CN112583726B - A method and device for flow control - Google Patents

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of communication, and discloses a flow control method and device, which are used for solving the problems of unreasonable and inflexible current flow control mode. The method comprises the following steps: a server receives a first message sent by a client, wherein the first message is used for indicating that the client supports flow control; the server sends a second message aiming at the first message to the client, wherein the second message comprises a first flow control strategy, the first flow control strategy is used for determining a first number of service request messages which are allowed to be sent to the server by the client, and the first number is an integer which is greater than or equal to 0. When determining that the client supports flow control, the server may issue a flow control policy to the client to indicate the number of service request messages reported by the client. Therefore, the client can send a reasonable number of service request messages to the server according to the indication of the server.

Description

A flow control method and device

technical field

The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication technologies, and in particular, to a flow control method and device.

Background technique

The client sends a service request message to the server to request services. Due to the limited traffic processing capacity of the server (the number of service request messages that can be processed in a period of time), if the client sends a large number of service request messages to the server, which exceeds the traffic processing capacity of the server, the server will be congested. In order to avoid congestion, the server may return a service unavailable (service unavailable) response to the client for some service request messages.

At present, the client can use the following schemes for flow control to avoid congestion at the server: the client can use the number of non-service unavailable responses (service request messages successfully processed by the server) received by the client, as well as experience A scaling factor of , discarding service request messages. In the current flow control scheme, it is easy to cause too many service request messages to be discarded or insufficient service request messages to be discarded.

Contents of the invention

Embodiments of the present application provide a flow control method and device to solve the problem of unreasonable and inflexible flow control methods at present.

In the first aspect, a flow control method and device are provided. The execution body of the method may be a server, and the server may receive a first message sent by a client, and the first message may be used to instruct the client to Support flow control. The server may also send a second message for the first message to the client, the second message may include a first flow control policy, and the first flow control policy may be used to determine to allow the The first number of server request messages sent by the client to the server, where the first number is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

When the server determines that the client supports flow control, it may issue a flow control policy to the client to indicate the number of service request messages reported by the client. In this way, the client can reasonably discard the service request message according to the instruction of the server, that is, send a reasonable number of service request messages to the server. Business data can be flexibly and reasonably processed between the client and the server.

In a possible implementation, the first message sent by the client to the server may include the second flow control strategy being executed by the client, and the second flow control strategy may be used to determine the first flow control strategy. Strategy. The second flow control policy is used to determine a second number of service request messages that the client is allowed to send to the server, where the second number is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

The client not only reports that it supports flow control, but also reports the second flow control strategy being executed, so that the server can combine the second flow control strategy to determine the first flow control strategy, so that the first flow control strategy formulated for the client is more in line with The traffic processing capability of the server and the business requirements of the client.

In a possible implementation, when the server receives the first message, if the server is in a congested state, the server may determine the first flow control policy according to its own flow processing capability. The server can formulate a first flow control strategy for the client when it is not in a congested state, or it can determine the first flow control strategy according to the current flow processing capability when it is in a congested state. Further, if the first message includes the second flow control strategy being executed by the client, the server may determine the first flow control strategy according to its own flow processing capability and the second flow control strategy.

In a possible implementation, the server may also receive a fifth message from the upper-level server, where the fifth message may include a third flow control policy, and the third flow control policy may be used to determine to allow all The third number of service request messages sent by the server to the upper-level server, where the third number is an integer greater than or equal to 0. Further, the server may determine the first traffic control policy according to the local policy of the server and the third traffic control policy. Furthermore, if the first message includes the second flow control policy being executed by the client, the server may determine the Describe the first flow control policy.

In a possible implementation, the first flow control strategy may not only be used to determine the first number of server request messages that the client is allowed to send to the server, but the first flow control strategy may also include but not It is limited to: one or more of the effective time of the first flow control policy, the flow control mode, the type of the service request message, the generation time of the first flow control policy, and the increment counter. Wherein, the flow control method includes: sending service request messages exceeding the first number to other servers for processing or discarding service request messages exceeding the first number; Whether the control policy is the latest flow control policy.

In a possible implementation, the second flow control strategy may not only be used to determine the second number of server request messages that the client is allowed to send to the server, but may also include but not limited to: the second flow control strategy One or more of valid time, flow control mode, type of service request message, generation time of the second flow control policy, and increment counter. Wherein, the flow control method includes: sending service request messages exceeding the second number to other servers for processing or discarding service request messages exceeding the second number; the incremental counter is used to judge the second flow Whether the control policy is the latest flow control policy.

In a possible implementation, the third flow control strategy may not only be used to determine the second number of server request messages that the server is allowed to send to the upper server, but may also include but not limited to: the third flow control strategy One or more of effective time, flow control mode, type of service request message, generation time of the third flow control policy, and increment counter. Wherein, the flow control method includes: sending service request messages exceeding the third number to other upper-level servers for processing or discarding service request messages exceeding the third number; the incrementing counter is used to judge whether the third Whether the flow control policy is the latest flow control policy.

In a possible implementation, the first message may be a hypertext transfer protocol (hyper texttransport protocol, HTTP)-based service request message, and the second message may be an HTTP-based service response message.

In a possible implementation, the server may also receive a third message sent by the client, where the third message may include the first flow control policy being executed by the client and/or the client supports An indication of flow control; when the server determines that the congestion state of the server is resolved, it may send a fourth message for the third message to the client, and the fourth message may be used to indicate that the service The congestion state of the terminal is relieved.

In a possible implementation, the fourth message may include a first field for indicating the congestion state, and the server may indicate that the congestion state of the server is released through the value of the first field. For example, when the value is "00", it indicates that the congestion state is released, and when the value is "01", it indicates that it is in a congestion state.

The server notifies the client of whether it is in a congested state in a timely manner, so that the client can reasonably implement the flow control strategy.

In a possible implementation, the third message may be an HTTP-based service request message, and the fourth message may be an HTTP-based service response message.

In a possible implementation, the messages exchanged between the server and the client have integrity protection. For example, the first message has integrity protection, and before the server sends the second message to the client, The integrity of the first message may also be checked, and the second message may be sent after passing the integrity check of the first message, and the second message may also have integrity protection.

In another example, the third message has integrity protection, and before sending the fourth message to the client, the server may also perform an integrity check on the third message, and after checking the integrity of the third message After passing the verification, send the fourth message. The fourth message may also have integrity protection.

Messages exchanged between the server and the client can be integrity protected to avoid attacks from attackers.

In a possible implementation, the server may also receive a sixth message sent by the upper-level server, the sixth message may include a first field for indicating the congestion status, and the upper-level server may pass the first field The value of indicates that the congestion state of the upper-level server is released. The server may also determine that its own congestion state is relieved after receiving the congestion state relief from the superior server, and then send a fourth message to the client, and the fourth message may be used to indicate the congestion state of the server is relieved .

In a possible implementation, the fifth message is an HTTP-based service request message, and the sixth message is an HTTP-based service request message.

In a second aspect, a flow control method is provided, the method may be executed by a client, and the client may send a first message to the server, and the first message may be used to indicate that the client supports flow control . The client may also receive a second message from the server for the first message, the second message may include a first flow control policy, and the first flow control policy may be used to determine that the client is allowed to The first number of service request messages sent to the server, where the first number is an integer greater than or equal to 0. The client performs flow control according to the first flow control policy.

The client notifies the server of its ability to support flow control, and performs flow control according to the first flow control strategy indicated by the server. In this way, the client can reasonably discard the service request message, that is, send a reasonable number of service request messages to the server, so as to ensure the reasonable operation of the service.

In a possible implementation, the first message received by the server may include a second flow control strategy being executed by the client, and the second flow control strategy may be used to determine the first flow control strategy. Strategy. The second flow control policy is used to determine a second number of service request messages that the client is allowed to send to the server, where the second number is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

The client can not only report that it supports flow control, but also inform the server of the second flow control strategy that it is currently executing, so that the server can formulate the first flow control strategy for the client according to the second flow control strategy, so that the established The first traffic control strategy is more in line with the traffic processing capability of the server, and also more in line with the business needs of the client.

In a possible implementation, the first flow control strategy may not only be used to determine the first number of server request messages that the client is allowed to send to the server, but the first flow control strategy may also include but not It is limited to at least one of the following items: valid time of the first flow control strategy, flow control method, type of service request message, generation time of the first flow control strategy, and incremental counter; wherein, the flow control method includes: Sending service request messages exceeding the first number to other servers for processing or discarding service request messages exceeding the first number, the incrementing counter is used to determine whether the first flow control strategy is the latest flow control strategy .

