CN117082591A

CN117082591A - Network element selection method, capability indication method and device

Info

Publication number: CN117082591A
Application number: CN202210505378.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李欢
Original assignee: Vivo Mobile Communication Co Ltd
Current assignee: Vivo Mobile Communication Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-05-10
Filing date: 2022-05-10
Publication date: 2023-11-17
Also published as: WO2023217037A1

Abstract

The application discloses a network element selection method, a capability indication method and a device, which belong to the field of wireless communication, and the network element selection method in the embodiment of the application comprises the following steps: the access network equipment acquires first Internet of things equipment access capability information of a first network element, wherein the first Internet of things equipment access capability information indicates that the first network element has the capability of supporting Internet of things equipment access; and the access network equipment selects the first network element to provide service for the Internet of things equipment. The capacity indication method of the embodiment of the application comprises the following steps: the method comprises the steps that a first network element sends first Internet of things equipment access capability information of the first network element to access network equipment, wherein the first Internet of things equipment access capability information indicates that the first network element has the capability of supporting Internet of things equipment access.

Description

Network element selection method, capability indication method and device

Technical Field

The application belongs to the technical field of wireless communication, and particularly relates to a network element selection method, a capability indication method and a device.

Background

Third generation partnership project (The 3rd Generation Partnership Project,3GPP) fifth generation (5 ^th Generation, 5G) system comprises a terminal, an access network and a core network. Mobility management of terminal devices by the 5G core network can be classified into registration management and connection management. The terminal equipment needs to register to the core network first to further accept the service of the network. Establishing a radio resource control (Radio Resource Control, RRC) connection between the terminal device and the Access network device, and establishing a Non-Access Str protocol (Non-Access Str) between the terminal device and the mobility management network element atum, NAS) connection.

An internet of things device generally refers to a terminal device for some specific scenario or specific service. The internet of things device may be designed for specific needs of services and applications to be executed, such as smart homes, smart cities, smart utilities, electronic health and smart wearable devices. Some internet of things devices are not used for human communication, for example, electronic meter reading devices.

Many internet of things devices are only used for specific scenes or specific services and are manufactured in batches by internet of things device manufacturers. Because of limitations such as cost and volume, the internet of things device may not support a complete protocol stack as a terminal, may not support all functions of an existing terminal, or may support specific internet of things functions, and only part of network elements (such as part of mobility management network elements) in a network may support serving these internet of things devices, if the network elements are selected to serve the internet of things devices at will, there may be a problem that the internet of things device cannot obtain normal services.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a network element selection method, a capability indication method and a device, which solve the problem that the equipment of the Internet of things cannot obtain normal service by selecting a proper network element for the equipment of the Internet of things.

In a first aspect, a network element selection method is provided, including: the access network equipment acquires first Internet of things equipment access capability information of a first network element, wherein the first Internet of things equipment access capability information indicates that the first network element has the capability of supporting Internet of things equipment access; and the access network equipment selects the first network element to provide service for the Internet of things equipment.

In a second aspect, there is provided a network element selection apparatus applied to an access network device, the apparatus comprising: the first acquisition module is used for acquiring first Internet of things equipment access capability information of a first network element, wherein the first Internet of things equipment access capability information indicates that the first network element has the capability of supporting Internet of things equipment access; and the first selection module is used for selecting the first network element to provide service for the Internet of things equipment.

In a third aspect, a capability indication method is provided, including: the method comprises the steps that a first network element sends first Internet of things equipment access capability information of the first network element to access network equipment, wherein the first Internet of things equipment access capability information indicates that the first network element has the capability of supporting Internet of things equipment access.

In a fourth aspect, a capability indicating apparatus is provided, applied to a network side device, where the apparatus includes: a second obtaining module, configured to obtain first internet of things device access capability information of the first network element, where the first internet of things device access capability information indicates that the first network element has a capability of supporting internet of things device access; and the third sending module is used for sending the access capability information of the first Internet of things equipment of the first network element to the access network equipment.

In a fifth aspect, a network side device is provided, comprising a processor and a memory storing a program or instructions executable on the processor, which when executed by the processor, implement the steps of the method according to the first or third aspect.

In a sixth aspect, a network side device is provided, which includes a processor and a communication interface, where the processor is configured to implement the steps of the method according to the first aspect or the third aspect, and the communication interface is configured to communicate with an external device.

In a seventh aspect, a network element selection system is provided, including: a terminal and a network side device operable to perform the steps of the method as described in the first or third aspect.

In an eighth aspect, there is provided a readable storage medium having stored thereon a program or instructions which when executed by a processor, performs the steps of the method according to the first aspect, or performs the steps of the method according to the third aspect.

In a ninth aspect, there is provided a chip comprising a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface and the processor being coupled, the processor being for running a program or instructions, implementing the steps of the method according to the first aspect, or implementing the steps of the method according to the third aspect.

In a tenth aspect, there is provided a computer program/program product stored in a storage medium, the computer program/program product being executed by at least one processor to implement the steps of the method as described in the first aspect, or to implement the steps of the method as described in the third aspect.

In the embodiment of the application, whether the first network element supports the access capability of the Internet of things equipment or not is obtained through the access network equipment, and the first network element supporting the access capability of the Internet of things equipment is selected to serve the Internet of things equipment according to the access capability, so that the Internet of things equipment can be smoothly accessed to the mobile network.

Drawings

Fig. 1 shows a block diagram of a wireless communication system to which embodiments of the present application are applicable;

fig. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a network element selection method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a schematic flow chart of a method for indicating capability according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4a shows a schematic diagram of a network architecture in an embodiment of the application;

FIG. 4b illustrates another network architecture diagram in an embodiment of the application;

fig. 4c is a schematic diagram showing two ways in which an internet of things device accesses a mobile network in an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 5 shows a flow diagram of an access method of an internet of things device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6a shows a schematic flow chart of another method for accessing an internet of things device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6b shows a flowchart of another method for accessing an internet of things device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7a shows a schematic structural diagram of a network element selection device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7b is a schematic structural diagram of another network element selection device according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8a is a schematic diagram of a capability indicating device according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8b is a schematic diagram of another capability indicating device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 shows a schematic hardware structure of a network side device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 shows a schematic hardware structure of another network side device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application will be clearly described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are some embodiments of the present application, but not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which are derived by a person skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the application, fall within the scope of protection of the application.

The terms first, second and the like in the description and in the claims, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the application are capable of operation in sequences other than those illustrated or otherwise described herein, and that the "first" and "second" distinguishing between objects generally are not limited in number to the extent that the first object may, for example, be one or more. Furthermore, in the description and claims, "and/or" means at least one of the connected objects, and the character "/" generally means a relationship in which the associated object is an "or" before and after.

It should be noted that the techniques described in the embodiments of the present application are not limited to long term evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE)/LTE-Advanced (LTE-a) systems, but may also be used in other wireless communication systems, such as code division multiple access (Code Division Multiple Access, CDMA), time division multiple access (tdma)Division multiple access (Time Division Multiple Access, TDMA), frequency division multiple access (Frequency Division Multiple Access, FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access, OFDMA), single-carrier frequency division multiple access (Single-carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access, SC-FDMA), and other systems. The terms "system" and "network" in embodiments of the application are often used interchangeably, and the techniques described may be used for both the above-mentioned systems and radio technologies, as well as other systems and radio technologies. The following description describes a New air interface (NR) system for purposes of example and uses NR terminology in much of the description that follows, but these techniques are also applicable to applications other than NR system applications, such as generation 6 (6) ^th Generation, 6G) communication system.

