CN114430931B

CN114430931B - Method, device and system for establishing interface

Info

Publication number: CN114430931B
Application number: CN201980100662.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 罗海燕; 曾清海; 戴明增
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-09-30
Filing date: 2019-09-30
Publication date: 2024-03-26
Anticipated expiration: 2039-09-30
Also published as: CN114430931A; WO2021062850A1

Abstract

The application discloses a method, a device and a system for establishing an interface, wherein the method comprises the following steps: the first node sends a first message to an access management function AMF, wherein the first message comprises information of a local user plane management function L-UPF and a data network name DNN, after the AMF receives the first message from the first node, the AMF sends an identification of the first node, the information of the L-UPF and the DNN to an SMF, the SMF returns a first interface message to the AMF, and the AMF sends the first interface message received from the SMF to the first node. Wherein the first interface message is used to establish an interface between the L-UPF and a session management function SMF.

Description

Method, device and system for establishing interface

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a method, an apparatus, and a system for establishing an interface.

Background

Industrial internet of things (industry internet of thing, IIoT) mainly includes three types of nodes: line controllers (line controllers), machine controllers (machine controller) and devices. The device may be, for example, a sensor (sensor), an actuator (actuator), an in-out device (I/O box), or the like. Generally, the line controller controls the machine controller, which controls the equipment. Whether it is a line controller or a machine controller, in particular a programmable logic controller PLC. For example, on a car line, the line controller informs the machine controller when to grasp the car, and the machine controller tells the various actuators on the robotic arm what actions to do at what time.

Four types of transmission are mainly used among the industrial Internet of things: communication between line controller and machine controller (L2C), communication between machine controller and machine controller (C2C), machine controller and inter-device communication (C2D), inter-device communication (D2D). Where the latency requirements for C2D communications are high, C2D typically has a requirement for a transmission period of 0.5ms to 2ms, assuming that the transmission period is the duration for the machine controller to send instructions to the device and to feed back parameters to the machine controller by the device.

Generally, machine controllers in a factory may have certain mobility requirements, so there is a high demand for flexible deployment of machine controllers. How to deploy interfaces between devices in industrial internet of things transmission to meet the requirements of flexible deployment of machine controllers and simultaneously meet the transmission cycle requirements of short time delay is a problem to be solved.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a method and a device for establishing an interface, which are used for solving the problem of how to deploy interfaces between network elements in industrial Internet of things transmission so as to adapt to the flexible deployment requirement of a machine controller.

In a first aspect, there is provided a method of interface establishment, the method being described from the point of view of execution by a first node, the method being implemented by: the first node sends a first message to an access management function AMF, wherein the first message comprises information of a local user plane management function L-UPF and a data network name DNN; the first node receives a second message from the AMF, the second message comprising a first interface message for establishing an interface between the L-UPF and a session management function, SMF. The first interface message may be, for example, a first N4 message for establishing an N4 interface between said L-UPF and a session management function SMF. By the method, a wireless transmission N4 logic interface can be established, the established N4 interface can be more suitable for the distributed flexible deployment requirement of a machine controller in the industrial Internet of things compared with a wired N4 interface, and the data transmission efficiency of C2D communication and the performance of the industrial Internet of things are improved.

The first node may be an IAB node having the functionality of an MT and a DU. The DUs in the first node are enhanced DUs that mainly contain the SDAP/PDCP/RLC/MAC/PHY protocol layers or contain the PDCP/RLC/MAC/PHY protocol layers.

In one possible design, the L-UPF and the first node are physically deployed together; or the L-UPF and the DNN corresponding data network DN are physically deployed together with the first node.

For example, the DNN is the name or address of the machine controller.

In one possible design, the first node sending the first message to the AMF may be implemented by: the first node sends a first message to the AMF through a second node, wherein the first message is a first non-access stratum NAS message, and the second node is an upper node of the first node or is access network equipment.

In one possible design, the first node receives a second message from the AMF, including:

the first node receives a second message from the AMF through a second node, wherein the second message is a second NAS message, and the second node is a superior node of the first node or is access network equipment.

In a second aspect, a method for establishing an interface is provided, an execution subject of the method is an AMF, and the method specifically may include the following steps: the access management function AMF receives a first message from a first node, wherein the first message comprises information of a local user plane management function L-UPF and a data network name DNN; the AMF sends the identification of the first node, the information of the L-UPF and the DNN to a session management function SMF; the AMF receives a first interface message from the SMF; the AMF sends the first interface message to the first node, wherein the first interface message is used for establishing an interface between the L-UPF and a session management function SMF. The first interface message may be, for example, a first N4 message for establishing an N4 interface between said L-UPF and a session management function SMF. By the method, a wireless transmission N4 logic interface can be established, the established N4 interface can be more suitable for the distributed flexible deployment requirement of a machine controller in the industrial Internet of things compared with a wired N4 interface, and the data transmission efficiency of C2D communication and the performance of the industrial Internet of things are improved.

In one possible design, the method further comprises: and the AMF stores the information of the L-UPF and the corresponding relation between at least two of the DNN and the SMF. In this way, when the terminal applies for establishing the PDU session, DNN is carried in the PDU session establishment request, and the AMF can find the corresponding SMF according to the mapping relation among the DNN, the SMF and the L-UPF stored before.

In one possible design, the method further comprises: the AMF receives a protocol data unit PDU session establishment request from a terminal device, wherein the PDU session establishment request comprises the DNN; the AMF determines the L-UPF and the SMF associated with the DNN according to the stored corresponding relation; the AMF sends at least one of the information of the L-UPF or the DNN and the identification of terminal equipment to the SMF; the AMF receives the identification of the terminal equipment, the identification of the first node and the second interface message from the SMF, wherein the second interface message is used for establishing a session between the L-UPF and the SMF, and the session between the L-UPF and the SMF corresponds to a PDU session requested to be established by the terminal equipment. The AMF finds out the corresponding L-UPF and SMF according to the target DNN of the terminal equipment, so that the SMF triggers the N4 session establishment flow through the N4 logic channel. Through wireless N4 interface or logic N4 interface, realize the nimble deployment of equipment, be applicable to the demand of the distributed deployment of industry thing networking machine controller. And when the terminal equipment requests to establish the PDU session, the first node and the second node do not need to carry the information of the L-UPF every time the NAS message is sent, thereby saving the cost.

In one possible design, the AMF sends the second interface message to the first node.

In one possible design, the AMF may receive the first message from the first node, which may be: the AMF receives a first message from a first node through a second node, wherein the first message is a first NAS message, and the second node is a superior node of the first node or is access network equipment.

In one possible design, the AMF sending the first interface message to the first node may be: the AMF sends a second message to the first node through a second node, wherein the second message is a second NAS message, and the second NAS message comprises the first interface message, and the second node is an upper node of the first node or is access network equipment.

In one possible design, the second interface message is an N4 session setup request message or an N4 session modification request message.

In a third aspect, a method for establishing an interface is provided, an execution subject of the method is SMF, and the method mainly includes the following steps: the session management function SMF receives the identification of the first node, the information of the local user plane management function L-UPF and the data network name DNN from the access management function AMF; the SMF sends a first interface message to the AMF, wherein the first interface message is used for establishing an N4 interface between the L-UPF and a session management function SMF. The first interface message may be, for example, a first N4 message for establishing an N4 interface between said L-UPF and a session management function SMF. By the method, a wireless transmission N4 logic interface can be established, the established N4 interface can be more suitable for the distributed flexible deployment requirement of a machine controller in the industrial Internet of things compared with a wired N4 interface, and the data transmission efficiency of C2D communication and the performance of the industrial Internet of things are improved.

In one possible design, the SMF receives from the AMF an identification of a terminal device, information of the L-UPF, and the DNN; the SMF sends the identification of the terminal equipment, the identification of the first node and a second interface message to the AMF, wherein the second interface message is used for establishing a session between the L-UPF and the SMF, and the session between the L-UPF and the SMF corresponds to a PDU session which is requested to be established by the terminal equipment. The SMF may trigger an N4 session establishment procedure through an N4 logical channel. And when the terminal equipment requests to establish the PDU session, the first node and the second node do not need to carry the information of the L-UPF every time the NAS message is sent, thereby saving the cost.

