CN116867108A

CN116867108A - Method for reconstructing key service capability of user plane function network element and communication device

Info

Publication number: CN116867108A
Application number: CN202210308229.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 袁立平; 郭俊元; 胡彬
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-03-26
Filing date: 2022-03-26
Publication date: 2023-10-10
Also published as: WO2023185428A1

Abstract

A method and a communication device for reconstructing key service capability of a user plane function network element, wherein the method comprises the following steps: the UPF reports the algorithm running information to an algorithm updating network element, wherein the algorithm is used for matching the data packet with the PDR in the UPF, and the algorithm updating network element decides an updated algorithm or algorithm parameters according to the received algorithm running information, so that the updated algorithm or algorithm parameters of the UPF are informed through algorithm indication information. The method of the application can update the algorithm or algorithm parameters of the algorithm operated in the UPF on line according to the data flow characteristics of the UPF, thereby realizing the reconstruction of the key service capability of the UPF, optimizing the performance of the UPF of each form and improving the operation effect of the algorithm.

Description

Method for reconstructing key service capability of user plane function network element and communication device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of wireless communications technologies, and in particular, to a method and a communications device for reconstructing a key service capability of a user plane function network element.

Background

In a 5G network, a user plane function (user plane function, UPF) network element is mainly responsible for performing user data packet forwarding according to rules configured by a session management function (session management function, SMF) network element, for example, sending uplink data to a Data Network (DN) or other UPF, and forwarding downlink data to other UPF or radio access network (radio access network, RAN) devices.

When forwarding a user data packet, the UPF network element first matches a packet detection rule (packet detection rule, PDR) rule, then performs a forwarding behavior rule (forwarding action rule, FAR) corresponding to the selected PDR on the data packet, performs a quality of service execution rule (QoS enforcement rule, QER), and forwards the data packet after using a reporting rule (usage reporting rule, URR) and other operations.

The key service capability of UPF network element supporting PDR rule matching is mainly realized through algorithm. In the prior art, all UPF network elements adopt the same algorithm to match the PDR rule. Considering different deployment forms and data characteristics of the UPF network elements, the same algorithm cannot achieve the best effect on all UPF network elements, and if the algorithm in the UPF network elements is to be updated, the software version needs to be switched, and the reinstallation and the starting of the software are involved. It can be seen that the prior art method cannot support online reconfiguration of UPF network element critical service capabilities.

Disclosure of Invention

The method and the communication device for reconstructing the key service capability of the user plane function network element are used for realizing the online updating and reconstruction of the key service capability of the user plane function network element and optimizing the performance of the user plane function network element.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a method for reconstructing a critical service capability of a user plane function network element, which may be performed by the user plane function network element or a component (e.g. a chip or a circuit) configured in the user plane function network element.

The method comprises the following steps: the user plane function network element reports algorithm operation information to an algorithm updating network element, wherein the algorithm operation information comprises parameters which are collected by the user plane function network element in a past period and used for representing the operation condition of the algorithm, the algorithm is used for supporting the user plane function network element to match with a packet detection rule PDR, and the parameters comprise data flow characteristics; the user plane function network element receives algorithm update indication information from the algorithm update network element, wherein the algorithm update indication information is used for indicating an algorithm or an algorithm parameter after the user plane function network element is updated.

In the technical scheme of the application, the algorithm updating unit can make a decision to update the algorithm according to the algorithm running information reported by the user plane function network element, for example, update algorithm parameters or replace new algorithm, and inform the updated algorithm or algorithm parameters of the UPF, so as to support the online update of the UPF algorithm. The method can optimize the UPF performance of each form and improve the operation effect of the algorithm.

In one possible design, the method further comprises: the user plane function network element receives algorithm collection configuration information from the algorithm updating network element, wherein the algorithm collection configuration information comprises: algorithm type, algorithm instance number, collection parameters and collection interval; and the user plane function network element collects configuration information according to the algorithm and determines the algorithm operation information.

In the technical scheme of the application, the algorithm updating network element can indicate the rule for collecting the algorithm operation information to the user plane function network element in the mode.

In one possible design, the method further comprises: and the user plane function network element reports algorithm updating capability information to the algorithm updating network element, wherein the algorithm updating capability information is used for indicating the user plane function network element to support online updating of an algorithm.

In one possible design, the algorithm update capability information includes: algorithm type, algorithm instance number, supported algorithm list, supported adjusted algorithm parameters, and supported collection parameters.

In the technical scheme of the application, the user plane function network element can inform the algorithm updating network element in the mode before executing the algorithm online updating, and the user plane function network element supports the algorithm online updating, thereby triggering the subsequent processing flow.

In one possible design, when the algorithm type is a hash algorithm; the supported algorithm list comprises one or more of MurmurHash, CRC32, FNV and SIPHash; the supported collection parameters include loading factors, collision rates, and data flow characteristics; the algorithm parameters supporting adjustment include the size of the bucket.

In one possible design, when the algorithm type is a tuple space search TSS algorithm; the supported algorithm list comprises a cutTSS and/or a mergerTSS; the supported collection parameters include tuple number, tuple hit rate and data stream characteristics; the algorithm parameters supporting adjustment comprise a top limit of a repetition and a repetition dividing rule.

In the technical scheme of the application, two algorithm types of a hash algorithm and a TSS algorithm can be supported, and a specific implementation scheme of online updating of the algorithms corresponding to the two algorithm types is provided, for example, when the user plane function network element side reports algorithm operation information, parameters for supporting collection and algorithm parameters for supporting adjustment of the user plane function network element are respectively set for the two algorithm types.

In one possible design, the data flow characteristics include a source address, a destination address, a source port, a destination port, a flow quality of service identification, a tunnel identification, a protocol identification, a uniform resource location address.

In one possible design, the method further comprises: and the user plane function network element installs the updated algorithm or algorithm parameters by using an AB method.

In the technical scheme of the application, the user plane function network element installs the updated algorithm or algorithm parameters by using the AB method, thereby effectively ensuring the normal operation of data forwarding service in the user plane function network element and avoiding service interruption in the online updating process of the algorithm.

In one possible design, the algorithm updating network element is a session management function network element or a network data analysis function network element or an operation maintenance network element.

In a second aspect, the present application provides a method for reconstructing a critical service capability of a user plane function network element, where the method may be performed by an algorithm update network element or a component (e.g. a chip or a circuit) configured in the algorithm update network element. The algorithm updating network element may be a calculation unit deployed in other core network elements except the user plane function network element, for example, a session management function network element or a network data analysis function network element, or may be a calculation unit deployed in a management plane network element, i.e. operation and maintenance OAM, or may also be an independently deployed core network element.

