CN114760664A

CN114760664A - Switching method and device under multiple connections

Info

Publication number: CN114760664A
Application number: CN202110026568.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘爱娟
Original assignee: Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Current assignee: Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-01-08
Filing date: 2021-01-08
Publication date: 2022-07-15
Also published as: WO2022148205A1

Abstract

The application provides a switching method and device under multi-connection. The method comprises the following steps: the method comprises the steps that first network equipment sends first information to second network equipment and receives second information from the second network equipment, wherein the first information is used for requesting service network equipment of a terminal to be switched from the first network equipment to the second network equipment, the first information comprises an identifier of third network equipment, the second information comprises indication information indicating whether the second network equipment and the third network equipment can perform direct data forwarding or not, the first network equipment is a main node, and the third network equipment is an auxiliary node; and then the first network equipment sends corresponding target address information to the third network equipment according to the indication information, wherein the target address information is used for the third network equipment to carry out data forwarding on the data of the terminal. According to the method and the device, under the switching scene, a relevant solution is provided for the auxiliary node to forward the data, the data can be successfully transmitted, and the system performance in the switching process is improved.

Description

Switching method and device under multiple connections

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for handover under multiple connections.

Background

In a multi-connection scenario, a terminal and a plurality of network devices on a network side maintain a connection state, and in a dual-connection scenario, for example, the terminal and two network devices on the network side maintain a connection state, and both the two network devices may be network devices supporting LTE/e-LTE/NR, and are respectively a Master Node (Master Node, MN) and a Secondary Node (Secondary Node, SN). The MN is connected with the SN through an Xn or X2-C interface, and the MN is connected with the core network through an NG or S1 interface. Through the double connection for data transmission, the data throughput can be improved, and the requirement of high-speed service transmission is met.

With the movement of the terminal, the network device connected with the terminal is switched, and in the switching process, the terminal can be changed from the double-connection scene into a single-connection scene, wherein the single-connection scene means that the terminal and one network device on the network side keep a connection state. When the handover is completed, if the data from the core network reaches the MN of the terminal, in order to ensure that the data can be successfully transmitted to the terminal, the current scheme is that the MN of the terminal notifies the core network whether to support direct data forwarding, so that the data received by the MN is forwarded to the network device after the handover. However, if the SN also receives data from the core network, there is currently no support for the relevant scheme.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a multi-connection switching and device, and provides a scheme for forwarding data for SN to receive data from a core network in a switching scene, so that the blank of the technical direction is filled.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a method for switching under multiple connections, where the method is applied to a first network device, and the first network device is a master node of a terminal under multiple connections, where the method includes:

sending first information to second network equipment, wherein the first information is used for requesting the service network equipment of the terminal to be switched from the first network equipment to the second network equipment, the first information also comprises an identifier of third network equipment, and the third network equipment is an auxiliary node of the terminal under multi-connection;

receiving second information from the second network device, wherein the second information includes indication information, and the indication information is used for indicating whether the second network device and the third network device can perform direct data forwarding;

and sending corresponding target address information to the third network equipment according to the indication information, wherein the target address information is used for the third network equipment to carry out data forwarding on the data of the terminal.

Optionally, the indication information indicates that the second network device and the third network device may perform direct data forwarding, where the target address information is address information of the second network device, and the address information of the second network device is used for the third network device to perform direct data forwarding on the data of the terminal to the second network device; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the indication information indicates that the second network device and the third network device cannot perform direct data forwarding, the target address information is address information of the first network device, and the address information of the first network device is used for the third network device to perform indirect data forwarding on the data of the terminal to the second network device through the first network device.

Optionally, before sending the corresponding destination address information to the third network device according to the indication information, the method further includes:

address information of a second network device is received from the second network device.

Optionally, the indication information and the address information of the second network device are included in the same message received by the first network device.

Optionally, sending corresponding destination address information to the third network device according to the indication information, where the sending includes:

if the indication information indicates that the second network equipment and the third network equipment cannot perform direct data forwarding, corresponding target address information is allocated to the third network equipment;

and sending corresponding target address information to the third network equipment.

Optionally, sending corresponding destination address information to the third network device, including:

and sending an auxiliary node release request message to the third network equipment, wherein the auxiliary node release request message comprises target address information.

Optionally, the first network device is a network device supporting Long Term Evolution (LTE), and the second network device is a network device supporting New Radio (NR);

sending first information to a second network device, comprising:

sending a switching request message to core network equipment, wherein the switching request message is used for sending a switching request message to second network equipment by the core network equipment, and the switching request message both comprise first information;

receiving second information from a second network device, comprising:

and receiving a handover command message sent by the core network device according to a handover request confirmation message from the second network device, wherein the handover request confirmation message and the handover command message both comprise second information.

Optionally, the first information is a transparent container from the source network device to the target network device;

the second information is a transparent container from the target network device to the source network device.

Optionally, the first network device and the second network device are network devices supporting LTE;

sending first information to a second network device, including:

sending a switching request message to the second network equipment through an X2 interface, wherein the switching request message comprises first information;

receiving second information from a second network device, comprising:

and receiving a handover request confirmation message sent by the second network device through the X2 interface, wherein the handover request confirmation message includes the second information.

Optionally, the first network device and the second network device are network devices supporting e-LTE or NR;

sending first information to a second network device, comprising:

sending a switching request message to second network equipment through an Xn interface, wherein the switching request message comprises first information;

receiving second information from a second network device, comprising:

and receiving a switching request confirmation message sent by the second network equipment through the Xn interface, wherein the switching request confirmation message comprises second information.

In a second aspect, the present application provides a handover method under multiple connections, applied to a second network device, the method including:

receiving first information from first network equipment, wherein the first information is used for requesting to switch service network equipment of a terminal from the first network equipment to second network equipment, the first information also comprises an identifier of third network equipment, the first network equipment is a main node of the terminal under multi-connection, and the third network equipment is an auxiliary node of the terminal under multi-connection;

determining whether direct data forwarding can be performed between the second network device and the third network device according to the identifier of the third network device;

and sending second information to the first network equipment, wherein the second information comprises indication information, and the indication information is used for indicating whether the second network equipment and the third network equipment can perform direct data forwarding.

Optionally, the method further includes:

and sending the address information of the second network equipment to the first network equipment, wherein the address information of the second network equipment is also used for the second network equipment to carry out direct data forwarding on the data of the terminal.

Optionally, the second information and the address information of the second network device are included in the same message sent by the second network device.

Optionally, the first network device is a network device supporting LTE, and the second network device is a network device supporting NR;

receiving first information from a first network device, comprising:

receiving a switching request message sent by core network equipment according to a switching request message from first network equipment, wherein the switching request message and the switching request message both comprise first information;

sending second information to the first network device, including:

and sending a switching request confirmation message to the core network equipment, wherein the switching request confirmation message is used for sending a switching command message to the first network equipment by the core network equipment, and the switching request confirmation message and the switching command message both comprise second information.

receiving first information from a first network device, comprising:

receiving a handover request message sent by a first network device through an X2 interface, wherein the handover request message comprises first information;

sending second information to the first network device, including:

and sending a switching request confirmation message to the first network equipment through the X2 interface, wherein the switching request confirmation message comprises the second information.

receiving first information from a first network device, comprising:

receiving a switching request message sent by first network equipment through an Xn interface, wherein the switching request message comprises first information;

sending second information to the first network device, including:

and sending a switching request confirmation message to the first network equipment through the Xn interface, wherein the switching request confirmation message comprises the second information.

