CN113068232B

CN113068232B - Switching method and device of edge application server

Info

Publication number: CN113068232B
Application number: CN202010002217.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 陶源
Original assignee: Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Current assignee: Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-01-02
Filing date: 2020-01-02
Publication date: 2022-06-07
Anticipated expiration: 2040-01-02
Also published as: CN113068232A

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a switching method and a device of an edge application server, wherein the method comprises the following steps: receiving a notification message sent by an SMF network element or an AMF network element, wherein the notification message comprises the current target geographical position information of the terminal, or comprises the current target geographical position information of the terminal and a current corresponding target DNAI; sending the notification message to edge service equipment which is currently accessed by the terminal so that the edge service equipment determines whether to perform EAS (electronic article surveillance) switching according to the target geographical location information or the target geographical location information and the target DNAI; wherein the edge service device is a source EAS or an edge application platform. The embodiment realizes timely switching of EAS.

Description

Switching method and device of edge application server

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for switching an edge application server.

Background

The Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) technology migrates the Computing storage capacity and the business service capacity to the network Edge, so that data does not need to be transmitted back to the cloud as much as possible, and the waiting time of the data to and from the cloud and the network cost are reduced. Based on a 5G distributed cloud infrastructure, a 5G user plane and 5G MEC nodes are constructed in an edge cloud mode, and the 5G MEC nodes provide an MEC application platform to achieve deployment and management capacity of third-party applications. A user may obtain services through the MEC application.

In addition, 5G defines an Application Function (AF) Network element, where the AF Network element sends an AF request to a Network open Function (NEF) Network element or a Policy Control Function (PCF) Network element, where the AF request includes a series of parameters such as a target Data Network Name (DNN), an Application ID, N6 routing requirements, and an Application location. The PCF network element generates Policy Control and Charging (PCC) rules for a service flow of a Protocol Data Unit Session (PDU Session) according to the information parameters provided by the AF network element in combination with its own Policy Control, and selects an appropriate User Plane Function (UPF) network element for the service flow through a Session Management Function (SMF). The MEC provides functions of application infrastructure resource orchestration, application instantiation, application rule configuration, and the like. Thus, when an MEC is deployed in a 5G system, the MEC may also act as an AF role, interacting with the 5G system control plane on behalf of applications deployed on the MEC.

In a 5G core Network, an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) Network element can monitor whether a terminal (User Equipment, UE) is located in a Local Area Data Network (LADN) service Area, and notify the SMF Network element of this information, and the AF Network element can subscribe to the SMF Network element a change state whether the UE is located in the LADN service Area, PDU session anchor point change, Data Network Access Identifier (DNAI) change, and the like; when the UE moves out of the LADN service area and the currently serving PDU session anchor changes or the DNAI changes, the SMF will send notification of these changes to the AF.

However, the UE mobility monitoring is based on the LADN service area, which results in that Edge Application Server (EAS) handover cannot be performed in time, thereby causing a problem that continuity of the Edge Application service cannot be guaranteed.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a switching method and a switching device of an edge application server, which are used for ensuring the service continuity of edge application.

The embodiment of the invention provides a switching method of an edge application server, which is applied to an AF network element and comprises the following steps:

receiving a notification message sent by a Session Management Function (SMF) network element or an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, wherein the notification message comprises the current target geographical position information of a terminal, or comprises the current target geographical position information of the terminal and a current corresponding target Data Network Access Identifier (DNAI);

sending the notification message to edge service equipment which is currently accessed by the terminal so that the edge service equipment determines whether to perform edge application server EAS switching according to the target geographical location information or the target geographical location information and the target DNAI; wherein the edge service device is a source EAS or an edge application platform.

The embodiment of the invention provides a switching method of an edge application server, which is applied to a Session Management Function (SMF) network element and comprises the following steps:

when determining that the terminal moves out of a service area of a source Edge Application Server (EAS) or a source Edge Data Network (EDN) which is accessed currently, sending a notification message to an Application Function (AF) network element so that the AF network element sends the notification message to edge service equipment and the edge service equipment performs EAS switching according to the notification message;

wherein the edge service device is a source EAS or an edge application platform; the notification message comprises the current target geographical position information of the terminal, or comprises the current target geographical position information of the terminal and the current corresponding target data network access identification DNAI.

The embodiment of the invention provides a switching method of an edge application server, which is applied to an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element and comprises the following steps:

sending a notification message to an Application Function (AF) network element so that the AF network element sends the notification message to edge service equipment which is currently accessed by a terminal and the edge service equipment performs EAS (electronic article surveillance) switching according to the notification message; the edge service device is a source edge application server EAS or an edge application platform, and the notification message includes the current target geographical location information of the terminal.

The embodiment of the invention provides a switching method of an edge application server, which is applied to edge service equipment, wherein the edge service equipment is a source Edge Application Server (EAS) or an edge application platform, and the switching method comprises the following steps:

receiving a notification message sent by an Application Function (AF) network element, wherein the notification message comprises current target geographical position information of a terminal, or comprises the current target geographical position information of the terminal and a current corresponding target Data Network Access Identifier (DNAI);

and determining whether to perform EAS handover according to the target geographical location information or the target geographical location information and the target DNAI.

The embodiment of the invention provides a switching device of an edge application server, which is applied to an application function AF network element and comprises the following components:

a receiving module, configured to receive a notification message sent by a session management function SMF network element or an access and mobility management function AMF network element, where the notification message includes information of a current target geographical location of a terminal, or includes information of the current target geographical location of the terminal and a current corresponding target data network access identifier DNAI;

a sending module, configured to send the notification message to an edge service device currently accessed by the terminal, so that the edge service device determines whether to perform edge application server EAS handover according to the target geographic location information or according to the target geographic location information and a target DNAI; wherein the edge service device is a source EAS or an edge application platform.

The embodiment of the invention provides a switching device of an edge application server, which is applied to a Session Management Function (SMF) network element and comprises the following components:

a sending module, configured to send a notification message to an application function AF network element when it is determined that the terminal moves out of a service area of a source edge application server EAS or a source edge data network EDN that is currently accessed, so that the AF network element sends the notification message to an edge service device, and the edge service device performs EAS handover according to the notification message;

The embodiment of the invention provides a switching device of an edge application server, which is applied to an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element and comprises the following components:

a sending module, configured to send a notification message to an application function AF network element, so that the AF network element sends the notification message to an edge service device to which a terminal is currently accessed, and the edge service device performs EAS switching according to the notification message; the edge service device is a source edge application server EAS or an edge application platform, and the notification message includes the current target geographical location information of the terminal.

The embodiment of the invention provides a switching device of an edge application server, which is applied to edge service equipment, wherein the edge service equipment is a source edge application server EAS or an edge application platform, and the switching device comprises:

a receiving module, configured to receive a notification message sent by an application function AF network element, where the notification message includes target geographic location information where a terminal is currently located, or includes the target geographic location information where the terminal is currently located and a target data network access identifier DNAI corresponding to the terminal currently;

and the determining module is used for determining whether to perform EAS switching according to the target geographical location information or according to the target geographical location information and the target DNAI.

The embodiment of the invention provides an AF network element, which comprises a memory, a processor and a computer program which is stored on the memory and can be run on the processor, wherein the processor executes the computer program to realize the following steps:

The embodiment of the invention provides an SMF network element, which comprises a memory, a processor and a computer program which is stored on the memory and can be run on the processor, wherein the processor executes the computer program to realize the following steps:

The embodiment of the invention provides an AMF network element, which comprises a memory, a processor and a computer program which is stored on the memory and can be run on the processor, wherein the processor executes the computer program to realize the following steps:

The embodiment of the invention provides an edge service device, which is a source EAS or an edge application platform and comprises a memory, a processor and a computer program stored on the memory and capable of running on the processor, wherein the processor executes the computer program to realize the following steps:

Embodiments of the present invention provide a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program, which when executed by a processor, performs the steps of the above-described method.

