areas, the terminal needs to be connected to the anchor point device because the anchor point device remains unchanged, so the network in other areas can start an intermediate session management function (I-SMF) entity and an intermediate user plane function (I-UPF) entity to ensure that the terminal can be connected to the anchor point device.

When the terminal is in other areas to use services, the traffic will bypass to the anchor point device again based on the communication mode, which causes network resource waste; meanwhile, the distance between the terminal and the anchor point device is long, which may increase network delay and affect user experience.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a communication method and a communication device, which solve the technical problem that network resources are wasted because a terminal needs to be connected to anchor point equipment when communicating in other areas.

In order to achieve the purpose, the technical scheme is as follows:

in a first aspect, a communication method is provided and applied to an AMF entity. The communication method comprises the following steps: the AMF entity determines that the residence time of the terminal in a service area of the AMF entity (anchor point equipment of the terminal cannot provide service for other terminals in the service area) is greater than or equal to a preset time; under the condition that the terminal is determined not to transmit data, the AMF entity sends a request for requesting to determine whether to instruct the terminal to initiate network registration again to a Policy Control Function (PCF) entity; after receiving the re-registration strategy sent by the PCF entity, the AMF entity communicates with the terminal according to the re-registration strategy so as to realize the re-registration of the terminal.

As can be seen from the above, the AMF entity determines whether the terminal needs to perform network registration again in the service area to establish a new anchor point device according to the duration of determining that the terminal resides in the service area. When determining that the terminal does not use the service, the AMF entity sends a request to the PCF entity; after receiving the re-registration strategy sent by the PCF entity, the terminal is indicated to re-register so as to re-register the terminal in the current area and use the new anchor point device. Therefore, when the terminal uses the service, the flow can not bypass to the anchor point equipment before the terminal does not re-register the network, and the network resource is saved.

In a second aspect, a communication method is provided and applied to a PCF entity. The communication method comprises the following steps: after receiving a request which comprises the identification of the terminal and the information of the network to which the terminal belongs from the AMF entity (the request is used for requesting to determine whether to instruct the terminal to reinitiate network registration), the PCF entity determines first information according to the identification of the terminal and the information of the network to which the terminal belongs, wherein the first information is used for instructing whether to instruct the terminal to reinitiate network registration; the PCF entity sends the first information to the AMF entity.

As can be seen from the above, after receiving the request, the PCF entity determines the first information according to the identifier of the terminal and the information of the network to which the terminal belongs. Therefore, the PCF entity can judge whether the terminal can carry out network registration again, and the first information is determined based on the actual condition of the terminal, so that the user experience can be improved.

In a third aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which is applied to an AMF entity, and includes: a processing unit and a communication unit. The processing unit is used for determining that the residence time of the terminal in the service area of the AMF entity is greater than or equal to the preset time; the anchor point device of the terminal cannot provide service for other terminals in the service area. And the communication unit is used for sending a request to the policy control function PCF entity under the condition that the terminal is determined not to transmit data, wherein the request is used for requesting to determine whether to instruct the terminal to initiate network registration again. And the communication unit is also used for communicating with the terminal according to the re-registration strategy after receiving the re-registration strategy sent by the PCF entity so as to realize the re-registration of the terminal.

In a fourth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided for a PCF entity. The communication device includes: a communication unit and a processing unit. A communication unit, configured to receive a request from an AMF entity, where the request is used to request to determine whether to instruct a terminal to initiate network registration again; the request includes an identification of the terminal and information of the network to which the terminal belongs. And the processing unit is used for determining first information according to the identifier of the terminal and the information of the network to which the terminal belongs, wherein the first information is used for indicating whether the terminal is instructed to reinitiate network registration. And the communication unit is also used for sending the first information to the AMF entity.

In a fifth aspect, a communications apparatus is provided that includes a memory and a processor. The memory is used for storing computer execution instructions, and the processor is connected with the memory through a bus. When the communication device is running, the processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored by the memory to cause the communication device to perform the communication method of the first aspect or the second aspect.

