CN115567440A

CN115567440A - Method and device for realizing communication between local area networks

Info

Publication number: CN115567440A
Application number: CN202110750272.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 韦安妮; 马帅
Original assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Communications Ltd Research Institute
Current assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Communications Ltd Research Institute
Priority date: 2021-07-02
Filing date: 2021-07-02
Publication date: 2023-01-03

Abstract

The invention provides a method and a device for realizing communication between local area networks, comprising the following steps: identifying a first data packet sent by source user equipment, wherein the first data packet does not belong to a first virtual network group to which the source user equipment belongs; and determining a target UPF or a target server or target user equipment corresponding to the first data packet, and sending the first data packet to the target UPF or the target server or the target user equipment. Or, receiving a query request sent by a source UPF, where the query request includes address information of a target user equipment of a first data packet to be forwarded by the source UPF or information of a target virtual network group to which the target user equipment belongs, and the first data packet is sent by the source user equipment served by the source UPF and does not belong to the first virtual network group to which the source user equipment belongs; and determining the information of the target UPF according to the address information of the target user equipment or the information of the target virtual network group and sending the information to the source UPF. The invention can realize communication among virtual network groups.

Description

Method and device for realizing communication between local area networks

Technical Field

The embodiment of the invention relates to the technical field of communication, in particular to a method and a device for realizing communication between local area networks.

Background

In the Vertical local area network (Vertical LAN) research of Release 16, 3GPP defines a networking solution: 5G LAN-type Services, i.e., local area Network type Services built based on a 5G Network, may provide Internet Protocol (IP) type or ethernet type communication Services for a specific terminal group (also referred to as Virtual Network group (VN group)). In short, terminals subscribing to the same virtual network group communicate with each other in the same 5G LAN, and thus have a feature of local area network communication.

However, at present, a 3gpp 5G LAN supports only communication within the same 5G virtual network group, and does not support communication between 5G virtual network groups.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a method and a device for realizing communication between local area networks, which are used for solving the problem that communication cannot be carried out between different virtual network groups in the prior art.

In order to solve the technical problem, the invention is realized as follows:

in a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for implementing communication between local area networks, where the method is applied to a core network element, and the method includes:

identifying a first data packet sent by source user equipment, wherein the first data packet is a data packet which does not belong to a first virtual network group to which the source user equipment belongs;

and determining a target UPF or a target server or target user equipment corresponding to the first data packet, and sending the first data packet to the target UPF or the target server or the target user equipment.

Optionally, the core network element is a UPF where the first virtual network group is located;

identifying the first data packet sent by the source user equipment comprises: receiving a data packet sent by source user equipment; identifying whether the data packet is a first data packet according to a configured first data packet detection rule, wherein the first data packet detection rule can identify the first data packet sent by the first virtual network group to other virtual network groups;

determining a target UPF or a target server or a target user equipment corresponding to the first data packet, and sending the first data packet to the target UPF or the target server or the target user equipment comprises: and if the data packet is the first data packet, forwarding the first data packet to a target UPF (unified power flow) or a target server or target user equipment according to a configured first forwarding execution rule, wherein the first forwarding execution rule is used for executing forwarding of the first data packet between the first virtual network group and other virtual network groups.

Optionally, the method further includes:

and receiving configuration information sent by the SMF, wherein the configuration information comprises the first data packet detection rule and at least one first forwarding execution rule.

Optionally, identifying whether the data packet is the first data packet includes:

if the data packet is identified to contain a target IP address and a target MAC address which do not belong to the first virtual network group or a field or identification information for indicating that the data packet does not belong to the first virtual network group, determining that the data packet is the first data packet.

Optionally, forwarding the first data packet to the target UPF includes:

and forwarding the first data packet to the target UPF through a tunnel between the first data packet and the target UPF.

Optionally, forwarding the first data packet to the target UPF through a tunnel with the target UPF includes:

and if at least one UPF is required to be forwarded between the first data packet and the target UPF, adding the identifier of the virtual network group to which the target user equipment of the first data packet belongs to the header of the first data packet.

Optionally, the core network element is a functional entity having a routing forwarding function;

identifying the first data packet transmitted by the source user equipment comprises: receiving a first data packet sent by a source UPF where source user equipment is located; acquiring address information of target user equipment or information of the target virtual network group carried by the first data packet;

determining the target UPF or the target server corresponding to the first data packet comprises: and determining the target UPF according to the address information of the target user equipment or the information of the target virtual network group, and the corresponding relation between the configured virtual network group and the UPF or the corresponding relation between the address of the user equipment and the UPF.

Optionally, the method further includes:

and receiving configuration information sent by the SMF, wherein the configuration information comprises the corresponding relation between the virtual network group and the UPF or the corresponding relation between the address of the user equipment and the UPF.

Optionally, sending the first data packet to the target UPF includes:

determining a target tunnel according to the binding relationship between the virtual network group and the tunnel or the binding relationship between the address of the user equipment and the tunnel;

and sending the first data packet to the target UPF through the target tunnel.

Optionally, each virtual network group is bound to at least one tunnel and/or each tunnel is bound to at least one virtual network group;

or

The address of each user equipment is bound with at least one tunnel and/or each tunnel is bound with the address of at least one user equipment.