In one possible design, the method further comprises: the SMF receiving an identification of the first node from the AMF; or the SMF determines the identification of the first node according to the information of the L-UPF or the DNN.

In one possible design, the information for the L-UPF includes one or more of the following: the identity of the L-UPF, the name of the L-UPF, the address of the L-UPF.

In one possible design, the first interface message is an N4 association setup request message.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a method of interface establishment, the method being described from the point of view of execution by a first node, the method being implemented by: the first node sends a first RRC message to the second node, wherein the first RRC message comprises information of the L-UPF and DNN. The first node receives a second RRC message from the second node, the second RRC message including a first interface message, the first interface message being used to establish an interface between the L-UPF and a session management function, SMF. By the method, a wireless transmission N4 logic interface can be established, the established N4 interface can be more suitable for the distributed flexible deployment requirement of a machine controller in the industrial Internet of things compared with a wired N4 interface, and the data transmission efficiency of C2D communication and the performance of the industrial Internet of things are improved.

For example, the DNN is the name or address of the machine controller.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided a method of interface establishment, the method being described from the point of view of execution by a second node, the method being implemented by: the second node receives the first RRC message from the first node, and the second node sends the information of the L-UPF and DNN to the AMF; the second node sends a second RRC message to the first node, the second RRC message carrying a first interface message, the first interface message being used to establish an interface between the L-UPF and a session management function SMF. By the method, a wireless transmission N4 logic interface can be established, the established N4 interface can be more suitable for the distributed flexible deployment requirement of a machine controller in the industrial Internet of things compared with a wired N4 interface, and the data transmission efficiency of C2D communication and the performance of the industrial Internet of things are improved.

In a sixth aspect, there is provided a method of interface establishment, the method being described from the perspective of AMF execution, the method being implemented by: the AMF receives the information of the L-UPF and DNN from the second node, and the AMF first interfaces the message to the second node, for example, the first interface message may be an N4 message, which is recorded as a first N4 message. By the method, a wireless transmission N4 logic interface can be established, the established N4 interface can be more suitable for the distributed flexible deployment requirement of a machine controller in the industrial Internet of things compared with a wired N4 interface, and the data transmission efficiency of C2D communication and the performance of the industrial Internet of things are improved.

In a seventh aspect, an apparatus is provided, which may be a first node, may be an apparatus (e.g., a chip, or a system-on-chip, or a circuit) in the first node, or may be an apparatus that is capable of being used in cooperation with the first node. In one design, the apparatus may include modules that perform the methods/operations/steps/actions described in the first or fourth aspects. The device may be the second node, may be a device (e.g., a chip, or a system-on-a-chip, or a circuit) in the second node, or may be a device that can be used in cooperation with the second node. In one design, the apparatus may include modules for performing the methods/operations/steps/actions described in the fifth aspect,

the module may be a hardware circuit, or may be software, or may be implemented by combining a hardware circuit with software. In one design, the apparatus may include a processing module and a communication module. The processing module is used for calling the communication module to execute the receiving and/or transmitting function. The communication module comprises a sending module and a receiving module. The processing module is configured to generate a first message, and the sending module is configured to send the first message to the access management function AMF, where the first message includes information of the local user plane management function L-UPF and a data network name DNN. And the receiving module is used for receiving a second message from the AMF, wherein the second message comprises a first interface message, and the first interface message is used for establishing an interface between the L-UPF and a session management function SMF.

Or the processing module is used for generating a first RRC message, and the sending module is used for sending the first RRC message to the second node, wherein the first RRC message comprises the information of the L-UPF and DNN. A receiving module, configured to receive a second RRC message from the second node, where the second RRC message includes a first interface message, and the first interface message is used to establish an interface between the L-UPF and a session management function SMF.

Or, a receiving module, configured to receive a first RRC message from a first node, and a sending module, configured to send information of an L-UPF and DNN to an AMF; the processing module is used for generating a second RRC message, the sending module is also used for sending the second RRC message to the first node, the second RRC message carries a first interface message, and the first interface message is used for establishing an interface between the L-UPF and the session management function SMF.

The other features may be described with reference to the first aspect or the fourth aspect or the fifth aspect, and are not described here again.

In an eighth aspect, a device is provided, which may be an AMF, a device (e.g., a chip, or a system on a chip, or a circuit) in an AMF, or a device capable of being used in cooperation with an AMF. In one design, the apparatus may include modules corresponding to the methods/operations/steps/actions described in the second or sixth aspect, where the modules may be hardware circuits, software, or a combination of hardware circuits and software. In one design, the apparatus may include a processing module and a communication module. The processing module is used for calling the communication module to execute the receiving and/or transmitting function. The communication module comprises a sending module and a receiving module. The receiving module is configured to receive a first message from a first node, where the first message includes information of a local user plane management function L-UPF and a data network name DNN. The processing module is used for acquiring the identification of the first node, and the sending module is used for sending the identification of the first node, the information of the L-UPF and the DNN to the session management function SMF. The receiving module is further configured to receive a first interface message from the SMF; the sending module is further configured to send the first interface message to the first node, where the first interface message is used to establish an N4 interface between the L-UPF and a session management function SMF.

Alternatively, the receiving module is configured to receive the L-UPF information and the DNN from the second node, the processing module is configured to generate a first interface message, and the sending module is configured to send the first interface message to the second node, where the first interface message may be, for example, an N4 message, and is denoted as a first N4 message.

Other features may be referred to the description of the second or sixth aspect and are not described here in detail.

In a ninth aspect, there is provided a device, which may be an SMF, a device in an SMF (e.g. a chip, or a system on a chip, or a circuit), or a device capable of being used in combination with an SMF. In one design, the apparatus may include modules corresponding to the methods/operations/steps/actions described in the third aspect, where the modules may be implemented by hardware circuits, software, or a combination of hardware circuits and software. In one design, the apparatus may include a processing module and a communication module. The processing module is used for calling the communication module to execute the receiving and/or transmitting function. The communication module comprises a sending module and a receiving module. The receiving module is configured to receive, from an access management function AMF, an identification of the first node, information of a local user plane management function L-UPF, and a data network name DNN; the processing module is used for generating a first interface message, the sending module is used for sending the first interface message to the AMF, and the first interface message is used for establishing an N4 interface between the L-UPF and a session management function SMF.

Other features may be referred to in the description of the third aspect and are not described here in detail.

In a tenth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide an apparatus, e.g., the apparatus is a first node, comprising a communication interface for the apparatus to communicate with other devices, e.g., to receive and transmit data or signals, and a processor. By way of example, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module or other type of communication interface and the other device may be a second node or terminal or AMF. The processor is configured to invoke a set of programs, instructions or data to perform the method described in the first or fourth aspect above. The apparatus may also include a memory for storing programs, instructions or data called by the processor. The memory is coupled to the processor, and the processor may implement the method described in the first aspect or the fourth aspect when executing the instructions or data stored in the memory. Alternatively, the apparatus is a second node, the apparatus comprising a communication interface for communicating with other devices, such as for transceiving data or signals, and a processor. By way of example, the communication interface may be a transceiver, a circuit, a bus, a module, or other type of communication interface, and the other device may be a first node or an AMF. The processor is configured to invoke a set of programs, instructions or data to perform the method described in the fifth aspect above.

In an eleventh aspect, embodiments of the present application provide an apparatus, for example, the apparatus is an AMF. The apparatus includes a communication interface for communicating, such as data or signals, with other devices and a processor. By way of example, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, or other type of communication interface, and the other device may be an SMF or a first node or a second node. The processor is configured to invoke a set of programs, instructions or data to perform the method described in the second or sixth aspect above. The apparatus may also include a memory for storing programs, instructions or data called by the processor. The memory is coupled to the processor, and the processor, when executing instructions or data stored in the memory, may implement the method described in the second aspect.

In a twelfth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide an apparatus, e.g., an SMF, comprising a communication interface and a processor, the communication interface configured to communicate, e.g., transceive data or signals, with other devices. By way of example, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, or other type of communication interface, and the other device may be an AMF. The processor is configured to invoke a set of programs, instructions or data to perform the method described in the third aspect above. The apparatus may also include a memory for storing programs, instructions or data called by the processor. The memory is coupled to the processor, and the processor may implement the method described in the third aspect above when executing instructions or data stored in the memory.