According to the switching method and device of the edge application server provided by the embodiment of the invention, the notification message is sent to the AF network element when the terminal is determined to move out of the source EAS or EDN service area, so that when the AF network element sends the notification message to the source EAS or edge application platform, the source EAS or edge application platform can perform EAS switching based on the target geographical position information in the notification message or the target geographical position information and the target DNAI, the problem that the edge service equipment cannot be switched in time due to the fact that the EAS service area is smaller than the LADN service area or the EDN and LADN service areas are different when the terminal mobility monitoring is performed based on the LADN service area in the prior art is solved, and the timeliness of the EAS switching is ensured.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present invention, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a flowchart illustrating steps of a handover method applied to an edge application server of an AF network element according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating steps of a handover method applied to an edge application server of an SMF network element according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating steps of a handover method applied to an edge application server of an AMF network element according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating steps of a handover method applied to an edge application server of an edge service device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic interaction diagram between devices in the first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic interaction diagram between devices in the second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic interaction diagram between devices in the second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a block diagram of a switching device of an edge application server applied to an AF network element according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a block diagram of a switching device of an edge application server applied to an SMF network element according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a block diagram of a switching device of an edge application server applied to an AMF network element according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 11 is a block diagram of a switching device of an edge application server applied to an edge service device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of an AF network element in an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of an SMF network element in the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of an AMF network element in an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of an edge service device in an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

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

In a 5G system supporting edge computing, the edge deployment design needs to be optimized in consideration of terminal mobility and EAS handover. However, in the current technical solution, for the EAS handover triggered by the terminal mobility, support for the edge application characteristics is not considered, for example, a plurality of EAS service areas may be deployed in a Local data network (Local DN), and at this time, because the EAS service area has a smaller granularity than the Local DN, the current mechanism cannot know whether the UE is located in the EAS service area. In addition, 3GPP SA6 defines an Edge Data Network (EDN) service Area for Edge computation, which may be represented as a cell List, Tracking Area List (TA), and Public Land Mobile Network identity (PLMN ID). At this time, based on the edge computing deployment defined by 3GPP SA6, the service areas of EDN and LADN may be different. Therefore, according to the prior art, when the UE moves without causing a DNAI change but moves out of the EAS service area, the SMF does not notify the EAS, thereby causing a failure to perform an EAS handover in time; in addition, when the DNAI of the service changes due to the movement of the UE, but the EAS cannot know that the UE leaves the EAS/EDN service area through the notification information, and the location of the UE is not provided, the optimal EAS cannot be reselected; this all causes a problem that the continuity of the edge application service cannot be guaranteed. In this regard, the following embodiments are provided to ensure the continuity of the edge application service, and the present invention is described in detail below:

as shown in fig. 1, a flowchart of a step of a method for switching an edge application server applied to an AF network element in an embodiment of the present invention is shown, where the method includes the following steps:

step 101: and receiving the notification message sent by the SMF network element or the AMF network element.

In this step, specifically, the notification message sent by the SMF network element or the AMF network element and received by the AF network element may include the current target geographical location information of the terminal, or include the current target geographical location information of the terminal and the current corresponding target DNAI.

Therefore, the mobile monitoring of the terminal based on the geographical position of the terminal is realized by including the current target geographical position information of the terminal in the passing message or including the current target geographical position information of the terminal and the current corresponding target DNAI.

Step 102: and sending the notification message to the edge service equipment currently accessed by the terminal.

In this step, specifically, the AF network element may send the received notification message to the edge service device to which the terminal is currently accessed.

In particular, the edge service device may be a source EAS or an edge application platform.

In addition, specifically, the AF network element may be deployed on the edge service device, so as to save communication resources.

In addition, specifically, by sending the notification message to the edge service device, the edge service device can determine whether to perform EAS handover according to the target geographical location information or according to the target geographical location information and the target DNAI.

Namely, the source EAS or the edge application platform can acquire the current target geographical position of the terminal, so that when the terminal moves out of the EAS or EDN service area, the source EAS or the edge application server can perform EAS switching based on the target geographical position information or according to the target geographical position information and the target DNAI, thereby avoiding the problem that edge service equipment cannot be switched in time due to the fact that the EAS service area is smaller than the LADN service area when the terminal mobility monitoring is performed based on the LADN service area in the prior art, avoiding the problem of discontinuous edge application service, and ensuring the continuity of the edge application service.

Of course, it should be noted that the notification message may further include indication information of whether the terminal is located in the source EAS or the source EDN service area, or include indication information of whether the terminal is located in the source EAS service area, the source EDN service area, or the source LADN. This enables the source EAS or edge application platform to know whether the terminal has moved out of the source EAS service area, the source EDN service area, or the source LADN service area during the move.

Specifically, when receiving the notification message sent by the SMF network element, the AF network element may receive the notification message sent by the SMF network element through the NEF network element; or receiving a notification message directly sent by the SMF network element.

At this time, when the AF network element receives the notification message sent by the SMF network element through the NEF network element, the SMF network element may send the notification message to the NEF network element by invoking an event open notification (Nsmf _ EventExposure _ Notify) service operation, and the NEF network element triggers a tracking control notification (Nnef _ trafficlnnfluence _ Notify) service operation again, and forwards the notification message to the AF network element; in addition, when the AF network element receives the notification message directly sent by the SMF network element, the SMF network element may directly send the notification message to the AF network element by invoking an event release notification (Nsmf _ evendexposure _ Notify).

Furthermore, further, if the AF network element receives the notification message sent by the AMF network element, before receiving the notification message sent by the AMF network element, a request message needs to be sent to the AMF network element through the NEF network element, where the request message includes EAS and/or EDN service area information.

The AMF network element can monitor whether the terminal moves out of the service area or not based on the LADN service area known in advance and the EAS and/or EDN service area information included in the request message, so that the event report can be carried out when the terminal moves out of the service area, namely, the notification message is sent to the AF network element, and the AF network element is notified of the current target geographical position information of the terminal.

It should be noted that, of course, an Area of Interest (Area of Interest) parameter may also be set in the request message as the LADN service Area, and an Event Reporting Information (Event Reporting Information) parameter may also be set as a monitoring Event triggered based on the Event, and includes Information such as a terminal identifier.

In addition, specifically, when the AF network element sends the request message to the AMF network element through the NEF network element, the AF network element may send the request message to the AF subscriber terminal mobility event, that is, the AF network element may send the request message to the NEF network element first, where the request message may be an event subscription request message (Nnef _ EventExposure _ Subscribe), and then the NEF network element sends the request message to the AMF network element, and the request message sent by the NEF network element may be an event subscription request message (Namf _ EventExposure _ Subscribe) to the terminal mobility event. In addition, it should be noted that the event notification node may also be set as an AF network element in the request message, so that the AMF network element can directly communicate with the AF network element during subsequent event notification; and if the terminal mobility event subscription is confirmed by the AMF network element, the AMF network element may record the event trigger condition, the identifier of the AF network element, and the EAS and/or EDN service area information included in the request message, and reply a confirm event subscription request Response (Namf _ EventExposure _ Subscribe Response) message to the NEF network element.

In addition, further, after sending the notification message to the edge service device currently accessed by the terminal, the AF network element may also receive an indication message sent by the edge service device when switching the EAS accessed by the terminal from the source EAS to the target EAS, and send the indication message to the SMF network element;

the indication message includes EAS information of the target EAS, or EAS information of the target EAS, the modified DNAI when the edge service device determines that the DNAI of the terminal needs to be modified, and N6 traffic routing information corresponding to the modified DNAI, or EAS information of the target EAS and N6 traffic routing information corresponding to the target DNAI.