The method comprises the following steps: the method comprises the steps that an algorithm updating network element receives algorithm operation information from a user plane function network element, wherein the algorithm operation information comprises parameters which are collected by the user plane function network element in a past period and used for representing the operation condition of an algorithm, the algorithm is used for supporting a packet matching detection rule PDR of the user plane function network element, and the parameters comprise data flow characteristics; the algorithm updating network element decides an updated algorithm or algorithm parameters according to the algorithm running information; the algorithm updating network element sends algorithm updating indication information to the user plane function network element, wherein the algorithm updating indication information is used for indicating an updated algorithm or algorithm parameters of the user plane function network element.

In one possible design, the method further comprises: the algorithm updating network element sends algorithm collecting configuration information to the user plane function network element, wherein the algorithm collecting configuration information comprises the following steps: algorithm type, algorithm instance number, collection parameters, and collection interval.

In one possible design, the method further comprises: the algorithm updating network element receives algorithm updating capability information from the user plane function network element, wherein the algorithm updating capability information is used for indicating the user plane function network element to support algorithm online updating.

In one possible design, when the algorithm type is a tuple space search TSS algorithm; the supported list of algorithms includes cutTSS, mergeTSS; the supported collection parameters include tuple number, tuple hit rate and data stream characteristics; the algorithm parameters supporting adjustment comprise a top limit of a scroll, a scroll dividing rule and the like.

Technical effects of any one of the possible designs of the second aspect are referred to for corresponding descriptions in the first aspect, and are not repeated.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, where the communication device may have a function of implementing a user plane function network element or an algorithm update network element in the foregoing aspects, and the communication device may be a network device or a chip included in the network device.

The functions of the communication device may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by executing corresponding software by hardware, where the hardware or software includes one or more modules or units or means (means) corresponding to the functions.

In one possible design, the structure of the communication device includes a processing module and a transceiver module, where the processing module is configured to support the communication device to perform the functions corresponding to the user plane function network elements in the above aspects, or perform the functions corresponding to the algorithm updating network elements in the above aspects. The transceiver module is configured to support communication between the communication apparatus and other communication devices, for example, when the communication apparatus is a user plane function network element, the algorithm operation information may be sent to an algorithm update network element. The communication device may also include a memory module coupled to the processing module that holds the program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. As an example, the processing module may be a processor, the communication module may be a transceiver, and the storage module may be a memory, where the memory may be integrated with the processor or may be separately provided from the processor.

In another possible design, the communication device may include a processor and may also include a memory. The processor is coupled to the memory and is operable to execute the computer program instructions stored in the memory to cause the communication device to perform the methods of the above aspects. Optionally, the communication device further comprises a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface. When the communication apparatus is a network device, the communication interface may be a transceiver or an input/output interface; when the communication means is a chip contained in the network device, the communication interface may be an input/output interface of the chip. Alternatively, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit and the input/output interface may be an input/output circuit.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, including: a processor coupled to a memory for storing programs or instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the system-on-a-chip to implement the methods of the above aspects.

Optionally, the system on a chip further comprises an interface circuit for interacting code instructions to the processor.

Alternatively, the processor in the chip system may be one or more, and the processor may be implemented by hardware or software. When implemented in hardware, the processor may be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, or the like. When implemented in software, the processor may be a general purpose processor, implemented by reading software code stored in a memory.

Alternatively, the memory in the system-on-chip may be one or more. The memory may be integral to the processor or separate from the processor. For example, the memory may be a non-transitory processor, such as a read only memory ROM, which may be integrated on the same chip as the processor or may be separately provided on different chips.

In a fifth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program or instructions which, when executed, cause a communications apparatus to perform the method of any one of the above aspects or any one of the possible designs of the aspects.

In a sixth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer program product which, when executed by a communications apparatus, causes the communications apparatus to perform the method of any one of the above aspects or any one of the possible designs of aspects.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, where the communication system includes a user plane function network element and an intermediate algorithm update network element.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system architecture to which embodiments of the present application are applicable;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a specific system architecture to which embodiments of the present application are applicable;

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a data flow processing flow in a UPF network element according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a deployment scenario of a UPF network element according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a flow chart of a method for reconstructing key service capability of a user plane function network element according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic flow chart of an example one provided by an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic flow chart of an example two provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8 is a schematic flow chart of an example III provided by an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of an architecture and a process flow for reconstructing key service capabilities of a UPF network element according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 and 11 are schematic structural diagrams of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

The technical solution in the embodiments of the present application may be applied to various communication systems, such as a fifth generation (5th generation,5G) mobile communication system or a New Radio (NR) system, or to a future communication system or other similar communication system.

Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a system architecture, specifically a 5G system architecture, to which an embodiment of the present application is applied. As shown in fig. 1, the system architecture includes a terminal device, AN Access Network (AN), a Core network (Core), and a Data Network (DN). Wherein the access network may be a radio access network (radio access network, RAN). In the system architecture, the terminal equipment, AN and Core are the main parts constituting the system architecture. The network elements in AN and Core can be logically divided into a user plane and a control plane, the control plane is responsible for the management of a mobile network, and the user plane is responsible for the transmission of service data. For example, in the system architecture shown in fig. 1, the NG2 reference point is located between the RAN control plane and the Core control plane, the NG3 reference point is located between the RAN user plane and the Core user plane, and the NG6 reference point is located between the Core user plane and the DN.

The terminal equipment is equipment with a wireless receiving and transmitting function, is an entrance for interaction between a mobile user and a network, can provide basic computing capacity and storage capacity, displays a service window for the user, and accepts user operation input. In a 5G network, the terminal device may establish a signal connection and a data connection with the AN using a New Radio (NR) technology, thereby transmitting control signals and traffic data to the network.

In particular, the terminal device may be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, hand-held, wearable or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on the water surface (such as ships, etc.); but may also be deployed in the air (e.g., on aircraft, balloon, satellite, etc.). The terminal device may be a mobile phone (mobile phone), a tablet (Pad), a computer with a wireless transceiving function, a Virtual Reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (augmented reality, AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control), a wireless terminal in unmanned driving (self driving), a wireless terminal in remote medical (remote medical), a wireless terminal in smart grid (smart grid), a wireless terminal in transportation security (transportation safety), a wireless terminal in smart city (smart city), a wireless terminal in smart home (smart home), etc. The embodiment of the application does not limit the application scene. The terminal device may also be sometimes referred to as a User Equipment (UE), a mobile station, a remote station, etc., and the specific technology, device configuration, and name adopted by the terminal device are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

AN device can be deployed in the AN, and the AN device can be deployed at a position close to the terminal device, so as to provide a network access function for authorized users in a specific area, and determine transmission tunnels with different qualities according to the level of the users, the service requirements and the like to transmit user data. The AN device can manage and reasonably utilize own resources, provide access services for the terminal device as required, and is responsible for forwarding control signals and service data between the terminal device and the Core.

