CN117295051A

CN117295051A - Communication method and communication device

Info

Publication number: CN117295051A
Application number: CN202210680550.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王凡凡; 耿婷婷
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-06-16
Filing date: 2022-06-16
Publication date: 2023-12-26
Also published as: WO2023241467A1

Abstract

The application provides a communication method and a communication device, wherein the method comprises the following steps: receiving a registration request from a terminal device, wherein the registration request is used for requesting registration to a first core network device; transmitting first request information to the second core network equipment based on the registration request, wherein the first request information is used for requesting to start disaster roaming; the first core network device is located in a first network, the second core network device is located in a second network, and the first network and the second network share access network devices. The disaster roaming mechanism under the architecture of the shared network is provided, the service interruption time of the terminal equipment is reduced, and the communication reliability is improved.

Description

Communication method and communication device

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a communication method and a communication device.

Background

Currently, under a network architecture in which a Core Network (CN) and a radio access network (radio access network, RAN) are independent between operators, when a RAN part of a certain operator fails and a CN part still works normally, a UE may access to other operators providing a disaster roaming (disaster roaming) service, so as to reduce a service interruption time of the UE. However, under the network architecture that the respective operators share the base station, the disaster roaming mechanism when the CN portion of a certain operator has a problem while the RAN portion still works normally has not been discussed.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a communication method and a communication device, which can reduce service interruption time of terminal equipment and improve communication reliability.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to an access network device, and the method includes:

receiving a registration request from a terminal device, wherein the registration request is used for requesting to register to a first core network device;

transmitting first request information to second core network equipment based on the registration request, wherein the first request information is used for requesting to start disaster roaming; the first core network device is located in a first network, the second core network device is located in a second network, and the first network and the second network share access network devices.

In the application, when the access network device determines that the core network part (for example, the first core network device) of the first network fails and receives a registration request that the terminal device requests to register to the first core network device, the access network device requests disaster roaming to the second core network device based on the registration request, and the terminal device does not perceive disaster roaming in the process (i.e., the terminal device does not directly initiate the registration request to the second core network device providing disaster roaming), so that the terminal device does not need to execute the processes of PLMN searching and cell selection, thereby shortening the service interruption time of the terminal device and being beneficial to improving the reliability of communication.

In one possible implementation, before the receiving the registration request from the terminal device, the method further includes:

and receiving first indication information and/or second indication information from the first core network equipment, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating to activate a disaster roaming function, the second indication information is used for indicating a network list supporting disaster roaming, and the network list comprises the second network.

In this implementation manner, before the disaster situation occurs in the first core network device, the disaster roaming function and the network list supporting the disaster roaming are configured for the access network device through the first core network device, so that when the access network device subsequently determines that the first core network device has a disaster fault, the access network device directly initiates a disaster roaming request to a network supporting the disaster roaming (for example, a second network where the second core network device is located).

and when the first core network device is determined to be unavailable, sending first information to the terminal device, wherein the first information indicates the terminal device to initiate a registration request so as to perform registration update.

In the implementation manner, when the first core network equipment fails, the access network equipment informs the terminal equipment through the first information to initiate a registration update flow to the first network (namely, the access network equipment triggers the terminal equipment to initiate the registration update flow), and the access network equipment is used for serving the terminal equipment through the core network of the second network (namely, the second core network equipment), so that the perception of the terminal equipment on disaster roaming is avoided, the service continuity of the terminal equipment of the affected network in other normal networks is realized, and the service interruption time of the terminal equipment is shortened.

when the first core network equipment is determined to be unavailable, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) release message is sent to the terminal equipment;

receiving an RRC establishment request from the terminal equipment;

and establishing RRC connection with the terminal equipment based on the RRC establishment request.

In one possible implementation, the RRC release message includes a first parameter, where the first parameter is used to determine a time when the terminal device initiates an RRC establishment request.

In the implementation manner, when the first core network device fails in a disaster, the access network device releases the terminal device in a connection state to an idle state and indicates congestion rollback information (namely, first parameters), so that the problem of congestion caused by that the access network device requests the second core network device to roam in a short time due to the fact that the terminal device completely requests to re-access the first network in a short time can be avoided, and the reliability of communication is improved. It will be appreciated that in this implementation the terminal device is not aware of disaster roaming.

In one possible implementation, after the establishing an RRC connection with the terminal device based on the RRC establishment request, the method further includes:

sending second request information to a second core network device, wherein the second request information is used for requesting the terminal device to be registered to the first core network device;

receiving first information from the second core network device, wherein the first information indicates the terminal device to initiate a registration request so as to perform registration update;

and sending the first information to the terminal equipment.

In the implementation manner, when the first core network equipment fails in a disaster, the access network equipment releases the terminal equipment in a connection state to an idle state, the terminal equipment is accessed to the access network equipment in the first network again, then the access network equipment accesses the terminal equipment to the second network through the second request information, the second core network equipment triggers the terminal equipment to initiate a registration update flow to the first network, the whole process of terminal equipment does not sense disaster roaming, the service interruption time of the terminal equipment is shortened, and the reliability of communication is improved.

In one possible implementation, the first request information is carried in an initialization terminal context message initial UE message.

In one possible implementation, the second request information is carried in initial UE message.

In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, the method being applied to an access network device, the method comprising:

receiving an RRC establishment request from the terminal equipment;

after the RRC connection is established successfully, receiving a registration request from the terminal equipment, wherein the registration request is used for requesting to register to the second core network equipment; the first core network device is located in a first network, the second core network device is located in a second network, and the first network and the second network share access network devices.

The embodiment of the application provides another disaster roaming mechanism under the network sharing architecture, under the mechanism, the terminal equipment can sense disaster roaming, so that the terminal equipment can directly initiate a disaster roaming request of the second network to the access network equipment, thereby being beneficial to improving the reliability of communication.

In one possible implementation, the RRC release message includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that disaster roaming is initiated.

In one possible implementation, the RRC release message includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate a network list supporting disaster roaming, and the network list includes the second network.

In one possible implementation, the method further comprises:

and receiving first indication information and/or second indication information from the first core network equipment.

In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a terminal device, and the method includes:

receiving Radio Resource Control (RRC) release information from access network equipment;

sending an RRC establishment request to the access network equipment;

after the RRC connection is established successfully, a registration request is sent to the access network equipment, wherein the registration request is used for requesting to register to second core network equipment; the first core network device is located in a first network, the second core network device is located in a second network, and the first network and the second network share access network devices.

In one possible implementation, the method further comprises:

And when the first network is not searched, disaster roaming is started.

In one possible implementation, the sending a registration request to the access network device includes:

and when the second network is searched, a registration request is sent to the access network equipment.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, the apparatus being an access network device, the apparatus comprising:

a transceiver unit, configured to receive a registration request from a terminal device, where the registration request is used to request registration to a first core network device;

the receiving and transmitting unit is configured to send first request information to a second core network device based on the registration request, where the first request information is used to request to initiate disaster roaming; the first core network device is located in a first network, the second core network device is located in a second network, and the first network and the second network share access network devices.

In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit is further configured to:

In one possible implementation, the apparatus further comprises a processing unit;

the processing unit is configured to send, when it is determined that the first core network device is not available, a radio resource control RRC release message to the terminal device through the transceiver unit;

the receiving and transmitting unit is used for receiving an RRC establishment request from the terminal equipment;

the processing unit is configured to establish an RRC connection with the terminal device based on the RRC establishment request.