Specifically, when the indication message is sent to the SMF network element, the indication message may be sent to the SMF network element through the NEF network element, or the indication message may be directly sent to the SMF network element.

That is, the edge service device may send an indication message to the AF network element when switching the EAS accessed by the terminal from the source EAS to the target EAS, so that the AF network element may forward the indication message to the SMF network element, and further, the SMF network element may send the EAS information of the target EAS in the indication message to the terminal through the AMF network element, for example, the EAS information of the target EAS may be sent to the terminal through a PDU Session Modification Command (PDU Session Modification Command) message.

In addition, it should be noted herein that the EAS information includes an application identification (APP ID) and an Internet Protocol (IP) of the target EAS.

The EAS service Area may be mapped to a set of cell identities or Tracking Area Identities (TAIs).

In addition, specifically, when the indication message is sent to the SMF network element through the NEF network element, a service operation of the Nnef _ traffic influence _ application switching information (Nnef _ TrafficInfluence _ apprelocation info) may be called to send the indication message to the NEF network element, and the NEF network element triggers a service operation of the Nsmf _ event open _ application switching information (Nsmf _ EventExposure _ apprelocation info) and sends the indication message to the SMF network element. Of course, when directly sending the indication message to the SMF network element, the AF network element may send the indication message to the SMF network element by invoking an Nsmf _ EventExposure _ AppRelocationInfo service operation.

Specifically, the indication message is sent to the SMF network element, so that the SMF network element and the terminal know the EAS information of the target EAS to which the terminal is currently accessed.

Thus, the AF network element in this embodiment receives the notification message sent by the SMF network element or the AMF network element, where the notification message includes the current target geographical location information of the terminal, or includes the current target geographical location information of the terminal and the current corresponding target DNAI, so that when the notification message is sent to the edge service device currently accessed by the terminal, such as the source EAS or the edge application platform, the source EAS or the edge application platform can know the current target geographical location of the terminal, so that when the terminal moves out of the EAS or EDN service area, the source EAS or the edge application server can perform the EAS handover based on the target geographical location information or based on the target geographical location information and the target DNAI, thereby avoiding that the edge service device cannot perform the handover in time due to the fact that the EAS service area is smaller than the LADN service area or the EDN is different from the LADN service area when the terminal mobility monitoring is performed based on the LADN service area in the prior art The continuity of the edge application service is ensured.

In addition, as shown in fig. 2, a flowchart of a step of a handover method applied to an edge application server of an SMF network element in the embodiment of the present invention is shown, where the method includes the following steps:

step 201: and when determining that the terminal moves out of the service area of the source EAS or the source EDN which is accessed currently, sending a notification message to an AF network element.

Specifically, the notification message includes the current target geographical location information of the terminal, or includes the current target geographical location information of the terminal and the current corresponding target DNAI.

It should be noted that the granularity of the geographic location where the terminal is located may depend on the granularity at which the AMF network element can obtain the location, for example, the cell identifier of the serving cell where the terminal is located.

Specifically, when the SMF network element sends the notification message to the edge service device through the AF network element when it is determined that the terminal moves out of the currently accessed source EAS or source EDN service area, the edge service device can obtain the target geographical location information of the terminal currently located in real time when the terminal moves out of the current service area, so that EAS handover can be performed based on the target geographical location information, and then timely handover of EAS in the terminal moving process is realized.

Further, in particular, the edge service device may be a source EAS or an edge application platform.

Therefore, the SMF network element sends the notification message to the AF network element when determining that the terminal moves out of the source EAS or EDN service area, so that when the AF network element sends the notification message to the source EAS or edge application platform, the source EAS or edge application platform can perform EAS switching based on the target geographical position information in the notification message or the target geographical position information and the target DNAI, the problem that in the prior art, when terminal mobility monitoring is performed based on the LADN service area, the edge service equipment cannot be switched in time due to the fact that the EAS service area is smaller than the LADN service area or the EDN and LADN service areas are different is solved, and the timeliness of the EAS switching is guaranteed.

Specifically, it should be noted that when it is determined that the terminal is moving out of the source EAS or source EDN service area, the DNAI corresponding to the terminal does not change, and the notification message includes the target geographical location information; when the terminal is determined to move out of the source EAS or source EDN service area and the DNAI corresponding to the terminal changes, the notification message comprises the target geographical location information and the current corresponding target DNAI.

Based on the fact that a plurality of EAS may be deployed in the LADN, that is, the granularity of the EAS service area is smaller than that of the LADN, when the terminal moves out of the source EAS or source EDN service area, the DNAI corresponding to the terminal may change, and if the DNAI corresponding to the terminal does not change, that is, does not move out of the source LADN service area, the information that must be included in the notification message only needs to include the target geographical location information of the terminal at present, so that the source EAS may directly determine the target EAS to be switched according to the target geographical location information; in addition, if the DNAI corresponding to the terminal changes, that is, moves out of the source LADN service area, the notification message further needs to include a target DNAI currently corresponding to the terminal after moving out of the source LADN service area, so that the source EAS can know the LADN service area where the terminal is currently located.

Specifically, the notification message may further include indication information of whether the terminal is located in the source EAS or source EDN service area, so that the edge service device can know whether the terminal is currently located in the original service area.

At this time, a parameter may be set whether the terminal is located in the source EAS or source EDN service area, for example, if the parameter value is set to "OUT", it indicates that the terminal is not currently located in the source EAS or source EDN service area; if the parameter value is set to "IN," it indicates that the terminal is located within the source EAS or source EDN service area.

It should also be noted that the EAS service Area may be mapped to a set of cell identifiers or Tracking Area Identifiers (TAIs).

In addition, when the SMF network element sends the notification message to the AF network element, the notification message may be sent to the AF network element through the NEF network element; or directly sending the notification message to the AF network element. It should be noted that, the two sending manners may refer to the same parts in the above method embodiment at the AF network element side, and are not described herein again.

Further, before sending the notification message to the AF network element, the SMF network element also needs to pre-configure EAS and/or EDN service area information on the SMF network element; or receiving the EAS service area information sent by the AF network element; or receiving the information whether the terminal is located in the service area of the source EAS or the source EDN and the target geographical position information, wherein the information is sent by the AMF network element. Therefore, the SMF network element can acquire the EAS service area information, the EDN service area information and/or the target geographical position information, namely the SMF network element can acquire the service area where the terminal is located and the current geographical position where the terminal is located.

That is, before the SMF network element sends the notification message to the AF network element, the EAS and/or EDN service area information may be configured on the SMF network element, or the EAS service area information may be provided to the SMF network element by an AF request mechanism; of course, if only the AMF network element learns the EAS and/or EDN service area information, the SMF network element may receive, in a manner of subscribing to the AMF network element, information of whether the terminal is located in the source EAS or source EDN service area and the current target geographical location information sent by the AMF network element.

Furthermore, after sending the notification message to the AF network element, the SMF network element may receive an indication message sent by the AF network element, where the indication message is sent by the edge service device to the AF network element when switching the EAS accessed by the terminal from the source EAS to the target EAS, and the indication message includes EAS information of the target EAS, or includes EAS information of the target EAS, DNAI changed when the edge service device determines that the DNAI of the terminal needs to be changed, and N6 traffic routing information corresponding to the changed DNAI, or includes EAS information of the target EAS and N6 traffic routing information corresponding to the target DNAI; and then determining a corresponding UPF network element according to the changed DNAI or the target DNAI, and sending the EAS information of the target EAS to the terminal through the AMF network element.