Specifically, possible deployment configurations of AN apparatus include: separate scenarios for Centralized Units (CUs) and Distributed Units (DUs), single site scenarios. In the separated scenario, the CU supports protocols such as radio resource control (radio resource control, RRC), packet data convergence protocol (packet data convergence protocol, PDCP), service data adaptation protocol (service data adaptation protocol, SDAP), etc.; the DUs support mainly radio link control layer (radio link control, RLC), medium access control layer (media access control, MAC) and physical layer protocols. In a single site scenario, a single site may include (new radio Node, gNB), evolved Node B (eNB), radio network controller (radio network controller, RNC), node B (Node B, NB), base station controller (base station controller, BSC), base transceiver station (base transceiver station, BTS), home base station, baseband unit (BBU), etc.

The Core is responsible for maintaining subscription data of the mobile network, managing network elements of the mobile network, and providing session management, mobility management, policy management, security authentication and other functions for the terminal device. For example, providing network access authentication for the terminal device when the terminal device is attached; when the terminal equipment has a service request, network resources are allocated to the terminal equipment; updating network resources for the terminal equipment when the terminal equipment moves; providing a quick recovery mechanism for the terminal equipment when the terminal equipment is idle; releasing network resources for the terminal equipment when the terminal equipment is detached; when the terminal device has service data, a data routing function is provided for the terminal device, such as forwarding uplink data to the DN, or receiving downlink data from the DN and forwarding to the AN.

The DN is a data network that provides business services for subscribers. In the actual communication process, the client is usually located at the terminal device, and the server is located at the DN. The DN may be a private network (e.g., a local area network), an external network not under the control of the operator (e.g., the Internet), or a proprietary network co-deployed by the operator (e.g., a network providing IP multimedia network subsystem (IP multimedia core network subsystem, IMS) services).

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a specific system architecture, which is further refined on the basis of the system architecture shown in fig. 1, to which the embodiment of the present application is applied. As shown in fig. 2, the system architecture includes a terminal device, AN device, a core network element, and a DN. The core network may be divided into a core network user plane and a core network control plane. Specifically, the core network user plane includes a user plane function (user plane function, UPF) network element; the core network control plane includes, but is not limited to: an access and mobility management function (core access and mobility management function, AMF) network element, a session management function (session management function, SMF) network element, an authentication server function (authentication server function, AUSF), a policy control function (policy control function, PCF) network element, a network slice selection function (network slice selection function, NSSF) network element, a network opening function (network exposure function, NEF) network element, a network function repository function (NF repository function, NRF) network element, a unified data management (unified data management, UDM) network element, an application function (application function, AF) network element.

In the traditional core network architecture, a point-to-point communication mode is adopted between control plane network elements, namely, interface communication between the control plane network elements adopts a set of specific messages, and the control plane network elements at two ends of the interface can only use the set of specific messages for communication. In the 5G core network architecture, a service architecture is adopted between control plane network elements, namely, interaction between the control plane network elements adopts a service calling mode, and the control plane network elements can open services to other control plane network elements for calling by the other control plane network elements.

The following describes the above network elements in detail, wherein the relevant description of the terminal device, the AN device and the DN can be seen from the description in fig. 1.

AMF network element: is mainly responsible for access management and mobility management of terminal equipment, such as state maintenance of terminal equipment, reachability management of terminal equipment, forwarding of non-mobility management access stratum (MM NAS) messages, and forwarding of session management (session management, SM) N2 messages.

SMF network element: the method is mainly used for session management of the terminal equipment, such as session establishment, modification and release, and allocates resources for the session of the terminal equipment. The resources may include session quality of service QoS, session paths, forwarding rules, etc.

UPF network element: the network is mainly responsible for connecting an external network, and can execute user data packet forwarding according to the routing rule of the SMF network element, and uplink data is sent to DN or other UPF network elements; the downlink data is forwarded to other UPF network elements or AN devices.

AUSF network element: is mainly responsible for performing security authentication of the terminal device.

PCF network element: the method is mainly responsible for user policy management, such as policy authorization, service quality and charging rule generation, and issues corresponding rules to UPF network elements through SMF network elements to install the corresponding policies and rules.

NSSF network element: it is mainly responsible for selecting the appropriate network slice for the traffic of the terminal device.

NEF network element: portions of the network functionality are controllably exposed to the application, such as opening the network functionality to a third party in the form of a northbound API interface.

NRF network element: providing storage and selection functions of network function entity information for other network elements.

UDM network element: mainly responsible for the context management of the subscription of the user. The UDM network element may be implemented by interacting with a unified data repository (unified data repository, UDR) network element to implement its functionality, the UDR network element being configured to store data required by the UDM network element when performing its operations. The UDM network element and the UDR network element may be two independent physical entities, or the UDR network element may be integrated in the UDM network element, which is not particularly limited in the present application.

AF network element: the method is mainly responsible for application management, such as providing service data of various applications to control surface network elements of a communication network of an operator, or obtaining data information and control information of the network from the control surface network elements of the communication network.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the network element may be a network element in a hardware device, or may also be functionally divided software (for example, a virtualized function instantiated on a cloud platform) or a structure formed by combining the two (for example, a software function running on dedicated hardware). The network element described in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as a functional entity, for example, a policy control network element may also be referred to as a policy control functional entity. The names of the network elements are not limited in the embodiments of the present application, and those skilled in the art may replace the names of the network elements with other names to perform the same function. The network element in the embodiment of the present application may be implemented by one device, or may be implemented by a plurality of devices together, or may be a functional module in one device, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

The system architecture and the service scenario described in the embodiments of the present application are for more clearly describing the technical solution of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present application, and those skilled in the art can know that, with the evolution of the communication system architecture and the appearance of the new service scenario, the technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present application is applicable to similar technical problems.

The technical solution in the embodiment of the present application mainly relates to a key service capability of a UPF network element, where the key service capability refers to a capability of the UPF network element to match a corresponding packet detection rule (packet detection rule, PDR) rule for a received packet.