In a possible implementation, the second flow control strategy may not only be used to determine the second number of server request messages that the client is allowed to send to the server, but may also include but not limited to: the second flow control strategy One or more of valid time, flow control mode, type of service request message, generation time of the second flow control policy, and increment counter. Wherein, the flow control method includes: sending service request messages exceeding the second number to other servers for processing or discarding service request messages exceeding the second number; the incremental counter is used to judge the second flow Whether the control policy is the latest flow control policy.

In a possible implementation, if the first flow control policy includes the generation time of the first flow control policy, before the client performs traffic control according to the first flow control policy, the client The terminal can also determine whether the generation time of the second flow control strategy being executed is earlier than the generation time of the first flow control strategy; if yes, flow control can be performed according to the first flow control strategy; if not, then Flow control may be performed according to the second flow control policy.

The client can determine the latest generation time of each flow control strategy, that is, the latest flow control strategy according to the generation time of each flow control strategy. The client performs flow control according to the latest flow control strategy to achieve more reasonable processing of business data.

In a possible implementation, if the first flow control strategy includes an incremental counter, before the client performs flow control according to the first flow control strategy, the client can also compare the first The increment counter in the flow control policy and the increment counter of the second flow control policy being executed determine to use the first flow control policy.

The client can determine the latest flow control strategy according to the counter of each flow control strategy. The client performs flow control according to the latest flow control strategy to achieve more reasonable processing of business data.

In a possible implementation, the first message may be an HTTP-based service request message, and the second message may be an HTTP-based service response message.

In a possible implementation, the client may also send a third message to the server, where the third message may include the second traffic control policy being executed by the client and/or the client supports traffic Instruction of control, the client may also receive a fourth message sent by the server and directed to the third message, where the fourth message may be used to indicate that the congestion state of the server is released. The client no longer executes the first traffic control policy. The fourth message is sent by the server after receiving the first flow control policy and after determining that the congestion state is resolved.

In a possible implementation, the fourth message may include a first field for indicating the congestion state, and the server may indicate that the congestion state of the server is released through the value of the first field. For example, when the value is "00", it indicates that the congestion state is released, and when the value is "01", it indicates that it is in a congestion state.

The server informs the client of whether it is in a congested state in time, and the client can reasonably implement the flow control strategy.

In a possible implementation, the third message may be an HTTP service request message, and the fourth message may be an HTTP-based service response message.

In a possible implementation, the messages exchanged between the server and the client may have integrity protection. For example, the second message has integrity protection, and the client performs flow control according to the first flow control policy. , and the integrity of the second message may also be checked. After passing the integrity check of the second message, flow control is performed according to the first flow control strategy, and the first message may also have integrity protection.

In another example, the fourth message may have integrity protection, and the client may further perform an integrity check on the fourth message before determining not to execute the first flow control policy. After the integrity check of the fourth message is passed, it is determined that the first flow control policy is not to be executed any more. The third message may also have integrity protection.

Messages exchanged between the server and the client can be integrity protected to avoid attacks from attackers.

In a third aspect, a communication device is provided, and the communication device has the function of implementing the server in the above method embodiment. These functions may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by executing corresponding software through hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more functional modules corresponding to the above functions.

In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, and the communication device has a function of implementing the client in the foregoing method embodiment. These functions may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by executing corresponding software through hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more functional modules corresponding to the above functions.

In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, and the communication device may be the server in the foregoing method embodiments, or a chip provided in the server. The communication device includes a transceiver and a processor. Optionally, it also includes a memory, wherein the memory is used to store computer programs or instructions, and the processor is coupled to the memory and the transceiver respectively. When the processor executes the computer program or instructions When the communication device executes the method executed by the server in the above method embodiment.

In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, and the communication device may be the client in the foregoing method embodiments, or a chip provided in the client. The communication device includes a transceiver and a processor. Optionally, it also includes a memory, wherein the memory is used to store computer programs or instructions, and the processor is coupled to the memory and the transceiver respectively. When the processor executes the computer program or instructions When the communication device executes the method executed by the client in the above method embodiment.

In a seventh aspect, a computer program product is provided, and the computer program product includes: computer program code, when the computer program code is run on a computer, the computer is made to execute the above-mentioned first aspect and any possible method of the first aspect. The method in the implementation to be executed by the server.

In an eighth aspect, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product comprising: computer program code, when the computer program code is run on a computer, the computer is made to execute the second aspect and any possible method of the second aspect. The method in the implementation that is executed by the client.

In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a chip system, the chip system includes a processor and a memory, the processor and the memory are electrically coupled; the memory is used to store computer program instructions; the processor , for executing part or all of the computer program instructions in the memory, when the part or all of the computer program instructions are executed, for implementing the above first aspect and any possible implementation method of the first aspect of the server Function.

In a possible design, the chip system further includes a transceiver, and the transceiver is configured to send a signal processed by the processor, or receive a signal and input it to the processor. The system-on-a-chip may consist of chips, or may include chips and other discrete devices.

In a tenth aspect, a chip system is provided, the chip system includes a processor and a memory, the processor and the memory are electrically coupled; the memory is used to store computer program instructions; the processor uses For executing part or all of the computer program instructions in the memory, when the part or all of the computer program instructions are executed, it is used to realize the functions of the client in the above second aspect and any possible implementation method of the second aspect.

In a possible design, the chip system further includes a transceiver, and the transceiver is configured to send a signal processed by the processor, or receive a signal and input it to the processor. The system-on-a-chip may consist of chips, or may include chips and other discrete devices.

In an eleventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is run, the above-mentioned first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect are implemented by The method executed by the server.

In a twelfth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is run, the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect can be realized method executed by the client.

In a thirteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, and the system may include a server that executes the method described in the above first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, and executes the above second aspect and the second aspect Any possible implementation of the method described in the client.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 2 is a flow control flow chart provided in the embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 3 is a flow control flow chart provided in the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a flow control flow chart provided in the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed ways

Embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In order to facilitate the understanding of the embodiments of the present application, some terms of the embodiments of the present application are explained below, so as to facilitate the understanding of those skilled in the art.

1) Terminal, also known as user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc., is a device that provides voice and/or data connectivity to users device of. For example, terminal devices include handheld devices with wireless connection functions, vehicle-mounted devices, IoT devices, and the like. At present, terminal devices can be: mobile phone, tablet computer, notebook computer, palmtop computer, mobile internet device (mobile internet device, MID), wearable device, virtual reality (virtual reality, VR) device, augmented reality ( augmented reality (AR) equipment, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, and smart grids A wireless terminal, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, or a wireless terminal in a smart home, etc.

2) Client, the end that actively sends a service request message to the server, or the end that calls the service of the server.

3) The server, after receiving the service request message sent by the client, feeds back the response to the client, or provides services to the client.

4) Integrity protection refers to the process of transmitting and storing information or data, ensuring that information or data is not changed without authorization or can be quickly discovered after being changed. It should be noted that the message with integrity protection generally includes message authentication code (MAC) information, and when verifying the message with integrity protection, the same hash algorithm can be used for the message with integrity protection The information in the hash operation is performed, the MAC information is calculated, and the calculated MAC information is compared with the MAC information in the message with integrity protection to determine whether the two MAC information are the same. If the MAC information is the same, the integrity check pass.

In addition, it should be noted that the messages with integrity protection in this application may also have confidentiality protection and/or anti-replay protection, where confidentiality protection means that information cannot be accessed by unauthorized individuals, entities, processes or Disclosed properties. Anti-replay protection means that the receiver receives repeated packets from the attacker.

5) Traffic processing capacity refers to the number of service request messages that can be processed within a period of time.

6) Congestion means that the number of service request messages received exceeds the number of service request messages that can be processed within a period of time.

"And/or" in this application describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there may be three types of relationships, for example, A and/or B, may mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists independently. situation. The character "/" generally indicates that the contextual objects are an "or" relationship.

A plurality referred to in this application refers to two or more than two.

In the description of the present application, terms such as "first" and "second" are only used for the purpose of distinguishing descriptions, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance, nor can they be understood as indicating or implying order.

In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the word "exemplary" is used as an example, illustration or explanation. Any embodiment or implementation described in this application as "example" is not to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or implementations. Rather, the use of the word example is intended to present concepts in a concrete manner.