In a third aspect, the present application provides a multi-connection switching apparatus, which is applied to a first network device, where the first network device is a master node of a terminal under multi-connection, and the apparatus includes: a memory, a transceiver, and a processor;

a memory for storing a computer program;

a transceiver for transceiving data under the control of the processor;

a processor for reading the computer program in the memory and performing the following:

Optionally, the processor is further configured to perform the following operations:

and according to the indication information, receiving the address information of the second network equipment from the second network equipment before sending the corresponding target address information to the third network equipment.

sending first information to a second network device, comprising:

receiving second information from a second network device, comprising:

and receiving a handover command message sent by the core network device according to a handover request confirmation message from the second network device, wherein the handover request confirmation message and the handover command message both include the second information.

sending first information to a second network device, comprising:

receiving second information from a second network device, comprising:

sending first information to a second network device, comprising:

receiving second information from a second network device, comprising:

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a multi-connection handover apparatus, applied to a second network device, the apparatus including: a memory, a transceiver, and a processor;

a memory for storing a computer program;

a transceiver for transceiving data under the control of the processor;

a processor for reading the computer program in the memory and performing the following operations:

receiving first information from a first network device, comprising:

sending second information to the first network device, including:

receiving first information from a first network device, comprising:

sending second information to the first network device, including:

receiving first information from a first network device, comprising:

sending second information to the first network device, including:

In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a multi-connection switching apparatus, which is applied to a first network device, where the first network device is a master node of a terminal under multi-connection, and the apparatus includes:

a sending unit, configured to send first information to a second network device, where the first information is used to request a service network device of a terminal to be switched from the first network device to the second network device, the first information further includes an identifier of a third network device, and the third network device is an auxiliary node of the terminal under multi-connection;

a receiving unit, configured to receive second information from a second network device, where the second information includes indication information, and the indication information is used to indicate whether the second network device and a third network device can perform direct data forwarding;

and the sending unit is further used for sending corresponding target address information to the third network device according to the indication information, wherein the target address information is used for the third network device to perform data forwarding on the data of the terminal.

Optionally, the receiving unit is further configured to receive address information of the second network device from the second network device before the sending unit sends corresponding destination address information to the third network device according to the indication information.

sending first information to a second network device, including:

receiving second information from a second network device, comprising:

sending first information to a second network device, comprising:

receiving second information from a second network device, comprising:

sending first information to a second network device, comprising:

receiving second information from a second network device, comprising:

In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a multi-connection handover apparatus, applied to a second network device, the apparatus including:

a receiving unit, configured to receive first information from a first network device, where the first information is used to request to switch a service network device of a terminal from the first network device to a second network device, the first information further includes an identifier of a third network device, the first network device is a master node of the terminal under multi-connection, and the third network device is an auxiliary node of the terminal under multi-connection;

a determining unit, configured to determine whether direct data forwarding between the second network device and the third network device is possible according to the identifier of the third network device;

a sending unit, configured to send second information to the first network device, where the second information includes indication information, and the indication information is used to indicate whether the second network device and the third network device can perform direct data forwarding.

Optionally, the sending unit is further configured to:

receiving first information from a first network device, comprising:

sending second information to the first network device, including:

receiving first information from a first network device, comprising:

sending second information to the first network device, including:

receiving first information from a first network device, comprising:

sending second information to the first network device, including:

In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a processor-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program for causing a processor to perform the method according to any of the first or second aspects.

In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising a computer program which, when executed by a processor, performs the method of any one of the first or second aspects.

In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a multi-connection handover system, including the first network device as described above, the second network device as described above, the third network device as described above, and a terminal.

The application provides a switching method and a device under multi-connection, when a terminal is under multi-connection, a first network device (MN of the terminal) sends an identifier of a third network device (SN of the terminal) to a second network device (target network device of the switched terminal), the second network device determines whether the second network device and the third network device can perform direct data forwarding according to the identifier of the third network device, and indicates whether the second network device and the third network device can perform direct data forwarding to the first network device, and the first network device sends corresponding target address information to the third network device according to different indicated conditions, so that the SN can perform data forwarding on data of the terminal. Therefore, the method and the device provide a relevant solution for forwarding the data to the SN serving as the terminal in the switching scene, ensure the successful transmission of the data and improve the system performance in the switching process.

It should be understood that what is described in the summary above is not intended to limit key or critical features of embodiments of the invention, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the invention. Other features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the present application or the prior art, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art to obtain other drawings based on these drawings without inventive labor.

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of an application scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a flowchart of a handover method under multiple connections according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a flowchart of a handover method under multiple connections according to another embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a flowchart of a handover method under multiple connections according to another embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a flowchart of a handover method under multiple connections according to another embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a flowchart of a handover method under multiple connections according to another embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a flowchart of a handover method under multiple connections according to another embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a switching device under multiple connections according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a switching device under multiple connections according to another embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a switching device under multiple connections according to another embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a switching device under multiple connections according to another embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The term "and/or" in this application, describing the association relationship of the associated objects, means that there may be three relationships, e.g., a and/or B, may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. The character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

In the embodiments of the present application, the term "plurality" means two or more, and other terms are similar thereto.

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments in the present application without making any creative effort belong to the protection scope of the present application.

The embodiment of the application provides a switching method and a switching device under multi-connection, when a terminal is in multi-connection and if the terminal needs to switch a service network device from a current MN to a target network device, the MN of the terminal sends an identifier of an SN to the target network device, the target network device determines whether the target network device and the SN can perform direct data forwarding according to the identifier of the SN, and indicates the MN whether the target network device and the SN can perform direct data forwarding, and the MN sends corresponding target address information to the SN according to the indication so as to enable the SN to perform data forwarding on the data of the terminal. Therefore, the method and the device provide a relevant solution for the SN to forward the data to the terminal, ensure the successful transmission of the data and improve the system performance in the switching process.

The method and the device are based on the same application concept, and because the principles of solving the problems of the method and the device are similar, the implementation of the device and the method can be mutually referred, and repeated parts are not repeated.

The technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application can be suitable for various systems, particularly 5G systems. For example, the applicable system may be a global system for mobile communication (GSM) system, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) system, a long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) system, an LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, an LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) system, an LTE-a (long term evolution) system, a universal mobile system (universal mobile telecommunications system, UMTS), a Worldwide Interoperability for Mobile Access (WiMAX) system, a New Radio network (NR 5) system, etc. These various systems include terminals and network devices. The System may further include a core network portion, such as an Evolved Packet System (EPS), a 5G System (5GS), and the like.

