CN117412353A

CN117412353A - Network element selection method and device and network element

Info

Publication number: CN117412353A
Application number: CN202210799578.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 程思涵
Original assignee: Vivo Mobile Communication Co Ltd
Current assignee: Vivo Mobile Communication Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-07-06
Filing date: 2022-07-06
Publication date: 2024-01-16

Abstract

The application discloses a network element selection method, a device and a network element, which belong to the technical field of communication, and the network element selection method in the embodiment of the application comprises the following steps: the method comprises the steps that a first network element receives a first discovery request message sent by a second network element, wherein the first discovery request message comprises description information of a gateway serving a terminal, and the description information of the gateway comprises at least one of the following: the identification of the gateway, the IP address of the gateway, the full-limit domain name FQDN of the gateway; the first network element selects a target IMS network element according to the first discovery request message; the first network element sends a first discovery response message to the second network element, wherein the first discovery response message comprises information of the target IMS network element.

Description

Network element selection method and device and network element

Technical Field

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

Background

The prior art introduces an IP multimedia subsystem (IP Multimedia Subsystem, IMS) user plane network element service architecture, that is, different IMS user plane network elements register with a network storage function (Network Repository Function, NRF), and the registration indicates the functions that can be supported by the network storage function. One example flow is as follows:

1. The unified media Function (Unified Media Function, UMF) sends a registration request to the NRF, the request carrying Network Function (NF) type information and supported services. For example, NF type is access gateway function (Access Gateway function, AGW).

UMF is a generic term for IMS user plane network elements. Various IMS user plane functions are supported, such as AGW functions, media resource functions (Media Resource Function, MRF), etc.

Nrf returns a registration acknowledgement message to UMF.

3. When the IMS control plane network element needs to use the IMS user plane network element, the IMS control plane network element sends a discovery request message to the NRF, where the message contains the requested NF type information, e.g. nf=agw. The IMS control plane network element is, for example: proxy call session control function (Proxy-Call Session Control Function, P-CSCF), serving call session control function (Serving-Call Session Control Function, S-CSCF), application server (application server, AS), etc.

Nrf returns information of IMS user plane network elements supporting the function, such as IP address, fully qualified domain name (fully qualified domain name, FQDN), etc., to IMS control plane network elements.

In the prior art, the NRF selects an IMS user plane network element only according to NF type information requested by an IMS control plane network element, which is easy to cause a larger service delay in use by a user in some cases, for example, the IMS user plane network element selected for a terminal is far away from a 4G or 5G user plane network element, thereby causing an increase in service delay and affecting user experience.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a network element selection method, a network element selection device and a network element, which can solve the problem that the mode of selecting an IMS network element in the prior art is easy to cause service delay increase.

In a first aspect, a network element selection method is provided, including:

the method comprises the steps that a first network element receives a first discovery request message sent by a second network element, wherein the first discovery request message comprises description information of a gateway serving a terminal, and the description information of the gateway comprises at least one of the following: the identification of the gateway, the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the gateway, and the fully qualified domain name FQDN of the gateway;

the first network element selects a target IMS network element according to the first discovery request message;

the first network element sends a first discovery response message to the second network element, wherein the first discovery response message comprises information of the target IMS network element.

In a second aspect, a network element selection method is provided, which is characterized in that the method includes: the second network element obtains the description information of the gateway serving the terminal; the second network element sends a first discovery request message to the first network element, wherein the first discovery request message comprises: the description information of the gateway comprises at least one of the following: the identification of the gateway, the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the gateway, and the fully qualified domain name FQDN of the gateway; the second network element receives a first discovery response message sent by the first network element, wherein the first discovery response message comprises information of a target IMS network element selected by the first network element according to the first discovery request message.

In a third aspect, a network element selection apparatus is provided, including:

the first receiving module is configured to receive a first discovery request message sent by a second network element, where the first discovery request message includes description information of a gateway serving a terminal, and the description information of the gateway includes at least one of the following: the identification of the gateway, the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the gateway, and the fully qualified domain name FQDN of the gateway;

a selecting module, configured to select a target IMS network element according to the first discovery request message;

and the first sending module is used for sending a first discovery response message to the second network element, wherein the first discovery response message comprises the information of the target IMS network element.

In a fourth aspect, a network element selection apparatus is provided, including:

the acquisition module is used for acquiring the description information of the gateway serving the terminal;

a second sending module, configured to send a first discovery request message to a first network element, where the first discovery request message includes: the description information of the gateway comprises at least one of the following: the identification of the gateway, the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the gateway, and the fully qualified domain name FQDN of the gateway;

the second receiving module is configured to receive a first discovery response message sent by the first network element, where the first discovery response message includes information of a target IMS network element selected by the first network element according to the first discovery request message.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided a first network element, the terminal comprising a processor and a memory storing a program or instructions executable on said processor, said program or instructions implementing the steps of the method according to the first aspect when executed by said processor.

In a sixth aspect, a first network element is provided, including a processor and a communication interface, where the communication interface is configured to receive a first discovery request message sent by a second network element, where the first discovery request message includes description information of a gateway serving a terminal, and the description information of the gateway includes at least one of: the identification of the gateway, the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the gateway, and the fully qualified domain name FQDN of the gateway; the processor is used for selecting a target IMS network element according to the first discovery request message; the communication interface is configured to send a first discovery response message to the second network element, where the first discovery response message includes information of the target IMS network element.