The embodiment of the present application provides a flow control method and device, wherein the method and the device are based on the same technical concept, and since the method and the device have similar problem-solving principles, the implementation of the device and the method can be referred to each other. No longer.

The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: long term evolution (long termevolution, LTE) system, worldwide interconnection microwave access (worldwide interoperability for microwave access, WiMAX) communication system, future fifth generation (5th generation) Generation, 5G) systems, such as the new generation of wireless access technology (new radio access technology, NR), and future communication systems.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a possible communication system architecture applicable to this application, including: UE, (wireless) access network equipment (radio access network, (R)AN), UPF network element, DN network element, AUSF network element, AMF network element, SMF network element, NESSF network element NEF network element, NRF network element, PCF network element, UDM network element and AF network element, among which network elements can also be called functional physical equipment, UPF network element, DN network element, The AUSF network element, AMF network element, SMF network element, NESSF network element, NEF network element, NRF network element, PCF network element, UDM network element, and AF network element can be core network elements. In this network architecture, Nnssf is the service-based interface presented by NESSF, Nausf is the service-based interface presented by AUSF, Namf is the service-based interface presented by AMF, Nsmf is the service-based interface presented by SMF, and Nnef is the service-based interface presented by NEF Nnrf is the service-based interface presented by NRF, Npcf is the service-based interface presented by PCF, Nudm is the service-based interface presented by UDM, and Naf is the service-based interface presented by AF. Service-based interfaces can also be referred to as service-oriented interfaces. Each network element can provide one or more service-oriented interface services, which are invoked by other network elements, and at the same time, services of service-oriented interfaces of other network elements will also be invoked.

N1 is the reference point between UE and AMF, N2 is the reference point between (R)AN and AMF, used for sending non-access stratum messages, etc.; N3 is the reference point between (R)AN and UPF, used for Transmit user plane data, etc.; N4 is the reference point between SMF and UPF, used to transmit information such as tunnel identification information connected by N3, data cache indication information, and downlink data notification messages; N6 interface is between UPF and DN The reference point for transmitting user plane data, etc.

Among them, access and mobility management function (access and mobility management function, AMF) has core network control plane functions, providing user mobility management and access management functions, SEAF has security authentication, management and derivation of security secrets key and other functions.

Network repository function (network repository function, NRF) network element: used to store information of network functions deployed in the core network, and provide discovery of network functions and services.

User plane function (user plane function, UPF) network element: used for packet routing and forwarding and quality of service (quality of service, QoS) processing of user plane data, etc.

Data network (data network, DN) network element: used to provide a network for transmitting data.

Authentication server function (authentication server function, AUSF) network element: used to implement authentication and authentication of users, etc.

Session Management Function (SMF) network element: mainly used for session management, network interconnection protocol (internet protocol, IP) address allocation and management of terminal equipment, selection of manageable user plane functions, policy control and charging function interface endpoints and downlink data notifications, etc.

Network exposure function (network exposure function, NEF) network element: used to safely expose services and capabilities provided by the 3GPP network function network element to the outside.

Policy control function (PCF) network element: a unified policy framework for guiding network behavior, providing policy rule information, etc. for control plane function network elements (such as AMF, SMF network elements, etc.).

Application function (application function, AF) network element: a device used to manage terminals, and store attribute information of managed terminals, such as location information and types of terminals.

Unified data management (unified data management, UDM) network element: used for processing user identification, access authentication, registration and mobility management, etc.

Network slice selection function (network slice selection function, SSF): used to select a set of network slice instances serving UE.

It should be understood that the above-mentioned network architecture applied to the embodiment of the present application is only an example network architecture described from the perspective of a service-oriented architecture, and the network architecture applicable to the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto. Any network element that can implement the above-mentioned All functional network architectures are applicable to this embodiment of the application.

In order to facilitate the understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the application scenarios of the present application are introduced next. The business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are for the purpose of more clearly explaining the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute references to the embodiments of the present application. As for the limitation of the technical solution, those skilled in the art know that with the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

The UE side or the R(AN) side can request services from network elements on the core network side, and lower-level network elements on the core network side can also send service request messages to higher-level network elements to request services. As shown in Figure 1, in an example, after receiving a request from the UE side or the R(AN) side, the AMF network element (lower-level network element) can send a service request message to the UDM network element (upper-level network element), and the UDM network element The element processes the service request message, and feeds back a service response message to the AMF. After receiving the service response message for the service request message, the AMF network element feeds back a response to the UE side or the R(AN) side. In this application, the end that actively sends the service request message, or the end that calls the service of the server is called the client. The end that will receive the service request message sent by the client and feed back the response to the client, or the end that provides services to the client is called the server. If the AMF network element directly sends a service request message to the UDM network element, the AMF network element is the client, and the UDM network element is the server.

In another example, the AMF network element communicates with the UDM network element through the AUSF network element, the AMF network element sends a service request message to the AUSF network element, and the AUSF network element then sends a service request message to the UDM network element. When the AUSF network element receives the service request message from the AMF network element, the AMF network element is the client, and the AUSF network element is the server. When the AUSF network element sends a service request message to the UDM network element, the AUSF network element is the client and the UDM network element is the server. It can be seen from this that when the AUSF network element communicates with different network elements, the role may change. From this, it can be concluded that a network element can be either a client or a server.

The traffic processing capability of the server is limited. If the client sends a large number of service request messages to the server for a period of time, which exceeds the traffic processing capability of the server, the server will be congested. In order to avoid congestion, the server may return a service unavailable (service unavailable) response to the client for some service request messages.

At present, the client can use the following schemes for flow control to avoid server congestion: the client can use the number of received non-service unavailable responses (service request messages successfully processed by the server) and experience-based Scale factor, to estimate the traffic processing capability of the server for the client. The client discards service request messages that exceed the traffic processing capability of the server for the client based on the estimated traffic processing capability of the server for the client.

In the current flow control scheme, the client cannot accurately estimate the real situation of the server, and it is easy to discard too many service request messages or insufficient service request messages. And the server does not know whether the reason for the decrease of client service request messages is that the client has performed flow control, or the reason for the decrease of service request messages sent by the client itself. Generally, there will be multiple clients requesting services from the same server. If a certain client performs flow control, other clients do not perform flow control. The server responds to each client with a service unavailable response according to a unified strategy (such as the ratio of service request messages received), which will cause more and more request messages to be discarded by the client actively performing flow control, and then it will be rejected. Fewer and fewer service request messages are processed normally.

For example, there are three clients c1, c2, and c3 respectively connected to the server, and c1, c2, and c3 respectively send 200 service request messages to the server. Reply service unavailable) request message is 60*50=300. The server can process 100 service request messages for c1, c2, and c3 respectively, and the other 100 messages can be discarded or responded with a service unavailable response. If c3 performs flow control at this time, c3 will think that the server can only process 100 service request messages, then even if c3 has 150, 200 or more service request messages in the next cycle, c3 will only send them to the server There are about 100 service request messages, and the redundant service request messages are discarded. The server does not know that c3 reports 100 service request messages because of flow control, and the server thinks that c3 only has 100 service request messages. The server only processes 60 of the 100 service messages reported by c3. Then the client thinks that the server can only handle 60 service request messages, and then only about 60 service request messages will be reported in the next cycle, and so on, which will lead to more and more request messages discarded by the client actively performing flow control. If there are many, fewer and fewer service request messages are normally processed.

Based on this, the embodiment of the present application provides a flow control method. The client informs the server that it has flow control capabilities, and the server can issue a flow control strategy to the client. The flow control strategy is used to determine the The number of service request messages that the client is expected to send to the server, or the number of service request messages that the client is expected to discard. Then the client can send a reasonable number of service request messages to the server according to the flow control policy issued by the server, so as to realize more flexible and reasonable processing of business data by both parties.

As shown in FIG. 2 , a schematic flow chart of flow control is provided. The client shown in FIG. 2 may be the AMF network element shown in FIG. 1 , and the corresponding server may be the UDM network element shown in FIG. 1 . The client shown in FIG. 2 may be the AMF network element shown in FIG. 1 , and the corresponding server may be the AUSF network element shown in FIG. 1 . The client shown in FIG. 2 may be the AUSF network element shown in FIG. 1 , and the corresponding server may be the UDM network element shown in FIG. 1 . Only a few examples of the client and the server are given here, and it is believed that those skilled in the art can reasonably think of other examples of the client and the server according to business requirements in practical applications.

Step 201: The client sends a first message to the server. Correspondingly, the server receives the first message sent by the client, and the first message is used to indicate that the client supports flow control.