In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit is further configured to:

and sending the first information to the terminal equipment.

In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, the apparatus being an access network device, the apparatus comprising:

a processing unit, configured to send a radio resource control RRC release message to the terminal device through the transceiving unit when it is determined that the first core network device is unavailable;

the receiving and transmitting unit is used for receiving a registration request from the terminal equipment after the RRC connection is successfully established, wherein the registration request is used for requesting to register to the second core network equipment; the first core network device is located in a first network, the second core network device is located in a second network, and the first network and the second network share access network devices.

In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit is further configured to:

In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, the apparatus being a terminal device, the apparatus comprising:

a transceiver unit, configured to receive radio resource control RRC release information from an access network device;

the receiving and transmitting unit is configured to send an RRC establishment request to the access network device;

the receiving and transmitting unit is configured to send a registration request to the access network device after the RRC connection is successfully established, where the registration request is used to request registration to a second core network device; the first core network device is located in a first network, the second core network device is located in a second network, and the first network and the second network share access network devices.

In one possible implementation, the apparatus further includes a processing unit:

and the processing unit is used for starting disaster roaming when the first network is not searched.

In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit is configured to:

In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, which may be a terminal device, or an apparatus in a terminal device, or an apparatus that can be used in a matching manner with a terminal device. The communication device may also be a chip system. The communication device may perform the method of the third aspect. The functions of the communication device can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the functions described above. The unit or module may be software and/or hardware. The operations and advantages performed by the communication device may be referred to the methods and advantages described in the third aspect, and the repetition is not repeated.

In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communications apparatus, which may be an access network device, an apparatus in an access network device, or an apparatus that can be used in cooperation with an access network device. The communication device may also be a chip system. The communication device may perform the method of the first and/or second aspect. The functions of the communication device can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the functions described above. The unit or module may be software and/or hardware. The operations and advantages performed by the communication device may be referred to the methods and advantages described in the first and/or second aspects, and the repetition is not repeated.

In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a communications apparatus, which may be a terminal device, the communications apparatus comprising a processor and a transceiver for executing a computer program or instructions stored in at least one memory to cause the apparatus to implement a method as in any of the third aspects.

In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a communications apparatus, which may be a terminal device, comprising a processor, a transceiver, and a memory. Wherein the processor, transceiver, and memory are coupled; the processor and transceiver are configured to implement a method as in any one of the third aspects.

In an eleventh aspect, the present application provides a communications apparatus, which may be an access network device, the communications apparatus comprising a processor and a transceiver for executing computer programs or instructions stored in at least one memory to cause the apparatus to implement a method as in any one of the first and/or second aspects.

In a twelfth aspect, the present application provides a communications apparatus, which may be an access network device, comprising a processor, a transceiver, and a memory. Wherein the processor, transceiver, and memory are coupled; the processor and transceiver are for implementing a method as in any one of the first and/or second aspects.

In a thirteenth aspect, the present application provides a computer readable storage medium having stored therein a computer program or instructions which, when executed by a computer, implement a method as in any of the first to third aspects.

In a fourteenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, the computer program product comprising computer program code for implementing the method of any one of the first to third aspects when the computer program code is run on a computer.

A fifteenth aspect provides a communication system comprising the terminal device of the seventh aspect and the access network device of the eighth aspect.

Drawings

FIG. 1a is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture;

FIG. 1b is a schematic diagram of another communication system architecture;

FIG. 1c is a schematic diagram of another communication system architecture;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an air interface control plane protocol stack;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a scenario in which a disaster roams under an operator independent network establishment;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a disaster roaming process under an operator independent network establishment;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a shared network;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7a is a schematic flow chart of disaster roaming according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7b is a schematic flow chart of another disaster roaming provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7c is a schematic flow chart of another disaster roaming provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7d is a schematic flow chart of another disaster roaming provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is another flow chart of a communication method provided in 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 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

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

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

Detailed Description

Specific embodiments of the present application are described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The terms first and second and the like in the description, in the claims and in the drawings, are used for distinguishing between different objects and not for describing a particular sequential order. Furthermore, the terms "comprise" and "have," as well as any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or elements is not limited to only those listed steps or elements but may include other steps or elements not listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.

Reference herein to "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearances of such phrases in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Those of skill in the art will explicitly and implicitly appreciate that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

In the present application, "at least one (item)" means one or more, "a plurality" means two or more, and "at least two (items)" means two or three or more, and/or "for describing an association relationship of an association object, three kinds of relationships may exist, for example," a and/or B "may represent: only a, only B and both a and B are present, wherein a, B may be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the context-dependent object is an "or" relationship. "at least one of" or the like means any combination of these items, including any combination of single item(s) or plural items(s). For example, at least one (one) of a, b or c may represent: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", wherein a, b, c may be single or plural.

For a better understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following first describes a system architecture related to the embodiments of the present application:

the technical solution of the embodiment of the application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: a long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) system, an LTE frequency division duplex (frequency division duplex, FDD) system, an LTE time division duplex (time division duplex, TDD), a New Radio (NR), a fifth generation (5th generation,5G) system such as a third generation partnership (the 3rd generation partner project,3GPP) service-based network architecture (service-based architecture, SBA), or a communication system that evolves after a sixth generation (6th generation,6G) communication system 5G, and the like.

Referring to fig. 1a, fig. 1a is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture. As shown in fig. 1a, the terminal device may access into a wireless network to obtain services of an external network (e.g., a Data Network (DN)) through the wireless network, or communicate with other devices through the wireless network, such as may communicate with other terminal devices. The wireless network includes a (radio) access network (R) AN for accessing the terminal device to the wireless network, and a Core Network (CN) for managing the terminal device and providing a gateway for communicating with the DN. The terminal equipment, RAN, CN and DN involved in the system architecture in fig. 1a are described in detail below, respectively.

1. Terminal equipment

The terminal device comprises a device for providing voice and/or data connectivity to a user, for example, the terminal device is a device with wireless transceiver functions, which can be deployed on land, including indoor or outdoor, hand-held, wearable or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on the water surface (such as ships, etc.); but may also be deployed in the air (e.g., on aircraft, balloon, satellite, etc.). The terminal device may be a mobile phone, a tablet (Pad), a computer with wireless transceiving function, a Virtual Reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (augmented reality, AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control), a vehicle-mounted terminal, a wireless terminal in unmanned driving (self driving), a wireless terminal in remote medical (remote medical), a wireless terminal in smart grid (smart grid), a wireless terminal in transportation security (transportation safety), a wireless terminal in smart city (smart city), a wireless terminal in smart home (smart home), a wearable terminal, or the like. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to application scenarios. The terminal device may also be sometimes referred to as a terminal, user Equipment (UE), access terminal, vehicle terminal, industrial control terminal, UE unit, UE station, mobile station, remote terminal, mobile device, UE terminal, wireless communication device, UE agent, UE apparatus, or the like. The terminal may also be fixed or mobile. It will be appreciated that all or part of the functionality of the terminal in this application may also be implemented by software functions running on hardware, or by virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (e.g. a cloud platform).

2. RAN (radio Access network)

One or more RAN devices (or access network devices) may be included in the RAN, and the interface between the access network devices and the terminal devices may be a Uu interface (or referred to as a null interface). Of course, in communications evolving after 5G, the names of these interfaces may be unchanged or may be replaced by other names, which is not limited in this application.

