CN113347581B

CN113347581B - Message multicast method, device, system and electronic equipment

Info

Publication number: CN113347581B
Application number: CN202110620159.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘江; 吴畏虹; 黄韬; 刘韵洁
Original assignee: Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications
Current assignee: Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications
Priority date: 2021-06-03
Filing date: 2021-06-03
Publication date: 2022-03-22
Anticipated expiration: 2041-06-03
Also published as: CN113347581A

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a message multicast method, a message multicast device, a message multicast system and electronic equipment. The scheme is as follows: the method comprises the steps that a first UPF device receives a message to be multicast, and an extended header of the message to be multicast comprises address information of target user equipment and identification information representing a corresponding processing state of the address information; when the address information of the first user equipment is the same as that of the target user equipment, sending the message to be multicast to the first user equipment; updating the identification information in the extended header of the message to be multicast; and if the updated identification information in the extended header comprises the first identification, sending the updated message to be multicast to the second UPF equipment. Compared with the related technology, the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the invention has the advantages that in the message multicast process, the multicast GTP ring does not need to establish a multicast tree, and the inquiry process among all group members is eliminated, so that the network overhead of a 5G multicast network is effectively saved, and the time delay of the message sending process is reduced.

Description

Message multicast method, device, system and electronic equipment

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a method, an apparatus, a system, and an electronic device for multicast of a packet.

Background

When a multicast packet is multicast by using a fifth Generation mobile communication technology (5th Generation mobile networks or 5th Generation wireless systems, 5th-Generation, 5G) multicast network, the 5G multicast network needs to dynamically establish a one-to-many multicast session and a multicast tree. For each established multicast session, the 5G multicast network needs to consume a large amount of network overhead to maintain the corresponding group members and multicast tree states for the multicast session. In addition, in the process of message multicast, along with the establishment of the multicast tree and the inquiry process among the group members, the time delay of the message multicast process is larger.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention aims to provide a message multicast method, a message multicast device, a message multicast system and electronic equipment, so as to save the network overhead of a 5G multicast network and reduce the time delay of a message sending process. The specific technical scheme is as follows:

the embodiment of the invention provides a message multicast method, which is applied to a first User Plane Function (UPF) device in a multicast General packet radio service Tunneling Protocol (GTP) ring, wherein the multicast GTP ring further comprises a second UPF device which is a downstream loop UPF device of the first UPF device, and the method comprises the following steps:

receiving a message to be multicast, wherein an extended header of the message to be multicast comprises address information of a plurality of target user equipment and identification information representing a corresponding processing state of each address information;

when the address information of the first user equipment managed by the first UPF equipment is the same as the address information of the target user equipment, sending the message to be multicast to the first user equipment;

updating the identification information in the extended header of the message to be multicast;

if the updated identification information in the extended header comprises the first identification, sending the updated message to be multicast to the second UPF equipment; wherein, the first identification is used for indicating that the processing state of the address information is an unprocessed state.

Optionally, after receiving the message to be multicast, the method further includes:

and when the address information of each user equipment managed by the first UPF equipment is not the same as the address information of the target user equipment, sending the message to be multicast to the second UPF equipment.

Optionally, after updating the identification information corresponding to the target user equipment, the method further includes:

and if the identification information in the updated extended header is the second identification, discarding the updated message to be multicast, wherein the second identification is used for indicating that the processing state of the address information is a processed state.

Optionally, the step of sending the message to be multicast to the first user equipment includes:

copying the message to be multicast to obtain a copied message;

according to the address information of the first user equipment, the header of the copied message is recombined to obtain a recombined message;

and sending the recombined message to the first user equipment.

The embodiment of the invention also provides a message multicast method, which is applied to a multicast GTP ring, wherein the multicast GTP ring comprises a first UPF device and a second UPF device, the second UPF device is a downstream loop UPF device of the first UPF device, and the method comprises the following steps:

the first UPF equipment receives a message to be multicast, and the extended header of the message to be multicast comprises address information of a plurality of target user equipment and identification information representing the corresponding processing state of each address information; when the address information of the first user equipment managed by the first UPF equipment is the same as the address information of the target user equipment, sending the message to be multicast to the first user equipment; updating the identification information in the extended header of the message to be multicast; if the updated identification information in the extended header comprises the first identification, sending the updated message to be multicast to the second UPF equipment; wherein, the first mark is used for indicating that the processing state of the address information is an unprocessed state;

and the second UPF equipment receives the updated message to be multicast.

Optionally, the multicast GTP ring further includes a Group Management Function (GMF) and a Path Management Function (PMF);

the method further comprises the following steps:

the GMF monitors whether the equipment in the multicast GTP ring is changed; when the equipment in the multicast GTP ring is changed, determining a loop adjustment strategy of the multicast GTP ring, and sending the loop adjustment strategy to the PMF; each device comprises each UPF device in the multicast GTP ring and user equipment managed by each UPF device;

and the PMF adjusts the multicast GTP ring according to the received loop adjusting strategy.

Optionally, the step of monitoring whether the device in the multicast GTP ring is changed includes:

monitoring whether an access request sent by equipment to be accessed is received; and/or monitoring whether the multicast GTP ring has the device to be removed.

The embodiment of the present invention further provides a packet multicast apparatus, which is applied to a first UPF device in a multicast GTP ring, where the multicast GTP ring further includes a second UPF device, and the second UPF device is a downstream loop UPF device of the first UPF device, and the apparatus includes:

a receiving module, configured to receive a message to be multicast, where an extension header of the message to be multicast includes address information of a plurality of target user equipments and identification information indicating a processing state corresponding to each address information;

a first sending module, configured to send the to-be-multicast packet to the first user equipment when address information of the first user equipment managed by the first UPF device is the same as address information of the target user equipment;

an updating module, configured to update the identifier information in the extension header of the packet to be multicast;

a second sending module, configured to send the updated message to be multicast to the second UPF device if the updated identifier information in the extended header includes the first identifier; wherein, the first identification is used for indicating that the processing state of the address information is an unprocessed state.

Optionally, the apparatus further comprises:

and a third sending module, configured to send, after receiving a to-be-multicast packet, the to-be-multicast packet to the second UPF device when address information of each user device managed by the first UPF device is different from address information of the target user device.