Optionally, the functional entity with the route forwarding function is a hierarchical architecture, and includes an upper functional entity and a lower functional entity;

determining the target tunnel according to the binding relationship between the virtual network group and the tunnel or the binding relationship between the address of the user equipment and the tunnel comprises:

and if the lower functional entity cannot inquire the target virtual network group or the target UPF corresponding to the target user equipment, forwarding the first data packet to the upper functional entity.

Optionally, the functional entity with the route forwarding function is a UPF.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for implementing communication between local area networks, where the method is applied to a core network element, and the method includes:

receiving an inquiry request sent by a source UPF, wherein the inquiry request comprises address information of target user equipment of a first data packet required to be forwarded by the source UPF or a target virtual network group to which the target user equipment belongs, the first data packet is sent by source user equipment served by the source UPF, and the first data packet is a data packet which does not belong to the first virtual network group to which the source user equipment belongs;

determining information of a target UPF (user equipment) according to the address information of the target user equipment or a target virtual network group to which the target user equipment belongs;

and sending the information of the target UPF to the source UPF.

Optionally, the network element of the core network is an NRF.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for implementing communication between local area networks, where the method is applied to a core network element, and the method includes:

receiving a first data packet forwarded by a core network element or a source UPF, wherein the first data packet is sent by source user equipment under the source UPF and does not belong to a first virtual network group to which the source user equipment belongs;

if the target user equipment of the first data packet is the user equipment of the UPF service, the first data packet is sent to the target user equipment;

and if the target user equipment of the first data packet is not the user equipment served by the network element of the core network, discarding the first data packet and sending the first data packet to the target user equipment.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for implementing communication between local area networks, where the method is applied to a core network element, and the method includes:

receiving a data packet sent by source user equipment;

identifying whether the data packet is a first data packet or not according to a configured first data packet detection rule, wherein the first data packet detection rule can identify the first data packet which is sent to other virtual network groups by a first virtual network group to which the source user equipment belongs;

and if the data packet is the first data packet, sending the first data packet to a core network element with a route forwarding function, or sending address information of target user equipment of the first data packet or information of a target virtual network group to which the target user equipment belongs to the core network element with a route query function.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a core network element, including:

the system comprises an identification module, a forwarding module and a forwarding module, wherein the identification module is used for identifying a first data packet sent by source user equipment, and the first data packet is a data packet which does not belong to a first virtual network group to which the source user equipment belongs;

and the determining module is used for determining a target UPF or a target server or target user equipment corresponding to the first data packet and sending the first data packet to the target UPF or the target server or the target user equipment.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a core network element, including:

a receiving module, configured to receive an inquiry request sent by a source UPF, where the inquiry request includes address information of a target user equipment of a first data packet that needs to be forwarded by the source UPF or a target virtual network group to which the target user equipment belongs, the first data packet is sent by a source user equipment served by the source UPF, and the first data packet is a data packet that does not belong to a first virtual network group to which the source user equipment belongs;

the query module is used for determining the information of a target UPF (user equipment) according to the address information of the target user equipment or a target virtual network group to which the target user equipment belongs;

and the sending module is used for sending the information of the target UPF to the source UPF.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a core network element, including:

a receiving module, configured to receive a first data packet forwarded by a core network element or a source UPF, where the first data packet is sent by a source user equipment under the source UPF and does not belong to a first virtual network group to which the source user equipment belongs;

a sending module, configured to send the first data packet to a target user equipment if the target user equipment of the first data packet is a user equipment served by the core network element;

and the discarding module is used for discarding the first data packet and sending the first data packet to the target user equipment if the target user equipment of the first data packet is not the user equipment of the UPF service.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a core network element, including:

the receiving module is used for receiving a data packet sent by source user equipment;

the identification module is used for identifying whether the data packet is a first data packet or not according to a configured first data packet detection rule, wherein the first data packet detection rule can identify the first data packet which is sent to other virtual network groups by a first virtual network group to which the source user equipment belongs;

a sending module, configured to send the first data packet to a core network element having a route forwarding function if the data packet is the first data packet, or send address information of a target user equipment of the first data packet or information of a target virtual network group to which the target user equipment belongs to the core network element having a route querying function.

In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a core network element, including: a processor, a memory and a program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, the program, when executed by the processor, implementing the steps of the method according to the first, second, third or fourth aspect.

In a tenth aspect, the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, and the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the method according to the first, second, third or fourth aspect.

In the embodiment of the present invention, a core network element may identify a first packet that does not belong to a virtual network group to which a source user terminal belongs, and may determine a target UPF, a target server, or a target user equipment of the first packet, so as to forward the first packet to the target UPF, the target server, or the target user equipment, thereby completing communication between virtual network groups. Or, a core network element with a route query function is deployed in the network architecture to provide the route query function for communication between the virtual network groups, so as to implement communication between the virtual network groups.

