CN114554620A

CN114554620A - Data communication method, device, electronic equipment and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN114554620A
Application number: CN202210156414.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 闫斌斌; 郑昊
Original assignee: Shenzhen Ailing Network Co ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen Ailing Network Co ltd
Priority date: 2022-02-21
Filing date: 2022-02-21
Publication date: 2022-05-27

Abstract

The application provides a data communication method, a data communication device, electronic equipment and a storage medium, and relates to the technical field of communication. The method comprises the following steps: accessing and receiving an N1N2 message transmission request sent by a session management function SMF by a mobile management function AMF, determining the state of UE corresponding to the tunnel identifier of a data transmission tunnel by the AMF according to the tunnel identifier of the data transmission tunnel, wherein the state of the UE is used for indicating the UE to initiate a service request flow or a registration updating flow; the AMF determines whether to inform the radio access network RAN of establishing a data transmission tunnel according to the state of the UE and the N2 session information. The method and the device can avoid conflict generated when the AMF simultaneously processes the downlink data sent by the data network and the UE initiates a service request flow or a registration updating flow, and ensure normal communication between the UE and the data network.

Description

Data communication method, device, electronic equipment and storage medium

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a data communication method, an apparatus, an electronic device, and a storage medium.

Background

The fifth Generation Mobile Communication Technology (5th Generation Mobile Communication Technology, 5G) is a new Generation broadband Mobile Communication Technology, and is a network infrastructure for implementing the internet of everything.

In the existing 5G Network communication process, a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session is established between a User Equipment (UE) and a Data Network (DN), when the UE is in an idle state, a Data transmission tunnel for carrying the PDU session is in a deactivated state, when a UE side needs to send uplink Data to the DN through the PDU session, and simultaneously, when a DN side needs to send downlink Data to the UE through the PDU session, the UE side and the DN side will simultaneously initiate a service request flow, so as to recover the Data transmission tunnel between the UE and the DN through the service request flow.

However, in the 3GPP protocol, how each network element in the 5G core network performs synchronization processing on two service request flows is not specified, which causes a conflict between the two service request flows and an exception in the process of recovering the data transmission tunnel.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention provides a data communication method, apparatus, electronic device and storage medium, so as to solve the problem of conflict when a user equipment and a data network initiate a service request simultaneously, and ensure normal communication between the user equipment and the data network.

In order to achieve the above purpose, the technical solutions adopted in the embodiments of the present application are as follows:

in a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a data communication method, where the method includes:

an access and mobility management function (AMF) receives an N1N2 message transmission request sent by a Session Management Function (SMF), the N1N2 message transmission request is a transmission request generated by the SMF according to a data notification message sent by a User Plane Function (UPF), the N1N2 message transmission request carries N2 session information, and the N2 session information includes: the first N3 tunnel information of the UPF side, where the data notification message is used to notify the SMF that the UPF receives downlink data, and the data notification message includes: the data network sends the tunnel identifier of the data transmission tunnel of the downlink data to User Equipment (UE) through the UPF;

the AMF determines the state of the UE corresponding to the tunnel identifier of the data transmission tunnel according to the tunnel identifier of the data transmission tunnel, wherein the state of the UE is used for indicating the UE to initiate a service request flow or a stage of registering an updating flow;

and the AMF determines whether to inform a Radio Access Network (RAN) to establish a data transmission tunnel or not according to the state of the UE and the N2 session information.

Optionally, the determining, by the AMF, whether to notify a radio access network RAN to establish a data transmission tunnel according to the state of the UE and the N2 session information includes:

if the AMF determines that the UE has initiated the service request flow or the registration update flow and the AMF has not notified the RAN to establish a data transmission tunnel in the service request flow or the registration update flow initiated by the UE, the AMF merges first N3 tunnel information and second N3 tunnel information of the UPF side to obtain merged N3 tunnel information, where the second N3 tunnel information is carried by a reply session update response message sent by the UPF to the SMF after the UE initiates the service request flow or the registration update flow;

the AMF sends a first N2 request message to the RAN according to the merged N3 tunnel information, so that the RAN creates a data transmission tunnel according to the first N2 request message, where the first N2 request message includes: the merged N3 tunnel information.

if the AMF determines that the UE is in the state that the UE has initiated the service request procedure or the registration update procedure, and the AMF has notified the RAN to establish a data transmission tunnel in the service request procedure or the registration update procedure, the AMF determines whether first N3 tunnel information and second N3 tunnel information of the UPF side correspond to the same data transmission tunnel, wherein the second N3 tunnel information is carried by a reply session update response message sent by the UPF to the SMF after the UE initiates the service request procedure or the registration update procedure;

if the first N3 tunnel information and the second N3 tunnel information of the UPF side correspond to the same data transmission tunnel, the AMF waits to receive a data transmission tunnel establishment response sent by the RAN;

if the first N3 tunnel information and the second N3 tunnel information of the UPF side do not correspond to the same data transmission tunnel, the AMF sends a second N2 request message to the RAN, so that the RAN creates a data transmission tunnel according to the second N2 request message, and the second N2 request message includes the first N3 tunnel information of the UPF side.

if the AMF determines that the UE is in a state that the UE does not initiate the service request process or the registration update process and the UE is in a connected state, the AMF sends a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session resource setting request message to the RAN so that the RAN creates the data transmission tunnel according to the PDU session resource setting request message, wherein the PDU session resource setting request message comprises: the first N3 tunnel information of the UPF side.

Optionally, the method further includes:

if the AMF determines that the UE is in an idle state and the UE does not initiate the service request process or the registration update process, the AMF sends a paging message to the RAN so that the RAN sends the paging message to the UE, the UE responds to the paging message to initiate the service request process or the registration update process, and the paging message is used for the idle UE to send a call request.

Optionally, if the UE only responds to the paging message, the method further includes:

after receiving the service request message sent by the UE, the AMF sends a second N2 request message to the RAN, so that the RAN creates a data transmission tunnel according to the second N2 request message, where the second N2 request message includes the first N3 tunnel information on the UPF side.

Optionally, if the UE sends uplink data in addition to responding to the paging message, the method further includes:

the AMF receives a service request message or a registration update message sent by the UE, wherein the service request message comprises: PDU session status and uplink data status, the registration update message comprising: PDU session status and uplink data status;

the AMF sends a session management context updating request message to the SMF according to the service request message or the registration updating message, wherein the session management context updating request message is used for synchronizing the PDU session state and the uplink data state to the SMF;

the AMF receives a context response message sent by the SMF according to the session management context updating request message, wherein the context response message carries a PDU session state synchronization result and second N3 tunnel information of the UPF side;

the AMF merges the first N3 tunnel information and the second N3 tunnel information of the UPF side to obtain merged N3 tunnel information;

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a data communication apparatus, where the apparatus includes:

a receiving module, configured to access and receive, by an AMF, an N1N2 message transmission request sent by a session management function SMF, where the N1N2 message transmission request is a transmission request generated by the SMF according to a data notification message sent by a user plane function UPF, and the N1N2 message transmission request carries N2 session information, where the N2 session information includes: the first N3 tunnel information of the UPF side, where the data notification message is used to notify the SMF that the UPF receives downlink data, and the data notification message includes: the network side equipment sends the tunnel identification of the data transmission tunnel of the downlink data to User Equipment (UE) through the UPF;

a state determining module, configured to determine, by the AMF, a state of the UE corresponding to the tunnel identifier of the data transmission tunnel according to the tunnel identifier of the data transmission tunnel, where the state of the UE is used to instruct the UE to initiate a service request procedure or a registration update procedure;

and the notification module is used for determining whether to notify a Radio Access Network (RAN) to establish a data transmission tunnel according to the state of the UE and the N2 session information by the AMF.