Fig. 1 shows a block diagram of a wireless communication system to which an embodiment of the present application is applicable. The wireless communication system includes a terminal 11 and a network device 12. The terminal 11 may be a mobile phone, a tablet (Tablet Personal Computer), a Laptop (Laptop Computer) or a terminal-side Device called a notebook, a personal digital assistant (Personal Digital Assistant, PDA), a palm top, a netbook, an ultra-mobile personal Computer (ultra-mobile personal Computer, UMPC), a mobile internet appliance (Mobile Internet Device, MID), an augmented reality (augmented reality, AR)/Virtual Reality (VR) Device, a robot, a Wearable Device (weather Device), a vehicle-mounted Device (VUE), a pedestrian terminal (PUE), a smart home (home Device with a wireless communication function, such as a refrigerator, a television, a washing machine, or a furniture), a game machine, a personal Computer (personal Computer, PC), a teller machine, or a self-service machine, and the Wearable Device includes: intelligent wrist-watch, intelligent bracelet, intelligent earphone, intelligent glasses, intelligent ornament (intelligent bracelet, intelligent ring, intelligent necklace, intelligent anklet, intelligent foot chain etc.), intelligent wrist strap, intelligent clothing etc.. It should be noted that the specific type of the terminal 11 is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. The network-side device 12 may comprise an access network device and/or a core network device, wherein the access network device 12 may also be referred to as a radio access network device, a radio access network (Radio Access Network, RAN), a radio access network function or a radio access network element. Access network device 12 may include a base station, a WLAN access point, a WiFi node, or the like, which may be referred to as a node B, an evolved node B (eNB), an access point, a base transceiver station (Base Transceiver Station, BTS), a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a basic service set (Basic Service Set, BSS), an extended service set (E10 tended Service Set, ESS), a home node B, a home evolved node B, a transmitting/receiving point (Transmitting Receiving Point, TRP), or some other suitable terminology in the art, and the base station is not limited to a particular technical vocabulary so long as the same technical effect is achieved, and it should be noted that in the embodiment of the present application, only a base station in the NR system is described as an example, and the specific type of the base station is not limited. The core network device may include, but is not limited to, at least one of: core Network nodes, core Network functions, mobility management entities (Mobility Management Entity, MME), access mobility management functions (Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF), session management functions (Session Management Function, SMF), user plane functions (User Plane Function, UPF), policy control functions (Policy Control Function, PCF), policy and charging rules Function units (Policy and Charging Rules Function, PCRF), edge application service discovery functions (Edge Application Server Discovery Function, EASDF), unified data management (Unified Data Management, UDM), unified data repository (Unified Data Repository, UDR), home subscriber server (Home Subscriber Server, HSS), centralized Network configuration (Centralized Network configuration, CNC), network storage functions (Network Repository Function, NRF), network E10 pore functions (NEF), local NEF (or L-NEF), binding support functions (Binding Support Function, BSF), application functions (Application Function, AF), and the like. It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, only the core network device in the NR system is described as an example, and the specific type of the core network device is not limited. It should be noted that the functions of the core network device may be implemented by a plurality of devices together, or the functions of a plurality of core network devices may be implemented by one device, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. In the embodiment of the present application, if the functions of a plurality of core network devices are implemented by one device, the interaction between the plurality of core network devices in the embodiment of the present application is an internal operation of the device.

Fig. 4a and fig. 4b show two network architectures to which the technical solutions provided in the application embodiments are applicable, respectively. As shown in fig. 4a and 4b, the internet of things device accesses the mobile network through the inventory device. The inventory device may be a User Equipment (UE) or a radio access network (Radio Access Network, RAN).

In fig. 4a, the movement range of the internet of things device is within the range of a specific inventory device, for example, the inventory device may be an internet of things device installed in a certain factory building or moving in a certain factory building. In fig. 4b, the movement range of the internet of things device is larger than the range of a specific inventory device, for example, the inventory device may be an internet of things device installed on a logistics vehicle. In the embodiment of the application, the checking device refers to a device directly connected with the internet of things device, and is sometimes called a reader, a transmitting end or a receiving end.

Fig. 4c is a schematic diagram showing two ways of accessing an internet of things device to a mobile network in the embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 4c, the internet of things device may access to the mobile network in the following two ways.

The first way is: the internet of things device is connected to the mobile core network through the access network device (for example, as a reader-writer), and the access network device sends an excitation signal to the internet of things device and receives a reflection signal of the internet of things device on the excitation signal. The access network equipment can be divided into a transmitting end and a receiving end; the transmitting end transmits the excitation signal or the downlink control signal, and the receiving end receives the reflected signal or the uplink data. The internet of things device may be an AmbientIoT device, or a passiot device. The AmbientIoT device or the passioiot device needs to absorb energy from the environment to communicate with the reader/writer in such a way that after receiving the excitation signal, the reflected signal is sent. The access network device is used as a reader-writer of the Internet of things device, and the Internet of things device is accessed to the mobile network through the reader-writer.

The second way is: the internet of things equipment is communicated with the access network equipment through the terminal equipment, so that the mobile core network is accessed. For example, the terminal device may be used as a reader of the internet of things device, send an excitation signal to the internet of things device, and receive a reflection signal of the internet of things device on the excitation signal. Terminal equipment can be divided into a transmitting end and a receiving end; the transmitting end transmits the excitation signal, and the receiving end receives the reflected signal. The internet of things device may be an AmbientIoT device, or a passiot device. The AmbientIoT device or the passioiot device needs to absorb energy from the environment to communicate with the reader/writer in such a way that after receiving the excitation signal, the reflected signal is sent. The terminal equipment is used as a reader-writer of the Internet of things equipment, and the Internet of things equipment is communicated with the access network equipment through the terminal equipment, so that the mobile network is accessed

Optionally, in the above two modes, the access network device and the terminal device may communicate with the internet of things device in addition to the reader/writer, and may also communicate in other manners, such as WiFi, bluetooth, wired connection, and so on. The internet of things device may be an AmbientIoT device, or a passiot device, or may be another device, such as a non-3 GPP device.

The following describes in detail a network element selection method provided by the embodiment of the present application through some embodiments and application scenarios thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 2 shows a flowchart of a network element selection method according to an embodiment of the present application, and the method 200 may be performed by a communication device. In other words, the method may be performed by software or hardware installed on the communication device. As shown in fig. 2, the method may include the following steps.

S210, the access network equipment acquires the access capability information of the first Internet of things equipment of the first network element.

In the embodiment of the application, the access network device acquires first Internet of things device access capability information of a first network element, wherein the first Internet of things device access capability information indicates that the first network element has the capability of supporting Internet of things device access.

In the embodiment of the present application, the Access network device may be a Radio Access Network (RAN) device, and the internet of things device may Access the network through the Access network device. For example, the access network device may be a reader of an internet of things device, where the internet of things device accesses the mobile core network through the reader. The reader-writer sends an excitation signal to the Internet of things equipment and receives a reflection signal of the Internet of things equipment on the excitation signal. The reader-writer may be a transmitting end, transmitting an excitation signal, or the reader-writer may also be a receiving end, receiving a reflected signal, or the reader-writer may also be a transmitting end transmitting inventory signaling or downlink signaling to the internet of things device, or the reader-writer may also be a receiving end receiving uplink signaling from the internet of things device, where in any of the foregoing cases, the access network device may be referred to as a reader-writer access network device. Or the access network equipment can also be a base station and the like, the terminal is used as a reader-writer of the internet of things equipment, and the internet of things equipment is accessed to the base station through the terminal.

In the embodiment of the present application, the first network element may be a network element in a mobile core network, for example, a mobility management network element, for example, MME or AMF.