Drawings

Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating the preferred embodiments and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. Also, like reference numerals are used to refer to like parts throughout the drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a 5G architecture;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a 5G LAN architecture based on N19 and local switching;

fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for implementing communication between local area networks according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a second flowchart illustrating a method for implementing communication between lans according to an embodiment of the invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a method for implementing communication between local area networks according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a third schematic flowchart of a method for implementing communication between lans according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a method for implementing communication between local area networks according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a fourth flowchart illustrating a method for implementing communication between lans according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a method for implementing communication between local area networks according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a fifth flowchart illustrating a method for implementing communication between local area networks according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 11 is a sixth flowchart illustrating a method for implementing communication between local area networks according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a network element of a core network according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 13 is a second schematic structural diagram of a network element of a core network according to the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 14 is a third schematic structural diagram of a network element of a core network according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 15 is a fourth schematic structural diagram of a network element of a core network according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 16 is a fifth schematic structural diagram of a network element of a core network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are some, not all, embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

The communication terminology associated with the present invention is briefly described below.

1. 5G network architecture

A 5G network architecture determined by 3gpp ts.23.501 is shown in fig. 1, and the system architecture includes:

1) The UE:5G terminal equipment;

2) (R) AN: an access network device;

3) A UPF (User plane Function );

4) The 5G control plane network element comprises: AUSF (Authentication Server Function), AMF (Mobility Management Function), SMF (Session Management Function), NSSF (Network Slice Selection Function), NEF (Network open Function), NRF (NF registration Function, NF storage Function), PCF (Policy Control Function), UDM (Unified Data Management, unified database), and AF (Application Function).

2、5G LAN

The 5G expands the reachable field and range of the technology defined by 3GPP, and from traditional public users to various vertical industries, in application scenarios such as houses, office areas, enterprise premises, factory areas, and the like, the 5G is required to provide networking services similar to Local Area Networks (LANs) and VPNs (Virtual Private networks), and maintain the specific capabilities of 5G in terms of high performance, long-distance access, mobility, and security. The 5G LAN, which is a technology for constructing a local area network-type service (5G LAN-type service) on a 5G network, may provide an IP (internet protocol) -type or ethernet-type communication service for a specific terminal group.

A 5G Virtual Network (VN) is an important concept of a 5G LAN solution, which consists of a group of UEs using a private communication means for 5G LAN type services. The 5G system supports management of 5G VN group identification (identified by an external group ID and an internal group ID) and group members (uniquely identified by a GPSI (general Public Subscription Identifier)), 5G VN group Data (which may include the following parameters: PDU (Protocol Data Unit) session type, DNN (Data Network Name, destination server Name), S-NSSAI (Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information), and application descriptors, information related to assisted authentication/authorization). The 5G VN group management can be configured by a network administrator or dynamically managed by the AF (provided to the AF through NEF (network open function) open service).

The AF identifies the 5G VN group using an external group ID (corresponding to a unique set of 5G VN group data parameters), the NEF provides the external group ID to the UDM, and the UDM maps the external group ID to the internal group ID. For a newly created 5G VN group, an internal group ID is assigned by the UDM. The NEF retrieves the internal group ID from the UDM by the nutm _ SDM _ Get operation. The 5G VN group configuration may be provided by OA & M (operations, administration and management) and may also be provided by AF to NEF. When the configuration is provided by the AF, the NEF provides the external group ID, the 5G VN group member information, and the 5G VN group Data to the UDM, and if necessary, the UDM updates an internal group ID list of subscription Data of the corresponding UE in the UDR (Unified Data Repository), and at the same time, the UDM may also update the group identifier conversion in the group subscription Data using the internal group ID, the external group ID, and the group member list, and store/update the 5G VN group Data in the UDR.

If the UE is a member of a 5G VN group, the UDM retrieves the UE subscription data and the corresponding 5G VN group data from the UDR, providing to the AMF and SMF. When the PCF obtains the group information of the user from the AMF, it can generate a URSP (UE Route Selection Policy) according to the group information and issue it to the UE, so that the UE can establish or select a session according to information such as DNN (Data Network Name, destination server Name) when it wants to perform group communication, and the session type can be IP or Ethernet; in the process of establishing the session, the SMF generates a PDR (Packet Detection Rule) and an FAR (Forwarding Action Rule) according to PDU context information of other online UEs in the group, and sends the PDR and the FAR to the anchor point UPF, so that the UPF can control whether the terminals can access each other.

The session management defined by 5GS is applicable to 5G LAN type services and has the following description and enhancements: the UE accesses the 5G LAN type service through the PDU session of the IP PDU session type or the Ethernet PDU session type; one PDU session provides access to only one 5G VN group; a dedicated SMF is responsible for all PDU sessions of a certain 5G VN group; DNN and S-NSSAI are associated to a 5G VN group; the UE providing a DNN associated with the 5G VN group to access the 5G LAN type services of the 5G VN; during PDU session establishment, secondary authentication may be performed to verify and authorize the UE to access the DNN group associated with the 5G VN, which also means authentication and authorization of the DNN associated with the 5G VN group, no 5G VN group specific authentication or authorization is defined; SM level subscription data for DNNs and S-NSSAIs available in the UDM applies to DNNs and S-NSSAIs associated with the 5G VN group; session and service continuity SSC pattern 1, SSC pattern 2 and SSC pattern 3 are applicable to traffic forwarding for N6 based 5G VN communications within the relevant 5G VN group; the PDU session provides unicast, broadcast and multicast communication for DNN and S-NSSAI associated with the 5G VN group, the PSA UPF determines whether the communication is for unicast, broadcast or multicast according to the destination address of the received data, and performs communication processing; to implement N19 traffic routing, the SMF associates PDU sessions established to the same 5G VN group and uses it to configure a UPF with group level N4 sessions, including packet detection and forwarding rules for N19 tunnel forwarding.