The terminal referred to in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a device providing voice and/or data connectivity to a user, a handheld device having a wireless connection function, or other processing device connected to a wireless modem. In different systems, the names of terminals may be different, for example, in a 5G system, a terminal may be called a User Equipment (UE). A wireless terminal, which may be a mobile terminal such as a mobile telephone (or "cellular" telephone) and a computer having a mobile terminal, e.g., a mobile device which may be portable, pocket, hand-held, computer-included, or vehicle-mounted, exchanges speech and/or data with a Radio Access Network (RAN), may communicate with one or more Core Networks (CNs) via the RAN. Examples of such devices include Personal Communication Service (PCS) phones, cordless phones, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phones, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) stations, and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs). A wireless terminal may also be referred to as a system, a subscriber unit (subscriber unit), a subscriber station (subscriber station), a mobile station (mobile), a remote station (remote station), an access point (access point), a remote terminal (remote terminal), an access terminal (access terminal), a user terminal (user terminal), a user agent (user agent), and a user device (user device), which are not limited in this embodiment.

The network device according to the embodiment of the present application may be a base station, and the base station may include a plurality of cells for providing services to a terminal. A base station may also be referred to as an access point, or a device in an access network that communicates over the air-interface, through one or more sectors, with wireless terminals, or by other names, depending on the particular application. The network device may be configured to exchange received air frames with Internet Protocol (IP) packets as a router between the wireless terminal and the rest of the access network, which may include an Internet Protocol (IP) communication network. The network device may also coordinate attribute management for the air interface. For example, the network device according to the embodiment of the present application may be a Base Transceiver Station (BTS) in a Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) or a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), may be a network device (NodeB) in a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), may be an evolved Node B (eNB or e-NodeB) in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) System, may be a 5G Base Station (gbb) in a 5G network architecture (next evolution System), may be a Home evolved Node B (HeNB), a relay Node (relay Node), a Home Base Station (femto), a pico Base Station (pico Base Station), and the like, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In some network architectures, a network device may include a Centralized Unit (CU) node and a Distributed Unit (DU) node, which may also be geographically separated.

The network device and the terminal may each use one or more antennas for Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) transmission, and the MIMO transmission may be Single User MIMO (SU-MIMO) or Multi-User MIMO (MU-MIMO). According to the form and the number of the root antenna combination, the MIMO transmission can be 2D-MIMO, 3D-MIMO, FD-MIMO or massive-MIMO, and can also be diversity transmission, precoding transmission, beamforming transmission, etc.

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of an application scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 1, the embodiment provides a communication system, where the communication system includes a terminal 110 and a plurality of network devices, where in the embodiment, 1 terminal is taken as an example and 3 network devices are taken as examples (respectively, network device 120, network device 130, and network device 140). In fig. 1, a dual connectivity scenario is taken as an example, and the terminal 110 establishes connectivity with two network devices (i.e., the network device 120 and the network device 130), respectively, where one of the network devices is a primary network device (also referred to as MN) and the other is a secondary network device (also referred to as SN). As the terminal 110 moves, the terminal 110 moves to the coverage area of the network device 140, and accordingly, the signal received by the terminal 110 from the network device 140 has good quality, and the terminal 110 gradually moves away from the coverage areas of the network device 120 and the network device 130. Terminal 110 may switch from the dual connection to the single connection, that is, terminal 110 may switch from establishing connections with network device 120 and network device 130 to establishing connection with network device 140. Wherein, the data forwarding performed by the MN as the terminal by the network device 120 can be referred to the description in the related art. The network device 130 performs data forwarding as the SN of the terminal, and the technical solution of the present application may be adopted. The technical solution is described in detail below using various embodiments.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart of a handover method under multiple connections according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 2, the method of this embodiment may include:

s201, the first network equipment sends first information to the second network equipment. Accordingly, the second network device receives the first information from the first network device.

In this embodiment, the first network device is a Master Node (MN) under multi-connection of the terminal, and the first network device determines to switch a serving network device of the terminal to a second network device (e.g., based on information such as measurement). The first network equipment sends first information to the second network equipment, the first information is used for requesting the service network equipment of the terminal to be switched from the first network equipment to the second network equipment, and the second information also comprises the identification of the third network equipment. The third network device is any auxiliary node (SN) of the terminal under multi-connection. The embodiment takes one SN as an example, if there are multiple SNs, the first information may include identifiers of the multiple SNs, and other SNs may refer to the first network device similarly. It should be noted that the first network device, the second network device, and the third network device are three different network devices.

Accordingly, the second network device receives the first information from the first network device.

S202, the second network device determines whether the second network device and the third network device can perform direct data forwarding according to the identifier of the third network device.

In this embodiment, after receiving the first information, the second network device obtains an identifier of the third network device, and determines whether the second network device and the third network device can perform direct data forwarding according to the identifier of the third network device. For example, the second network device determines, according to the identifier of the third network device, whether a channel for performing direct data forwarding exists between the second network device and the third network device, if so, it determines that the second network device and the third network device can perform direct data forwarding, otherwise, it determines that the second network device and the third network device cannot perform direct data forwarding.

The direct data forwarding refers to that the third network device directly forwards the data of the terminal to the second network device, and the indirect data forwarding refers to that the third network device forwards the data of the terminal to the second network device through other network devices (such as the first network device).

S203, the second network equipment sends second information to the first network equipment. Accordingly, the first network device receives second information from the second network device.

In this embodiment, after the second network device determines whether the second network device and the third network device can perform direct data forwarding, the second network device sends the second information to the first network device. The second information includes indication information, and the indication information is used for indicating whether the second network device and the third network device can perform direct data forwarding. Accordingly, the first network device receives the second information from the second network device.

And S204, the first network equipment sends corresponding target address information to the third network equipment according to the indication information.

In this embodiment, after receiving the second information, the first network device sends corresponding destination address information to the third network device according to the indication information in the second information. The destination address information is used for the third network device to forward data of the terminal. The indication information indicates that the target address information when the second network device and the third network device can perform direct data forwarding is different from the target address information when the indication information indicates that the second network device and the third network device cannot perform direct data forwarding.

Correspondingly, after receiving the target address information, the third network device sends the terminal data to the device pointed by the target address information according to the target address information so as to forward the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be successfully transmitted. The data of the terminal includes data which comes from a core network and needs to arrive at the terminal.

In this embodiment, when the terminal is in multi-connection, the first network device (MN of the terminal) sends an identifier of a third network device (SN of the terminal) to the second network device (target network device of the switched terminal), the second network device determines whether the second network device and the third network device can perform direct data forwarding according to the identifier of the third network device, and indicates whether the second network device and the third network device can perform direct data forwarding to the first network device, and the first network device sends corresponding target address information to the third network device according to different indicated conditions, so that the SN can perform data forwarding on data of the terminal. Therefore, the method and the device provide a relevant solution for forwarding the data to the SN serving as the terminal in the switching scene, ensure the successful transmission of the data and improve the system performance in the switching process.

On the basis of the foregoing embodiment, in an optional embodiment, if the second network device determines that the second network device and the third network device can perform direct data forwarding, the indication information sent by the second network device to the first network device indicates that the second network device and the third network device can perform direct data forwarding. Correspondingly, after receiving the indication information, the first network device sends the destination address information to the third network device as the address information of the second network device, and the address information of the second network device is used for the third network device to perform direct data forwarding on the data of the terminal to the second network device. After receiving the destination address information, the third network device performs direct data forwarding on the data of the terminal to the second network device according to the destination address, that is, directly sends the data of the terminal to the second network device. Therefore, the embodiment can implement direct data forwarding between the third network device (SN of the terminal) and the second network device (target network device after handover), and improve system performance in the handover process.