Because the lower-layer network element can send a service request message to the upper-layer network element to request a service, and the upper-layer network element can reply a service response message to the lower-layer network element to provide the service. Therefore, as a network element, the client can send a service request message to the upper network element (ie, the server) when receiving the service request message sent by the lower network element. The client can inform the server that it supports flow control when sending a service request message to the server. Exemplarily, the first message may be a service request message, and further, the first message may be an HTTP-based service request message. The first message may carry an indication that the client supports flow control, to indicate that the client supports flow control. The indication that the client supports flow control can be carried in the header field (header) of the HTTP message, and can also be carried in the message body (body) of the HTTP message. The first message may also be other messages independent of the service request message, such as defining a new message. The first message is not limited in this application.

The client can not only report its ability to support flow control to the server, but also report the flow control mode it supports to the server so that the server can formulate a more reasonable flow control strategy for the client. In the first message It may also include a flow control mode supported by the client, where the flow control mode supported by the client may be to send the service request message to other servers for processing, or to discard the service request message, or to support both.

If the client is currently executing the second flow control strategy, the client can also inform the server of the second flow control strategy being executed, so that the server can formulate a more reasonable flow control strategy for the client, and the first message can also include Second flow control policy.

Step 202: The server sends a second message corresponding to the first message to the client. Correspondingly, the client receives the second message sent by the server, and the second message includes the first flow control policy.

After receiving the indication sent by the client that the client supports flow control, the server may formulate a first flow control policy for the client, and send the formulated first flow control policy to the client. The first flow control policy may be used to determine a first number of service request messages that the client is allowed to send to the server, where the first number is an integer greater than or equal to 0. The first number may refer to the number of service request messages allowed to be sent within a fixed time length, or may be the number of service request messages allowed to be sent within an unfixed time length. A fixed time length is, for example, a cycle, and an unfixed time length is, for example, the time interval between the server feeding back two service response messages to the client, or the time interval between feeding back two specific types of service response messages. The first quantity may be a relative quantity, for example, the first quantity may be a proportion of service request messages that the server instructs the client to reduce. The first quantity may also be an absolute quantity, for example, the first quantity may be a value that the server indicates the number of service request messages sent by the client.

Further, the first flow control strategy may also include but not limited to at least one of the following items:

The effective time of the first flow control strategy, the flow control mode, the type of the service request message, and the generation time of the first flow control strategy are incremented by a counter.

The valid time may be a duration value, such as 3s, 10s, etc., or a time point, such as 23:20 on May 1, 2019. If the valid time is a duration value, it can be reflected by a specific time value, such as 10s, or by the number of cycles. For example, the server can pre-agreed with the client that the duration of a cycle is 2s, and the valid time can be 5 cycle. The client may execute the first flow control policy within the valid time of the first flow control policy.

The flow control method includes: the client sends the service request messages exceeding the first number to other servers for processing or discards the service request messages exceeding the first number. The client can be pre-configured with the identifiers of other servers, and the client can also query the identifiers of other servers through a network repository function (NRF), or the traffic control policy can carry the identifiers of other servers.

The types of service request messages may be that the server instructs the client to perform flow control on those types of messages, and may not perform flow control on other types of messages. The type of the service request message may be, for example: a registration request message, a subscription data reading request message, a subscription data change request message, etc. For details, please refer to the definition in the 3GPP specification.

The generation time of the first flow control policy may be used to determine whether the first flow control policy is the latest flow control policy.

The incremented counter of the first flow control policy may also be used to determine whether the first flow control policy is the latest flow control policy.

The client may inform the server of the second flow control policy that it is executing. The second flow control policy may not only be used to determine the second number of server request messages that the client is allowed to send to the server, but may also include But not limited to: one or more of valid time of the second flow control policy, flow control mode, type of service request message, generation time of the second flow control policy, and increment counter. Wherein, the flow control method includes: the client sends service request messages exceeding the second number to other servers for processing or discards service request messages exceeding the second number; 2. Whether the flow control strategy is the latest flow control strategy.

If the client reports the second flow control policy in the first message, the first flow control policy issued by the server to the client may include the effective time, flow control mode, and service of the first flow control policy introduced above. One or more of the type of the request message, the generation time, and the incremented counter may also be that the server notifies the client of the differences between the first flow control policy and the second flow control policy. The client can then adjust the second flow control strategy being executed according to the difference notified by the server, and then the adjusted flow control strategy is the first flow control strategy.

In any state, the server can formulate the first flow control strategy for the client as long as it receives the instruction of supporting flow control sent by the client. In a specific example, the server may also formulate the first flow control policy for the client only when it is in a congested state. After the server receives the indication from the client that the client supports flow control, if the server is currently in a congested state, the server may formulate a first flow control policy for the client according to the traffic processing capability of the server. If the server is not currently in a congested state, the server may ignore the flow control indication sent by the client.

The following specifically introduces the process of formulating the first flow control policy for the client according to the flow processing capacity when the server is in a congested state:

The server can estimate the load level of itself in this cycle according to its multiple resource usage (such as CPU usage, message processing time, etc.). For example, if the CPU usage is greater than 98%, it is estimated that this cycle is extremely high load; if the CPU usage is between 90% and 98%, it is estimated that this cycle is high load; if the CPU usage is between 80% and 90%, it is estimated that this cycle is The period is a high load; the CPU usage is lower than 80%, and it is estimated that this period is a light load. For another example, if the message processing delay is greater than 3 seconds, it is estimated that the current cycle is extremely high load; if the message processing delay is 1 second to 3 seconds, the current cycle is estimated to be high load; cycle is light load. The load level of the server may be the highest level among loads corresponding to multiple resources, or may be obtained through comprehensive calculation based on the load levels corresponding to multiple resources.

The server can first estimate the number of service request messages processed in the previous cycle, the load level of this cycle, the load level of the previous cycle, and the change trend of the load, and estimate that it can be processed in this cycle (it may be processed successfully, or it may be processed Failed), the number of service request messages, that is, the estimated traffic processing capacity. The server can also estimate the number of service request messages to be received in this cycle according to the number of service request messages received in the previous cycle.

When performing flow control, the load of the system can be kept as high as possible. For example, if 1000 messages were processed in the last cycle, the system load was extremely high. The load estimated in this cycle is also extremely high, and the load situation has not changed, so it is considered that 900 messages can be processed in this cycle (the load is extremely high, and the number of messages to be processed needs to be reduced). For another example, if 1,000 messages were processed in the previous cycle, the system load was high, and the estimated load in this cycle is also extremely high, and the load level has not changed, then it is considered that 1,000 messages can be processed in this cycle (the system is stable at high load, it is not necessary to message needs to be adjusted). For another example, if 1,000 messages were processed in the previous cycle, the system load was high, and the estimated load in this cycle was medium load, and the load level changed from high to medium, then it is considered that 1,100 messages can be processed in this cycle (the system load is decreasing, and it can be process more messages).

Furthermore, the server can estimate the number of service request messages that cannot be processed according to the estimated number of service request messages that can be processed in this period and the number of service request messages to be received in this period. The server can directly discard the service request message that cannot be processed, or return a failure to the client (for example, the service is unavailable).

The server can make the number of service request messages sent by all clients connected to it close to the estimated traffic processing capacity (the number of service request messages that can be processed). For example, the estimated traffic processing capability of the server in this period is to process 1000 service request messages, and it is estimated that 2000 service request messages are received in this period, then it is estimated that 1000 service request messages cannot be processed. The server may instruct all clients connected to it to send a total of 1000 service request messages.

In order to process a large number of service request messages, the server may allow all clients connected to it to send more service request messages than the estimated traffic processing capability. For example, the server multiplies the number of service request messages it can handle by a ratio value to indicate the total number of service request messages sent by all clients. The ratio value is generally greater than 1, such as 1.1, 1.2, and so on. For example, the estimated traffic processing capability of the server in this period is to process 1000 service request messages, and it is estimated that 2000 service request messages are received in this period, then it is estimated that 1000 service request messages cannot be processed. The server can instruct all clients connected to it to send a total of 1200 service request messages, and the ratio is 1.2. That is, the server can instruct the client to discard 800 service request messages that are estimated to be unable to be processed. Among the 1200 messages sent by the client, the server can return 200 failed messages according to its own traffic processing capability, or the server can send the 200 service request messages to other servers for processing after receiving the 200 service request messages, or the server can instruct all connected The client sends a total of 1200 service request messages, and can also instruct the client to send service request messages to other servers to disperse the pressure on the current server.