The 5G VN communications allow three types of traffic forwarding methods to be used: n6 based, wherein UL/DL traffic for 5G VN communications is forwarded to or from the DN; referring to fig. 2, based on N19, where UL/DL communications for a 5G VN group communication are forwarded between PSA UPFs of different PDU sessions over N19. N19 is based on a shared user plane tunnel sharing PSA UPFs of a single 5G VN group; local switching, if the UPF is a generic PSA UPF for different PDU sessions of the same 5G VN group, traffic is forwarded locally by a single UPF.

The SMF handles the user plane path of the 5G VN group and the SMF selects one PSA UPF (targeting the same 5G VN group) for as many PDU sessions as possible to implement local switching on the UPF. An N19 tunnel is established between PSA UPFs to support N19-based traffic forwarding, if necessary. For an ethernet PDU session, the SMF may instruct the UPF to classify frames according to VLAN tags and add and delete VLAN tags on frames received and transmitted on N6.

When N6 based traffic forwarding is desired, after creating the 5G VN group, the AF may affect traffic routing for all members of the 5G VN group by providing information identifying the traffic, appropriate DNAI selected and optional information. A traffic correlation indication and a 5G VN external group ID to identify the 5G VN group in the AF request sent to the PCF. If an optional indication of traffic correlation is provided, it means that the PDU session of the 5G VN group member UE should be associated with the traffic through the common DNAI in the user plane. The PCF converts the AF request into a policy for a PDU session applicable to the 5G VN group and sends the policy to the SMF. According to policy, the SMF (re) selects a DNAI for the PDU session and configures its UP path to route traffic to the selected DNAI. If the policy includes a traffic related indication, the SMF (re) selects a common DNAI for the PDU session to route traffic for the 5G VN group to the common DNAI.

Referring to fig. 3, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for implementing communication between local area networks, where the method is applied to a core network element, and the method includes:

step 31: identifying a first data packet sent by source user equipment, wherein the first data packet is a data packet which does not belong to a first virtual network group to which the source user equipment belongs;

step 32: and determining a target UPF or a target server or target user equipment corresponding to the first data packet, and sending the first data packet to the target UPF or the target server or the target user equipment.

In this embodiment, the core network element may identify a first packet that does not belong to the virtual network group to which the source user terminal belongs, and may determine a target UPF, a target server, or a target user equipment of the first packet, so as to forward the first packet to the target UPF, the target server, or the target user equipment, thereby completing communication between the virtual network groups.

The core network element in the embodiment of the present invention may be a UPF where a virtual network group of a source user equipment is located, or may be a functional entity deployed in a network structure and used for routing forwarding between virtual network groups, which will be described below.

Referring to fig. 4, in the embodiment of the present invention, the core network element is a UPF where the first virtual network group is located; the method for realizing the communication between the local area networks comprises the following steps:

step 41: receiving a data packet sent by source user equipment;

step 42: identifying whether the data packet is a first data packet or not according to a configured first data packet detection rule, wherein the first data packet detection rule can identify the first data packet which is sent to other virtual network groups by a first virtual network group to which the source user equipment belongs;

step 43: and if the data packet is the first data packet, forwarding the first data packet to a target UPF (unified power flow) or a target server or target user equipment according to a configured first forwarding execution rule, wherein the first forwarding execution rule is used for executing forwarding of the first data packet between the first virtual network group and other virtual network groups.

In the embodiment of the present invention, a source user equipment may send a first data packet to a target user equipment of another virtual network group, where the target user equipment and the source user equipment may be served by different UPFs or may be served by the same UPF, and if the target user equipment and the source user equipment are served by different UPFs, the UPF where the first data packet is located is sent to the target UPF where the target user equipment is located, and if the target user equipment and the source user equipment are served by the same UPF, the UPF directly sends the first data packet to the target user equipment. In addition, the source user equipment may also send the first data packet to a target server of another virtual network group, where the first data packet is sent by the UPF directly to the target server.

In the embodiment of the invention, a first data packet detection rule and a first forwarding execution rule are configured on the UPF, so that the UPF can identify a first data packet sent by a first virtual network group to other virtual network groups, and forward the first data packet to a target UPF or a target server or target user equipment corresponding to other virtual network groups according to the first forwarding execution rule, thereby completing communication among the virtual network groups.

Optionally, the method for implementing communication between local area networks according to the embodiment of the present invention further includes: and receiving configuration information sent by the SMF, wherein the configuration information comprises the first data packet detection rule and at least one first forwarding execution rule.