Optionally, the notification module includes:

a tunnel information merging unit, configured to, if the AMF determines that the UE is in the state where the UE has initiated the service request procedure or the registration update procedure and the AMF does not notify the RAN of establishing a data transmission tunnel in the service request procedure or the registration update procedure initiated by the UE, merge first N3 tunnel information and second N3 tunnel information of the UPF side by the AMF to obtain merged N3 tunnel information, where the second N3 tunnel information is carried by a reply session update response message sent by the UPF to the SMF after the UE initiates the service request procedure or the registration update procedure;

a first request message sending unit, configured to send, by the AMF, a first N2 request message to the RAN according to the merged N3 tunnel information, so that the RAN creates a data transmission tunnel according to the first N2 request message, where the first N2 request message includes: the merged N3 tunnel information.

Optionally, the notification module includes:

a tunnel information determining unit, configured to determine, by the AMF, whether first N3 tunnel information and second N3 tunnel information of the UPF side correspond to a same data transmission tunnel if the AMF determines that the UE is in the state where the UE has initiated the service request procedure or the registration update procedure and the AMF has notified the RAN to establish the data transmission tunnel in the service request procedure or the registration update procedure, where the second N3 tunnel information is carried by a reply session update response message sent by the UPF to the SMF after the UE initiates the service request procedure or the registration update procedure;

a response receiving unit, configured to wait for receiving a data transmission tunnel establishment response sent by the RAN by the AMF if the first N3 tunnel information and the second N3 tunnel information of the UPF side correspond to the same data transmission tunnel;

a second request message sending unit, configured to, if the first N3 tunnel information and the second N3 tunnel information of the UPF side do not correspond to the same data transmission tunnel, send, by the AMF, a second N2 request message to the RAN, so that the RAN creates a data transmission tunnel according to the second N2 request message, where the second N2 request message includes the first N3 tunnel information of the UPF side.

Optionally, the notification module is further configured to, if the AMF determines that the UE is in a state where the UE does not initiate the service request procedure or the registration update procedure and the UE is in a connected state, send, by the AMF, a protocol data unit PDU session resource setting request message to the RAN, so that the RAN creates the data transmission tunnel according to the PDU session resource setting request message, where the PDU session resource setting request message includes: the first N3 tunnel information of the UPF side.

Optionally, the apparatus further comprises:

a paging message sending module, configured to send, if the AMF determines that the UE is in an idle state and the UE does not initiate the service request procedure or the registration update procedure, the AMF sends a paging message to the RAN, so that the RAN sends the paging message to the UE, the UE responds to the paging message to initiate the service request procedure or the registration update procedure, and the paging message is used for the idle UE to send a call request.

Optionally, if the UE only responds to the paging message, the second request message sending unit is further configured to send, by the AMF, a second N2 request message to the RAN after receiving the service request message sent by the UE, so that the RAN creates a data transmission tunnel according to the second N2 request message, where the second N2 request message includes the first N3 tunnel information on the UPF side.

Optionally, if the UE sends uplink data in addition to responding to the paging message, the apparatus further includes:

a service request message receiving module, configured to receive, by the AMF, a service request message or a registration update message sent by the UE, where the service request message includes: PDU session status and uplink data status, the registration update message comprising: PDU session status and uplink data status;

an update session management context request message sending module, configured to send, by the AMF, an update session management context request message to the SMF according to the service request message or the registration update message, where the update session management context request message is used to synchronize the PDU session state and the uplink data state with the SMF;

a tunnel information merging module, configured to merge, by the AMF, the first N3 tunnel information and the second N3 tunnel information on the UPF side to obtain merged N3 tunnel information;

a first request message sending module, configured to send, by the AMF, a first N2 request message to the RAN according to the merged N3 tunnel information, so that the RAN creates a data transmission tunnel according to the first N2 request message, where the first N2 request message includes: the merged N3 tunnel information.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides an electronic device, including: a processor, a storage medium and a bus, wherein the storage medium stores program instructions executable by the processor, when the electronic device runs, the processor and the storage medium communicate through the bus, and the processor executes the program instructions to execute the steps of the data communication method according to any one of the above embodiments.

In a fourth aspect, the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, where a computer program is stored on the storage medium, and the computer program is executed by a processor to perform the steps of the data communication method according to any one of the foregoing embodiments.

The beneficial effect of this application is:

the application provides a data communication method, a device, an electronic device and a storage medium, wherein an access and mobility management function AMF receives an N1N2 message transmission request sent by a session management function SMF, the N1N2 message transmission request is a transmission request generated by the SMF according to a data notification message sent by a user plane function UPF, the N1N2 message transmission request carries N2 session information, and the N2 session information comprises: a first N3 tunnel information at the UPF side, where the data notification message is used to notify the SMF that the UPF receives downlink data, and the data notification message includes: a data network sends a tunnel identifier of a data transmission tunnel of downlink data to User Equipment (UE) through a UPF; AMF determines the state of UE corresponding to the tunnel mark of the data transmission tunnel according to the tunnel mark of the data transmission tunnel, the state of UE is used for indicating the UE to initiate the service request process or register the stage of updating the process; the AMF determines whether to inform the radio access network RAN of establishing a data transmission tunnel according to the state of the UE and the N2 session information. When the data network sends downlink data to the UE, whether the RAN is informed to establish a data transmission tunnel is determined according to the service request flow initiated by the UE or the stage of the registration updating flow, the conflict generated when the AMF simultaneously processes the downlink data sent by the data network and the service request flow initiated by the UE or the registration updating flow is avoided, and the normal communication between the UE and the data network is ensured.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments will be briefly described below, it should be understood that the following drawings only illustrate some embodiments of the present invention and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope, and for those skilled in the art, other related drawings can be obtained according to the drawings without inventive efforts.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is an interaction diagram of a service request procedure initiated by a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 3 is a flowchart of a data communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic flow chart of another data communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is an interaction diagram of a data communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic flowchart of another data communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is an interaction diagram of another data communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic flowchart of another data communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is an interaction diagram of another data communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic flow chart of yet another data communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a data communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

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

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are some, but not all, embodiments of the present invention.

Thus, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present application, as presented in the figures, is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed application, but is merely representative of selected embodiments of the application. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and the like in the description and in the claims, as well as in the drawings, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the data so used is interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the invention described herein are capable of operation in sequences other than those illustrated or described herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprises," "comprising," and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or elements is not necessarily limited to those steps or elements expressly listed, but may include other steps or elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.

