CN117560410A

CN117560410A - Data transmission method and device

Info

Publication number: CN117560410A
Application number: CN202210940072.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 陶源; 王胡成
Original assignee: Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Current assignee: Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-08-05
Filing date: 2022-08-05
Publication date: 2024-02-13

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides a data transmission method and device, wherein the data transmission method applied to a first session management function entity SMF deployed in a first public land mobile network PLMN comprises the following steps: configuring a first routing rule for a first User Plane Function (UPF) deployed in the first PLMN; the first routing rule is used for sending the target uplink data to a second user plane function entity UPF through a tunnel established between a second UPF deployed in a second PLMN and the first UPF. According to the data transmission method and device, data transmission across PLMNs is achieved through the tunnel between UPF1 and UPF2, and for example, EAS discovery and session establishment across PLMNs can be achieved.

Description

Data transmission method and device

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of wireless communications technologies, and in particular, to a data transmission method and apparatus.

Background

Based on the existing support for mobile edge computing (Mobile Edge Computing, MEC) resource sharing between different mobile network operators (Mobile Network Operator, MNO), different operators can deploy the same MEC application on their MEC platforms. Access to MEC applications deployed by other operators through one operator network may be based on both controlled IP network (controlled IP network) or N9 path. The N9 path refers to the radio access network (Radio Access Network, RAN) through the local public land mobile network (Home Land Mobile Network, home PLMN) and the N9 tunnel is established between the local user plane function (User Plane Function, UPF) and the UPF of the other PLMN to access the target edge application server (Edge Application Server, EAS).

Disclosure of Invention

Aiming at the problems existing in the related art, the embodiment of the application provides a data transmission method and device.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a data transmission method applied to a first session management function entity SMF deployed in a first public land mobile network PLMN, including:

configuring a first routing rule for a first User Plane Function (UPF) deployed in the first PLMN;

the first routing rule is used for sending the target uplink data to a second user plane function entity UPF through a tunnel established between a second UPF deployed in a second PLMN and the first UPF.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

transmitting indication information for determining the second UPF to a second session management function entity SMF deployed in the second PLMN;

receiving second UPF information sent by the second SMF;

the second UPF is determined based on the second UPF information.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

transmitting indication information for determining the second UPF to a first network storage function entity NRF deployed in the first PLMN;

receiving second UPF information sent by the first NRF, where the second UPF information is determined by a second network storage function entity NRF deployed on the second PLMN based on the indication information and sent to the first NRF;

The second UPF is determined based on the second UPF information.

Optionally, the method further comprises: and sending the identification of the second UPF to a second session management function entity SMF deployed on a second PLMN.

Optionally, the method further comprises: and sending the identification of the first UPF to a second session management function entity SMF deployed on a second PLMN.

Optionally, the indication information is a data network access identifier DNAI.

Optionally, in the case that the target upstream data is a target domain name system DNS query message, the method further includes:

receiving a target fully qualified domain name FQDN sent by an EASDF, wherein the target FQDN is obtained based on a DNS query message received by the EASDF;

and determining the DNAI, the first UPF and a target domain name system DNS server deployed in the second PLMN based on the target FQDN and edge application server deployment information EDI corresponding to the second PLMN.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

and configuring edge application server address replacement information to the first UPF, wherein the edge application server address replacement information is used for indicating the first UPF to replace a target address of a DNS query message containing the target FQDN with an IP address of the target DNS server.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

and configuring a DNS information processing rule to the EASDF, wherein the DNS information processing rule is used for instructing the EASDF to send a DNS query message containing the target FQDN to the first UPF.

Optionally, the first routing rule includes:

routing the DNS query message to the second UPF; or (b)

The DNS query message is routed to the target DNS server.

Optionally, the first routing rule includes: and routing the target uplink data with the target address being the edge application server address EAS IP to the second UPF.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a data transmission method applied to a second session management function entity SMF deployed in a second public land mobile network PLMN, including:

configuring a second routing rule to a second User Plane Function (UPF) deployed in the second PLMN;

the second routing rule is used for sending the target downlink data to the first UPF through a tunnel established between the first UPF deployed in the first PLMN and the second UPF.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

receiving indication information for determining the second UPF sent by a first SMF deployed in a first PLMN;

Determining the second UPF based on the indication information;

and sending second UPF information corresponding to the second UPF to the first SMF.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

receiving an identification of a transmitted second UPF of a first SMF deployed in a first PLMN;

the second UPF is determined based on an identification of the second UPF.