Optionally, the apparatus further comprises:

and a discarding module, configured to discard the updated to-be-multicast packet if the identification information in the updated extension header is a second identification after the identification information corresponding to the target user equipment is updated, where the second identification is used to indicate that the processing state of the address information is a processed state.

Optionally, the first sending module is specifically configured to copy the packet to be multicast to obtain a copied packet; according to the address information of the first user equipment, the header of the copied message is recombined to obtain a recombined message; and sending the recombined message to the first user equipment.

The embodiment of the invention also provides a message multicast system which is used for multicasting the GTP ring and comprises a first UPF device and a second UPF device, wherein the second UPF device is a downstream loop UPF device of the first UPF device;

the first UPF device is used for receiving a message to be multicast, and an extended header of the message to be multicast comprises address information of a plurality of target user devices and identification information representing a corresponding processing state of each address information; when the address information of the first user equipment managed by the first UPF equipment is the same as the address information of the target user equipment, sending the message to be multicast to the first user equipment; updating the identification information in the extended header of the message to be multicast; if the updated identification information in the extended header comprises the first identification, sending the updated message to be multicast to the second UPF equipment; wherein, the first mark is used for indicating that the processing state of the address information is an unprocessed state;

and the second UPF equipment is used for receiving the updated message to be multicast.

Optionally, the system further comprises a GMF and a PMF;

the GMF is used for monitoring whether the equipment in the multicast GTP ring is changed; when the equipment in the multicast GTP ring is changed, determining a loop adjustment strategy of the multicast GTP ring, and sending the loop adjustment strategy to the PMF; each device comprises each UPF device in the multicast GTP ring and user equipment managed by each UPF device;

and the PMF is used for adjusting the multicast GTP ring according to the received loop adjusting strategy.

Optionally, the GMF is specifically configured to monitor whether an access request sent by a device to be accessed is received; and/or monitoring whether the multicast GTP ring has the device to be removed.

The embodiment of the invention also provides electronic equipment which comprises a processor, a communication interface, a memory and a communication bus, wherein the processor, the communication interface and the memory complete mutual communication through the communication bus;

a memory for storing a computer program;

and the processor is used for realizing any one of the message multicast method steps when executing the program stored in the memory.

The embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium, where a computer program is stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the computer program implements any of the above message multicast method steps.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer program product including instructions, which, when running on a computer, enables the computer to execute any of the above message multicast methods.

The embodiment of the invention has the following beneficial effects:

according to the message multicast method, the message multicast device, the message multicast system and the electronic device provided by the embodiment of the invention, each UPF device in the multicast GTP ring can determine the address information of the target user equipment for receiving the message to be multicast according to the address information carried by the extended header in the received message to be multicast, and determine the processing state corresponding to each address information according to the identification information carried by the extended header, so that when the identification information corresponding to the address information carried by the extended header is a first identification, the message to be multicast is sent to the UPF device in the downstream loop, the message to be multicast can be transmitted in the multicast GTP ring, and the message multicast process is further completed. Compared with the prior art, in the message multicast process, the multicast GTP ring does not need to establish a multicast tree, and the inquiry process among all the group members is eliminated, so that the network overhead of the 5G multicast network is effectively saved, and the time delay of the message sending process is reduced.

Of course, not all of the advantages described above need to be achieved at the same time in the practice of any one product or method of the invention.

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 description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below, it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained according to the drawings without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a conventional 5G multicast network;

fig. 2 is a first structural diagram of a multicast GTP ring according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a first flow of a message multicast method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a third flow of a message multicast method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a third flow of a message multicast method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a message multicast process provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a fourth flowchart illustrating a message multicast method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic flowchart of a fifth flow of a message multicast method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9-a is a schematic diagram of a second structure of a multicast GTP ring according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9-b is a third structural diagram of a multicast GTP ring according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9-c is a fourth structural diagram of the multicast GTP ring according to the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9-d is a fifth structural diagram of a multicast GTP ring according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a message multicast apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a message multicast system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

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 only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

As shown in fig. 1, fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a conventional 5G multicast network. In the 5G multicast network shown in fig. 1, User Equipment (UE) and UPF devices are included, specifically, the User Equipment includes UE1, UE2 and UE3, and the UPF devices include UPF1 and UPF 2. Among them, UE1 and UE2 are managed by UPF1, and UE3 is managed by UPF 2. For the sake of understanding, the UE1 will multicast the multicast message to the UE2 and the UE 3. In the multicast process, the UE1 sends the multicast message to the UPF1, and after receiving the multicast message, the UPF1 sends the multicast message to the UE2 and the UPF2, respectively. The UPF2 sends the received multicast message to the UE3, thereby completing the message multicast process. In the message multicast process, a Session Management Function (SMF) in the 5G multicast network needs to maintain a group member and a multicast tree state corresponding to the multicast Session according to the multicast Session corresponding to the message multicast process. In addition, in the multicast process, information inquiry needs to be performed among the group members, which causes the 5G multicast network to consume more network overhead and causes the delay of the message multicast process to be larger.

In order to solve the problems that a 5G multicast network in the existing message multicast process needs to consume more network overhead and the time delay of the message multicast process is large, an embodiment of the present invention provides a message multicast method, which is applied to a multicast GTP ring, where the multicast GTP ring includes a first UPF device and a second UPF device, and the second UPF device is a downstream loop UPF of the first UPF device. In the method provided by the embodiment of the invention, a first UPF device receives a message to be multicast, and an extended header of the message to be multicast comprises address information of a plurality of target user devices and identification information representing a corresponding processing state of each address information; when the address information of the first user equipment managed by the first UPF equipment is the same as the address information of the target user equipment, sending the message to be multicast to the first user equipment; updating the identification information in the extended header of the message to be multicast; if the updated identification information in the extended header comprises the first identification, sending the updated message to be multicast to the second UPF equipment; the first identifier is used for indicating that the processing state of the address information is an unprocessed state.