Specifically, when the SMF network element receives the indication message, and the indication message includes the EAS information of the target EAS, the modified DNAI, and the N6 traffic routing information corresponding to the modified DNAI, or includes the EAS information of the target EAS and the N6 traffic routing information corresponding to the target DNAI, the SMF network element may select the UPF network element capable of serving the DNAI according to the modified DNAI or the target DNAI; of course, if the indication message only includes the EAS information of the target EAS, the SMF network element may determine whether to reselect the UPF network element according to the existing mechanism; at this time, if there is a Branch Point (BP) or an Uplink Classifier (UL CL) multi-anchor Point, a new BP or UL CL may be selected for the PDU session, and the Uplink and downlink traffic may be updated.

In addition, specifically, when the SMF network element sends the EAS information of the target EAS to the terminal through the AMF network element, the SMF network element may send the EAS information of the target EAS to the terminal through a PDU Session Modification Command message.

By determining the UPF network element and sending the EAS information of the target EAS to the terminal, the normal transmission of data and the accurate acquisition of the EAS information of the currently accessed target EAS by the terminal are ensured.

In this way, in the embodiment, the notification message is sent to the AF network element when it is determined that the terminal moves out of the source EAS or EDN service area, so that when the AF network element sends the notification message to the source EAS or edge application platform, the source EAS or edge application platform can perform EAS handover based on the target geographical location information in the notification message, or the target geographical location information and the target DNAI, thereby ensuring timeliness of EAS handover.

In addition, as shown in fig. 3, a flowchart of a step of a handover method applied to an edge application server of an AMF network element in the embodiment of the present invention is shown, where the method includes the following steps:

step 301: and sending a notification message to the AF network element.

Specifically, the notification message includes information of a target geographical location where the terminal is currently located.

Therefore, the AF network element can send the notification message to the edge service equipment which is accessed by the terminal at present by sending the notification message to the AF network element, and the edge service equipment carries out EAS switching according to the notification message, so that the EAS switching of the edge service equipment based on the target geographical position is realized, the problem that the edge service equipment cannot be switched in time due to the fact that the EAS service area is smaller than the LADN service area or the EDN and LADN service areas are different when the mobility of the terminal is monitored based on the LADN service area in the prior art is solved, and the timeliness of the EAS switching is ensured.

Specifically, the edge service device is a source EAS or edge application platform.

It should be noted that the notification message further includes indication information of whether the terminal is located in the source EAS, the source EDN service area, or the source LADN, so that the edge service device can know whether the terminal is currently located in the original service area.

In addition, specifically, when the AMF network element sends the notification message to the AF network element, the notification message may be sent to the AF network element when the AMF network element stores EAS and/or EDN service area information and detects that the terminal moves out of an original EAS or original EDN service area; or when the AMF network element does not store the EAS and EDN service area information and detects that the terminal moves out of the current source LADN, sending a notification message to the AF network element. Therefore, when the terminal moves out of the source EAS or source EDN service area or moves out of the source LADN, the edge service equipment can acquire the current target geographical position information of the terminal in real time, so that EAS switching can be performed based on the target geographical position information, and the timely switching of the EAS in the terminal moving process is realized.

Further, before sending the notification message to the AF network element, the AMF network element needs to receive a request message sent by the AF network element through the NEF network element, where the request message includes EAS and/or EDN service area information.

By including the EAS and/or EDN service area message in the request message, the AMF is enabled to determine whether the terminal moves out of the EAS and/or EDN service area according to the EAS and/or EDN service area information, and to notify the edge service device of the terminal location information through the AF network element when the terminal moves out of the EAS and/or EDN service area.

In addition, it should be noted that, for the process of the AMF network element receiving the request message sent by the AF network element through the NEF network element, reference may be made to corresponding parts in the embodiment of the AF network element side, which is not described herein again.

In this way, in this embodiment, the notification message is sent to the AF network element, and the notification message includes the information of the target geographical position where the terminal is currently located, so that when the AF network element sends the notification message to the edge service device, the edge service device can perform EAS switching according to the notification message, thereby implementing EAS switching based on the target geographical position by the edge service device, and ensuring timeliness of the EAS switching.

In addition, as shown in fig. 4, a flowchart of a step of a method for switching an edge application server applied to an edge service device in the embodiment of the present invention is shown, where the method includes the following steps:

step 401: and receiving the notification message sent by the AF network element.

In this step, specifically, the notification message includes the current target geographical location information of the terminal, or includes the current target geographical location information of the terminal and the current corresponding target DNAI. The method enables the edge service equipment to determine whether to perform the EAS switching according to the target geographical location information or the target geographical location information and the target DNAI, thereby ensuring the timeliness of the EAS switching.

It should be further noted that the notification message further includes indication information of whether the terminal is located in the source EAS or the source EDN service area, or includes indication information of whether the terminal is located in the source EAS service area, the source EDN service area, or the source LADN. This enables the edge service device to know whether the terminal is currently in the original service area.

Step 402: determining whether to perform the EAS handover according to the target geographical location information or according to the target geographical location information and the target DNAI.

In this step, specifically, the edge service device may determine whether to perform the EAS handover only according to the target geographical location information, or determine whether to perform the EAS handover simultaneously according to the target geographical location information and the target DNAI. The two modes are explained below:

firstly, the edge service equipment determines whether to perform EAS switching according to the target geographical location information:

at this time, when it is determined that the terminal is located in a target EAS service area other than the source EAS service area according to the target geographical location information, the EAS accessed by the terminal may be switched from the source EAS to the target EAS.

Specifically, in this way, after the EAS accessed by the terminal is switched from the source EAS to the target EAS, an indication message may be sent to the AF network element; wherein the indication message includes EAS information of the target EAS when it is determined that the DNAI of the terminal does not need to be changed; when the DNAI of the terminal is determined to need to be changed, the indication message comprises the EAS information of the target EAS, the changed DNAI and N6 traffic routing information corresponding to the changed DNAI.

Specifically, the edge service device may select a target EAS based on the target geographical location information and determine whether the DNAI needs to be modified. At this time, if the DNAI does not need to be changed, only the EAS information (APP ID and EAS IP) of the target EAS needs to be included in the indication message; certainly, if the DNAI needs to be changed, the indication message needs to include the EAS information of the target EAS, the changed DNAI, and the N6 traffic routing information corresponding to the changed DNAI, so that the SMF network element can select the corresponding UPF network element based on the changed DNAI, thereby ensuring normal transmission of traffic.

Secondly, determining whether to perform EAS switching according to the target geographical location information and the target DNAI:

at this time, a target LADN or a target EDN where the terminal is currently located may be determined according to the target DNAI, then at least one EAS corresponding to the target LADN or the target EDN is determined according to the target LADN or the target EDN where the terminal is currently located, and finally, when it is determined that the terminal is located in a target EAS service area of at least one EAS according to the target geographical location information, the EAS accessed by the terminal is switched from the source EAS to the target EAS, where the target EAS is any one of the at least one EAS.

Therefore, whether the EAS is switched or not is determined according to the target DNAI and the target geographical position information, so that double determination processes are realized, and the accuracy of the switched target EAS is ensured.

Specifically, in this manner, after the EAS accessed by the terminal is switched from the source EAS to the target EAS, an indication message may be sent to the AF network element, where the indication message includes EAS information of the target EAS and N6 traffic routing information corresponding to the target DNAI. Therefore, the SMF network element can select the corresponding UPF network element based on the target DNAI, thereby ensuring the normal transmission of the flow and enabling the terminal to know the accessed target EAS.

Therefore, the edge service equipment determines whether to perform EAS switching according to the target geographical position information, or determines whether to perform EAS switching according to the target geographical position information and the target DNAI at the same time, so that the timely switching process of the EAS is ensured, and the service continuity of the edge application is ensured.