In this embodiment of the present invention, optionally, identifying whether the data packet is the first data packet includes: if the data packet is identified to contain a target IP address and a target MAC address which do not belong to the first virtual network group or a field or identification information for indicating that the data packet does not belong to the first virtual network group, determining that the data packet is the first data packet. That is, if the destination ue of the data packet does not belong to the first virtual network group, the data packet is the first data packet sent to other virtual network groups.

In this embodiment of the present invention, optionally, forwarding the first data packet to the target UPF includes: and forwarding the first data packet to the target UPF through a tunnel between the first data packet and the target UPF. Optionally, the tunnel is a tunnel pre-established between a UPF where the first virtual network group is located and the target UPF.

In this embodiment of the present invention, optionally, forwarding the first data packet to the target UPF through a tunnel with the target UPF includes: and if at least one UPF is needed to be forwarded between the UPF and the target UPF, adding the identifier of the virtual network group to which the target user equipment of the first data packet belongs to the header of the first data packet, so that the UPF for intermediate forwarding can identify the virtual network group to which the first data packet belongs, and sending the first data packet to the final UPF.

The following describes an implementation method of the inter-lan communication in fig. 4 with reference to a specific embodiment.

The first embodiment of the invention:

in the first embodiment of the present invention, a SMF (session management function) configures a first Packet Detection (PDR) and a first Forwarding Action Rule (FAR) on a UPF1 (user plane function), where the first Packet Detection is used to detect a first Packet sent from a 5g VN Group1 to another user or DN (server) that does not belong to the 5g VN Group1, and the first Forwarding execution Rule is used to forward the first Packet. In the first embodiment, referring to fig. 5, PDR1, FAR2 and FAR3 are configured for the SMF for UPF 1. The PDR1 is configured to detect a first packet sent from the 5G VN Group1 to another user or DN (server) that does not belong to the 5G VN Group1, for example, the first packet includes a destination IP address, a destination MAC address, or other fields that do not belong to the 5G VN Group1, or other identification information. The UPF1 forwards the first data packet to FAR1, FAR2 and FAR3 according to the PDR1, the FAR1, FAR2 and FAR3 judge whether the received first data packet conforms to the rule of the FAR1, if so, the first data packet is forwarded to the target UPF or the target server or the target user equipment through the tunnel between the UPFs. Further, after the target UPF (UPF 2 or UPF 3) receives the first packet, it may also determine whether the target UE of the first packet is served by the target UPF, and if not, optionally discard the first packet. For example, in fig. 5, the UPF3 on the right may discard the received packet P (identified by the stripe) according to its configured PDR.

In this embodiment, the FAR only forwards the data packet that is allowed to meet the FAR rule, optionally, the FAR may configure an identifier of a corresponding target virtual network group, and the UPF1 may obtain the target user equipment of the first data packet and determine the target virtual network group to which the target user equipment belongs, where if the target virtual network group of the first data packet matches the target virtual network group configured in the FAR, the FAR forwards the first data packet, and otherwise, does not forward the first data packet.

In this embodiment, the connection between the UPFs is a tunnel connection, two ends of the tunnel are divided into an inlet and an outlet, and the mapping relationship between the inlet and the 5G VN Group ID may be issued by the SMF to different FARs, that is, the tunnel only allows data packets conforming to the FAR rule to pass through.

In this embodiment, when multiple UPFs are required to forward a first packet on a transmission path, a destination 5G VN Group ID (for example, the packet header T in fig. 5) needs to be added to the packet header in a tunnel for forwarding the packet between the UPFs, and the 5G VN Group ID of the packet is removed when the packet is sent from the UPF to the RAN.

In this embodiment, the UPF has two sets of data packet detection and forwarding execution rules, where the PDR below is used to detect the type of the data packet, and if the data packet is a data packet that is sent by the UE1 to another UE in the first virtual network group, the data packet is forwarded to the UE in the group, and if the data packet is a data packet that is sent by the UE1 to another UE or a server outside the group, the data packet is forwarded to the PDR1 through the FAR, and is sent to the FAR1, the FAR2, and the FAR3 after being detected by the PDR 1.

Referring to fig. 6, in the embodiment of the present invention, the core network element is a functional entity with a routing forwarding function, and a method for implementing communication between local area networks in the embodiment of the present invention includes:

step 61: receiving a first data packet sent by a source UPF where source user equipment is located;

step 62: acquiring address information of target user equipment or information of the target virtual network group carried by the first data packet;

and step 63: and determining the target UPF according to the address information of the target user equipment or the information of the target virtual network group, and the corresponding relation between the configured virtual network group and the UPF or the corresponding relation between the address of the user equipment and the UPF.

Step 64: and forwarding the first data packet to the target UPF.

In the embodiment of the invention, a functional entity with a route forwarding function is configured on a network architecture, and the functional entity can forward a first data packet sent by a first virtual network group to a target UPF corresponding to other virtual network groups to complete communication among the virtual network groups.

In some embodiments, the source UPF may directly send the first data packet to the functional entity with the route forwarding function, and the functional entity with the route forwarding function determines the target UPF according to the address information of the target user equipment of the first data packet and the configured corresponding relationship between the address of the user equipment and the UPF.