In a seventh aspect, there is provided a second network element, the network side device comprising a processor and a memory storing a program or instructions executable on the processor, which program or instructions when executed by the processor implement the steps of the method as described in the second aspect.

An eighth aspect provides a second network element, including a processor and a communication interface, where the processor is configured to obtain description information of a gateway serving a terminal, and the communication interface is configured to send a first discovery request message to a first network element, where the first discovery request message includes: the description information of the gateway comprises at least one of the following: the identification of the gateway, the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the gateway, and the fully qualified domain name FQDN of the gateway; and receiving a first discovery response message sent by the first network element, wherein the first discovery response message comprises information of a target IMS network element selected by the first network element according to the first discovery request message.

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

In a tenth aspect, there is provided a chip comprising a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface and the processor being coupled, the processor being for running a program or instructions to implement the method according to the first aspect or to implement the method according to the second aspect.

In an eleventh aspect, there is provided a computer program/program product stored in a storage medium, the computer program/program product being executable by at least one processor to perform the steps of the method according to the first aspect or to perform the steps of the method according to the second aspect.

In the embodiment of the application, the second network element carries the description information of the gateway in the discovery request message sent to the first network element, and the first network element selects the corresponding target IMS network element according to the description information of the gateway, so that the time delay of a user plane is reduced, and the user experience is improved.

Drawings

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

fig. 2 shows one of the step flowcharts of the network element selection method provided in the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 shows a flow chart of an example one provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 shows a flow chart of an example two provided by an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 shows a second flowchart of steps of a network element selection method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary manner of obtaining description information of a UPF according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 shows one of schematic structural diagrams of a network element selection apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 8 shows a second schematic structural diagram of a network element selection device according to an embodiment of the present application;

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

fig. 10 shows a schematic structural diagram of a network element according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

Technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are some embodiments of the present application, but not all embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments in the present application are within the scope of the protection of the present application.

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

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

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

The method, the device and the network element for selecting the network element provided by the embodiment of the application are described in detail below by means of some embodiments and application scenes thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in fig. 2, an embodiment of the present application provides a network element selection method, including:

step 201, a first network element receives a first discovery request message sent by a second network element, where the first discovery request message includes description information of a gateway serving a terminal, and the description information of the gateway includes at least one of the following: the identification of the gateway, the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the gateway, and the fully qualified domain name FQDN of the gateway;

optionally, the identification of the gateway may be: when the gateway registers with the first network element, the first network element assigns an identifier to the gateway.

Alternatively, the gateway may be a 4G gateway, or a 5G gateway. I.e. the gateway comprises at least one of the following: a packet data network gateway (Packet Data Network Gateway, PGW); user plane functions (User Plane Function, UPF).

Step 202, the first network element selects a target IMS network element according to the first discovery request message;

optionally, in this embodiment of the present application, the target IMS network element is an IMS control plane network element, or an IMS user plane network element.

Step 203, the first network element sends a first discovery response message to the second network element, where the first discovery response message includes information of the target IMS network element;

optionally, the information of the target IMS network element includes: at least one of the IP address of the target IMS network element and the FQDN of the target IMS network element.

As an alternative embodiment, the first network element mentioned in the present application is an NRF network element; the second network element is an IMS control plane network element, or a session management function SMF network element.

In an optional embodiment of the present application, in a case where the second network element is an IMS control plane network element, the target IMS network element is an IMS user plane network element.

In this embodiment, step 202 includes:

the first network element acquires service area or position information of the gateway according to the description information of the gateway, and acquires service area or position information of an IMS user plane network element;

the first network element selects an IMS user plane network element according to the service area of the gateway and the service area of the IMS user plane network element;

or,

and the first network element selects the IMS user plane network element according to the position information of the gateway and the position information of the IMS user plane network element.

Alternatively, the service Area may be a Tracking Area (TA) list or a cell list; the location information may be GPS information, such as east longitude xx degrees, north latitude xx degrees; the location information may also be specific address information, such as the xx city xx district xx street xx number, etc., and is not specifically limited herein.

The above example is accepted, the first discovery request message further includes NF type information;

correspondingly, the first network element selects the IMS user plane network element according to the service area of the gateway and the service area of the IMS user plane network element as follows: an IMS user plane network element supporting the NF type information and having the largest intersection with the service area of the gateway; or, an IMS user plane network element supporting the NF type information and having a number of intersections with a service area of the gateway greater than or equal to a first threshold;

or, the first network element selects an IMS user plane network element according to the location information of the gateway and the location information of the IMS user plane network element as follows: an IMS user plane network element supporting the NF type information and having the minimum distance with the gateway; or an IMS user plane network element supporting the NF type information and having a distance to the gateway less than or equal to a second threshold.

Alternatively, in this embodiment, step 202 includes:

the first network element obtains the transmission delay between the gateway and the IMS user plane network element according to the description information of the gateway;

and the first network element selects an IMS user plane network element according to the transmission delay.