In a thirteenth aspect, embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium having stored therein computer-readable instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform a method as described in the aspects or any one of the possible designs of the aspects.

In a fourteenth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a chip system, where the chip system includes a processor and may further include a memory, where the method is used to implement any one of the foregoing first aspect, the fourth aspect, the possible designs of the first aspect, or any one of the possible designs of the fourth aspect. The chip system may be formed of a chip or may include a chip and other discrete devices.

In a fifteenth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a chip system, where the chip system includes a processor and may further include a memory, where the processor is configured to implement the second aspect, the sixth aspect, any one of the possible designs of the second aspect, or the method described in any one of the possible designs of the sixth aspect. The chip system may be formed of a chip or may include a chip and other discrete devices.

In a sixteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, where the chip system includes a processor and may further include a memory, to implement the method described in the third aspect. The chip system may be formed of a chip or may include a chip and other discrete devices.

In a sixteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, where the chip system includes a processor and may further include a memory, to implement the method in the fifth aspect. The chip system may be formed of a chip or may include a chip and other discrete devices.

In a seventeenth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a system comprising a first node, an AMF and an SMF, the first node being configured to perform the method of the first aspect or any one of the possible designs described above. The AMF is used to perform the method of the second aspect or any one of the possible designs described above; the SMF is used to perform the method of the third aspect or any of the possible designs described above.

In an eighteenth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a system including a first node, a second node, and an AMF, the first node configured to perform the method of the fourth aspect or any one of the possible designs described above. The second node being configured to perform the method of the fifth aspect or any of the possible designs described above; the AMF is used to perform the method of the sixth aspect or any one of the possible designs described above.

In a nineteenth aspect, there is also provided in an embodiment of the present application a computer program product comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method as described in the aspects or any of the possible designs of the aspects.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a prior art 5G NR network architecture;

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

FIG. 3 is a schematic flow chart of a method for establishing an interface in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a channel of an N4 interface according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a flow chart of a method for session establishment in the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a second flowchart of a method for interface establishment according to an embodiment of the present application;

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

FIG. 8 is a second schematic diagram of the structure of the device in the embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The embodiments of the present application provide a method and an apparatus for establishing an interface, where the method and the apparatus are based on the same technical concept, and because the principles of solving the problems by the method and the apparatus are similar, the implementation of the apparatus and the method may be referred to each other, and the repetition is omitted. In the description of the embodiment of the present application, "and/or" describing the association relationship of the association object indicates that three relationships may exist, for example, a and/or B may indicate: a exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone. The character "/" generally indicates that the context-dependent object is an "or" relationship. Reference to at least one in this application refers to one or more; plural means two or more. In addition, it should be understood that in the description of this application, the words "first," "second," "third," and the like are used merely for distinguishing between the descriptions and not for indicating or implying any particular importance or order.

The method for establishing an interface provided by the embodiments of the present application may be applied to a fourth generation (4th generation,4G) communication system, a fifth generation (5th generation,5G) communication system, such as a 5G New Radio (NR), or various future communication systems, such as a sixth generation (6th generation,6G) communication system. Specifically, the method can be applied to the communication scene of the industrial Internet of things (IIoT), for example.

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

In the embodiment of the present application, a system architecture applicable to the embodiment of the present application is provided based on a 5G NR network architecture.

Fig. 1 shows an existing 5G NR network architecture. The names of interfaces between the various devices in the NR network structure are shown in fig. 1. It should be noted that fig. 1 shows some network elements, network functions or devices in the NR network architecture. In practice, the NR network architecture may contain more network functions or devices.

Based on the network architecture shown in fig. 1, the session management function (session management function, SMF) first triggers an interface setup procedure with the UPF. Taking the interface as an N4 interface as an example, for example, the SMF triggers an N4 interface setup procedure between the SMF and the UPF, for example, an N4 association setup (N4 association setup) procedure. After the N4 interface is established, the subsequent UE requests the core network to establish a protocol data unit (protocol data unit, PDU) session via a non-access stratum (non access stratum, NAS) message. Accordingly, the SMF triggers a corresponding session (e.g., referred to as an N4 session) to be established for the PDU session, such as an N4 session establishment (N4 session establishment) procedure. After the PDU session is established, the user plane data of the PDU session of the UE arrives at the Data Network (DN) via a node in the radio access network (radio access network, RAN), the user plane management function (user plane function, UPF). As shown in fig. 1, the UPF may be located close to other network elements of the core network, or close to the RAN. The closer the UPF is to the RAN, the less delay is incurred for data transmission.

Based on the existing NG network architecture, one possible communication system architecture to which the method provided by the embodiment of the present application may be applicable is shown in fig. 2. The communication system architecture includes a UE201, a first node 202, a UPF203, a DN204, a second node 205, an AMF206, or an SMF207. It will be appreciated that more or fewer network elements or devices may be included in the communication system architecture. In the communication system architecture, the UPF203 and the first node 202 are physically deployed together. Alternatively, the UPF203, DN204, and first node 202 are physically deployed together, where DN204 can be a machine controller in an industrial internet of things. The delay of data transmission can be reduced by being physically deployed together, and the short delay requirement of C2D is met.

The first node 202 may have the functionality and attributes of an integrated access backhaul (integrated access and backhaul, IAB) node and be enhanced on the basis thereof. The first node 202 is described below, and the non-described portions may refer to the relevant description of an existing IAB node. The first node 202 is one of a base station or a terminal device with a forwarding function, and may be a stand-alone device. The first node 202 may refer broadly to any node or device having relay functionality. For any one first node, two parts are included for implementing base station like functions and terminal like functions. As can be seen with reference to fig. 2, the first node 202 may comprise two parts, a mobile terminal (mobile termination, MT) and a Distributed Unit (DU). Wherein, the MT is a functional module for implementing a similar general terminal for communicating with a superordinate node, for example, transmitting Uplink (UL) data to the superordinate node and receiving Downlink (DL) data from the superordinate node. The DU is a functional module for implementing a general base station-like function for communicating with a lower node, for example, transmitting Downlink (DL) data to the lower node and receiving Uplink (UL) data from the lower node. In the IAB node, the DU mainly contains RLC/MAC/PHY protocol layers. Here, the first node 202 is an enhanced DU, where the enhanced DU (may be denoted as DU) mainly includes an SDAP/PDCP/RLC/MAC/PHY protocol layer, or includes a PDCP/RLC/MAC/PHY protocol layer. It will be appreciated that the description of the protocol layers contained in the enhanced DU in the first node is only by way of example and the present application is not limited to the protocol layers contained in the enhanced DU.

The second node 205 is a superior node to the first node 202, and may have the same or similar functions and attributes as the base station. The second node 205 may also be an IAB host (donor) node. The IAB node refers to a node through which the node may access the core network, or an anchor base station of the radio access network through which the node may access the core network. The anchor base station is responsible for data processing of a packet data convergence protocol (packet data convergence protocol, PDCP) layer or PDCP and SDAP layers, or for receiving data of the core network and forwarding to the first node, or for receiving data of the first node and forwarding to the core network.

Or the second node 205 is an access network device. Access network devices include, but are not limited to: an evolved node B (evolved node base, eNB), a radio network controller (radio network controller, RNC), a Node B (NB), a base station controller (base station controller, BSC), a base transceiver station (base transceiver station, BTS), a home base station (e.g., home evolved NodeB, or home node B, HNB), a baseband Unit (BBU), an LTE (evolved LTE) base station, an NR base station (next generation node B, gNB), or a base station of a next generation communication system, or the like.

The UE201 includes, but is not limited to: any of a mobile station, access terminal, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station, remote terminal, mobile device, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, station (ST) in a wireless local area network (wireless local access network, WLAN), cellular telephone, cordless telephone, session initiation protocol (session initiation protocol, SIP) phone, wireless local loop (wireless local loop, WLL) station, personal digital process (personal digital assistant, PDA), handheld device with wireless communication capability, computing device, other processing device connected to a wireless modem, vehicle-mounted device, wearable device, mobile station in a 5G network, and terminal device in a public land mobile network (public land mobile network, PLMN) network, etc. In the embodiment of the application, the terminal device is described.

The UPF203 may be considered a local UPF (L-UPF) when the UPF203 and the first node 202 are deployed together.