In the embodiment of the present application, the capability of the first network element to support the access of the internet of things device may be shown in that the first network element may support the registration of the internet of things device to the first network element (mobile network), or the first network element may support the establishment of a session channel for the internet of things device, or the like.

In the embodiment of the present application, the access network device obtains the access capability information of the first internet of things device of the first network element, including at least one of the following: 1) The access network equipment receives first Internet of things equipment access capability information from the first network element; 2) The access network equipment acquires access capability information of first Internet of things equipment of the first network element according to the operator configuration information; 3) The access network equipment obtains the access capability information of the first Internet of things equipment of the first network element through network management system configuration.

In a possible implementation manner, the access network device receives the first internet of things device access capability information from the first network element, which may be that the access network device receives the first internet of things device access capability information directly sent by the first network element or other information sent by the first network element, where the other information includes the first internet of things device access capability information. For example, the first network element may send first internet of things device access capability information to the access network device through an application layer signaling protocol (NG Application Protocol, NGAP) message, or the first network element may send an NG establishment response message to the access network device, where the response message includes the first internet of things device access capability information of the first network element, and the access network device receives the first internet of things device access capability information from the first network element.

S212, the access network equipment selects the first network element to provide service for the Internet of things equipment.

In the embodiment of the application, the access network device acquires whether the first network element supports the access capability of the Internet of things device, and accordingly selects the first network element supporting the access capability of the Internet of things device to provide services for the Internet of things device.

In the embodiment of the present application, the providing, by the first network element, a service for the internet of things device may include: the first network element accesses an access request of the internet of things equipment, provides mobile network service for the internet of things equipment, and the like.

In one possible implementation manner of the embodiment of the present application, the selecting, by the access network device, the first network element to provide services for the internet of things device includes: the access network equipment acquires access request information of the Internet of things equipment; and the access network equipment sends the access request information of the Internet of things equipment to the first network element. For example, when the internet of things device needs a network service, it sends out request information of accessing a network, at this time, the access network device receives the request information of accessing the network of the internet of things device, and because the access network device has already obtained whether the first network element supports the access capability of the internet of things device, the access network device combines the access capability information of the first internet of things device and the request information of the internet of things device, and selects the first network element capable of supporting the access of the internet of things device to provide services for the internet of things device, so that the internet of things device can smoothly access the first network element or the mobile network. For example, the access network device may be used as a reader of the internet of things device, or a transmitting end, or a receiving end, or the internet of things device may access the mobile core network through the access network device, and the access network device may obtain access request information of the internet of things device, and send the access request information of the internet of things device to the first network element, that is, to the network element with the capability of supporting the access of the internet of things device.

As another example of the access network device obtaining the access request information of the internet of things device, the access network device receives the access request information of the internet of things device from the access network device a. For example, when the internet of things device moves from the access network device a to the access network device, the access network device a may send an internet of things device handover request message to the access network device, where the internet of things device handover request message indicates that the internet of things device is to access the access network device.

As yet another example of the access network device obtaining access request information for the internet of things device, the access network device receives the access request information for the internet of things device from the mobility management network element. For example, when the internet of things device moves from the access network device a to the access network device, the access network device a sends a message to be switched to the mobility management network element, which indicates that the internet of things device is to be switched to the access network device, and the mobility management network element sends an internet of things device switching request message to the access network device, which indicates that the internet of things device is to be accessed to the access network device. It should be noted that, in this example, the mobility management network element is a network element serving the internet of things device before the internet of things device moves, and thus already has the access capability of the internet of things device, and the access network device uses the mobility management network element to serve the internet of things device, which may not need an additional selection step.

As yet another example of the access network device obtaining the access request information of the internet of things device, the access network device receives the access request information of the internet of things device from the mobility management network element B. For example, the internet of things device is to be moved from the access network device a to the access network device, the access network device a sends a message to be switched to the mobility management network element a, which indicates that the internet of things device is to be switched to the access network device, the mobility management network element a sends a context of the internet of things device to the mobility management network element B, and the mobility management network element B sends an internet of things device switching request message to the access network device, which indicates that the internet of things device is to be accessed to the access network device. It is worth noting that in such an example, the access network device may reselect the mobility management network element to serve the internet of things device. For example, if the mobility management element B does not support the access capability of the internet of things device, the access network device may reselect the mobility management element C to serve the internet of things device.

As yet another example of the access network device obtaining the access request information of the internet of things device, the access network device determines that the terminal device having the internet of things access capability is to be handed over to the access network device a. For example, the terminal device is to be moved from the access network device a to said access network device, the access network device a sends a handover required message to the mobility management network element a indicating that the terminal device is to be handed over to said access network device. Optionally, the switching message may carry an access capability of the internet of things, which is used to indicate that the terminal device has the access capability of the internet of things. If a new mobility management network element needs to be selected, the mobility management network element A selects a mobility management network element B with the access capability of the Internet of things, and the context of the terminal equipment is sent to the mobility management network element B, wherein the context comprises the access capability of the Internet of things of the terminal equipment. And the mobility management network element B sends a terminal equipment switching request message to the access network equipment, wherein the terminal equipment switching request message indicates that the Internet of things equipment is to be accessed to the access network equipment.

In one possible implementation of an embodiment of the present application, the internet of things device may be an environmental internet of things (AmbientThe Internet of Things, ambientIoT) device or a passive IoT (PassiveIoT) device.

In one possible implementation manner, the access network device selects the first network element to provide services for the internet of things device, including: the access network equipment acquires access request information of the Internet of things equipment; the access network equipment selects the first network element to provide service for the Internet of things equipment, and sends access request information of the Internet of things equipment to the first network element. In this possible implementation manner, the time when the access network device selects the first network element to provide the service for the internet of things device is after the access request information of the internet of things device is obtained.

For example, the access network device may be used as a reader of the internet of things device to read the access request information of the internet of things device, or the access network device may also obtain the access request information of the internet of things device through other communication modes, for example, bluetooth, wiFi or wired connection.

In one possible implementation manner of the embodiment of the application, the method may further include: and the access network equipment sends second internet of things equipment access capability information of the access network equipment to the first network element, wherein the second internet of things equipment access capability information indicates that the access network equipment has the capability of supporting the access of the internet of things equipment. Through the possible implementation manner, the first network element can be enabled to acquire the access capability of the second internet of things device of the access network device, and the access network device is determined to possibly access the internet of things device, so that the first network element can be triggered to send the access capability information of the first internet of things device to the access network device.

In a possible implementation manner of the embodiment of the present application, the second internet appliance access capability information indicates at least one of the following: 1) The access network equipment is a reader-writer of the Internet of things equipment; 2) The access network equipment supports the Internet of things equipment to access a mobile core network through the access network equipment; 3) The access network equipment supports sending an excitation signal to the Internet of things equipment; 4) The access network equipment supports receiving a reflected signal from the Internet of things equipment; 5) The access network equipment supports a sending end serving as the equipment of the Internet of things; 6) The access network device is used as a receiving end of the Internet of things device.

In the embodiment of the application, the access network device can directly send the access capability information of the second networking device to the first network element, or can send other information to the first network element, and the other information contains the access capability information of the second networking device. The access network device may send its second networking device access capability information to the first network element through an NGAP message, or the access network device may send an NG establishment request message to the first network element, where the NG establishment request message includes the second networking device access capability information of the access network device. Of course, the access network device may also send the access information of the second networking device to the first network element through other messages, for example, the access network device configures an update message, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present application.