The above example is accepted, the first discovery request message further includes NF type information; the IMS user plane network element selected by the first network element according to the transmission delay is: and supporting the NF type information and the IMS user plane network element with the minimum transmission delay with the gateway, or supporting the NF type information and the IMS user plane network element with the transmission delay with the gateway being smaller than or equal to a third threshold value.

Optionally, the first network element selects an IMS user plane network element according to transmission delays obtained from other network elements. For example, from an operation and maintenance administration (Operation Administration and Maintenance, OAM) network element or a network data analysis function (Network Data Analytics Function, NWDAF) network element.

In other words, in the above embodiment, the manner in which the first network element selects the IMS user plane network element is modified; specifically, selecting an IMS user plane network element closer to the gateway, or selecting an IMS user plane network element with more intersection with a service area of the gateway, or selecting an IMS user plane network element with smaller transmission delay with the gateway; thereby reducing the time delay of the user plane and improving the user experience.

Besides selecting the IMS user plane network element according to the distance from the gateway, the intersection with the gateway service area, and the information of the gateway transmission delay, the selection of the IMS user plane network element may also be performed according to other conditions, for example, selecting according to the load (load) of the IMS user plane network element, which is not limited in this application.

In another optional embodiment of the present application, in a case where the second network element is a session management function SMF network element, the target IMS network element is an IMS control plane network element.

In this embodiment, step 202 includes:

the first network element acquires service area or position information of the gateway according to the description information of the gateway, and acquires service area or position information of an IMS control plane network element;

the first network element selects an IMS control surface network element according to the service area of the gateway and the service area of the IMS control surface network element;

or,

and the first network element selects an IMS control surface network element according to the position information of the gateway and the position information of the IMS control surface network element.

The above example is received, where the IMS control plane network element selected by the first network element according to the service area of the gateway and the service area of the IMS control plane network element is: an IMS control plane network element with the most intersection with the service area of the gateway; or, the number of intersections with the service areas of the gateway is larger than or equal to a fourth threshold value;

or, the first network element selects an IMS control plane network element according to the location information of the gateway and the location information of the IMS control plane network element as follows: and the IMS control surface network element with the minimum distance with the gateway, or the IMS control surface network element with the distance with the gateway smaller than or equal to a fifth threshold value.

Alternatively, in this embodiment, step 202 includes:

the first network element obtains the transmission delay between the gateway and the IMS control surface network element according to the description information of the gateway;

and the first network element selects an IMS control surface network element according to the transmission delay.

The above example is received, and the IMS user plane network element selected by the first network element according to the transmission delay is: and the IMS control surface network element with the minimum transmission delay with the gateway, or the IMS control surface network element with the transmission delay with the gateway smaller than or equal to a sixth threshold value.

Optionally, the first network element selects an IMS control plane network element according to transmission delays obtained from other network elements. For example from an operation, maintenance and administration OAM network element or a network data analysis function NWDAF network element.

In the case that the second network element is a session management function SMF network element and the target IMS network element is an IMS control plane network element, the method further includes:

the first network element receives a second discovery request message sent by the IMS control plane network element, wherein the second discovery request message comprises network function NF type information;

the first network element selects an IMS user plane network element supporting the NF type information and having the smallest distance with the IMS control plane network element, or selects an IMS user plane network element supporting the NF type information and having the distance with the IMS control plane network element smaller than or equal to a seventh threshold value, or selects an IMS user plane network element supporting the NF type information and having the largest intersection with a service area of the IMS control plane network element, or selects an IMS user plane network element supporting the NF type information and having the number of intersection with the service area of the IMS control plane network element larger than or equal to the eighth threshold value; or selecting an IMS user plane network element supporting the NF type information and having the smallest transmission delay with the IMS control plane network element; or selecting an IMS user plane network element supporting the NF type information and having a transmission delay with the IMS control plane network element less than or equal to an eighth threshold value;

The first network element sends a second discovery response message to the IMS control plane network element, wherein the second discovery response message comprises information of the selected IMS user plane network element.

In other words, in the above embodiment, the manner in which the first network element selects the IMS control plane network element is modified; specifically, selecting an IMS control surface network element closer to the gateway, or selecting an IMS control surface network element with more intersection with a service area of the gateway, or selecting an IMS control surface network element with smaller transmission delay with the gateway; further, selecting an IMS user plane network element closer to the IMS control plane network element, or selecting an IMS user plane network element with more intersection with a service area of the IMS control plane network element, or selecting an IMS control plane network element with smaller transmission delay with the IMS control plane network element; thereby reducing the time delay of the user plane and improving the user experience.

Besides selecting the IMS user plane element according to the distance from the gateway, the intersection with the gateway service area, or the information of the transmission delay with the gateway, the selection may also be performed according to other conditions, for example, selecting according to the load (load) of the IMS user plane element, which is not limited in this application.

In an optional embodiment of the present application, the obtaining, by the first network element, service area or location information of the gateway according to the description information of the gateway includes:

The first network element obtains service area or position information of the gateway, which is included in the description information of the gateway; namely, the description information of the gateway included in the first discovery request message directly carries the service area or the position information of the gateway;

or,

the first network element acquires locally stored service area or position information of the gateway according to the description information of the gateway;

or,

and the first network element acquires the service area or the position information of the gateway from a third network element according to the description information of the gateway.