On the basis of the foregoing embodiment, in an optional embodiment, if the second network device determines that the second network device and the third network device may not perform direct data forwarding, the indication information sent by the second network device to the first network device indicates that the second network device and the third network device may not perform direct data forwarding. Correspondingly, after receiving the indication information, the first network device sends the target address information to the third network device as the address information of the first network device, and the address information of the first network device is used for the third network device to perform indirect data forwarding on the data of the terminal to the second network device. After receiving the destination address information, the third network device performs indirect data forwarding on the data of the terminal through the first network device according to the destination address, that is, the third network device sends the data of the terminal to the first network device, and the first network device forwards the data of the terminal to the second network device. Therefore, the embodiment can implement indirect data forwarding between the third network device (SN of the terminal) and the second network device (target network device after handover), and improve system performance in the handover process.

Optionally, if the indication information indicates that the second network device and the third network device may not perform direct data forwarding, the first network device further allocates new address information of the first network device to the third network device before executing the foregoing S204, where the new address information is the foregoing corresponding destination address information. The first network device then sends the assigned new address information of the first network device to the second network device.

On the basis of the foregoing embodiments, optionally, the address information related to the foregoing includes an IP address and a port number. The address information of the first network device is the IP address and the port number of the first network device, and the address information of the second network device is the IP address and the port number of the second network device.

On the basis of the foregoing embodiments, in an optional embodiment, before the first network device performs the foregoing S204, the second network device sends address information of the second network device to the first network device. Accordingly, the first network device also receives address information of the second network device from the second network device. If the second network device determines that the second network device and the third network device can perform direct data forwarding, the first network device sends address information of the second network device, which is received from the second network device, to the third network device as target address information.

Optionally, if the first network device and the second network device may perform direct data forwarding, the first network device may also perform direct data forwarding according to the address information of the second network device.

Alternatively, the indication information and the address information of the second network device may be included in the same message sent by the second network device. The indication information and the address information of the second network device may be included in the same message received by the first network device.

The indication information and the address information of the second network device are transmitted through the same message, and when the indication information indicates that the second network device and the third network device can perform direct data forwarding, the indication information represents the address information of the second network device in the same message, that is, the address information of the third network device performing direct data forwarding.

On the basis of the foregoing embodiments, in an optional embodiment, one possible implementation manner for the first network device to send the corresponding destination address information to the third network device is as follows: and the second network equipment sends an auxiliary node release message to the third network equipment, wherein the auxiliary node release request message comprises the target address information.

A source master base station taking the first network equipment as a terminal is called a source MN; the second network device is source-assisted by the terminal and is called a source SN; the third network device is a target base station after the terminal is switched, and is called a target node to exemplify the scheme of the application.

On the basis of the foregoing embodiments, fig. 3 is a flowchart of a handover method under multiple connections according to another embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 3, the method of this embodiment may include:

s301, the source MN sends a switching request message to the core network equipment. Accordingly, the core network device receives the handover required message sent by the source MN.

S302, the core network equipment sends a switching request message to a target node.

In this embodiment, taking a source MN as a network device supporting LTE and a target node as a network device supporting NR as an example, the source MN determines to initiate inter-system (inter-rat) handover to the target node according to a measurement result. The source MN cannot directly send a handover request message to the target node, but the source MN sends a handover required message to the core network device. The core network device of this embodiment includes a Mobility Management Entity (MME) and an Authentication Management Function (AMF), and specifically, the source MN sends a Handover request message (Handover Required message) to the MME. The handover request message includes the first information (including the identifier of the source SN) as described above, such as a source NG-RAN node to target NG-RAN node transparent container (source NG-RAN node to target NG-RAN node transparent container) from the source network device to the target network device, where the transparent container includes the identifier of the source SN. After receiving the handover Request message, the MME sends a Forward Relocation Request message (Forward Relocation Request message) to the AMF, where the Forward Relocation Request message includes the first information. And then the AMF sends a switching Request message (Handover Request message) to the target node, wherein the switching Request message comprises the first information so as to forward the first information sent by the source MN to the target node.

S303, the target node determines whether the target node and the source SN can carry out direct data forwarding or not according to the identifier of the source SN.

S304, the target node sends a switching request confirmation message to the core network equipment. Correspondingly, the core network equipment receives a switching request confirmation message sent by the target node.

S305, the core network equipment sends a switching command message to the source MN. Accordingly, the source MN receives the handover command message sent by the core network device.

In this embodiment, after receiving the handover request message, the target node determines whether direct data forwarding between the target node and the source SN is possible according to the identifier of the source SN in the message. And if the target node confirms the switching, the target node sends a switching Request confirmation message (Handover Request ACK message) to the AMF. The handover request ACK message includes second information (including indication information indicating whether direct data forwarding between the target node and the source SN is possible), for example, a target NG-RAN node to source NG-RAN node transit container from the target network device to the source network device.

After receiving the handover request acknowledgement message sent by the target node, the AMF sends a Forward Relocation Response message (Forward Relocation Response message) to the MME, where the Forward Relocation Response message includes the second information. The MME sends a Handover Command message (Handover Command message) to the source MN according to the received forward relocation response message, where the Handover Command message includes the second information.

Optionally, the address information of the target node may be included in the handover request acknowledge message, the forward relocation response message, and the handover command message, respectively.

S306, the source MN sends SN release request information to the source SN according to the indication information.

In this embodiment, after receiving the handover command message, the source MN sends an SN Release Request message (SN Release Request message) to the source SN according to the indication information in the handover command message. The SN release request message includes destination address information corresponding to the indication information, where the destination address information is used for data forwarding of the data of the terminal by the source SN.

According to the method provided by the embodiment, through the scheme, a relevant solution is provided for forwarding the data of the source SN of the terminal in the scene of switching between different systems, the data can be successfully transmitted, and the system performance in the switching process is improved.

On the basis of the foregoing embodiments, fig. 4 is a flowchart of a handover method under multiple connections according to another embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 4, the method of this embodiment may include:

s401, the source MN sends a switching request message to the target node. Accordingly, the target node receives the handover request message sent by the source MN.

S402, the target node determines whether the direct data forwarding can be carried out between the target node and the source SN according to the identification of the source SN.

S403, the target node sends a switching request confirmation message to the source MN. Accordingly, the source MN receives the handover request confirm message sent by the target node.

S404, the source MN sends a SN release request message to the source SN according to the indication information.

In a possible implementation manner, taking a source MN as a network device supporting LTE and a target node as a network device supporting LTE as an example, the source MN determines to initiate X2 based handover to the target node according to a measurement result. The source MN sends a handover request message (containing an identification of the source SN) to the target node over the X2 interface. After receiving the switching request message through the X2 interface, the target node determines whether the direct data forwarding between the target node and the source SN can be performed according to the identifier of the source SN in the message. If the target node acknowledges the handover, the target node sends a handover request acknowledge message (containing indication information) to the source MN over the X2 interface. Optionally, the handover request acknowledgement message further includes address information of the target node. After receiving the switching request confirmation message through the X2 interface, the source MN sends an SN release request message to the source SN according to the indication information in the switching request confirmation message. The SN release request message includes destination address information corresponding to the indication information, where the destination address information is used for data forwarding of the data of the terminal by the source SN.