If the load of the server in this cycle is higher than that of the previous cycle, it means that the server does not allow the client to discard enough service request messages, and the client can discard more service request messages in the next cycle. For example, if the client is allowed to discard 60% of the service request messages in this period, then the client can be allowed to discard 80% of the service request messages in the next period.

If the load in this cycle is significantly reduced compared to the load in the previous cycle, for example, from high load to low load, the server can instruct the client to discard a smaller number of service request messages in the next cycle, or even not to discard service request messages. When the server formulates a traffic control strategy for the client, it can not only consider the current load level, but also consider the changing trend of the load level.

The second message delivered by the server to the client may be a service response message, and further, the second message may be an HTTP-based service response message. The first flow control policy may be carried in the header field (header) of the HTTP message, such as the extended Retry-After header field, or a non-standard header field such as X-headers, or in the message body (body) of the HTTP message carry. The second message may also be other messages independent of the service response message, such as defining a new message, and the first message is not limited in this application.

In order to avoid attacks from attackers, the client can perform integrity protection on the first message, then after receiving the first message, the server can first perform integrity verification on the first message, and after the integrity verification passes, Then formulate a first traffic control policy for the client. If the integrity check of the first message fails, the server may ignore the first message, or inform the client that there is an attacker.

Step 203: The client performs flow control according to the first flow control policy.

After determining the first number of service request messages allowed to be sent to the server according to the first flow control strategy, the client can send about the first number of service request messages to the server. In order to achieve the purpose of reasonably discarding the service request message. It should be noted that the first number may be greater than the number of service request messages that the client needs to send, and the client does not need to discard the service request messages.

The client may also have some flow control policies locally, for example, some types of service request messages have a higher priority.

If the first flow control policy sent by the server includes the type of service request message, that is, the server instructs the client to restrict the flow of this type of service request message, if the client sets the priority of this type of message to a lower When the value is high, the client may not discard this type of service request message. Or if a certain session is in progress, even if the server instructs the client to limit the flow of service request messages of the session, in order to ensure the normal progress of the session, the client may not discard subsequent service request messages of the session.

The generation time of the first flow control policy may be used to determine whether the first flow control policy is the latest flow control policy. If the first flow control policy includes the generation time of the first flow control policy, before the client performs flow control according to the first flow control policy, the client may also determine the currently executing Whether the generation time of the second flow control strategy is earlier than the generation time of the first flow control strategy, and if so, perform flow control according to the first flow control strategy. If not, flow control may be performed according to the second flow control policy.

The client can determine the latest flow control strategy according to the generation time of each flow control strategy. The client performs flow control according to the latest flow control strategy to achieve more reasonable processing of business data.

The incremented counter of the first flow control policy may also be used to determine whether the first flow control policy is the latest flow control policy. If the first flow control strategy includes the incremental counter, before the client performs flow control according to the first flow control strategy, the client can also compare the incremental counter in the first flow control strategy A counter and an incremented counter of the second flow control strategy being executed determine which flow control strategy to use. For example, the larger the value of the increment counter, the later the flow control strategy is, that is, the latest flow control strategy. Then, when the counter of the first flow control strategy is greater than the counter of the second flow control strategy, the first flow control strategy may be used.

If the flow control method delivered by the server is that the client sends service request messages exceeding the first number to other servers for processing. The traffic control policy can carry the identification of other servers. The client may also be pre-configured with identifiers of other servers, and the client may also query the identifiers of other servers through a network repository function (NRF).

In order to prevent an attacker from tampering with the first flow control policy, the server may perform integrity protection on the second message. If the second message has integrity protection, after receiving the second message, the client may first perform an integrity check on the second message, and then execute flow control according to the first flow control policy after the integrity check is passed. If the integrity check of the first message fails, the client may ignore the first flow control policy in the second message, or inform the server that there is an attacker.

When performing integrity protection on the first message and the second message, the integrity protection key used may be a symmetric key preset between the server and the client, or an asymmetric key mechanism, such as using the The certificate signs the first flow control policy.

The above describes the process of delivering the first flow control policy to the client when the server is in a congested state. As time goes by, the congestion state of the server may be relieved, and the server may also send an indication of the congestion state relief to the client, and the client may reasonably report a service request message to the server.

See Figure 3 to further introduce the flow control process:

Step 301-step 303 are the same as step 201-step 203, and repeated descriptions will not be repeated here.

Step 304: Optionally, the client sends a third message to the server. Correspondingly, the server receives the third message sent by the client. The third message may include the first traffic control strategy being executed by the client and/or an indication that the client supports flow control policies.

Step 305: The server determines that the congestion state is released, and then sends a fourth message to the client, and the client receives the fourth message accordingly, and the fourth message is used to indicate that the congestion state of the server is released.

Step 306: the client determines not to execute the first flow control policy.

In an example, when the server determines that the congestion state is resolved, it may send an indication of the congestion state to all clients connected to itself.

In another example, in order to save signaling overhead, after receiving the flow control policy sent by the client or the indication that the client supports the flow control policy, the server can issue a congestion Indication of status release. For example, step 304 and step 305 in FIG. 3 .

In another example, the server may also save the traffic control policy issued to the client according to the identifier of the client. The server can monitor in real time whether the traffic control strategy for each client is valid. If the server detects that some flow control policies are still valid when the congestion state is lifted, the server can issue an instruction to clear the congestion state to the clients whose flow control policies are still valid. For the clients whose flow control policy is invalid, since the client no longer executes the flow control policy, the server may not issue an instruction to relieve the congestion state to these clients.

In an example, the fourth message includes a first field for indicating the congestion state, and the value of the first field indicates that the congestion state of the server is released.

In another example, the server may indicate that the congestion state of the server is released by setting the effective time of the flow control policy to 0. For example, the fourth message may include a fourth flow control policy, and the valid time of the fourth flow control policy is 0.

The third message may be a service request message, and further, the third message may be an HTTP-based service request message. The first flow control policy and/or the indication that the client supports flow control may be carried in the header field (header) of the HTTP message, and may also be carried in the message body (body) of the HTTP message. The third message may also be other messages independent of the service request message, such as defining a new message. The third message is not limited in this application.

In order to avoid attacks by attackers, the client can perform integrity protection on the third message. If the third message has integrity protection, after receiving the third message, the server can first perform an integrity check on the third message, and after the integrity check is passed, send the server congestion status release to the client instructions. If the integrity check of the third message fails, the server may ignore the third message, or inform the client that there is an attacker.

The fourth message may be a service response message, and further, the fourth message may be an HTTP-based service response message. For example, the fourth message may carry a fourth flow control strategy, and the fourth flow control strategy may be carried in a header field (header) of an HTTP message, such as an extended Retry-After header field, or a non-standard header field such as X -headers can also be carried in the message body of the HTTP message. In another example, the fourth message may also carry an identifier of the congestion relief state of the server, for example, a value of a field. The fourth message may also be other messages independent of the service response message, such as defining a new message, and the fourth message is not limited in this application.

In order to avoid attacks by attackers, the server may perform integrity protection on the fourth message. If the fourth message has integrity protection, after receiving the fourth message, the client may first perform an integrity check on the fourth message, and then determine not to execute the first flow control policy after the integrity check passes. If the integrity check of the first message fails, the client may ignore the indication of the server releasing the congestion state in the fourth message, or inform the server that there is an attacker.

It should be noted that, according to the foregoing description, the flow control policy may include generating time and/or incrementing a counter. After receiving the second message, if the client determines to execute the first flow control strategy according to the generation time and/or the increment counter of the first flow control side, the aforementioned third message includes the first flow control strategy; Time and/or incrementing the counter, if it is determined that the first flow control strategy is not executed but the second flow control strategy is executed, then the aforementioned third message may include the second flow control strategy instead of the first flow control strategy. Of course, the third message may also include the second flow control policy and the first flow control policy.

In another example, the server may also serve as a client to receive a third flow control policy sent by the upper-level server, and the third flow control policy is used to determine the service that the server is allowed to send to the upper-level server. A third quantity of the request message, where the third quantity is an integer greater than or equal to 0. The server may formulate the first flow control policy for the client according to the local policy of the server and the third flow control policy.

