CN113873478A

CN113873478A - Communication method and device

Info

Publication number: CN113873478A
Application number: CN202010617172.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 潘奇; 黄正磊; 倪慧
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-06-30
Filing date: 2020-06-30
Publication date: 2021-12-31
Anticipated expiration: 2040-06-30
Also published as: CN113873478B; WO2022001761A1

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides a communication method and device, and relates to the technical field of communication. The method comprises the following steps: the access network equipment receives the session context of the terminal group from the mobile management network element, receives a first message from a first terminal in the terminal group, and sends a first response to the first terminal according to the first message. The access network device is accessed by the first terminal, services of terminals in the terminal group have the same QoS requirements, the first message comprises an identifier of the terminal group, and the first response carries a session context of the terminal group. In the method, the mobile management network element sends the session context of the terminal group to the access network equipment, and then in a PDU session establishment flow or an SR flow, the terminal can acquire the session context of the terminal group only by interacting with the accessed access network equipment, so that repeated signaling interaction is avoided, fussy signaling interaction is greatly reduced, and network resources are effectively saved.

Description

Communication method and device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a communication method and apparatus.

Background

Large-scale machine type communications (mtc) is one of important application scenarios of a fifth generation (5th-generation, 5G) system, and is mainly applied to various internet of things (IoT) service applications based on a cellular network. In an mMTC application scene, connection of large-scale massive Internet of things terminals can exist, the connection can reach 100 thousands of connections per square kilometer, and great challenges are brought to the architecture and protocol design of a network. In addition, the mtc application also has the characteristics of low data volume (small data packet transmission of tens of bytes), low power consumption (the life of the battery of the terminal of the internet of things can reach 10 years), deep coverage (supporting various weak coverage scenarios, such as an underground garage, an elevator shaft, etc.), low complexity (reducing the cost of the terminal and the network), and the like.

Typical application scenarios of mtc include video monitoring (monitoring cameras, etc.), industrial sensor networks (such as temperature sensors, pressure sensors, etc.), wearable devices (smart band, smart watch, smart glasses, etc.), etc. as a typical mtc scenario, in a video monitoring service, cameras are deployed at fixed positions and perform continuous uplink video streaming transmission, and data transmission services of each camera are all the same video streaming quality requirements, that is, the same quality of service (QoS). In a video monitoring scene, each camera needs to establish connection with a network, and Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session creation and QoS parameter determination are performed, which causes a huge signaling burden on a core network, resulting in inefficient utilization of network resources.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a communication method and device, which are used for reducing signaling overhead and improving resource utilization rate.

In order to achieve the above object, embodiments of the present application provide some technical solutions, where network elements related to the technical solutions include a mobility management network element, a session management network element, a user plane network element, a data management network element, and a policy control network element, and the following technical solutions provided by the present application are exemplarily described by taking the mobility management network element, the session management network element, the user plane network element, the data management network element, and the policy control network element as AMF, SMF, UPF, UDM, and PCF, respectively:

in a first aspect, a communication method is provided, including: the access network equipment receives the session context of the terminal group and the identifier of the terminal group from the AMF, and the services of the terminals in the terminal group have the same QoS requirement; the method comprises the steps that access network equipment receives a first message from a first terminal in a terminal group, wherein the first message comprises an identifier of the terminal group, and the access network equipment is access network equipment accessed by the first terminal; and the access network equipment sends a first response to the first terminal according to the first message, wherein the first response carries the session context of the terminal group. In the prior art, all terminals independently perform a PDU session establishment flow or an SR flow, neglecting the association between sessions of the terminals, and causing signaling waste. In the method provided by the first aspect, the AMF sends the session context of the terminal group to the access network device, and subsequently in a PDU session establishment flow or an SR flow, the terminal can acquire the session context of the terminal group only by interacting with the access network device, thereby avoiding repeated signaling interaction, greatly reducing cumbersome signaling interaction, and effectively saving network resources.

In one possible implementation, the method for receiving, by an access network device, a session context of a terminal group from an AMF includes: in the process of establishing a session by a second terminal in the terminal group, the access network equipment receives the session context of the terminal group and the identifier of the terminal group from the AMF, and the second terminal is the first terminal in the terminal group requesting to establish the session. According to the possible implementation mode, in the process of establishing a session by a first terminal in a terminal group, the AMF sends the session context of the terminal group to the M access network devices, and in the registration process of other terminals, the terminal can acquire the session context of the terminal group only by interacting with the accessed access network devices, so that repeated signaling interaction is avoided, complicated signaling interaction is greatly reduced, and network resources are effectively saved.

In one possible implementation manner, the receiving, by the access network device, the first message from the first terminal in the terminal group includes: the access network device receives a first message from the first terminal during a session setup procedure or a service request procedure of the first terminal. According to the possible implementation mode, the terminal can send the first message to the access network equipment in various scenes, and the application range of the method is enlarged.

In one possible implementation manner, a terminal in a terminal group accesses M access network devices, where M is 1, and the method further includes: the access network equipment receives the IP address set from the AMF; the access network equipment allocates an IP address for the first terminal according to the IP address set; and the access network equipment sends the IP address allocated to the first terminal. In the possible implementation manner, because the terminal in the terminal group accesses one access network device, the AMF may send an IP address set to the access network device, so that the access network device performs unified management on the IP addresses of the terminals in the terminal group.

In a possible implementation manner, a terminal in a terminal group accesses M access network devices, where M > 1, M is an integer, and an access network device is one of the M access network devices, the method further includes: the access network equipment sends an IP address request to the AMF, wherein the IP address request is used for requesting an IP address for the first terminal; the access network equipment receives the IP address distributed by the AMF for the first terminal from the AMF; and the access network equipment sends the IP address allocated by the AMF for the first terminal to the first terminal. In this possible implementation manner, since the terminals in the terminal group access a plurality of access network devices, the AMF may perform uniform IP address allocation, so as to perform uniform management on the IP addresses of the terminals in the terminal group.

In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the access network equipment sends second indication information to the UPF providing service for the access network equipment, wherein the second indication information is used for indicating that the first terminal of the UPF joins the first session, and the terminals in the terminal group share one QoS flow in the first session, or the terminals accessed to the access network equipment in the terminal group share one QoS flow in the first session. The possible implementation manner can enable the UPF to determine the terminal joining the first session, so that the UPF binds the IP address.

In a possible implementation manner, in a case that a third terminal accessing the access network device in the terminal group stops working, the method further includes: the access network equipment sends sixth indication information and fourth indication information to a UPF providing services for the access network equipment, the fourth indication information is used for indicating that a third terminal of the UPF leaves the first session, the sixth indication information is used for indicating an IP address of the third terminal, and the terminals in the terminal group share one QoS flow in the first session, or the terminals accessed to the access network equipment in the terminal group share one QoS flow in the first session. This possible implementation may enable the UPF to determine the terminal leaving the first session, so that the UPF performs the IP address recovery.

In a possible implementation manner, in a case that a third terminal accessing the access network device in the terminal group stops working, the method further includes: the access network equipment receives third indication information from the AMF, wherein the third indication information is used for indicating the third terminal to stop working; the access network device releases the connection with the third terminal. The possible implementation mode can enable the access network equipment to determine the terminal which stops working, so that the corresponding connection is released, and the network resource is released.

In one possible implementation, the method further includes: and the access network equipment adjusts the QoS configuration file of the QoS flow according to the number of the terminals currently accessed into the access network equipment in the terminal group and the session context of the terminal group. The possible implementation manner can enable the access network equipment to adjust the QoS execution rule according to the number of the current terminals joining the first session so as to ensure the normal transmission of the QoS flow.

In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, including: in the registration process of the terminal, the AMF judges whether the session context of a terminal group to which the terminal belongs is issued to access network equipment, the access network equipment is the access network equipment to which the terminal is accessed, and the services of the terminals in the terminal group have the same QoS requirement; if so, the AMF sends first indication information to the terminal, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating the terminal to acquire a session context from the access network equipment; if not, in the process of establishing the session by the terminal, the AMF sends the session context of the terminal group and the identifier of the terminal group to M access network devices, wherein the M access network devices are access network devices accessed by the terminal in the terminal group, the M access network devices comprise access network devices accessed by the terminal, and M is an integer greater than 0. In the method provided by the second aspect, in the process of establishing a session by a first terminal in a terminal group, the AMF sends the session context of the terminal group to M access network devices, in the process of registering other terminals, the AMF can send first indication information to other terminals to indicate the terminals to acquire the session context of the terminal group from the accessed access network devices, and subsequently in a PDU session establishment flow or an SR flow, the terminals can acquire the session context of the terminal group only by interacting with the accessed access network devices, so that repeated signaling interaction is avoided, cumbersome signaling interaction is greatly reduced, and network resources are effectively saved.

In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information is specifically used to indicate the terminal to acquire the session context from the access network device in a session establishment process or a service request process. According to the possible implementation mode, the terminal can acquire the session context from the access network equipment under various scenes, and the application range of the method is enlarged.

In a possible implementation manner, in the process of establishing a session by a terminal, the method further includes: the AMF receives a second message from the terminal, wherein the second message is used for requesting to establish a session for the terminal; the AMF determines that the terminal is a terminal which requests to establish a session for the first terminal in the terminal group; the AMF sends a third message to the SMF, wherein the third message carries the identifier of the terminal group, and the third message is used for requesting the session context of the terminal group; the AMF receives a session context of a terminal group from the SMF. The possible implementation mode provides a method for acquiring the session context of the terminal group.

In a possible implementation manner, in the process of establishing a session by a terminal, the method further includes: the AMF receives a set of IP addresses from the SMF, the set of IP addresses being used for allocation of IP addresses of terminals in the group of terminals.

In one possible implementation manner, if M ═ 1, during the process of establishing the session by the terminal, the method further includes: the AMF sends the set of IP addresses to the access network device. In the possible implementation manner, because the terminal in the terminal group accesses one access network device, the AMF may send an IP address set to the access network device, so that the access network device performs unified management on the IP addresses of the terminals in the terminal group.

In one possible implementation manner, in a case where a third terminal in the terminal group stops operating, the method further includes: the AMF receives sixth indication information from the M access network devices; the AMF sends fourth indication information and sixth indication information to a UPF serving the M access network devices through the SMF, wherein the fourth indication information is used for indicating that a third terminal of the UPF leaves the first session, and the sixth indication information is used for indicating an IP address of the third terminal; the terminals in the terminal group share one QoS flow in the first session, or the terminals in the terminal group accessing the same access network device share one QoS flow in the first session. In this possible implementation manner, in the case that the terminal stops working, the UPF may be notified so that the UPF recovers the IP address.

In a possible implementation manner, M > 1, during the process of establishing the session by the terminal, the method further includes: the AMF receives an IP address request from access network equipment accessed by the terminal, wherein the IP address request is used for requesting an IP address for the terminal; the AMF allocates an IP address for the terminal according to the IP address set; and the AMF sends the IP address allocated to the terminal to the access network equipment accessed by the terminal. In this possible implementation manner, since the terminals in the terminal group access a plurality of access network devices, the AMF may perform uniform IP address allocation, so as to perform uniform management on the IP addresses of the terminals in the terminal group.

In one possible implementation manner, in a case where a third terminal in the terminal group stops operating, the method further includes: the AMF recovers the IP address of the third terminal; the AMF sends fourth indication information and sixth indication information to a UPF (uplink packet access) serving for access network equipment accessed by a third terminal through the SMF, wherein the fourth indication information is used for indicating the UPF third terminal to leave the first session, and the sixth indication information is used for indicating the IP address of the third terminal; the terminals in the terminal group share one QoS flow in the first session, or the terminals in the terminal group accessing the same access network device share one QoS flow in the first session. The possible implementation manner can recover the IP address under the condition that the terminal stops working so as to be distributed to other terminals in the following process, and can inform the UPF of the IP address so that the UPF can execute the same operation, thereby ensuring the information consistency of each network element in the network.

In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the AMF acquires an identifier of access network equipment accessed by the third terminal and an identifier of the third terminal according to the context of the third terminal; and the AMF sends third indication information to access network equipment accessed by the third terminal, wherein the third indication information is used for indicating the third terminal to stop working. The possible implementation mode can enable the access network equipment to determine the terminal which stops working, so that the corresponding connection is released, and the network resource is released.

In a possible implementation manner, in the process of establishing a session by a terminal, the method further includes: the AMF receives the tunnel information of the M access network devices from the M access network devices; and the AMF sends the tunnel information of the M access network devices to the SMF. Because other terminals do not need to execute the process of session establishment or SR, in order to ensure that the UPF obtains the tunnel information of the M access network devices, the AMF sends the tunnel information of the M access network devices to the SMF in the process of establishing a session by the first terminal in the terminal group, and the SMF can make the UPF obtain the tunnel information of the M access network devices in advance.

In a possible implementation manner, in the process of establishing a session by a terminal, the method further includes: the AMF transmits a session context of the terminal to the terminal.

In a possible implementation manner, the determining, by the AMF, a terminal group to which the terminal belongs according to the identifier of the terminal includes: and the AMF acquires the subscription information of the terminal from the UDM according to the identifier of the terminal, wherein the subscription information comprises the information of the terminal group to which the terminal belongs. The possible implementation mode provides a method for determining a terminal group.