In another possible implementation manner, taking the source MN as a network device supporting e-LTE or NR and the target node as a network device supporting e-LTE or NR as an example, the source MN determines to initiate Xn based handover to the target node according to the measurement result. The source MN sends a handover request message (containing an identification of the source SN) to the target node over the Xn interface. After receiving the switching request message through the Xn interface, the target node determines whether direct data forwarding can be performed between the target node and the source SN according to the identifier of the source SN in the message. If the target node confirms the handover, the target node sends a handover request confirmation message (containing indication information) to the source MN through the Xn interface. Optionally, the handover request acknowledgement message further includes address information of the target node. And after receiving the switching request confirmation message through the Xn interface, the source MN sends an SN release request message to the source SN according to the indication information in the switching request confirmation message. The SN release request message includes destination address information corresponding to the indication information, where the destination address information is used for data forwarding of the data of the terminal by the source SN.

According to the method provided by the embodiment, through the scheme, a relevant solution is provided for forwarding the data of the source SN of the terminal in the scene of switching between the same systems, the data can be successfully transmitted, and the system performance in the switching process is improved.

In the following, inter-system handover from EUTRA-NR Dual Connection (EN-DC) to gNB (single Connection) is taken as an example, that is, the terminal operates under EN-DC, the source MN is MeNB, and the source SN is SgNB. And the MeNB initiates inter-system handover to the NG-RAN node (gNB) according to the measurement result. Fig. 5 is a flowchart of a handover method under multiple connections according to another embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 5, the method of this embodiment may include the following steps:

and 5.1, switching and starting the source MeNB. The source MeNB decides to handover the terminal to the target gNB.

And 5.2, the source MeNB sends a switching requirement message to the MME. The source MeNB carries in the handover request message whether the source MeNB can perform direct data forwarding with the target gNB, and simultaneously carries the identifier of the source SgNB in the source NG-RAN node to target NG-RAN node forwarding container.

And 5.3, the MME sends a forward relocation request message to the AMF.

Step 5.4, the AMF sends a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) Session establishment Request message (Nsmf _ PDU Session _ CreateSMContext Request message) to a Session Management Function (SMF).

Step 5.5, the SMF initiates a Session Management function (SM) Policy association Modification process (SMF initiated SM Policy association Modification).

Step 5.6, SMF initiates N4 Session Modification procedure (N4 Session Modification).

Step 5.7, SMF sends PDU conversation establishment Response message (Nsmf _ PDU Session _ CreateSSContext Response message) to AMF.

And step 5.8, the SMF initiates an N4 Session establishment process (N4 Session examination).

Through the above steps 5.3 to 5.8, inside the Core Network (CN), a series of handshaking of Network elements of an Evolved Packet System (EPS) and a 5G core Network (abbreviated as 5GC) includes MME, AMF, Serving GateWay (S-GW), roaming destination (V) -SMF, V-User Plane Function (UPF), SMF + Public Data Network GateWay (PGW) -Control Plane (C), UPF + PGW-User Plane (U), V-Packet Control Function (PCF), and home destination (h) -PCF, and the EPS bearer context at the MME side is converted into a PDU session context applicable to the 5G System.

And 5.9, the AMF sends a switching request message to the target gNB. The AMF forwards a Source NG-RAN node to target NG-RAN node transitional container carried by a Source MeNB in a handover request message, wherein the container carries an identifier of a Source SgNB.

Step 5.10, the target gNB sends a handover request acknowledge message to the AMF. The target gNB carries indication information whether direct data forwarding can be performed between the target gNB and the source SgNB in the handover request confirmation message, and the indication information may be included in the target NG-RAN node to source NG-RAN node forwarding container in the handover request confirmation message.

Step 5.11, the AMF sends a PDU Session update Request message (Nsmf _ PDU Session _ UpdateSMContext Request message) to the SMF.

Step 5.12, SMF initiates N4 Session Modification procedure (N4 Session Modification).

And step 5.13, the SMF sends a PDU Session update Response message (Nsmf _ PDU Session _ UpdateSMContext Response message) to the AMF.

And step 5.14, the AMF sends a forward relocation response message to the MME.

Through the above S5.11-S5.14, through a series of handshaking of network elements of EPS and 5GC, target address information (i.e. address information of target gNB) allocated by the Core Network (CN) for data forwarding is told to the MME.

Step 5.15, the MME sends a switching command message to the source MeNB. The message includes indication information whether direct data forwarding can be performed between the target gNB and the source SgNB node, and the indication information may be included in the target NG-RAN node to source NG-RAN node relay container.

Step 5.16, the source MeNB initiates the SgNB release procedure to the source SgNB. If the target gNB indicates that direct data forwarding can be performed between the target gNB and the source SgNB, the source MeNB initiates a release (release) process to the source SgNB, the target address information (namely, the address information of data forwarding) carried by an SN release request message is the address information received in the handover command message, otherwise, the source MeNB transfers the target address information (namely, the address information of data forwarding) allocated by the source MeNB to the source SgNB.

In the method provided by the embodiment, in a scenario that the terminal works under the EN-DC and the MeNB initiates inter-system handover to the target gNB, a related solution is provided for the source SgNB of the terminal to forward data, so that the data can be successfully transmitted, and the system performance in the handover process is improved.

In the following, the switching from EN-DC to eNB (single connection) X2 is taken as an example, that is, the terminal operates under EN-DC, the source MN is MeNB, and the source SN is SgNB. And the MeNB initiates the switching of the X2 based to the target eNB according to the measurement result. Fig. 6 is a flowchart of a handover method under multiple connections according to another embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 6, the method of this embodiment may include the following steps:

and 6.1, the source MeNB sends a switching request message to the target eNB to initiate a switching process. The handover request message carries the identity of the source SgNB.

And 6.2, after receiving the switching request message, the target eNB determines whether the direct data forwarding between the target eNB and the source SgNB can be realized according to the identification of the source SgNB, and sends a switching request confirmation message to the source MeNB. The handover request acknowledgement message carries indication information indicating that the target eNB and the source SgNB can perform direct data forwarding.

Step 6.3a, the source MeNB sends a SgNB release request message to the source SgNB.

And 6.3b, the source SgNB sends a SgNB Release Request acknowledgement message (SgNB Release Request acknowledgement message) to the source MeNB.

The source MeNB initiates an SgNB release process to the source SgNB, and the source MeNB provides the data forwarding address of the E-RAB with the SN Terminated in the process. If the source MeNB knows that direct data forwarding can be performed between the source SgNB and the target eNB in step 6.2, it directly sends the address information (which may be called tunnel) allocated by the target eNB to the source SgNB. If the source MeNB knows in step 6.2 that no direct data forwarding between the source SgNB and the target eNB is possible, it assigns an address information (which may be referred to as an intermediate tunnel) and sends it to the source SgNB.

Step 6.4, the source MeNB sends an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message (RRC Connection Reconfiguration message) to the terminal.

And 6.5, the terminal initiates a Random Access Procedure (Random Access Procedure) to the target eNB.

Step 6.6, the terminal sends an RRC Connection Reconfiguration Complete message (RRC Connection Reconfiguration Complete message) to the target eNB.

Step 6.7a, source SgNB sends SN Status Transfer message (SN Status Transfer message) to source MeNB.

Step 6.7b, the source MeNB sends SN status transfer message to the target eNB.