Optionally, the method further comprises: and receiving an identification of the first UPF sent by a first SMF deployed on the first PLMN.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a data transmission method applied to an edge application server discovery function entity EASDF deployed in a first public land mobile network PLMN, where the method includes:

and receiving Domain Name System (DNS) information processing rules configured by a first Session Management Function (SMF) deployed on the first PLMN, wherein the DNS information processing rules are used for indicating the EASDF to send a DNS query message containing a target Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) to a first UPF.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a data transmission method, applied to a terminal accessing a first public land mobile network PLMN, where the method includes:

Transmitting target uplink data to a second UPF deployed in a second PLMN via a first user plane function entity UPF deployed in the first PLMN and a tunnel established between the first UPF and the second UPF deployed in the second PLMN; and/or

Receiving target downstream data via the second UPF, the tunnel, and the first UPF

In a fifth aspect, embodiments of the present application further provide a first session management function entity SMF deployed in a first public land mobile network PLMN, the first SMF including a memory, a transceiver, and a processor:

a memory for storing a computer program; a transceiver for transceiving data under control of the processor; and a processor for reading the computer program in the memory and implementing the data transmission method according to the first aspect.

In a sixth aspect, embodiments of the present application further provide a second session management function, SMF, deployed in a second public land mobile network PLMN, the second SMF including a memory, a transceiver, and a processor:

a memory for storing a computer program; a transceiver for transceiving data under control of the processor; a processor for reading the computer program in the memory and implementing the data transmission method according to the second aspect as described above.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides an edge application server discovery function entity EASDF deployed in a first public land mobile network PLMN, where the EASDF includes a memory, a transceiver, and a processor:

a memory for storing a computer program; a transceiver for transceiving data under control of the processor; a processor for reading the computer program in the memory and implementing the data transmission method according to the third aspect as described above.

In an eighth aspect, embodiments of the present application further provide a processor-readable storage medium storing a computer program for causing the processor to execute the data transmission method according to the first aspect, the data transmission method according to the second aspect, or the data transmission method according to the third aspect.

According to the data transmission method and device, the first routing rule is configured for the UPF deployed at the first user plane function entity of the first PLMN, the target uplink data is sent to the UPF through the tunnel established between the UPF deployed at the second PLMN and the first UPF, and data transmission across PLMNs is achieved through the tunnel between UPF1 and UPF2, such as cross-PLMN EAS discovery and session establishment can be achieved.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the related art, the following description will briefly describe the drawings that are required to be used in the embodiments or the related technical descriptions, and it is obvious that, in the following description, the drawings are some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings may be obtained according to these drawings without any inventive effort for a person skilled in the art.

Fig. 1 is a schematic flow chart of a data transmission method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a second flow chart of a data transmission method according to the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a third flow chart of a data transmission method according to the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a data transmission method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a fifth flow chart of a data transmission method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a data transmission method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a data transmission method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a data transmission device according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9 is a second schematic diagram of a data transmission device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a third schematic diagram of a data transmission device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a first SMF according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a second SMF according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of an EASDF according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

In the embodiment of the application, the term "and/or" describes the association relationship of the association objects, which means that three relationships may exist, for example, a and/or B may be represented: a exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone. The character "/" generally indicates that the context-dependent object is an "or" relationship.

The term "plurality" in the embodiments of the present application means two or more, and other adjectives are similar thereto.

The following description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be made clearly and completely with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present application, but not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without undue burden from the present disclosure, are within the scope of the present disclosure.

The technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application can be suitable for various systems, in particular to a 5G system. For example, suitable systems may be global system for mobile communications (global system of mobile communication, GSM), code division multiple access (code division multiple access, CDMA), wideband code division multiple access (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access, WCDMA) universal packet Radio service (general packet Radio service, GPRS), long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE), LTE frequency division duplex (frequency division duplex, FDD), LTE time division duplex (time division duplex, TDD), long term evolution-advanced (long term evolution advanced, LTE-a), universal mobile system (universal mobile telecommunication system, UMTS), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (worldwide interoperability for microwave access, wiMAX), 5G New air interface (New Radio, NR), and the like. Terminal devices and network devices are included in these various systems. Core network parts such as evolved packet system (Evloved Packet System, EPS), 5G system (5 GS) etc. may also be included in the system.

The terminal device (e.g., UE) according to the embodiments of the present application may be a device that provides voice and/or data connectivity to a user, a handheld device with wireless connection, or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, etc. The names of the terminal devices may also be different in different systems, for example in a 5G system, the terminal devices may be referred to as User Equipment (UE). The wireless terminal device may communicate with one or more Core Networks (CNs) via a radio access Network (Radio Access Network, RAN), which may be mobile terminal devices such as mobile phones (or "cellular" phones) and computers with mobile terminal devices, e.g., portable, pocket, hand-held, computer-built-in or vehicle-mounted mobile devices that exchange voice and/or data with the radio access Network. Such as personal communication services (Personal Communication Service, PCS) phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (Session Initiated Protocol, SIP) phones, wireless local loop (Wireless Local Loop, WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (Personal Digital Assistant, PDAs), and the like. The wireless terminal device may also be referred to as a system, subscriber unit (subscriber unit), subscriber station (subscriber station), mobile station (mobile), remote station (remote station), access point (access point), remote terminal device (remote terminal), access terminal device (access terminal), user terminal device (user terminal), user agent (user agent), user equipment (user device), and the embodiments of the present application are not limited.

The network device according to the embodiment of the present application may be a base station, where the base station may include a plurality of cells for providing services for a terminal. A base station may also be called an access point or may be a device in an access network that communicates over the air-interface, through one or more sectors, with wireless terminal devices, or other names, depending on the particular application. The network device may be operable to exchange received air frames with internet protocol (Internet Protocol, IP) packets as a router between the wireless terminal device and the rest of the access network, which may include an Internet Protocol (IP) communication network. The network device may also coordinate attribute management for the air interface. For example, the network device according to the embodiments of the present application may be a network device (Base Transceiver Station, BTS) in a global system for mobile communications (Global System for Mobile communications, GSM) or code division multiple access (Code Division Multiple Access, CDMA), a network device (NodeB) in a wideband code division multiple access (Wide-band Code Division Multiple Access, WCDMA), an evolved network device (evolutional Node B, eNB or e-NodeB) in a long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) system, a 5G base station (gNB) in a 5G network architecture (next generation system), a home evolved base station (Home evolved Node B, heNB), a relay node (relay node), a home base station (femto), a pico base station (pico), and the like. In some network structures, the network device may include a Centralized Unit (CU) node and a Distributed Unit (DU) node, which may also be geographically separated.

To facilitate an understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following terms or contexts are presented in connection with the embodiments of the present application:

the main network functions in the 5GS architecture are introduced as follows:

AMF: access and Mobility Management Function access and mobility management functions, registration, connection management, etc.

UPF: user Plan Function, user plane functions. An external PDU session node interconnected with a data network, message routing and forwarding.

SMF: session Management Function, session management function. Session establishment, deletion, user plane selection and control, UE IP allocation, etc.

AF: application Function, application functions. Interact with the 3GPP core network to provide services. Based on the operator deployment situation, the trusted AF can interact directly with the relevant NF, whereas the non-trusted AF cannot interact directly with NF, but should do so through the NEF using an externally disclosed framework.

PCF: policy Control Function, policy control function. A unified policy framework is supported to manage network behavior, providing policy rules for control plane NF enforcement.

NRF: network Repository Function, network storage function. Supporting a service discovery function.

UDM: unified Data Management, unified data management. Information of the UE, such as subscription information, is stored, and PDU session is established.

NEF: network Exposure Function, network open function. Providing functionality related to securely exposing services and capabilities provided by 3GPP networks to external networks.

UDR: unified Data Repository unified database UDR. And storing subscription data and retrieving the subscription data by the UDM FE. And storing policy information and retrieving the policy information by the PCF.