As shown in FIG. 4 , a schematic flow chart of flow control is provided. The client shown in FIG. 4 may be the AMF network element shown in FIG. 1 , and the corresponding server may be the AUSF network element shown in FIG. 1 . The upper-level server may be the UDM network element shown in FIG. 1 . Then the AUSF network element is a server for the AMF network element, and the AUSF network element is a client for the UDM network element. Here is just an example of the client, the server, and the upper-level server. It is believed that those skilled in the art can reasonably think of other examples of the client, the server, and the upper-level server according to the business requirements in practical applications.

Step 401: The client (AMF network element) sends a service request message to the server (AUSF network element), correspondingly, the server (AUSF network element) receives the service request message sent by the client, and the service request message includes An indication indicating that the client (AMF network element) supports flow control.

Optionally, the service request message may also include the flow control mode supported by the AMF network element.

Step 402: The server (AUSF network element) as a client sends a service request message to the upper server (UDM network element), and the service request message includes a message indicating that the client (AUSF network element) supports flow control instructions. Optionally, the service request message may also include the flow control mode supported by the AUSF network element.

Step 403: The UDM network element formulates a third traffic control strategy for the AUSF network element.

For example, when the UDM network element determines that it is in a congested state, it formulates a third flow control policy for the AUSF network element according to system capabilities.

Step 404: The UDM network element sends a service response message to the AUSF network element. Correspondingly, the AUSF network element receives the service response message sent by the UDM network element, and the service response message includes the third flow control policy.

Step 405: The AUSF network element determines the first flow control strategy according to the third flow control strategy and the local strategy.

Specifically, the AMF network element reports to the AUSF network element the second flow control strategy being executed by the AMF network element, and the AUSF network element determines the first flow control strategy according to the third flow control strategy, the local strategy, and the second flow control side .

The following specifically introduces the process of the AUSF network element determining the first flow control strategy according to the third flow control strategy and the local strategy:

For example, the third flow control strategy is for the UDM network element to instruct the AUSF network element to send 1000 service request messages, for example, it may be to send 1000 messages in one cycle, and one cycle may be 1s, for example. The AUSF network element is expected to receive 1500 service request messages in this period, among which, 500 are messages with high priority that cannot be discarded, and 1000 are messages with low priority that can be discarded, so the AUSF network element can send 500 messages to the UDM network element High priority messages and 500 low priority messages.

In this scenario, the AUSF network element needs to discard 500 low-priority messages. The local policy of the AUSF network element can be, for example, to discard the number of service request messages sent to the UDM network element and to require lower-level clients to reduce the number of messages sent to the AUSF network element. The ratio of the number of service request messages may be, for example, 1:1, 1:2, 1.5 and so on. If the AUSF network element itself discards and requires AMF to reduce the number of messages sent by 1:1, the AUSF network element can instruct all AMF network elements connected to the AUSF network element to send a total of 750 low-priority messages and all 500 messages in the next cycle. high priority message.

Step 406: The AUSF network element sends a service response message to the AMF network element. Correspondingly, the AMF network element receives the service response message sent by the AUSF network element, and the service response message includes the first flow control policy.

Step 407: The AMF network element may perform flow control according to the first flow control policy.

Further, optionally, step 408: the AMF network element may also send a service request message to the AUSF network element, and correspondingly, the AUSF network element receives the service request message sent by the AMF network element, and the service request message includes the AMF An indication that the network element supports flow control and/or the first flow control policy being executed by the AMF network element.

Optionally, step 409: the AUSF network element sends a service request message to the UDM network element, and correspondingly, the UDM network element receives the service request message sent by the AUSF network element, and the service request message includes AUSF network element support flow control indication and/or a third flow control strategy.

The AUSF network element plays the role of an intermediate node between the AMF network element and the UDM network element, and the process for the AUSF network element to determine the third flow control policy according to the first flow control policy may be the reverse process of step 405 above.

Step 410: When the UDM network element determines that the congestion is resolved, it can send a service response message to the AUSF network element. Correspondingly, the AUSF network element receives the service response message sent by the UDM network element, and the service response message is used to instruct the UDM network The meta-congestion state is released.

Step 411: After the AUSF network element receives the indication that the UDM network element congestion state is released, it can no longer execute the third flow control strategy. Generally, the AUSF network element does not need to perform flow control on the AMF, and the AUSF network element operation A service response message may be sent to the AMF network element to instruct the AUSF network element to release the congestion state. The AMF may no longer execute the first flow control policy.

In FIG. 4 , network elements can exchange information through a service request message and a service response message. The service request message can be an HTTP-based service request message, and the service response message can be an HTTP-based service response message. In Fig. 4, the service request message and the service response message exchanged between various network elements may have integrity protection, and the end receiving the message may first perform an integrity check on it, and then execute the corresponding process after the integrity check passes.

The HTTP-based service request message and service response message in each of the embodiments provided above may be an HTTP2.0-based service request message and service response message.

Based on the same technical concept as the above flow control method, as shown in FIG. 5 , a communication device 500 is provided, which is capable of performing the various steps performed by the server in the methods of FIG. 2 , FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 , In order to avoid repetition, it will not be described in detail here. The communication device 500 may be a server, or a chip applied to the server. The communication device 500 includes: a transceiver module 510, optionally, a processing module 520 and a storage module 530; the processing module 520 can be connected to the storage module 530 and the transceiver module 510 respectively, and the storage module 530 can also be connected to the transceiver module 510 :

The storage module 530 is used to store computer programs;

Exemplarily, the transceiving module 510 is configured to receive a first message sent by a client, the first message is used to indicate that the client supports flow control; and send a message for the first message to the client A second message, the second message includes a first flow control policy, the first flow control policy is used to determine a first number of service request messages that the client is allowed to send to the device, and the first number is greater than or an integer equal to 0.

In a possible implementation, the processing module 520 is configured to determine the first traffic control policy according to the traffic processing capability of the device when the device is in a congested state.

In a possible implementation, the transceiver module 510 is further configured to receive a fifth message from an upper-level server, where the fifth message includes a third flow control policy, and the third flow control policy is used to determine that all The third number of service request messages sent by the device to the upper-level server, where the third number is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

In a possible implementation, the processing module 520 is configured to determine the first traffic control policy according to a local policy of the device and the third traffic control policy.

In a possible implementation, the transceiver module 510 is further configured to receive a third message sent by the client, where the third message includes the first flow control policy being executed by the client; and when determining When the congestion state is released, a fourth message corresponding to the third message is sent to the client, where the fourth message is used to instruct the apparatus that the congestion state is released.

Based on the same technical concept as the above flow control method, as shown in FIG. 6 , a communication device 600 is provided, and the communication device 600 is capable of performing various steps performed by the client in the methods of FIG. 2 , FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 , In order to avoid repetition, it will not be described in detail here. The communication device 600 may be a client, or a chip applied to the client. The communication device 600 includes: a transceiver module 610, optionally, a processing module 620 and a storage module 630; the processing module 620 can be connected to the storage module 630 and the transceiver module 610 respectively, and the storage module 630 can also be connected to the transceiver module 610 :

The storage module 630 is used to store computer programs;

Exemplarily, the transceiving module 610 is configured to send a first message to a server, where the first message is used to indicate that the device supports flow control; and receive a second message from the server for the first message. message, the second message includes a first flow control strategy, and the first flow control strategy is used to determine a first number of service request messages that the device is allowed to send to the server, and the first number is greater than or equal to an integer of 0;

The processing module 620 is configured to perform flow control according to the first flow control policy.

In a possible implementation, the first flow control strategy includes at least one of the following items:

Valid time of the first flow control strategy, flow control mode, type of service request message, generation time of the first flow control strategy, and increment counter;

Wherein, the flow control method includes: sending service request messages exceeding the first number to other servers for processing or discarding service request messages exceeding the first number, and the incremental counter is used to judge the first flow Whether the control policy is the latest flow control policy.

In a possible implementation, if the first flow control strategy includes the generation time of the first flow control strategy, the processing module 620 is configured to perform flow control according to the first flow control strategy Before, it is also used for: determining that the generation time of the second flow control policy being executed is earlier than the generation time of the first flow control policy.

In a possible implementation, if the first flow control strategy includes the incremental counter, the processing module 620 is further configured to: compare The increment counter in the first traffic control policy and the increment counter in the second traffic control policy being executed determine to use the first traffic control policy.

In a possible implementation, the transceiver module 610 is further configured to send a third message to the server, where the third message includes the first traffic control policy being executed by the device; and receive the service A fourth message for the third message at the end, where the fourth message is used to indicate that the congestion state of the server end is released;

The processing module 620 is further configured to determine not to execute the first traffic control policy.