Fig. 3 illustrates a data flow process in a UPF network element, and as shown in fig. 3, the SMF network element may issue rules of session (session) to the UPF network element through an N4 interface, such as PDR, forwarding behavior rules (forwarding action rule, FAR), qoS enforcement rules (QoS enforcement rule, QER), usage reporting rules (usage reporting rule, URR), and the like. Because the UPF network element supports data packet forwarding based on rules, after the UPF network element receives a data packet, the UPF network element can match data flow characteristics (such as a source address, a destination address, a source port, a destination port, a flow service quality identifier, a tunnel identifier, a protocol identifier, a uniform resource location address, and the like) with the PDR first, then select the PDR with the highest priority from the PDRs in the matching as the final selected PDR, and forward the data packet after performing operations such as FAR, QER, URR corresponding to the selected PDR on the data packet.

The key service capability of the UPF network element for supporting PDR matching is mainly implemented through algorithms, such as a hash algorithm, a tuple space search (tuple space search, TSS) algorithm, and the like, the effect of which depends on the algorithm and the data flow characteristics, and specific parameters describing the effect can be storage consumption and search time. The algorithms mentioned hereinafter in this application are all PDR matching algorithms.

The hash algorithm performs hash calculation on input data through a hash function to obtain a hash value, then finds a bucket (bucket) position through the hash value, and hangs on the bucket in a slot (slot) chain mode when the hash values are the same and the same bucket is found; the number of buckets used to the total bucket is referred to as the loading factor and the slot chain is referred to as the conflict, it is desirable that the loading factor is as high as possible and the conflict is as low as possible so that the search time is short and the storage consumption is small. From the description of the above principles, it is known that the combination of data flow characteristics (e.g. source/destination addresses, etc.) and hash algorithms (and parameters) can affect the final storage consumption and seek time. For best performance, hash algorithms are continually optimized, producing a variety of different hash algorithms for different data flow characteristics, such as murmur hash, CRC32, FNV (Fowler-Noll-Vo), sipash, etc. The effect of the TSS algorithm is also related to the data flow characteristics and algorithms (and parameters), so various algorithms such as cutTSS, mergeTSS, etc. have also emerged.

With the development of 5G communication technology, UPF network elements have come in various forms, such as area UPF network elements and edge UPF network elements. As shown in fig. 4, the coverage of the area UPF network element is larger, and the coverage of the edge UPF network element is smaller. The regional UPF network element is deployed inside the core network and connected with the Internet, and is used for forwarding the traffic of the terminal equipment for accessing the Internet. The edge UPF network element is deployed at the network edge, and is connected to the local network, so as to locally offload the traffic of the terminal device accessing the local network, for example, the traffic of the content delivery network (content delivery network, CDN) or the local Application (APP). The data flow characteristics of the region UPF network element and the edge UPF network element are different, for example, the data types in the traffic of the access internet are multiple, and the characteristics are discrete; for CDN/APP, the data types are few, and the characteristics can be divided into several large categories. In addition, different edge UPF network elements may also differ due to different data flow characteristics of the geographical features.

In view of this, it will be appreciated that the same algorithm does not achieve optimal results on all UPF network elements. There is a need for a method that can support different forms of UPF network elements to employ algorithms (and parameters) that adapt to their data flow characteristics to improve the performance of the UPF network element, learn online, and change the key service capabilities of the UPF network element.

In order to solve the problems that in the prior art, the UPF network element adopts the same PDR matching algorithm, and software version switching is needed to be performed for updating the PDR matching algorithm in the UPF network element, and service interruption of the UPF network element is possibly caused, the embodiment of the application provides a method for reconstructing key service capability of a user plane function network element.

Fig. 5 schematically illustrates a flowchart of a method for reconstructing a key service capability of a user plane function network element according to an embodiment of the present application, where the method includes:

step 501, the UPF network element reports algorithm update capability information to the algorithm update network element, where the algorithm update capability information is used to instruct the UPF network element to support online update of the algorithm.

The algorithm update capability information may include an algorithm type, an algorithm instance number, a list of supported algorithms, algorithm parameters supporting adjustment, collection parameters supported, and the like.

The algorithm update capability information may indicate to the UPF network element that the algorithm is supported for online update by an explicit or implicit means. The explicit indication mode refers to that the algorithm updating capability information includes indication information for indicating that the UPF network element supports online updating of an algorithm, for example, the indication information may be a flag bit additionally included in the algorithm updating capability information; the implicit indication mode means that the UPF network element sends the algorithm update capability information, namely, represents that the UPF network element supports the algorithm to update online, namely, when the algorithm update network element receives the algorithm update capability information from the UPF network element, the algorithm update network element can consider that the UPF network element supports the algorithm to update online. In the application, the online updating of the algorithm can comprise online updating of the algorithm or online updating of algorithm parameters.

The algorithm type may be a hash algorithm or a TSS algorithm.

Illustratively, for a hash algorithm, the algorithm type is a hash algorithm, and the algorithm instance number is 0x0001; the list of algorithms supported by the UPF network element may include one or more of MurmurHash, CRC32, FNV, SIPHash; the algorithm parameters that the UPF network element supports for adjustment may include the size of the bucket; the collection parameters supported by the UPF network element may include loading factors, collision rates, and data flow characteristics.

For the TSS algorithm, the algorithm type is TSS algorithm, and the algorithm example number is 0x0001; the UPF network element supported algorithm list comprises a cutTSS and/or a mergerTSS; the UPF network element supports the algorithm parameters of adjustment including a top scroll and a scroll dividing rule; the collection parameters supported by the UPF network element include the number of tuple hits, the tuple hit rate, and the data flow characteristics.

The algorithm updating network element may be an SMF network element or an NWDAF network element or an OAM network element, or a functional module located in the foregoing network element, and the present application is not limited specifically. If the algorithm updating network element is an SMF network element or an OAM network element, the UPF network element can directly send algorithm updating capability information to the SMF network element or the OAM network element; if the algorithm updating network element is an NWDAF network element, the UPF network element may send algorithm updating capability information to the SMF network element, and forward the algorithm updating capability information to the NWDAF network element through the SMF network element. Similarly, in the following steps 502-505, if the algorithm update network element is an NWDAF network element, the UPF network element may perform information interaction with the NWDAF network element through forwarding of the SMF network element, and transfer information such as algorithm collection configuration information, algorithm operation information, algorithm update indication information, and the like.

Step 502, an algorithm update network element sends algorithm collection configuration information to a UPF network element, where the algorithm collection configuration information includes: algorithm type, algorithm instance number, collection parameters, and collection interval.

The algorithm collection configuration information is used for indicating a collection rule of UPF network element algorithm operation information, namely, collecting some parameters of a specified algorithm instance operation process according to a specified time interval. The collection parameters are a set of parameters that the algorithm updating network element requires the UPF network element to collect, and may also be referred to as parameters to be collected, where the parameters to be collected may be some or all of supported collection parameters reported by the UPF network element, and are not limited. The collection interval may also be a collection frequency, for example, which may instruct the UPF network element to collect and report 1 data flow feature every 1 hour. Thus, the UPF network element can collect configuration information according to the algorithm to obtain the algorithm operation information to be reported.