For example, the third network element is an operation and maintenance management (Operation Administration and Maintenance, OAM) network element or a unified data management entity (Unified Data Management, UDM) network element, which is not specifically limited herein.

In yet another optional embodiment of the present application, the obtaining, by the first network element, service area or location information of the IMS user plane network element includes:

the first network element receives a registration request message sent by an IMS user plane network element, wherein the registration request message carries service area or position information of the IMS user plane network element;

or,

the first network element acquires locally stored service area or position information of registered IMS user plane network elements;

Or,

and the first network element acquires the service area or the position information of the IMS user plane network element from a fourth network element according to the information of the registered IMS user plane network element.

For example, the fourth network element is an operation and maintenance management (Operation Administration and Maintenance, OAM) network element or a unified data management entity (Unified Data Management, UDM) network element, which is not specifically limited herein.

In another optional embodiment of the present application, the obtaining, by the first network element, service area or location information of the IMS control plane network element includes:

the first network element acquires service area or position information of a locally stored IMS control surface network element;

or,

and the first network element acquires the service area or the position information of the IMS control surface network element from a fifth network element according to the information of the IMS control surface network element.

For example, the fifth network element is an operation and maintenance management (Operation Administration and Maintenance, OAM) network element or a unified data management entity (Unified Data Management, UDM) network element, which is not specifically limited herein.

In order to more clearly describe the above network element selection method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the following description is made with reference to two examples.

The first network element is NRF, the second network element is IMS control plane network element (such as P-CSCF), and the gateway is UPF; the specific flow is shown in fig. 3:

An IMS user plane network element (such as UMF) sends a registration request message to NRF, and the request carries NF type information and supported services, for example, NF type is AGW;

optionally, the UMF carries its own service area or location information;

the Service area may be a TA (tracking area) list or cell list information.

The location information may be GPS information, such as east longitude xx degrees, north latitude xx degrees; or UMF deployed location information, e.g. xx-city xx-district xx-street xx number

Nrf returns a registration acknowledgement message to UMF;

33. when an IMS control plane network element (e.g., P-CSCF) sends a first discovery request message to the NRF, where the first discovery request message is used to request discovery of the UMF, and the message includes NF type information, e.g., nf=agw, requested while carrying description information of the UPF; the description information of the UPF can be the ID, IP address and FQDN of the UPF;

optionally, the description information of the UPF further includes service area of the UPF, or location information of the UPF;

nrf returns a selected first discovery response message to IMS control plane element, which carries information of IMS user plane element, such as IP address, FQDN, etc. For example, selecting an IMS user plane network element can be divided into 4 cases as shown in table 1:

Table 1 NRF example of selecting UMF

Example two, the first network element is NRF, the second network element is SMF, and the gateway is UPF; the specific flow is shown in fig. 4:

after the SMF receives the request for establishing the PDU session, when the SMF determines that an IMS control plane network element (for example, P-CSCF) needs to be selected for the UE according to the information provided by the UE, the SMF performs the following steps:

the SMF sends a first discovery request message to the NRF, wherein the first discovery request message is used for requesting to discover the P-CSCF, and the request carries the description information of the UPF;

the description information of the UPF comprises an identifier of the UPF, an IP address, a FQDN and the like; optionally, the method further comprises: service area or location information of the UPF;

nrf authorizes the request;

returning a first discovery response message to the SMF by the NRF, wherein the first discovery response message carries a P-CSCF which is closer to the UPF;

the NRF acquires service area or location information of the P-CSCF and the UPF according to the locally stored information, or acquires service area or location information of the P-CSCF and the UPF from other network elements, such as OAM or UDM.

The NRF selects the P-CSCF closer to the UPF according to the service area or the position information of the P-CSCF and the UPF.

Nrf receives a second discovery request message sent by P-CSCF for requesting discovery of UMF; the request contains NF type information of the request;

Nrf selects a UMF supporting NF type and being closer to the P-CSCF, and sends a second discovery response message to the P-CSCF; the second discovery response message carries information of the selected UMF.

In summary, in the embodiment of the present application, the second network element carries the description information of the gateway in the discovery request message sent to the first network element, and the first network element selects the corresponding target IMS network element according to the description information of the gateway, so as to reduce the delay of the user plane and improve the user experience.

As shown in fig. 5, an embodiment of the present application further provides a network element selection method, including:

step 501, a second network element acquires description information of a gateway serving a terminal;

Step 502, the second network element sends a first discovery request message to the first network element, where the first discovery request message includes: the description information of the gateway comprises at least one of the following: the identification of the gateway, the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the gateway, and the fully qualified domain name FQDN of the gateway;

In step 503, the second network element receives a first discovery response message sent by the first network element, where the first discovery response message includes information of a target IMS network element selected by the first network element according to the first discovery request message.

In this embodiment, the manner in which the first network element selects the IMS user plane network element is modified; specifically, selecting an IMS user plane network element closer to the gateway, or selecting an IMS user plane network element with more intersection with a service area of the gateway, or selecting an IMS user plane network element with smaller transmission delay with the gateway; thereby reducing the time delay of the user plane and improving the user experience.