It should be noted that the features of the embodiments of the present application may be combined with each other without conflict.

The technical scheme of the embodiment of the application can be applied to various local communication systems, such as: global system for mobile communications (GSM) systems, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) systems, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), universal mobile telecommunications system (universal mobile telecommunications system, UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication systems, fifth generation (5G) communication systems, or future radio access (NR) technologies.

For example, a system architecture of a communication system may include: user equipment, access network equipment and core network equipment. The communication system provided in the embodiment of the present application may be a 5G core (5G core, 5GC) communication system, and a system architecture of the 5G core communication system may include: the system comprises user equipment, a radio access network, a core network and a data network.

Wherein, User Equipment (UE): may be referred to as a terminal device, terminal, access terminal, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, or user equipment. The UE may also be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a 5G network or a terminal device in a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) for future evolution, and the like, and may also be an end device, a logic entity, an intelligent device, a terminal device such as a mobile phone, an intelligent terminal, and the like, or a communication device such as a server, a gateway, a base station, a controller, and the like, or an Internet of things device such as a sensor, an electric meter, a water meter, and the like (Internet of things, IoT) device. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this. The UE is an entrance of interaction between a mobile user and a network, can provide basic computing capacity and storage capacity, displays a service window for the user, receives user operation data, and establishes signal connection and data transmission with the RAN by adopting a next generation air interface technology, so that control signals and service data are transmitted to the mobile network.

Access Network (AN) device: apparatus deployed in an access network to provide wireless communication functionality for user equipment. The access network may be an access network employing different access technologies. There are two types of current radio access technologies: third generation partnership project (3 GPP) access technologies such as the radio access technologies employed in 3G, 4G or 5G systems and non-third generation partnership project (non-3GPP) access technologies. The 3GPP access technology refers to an access technology meeting 3GPP standard specifications, and an access network adopting the 3GPP access technology is referred to as a Radio Access Network (RAN), where an access network device in a 5G system is referred to as a next generation Base station (gNB). The non-3GPP access technology refers to an access technology that does not conform to the 3GPP standard specification, for example, an air interface technology represented by an Access Point (AP) in WIFI.

An access network that implements an access network function based on a wireless communication technology may be referred to as a Radio Access Network (RAN). The RAN is deployed at a position close to the UE, provides a network access function for authorized users in a specific area, can transmit service data by using data transmission tunnels with different qualities according to the grade of the users, the service requirements and the like, can manage own resources, provides access service for the UE according to needs, and forwards control signals and the service data between the UE and a core network.

The access network equipment may include, among other things, equipment in the access network that communicates over the air-interface, through one or more sectors, with the wireless terminals. The access network system may be configured to interconvert received air frames and Internet Protocol (IP) packets as routers between the wireless terminal and the rest of the access network, which may include an IP network. The radio access network system may also coordinate attribute management for the air interface. It should be understood that access network devices include, but are not limited to: evolved node B (eNB), Radio Network Controller (RNC), Node B (NB), Base Station Controller (BSC), Base Transceiver Station (BTS), home base station (e.g., home evolved node B or home node B, HNB), baseband unit (BBU), wireless fidelity (WIFI), etc., and may also be 5G, such as NR, a gbb in the system, or a transmission point (TRP or TP), a group of antennas (including multiple antennas) of a base station in the 5G system, or a panel of a base station (NB), such as a network node (RNC), a Base Transceiver Station (BTS), a base transceiver station (BBU), etc., and may also be a wireless relay node (AP), a wireless backhaul node (HNB), a wireless relay node (BBU), a transmission point (TRP or TP), or a transmission point (NB) in the 5G system, or a panel of a base station (NB), or a network panel of a base station (NB), such as a network node B, a base transceiver station (NB), or a base transceiver station (BBU), or a wireless relay node (nbb, a wireless relay node B, a base station (eNB), or a base station (BBU), or a wireless relay node B, a base station (eNB), or a base station (B, a wireless relay node B, a base station (base station, a wireless relay node B, a wireless terminal, or, Distributed Unit (DU), etc.

In some deployments, the gNB may include a Centralized Unit (CU) and a DU. The gNB may also include a Radio Unit (RU). The CU implements part of the function of the gNB, and the DU implements part of the function of the gNB, for example, the CU implements Radio Resource Control (RRC) and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layers, and the DU implements Radio Link Control (RLC), Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical (PHY) layers. Since the information of the RRC layer eventually becomes or is converted from the information of the PHY layer, the higher layer signaling, such as the RRC layer signaling, may also be considered to be transmitted by the DU or the DU + CU under this architecture. It is to be understood that the access network device may be a CU node, or a DU node, or a device comprising a CU node and a DU node. In addition, the CU may be divided into access network devices in a Radio Access Network (RAN), or may be divided into access network devices in a Core Network (CN), which is not limited herein.

The core network device may provide access and mobility management, session management, policy management, security authentication, etc. functions for the UE. When the UE is attached, network access authentication is provided for the UE; when the UE has a service request, network resources are distributed to the UE; updating network resources for the UE when the UE moves; when the UE is idle, a fast recovery mechanism is provided for the UE: when the UE is detached, releasing network resources for the UE; when the UE has service data, providing a data routing function for the UE, such as forwarding uplink data to DN: or receiving UE downlink data from the DN, forwarding the UE downlink data to the RAN, and sending the UE downlink data to the RAN.

Wherein, access and mobility management function (AMF): the method is mainly used for mobility management, access management, and the like, and can be used for implementing functions other than session management in Mobility Management Entity (MME) functions, such as functions of lawful interception, or access authorization (or authentication), and the like. In the embodiment of the present application, the method and the device can be used for implementing the functions of the access and mobility management network element.

Session Management Function (SMF): the method is mainly used for session management, Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management of the UE, selection of a termination point of an interface capable of managing a user plane function, policy control or charging function, downlink data notification, and the like. In the embodiment of the present application, the method and the device can be used for implementing the function of the session management network element.

User Plane Function (User Plane Function, UPF): i.e. a data plane gateway. The method can be used for packet routing and forwarding, or quality of service (QoS) processing of user plane data, and the like. The user data can be accessed to a Data Network (DN) through the network element. In the embodiment of the present application, the function of the user plane gateway can be implemented.

Policy Control Function (PCF): the unified policy framework is used for guiding network behaviors, providing policy rule information for control plane function network elements (such as AMF and SMF network elements) and the like.

A Data Network (DN) is a Data Network for providing a service to a user, and generally, a client is located in a UE and a server is located in the Data Network. The data Network may be a private Network, such as a local area Network, an external Network that is not controlled by an operator, such as the Internet, or a private Network that is co-deployed by an operator, such as in order to configure an IMS (IP Multimedia Network Subsystem) service.

For example, please refer to fig. 1, which is a schematic diagram of a network architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application, and please refer to fig. 1, the network architecture includes: UE, RAN, AMF entity, SMF entity, UPF entity, PCF entity, and DN, wherein the AMF entity, SMF entity, UPF entity, and PCF entity may be understood as network elements in a core network for implementing different functions, e.g., may be combined into a network slice as needed. The core network elements may be independent devices, or may be integrated in the same device to implement different functions, which is not limited in this application.