In step 503, the UPF network element reports algorithm operation information to the algorithm updating network element, where the algorithm operation information includes parameters collected by the UPF network element in a past period of time and used for characterizing an operation condition of the algorithm, the algorithm is used for supporting a detection rule PDR of a matching packet of the UPF network element, and the parameters include a data flow feature.

The parameter is the collection parameter indicated by the algorithm updating network element to the UPF network element in step 502. For the hash algorithm, the parameters may also include loading factor, collision rate; for the TSS algorithm, the parameters may also include the number of tuple hits, the number of tuple hits.

In the application, the data flow characteristics refer to one or more of a source address, a destination address, a source port, a destination port, a flow service quality identifier, a tunnel identifier, a protocol identifier and a uniform resource location address.

Step 504, the algorithm updating network element decides an updated algorithm or algorithm parameters according to the received algorithm running information.

In the application, updating algorithm means replacing a new algorithm to perform PDR matching, and updating algorithm parameters means adjusting part of parameters of the currently used algorithm. Alternatively, the algorithm updating network element may update only between algorithms of the same type when deciding to update the algorithms. For example, if a certain hash algorithm is running in the current UPF network element, the updated algorithm may be another hash algorithm. The TSS algorithm is similar.

For example, for the hash algorithm, the algorithm update network element may calculate parameters and better algorithms that affect a higher loading factor and a smaller collision rate corresponding to the data flow feature according to the loading factor, the collision rate and the data flow feature in a period of time, and further select an optimal algorithm parameter (such as a bucket size) or other hash algorithm from a plurality of results by combining historical data and operation data of other UPF network elements.

For the TSS algorithm, the algorithm updating network element can calculate a more optimal configuration and a better algorithm according to the number of received configuration, the configuration hit rate and the data flow characteristics, and select optimal parameters (such as configuration) or other TSS algorithms from a plurality of results by combining historical data and operation data of other UPF network elements.

Step 505, the algorithm update network element sends algorithm update indication information to the UPF network element, where the algorithm update indication information is used to indicate an updated algorithm or algorithm parameters of the UPF network element.

In step 506, the upf network element installs the updated algorithm or algorithm parameters.

In one possible design, the UPF network element may apply the AB method to install updated algorithms or algorithm parameters. For example, the original algorithm generates a table a, the running data is also located in the table a, the new algorithm or the algorithm for updating the parameters generates a table B, the running data is migrated to the table B one by one or in batches, for the newly added data flow characteristics, the table a and the table B are inserted at the same time, when the migration is completed, the switching of the table AB is executed, and the table B is switched to the currently used data table.

After the new algorithm or new parameters of the UPF network element take effect, the UPF network element may execute the new algorithm running data collection process.

The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are specifically described below by way of several examples.

Example one

In the first example, taking a hash algorithm as an example, a process of implementing key service capability reconstruction by the UPF through the N4 interface is described. In this example one, the algorithm update network element is a functional module in the SMF or NWDAF, which may be denoted as a calculation unit.

As shown in fig. 6, the method comprises the following steps:

in step 601, the upf reports information of the online update capability of the supported algorithm, such as reporting the type of algorithm, the number of the algorithm instance, the list of supported algorithms, the parameters of the algorithm to support adjustment, the parameters of the collection to support, etc., to the SMF through the packet filtering control protocol (packet filter control protocol, PFCP) connection setup or update procedure (PFCP Association Setup Procedure or PFCP Association Update Procedure) of the N4 interface. Taking a hash algorithm as an example, the algorithm type is a hash algorithm, the algorithm instance number is 0x0001, the supported algorithm list can comprise MurmurHash, CRC, FNV, SIPHash and other algorithms, and the supported collection parameters can comprise loading factors, conflict rates, data flow characteristics and the like.

At step 601-a, if the computing unit is in NWDAF, the SMF may send the algorithm online update capability described above to NWDAF by analyzing the information Request (nnwdaf_analysis info_request).

In step 602, the smf sets the algorithm type, the algorithm instance number, the parameters to be collected, and the reporting interval/frequency through the PFCP connection setup or update procedure (PFCP Association Setup Procedure or PFCP Association Update Procedure) of the N4 interface. Taking a hash function as an example, the algorithm type is a hash algorithm, the algorithm example number is 0x0001, and parameters to be collected such as data flow characteristics are reported once per hour.

In step 603, the upf reports algorithm running information through the PFCP session report request (PFCP Session Report Request) of the N4 interface, where the algorithm running information includes the collected information.

After the SMF receives the algorithm operation information reported by the UPF within a period of time, the SMF calculates adjustable parameters or selects a new algorithm according to the algorithm operation information; taking a hash algorithm as an example, the SMF calculates parameters and better algorithms affecting a higher loading factor and a smaller collision rate corresponding to the data flow characteristic according to the received loading factor, the collision rate and the data flow characteristic, and selects an optimal parameter (such as a bucket size) or selects other hash algorithms from a plurality of results by combining historical data and other UPF operation data.

In step 603-a, if the computing unit is in NWDAF, the SMF sends the algorithm running information to NWDAF by analyzing the information Request (nnwdaf_analyticinfo_request), and the NWDAF decides a new algorithm or algorithm parameter, and then returns the decision result to the SMF.

In step 604, the smf sends an update instruction to the UPF through the PFCP connection update procedure (PFCP Association Update Procedure) of the N4 interface, and sets the updated algorithm type, the algorithm instance number, and the algorithm parameter through the update instruction.

After the UPF receives the instruction message from the SMF, the UPF can install a new algorithm or update algorithm parameters by adopting an AB method and complete the migration of the original data.

In the first example, the UPF reports the algorithm running information through the N4 interface and the external computing unit cooperates with the parameter of the updating algorithm or the new algorithm to reconstruct the key service capability of the UPF.

Example two

In the second example, taking a hash algorithm as an example, a process of implementing key service capability reconstruction by the UPF through the O & M interface is described. In this example two, the algorithm update network element is a functional module in the O & M, which may be denoted as a calculation unit.

As shown in fig. 7, the method comprises the following steps:

in step 701, the upf reports the online updating capability of the supported algorithm to the O & M through the MIB interface of the O & M or the yang model interface, for example, reports information such as the type of the algorithm, the number of the algorithm instance, the list of the supported algorithm, the parameters of the supported adjustable algorithm, the parameters of the supported collection, and the like. Taking a hash algorithm as an example, the algorithm type is a hash algorithm, the algorithm example number is 0x0001, the supported algorithm list can comprise Murmur hash, CRC32, FNV, SIPHAsh and other algorithms, and the supported collection parameters can comprise loading factors, collision rate, data flow characteristics and the like.