And 6.8, Forwarding Data (Data Forwarding). The S-GW sends data to the source SgNB, which forwards the data to the target eNB according to the address information (address information of the target eNB) received in step 6.3 a.

When the target eNB and the source SgNB can perform direct data forwarding, step 6.8 above is performed.

And 6.8', forwarding the data. And the S-GW sends data to the source SgNB, the source SgNB performs data forwarding to the source MeNB according to the address information (address information of the source MeNB) received in the step 6.3a, and then the source MeNB performs data forwarding to the target eNB.

And when the target eNB and the source SgNB can carry out direct data forwarding, executing the step 6.8'.

Step 6.9a, the source SgNB sends a Secondary radio access technology Data Usage report (Secondary RAT Data Usage report) to the source MeNB.

Step 6.9b, the source MeNB sends a secondary radio access technology data usage report to the MME.

Step 6.10, the target eNB sends a Path Switch Request message (Path Switch Request message) to the MME.

And 6.11, the MME initiates a Bearer modification process (Bearer modification) to the S-GW.

And 6.12, the S-GW sends an End Marker Packet (End Marker Packet) to the source SgNB, the source MeNB and the target eNB.

And 6.13, the S-GW sends a New Path (New Path) to the target eNB.

Step 6.14, the MME sends a Path switching Request Acknowledge message (Path Switch Request Acknowledge message) to the target eNB.

Step 6.15 and step 6.16, the target eNB initiates a UE context Release procedure (UE context Release) to the source MeNB and the source SgNB.

In the method provided by the embodiment, in a scenario that the terminal works under MR-DC and the MeNB initiates the switching of the X2 base to the target eNB, a relevant solution is provided for the data forwarding of the source SgNB of the terminal, so that the data can be successfully transmitted, and the system performance in the switching process is improved.

In the following, the switching of Multi-RAT Dual Connectivity (MR-DC) to Xn (single connection) is taken as an example, that is, the terminal operates under MR-DC, the source MN is MgNB, and the source SN is SeNB. And the MeNB initiates the switching of the X2 based to the target gNB according to the measurement result. Fig. 7 is a flowchart of a handover method under multiple connections according to another embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 7, the method of this embodiment may include the following steps:

step 7.1, the source MgNB initiates the handover procedure to the target gNB by sending a handover request message. The handover request message carries the identifier of the source SeNB.

And 7.2, after receiving the switching request message, the target gNB determines whether the data between the target gNB and the source SeNB can be directly forwarded according to the identifier of the source SeNB, and sends a switching request confirmation message to the source MgNB. The handover request acknowledgement message carries indication information indicating that the target gNB and the source SeNB can perform direct data forwarding.

Step 7.3a, the source MgNB sends a SeNB release request message to the source SeNB.

And 7.3b, the source SeNB sends a SeNB release request confirmation message to the source MgNB.

The source MgNB initiates a SeNB release process to the source SeNB, and the source MgNB provides a data forwarding address of the PDU session with the SN Terminated in the process. If the source MeNB knows in step 7.2 that direct data forwarding between the source SeNB and the target gNB is possible, it directly sends the address information (which may be referred to as tunnel) allocated by the target gNB to the source SeNB. If the source MgNB knows in step 7.2 that no direct data forwarding is possible between the source SeNB and the target gNB, it assigns an address information (which may be referred to as an intermediate tunnel) and sends it to the source SeNB.

And 7.3c, the source MgNB sends an Xn-U Address Indication (Xn-U Address Indication) to the source SeNB.

And 7.4, the source MgNB sends an RRC connection reconfiguration message to the terminal.

And 7.5, the terminal initiates a random access process to the target gNB.

And 7.6, the terminal sends an RRC connection reconfiguration completion message to the target gNB.

And 7.7a, the source SeNB sends an SN state transmission message to the source MgNB.

Step 7.7b, source MgNB sends SN status transfer message to target gNB.

And 7.8, forwarding the data. The UPF sends data to the source SeNB, and the source SeNB performs data forwarding to the target gNB according to the address information (address information of the target gNB) received in step 7.3 a.

When the target gNB and the source SeNB can perform direct data forwarding, step 7.8 above is performed.

And 7.8', forwarding the data. The UPF sends data to the source SeNB, the source SeNB performs data forwarding to the source MgNB according to the address information (address information of the source MgNB) received in step 7.3a, and then the source MgNB performs data forwarding to the target gNB.

When the target gNB and the source SeNB can perform direct data forwarding, the above step 7.8' is performed.

And 7.9a, the source SeNB sends a secondary radio access technology data use report to the source MgNB.

And 7.9b, the source MgNB sends a secondary radio access technology data use report to the AMF.

Step 7.10, the target gNB sends a path switch request message to the AMF.

Step 7.11, the AMF initiates a bearer modification procedure to the UPF.

And 7.12, the UPF sends an end marker packet to the source SeNB, the source MgNB and the target gNB.

Step 7.13, the UPF sends the new path to the target gNB.

Step 7.14, AMF sends path switch request acknowledge message to target gNB.

And 7.15 and 7.16, the target gNB initiates a UE context release process to the source MgNB and the source SeNB.

In the method provided by the embodiment, in a scenario that the terminal works under MR-DC and the MgNB initiates the switching of the Xn base to the target gNB, a related solution is provided for the source SeNB of the terminal to forward data, so that the data can be successfully transmitted, and the system performance in the switching process is improved.

On the network side, an embodiment of the present application provides a switching device under multiple connections, as shown in fig. 8, the switching device under multiple connections in this embodiment may be a first network device, where the first network device is a master node of a terminal under multiple connections, and the switching device under multiple connections includes: a transceiver 801, a processor 802, and a memory 803.

A transceiver 801 for receiving and transmitting data under the control of a processor 802.

Where in fig. 8 the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, with one or more processors represented by processor 802 and various circuits of memory represented by memory 803 being linked together. The bus architecture may also link together various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, power management circuits, and the like, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 801 may be a number of elements including a transmitter and a receiver that provide a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium including wireless channels, wired channels, fiber optic cables, and the like. The processor 802 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 803 may store data used by the processor 802 in performing operations.

The processor 802 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or a Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD), and may also have a multi-core architecture.

The processor 802 is configured to invoke the computer program stored in the memory 803 to execute any of the methods provided by the embodiments of the present application with respect to the first network device according to the obtained executable instructions. The processor and memory may also be physically separated.

Specifically, the processor 802 is configured to perform the following operations:

Optionally, the processor 802 is further configured to perform the following operations:

and receiving the address information of the second network equipment from the second network equipment before sending the corresponding target address information to the third network equipment according to the indication information.

Optionally, sending corresponding destination address information to the third network device includes:

sending first information to a second network device, comprising:

receiving second information from a second network device, comprising:

sending first information to a second network device, including:

receiving second information from a second network device, comprising:

sending first information to a second network device, including:

receiving second information from a second network device, comprising:

It should be noted that, the apparatus provided in this application can implement all the method steps implemented by the first network device in the foregoing method embodiments, and can achieve the same technical effect, and detailed descriptions of the same parts and beneficial effects as those of the method embodiments in this embodiment are not repeated here.

On the network side, an embodiment of the present application further provides a switching device under multiple connections, as shown in fig. 9, the switching device under multiple connections of this embodiment may be a second network device, and the switching device under multiple connections includes: a transceiver 901, a processor 902 and a memory 903.