EASDF: edge Application Server Discovery Function, edge application server discovery function. Based on the SMF indication, a domain name system (Domain Name System, DNS) message is processed.

EAS: edge Application Server, edge application server. And providing edge service.

The mobile edge computing (Mobile Edge Computing, MEC) technique reduces latency and network cost of data round-trip to the cloud by migrating computing power and business service power to the network edge without returning data to the cloud as much as possible. Based on the 5G distributed cloud infrastructure, a 5G user plane and 5G MEC nodes are built in the edge cloud mode, and the 5G MEC nodes provide MEC application platforms to realize deployment and management capability of third party applications. The user may obtain services through the MEC application.

5G defines an application function (Application Function, AF) that sends an application function Request AF Request to a non-trusted domain (NEF) or to a trusted domain (PCF) containing a series of parameters such as a destination data network identification (Data Network Name, DNN), an application ID, an N6 routing requirement or an application location. The PCF generates policy and charging control (Policy and Charging Control, PCC) rules for the target protocol data unit Session (Protocol Data Unit Session, PDU Session) traffic flow based on these information parameters provided by the AF in combination with its own policy control, and selects an appropriate UPF for it via the SMF. The MEC provides functions of application infrastructure resource orchestration, application instantiation, application rule configuration, etc. Thus, when an MEC is deployed in a 5G system, the MEC may also act as a Application Function role, interacting with the 5G system control plane on behalf of applications deployed on the MEC.

The 5G international roaming networking may be classified into a roaming place routing or Local Breakout (Local break) scheme and a Home-routing (Home-Routed) scheme.

Currently, the related art mainly accesses the MEC application of an operator a (operator a) through a local UPF (local user plane function entity) of the operator B (operator B) and an IP network. Illustratively, for the MEC resource sharing scenario, the EAS discovery-related method across the public land mobile network (PulicLand Mobile Network, PLMN) is as follows:

the MNO2 AF pre-configures FQDN information supported by PLMN2 on EASDF1 before PDU session establishment, where EASDF1 determines that PLMN2 platform can provide service corresponding to FQDN according to FQDN, then EASDF1 sends DNS Query to SMF1, SMF1 sends DNS Query and UE location, single mesh selection auxiliary information (Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information, S-NSSAI), PLMN ID, etc. to NEF1, and NEF1 sends mapped S-NSSAI, etc. information to NEF2 of PLMN 2. The edge application server address EAS IP is queried by EASDF2 and sent to the UE.

In the related art, only the MEC application accessing other PLMNs through the local UPF and the IP network is supported, but no scheme is provided for how to access the target MEC application through the RAN of the Home PLMN and how to discover EAS and establish session implementation traffic through the scenario of establishing an N9 tunnel between the UPF and the UPF of the other PLMNs.

The data transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application may be implemented when the UE registers to HPLMN1 (operator B, which may also be referred to as HOME PLMN1 or first HOME PLMN), but cannot find a corresponding MEC application (EAS) in its MEC platform, and the MEC platform of PLMN2 (operator a, which may also be referred to as second PLMN) can provide a corresponding application. The UE needs to discover the target EAS (target MEC App) and establish a PDU session through UPF1 (UPF deployed on the first PLMN) to UPF2 (UPF deployed on the second PLMN) to access the target EAS.

Fig. 1 is one of flow diagrams of a data transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 1, the data transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application is applied to a first session management function entity SMF deployed in a first public land mobile network PLMN, and includes:

step 110, configuring a first routing rule to a first user plane function entity UPF deployed in the first PLMN;

Specifically, the target uplink data may be data initiated by the user equipment UE (may also be referred to as a terminal device or a terminal, where the name is not limited in the embodiments of the present application) and needs to be sent to the second PLMN, such as DNS query message or PDU session data; the first PLMN may be a PLMN to which the user terminal UE is currently registered (may also be referred to as UE currently accessed); the second PLMN is a target PLMN for data transmission, which may be a PLMN capable of providing a target MEC application.