In the network architecture, an N1 interface is a reference point between a terminal and an AMF entity; the N2 interface is a reference point of AN and AMF entities, and is used for sending non-access stratum (NAS) messages and the like; the N3 interface is a reference point between the (R) AN and UPF entities, data for transmission, etc.; the N4 interface is a reference point between the SMF entity and the UPF entity, and is used to transmit information such as tunnel identification information, data cache indication information, and downlink data notification message of the N3 connection; the N6 interface is a reference point between the UPF entity and the DN for transmitting user plane data, etc.

It should be understood that the network architecture applied to the embodiments of the present application is only an exemplary network architecture described in terms of a conventional point-to-point architecture and a service architecture, and the network architecture to which the embodiments of the present application are applied is not limited thereto, and any network architecture capable of implementing the functions of the network elements described above is applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

Hereinafter, for convenience of description, an entity for implementing the AMF function will be referred to as an AMF, and an entity for implementing a PCF entity will be referred to as a PCF. It should be understood that the above-mentioned names are only used for distinguishing different functions, and do not represent that these network elements are respectively independent physical devices, and the present application is not limited to the specific form of the above-mentioned network elements, for example, they may be integrated in the same physical device, or they may be different physical devices. Furthermore, the above nomenclature is only used to distinguish between different functions, and should not be construed as limiting the application in any way, and this application does not exclude the possibility of other nomenclature being used in 5G networks and other networks in the future. For example, in a 6G network, some or all of the above network elements may follow the terminology in 5G, and may also adopt other names, etc. The description is unified here, and will not be repeated below.

It should also be understood that the name of the interface between each network element in fig. 1 is only an example, and the name of the interface in the specific implementation may be other names, which is not specifically limited in this application. In addition, the name of the transmitted message (or signaling) between the network elements is only an example, and the function of the message itself is not limited in any way.

The data communication method provided by the embodiment of the application relates to the situation that a PDU session established by UE is in a deactivated state, and in the deactivated state, a data transmission tunnel between RAN and UPF is disconnected. It should be noted that the registration update procedure initiated by the UE may be a mobility registration update procedure or a periodic registration update procedure, where the mobility registration update procedure is used to initiate a registration update procedure to a new core network where the UE is located when the location of the UE moves; the periodic registration update procedure is used for the UE to periodically initiate a registration update procedure to the core network. The present application takes the service request process as an example for detailed description, and the update processes of the mobility registration update process and the periodic registration update process are similar to the service request process, and the update processes differ in the content carried in the message initiating the request, and the requested purposes are different, which is not described in detail herein.

The following describes a service request triggering process when the UE transmits uplink data in detail.

Specifically, please refer to fig. 2, which is an interaction diagram of a service request procedure initiated by a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in fig. 2, a process of the service request procedure initiated by the UE includes:

s101: the UE sends a Service Request message (Service Request) to the AMF, and carries an optional cell PDU session status (PDU session status) and an uplink data status (uplink data status).

S102: after receiving the service request message, the AMF sends a session update management context request message (UpdateSMContextRequest) to the SMF to synchronize session state information carried in the PDU session state and the uplink data state to the SMF.

S103 a: the SMF sends a Session update Request message (Session update Request) to the UPF to synchronize Session state information carried by the PDU Session state and the uplink data state to the UPF.

S103 b: the UPF replies a Session update Response message (Session Modification Response) to the SMF, and the Session update Response message carries the PDU Session state synchronization result and the N3 tunnel information of the UPF side.

S104: the SMF replies an update session management context response message (UpdateSMContextResponse) to the AMF, carrying the PDU session state synchronization result and the N3 tunnel information on the UPF side.

S105 a: the AMF sends an N2 Request message (N2 Request) to the RAN, the N2 Request message carries N3 tunnel information of the UPF side and requests the RAN to create a data transmission tunnel, the N2 Request message also carries a Service reception message (Service Accept), the Service reception message carries a PDU session state and an uplink data state, and an optional PDU session successful activation result (PDU session activation result) or a reason why the PDU session is not successfully activated (PDU session activation result). Wherein, the PDU session reactivation result may indicate the successfully activated PDU session identifier in the PDU session identifiers indicated by the uplink data status and having uplink data to be sent; the PDU session reactivation result error cause may indicate a specific reason why a PDU session cannot be activated when a PDU session identifier indicated by an uplink data status has uplink data to be sent includes a PDU session that cannot be activated.

S105 b: the RAN replies an N2 reply message (N2 Response) to the AMF, which N2 reply message carries N3 tunnel information on the RAN side.

S106: and the AMF sends a session management context updating request message to the SMF, and the session management context updating request message carries the N3 tunnel information of the RAN side.

S107 a: and the SMF sends a session update request message to the UPF, wherein the session update request message carries the N3 tunnel information of the RAN side.

S107 b: and the UPF replies an SMF session update response message and carries a tunnel creation result.

S108: and the SMF replies an update session management context response message to the AMF, and carries the tunnel creation result.

When the UE sends the uplink data and the DN sends the downlink data at the same time, the UE and the DN can simultaneously initiate a service request flow so as to recover a data transmission tunnel between the UE and the DN through the service request flow. However, in the 3GPP protocol, how each network element in the 5G core network performs synchronization processing on two service request flows is not specified, which causes a conflict between the two service request flows and an exception in the process of recovering the data transmission tunnel.

In order to solve the above technical problem, embodiments of the present application provide a data communication method, so as to solve a collision problem when a UD and a DN initiate a service request simultaneously, and ensure normal communication between a user equipment and a data network.

Referring to fig. 3, a flowchart of a data communication method according to an embodiment of the present application is shown in fig. 3, where the method includes:

s10: the AMF receives the N1N2 message transmission request sent by the SMF.

The N1N2 message transmission request is a transmission request generated by the SMF according to a data notification message sent by the UPF, the N1N2 message transmission request carries N2 session information, and the N2 session information includes: a first N3 tunnel information at the UPF side, where the data notification message is used to notify the SMF that the UPF receives downlink data, and the data notification message includes: and the DN sends the tunnel identification of the data transmission tunnel of the downlink data to the user equipment UE through the UPF.

In this embodiment, after receiving downlink Data sent by the DN, the UPF matches a session identifier to which the downlink Data belongs, determines that a session corresponding to the session identifier is in a deactivated state, and sends a Data notification message (Data notification) to the SMF to notify the SMF that the downlink Data needs to be sent; after receiving the Data notification, the SMF determines a Data transmission tunnel matched with the session according to the pre-stored context information of the session, and replies a Data notification acknowledgement (Data notification Ack) to the UPF; the SMF sends an N1N2 message transmission request message (N1N2 messegetansfer) to the AMF according to the data transmission tunnel matched with the session, where the N1N2 message transmission request carries N2 session information (N2 SM information), the N2 session message includes a session identifier and first N3 tunnel information on the UPF side, the first N3 tunnel information on the UPF side may be an IP address of the UPF and/or a first N3 tunnel endpoint identifier on the UPF side, and the AMF sends an N1N2 message transmission response message (N1N2 messegetansfer Ack) to the SMF.