In a possible implementation manner of the embodiment of the present application, before the access network device selects the first network element to provide services for the internet of things device, the method may further include: the access network equipment acquires access capability information of third Internet of things equipment of the terminal equipment, wherein the access capability information of the third Internet of things equipment indicates that the terminal equipment has the capability of supporting the access of the Internet of things equipment; the access network device selects the first network element to provide service for the terminal device. In the possible implementation manner, the internet of things device can access the mobile network through the terminal device, the terminal device can be used as a reader of the internet of things device, send an excitation signal to the internet of things device, receive a reflection signal of the internet of things device on the excitation signal, and send the third internet of things device access capability information of the terminal device as the internet of things device to the access network device, so that the access network device knows that the internet of things device can be accessed to the mobile network through the terminal device, and in order to enable the core network element to normally provide services for the internet of things device, the access network device selects a first network element supporting the internet of things device access for the terminal device.

In the above possible implementation manner, after the access network device selects the first network element to provide the service for the terminal device, the first network element may provide the service for the internet of things device accessed through the terminal device. For example, the terminal device may be used as a reader of the internet of things device, and the internet of things device is connected to the mobile network, or the internet of things device may directly communicate with the terminal device through Wifi, bluetooth, or a wired connection, and is connected to the mobile network through the terminal device.

In one possible implementation manner, the terminal device may send a registration request, an initial access request or a session establishment request to the access network device, and one of RRC messages carrying the uplink NAS message is an RRC message, where the RRC message includes the access capability indication information of the internet of things device. The embodiment of the application is not limited by which RRC message is specifically used for the terminal device to transfer the access capability indication information of the internet of things device.

In the embodiment of the application, when the access network equipment selects the first network element to provide service for the terminal equipment, the terminal equipment can interact with the message of the first network element, for example, establish connection, so as to provide network service for the terminal equipment.

In the embodiment of the application, the access network device selecting the first network element to provide the service for the internet of things device may be that the access network device obtains the access request information of the internet of things device, the access network device sends the access request information of the internet of things device to the first network element, and further selects the first network element capable of supporting the internet of things device to access to provide the service, or the access network device selecting the first network element capable of supporting the internet of things device to provide the service for the terminal device, so that a suitable first network element is selected for the terminal device capable of supporting the internet of things to serve the terminal device, further, it can be ensured that the subsequent internet of things device accesses the first network element or the mobile network through the terminal device, and the same first network element can serve the terminal device and the internet of things device without replacing the first network element.

In a possible implementation manner of the embodiment of the present application, after the access network device obtains the access capability information of the third internet of things device of the terminal device, the method may further include: the access network device sends the access capability information of the third internet of things device to the first network element, and this step is an optional step in the embodiment of the present application. In one possible implementation manner, the third internet of things device access capability information indication may include at least one of the following: 1) The terminal equipment is a reader-writer of the Internet of things equipment; 2) The terminal equipment supports the Internet of things equipment to be accessed into a mobile core network through the terminal equipment; 3) The terminal equipment supports a sending end serving as equipment of the Internet of things; 4) The terminal equipment is used as a receiving end of the Internet of things equipment; 5) The terminal equipment supports an online signing function of the Internet of things equipment; 6) The terminal equipment supports the establishment of a session channel for the Internet of things equipment.

In one possible implementation manner, the access network device may directly send the third internet of things device access capability information to the first network element, or may send the third internet of things device access capability information to the first network element in an indirect manner. For example, the access network device sends an NGAP message, or an initial terminal device message, or an uplink NAS transfer message to the first network element, where the messages include access capability information of a third internet of things device of the terminal device, so as to enable the access network device to send the access information of the third internet of things device to the first network element. Of course, the embodiment of the present application does not limit what NGAP message is specifically used to transfer the access capability information of the third internet of things device, and the access network device indirectly sends the access capability information of the third internet of things device to the first network element, which is not limited to the above-listed manner.

In the embodiment of the present application, after the access network device selects the first network element to provide services for the terminal device, the method may further include: the access network equipment receives an access request message from the Internet of things equipment of the terminal equipment, wherein the access request message is used for requesting the Internet of things equipment to be accessed to a mobile network; and the access network equipment forwards the access request message of the Internet of things equipment to the first network element.

For example, the terminal device obtains an access request message from the internet of things device, where the access request message is used to request the internet of things device to access to the mobile network, for example, the UE may be a reader-writer, receive the access request information of the internet of things device, and then send the access request message of the internet of things device to the access network device, where the request message may be an internet of things device registration request message, and the access request message may be the same or different from the access request message from the internet of things device obtained by the terminal device.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the access network device and the terminal device are taken as the reader-writer of the internet of things device for illustration, but the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto, and the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application may also be used in a scenario where the terminal device or the access network device communicates with the internet of things device in other manners, for example, wiFi, bluetooth, wired connection, etc. The internet of things device may be an AmbientIoT device, or a passiot device, or may be another device, such as a non-3 GPP device. The first network element may be a mobility management network element, or may be a network element that supports access of the internet of things device or may be another network element that serves the internet of things device.

Fig. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method for indicating capability according to an embodiment of the present application, where the method 300 may be performed by a first network element. In other words, the method may be performed by software or hardware installed on a first network element, which is identical to the first network element of the above-described method 200, in particular, see the description in the method 200. As shown in fig. 3, the method may include the following steps.

S310, a first network element sends access capability information of first Internet of things equipment of the first network element to access network equipment.

In the embodiment of the application, the first network element sends first internet of things equipment access capability information of the first network element to access network equipment, wherein the first internet of things equipment access capability information indicates that the first network element has the capability of supporting internet of things equipment access.

In the embodiment of the present application, the capability of the first network element to support the access of the internet of things device may be represented in that the first network element may support the registration of the internet of things device to the first network element (mobile network), or the first network element may support the establishment of a session channel for the internet of things device, etc.

In the embodiment of the application, the first network element can directly send the access capability information of the first internet of things device to the access network device, or can send other information to the access network device, and the other information comprises the access capability information of the first internet of things device. The first network element may send, by using the NGAP message, first internet of things device access capability information of the first network element to the access network device or the first network element sends, by using the first network element, an NG establishment response message to the access network device, where the first information includes the first internet of things device access capability information of the first network element, so that the first network element sends, by using the indirect manner, the first internet of things device access capability information to the access network device. It should be noted that, the first network element may also send the first internet of things device information to the access network device through other messages, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present application.

In an embodiment of the present application, the method may further include: the first network element receives second internet of things device access capability information from the access network device, wherein the second internet of things device access capability information indicates that the access network device has the capability of supporting internet of things device access.

In an embodiment of the present application, the second internet appliance access capability information indicates at least one of: 1) The access network equipment is a reader-writer of the Internet of things equipment; 2) The access network equipment supports the Internet of things equipment to access a mobile core network through the access network equipment; 3) The access network equipment supports sending an excitation signal to the Internet of things equipment; 4) The access network equipment supports receiving a reflected signal from the Internet of things equipment; 5) The access network equipment supports a sending end serving as the equipment of the Internet of things; 6) The access network device is used as a receiving end of the Internet of things device.

In an embodiment of the present application, the method may further include: and the first network element receives access request information of the Internet of things equipment from the access network equipment. And under the condition that the first network element supports the access of the corresponding Internet of things equipment, the first network element receives access request information of the Internet of things equipment from the access network equipment, and the Internet of things equipment is accessed to the first network element (mobile network) according to the request information.