The communication device may be a network device, or may be a part of a device in a network device, such as a system-on-chip in a network device. The system on chip is configured to support the network device to implement the functions involved in the first aspect and any one of its possible implementations, for example, to receive, determine, and offload data and/or information involved in the above communication method. The chip system includes a chip and may also include other discrete devices or circuit structures.

In a sixth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which comprises computer-executable instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the communication method of the first or second aspect.

In a seventh aspect, a computer program product is provided, which comprises computer instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the communication method as described in the first aspect and its various possible implementations or the second aspect and its various possible implementations.

It should be noted that all or part of the above computer instructions may be stored on the first computer readable storage medium. The first computer readable storage medium may be packaged with a processor of the communication device, or may be packaged separately from the processor of the communication device, which is not limited in this application.

For the description of the third, fifth, sixth and seventh aspects of the present invention, reference may be made to the detailed description of the first aspect; in addition, for the beneficial effects described in the third aspect, the fifth aspect, the sixth aspect and the seventh aspect, reference may be made to beneficial effect analysis of the first aspect, and details are not repeated here. For the description of the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh aspects of the present invention, reference may be made to the detailed description of the second aspect; in addition, for the beneficial effects described in the fourth aspect, the fifth aspect, the sixth aspect and the seventh aspect, reference may be made to the beneficial effect analysis of the second aspect, and details are not repeated here.

In the present application, the names of the above-mentioned communication means do not limit the devices or functional modules themselves, which may appear by other names in actual implementations. Insofar as the functions of the respective devices or functional blocks are similar to those of the present invention, they are within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents.

These and other aspects of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following description.

Drawings

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

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a schematic hardware structure diagram of another communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 4 is a schematic hardware structure diagram of another communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

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

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or explanations. Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" or "e.g.," is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, use of the word "exemplary" or "such as" is intended to present concepts related in a concrete fashion.

For the convenience of clearly describing the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, the terms "first", "second", and the like are used to distinguish the same items or similar items with basically the same functions and actions, and those skilled in the art can understand that the terms "first", "second", and the like do not limit the quantity and execution order.

As described in the background, after the user establishes the PDU session in the current area registration network, the anchor point device of the PDU session remains unchanged regardless of whether the terminal is still in the current area.

For example, referring to fig. 1, the terminal performs network registration in area 1, establishes a PDU session, and the anchor point UPF of the terminal remains unchanged when the terminal does not re-register with the network. When the terminal leaves the area 1 and enters the area 2, the terminal still needs to connect the anchor point UPF (UPF in the area 1), and the area 2 network starts the first devices I-SMF and I-UPF, so that the terminal is connected to the anchor point UPF. It can be seen that, when the terminal is in the area 2, the terminal uses the service, and the traffic needs to bypass the UPF in the area 1, resulting in a network resource network.

It should be noted that turning on the first devices I-SMF and I-UPF as described above means inserting the first devices I-SMF and I-UPF in the network architecture between the area 2 and the area 1.

In the prior art, when the technical problem is solved, usually, when an operator is idle in a network at night, all terminals entering the area 2 on the same day are manually deleted, and the terminals are forcibly triggered to perform network registration again. Or, by means of a network side deregistration process defined in the standard, manually operating on the UDM, forcibly triggering the user to deregister, and performing network registration again at the current location (area 2).

However, the prior art solutions have the following disadvantages:

1. manual participation is needed, and the efficiency is low.

2. When the method faces special scenes, the applicability is poor.

For example, it is meaningless that the terminal just passes through the current area and forcibly triggers the terminal to re-perform network registration; or the service used by the terminal is a special service, and the anchor point device (in area 1) must be used to provide the service, at this time, the terminal (in area 2) performs network registration again, cannot be connected to the anchor point device, and the terminal cannot use the service.

Therefore, the technical problem of network resource waste caused by the fact that the terminal uses the anchor point equipment in other areas cannot be well solved by the existing technical scheme.

In order to solve the above problems, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, where an AMF entity first determines that a terminal needs to perform network registration again, and then sends a request to a PCF; after receiving the re-registration strategy issued by the PCF entity, the terminal is instructed to re-register the network and establish new anchor point equipment, so that the traffic does not need to be roundabout when the terminal uses the service, and the network resource is saved.