S20: and the AMF determines the state of the UE corresponding to the tunnel identifier of the data transmission tunnel according to the tunnel identifier of the data transmission tunnel, wherein the state of the UE is used for indicating the UE to initiate a service request flow or a registration updating flow.

In this embodiment, the AMF determines, according to a session identifier carried in the downlink data or a tunnel identifier of the data transmission tunnel, the UE identifier for receiving the downlink data. The AMF stores current states of a plurality of UEs, determines the current state of a target UE according to a UE identity, where the state is used to indicate a stage where the AMF target UE initiates a service request procedure or a registration update procedure, and the stage where the UE initiates the service request procedure or the registration update procedure may include: the UE has initiated a service request procedure or a registration update procedure and the UE has not initiated a service request procedure or a registration update procedure.

S30: the AMF determines whether to inform the radio access network RAN of establishing a data transmission tunnel according to the state of the UE and the N2 session information.

Optionally, in this embodiment, if the AMF determines that the UE is in the state that the UE has initiated the service request procedure, the RAN determines to establish the data transmission tunnel in the first manner according to the second N3 tunnel information of the UPF side acquired after the service request procedure initiated by the UE and the first N3 tunnel information of the UPF side in the N2 session message; and if the AMF determines that the state of the UE is that the UE does not initiate a service request process, determining that the RAN establishes a data transmission tunnel in a second mode according to first N3 tunnel information on the UPF side in the N2 session message. After the data transmission tunnel is successfully established, the UPF may send the downlink data to the RAN through the data transmission tunnel, and the RAN forwards the downlink data to the corresponding UE.

In the data communication method provided by the application, an access and mobility management function (AMF) receives an N1N2 message transmission request sent by a Session Management Function (SMF), the N1N2 message transmission request is a transmission request generated by the SMF according to a data notification message sent by a User Plane Function (UPF), the N1N2 message transmission request carries N2 session information, and the N2 session information includes: a first N3 tunnel information at the UPF side, where the data notification message is used to notify the SMF that the UPF receives downlink data, and the data notification message includes: a data network sends a tunnel identifier of a data transmission tunnel of downlink data to User Equipment (UE) through a UPF; AMF determines the state of UE corresponding to the tunnel mark of the data transmission tunnel according to the tunnel mark of the data transmission tunnel, the state of UE is used for indicating the UE to initiate the service request process or register the stage of updating the process; the AMF determines whether to inform the radio access network RAN of establishing a data transmission tunnel according to the state of the UE and the N2 session information. According to the embodiment of the application, when the data network sends downlink data to the UE, whether the RAN is informed to establish a data transmission tunnel is determined according to the service request flow or the registration updating flow initiated by the UE, the conflict generated when the AMF simultaneously processes the downlink data sent by the data network and the service request flow or the registration updating flow initiated by the UE is avoided, and the normal communication between the UE and the data network is ensured.

Referring to fig. 4, a flowchart of another data communication method according to an embodiment of the present application is shown in fig. 4, where the method includes S10, S20, S31-S32, where S10 and S20 are the same as above, and are not described herein again. Specifically, the data control method of the embodiment of the present application includes:

s10: the AMF receives an N1N2 message transmission request sent by the SMF, the N1N2 message transmission request is a transmission request generated by the SMF according to a data notification message sent by the UPF, the N1N2 message transmission request carries N2 session information, and the N2 session information comprises: a first N3 tunnel information at the UPF side, where the data notification message is used to notify the SMF that the UPF receives downlink data, and the data notification message includes: and the data network sends the tunnel identifier of the data transmission tunnel of the downlink data to the user equipment UE through the UPF.

S31: if the AMF determines that the state of the UE is that the UE has initiated a service request flow or a registration update flow and the AMF does not inform the RAN of establishing a data transmission tunnel in the service request flow or the registration update flow initiated by the UE, the AMF merges first N3 tunnel information and second N3 tunnel information of a UPF side to obtain merged N3 tunnel information, wherein the second N3 tunnel information is carried by a reply session update response message sent by the UPF to the SMF after the UE initiates the service request flow or the registration update flow.

In this embodiment, according to the process of initiating the service request flow by the UE shown in fig. 2, it is determined that the state of the UE is that the UE has initiated the service request flow, and the AMF has not notified the RAN to establish a data transmission tunnel in the service request flow initiated by the UE: the AMF has received the update session management context response message sent by the SMF, which carries the PDU session state synchronization result and the second N3 tunnel information on the UPF side, but the AMF has not sent the N2 request message to the RAN, i.e. the process of UE initiating the service request procedure has been executed to S105, but has not executed S105 a. The procedure of the mobility registration update procedure or the periodic registration update procedure is similar to the service request procedure.

In this case, after receiving the N1N2 message transmission request sent by the SMF, the AMF merges the first tunnel information on the UPF side carried in the N1N2 message transmission request and the second N3 tunnel information on the UPF side carried in the update session management context response message, so as to obtain the merged N3 tunnel information.

S32: the AMF sends a first N2 request message to the RAN according to the merged N3 tunnel information so that the RAN creates a data transmission tunnel according to a first N2 request message, wherein the first N2 request message comprises: merged N3 tunnel information.

In this embodiment, the AMF sends a first N2 request message to the RAN, where the first N2 request message carries the merged tunnel information of the N3 on the UPF side. The RAN creates a data transmission tunnel according to the first N2 request message, and the specific procedure may refer to S105b-S108 shown in fig. 2. If the first N3 tunnel information on the UPF side and the second N3 tunnel information on the UPF side are the same N3 tunnel information on the UPF side, the first N2 response message replied by the RAN to the AMF carries N3 tunnel information on one RAN side corresponding to the same N3 tunnel information on the UPF side; if the first N3 tunnel information of the UPF side and the second N3 tunnel information of the UPF side are different N3 tunnel information of the UPF side, the first N2 response message replied by the RAN to the AMF carries N3 tunnel information of two different RAN sides corresponding to the different N3 tunnel information of the UPF side.

For example, please refer to fig. 5, which is an interaction diagram of a data communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 5, the data communication method includes:

s201: the UPF receives downstream Data (Downlink Data) from the DN side.

S202 a: and the UPF checks the session identifier carried in the downlink Data, determines that the session corresponding to the session identifier is in a deactivated state, and sends a Data notification message (Data notification) to the SMF to notify the SMF that the downlink Data needs to be sent.

S202 b: after receiving the Data notification, the SMF determines a Data transmission tunnel matching the session according to the pre-stored session context information, and replies a Data notification response message (Data notification Ask) to the UPF.

S203 a: the SMF sends an N1N2 message transmission request message (N1N2messege transfer) to the AMF according to the data transmission tunnel matched with the session, where the N1N2 message transmission request carries N2 session information (N2 SM information), and the N2 session message includes a session identifier and first N3 tunnel information on the UPF side.

S203 b: the AMF sends an N1N2 message transfer acknowledgement message (N1N2messege transfer Ask) to the SMF.