The above-described embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to specific examples.

The first embodiment is as follows: it is assumed in this embodiment that the DNAI is unchanged when the terminal moves out of the source EAS or source EDN service area.

Specifically, in this embodiment, the EAS and/or EDN service area information needs to be configured on the AMF network element or the SMF network element, or the EAS service area information needs to be provided to the AMF network element or the SMF network element through an AF request mechanism. Of course, if only the AMF network element learns the EAS and/or EDN service area information, the SMF network element may obtain information on whether the terminal is located in the source EAS or source EDN service area and the current target geographical location information in a manner of subscribing to the AMF network element. In addition, when the AF network element subscribes to the SMF network element for the notification message about the change in the location of the terminal, the notification message includes whether the terminal is located in the EAS or EDN service area and the geographical location of the terminal.

Referring specifically to fig. 5, the specific process is as follows:

step a1, the SMF network element knows that the terminal has moved out of the source EAS or source EDN service area and the target geographical location where the terminal is currently located. The SMF network element sends a notification message of the terminal position change to the AF network element, wherein the notification message includes target geographical position information of the terminal currently located (the granularity of the geographical position depends on the granularity of the position which can be obtained by the AMF network element, such as cell identification of a serving cell where the terminal is located), and optionally includes indication information of whether the terminal is located in a source EAS or source EDN service area (for example, a parameter value of the terminal located in the EAS service area is set to be 'OUT', which indicates that the terminal is not currently located in the EAS service area). Specifically, the SMF network element may Notify the NEF network element of the notification message by invoking an Nsmf _ EventExposure _ Notify service operation, and the NEF network element triggers the Nnef _ trafficinfiffice _ Notify message to Notify the AF network element of the notification message; or the SMF network element directly notifies the AF network element of the notification message by calling Nsmf _ EventExposure _ Notify.

The EAS service Area may be mapped to a set of cell identifiers (cell identifiers) or Tracking Area Identifiers (TAIs).

In step a2, after the AF network element receives the notification message, if the AF network element is deployed on the edge service device (here, the edge service device is taken as the source EAS for example for explanation), the AF network element may send the notification message to the source EAS through internal communication. At this time, the source EAS selects the target EAS to be switched based on the target geographical position information, and determines whether the DNAI corresponding to the terminal needs to be changed. The EAS handover is then completed.

Step A3, if the DNAI corresponding to the terminal does not need to be changed, the indication message including the EAS information (APP ID, target EAS IP) of the target EAS is sent to the SMF network element through the AF network element; if the DNAI needs to be modified, the modified DNAI and the N6 traffic routing information corresponding to the modified DNAI also need to be included in the indication message. Specifically, the AF network element may call an nff _ trafficinfiluence _ apprelocation info service operation to send the indication message to the NEF network element, and the NEF network element triggers an Nsmf _ EventExposure _ apprelocation info service operation to send the indication message to the SMF network element; or the indication message is sent to the SMF network element by calling the operation of the Nsmf _ EventExposure _ AppRescrocationInfo service.

Step A4, if the indication message received by the SMF network element includes the modified DNAI, the SMF network element selects the UPF network element capable of serving the DNAI according to the modified DNAI; and if the indication message does not comprise the changed DNAI, the SMF network element determines whether to reselect the UPF network element according to the existing mechanism. In addition, if there is a BP or UL CL multi-anchor point, a new BP or UL CL can be selected for the PDU session, and uplink and downlink traffic updates can be performed according to the existing mechanism.

Step A5, the SMF network element sends the EAS information of the target EAS to the terminal through the AMF network element. For example, the message may be sent to the terminal through a PDU Session Modification Command message.

Thus, in this embodiment, when the terminal moves out of the source EAS or the source EDN service area and the DNAI is not changed, the SMF network element sends a notification message of the change of the terminal location to the AF network element, the edge service device switches to the appropriate target EAS according to the target geographical location information in the notification message, and sends the EAS information of the target EAS or the EAS information of the target EAS and the changed DNAI to the SMF network element, so that the SMF network element selects the appropriate UPF network element to complete the switching of the EAS and the PDU session anchor point.

Example two: suppose in this embodiment that the DNAI changes when the terminal moves out of the source EAS or source EDN service area.

Specifically, in this embodiment, the EAS and/or EDN service area information needs to be configured on the AMF network element or the SMF network element, or the EAS service area information needs to be provided to the AMF network element or the SMF network element through an AF request mechanism. Of course, if only the AMF network element learns the EAS and/or EDN service area information, the SMF network element may obtain information on whether the terminal is located in the source EAS or source EDN service area and the current target geographical location information in a manner of subscribing to the AMF network element. In addition, when subscribing the notification message about the location change of the terminal to the SMF network element, the AF network element includes whether the terminal is in the EAS or EDN service area and the geographical location of the terminal.

Referring specifically to fig. 6, the specific process is as follows:

in step B1, the SMF network element knows that the terminal has moved outside the source EAS or source EDN service area and the target geographical location where the terminal is currently located. The SMF network element sends a notification message of the terminal position change to the AF network element, where the notification message includes target geographical position information (such as a cell identifier of a serving cell where the terminal is located) and target DNAI where the terminal is currently located, and optionally includes indication information of whether the terminal is located in a source EAS or source EDN service area (for example, a parameter value of the terminal located in the EAS service area is set to 'OUT', indicating that the terminal is not currently located in the EAS service area). Specifically, the SMF network element may Notify the NEF network element of the notification message by calling an Nsmf _ EventExposure _ Notify service operation, and the NEF network element triggers the nff _ trafficinfiffice _ Notify message to Notify the AF network element of the notification message; or the SMF network element directly notifies the AF network element of the notification message by calling Nsmf _ EventExposure _ Notify.

In step B2, after the AF network element receives the notification message, if the AF network element is deployed on the edge service device (here, the edge service device is taken as the source EAS for example for explanation), the AF network element may send the notification message to the source EAS through internal communication. At this time, the source EAS selects the target EAS to be switched based on the target geographical position information and the target DNAI, and then the EAS switching is completed.

And step B3, the source EAS sends the EAS information of the target EAS and the indication message of the N6 traffic routing information corresponding to the target DNAI to the SMF network element through the AF network element. Specifically, the AF network element may call an nff _ trafficinfiluence _ apprelocation info service operation to send the indication message to the NEF network element, and the NEF network element triggers an Nsmf _ EventExposure _ apprelocation info service operation to send the indication message to the SMF network element; or the indication message is sent to the SMF network element by calling the operation of the Nsmf _ EventExposure _ AppRescrocationInfo service.

And step B4, the SMF network element selects a UPF network element capable of serving the DNAI according to the target DNAI. Of course, if there is a BP or UL CL multi-anchor point, a new BP or UL CL can be selected for the PDU session, and the uplink and downlink traffic can be updated according to the existing mechanism.

And step B5, the SMF network element sends the EAS information of the target EAS to the terminal through the AMF network element. For example, the message may be sent to the terminal through a PDU Session Modification Command message.

Thus, in this embodiment, when the terminal moves out of the source EAS or the source EDN service area and the DNAI is changed, the SMF network element sends a notification message of the change of the terminal location to the AF network element, the edge service device switches to the appropriate target EAS according to the target geographical location information and the target DNAI in the notification message, and sends the EAS information of the target EAS and the N6 traffic routing information to the SMF network element through the AF network element, and the SMF network element selects the appropriate UPF network element according to the target DNAI, so as to complete the switching of the EAS and PDU session anchor point.