Fig. 7 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 700 according to an embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that the communication device 700 is capable of performing various steps performed by the server in the methods shown in FIG. 2 , FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 , and details are not described here to avoid repetition. The communication device 700 includes: a processor 701 and a memory 703, the processor 701 and the memory 703 are electrically coupled;

The memory 703 is used to store computer program instructions;

The processor 701 is configured to execute part or all of the computer program instructions in the memory. When the part or all of the computer program instructions are executed, the device receives a first message sent by the client, and the first The message is used to indicate that the client supports flow control; and a second message for the first message is sent to the client, the second message includes a first flow control strategy, and the first flow control strategy is used to determine A first number of service request messages that the client is allowed to send to the device, where the first number is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

In a possible implementation, the processor 701 is configured to determine the first traffic control policy according to the traffic processing capability of the device when the device is in a congested state.

In a possible implementation, the processor 701 is further configured to receive a fifth message from the upper-level server, where the fifth message includes a third flow control policy, and the third flow control policy is used to determine to allow the The third number of service request messages sent by the device to the upper-level server, where the third number is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

In a possible implementation, the processor 701 is configured to determine the first traffic control policy according to a local policy of the device and the third traffic control policy.

In a possible implementation, the processor 701 is further configured to receive a third message sent by the client, where the third message includes the first flow control policy being executed by the client; and when determining When the congestion state is released, a fourth message corresponding to the third message is sent to the client, where the fourth message is used to instruct the apparatus that the congestion state is released.

Optionally, it also includes: a transceiver 702, configured to communicate with other devices; for example, sending the second message and the fourth message to the client, and receiving the first message and the third message sent by the client.

It should be understood that the communication device 700 shown in FIG. 7 may be a chip or a circuit. For example, a chip or a circuit that may be provided in the server. The above-mentioned transceiver 702 may also be a communication interface. Transceivers include receivers and transmitters. Further, the communication device 700 may also include a bus system.

Among them, the processor 701, the memory 703, and the transceiver 702 are connected through a bus system, and the processor 701 is used to execute the instructions stored in the memory 703 to control the transceiver to receive signals and send signals, so as to complete the flow control method of the application. step. The memory 703 may be integrated in the processor 701 , or may be set separately from the processor 701 .

As an implementation manner, the function of the transceiver 702 may be considered to be realized by a transceiver circuit or a dedicated transceiver chip. The processor 701 may be considered to be implemented by a dedicated processing chip, a processing circuit, a processor, or a general-purpose chip.

Fig. 8 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 800 according to an embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that the communication device 800 can execute the steps performed by the client in the methods shown in FIG. 2 , FIG. 3 , and FIG. 4 , and details are not described here to avoid repetition. The communication device 800 includes: a processor 801 and a memory 803, the processor 801 and the memory 803 are electrically coupled;

The memory 803 is used to store computer program instructions;

The processor 801 is configured to execute part or all of the computer program instructions in the memory, and when the part or all of the computer program instructions are executed, the device sends a first message to the server, and the first message used to indicate that the device supports flow control; and receive a second message from the server for the first message, the second message includes a first flow control strategy, and the first flow control strategy is used to determine that the A first number of service request messages sent by the device to the server, where the first number is an integer greater than or equal to 0; and performing flow control according to the first flow control policy.

In a possible implementation, the first flow control strategy includes at least one of the following items:

Valid time of the first flow control strategy, flow control mode, type of service request message, generation time of the first flow control strategy, and increment counter;

Wherein, the flow control method includes: sending service request messages exceeding the first number to other servers for processing or discarding service request messages exceeding the first number, and the incremental counter is used to judge the first flow Whether the control policy is the latest flow control policy.

In a possible implementation, if the first flow control strategy includes the generation time of the first flow control strategy, the processor 801 is configured to perform flow control according to the first flow control strategy Before, it is also used for: determining that the generation time of the second flow control policy being executed is earlier than the generation time of the first flow control policy.

In a possible implementation, if the first flow control strategy includes the increment counter, the processor 801 is further configured to: compare The increment counter in the first traffic control policy and the increment counter in the second traffic control policy being executed determine to use the first traffic control policy.

In a possible implementation, the processor 801 is further configured to send a third message to the server, where the third message includes the first flow control policy being executed by the device; and receive the service A fourth message at the end for the third message, where the fourth message is used to indicate that the congestion state of the server is released; and it is determined that the first flow control policy is no longer executed.

Optionally, it also includes: a transceiver 802, configured to communicate with other devices; for example, receiving the second message and the fourth message sent by the server, and sending the first message and the second message to the server.

It should be understood that the communication device 800 shown in FIG. 8 may be a chip or a circuit. For example, a chip or a circuit may be provided in the client. The above-mentioned transceiver 802 may also be a communication interface. Transceivers include receivers and transmitters. Further, the communication device 800 may also include a bus system.

Among them, the processor 801, the memory 803, and the transceiver 802 are connected through a bus system, and the processor 801 is used to execute the instructions stored in the memory 803 to control the transceiver to receive and send signals, so as to complete the flow control method of the present application. step. The memory 803 may be integrated in the processor 801 , or may be set separately from the processor 801 .

As an implementation manner, the function of the transceiver 802 may be considered to be implemented by a transceiver circuit or a dedicated transceiver chip. The processor 801 may be considered to be implemented by a dedicated processing chip, a processing circuit, a processor, or a general-purpose chip.

The processor may be a central processing unit (central processing unit, CPU), a network processor (network processor, NP) or a combination of CPU and NP.

Processors may further include hardware chips or other general-purpose processors. The aforementioned hardware chip may be an application-specific integrated circuit (application-specific integrated circuit, ASIC), a programmable logic device (programmable logic device, PLD) or a combination thereof. The above-mentioned PLD can be a complex programmable logic device (complex programmable logic device, CPLD), field-programmable logic gate array (field-programmable gate array, FPGA), general array logic (generic array logic, GAL) and other programmable logic devices , discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc., or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or the processor may be any conventional processor, or the like.

It should also be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a nonvolatile memory, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile memories. Wherein, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (Read-Only Memory, ROM), a programmable read-only memory (Programmable ROM, PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (Erasable PROM, EPROM), an electronically programmable Erase Programmable Read-Only Memory (Electrically EPROM, EEPROM) or Flash. The volatile memory can be Random Access Memory (RAM), which acts as an external cache. By way of illustration and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available such as Static RAM (SRAM), Dynamic RAM (DRAM), Synchronous DRAM (Synchronous DRAM, SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (Double DataRate SDRAM, DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (Enhanced SDRAM, ESDRAM), synchronous connection dynamic random access memory (Synchlink DRAM, SLDRAM) And direct memory bus random access memory (Direct Rambus RAM, DR RAM). It should be noted that the memories described herein are intended to include, but are not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memories.

An embodiment of the present application provides a computer storage medium, which stores a computer program, and the computer program includes the method for executing the above flow control.

An embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product including instructions, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute the flow control method provided above.

Those skilled in the art can appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are executed by hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be regarded as exceeding the scope of the present application.

Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that for the convenience and brevity of the description, the specific working process of the above-described system, device and unit can refer to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the device embodiments described above are only illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and there may be differences in actual implementation. In other divisions, for example, multiple units or components may be combined or may be integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not implemented. In another point, the mutual communication connections shown or discussed may be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, and may be in electrical, mechanical or other forms.

In addition, each unit in the device embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, each unit may exist separately physically, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

It can be understood that the processor in the embodiment of the present application may be a central processing unit (central processing unit, CPU), and may also be other general processors, digital signal processors (digital signal processor, DSP), application specific integrated circuits (application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field programmable gate array (field programmable gate array, FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor, or any conventional processor.

The methods in the embodiments of the present application may be fully or partially implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product comprises one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on the computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are executed in whole or in part. The computer can be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer program or instructions may be stored in or transmitted via a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer, or a data storage device such as a server integrating one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetic tape; it may also be an optical medium, such as a CD-ROM, DVD; it may also be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid state disk (solid state disk, SSD), random Access memory (random access memory, RAM), read-only memory (read-only memory, ROM) and registers, etc.

Those skilled in the art should understand that the embodiments of the present application may be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Accordingly, the present application may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present application may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

The present application is described with reference to flowcharts and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that each procedure and/or block in the flowchart and/or block diagram, and a combination of procedures and/or blocks in the flowchart and/or block diagram can be realized by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or processor of other programmable data processing equipment to produce a machine such that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing equipment produce a An apparatus for realizing the functions specified in one or more procedures of the flowchart and/or one or more blocks of the block diagram.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory capable of directing a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to operate in a specific manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture comprising instruction means, the instructions The device realizes the function specified in one or more procedures of the flowchart and/or one or more blocks of the block diagram.