S204: the AMF determines that the state of the UE is that the UE has initiated a service request flow or a registration update flow, and the AMF does not inform the RAN of establishing a data transmission tunnel in the service request flow or the registration update flow initiated by the UE, and merges the first N3 tunnel information and the second N3 tunnel information of the UPF side to obtain merged N3 tunnel information.

S205 a: the AMF transmits a first N2 request message to the RAN according to the merged N3 tunnel information, so that the RAN creates a data transmission tunnel according to the first N2 request message.

S205 b: the RAN replies a first N2 reply message to the AMF, the first N2 reply message carrying N3 tunnel information on the RAN side.

S206: AMF sends request message for updating session management context to SMF, carrying tunnel information of N3 at RAN side.

S207 a: the SMF sends a session update request message to the UPF, and the session update request message carries the N3 tunnel information of the RAN side.

S207 b: and the UPF replies an SMF session update response message and carries a tunnel creation result.

S208: and the SMF replies an update session management context response message to the AMF, and carries the tunnel creation result.

According to the data communication method provided by the embodiment of the application, when the UE initiates the service request flow or the registration update flow but the AMF does not inform the RAN of establishing the data transmission tunnel, the first N3 tunnel information and the second N3 tunnel information on the UPF side are merged and then the RAN is sent with the first N2 request message, so that the conflict generated when the AMF simultaneously processes the downlink data sent by the data network and the UE initiates the service request flow is avoided, and the normal communication between the UE and the DN is ensured.

Referring to fig. 6, a flowchart of another data communication method according to an embodiment of the present application is shown in fig. 6, where the method includes S10, S20, S33-S35, where S10 and S20 are the same as above, and are not repeated herein. Specifically, the data control method of the embodiment of the present application includes:

S33: if the AMF determines that the state of the UE is that the UE has initiated a service request flow or a registration update flow and the AMF has notified the RAN to establish a data transmission tunnel in the service request flow or the registration update flow, the AMF determines whether first N3 tunnel information and second N3 tunnel information of the UPF side correspond to the same data transmission tunnel, wherein the second N3 tunnel information is carried by a reply session update response message sent by the UPF to the SMF after the UE initiates the service request flow or the registration update flow.

In this embodiment, according to the process of the UE initiating the service request flow shown in fig. 2, it is determined that the state of the UE is that the UE has initiated the service request flow, and in the service request flow initiated by the UE, the AMF has notified the RAN to establish the data transmission tunnel: the AMF has sent a fourth N2 request message to the RAN, i.e. the UE initiated service request procedure has been performed to S105a, and the fourth N2 request message includes only: second N3 tunnel information on the UPF side. The procedure of the mobility registration update procedure or the periodic registration update procedure is similar to the service request procedure.

In this case, the AMF determines whether the tunnels corresponding to the first N3 tunnel information and the second N3 tunnel information correspond to the same data transmission tunnel according to the tunnel identifier in the first N3 tunnel information and the tunnel identifier in the second N3 tunnel information on the UPF side. For example, if each PDU session has one data transmission tunnel, it may be determined whether a session identifier in a service request message or a registration update procedure sent by the UE and a session identifier in a data notification message sent by the UPF are the same session identifier.

S34: and if the first N3 tunnel information and the second N3 tunnel information of the UPF side correspond to the same data transmission tunnel, the AMF waits for receiving a data transmission tunnel establishment response sent by the RAN.

In this embodiment, if the data transmission tunnels are the same, the AMF only needs to wait for receiving a fourth N2 response message replied by the RAN for the fourth N2 request message, and the first N2 response message carries N3 tunnel information of the RAN side corresponding to the second N3 tunnel information of the UPF side.

S35: and if the first N3 tunnel information and the second N3 tunnel information of the UPF side do not correspond to the same data transmission tunnel, the AMF sends a second N2 request message to the RAN so that the RAN creates the data transmission tunnel according to the second N2 request message, and the second N2 request message comprises the first N3 tunnel information of the UPF side.

In this embodiment, if the data transmission tunnels are different, the SMF sends a second N2 request message to the RAN, where the second N2 request message includes the first N3 tunnel information on the UPF side, and waits for the RAN to reply a fourth N2 response message and a second N2 response message to the fourth N2 request message and the second N2 request message, respectively, so as to create two different data transmission tunnels, and the specific process may refer to S105b-S108 shown in fig. 2.

For example, please refer to fig. 7, which is an interaction diagram of another data communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 7, the data communication method includes:

s301: the UPF receives downstream data from the DN side.

S302 a: and the UPF checks the session identifier carried in the downlink data, determines that the session corresponding to the session identifier is in a deactivated state, and sends a data notification message to the SMF to notify the SMF that the downlink data needs to be sent.

S302 b: after receiving the data notification, the SMF determines a data transmission tunnel matched with the session according to the pre-stored session context information, and replies a data notification response message to the UPF.

S303 a: the SMF sends an N1N2 message transmission request message to the AMF according to the data transmission tunnel matched with the session, wherein the N1N2 message transmission request carries N2 session information, and the N2 session message comprises a session identifier and first N3 tunnel information of the UPF side.

S303 b: the AMF sends an N1N2 messaging reply message to the SMF.

S304: the AMF determines that the state of the UE is that the UE has initiated a service request flow or a registration update flow, and the AMF has sent a fourth N2 request message to the RAN in the service request flow or the registration update flow, and judges whether the first N3 tunnel information and the second N3 tunnel information of the UPF side correspond to the same data transmission tunnel.

S305: and if the first N3 tunnel information and the second N3 tunnel information of the UPF side correspond to the same data transmission tunnel, the AMF waits for receiving a fourth N2 request message sent by the RAN.

S306 a: and if the first N3 tunnel information and the second N3 tunnel information of the UPF side do not correspond to the same data transmission tunnel, the AMF sends a second N2 request message to the RAN.

S307: the AMF receives the fourth N2 reply message and the second N2 reply message from the RAN.

S308: and the AMF sends a session management context updating request message to the SMF, and the session management context updating request message carries the N3 tunnel information of the RAN side.

S309 a: the SMF sends a session update request message to the UPF, and the session update request message carries the N3 tunnel information of the RAN side.

S309 b: and the UPF replies an SMF session update response message carrying a tunnel creation result.

S310: and the SMF replies an update session management context response message to the AMF, and carries the tunnel creation result.

According to the data communication method provided by the embodiment of the application, when the UE has initiated a service request flow or a registration update flow and the AMF has notified the RAN to establish a data transmission tunnel, whether the first N3 tunnel information and the second N3 tunnel information of the UPF side correspond to the same data transmission tunnel is judged, if the tunnels are the same data transmission tunnel, the RAN only needs to wait until the RAN responds to the data transmission tunnel establishment request of the UE, and network resources are prevented from being wasted by repeatedly sending the establishment request; and if the data transmission tunnels are different, respectively sending a data transmission tunnel establishment request to the RAN and waiting for response, avoiding collision and ensuring normal communication between the UE and the DN.