DN204 is disposed with first node 202 and DN204 can be considered a machine controller in an industrial internet of things. Generally, the machine controller in the factory may have mobility requirements, and when the machine controller is deployed together with the first node 202, the first node communicates with the upper node or the network device through the air interface, so that flexible deployment of the machine controller can be facilitated, and the mobility requirements can be adapted.

When the architecture shown in fig. 2 is applied to the industrial internet of things, that is, a device in the industrial internet of things may be regarded as an application layer of the UE201, that is, the device in the industrial internet of things and the UE201 are physically disposed together, for example, the UE201 may be inserted into the device in the industrial internet of things by using a card insertion manner. It is mentioned later that UE201 is equivalent to a device in the industrial internet of things. Communication between the device and the machine controller (C2D), i.e., communication between UE201 and DN204 in fig. 2.

Based on the architecture shown in fig. 2, C2D communication may be implemented through the transmission paths of UE201, DU-part in first node 202, UPF203 to DN 204.

In connection with the above description of the architecture of the communication system, the method for establishing an interface provided in the embodiments of the present application is described in detail below.

According to the 5G network deployment requirement, a wired N4 interface is required to be established between the SMF and the UPF. Considering the mobility requirements of the machine controller, the machine controller may be distributed deployed, not being suitable for establishing a wired N4 interface between the UPF and the SMF. Based on this, the embodiment of the application provides a method for establishing an interface, as shown in fig. 3, and a specific flow of the method is as follows.

S301, the first node sends a first message to the AMF, and the AMF receives the first message from the first node.

The first message includes information of the L-UPF and a data network name (data network name, DNN). Specifically, the first node has the functions and attributes of the IAB node, and the MT part of the first node sends a first message to the AMF. How the MT of the first node obtains the first message belongs to a specific implementation. The information of the L-UPF includes one or more of an Identification (ID) of the L-UPF, a name (name) of the L-UPF, or an IP address (IP address) of the L-UPF. In an industrial internet of things application scenario, the DN may represent a machine controller, and then the DNN may be an address, identification or name of the machine controller. For example, the media access control (medium access control, MAC) address of the machine controller.

The MT part of the first node corresponds to a terminal device, and the first message sent by the first node to the AMF may be a NAS message, for example, a NAS layer registration request (registration request) message. For example, the first node sends a NAS message to the AMF through the second node, denoted as a first NAS message, which is the first message. Specifically, the first node sends a first NAS message to the second node first, and after the second node receives the first NAS message from the first node, the second node sends the first NAS message to the AMF node. Wherein the second node corresponds to the function of the IAB node or the anchor base station, and the first node sends the first NAS message to the second node may be carried in a radio resource control (radio resource control, RRC) message. After receiving the first NAS message, the second node may also send, together with the identifier of the first node, when sending the first NAS message to the AMF, where the identifier is denoted as the first identifier of the first node. The first identity of the first node may be an interface identity of the first node on the second node side. The second node maintains a mapping relationship of a first identity of the first node and a RAN-side identity of the first node, which may be, for example, a cell radio network temporary identity (C-RNTI). For example, the second node is an IAB donor/gNB, and the first node corresponds to the UE with respect to the IAB donor/gNB. In order to distinguish from UE201, the MT part of the first node is denoted UE here. Then the UE-side identity on the IAB donor/gNB side may be denoted as UE-N2 AP ID. Wherein N2 is the interface between IAB donor/gNB and AMF.

The first node sends DNN to AMF, and when the terminal applies to establish PDU session, the request will carry DNN, and AMF can find out corresponding SMF according to the mapping relation between DNN, SMF and L-UPF stored in the interface establishment flow.

S302, after the AMF receives the first message from the first node, the corresponding relation between the L-UPF and the DNN is saved.

The correspondence relationship may also be referred to as a mapping relationship. The AMF may also store a first identification of the corresponding first node.

The AMF obtains an identification of the first node, where the identification of the first node may be denoted as a second identification of the first node. The second identifier of the first node may be an identifier of the first node on the AMF side, which is allocated by the AMF to the first node, or may be a subscription permanent identifier (subscription permanent identifier, SUPI) of the first node, or may be an IP address of the first node, or may be other identifiers of the first node on the core network (for example, 5G-S-TMSI, 5G-GUTI, PEI, GPSI, etc.). For example, the second identity of the first node is SUPI. The AMF may also store a first identification of the first node and a second identification of the first node.

The AMF obtains the identifier of the first node, which may be that the AMF generates the identifier of the first node, or that the AMF obtains the identifier of the first node from other devices.

S303, the AMF sends the identification of the first node, the information of the L-UPF and the DNN to the SMF, and the SMF receives the identification of the first node, the information of the L-UPF and the DNN from the AMF.

The AMF, when determining the SMF that needs to send the above information, may be determined according to any one or more of the following combinations of information: the location of the first node, the location of the second node, the load of the SMF or the location of the SMF, etc.

S304, the SMF sends an interface message to the AMF, which is recorded as a first interface message, and the AMF receives the first interface message from the SMF.

In the case where the interface between the SMF and the L-UPF is an N4 interface, the first interface message may be an N4 message, which may be denoted as a first N4 message. In the embodiment of the present application, N4 is just an exemplary name, and other names may be used, so long as the corresponding interfaces are L-UPF and SMF, the method provided in the present application may be applied. The interface message is illustratively described in the embodiments of the present application as an N4 message. For example, a first interface message is described by a first N4 message and a second interface message is described by a second N4 message. It will be appreciated that the interface message is not limited to N4 messages.

The first N4 message is used to establish an N4 interface between the L-UPF and the SMF. For example, the first N4 message may be an N4 association setup request (N4 association setup request) message.

The SMF may also send a second identification of the first node to the AMF to facilitate the AMF determining to send the N4 message to the first node. When the second identifier of the first node is an AMF side ue×n11ap ID, the SMF may further include a third identifier of the first node, for example, an SMF side ue×n11ap ID. Where N11 is the interface between AMF and SMF.

S305, the AMF sends a first N4 message to the first node, and the first node receives the first N4 message from the AMF.

The AMF may send a second message to the first node, the second message including the first N4 message. The second message may be a NAS message, denoted as a second NAS message, where the second NAS message carries the first N4 message. Or the second message comprises a second NAS message, and the second NAS message carries the first N4 message. Wherein the first N4 message is placed as a container in the second NAS message.

Similar to the first node sending the first message to the AMF, the AMF sending the second message to the first node may also be implemented by: the AMF sends a second NAS message to the first node through the second node.

For example, the AMF may first send a second NAS message to the second node, which receives the second NAS message from the AMF. The second node forwards the second NAS message to the first node.

The AMF may also send the first identification of the first node to the second node together. The first identity of the first node may be carried outside the second NAS message. For example, after the second node obtains the first identifier of the first node, the second node finds the corresponding RAN side identifier C-RNTI according to the first identifier of the first node. The second node then sends the NAS message to the first node through the air interface according to the C-RNTI of the first node, for example, the second node may put the NAS message as a container in the RRC message given to the first node.

The AMF may determine the first identifier of the corresponding first node according to the second identifier of the first node.

For example, the second NAS message may be a registration accept (registration accept, RA) message.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the identifier of the first node (including the first identifier, the second identifier, or the third identifier) may be any identifier capable of identifying the identity of the first node, for example, may be a subscription permanent identifier (subscription permanent identifier, SUPI), a subscription package identifier (subscription concealed identifier, sui), or a 5G-GUTI. The ciphertext encrypted by the SUPI through the secret key is SUCI.

In the above procedure, the SMF sends an N4 interface setup request message (e.g., N4 association setup request) to the L-UPF through the AMF and the second node, and the L-UPF may send an N4 interface setup reply message to the SMF through the first node, the second node, and the AMF (N4 association setup response). For example, the N4 interface setup reply message is taken as a container to be put into another NAS message from the first node to the AMF, and after the AMF receives the message, the N4 interface setup reply message is taken out and forwarded to the SMF. Through the above flow, an N4 interface between the L-UPF and the SMF can be established. As shown in fig. 4, the N4 interface is different from a wired N4 interface, and may be considered as a wireless transmission N4 logical interface, where the transmission path is MT, second node, AMF to SMF of the first node. The wired N4 interface is shown in dashed lines in fig. 4. Compared with a wired N4 interface, the established N4 interface can be more suitable for the distributed flexible deployment requirement of the machine controller in the industrial Internet of things, and the data transmission efficiency of C2D communication and the performance of the industrial Internet of things are improved.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the channel of the first node-second node-AMF-SMF is established through the NAS message, the first node informs the SMF of the information of the L-UPF through the channel, so that the SMF triggers the process of establishing the N4 interface through the channel, and the established N4 interface is equivalent to a wireless N4 interface.