An access network device is a node or device that accesses a terminal device to a wireless network, and includes, for example, but is not limited to: a next generation node B (next generation node B, gNB), an evolved node B (eNB), a next generation evolved node B (next generation eNB, ng-eNB), a radio backhaul Device, a radio network controller (radio network controller, RNC), a node B (node B, NB), a home base station (home evolved nodeB, heNB) or a (home node B, HNB)), a baseBand unit (BBU), a transmission receiving point (transmitting and receiving point, TRP), a transmitting point (transmitting point, TP), a mobile switching center, a Device-to-Device (D2D), a Device for assuming a base station function in vehicle-to-Device (V2X), a Device for assuming a base station function in machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, and the like in a 5G communication system may also include a Centralized Unit (CU) and a distributed unit (satellite) in a cloud access network (cloud radio access network, C-RAN) system, a satellite network system (35 n-to be implemented as a non-specific communication platform or the like.

3. CN (CN)

One or more CN devices (also understood as network element devices or functional network elements or entities) may be included in the CN. Illustratively, the CN may include the following functional network elements: a network slice selection function (network slice selection function, NSSF), a network opening function (network exposure function, NEF), a network storage function (network function repository function, NRF), a policy control function (policy control function, PCF), a unified data management (unified data management, UDM), AN application function (application function, AF), AN authentication server function (authentication server function, AUSF), AN access and mobility management function (access and mobility management function, AMF), a session management function (session management function, SMF), a UE, (radio) access network (R) AN), a user plane function (user plane function, UPF), and a Data Network (DN). The meaning of each functional network element may be referred to the description in the 23.501 protocol, and will not be described herein.

It is understood that the functional network elements described above may be either network elements in a hardware device, software functions running on dedicated hardware, or virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). The functional network element may divide one or more services and further, services may occur that exist independent of network functionality. In this application, the instance of the above-mentioned functional network element, or the instance of the service included in the above-mentioned functional network element, or the instance of the service existing independently of the network function may be referred to as a service instance.

Furthermore, although not shown, other possible network elements may be included in the CN, such as service communication agents (service communication proxy, SCP), network slice admission control (network slice admission control function, nsacp), network element unified data repository (unified data repository, UDR) network elements.

It should be appreciated that in a 5G communication system, each functional network element may be the name of each functional network element shown in fig. 1b, and in a communication system that evolves after 5G (e.g. a 6G communication system), each functional network element may still be the name of each functional network element shown in fig. 1b, or may have other names. For example, in a 5G communication system, the policy control network element may be a PCF, and in a communication system that evolves after 5G (e.g., a 6G communication system), the policy control function may still be a PCF, or may have other names, which is not limited in this application.

Wherein, the Nnssf is a service interface provided by NSSF; nnef is a servitization interface provided by the NEF; the Nnrf provides a service interface for NRF; the Npcf provides a service interface for the PCF; nudm is a server interface provided by UDM; naf is a server interface provided by AF; nausf is a server interface provided by AUSF; namf is a server interface provided by AMF; nsmf is a servitization interface provided by SMF; n1 is a reference point between the UE and the AMF; n2 is a reference point between (R) AN and AMF; n3 is the reference point between (R) AN and UPF; n4 is the reference point between SMF and UPF; n6 is the reference point between UPF and DN; n9 is the reference point between UPFs. Note that the meanings of Nnssf, nnef, nnrf, npcf, nudm, naf, nausf, namf, nsmf, N, N2, N3, N4, N6, and N9 in fig. 1b can be referred to as meanings defined in the related standard protocol, and are not limited herein.

Referring to fig. 1b, fig. 1b is a schematic diagram of another communication system architecture. The communication system is a system architecture in a 5G Local Breakout (LBO) roaming scenario. As shown in fig. 1b, the communication system comprises two public land mobile networks (public land mobile network, PLMN) of: a visited public land mobile network (visit public land mobilenetwork, VPLMN) and a home public land mobile network (home public landmobile network, HPLMN). Each PLMN includes a secure edge protection proxy (security edge protection proxy, SEPP), denoted access secure edge protection proxy (visit security edge protection proxy, vSEPP) and home secure edge protection proxy (home security edge protection proxy, hSEPP), respectively.

Wherein, VPLMN includes: NSSF, NEF, NRF, PCF, AF, AMF, SMF, NSACF, UE, (R) AN, UPF and DN.

The HPLMN comprises: UDM, NRF, specific network slice authentication and authorization functions (network slice specific authentication and authorization function, NSSAAF), AUSF, PCF, NEF, and nsafc. Wherein:

wherein, the Nnssf is a service interface provided by NSSF; nnef is a servitization interface provided by the NEF; the Nnrf provides a service interface for NRF; the Npcf provides a service interface for the PCF; naf is a server interface provided by AF; nudm is a server interface provided by UDM; the Nnrf provides a service interface for NRF; the Nnssaaf is a service interface provided by NSSAAF; namf is a server interface provided by AMF; nsmf is a servitization interface provided by SMF; nausf is the server interface provided by AUSF. N1 is a reference point between the UE and the AMF; n2 is a reference point between (R) AN and AMF; n3 is the reference point between (R) AN and UPF; n4 is a reference point between SMP and UPF; n6 is the reference point between UPF and DN; n9 is a reference point between UPFs; n32 is the reference point between vSEPP and hSEPP.

Referring to fig. 1c, fig. 1c is a schematic structural diagram of another communication system. The communication system is a system architecture in a 5G home routing (homeroute) roaming scenario. As shown in fig. 1c, the communication system comprises two public land mobile networks (public land mobile network, PLMN) respectively: VPLMN and HPLMN. Each PLMN comprises one SEPP, denoted vSEPP and hSEPP, respectively.

The VPLMN includes: NSSF, NEF, NRF, PCF, vSEPP, NSACF, AMF, SMF, UE, (R) AN, UPF;

the HPLMN comprises: UDM, NRF, NEF, NSSF, NSACF, hSEPP, SMF, AUSF, NSSAAF, PCF, AF, UPF and DN;

wherein, the Nnssf is a service interface provided by NSSF; nnef is a servitization interface provided by the NEF; the Nnrf provides a service interface for NRF; the Npcf provides a service interface for the PCF; nudm is a server interface provided by UDM; the Nnrf provides a service interface for NRF; nnef is a servitization interface provided by the NEF; the Nnssf is a service interface provided by NSSF; namf is a server interface provided by AMF; nsmf is a servitization interface provided by SMF; nsmf is a servitization interface provided by SMF; nausf is a server interface provided by AUSF; the Nnssaaf is a service interface provided by NSSAAF; the Npcf provides a service interface for the PCF; naf is the server interface provided by the AF. N1 is a reference point between the UE and the AMF; n2 is a reference point between (R) AN and AMF; n3 is the reference point between (R) AN and UPF; n4 is a reference point between SMP and UPF; n6 is the reference point between UPF and DN; n9 is a reference point between UPFs; n32 is the reference point between vSEPP and hSEPP.

4. DN (digital subscriber line)

The DN may also be referred to as a packet data network (packet data network, PDN), which is a network located outside the operator network, where the operator network may access a plurality of DNs, where application servers corresponding to a plurality of services may be deployed in the DNs, to provide a plurality of possible services for the terminal device. In the embodiment of the present application, the DN may also be described as a third party service provider or service provider, etc., which is not limited herein.