For ease of understanding, the multicast GTP ring described above is described in conjunction with fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a first structure of a multicast GTP ring according to an embodiment of the present invention. Four UPF devices, UPF1-4, are included in the GTP ring shown in fig. 2. Each UPF device may manage one or more user devices (not shown in fig. 2). The multicast GTP ring is formed by the GTP sub-tunnels among the UPF devices, such as the UPF1, the UPF2, the UPF3 and the UPF4 which form the GTP sub-tunnels respectively through the GTP sub-tunnel 1, the GTP sub-tunnel 2, the GTP sub-tunnel 3 and the GTP sub-tunnel 4. There is a corresponding upstream loop UPF device and downstream loop UPF device for each UPF device, e.g., an upstream loop UPF device of UPF1 may be UPF4 and a downstream loop UPF device of UPF1 may be UPF 2. In the multicast GTP ring shown in fig. 2, each UPF device determines, according to the context information stored in advance, a downstream loop UPF device corresponding to the UPF device. In the same multicast GTP ring, multicast is performed by relying on the same Tunnel Endpoint Identifier (TEID).

The first UPF device may be any UPF device in the multicast GTP ring, and is not limited herein.

By the method provided by the embodiment of the invention, each UPF device in the multicast GTP ring can determine the address information of the target user equipment for receiving the message to be multicast according to the address information carried by the extended header in the received message to be multicast, and determine the processing state corresponding to each address information according to the identification information carried by the extended header, so that when the identification information corresponding to the address information carried by the extended header is the first identification, the message to be multicast is sent to the UPF device of the downstream loop, the message to be multicast can be transmitted in the multicast GTP ring, and the message multicast process is completed. Compared with the prior art, in the message multicast process, the multicast GTP ring does not need to establish a multicast tree, and the inquiry process among all the group members is eliminated, so that the network overhead of the 5G multicast network is effectively saved, and the time delay of the message sending process is reduced.

The following examples illustrate the present invention.

As shown in fig. 3, fig. 3 is a schematic view of a first flow of a message multicast method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method is applied to the first UPF equipment in the multicast GTP ring, and the multicast GTP ring also comprises second UPF equipment, wherein the second UPF equipment is the downstream loop UPF equipment of the first UPF equipment. The method comprises the following steps.

Step S301, receiving a message to be multicast, where an extended header of the message to be multicast includes address information of a plurality of target user equipments and identification information indicating a processing state corresponding to each address information.

In an optional embodiment, if the sending end of the message to be multicast is a certain user equipment (for convenience of description, denoted as a second user equipment) in the user equipments managed by the first UPF device, that is, the second user equipment sends the request to be multicast to the first UPF device. At this time, the first UPF device may receive the message to be multicast.

In another optional embodiment, if the sending end of the message to be multicast is not a certain user equipment (i.e., the second user equipment) in the user equipments managed by the first UPF device, the message to be multicast may be sent by an upstream loop UPF device (for convenience of description, denoted as a third UPF device) corresponding to the first UPF device in the multicast GTP ring. That is, the third UPF device may send the message to be multicast to the first UPF device. At this time, the first UPF device may receive the message to be multicast. As to a specific process of sending the message to be multicast to the first UPF device by the third UPF device, reference may be made to a process of sending the message to be multicast or an updated message to be multicast to the second UPF device by the first UPF device, which is not described in detail herein.

In an optional embodiment, the extension header of the packet to be multicast may be as shown in expression 1, where table 1 is an extension header of a packet to be multicast provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

TABLE 1

In table 1, the lengths of the next header and the extension header are standard fields in an extension header of an Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPV 6) message, where the number of bytes corresponding to the lengths of the next header and the extension header are both 8 bits (bit).

The address list includes address information of a plurality of target user equipments, that is, the address list includes address information corresponding to the user equipment that receives the message to be multicast, for example, the address information of the target user equipment may be an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the target user equipment. The address list includes an integer number of 128 bits in bytes.

In addition, since the address list may include address information of a plurality of target user equipments, the number of the address information included in the address list is different according to the different target user equipments to be multicast in the multicast message, which results in different lengths of the address list, that is, the length shown in table 1 is longer. For example, the address list including the address information of 2 target user equipments has a different length from the address list including the address information of 5 target user equipments. Here, the number of address information included in the address list is not particularly limited.

The address list length is used for indicating the length of the address list, the word length of the address list length is 8 bits, and the length unit indicated by the word length is bytes.

The address processing identification list includes identification information indicating a processing state corresponding to each address information. The byte number corresponding to the address processing identification list is an integer byte.

The address process identification number is used to indicate the number of identification information included in the address process identification list. The byte number corresponding to the address processing identification number is 8 bits.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the identification information included in the address processing identification list includes, but is not limited to, a first identification and a second identification. The first identifier is used for indicating that the processing state of the address information is an unprocessed state. For example, the first flag may be 1. When the identification information corresponding to a certain address in the address list is the first identification, the UPF device in the multicast GTP ring may determine, according to the identification information, that the message to be multicast is not sent to the target user device corresponding to the address. The second flag is used to indicate that the processing state of the address information is a processed state, for example, the second flag may be 0. When the identification information corresponding to a certain address in the address list is the second identification, the UPF device in the multicast GTP ring may determine, according to the identification information, that the message to be multicast has been sent to the target user device corresponding to the address.

The arrangement sequence corresponding to each identification information included in the address processing identification list is the same as the arrangement sequence corresponding to the address information of each target user equipment in the address list. For example, the address list includes 3 addresses, i.e., addresses 1-3. That is, there are 3 target ue devices, such as devices 1-3, receiving the message to be multicast by the second ue device. At this time, the identification information in the address processing identification list is 001, that is, the identification information corresponding to the addresses 1 to 3 is 0, 0, 1 in sequence, and it can be known from the address processing identification list that the message to be multicast has been sent to the device 1 and the device 2, and the message to be multicast has not been sent to the device 3.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the message to be multicast is sent to the corresponding UPF device (the device belongs to the multicast GTP ring) by a certain user device in the multicast session, and thus enters the multicast GTP ring for multicast. When the UPF device receives the message to be multicast sent by the user device managed by the UPF device, the message to be multicast may be encapsulated. At this time, the encapsulated packet to be multicast carries the TEID. That is, the packet to be multicast carries the TEID corresponding to the multicast GTP ring, where the TEID is obtained by UPF encapsulation.

Step S302, when the address information of the first user equipment managed by the first UPF equipment is the same as the address information of the target user equipment, the message to be multicast is sent to the first user equipment.