In the embodiment of the present application, before the first network element sends the access capability information of the first internet of things device of the first network element to the access network device, the method may further include: the first network element receives third Internet of things equipment access capability information of terminal equipment from the access network equipment, wherein the third Internet of things equipment access capability information indicates that the terminal equipment has the capability of supporting Internet of things equipment access. In one possible implementation manner, the third internet of things device access capability information indicates at least one of the following: 1) The terminal equipment is a reader-writer of the Internet of things equipment; 2) The terminal equipment supports the Internet of things equipment to be accessed into a mobile core network through the terminal equipment; 3) The terminal equipment supports a sending end serving as equipment of the Internet of things; 4) The terminal equipment is used as a receiving end of the Internet of things equipment; 5) The terminal equipment supports an online signing function of the Internet of things equipment; 6) The terminal equipment supports the establishment of a session channel for the Internet of things equipment.

In one possible implementation manner, the access network device may directly send the third internet of things device access capability information to the first network element, or may send the third internet of things device access capability information to the first network element in an indirect manner. For example, the access network device sends an NGAP message, or an initial terminal device message, or an uplink NAS transfer message to the first network element, where these messages include access capability information of the third internet of things device of the terminal device. Of course, the embodiment of the present application does not limit what NGAP message is specifically used to transfer the access capability information of the third internet of things device, and the access network device indirectly sends the access capability information of the third internet of things device to the first network element, which is not limited to the above-listed manner.

In the embodiment of the present application, after the first network element sends the access capability information of the first internet of things device of the first network element to the access network device, the method may further include: the first network element receives an access request message from an internet of things device of the access network device, where the access request message is used for requesting the internet of things device to access a mobile network. And under the condition that the first network element supports the access of the corresponding Internet of things equipment, the first network element receives access request information of the Internet of things equipment from the access network equipment, and the Internet of things equipment is accessed to the first network element (mobile network) according to the request information.

In the embodiment of the application, the first network element sends the first internet of things equipment access capability information of the first network element to the access network equipment, wherein the first internet of things equipment access capability information indicates that the first network element has the capability of supporting the internet of things equipment access, so that the subsequent access network equipment obtains whether the first network element supports the internet of things equipment access capability or not, and accordingly, the first network element supporting the internet of things equipment access capability is selected to serve the internet of things equipment, so that the internet of things equipment can be smoothly accessed to the mobile network.

The following describes in detail a capability indicating method provided by the embodiments of the present application through some embodiments and application scenarios thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the following embodiment, taking the first network element as an AMF as an example, the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application is described with respect to two access modes of the internet of things device. Of course, the first network element is not limited thereto, and may be other core network elements besides AMF, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 5 shows a flowchart of an access method of the internet of things according to an embodiment of the present application, where the method 500 may be performed by an access network device and a first network element. In other words, the method may be performed by software or hardware installed on the access network device and the first network element. As shown in fig. 5, the method may include the following steps.

S501, the access network device (e.g., RAN) sends the second internet appliance access capability information to the first network element (e.g., AMF). And the second internet of things device access capability information indicates capability information of the access network device for supporting the access of the internet of things device.

For example, the second internet appliance access capability information indicates at least one of: 1) The access network equipment is a reader-writer of the Internet of things equipment; 2) The access network equipment supports the Internet of things equipment to access a mobile core network through the access network equipment; 3) The access network equipment supports sending an excitation signal to the Internet of things equipment; 4) The access network equipment supports receiving a reflected signal from the Internet of things equipment; 5) The access network equipment supports a sending end serving as the equipment of the Internet of things; 6) The access network device is used as a receiving end of the Internet of things device.

Optionally, the access network device may send, through the NGAP message, access capability information of a second networking device of the access network device to the first network element. The access network device sends an NG establishment request message to the first network element, where the request message includes access capability information of a second networking device of the access network device, so that the access network device sends the access capability information of the second networking device to the first network element. It should be noted that, the sending of the access capability information of the second internet device to the first network element, such as the configuration update message of the access network device, may also be implemented through other messages, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present application.

Wherein S501 is an optional step.

S502, the first network element sends the access capability information of the first Internet of things device to the access network device.

The first internet of things device access capability information indicates that the first network element has a capability of supporting internet of things device access, for example, the first network element may support registration of internet of things devices to a mobile network, or the first network element may support establishment of a session channel for internet of things devices, or the like.

Optionally, after the access network device receives the first internet of things device access capability information of the first network element, the access network device stores the first internet of things device access capability information of the first network element.

It should be noted that, the RAN may also obtain the access capability information of the internet of things device of the AMF through configuration, for example, an operator local configuration, or a network management system configuration. At this time S502 may not be performed.

S503, the access network equipment acquires access request information of the Internet of things equipment.

The access network equipment acquires access request information of the Internet of things equipment, wherein the access request information is used for requesting the Internet of things equipment to be accessed to a first network element or a mobile network.

In S503, the access network device may receive an access request of an internet of things device from the internet of things device or from the UE, where the access request is used to request the internet of things device to access the mobile network.

For example, the RAN may be a reader-writer, and receive an access request from an internet of things device. Or the UE is a reader-writer, receives the access request of the equipment of the Internet of things and sends the access request to the RAN. .

S504, the access network equipment selects a first network element with the access capability of the Internet of things equipment.

S505, the access network device sends the access request information of the Internet of things device to a first network element supporting the access of the Internet of things device.

Through S503 to S505 described above, the access network device may determine the first network element (for example, AMF) supporting the access capability of the internet of things device according to the access capability information, the configuration information, and the like of the first internet of things device of the first network element. When the internet of things device needs network service, it sends out request information of access network, at this moment, the access network device receives the request information of the access network of the internet of things device, and because the access network device has already obtained whether the first network element supports the access capability of the internet of things device, the access network device combines the access capability information of the first internet of things device and the request information of the internet of things device, and selects the first network element capable of supporting the access of the internet of things device to provide service for the internet of things device.

S506, the access network equipment acquires the access capability information of the third Internet of things equipment of the terminal.

In S506, the access network device acquires the third internet of things device access capability information of the terminal, and learns that the terminal has the capability of supporting the internet of things device access.

In the technical scheme that S506 to S508 and S503 to S505 may be parallel, in one flow, the access network device may execute S506 to S508, or execute S503 to S505 and S506 to S508, but S503 to S505 and S506 to S508 do not have a certain sequence in time.

Optionally, the access network device obtaining the third internet of things device access capability information of the terminal may include at least one of the following: 1) The access network equipment receives a registration request from a terminal; 2) The access network equipment receives an initial access request from a terminal; 3) The access network device receives a session establishment request from the terminal, wherein the registration request, the initial access request or the session establishment request indicates the access capability information of the third internet of things device.

S507, the access network device selects a first network element with the access capability of the Internet of things to serve the terminal.

The access network device may determine, according to the stored first internet of things device access capability information, configuration information, etc. of the first network element, a first network element supporting the internet of things device access capability, so as to select, for the terminal, the first network element supporting the internet of things device access capability.

And S508, the access network equipment sends the access capability information of the third Internet of things equipment of the terminal to the first network element.

The S508 may enable the first network element to learn that the terminal supports access of the internet of things device, so that the first network element provides a corresponding service for the terminal. This step is an optional step.

Through S506 to S508, the access network device selects a first network element supporting the access capability of the internet of things device for the terminal supporting the access of the internet of things device, so as to select a suitable first network element for the UE supporting the access capability of the internet of things to serve the UE. The method can further ensure that the following Internet of things equipment is accessed to the mobile network through the UE, and the same first network element can serve the UE and the Internet of things equipment without replacing the first network element.

In the embodiment of the application, whether the first network element supports the access capability of the Internet of things equipment or not is obtained through the access network equipment, and the first network element supporting the access capability of the Internet of things equipment is selected to serve the Internet of things equipment according to the access capability, so that the Internet of things equipment can be smoothly accessed to the mobile network, and the normal service of the mobile network is obtained.