In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, including: the terminal receives first indication information from the AMF in the registration process, the first indication information is used for indicating the terminal to acquire a session context from the accessed access network equipment, the terminal belongs to a terminal group, and the services of the terminals in the terminal group have the same QoS requirement; the terminal sends a first message to the access network equipment according to the first indication information, wherein the first message comprises the identifier of the terminal group; and the terminal receives a first response from the access network equipment, wherein the first response carries the session context of the terminal group. In the method provided by the third aspect, in the process of establishing a session by a first terminal in a terminal group, the AMF sends the session context of the terminal group to M access network devices, in the process of registering other terminals, the AMF can send first indication information to other terminals to indicate the terminals to acquire the session context of the terminal group from the accessed access network devices, and subsequently in a PDU session establishment flow or an SR flow, the terminals can acquire the session context of the terminal group only by interacting with the accessed access network devices, so that repeated signaling interaction is avoided, cumbersome signaling interaction is greatly reduced, and network resources are effectively saved.

In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information is specifically used to indicate the terminal to acquire a session context to the access network device in a session establishment process or a service request process, and the terminal sends a first message to the access network device according to the first indication information, where the method includes: and the terminal sends a first message to the access network equipment in the session establishment process or the service request process according to the first indication information. According to the possible implementation mode, the terminal can send the first message to the access network equipment in various scenes, and the application range of the method is enlarged.

In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, including: the SMF receives a third message of a second terminal from the AMF, the second terminal is a terminal which requests to establish a session for the first terminal in the terminal group, the services of the terminals in the terminal group have the same QoS requirement, the third message carries the identifier of the terminal group, and the third message is used for requesting the session context of the terminal group; the SMF establishes a session context of the terminal group according to the identifier of the terminal group; the SMF sends the session context of the terminal group to the AMF. A fourth aspect provides a method for an AMF to obtain a session context of a terminal group.

In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the SMF allocates an IP address set for the terminal group and sends the IP address set to the AMF, wherein the IP address set is used for allocating the IP addresses of the terminals in the terminal group.

In one possible implementation, before the SMF sends the session context of the terminal group to the AMF, the method further includes: the SMF sends fifth indication information to the PCF, wherein the fifth indication information is used for indicating the PCF to make a corresponding PCC rule for the terminal group; SMF receives PCC rule from PCF for terminal group; and the SMF generates a QoS rule in the session context of the terminal group according to the PCC rule. The possible implementation mode provides a method for acquiring a PCC rule and generating a QoS rule in a session context of a terminal group.

In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the SMF generates a PDR corresponding to the UPF serving the access network equipment accessed by the second terminal according to the PCC rule; and the SMF sends the IP address set and the PDR corresponding to the UPF. The possible implementation manner can enable the UPF to acquire the QoS enforcement rule and the IP address set, so that the UPF can perform subsequent IP address binding and QoS enforcement rule adjustment.

In a fifth aspect, a communication method is provided, including: the UPF receives an IP address set from the SMF, wherein the IP address set is used for the allocation of the IP addresses of the terminals in the terminal group, the services of the terminals in the terminal group have the same QoS requirement, and the terminals in the terminal group share one QoS flow in the first session, or the terminals in the terminal group, which are accessed into the same access network device, share one QoS flow in the first session; the UPF receives second indication information, the second indication information is used for indicating the UPF that the first terminal is added into the first session, and the UPF binds the first terminal with the IP address in the IP address set; or, the UPF receives sixth indication information and fourth indication information, the fourth indication information is used for indicating the UPF that the third terminal leaves the first session, the sixth indication information is used for indicating the IP address of the third terminal, and the UPF recovers the IP address of the third terminal according to the fourth indication information and the sixth indication information. In the method provided by the fifth aspect, the UPF may perform binding and recovery of the IP address according to the terminal joining the first session and the terminal leaving the first session, thereby performing allocation and recovery of the IP address in time and ensuring correct transmission of data of the terminal.

In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the UPF receives a PDR corresponding to the UPF from the SMF, and the PDR is generated according to a PCC rule established for the terminal group; and the UPF adjusts the PDR according to the second indication information or the fourth indication information. The possible implementation manner can enable the UPF to acquire the QoS execution rule, and adjust the QoS execution rule according to the number of the current terminals joining the first session, so as to ensure the normal transmission of the QoS stream.

In a sixth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, including: a communication unit and a processing unit; the processing unit is used for receiving the session context of the terminal group and the identifier of the terminal group from the AMF through the communication unit, and the services of the terminals in the terminal group have the same QoS requirement; the processing unit is further used for receiving a first message from a first terminal in the terminal group through the communication unit, wherein the first message comprises an identifier of the terminal group, and the communication device is a communication device accessed by the first terminal; and the processing unit is further used for sending a first response to the first terminal through the communication unit according to the first message, wherein the first response carries the session context of the terminal group.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is specifically configured to: and in the process of establishing the session by the second terminal in the terminal group, receiving the session context of the terminal group from the AMF through the communication unit, wherein the second terminal is the first terminal in the terminal group requesting to establish the session.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is specifically configured to: the first message is received from the first terminal through the communication unit during a session setup procedure or a service request procedure of the first terminal.

In one possible implementation, a terminal in the terminal group accesses M communication devices, where M is 1, and the processing unit is further configured to receive, through the communication unit, an IP address set from the AMF; the processing unit is also used for distributing an IP address for the first terminal according to the IP address set; and the processing unit is also used for sending the IP address allocated to the first terminal through the communication unit.

In a possible implementation manner, a terminal in the terminal group accesses M communication devices, where M > 1, M is an integer, the communication device is one of the M communication devices, and the processing unit is further configured to send an IP address request to the AMF through the communication unit, where the IP address request is used to request an IP address for the first terminal; the processing unit is also used for receiving the IP address distributed by the AMF for the first terminal from the AMF through the communication unit; and the processing unit is further used for sending the IP address allocated to the first terminal by the AMF to the first terminal through the communication unit.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is further configured to send, by the communication unit, second indication information to a UPF that provides a service for the communication device, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the UPF first terminal joins the first session, and terminals in the terminal group share one QoS flow in the first session, or terminals in the terminal group that access the communication device share one QoS flow in the first session.

In a possible implementation manner, in a case that a third terminal accessing the communication device in the terminal group stops working, the processing unit is further configured to send, through the communication unit, sixth indication information and fourth indication information to a UPF providing a service for the communication device, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the UPF third terminal leaves the first session, the sixth indication information is used to indicate an IP address of the third terminal, and the terminals in the terminal group share one QoS flow in the first session, or the terminals accessing the communication device in the terminal group share one QoS flow in the first session.

In a possible implementation manner, in a case that a third terminal accessing the communication device in the terminal group stops working, the processing unit is further configured to receive, by the communication unit, third indication information from the AMF, where the third indication information is used for indicating that the third terminal stops working; and the processing unit is also used for releasing the connection with the third terminal.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is further configured to adjust the QoS configuration file of the QoS flow according to the number of terminals currently accessing the communication device in the terminal group and a session context of the terminal group.

In a seventh aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, including: a communication unit and a processing unit; in the registration process of the terminal, the processing unit is used for judging whether the session context of the terminal group to which the terminal belongs is issued to the access network equipment, the access network equipment is the access network equipment to which the terminal is accessed, and the services of the terminals in the terminal group have the same QoS requirement; if yes, the communication unit is used for sending first indication information to the terminal, and the first indication information is used for indicating the terminal to acquire a session context from the access network device; if not, in the process of establishing the session by the terminal, the communication unit is used for sending the session context of the terminal group and the identifier of the terminal group to M access network devices, wherein the M access network devices are access network devices accessed by the terminal in the terminal group, the M access network devices comprise access network devices accessed by the terminal, and M is an integer greater than 0.

In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information is specifically used to indicate the terminal to acquire the session context from the access network device in a session establishment process or a service request process.

In a possible implementation manner, in the process of establishing the session by the terminal, the communication unit is further configured to receive a second message from the terminal, where the second message is used to request that the session is established for the terminal; the processing unit is also used for determining that the terminal is the terminal which requests to establish the session for the first request in the terminal group; the communication unit is further configured to send a third message to the SMF, where the third message carries an identifier of the terminal group, and the third message is used to request a session context of the terminal group; and the communication unit is also used for receiving the session context of the terminal group from the SMF.

In a possible implementation manner, during the process of establishing the session by the terminal, the communication unit is further configured to receive an IP address set from the SMF, where the IP address set is used for allocating IP addresses of terminals in the terminal group.

In a possible implementation manner, if M is 1, the communication unit is further configured to send the IP address set to the access network device during the session establishment procedure of the terminal.

In a possible implementation manner, in a case that a third terminal in the terminal group stops operating, the communication unit is further configured to receive sixth indication information from the M access network devices; the communication unit is further configured to send fourth indication information and sixth indication information to a UPF serving the M access network devices through the SMF, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the UPF third terminal leaves the first session, and the sixth indication information is used to indicate an IP address of the third terminal; the terminals in the terminal group share one QoS flow in the first session, or the terminals in the terminal group accessing the same access network device share one QoS flow in the first session.

In a possible implementation manner, M > 1, and in the process of establishing a session by a terminal, the communication unit is further configured to receive an IP address request from an access network device to which the terminal is accessed, where the IP address request is used to request an IP address for the terminal; the processing unit is also used for distributing an IP address for the terminal according to the IP address set; and the communication unit is also used for sending the IP address allocated to the terminal to the access network equipment accessed by the terminal.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is further configured to, in a case where a third terminal in the terminal group stops operating, recover an IP address of the third terminal; the communication unit is further configured to send fourth indication information and sixth indication information to a UPF serving access network equipment accessed to the third terminal through the SMF, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the UPF third terminal leaves the first session, and the sixth indication information is used to indicate an IP address of the third terminal; the terminals in the terminal group share one QoS flow in the first session, or the terminals in the terminal group accessing the same access network device share one QoS flow in the first session.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is further configured to obtain, according to the context of the third terminal, an identifier of an access network device to which the third terminal is accessed and an identifier of the third terminal; and the communication unit is further configured to send third indication information to the access network device to which the third terminal accesses, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the third terminal stops working.

In a possible implementation manner, in the process of establishing a session by a terminal, the communication unit is further configured to receive tunnel information of M access network devices from the M access network devices; and the communication unit is further used for sending the tunnel information of the M access network devices to the SMF.

In a possible implementation manner, during the process of establishing the session by the terminal, the communication unit is further configured to send the session context of the terminal to the terminal.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is specifically configured to: and acquiring the subscription information of the terminal from the UDM through the communication unit according to the identifier of the terminal, wherein the subscription information comprises the information of the terminal group to which the terminal belongs.

In an eighth aspect, there is provided a communication apparatus comprising: a communication unit and a processing unit; the processing unit is used for receiving first indication information from the AMF in the registration process through the communication unit, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating the communication device to acquire a session context from the accessed access network equipment, the communication device belongs to a terminal group, and the services of the communication devices in the terminal group have the same QoS requirement; the processing unit is further configured to send a first message to the access network device through the communication unit according to the first indication information, where the first message includes an identifier of the terminal group; and the processing unit is further configured to receive a first response from the access network device through the communication unit, where the first response carries the session context of the terminal group.

In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information is specifically used to instruct the communication device to acquire a session context from the access network device in a session establishment process or a service request process, and the processing unit is specifically used to: and according to the first indication information, sending a first message to the access network equipment through the communication unit in a session establishment process or a service request process.

In a ninth aspect, there is provided a communication apparatus comprising: a communication unit and a processing unit; the communication unit is used for receiving a third message of a second terminal from the AMF, the second terminal is a terminal which requests to establish a session for the first terminal in the terminal group, the services of the terminals in the terminal group have the same QoS requirement, the third message carries the identifier of the terminal group, and the third message is used for requesting the session context of the terminal group; the processing unit is used for establishing a session context of the terminal group according to the identifier of the terminal group; and the communication unit is also used for sending the session context of the terminal group to the AMF.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is further configured to allocate an IP address set for the terminal group, and send the IP address set to the AMF through the communication unit, where the IP address set is used for allocating IP addresses of terminals in the terminal group.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit is further configured to send fifth indication information to the PCF, where the fifth indication information is used to indicate the PCF to make a corresponding PCC rule for the terminal group; the communication unit is also used for receiving the PCC rules which are made for the terminal group by the PCF from the PCF; and the processing unit is further used for generating a QoS rule in the session context of the terminal group according to the PCC rule.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is further configured to generate, according to the PCC rule, a PDR corresponding to a UPF serving an access network device accessed by the second terminal; and the communication unit is also used for sending the IP address set and the PDR corresponding to the UPF.

In a tenth aspect, there is provided a communication apparatus comprising: a communication unit and a processing unit; a processing unit, configured to receive an IP address set from the SMF through the communication unit, where the IP address set is used for allocating IP addresses of terminals in a terminal group, services of the terminals in the terminal group have the same QoS requirement, and the terminals in the terminal group share one QoS stream in a first session, or terminals in the terminal group accessing the same access network device share one QoS stream in the first session; the processing unit is further used for receiving second indication information through the communication unit, the second indication information is used for indicating the first terminal of the communication device to join the first session, and the processing unit is further used for binding the first terminal with the IP address in the IP address set; or, the processing unit is further configured to receive, by the communication unit, sixth indication information and fourth indication information, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the third terminal of the communication apparatus leaves the first session, and the sixth indication information is used to indicate an IP address of the third terminal, and the processing unit is further configured to recover the IP address of the third terminal according to the fourth indication information and the sixth indication information.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is further configured to receive, by the communication unit, a PDR corresponding to the communication device from the SMF, where the PDR is generated according to a PCC rule formulated for the terminal group; and the processing unit is further used for adjusting the PDR according to the second indication information or the fourth indication information.