In some other embodiments, the source UPF may determine, according to the target user equipment of the first data packet, a target virtual network group to which the target user equipment belongs, and carry information of the target virtual network group in the first data packet, and the functional entity having the route forwarding function determines the target UPF according to the information of the target virtual network group of the first data packet and a corresponding relationship between the configured virtual network group and the UPF.

Optionally, the method for implementing communication between local area networks in the embodiment of the present invention further includes: and receiving configuration information sent by the SMF, wherein the configuration information comprises the corresponding relation between the virtual network group and the UPF or the corresponding relation between the address of the user equipment and the UPF.

In this embodiment of the present invention, optionally, sending the first data packet to the target UPF includes: determining a target tunnel according to the binding relationship between the virtual network group and the tunnel or the binding relationship between the address of the user equipment and the tunnel; and sending the first data packet to the target UPF through the target tunnel.

Optionally, if the first data packet does not contain information of the target virtual network group, the functional entity having the route forwarding function may determine the target tunnel according to the binding relationship between the address of the user equipment and the tunnel. If the first data packet contains the information of the target virtual network group, the functional entity with the routing forwarding function can determine the target tunnel according to the binding relationship between the virtual network group and the tunnel.

In the embodiment of the present invention, optionally, each virtual network group is bound to at least one tunnel and/or each tunnel is bound to at least one virtual network group; or, the address of each user equipment is bound with at least one tunnel and/or the address of each tunnel is bound with at least one user equipment.

In the embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the functional entity with the route forwarding function is a hierarchical architecture, and includes an upper functional entity and a lower functional entity; determining the target tunnel according to the binding relationship between the virtual network group and the tunnel or the binding relationship between the address of the user equipment and the tunnel includes: and if the lower functional entity cannot inquire the target virtual network group or the target UPF corresponding to the target user equipment, forwarding the first data packet to the upper functional entity.

In this embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the functional entity with the route forwarding function is a UPF.

The following describes an implementation method of the inter-lan communication in fig. 6 with reference to a specific embodiment.

The second embodiment of the invention:

in the second embodiment of the present invention, a functional entity for routing forwarding between 5G VNs is deployed in a network architecture, for example, a default UPF, an SMF configures UPFs corresponding to different 5G VN groups on the default UPF, or configures UPFs corresponding to different user devices, and the default UPF establishes tunnel connection with the UPF, two ends of the tunnel are divided into an entrance and an exit, and a rule is issued to the default UPF by the SMF according to a mapping relationship between the entrance and a 5G VN Group ID or a mapping relationship between the entrance and an address of the user device.

As shown in fig. 7, when the data sent by UE1 is determined by UPF1 to be not the data in the 5G VN Group1, the data is forwarded to the functional entity for route forwarding between 5G VNs, and the functional entity for route forwarding between 5G VNs determines a tunnel used for sending the data packet according to the address information of the target UE of the data packet or the information of the 5G VN Group where the target UE is located. Wherein, one 5G VN Group ID or the address information of the UE may bind to multiple tunnels, and one tunnel may also bind to multiple 5G VN Group IDs or the address information of multiple UEs. When multiple tunnels are bound by the same 5G VN Group ID or the address information of the UE, the data packet is copied and distributed to the multiple tunnels for transmission and sent to the target UPF, and then the target UPF judges whether the target UE of the data packet is served by the target UPF or not, and if not, the data packet can be optionally discarded. If the data packet is multicast or multicast data sent to a certain 5G VN Group, the target UPF carries out multicast or multicast sending according to the outlet PDR and FAR.

The functional entity for route forwarding between 5G VNs may be a hierarchical architecture in actual deployment, and is composed of a plurality of functional entities for route forwarding between 5G VNs, and when the functional entity for route forwarding between lower 5G VNs cannot find the target UPF, the functional entity for route forwarding between 5G VNs may be forwarded to the functional entity for route forwarding between upper 5G VNs for forwarding.

Referring to fig. 8, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for implementing communication between local area networks, where the method is applied to a core network element, and the method includes:

step 81: receiving an inquiry request sent by a source UPF, wherein the inquiry request comprises address information of target user equipment of a first data packet required to be forwarded by the source UPF or a target virtual network group to which the target user equipment belongs, the first data packet is sent by source user equipment served by the source UPF, and the first data packet is a data packet which does not belong to the first virtual network group to which the source user equipment belongs;

step 82: determining information of a target UPF (user equipment) according to the address information of the target user equipment or a target virtual network group to which the target user equipment belongs;

step 83: and sending the information of the target UPF to the source UPF.

In the embodiment of the invention, the core network element with the route query function is deployed in the network architecture to provide the route query function for the communication among the virtual network groups so as to realize the communication among the virtual network groups.

In this embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the network element of the core network is an NRF.

The following describes an implementation method of the inter-lan communication in fig. 9 with reference to a specific embodiment.

The third embodiment of the invention:

in the third embodiment of the present invention, a functional entity for forwarding and querying a route between 5G VNs is deployed in a network architecture, and a network configures address information of different UEs or a corresponding relationship between a virtual network group to which the UE belongs and a UPF in the functional entity.