Fig. 6a shows a flowchart of another internet of things access method according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 6a, the method 610 may include the following steps.

S611, the terminal device (e.g. UE) sends the third internet of things device access capability information to the access network device (e.g. RAN).

The third internet of things device access capability information indicates that the terminal device has the capability of supporting internet of things device access. Optionally, the third internet of things device access capability information indicates at least one of: 1) The terminal equipment is a reader-writer of the Internet of things equipment; 2) The terminal equipment supports the Internet of things equipment to be accessed into a mobile core network through the terminal equipment; 3) The terminal equipment supports a sending end serving as equipment of the Internet of things; 4) The terminal equipment is used as a receiving end of the Internet of things equipment; 5) The terminal equipment supports an online signing function of the Internet of things equipment; 6) The terminal equipment supports the establishment of a session channel for the Internet of things equipment.

Optionally, the access network device may directly send the third internet of things device access capability information to the first network element, or may send the third internet of things device access capability information to the first network element in an indirect manner. For example, the access network device sends an NGAP message, or an initial terminal device message, or an uplink NAS delivery message to the first network element, where the messages include access capability information of a third internet of things device of the terminal device. Of course, the embodiment of the present application does not limit what NGAP message is specifically used to transmit the access capability indication information of the third internet of things device, and the access network device indirectly sends the access capability information of the third internet of things device to the first network element, which is not limited to the above-listed manner.

S612, the access network device selects a first network element (e.g., AMF) having access capability of the internet of things.

The access network device may determine the first network element supporting the access capability of the internet of things device according to the stored access capability information, configuration information, etc. of the first internet of things device of the first network element. When the internet of things device needs network service, it sends out request information of access network, at this moment, the access network device receives the request information of the access network of the internet of things device, and because the access network device has already obtained whether the first network element supports the access capability of the internet of things device, the access network device combines the access capability information of the first internet of things device and the request information of the internet of things device, and selects the first network element capable of supporting the access of the internet of things device to provide service for the internet of things device.

S613, the access network device sends the access capability information of the third Internet of things device of the terminal device to the first network element.

For example, the access network device sends the third internet of things device access capability information of the terminal device to the first network element. The access network device sends the NGAP message, or the initial terminal device message, or the uplink NAS transfer message to the first network element, where the messages include access capability information of a third internet of things device of the terminal device, so as to send the access capability information of the third internet of things device of the terminal device to the first network element by the access network device. The embodiment does not limit what NGAP message is specifically used to transmit the access capability indication information of the third internet of things device.

It should be noted that, the access network device may also send an NGAP message to the first network element, but the access capability indication information of the third internet of things device of the terminal device is not included. In this case, the access network device selects a first network element for the terminal device that supports the access capability of the internet of things device, said first network element serving the terminal device.

S614, the terminal equipment acquires the access request information of the Internet of things equipment.

The terminal equipment acquires access request information of the Internet of things equipment, wherein the access request information is used for requesting the Internet of things equipment to be accessed to a first network element or a mobile network.

S615, the terminal equipment sends access request information of the Internet of things equipment to the access network equipment.

The internet of things device access request message may be an internet of things device registration request message. The access request message of the internet of things device may be the same as or different from the access request message of the internet of things device in S504. For example, after acquiring the access request information of the internet of things device, the terminal device sends an internet of things device registration request message to the access network device.

After receiving the access request information of the internet of things device, the access network device may further send the access request information of the internet of things device to the first network element.

In the embodiment of the application, the access network equipment selects the first network element supporting the access capability of the internet of things equipment for the terminal equipment, so that the terminal equipment is served by selecting the proper first network element for the terminal equipment supporting the access capability of the internet of things, further, the follow-up internet of things equipment can be ensured to be accessed to the first network element or the mobile network through the terminal equipment, and the same first network element can serve the terminal equipment and the internet of things equipment without replacing the first network element or the mobile network.

Fig. 6b shows a flowchart of another method for accessing the internet of things according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 6b, the method 620 may include the following steps.

S621, the access network device (e.g., RAN) sends the second internet appliance access capability information to the first network element (e.g., AMF).

This step can be described with reference to S501.

S622, the first network element sends the access capability information of the first internet of things device to the access network device.

This step may refer to the description of S502.

S623, the terminal device (e.g. UE) sends third internet of things access capability indication information to the access network device (e.g. RAN).

This step may refer to the description of S611.

S624, the access network device selects a first network element (e.g., AMF) with the access capability of the internet of things.

This step may refer to the description of S612.

S625, the access network device sends the access capability information of the third Internet of things device of the terminal device to the first network element.

This step can be described with reference to S613.

S626, the terminal equipment acquires access request information of the Internet of things equipment.

This step may be described with reference to S614.

S627, the terminal device sends access request information of the Internet of things device to the access network device.

This step may refer to the description of S615.

The network element selection method and the capability indication method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the execution subject may be a virtual device. In the embodiment of the present application, a network element selection method and a capability indication method performed by a virtual device are taken as examples, and the network element selection device and the capability indication device provided by the embodiment of the present application are described. The following is a detailed description of examples.

Fig. 7a shows a schematic structural diagram of a network element selection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application, where the apparatus may be applied to an access network device. As shown in fig. 7a, the apparatus 700 mainly includes: a first obtaining module 701, configured to obtain first internet of things device access capability information of a first network element, where the first internet of things device access capability information indicates that the first network element has a capability of supporting internet of things device access; a first selection module 702, configured to select the first network element to provide services for the internet of things device.

In one possible implementation manner, the first obtaining module 701 obtains the first internet of things device access capability information of the first network element, including at least one of the following: 1) Receiving first Internet of things equipment access capability information from the first network element; 2) Acquiring first Internet of things equipment access capability information of the first network element according to the operator configuration information; 3) And acquiring the access capability information of the first Internet of things equipment of the first network element through network management system configuration.

In one possible implementation, the first selecting module 702 selects the first network element to provide services for the internet of things device, including: acquiring access request information of Internet of things equipment; and sending the access request information of the Internet of things equipment to the first network element.

In one possible implementation, as shown in fig. 7b, the apparatus 700 may further include a first sending module 703: and the second internet of things device access capability information is used for sending the second internet of things device access capability information of the access network device to the first network element, wherein the second internet of things device access capability information indicates that the access network device has the capability of supporting the access of the internet of things device.

In one possible implementation, the second internet appliance access capability information indicates at least one of: 1) The access network equipment is a reader-writer of the Internet of things equipment; 2) The access network equipment supports the Internet of things equipment to access a mobile core network through the access network equipment; 3) The access network equipment supports sending an excitation signal to the Internet of things equipment; 4) The access network equipment supports receiving a reflected signal from the Internet of things equipment; 5) The access network equipment supports a sending end serving as the equipment of the Internet of things; 7) The access network device is used as a receiving end of the Internet of things device.

In one possible implementation, the selecting, by the first selecting module 702, the first network element to provide services for the internet of things device includes: acquiring third Internet of things equipment access capability information of terminal equipment, wherein the third Internet of things equipment access capability information indicates that the terminal equipment has the capability of supporting Internet of things equipment access; and selecting the first network element to provide service for the terminal equipment.

In one possible implementation, as shown in fig. 7b, the apparatus 700 may further include a second sending module 704: and the third internet of things device access capability information is sent to the first network element.

In a possible implementation manner, as shown in fig. 7b, the apparatus 700 may further include a first receiving module 705, configured to receive an access request message from an internet of things device of the terminal device, where the access request message is used to request the internet of things device to access a mobile network; the first sending module 703 is further configured to forward an access request message of the internet of things device to the first network element.