In an eleventh aspect, there is provided a communication apparatus comprising: a processor. The processor is connected with the memory, and the memory is used for storing computer-executable instructions, and the processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored by the memory, so as to implement any one of the methods provided by any one of the first aspect to the fifth aspect. For example, the memory and the processor may be integrated together or may be separate devices. If the latter, the memory may be located within the communication device or may be located outside the communication device.

In one possible implementation, the processor includes logic circuitry and further includes at least one of an input interface and an output interface. Illustratively, the output interface is for performing the act of transmitting in the respective method and the input interface is for performing the act of receiving in the respective method.

In one possible implementation, the communication device further includes a communication interface and a communication bus, and the processor, the memory, and the communication interface are connected by the communication bus. The communication interface is used for executing the actions of transceiving in the corresponding method. The communication interface may also be referred to as a transceiver. Optionally, the communication interface comprises at least one of a transmitter and a receiver, in which case the transmitter is configured to perform the act of transmitting in the respective method and the receiver is configured to perform the act of receiving in the respective method.

In one possible implementation, the communication device is in the form of a product of chips.

In a twelfth aspect, there is provided a communication device, comprising a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is configured to receive a signal from another communication device except the communication device and transmit the signal to the processor or send the signal from the processor to another communication device except the communication device, and the processor is configured to implement any one of the methods provided in any one of the first aspect to the fifth aspect through a logic circuit or executing code instructions.

In a thirteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes the communication apparatus provided in any one or more of the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth aspects.

In a fourteenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, comprising computer-executable instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform any one of the methods provided in any one of the first to fifth aspects.

In a fifteenth aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising computer executable instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform any one of the methods provided in any one of the first to fifth aspects.

For technical effects brought by any implementation manner of the sixth aspect to the fifteenth aspect, reference may be made to technical effects brought by corresponding implementation manners of the first aspect to the fifth aspect, and details are not described here.

It should be noted that, on the premise that the schemes are not inconsistent, the schemes in the above aspects may be combined.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is an architecture diagram of a 5G network;

fig. 2 is a flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a flowchart of another communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a flowchart of another communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a flowchart of another communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a flowchart of another communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a flowchart of another communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a flowchart of another communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a flowchart of another communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a flowchart of another communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 13 is a schematic hardware structure diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 14 is a schematic hardware structure diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

In the description of the present application, "/" indicates an OR meaning, for example, A/B may indicate A or B; "and/or" herein is merely an association describing an associated object, and means that there may be three relationships, e.g., a and/or B, which may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. In the description of the present application, "at least one" means one or more, "a plurality" means two or more than two, unless otherwise specified.

In addition, in order to facilitate clear description of technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish the same items or similar items having substantially the same functions and actions. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the terms "first," "second," etc. do not denote any order or quantity, nor do the terms "first," "second," etc. denote any order or importance.

The technical solution of the embodiment of the present application can be applied to a fourth Generation (4th Generation, 4G) system, various systems evolved based on the 4G system, a 5G system, and various systems evolved based on the 5G system. Among them, the 4G system may also be referred to as an Evolved Packet System (EPS). The core network of the 4G system may be referred to as an Evolved Packet Core (EPC), and the access network may be referred to as Long Term Evolution (LTE). The core network of the 5G system may be referred to as 5GC (5G core), and the access network may be referred to as New Radio (NR).

Fig. 1 schematically shows a network architecture of a 5G system. In this schematic, the 5G system may include: AN authentication server function (AUSF) network element, AN access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, a Data Network (DN), a Unified Data Management (UDM) network element, a Policy Control Function (PCF) network element, a (radio) access network (R) AN network element, a user plane function (user plane function, UPF) network element, a terminal (terminal), AN application function (application function, AF) network element, a Session Management Function (SMF) network element, a network open function (NEF) network element, a network function library function (udk function, network function library) network element, AN NRF network element, a network function library function (R) data library network element.

It should be noted that, in fig. 1, the (R) AN network element, the AMF network element, the SMF network element, the AUSF network element, the UDM network element, the UPF network element, the PCF network element, and the like are only names, and the names do not limit the network elements themselves. In the 5G network and other networks in the future, entities or devices corresponding to these network elements may also be given other names, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application. For example, the UDM network element may also be replaced by a user home server (HSS) or a User Subscription Database (USD) or a database network element, and the like, which are described herein in a unified manner and will not be described in detail below.

For convenience of description, hereinafter, (R) AN network element, AMF network element, SMF network element, UDM network element, UPF network element, PCF network element, etc. are referred to by RAN, AMF, SMF, UDM, UPF, PCF, etc., respectively.

The terminal, RAN, UPF and DN in fig. 1 are generally referred to as user plane network elements, and data traffic of a user may be transmitted through a PDU session established between the terminal and the DN, and the transmission may pass through both the RAN and the UPF network elements. Wherein, the user plane is used for carrying service data. The other network elements in fig. 1 are called control plane network elements and are mainly responsible for functions such as authentication and authorization, registration management, session management, mobility management, policy control, and the like, so as to implement reliable and stable transmission of user plane traffic. The control plane is used for carrying signaling messages.

Fig. 1 shows an interaction relationship between network elements and corresponding interfaces, for example, the terminal and the AMF may interact through an N1 interface, and an interaction Message is referred to as an N1 Message (Message). And part of the interfaces are realized in a way of a service interface.

The functions of some network elements in fig. 1 are as follows:

the PCF has the functions of providing policy rules to the control plane network element, and the like.

The UDM has functions of managing subscription data of a user, generating authentication information of the user, and the like.

The AF, which may be an application server, may belong to the operator or to a third party. Mainly supports the interaction with the 3rd generation partnership project (3 GPP) core network to provide services, such as influencing data routing decisions, policy control functions or providing some services of a third party to the network side.

The RAN, a network composed of multiple access network devices (may also be referred to as RAN nodes or network devices), implements functions of a radio physical layer, resource scheduling and radio resource management, radio access control and mobility management, quality of service management, data compression and encryption, and the like. The access network equipment is connected to the UPF via the user plane interface N3 for transmitting data of the terminal. The access network device establishes a control plane signaling connection with the AMF through the control plane interface N2, and is used for realizing functions such as radio access bearer control.

The AMF is mainly responsible for a signaling processing portion, such as functions of registration management of a terminal, connection management of the terminal, reachability management of the terminal, access authorization and access authentication of the terminal, security functions of the terminal, mobility management of the terminal, network slice (network slice) selection, SMF selection, attachment and detachment of the terminal, and the like. AMF is used as an anchor point of the signaling connection between N1 and N2 and provides a route of an N1/N2 interface Session Management (SM) message for SMF; maintaining and managing state information of the terminal. When the AMF network element provides a service for a session in the terminal, it may provide a storage resource of a control plane for the session, so as to store a session identifier, an identifier of an SMF associated with the session identifier, and the like.

The SMF is mainly responsible for all control plane functions of terminal session management, including selection, control, and redirection of UPF, Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, QoS management of sessions, Policy and Charging Control (PCC) policy acquisition from the PCF, establishment, modification, and release of bearers, and the like. SMF also serves as a termination point for the SM part of non-access stratum (NAS) messages.

The UPF, as an anchor point of PDU session connection, is responsible for filtering data packets of the terminal, transmitting/forwarding data (for example, forwarding data interacted between the access network device and the DN), rate control, generating charging information, processing user plane QoS, performing uplink transmission authentication, verifying transmission level, caching downlink data packets, triggering downlink data notification, and the like. The UPF may also serve as a branch point for a multi-homed PDU session. The transmission resources and scheduling functions in the UPF for providing services to the terminal are managed and controlled by the SMF.

The terminal may be a wireless terminal or a wired terminal. A wireless terminal may refer to a device that provides voice and/or data connectivity to a user, a handheld device having wireless connection capability, or other processing device connected to a wireless modem. The terminal and the access network device communicate with each other by using a certain air interface technology (such as an NR technology or an LTE technology). The terminals may also communicate with each other using some air interface technology (such as NR technology or LTE technology). The wireless terminal may communicate with one or more core network devices, such as with an AMF, SMF, etc., via the access network device. The wireless terminals may be mobile terminals such as mobile telephones (or "cellular" telephones), smart phones, satellite radios, wireless modem cards, and computers having mobile terminals, such as laptop, portable, pocket, hand-held, computer-included, or car-mounted mobile devices, that exchange voice and/or data with access network equipment. For example, the wireless terminal may be a Personal Communication Service (PCS) phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), Virtual Reality (VR) glasses, Augmented Reality (AR) glasses, a machine type communication terminal, or the like. In the communication of the internet of vehicles, a communication device mounted on a vehicle is a terminal, and a Road Side Unit (RSU) may also be a terminal. The communication equipment loaded on the unmanned aerial vehicle can also be regarded as a terminal. A wireless terminal may also be referred to as a User Equipment (UE), a subscriber unit (subscriber unit), a subscriber station (subscriber station), a mobile station (mobile), a remote station (remote station), an access point (access point), an access terminal (access terminal), a user terminal (user terminal), a user agent (user agent), etc.

It will be appreciated that the network architecture of the 5G network may comprise other functional network elements in addition to the functional network elements shown in fig. 1. For example, a network open function (NEF) network element may be further included between the AF network element and the PCF network element, and may be used to interact information inside and outside the network, and the like. In the embodiments of the present application, a network element may also be referred to as an entity or a device.

In a 5G network, the session in the embodiment of the present application may be a PDU session, which is a connection between a terminal and a DN for providing a PDU connection service. The PDU session type may be an IP connection, an ethernet connection, or an unstructured data connection, among others. The terminal may initiate the establishment of one or more PDU sessions to connect to the same DN or to different DNs.

QoS flows are the finest QoS differentiation granularity in a PDU session, and one QoS Flow Identification (QFI) is used to identify one QoS flow. One PDU session may include multiple QoS flows, each of which may carry multiple services.

It should be noted that, for the same QoS flow, different devices have corresponding QoS enforcement rules. On the access network device, the QoS enforcement rule may be referred to as a QoS profile (QoS profile), on the terminal, the QoS enforcement rule may be referred to as a QoS rule (QoS rule), and on the UPF, the QoS enforcement rule may be referred to as a Packet Detection Rule (PDR).

The method and the device can be applied to the Internet of things, and particularly can be applied to the situation that the number of terminals is large, the QoS requirements of the terminals are the same or similar, and the terminal positions are fixed, for example, a video monitoring scene, a sensor network scene, wearable equipment (an intelligent bracelet, an intelligent watch, intelligent glasses and the like) and the like.

In the prior art, in a video monitoring scene, when an application needs to install a series of cameras, each installed camera independently executes a PDU session establishment procedure specified by an existing 3GPP protocol (for a specific procedure, see 3rd generation partnership project (3 GPP) Technical Specification (TS) 23.502Clause (class) 4.3.2), so as to establish a PDU session, which causes complicated, repeated, and inefficient signaling interaction, thereby causing resource waste. Similarly, under the sensor network, each sensor independently executes the PDU session establishment procedure to establish the PDU session, and therefore, the same problem also exists.

In addition, in a video monitoring scene, when a plurality of cameras are restored from an IDLE state (i.e., a CM-IDLE state) to a CONNECTED state (i.e., a CM-CONNECTED state), each camera needs to perform a Service Request (SR) flow one by one to enter the CONNECTED state, and simultaneously activates an existing PDU session to realize corresponding uplink data transmission (a specific flow may refer to 3GPP TS 23.502 class 4.2.3), which causes a huge signaling burden on a core network, resulting in inefficient utilization of network resources. Similarly, under a sensor network, sensors with fixed locations and the same QoS requirements need to enter an idle state to save energy consumption, and when a plurality of sensors are switched from the idle state to a connected state, each sensor needs to execute an SR procedure to enter the connected state, and simultaneously activates an existing PDU session to realize corresponding uplink data transmission, so the same problem also exists.

In the prior art, the correlation between terminals (e.g., cameras or sensors) with fixed positions and consistent QoS requirements cannot be applied at all, which causes complex, repeated and inefficient signaling interaction, thereby causing resource waste. In order to solve the problem, the application provides a communication method, a network side can utilize the correlations among terminals to create an integral/group PDU session for the terminals, namely, the PDU session establishment or the PDU session activation is carried out by taking a group as a unit, each terminal is not required to carry out the PDU session establishment flow or the SR flow, the PDU session establishment flow or the SR flow is simplified, the terminals can be ensured to rapidly complete the PDU session establishment or the PDU session activation, the complex signaling interaction is effectively avoided, the network resource utilization rate is improved, the network connection establishment and the state conversion are accelerated, and the signaling resource waste is avoided. The method provided by the embodiments of the present application is specifically described below.

The network elements related to the present application include a mobility management network element, a session management network element, a user plane network element, a data management network element, and a policy control network element, and hereinafter, the method provided by the present application is exemplarily described by taking the case where the mobility management network element, the session management network element, the user plane network element, the data management network element, and the policy control network element are respectively AMF, SMF, UPF, UDM, and PCF in a 5G network. It should be noted that, hereinafter, AMF, SMF, UPF, UDM, and PCF may be replaced by a mobility management element, a session management element, a user plane element, a data management element, and a policy control element, respectively. When the present application is applied to a 4G system or other communication systems (for example, a future evolution communication system), the network elements related to the present application may be replaced with network elements having the same or similar functions in the corresponding communication systems for understanding.