In this embodiment, the manner in which the first network element selects the IMS control plane network element is modified; specifically, selecting an IMS control surface network element closer to the gateway, or selecting an IMS control surface network element with more intersection with a service area of the gateway, or selecting an IMS control surface network element with smaller transmission delay with the gateway; further, selecting an IMS user plane network element closer to the IMS control plane network element, or selecting an IMS user plane network element with more intersection with a service area of the IMS control plane network element, or selecting an IMS control plane network element with smaller transmission delay with the IMS control plane network element; thereby reducing the time delay of the user plane and improving the user experience.

In at least one embodiment of the present application, the description information of the gateway further includes: service area or location information of the gateway.

As an alternative embodiment, in case the second network element is an IMS control network element, step 501 comprises:

the IMS control surface network element receives a first Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) request message sent by a terminal, wherein the first SIP request message carries description information of a gateway for providing service for the terminal;

wherein the description information of the gateway is obtained from the SMF network element by the terminal in the process of establishing the protocol data unit PDU session.

Optionally, when the UE establishes the PDU session, the SMF sends the description information of the UPF to the terminal, and the terminal sends the description information of the UPF to the IMS control plane network element through the SIP request message.

For example, when the UE establishes a PDU session, the procedure of the SMF transmitting the description information of the UPF to the terminal includes:

the UE sends a PDU session establishment request, optionally, the UE carries indication information requesting UPF information in the request message, where the indication information is carried in the PCO field.

2. An access and mobility management function (Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF) selects an SMF that serves the UE;

the AMF sends a request for creating the session to the SMF;

SMF obtains the subscription information of the UE;

the SMF sends a response message to the AMF;

SMF selects UPF;

The SMF initiates an N4 session establishment request to the UPF to obtain the description information of the UPF, and optionally, the service area or the position information of the UPF;

the description information of the UPF may be an IP address of the UPF, a FQDN, or an identifier allocated to the UPF by the NRF when the UPF registers with the NRF;

the smf sends an N1N2 transport message to the AMF, where the N1 message contains a message sent to the UE, and the message contains the description information of the UPF, specifically carried by a PCO (Protocol Configuration Options, protocol configuration option) field.

Optionally, the SMF is information for sending the UPF to the UE according to the indication information carried by the UE in step 1.

The amf transmits a message that the SMF transmits to the UE through the base station.

10. The base station transmits a PDU session response message to the AMF.

For another example, the process of the terminal sending the description information of the UPF to the IMS control plane network element through the SIP request message includes:

UMF registers with NRF;

and 2, the UE sends a SIP invite message to the P-CSCF, wherein the message contains the description information of the UPF, and optionally, the service area or the position information of the UPF is carried.

3.P-CSCF sends a first discovery request message to NRF, wherein the first discovery request message carries UPF description information;

4.P-CSCF establishes connection with UMF according to UMF information sent by NRF.

As another alternative embodiment, in the case that the second network element is an IMS control network element, step 501 includes:

the IMS control surface network element receives a first request sent by a terminal in the IMS session establishment process;

the IMS control surface network element sends a second request to the SMF network element through a policy control function PCF network element according to the first request, wherein the second request is used for requesting the description information of a gateway for providing service for the terminal;

and the IMS control surface network element receives a second response transmitted by the SMF network element and forwarded by the PCF network element, wherein the second response carries the description information of a gateway for providing service for the terminal.

In other words, when the UE establishes an IMS session, the IMS control plane network element requests the SMF for the UPF description information through the PCF. For example, as shown in fig. 6:

the P-CSCF receives a first request sent by the UE;

the P-CSCF sends a request to the PCF, and the request carries indication information of the UPF description information;

the PCF sends a second request to the SMF, wherein the request carries indication information of the UPF description information;

optionally, the messages of steps 62 and 63 are not identical;

the SMF acquires the description information of the UPF for providing service for the UE and sends the description information of the UPF to the PCF;

The description information of the UPF includes an identification of the UPF, and optionally, service area or location information of the UPF.

The identifier of the UPF may be an IP address of the UPF, a FQDN, or an identifier assigned to the UPF by the NRF when the UPF registers with the NRF;

the PCF sends the UPF description information to the P-CSCF;

the p-CSCF sends a first discovery request message to the NRF, the first discovery request message carrying description information of the UPF.

As yet another alternative embodiment, in the case that the second network element is an SMF network element, step 501 includes:

the SMF sends an N4 session establishment request message to a gateway selected for the terminal according to the PDU session establishment request of the terminal;

and the SMF receives an N4 session establishment response message sent by the gateway, wherein the N4 session establishment response message carries the description information of the gateway.

For example, when the UE establishes a PDU session, the SMF obtains the description information of the UPF, which includes:

AMF selects SMF for providing service for UE;

the AMF sends a request for creating the session to the SMF;

SMF obtains the subscription information of the UE;

the SMF sends a response message to the AMF;

SMF selects UPF;

the SMF initiates an N4 session establishment request to the UPF to request for obtaining the description information of the UPF, and optionally, obtaining service area or position information of the UPF;

the SMF receives an N4 session establishment response sent by the UPF, wherein the N4 session establishment response carries the description information of the UPF.