The communication method provided by the embodiment of the application is suitable for a communication system. Fig. 1 shows a 5G network structure of the communication system. As shown in fig. 1, the 5G network 10 may include: AN authentication server function (AUSF) entity, a core access and mobility management function (AMF) entity, a Data Network (DN), a Unified Data Management (UDM) entity, a Policy Control Function (PCF) entity, a (radio) access network (R) AN apparatus, a user plane function (user plane function, UPF) entity, a UE, AN Application Function (AF) entity, a Session Management Function (SMF) entity, a Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF) entity.

The UE communicates with the AMF entity through a next generation network (next generation) interface 1 (N1 for short), (R) the AN equipment communicates with the AMF entity through a next generation network interface 2 (N2 for short), and (R) the AN equipment communicates with the UPF entity through a next generation network interface 3 (N3 for short).

It should be noted that the 5G network 10 shown in fig. 2 is only one implementation manner provided by the embodiment of the present application, and in practical applications, the 5G network 10 may further include other functional entities, which is not limited in this application.

The functional entities in fig. 2 comprise the elements comprised by the communication device shown in fig. 3. The hardware structure of the functional entities in fig. 2 will be described below by taking the communication apparatus shown in fig. 3 as an example.

Fig. 3 shows a hardware structure diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 3, the communication device includes a processor 21, a memory 22, a communication interface 23, and a bus 24. The processor 21, the memory 22 and the communication interface 23 may be connected by a bus 24.

The processor 21 is a control center of the communication apparatus, and may be a single processor or a collective term for a plurality of processing elements. For example, the processor 21 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), or may be another general-purpose processor. Wherein a general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor or the like.

For one embodiment, processor 21 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU 0 and CPU 1 shown in FIG. 2.

The memory 22 may be, but is not limited to, a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that may store static information and instructions, a Random Access Memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that may store information and instructions, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, 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.

In a possible implementation, the memory 22 may exist separately from the processor 21, and the memory 22 may be connected to the processor 21 via a bus 24 for storing instructions or program codes. The processor 21, when calling and executing the instructions or program codes stored in the memory 22, can implement the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present invention.

In another possible implementation, the memory 22 may also be integrated with the processor 21.

And a communication interface 23 for connecting with other devices through a communication network. The communication network may be an ethernet network, a radio access network, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), or the like. The communication interface 23 may include a receiving unit for receiving data, and a transmitting unit for transmitting data.

The bus 24 may be an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, an Extended ISA (EISA) bus, or the like. The bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 3, but this does not mean only one bus or one type of bus.

It is to be noted that the configuration shown in fig. 3 does not constitute a limitation of the communication apparatus. The communication device may include more or fewer components than shown, or some components may be combined, or a different arrangement of components than shown in fig. 3.

Fig. 4 shows another hardware configuration of the communication apparatus in the embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 4, the communication device may include a processor 31 and a communication interface 32. The processor 31 is coupled to a communication interface 32.

The function of the processor 31 may refer to the description of the processor 21 above. The processor 31 also has a memory function, and the function of the memory 22 can be referred to.

The communication interface 32 is used to provide data to the processor 31. The communication interface 32 may be an internal interface of the communication device, or may be an external interface (corresponding to the communication interface 23) of the communication device.

It is noted that the configuration shown in fig. 3 (or fig. 4) does not constitute a limitation of the communication apparatus, which may include more or less components than those shown in fig. 3 (or fig. 4), or combine some components, or a different arrangement of components, in addition to the components shown in fig. 3 (or fig. 4).

The communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below with reference to the 5G network shown in fig. 2 and the communication device shown in fig. 3 (or fig. 4).

Fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 5, the communication method includes the following S501-S510.

S501, the AMF entity judges whether the residence time of the terminal in the service area of the AMF entity is larger than or equal to the preset time.

When the AMF entity determines that the residence time is less than the preset time, S502 is performed. When the AMF entity determines that the residence time is greater than or equal to the preset time, S503 is performed.

The anchor point device of the terminal cannot provide services for other terminals in the service area.

Optionally, the preset duration is set in advance on the AMF entity by the operator. Different preset time lengths can be set in different areas according to actual conditions.