Referring to fig. 2, fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of an air interface control plane protocol stack. In LTE and NR, the terminal device and the access network device, or the terminal device and the access and AMF communicate through an air interface. For better processing of data, the network protocol defines several protocol stacks, each stack having a different function. The air interface control plane protocol stack includes a non-access stratum (NAS) and an Access Stratum (AS).

Wherein the NAS is a signaling path between the terminal device and the AMF. Specifically, the UE sends signaling to the access network device, and the access network device transparently passes the signaling to the AMF. The access network equipment does not analyze data and does not know the content in the transparent transmission process. NAS is mainly responsible for management functions such as public land mobile network (public land mobile network, PLMN) selection, manual selection, access control, registration or subscription information, etc., and specific procedures need to be performed in cooperation with other protocol layers.

Wherein AS refers to a protocol layer other than NAS. For example, AS shown in fig. 2, the AS includes a radio resource control (radio resource control, RRC) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (packet data convergence protocol, PDCP) layer, a radio link control (radio link control, RLC) layer, a medium access control (media access control, MAC) layer, and a Physical (PHY) layer. AS is mainly responsible for functions such AS switching, encryption, data retransmission, sequencing or transmission.

The control plane protocol stack between the terminal equipment and the access network equipment is divided into a PHY layer, a MAC layer, an RLC layer, a PDCP layer and an RRC layer. The access network device is connected to the AMF through an N2 interface, wherein a control plane protocol stack between the access network device and the AMF is divided into an L1 layer, an L2 layer, an IP layer, an SCTP layer and an NG-AP layer.

In order to facilitate understanding of the relevant content of the embodiments of the present application, some of the knowledge needed for the schemes of the present application will be described below. It should be noted that these explanations are for easier understanding of the embodiments of the present application, and should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection claimed in the present application.

1. RRC state

In the protocol stack, the RRC layer and the protocol layers below are referred to AS layers, and the protocol layers above the RRC layer are referred to AS NAS layers. In short, the flow of the AS layer is the flow that the gndeb needs to participate in the process. The NAS layer flow is only the flow which needs to be processed by the UE and the core network, and the gNodeB only needs to be forwarded and does not need to be processed. Different protocol layers define different layers (e.g., NAS layer state, RRC layer state).

The RRC state of the terminal equipment reflects the AS connection condition of the terminal equipment, the AS connection refers to signaling connection between the terminal equipment and the gNodeB, and the AS signaling connection bridges the signaling interaction of the NAS, namely, a signaling path is established between the terminal equipment and a core network through the signaling interaction of the AS, so that the signaling interaction of the NAS can be carried out.

The RRC states of the terminal device include an RRC CONNECTED state (rrc_connected), an RRC deactivated state (rrc_inactive), and an RRC IDLE state (rrc_idle).

RRC connected state: the terminal device and the access network device establish an RRC connection.

RRC idle state: the terminal device and the access network device do not establish an RRC connection.

RRC deactivated state: the UE in this state suspends data processing, but the access network device still maintains context information of the UE, and when the UE is still in a connection management connection state (NAS layer state) from the core network side, the terminal device can quickly transition to the RRC connection state when there is a data transmission requirement. Briefly, the air interface state of a UE in RRC Inactive state is similar to RRC idle state, but similar to RRC connected state for connection of the core network.

2. Registration request (registration request)

The UE needs to register through the audit to enter the network to obtain service and enable mobility tracking (mobility tracking) and reachability (accessibility). That is, registration is a prerequisite for the user to acquire the subsequent functions.

According to TS 33.502 section 4.2.2.2.2, the AN message sent by the UE to (R) AN (radio access network) mainly includes AN parameter (AN parameter) and a registration request (registration request), mainly describing the relevant configuration and requirements of the UE.

Wherein the AN parameters include: 5G-S-TMSI (5G S-temporary mobile subscriber identity) or globally unique AMF ID (globally unique AMF identifier, GUAMI), PLMN ID, network slice selection support information (network slice selection assistance information, NSSAI), establishment cause, IAB-Indication, etc. Wherein the IAB is an access backhaul integration (integrated access and backhaul), the 5G-S-TMSI is a shortened version of the 5G-GUTI, and the PLMN ID is used to determine the selected operator network.

Wherein the registration request includes:

a. registration type (registration type): initial registration, mobile update registration, periodic update registration, emergency registration

b. User hidden identity (subscription concealed identifier, SUCI) or 5G-GUTI (5G globally unique temporary identity) or permanent device identity (permanent equipment identifier, PEI)

In the initial registration, the UE needs to indicate identity, and the identity is selected and sent according to 5G-GUTI obtained from EPS GUTI mapping, local 5G-GUTI allocated by the target registered PLMN, local 5G-GUTI allocated by the equivalent PLMN, local 5G-GUTI allocated by the rest PLMNs and SUCI descending order.

In emergency registration, if the UE does not have 5G-GUTI available, the sui should be included; if there is no SUPI, PEI should be included.

Note1: even with EPS GUTI mapped 5G-GUTI, the local 5G-GUTI is sent as an additional GUTI.

Note2: when UE uses local 5G-GUTI to initially register, the AN parameter needs to contain GUAMI; if SUCI registration is used, GUAMI should not be included.

c.NAS message container

If the UE has an available 5G NAS security context and needs to send non-cleartext IEs, the registration request message needs to include NAS message container; if no non-cleartext IEs are required, then NAS message container need not be included; it is also not necessary to include NAS message container if the UE does not have a 5G NAS security context available.

d.Requested NSSAI、Mapping of Requested NSSAI

In the case of initial registration and mobile registration update, the UE includes Mapping of Requested NSSAI to ensure that the network can verify whether the S-nsai in the Requested nsais based on subscore S-nsais.

e.Default Configured NSSAI Indication

If Default Configured NSSAI is included in the UE, this Indication needs to be included in the registration request.

f.UE paging probability information

If the UE supports allocation of WUS (wake-up signal) assistance information from the AMF, the UE may contain this information

g.List of PDU Sessions to be Activated

In case of mobile registration update, the UE includes in the protocol data unit (protocol data unit, PDU) session list to be activated, a PDU session in which there is pending uplink data. When the UE includes a list of PDU sessions to be activated, the UE should point to PDU sessions related to only registration requests.

Note: when the UE is outside the area available to the local data network (local area data network, LADN), the PDU session corresponding to the LADN is not included in the PDU session list to be activated.

h.The last visited TAI

The last visited tracking area identity (tracking area identity, TAI) should be included in the registration request if available to assist the AMF in generating a registration area for the UE.

i.The Security parameter

For authentication and integrity protection

j.The PDU Session status

The PDU session state indicates a PDU session previously established by the UE. When the UE connects to two AMFs belonging to different PLMNs (3 GPP access and non-3 GPP access), the PDU Session state points to an established PDU Session for the current PLMN in the UE.

3. Initializing terminal context message (initial UE message)

The initialization terminal context message is AN N2 message sent by the (R) AN to the AMF, and the N2 message includes AN N2 parameter, a registration request, and [ LTE-M Indication ].

N2 parameters: including PLMN ID, location information and cell identity, UE context request. (if the AN parameters sent by the UE to the RAN contain establishment cause and IAB-Indication)

Registration request: (with the registration request sent by the UE to the RAN, it can be understood that the RAN is only transparent to NAS messages)

[ LTE-M Indication ]: the AMF determines whether the UE is performing inter-system mobility to and from NB-IoT according to the RAT type. If the AMF receives the LTE M Indication, the RAT Type is considered to be LTE-M and the LTE-M Indication is stored in the UE context.