According to the network element selection method provided by the embodiment of the application, the execution main body can be a network element selection device. In the embodiment of the present application, a network element selection device executes a network element selection method as an example, which describes a network element selection device provided in the embodiment of the present application.

As shown in fig. 7, the embodiment of the present application further provides a network element selecting apparatus 700, including:

a first receiving module 701, configured to receive a first discovery request message sent by a second network element, where the first discovery request message includes description information of a gateway serving a terminal, and the description information of the gateway includes at least one of the following: the identification of the gateway, the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the gateway, and the fully qualified domain name FQDN of the gateway;

A selecting module 702, configured to select a target IMS network element according to the first discovery request message;

a first sending module 703, configured to send a first discovery response message to the second network element, where the first discovery response message includes information of the target IMS network element.

As an optional embodiment, the second network element is an IMS control plane network element, and the target IMS network element is an IMS user plane network element.

As an alternative embodiment, the selecting module includes:

the second acquisition sub-module is used for acquiring the service area or the position information of the gateway according to the description information of the gateway and acquiring the service area or the position information of the IMS user plane network element;

a first selecting sub-module, configured to select an IMS user plane network element according to the service area of the gateway and the service area of the IMS user plane network element;

or,

and the second selecting sub-module is used for selecting the IMS user plane network element according to the position information of the gateway and the position information of the IMS user plane network element.

As an optional embodiment, the first discovery request message further includes network function NF type information;

the first network element selects an IMS user plane network element according to the service area of the gateway and the service area of the IMS user plane network element as follows: an IMS user plane network element supporting the NF type information and having the largest intersection with the service area of the gateway; or, an IMS user plane network element supporting the NF type information and having a number of intersections with a service area of the gateway greater than or equal to a first threshold;

Or,

the IMS user plane network element selected by the first network element according to the position information of the gateway and the position information of the IMS user plane network element is: an IMS user plane network element supporting the NF type information and having the minimum distance with the gateway; or an IMS user plane network element supporting the NF type information and having a distance to the gateway less than or equal to a second threshold.

As an alternative embodiment, the selecting module includes:

a third obtaining sub-module, configured to obtain a transmission delay between the gateway and an IMS user plane network element according to the description information of the gateway;

and the third selecting sub-module is used for selecting the IMS user plane network element according to the transmission delay.

the IMS user plane network element selected by the first network element according to the transmission delay is: and supporting the NF type information and the IMS user plane network element with the minimum transmission delay with the gateway, or supporting the NF type information and the IMS user plane network element with the transmission delay with the gateway being smaller than or equal to a third threshold value.

As an optional embodiment, the second network element is a session management function SMF network element, and the target IMS network element is an IMS control plane network element.

As an alternative embodiment, the selecting module includes:

a fourth obtaining sub-module, configured to obtain service area or location information of the gateway according to the description information of the gateway, and obtain service area or location information of an IMS control plane network element;

a fourth selecting sub-module, configured to select an IMS control plane network element according to the service area of the gateway and the service area of the IMS control plane network element;

or,

and a fifth selecting sub-module, configured to select an IMS control plane network element according to the location information of the gateway and the location information of the IMS control plane network element.

As an optional embodiment, the IMS control plane network element selected by the first network element according to the service area of the gateway and the service area of the IMS control plane network element is: an IMS control plane network element with the most intersection with the service area of the gateway; or, the number of intersections with the service areas of the gateway is larger than or equal to a fourth threshold value;

or,

the IMS control surface network element selected by the first network element according to the position information of the gateway and the position information of the IMS control surface network element is: and the IMS control surface network element with the minimum distance with the gateway, or the IMS control surface network element with the distance with the gateway smaller than or equal to a fifth threshold value.

As an alternative embodiment, the selecting module includes:

a fifth obtaining sub-module, configured to obtain a transmission delay between the gateway and an IMS control plane network element according to the description information of the gateway;

and a sixth selecting sub-module, configured to select an IMS control plane network element according to the transmission delay.

As an optional embodiment, the IMS user plane network element selected by the first network element according to the transmission delay is: and the IMS control surface network element with the minimum transmission delay with the gateway, or the IMS control surface network element with the transmission delay with the gateway smaller than or equal to a sixth threshold value.

As an alternative embodiment, the second acquisition sub-module or the fourth acquisition sub-module is further configured to:

acquiring service area or position information of the gateway, which is included in the description information of the gateway;

or,

acquiring locally stored service area or position information of a gateway according to the description information of the gateway;

or,

and acquiring service area or position information of the gateway from a third network element according to the description information of the gateway.

As an alternative embodiment, the second obtaining sub-module is further configured to:

receiving a registration request message sent by an IMS user plane network element, wherein the registration request message carries service area or position information of the IMS user plane network element;

Or,

acquiring locally stored service area or position information of registered IMS user plane network elements;

or,

and acquiring service area or position information of the IMS user plane network element from a fourth network element according to the information of the registered IMS user plane network element.