The first UPF may include one or more of the following: session anchor UPF (PDU Session Anchor UPF, PSA UPF), upstream classifier UPF (Uplink Classifier UPF, UL CL UPF) and upstream branch node UPF (Uplink Branching Point UPF, UL BP UPF). PSA UPF refers to a UPF connected to DN (Data Network) through an N6 interface, and connection between the core network and the external data network can be achieved through PSA UPF. UL CL UPF refers to a UPF with a offload function that can forward local traffic onto a local PSA UPF. UL BP UPF refers to a UPF with a Branching Point (Branching Point) function that can forward IPv6 multi-homed PDU session data onto a different PSA UPF, which exists in an IPv6 multi-homed PDU session scenario.

The first UPF may be selected by the first SMF, e.g., the first SMF may determine the first UPF based on existing information, which refers to information preconfigured by the first PLMN, information that has been received, available information, and information determined from preconfigured information, information that has been received, or available information, which may include, for example, target uplink data, UE location, PLMN ID, S-NSSAI, or the like.

The second UPF may be selected by the first SMF, which may determine the second UPF based on the existing information.

The second UPF may be selected by an SMF deployed in the second PLMN, and the SMF deployed in the second PLMN notifies the first SMF after selecting the second UPF.

It should be understood that after the first UPF and the second UPF are determined, the N9 tunnel establishment between the first UPF and the second UPF may be triggered, and the method for tunnel establishment may be implemented by related technologies, which are not described herein.

It should be appreciated that after the target uplink data is sent to the second UPF, the second UPF may route the target uplink data to the final target address according to the target uplink data (e.g., unpacking the target uplink data to obtain the target address) or according to a routing rule configured by the second UPF.

In one embodiment, the UE registers with the first PLMN, but the MEC platform of the first PLMN cannot find the target MEC application, and the MEC platform of the second PLMN is capable of providing the target MEC application, and the UE may send a DNS query message to the second PLMN through a tunnel between the first UPF and the second UPF, where the DNS query message is used to request an edge application server address EAS IP corresponding to the target MEC application, so as to implement discovery of the target MEC application (i.e. discovery of EAS IP corresponding to the target MEC application).

In one embodiment, the UE registers with the first PLMN, has obtained the edge application server address EAS IP of the target MEC application in advance, and can determine the target EAS deployed on the second PLMN (i.e. the edge application server corresponding to the target MEC application) according to the EAS IP, and the UE can establish a PDU session through a tunnel between the first UPF and the second UPF, and access the target EAS.

It should be understood that the foregoing is an example for facilitating understanding of the embodiments of the present application, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific data type of the target upstream data, how the first UPF is determined, and how the second UPF is determined.

According to the data transmission method provided by the embodiment of the application, the first routing rule is configured for the UPF deployed at the first user plane function entity of the first PLMN, the target uplink data is sent to the UPF through the tunnel established between the UPF deployed at the second PLMN and the first UPF, and the data transmission across the PLMN is realized through the tunnel between UPF1 and UPF2, such as the EAS discovery and session establishment across the PLMN can be realized.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

receiving second UPF information sent by the second SMF;

the second UPF is determined based on the second UPF information.

Specifically, indication information is used to determine the second UPF, the second UPF information being determined by the second SMF based on the indication information. The second UPF determined by the second SMF according to the indication information may access the destination address of the destination uplink data, so as to implement routing of the destination uplink data to the final destination address.

In particular, a data network access identifier (Data Network Access Identifier, DNAI) may be used to deploy identifiers of user plane accesses of one or more DNs of an application flow.

Optionally, the indication information may further include identification information of the first UPF, and the indication information is used by the second SMF to determine the first UPF1, so as to select a second UPF capable of establishing a tunnel with the first UPF.

Optionally, the indication information may further include N6 traffic routing information (N6 traffic routing information), and the N6 traffic routing information may include an IP address of the destination data network and/or a port number of the destination data network.

Alternatively, in case the edge application server address EAS IP has been obtained, the indication information may also include EAS IP.

The second UPF information is used to identify the second UPF, and the second UPF information may be a UPF identification, such as an ID of the UPF entity, an IP address or uniform resource identifier (Uniform Resource Identifier, URI) of the UPF entity, or the like. It should be understood that the foregoing is merely exemplary for facilitating understanding of the embodiments of the present application, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit a specific form of the second UPF information, so long as the identification of the second UPF can be implemented.