In this step, after receiving the message to be multicast, the first UPF device may obtain address information corresponding to each ue managed by the first UPF device, and match the address information of each ue managed by the first UPF device with address information in an extension header of the received message to be multicast, that is, match an address of each ue managed by the first UPF device with each address included in an address list in the extension header of the message to be multicast. When the address information of the first user equipment managed by the first UPF device is the same as the address information of a certain target user equipment in the extension header of the message to be multicast, the first UPF device may determine that the first user equipment is the target user equipment. At this time, the first UPF device may send the message to be multicast to the first user equipment.

The first user equipment may be any user equipment managed by the first UPF equipment. And are not intended to be limiting in any way. Here, the number of the user equipments managed by the first UPF device and the number of the first user equipments having the same address information as the target user equipment are not particularly limited.

In the embodiment of the present invention, in each UPF device in the multicast GTP ring, a correspondence between the TEID and address information of the user equipment managed by the UPF device is stored. For example, the comparison may be expressed as [ TEID 1: the address of the UE1, the address of the UE2, … ], that is, the user equipments managed by the UPF device in the multicast GTP ring corresponding to the TEID1 include the UE1, the UE2, and the like. When the first UPF device acquires the address information of each user device managed by the first UPF device, the address information of each user device may be acquired from the correspondence stored in the first UPF device.

Step S303, updating the identification information in the extended header of the message to be multicast.

In this step, since the address information of the first user equipment is the same as the address information of the target user equipment in the extension header, after the first UPF device sends the message to be multicast to the first user equipment, the identification information of the address information corresponding to the first user equipment in the extension header of the message to be multicast may be updated. That is, the identification information of the address information corresponding to the first user equipment in the extended header of the message to be multicast is updated from the first identification to the second identification, and the identifications of the address information corresponding to other target user equipment in the extended header are not adjusted.

The description will be given by taking an example that the identification information carried in the message to be multicast received by the first UPF device is 11, that is, the identification information corresponding to the UE1 and the UE2 are both 1. When the address information of the UE1 in the message to be multicast is the same as the address information of the first user equipment, the first UPF device may send the message to be multicast to the first user equipment. At this time, the first UPF device may update the identification information corresponding to the UE1 to 0, that is, the updated identification information carried in the message to be multicast is 01.

Step S304, if the updated identification information in the extended header comprises the first identification, sending the updated message to be multicast to the second UPF device; the first identifier is used for indicating that the processing state of the address information is an unprocessed state.

In this step, after the identification information in the message to be multicast is updated, the updated message to be multicast may be used. For the updated message to be multicast, the first UPF device determines whether the identifier information in the updated message to be multicast includes the first identifier, that is, determines whether the updated identifier information includes the first identifier. If the first identifier is included, the first UPF device may determine that the target user equipment still exists in the address list to receive the message to be multicast. If the first identifier is not included, that is, the updated identifier information is all the second identifiers, the first UPF device may determine that each target user device in the address list receives the message to be multicast. When the updated identification information includes the first identification, the first UPF device may determine that the downstream loop UPF device corresponding to the first UPF device is the second UPF device according to the context information stored in the first UPF device. At this time, the first UPF device may send the updated message to be multicast to the second UPF device. That is, the first UPF device sends the updated message to be multicast to the downstream loop UPF device corresponding to the first UPF device according to the loop sequence corresponding to each UPF device of the multicast GTP ring.

By the method shown in fig. 3, each UPF device in the multicast GTP ring may determine, according to address information carried by an extension header in a received message to be multicast, address information of a target user device that receives the message to be multicast, and determine, according to identification information carried by the extension header, a processing state corresponding to each address information, so that when the identification information corresponding to the address information carried by the extension header is a first identification, the message to be multicast is sent to the UPF device in the downstream loop, so that the message to be multicast may be transmitted in the multicast GTP ring, thereby completing a multicast message process. Compared with the prior art, in the message multicast process, the multicast GTP ring does not need to establish a multicast tree, and the inquiry process among all the group members is eliminated, so that the network overhead of the 5G multicast network is effectively saved, and the time delay of the message sending process is reduced.

In an optional embodiment, the sending the message to be multicast to the first user equipment in step S302 may specifically include the following steps.

Step one, copying a message to be multicast to obtain a copied message.

And step two, according to the address information of the first user equipment, the header of the duplicated message is recombined to obtain a recombined message.

In this step, the first UPF device may regenerate a new packet header according to the address information of the first user equipment, that is, the address information of the user equipment that is the same as the address information of the target user equipment in the extended header, to obtain the reassembled packet.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the difference between the duplicated message and the reassembled message in the message header is a difference between the destination address and the extension header. The destination address in the duplicated message is the same as the destination address in the message to be multicast, that is, the destination address is a multicast address, and the extension header is also the same as the extension header in the message to be multicast. However, the destination address in the reassembly message is the address information of the first ue, and the reassembly message does not include the extension header in the message to be multicast.

And step three, sending the recombined message to the first user equipment.

In this step, the first UPF device may send the reassembled packet to the first user equipment in a unicast manner.

By adopting the method, the first UPF equipment can accurately send the message to be multicast to the first user equipment.

In an optional embodiment, according to the method shown in fig. 3, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a message multicast method. As shown in fig. 4, fig. 4 is a schematic view of a third flow of a message multicast method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method may comprise the following steps

Step S401, receiving a message to be multicast, where an extended header of the message to be multicast includes address information of a plurality of target user equipments and identification information indicating a processing state corresponding to each address information.

Step S402, when the address information of the first user equipment managed by the first UPF equipment is the same as the address information of the target user equipment, the message to be multicast is sent to the first user equipment.

The above-described steps S401 to S402 are the same as the above-described steps S301 to S302.

Step S403, when the address information of each user device managed by the first UPF device is different from the address information of the target user device, sending a message to be multicast to the second UPF device.

In this step, when the first UPF device matches the address information of each ue managed by the first UPF device with the address information of the target ue in the extension header, if the address information of each ue managed by the first UPF device is different from the address information of the target ue in the extension header, the first UPF device may determine that the target ue does not exist in the ues managed by the first UPF device. At this time, the first UPF device may determine, according to the stored context information, that the second UPF device is a downstream loop UPF device corresponding thereto. The first UPF device may send the received message to be multicast to the second UPF device.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the execution sequence of the step S402 and the step S403 is not particularly limited.