Referring to fig. 2, the method includes:

201. in the registration process of the terminal (marked as terminal a), the AMF determines whether the session context of the terminal group to which the terminal a belongs is issued to the access network device (marked as access network device a), and the access network device a is the access network device accessed by the terminal a.

Wherein the traffic of the terminals in the terminal group has the same or similar QoS requirements. For example, the terminal group may be a group of cameras having the same QoS requirements or a group of sensors having the same QoS requirements.

The QoS requirements may be characterized by a number of QoS parameters, such as delay, packet loss rate, etc. Similar QoS requirements may refer to two QoS requirements with the same partial QoS parameters, e.g., two QoS requirements with the same delay and/or packet loss rate. Similar QoS requirements may also refer to two QoS requirements where the difference between the same QoS parameters does not exceed a threshold, which may be predetermined or predefined or protocol-specified or determined by negotiation between network elements, and this application is not limited thereto. For example, two QoS requirements that have a difference between delays of no more than 2 milliseconds (ms) can be considered similar QoS requirements, or two QoS requirements that have a difference between delays of no more than 2ms and/or a difference between packet loss rates of no more than 0.1% can be considered similar QoS requirements.

The terminal a may be any one of the terminals in the terminal group.

In step 201, during specific implementation, the terminal a may send a registration request (registration request) to the AMF, where the registration request may include an identifier of the terminal a, and the AMF determines, according to the identifier of the terminal a, a terminal group to which the terminal a belongs, and then determines whether a session context of the terminal group is issued to the access network device a.

Optionally, the determining, by the AMF, the terminal group to which the terminal a belongs according to the identifier of the terminal a includes: and the AMF acquires the subscription information of the terminal A from the UDM according to the identifier of the terminal A, wherein the subscription information comprises the information of the terminal group to which the terminal A belongs.

The information of the terminal group in the UDM can be acquired from the AF, and the AF can send the information of the terminal group to the UDM through the capability opening information. The information of the terminal group in the UDM may also be configured by an operator, and the application is not limited in this respect. Wherein the information of the terminal group may indicate which terminals belong to a terminal group and the identity of the terminal group. Further, the information of the terminal group may also include location information of each terminal in order to determine which access network device the terminals are within the coverage area.

If the determination result in step 201 is yes, it indicates that the terminal a is not the first terminal in the terminal group requesting to establish the session, at this time, step 202 is executed. If the determination result in step 201 is negative, it indicates that the terminal a is the first terminal in the terminal group requesting to establish the session, at this time, step 203 is executed.

202. The AMF sends first indication information to the terminal A, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating the terminal A to acquire the session context from the access network device A (or the first indication information is used for indicating the terminal A to acquire the session context from the accessed access network device). Accordingly, the terminal a receives the first indication information from the AMF during the registration process.

The first indication information may be carried in a registration response (or registration accept) message.

203. In the process of establishing the session by the terminal A, the AMF sends one or more of the session context of the terminal group and the identifier of the terminal group to the M access network devices. Accordingly, each of the M access network devices receives one or more of a session context of the terminal group and an identification of the terminal group from the AMF.

The M access network devices are access network devices accessed by the terminals in the terminal group, the M access network devices comprise access network devices A accessed by the terminals A, and M is an integer larger than 0.

The AMF can determine the position information of each terminal according to the information of the terminal group, and determine M access network devices corresponding to the terminal group according to the position information of each terminal.

Wherein the identification of the terminal group is used to identify a terminal group. The session context of the terminal group may include a QoS rule, a PDU session identifier, slice-related information (e.g., a Data Network Name (DNN) or a network-slice selection association (S-NSSAI)), and the like. The QoS rule includes QFI, rate, delay, etc.

Some or all of the terminals in the terminal group may share one QoS flow in one session (denoted as the first session).

In the first case, all terminals in the group of terminals share a first QoS flow in the first session. In this case, the session context of the terminal group refers to a common portion of the session contexts of all the terminals in the terminal group, and in this case, all the terminals in the terminal group correspond to the same QFI. At this time, each terminal in the terminal group maps data into a Data Radio Bearer (DRB) corresponding to a first QFI (i.e., a QFI of a first QoS flow), and after receiving the data, an access network device accessed by the terminal maps the data of the DRB corresponding to the first QoS flow onto the first QoS flow corresponding to the first QFI.

Illustratively, if there are 12 terminals in the terminal group, and 3 access network devices (denoted as access network device 1 to access network device 3) are accessed to 12 terminals, and 12 terminals share the first QoS flow in the first session, at this time, the QFI in the session context of the terminal group is the QFI of the first QoS flow.

In the second case, terminals in the terminal group accessing the same access network device share one QoS flow in the first session. The session context of the terminal group corresponds to the access network device, and the session contexts corresponding to different access network devices may be the same or different. The session context of the terminal group corresponding to one access network device refers to a common part of the session contexts of the terminals accessing the same access network device. In this case, the terminals accessing the same access network device correspond to the same QFI, and the terminals accessing different access network devices correspond to the same QFI or different QFI. At this time, each terminal accessing the same access network device maps data to a DRB corresponding to the QFI of the QoS flow corresponding to the access network device, and after the access network device receives the data, the data corresponding to the QoS flow corresponding to the access network device of the DRB is mapped to the QoS flow corresponding to the QFI of the QoS flow corresponding to the access network device.

Illustratively, if there are 12 terminals in the terminal group, the 12 terminals have access to 3 access network devices (denoted as access network device 1 to access network device 3), the terminals accessing the access network device 1 share QoS flow 1 in the first session, the terminals accessing the access network device 2 share QoS flow 2 in the first session, and the terminals accessing the access network device 3 share QoS flow 3 in the first session, at this time, referring to table 1, QFI in the session context of the terminal group corresponding to the access network device 1 is QFI of QoS flow 1, QFI in the session context of the terminal group corresponding to the access network device 2 is QFI of QoS flow 2, and QFI in the session context of the terminal group corresponding to the access network device 3 is QFI of QoS flow 3.

TABLE 1

Access network device	QFI in session context of a group of terminals
		Access network device 1	QFI for QoS flow 1
Access network device 2	QFI for QoS flow 2
		Access network device 3	QFI for QoS flow 3

In the prior art, all terminals independently perform a PDU session establishment flow or an SR flow, neglecting the association between sessions of the terminals, and causing signaling waste. According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, in the process of establishing the session by the first terminal in the terminal group, the AMF sends the session context of the terminal group to the M access network devices, in the process of registering other terminals, the AMF can send first indication information to other terminals to indicate the terminals to acquire the session context of the terminal group from the accessed access network devices, and subsequently in the PDU session establishment flow or the SR flow, the terminals can acquire the session context of the terminal group only by interacting with the accessed access network devices, so that repeated signaling interaction is avoided, tedious signaling interaction is greatly reduced, and network resources are effectively saved.

Further aspects of the method provided by the present application are described below in cases 1 (terminal a is the terminal that first requests to establish a session in the terminal group) and 2 (terminal a is not the terminal that first requests to establish a session in the terminal group).

In case 1, terminal a is the first terminal in the terminal group that requests to establish a session.

In case 1, terminal a is denoted as the second terminal.

In case 1, the access network device receives one or more of a session context of the terminal group and an identification of the terminal group from the AMF, including:

1-1) in the process of establishing a session by a second terminal in a terminal group, an access network device accessed by the second terminal receives one or more of a session context of the terminal group and an identification of the terminal group from the AMF. That is to say, in the process of establishing a session by the first terminal in the terminal group, the access network device accessed by the terminal receives one or more of the session context of the terminal group and the identifier of the terminal group from the AMF, so that in the subsequent process, other terminals accessed to the access network device obtain the session context of the terminal group from the access network device.

In case 1, optionally, the AMF may obtain a session context of the terminal group from the SMF, which specifically includes:

2-1) the AMF receives a second message from the second terminal, the second message requesting establishment of a PDU session for the second terminal.

2-2) AMF determines that the second terminal is the terminal which requests to establish the PDU session for the first terminal in the terminal group. Specifically, the AMF may determine whether there is another terminal in the terminal group that has requested to establish the PDU session, and if not, determine that the second terminal is the terminal in the terminal group that has requested to establish the PDU session for the first terminal.

2-3) the AMF sends a third message to the SMF, wherein the third message carries the identifier of the terminal group, and the third message is used for requesting the session context of the terminal group. Accordingly, the SMF receives a third message of the second terminal from the AMF.

2-4) the SMF creates the session context of the terminal group according to the identification of the terminal group.

2-5) the SMF sends the session context of the terminal group to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF receives the session context of the terminal group from the SMF.

In case 1, optionally, the QoS rule in the session context of the terminal group may be determined according to the PCC rule, and therefore, the method further includes:

3-1) the SMF sends fifth indication information to the PCF, wherein the fifth indication information is used for indicating the PCF to make a corresponding PCC rule for the terminal group. The fifth indication information may include an identifier of the terminal group. Accordingly, the PCF receives the fifth indication information from the SMF.

3-2) the PCF makes a PCC rule for the terminal group according to the identification of the terminal group and sends the PCC rule to the SMF. Correspondingly, the SMF receives the PCC rule set by the PCF for the terminal group from the PCF.

3-3) the SMF generates a QoS rule in the session context of the terminal group according to the PCC rule.

In case 1, optionally, in order to enable the second terminal to obtain the session context, in the process of establishing the session by the second terminal, the method further includes:

4-1) the AMF sends the session context of the second terminal to the second terminal. Accordingly, the second terminal receives the session context of the second terminal from the AMF. Wherein the session context of the second terminal and the session context of the terminal group may be the same, or the session context of the second terminal contains more information than the session context of the terminal group.

The second terminal may send the session context of the second terminal to the second terminal through the access network device to which the second terminal is accessed.

In case 1, optionally, during the process of establishing the session by the second terminal, the method further includes:

5-1) the M access network devices send the tunnel information of the access network devices to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the tunnel information of the access network device from the M access network devices, and sends the tunnel information of the M access network devices to the SMF. Accordingly, the SMF receives the tunnel information of the M access network devices from the AMF, and transmits the tunnel information of each access network device to the UPF serving each access network device, so that the UPF transmits a data packet to the access network device.

In case 1, in the process of establishing the session by the second terminal, the method further includes:

6-1) the SMF allocates an IP address set for the terminal group and sends the IP address set to the AMF, wherein the IP address set is used for allocating the IP addresses of the terminals in the terminal group. Accordingly, the AMF receives a set of IP addresses from the SMF.

In case 1, optionally, the method further comprises:

7-1) the SMF generates a PDR corresponding to the UPF serving the access network equipment accessed by the second terminal according to the PCC rule.

7-2) the SMF sends the IP address set and corresponding PDR to the UPF. Accordingly, the UPF receives the IP address set and corresponding PDR from the SMF.

The PDR may include an IP address of the second terminal, and the UPF may determine that the second terminal joins the first session according to the PDR. In the process of establishing the session by the first terminal in the terminal group, the first terminal can acquire the session context and the IP address allocated to the first terminal through the PDU session establishment receiving message.

In case 2, terminal a is not the first terminal in the terminal group to request session establishment.

In case 2, terminal a is denoted as the first terminal.

In case 2, the method further comprises:

8-1) the first terminal sends a first message to the access network equipment according to the first indication information, wherein the first message comprises the identifier of the terminal group. Accordingly, the access network device receives a first message from a first terminal in the group of terminals.

8-2) the access network equipment sends a first response to the first terminal according to the first message, wherein the first response carries the session context of the terminal group. Correspondingly, the first terminal receives the first response from the access network equipment, and determines the session context of the terminal group according to the first response.

In case 2, optionally, the first indication information is specifically used to indicate that the terminal acquires the session context of the terminal group from the access network device in a session establishment procedure or an SR procedure. In this case, the sending, by the first terminal, the first message to the access network device according to the first indication information includes: and the terminal sends a first message to the access network equipment in the session establishment process or the SR process according to the first indication information. Correspondingly, the access network device receives a first message from a first terminal in the terminal group, including: in a session establishment process or an SR process of a first terminal, an access network device receives a first message from the first terminal in a terminal group.

Wherein the first message and the first response may be Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages. For example, the first message may be an RRC Connection Reconfiguration (RRC Connection Reconfiguration) message, and the first response may be an RRC Connection Reconfiguration Complete (RRC Connection Reconfiguration Complete) message; alternatively, the first message may be an RRC Setup Complete (RRC Setup Complete) message after the RRC Connection Setup, and the first response may be an RRC Connection Reconfiguration (RRC Connection Reconfiguration) message.

Wherein the first response may be a NAS message.

In case 2, optionally, the method further comprises:

9-1) the access network equipment accessed by the first terminal sends second indication information to the UPF providing service for the access network equipment, wherein the second indication information is used for indicating the UPF that the first terminal joins the first session. Correspondingly, the UPF receives the second indication information, and the UPF binds the first terminal with the IP address in the IP address set.

It should be noted that, in an embodiment of the present application, the first session may include only one QoS flow, and the terminals in the terminal group share the QoS flow, at this time, the joining of the first terminal in the first session in this embodiment may also be understood as the joining of the first terminal in the QoS flow. In another case, the first session includes a plurality of QoS flows, and in this case, after receiving the second indication information, the UPF may determine, according to the second indication information, the QoS flow corresponding to the terminal group that the first terminal joins, because the second indication information is new information. Of course, the second indication information may also directly indicate which QoS flow of the first session the first terminal joined, and the application is not limited thereto.

In case 2, optionally, the method further comprises:

10-1) the UPF adjusts the PDR based on the second indication information.