Example three: in this embodiment, the AF network element may subscribe to the terminal mobility event from the AMF network element through the NEF network element, and may send the EAS and/or EDN service area information to the AMF network element. The AMF network element determines whether the terminal moves out of the service area according to the EAS and/or EDN service area or the LAND service area, and when the terminal moves out of the service area, the edge service equipment (taking the source EAS as an example) is informed of the change of the terminal position. The source EAS performs EAS handover according to the terminal location.

As shown in fig. 7, the specific flow is as follows:

in step C1, the AF network element sends a request message, which may be, for example, a Nnef _ EventExposure _ Subscribe message, to the NEF network element to Subscribe to the terminal mobility event (identified by the event ID). In addition, the request message may include EAS and/or EDN service Area information, or may set an Area of Interest parameter to the LADN service Area. And setting an Event Reporting Information (Event Reporting Information) parameter as a Monitoring Event (Event based, Monitoring Event) triggered based on an Event, and Information including a terminal ID and the like.

In step C2, when the NEF network element sends the request message to the AMF network element, the NEF network element may send a Namf _ EventExposure _ Subscribe request to Subscribe to the terminal mobility event. The request message may also set the event notification node as an AF network element.

Step C3, if the reported event subscription is confirmed by the AMF network element, the AMF network element records the event triggering condition and the AF network element identifier, and the EAS and/or EDN service area information included in the request message, and replies a confirmation Namf _ EventExposure _ Subscribe Response message to the NEF network element.

Step C4, if the AMF network element stores the EAS and/or EDN service area information, when the AMF network element detects that the terminal moves out of the source EAS or source EDN service area, a notification message is sent to the AF network element; and if the AMF network element does not store the EAS and EDN service area information, when the AMF network element detects that the terminal moves out of the current source LADN, sending a notification message to the AF network element.

The notification message includes information of a target geographical location where the terminal is currently located (e.g., a cell identifier of a serving cell where the terminal is located), and optionally includes indication information of whether the terminal is located in a source EAS, a source EDN serving area, or a source LADN.

And step C5, the source EAS selects the target EAS to be switched according to the terminal position information, and the EAS switching is completed.

Thus, the embodiment ensures the timeliness of the EAS handover by opening the terminal location information to the edge service device when the terminal moves out of the EAS or EDN service area in the edge application environment.

In addition, as shown in fig. 8, a block diagram of a switching apparatus applied to an edge application server of an AF network element in the embodiment of the present invention is shown, where the apparatus includes:

a receiving module 801, configured to receive a notification message sent by a session management function SMF network element or an access and mobility management function AMF network element, where the notification message includes target geographic location information where a terminal is currently located, or includes the target geographic location information where the terminal is currently located and a target data network access identifier DNAI corresponding to the terminal currently;

a sending module 802, configured to send the notification message to an edge service device currently accessed by the terminal, so that the edge service device determines whether to perform edge application server EAS handover according to the target geographic location information or according to the target geographic location information and a target DNAI; wherein the edge service device is a source EAS or an edge application platform.

It should be noted that, this embodiment can implement all the method steps of the AF network element side described above, and can achieve the same technical effect, and the description of the same method steps and the same beneficial effects as those of the AF network element side in this embodiment is not repeated here.

In addition, as shown in fig. 9, a block diagram of a switching apparatus applied to an edge application server of an SMF network element in the embodiment of the present invention is shown, where the apparatus includes:

a sending module 901, configured to send a notification message to an application function AF network element when it is determined that the terminal moves out of a service area of a source edge application server EAS or a source edge data network EDN that is currently accessed, so that the AF network element sends the notification message to an edge service device, and the edge service device performs EAS handover according to the notification message;

It should be noted that this embodiment can implement all the method steps of the SMF network element side described above, and can achieve the same technical effects, and details of the same method steps and the same beneficial effects as those of the SMF network element side in this embodiment are not described herein again.

In addition, as shown in fig. 10, a block diagram of a switching apparatus applied to an edge application server of an AMF network element in the embodiment of the present invention is shown, where the apparatus includes:

a sending module 1001, configured to send a notification message to an application function AF network element, so that the AF network element sends the notification message to an edge service device to which a terminal is currently accessed, and the edge service device performs EAS switching according to the notification message; the edge service device is a source edge application server EAS or an edge application platform, and the notification message includes the current target geographical location information of the terminal.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, all the method steps of the AMF network element side can be implemented, and the same technical effect can be achieved.

In addition, as shown in fig. 11, the present invention is a block diagram of a switching apparatus of an edge application server applied to an edge service device, where the edge service device is a source edge application server EAS or an edge application platform, and the apparatus includes:

a receiving module 1101, configured to receive a notification message sent by an application function AF network element, where the notification message includes target geographic location information where a terminal is currently located, or includes the target geographic location information where the terminal is currently located and a target data network access identifier DNAI corresponding to the terminal currently;

a determining module 1102, configured to determine whether to perform an EAS handover according to the target geographic location information or according to the target geographic location information and the target DNAI.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, all the method steps of the edge service device side can be implemented, and the same technical effect can be achieved, and the description of the same method steps and the same beneficial effect as those of the edge service device side in this embodiment is not repeated here.

In addition, as shown in fig. 12, an entity structure schematic diagram of an AF network element provided in the embodiment of the present invention is shown, where the AF network element may include: a processor (processor)1210, a communication Interface (Communications Interface)1220, a memory (memory)1230, and a communication bus 1240, wherein the processor 1210, the communication Interface 1220, and the memory 1230 communicate with each other via the communication bus 1240. Processor 1210 may invoke a computer program stored on memory 1230 and executable on processor 1210 to perform the steps of:

sending the notification message to edge service equipment which is currently accessed by the terminal, so that the edge service equipment determines whether to perform edge application server EAS switching according to the target geographical location information or the target geographical location information and the target DNAI; wherein the edge service device is a source EAS or an edge application platform.

Optionally, the notification message further includes indication information of whether the terminal is located in a source EAS service area or a source edge data network EDN service area, or includes indication information of whether the terminal is located in a source EAS service area, a source EDN service area, or a source local data network LADN.

Optionally, receiving the notification message sent by the SMF network element includes: receiving the notification message sent by the SMF network element through the NEF network element; or, receiving the notification message directly sent by the SMF network element.

Optionally, before receiving the notification message sent by the AMF network element, the following steps are further performed: and sending a request message to an AMF network element through a NEF network element of a network capability open function, wherein the request message comprises EAS and/or EDN service area information.

Optionally, after sending the notification message to the edge service device currently accessed by the terminal, the following steps are further performed: receiving an indication message sent by the edge service device when switching an EAS accessed by a terminal from a source EAS to a target EAS, wherein the indication message comprises EAS information of the target EAS, or comprises the EAS information of the target EAS, a DNAI after the edge service device determines that the DNAI of the terminal needs to be changed and N6 traffic routing information corresponding to the DNAI after the DNAI is changed, or comprises the EAS information of the target EAS and N6 traffic routing information corresponding to the DNAI; and sending the indication message to the SMF network element.

In addition, the logic instructions in the memory 1230 may be implemented in software functional units and stored in a computer readable storage medium when the logic instructions are sold or used as a stand-alone product. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present invention may be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present invention. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: a U-disk, a removable hard disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and other various media capable of storing program codes.

In addition, as shown in fig. 13, an entity structural diagram of an SMF network element provided in the embodiment of the present invention is shown, where the SMF network element may include: a processor (processor)1310, a communication Interface (Communications Interface)1320, a memory (memory)1330 and a communication bus 1340, wherein the processor 1310, the communication Interface 1320 and the memory 1330 communicate with each other via the communication bus 1340. The processor 1310 may invoke a computer program stored on the memory 1330 and executable on the processor 1310 to perform the steps of:

wherein the edge service device is a source EAS or an edge application platform; the notification message includes the current target geographical location information of the terminal, or includes the current target geographical location information of the terminal and the current corresponding target data network access identifier DNAI.