Step S404, updating the identification information in the extended header of the message to be multicast.

Step S405, if the updated identification information in the extended header comprises the first identification, sending the updated message to be multicast to the second UPF device; the first identifier is used for indicating that the processing state of the address information is an unprocessed state.

The above-described steps S404 to S405 are the same as the above-described steps S303 to S304.

In an optional embodiment, according to the method shown in fig. 3, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a message multicast method. As shown in fig. 5, fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a third flow of a message multicast method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method may include the following steps.

Step S501, receiving a message to be multicast, where an extended header of the message to be multicast includes address information of a plurality of target user equipments and identification information indicating a processing state corresponding to each address information.

Step S502, when the address information of the first user equipment managed by the first UPF equipment is the same as the address information of the target user equipment, the message to be multicast is sent to the first user equipment.

Step S503, updating the identification information in the extended header of the message to be multicast.

Step S504, if the updated identification information in the extended header includes the first identification, the updated message to be multicast is sent to the second UPF device; the first identifier is used for indicating that the processing state of the address information is an unprocessed state.

The steps S501 to S504 are the same as the steps S301 to S304.

Step S505, if the identification information in the updated extension header is the second identification, discarding the updated message to be multicast, where the second identification is used to indicate that the processing state of the address information is the processed state.

In this step, when the first UPF device determines that the identification information in the updated extension header is the second identification, that is, the updated identification information of the extension header does not have the first identification, the first UPF device may determine that each target user device in the address list has received the message to be multicast, or that the UPF device corresponding to each target user device in the address list has sent the message to be multicast to the corresponding target user device. At this time, the first UPF device may discard the updated message to be multicast.

In an optional embodiment, when discarding the updated packet to be multicast, the first UPF device may delete the updated packet to be multicast.

In another optional embodiment, when discarding the updated packet to be multicast, the first UPF device may not perform any processing on the updated packet to be multicast.

In the embodiment of the invention, each UPF device on the multicast GTP ring can determine whether each target user device in the address list receives the message to be multicast or not through the updated identification information carried in the message to be multicast, thereby improving the multicast efficiency of the multicast message and shortening the sending delay of the multicast message.

For the sake of understanding, the above message multicast process is described with reference to fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a message multicast process provided in the embodiment of the present invention. The 7 UPF devices included in the multicast GTP ring shown in fig. 6, i.e., UPF1-7, and 2 multicast procedures. Wherein, the loop 1 represents the multicast process of the multicast message 1, and the loop 2 identifies the multicast process of the multicast message 2. Arrows on loop 1 and loop 2 are used to indicate the transmission direction of the message.

In the loop 1, the user equipment managed by the UPF1 is the sending end of the multicast message 1, after receiving the multicast message 1, the UPF1 determines that there is no target user equipment in the equipment managed by the UPF1, and then the UPF1 determines that the identification information in the extension header of the multicast message 1 further includes the first identification, and the UPF1 may send the multicast message 1 to the UPF2 according to the loop sequence.

After the UPF2 determines that the user equipment managed by the UPF2 does not include the target user equipment according to the received multicast packet 1, the UPF2 determines that the identification information in the extension header of the multicast packet 1 also includes the first identification, and the UPF2 may send the multicast packet to the UPF3 according to the loop sequence.

After the UPF3 determines that the user equipment managed by the UPF3 includes the target user equipment according to the received multicast message 1, the UPF3 may send the multicast message 1 to the target user equipment in the user equipment managed by the UPF3, and update the identification information of the target user equipment in the extension header of the multicast message 1 to the second identification. At this time, the UPF3 determines that the identification information in the extension header of the multicast packet 1 further includes the first identification, and the UPF3 may send the multicast packet to the UPF4 in the loop order.

After the UPF4 determines that the user equipment managed by the UPF4 does not include the target user equipment according to the received multicast packet 1, the UPF4 determines that the identification information in the extension header of the multicast packet 1 also includes the first identification, and the UPF4 may send the multicast packet to the UPF5 according to the loop sequence.

After the UPF5 determines that the user equipment managed by the UPF5 includes the target user equipment according to the received multicast message 1, the UPF5 may send the multicast message 1 to the target user equipment in the user equipment managed by the UPF5, and update the identification information of the target user equipment in the extension header of the multicast message 1 to the second identification. At this time, the UPF5 determines that the identification information in the extension header of the multicast packet 1 further includes the first identification, and the UPF5 may send the multicast packet to the UPF6 in the loop order.

After the UPF6 determines that the user equipment managed by the UPF6 includes the target user equipment according to the received multicast message 1, the UPF6 may send the multicast message 1 to the target user equipment in the user equipment managed by the UPF6, and update the identification information of the target user equipment in the extension header of the multicast message 1 to the second identification. At this time, the UPF6 determines that all the identification information in the extension header of the multicast packet 1 is the second identification, and the UPF6 may discard the multicast packet 1, that is, the UPF6 does not send the multicast packet 1 to the UPF 7.

In loop 2, multicast message 2 is sent by the user equipment managed by UPF4 to UPF 4. The UPF4 sends the multicast message 2 to the UPF5, UPF6, UPF7, UPF1 and UPF2 in turn according to the loop sequence, in this process, the UPF7 and UPF2 respectively send the multicast message to the target user equipment correspondingly managed, and the UPF2 discards the multicast message 2. The specific multicast process may refer to the multicast process of multicast message 1, and is not specifically described here.

Based on the same inventive concept, according to the message multicast method provided by the embodiment of the invention, the embodiment of the invention also provides a message multicast method. As shown in fig. 7, fig. 7 is a fourth flowchart illustrating a message multicast method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method is applied to a multicast GTP ring, the multicast GTP ring comprises a first UPF device and a second UPF device, wherein the second UPF device is a downstream loop UPF of the first UPF device, and the method comprises the following steps:

step S701, a first UPF device receives a message to be multicast, and an extended header of the message to be multicast comprises address information of a plurality of target user devices and identification information representing a corresponding processing state of each address information; when the address information of the first user equipment managed by the first UPF equipment is the same as the address information of the target user equipment, sending the message to be multicast to the first user equipment; updating the identification information in the extended header of the message to be multicast; if the updated identification information in the extended header comprises the first identification, sending the updated message to be multicast to the second UPF equipment; the first identifier is used for indicating that the processing state of the address information is an unprocessed state.