Further, the first node sends the DNN to the AMF, and subsequently when the terminal applies for establishing the PDU session, the DNN is carried in the PDU session establishment request, and the AMF can find the corresponding SMF according to the mapping relationship between the DNN, the SMF and the L-UPF stored previously. This will be described in detail below.

After the N4 interface between the L-UPF and the SMF is established, the subsequent terminal device requests the core network to establish the PDU session through the NAS message. Accordingly, the SMF triggers the establishment of a corresponding session for the PDU session. In the embodiment of the application, the session between the L-UPF and the SMF may be referred to as an N4 session, but is not limited to this.

As shown in fig. 5, the procedure of N4 session establishment is as follows.

S501, the terminal device sends a PDU session establishment request (PDU session setup request) message to the AMF, and the AMF receives the PDU session establishment request message from the terminal device.

The PDU session establishment request message is used for establishing a PDU session of the terminal equipment.

The terminal equipment determines DNN needed to establish session, for example, in the industrial Internet of things scene, C2D session is established between the terminal equipment and the machine controller, the terminal equipment determines the machine controller of the C2D session, acquires the information of the machine controller, and the information of the machine controller is contained in PDU session establishment request message as DNN. The manner of acquiring the DNN may be that the first node sends a broadcast message in advance, where the broadcast message carries information of the DNN, and the terminal device acquires the information of the DNN from the broadcast message. Or the information of the machine controller is configured for the industrial equipment when the industrial equipment leaves the factory, or the information of the machine controller is configured for the industrial equipment by the network manager.

The DNN is included in the PDU session establishment request. The DNN may be the DNN carried in the first message sent by the first node to the AMF in S301. The DN may represent a machine controller and the DNN may be an address, identification or name of the machine controller. For example, the MAC address of the machine controller.

Based on the architecture shown in fig. 2, the terminal device needs to send a message to the core network device through the relay node. Specifically, the terminal device sends a PDU session establishment request to the AMF through the first node and the second node.

The first node corresponds to an access point of the terminal device. The first node and the second node have roles similar to those of IAB node and IAB donor.

The terminal device sends a NAS message to the DU portion of the first node, where the NAS message includes a DNN. The first node forwards the NAS message to the second node, and the second node forwards the NAS message to the AMF. The NAS message is the PDU session establishment request message. Optionally, the NAS message may also be a PDU session modification request (PDU session modification request). The PDU session modification request is a related parameter for requesting modification of the PDU session of the terminal device.

In one possible implementation, when the second node sends the NAS message to the AMF, the identity of the terminal device may also be sent. The identifier of the terminal equipment can be SUPI,5G-S-TMSI, or an identifier UE N2AP ID on the second node side, which is distributed by the second node for the terminal equipment. N2 is the interface between the second node and the AMF.

In another possible implementation manner, the second node may further identify the first identifier ue×n2ap ID of the first node after receiving the NAS message forwarded by the first node. The second node is assumed to know in advance a mapping relation between the first identifier of the first node and the identifier of the first node that is the access point, and the second node can determine the first identifier of the first node according to the mapping relation. The first node is an access point, that is, the first node is an access point of the terminal device, and the DU part of the first node is used for the terminal device to access. The identifier of the access point of the first node may be a DU ID, a DU name (DU name) or a DU IP address, etc. The second node may also send a first identification of the first node when sending the NAS message to the AMF.

S502, the AMF determines the L-UPF and the SMF associated with the DNN according to the stored corresponding relation.

S503, the AMF sends at least one of information of the L-UPF or DNN to the SMF, and the identification of the terminal equipment, and the SMF receives the information from the AMF.

The identity of the terminal device that the AMF sends to the SMF may be any one or more of the following: may be SUPI,5G-S-TMSI, or an identification of the terminal device on the AMF side (UE N11AP ID).

The AMF may also send a first identification of the first node to the SMF. As described above, the AMF may receive the first identifier of the first node from the second node, or may determine the first identifier of the first node and the second identifier of the first node according to the DNN and the corresponding relationship among the DNN, the first identifier of the first node, and the second identifier of the first node.

The AMF may also send a PDU session identification to the SMF.

The AMF may include the above information in an nsmf_pdu session establishment SM context request (nsmf_pduse_ CreateSMContext Request) message.

If the second node sends the NAS message to the AMF in S501, the AMF may send the second identifier corresponding to the first identifier of the first node to the SMF.

S504, the SMF determines a second identity of the first node.

The SMF determines a second identity of the first node based on at least one of the information of the L-UPF or the DNN received from the AMF.

The SMF may determine the second identity of the first node from the second identity of the first node received from the AMF.

S505, the SMF sends an interface message to the AMF, for example, the interface message is an N4 message. The AMF receives this information from the SMF.

The interface message is denoted herein as a second interface message and the N4 message is denoted as a second N4 message. The second N4 message is used to establish an N4 session between the L-UPF and the SMF. The N4 session corresponds to the PDU session described above.

The second N4 message may be an N4 session setup request (N4 session establishment request) message, or an N4 session modification request (N4 session modification request) message.

The AMF finds the corresponding first node identification, e.g., the first identification and/or the second identification of the first node, according to the L-UPF or DNN information provided previously.

The SMF may also send the identity of the first node to the AMF. The identification of the first node may include a second identification of the first node and may also include a third identification of the first node.

The N4 message, or the identity of the first node and the N4 message, may be included in an nsmf_pdu session establishment SM context response (nsmf_pduse_ CreateSMContext Response) message sent by the SMF to the AMF.

S506, the AMF sends a second N4 message to the second node, and the second node receives the second N4 message from the AMF.

The AMF may also send an identification of the terminal device, e.g. a UE N2 AP ID, to the second node. The identifier of the terminal device may be an identifier of the AMF side or an identifier of the second node side.

The AMF may also send a NAS message to the second node, the NAS message being determined from the PDU session establishment request message of the terminal device. The NAS message is forwarded by the second node and the first node to the terminal device.

The AMF may also send an identification of the first node to the second node, where the identification of the first node may be a first identification of the first node. The AMF sends a second N4 message to the first node via the second node, and the first node receives the second N4 message from the AMF via the second node. Specifically, the AMF may include, in one message (for example, nsmf_pduse_ CreateSMContext Response message or namf_contact_n1n2 message conversion (namf_communication_n1n2message transfer message)), an identifier of the terminal device and a NAS message sent to the terminal device, an identifier of the first node and an N4 message sent to the first node. The identity of the terminal device and the NAS message sent to the terminal device may also be included in one message (as above, e.g. nsmf_pduse_ CreateSMContext Response message or namf_communication_n1n2message transfer message), and the identity of the first node and the N4 message sent to the first node may be included in another message (e.g. downlink NAS transport (Downlink NAS Transport)).

S507, the second node transmits the second N4 message to the first node, and the first node receives the second N4 message from the second node.

The second node finds out a corresponding RAN side identifier (C-RNTI) according to the identifier of the first node provided by the AMF, and sends the second N4 message to the first node through an air interface. Specifically, for example, the second node puts the second N4 message as a container into the RRC message to the first node.

S506 and S507 may also be described as the AMF sending a second N4 message to the first node, where it may be understood that the AMF sends the second N4 message to the first node via the second node.

And S508, the second node sends the NAS message received from the AMF to the terminal, and the terminal receives the NAS message from the second node.

Specifically, the second node sends the NAS message to the MT part of the first node, and after the MT part of the first node receives the NAS message, the DU part of the first node sends the NAS message to the terminal device.

S507 and S508 do not have strict execution order and may be reversed.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, after the N4 interface is established, when the subsequent terminal equipment requests PDU session establishment through the first node, the second node and the AMF, the AMF finds the corresponding L-UPF and SMF according to the target DNN of the terminal equipment, so that the SMF triggers the N4 session establishment flow through the channel. Through wireless N4 interface or logic N4 interface, realize the nimble deployment of equipment, be applicable to the demand of the distributed deployment of industry thing networking machine controller. And when the terminal equipment requests to establish the PDU session, the first node and the second node do not need to carry the information of the L-UPF every time the NAS message is sent, thereby saving the cost.