Optionally, when it is determined that the terminal is moving out of the source EAS or source EDN service area, the DNAI corresponding to the terminal is not changed, and the notification message includes the target geographical location information; and when the situation that the DNAI corresponding to the terminal changes when the terminal moves out of the source EAS or source EDN service area is determined, the notification message comprises the target geographical location information and the current corresponding target DNAI.

Optionally, after sending the notification message to the application function AF network element, the following steps are further performed: receiving an indication message sent by the AF network element, wherein the indication message is sent to the AF network element by the edge service device when switching an EAS (article area system) accessed by a terminal from a source EAS to a target EAS, and the indication message comprises EAS information of the target EAS, or comprises changed DNAI when the EAS information of the target EAS, the DNAI of the edge service device determines that the DNAI of the terminal needs to be changed and N6 traffic routing information corresponding to the changed DNAI, or comprises the EAS information of the target EAS and N6 traffic routing information corresponding to the target DNAI; and determining a corresponding User Plane Function (UPF) network element according to the changed DNAI or the target DNAI, and sending the EAS information of the target EAS to the terminal by accessing an AMF network element with a mobility management function.

It should be noted that, this embodiment can implement all the method steps of the SMF network element side described above, and can achieve the same technical effect, and the description of the same method steps and the same beneficial effects as those of the SMF network element side in this embodiment is omitted here.

In addition, the logic instructions in the memory 1330 may be implemented in software functional units and stored in a computer readable storage medium when sold or used as a stand-alone product. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present invention may be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present invention. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: a U-disk, a removable hard disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk, and various media capable of storing program codes.

In addition, as shown in fig. 14, an entity structure schematic diagram of an AMF network element provided in the embodiment of the present invention is shown, where the AMF network element may include: a processor (processor)1410, a communication Interface (Communications Interface)1420, a memory (memory)1430 and a communication bus 1440, wherein the processor 1410, the communication Interface 1420 and the memory 1430 communicate with each other via the communication bus 1440. The processor 1410 may invoke a computer program stored on the memory 1430 and executable on the processor 1410 to perform the steps of:

Optionally, the notification message further includes indication information of whether the terminal is located in a source EAS, a source edge data network EDN service area, or a source local data network LADN.

Optionally, the sending the notification message to the application function AF network element includes: when the AMF network element stores EAS and/or EDN service area information and detects that the terminal moves out of the source EAS or source EDN service area, sending the notification message to the AF network element; or, when the AMF network element does not store the EAS and EDN service area information and detects that the terminal moves out of the current source LADN, the notification message is sent to the AF network element.

Furthermore, the logic instructions in the memory 1430 may be implemented in software functional units and stored in a computer readable storage medium when sold or used as a stand-alone product. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present invention may be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present invention. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: a U-disk, a removable hard disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and other various media capable of storing program codes.

In addition, as shown in fig. 15, an entity structure schematic diagram of the edge service device provided in the embodiment of the present invention is shown, where the edge service device may include: a processor (processor)1510, a communication Interface (Communications Interface)1520, a memory (memory)1530 and a communication bus 1540, wherein the processor 1510, the communication Interface 1520 and the memory 1530 communicate with each other via the communication bus 1540. The processor 1510 may invoke a computer program stored on the memory 1530 and executable on the processor 1510 to perform the steps of:

and determining whether to perform EAS switching according to the target geographical location information or the target geographical location information and the target DNAI.

Optionally, determining whether to perform an EAS handover according to the target geographical location information includes: and when the terminal is determined to be located in a target EAS service area except the source EAS service area according to the target geographical position information, switching the EAS accessed by the terminal from the source EAS to the target EAS.

Optionally, after switching the EAS accessed by the terminal from the source EAS to the target EAS, the following steps are further performed: sending an indication message to an AF network element; wherein the indication message includes EAS information of the target EAS when it is determined that the DNAI of the terminal does not need to be changed; when the DNAI of the terminal is determined to need to be changed, the indication message comprises the EAS information of the target EAS, the changed DNAI and N6 traffic routing information corresponding to the changed DNAI.

Optionally, determining whether to perform EAS handover according to the target geographical location information and the target DNAI, includes: determining a target LADN or a target EDN where the terminal is located currently according to the target DNAI; determining at least one EAS corresponding to the target LADN or the target EDN according to the target LADN or the target EDN where the terminal is located currently; and when the terminal is determined to be located in a target EAS service area of the at least one EAS according to the target geographical location information, switching the EAS accessed by the terminal from a source EAS to the target EAS, wherein the target EAS is any one of the at least one EAS.

Optionally, after switching the EAS accessed by the terminal from the source EAS to the target EAS, the following steps are further performed: sending an indication message to an AF network element; wherein the indication message includes EAS information of the target EAS and N6 traffic routing information corresponding to the target DNAI.

In addition, the logic instructions in the memory 1530 may be implemented in the form of software functional units and stored in a computer readable storage medium when the logic instructions are sold or used as independent products. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present invention may be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present invention. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: a U-disk, a removable hard disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk, and various media capable of storing program codes.

Embodiments of the present invention also provide a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, the computer program being implemented to perform the method steps provided by the above embodiments when executed by a processor.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, all the method steps of each side can be implemented, and the same technical effect can be achieved, and the description of the same method steps and the same beneficial effect as those of each side in this embodiment is omitted here.

The above-described embodiments of the apparatus are merely illustrative, and the units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the modules may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the present embodiment. One of ordinary skill in the art can understand and implement it without inventive effort.

Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art will clearly understand that each embodiment can be implemented by software plus a necessary general hardware platform, and certainly can also be implemented by hardware. With this understanding in mind, the above-described technical solutions may be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as ROM/RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk, etc., and includes instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in the embodiments or some parts of the embodiments.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above examples are only intended to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, but not to limit it; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be modified, or some technical features may be equivalently replaced; and such modifications or substitutions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the corresponding technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A switching method of an edge application server is applied to an Application Function (AF) network element, and is characterized by comprising the following steps:

2. The method for switching the edge application server according to claim 1, wherein the notification message further includes indication information of whether the terminal is located in a source EAS service area or a source edge data network EDN service area, or includes indication information of whether the terminal is located in a source EAS service area, a source EDN service area or a source local data network LADN.

3. The method for switching the edge application server according to claim 1, wherein receiving the notification message sent by the SMF network element comprises:

receiving the notification message sent by the SMF network element through the NEF network element; or,

and receiving the notification message directly sent by the SMF network element.

4. The method for switching the edge application server according to claim 1, wherein before receiving the notification message sent by the AMF network element, the method further comprises:

and sending a request message to an AMF network element through a NEF network element of a network capability open function, wherein the request message comprises EAS and/or EDN service area information.

5. The method for switching the edge application server according to claim 1, wherein after the sending the notification message to the edge service device currently accessed by the terminal, the method further comprises:

receiving an indication message sent by the edge service device when switching an EAS accessed by a terminal from a source EAS to a target EAS, wherein the indication message comprises EAS information of the target EAS, or comprises the EAS information of the target EAS, a DNAI after the edge service device determines that the DNAI of the terminal needs to be changed and N6 traffic routing information corresponding to the DNAI after the DNAI is changed, or comprises the EAS information of the target EAS and N6 traffic routing information corresponding to the DNAI;

and sending the indication message to the SMF network element.

6. The method for switching the edge application server according to claim 5, wherein the sending the indication message to the SMF network element includes:

sending the indication message to the SMF network element through an NEF network element; or,

and directly sending the indication message to the SMF network element.