Illustratively, referring to fig. 1, when the terminal leaves area 1 and enters area 2, the AMF entity in area 2 starts I-SMF and I-UPF, and the terminal communicates with the anchor UPF in area 1. The duration of the stay in this step is timed from the time when the terminal implements the anchor UPF communication with area 1 in area 2.

S502, the AMF entity does not process.

S503, the AMF entity judges whether the terminal is transmitting data.

When it is determined that the terminal does not transmit data, step S504 is performed. When it is determined that the terminal is transmitting data, step S505 is performed.

For example, if the AMF entity receives an interface release message sent by the terminal and a cause value carried in the message is that the terminal is inactive, it is determined that the terminal does not transmit data.

S504, the AMF entity sends a request to a policy control function PCF entity.

Wherein the request is for requesting a determination whether to instruct the terminal to re-initiate network registration.

It should be noted that, after determining that the residence time of the terminal in the service area of the AMF entity is greater than or equal to the preset time (i.e., determining that the terminal needs to perform network registration again), the AMF entity further determines whether the terminal is currently using the service.

S505, the AMF entity sends a request to the PCF entity after waiting for the end of the service used by the user.

S506, the PCF entity receives the request from the AMF entity.

Wherein the request may include an identification of the terminal and information of the network to which the terminal belongs.

Optionally, the identifier of the terminal may be IMSI number information of the terminal, or may be other identifiers that can be used to uniquely identify the terminal, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

The information of the network to which the terminal belongs may be Data Network Name (DNN) information.

S507, the PCF entity determines the first information according to the identification of the terminal and the information of the network to which the terminal belongs.

The first information is used for indicating whether to instruct the terminal to reinitiate the network registration.

Optionally, the PCF entity distinguishes different terminals according to the identifier of the terminal, and determines whether the network information of the terminal is special network information according to the information of the network to which the terminal belongs.

The special network information may be enterprise network information. Generally, the business corresponding to the enterprise network information must use the network of the area where the enterprise server is located.

Specifically, if the PCF entity determines that the information of the network to which the terminal belongs is the special network information, the first information sent to the AMF entity is the general response information, and the AMF entity does not process the terminal.

If the PCF entity determines that the information of the network to which the terminal belongs is non-special network information, the first information sent to the AMF entity comprises a re-registration strategy, and the first information is specifically used for indicating that the terminal re-initiates network registration according to the re-registration strategy.

S508, PCF entity sends the first information to AMF entity.

S509, the AMF entity receives the first information sent by the PCF entity.

After determining that the first information includes the re-registration policy, performing step S510; when it is determined that the re-registration policy is not included in the first information, step S502 is performed.

And S510, the AMF entity communicates with the terminal according to the re-registration strategy so as to realize the re-registration of the terminal.

Optionally, the AMF entity sends a re-registration policy to the terminal, and instructs the terminal to re-register the network in the current area after deregistration. Meanwhile, the AMF entity closes the I-SMF entity and the I-UPF entity of the first equipment started for the terminal. Wherein, turning off the first device means deleting the I-SMF and the I-UPF in the network architecture jointly constructed by the area 1 and the area 2, so that the terminal is no longer connected to the anchor point device UPF by the first device.

Illustratively, after the terminal is unregistered, the network is re-registered in the current area, and the network is accessed by using the UPF of the current network without being routed to the UPF of the anchor point.

As can be seen from the above, the AMF entity determines the duration of the terminal residing in the service area, and thus determines whether the terminal needs to perform network registration again in the service area to establish a new anchor point device. When determining that the terminal does not use the service, the AMF entity sends a request to the PCF entity; after receiving the re-registration strategy sent by the PCF entity, the terminal is indicated to re-register so as to re-register the terminal in the current area and use the new anchor point device. Therefore, when the terminal uses the service, the flow can not detour to the anchor point equipment before the terminal re-registers the network, and the network resource is saved.

Optionally, in conjunction with fig. 5, as shown in fig. 6, S501 may include S601-S602.

S601, when the AMF entity determines that the terminal enters the service area, the first device and the timer are started.

In the service area, the terminal communicates with the anchor point device of the terminal through the first device, and the timer is used for representing the running time of the first device.