It should be noted that, in the prior art, each terminal separately performs the establishment of the PDU session, so each terminal uses one QoS flow, and each QoS flow has a fixed bandwidth. In the present application, a plurality of terminals may share one QoS flow, and the more terminals require more bandwidth, for example, if 1 terminal requires 2M bandwidth, 2 terminals require 4M bandwidth, correspondingly, 3 terminals require 6M bandwidth, and so on. Therefore, when a new terminal joins the first session, the UPF and the access network equipment need to increase the bandwidth of the QoS flow. Similarly, when a new terminal exits the first session, the UPF and access network equipment need to reduce the bandwidth of the QoS flow.

In case 2, according to the difference of the value of M, the following scenarios 1(M ═ 1) and 2(M > 1) can be distinguished, and the following further schemes of the methods provided in the present application are explained for scenarios 1 and 2.

Scenario 1, M ═ 1

In scenario 1, since all terminals in the terminal group access the same access network device, the IP addresses of the terminals in the terminal group may be allocated by the same access network device, and thus the method may further include:

11-1) the access network equipment allocates an IP address for the first terminal according to the IP address set.

11-2) the access network equipment sends the IP address allocated for the first terminal to the first terminal.

Scenario 2, M > 1

In scenario 2, since all terminals in the terminal group access different access network devices, the IP address of the terminal in the terminal group may be allocated by the AMF and then sent to the terminal through the access network device that the terminal accesses, and therefore, the method may further include:

12-1) the access network equipment sends an IP address request to the AMF, the IP address request being for requesting an IP address for the first terminal. Accordingly, the AMF receives an IP address request from the access network device.

12-2) the AMF allocates an IP address to the first terminal according to the IP address set.

12-3) the AMF sends the IP address allocated for the first terminal to the access network equipment. Accordingly, the access network equipment receives the IP address allocated by the AMF for the first terminal from the AMF.

12-4) the access network equipment sends the IP address allocated for the first terminal to the first terminal.

It should be noted that, when the access network device sends the IP address and the session context of the terminal group to the first terminal, the access network device may carry the IP address and the session context of the terminal group in the same message and send the same message to the first terminal, or may carry the IP address and the session context of the terminal group in different messages and send the same message to the first terminal.

The above is a specific illustration of the method provided by the present application in case 1 and case 2. It should be noted that, in this embodiment of the present application, the IP address set may also be allocated by the UPF, in which case, the IP address set acquired by the AMF is sent to the SMF by the UPF and then sent to the AMF by the SMF, and in this case, it is understood that the SMF does not need to send the IP address set to the UPF any more.

A further scheme of the method provided by the present application is described below when a terminal (denoted as a third terminal) in the terminal group stops working.

In case that the third terminal in the terminal group stops working, the method further comprises:

and 13-1) the AMF acquires the identifier of the access network equipment accessed by the third terminal and the identifier of the third terminal according to the context of the third terminal.

And 13-2) the AMF sends third indication information to access network equipment accessed by the third terminal, wherein the third indication information is used for indicating the third terminal to stop working. The third indication information may include information indicating to stop operating and an identifier of the third terminal, thereby indicating to stop operating the third terminal. Correspondingly, the access network equipment accessed by the third terminal receives the third indication information from the AMF, and determines that the third terminal stops working according to the third indication information.

13-3) the access network device releases the connection (e.g., RRC connection) with the third terminal.

14-1) the AMF recovers the IP address of the third terminal.

When the third terminal in the terminal group stops working, the UPF can be informed that the third terminal leaves the first session in the following first mode or second mode.

In a first mode

The first mode comprises the following steps:

15-1) the access network device accessed by the third terminal sends sixth indication information and fourth indication information to the UPF providing service for the access network device, wherein the fourth indication information is used for indicating that the UPF third terminal leaves the first session, and the sixth indication information is used for indicating the IP address of the third terminal. Accordingly, the UPF receives the sixth indication information and the fourth indication information.

Mode two

The second mode comprises the following steps:

16-1) the AMF receives sixth indication information from the access network equipment accessed by the third terminal.

16-2) the AMF sends fourth indication information and sixth indication information to a UPF (uplink packet flow) serving for access network equipment accessed by the third terminal through the SMF, wherein the fourth indication information is used for indicating the UPF that the third terminal leaves the first session, and the sixth indication information is used for indicating the IP address of the third terminal. Accordingly, the UPF receives the sixth indication information and the fourth indication information.

The sixth indication information may be the IP address of the third terminal, or may be an identifier of the IP address of the third terminal, for example, a number or a serial number corresponding to the IP address of the third terminal, where the number or the serial number may indicate a position of the IP address of the third terminal in the IP address set.

It should be noted that, in an embodiment of the present application, the first session may include only one QoS flow, and the terminals in the terminal group share the QoS flow, at this time, the third terminal leaving the first session may also be understood as the third terminal leaving the QoS flow. In another case, the first session includes a plurality of QoS flows, and in this case, after receiving the fourth indication information, the UPF may determine, according to the fourth indication information, a QoS flow corresponding to the terminal group that the third terminal leaves, because the fourth indication information is new information. Of course, the fourth indication information may also directly indicate which QoS flow of the first session the third terminal leaves, and the application is not limited thereto.

In the first and second modes, the method further includes step 17-1) and/or step 17-2):

17-1) the UPF recovers the IP address of the third terminal according to the fourth indication information and the sixth indication information.

17-2) the UPF adjusts the PDR according to the fourth indication information.

In the above embodiment, once a terminal joins (for example, the first terminal) or the terminal stops working (for example, the third terminal), the method further includes:

18-1) the access network equipment adjusts the QoS profile of the first QoS flow according to the number of the terminals currently accessed into the access network equipment in the terminal group and the session context of the terminal group. For example, if the bandwidth in the session context of the terminal group is 2M and the number of terminals accessing the access network device is 5, the access network device may adjust the bandwidth in the current QoS profile to 10M. The bandwidth information may be a maximum flow rate (MFBR) or a guaranteed flow rate (GFBR), which is not limited herein.

In the above embodiment, after acquiring the PCC rule, the SMF may generate a QoS profile according to the PCC rule, and send the QoS profile to the access network device.

In the above embodiment, when the AMF or the access network device allocates the IP address to the terminal and the UPF binds the IP address to the terminal, the allocation and the binding are sequentially performed according to the sequence of the IP addresses in the IP address set, where the sequence of the IP addresses may specifically be the following ones, and certainly may also be other sequences, which is not limited in this application.

The first method comprises the following steps: the IP addresses are in order from large to small or small to large.

For example, if the IP address set includes 3 IP addresses, 10.2.2.2.3, 10.2.2.2.4, and 10.2.2.2.5, respectively. Then, the AMF or the access network device may sequentially assign IP addresses to the terminal in the order of 10.2.2.2.3-10.2.2.2.4-10.2.2.2.5, and similarly, the UPF sequentially binds IP addresses to the terminal in the order of 10.2.2.2.3-10.2.2.2.4-10.2.2.2.5.

And the second method comprises the following steps: the IP address table is in the order of front to back or back to front.

For example, if the IP address set includes 3 IP addresses as shown in table 2. If the sequence of the IP addresses is from front to back in the IP address table. Then, the AMF or the access network device may sequentially assign IP addresses to the terminal in the order of 10.2.2.2.3-10.2.2.2.4-10.2.2.2.5, and similarly, the UPF sequentially binds IP addresses to the terminal in the order of 10.2.2.2.3-10.2.2.2.4-10.2.2.2.5.

TABLE 2

IP address
	10.2.2.2.3
10.2.2.2.4
	10.2.2.2.5

And the third is that: and according to the sequence that the numbers corresponding to the IP addresses are from big to small or from small to big.

For example, if the IP address set includes 3 IP addresses as shown in table 3. And if the sequence of the IP addresses is the sequence of the numbers corresponding to the IP addresses from small to large. Then, the AMF or the access network device may sequentially assign IP addresses to the terminal in the order of 10.2.2.2.3-10.2.2.2.4-10.2.2.2.5, and similarly, the UPF sequentially binds IP addresses to the terminal in the order of 10.2.2.2.3-10.2.2.2.4-10.2.2.2.5.

TABLE 3

Number corresponding to IP address	IP address
		1	10.2.2.2.3
2	10.2.2.2.4
		3	10.2.2.2.5

In order to make the embodiments of the present application clearer, taking a terminal as a camera as an example, the method provided by the above embodiments of the present application is exemplarily described through the following embodiments 1 to 7.

Example 1

Embodiment 1 describes a process in which, in a camera registration process, an AMF determines whether to send first indication information to a camera according to whether a session context of a camera group is issued to an access network device to which the camera is accessed.

Referring to fig. 3, the method provided in example 1 includes:

301. after the camera is installed and powered on, the camera sends a registration request to the AMF.

The registration request may include a camera identifier. The camera may communicate with the AMF through the access network device.

302. The AMF performs a registration procedure (registration procedure) by interacting with other network elements.

303. And the AMF determines a camera group to which the camera belongs according to the camera identification, and judges whether the session context of the camera group is issued to the access network equipment to which the camera is accessed.

If so, it means that there is another camera in the camera group that has requested to establish a session, step 303 is followed by executing step 304, if not, it means that the camera is the first camera in the camera group that has requested to establish a session, and step 303 is followed by executing step 305.

304. And the AMF sends a registration response to the camera, wherein the registration response comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating the camera to acquire the session context of the camera group from the accessed access network equipment.

305. The AMF sends a registration response to the camera.

Wherein, the registration request and the registration response can be both NAS messages.

In the above process, the execution sequence of step 302 and step 303 is not sequential.

Example 2

Embodiment 2 exemplifies a process in which a first camera (denoted as camera 1) in a camera group establishes a session when M access network devices are one access network device, and in this case, the camera 1 does not receive the first indication information in a registration process.

Referring to fig. 4, embodiment 2 provides a method including:

401. the camera 1 sends a second message to the AMF through the access network device. Accordingly, the AMF receives the second message from the camera 1 through the access network device.

The second message is used to request that a PDU session is established for the camera 1, and the second message may be an NAS message.

For example, the second message may be a PDU session establishment request (PDU session establishment request).

402. The AMF determines that camera 1 is the first camera in the camera group to request the PDU session establishment.

Specifically, the AMF may determine whether there is another camera in the camera group that requests to establish the PDU session, and if not, determine that the camera 1 is the camera in the camera group that requests to establish the PDU session.

The AMF may determine whether the camera 1 is a camera in the camera group that requests to establish the PDU session according to information about the camera group (e.g., information about which cameras belong to the same camera group, location information about the cameras, etc.).

The AMF may obtain the subscription information including the information of the camera group in the registration process of the camera 1, or may execute the process before the step 402, which is not limited in this application.

403. The AMF sends a third message to the SMF. Accordingly, the SMF receives the third message from the AMF.

The third message carries the identification of the camera group, and the third message is used for requesting the session context of the camera group. The third message may be a PDU session context setup Request (Nsmf _ PDU _ creation _ mcontext Request) sent to the SMF.

404. And the SMF sends fifth indication information to the PCF, wherein the fifth indication information is used for indicating the PCF to set a corresponding PCC rule for the camera group. Accordingly, the PCF receives the fifth indication information from the SMF.

The fifth indication information may include an identifier of the camera group.

405. And the PCF sends the PCC rules established for the camera group to the SMF according to the fifth indication information. Correspondingly, the SMF receives the PCC rules from the PCF, wherein the PCC rules are formulated by the PCF for the camera group.

Before sending the PCC rule established for the camera group, the PCF may establish the PCC rule for the camera group according to the fifth indication information.

Steps 404 and 405 may be implemented in a session management policy association setup (SM policy association establishment)/session management policy association modification (SM policy association modification) flow.

406. The SMF allocates a set of IP addresses for the group of cameras.

407. The SMF sends the IP address set and corresponding PDR to the UPF via the N4 session flow. Accordingly, the UPF receives the IP address set and corresponding PDR from the SMF.

The UPF is a UPF serving access network equipment accessed by the camera 1. Prior to step 407, the SMF may generate a PDR corresponding to the UPF according to the PCC rule. After receiving the IP address set and corresponding PDR, the UPF may save the IP address set and corresponding PDR.

The N4 session flow may be an N4 session establishment (N4 session establishment) flow or an N4 session modification (N4 session modification) flow.

408. The SMF sends the session context and the set of IP addresses for the camera group to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF receives a session context and a set of IP addresses for the camera group from the SMF.

Before step 408, the SMF may generate a QoS rule corresponding to the camera group according to the PCC rule, generate other information in the session context of the camera group according to the other information, form the session context of the camera group, and send the session context to the AMF. Among them, the session context and IP address set of the camera group may be carried in a N1N2 transfer message (Namf _ communication N1N2message transfer) sent to the AMF.

409. The AMF sends the session context of the camera group and the N1 SM container and the N2SM container from the SMF side to the access network equipment. Accordingly, the access network device receives the session context of the camera group and the N1 SM container and the N2SM container from the SMF side.

The N1 SM container may include a PDU session setup accept message, where the PDU session setup accept message includes the session context of camera 1. The N2SM container may include the QoS profile, IP address set, and terminal group identification generated by the SMF for the access network device. The session context of the camera group may be located inside the N2SM container, or may be located outside the N2SM container, and any one or more of the IP address set and the identifier of the terminal group may be located outside the N2SM container, which is not limited in this application. And after receiving the session context and the IP address set of the camera group, the access network equipment stores the session context and the IP address set of the camera group.

The session context and the IP address set of the camera group may be carried in an N2PDU session request (N2PDU request).