7. A switching method of an edge application server is applied to a Session Management Function (SMF) network element, and is characterized by comprising the following steps:

8. The method for switching the edge application server according to claim 7,

when the terminal is determined to be in a mobile source EAS or source EDN service area, the DNAI corresponding to the terminal is not changed, and the notification message comprises the target geographical location information;

and when the situation that the DNAI corresponding to the terminal changes when the terminal moves out of the source EAS or source EDN service area is determined, the notification message comprises the target geographical location information and the current corresponding target DNAI.

9. The method for switching the edge application server according to claim 7, wherein the notification message further includes indication information of whether the terminal is located in the service area of the source EAS or the source edge data network EDN.

10. The method for switching the edge application server according to claim 7, wherein the sending the notification message to the AF network element comprises:

sending the notification message to an AF network element through a network capability open function NEF network element; or,

and directly sending the notification message to an AF network element.

11. The method for switching the edge application server according to claim 7, wherein after sending the notification message to the application function AF network element, the method further comprises:

receiving an indication message sent by the AF network element, wherein the indication message is sent to the AF network element by the edge service device when switching the EAS accessed by the terminal from a source EAS to a target EAS, and the indication message comprises the EAS information of the target EAS, or comprises the EAS information of the target EAS, the DNAI after the change when the edge service device determines that the DNAI of the terminal needs to be changed, and the N6 traffic routing information corresponding to the DNAI after the change, or comprises the EAS information of the target EAS and the N6 traffic routing information corresponding to the target DNAI;

and determining a corresponding User Plane Function (UPF) network element according to the changed DNAI or the target DNAI, and sending the EAS information of the target EAS to the terminal by accessing an AMF network element with a mobility management function.

12. The method for switching the edge application server according to claim 7, wherein before sending the notification message to the application function AF network element, the method further comprises:

pre-configuring EAS and/or EDN service area information on the SMF network element; or,

receiving EAS service area information sent by the AF network element; or,

and receiving the information whether the terminal is located in the service area of the source EAS or the source EDN and the target geographic position information, wherein the information is sent by the AMF network element.

13. A switching method of an edge application server is applied to an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, and is characterized by comprising the following steps:

when determining that the terminal moves out of a service area of a source Edge Application Server (EAS) or a source Edge Data Network (EDN) which is accessed currently, sending a notification message to an Application Function (AF) network element so that the AF network element sends the notification message to edge service equipment which is accessed currently by the terminal and the edge service equipment performs EAS switching according to the notification message; the edge service device is a source edge application server EAS or an edge application platform, and the notification message includes the current target geographical location information of the terminal.

14. The method for switching the edge application server of claim 13, wherein the notification message further includes an indication message indicating whether the terminal is located in a source EAS, a source edge data network EDN service area, or a source local data network LADN.

15. The method for switching the edge application server according to claim 13, wherein the sending the notification message to the AF network element comprises:

when the AMF network element stores EAS and/or EDN service area information and detects that the terminal moves out of the source EAS or source EDN service area, sending the notification message to the AF network element; or,

and when the AMF network element does not store the EAS and EDN service area information and detects that the terminal moves out of the current source LADN, sending the notification message to the AF network element.

16. The method for switching the edge application server according to claim 13, wherein before sending the notification message to the AF network element, the method further comprises:

and receiving a request message sent by the AF network element through a NEF network element, wherein the request message comprises EAS and/or EDN service area information.

17. A switching method of an edge application server is applied to edge service equipment, the edge service equipment is a source Edge Application Server (EAS) or an edge application platform, and the switching method is characterized by comprising the following steps:

18. The method for switching the edge application server according to claim 17, wherein the notification message further includes indication information of whether the terminal is located in a source EAS service area or a source edge data network EDN service area, or includes indication information of whether the terminal is located in a source EAS service area, a source EDN service area or a source local data network LADN.

19. The method for switching the edge application server according to claim 17, wherein determining whether to perform an EAS handover according to the target geographical location information comprises:

and when the terminal is determined to be located in a target EAS service area except the source EAS service area according to the target geographical position information, switching the EAS accessed by the terminal from the source EAS to the target EAS.

20. The method for switching the edge application server according to claim 19, wherein after switching the EAS accessed by the terminal from the source EAS to the target EAS, the method further comprises:

sending an indication message to an AF network element; wherein,

when it is determined that the DNAI of the terminal does not need to be changed, the indication message includes EAS information of the target EAS;

when the DNAI of the terminal is determined to need to be changed, the indication message comprises the EAS information of the target EAS, the changed DNAI and N6 traffic routing information corresponding to the changed DNAI.

21. The method of switching an edge application server of claim 17, wherein determining whether to perform an EAS handover based on the target geographical location information and the target DNAI comprises:

determining a target LADN or a target EDN where the terminal is located currently according to the target DNAI;

determining at least one EAS corresponding to the target LADN or the target EDN according to the target LADN or the target EDN where the terminal is located currently;

and when the terminal is determined to be located in a target EAS service area of the at least one EAS according to the target geographical location information, switching the EAS accessed by the terminal from a source EAS to the target EAS, wherein the target EAS is any one of the at least one EAS.

22. The method for switching the edge application server according to claim 21, wherein after the EAS accessed by the terminal is switched from the source EAS to the target EAS, the method further comprises:

sending an indication message to an AF network element; wherein the indication message includes EAS information of the target EAS and N6 traffic routing information corresponding to the target DNAI.

23. A switching device of an edge application server is applied to an Application Function (AF) network element, and is characterized by comprising the following steps:

a receiving module, configured to receive a notification message sent by a session management function SMF network element or an access and mobility management function AMF network element, where the notification message includes target geographic location information where a terminal is currently located, or includes the target geographic location information where the terminal is currently located and a target data network access identifier DNAI corresponding to the terminal currently;

24. A switching device of an edge application server, which is applied to a Session Management Function (SMF) network element, is characterized by comprising:

a sending module, configured to send a notification message to an application function AF network element when it is determined that the terminal moves out of a service area of a source edge application server EAS or a source edge data network EDN that is currently accessed, so that the AF network element sends the notification message to an edge service device, and the edge service device performs EAS switching according to the notification message;

25. A switching device of an edge application server is applied to an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, and is characterized by comprising the following components:

a sending module, configured to send a notification message to an application function AF network element when it is determined that the terminal moves out of a service area of a source edge application server EAS or a source edge data network EDN that is currently accessed, so that the AF network element sends the notification message to an edge service device that is currently accessed by the terminal, and the edge service device performs EAS handover according to the notification message; the edge service device is a source edge application server EAS or an edge application platform, and the notification message includes the current target geographical location information of the terminal.

26. A switching device of an edge application server is applied to an edge service device, wherein the edge service device is a source Edge Application Server (EAS) or an edge application platform, and the switching device comprises:

27. An AF network element comprising a memory, a processor and a computer program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor implements the following steps when executing the computer program:

28. An SMF network element comprising a memory, a processor and a computer program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor when executing the computer program performs the steps of:

29. The SMF network element of claim 28,

30. An AMF network element comprising a memory, a processor and a computer program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor implements the following steps when executing the computer program:

31. The AMF network element of claim 30, wherein said sending a notification message to an application function, AF, network element comprises:

and when the AMF network element does not store the EAS and EDN service area information and detects that the terminal moves out of the current source LADN, the notification message is sent to the AF network element.

32. An edge service device, the edge service device being a source EAS or an edge application platform, comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor when executing the computer program implements the steps of:

33. The edge service device of claim 32, wherein determining whether to perform an EAS handover based on the target geographic location information comprises:

34. The edge service device of claim 32, wherein determining whether to perform an EAS handover based on the target geographic location information and the target DNAI comprises:

35. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium, having a computer program stored thereon, wherein the computer program, when being executed by a processor, implements the steps of the method for switching an edge application server according to any one of claims 1 to 22.