When the source UPF judges that the data packet sent by the UE1 is not the data packet in the 5G VN Group1, inquiring a target UPF address of the functional entity for route forwarding inquiry among the 5G VNs (as shown in the step 1 in the figure), determining the address of the target UPF by the functional entity for route forwarding inquiry among the 5G VNs according to the address information of the target UE of the data packet or the virtual network group to which the target UE belongs, and returning the address of the target UPF, such as an IP address or an FQDN and the like (as shown in the step 2 in the figure). And the source UPF establishes tunnel connection with the target UPF according to the target UPF address inquired by the functional entity for route forwarding inquiry among the 5G VNs and forwards the data packet to the target UPF.

If the data packet is multicast or multicast data sent to a certain 5G VN Group, the target UPF carries out multicast or multicast sending according to the outlet PDR and FAR.

Referring to fig. 10, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for implementing communication between local area networks, where the method is applied to a core network element, and the method includes:

step 101: receiving a first data packet forwarded by a core network element or a source UPF, wherein the first data packet is sent by source user equipment under the source UPF and does not belong to a first virtual network group to which the source user equipment belongs;

step 102: if the target user equipment of the first data packet is the user equipment served by the network element of the core network, sending the first data packet to the target user equipment;

step 103: and if the target user equipment of the first data packet is not the user equipment of the UPF service, discarding the first data packet and sending the first data packet to the target user equipment.

In the embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the network element of the core network is a UPF.

Referring to fig. 11, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for implementing communication between local area networks, where the method is applied to a core network element, and the method includes:

step 111: receiving a data packet sent by source user equipment;

step 112: identifying whether the data packet is a first data packet according to a configured first data packet detection rule, wherein the first data packet detection rule can identify the first data packet sent by a first virtual network group to which the source user equipment belongs to other virtual network groups;

step 113: and if the data packet is the first data packet, sending the first data packet to a core network element with a route forwarding function, or sending address information of target user equipment of the first data packet or information of a target virtual network group to which the target user equipment belongs to the core network element with a route query function.

Referring to fig. 12, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a core network element 120, including:

an identifying module 121, configured to identify a first data packet sent by a source user equipment, where the first data packet is a data packet that does not belong to a first virtual network group to which the source user equipment belongs;

a determining module 122, configured to determine a target UPF or a target server or a target user equipment corresponding to the first data packet, and send the first data packet to the target UPF or the target server or the target user equipment.

identifying the first data packet transmitted by the source user equipment comprises: receiving a data packet sent by source user equipment; identifying whether the data packet is a first data packet according to a configured first data packet detection rule, wherein the first data packet detection rule can identify the first data packet sent by the first virtual network group to other virtual network groups;

Optionally, the core network element 120 further includes:

a first receiving module, configured to receive configuration information sent by the SMF, where the configuration information includes the first packet detection rule and at least one first forwarding execution rule.

and if the data packet is identified to contain a target IP address and a target MAC address which do not belong to the first virtual network group or a field or identification information used for indicating that the data packet does not belong to the first virtual network group, determining the data packet as the first data packet.

Optionally, forwarding the first data packet to the target UPF includes:

Optionally, the core network element is a functional entity with a routing forwarding function;

determining the target UPF corresponding to the first data packet comprises: and determining the target UPF according to the address information of the target user equipment or the information of the target virtual network group and the corresponding relation between the configured virtual network group and the UPF or the corresponding relation between the address of the user equipment and the UPF.

Optionally, the core network element 120 further includes:

and the second receiving module is used for receiving configuration information sent by the SMF, wherein the configuration information comprises the corresponding relation between the virtual network group and the UPF or the corresponding relation between the address of the user equipment and the UPF.

Optionally, sending the first data packet to the target UPF includes:

and sending the first data packet to the target UPF through the target tunnel.

or alternatively

Optionally, the functional entity with the route forwarding function is a UPF.

Referring to fig. 13, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a core network element 130, including:

a receiving module 131, configured to receive an inquiry request sent by a source UPF, where the inquiry request includes address information of a target user equipment of a first data packet that needs to be forwarded by the source UPF or a target virtual network group to which the target user equipment belongs, the first data packet is sent by the source user equipment served by the source UPF, and the first data packet is a data packet that does not belong to the first virtual network group to which the source user equipment belongs;

the query module 132 is configured to determine information of a target UPF according to address information of the target user equipment or a target virtual network group to which the target user equipment belongs;

a sending module 133, configured to send the information of the target UPF to the source UPF.

Optionally, the network element of the core network is an NRF.

Referring to fig. 14, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a core network element 140, including:

a receiving module 141, configured to receive a first data packet forwarded by a core network element or a source UPF, where the first data packet is sent by a source user equipment under the source UPF and does not belong to a first virtual network group to which the source user equipment belongs;

a sending module 142, configured to send the first data packet to a target user equipment of the UPF service if the target user equipment of the first data packet is the user equipment of the UPF service;

a discarding module 143, configured to discard the first data packet and send the first data packet to a target user equipment if the target user equipment of the first data packet is not a user equipment served by the core network element.