These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device, causing a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby The instructions provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flow chart or blocks of the flowchart and/or the block or blocks of the block diagrams.

While preferred embodiments of the present application have been described, additional changes and modifications to these embodiments can be made by those skilled in the art once the basic inventive concept is appreciated. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to be construed to cover the preferred embodiment and all changes and modifications which fall within the scope of the application.

Apparently, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the embodiments of the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present application. In this way, if the modifications and variations of the embodiments of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalent technologies, the present application also intends to include these modifications and variations.

Claims (26)

1. A method of flow control, the method comprising:

a server receives a first message sent by a client, wherein the first message is used for indicating that the client supports flow control; the first message includes: a second traffic control policy being executed by the client;

the server sends a second message aiming at the first message to the client, wherein the second message comprises a first flow control strategy, the first flow control strategy is used for determining a first number of service request messages which are allowed to be sent to the server by the client, and the first number is an integer which is greater than or equal to 0; the second traffic control strategy is used for determining the first traffic control strategy; and the second message is used for indicating the client to carry out flow control according to the first flow control strategy.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

and when the server side is in a congestion state, determining the first flow control strategy according to the flow processing capacity of the server side.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, further comprising:

the server receives a fifth message from a superior server, where the fifth message includes a third flow control policy, the third flow control policy is used to determine a third number of service request messages that the server is allowed to send to the superior server, and the third number is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

and the server side determines the first flow control strategy according to the local strategy and the third flow control strategy of the server side.

5. The method of claim 1, 2 or 4, wherein the first traffic control policy comprises at least one of:

the effective time of the first flow control strategy, a flow control mode, the type of a service request message, the generation time of the first flow control strategy and an incremental counter;

wherein, the flow control mode comprises: sending the service request messages exceeding the first number to other service terminals for processing or discarding the service request messages exceeding the first number; the increment counter is used for judging whether the first flow control strategy is the latest flow control strategy or not.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the server receives a third message sent by the client, wherein the third message comprises a first flow control strategy executed by the client;

and the server sends a fourth message aiming at the third message to the client under the condition of determining that the congestion state is relieved, wherein the fourth message is used for indicating the relief of the congestion state of the server.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the fourth message comprises a first field for indicating a congestion status, and wherein the congestion status release of the server is indicated by a value of the first field.

8. A method of flow control, the method comprising:

a client sends a first message to a server, wherein the first message is used for indicating that the client supports flow control; the first message includes: a second traffic control policy being executed by the client;

the client receives a second message aiming at the first message from the server, wherein the second message comprises a first flow control strategy, the first flow control strategy is used for determining a first number of service request messages which are allowed to be sent to the server by the client, the first number is an integer larger than or equal to 0, and the second flow control strategy is used for determining the first flow control strategy;

and the client controls the flow according to the first flow control strategy.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first traffic control policy comprises at least one of:

the effective time of the first flow control strategy, the flow control mode, the type of the service request message, the generation time of the first flow control strategy and an incremental counter;

wherein, the flow control mode comprises: and sending the service request messages exceeding the first quantity to other service terminals for processing or discarding the service request messages exceeding the first quantity, wherein the increment counter is used for judging whether the first flow control strategy is the latest flow control strategy.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein if the first traffic control policy includes a generation time of the first traffic control policy, the client, before performing traffic control according to the first traffic control policy, further comprises:

the client determines that a generation time of a second traffic control policy being executed is earlier than a generation time of the first traffic control policy.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein if the incremented counter is included in the first traffic control policy, the client, prior to controlling traffic according to the first traffic control policy, further comprises:

the client compares the incremented counter in the first traffic control policy to the incremented counter of the executing second traffic control policy to determine to use the first traffic control policy.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

the client sends a third message to the server, wherein the third message comprises a first flow control strategy executed by the client;

the client receives a fourth message aiming at the third message of the server, wherein the fourth message is used for indicating the congestion state of the server to be relieved;

the client no longer executes the first traffic control policy.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the fourth message comprises a first field for indicating a congestion status, and wherein a congestion status relief of the server is indicated by a value of the first field.

14. A communications apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

a receiving and sending module, configured to receive a first message sent by a client, where the first message is used to indicate that the client supports flow control; the first message includes: a second traffic control policy being executed by the client; and sending a second message for the first message to the client, the second message including a first traffic control policy for determining a first number of service request messages the client is allowed to send to the device, the first number being an integer greater than or equal to 0; the second traffic control policy is used to determine the first traffic control policy; and the second message is used for indicating the client to carry out flow control according to the first flow control strategy.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising:

and the processing module is used for determining the first flow control strategy according to the flow processing capacity of the device when the device is in the congestion state.

16. The apparatus of claim 14 or 15, wherein the transceiver module is further configured to receive a fifth message from a superior server, the fifth message comprising a third flow control policy, the third flow control policy being configured to determine a third number of service request messages that the apparatus is allowed to send to the superior server, the third number being an integer greater than or equal to 0.

17. The apparatus as recited in claim 16, further comprising:

and the processing module is used for determining the first flow control strategy according to the local strategy of the device and the third flow control strategy.

18. The apparatus of claim 14, 15 or 17, wherein the first traffic control policy comprises at least one of:

the effective time of the first flow control strategy, the flow control mode, the type of the service request message, the generation time of the first flow control strategy and an incremental counter;

wherein, the flow control mode comprises: sending the service request messages exceeding the first number to other devices for processing or discarding the service request messages exceeding the first number; the increment counter is used for judging whether the first flow control strategy is the latest flow control strategy.

19. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the transceiver module is further configured to receive a third message sent by the client, the third message comprising a first traffic control policy being executed by the client; and in the event that congestion status release is determined, sending a fourth message for the third message to the client, the fourth message indicating congestion status release of the apparatus.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein a first field for indicating a congestion state is included in the fourth message, and wherein a congestion state release of the apparatus is indicated by a value of the first field.

21. A communications apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

a transceiver module, configured to send a first message to a server, where the first message is used to indicate that the apparatus supports flow control; the first message comprises: a second traffic control policy being executed by the device; receiving a second message aiming at the first message from the server, wherein the second message comprises a first flow control strategy, the first flow control strategy is used for determining a first number of service request messages allowed to be sent to the server by the device, the first number is an integer larger than or equal to 0, and the second flow control strategy is used for determining the first flow control strategy;

and the processing module is used for controlling the flow according to the first flow control strategy.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the first traffic control policy comprises at least one of:

the effective time of the first flow control strategy, a flow control mode, the type of a service request message, the generation time of the first flow control strategy and an incremental counter;

wherein, the flow control mode comprises: and sending the service request messages exceeding the first quantity to other service terminals for processing or discarding the service request messages exceeding the first quantity, wherein the increment counter is used for judging whether the first flow control strategy is the latest flow control strategy.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein if the first flow control policy includes a generation time of the first flow control policy, the processing module, before being configured to perform flow control according to the first flow control policy, is further configured to: determining that a generation time of a second traffic control policy being executed is earlier than a generation time of the first traffic control policy.

24. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein if the incremented counter is included in the first flow control policy, the processing module, prior to being configured to control flow in accordance with the first flow control policy, is further configured to: comparing the incremented counter in the first traffic control policy to the incremented counter of the executing second traffic control policy to determine to use the first traffic control policy.

25. The apparatus of claim 21, further comprising:

the transceiver module is further configured to send a third message to the server, where the third message includes a first traffic control policy being executed by the apparatus; receiving a fourth message aiming at the third message of the server, wherein the fourth message is used for indicating the congestion state release of the server;

the processing module is further configured to determine that the first flow control policy is no longer to be executed.

26. A communication system, comprising: a server and a client;

the client is used for:

sending a first message to the server, wherein the first message is used for indicating that the client supports flow control; the first message includes: a second traffic control policy being executed by the client;

receiving a second message aiming at the first message from the server, wherein the second message comprises a first flow control strategy, the first flow control strategy is used for determining a first number of service request messages allowed to be sent to the server by the client, the first number is an integer greater than or equal to 0, and the second flow control strategy is used for determining the first flow control strategy;

flow control is carried out according to the first flow control strategy;

the server is used for:

receiving the first message sent by the client;

sending the second message for the first message to the client.

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