For more detailed implementation of the embodiment of the present application, reference may be made to the related description in the method 200, and for avoiding repetition, details are not repeated here.

In the embodiment of the present application, the first obtaining module 701 obtains, through the access network device, whether the first network element supports the access capability of the internet of things device, and accordingly, selects, through the first selecting module 702, the first network element supporting the access capability of the internet of things device to serve the internet of things device, so that the internet of things device can be smoothly accessed to the mobile network.

Fig. 8a shows a schematic structural diagram of a capability indicating device according to an embodiment of the present application, where the device may be applied to a first network element. As shown in fig. 8a, the apparatus 800 mainly includes: a second obtaining module 801, configured to obtain first internet of things device access capability information of the first network element, where the first internet of things device access capability information indicates that the first network element has a capability of supporting internet of things device access; a third sending module 802, configured to send, to an access network device, first internet of things device access capability information of the first network element, where the first internet of things device access capability information indicates that the first network element has a capability of supporting internet of things device access.

In a possible implementation manner, as shown in fig. 8b, the apparatus 800 may further include a second receiving module 803 configured to receive second internet of things device access capability information from the access network device, where the second internet of things device access capability information indicates that the access network device has a capability of supporting access of the internet of things device.

In one possible implementation, the second internet appliance access capability information indicates at least one of: 1) The access network equipment is a reader-writer of the Internet of things equipment; 2) The access network equipment supports the Internet of things equipment to access a mobile core network through the access network equipment; 3) The access network equipment supports sending an excitation signal to the Internet of things equipment; 4) The access network equipment supports receiving a reflected signal from the Internet of things equipment; 5) The access network equipment supports a sending end serving as the equipment of the Internet of things; 6) The access network device is used as a receiving end of the Internet of things device.

In a possible implementation manner, as shown in fig. 8b, the apparatus 800 may further include a third receiving module 804, configured to receive access request information from an internet of things device of the access network device.

In a possible implementation manner, as shown in fig. 8b, the apparatus 800 may further include a fourth receiving module 805 configured to receive third internet of things device access capability information of a terminal device from the access network device, where the third internet of things device access capability information indicates that the terminal device has a capability of supporting access of an internet of things device.

In a possible implementation manner, the fourth receiving module 805 is further configured to receive an access request message from an internet of things device of the access network device, where the access request message is used to request the internet of things device to be accessed through the terminal device to access a mobile network.

For more detailed implementation of the embodiment of the present application, reference may be made to the related description in the method 300, and for avoiding repetition, details are not repeated here.

In the embodiment of the present application, the third sending module 801 is configured to send, to an access network device, first internet of things device access capability information of the first network element, where the first internet of things device access capability information indicates that the first network element has a capability of supporting internet of things device access, so that a subsequent access network device obtains whether the first network element supports internet of things device access capability, and accordingly selects the first network element supporting internet of things device access capability to serve the internet of things device, so that the internet of things device can smoothly access to the mobile network.

The network element selection device and the capability indication device in the embodiments of the present application may be an electronic device, for example, an electronic device with an operating system, or may be a component in an electronic device, for example, an integrated circuit or a chip.

The network element selection device provided by the embodiment of the present application can implement the corresponding processes of the method embodiments of fig. 2, fig. 5, fig. 6a and fig. 6b, and the capability indication device can implement the corresponding processes of the method embodiments of fig. 3, fig. 5, fig. 6a and fig. 6b, and achieve the same technical effects, so that repetition is avoided, and no further description is provided herein.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 9, the embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 900, including a processor 901 and a memory 902, where the memory 902 stores a program or instructions that can be executed on the processor 901. For example, when the communication device 900 is a network side device, the program or the instruction, when executed by the processor 901, implements the steps of the foregoing network element selection method or the capability indication method embodiment, and the same technical effects can be achieved, so that repetition is avoided, and no further description is given here.

The embodiment of the application also provides network side equipment, which comprises a processor and a communication interface, wherein the processor is used for realizing the steps of the network element selection method or the capability indication method embodiment, and the communication interface is used for communicating with external equipment. The network side device embodiment corresponds to the network side device method embodiment, and each implementation process and implementation manner of the method embodiment can be applied to the network side device embodiment, and the same technical effects can be achieved.

Specifically, the embodiment of the application also provides a network side device, which can be access network equipment. As shown in fig. 10, the network side device 1000 includes: an antenna 1001, a radio frequency device 1002, a baseband device 1003, a processor 1004, and a memory 1005. The antenna 1001 is connected to a radio frequency device 1002. In the uplink direction, the radio frequency device 1002 receives information via the antenna 1001, and transmits the received information to the baseband device 1003 for processing. In the downlink direction, the baseband device 1003 processes information to be transmitted, and transmits the processed information to the radio frequency device 1002, and the radio frequency device 1002 processes the received information and transmits the processed information through the antenna 1001.

The method performed by the network side device in the above embodiment may be implemented in a baseband apparatus 1003, where the baseband apparatus 1003 includes a baseband processor.

The baseband apparatus 1003 may, for example, include at least one baseband board, where a plurality of chips are disposed on the baseband board, as shown in fig. 10, where one chip, for example, a baseband processor, is connected to the memory 1005 through a bus interface, so as to call a program in the memory 1005, and execute the operation of the access network device shown in the foregoing embodiment of the network element selection method.

The network side device may also include a network interface 1006, such as a common public radio interface (common public radio interface, CPRI).

Specifically, the network side device 1000 of the embodiment of the present application further includes: instructions or programs stored in the memory 1005 and executable on the processor 1004, the processor 1004 invokes the instructions or programs in the memory 1005 to perform the methods performed by the modules shown in fig. 7a and fig. 7b, and achieve the same technical effects, and are not repeated here.

Specifically, the embodiment of the application also provides another network side device. As shown in fig. 11, the network side device 1100 includes: a processor 1101, a network interface 1102, and a memory 1103. The network interface 1102 is, for example, a common public radio interface (common public radio interface, CPRI).

Specifically, the network side device 1100 of the embodiment of the present application further includes: instructions or programs stored in the memory 1103 and capable of running on the processor 1101, the processor 1101 calls the instructions or programs in the memory 1103 to execute the methods executed by the modules shown in fig. 8a and 8b, and achieve the same technical effects, so that repetition is avoided, and therefore, the description is omitted herein.

The embodiment of the application also provides a readable storage medium, on which a program or an instruction is stored, which when executed by a processor, implements each process of the above network element selection method or the capability indication method embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effects, so that repetition is avoided, and no further description is given here.

Wherein the processor is a processor in the terminal described in the above embodiment. The readable storage medium includes computer readable storage medium such as computer readable memory ROM, random access memory RAM, magnetic or optical disk, etc.

The embodiment of the application further provides a chip, the chip comprises a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface is coupled with the processor, the processor is used for running a program or instructions, the network element selection method or the process of the capability indication method embodiment can be realized, the same technical effect can be achieved, and the repetition is avoided, and the description is omitted here.

It should be understood that the chips referred to in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as system-on-chip chips, or the like.

The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program/program product, where the computer program/program product is stored in a storage medium, and the computer program/program product is executed by at least one processor to implement each process of the above network element selection method or the capability indication method embodiment, and the same technical effects can be achieved, so that repetition is avoided, and details are not repeated here.

The embodiment of the application also provides a network element selection system, which comprises: an access network device operable to perform a network element selection method as described above, and a first network element operable to perform the steps of a capability indication method as described above.