Based on the same technical concept as the above method embodiment, as shown in fig. 6, the method for establishing an interface provided in the embodiment of the present application may further specifically include the following steps.

S601, a first node sends a first RRC message to a second node, and the second node receives the first RRC message from the first node.

The first RRC message includes information of the L-UPF and DNN. The information of the L-UPF includes one or more of an Identification (ID) of the L-UPF, a name (name) of the L-UPF, or an IP address (IP address) of the L-UPF. In an industrial internet of things application scenario, the DN may represent a machine controller, and then the DNN may be an address, identification or name of the machine controller. For example, the MAC address of the machine controller.

S602, the second node sends the information of the L-UPF and DNN to the AMF, and the AMF receives the information of the L-UPF and DNN from the second node.

The second node may also send a first identification of the first node to the AMF. The first identifier of the first node refers to an interface identifier of the first node on the second node side. For example, the second node is an IAB donor/gNB, and the first node corresponds to the UE with respect to the IAB donor/gNB. The MT part of the first node is denoted UE. Then the UE-side identity on the IAB donor/gNB side may be denoted as UE-N2 AP ID. Wherein N2 is the interface between IAB donor/gNB and AMF.

S603, S302.

S604, S303.

S605, the same as S304.

S606, the AMF first interface message to the second node, which may be an N4message, denoted as a first N4message, for example, the second node receives the first interface message from the AMF.

The AMF may also send an identification of the first node to the second node, the identification of the first node being a first identification of the first node. The AMF may determine the first identity of the first node from the second identity of the first node. For example, the AMF finds the corresponding gNB side UE x N2AP ID from SUPI.

S607, the second node sends a second RRC message to the first node, wherein the second RRC message carries the first N4 message. The first node receives the second RRC message from the second node.

The second node finds a null interface identifier (for example, C-RNTI) corresponding to UE according to the UE N2AP ID on the gNB side, and sends a first N4message (for example, N4message container) to the MT part of the corresponding first node, for example, N4message container is put into the RRC reconfiguration message of the first node. That is, the second RRC message may be an RRC reconfiguration message.

The MT part of the subsequent first node replies to the N4message, e.g. the reply N4message is an N4 association response message (N4 association response) message, with the previously opened tunnel first node > second node > AMF > SMF. The replied N4message may be put into the RRC message as a container, and the second node sends the N4message to the AMF, which then forwards the AMF to the SMF. The SMF receives the N4 Association response message sent by the first node. To this end, the N4 interface between SMF and L-UPF was successfully established.

After the N4 interface between the L-UPF and the SMF is established, the subsequent terminal device requests the core network to establish the PDU session through the NAS message. Accordingly, the SMF triggers the establishment of a corresponding N4 session for the PDU session. The process of N4 session establishment is as in the embodiment shown in fig. 5 and will not be repeated here.

In the methods provided in fig. 6 and fig. 5 in this embodiment, a first node-second node-AMF-SMF channel is established by means of RRC, and the first node informs the SMF L-UPF information through the channel, so that the SMF triggers an N4 interface establishment procedure through the channel. When the subsequent terminal equipment applies PDU (protocol data unit) session establishment through the first node, the second node and the AMF, the AMF finds out the corresponding L-UPF and SMF according to the target DNN of the terminal equipment, so that the SMF triggers an N4 session establishment flow through the channel. Through wireless N4 interface or logic N4 interface, realize the nimble deployment of equipment, be applicable to the demand of the distributed deployment of industry thing networking machine controller. And when the terminal equipment requests to establish the PDU session, the first node and the second node do not need to carry the information of the L-UPF every time the NAS message is sent, thereby saving the cost.

It should be noted that the embodiments described in fig. 3, 5 and 6 above may be executed independently or may be executed in combination with each other. When executed independently, another embodiment is an alternative implementation of the independently executed embodiment. For example, the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is performed independently, and the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 is an alternative implementation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3. As another example, the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 may be implemented independently, with the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 being an alternative implementation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6. That is, the scheme of interface establishment may be a scheme that needs protection in the present application, and the scheme of session establishment is an alternative embodiment based on the scheme of interface establishment. Or the embodiment shown in fig. 5 is performed independently, fig. 3 or fig. 6 being an alternative implementation of the embodiment of fig. 5. That is, the session establishment scheme may be a separately executed scheme that needs to be protected in the present application, and the interface establishment scheme is an alternative embodiment based on the session establishment scheme.

Any two or more steps in the embodiments shown in fig. 3, 5 and 6 may form the protection scheme of the present application, and other steps may be optional steps.

It should be noted that examples in various application scenarios in this application merely represent some possible implementations, for better understanding and explanation of the method of this application. One skilled in the art can take some evolutionary examples according to the data transmission methods provided in the application.

In the embodiments provided in the present application, the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application are described from the aspects of the network device, the terminal, and the interaction between the network device and the terminal, respectively. In order to implement the functions in the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application, the network device and the terminal may include hardware structures and/or software modules, where the functions are implemented in the form of hardware structures, software modules, or a combination of hardware structures and software modules. Some of the functions described above are performed in a hardware configuration, a software module, or a combination of hardware and software modules, depending on the specific application of the solution and design constraints.

As shown in fig. 7, based on the same technical concept, the embodiment of the present application further provides an apparatus 700, where the apparatus 700 may be the first node, the AMF, or the SMF, or may be an apparatus in the first node, the AMF, or the SMF, or may be an apparatus that can be used in a matching manner with the first node, the AMF, or the SMF. In one design, the apparatus 700 may include modules corresponding to one to perform the methods/operations/steps/actions performed by the first node, AMF, or SMF in the above method embodiments, where the modules may be implemented by using hardware circuits, software, or a combination of hardware circuits and software. In one design, the apparatus may include a processing module 701 and a communication module 702. The processing module 701 is configured to invoke the communication module 702 to perform a function of receiving and/or transmitting. The communication module 702 may include a receiving module 702-1 and a transmitting module 702-2.

When used to perform the method performed by the first node:

the processing module 701 is configured to generate a first message, where the first message includes information of the local user plane management function L-UPF and a data network name DNN.

A sending module 702-2 is configured to send a first message to an access management function AMF.

The receiving module 702-1 is configured to receive a second message from the AMF, where the second message includes a first interface message, and the first interface message is configured to establish an interface between the L-UPF and the session management function SMF.

Optionally, the L-UPF and the first node are physically deployed together;

or the L-UPF and DNN are physically deployed with the first node.

Optionally, the sending module 702-2 is configured to:

and sending a first message to the AMF through a second node, wherein the first message is a first non-access stratum (NAS) message, and the second node is an upper node of the first node or an access network device.

Optionally, the receiving module 702-1 is configured to:

and receiving a second message from the AMF through a second node, wherein the second message is a second NAS message, and the second node is an upper node of the first node or is access network equipment.

When used to perform a method of AMF execution:

a receiving module 702-1, configured to receive a first message from a first node, where the first message includes information of a local user plane management function L-UPF and a data network name DNN;

A processing module 701, configured to obtain an identification of the first node.

A sending module 702-2, configured to send the identifier of the first node, the information of the L-UPF, and the DNN to the session management function SMF;

the receiving module 702-1 is further configured to receive a first interface message from the SMF;

the sending module 702-2 is further configured to send a first interface message to the first node, the first interface message being configured to establish an interface between the L-UPF and the session management function SMF.

Optionally, the processing module 701 is configured to store a correspondence between at least two of information of the L-UPF, DNN and SMF.

Optionally, the receiving module 702-1 is further configured to:

receiving a protocol data unit PDU session establishment request from a terminal device, wherein the PDU session establishment request comprises DNN;

the processing module 701 is further configured to determine an L-UPF and an SMF associated with the DNN according to the stored correspondence;

a sending module 702-2, configured to send at least one of information of the L-UPF or DNN and an identifier of the terminal device to the SMF;

the receiving module 702-1 is further configured to receive, from the SMF, an identification of the terminal device, an identification of the first node, and a second interface message, where the second interface message is used to establish an N4 session between the L-UPF and the SMF, and the N4 session corresponds to the PDU session.