S602, when the time length of the timer is equal to the preset time length, the AMF entity determines that the residence time length of the terminal in the service area is greater than or equal to the preset time length.

And the AMF entity closes the timer when the duration of the timer is determined to be equal to the preset duration.

Optionally, in conjunction with fig. 5, as shown in fig. 7, S503 may include S701-S702.

S701, the AMF entity acquires the state information of the air interface.

The air interface is at least one of an interface between the terminal and the access network equipment, an interface between the access network equipment and the AMF entity, and an interface between the access network equipment and the user plane function UPF entity. As shown in fig. 2, the air interface refers to N1, N2, and N3.

S702, the AMF entity judges whether the air interface is in a disconnected state.

And executing S504 when the air interface is determined to be in the disconnected state. And when determining that the air interface is in the disconnected state, executing S505.

Optionally, with reference to fig. 5, as shown in fig. 7, before performing S508, the method may further include: and S801.

S801, the PCF entity determines that the current network is in an idle state.

The scheme provided by the embodiment of the application is mainly introduced from the perspective of a method. To implement the above functions, it includes hardware structures and/or software modules for performing the respective functions. Those of skill in the art will 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. Whether a function is performed in hardware or computer software drives hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. 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 invention.

In the embodiment of the present application, the communication apparatus may be divided into the functional modules according to the method example, for example, each functional module may be divided according 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. Optionally, the division of the modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic, and is only a logic function division, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation.

Fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 90 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication device 90 is used for solving the technical problem that network resources are wasted because the terminal still needs to be connected to the anchor point device for communication in other areas. The communication device 90 is applied to an AMF entity, and includes: a processing unit 901 and a communication unit 902.

The processing unit 901 is configured to determine that a residence time of the terminal in the service area of the AMF entity is greater than or equal to a preset time. The anchor point device of the terminal cannot provide service for other terminals in the service area. For example, in conjunction with fig. 5, the processing unit 901 is used for S501.

A communication unit 902, configured to send a request to a policy control function PCF entity, if it is determined that the terminal does not transmit data. The request is for requesting a determination whether to instruct the terminal to re-initiate network registration. For example, in connection with fig. 5, the communication unit 902 is configured to perform S504.

The communication unit 902 is further configured to communicate with the terminal according to the re-registration policy after receiving the re-registration policy sent by the PCF entity, so as to implement re-registration of the terminal. In conjunction with fig. 5, the communication unit 902 is configured to execute S509.

Optionally, the request includes an identifier of the terminal and information of a network to which the terminal belongs.

Optionally, the processing unit 901 is specifically configured to: when the terminal is determined to enter a service area, starting first equipment and a timer; in a service area, a terminal communicates with anchor point equipment of the terminal through first equipment, and a timer is used for representing the running time of the first equipment; and when the duration of the timer is equal to the preset duration, determining that the residence duration of the terminal in the service area is greater than or equal to the preset duration. As shown in connection with fig. 6, the processing unit 901 is configured to execute S601 and S602.

Optionally, the processing unit 901 is further configured to: and when the time length of the timer is equal to the preset time length, closing the timer.

Optionally, the processing unit 901 is specifically configured to: and acquiring the state information of an air interface, wherein the air interface is at least one of an interface between the terminal and the access network equipment, an interface between the access network equipment and the AMF entity, and an interface between the access network equipment and the user plane function UPF entity, and if the air interface is in a disconnected state, the terminal is determined not to transmit data. As shown in connection with fig. 7, the processing unit 901 is configured to execute S701 and S702.

Optionally, the processing unit 901 is further configured to: and in case that the terminal is determined to no longer reside in the service area, the first device is turned off. Wherein, the step of turning off the first device means that the I-SMF and the I-UPF in the network architecture jointly constructed by the area 1 and the area 2 are deleted, so that the terminal is not connected to the anchor point device UPF any more by the first device.

As an example, in connection with fig. 8, the processing unit 901 in the communication device 90 implements the same functions as the processor 21 in fig. 3.

Fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication apparatus 100 is used to solve the technical problem that network resources are wasted because the terminal still needs to be connected to an anchor point device for communication in other areas. The communication device 100 is applied to an AMF entity, and comprises:

I-SMF management Module 1001: is responsible for the startup and shutdown of the I-SMF entity.

The threshold setting module 1002: and configuring a time threshold in advance according to the actual situation of the terminal.

The event collecting module 1003: three types of events are collected: 1. the terminal moves into the coverage area of the AMF entity, and the AMF entity starts an I-SMF entity for the terminal; 2. for the terminal, the N2 interface between the AMF entity and the RAN entity is disconnected, and the reason value is that the terminal is not activated; 3. the terminal moves out of the coverage area of the current AMF entity or I-SMF entity.

The timer 1004: starting timing according to the notification of the event acquisition module 1003, when the threshold value in the threshold setting module is reached, notifying the event reporting module 1005 to report the event, and closing the timer 1004.

The event reporting module 1005: reporting two types of events to PCF entity, a, terminal residence accessing the coverage area of current AMF entity, b, terminal moving out the coverage area (of AMF entity or I-SMF entity).

The policy receiving module 1006: and receives the policy issued by the PCF entity and informs the corresponding deregistration trigger module 1007 to execute. As shown in fig. 5, the policy is included in the first information of S509.

Deregistration triggering module 1007: and actively initiating a de-registration process of the terminal according to the strategy issued by the PCF entity.

With reference to fig. 8 and 9, the processing unit 901 includes: an I-SMF management module 1001, a threshold setting module 1002, an event acquisition module 1003 and a timer 1004; the communication module 902 includes: an event reporting module 1005, a policy receiving module 1006, and a deregistration triggering module 1007.

Fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication apparatus 200 is applied to a PCF entity, and includes: a processing unit 2001 and a communication unit 2002.

A communication unit 2001 for receiving a request for requesting to determine whether to instruct the terminal to re-initiate network registration from the AMF entity; the request includes an identification of the terminal and information of the network to which the terminal belongs. As shown in conjunction with fig. 5, the communication unit 2001 is configured to execute S506.

The processing unit 2002 is configured to determine, according to the identifier of the terminal and information of a network to which the terminal belongs, first information, where the first information is used to indicate whether to instruct the terminal to initiate network registration again. As shown in conjunction with fig. 5, the processing unit 2002 is configured to execute S507.

The communication unit 2001 is further configured to send the first information to the AMF entity. As shown in connection with fig. 5, the communication unit 2001 is configured to execute S508.

Optionally, the first information includes a re-registration policy, and the first information is specifically used to instruct the terminal to re-initiate network registration according to the re-registration policy.

Optionally, the processing unit 2002 is further configured to: and determining that the PCF entity is in an idle state currently. As shown in connection with fig. 7, for performing S801.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium, which includes computer-executable instructions. When the computer executes the instructions to run on the computer, the computer is caused to execute the steps executed by the communication device in the communication method provided by the above embodiment.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, where the computer program product is directly loadable into a memory and contains software codes, and the computer program product is loaded into a computer and executed to implement the steps executed by the communication device in the communication method provided by the foregoing embodiment.

In the above embodiments, the implementation may be wholly or partially realized by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. The processes or functions according to the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part when the computer-executable instructions are loaded and executed on a computer. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a network of computers, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored on a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wire (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). Computer-readable storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer or can comprise one or more data storage devices, such as servers, data centers, and the like, that can be integrated with the media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., Solid State Disk (SSD)), among others.

Through the above description of the embodiments, it is clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and simplicity of description, the foregoing division of the functional modules is merely used as an example, and in practical applications, the above function distribution may be completed by different functional modules according to needs, that is, the internal structure of the device may be divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the above described functions.