In step 702, the O & M issues algorithm collection information through the interface between the UPF and the O & M, and sets the algorithm type, the algorithm instance number, the parameters to be collected, and the reporting interval/frequency. Taking a hash function as an example, the algorithm type is a hash algorithm, the algorithm example number is 0x0001, and parameters to be collected such as data flow characteristics are reported once per hour.

In step 703, the upf reports algorithm operating information, including the collected information, over the interface with the O & M.

After the O & M receives the algorithm operation information reported by the UPF within a period of time, the O & M calculates adjustable parameters or selects a new algorithm according to the algorithm operation information. Taking a hash algorithm as an example, the O & M calculates parameters and better algorithms affecting a higher loading factor and a smaller collision rate corresponding to the data flow characteristics according to the received loading factor, collision rate and data flow characteristics, and selects optimal parameters (such as the size of a bucket) or selects other hash algorithms from a plurality of results by combining historical data and other UPF operation data.

In step 704, the o & m issues an algorithm update parameter or a new algorithm, including, for example, an updated algorithm type, an algorithm instance number, an algorithm parameter, etc., through an interface with the UPF. After the UPF receives the message from the O & M, a new algorithm or updating algorithm parameters can be installed by adopting an AB method, and the migration of the original data is completed.

In the second example, the UPF reports algorithm running information through the O & M interface and the external computing unit cooperates with the parameter of the update algorithm or the new algorithm to reconstruct the key service capability of the UPF.

Example three

In the third example, taking the TSS algorithm as an example, a process of implementing key service capability reconfiguration by the UPF through the servitization interface is described. In this example three, the algorithm update network element is a functional module in SMF or NWDAF, which may be denoted as a calculation unit.

As shown in fig. 8, the method comprises the following steps:

in step 801, the UPF as the producer reports its online update capability of the supported algorithm, for example, reporting information of the type of algorithm, the number of the algorithm instance, the list of the supported algorithm, the parameters of the algorithm supporting adjustment, the supported collection parameters, and the like, to the NRF through the service interface by using the nnrf_nfmanagement service. Taking the TSS algorithm as an example, the algorithm type is TSS algorithm, the number of the algorithm instance is 0x0001, the supported algorithm list can comprise cutTSS, mergeTSS and other algorithms, the parameters supporting adjustment can comprise a top scroll limit and a scroll dividing rule, and the supported collection parameters can comprise scroll number, scroll hit rate, data flow characteristics and the like.

Step 802, the SMF/NWDAF as a consumer obtains a UPF that can provide a service to the NRF through a network function discovery (nnrf_nfdiscovery) process.

In step 803, the smf/NWDAF collects information by issuing an algorithm through a server interface (e.g., nupf_capability management), and sets an algorithm type, an algorithm instance number, parameters to be collected, and reporting interval/frequency. Taking the TSS algorithm as an example, the algorithm type is TSS algorithm, the algorithm example number is 0x0001, and parameters to be collected such as data flow characteristics are reported once per hour.

In step 804, the upf reports algorithm operation information to the SMF/NWDAF through nupf_eventExposure of the servant interface, where the algorithm operation information includes the collected information.

After SMF/NWDAF receives algorithm operation information reported by UPF in a period of time, calculating adjustable parameters or selecting a new algorithm according to the algorithm operation information; taking the TSS algorithm as an example, the SMF/NWDAF calculates a more optimal repetition division and a better algorithm according to the received repetition number, the repetition hit rate and the data flow characteristics, combines historical data and other UPF operation data, and selects optimal parameters (such as the repetition division) or selects other TSS algorithms from a plurality of results.

In step 805, the smf/NWDAF issues algorithm update parameters or new algorithms through nupf_capability management of the server interface, and sets the updated algorithm type, algorithm instance number, and algorithm parameters.

After the UPF receives the setting message, a new algorithm is installed or algorithm parameters are updated by adopting an AB method, and the migration of the original data is completed.

In this embodiment, the reconstruction of the UPF key service capability is achieved by reporting the UPF through the service interface and matching the external computing unit with the parameters of the update algorithm or the new algorithm.

As shown in fig. 9, in order to implement the reconfiguration of the key service capability of the algorithm in the UPF, both the UPF and the algorithm update network element need to be improved in terms of processing flow. Taking the algorithm updating network element as a functional module-calculating unit in O & M/SMF/NWDAF as an example, the UPF and calculating unit in the application can comprise the following software architecture.

The UPF comprises three functional modules of algorithm management, algorithm execution and data collection. The algorithm management mainly executes the distribution of the algorithm examples, the management of algorithm parameters and the instantiation of the algorithm; the algorithm execution mainly executes the operation management and switching of the algorithm; the data collection is mainly carried out on the operation parameters of different examples according to the collection parameters and reported according to the collection requirements;

the computing unit comprises functional modules such as algorithm analysis, algorithm simulation, algorithm library, data collection, algorithm decision and historical data. The algorithm analysis mainly receives operation parameters through data collection, obtains new algorithm or algorithm update parameter simulation operation from algorithm simulation, and submits a simulation operation result to algorithm decision; and the algorithm decision is carried out by acquiring an algorithm or a parameter which is more matched with the simulation operation result from the algorithm library and the historical data according to the result of the algorithm analysis, and then the decision result is sent to the UPF for execution.

In summary, in the large background of UPF distribution, the data features of the service objects of the UPF change widely, and the single algorithm effect is limited, so that the algorithm supporting the data feature is required to be effective online, i.e. learning, training and updating are required to find the algorithm parameters or effective algorithms. Based on the above, the online learning and updating method for the algorithm supporting the UPF key service capability provided by the application supports the application scene, can effectively improve the algorithm efficiency and changes the effectiveness of UPF service.

Specifically, the application reports the result of processing the data stream for a period of time of the key algorithm instance to the external algorithm updating network element through the UPF, namely the algorithm running information, and the result is used for representing the effect of the algorithm after the data stream characteristic operation. The algorithm updating network element performs algorithm analysis on the algorithm operation information reported by the UPF, and makes a decision to update the algorithm, such as updating algorithm parameters or updating a new algorithm, according to the algorithm operation information and by combining historical data and other UPF operation effects, so that the UPF supports online updating of the algorithm. The method can realize performance optimization aiming at UPFs with different UPF forms, and improves the operation effect of the algorithm.

Referring to fig. 10, a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application is provided, where the communication device 1000 includes: a transceiver module 1010 and a processing module 1020. The communication device may be used to implement the functions of the user plane function network element or the algorithm update network element in any of the above method embodiments.