4. Service interruption time minimization (minimization of service interruption, MINT)

Release 17 proposes the MINT mechanism, namely the disaster roaming mechanism. Specifically, it discusses a scheme that, under a network architecture where a Core Network (CN) and a radio access network (radio access network, RAN) of each operator are independent, when a RAN part of a certain operator fails and a CN part still works normally, a UE may access to other operators providing a disaster roaming (disaster roaming) service to reduce a service interruption time of the UE. That is, when a disaster condition (disaster condition, DC) occurs in a public land mobile network (public land mobile network, PLMN) in one area, it is assumed that only the radio access network (radio access network, RAN) portion of that PLMN is malfunctioning (i.e., the Core Network (CN) portion of that PLMN is still functioning properly), resulting in that all UEs of the affected PLMN area will lose coverage. To reduce disruption of traffic for affected UEs, UEs in the MINT mechanism are allowed to roam to other networks in order to access and obtain services in other networks (e.g., PLMN 2) of the affected PLMN (e.g., PLMN 1).

For example, referring to fig. 3, fig. 3 is a schematic view of a disaster roaming scenario under an operator independent network establishment. As shown in fig. 3, PLMN1 includes AMF1 and gNB1, PLMN2 includes AMF2 and gNB2, wherein AMF1 is different from AMF2, and gNB1 is different from gNB 2. Initially, the UE obtains service by accessing PLMN1, after a period of time, because of the disaster condition of the gNB1, the UE disastrous roams to PLMN2 to obtain service.

The flow of the MINT under the operator independent networking architecture is shown in fig. 4, before the DC occurs, AMF1 sends a disaster roaming activation indication (disaster roaming activation) to the UE, where the disaster roaming activation indication is used to indicate whether to enable disaster roaming (an indication of whether Disaster roaming is enabled), and one or more information such as PLMN list used under the DC (i.e. network list supporting disaster roaming), PLMN availability, etc. Further, the gNB2 broadcasts indication information to the UE of the affected PLMN through a system message, where the indication information is used to indicate whether the UE of the PLMN1 can perform the distaster roaming, if so, the UE of the PLMN1 may send a registration request to the AMF2 when DC occurs, where the registration request includes a Disaster roaming indication, and accordingly, the PLMN2 receives the registration request and determines whether to support providing the distaster roaming service to the user under the PLMN where DC occurs based on the information included in the registration request.

5. Network sharing (RANSharing)

The independent networking of operators is faced with high spectrum license costs, network deployment costs, pressure to provide high network coverage requirements within short term limits, and site deployment challenges, thus proposing the concept of network sharing. Any degree of collaboration or Sharing of telecommunication network infrastructure or network devices by multiple operators (or third parties) is referred to as network Sharing (RAN Sharing). The telecommunication network infrastructure includes site infrastructure such as sites, machine room facilities, towers, power equipment, etc. The network equipment comprises facilities related to telecommunication network equipment such as base stations, transmission, core networks and the like. Multiple operators may exhibit a variety of forms of sharing, such as multiple operators sharing site infrastructure. For another example, mobile virtual operators (Mobile Virtual Network Operator, MVNOs) share access network and core network resources using mobile network operators (Mobile Network Operator, MNOs). Also for example, operators use network resources through international roaming/national roaming sharing. And for example, the operator is financing to build the wireless network.

For example, referring to fig. 5, fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a shared network. As shown in fig. 5, multiple operators (e.g., operator a and operator B) are allowed to share resources and services of one network, including the radio access network RAN and corresponding radio resources (e.g., the operation support system (operations support system, OSS) in fig. 5), according to established policies and current requirements. In the 5GNR system, the 3GPP protocol TS 23.501 only supports the 5 gmuli-operator corenetwork (5G MOCN) network sharing architecture, i.e. the core network side of multiple operators is independent, but shares the RAN side network.

It should be noted that, in the shared network architecture, a disaster roaming mechanism is not currently discussed when a problem occurs in the CN portion of a certain operator and the RAN portion still works normally. Based on the above, the application provides a communication method, and the method provides a disaster roaming mechanism under the architecture of a shared network, which is beneficial to improving the reliability of communication.

The following describes the communication method and the communication device provided in the present application in detail:

referring to fig. 6, fig. 6 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the first core network device is located in a first network, the second core network device is located in a second network, the first network and the second network share an access network device, and the terminal device is a subscription terminal of the first network. As shown in fig. 6, the communication method includes the following steps S601 to S602:

s601, the terminal equipment sends a registration request to the access network equipment, and correspondingly, the access network equipment receives the registration request from the terminal equipment.

Wherein the registration request is for requesting registration with the first core network device.

In one implementation, when the access network device determines that the first core network device is not available, the access network device may send first information to the terminal device, where the first information instructs the terminal device to initiate a registration request for a registration update. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the first information from the access network device and sends a registration request to the access network device in response to the first information. Further, the access network device may receive a registration request from the terminal device, the registration request requesting registration with the first core network device.

In another implementation, the access network device sends an RRC release message to the terminal device when the access network device determines that the first core network device is not available. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the RRC release message from the access network device to release the terminal device into the rrc_idle state. Optionally, the RRC release message may include a first parameter, where the first parameter is used to determine a time when the terminal device initiates the RRC establishment request. For example, taking the first parameter as the time length as an example, the terminal device may generate a random value according to the stored disaster roaming waiting range (disaster roaming wait range), and then send the RRC establishment request after waiting for a period of time (the random value is the first parameter).

It should be noted that, by carrying the first parameter in the RRC release message, access congestion of the terminal device may be avoided. Accordingly, the access network device receives the RRC establishment request from the terminal device, and further establishes an RRC connection with the terminal device based on the RRC establishment request. The terminal device may send a registration request to the access network device after the RRC connection establishment is successful, the registration request being for requesting registration to the first core network device. Accordingly, the access network device receives a registration request from the terminal device.

In another implementation, the access network device sends an RRC release message to the terminal device when the access network device determines that the first core network device is not available. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the RRC release message from the access network device to release the terminal device into the rrc_idle state. Optionally, the terminal device may generate a random value according to the stored disaster roaming waiting range (disaster roaming wait range), and after waiting for the duration of the random value, send an RRC establishment request to the access network device, and correspondingly, the access network device receives the RRC establishment request from the terminal device, and further establishes an RRC connection with the terminal device based on the RRC establishment request. After the RRC connection is established successfully, the access network device sends second request information to the second core network device, and accordingly, the second core network device receives second request information from the access network device, where the second request information is used to request the terminal device to register with the first core network device. The second core network device may then pass through the first information to the terminal device through the access network device, that is, the access network device receives the first information from the second core network device and sends the first information to the terminal device, where the first information instructs the terminal device to initiate a registration request to perform registration update. Thus, the terminal device, upon receiving the first information, may send a registration request to the access network device in response to the first information, the registration request being for requesting registration with the first core network device.

It is understood that the second request information referred to in the present application may also be carried in the initializing terminal context message.

It should be noted that, the determination that the first core network device is unavailable by the access network device in the embodiments of the present application may also be described as determining that DC occurs for the first core network device by the access network device.