As an alternative embodiment, the fourth obtaining sub-module is further configured to:

acquiring service area or position information of a locally stored IMS control surface network element;

or,

and acquiring service area or position information of the IMS control plane network element from a fifth network element according to the information of the IMS control plane network element.

As an alternative embodiment, the apparatus further comprises:

a third receiving module, configured to receive a second discovery request message sent by the IMS control plane network element, where the second discovery request message includes network function NF type information;

a network element selection module, configured to select, according to the second discovery request message, an IMS user plane network element that supports the NF type information and has a minimum distance from the IMS control plane network element, or select an IMS user plane network element that supports the NF type information and has a distance from the IMS control plane network element that is less than or equal to a seventh threshold, or select an IMS user plane network element that supports the NF type information and has a maximum intersection with a service area of the IMS control plane network element, or select an IMS user plane network element that supports the NF type information and has a number of intersections with a service area of the IMS control plane network element that is greater than or equal to an eighth threshold; or selecting an IMS user plane network element supporting the NF type information and having the smallest transmission delay with the IMS control plane network element; or selecting an IMS user plane network element supporting the NF type information and having a transmission delay with the IMS control plane network element less than or equal to an eighth threshold value;

And a third sending module, configured to send a second discovery response message to the IMS control plane network element, where the second discovery response message includes information of the selected IMS user plane network element.

As an alternative embodiment, the gateway comprises at least one of:

a packet data network gateway PGW;

user plane function UPF.

It should be noted that, the network element selection device provided in the embodiments of the present application is a device capable of executing the network element selection method, and all embodiments of the network element selection method are applicable to the device, and the same or similar beneficial effects can be achieved.

As shown in fig. 8, the embodiment of the present application further provides a network element selection apparatus 800, including:

an obtaining module 801, configured to obtain description information of a gateway serving a terminal;

a second sending module 802, configured to send a first discovery request message to a first network element, where the first discovery request message includes: the description information of the gateway comprises at least one of the following: the identification of the gateway, the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the gateway, and the fully qualified domain name FQDN of the gateway;

A second receiving module 803, configured to receive a first discovery response message sent by the first network element, where the first discovery response message includes information of a target IMS network element selected by the first network element according to the first discovery request message.

As an optional embodiment, the description information of the gateway further includes: service area or location information of the gateway.

As an optional embodiment, the second network element is an IMS control plane network element, and the selected target IMS network element is an IMS user plane network element.

As an optional embodiment, the second network element is a session management function SMF network element, and the selected target IMS network element is an IMS control plane network element.

As an alternative embodiment, the obtaining module is further configured to:

receiving a first Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) request message sent by a terminal, wherein the first SIP request message carries description information of a gateway for providing services for the terminal;

As an alternative embodiment, the obtaining module is further configured to:

receiving a first request sent by a terminal in an IMS session establishment process;

According to the first request, a PCF network element sends a second request to an SMF network element through a policy control function, wherein the second request is used for requesting the description information of a gateway for providing service for the terminal;

and receiving a second response transmitted by the SMF network element and forwarded by the PCF network element, wherein the second response carries description information of a gateway for providing service for the terminal.

As an alternative embodiment, the obtaining module is further configured to:

according to PDU conversation establishment request of the terminal, sending N4 conversation establishment request message to gateway selected for the terminal;

and receiving an N4 session establishment response message sent by the gateway, wherein the N4 session establishment response message carries the description information of the gateway.

As an alternative embodiment, the gateway comprises at least one of:

a packet data network gateway PGW;

user plane function UPF.

The network element selection device in the embodiment of the present application may be an electronic device, for example, an electronic device with an operating system, or may be a component in an electronic device, for example, an integrated circuit or a chip. The electronic device may be a terminal, or may be other devices than a terminal. By way of example, terminals may include, but are not limited to, the types of terminals 11 listed above, other devices may be servers, network attached storage (Network Attached Storage, NAS), etc., and embodiments of the application are not specifically limited.

The network element selection device provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement each process implemented by the embodiments of the methods of fig. 1 to fig. 6, and achieve the same technical effects, so that repetition is avoided, and no detailed description is given here.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 9, the embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 900, including a processor 901 and a memory 902, where the memory 902 stores a program or an instruction that can be executed on the processor 901, for example, when the communication device 900 is a first network element, the program or the instruction is executed by the processor 901 to implement each step of the foregoing network element selection method embodiment, and the same technical effects can be achieved. When the communication device 900 is a second network element, the program or the instruction, when executed by the processor 901, implements the steps of the above network element selection method embodiment, and the same technical effects can be achieved, so that repetition is avoided, and no further description is given here.

The embodiment of the application also provides a network element, which is a first network element or a second network element. As shown in fig. 10, the network element 1100 includes: an antenna 111, a radio frequency device 112, a baseband device 113, a processor 114 and a memory 115. The antenna 111 is connected to a radio frequency device 112. In the uplink direction, the radio frequency device 112 receives information via the antenna 111, and transmits the received information to the baseband device 113 for processing. In the downlink direction, the baseband device 113 processes information to be transmitted, and transmits the processed information to the radio frequency device 112, and the radio frequency device 112 processes the received information and transmits the processed information through the antenna 111.

The method performed by the network element in the above embodiment may be implemented in a baseband apparatus 113, which baseband apparatus 113 comprises a baseband processor.