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 phrase "comprising one … …" does not exclude the presence of other like elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element. Furthermore, it should be noted that the scope of the methods and apparatus in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to performing the functions in the order shown or discussed, but may also include performing the functions in a substantially simultaneous manner or in an opposite order depending on the functions involved, e.g., the described methods may be performed in an order different from that described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Additionally, features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

From the above description of the embodiments, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the above-described embodiment method may be implemented by means of software plus a necessary general hardware platform, but of course may also be implemented by means of hardware, but in many cases the former is a preferred embodiment. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application may be embodied essentially or in a part contributing to the prior art in the form of a computer software product stored in a storage medium (e.g. ROM/RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk) comprising instructions for causing a terminal (which may be a mobile phone, a computer, a server, an air conditioner, or a network device, etc.) to perform the method according to the embodiments of the present application.

The embodiments of the present application have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present application is not limited to the above-described embodiments, which are merely illustrative and not restrictive, and many forms may be made by those having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit of the present application and the scope of the claims, which are to be protected by the present application.

Claims

1. A method for selecting a network element, comprising:

the access network equipment acquires first Internet of things equipment access capability information of a first network element, wherein the first Internet of things equipment access capability information indicates that the first network element has the capability of supporting Internet of things equipment access;

and the access network equipment selects the first network element to provide service for the Internet of things equipment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the access network device obtains first internet of things device access capability information of the first network element, comprising at least one of:

the access network equipment receives first Internet of things equipment access capability information from the first network element;

the access network equipment acquires access capability information of first Internet of things equipment of the first network element according to the operator configuration information;

the access network equipment obtains the access capability information of the first Internet of things equipment of the first network element through network management system configuration.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the access network device selecting the first network element to serve an internet of things device comprises:

the access network equipment acquires access request information of the Internet of things equipment;

The access network equipment selects the first network element to provide service for the Internet of things equipment, and sends access request information of the Internet of things equipment to the first network element.

4. A method according to claim 3, characterized in that the method further comprises:

and the access network equipment sends second internet of things equipment access capability information of the access network equipment to the first network element, wherein the second internet of things equipment access capability information indicates that the access network equipment has the capability of supporting the access of the internet of things equipment.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the second internet appliance access capability information indicates at least one of:

the access network equipment is a reader-writer of the Internet of things equipment;

the access network equipment supports the Internet of things equipment to access a mobile core network through the access network equipment;

the access network equipment supports sending an excitation signal to the Internet of things equipment;

the access network equipment supports receiving a reflected signal from the Internet of things equipment;

the access network equipment supports a sending end serving as the equipment of the Internet of things;

the access network device is used as a receiving end of the Internet of things device.

6. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein before the access network device selects the first network element to serve an internet of things device, the method further comprises:

The access network equipment acquires access capability information of third Internet of things equipment of the terminal equipment, wherein the access capability information of the third Internet of things equipment indicates that the terminal equipment has the capability of supporting the access of the Internet of things equipment;

the access network device selects the first network element to provide service for the terminal device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first network element provides services for an internet of things device accessed through the terminal device.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein after the access network device obtains the third internet of things device access capability information of the terminal device, the method further comprises:

and the access network equipment sends the access capability information of the third Internet of things equipment to the first network element.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein after the access network device selects the first network element to serve the terminal device, the method further comprises:

the access network equipment receives an access request message from the Internet of things equipment of the terminal equipment, wherein the access request message is used for requesting the Internet of things equipment to be accessed to a mobile network;

And the access network equipment forwards the access request message of the Internet of things equipment to the first network element.

10. The method according to any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the first network element comprises a mobility management network element.

11. A method of capability indication, comprising:

the method comprises the steps that a first network element sends first Internet of things equipment access capability information of the first network element to access network equipment, wherein the first Internet of things equipment access capability information indicates that the first network element has the capability of supporting Internet of things equipment access.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises:

the first network element receives second internet of things device access capability information from the access network device, wherein the second internet of things device access capability information indicates that the access network device has the capability of supporting internet of things device access.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the second internet appliance access capability information indicates at least one of:

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises:

and the first network element receives access request information of the Internet of things equipment from the access network equipment.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein before the first network element sends the first internet of things device access capability information of the first network element to an access network device, the method further comprises:

the first network element receives third Internet of things equipment access capability information of terminal equipment from the access network equipment, wherein the third Internet of things equipment access capability information indicates that the terminal equipment has the capability of supporting Internet of things equipment access.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein after the first network element sends the first internet of things device access capability information of the first network element to an access network device, the method further comprises:

The first network element receives an access request message from the internet of things device of the access network device, where the access request message is used to request the internet of things device to be accessed through the terminal device to access a mobile network.

17. A network element selection apparatus for application to an access network device, the apparatus comprising:

the first acquisition module is used for acquiring first Internet of things equipment access capability information of a first network element, wherein the first Internet of things equipment access capability information indicates that the first network element has the capability of supporting Internet of things equipment access;

and the first selection module is used for selecting the first network element to provide service for the Internet of things equipment.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the first selection module selecting the first network element to serve an internet of things device comprises:

acquiring access request information of Internet of things equipment;

and selecting the first network element to provide service for the Internet of things equipment, and sending the access request information of the Internet of things equipment to the first network element.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the apparatus further comprises:

And the first sending module is used for sending the access capability information of the second internet of things device of the access network device to the first network element, wherein the access capability information of the second internet of things device indicates that the access network device has the capability of supporting the access of the internet of things device.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the first selection module is further configured to:

acquiring third Internet of things equipment access capability information of terminal equipment, wherein the third Internet of things equipment access capability information indicates that the terminal equipment has the capability of supporting Internet of things equipment access;

and selecting the first network element to provide service for the terminal equipment.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the apparatus further comprises:

and the second sending module is used for sending the access capability information of the third Internet of things device to the first network element.

22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the apparatus further comprises:

the mobile terminal comprises a first receiving module, a second receiving module and a first sending module, wherein the first receiving module is used for receiving an access request message of the Internet of things equipment from the terminal equipment, and the access request message is used for requesting the Internet of things equipment to be accessed to a mobile network;

The first sending module is further configured to forward an access request message of the internet of things device to the first network element.

23. A capability indication apparatus applied to a first network element, comprising:

a second obtaining module, configured to obtain first internet of things device access capability information of the first network element, where the first internet of things device access capability information indicates that the first network element has a capability of supporting internet of things device access;

and the third sending module is used for sending the access capability information of the first Internet of things equipment of the first network element to the access network equipment.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the apparatus further comprises:

and the second receiving module is used for receiving second internet of things equipment access capability information from the access network equipment, wherein the second internet of things equipment access capability information indicates that the access network equipment has the capability of supporting the access of the internet of things equipment.

25. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the apparatus further comprises:

and the third receiving module is used for receiving the access request information of the Internet of things equipment from the access network equipment.

26. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the apparatus further comprises:

a fourth receiving module, configured to receive third internet of things device access capability information of a terminal device from the access network device, where the third internet of things device access capability information indicates that the terminal device has a capability of supporting access of the internet of things device.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the fourth receiving module is further configured to receive an access request message from an internet of things device of the access network device, wherein the access request message is configured to request the internet of things device to be accessed through the terminal device to access a mobile network.

28. A network side device comprising a processor and a memory storing a program or instructions executable on the processor, which when executed by the processor, implement the steps of the network element selection method of any one of claims 1 to 10, or the steps of the capability indication method of any one of claims 11 to 16.

29. A readable storage medium, characterized in that the readable storage medium has stored thereon a program or instructions which, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the network element selection method according to any of claims 1 to 10 or the steps of the capability indication method according to any of claims 11 to 16.