Referring to fig. 15, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a core network element 150, including:

a receiving module 151, configured to receive a data packet sent by a source user equipment;

an identifying module 152, configured to identify whether the data packet is a first data packet according to a configured first data packet detection rule, where the first data packet detection rule may identify a first data packet that is sent to another virtual network group by a first virtual network group to which the source user equipment belongs;

a sending module 153, configured to send the first data packet to a core network element having a route forwarding function if the data packet is the first data packet, or send address information of a target user equipment of the first data packet or information of a target virtual network group to which the target user equipment belongs to the core network element having a route querying function.

Referring to fig. 16, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a core network element 160, which includes a processor 161, a memory 162, and a computer program stored in the memory 162 and capable of running on the processor 161, where the computer program is executed by the processor 161 to implement the processes of the foregoing method embodiments, and can achieve the same technical effects, and details are not repeated here to avoid repetition.

The embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium, where a computer program is stored on the computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the computer program implements the processes of the method embodiments, and can achieve the same technical effects, and in order to avoid repetition, the details are not repeated here. The computer-readable storage medium may be a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrases "comprising a component of' 8230; \8230;" does not exclude the presence of another like element in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

Through the description of the foregoing embodiments, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the method of the foregoing embodiments may be implemented by software plus a necessary general hardware platform, and certainly may also be implemented by hardware, but in many cases, the former is a better implementation. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the present invention may be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM/RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk) and includes instructions for enabling a terminal (such as a mobile phone, a computer, a server, an air conditioner, or a network device) to execute the method according to the embodiments of the present invention.

While the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, which are illustrative and not restrictive, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for implementing communication between local area networks is applied to a core network element, and the method comprises the following steps:

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the core network element is a UPF where the first virtual network group is located;

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

4. The method of claim 2, wherein identifying whether the packet is the first packet comprises:

5. The method of claim 2, wherein forwarding the first packet to a target UPF comprises:

6. The method of claim 5, wherein forwarding the first packet to the target UPF via a tunnel with the target UPF comprises:

and if at least one UPF is needed to be forwarded between the first data packet and the target UPF, adding the identifier of the virtual network group to which the target user equipment of the first data packet belongs to the header of the first data packet.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the core network element is a functional entity with a route forwarding function;

identifying the first data packet transmitted by the source user equipment comprises: receiving a first data packet sent by a source UPF where source user equipment is located; acquiring address information of target user equipment carried by the first data packet or information of a target virtual network group to which the target user equipment belongs;

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

9. The method of claim 7, wherein sending the first packet to the target UPF comprises:

and sending the first data packet to the target UPF through the target tunnel.

10. The method of claim 9,

each virtual network group binds at least one tunnel and/or each tunnel binds at least one virtual network group;

or

The address of each user equipment is bound with at least one tunnel and/or the address of each user equipment is bound with at least one tunnel.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the functional entity with route forwarding function is a hierarchical architecture, including an upper functional entity and a lower functional entity;

determining the target tunnel according to the binding relationship between the virtual network group and the tunnel or the binding relationship between the address of the user equipment and the tunnel includes:

and if the subordinate functional entity cannot inquire the target UPF corresponding to the target virtual network group or the target user equipment, forwarding the first data packet to the superior functional entity.

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein the functional entity with the route forwarding function is a UPF.

13. A method for implementing communication between local area networks is applied to a core network element with a routing query function, and the method comprises the following steps:

and sending the information of the target UPF to the source UPF.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the core network element is an NRF.

15. A method for implementing communication between local area networks is applied to a core network element, and the method comprises the following steps:

16. A method for implementing communication between local area networks is applied to a core network element, and the method comprises the following steps:

receiving a data packet sent by source user equipment;

identifying whether the data packet is a first data packet according to a configured first data packet detection rule, wherein the first data packet detection rule can identify the first data packet sent to other virtual network groups by a first virtual network group to which the source user equipment belongs;

17. A core network element, comprising:

the system comprises an identification module, a first data packet and a second data packet, wherein the identification module is used for identifying a first data packet sent by source user equipment, and the first data packet is a data packet which does not belong to a first virtual network group to which the source user equipment belongs;

18. A core network element, comprising:

the query module is used for determining the information of the target UPF according to the address information of the target user equipment or the target virtual network group to which the target user equipment belongs;

19. A core network element, comprising:

20. A core network element, comprising:

the identification module is used for identifying whether the data packet is a first data packet according to a configured first data packet detection rule, wherein the first data packet detection rule can identify a first data packet which is sent to other virtual network groups by a first virtual network group to which the source user equipment belongs;

21. A core network element, comprising: a processor, a memory and a program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, the program, when executed by the processor, implementing the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12; or the program when executed by the processor implements the steps of the method of claim 13 or 14; or the program when executed by the processor implements the steps of the method of claim 15; alternatively, the program realizes the steps of the method as claimed in claim 16 when executed by the processor.

22. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that a computer program is stored on the computer-readable storage medium, which computer program, when being executed by a processor, carries out the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12; or the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the method of claim 13 or 14; or the computer program when executed by a processor implements the steps of the method of claim 15; alternatively, the computer program realizes the steps of the method as claimed in claim 16 when executed by a processor.