According to the data transmission method provided by the embodiment of the application, the indication information is sent to the second SMF, the UPF is selected by the second SMF, and the interaction process in the embodiment of the application has fewer involved functional entities and simple steps; and the second SMF deployed on the second PLMN selects the second UPF deployed on the second PLMN, so that the accuracy of the second UPF selection can be improved, and the condition that the selected second UPF cannot access the target address is avoided.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

the second UPF is determined based on the second UPF information.

Specifically, the description of the indication information refers to the description above, and is not repeated here.

The first SMF sends indication information to the first NRF; the first NRF sends indication information to the second NRF; the second NRF selects a second UPF according to the indication information, and sends second UPF information corresponding to the selected second UPF to the first NRF; the first NRF sends second UPF information to the first SMF; the first SMF determines a second UPF from the second UPF information.

According to the data transmission method provided by the embodiment of the application, the first SMF realizes the second UPF selection through the NRF, the second SMF is not required to send second UPF information, the first SMF selects the second UPF, and after the first SMF determines the second UPF, the routing rule can be directly configured for the first UPF, so that the time delay is reduced.

According to the data transmission method provided by the embodiment of the application, after the first SMF selects the second UPF, the identifier of the second UPF can be sent to the second SMF, so that the second SMF can determine the second UPF, and the tunnel establishment, the routing of the target uplink data to the target address and the return of the downlink data through the second UPF and the like are realized.

The identification of the first UPF may include an ID of the UPF entity, an IP address or uniform resource identifier (Uniform Resource Identifier, URI) of the UPF entity, etc. It should be understood that the foregoing is illustrative for facilitating understanding of embodiments of the present application, and embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific form of the identification of the first UPF.

According to the data transmission method provided by the embodiment of the application, the identifier of the first UPF can assist the second SMF in selecting the second UPF, and the second SMF can also configure a downlink data return routing rule (route downlink data to the first UPF) to the second UPF.

Specifically, the EASDF may receive a DNS query message sent by the UE, where the DNS query message may include a target fully qualified domain name FQDN, and the EASDF sends DNS query information (such as the FQDN) to the first SMF. The DNS query message is used to request a target EAS IP from a target DNS server deployed at the second PLMN.

The first SMF may pre-configure EDI of the second PLMN or provide EDI of the second PLMN by AF of the second PLMN, where the EDI may include information such as PLMN ID, DNS server, FQDN, DNAI, S-nsai, etc. corresponding to the second PLMN.

The first SMF may determine the DNAI and the target DNS server from the FQDN and the EDI. The first SMF may select one UPF capable of accessing the target data network as the first UPF according to EDI of the second PLMN.

The data transmission method provided by the embodiment of the invention can be applied to an EAS discovery scene, a target DNS server and a first UPF are determined through a FQDN, DNAI can be used for determining a second UPF, so that a tunnel between the first UPF and the second UPF is established, and DNS query messages are routed to the second UPF through the tunnel, and the second UPF can route the DNS query messages to the target DNS server, so that EAS IP discovery is realized.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

Specifically, after the edge application server address replacement information is configured to the first UPF, when the first UPF receives the DNS query message, the FQDN included in the DNS query message may be compared with the target FQDN, and when the DNS query message includes the target FQDN, the target address of the DNS query message is replaced with the IP address of the target DNS server. The IP address of the destination DNS server is determined based on the destination FQDN and EDI.

According to the data transmission method provided by the embodiment of the application, the target address of the DNS query message is replaced by the IP address of the target DNS server, so that the second UPF can conveniently route the DNS query message to the target DNS server after receiving the DNS query message.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

Specifically, after the DNS information processing rule is configured to the EASDF, when the EASDF receives a DNS query message, the DNS query message may be compared with a target FQDN, and when the DNS query message includes the target FQDN, the DNS query message is sent to the first UPF.

According to the data transmission method provided by the embodiment of the application, the first SMF configures the DNS information processing rule for the EASDF, so that the EASDF can send the DNS inquiry message to the first UPF, and the DNS inquiry message is sent to the second UPF through a tunnel between the first UPF and the second UPF.