In the embodiments provided in the present invention, it should be understood that the disclosed 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 modules or units is only one logical function division, and there may be other division ways in actual implementation. For example, various elements or components may be combined or may be integrated into another device, or some features may be omitted, or not implemented. 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. Units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may be one physical unit or a plurality of physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed to a plurality of different places. 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 invention 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 integrated unit can be realized in a form of hardware, and can also be realized in a form of a software functional unit. The integrated unit, if implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application may be essentially or partially contributed to by the prior art, or all or part of the technical solutions may be embodied in the form of a software product, where the software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to enable a device (which may be a single chip, a chip, or the like) or a processor (processor) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present invention. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media capable of storing program codes, such as a U disk, a removable hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

The above description is only for the specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method applied to an access and mobility management function (AMF) entity is characterized by comprising the following steps:

the AMF entity determines that the residence time of the terminal in the service area of the AMF entity is greater than or equal to a preset time; the anchor point equipment of the terminal can not provide service for other terminals in the service area;

under the condition that the terminal is determined not to transmit data, the AMF entity sends a request to a Policy Control Function (PCF) entity, wherein the request is used for requesting to determine whether to instruct the terminal to initiate network registration again;

after receiving the re-registration strategy sent by the PCF entity, the AMF entity communicates with the terminal according to the re-registration strategy so as to realize the re-registration of the terminal.

2. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein the request includes an identification of the terminal and information of a network to which the terminal belongs.

3. The communication method according to claim 1,

the determining, by the AMF entity, that a residence time of the terminal in a service area of the AMF entity is greater than or equal to a preset time includes:

starting first equipment and a timer when the terminal is determined to enter the service area; in the service area, the terminal communicates with an anchor point device of the terminal through the first device, and the timer is used for representing the running time of the first device;

and when the duration of the timer is equal to the preset duration, determining that the residence duration of the terminal in the service area is greater than or equal to the preset duration.

4. The communication method according to claim 3, further comprising:

and when the time length of the timer is equal to the preset time length, closing the timer.

5. The communication method according to claim 1,

the determining that the terminal does not transmit data includes:

acquiring state information of an air interface, wherein the air interface is at least one of an interface between the terminal and access network equipment, an interface between the access network equipment and the AMF entity, and an interface between the access network equipment and a User Plane Function (UPF) entity;

and if the air interface is in a disconnected state, determining that the terminal does not transmit data.

6. The communication method according to any one of claims 3 to 5, further comprising:

and turning off the first equipment under the condition that the terminal is determined to no longer reside in the service area.

7. A communication method applied to a Policy Control Function (PCF) entity is characterized by comprising the following steps:

the PCF entity receives a request from the AMF entity, wherein the request is used for requesting to determine whether to instruct the terminal to initiate network registration again; the request comprises the identification of the terminal and the information of the network to which the terminal belongs;

the PCF entity determines first information according to the identification of the terminal and the information of the network to which the terminal belongs, wherein the first information is used for indicating whether to instruct the terminal to reinitiate network registration;

and the PCF entity sends the first information to the AMF entity.

8. The communication method according to claim 7, wherein the first information includes a re-registration policy, and the first information is specifically used to indicate that the terminal is instructed to re-initiate network registration according to the re-registration policy.

9. The method of communicating of claim 7, wherein prior to the PCF entity sending the first information to the AMF entity, the method of communicating further comprises:

the PCF entity determines that the current network is in an idle state.

10. A communication device, adapted to an access and mobility management function, AMF, entity, the communication device comprising: a processing unit and a communication unit;

the processing unit is used for determining that the residence time of the terminal in the service area of the AMF entity is greater than or equal to a preset time; the anchor point equipment of the terminal can not provide service for other terminals in the service area;

the communication unit is used for sending a request to a Policy Control Function (PCF) entity under the condition that the terminal is determined not to transmit data, wherein the request is used for requesting whether to instruct the terminal to initiate network registration again;

the communication unit is further configured to communicate with the terminal according to the re-registration policy after receiving the re-registration policy sent by the PCF entity, so as to implement re-registration of the terminal.

11. A communication apparatus, applied to a policy control function, PCF, entity, the communication apparatus comprising: a communication unit and a processing unit;

the communication unit is used for receiving a request from the AMF entity, wherein the request is used for requesting to determine whether to instruct the terminal to reinitiate network registration; the request comprises the identification of the terminal and the information of the network to which the terminal belongs;

the processing unit is configured to determine first information according to the identifier of the terminal and information of a network to which the terminal belongs, where the first information is used to indicate whether to instruct the terminal to re-initiate network registration;

the communication unit is further configured to send the first information to the AMF entity.