The step S701 may refer to the embodiment shown in fig. 3, which is not specifically described herein.

Step S702, the second UPF device receives the updated message to be multicast.

In the embodiment of the present invention, after receiving the updated message to be multicast, the second UPF device may refer to the processing method of the first UPF device after receiving the message to be multicast, and process the updated message to be multicast, thereby completing the multicast process.

Through the method shown in fig. 7, each UPF device in the multicast GTP ring may determine, according to address information carried by an extension header in a received message to be multicast, address information of a target user device that receives the message to be multicast, and determine, according to identification information carried by the extension header, a processing state corresponding to each address information, so that when the identification information corresponding to the address information carried by the extension header is a first identification, the message to be multicast is sent to the UPF device in the downstream loop, so that the message to be multicast may be transmitted in the multicast GTP ring, thereby completing a multicast message process. Compared with the prior art, in the message multicast process, the multicast GTP ring does not need to establish a multicast tree, and the inquiry process among all the group members is eliminated, so that the network overhead of the 5G multicast network is effectively saved, and the time delay of the message sending process is reduced.

In an optional embodiment, the multicast GTP ring may further include a GMF and a PMF, and based on the method shown in fig. 7, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a packet multicast method. As shown in fig. 8, fig. 8 is a fifth flowchart illustrating a message multicast method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method comprises the following steps.

Step S801, a first UPF device receives a message to be multicast, and an extended header of the message to be multicast comprises address information of a plurality of target user devices and identification information representing a corresponding processing state of each address information; when the address information of the first user equipment managed by the first UPF equipment is the same as the address information of the target user equipment, sending the message to be multicast to the first user equipment; updating the identification information in the extended header of the message to be multicast; if the updated identification information in the extended header comprises the first identification, sending the updated message to be multicast to the second UPF equipment; the first identifier is used for indicating that the processing state of the address information is an unprocessed state.

Step S802, the second UPF device receives the updated message to be multicast.

The above steps S801 to S802 are the same as the above steps S701 to S702.

Step S803, GMF monitors whether the device in the multicast GTP ring is changed; when the equipment in the multicast GTP ring is changed, determining a loop adjusting strategy of the multicast GTP ring and sending the loop adjusting strategy to the PMF; each device comprises each UPF device in the multicast GTP ring and user equipment managed by each UPF device.

In this step, the GMF in the multicast GTP ring may detect whether each device in the multicast GTP ring is changed, that is, the GMF may detect whether each UPF device in the multicast GTP ring and the user equipment managed by each UPF device are changed. When a device in the multicast GTP ring is changed, the GMF may determine a loop adjustment policy of the multicast GTP ring according to the change condition of the device, and send the determined loop adjustment policy to the PMF.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the device change in the multicast GTP ring includes device access and device removal. The loop adjustment policy includes, but is not limited to, establishment or teardown of GTP sub-tunnels, and access or removal of devices. Reference is made specifically to the description below, which is not specifically made herein.

In an optional embodiment, the monitoring of whether the device in the multicast GTP ring is changed in step S803 may specifically be represented as:

Step S804, the PMF adjusts the multicast GTP ring according to the received loop adjusting strategy.

For the sake of understanding, the above-mentioned device access and device removal case is explained with reference to fig. 9-a, fig. 9-b, fig. 9-c and fig. 9-d on the basis of the multicast GTP ring shown in fig. 2.

When the device in the multicast GTP ring is changed, at least the following two cases are included.

In case one, after the third user equipment managed by the fourth UPF device in the multicast GTP ring is disconnected from the fourth UPF device.

And in case two, the user equipment to be accessed requests to access the multicast GTP ring.

For the first case, the user equipment managed by the UPF device is disconnected from the UPF device, and at least the following cases may be included according to the number of the user equipment managed by the fourth UPF device.

In case three, the user equipment managed by the fourth UPF device includes and only has the third user equipment.

In a scenario corresponding to the third scenario, when the third user equipment is disconnected from the fourth UPF device, because the user equipment managed by the fourth UPF device is empty, at this time, the GMF may determine the loop adjustment policy for the multicast GTP ring, that is, remove the fourth UPF device from the multicast GTP ring.

The description will be made by taking fig. 9-a as an example. In the multicast GTP ring shown in fig. 2, the user equipment managed by the UPF1 only has the UE 1. When the UE1 disconnects from the UPF1, the GMF may determine that the UPF1 needs to be removed, resulting in a loop adjustment policy for the multicast GTP ring. When receiving the loop adjustment policy sent by the GMF, the PMF may delete GTP sub-tunnel 1 and GTP sub-tunnel 4 in the multicast GTP ring shown in fig. 2 according to the loop adjustment policy, remove UPF1, and establish a new GTP sub-tunnel, i.e., GTP sub-tunnel 7, between UPF4 and UPF2, thereby obtaining the multicast GTP ring shown in fig. 9-a.

In case four, the ue managed by the fourth UPF device includes other ues besides the third ue.

In a scenario corresponding to the case four, when the third user equipment is disconnected from the fourth UPF equipment, because the fourth UPF equipment also manages other user equipment, at this time, the GMF may determine a loop adjustment policy for the multicast GTP ring, that is, reserve the fourth UPF equipment in the multicast GTP ring, and adjust a correspondence between the TEID corresponding to the multicast GTP ring stored in the fourth UPF ring and the address information of the user equipment managed by the fourth UPF equipment.

Taking fig. 9-b as an example for explanation, if the UPF2 disconnects the managed UE1 and UPF2, that is, the link 11 is disconnected, the GMF may determine that the UPF2 does not need to be removed, but the address information corresponding to the UE1 needs to be deleted from the correspondence stored in the UPF2, so as to obtain the loop adjustment policy for the multicast GTP ring. After receiving the loop adjustment policy sent by the GMF, the PMF may delete the address information corresponding to the UE1 from the correspondence stored in the UPF2 according to the loop adjustment policy.