The communication means may be a network device, or a device capable of supporting the network device to implement the corresponding functions in the above-described method embodiments (e.g. a chip included in the network device), or the like.

Illustratively, when the communication device performs an operation or step of a corresponding user plane function network element in the method embodiment shown in fig. 5, the transceiver module 1010 is configured to report algorithm operation information to an algorithm update network element, where the algorithm operation information includes parameters collected by the user plane function network element during a past period of time and used to characterize an algorithm operation condition, where the algorithm is used to support the user plane function network element matching packet detection rule PDR, and the parameters include a data flow feature; the transceiver module 1010 is further configured to receive algorithm update indication information from the algorithm update network element, where the algorithm update indication information is used to indicate an algorithm or an algorithm parameter after the user plane function network element is updated.

In one possible design, the transceiver module 1010 is further configured to receive algorithm collection configuration information from the algorithm update network element, where the algorithm collection configuration information includes: algorithm type, algorithm instance number, collection parameters and collection interval; the processing module 1020 is configured to collect configuration information according to the algorithm, and determine the algorithm running information.

In one possible design, the transceiver module 1010 is further configured to report algorithm update capability information to the algorithm update network element, where the algorithm update capability information is used to instruct the user plane function network element to support online update of an algorithm.

In one possible design, the processing module 1020 is further configured to apply an AB method to install the updated algorithm or algorithm parameters.

When the communication device performs the operation or step of updating the network element with the corresponding algorithm in the method embodiment shown in fig. 5, the transceiver module 1010 is configured to receive algorithm operation information from the user plane function network element, where the algorithm operation information includes parameters collected by the user plane function network element during a past period of time and used to characterize an algorithm operation condition, where the algorithm is used to support the user plane function network element matching packet detection rule PDR, and the parameters include a data flow feature; the processing module 1020 is configured to determine an updated algorithm or algorithm parameters according to the algorithm running information; the transceiver module 1010 is further configured to send algorithm update indication information to the user plane function network element, where the algorithm update indication information is used to indicate an updated algorithm or algorithm parameter of the user plane function network element.

In one possible design, the transceiver module 1010 is further configured to send algorithm collection configuration information to the user plane function network element, where the algorithm collection configuration information includes: algorithm type, algorithm instance number, collection parameters, and collection interval.

In one possible design, the transceiver module 1010 is configured to receive algorithm update capability information from the user plane function network element, where the algorithm update capability information is used to instruct the user plane function network element to support online updating of an algorithm.

The processing module 1020 involved in the communication device may be implemented by at least one processor or processor-related circuit component and the transceiver module 1010 may be implemented by at least one transceiver or transceiver-related circuit component or communication interface. The operations and/or functions of the respective modules in the communication device are not described herein for brevity in order to implement the respective flows of the methods shown in fig. 5 to 8. Optionally, the communication device may further include a storage module, where the storage module may be configured to store data and/or instructions, and the transceiver module 1010 and/or the processing module 1020 may read the data and/or instructions in the access module, so that the communication device implements a corresponding method. The memory module may be implemented, for example, by at least one memory.

The storage module, the processing module and the transceiver module may exist separately, or may be integrated in whole or in part, for example, the storage module and the processing module are integrated, or the processing module and the transceiver module are integrated, etc.

Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of another structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the application. The communication device can be used for realizing the functions corresponding to the user plane function network element or the algorithm updating network element in the embodiment of the method. The communication means may be a network device or a device (e.g. a chip comprised in a network device) capable of supporting the network device to implement the corresponding functions in the above-described method embodiments, etc.

The communication device 1100 may include a processor 1101 and a memory 1102. The memory 1102 is configured to store program instructions and/or data, and the processor 1101 is configured to execute the program instructions stored in the memory 1102, thereby implementing the method in the above-described method embodiment.

In the alternative, memory 1102 is coupled to processor 1101, and the coupling is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, elements, or modules, which may be in electrical, mechanical, or other form for the interaction of information between the devices, elements, or modules.

Optionally, the communication device 1100 may further include a communication interface 1103, where the communication interface 1103 is configured to communicate with other devices via a transmission medium, for example, to transmit signals received from other communication devices to the processor 1101, or to transmit signals from the processor 1101 to other communication devices. The communication interface 1103 may be a transceiver, or may be an interface circuit, such as a transceiver circuit, a transceiver chip, or the like.

In one embodiment, the communication interface 1103 may be specifically configured to perform the actions of the transceiver module 1010, and the processor 1101 may be specifically configured to perform the actions of the processing module 1020, which are not described herein.

The specific connection medium between the processor 1101, the memory 1102, and the communication interface 1103 is not limited to the above embodiments of the present application. In the embodiment of the present application, the processor 1101, the memory 1102 and the communication interface 1103 are connected through a bus 1104 in fig. 11, where the bus is indicated by a thick line in fig. 11, and the connection manner between other components is only schematically illustrated, and is not limited thereto. The buses may be classified as address buses, data buses, control buses, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 11, but not only one bus or one type of bus.

The embodiment of the application also provides a chip system, which comprises: and the processor is coupled with the memory, and the memory is used for storing a program or instructions, and when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the chip system realizes the method corresponding to the session function network element or the algorithm updating network element in any method embodiment.

Alternatively, the processor in the system-on-chip may be one or more. The processor may be implemented in hardware or in software. When implemented in hardware, the processor may be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, or the like. When implemented in software, the processor may be a general purpose processor, implemented by reading software code stored in a memory.

Alternatively, the memory in the system-on-chip may be one or more. The memory may be integral with the processor or separate from the processor, and the application is not limited. The memory may be a non-transitory processor, such as a read-only memory (ROM), which may be integrated on the same chip as the processor, or may be separately provided on different chips, and the type of memory, and the manner in which the memory and the processor are provided are not particularly limited in the present application.

The system-on-chip may be, for example, a field programmable gate array (field programmable gate array, FPGA), an application specific integrated chip (application specific integrated circuit, ASIC), a system on chip (SoC), a central processing unit (central processor unit, CPU), a network processor (network processor, NP), a digital signal processing circuit (digital signal processor, DSP), a microcontroller (micro controller unit, MCU), a programmable controller (programmable logic device, PLD) or other integrated chip.

It should be understood that the steps in the above-described method embodiments may be accomplished by integrated logic circuitry in hardware in a processor or instructions in the form of software. The steps of the method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be embodied directly in a hardware processor for execution, or in a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor for execution.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a computer program or instructions that, when executed, cause a communication device to perform the method of any of the method embodiments described above.