Optionally, before the first core network device generates DC, the first core network device may send the first indication information and/or the second indication information to the access network device, and accordingly, the access network device receives the first indication information and/or the second indication information from the first core network device. Wherein the first indication information is used for indicating that the disaster roaming function is activated, and the second indication information is used for indicating a network list supporting disaster roaming, and the network list comprises a second network. Optionally, before the first core network device generates DC, the network management device of the first network may also send the first indication information and/or the second indication information to the access network device, and correspondingly, the access network device receives the first indication information and/or the second indication information from the network management device.

S602, the access network equipment sends first request information to the second core network equipment based on the registration request.

Accordingly, the second core network device receives the first request information from the access network device. Wherein the first request information is used for requesting to initiate disaster roaming. It can be appreciated that the first request information may be carried in an initializing terminal context message.

It is understood that the second core network device may determine whether disaster roaming of the terminal device is supported after receiving the first request information. Specifically, the second core network device may determine whether to support disaster roaming of the terminal device according to the content in 4.2.2.2.2 in the protocol TS 23.502, which is not described herein.

Referring to fig. 7a, fig. 7a is a schematic flow chart of disaster roaming according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 7a, AMF1 is a core network AMF of a first network (e.g. PLMN 1), AMF2 is a core network AMF of a second network (e.g. PLMN 2), and gNB is a shared base station of the first network and the second network. Wherein:

s71a, AMF1 sends the first indication information and/or the second indication information to the gNB.

Accordingly, the gNB receives the first indication information and/or the second indication information from the AMF 1. Generally, AMF1 is first indication information and/or second indication information configured for the gNB before the occurrence of the AMF1 fault. Further, when the AMF1 failure occurs, the following steps S72a to S74a may be further performed:

S72a, gNB sends the first information to the UE.

Accordingly, the UE receives the first information from the gNB. The first information indicates that the UE initiates a registration request.

S73a, in response to the first information, the UE sends a registration request to the gNB.

Accordingly, the gNB receives a registration request from the UE requesting registration to AMF1.

S74a, gNB sends an initialization terminal context message to AMF 2.

The context information of the initializing terminal comprises first request information, wherein the first request information is used for requesting to start disaster roaming. Accordingly, AMF2 receives the initialized terminal context message from the gNB and determines whether disaster roaming for the terminal device is supported.

For example, referring to fig. 7b, fig. 7b is a schematic flow chart of another disaster roaming provided in the embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 7b, AMF1 is a core network AMF of a first network (e.g. PLMN 1), AMF2 is a core network AMF of a second network (e.g. PLMN 2), and gNB is a shared base station of the first network and the second network. Wherein:

s71b, the AMF1 sends the first indication information and/or the second indication information to the gNB.

Accordingly, the gNB receives the first indication information and/or the second indication information from the AMF1. Generally, AMF1 is first indication information and/or second indication information configured for the gNB before the occurrence of the AMF1 fault. Further, when the AMF1 failure occurs, the following steps S72b to S75b may be further performed:

S72b, the gNB sends an RRC release message to the UE.

Accordingly, the UE receives the RRC release message from the gNB, releasing the UE into the rrc_idle state. Wherein the RRC release message includes a first parameter.

And S73b, after the UE determines that the waiting time requirement is met according to the first parameter, the UE sends an RRC establishment request to the gNB.

Accordingly, the gNB receives an RRC establishment request from the UE to perform an RRC establishment procedure, i.e., reestablish an RRC connection with the UE.

And S74b, after the RRC establishment is successful, the UE sends a registration request to the gNB.

Accordingly, the gNB receives a registration request from the AMF1, the registration request being for registration.

S75b, the gNB sends an initializing terminal context message to AMF 2.

For example, referring to fig. 7c, fig. 7c is a schematic flow chart of another disaster roaming provided in the embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 7c, AMF1 is a core network AMF of a first network (e.g. PLMN 1), AMF2 is a core network AMF of a second network (e.g. PLMN 2), and gNB is a shared base station of the first network and the second network. Wherein:

S71c, the AMF1 sends the first indication information and/or the second indication information to the gNB.

Accordingly, the gNB receives the first indication information and/or the second indication information from the AMF1. Generally, AMF1 is first indication information and/or second indication information configured for the gNB before the occurrence of the AMF1 fault. Further, when the AMF1 failure occurs, the following steps S72c to S77c may be further performed:

s72c, the gNB sends an RRC release message to the UE.

Accordingly, the UE receives the RRC release message from the gNB, releasing the UE into the rrc_idle state.

S73c, the UE sends an RRC establishment request to the gNB.

And S74c, after the RRC connection is established successfully, the gNB transmits an initializing terminal context message to the AMF 2.

Accordingly, the AMF2 receives an initialization terminal context message from the gNB, where the initialization terminal context message includes second request information for requesting registration of the terminal device with the AMF1.

S75c, AMF2 transparently transmits the first information to the UE through the gNB.

Accordingly, the UE receives the first information.

S76c, in response to the first information, the UE sends a registration request to the gNB.

S77c, the gNB sends an initialization terminal context message to the AMF 2.

Optionally, referring to fig. 7d, fig. 7d is a schematic flow chart of another disaster roaming provided in the embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 7d, AMF1 is a core network AMF of a first network (e.g. PLMN 1), AMF2 is a core network AMF of a second network (e.g. PLMN 2), and gNB is a shared base station of the first network and the second network. Wherein:

s71d, the AMF1 sends the first indication information and/or the second indication information to the gNB.

Accordingly, the gNB receives the first indication information and/or the second indication information from the AMF1. Generally, AMF1 is first indication information and/or second indication information configured for the gNB before the occurrence of the AMF1 fault. Further, when the AMF1 failure occurs, the following steps S72d to S77d may be further performed:

s72d, the gNB sends an RRC release message to the UE.

S73d, the UE sends an RRC establishment request to the gNB.

And S74d, after the RRC connection is established successfully, the gNB transmits an initializing terminal context message to the AMF 2.

Accordingly, the AMF2 receives an initialization terminal context message from the gNB, where the initialization terminal context message includes second request information for requesting registration of the terminal device with the AMF1. Optionally, the initializing terminal context message may further include information related to PLMN 1.

S75d, AMF2 transparently transmits the first information to the UE through the gNB.

Accordingly, the UE receives the first information.

And S76d, responding to the first information, and sending a registration request to the gNB by the UE.

S77d, the gNB sends an initialization terminal context message to the AMF 2.

The initializing terminal context message includes information related to PLMN 1. Accordingly, the AMF2 receives the initializing terminal context message from the gNB, where the AMF2 may determine whether to support disaster roaming of the terminal device, because the information (e.g., the identity of PLMN 1) related to PLMN1 included in the initializing terminal context message is the same as the information (e.g., the identity of PLMN 1) related to PLMN1 included in the initializing terminal context message in the above step S73 d. That is, when AMF2 determines that PLMN related information included in the initializing terminal context message received twice consecutively, for example, PLMN identities are identical, it may be determined that the terminal device needs to perform disaster roaming, and thus AMF2 may determine whether disaster roaming of the terminal device is supported.

In the embodiment of the present application, under the shared network architecture, when the access network device determines that the core network portion of the first network (for example, the first core network device) fails and receives a registration request that the terminal device requests to register to the first core network device, the access network device requests disaster roaming to the second core network device based on the registration request, and the terminal device does not perceive disaster roaming in the process (i.e., the terminal device does not directly initiate the registration request to the second core network device that provides disaster roaming), so that the terminal device does not need to perform PLMN searching and cell selection processes, thereby shortening service interruption time of the terminal device and being beneficial to improving reliability of communication.