Optionally, the sending module 702-2 is further configured to:

the second interface message is sent to the first node.

Optionally, the receiving module 702-1 is configured to:

and receiving a first message from the first node through the second node, wherein the first message is a first NAS message, and the second node is an upper node of the first node or the second node is access network equipment.

Optionally, the sending module 702-2 is configured to:

and sending a second message to the first node through the second node, wherein the second message is a second NAS message, and the second NAS message comprises a first interface message, and the second node is an upper node of the first node or is access network equipment.

Optionally, the second interface message is an N4 session establishment request message or an N4 session modification request message.

When used to perform a method of SMF execution:

a receiving module 702-1, configured to receive, from an access management function AMF, an identification of a first node, information of a local user plane management function L-UPF, and a data network name DNN;

a processing module 701 is configured to generate a first interface message, where the first interface message is used to establish an interface between the L-UPF and the session management function SMF.

A sending module 702-2 is configured to send a first interface message to the AMF.

Optionally, the receiving module 702-1 is further configured to:

receiving an identification of a terminal device, information of an L-UPF and DNN from an AMF;

the sending module 702-2 is further configured to send, to the AMF, an identifier of the terminal device, an identifier of the first node, and a second interface message, where the second interface message is used to establish a session between the L-UPF and the SMF, and the session between the L-UPF and the SMF corresponds to a PDU session requested to be established by the terminal device.

Optionally, the receiving module 702-1 is further configured to:

receiving an identification of a first node from the AMF;

alternatively, the apparatus further comprises a processing module 701, where the processing module 701 is configured to determine the identity of the first node according to the information of the L-UPF or the DNN.

Optionally, the information of the L-UPF includes one or more of: the identity of the L-UPF, the name of the L-UPF, the address of the L-UPF.

Optionally, the first interface message is an N4 association setup request message.

The processing module 701 and the communication module 702 may also be configured to perform other corresponding steps or operations performed by each device in the above method embodiments, which are not described herein in detail.

The division of the modules in the embodiments of the present application is schematically only one logic function division, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation, and in addition, each functional module in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated in one processor, or may exist separately and physically, or two or more modules may be integrated in one module. The integrated modules may be implemented in hardware or in software functional modules.

Fig. 8 shows an apparatus 800 provided in an embodiment of the present application, configured to implement the functions of the first node, AMF, or SMF in the above method. When the function of the first node is implemented, the device may be the first node, a device in the first node, or a device that can be used in a matching manner with the first node. When the function of the AMF is implemented, the device may be the AMF, a device in the AMF, or a device that can be used in cooperation with the AMF. Wherein the device may be a system-on-chip. In the embodiment of the application, the chip system may be formed by a chip, and may also include a chip and other discrete devices. The apparatus 800 includes at least one processor 820 configured to implement the functions of a terminal or a network device in the method provided in the embodiments of the present application. The apparatus 800 may also include a communication interface 810. In embodiments of the present application, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, or other type of communication interface for communicating with other devices over a transmission medium. For example, the communication interface 810 may be used to communicate with other devices for the apparatus 800. Illustratively, when the apparatus 800 is a first node, the other device may be a second node, an AMF, or a terminal. Processor 820 receives and transmits data using communication interface 810 and is configured to implement the methods of the method embodiments described above. Illustratively, when implementing the functionality of the first node, the processor 820 is configured to generate a first message, where the communication interface 810 is configured to send the first message to the access management function AMF, where the first message includes information of the local user plane management function L-UPF and the data network name DNN; and means for receiving a second message from the AMF, the second message comprising a first interface message for establishing an interface between the L-UPF and a session management function, SMF. Illustratively, when implementing the functions of the AMF, the communication interface 810 receives a first message from a first node, where the first message includes information of a local user plane management function L-UPF and a data network name DNN, and the processor 820 is configured to obtain an identity of the first node, and the communication interface 810 is configured to send the identity of the first node, the information of the L-UPF and the DNN to a session management function SMF, receive a first interface message from the SMF, send the first interface message to the first node, and the first interface message is configured to establish an interface between the L-UPF and the session management function SMF. When the SMF function is implemented, the communication interface 810 receives from the access management function AMF the identity of the first node, the information of the local user plane management function L-UPF and the data network name DNN, and the processor 820 is configured to generate a first interface message, and the communication interface 810 is configured to send a first interface message to the AMF, where the first interface message is configured to establish an interface between the L-UPF and the session management function SMF.

Processor 820 and communication interface 810 may also be configured to perform other corresponding steps or operations performed by the devices in the above-described method embodiments, which are not described in detail herein.

The apparatus 800 may also include at least one memory 830 for storing program instructions and/or data. Memory 830 is coupled to processor 820. The coupling in the embodiments of the present application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, which may be in electrical, mechanical, or other forms for information interaction between the devices, units, or modules. Processor 820 may operate in conjunction with memory 830. Processor 820 may execute program instructions stored in memory 830. At least one of the at least one memory may be included in the processor.

The specific connection medium between the communication interface 810, the processor 820, and the memory 830 is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In the embodiment of the present application, the communication interface 810, the processor 820 and the memory 830 are connected through the bus 840 in fig. 8, where the bus is indicated by a thick line in fig. 8, and the connection manner between other components is only schematically illustrated, but not limited to. The buses may be classified as address buses, data buses, control buses, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in fig. 8, but not only one bus or one type of bus.

When apparatus 700 and apparatus 800 are embodied as chips or chip systems, the baseband signals may be output or received by communication module 702 and communication interface 810. When apparatus 700 and apparatus 800 are devices in particular, the communication module 702 and communication interface 810 may output or receive radio frequency signals. In the embodiments of the present application, the processor may be a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component, and may implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic blocks disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. The general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor or the like. The steps of a method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be embodied directly in a hardware processor for execution, or in a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor for execution.

In the embodiment of the present application, the memory may be a nonvolatile memory, such as a hard disk (HDD) or a Solid State Drive (SSD), or may be a volatile memory (volatile memory), for example, a random-access memory (RAM). The memory is 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, but is not limited to such. The memory in the embodiments of the present application may also be circuitry or any other device capable of implementing a memory function for storing program instructions and/or data.

The present application also provides a computer readable medium, on which a computer program is stored, which when executed on an apparatus, causes the apparatus to implement the method described in the method embodiments above.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product, which when executed on an apparatus, causes the apparatus to implement the method described in the method embodiments above.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that embodiments of the present application may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present application may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present application may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

The present application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the application. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

While preferred embodiments of the present application have been described, additional variations and modifications in those embodiments may occur to those skilled in the art once they learn of the basic inventive concepts. It is therefore intended that the following claims be interpreted as including the preferred embodiments and all such alterations and modifications as fall within the scope of the application.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the embodiments of the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present application. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the embodiments of the present application fall within the scope of the claims and the equivalents thereof, the present application is intended to encompass such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A method of interface establishment, comprising:

the first node sends a first message to an access management function AMF, wherein the first message comprises information of a local user plane management function L-UPF and a data network name DNN;

the first node receives a second message from the AMF, the second message comprising a first interface message for establishing an interface between the L-UPF and a session management function, SMF.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein,

the L-UPF and the first node are physically deployed together;

or the L-UPF and the DNN corresponding data network DN are physically deployed together with the first node.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first node sending a first message to an AMF, comprising:

The first node sends a first message to the AMF through a second node, wherein the first message is a first non-access stratum NAS message, and the second node is an upper node of the first node or is access network equipment.

4. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first node receiving a second message from the AMF comprises:

5. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the L-UPF information includes one or more of: the identity of the L-UPF, the name of the L-UPF, the address of the L-UPF.

6. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first interface message is an N4 association setup request message.