The present application also provides a computer program product which, when read and executed by a communication device, causes the communication device to perform the method of any of the method embodiments described above.

The embodiment of the application also provides a communication system which comprises the user plane functional network element and the algorithm updating network element, wherein the user plane functional network element and the algorithm updating network element can execute the method in any method embodiment.

It is to be appreciated that the processors referred to in the embodiments of the present application may be CPUs, as well as other general purpose processors, DSP, ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, or the like. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like.

It should also be understood that the memory referred to in embodiments of the present application may be volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. The nonvolatile memory may be a ROM, a Programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable programmable EPROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory, among others. The volatile memory may be random access memory (random access memory, RAM) which acts as an external cache. By way of example, and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as Static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct memory bus RAM (DR RAM).

Note that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware components, the memory (storage module) is integrated into the processor.

It should be noted that the memory described herein is intended to comprise, without being limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

It should be understood that the various numbers related to the various embodiments of the present application are merely for convenience of description, and the size of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes or steps does not mean the order of execution, and the order of execution of the processes or steps should be determined by the functions and inherent logic thereof, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

It will be clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, specific working procedures of the above-described systems, apparatuses and units may refer to corresponding procedures in the foregoing method embodiments, and are not repeated herein.

In the several embodiments provided by the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods may be implemented in other manners. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative, e.g., the division of the units is merely a logical function division, and there may be additional divisions when actually implemented, e.g., multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted or not performed. Alternatively, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed with each other may be an indirect coupling or communication connection via some interfaces, devices or units, which may be in electrical, mechanical or other form.

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

In addition, each functional unit in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integrated in one unit.

The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application may be embodied essentially or in a part contributing to the prior art or in a part of the technical solution, in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium, comprising several instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: a usb disk, a removable hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk, etc.

In various embodiments of the application, where no special description or logic conflict exists, terms and/or descriptions between the various embodiments are consistent and may reference each other, and features of the various embodiments may be combined to form new embodiments based on their inherent logic.

Claims

1. A method for reconstructing a critical service capability of a user plane functional network element, the method comprising:

the user plane function network element reports algorithm operation information to an algorithm updating network element, wherein the algorithm operation information comprises parameters which are collected by the user plane function network element in a past period and used for representing the operation condition of the algorithm, the algorithm is used for supporting the user plane function network element to match with a packet detection rule PDR, and the parameters comprise data flow characteristics;

the user plane function network element receives algorithm update indication information from the algorithm update network element, wherein the algorithm update indication information is used for indicating an algorithm or an algorithm parameter after the user plane function network element is updated.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

the user plane function network element receives algorithm collection configuration information from the algorithm updating network element, wherein the algorithm collection configuration information comprises: algorithm type, algorithm instance number, collection parameters and collection interval;

and the user plane function network element collects configuration information according to the algorithm and determines the algorithm operation information.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the method further comprises:

And the user plane function network element reports algorithm updating capability information to the algorithm updating network element, wherein the algorithm updating capability information is used for indicating the user plane function network element to support online updating of an algorithm.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the algorithm update capability information comprises: algorithm type, algorithm instance number, supported algorithm list, supported adjusted algorithm parameters, and supported collection parameters.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein when the algorithm type is a hash algorithm;

the supported algorithm list comprises one or more of MurmurHash, CRC32, FNV and SIPHash;

the supported collection parameters include loading factors, collision rates, and data flow characteristics;

the algorithm parameters supporting adjustment include the size of the bucket.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein when the algorithm type is a tuple space search TSS algorithm;

the supported algorithm list comprises a cutTSS and/or a mergerTSS;

the supported collection parameters include tuple number, tuple hit rate and data stream characteristics;

the algorithm parameters supporting adjustment comprise a top limit of a repetition and a repetition dividing rule.

7. The method according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the data flow characteristics comprise source address, destination address, source port, destination port, flow quality of service identification, tunnel identification, protocol identification, uniform resource location address.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising:

and the user plane function network element installs the updated algorithm or algorithm parameters by using an AB method.

9. The method according to any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the algorithm updating network element is a session management function network element or a network data analysis function network element or an operation maintenance network element.

10. A method for reconstructing a critical service capability of a user plane functional network element, the method comprising:

the method comprises the steps that an algorithm updating network element receives algorithm operation information from a user plane function network element, wherein the algorithm operation information comprises parameters which are collected by the user plane function network element in a past period and used for representing the operation condition of an algorithm, the algorithm is used for supporting a packet matching detection rule PDR of the user plane function network element, and the parameters comprise data flow characteristics;

The algorithm updating network element decides an updated algorithm or algorithm parameters according to the algorithm running information;

the algorithm updating network element sends algorithm updating indication information to the user plane function network element, wherein the algorithm updating indication information is used for indicating an updated algorithm or algorithm parameters of the user plane function network element.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the method further comprises:

the algorithm updating network element sends algorithm collecting configuration information to the user plane function network element, wherein the algorithm collecting configuration information comprises the following steps: algorithm type, algorithm instance number, collection parameters, and collection interval.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that the method further comprises;

the algorithm updating network element receives algorithm updating capability information from the user plane function network element, wherein the algorithm updating capability information is used for indicating the user plane function network element to support algorithm online updating.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the algorithm update capability information comprises: algorithm type, algorithm instance number, supported algorithm list, supported adjusted algorithm parameters, and supported collection parameters.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein when the algorithm type is a hash algorithm;

the algorithm parameters supporting adjustment include the size of the bucket.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein when the algorithm type is a tuple space search TSS algorithm;

the supported algorithm list comprises a cutTSS and/or a mergerTSS;

16. The method according to any of claims 10 to 15, wherein the data flow characteristics comprise source address, destination address, source port, destination port, flow quality of service identification, tunnel identification, protocol identification, uniform resource location address.

17. The method according to any of the claims 10 to 15, wherein the algorithm updating network element is a session management function network element or a network data analysis function network element or an operation maintenance network element.

18. A communication device comprising means for performing the method of any of claims 1 to 9.

19. A communication device comprising means for performing the method of any of claims 10 to 15.

20. A communication device comprising a processor and a memory, the processor and the memory being coupled, the processor being configured to control the device to implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 9.

21. A communications device comprising a processor and a memory, the processor and the memory being coupled, the processor being configured to control the device to implement the method of any of claims 10 to 15.

22. A computer readable storage medium, characterized in that the storage medium has stored therein a computer program or instructions which, when executed by a communication device, implement the method of any of claims 1 to 9, or 10 to 15.

23. A communication system comprising a communication device according to claim 18 or 20, and a communication device according to claim 19 or 21.