410. The access network equipment sends a PDU session setup accept message to the camera 1. Correspondingly, the camera 1 receives the PDU session establishment acceptance message, and acquires the session context of the camera 1 according to the information in the PDU session establishment acceptance message.

It should be noted that, during the PDU session establishment process, the access network device and the UPF may exchange tunnel information (e.g., tunnel address information) through the AMF and the SMF, so as to perform uplink and downlink data transmission.

Example 3

Embodiment 3 exemplifies a process in which, when M access network devices are one access network device, after a first camera (i.e., camera 1) in a camera group establishes a session, other cameras (denoted as cameras 2) establish a session, and in this case, the camera 2 receives first instruction information in a registration process.

In one case, referring to fig. 5, embodiment 3 provides a method comprising:

501. the camera 2 sends an RRC message to the access network device, where the RRC message includes an identifier of a camera group to which the camera 2 belongs. Accordingly, the access network device receives the RRC message from the camera 2.

502. And the access network equipment determines whether the session context and the IP address set of the camera group exist according to the identification of the camera group in the RRC message.

503. The access network device sends a response message of the RRC message to the camera 2.

If the session context and the IP address set of the camera group exist in the access network device, the response message includes the session context of the camera group and the IP address allocated to the camera 2. Optionally, the response message further includes an identifier of the camera group.

If the session context and the IP address set of the camera group do not exist in the access network device, the response message includes an indication message, and the indication message may indicate that the camera 2 performs the existing PDU session establishment procedure or indicate that the camera 2 does not acquire the session context of the camera group.

504. And the access network equipment adjusts the QoS profile of the first QoS flow according to the number of cameras currently accessed into the access network equipment in the camera group and the session context of the camera group.

Specifically, after the camera 2 joins the first session, if the data transmission of the camera 2 needs 3M bandwidth, the access network device may increase the bandwidth in the QoSprofile of the first QoS flow by 3M.

505. And the access network equipment sends second indication information to the UPF providing service for the access network equipment, wherein the second indication information is used for indicating the UPF camera 2 to join the first session. Accordingly, the UPF receives the second indication information from the access network device.

The access network device may add the second indication information in a general packet radio service tunneling protocol (GTP) layer (e.g., a GTP-user plane (GTP-U) layer).

506. The UPF adjusts the PDR of the first QoS flow and binds the IP address in the IP address set with the camera 2.

The method for adjusting the PDR of the first QoS flow by the UPF is similar to the access network device, and is not described again.

In another case, referring to fig. 6, embodiment 3 provides a method comprising:

601. the camera 2 sends an RRC message to the access network device, where the RRC message includes NAS information for requesting PDU session establishment and an identifier of a camera group to which the camera 2 belongs.

602. And the access network equipment determines whether the session context and the IP address set of the camera group exist according to the identification of the camera group in the RRC message.

If yes, go to step 603, otherwise go to step 604 and step 605.

603. The access network equipment sends a response message of the RRC message to the camera 2, wherein the response message of the RRC message comprises the session context of the camera group and the IP address allocated to the camera 2.

604. The access network equipment sends NAS information for requesting PDU session establishment in the RRC message to the AMF.

605. In the subsequent process, the access network device will again store the session context and IP address set of the camera group, and send the session context of the camera 2 and the IP address allocated to the camera 2, or send a PDU session establishment acceptance message from the core network to the camera 2.

The PDU session establishment accept message includes the session context of the camera group and the IP address allocated to the camera 2.

606-608 are the same as the steps 504-506.

Example 4

Embodiment 4 exemplifies a procedure in which a first camera (denoted as camera 1) in a camera group establishes a session when M access network devices are multiple access network devices, and in this case, the camera 1 does not receive the first indication information in a registration procedure.

Referring to fig. 7, embodiment 4 provides a method including:

701-708 are the same as steps 401 to 408, respectively.

709. The AMF maintains a set of IP addresses.

710. The AMF sends the session context of the camera group and the N1 SM container and the N2SM container from the SMF side to the access network equipment. Accordingly, the access network device receives the session context of the camera group and the N1 SM container and the N2SM container from the SMF side.

The N1 SM container may include a PDU session setup accept message, where the PDU session setup accept message includes the session context of camera 1. The N2SM container may include the QoS profile generated by the SMF for the access network device and the identity of the terminal group. The session context of the camera group may be located inside the N2SM container, or may be located outside the N2SM container, or the identifier of the terminal group may be located outside the N2SM container, which is not limited in this application.

711. The access network equipment sends a PDU session setup accept message to the camera 1. Correspondingly, the camera 1 receives the PDU session establishment acceptance message, and acquires the session context of the camera 1 according to the information in the PDU session establishment acceptance message.

712. The AMF sends the session context of the camera group to M-1 access network devices (except the access network device to which camera 1 is accessed). Accordingly, each access network device receives and stores the session context of the camera group from the AMF.

Prior to step 712, the AMF may determine which access network devices the cameras in the group of cameras are within coverage based on the location information of the cameras.

Example 5

Embodiment 5 exemplifies a procedure in which, when M access network devices are multiple access network devices, after a first camera (i.e., camera 1) in a camera group establishes a session, other cameras (denoted as cameras 2) establish a session, and in this case, the camera 2 receives first instruction information in a registration procedure.

In one case, referring to fig. 8, embodiment 5 provides a method comprising:

801. the camera 2 sends an RRC message to the access network device, where the RRC message includes an identifier of a camera group to which the camera 2 belongs. Accordingly, the access network device receives the RRC message from the camera 2.

802. And the access network equipment determines whether the session context and the IP address set of the camera group exist according to the identification of the camera group in the RRC message.

If the session context of the camera group exists in the access network device and no IP address set exists, step 803 to step 806 are executed. If the access network device does not have the session context and IP address set of the camera group, step 807 is executed.

803. The access network device requests the IP address of camera 2 from the AMF through the N2 session flow.

804. The AMF allocates an IP address to the camera 2 according to the IP address set.

805. The AMF sends the IP address assigned for the camera 2 to the access network device.

806. The access network device sends a response message of the RRC message to the camera 2, where the response message includes a session context of the camera group and an IP address allocated to the camera 2.

807. The access network device sends a response message of the RRC message to the camera 2, where the response message includes an indication information, and the indication information may indicate that the camera 2 performs an existing PDU session establishment procedure or indicate that the camera 2 does not acquire a session context of the camera group.

808-810 are the same as steps 504-506, respectively.

In another case, referring to fig. 9, embodiment 5 provides a method comprising:

901. the camera 2 sends an RRC message to the access network device, where the RRC message includes NAS information for requesting PDU session establishment and an identifier of a camera group to which the camera 2 belongs.

902. And the access network equipment determines whether the session context and the IP address set of the camera group exist according to the identification of the camera group in the RRC message.

If the session context of the camera group exists in the access network device and no IP address set exists, step 903 to step 906 are executed. If the access network device does not have the session context and IP address set of the camera group, step 907 and step 908 are executed.

903-906 are the same as the steps 803-806, respectively.

907. The access network equipment sends NAS information for requesting PDU session establishment in the RRC message to the AMF.

908. In the subsequent process, the access network device will again store the session context of the camera group, and send the session context of the camera 2 and the IP address allocated by the AMF for the camera 2 to the camera 2, or send a PDU session establishment acceptance message from the core network to the camera 2.

The PDU session establishment accept message includes the session context of the camera group and the IP address allocated by the AMF to the camera 2. The implementation process of step 908 can be understood by referring to the process of establishing a session by the first terminal in the terminal group, and is not described again.

909-911 are the same as those in steps 504-506, respectively.

Example 6

In embodiment 6, when M access network devices are one access network device, and a camera (denoted as a camera 3) in a camera group stops working, it is necessary to delete corresponding session context information, release an RRC connection, and perform QoS adjustment on a QoS flow, and these procedures are exemplarily described below.

Referring to fig. 10, embodiment 6 provides a method comprising:

1001. when the camera 3 stops working, the AF instructs the UDM to delete the camera 3 in the information of the camera group, the UDM modifies the subscription data of the camera 3 according to the instruction, and the UDM notifies the SMF of the modified subscription data of the camera 3.

The UDM may notify the SMF of the modified subscription data of the camera 3 through the numm _ SDM _ notification, and the SMF may determine that the camera 3 no longer belongs to the camera group according to the modified subscription data of the camera 3.

The camera 3 may stop working for various reasons, for example, the external physical entity is damaged, and for example, the AF or the third party may want the camera 3 to stop working, and if the third party wants the camera 3 to stop working, the third party may notify the AF. In the subsequent process, when the camera 3 can work normally, the AF can instruct the UDM to add the camera 3 into the camera group again. 1002. The AF sends notification information to the SMF, the notification information being used to notify the SMF that the camera 3 stops operating.

The notification information may include identity information of the camera 3 and information indicating that the camera is stopped. The identity information of the camera 3 may be a user permanent identifier (SUPI) of the camera 3.

The AF may communicate with the SMF through the NEF.

In step 1001 and step 1002, one step may be performed.

1003. The SMF notifies the SUPI of the AMF camera 3.

The SUPI of the camera 3 may be carried in the Namf _ Communication _ N1N2message transfer.

1004. The AMF determines an access network device accessed by the camera 3 and a Temporary mobile subscriber identity (S-TMSI) of the camera 3 according to the SUPI of the camera 3 and the session context of the camera 3.

Since the SUPI access network device of the camera 3 cannot be identified, the SUPI of the camera 3 needs to be converted into S-TMSI and then transmitted to the access network device.

1005. The AMF informs the access network device camera 3 of the S-TMSI through the N2 session flow.

Wherein, the S-TMSI of the camera 3 may be carried in the N2PDU session request (N2PDU session request).

1006. The access network device performs RRC connection release (release) to inform the camera 3 to delete the session context.

1007. The access network device adjusts the QoS profile of the first QoS flow and recovers the IP address of the camera 3.

1008. The access network equipment sends the IP address of the camera 3 to the SMF through the AMF.

The IP address of the camera 3 sent by the access network device to the AMF may be carried in an N2PDU session response (N2PDU session response), and the IP address of the camera 3 sent by the AMF to the SMF may be carried in an Nsmf _ PDU session update context (Nsmf _ PDU session update context) message sent to the SMF.

1009. The SMF informs the IP address of the UPF camera 3 through the N4 session flow.

The N4 session flow may be an N4 session modification flow.

Besides sending the IP address of the camera 3 to the UPF through the AMF and the SMF, the access network device may also directly send the IP address of the camera 3 to the UPF.

1010. The UPF adjusts the PDR of the first QoS flow and recovers the IP address of the camera 3.

After receiving the IP address of the camera 3 provided by the SMF, the UPF deletes the camera explicitly corresponding to the IP address.

Example 7

In embodiment 7, when M access network devices are multiple access network devices, and when a camera (referred to as a camera 3) in a camera group stops working, it is necessary to delete corresponding session context information, release an RRC connection, and perform QoS adjustment on a QoS flow, and these procedures are exemplarily described below.

Referring to fig. 11, embodiment 7 provides a method comprising:

1101-.

1104. The AMF determines the access network equipment accessed by the camera 3 and the S-TMSI of the camera 3 according to the SUPI of the camera 3 and the session context of the camera 3, and recovers the IP address of the camera 3.

1105 + 1106 is the same as steps 1005 and 1006, respectively.

1107. The access network device adjusts the QoS profile of the first QoS flow.

1108. The AMF sends the IP address of the camera 3 to the SMF.

1109 + 1110 is the same as step 1009 and step 1010, respectively.

The method and the device abandon the original complex signaling interaction scheme for establishing the PDU session by each terminal, in the session establishment process of the first terminal in the terminal group, the core network can directly generate a corresponding session context and an IP address set for the terminal group and send the session context to the access network equipment, other terminals in the subsequent terminal group can directly realize the establishment of the PDU session or the SR process through interacting with the access network equipment, the IP address set is sent to AMF (when M is more than 1) or the access network equipment (when M is 1), and on UPF, the access network equipment or AMF carries out uniform IP address allocation and management, repeated interaction and repeated QoS decision with the core network are not carried out any more, thereby ensuring that other terminals in the subsequent terminal group realize the great simplification of the signaling in the session establishment or the SR process, and effectively improving the efficiency and the resource utilization rate.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a session modification scheme in a terminal group under a terminal stop working scene, which can ensure that a network side deletes a terminal which stops working or needs to stop working, and can timely perform QoS adjustment of a QoS flow facing the group, and ensure that an access network device (when M is 1) or an AMF (when M is greater than 1) and a UPF perform IP address set update.

The system architecture and the service scenario described in the embodiment of the present application are for more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application. As can be known to those skilled in the art, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new service scenarios, the technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems.

The above description has presented the embodiments of the present application primarily from a method perspective. It is to be understood that each network element, for example, SMF, AMF, UPF, access network device, terminal, in order to implement the above functions, includes at least one of a corresponding hardware structure and a corresponding software module for performing each function. Those of skill in the art would readily appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware or combinations of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is performed as hardware or computer software drives hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

In the embodiment of the present application, the SMF, the AMF, the UPF, the access network device, and the terminal may be divided according to the above method examples, for example, each functional unit may be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions may be integrated into one processing unit. The integrated unit can be realized in a form of hardware, and can also be realized in a form of a software functional unit. It should be noted that the division of the unit in the embodiment of the present application is schematic, and is only a logic function division, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation.