A transceiver 901 for receiving and transmitting data under the control of the processor 902.

Where, in fig. 9, the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, particularly where one or more processors, represented by the processor 902, and various circuits, represented by the memory 903, are linked together. The bus architecture may also link together various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, power management circuits, and the like, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 901 may be a number of elements including a transmitter and a receiver that provide a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium including wireless channels, wired channels, fiber optic cables, and the like. The processor 902 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 903 may store data used by the processor 902 in performing operations.

The processor 902 may be a CPU, ASIC, FPGA or CPLD, and the processor may also employ a multi-core architecture.

The processor 902 is configured to invoke a computer program stored in the memory 903, so as to execute any of the methods provided by the embodiments of the present application with respect to the second network device according to the obtained executable instructions. The processor and memory may also be physically separated.

In particular, the processor 902 is configured to perform the following operations:

Optionally, the processor 902 is further configured to perform the following operations:

receiving first information from a first network device, comprising:

sending second information to the first network device, including:

receiving first information from a first network device, comprising:

sending second information to the first network device, including:

receiving first information from a first network device, comprising:

sending second information to the first network device, including:

It should be noted that, the apparatus provided in this application can implement all the method steps implemented by the second network device in the foregoing method embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effect, and detailed descriptions of the same parts and beneficial effects as those of the method embodiment in this embodiment are not repeated here.

On the network side, an embodiment of the present application further provides a switching device under multiple connections, as shown in fig. 10, the switching device under multiple connections in this embodiment may be a first network device, where the first network device is a master node of a terminal under multiple connections, and the switching device under multiple connections includes: a transmitting unit 1001 and a receiving unit 1002.

A sending unit 1001, configured to send first information to a second network device, where the first information is used to request a service network device of a terminal to be switched from the first network device to the second network device, the first information further includes an identifier of a third network device, and the third network device is an auxiliary node of the terminal under multi-connection;

a receiving unit 1002, configured to receive second information from a second network device, where the second information includes indication information, and the indication information is used to indicate whether the second network device and a third network device may perform direct data forwarding;

the sending unit 1001 is further configured to send corresponding destination address information to the third network device according to the indication information, where the destination address information is used for the third network device to perform data forwarding on the data of the terminal.

Optionally, the receiving unit 1002 is further configured to receive address information of the second network device from the second network device before the sending unit 1001 sends corresponding destination address information to the third network device according to the indication information.

Optionally, sending corresponding destination address information to the third network device according to the indication information, including:

sending first information to a second network device, comprising:

receiving second information from a second network device, comprising:

sending first information to a second network device, including:

receiving second information from a second network device, comprising:

and receiving a handover request confirmation message sent by the second network device through the X2 interface, where the handover request confirmation message includes the second information.

sending first information to a second network device, comprising:

receiving second information from a second network device, comprising:

On the network side, an embodiment of the present application further provides a switching device under multiple connections, as shown in fig. 11, the switching device under multiple connections of this embodiment may be a second network device, and the switching device under multiple connections includes: a receiving unit 1101, a determining unit 1102, and a transmitting unit 1103.

A receiving unit 1101, configured to receive first information from a first network device, where the first information is used to request to switch a service network device of a terminal from the first network device to a second network device, the first information further includes an identifier of a third network device, the first network device is a master node of the terminal under multi-connection, and the third network device is an auxiliary node of the terminal under multi-connection;

a determining unit 1102, configured to determine, according to the identifier of the third network device, whether direct data forwarding between the second network device and the third network device is possible;

a sending unit 1103, configured to send second information to the first network device, where the second information includes indication information, and the indication information is used to indicate whether the second network device and the third network device may perform direct data forwarding.

Optionally, the sending unit 1103 is further configured to:

receiving first information from a first network device, comprising:

sending second information to the first network device, including:

receiving first information from a first network device, comprising:

sending second information to the first network device, including:

receiving first information from a first network device, comprising:

sending second information to the first network device, including:

It should be noted that the division of the unit in the embodiment of the present application is schematic, and is only a logic function division, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation. In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the present application 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, and can also be realized in a form of a software functional unit.

The integrated unit, if implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a processor readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application may be substantially implemented or contributed by the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution may be embodied in a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a network device, or the like) or a processor (processor) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media capable of storing program codes, such as a usb disk, a removable hard disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

On the network side, an embodiment of the present application provides a processor-readable storage medium, where a computer program is stored, and the computer program is configured to enable a processor to execute any one of the methods provided in the embodiment of the present application with respect to the first network device. The processor is enabled to implement all the method steps implemented by the first network device in the foregoing method embodiment, and achieve the same technical effect, and detailed descriptions of the same parts and beneficial effects as those of the method embodiment in this embodiment are omitted here.

On the network side, an embodiment of the present application further provides a processor-readable storage medium, where a computer program is stored in the processor-readable storage medium, and the computer program is configured to enable a processor to execute any one of the methods provided in the embodiment of the present application with respect to the second network device. The processor is enabled to implement all the method steps implemented by the second network device in the foregoing method embodiment, and achieve the same technical effect, and detailed descriptions of the same parts and beneficial effects as those of the method embodiment in this embodiment are omitted here.

On the network side, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, all the method steps implemented by the first network device in the foregoing method embodiments are implemented, and the same technical effects can be achieved.

On the network side, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, all the method steps implemented by the second network device in the foregoing method embodiments are implemented, and the same technical effects can be achieved.

The processor-readable storage medium may be any available media or data storage device that can be accessed by a processor, including, but not limited to, magnetic memory (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tape, magneto-optical disks (MOs), etc.), optical memory (e.g., CDs, DVDs, BDs, HVDs, etc.), and semiconductor memory (e.g., ROMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, non-volatile memory (NAND FLASH), Solid State Disks (SSDs)), etc.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, 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, 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, and computer program products according to embodiments of the application. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer-executable instructions. These computer-executable 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 processor-executable instructions may also be stored in a processor-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 processor-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 processor-executable 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.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is intended to include such modifications and variations as well.

Claims

1. A switching method under multi-connection is characterized in that the switching method is applied to a first network device, the first network device is a main node of a terminal under multi-connection, and the method comprises the following steps:

sending first information to a second network device, where the first information is used to request a service network device of a terminal to be switched from the first network device to the second network device, the first information further includes an identifier of a third network device, and the third network device is an auxiliary node of the terminal under multi-connection;

receiving second information from the second network device, where the second information includes indication information, and the indication information is used to indicate whether the second network device and the third network device can perform direct data forwarding;

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the indication information indicates that the second network device and the third network device can perform direct data forwarding, the destination address information is address information of the second network device, and the address information of the second network device is used for the third network device to perform direct data forwarding on the data of the terminal to the second network device; alternatively, the first and second liquid crystal display panels may be,

the indication information indicates that the second network device and the third network device may not perform direct data forwarding, the destination address information is address information of the first network device, and the address information of the first network device is used for the third network device to perform indirect data forwarding on the data of the terminal to the second network device through the first network device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein before sending the corresponding destination address information to the third network device according to the indication information, further comprising:

receiving address information of the second network device from the second network device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the indication information and the address information of the second network device are included in the same message received by the first network device.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the sending the corresponding destination address information to the third network device according to the indication information comprises:

if the indication information indicates that the second network device and the third network device cannot perform direct data forwarding, allocating corresponding target address information to the third network device;

and sending the corresponding target address information to the third network equipment.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the corresponding destination address information to the third network device comprises:

and sending an auxiliary node release request message to the third network equipment, wherein the auxiliary node release request message comprises the target address information.