Please refer to fig. 8, which is a flowchart illustrating another data communication method according to an embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 8, the method includes S10, S20, S36-S37, wherein S10 and S20 are the same as above, and are not repeated herein. Specifically, the data control method of the embodiment of the present application includes:

s10: the AMF receives an N1N2 message transmission request sent by the SMF, the N1N2 message transmission request is a transmission request generated by the SMF according to a data notification message sent by the UPF, the N1N2 message transmission request carries N2 session information, and the N2 session information comprises: the first N3 tunnel information at the UPF side, the data notification message is used to notify the SMF that the UPF receives the downlink data, and the data notification message includes: and the data network sends the tunnel identifier of the data transmission tunnel of the downlink data to the user equipment UE through the UPF.

S36: if the AMF determines that the state of the UE is that the UE does not initiate a service request process or a registration update process and the UE is in a connected state, the AMF sends a PDU session resource setting request message to the RAN so that the RAN creates a data transmission tunnel according to the PDU session resource setting request message, wherein the PDU session resource setting request message comprises: first N3 tunnel information on the UPF side.

In this embodiment, if the AMF determines that the UE does not initiate a service request flow or a registration update flow, the AMF does not conflict when processing the service request flow initiated by the DN, and if the AMF determines that the UE is in a Connected state (Connected) but a session of the UE is in a deactivated state, sends a PDU session resource setting request message (PDU session resource request) to the RAN to request the RAN to create a data transmission tunnel, where the PDU session resource setting request message includes: first N3 tunnel information on the UPF side.

After receiving the PDU session resource setting request message, the RAN replies a PDU session resource setting response message (PDU session resource setup response) to the AMF, where the PDU session resource setting response message includes: the first N3 tunnel information on the RAN side. The process may refer to S105a-S108 shown in fig. 2, which is not described herein.

S37: if the AMF determines that the state of the UE is that the UE does not initiate a service request flow or a registration updating flow and the UE is in an idle state, the AMF sends a paging message to the RAN so that the RAN sends the paging message to the UE, the UE responds to the paging message to initiate the service request flow or the registration updating flow, and the paging message is used for the idle UE to send a call request.

In this embodiment, if the AMF determines that the UE does not initiate the service request flow or the registration update flow, the AMF does not conflict when processing the service request flow initiated by the DN, the AMF determines that the UE is in an IDLE state (IDLE), the AMF sends a Paging message (Paging) to the RAN, the Paging message carries a Paging identifier, the Paging identifier marks the UE, and the RAN sends the Paging message to the UE, so that the UE initiates the service request flow or the registration update flow in response to the Paging message.

For example, please refer to fig. 9, which is an interaction diagram of another data communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 9, the data communication method includes:

s401: the UPF receives downstream data from the DN side.

S402 a: and the UPF checks the session identifier carried in the downlink data, determines that the session corresponding to the session identifier is in a deactivated state, and sends a data notification message to the SMF to notify the SMF that the downlink data needs to be sent.

S402 b: after receiving the data notification, the SMF determines a data transmission tunnel matched with the session according to the pre-stored session context information, and replies a data notification response message to the UPF.

S403 a: the SMF sends an N1N2 message transmission request message to the AMF according to the data transmission tunnel matched with the session, wherein the N1N2 message transmission request carries N2 session information, and the N2 session message comprises a session identifier and first N3 tunnel information of the UPF side.

S403 b: the AMF sends an N1N2 messaging reply message to the SMF.

S404 a: AMF determines that the state of UE is that UE does not initiate a service request flow or a registration update flow and the UE is in a connection state, and sends a PDU session resource setting request message to RAN to request to establish a data transmission tunnel, wherein the PDU session resource setting request message comprises: first N3 tunnel information on the UPF side.

S404 b: the RAN replies a PDU session resource setting response message to the AMF, wherein the PDU session resource setting response message comprises: the first N3 tunnel information on the RAN side.

S405 a: and the AMF determines that the state of the UE is that the UE does not initiate a service request flow or a registration updating flow and the UE is in an idle state, and then the AMF sends a paging message to the RAN.

S405 b: the RAN sends a paging message to the UE.

S406: the UE initiates a service request procedure or a registration update procedure in response to the paging message.

In the data communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application, if the AMF determines that the UE is in a state where the UE does not initiate a service request procedure and the UE is in a connected state, the AMF sends a PDU session resource setting request message to the RAN, so that the RAN creates a data transmission tunnel according to the PDU session resource setting request message, where the PDU session resource setting request message includes: the first N3 tunnel information at the UPF side, if the AMF determines that the state of the UE is that the UE does not initiate a service request flow or a registration update flow, and the UE is in an idle state, the AMF sends a paging message to the RAN, so that the RAN sends the paging message to the UE, the UE initiates the service request flow or the registration update flow in response to the paging message, and the paging message is used for the idle UE to send a call request. According to the method and the device for establishing the data transmission channel, the mode for establishing the data transmission channel can be determined according to whether the UE is in the connection state or the idle state, and the situation that the UE establishes the data transmission channel in the same mode in different states to waste network resources is avoided.

In an alternative embodiment, if the UE only responds to the paging message, the method further includes:

and after receiving the service request message sent by the UE, the AMF sends a second N2 request message to the RAN so that the RAN creates a data transmission tunnel according to the second N2 request message, wherein the second N2 request message comprises the first N3 tunnel information of the UPF side.

In this embodiment, if the UE only needs to establish the data transmission tunnel in response to the paging message, the UE sends a service request message to the AMF after receiving the paging message, where the service request message does not carry an uplink data state, and the AMF sends a second N2 request message to the RAN, so that the RAN creates the data transmission tunnel according to the second N2 request message, where the second N2 request message includes first N3 tunnel information on the UPF side. The process may refer to S105a-S108 shown in fig. 2, which are not described herein.

In another alternative implementation, please refer to fig. 10, which is a flowchart illustrating another data communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 10, if a UE sends uplink data in addition to a response to a paging message, the method further includes:

s41: the AMF receives a service request message or a registration update message sent by the UE, wherein the service request message comprises: PDU session status and uplink data status, the registration update message comprising: PDU session status and uplink data status.

S42: and the AMF sends a session management context updating request message to the SMF according to the service request message or the registration updating message, wherein the session management context updating request message is used for synchronizing the PDU session state and the uplink data state to the SMF.

S43: and the AMF merges the first N3 tunnel information and the second N3 tunnel information at the UPF side to obtain merged N3 tunnel information.

S44: the AMF sends a first N2 request message to the RAN according to the merged N3 tunnel information so that the RAN creates a data transmission tunnel according to a first N2 request message, wherein the first N2 request message comprises: merged N3 tunnel information.

S41-S42 of the data communication method provided in this embodiment is the same as the process in which the UE initiates the service request flow alone, which may refer to S101-S104 shown in fig. 2, and S43-S44 are the same as the process in which the UE initiates the service request flow and does not notify the RAN to establish the data transmission channel, which may refer to S31-S32 shown in fig. 4, and will not be described herein again.