Exemplarily, fig. 12 shows a schematic diagram of a possible structure of a communication apparatus (referred to as a communication apparatus 120) according to the above embodiment, where the communication apparatus 120 includes a processing unit 1201 and a communication unit 1202. Optionally, a storage unit 1203 is further included. The communication device 120 may be used to illustrate the structures of the SMF, AMF, UPF, access network equipment, and terminal in the above embodiments.

When the schematic structural diagram shown in fig. 12 is used to illustrate the structure of the SMF in the foregoing embodiment, the processing unit 1201 is configured to control and manage actions of the SMF, for example, the processing unit 1201 is configured to execute actions performed by the SMF in 403-408 in fig. 4, 703-708 in fig. 7, 1002, 1003, 1008, and 1009 in fig. 10, 1102, 1103, 1108, and 1109 in fig. 11, and/or other processes described in this embodiment. The processing unit 1201 may communicate with other network entities, e.g., the AMF in fig. 4, through the communication unit 1202. The storage unit 1203 is used to store the program code and data of the SMF.

When the structure diagram shown in fig. 12 is used to illustrate the structure of the AMF in the above embodiment, the processing unit 1201 is used to control and manage the actions of the AMF, for example, the processing unit 1201 is used to execute actions performed by the AMF in 201-203 in fig. 2, 301-305 in fig. 3, 401-403, 408, and 409 in fig. 4, 604 in fig. 6, 701-703, 708-710, 712 in fig. 7, 803-805 in fig. 8, 903-905, 907 in fig. 9, 1003-1005, 1008 in fig. 10, 1103-1105, 1108 in fig. 11, and/or other processes described in this embodiment. The processing unit 1201 may communicate with other network entities, e.g. the SMF in fig. 4, via the communication unit 1202. The storage unit 1203 is used for storing program codes and data of the AMF.

When the schematic structural diagram shown in fig. 12 is used to illustrate the structure of the UPF in the foregoing embodiment, the processing unit 1201 is configured to control and manage actions of the UPF, for example, the processing unit 1201 is configured to execute 407 in fig. 4, 505 and 506 in fig. 5, 607 and 608 in fig. 6, 707 in fig. 7, 809 and 810 in fig. 8, 910 and 911 in fig. 9, 1009 and 1010 in fig. 10, 1109 and 1110 in fig. 11, and/or actions executed by the UPF in other processes described in this embodiment. The processing unit 1201 may communicate with other network entities, e.g. the SMF in fig. 4, via the communication unit 1202. The storage unit 1203 is used to store program codes and data of the UPF.

When the structure diagram shown in fig. 12 is used to illustrate the structure of the access network device in the foregoing embodiment, the processing unit 1201 is configured to control and manage the actions of the access network device, for example, the processing unit 1201 is configured to execute 203 in fig. 2 (at this time, the access network device is any one of the M access network devices), 301, 304, 305 in fig. 3, 401, 409, 410 in fig. 4, 501 and 505 in fig. 5, 601 and 607 in fig. 6, 701, 710, 711 in fig. 7, 801 and 803 and 805 and 809 in fig. 8, 901 and 903 and 905 and 910 in fig. 9, 1005 and 1008 in fig. 10, 1105 and 1107 in fig. 11, and/or the actions executed by the access network device in other processes described in this embodiment. The processing unit 1201 may communicate with other network entities, e.g., the AMF in fig. 4, through the communication unit 1202. The storage unit 1203 is used for storing program codes and data of the access network equipment.

When the schematic configuration diagram shown in fig. 12 is used to illustrate the configuration of the terminal according to the above-described embodiment, the processing unit 1201 is configured to control and manage the operation of the terminal, for example, the processing unit 1201 is configured to execute 202 in fig. 2 (in this case, the terminal is terminal a), 301, 304, 305 in fig. 3 (in this case, the terminal is a camera), 401, 410 in fig. 4 (in this case, the terminal is camera 1), 501, 503 in fig. 5 (in this case, the terminal is camera 2), 601, 603 in fig. 6 (in this case, the terminal is camera 2), 701, 711 in fig. 7 (in this case, the terminal is camera 1), 801, 806, 807 in fig. 8 (in this case, the terminal is camera 2), 901, 906 in fig. 9 (in this case, the terminal is camera 2), 1106 in fig. 10 (in this case, the terminal is camera 3), 1106 in fig. 11 (in this case, the terminal is camera 3), and/or actions performed by the terminal in other processes described in embodiments of the present application. The processing unit 1201 may communicate with other network entities, e.g. with the access network device in fig. 4, via the communication unit 1202. The storage unit 1203 is used for storing program codes and data of the terminal.

The communication device 120 may be, for example, a single device or a chip or a system of chips.

When the communication apparatus 120 is a device, the processing unit 1201 may be a processor; the communication unit 1202 may be a communication interface, a transceiver, or an input interface and/or an output interface. Alternatively, the transceiver may be a transmit-receive circuit. Alternatively, the input interface may be an input circuit and the output interface may be an output circuit.

When the communication device 120 is a chip or a chip system, the communication unit 1202 may be a communication interface, an input interface and/or an output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin or a related circuit, etc. on the chip or the chip system. The processing unit 1201 may be a processor, a processing circuit, a logic circuit, or the like.

The integrated unit in fig. 12, if implemented in the form of a software functional module and sold or used as a separate product, may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application may be essentially implemented or make a contribution to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solutions may be implemented in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium, and including several instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a network device, or the like) or a processor (processor) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the present application. A storage medium storing a computer software product comprising: various media capable of storing program codes, such as a usb disk, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of a communication device, referring to fig. 13 or fig. 14, the communication device includes a processor 1301, and optionally, further includes a memory 1302 connected to the processor 1301.

The processor 1301 may be a general processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more ics for controlling the execution of programs in accordance with the present disclosure. The processor 1301 may also include multiple CPUs, and the processor 1301 may be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. A processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, or processing cores that process data (e.g., computer program instructions).

The memory 1302 may be a ROM or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a RAM or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, an EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory), a CD-ROM (compact disk read-only memory) or other optical disk storage, an optical disk storage (including a compact disk, a laser disk, an optical disk, a digital versatile disk, a blu-ray disk, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, and is not limited in this respect. The memory 1302 may be separate (in which case the processor may be external or internal to the communication device) or may be integrated with the processor 1301. The memory 1302 may include, among other things, computer program code. The processor 1301 is configured to execute the computer program code stored in the memory 1302, thereby implementing the methods provided by the embodiments of the present application.

In a first possible implementation, referring to fig. 13, the communication device further includes a transceiver 1303. The processor 1301, the memory 1302, and the transceiver 1303 are connected by a bus. The transceiver 1303 is used for communication with other devices or communication networks. Optionally, the transceiver 1303 may include a transmitter and a receiver. The device for implementing the receiving function in the transceiver 1303 may be regarded as a receiver, and the receiver is used for performing the receiving step in the embodiment of the present application. The device for implementing the transmitting function in the transceiver 1303 may be regarded as a transmitter, and the transmitter is used for executing the transmitting step in the embodiment of the present application.

Based on a first possible implementation manner, the schematic structural diagram shown in fig. 13 may be used to illustrate the structures of the SMF, the AMF, the UPF, the access network device, and the terminal in the foregoing embodiments.

When the structure diagram shown in fig. 13 is used to illustrate the structure of the SMF in the foregoing embodiment, the processor 1301 is configured to control and manage the actions of the SMF, for example, the processor 1301 is configured to execute actions performed by the SMF in 403-408 in fig. 4, 703-708 in fig. 7, 1002, 1003, 1008, and 1009 in fig. 10, 1102, 1103, 1108, and 1109 in fig. 11, and/or other processes described in this embodiment. The processor 1301 may communicate with other network entities, such as the AMF in fig. 4, through the transceiver 1303. The memory 1302 is used to store program codes and data for the SMF.

When the structure diagram shown in fig. 13 is used to illustrate the structure of the AMF in the above embodiment, the processor 1301 is configured to control and manage the actions of the AMF, for example, the processor 1301 is configured to execute actions performed by the AMF in 201-203 in fig. 2, 301-305 in fig. 3, 401-403, 408, and 409 in fig. 4, 604 in fig. 6, 701-703, 708-710, 712 in fig. 7, 803-805 in fig. 8, 903-905, 907 in fig. 9, 1003-1005, 1008 in fig. 10, 1103-1105, 1108 in fig. 11, and/or other processes described in this embodiment. The processor 1301 can communicate with other network entities, such as the SMF in fig. 4, through the transceiver 1303. The memory 1302 is used to store program codes and data of the AMF.

When the schematic structure diagram shown in fig. 13 is used to illustrate the structure of the UPF in the foregoing embodiment, the processor 1301 is configured to control and manage actions of the UPF, for example, the processor 1301 is configured to execute 407 in fig. 4, 505 and 506 in fig. 5, 607 and 608 in fig. 6, 707 in fig. 7, 809 and 810 in fig. 8, 910 and 911 in fig. 9, 1009 and 1010 in fig. 10, 1109 and 1110 in fig. 11, and/or actions performed by the UPF in other processes described in this embodiment. The processor 1301 can communicate with other network entities, such as the SMF in fig. 4, through the transceiver 1303. The memory 1302 is used to store program codes and data for the UPF.

When the structure diagram shown in fig. 13 is used to illustrate the structure of the access network device in the foregoing embodiment, the processor 1301 is configured to control and manage the actions of the access network device, for example, the processor 1301 is configured to execute 203 in fig. 2 (at this time, the access network device is any one of the M access network devices), 301, 304, 305 in fig. 3, 401, 409, 410 in fig. 4, 501 and 505 in fig. 5, 601 and 607 in fig. 6, 701, 710, 711 in fig. 7, 801 and 803 and 805 and 809 in fig. 8, 901 and 903 and 905 and 910 in fig. 9, 1005 and 1008 in fig. 10, 1105 and 1107 in fig. 11, and/or the actions executed by the access network device in other processes described in this embodiment. The processor 1301 may communicate with other network entities, such as the AMF in fig. 4, through the transceiver 1303. The memory 1302 is used for storing program codes and data for the access network equipment.

When the schematic configuration shown in fig. 13 is used to illustrate the configuration of the terminal according to the above embodiment, the processor 1301 is configured to control and manage the operation of the terminal, for example, the processor 1301 is configured to execute 202 in fig. 2 (in this case, the terminal is terminal a), 301, 304, 305 in fig. 3 (in this case, the terminal is a camera), 401, 410 in fig. 4 (in this case, the terminal is camera 1), 501, 503 in fig. 5 (in this case, the terminal is camera 2), 601, 603 in fig. 6 (in this case, the terminal is camera 2), 701, 711 in fig. 7 (in this case, the terminal is camera 1), 801, 806, 807 in fig. 8 (in this case, the terminal is camera 2), 901, 906 in fig. 9 (in this case, the terminal is camera 2), 1106 in fig. 10 (in this case, the terminal is camera 3), 1106 in fig. 11 (in this case, the terminal is camera 3), and/or actions performed by the terminal in other processes described in embodiments of the present application. The processor 1301 can communicate with other network entities, such as the access network equipment in fig. 4, through the transceiver 1303. The memory 1302 is used for storing program codes and data of the terminal.

In a second possible implementation, the processor 1301 comprises logic circuitry and at least one of an input interface and an output interface. Illustratively, the output interface is for performing the act of transmitting in the respective method and the input interface is for performing the act of receiving in the respective method.

Based on the second possible implementation manner, referring to fig. 14, the schematic structure diagram shown in fig. 14 may be used to illustrate the structures of the SMF, the AMF, the UPF, the access network device, and the terminal in the foregoing embodiments.

When the structure diagram shown in fig. 14 is used to illustrate the structure of the SMF in the above embodiment, the processor 1301 is configured to control and manage the actions of the SMF, for example, the processor 1301 is configured to execute actions performed by the SMF in 403-408 in fig. 4, 703-708 in fig. 7, 1002, 1003, 1008, and 1009 in fig. 10, 1102, 1103, 1108, and 1109 in fig. 11, and/or other processes described in this embodiment. The processor 1301 may communicate with other network entities, for example, the AMF in fig. 4, through at least one of the input interface and the output interface. The memory 1302 is used to store program codes and data for the SMF.

When the structure diagram shown in fig. 14 is used to illustrate the structure of the AMF in the above embodiment, the processor 1301 is configured to control and manage the actions of the AMF, for example, the processor 1301 is configured to execute actions performed by the AMF in 201-203 in fig. 2, 301-305 in fig. 3, 401-403, 408, and 409 in fig. 4, 604 in fig. 6, 701-703, 708-710, 712 in fig. 7, 803-805 in fig. 8, 903-905, 907 in fig. 9, 1003-1005, 1008 in fig. 10, 1103-1105, 1108 in fig. 11, and/or other processes described in this embodiment. The processor 1301 may communicate with other network entities, for example, the SMF in fig. 4, through at least one of the input interface and the output interface. The memory 1302 is used to store program codes and data of the AMF.

When the schematic structure diagram shown in fig. 14 is used to illustrate the structure of the UPF in the above embodiment, the processor 1301 is configured to control and manage actions of the UPF, for example, the processor 1301 is configured to execute 407 in fig. 4, 505 and 506 in fig. 5, 607 and 608 in fig. 6, 707 in fig. 7, 809 and 810 in fig. 8, 910 and 911 in fig. 9, 1009 and 1010 in fig. 10, 1109 and 1110 in fig. 11, and/or actions performed by the UPF in other processes described in this embodiment. The processor 1301 may communicate with other network entities, for example, the SMF in fig. 4, through at least one of the input interface and the output interface. The memory 1302 is used to store program codes and data for the UPF.