Referring to fig. 8, fig. 8 is another flow chart of the communication method provided in the embodiment of the application. It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the first core network device is located in the first network, the second core network device is located in the second network, and the first network and the second network share the access network device. As shown in fig. 8, the communication method includes the following steps S801 to S802:

s801, when it is determined that the first core network device is not available, the access network device sends an RRC release message to the terminal device.

Accordingly, the terminal device receives the RRC release information from the access network device to release the terminal device into the rrc_idle state.

Optionally, the RRC release message may include first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that disaster roaming is initiated.

Optionally, the RRC release message further includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate a network list supporting disaster roaming, and the network list includes a second network.

Wherein the first core network device is not available may also be described as DC occurring at the first core network device.

Optionally, before the first core network device generates DC, the first core network device may further send first indication information and/or second indication information to the terminal device, and accordingly, the terminal device receives the first indication information and/or the second indication information from the first core network device. Wherein the first indication information is used for indicating that the disaster roaming function is activated, and the second indication information is used for indicating a network list supporting disaster roaming, and the network list comprises a second network. Optionally, before the first core network device generates DC, the network management device of the first network may also send the first indication information and/or the second indication information to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first indication information and/or the second indication information from the network management device.

S802, the terminal equipment sends an RRC establishment request to the access network equipment, and correspondingly, the access network equipment receives the RRC establishment request from the terminal equipment.

Wherein the access network device may establish an RRC connection with the terminal device based on the RRC establishment request.

S803, after the RRC connection is successfully established, the terminal equipment sends a registration request to the access network equipment, and accordingly, the access network equipment receives the registration request from the terminal equipment, wherein the registration request is used for requesting registration to the second core network equipment.

In one implementation, when the RRC release message does not carry the first indication information and the second indication information, the terminal device enters an rrc_idle state after receiving the RRC release message, and then the terminal device performs PLMN search and cell selection, and when a cell of the first network is not selected and a cell of the second network is selected, the disaster roaming function is activated by itself, an RRC connection is established based on an RRC establishment request, and further a registration request registered to the second core network device is sent to the access network device.

In another implementation, when the RRC release message carries the first indication information and does not carry the second indication information, the terminal device enters the rrc_idle state after receiving the RRC release message. And then the terminal equipment activates a disaster roaming function according to the first indication information, avoids the terminal equipment from attempting to search the cell of the first network when performing PLMN searching and cell selection, and establishes RRC connection based on the RRC establishment request if the terminal equipment can select the cell of the second network, so that the terminal equipment can send a registration request registered to the second core network equipment to the access network equipment.

In another implementation, when the RRC release message carries the first indication information and the second indication information, the terminal device enters the rrc_idle state after receiving the RRC release message. And then the terminal equipment activates a disaster roaming function according to the first indication information, determines a second network supporting disaster roaming according to the second indication information, selects a cell belonging to the second network, establishes RRC connection based on the RRC establishment request, and further sends a registration request registered to the second core network equipment to the access network equipment.

In the application, under the shared network architecture, when the CN part of the first network is in a problem and the RAN part still works normally, the terminal equipment can sense the disaster roaming, so that the terminal equipment can directly initiate the disaster roaming request of the second network to the access network equipment, thereby being beneficial to improving the reliability of communication.

The communication device provided in the present application will be described in detail with reference to fig. 9 to 12.

Referring to fig. 9, fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device shown in fig. 9 may be used to perform part or all of the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiments described above with reference to fig. 6-8. The device can be a terminal device, a device in the terminal device, or a device which can be matched with the terminal device for use. The communication device may also be a chip system. The communication apparatus shown in fig. 9 may include a transceiving unit 901 and a processing unit 902. The processing unit 902 is configured to perform data processing. The transceiver unit 901 is integrated with a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The transceiving unit 901 may also be referred to as a communication unit. Alternatively, the transceiver unit 901 may be split into a receiving unit and a transmitting unit.

The following processing unit 902 and the transceiver unit 901 are the same, and will not be described in detail. Wherein:

a transceiver unit 901, configured to receive radio resource control RRC release information from an access network device;

the transceiver 901 is configured to send an RRC establishment request to the access network device;

the transceiver 901 is configured to send a registration request to the access network device after the RRC connection is established successfully, where the registration request is used to request registration to a second core network device; the first core network device is located in a first network, the second core network device is located in a second network, and the first network and the second network share access network devices.

In one possible implementation, the apparatus further includes a processing unit 902:

the processing unit 902 is configured to initiate disaster roaming when the first network is not searched.

In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 901 is configured to:

Other possible implementation manners of the communication apparatus may be referred to the description of the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiments corresponding to fig. 6 to 8, which are not repeated herein.

Referring to fig. 10, fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device shown in fig. 10 may be used to perform some or all of the functions of the access network device in the method embodiments described above with respect to fig. 6-8. The device may be an access network device, a device in an access network device, or a device that can be used in a matching manner with an access network device. The communication device may also be a chip system. The communication apparatus shown in fig. 10 may include a transceiving unit 1001 and a processing unit 1002. Wherein:

in a first implementation:

a transceiver unit 1001, configured to receive a registration request from a terminal device, where the registration request is used to request registration to a first core network device;

the transceiver 1001 is configured to send, based on the registration request, first request information to a second core network device, where the first request information is used to request to initiate disaster roaming; the first core network device is located in a first network, the second core network device is located in a second network, and the first network and the second network share access network devices.

In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1001 is further configured to:

In one possible implementation, the apparatus further includes a processing unit 1002;

the processing unit 1002 is configured to send, when it is determined that the first core network device is not available, a radio resource control RRC release message to the terminal device through the transceiver unit 1001;

the transceiver 1001 is configured to receive an RRC establishment request from the terminal device;

the processing unit 1002 is configured to establish an RRC connection with the terminal device based on the RRC establishment request.

and sending the first information to the terminal equipment.

In one possible implementation, the first request information is carried in initial UE message.

In a second implementation:

a processing unit 1002, configured to send, when it is determined that the first core network device is not available, a radio resource control RRC release message to the terminal device through the transceiving unit 1001;

the transceiver 1001 is configured to receive a registration request from a terminal device after the RRC connection is established successfully, where the registration request is used to request registration to a second core network device; the first core network device is located in a first network, the second core network device is located in a second network, and the first network and the second network share access network devices.

Other possible implementation manners of the communication apparatus may be referred to the description of the functions of the access network device in the method embodiments corresponding to fig. 6 to 8, which are not repeated herein.

Referring to fig. 11, fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 11, the communication device may be a terminal device described in the embodiment of the present application, and is configured to implement the functions of the terminal device in fig. 6 to 8. For convenience of explanation, fig. 11 shows only major components of the terminal apparatus 1100. As shown in fig. 11, the terminal apparatus 1100 includes a processor, a memory, a control circuit, an antenna, and an input-output device. The processor is mainly used for processing communication protocols and communication data, controlling the whole terminal device 1100, executing software programs, and processing data of the software programs. The memory is mainly used for storing software programs and data. The control circuit is mainly used for converting baseband signals and radio frequency signals and processing the radio frequency signals. The antenna is mainly used for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input and output devices such as touch screens, display screens, microphones, keyboards, etc. are mainly used for receiving data input by a user and outputting data to the user.