On the basis of the foregoing embodiments, an embodiment of the present application further provides a data communication device, please refer to fig. 11, which is a schematic structural diagram of the data communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 11, the data communication device includes:

a receiving module 10, configured to access and receive, by an AMF, an N1N2 message transmission request sent by an SMF, where the N1N2 message transmission request is a transmission request generated by the SMF according to a data notification message sent by a user plane function UPF, the N1N2 message transmission request carries N2 session information, and the N2 session information includes: a first N3 tunnel information at the UPF side, where the data notification message is used to notify the SMF that the UPF receives downlink data, and the data notification message includes: the network side equipment sends the tunnel identification of a data transmission tunnel of downlink data to User Equipment (UE) through a UPF;

a state determining module 20, configured to determine, by the AMF, a state of the UE corresponding to the tunnel identifier of the data transmission tunnel according to the tunnel identifier of the data transmission tunnel, where the state of the UE is used to instruct the UE to initiate a service request procedure or a registration update procedure;

and the notification module 30 is configured to determine, by the AMF, whether to notify the radio access network RAN to establish a data transmission tunnel according to the state of the UE and the N2 session information.

Optionally, the notification module 30 includes:

a tunnel information merging unit, configured to, if the AMF determines that the UE is in the state that the UE has initiated the service request flow or the registration update flow and the AMF does not notify the RAN of establishing the data transmission tunnel in the service request flow or the registration update flow initiated by the UE, merge, by the AMF, first N3 tunnel information and second N3 tunnel information on the UPF side to obtain merged N3 tunnel information, where the second N3 tunnel information is carried by a reply session update response message sent by the UPF to the SMF after the UE initiates the service request flow or the registration update flow;

a first request message sending unit, configured to send, by the AMF, a first N2 request message to the RAN according to the merged N3 tunnel information, so that the RAN creates a data transmission tunnel according to the first N2 request message, where the first N2 request message includes: merged N3 tunnel information.

Optionally, the notification module 30 includes:

a tunnel information judging unit, if the AMF determines that the UE is in a state that the UE has initiated a service request flow or a registration update flow and the AMF has notified the RAN to establish a data transmission tunnel in the service request flow or the registration update flow, the AMF judges whether first N3 tunnel information and second N3 tunnel information of the UPF side correspond to the same data transmission tunnel, wherein the second N3 tunnel information is carried by a reply session update response message sent by the UPF to the SMF after the UE initiates the service request flow or the registration update flow;

a response receiving unit, configured to wait for receiving a data transmission tunnel establishment response sent by the RAN if the first N3 tunnel information and the second N3 tunnel information on the UPF side correspond to the same data transmission tunnel;

and a second request message sending unit, configured to, if the first N3 tunnel information and the second N3 tunnel information of the UPF side do not correspond to the same data transmission tunnel, send, by the AMF, a second N2 request message to the RAN, so that the RAN creates the data transmission tunnel according to the second N2 request message, where the second N2 request message includes the first N3 tunnel information of the UPF side.

Optionally, the notification module 30 is further configured to, if the AMF determines that the state of the UE is that the UE does not initiate a service request procedure or a registration update procedure, and the UE is in a connected state, send, to the RAN, a protocol data unit PDU session resource setting request message, so that the RAN creates a data transmission tunnel according to the PDU session resource setting request message, where the PDU session resource setting request message includes: first N3 tunnel information on the UPF side.

Optionally, the apparatus further comprises:

and the paging message sending module is used for sending a paging message to the RAN if the AMF determines that the state of the UE is that the UE does not initiate a service request flow or a registration update flow and the UE is in an idle state, so that the RAN sends the paging message to the UE, the UE responds to the paging message to initiate the service request flow or the registration update flow, and the paging message is used for sending a call request by the idle UE.

Optionally, if the UE sends uplink data in addition to the response to the paging message, the apparatus further includes:

a session update management context request message sending module, configured to send, by the AMF, a session update management context request message to the SMF according to the service request message or the registration update message, where the session update management context request message is used to synchronize a PDU session state and an uplink data state with the SMF;

the tunnel information merging module is used for the AMF to merge the first N3 tunnel information and the second N3 tunnel information of the UPF side to obtain merged N3 tunnel information;

a first request message sending module, configured to send, by the AMF, a first N2 request message to the RAN according to the merged N3 tunnel information, so that the RAN creates a data transmission tunnel according to the first N2 request message, where the first N2 request message includes: merged N3 tunnel information.

The above-mentioned apparatus is used for executing the method provided by the foregoing embodiment, and the implementation principle and technical effect are similar, which are not described herein again.

These above modules may be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods, such as: one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), or one or more microprocessors, or one or more Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), etc. For another example, when one of the above modules is implemented in the form of a Processing element scheduler code, the Processing element may be a general-purpose processor, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU) or other processor capable of calling program code. For another example, these modules may be integrated together and implemented in the form of a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

Please refer to fig. 12, which is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein the electronic device may be an AMF entity as described above. As shown in fig. 12, the electronic device 100 may include: a processor 101, a storage medium 102 and a bus, the storage medium 102 storing machine-readable instructions executable by the processor 101, the processor 101 communicating with the storage medium 102 via the bus when the electronic device 100 is running, the processor 101 executing the machine-readable instructions to perform the steps of the above-described method embodiments. The specific implementation and technical effects are similar, and are not described herein again.

Optionally, the present application further provides a storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the computer program performs the steps of the above method embodiments. The specific implementation and technical effects are similar, and are not described herein again.

In the embodiments provided in the present invention, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described apparatus embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the units is only one logical division, and other divisions may be realized in practice, for example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not executed. In addition, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be in an electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the embodiment.

In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit. The integrated unit can be realized in a form of hardware, or in a form of hardware plus a software functional unit.

The integrated unit implemented in the form of a software functional unit may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. The software functional unit is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to enable a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) or a processor (processor) to execute some steps of the methods according to the embodiments of the present invention. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: a U disk, a removable hard disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and other various media capable of storing program codes.

The above description is only for the specific embodiments of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of the changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present invention, and shall be covered by the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of data communication, the method comprising:

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said AMF determining whether to notify a radio access network RAN to establish a data transport tunnel based on a status of said UE and said N2 session information, comprising:

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said AMF determining whether to notify a radio access network RAN to establish a data transport tunnel based on a status of said UE and said N2 session information, comprising:

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said AMF determining whether to notify a radio access network RAN to establish a data transport tunnel based on a status of said UE and said N2 session information, comprising:

if the AMF determines that the UE is in a state that the UE does not initiate the service request process or the registration update process and the UE is in a connected state, the AMF sends a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session resource setting request message to the RAN so that the RAN creates the data transmission tunnel according to the PDU session resource setting request message, wherein the PDU session resource setting request message comprises: the first N3 tunnel information on the UPF side.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the method further comprises:

6. The method of claim 5, wherein if the UE responds only to the paging message, the method further comprises:

7. The method of claim 5, wherein if the UE transmits uplink data in addition to responding to the paging message, the method further comprises:

8. A data communication apparatus, characterized in that the apparatus comprises:

9. An electronic device, comprising: a processor, a storage medium and a bus, the storage medium storing program instructions executable by the processor, the processor and the storage medium communicating via the bus when the electronic device is operating, the processor executing the program instructions to perform the steps of the data communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

10. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that the storage medium has stored thereon a computer program which, when being executed by a processor, carries out the steps of the data communication method according to one of claims 1 to 7.