7. The method of any of claims 1-6, wherein the first network device is an LTE enabled network device and the second network device is an NR enabled network device;

the sending the first information to the second network device includes:

sending a handover request message to a core network device, where the handover request message is used for the core network device to send a handover request message to the second network device, where the handover request message and the handover request message both include the first information;

the receiving second information from the second network device includes:

and receiving a handover command message sent by the core network device according to a handover request confirmation message from a second network device, wherein the handover request confirmation message and the handover command message both include the second information.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first information is a transparent container from a source network device to a target network device;

9. The method according to any of claims 1-6, wherein the first network device and the second network device are LTE enabled network devices;

the sending the first information to the second network device includes:

sending a handover request message to the second network device through an X2 interface, wherein the handover request message includes the first information;

the receiving second information from the second network device includes:

receiving a handover request confirmation message sent by the second network device through an X2 interface, where the handover request confirmation message includes the second information.

10. The method of any of claims 1-6, wherein the first network device, the second network device are e-LTE enabled or NR enabled network devices;

the sending the first information to the second network device includes:

sending a switching request message to the second network equipment through an Xn interface, wherein the switching request message comprises the first information;

the receiving second information from the second network device includes:

and receiving a handover request confirmation message sent by the second network device through an Xn interface, wherein the handover request confirmation message comprises the second information.

11. A handover method under multi-connection is applied to a second network device, and the method comprises the following steps:

receiving first information from a first network device, where the first information is used to request switching of a service network device of a terminal from the first network device to a second network device, the first information further includes an identifier of a third network device, the first network device is a master node of the terminal under multi-connection, and the third network device is an auxiliary node of the terminal under multi-connection;

and sending second information to the first network device, where the second information includes indication information, and the indication information is used to indicate whether the second network device and the third network device can perform direct data forwarding.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the second information is included in the same message sent by the second network device as address information of the second network device.

14. The method of any of claims 11-13, wherein the first network device is an LTE enabled network device and the second network device is an NR enabled network device;

the receiving of the first information from the first network device includes:

receiving a handover request message sent by a core network device according to a handover request message from a first network device, wherein the handover request message and the handover request message both include the first information;

the sending the second information to the first network device includes:

and sending a handover request confirmation message to the core network device, where the handover request confirmation message is used for the core network device to send a handover command message to the first network device, and both the handover request confirmation message and the handover command message include the second information.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the first information is a transparent container from a source network device to a target network device;

16. The method according to any of claims 11-13, wherein the first network device and the second network device are LTE-enabled network devices;

the receiving of the first information from the first network device includes:

receiving a handover request message sent by the first network device through an X2 interface, where the handover request message includes the first information;

the sending the second information to the first network device includes:

sending a handover request confirmation message to the first network device through an X2 interface, wherein the handover request confirmation message includes the second information.

17. The method of any of claims 11-13, wherein the first network device, the second network device are e-LTE or NR enabled network devices;

the receiving of the first information from the first network device includes:

receiving a handover request message sent by the first network device through an Xn interface, wherein the handover request message comprises the first information;

the sending the second information to the first network device includes:

and sending a switching request confirmation message to the first network equipment through an Xn interface, wherein the switching request confirmation message comprises the second information.

18. A switching device under multi-connection is applied to a first network device, wherein the first network device is a master node of a terminal under multi-connection, and the switching device comprises: a memory, a transceiver, and a processor;

the memory for storing a computer program;

the transceiver is used for transceiving data under the control of the processor;

the processor is used for reading the computer program in the memory and executing the following operations:

19. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the indication information indicates that the second network device and the third network device can perform direct data forwarding, the destination address information is address information of the second network device, and the address information of the second network device is used for the third network device to perform direct data forwarding on the data of the terminal to the second network device; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the processor is further configured to:

and receiving address information of the second network equipment from the second network equipment before sending corresponding target address information to the third network equipment according to the indication information.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the indication information and the address information of the second network device are included in a same message received by the first network device.

22. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the sending the corresponding destination address information to the third network device according to the indication information comprises:

23. The apparatus of any of claims 18-22, wherein the first network device is an LTE enabled network device and the second network device is an NR enabled network device;

the sending the first information to the second network device includes:

the receiving second information from the second network device includes:

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the first information is a transparent container from a source network device to a target network device;

25. The apparatus of any one of claims 18-22, wherein the first network device and the second network device are LTE-capable network devices;

the sending the first information to the second network device includes:

the receiving second information from the second network device includes:

receiving a handover request confirmation message sent by the second network device through an X2 interface, where the handover request confirmation message includes the second information;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the first network equipment and the second network equipment are network equipment supporting e-LTE or NR;

the sending the first information to the second network device includes:

the receiving second information from the second network device includes:

26. A multi-connection handover apparatus, applied to a second network device, the apparatus comprising: a memory, a transceiver, and a processor;

the memory for storing a computer program;

receiving first information from a first network device, where the first information is used to request that a service network device of a terminal is switched from the first network device to a second network device, the first information further includes an identifier of a third network device, the first network device is a master node of the terminal under multi-connection, and the third network device is a slave node of the terminal under multi-connection;

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the processor is further configured to:

28. The apparatus of claim 26 or 27, wherein the first network device is an LTE-capable network device, and wherein the second network device is an NR-capable network device;

the receiving of the first information from the first network device includes:

sending second information to the first network device, including:

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the first information is a transparent container from a source network device to a target network device;

30. The apparatus of claim 26 or 27, wherein the first network device and the second network device are LTE-capable network devices;

the receiving of the first information from the first network device includes:

the sending the second information to the first network device includes:

sending a handover request confirmation message to the first network device through an X2 interface, where the handover request confirmation message includes the second information;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the receiving of the first information from the first network device includes:

the sending second information to the first network device includes:

31. A switching device under multi-connection is applied to a first network device, wherein the first network device is a master node of a terminal under multi-connection, and the switching device comprises:

a receiving unit, configured to receive second information from the second network device, where the second information includes indication information, and the indication information is used to indicate whether the second network device and the third network device may perform direct data forwarding;

the sending unit is further configured to send corresponding destination address information to the third network device according to the indication information, where the destination address information is used for the third network device to perform data forwarding on the data of the terminal.

32. A multi-connection handover apparatus, applied to a second network device, the apparatus comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to receive first information from a first network device, where the first information is used to request that a service network device of a terminal is switched from the first network device to a second network device, the first information further includes an identifier of a third network device, the first network device is a master node of the terminal under multi-connection, and the third network device is an auxiliary node of the terminal under multi-connection;

a sending unit, configured to send second information to the first network device, where the second information includes indication information, and the indication information is used to indicate whether the second network device and the third network device may perform direct data forwarding.

33. A processor-readable storage medium, characterized in that the processor-readable storage medium stores a computer program for causing a processor to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 10 or 11 to 17.

34. A computer program product comprising a computer program, characterized in that the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 or any one of claims 11-17.