Taking the terminal device 1100 as a mobile phone for example, after the terminal device 1100 is powered on, the processor may read the software program in the storage unit, interpret and execute the instruction of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data is required to be transmitted wirelessly, the processor carries out baseband processing on the data to be transmitted and then outputs a baseband signal to the control circuit, and the control circuit carries out radio frequency processing on the baseband signal and then transmits the radio frequency signal outwards in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is transmitted to the terminal device 1100, the control circuit receives a radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor, which converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that for ease of illustration, only one memory and processor is shown in fig. 11. In some embodiments, terminal device 1100 may include multiple processors and memory. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or storage device, etc., and embodiments of the present invention are not limited in this respect.

As an alternative implementation, the processor may include a baseband processor, which is mainly used to process the communication protocol and the communication data, and a central processor, which is mainly used to control the entire terminal device 1100, execute a software program, and process the data of the software program. The processor in fig. 11 integrates the functions of a baseband processor and a central processing unit, and those skilled in the art will appreciate that the baseband processor and the central processing unit may be separate processors, interconnected by bus technology, etc. The terminal device 1100 may include a plurality of baseband processors to accommodate different network standards, the terminal device 1100 may include a plurality of central processors to enhance its processing power, and various components of the terminal device 1100 may be connected by various buses. The baseband processor may also be expressed as a baseband processing circuit or a baseband processing chip. The central processing unit may also be expressed as a central processing circuit or a central processing chip. The function of processing the communication protocol and the communication data may be built in the processor, or may be stored in the storage unit in the form of a software program, which is executed by the processor to realize the baseband processing function.

In one example, the antenna and the control circuit having the transmitting and receiving function may be regarded as the transmitting and receiving unit 1110 of the terminal device 1100, and the processor having the processing function may be regarded as the processing unit 1120 of the terminal device 1100. As shown in fig. 11, the terminal device 1100 includes a transceiving unit 1110 and a processing unit 1120. The transceiver unit may also be referred to as a transceiver, transceiver device, etc. Alternatively, the device for implementing the receiving function in the transceiver unit 1110 may be regarded as a receiving unit, and the device for implementing the transmitting function in the transceiver unit 1110 may be regarded as a transmitting unit, that is, the transceiver unit 1110 includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. For example, the receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, a receiving circuit, etc., and the transmitting unit may be referred to as a transmitter, a transmitting circuit, etc.

Referring to fig. 12, fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 12, the communication apparatus may be a network device (for example, an access network device or a core network device) described in the embodiments of the present application, and is configured to implement the functions of the network device in fig. 6 to 8. The network device includes: baseband device 121, radio frequency device 122, antenna 123. In the uplink direction, the radio frequency device 122 receives information transmitted from the terminal device via the antenna 123, and transmits the information transmitted from the terminal device to the baseband device 121 for processing. In the downlink direction, the baseband device 121 processes information of the terminal device and sends the processed information to the radio frequency device 122, and the radio frequency device 122 processes information of the terminal device and sends the processed information to the terminal device through the antenna 123.

The baseband apparatus 121 includes one or more processing units 1211, a storage unit 1212, and an interface 1213. Wherein the processing unit 1211 is configured to support the network device to perform the functions of the network device in the above-described method embodiment. The storage unit 1212 is used to store software programs and/or data. The interface 1213 is used to interact with the rf device 122 and includes interface circuitry for input and output of information. In one implementation, the processing unit is an integrated circuit, such as one or more ASICs, or one or more DSPs, or one or more FPGAs, or a combination of these types of integrated circuits. These integrated circuits may be integrated together to form a chip. The memory unit 1212 and the processing unit 1211 may be located in the same chip, i.e. an on-chip memory element. Or the memory unit 1212 and the processing unit 1211 may be on different chips, i.e., off-chip memory elements, than the processing unit 1211. The memory unit 1212 may be one memory or may be a plurality of memories or a collective term for memory elements.

The network device may implement some or all of the steps in the method embodiments described above in the form of one or more processing unit schedulers. For example, to implement the corresponding functions of the network devices of fig. 6-8. The one or more processing units may support radio access technologies of the same standard, and may also support radio access standards of different standards.

The present application also provides a computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein, which when run on a processor, implement the method flows of the method embodiments described above.

The present application also provides a computer program product, which when run on a processor, implements the method flows of the above method embodiments.

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

In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods may be implemented in other manners. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the units is merely a logical functional division, and units illustrated as separate units may or may not be physically separate, and units shown as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed over multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application may be embodied essentially or in a part contributing to the prior art or in a part of the technical solution, in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium, including several instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the present application. The foregoing computer-readable storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. Taking this as an example but not limited to: the computer readable medium may include random access memory (random access memory, RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (electrically erasable programmable read only memory, EEPROM), compact disc read-only memory (compact disc read-only memory, CD-ROM), universal serial bus flash disk (universal serial bus flash disk), a removable hard disk, or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage media, or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. In addition, by way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as Static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous DRAM (SLDRAM), or direct memory bus RAM (DR RAM).

The foregoing is merely specific embodiments of the present application, but the scope of the embodiments of the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art may easily think about changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the embodiments of the present application, and the changes or substitutions are intended to be covered by the scope of the embodiments of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of communication, the method comprising:

2. The method of claim 1, wherein prior to the receiving the registration request from the terminal device, the method further comprises:

3. The method of claim 1, wherein prior to the receiving the registration request from the terminal device, the method further comprises:

4. The method of claim 1, wherein prior to the receiving the registration request from the terminal device, the method further comprises:

receiving an RRC establishment request from the terminal equipment;

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the RRC release message includes a first parameter, the first parameter being used to determine when the terminal device initiates an RRC establishment request.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein after the establishing an RRC connection with the terminal device based on the RRC establishment request, the method further comprises:

and sending the first information to the terminal equipment.

7. The method according to any of claims 1-6, wherein the first request information is carried in an initialization terminal context message initial UE message.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the second request message is carried in initial UE message.

9. A method of communication, the method comprising:

receiving an RRC establishment request from the terminal equipment;

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the RRC release message includes first indication information indicating initiation of disaster roaming.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the RRC release message includes second indication information indicating a list of networks supporting disaster roaming, the list of networks including the second network.

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein the method further comprises:

13. A method of communication, the method comprising:

sending an RRC establishment request to the access network equipment;

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the RRC release message includes first indication information indicating initiation of disaster roaming.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the method further comprises:

and when the first network is not searched, disaster roaming is started.

16. The method according to any of claims 13-15, wherein said sending a registration request to the access network device comprises:

17. The method according to any of claims 13-15, wherein the RRC release message includes second indication information indicating a list of networks supporting disaster roaming, the list of networks including the second network.

18. A communication device comprising means or modules for performing the method of any of claims 1-8, or for performing the method of any of claims 9-12, or for performing the method of any of claims 13-17.

19. A communication device, comprising: one or more transceivers, one or more processors, and one or more memories;

wherein the one or more memories are configured to store a computer program, and the one or more processors are configured to execute the computer program stored in the one or more memories to cause the communication apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 1-8, or perform the method of any of claims 9-12, or perform the method of any of claims 13-17.

20. A computer readable storage medium, characterized in that the storage medium has stored therein a computer program or instructions, which when executed by a computer, implements the method according to any of claims 1-8, or implements the method according to any of claims 9-12, or implements the method according to any of claims 13-17.

21. A computer program product comprising computer program code for implementing the method according to any of claims 1-8, or for implementing the method according to any of claims 9-12, or for implementing the method according to any of claims 13-17, when said computer program code is run on a computer.