The baseband apparatus 113 may, for example, include at least one baseband board, where a plurality of chips are disposed, as shown in fig. 10, where one chip, for example, a baseband processor, is connected to the memory 115 through a bus interface, so as to call a program in the memory 115 to perform the network device operation shown in the above method embodiment.

The network element may also comprise a network interface 116, such as a common public radio interface (common public radio interface, CPRI).

Specifically, the network element 1100 of the embodiment of the present invention further includes: instructions or programs stored in the memory 115 and capable of running on the processor 114, the processor 114 invokes the instructions or programs in the memory 115 to perform the methods performed by the modules shown in fig. 7 or fig. 8, and achieve the same technical effects, and are not repeated here.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a readable storage medium, where a program or an instruction is stored on the readable storage medium, and when the program or the instruction is executed by a processor, the processes of the embodiment of the network element selection method are implemented, and the same technical effects can be achieved, so that repetition is avoided, and no further description is given here.

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

The embodiment of the application further provides a chip, the chip includes a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface is coupled with the processor, and the processor is configured to run a program or an instruction, implement each process of the above network element selection method embodiment, and achieve the same technical effect, so that repetition is avoided, and no redundant description is provided herein.

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

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

It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one … …" does not exclude the presence of other like elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element. Furthermore, it should be noted that the scope of the methods and apparatus in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to performing the functions in the order shown or discussed, but may also include performing the functions in a substantially simultaneous manner or in an opposite order depending on the functions involved, e.g., the described methods may be performed in an order different from that described, and various steps may also be added, omitted, or combined. Additionally, features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

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

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

Claims

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

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second network element is an IMS control plane network element and the target IMS network element is an IMS user plane network element.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the first network element selecting an IMS user plane network element according to the first discovery request message comprises:

or,

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first discovery request message further includes network function NF type information;

or,

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the first network element selects an IMS user plane network element based on the first discovery request message,

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first discovery request message further includes network function NF type information;

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second network element is a session management function, SMF, network element and the target IMS network element is an IMS control plane network element.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first network element selecting an IMS control plane network element based on the first discovery request message comprises:

The first network element obtains service area or position information of the gateway according to the description information of the network element, and obtains service area or position information of an IMS control plane network element;

or,

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the IMS control plane element selected by the first network element according to the service area of the gateway and the service area of the IMS control plane element is: an IMS control plane network element with the most intersection with the service area of the gateway; or, the number of intersections with the service areas of the gateway is larger than or equal to a fourth threshold value;

or,

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the first network element selecting an IMS control plane network element based on the first discovery request message comprises:

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the IMS user plane network element selected by the first network element according to the transmission delay is: and the IMS control surface network element with the minimum transmission delay with the gateway, or the IMS control surface network element with the transmission delay with the gateway smaller than or equal to a sixth threshold value.

12. The method according to claim 3 or 8, wherein the first network element obtains service area or location information of a gateway according to the description information of the gateway, including:

the first network element obtains service area or position information of the gateway, which is included in the description information of the gateway;

or,

13. A method according to claim 3, wherein the first network element obtaining service area or location information of an IMS user plane network element comprises:

or,

14. The method according to claim 8, wherein the first network element obtaining service area or location information of an IMS control plane network element comprises:

or,

15. The method of claim 7, wherein the method further comprises:

16. The method according to any one of claims 1-15, wherein the gateway comprises at least one of:

a packet data network gateway PGW;

user plane function UPF.

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

the second network element obtains the description information of the gateway serving the terminal;

the second network element sends a first discovery request message to the first network element, wherein the first discovery request message comprises: the description information of the gateway comprises at least one of the following: the identification of the gateway, the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the gateway, and the fully qualified domain name FQDN of the gateway;

the second network element receives a first discovery response message sent by the first network element, wherein the first discovery response message comprises information of a target IMS network element selected by the first network element according to the first discovery request message.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the gateway description information further comprises: service area or location information of the gateway.

19. A method according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the second network element is an IMS control plane network element and the selected target IMS network element is an IMS user plane network element.

20. A method according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the second network element is a session management function, SMF, network element and the selected target IMS network element is an IMS control plane network element.

21. The method according to claim 19, wherein the IMS control plane network element obtains description information of a gateway serving a terminal, comprising:

22. The method according to claim 19, wherein the IMS control plane network element obtains description information of a gateway serving a terminal, comprising:

23. The method of claim 20 wherein the SMF network element obtaining description information of a gateway serving a terminal comprises:

24. The method according to any of claims 17-23, wherein the gateway comprises at least one of:

a packet data network gateway PGW;

user plane function UPF.

25. A network element selection apparatus, comprising:

26. A network element selection apparatus, comprising:

27. A network element comprising a processor and a memory storing a program or instructions executable on the processor, which when executed by the processor, performs the steps of the network element selection method of any one of claims 1 to 16, or performs the steps of the network element selection method of any one of claims 17 to 24.

28. A readable storage medium, characterized in that the readable storage medium has stored thereon a program or instructions which, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the network element selection method according to any of claims 1 to 16 or the steps of the network element selection method according to any of claims 17 to 24.