For the second case, at least the following cases may be included according to different UPF devices that manage the ue to be accessed.

And fifthly, managing the UPF equipment to be accessed to the user equipment to be the UPF equipment in the multicast GTP ring.

In the application scenario of the fifth case, when the GMF receives an access request sent by the ue to be accessed, the GMF may determine that it is not necessary to add a new UPF device in the multicast GTP ring, but it is necessary to adjust and manage a correspondence between the TEID corresponding to the multicast GTP ring stored in the UPF device of the ue to be accessed and the address information of the ue managed by the fourth UPF device.

Taking fig. 9-c as an example, if the GMF receives an access request of the UE1 managed by the UPF3, the GMF may add a new UPF device, but needs to add address information corresponding to the UE1 to the correspondence stored in the UPF23 to obtain a loop adjustment policy for the multicast GTP ring. After receiving the loop adjustment policy sent by the GMF, the PMF may add address information corresponding to the UE1 to the correspondence stored in the UPF3 according to the loop adjustment policy.

And sixthly, the UPF device for managing the user equipment to be accessed is not in the multicast GTP ring, that is, the UPF device for managing the user equipment to be accessed is not the UPF device in the multicast GTP ring.

In the application scenario of case six, when the GMF receives an access request sent by a user equipment to be accessed, the GMF may determine that a new UPF device needs to be added in the multicast GTP ring, that is, a UPF device for managing the user equipment to be accessed is added, so as to obtain a loop adjustment policy for the multicast GTP ring.

Taking fig. 9-d as an example for explanation, if the GMF receives an access request sent by a user equipment to be accessed managed by the UPF5, the GMF may determine that the UPF5 needs to be added to the multicast GTP ring, so as to obtain a loop adjustment policy for the multicast GTP ring. When receiving the loop adjustment policy sent by the GMF, the PMF may delete the GTP sub-tunnel 4 in the multicast GTP ring shown in fig. 2 according to the loop adjustment policy, add the UPF5 in the multicast GTP ring, establish a new GTP sub-tunnel between the UPF4 and the UPF5, that is, the GTP sub-tunnel 5, and establish a new GTP sub-tunnel between the UPF5 and the UPF1, that is, the GTP sub-tunnel 6, so as to obtain the multicast GTP ring shown in fig. 9-d.

In the embodiment of the present invention, according to the change of the location of the user equipment, the UPF device managing the user equipment also changes. For example, the management area corresponding to the UPF1 is area 1, and the management area corresponding to the UPF2 is area 2. When the user holding the user device 1 moves from the area 1 to the area 2, the UPF device managed for the user device 1 is also changed from the UPF1 to the UPF 2.

The GMF is mainly used for 5GLAN group management, including creation, modification, and deletion of 5GLAN groups. The GMF may also be responsible for UE access to 5GLAN services. The PMF is mainly used for planning a user plane path for 5-GLAN internal communication, and ensures isolation between different 5-GLAN groups, and the PMF can also be responsible for UE location information and Data Network (DN) access identification information. The above-mentioned GMF and PMF are not specifically described herein.

Based on the same inventive concept, according to the message multicast method provided by the embodiment of the present invention, the embodiment of the present invention further provides a message multicast apparatus. As shown in fig. 10, fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a message multicast apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The device is applied to a first UPF device in a multicast GTP ring, and the multicast GTP ring also comprises a second UPF device, wherein the second UPF device is a downstream loop UPF device of the first UPF device. The apparatus includes the following modules.

A receiving module 1001, configured to receive a message to be multicast, where an extension header of the message to be multicast includes address information of multiple target user equipments and identification information indicating a processing state corresponding to each address information;

a first sending module 1002, configured to send a message to be multicast to a first user equipment when address information of the first user equipment managed by a first UPF device is the same as address information of a target user equipment;

an updating module 1003, configured to update the identifier information in the extension header of the packet to be multicast;

a second sending module 1004, configured to send the updated message to be multicast to the second UPF device if the identifier information in the updated extension header includes the first identifier; the first identifier is used for indicating that the processing state of the address information is an unprocessed state.

Optionally, the message multicast apparatus may further include:

and the third sending module is used for sending the message to be multicast to the second UPF equipment when the address information of each user equipment managed by the first UPF equipment is different from the address information of the target user equipment after receiving the message to be multicast.

Optionally, the message multicast apparatus may further include:

and the discarding module is used for discarding the updated message to be multicast after the identification information corresponding to the target user equipment is updated and if the identification information in the updated extension header is the second identification, and the second identification is used for indicating that the processing state of the address information is the processed state.

Optionally, the first sending module 1002 may be specifically configured to copy a packet to be multicast to obtain a copy packet; according to the address information of the first user equipment, the header of the copied message is recombined to obtain a recombined message; and sending the recombined message to the first user equipment.

By the device provided by the embodiment of the invention, each UPF device in the multicast GTP ring can determine the address information of the target user equipment for receiving the message to be multicast according to the address information carried by the extended header in the received message to be multicast, and determine the processing state corresponding to each address information according to the identification information carried by the extended header, so that when the identification information corresponding to the address information carried by the extended header is the first identification, the message to be multicast is sent to the UPF device of the downstream loop, the message to be multicast can be transmitted in the multicast GTP ring, and the message multicast process is completed. Compared with the prior art, in the message multicast process, the multicast GTP ring does not need to establish a multicast tree, and the inquiry process among all the group members is eliminated, so that the network overhead of the 5G multicast network is effectively saved, and the time delay of the message sending process is reduced.

Based on the same inventive concept, according to the message multicast method provided by the embodiment of the invention, the embodiment of the invention also provides a message multicast system. As shown in fig. 11, fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a message multicast system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The system is applied to a multicast GTP ring and comprises a first UPF device 1101 and a second UPF device 1102, wherein the second UPF device 1102 is a downstream loop UPF device of the first UPF device 1101;

the first UPF device 1101 is configured to receive a message to be multicast, where an extension header of the message to be multicast includes address information of a plurality of target user devices and identification information indicating a processing state corresponding to each address information; when the address information of the first user equipment managed by the first UPF device 1101 is the same as the address information of the target user equipment, sending the message to be multicast to the first user equipment; updating the identification information in the extended header of the message to be multicast; if the updated identification information in the extended header includes the first identification, sending the updated message to be multicast to the second UPF device 1102; the first identification is used for indicating that the processing state of the address information is an unprocessed state;

and the second UPF device 1102 is configured to receive the updated message to be multicast.