When the structure diagram shown in fig. 14 is used to illustrate the structure of the access network device in the foregoing embodiment, the processor 1301 is configured to control and manage the actions of the access network device, for example, the processor 1301 is configured to execute 203 in fig. 2 (at this time, the access network device is any one of the M access network devices), 301, 304, 305 in fig. 3, 401, 409, 410 in fig. 4, 501 and 505 in fig. 5, 601 and 607 in fig. 6, 701, 710, 711 in fig. 7, 801 and 803 and 805 and 809 in fig. 8, 901 and 903 and 905 and 910 in fig. 9, 1005 and 1008 in fig. 10, 1105 and 1107 in fig. 11, and/or the actions executed by the access network device in other processes described in this embodiment. The processor 1301 may communicate with other network entities, for example, the AMF in fig. 4, through at least one of the input interface and the output interface. The memory 1302 is used for storing program codes and data for the access network equipment.

When the schematic configuration shown in fig. 14 is used to illustrate the configuration of the terminal according to the above embodiment, the processor 1301 is configured to control and manage the operation of the terminal, for example, the processor 1301 is configured to execute 202 in fig. 2 (in this case, the terminal is terminal a), 301, 304, 305 in fig. 3 (in this case, the terminal is a camera), 401, 410 in fig. 4 (in this case, the terminal is camera 1), 501, 503 in fig. 5 (in this case, the terminal is camera 2), 601, 603 in fig. 6 (in this case, the terminal is camera 2), 701, 711 in fig. 7 (in this case, the terminal is camera 1), 801, 806, 807 in fig. 8 (in this case, the terminal is camera 2), 901, 906 in fig. 9 (in this case, the terminal is camera 2), 1106 in fig. 10 (in this case, the terminal is camera 3), 1106 in fig. 11 (in this case, the terminal is camera 3), and/or actions performed by the terminal in other processes described in embodiments of the present application. The processor 1301 may communicate with other network entities, for example, the access network device in fig. 4, through at least one of the input interface and the output interface. The memory 1302 is used for storing program codes and data of the terminal.

In implementation, the steps of the method provided by this embodiment may be implemented by hardware integrated logic circuits in a processor or instructions in the form of software. The steps of a method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented by a hardware processor, or may be implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in a processor.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium, which includes instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform any of the above methods.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product containing instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform any of the methods described above.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, including: any one or more of SMF, AMF, UPF, access network device and terminal.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, including: a processor coupled to the memory through the interface, and an interface, when the processor executes the computer program or instructions in the memory, causing any of the methods provided by the above embodiments to be performed.

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

While the present application has been described in connection with various embodiments, other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed application, from a review of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the word "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

Although the present application has been described in conjunction with specific features and embodiments thereof, it will be evident that various modifications and combinations can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Accordingly, the specification and figures are merely exemplary of the present application as defined in the appended claims and are intended to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents within the scope of the present application. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is intended to include such modifications and variations as well.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

the access network equipment receives a session context of a terminal group and an identifier of the terminal group from a mobile management network element, wherein the services of the terminals in the terminal group have the same QoS (quality of service) requirement;

the access network equipment receives a first message from a first terminal in the terminal group, wherein the first message comprises an identifier of the terminal group, and the access network equipment is access network equipment accessed by the first terminal;

and the access network equipment sends a first response to the first terminal according to the first message, wherein the first response carries the session context of the terminal group.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the access network device receiving the session context of the terminal group from the mobility management element comprises:

in the process of establishing a session by a second terminal in the terminal group, the access network device receives the session context of the terminal group and the identifier of the terminal group from the mobility management network element, and the second terminal is a terminal which requests to establish a session for the first terminal in the terminal group.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the receiving, by the access network device, the first message from the first terminal in the group of terminals comprises:

and the access network equipment receives the first message from the first terminal in the session establishment process or the service request process of the first terminal.

4. The method of any of claims 1-3, wherein a terminal in the group of terminals accesses M access network devices, M-1, the method further comprising:

the access network equipment receives an Internet Protocol (IP) address set from the mobile management network element;

the access network equipment allocates an IP address to the first terminal according to the IP address set;

and the access network equipment sends the IP address distributed for the first terminal to the first terminal.

5. The method of any of claims 1-3, wherein a terminal in the group of terminals accesses M access network devices, M > 1, M being an integer, the access network device being one of the M access network devices, the method further comprising:

the access network equipment sends an IP address request to the mobile management network element, wherein the IP address request is used for requesting an IP address for the first terminal;

the access network equipment receives the IP address allocated to the first terminal by the mobility management network element from the mobility management network element;

and the access network equipment sends the IP address allocated to the first terminal by the mobile management network element to the first terminal.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, further comprising:

the access network device sends second indication information to a user plane network element providing service for the access network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate the user plane network element that the first terminal joins in a first session, and terminals in the terminal group share one QoS stream in the first session, or terminals in the terminal group that access the access network device share one QoS stream in the first session.

7. The method of any of claims 1-6, wherein in case a third terminal in the group of terminals accessing the access network device stops operating, the method further comprises:

the access network device sends sixth indication information and fourth indication information to a user plane network element providing service for the access network device, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the third terminal of the user plane network element leaves a first session, the sixth indication information is used to indicate an IP address of the third terminal, and terminals in the terminal group share one QoS flow in the first session, or terminals in the terminal group accessing the access network device share one QoS flow in the first session.

8. The method of any of claims 1-7, wherein in case a third terminal in the group of terminals accessing the access network device stops operating, the method further comprises:

the access network equipment receives third indication information from the mobility management network element, wherein the third indication information is used for indicating the third terminal to stop working;

and the access network equipment releases the connection with the third terminal.

9. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the method further comprises:

and the access network equipment adjusts the QoS configuration file of the QoS flow according to the number of the terminals currently accessed into the access network equipment in the terminal group and the session context of the terminal group.

10. A method of communication, comprising:

in the registration process of a terminal, a mobile management network element judges whether the session context of a terminal group to which the terminal belongs is issued to access network equipment, wherein the access network equipment is the access network equipment accessed by the terminal, and the services of the terminals in the terminal group have the same QoS (quality of service) requirements;

if so, the mobility management network element sends first indication information to the terminal, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating the terminal to acquire a session context from the access network equipment;

if not, in the process of establishing the session by the terminal, the mobility management network element sends the session context of the terminal group and the identifier of the terminal group to M access network devices, wherein the M access network devices are access network devices accessed by the terminal in the terminal group, the M access network devices comprise access network devices accessed by the terminal, and M is an integer greater than 0.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the first indication information is specifically used to instruct the terminal to obtain a session context from the access network device in a session establishment procedure or a service request procedure.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein during the session establishment of the terminal, the method further comprises:

the mobile management network element receives a second message from the terminal, wherein the second message is used for requesting to establish a session for the terminal;

the mobile management network element determines that the terminal is a terminal which requests to establish a session for the first terminal in the terminal group;

the mobile management network element sends a third message to a session management network element, wherein the third message carries the identifier of the terminal group, and the third message is used for requesting the session context of the terminal group;

the mobility management element receives the session context of the terminal group from the session management element.

13. The method according to any of claims 10-12, wherein during the session establishment of the terminal, the method further comprises:

the mobility management network element receives an internet protocol, IP, address set from a session management network element, the IP address set being used for allocation of IP addresses of terminals in the terminal group.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein if M ═ 1, during the session establishment procedure of the terminal, the method further comprises:

and the mobile management network element sends the IP address set to the access network equipment.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein in the event that a third terminal of the group of terminals ceases to operate, the method further comprises:

the mobility management network element receives sixth indication information from the M access network devices, where the sixth indication information is used to indicate an IP address of the third terminal;

the mobility management network element sends fourth indication information and the sixth indication information to a user plane network element serving the M access network devices through the session management network element, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate the user plane network element that the third terminal leaves the first session;

the terminals in the terminal group share one QoS flow in the first session, or the terminals in the terminal group accessing the same access network device share one QoS flow in the first session.

16. The method according to claim 13, wherein M > 1, and during the session establishment of the terminal, the method further comprises:

the mobile management network element receives an IP address request from access network equipment accessed by the terminal, wherein the IP address request is used for requesting an IP address for the terminal;

the mobile management network element allocates an IP address to the terminal according to the IP address set;

and the mobile management network element sends the IP address allocated to the terminal to the access network equipment accessed by the terminal.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein in the event that a third terminal of the group of terminals ceases to operate, the method further comprises:

the mobile management network element recovers the IP address of the third terminal;

the mobility management network element sends fourth indication information and sixth indication information to a user plane network element serving access network equipment accessed by the third terminal through the session management network element, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate the user plane network element that the third terminal leaves the first session, and the sixth indication information is used to indicate an IP address of the third terminal;

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

the mobility management network element obtains an identifier of an access network device accessed by the third terminal and an identifier of the third terminal according to the context of the third terminal;

and the mobility management network element sends third indication information to access network equipment accessed by the third terminal, wherein the third indication information is used for indicating the third terminal to stop working.

19. The method according to any of claims 10-18, wherein during the session establishment of the terminal, the method further comprises:

the mobile management network element receives the tunnel information of the M access network devices from the M access network devices;

and the mobile management network element sends the tunnel information of the M access network devices to a session management network element.

20. The method according to any of claims 10-19, wherein during the session establishment of the terminal, the method further comprises:

and the mobile management network element sends the session context of the terminal to the terminal.

21. The method according to any of claims 10-20, wherein the determining, by the mobility management element, the terminal group to which the terminal belongs according to the identifier of the terminal comprises:

and the mobile management network element acquires the subscription information of the terminal from a data management network element according to the identifier of the terminal, wherein the subscription information comprises the information of the terminal group to which the terminal belongs.

22. A method of communication, comprising:

a terminal receives first indication information from a mobile management network element in a registration process, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating the terminal to acquire a session context from an accessed access network device, the terminal belongs to a terminal group, and services of the terminals in the terminal group have the same QoS (quality of service) requirements;

the terminal sends a first message to the access network equipment according to the first indication information, wherein the first message comprises the identifier of the terminal group;

and the terminal receives a first response from the access network equipment, wherein the first response carries the session context of the terminal group.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the first indication information is specifically used to indicate that the terminal acquires a session context from the access network device in a session establishment procedure or a service request procedure, and the terminal sends a first message to the access network device according to the first indication information, where the method includes:

and the terminal sends the first message to the access network equipment in a session establishment process or a service request process according to the first indication information.

24. A method of communication, comprising:

a session management network element receives a third message of a second terminal from a mobile management network element, wherein the second terminal is a terminal which requests to establish a session for the first terminal in a terminal group, the services of the terminals in the terminal group have the same QoS (quality of service) requirement, the third message carries an identifier of the terminal group, and the third message is used for requesting a session context of the terminal group;

the session management network element creates a session context of the terminal group according to the identifier of the terminal group;

and the session management network element sends the session context of the terminal group to the mobility management network element.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

and the session management network element allocates an Internet Protocol (IP) address set for the terminal group and sends the IP address set to the mobile management network element, wherein the IP address set is used for allocating IP addresses of the terminals in the terminal group.

26. The method according to claim 24 or 25, characterised in that before the session management element sends the session context of the terminal group to the mobility management element, the method further comprises:

the session management network element sends fifth indication information to a policy control network element, where the fifth indication information is used to indicate the policy control network element to make a corresponding Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rule for the terminal group;

the session management network element receives a PCC rule made by the policy control network element for the terminal group from the policy control network element;

and the session management network element generates a QoS rule in the session context of the terminal group according to the PCC rule.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising:

the session management network element generates a packet detection rule PDR corresponding to a user plane network element serving the access network equipment accessed by the second terminal according to the PCC rule;

and the session management network element sends an IP address set and a PDR corresponding to the user plane network element.

28. A method of communication, comprising:

a user plane network element receives an Internet Protocol (IP) address set from a session management network element, wherein the IP address set is used for allocating IP addresses of terminals in a terminal group, the services of the terminals in the terminal group have the same QoS (quality of service) requirement, and the terminals in the terminal group share one QoS flow in a first session, or the terminals in the terminal group, which are accessed into the same access network device, share one QoS flow in the first session;

the user plane network element receives second indication information, wherein the second indication information is used for indicating a first terminal of the user plane network element to join the first session, and the user plane network element binds the first terminal with an IP address in the IP address set; or, the user plane network element receives sixth indication information and fourth indication information, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate that a third terminal of the user plane network element leaves the first session, the sixth indication information is used to indicate an IP address of the third terminal, and the user plane network element recovers the IP address of the third terminal according to the fourth indication information and the sixth indication information.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

the user plane network element receives a packet detection rule PDR corresponding to the user plane network element from the session management network element, and the PDR is generated according to a Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rule formulated for the terminal group;

and the user plane network element adjusts the PDR according to the second indication information or the fourth indication information.

30. A communications apparatus, comprising: one or more functional units for performing the communication method according to any one of claims 1-9, or for performing the communication method according to any one of claims 10-21, or for performing the communication method according to claim 22 or 23, or for performing the communication method according to any one of claims 24-27, or for performing the communication method according to claim 28 or 29.

31. A communications apparatus, comprising: a processor coupled with a memory, the processor being configured to perform the communication method according to any one of claims 1-9, or to perform the communication method according to any one of claims 10-21, or to perform the communication method according to claim 22 or 23, or to perform the communication method according to any one of claims 24-27, or to perform the communication method according to claim 28 or 29.