7. A method of interface establishment, comprising:

the access management function AMF receives a first message from a first node, wherein the first message comprises information of a local user plane management function L-UPF and a data network name DNN;

The AMF sends the identification of the first node, the information of the L-UPF and the DNN to a session management function SMF;

the AMF receives a first interface message from the SMF;

the AMF sends the first interface message to the first node, wherein the first interface message is used for establishing an interface between the L-UPF and a session management function SMF.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the method further comprises:

and the AMF stores the information of the L-UPF and the corresponding relation between at least two of the DNN and the SMF.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the method further comprises:

the AMF receives a protocol data unit PDU session establishment request from a terminal device, wherein the PDU session establishment request comprises the DNN;

the AMF determines the L-UPF and the SMF associated with the DNN according to the stored corresponding relation;

the AMF sends at least one of the information of the L-UPF or the DNN and the identification of terminal equipment to the SMF;

the AMF receives the identification of the terminal equipment, the identification of the first node and a second interface message from the SMF, wherein the second interface message is used for establishing an N4 session between the L-UPF and the SMF, and the N4 session corresponds to the PDU session.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises:

the AMF sends the second interface message to the first node.

11. The method of any of claims 7-10, wherein the AMF receiving the first message from the first node comprises:

the AMF receives a first message from a first node through a second node, wherein the first message is a first NAS message, and the second node is a superior node of the first node or is access network equipment.

12. The method of any of claims 7-10, wherein the AMF sending the first interface message to the first node comprises:

the AMF sends a second message to the first node through a second node, wherein the second message is a second NAS message, and the second NAS message comprises the first interface message, and the second node is an upper node of the first node or is access network equipment.

13. The method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the second interface message is an N4 session establishment request message or an N4 session modification request message.

14. The method of any one of claims 7-10, wherein the L-UPF information includes one or more of: the identity of the L-UPF, the name of the L-UPF, the address of the L-UPF.

15. The method according to any of claims 7-10, wherein the first interface message is an N4 association setup request message.

16. A method of interface establishment, comprising:

the session management function SMF receives the identification of the first node, the information of the local user plane management function L-UPF and the data network name DNN from the access management function AMF;

the SMF sends a first interface message to the AMF, wherein the first interface message is used for establishing an interface between the L-UPF and a session management function SMF.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises:

the SMF receives the identification of the terminal equipment, the information of the L-UPF and the DNN from the AMF;

the SMF sends the identification of the terminal equipment, the identification of the first node and a second interface message to the AMF, wherein the second interface message is used for establishing a session between the L-UPF and the SMF, and the session between the L-UPF and the SMF corresponds to the PDU session requested to be established by the terminal equipment.

18. The method of claim 16 or 17, wherein the method further comprises:

the SMF receiving an identification of the first node from the AMF;

or the SMF determines the identification of the first node according to the information of the L-UPF or the DNN.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the second interface message is an N4 session setup request message or an N4 session modification request message.

20. The method of any one of claims 16, 17, or 19, wherein the L-UPF information includes one or more of: the identity of the L-UPF, the name of the L-UPF, the address of the L-UPF.

21. The method of any of claims 16, 17 or 19, wherein the first interface message is an N4 association setup request message.

22. An apparatus for use with a first node, comprising:

a processing module, configured to generate a first message, where the first message includes information of a local user plane management function L-UPF and a data network name DNN;

a sending module, configured to send the first message to an access management function AMF;

and the receiving module is used for receiving a second message from the AMF, wherein the second message comprises a first interface message, and the first interface message is used for establishing an interface between the L-UPF and a session management function SMF.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the device comprises a plurality of sensors,

the L-UPF and the first node are physically deployed together;

24. The apparatus of claim 22 or 23, wherein the sending module is configured to:

and sending a first message to the AMF through a second node, wherein the first message is a first non-access stratum (NAS) message, and the second node is a superior node of the first node or is access network equipment.

25. The apparatus of claim 22 or 23, wherein the receiving module is configured to:

and receiving a second message from the AMF through a second node, wherein the second message is a second NAS message, and the second node is a superior node of the first node or is access network equipment.

26. The apparatus of claim 22 or 23, wherein the L-UPF information comprises one or more of: the identity of the L-UPF, the name of the L-UPF, the address of the L-UPF.

27. The apparatus of claim 22 or 23, wherein the first interface message is an N4 association setup request message.

28. An apparatus for use in an access management function AMF, comprising:

a receiving module, configured to receive a first message from a first node, where the first message includes information of a local user plane management function L-UPF and a data network name DNN;

the processing module is used for acquiring the identification of the first node;

a sending module, configured to send the identifier of the first node, the information of the L-UPF, and the DNN to a session management function SMF;

the receiving module is further configured to receive a first interface message from the SMF;

the sending module is further configured to send the first interface message to the first node, where the first interface message is used to establish an interface between the L-UPF and a session management function SMF.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the apparatus further comprises:

and the processing module is used for storing the information of the L-UPF and the corresponding relation between at least two of the DNN and the SMF.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the receiving means is further for:

receiving a protocol data unit PDU session establishment request from a terminal device, wherein the PDU session establishment request comprises the DNN;

The processing module is further used for determining the L-UPF and the SMF associated with the DNN according to the stored corresponding relation;

the sending module is further configured to send at least one of the information of the L-UPF or the DNN and an identifier of a terminal device to the SMF;

the receiving module is further configured to receive, from the SMF, an identifier of the terminal device, an identifier of the first node, and a second interface message, where the second interface message is used to establish a session between the L-UPF and the SMF, and the session between the L-UPF and the SMF corresponds to the PDU session.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the means for transmitting is further for:

and sending the second interface message to the first node.

32. The apparatus of any one of claims 28 to 31, wherein the receiving module is configured to:

and receiving a first message from a first node through a second node, wherein the first message is a first NAS message, and the second node is an upper node of the first node or an access network device.

33. The apparatus of any one of claims 28 to 31, wherein the transmitting module is configured to:

And sending a second message to the first node through a second node, wherein the second message is a second NAS message, and the second NAS message comprises the first interface message, and the second node is an upper node of the first node or is access network equipment.

34. The apparatus of claim 30 or 31, wherein the second interface message is an N4 session setup request message or an N4 session modification request message.

35. The apparatus of any one of claims 28-31, wherein the L-UPF information comprises one or more of: the identity of the L-UPF, the name of the L-UPF, the address of the L-UPF.

36. The apparatus according to any of claims 28-31, wherein the first interface message is an N4 association setup request message.

37. An apparatus for use in a session management function SMF, comprising:

the receiving module is used for receiving the identification of the first node, the information of the local user plane management function L-UPF and the data network name DNN from the access management function AMF;

a processing module, configured to generate a first interface message, where the first interface message is used to establish an interface between the L-UPF and a session management function SMF;

And the sending module is used for sending the first interface message to the AMF.

38. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the receiving means is further for:

receiving an identification of a terminal device, information of the L-UPF and the DNN from the AMF;

the sending module is further configured to send, to the AMF, an identifier of the terminal device, an identifier of the first node, and a second interface message, where the second interface message is used to establish a session between the L-UPF and the SMF, and the session between the L-UPF and the SMF corresponds to a PDU session requested to be established by the terminal device.

39. The apparatus of claim 37 or 38, wherein the receiving means is further for:

receiving an identification of the first node from the AMF;

or the processing module is used for determining the identification of the first node according to the information of the L-UPF or the DNN.

40. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the second interface message is an N4 session setup request message or an N4 session modification request message.

41. The apparatus of any one of claims 37, 38, or 40, wherein the L-UPF information comprises one or more of: the identity of the L-UPF, the name of the L-UPF, the address of the L-UPF.

42. The apparatus of any one of claims 37, 38, or 40, wherein the first interface message is an N4 association setup request message.

43. A communication system comprising a first node, an access management function AMF and a session management function SMF;

wherein the first node is configured to perform the method of any of claims 1-6; the AMF being for performing the method of any one of claims 7-15; the SMF being adapted to perform the method of any of claims 16-21.

44. A chip, characterized in that the chip is connected to a memory or the chip comprises the memory for reading and executing a software program stored in the memory for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1-6; or alternatively

The chip being connected to a memory or the chip comprising the memory for reading and executing a software program stored in the memory for implementing the method according to any one of claims 7 to 15; or alternatively

The chip being connected to a memory or the chip comprising the memory for reading and executing a software program stored in the memory for implementing the method according to any one of claims 16 to 21.

45. A computer readable storage medium having stored therein computer readable instructions which, when run on an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 6; or alternatively

The computer readable storage medium having stored therein computer readable instructions which, when run on an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 7 to 15; or alternatively

The computer readable storage medium having stored therein computer readable instructions which, when run on an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 16-21.