Optionally, the message multicast system may further include a GMF and a PMF;

the GMF is used for monitoring whether the equipment in the multicast GTP ring is changed; when the equipment in the multicast GTP ring is changed, determining a loop adjusting strategy of the multicast GTP ring and sending the loop adjusting strategy to the PMF; each device comprises each UPF device in the multicast GTP ring and user equipment managed by each UPF device;

the PMF is configured to adjust the multicast GTP ring according to the received loop adjustment policy.

Optionally, the GMF may be specifically configured to monitor whether an access request sent by a device to be accessed is received; and/or monitoring whether the multicast GTP ring has the device to be removed.

By the system provided by the embodiment of the invention, each UPF device in the multicast GTP ring can determine the address information of the target user equipment for receiving the message to be multicast according to the address information carried by the extended header in the received message to be multicast, and determine the processing state corresponding to each address information according to the identification information carried by the extended header, so that when the identification information corresponding to the address information carried by the extended header is the first identification, the message to be multicast is sent to the UPF device of the downstream loop, the message to be multicast can be transmitted in the multicast GTP ring, and the message multicast process is completed. Compared with the prior art, in the message multicast process, the multicast GTP ring does not need to establish a multicast tree, and the inquiry process among all the group members is eliminated, so that the network overhead of the 5G multicast network is effectively saved, and the time delay of the message sending process is reduced.

Based on the same inventive concept, according to the message multicast method provided in the embodiments of the present invention, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an electronic device, which may be a first UPF device in the multicast GTP ring. As shown in fig. 12, the apparatus includes a processor 1201, a communication interface 1202, a memory 1203 and a communication bus 1204, wherein the processor 1201, the communication interface 1202 and the memory 1203 complete communication with each other through the communication bus 1204;

a memory 1203 for storing a computer program;

the processor 1201 is configured to implement the following steps when executing the program stored in the memory 1203:

if the updated identification information in the extended header comprises the first identification, sending the updated message to be multicast to the second UPF equipment; the first identifier is used for indicating that the processing state of the address information is an unprocessed state.

With the electronic device provided by the embodiment of the present invention, each UPF device in the multicast GTP ring may determine, according to address information carried by an extension header in a received message to be multicast, address information of a target user device that receives the message to be multicast, and determine, according to identification information carried by the extension header, a processing state corresponding to each address information, so that when the identification information corresponding to the address information carried by the extension header is a first identification, the message to be multicast is sent to the UPF device in the downstream loop, so that the message to be multicast may be transmitted in the multicast GTP ring, thereby completing a message multicast process. Compared with the prior art, in the message multicast process, the multicast GTP ring does not need to establish a multicast tree, and the inquiry process among all the group members is eliminated, so that the network overhead of the 5G multicast network is effectively saved, and the time delay of the message sending process is reduced.

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

The communication interface is used for communication between the electronic equipment and other equipment.

The Memory may include a Random Access Memory (RAM) or a Non-Volatile Memory (NVM), such as at least one disk Memory. Optionally, the memory may also be at least one memory device located remotely from the processor.

The Processor may be a general-purpose Processor, including a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Network Processor (NP), and the like; but also Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) or other Programmable logic devices, discrete Gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components.

Based on the same inventive concept, according to the message multicast method provided in the above embodiment of the present invention, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of any of the message multicast methods are implemented.

Based on the same inventive concept, according to the message multicast method provided in the above embodiment of the present invention, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer program product including instructions, which, when running on a computer, causes the computer to execute any of the message multicast methods in the above embodiments.

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

It is noted that, herein, relational terms such as first and second, and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. Also, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising an … …" does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

All the embodiments in the present specification are described in a related manner, and the same and similar parts among the embodiments may be referred to each other, and each embodiment focuses on the differences from the other embodiments. In particular, for embodiments such as the apparatus, the electronic device, the computer-readable storage medium, and the computer program product, since they are substantially similar to the method embodiments, the description is simple, and for relevant points, reference may be made to part of the description of the method embodiments.

The above description is only for the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Any modification, equivalent replacement, or improvement made within the spirit and principle of the present invention shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A message multicast method is applied to a first User Plane Function (UPF) device in a multicast general packet radio service tunneling protocol (GTP) ring, the multicast GTP ring further comprises a second UPF device, and the second UPF device is a downstream loop UPF device of the first UPF device, and the method comprises the following steps:

2. The method of claim 1, after receiving the message to be multicast, further comprising:

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising, after updating the identification information corresponding to the target ue:

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of sending the message to be multicast to the first ue comprises:

copying the message to be multicast to obtain a copied message;

and sending the recombined message to the first user equipment.

5. A message multicast method is applied to a multicast general packet radio service tunneling protocol (GTP) ring, the multicast GTP ring comprises a first User Plane Function (UPF) device and a second UPF device, and the second UPF device is a downstream loop UPF device of the first UPF device, the method comprises:

and the second UPF equipment receives the updated message to be multicast.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the multicast GTP ring further comprises a group management function GMF and a path management function PMF;

the method further comprises the following steps:

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the step of monitoring whether the device in the multicast GTP ring is changed comprises:

monitoring whether an access request sent by equipment to be accessed is received; and/or

And monitoring whether the multicast GTP ring has the equipment to be removed.

8. A message multicast device is applied to a first User Plane Function (UPF) device in a multicast general packet radio service tunneling protocol (GTP) ring, the multicast GTP ring further comprises a second UPF device, the second UPF device is a downstream loop UPF device of the first UPF device, and the device comprises:

9. A message multicast system is characterized in that the system is applied to a multicast general packet radio service tunneling protocol GTP ring, the system comprises a first user plane function UPF device and a second UPF device, and the second UPF device is a downstream loop UPF device of the first UPF device;

10. An electronic device is characterized by comprising a processor, a communication interface, a memory and a communication bus, wherein the processor and the communication interface are used for realizing mutual communication by the memory through the communication bus;

a memory for storing a computer program;

a processor for implementing the method steps of any of claims 1 to 4 when executing a program stored in the memory.