Optionally, the first routing rule includes:

routing the DNS query message to the second UPF; or (b)

The DNS query message is routed to the target DNS server.

The first UPF may route DNS query messages directly to the second UPF according to the first routing rule, it being understood that the second UPF may route DNS query messages to a target DNS server according to the routing rule or destination address of the DNS query message for which the second UPF is configured.

The first UPF may directly route the DNS query message to the target DNS server according to the first routing rule, and since the target DNS server is deployed on the second PLMN, the first UPF may route the DNS query message to the second UPF through the tunnel and then route the DNS query message to the target DNS server by the second UPF due to the tunnel connection between the first UPF and the second PLMN.

According to the data transmission method provided by the embodiment of the application, the first SMF configures the first routing rule for the first UPF, so that the first UPF can directly route the DNS query message to the second UPF or route the DNS query message to the target DNS server through the second UPF.

Specifically, the EAS IP may be obtained in advance, or may be obtained by sending a DNS query message in the above embodiment, and the method for obtaining the EAS IP in the embodiment of the present application is not limited. And the Edge Application Server (EAS) corresponding to the EAS IP is deployed on the second PLMN. It should be appreciated that the second UPF may route the DNS query message to the EAS IP according to a routing rule configured by the second UPF or a destination address of the destination upstream data.

According to the data transmission method provided by the embodiment of the application, the target uplink data with the target address of the EAS IP can be sent to the second user plane functional entity UPF through the tunnel established between the second UPF deployed in the second PLMN and the first UPF, so that the data can be sent to the EAS IP.

Fig. 2 is a second flowchart of a data transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 2, where the data transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application is applied to a second session management function entity SMF deployed in a second public land mobile network PLMN, and includes:

step 210, configuring a second routing rule to a second user plane function entity UPF deployed in the second PLMN;

Specifically, for the second PLMN, the second UPF, the first UPF, and the description of the tunnel between the first UPF and the second UPF, reference is made to the above description, and details are not repeated herein.

The target downstream data may be response data to the target upstream data. For example, in the case where the target uplink data is a DNS query message, the target downlink data may be a DNS response message; in the case where the target uplink data is a PDU session establishment request message, the target downlink data may be a PDU session establishment response message.

According to the data transmission method provided by the embodiment of the application, the second routing rule is configured for the second user plane function entity UPF deployed on the second PLMN, the target downlink data is sent to the first user plane function entity UPF through the tunnel established between the second UPF deployed on the second PLMN and the first UPF deployed on the first PLMN, and data transmission across PLMNs is realized through the tunnel between UPF1 and UPF2, for example, the EAS discovery and session establishment across PLMNs can be realized.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

determining the second UPF based on the indication information;

Specifically, the second SMF may select, according to the indication information, a second UPF capable of accessing a destination address, where the destination address refers to a final destination address of the destination uplink network. For the description of the second UPF information, reference is made to the above description, and a detailed description is omitted here.

A data network access identifier (Data Network Access Identifier, DNAI) that may be used to deploy identifiers of user plane accesses for one or more DNs of the application flow.

Optionally, the indication information may further include N6 traffic routing information (N6 traffic routing information), and the N6 traffic routing information may include an IP address of the destination data network and/or a port number of the destination data network. The N6 traffic routing information may be determined based on the target FQDN and EDI.

Alternatively, in the case where the EAS IP has been obtained, the indication information may also include the EAS IP.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

the second UPF is determined based on an identification of the second UPF.

According to the data transmission method provided by the embodiment of the application, the second UPF is determined based on the identifier of the second UPF by receiving the identifier of the second UPF sent by the first SMF, so that the second SMF can determine the second UPF, and the tunnel establishment, the routing of the target uplink data to the target address and the return of the target downlink data through the second UPF and the like are realized.

For the description of the identifier of the first UPF, reference is made to the above description, and a detailed description is omitted here.

Fig. 3 is a third flowchart of a data transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 3, where the data transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application is applied to an edge application server discovery function entity EASDF deployed in a first public land mobile network PLMN, and the method includes:

step 310, receiving a DNS information processing rule of a domain name system configured by a first session management function entity SMF deployed on the first PLMN, where the DNS information processing rule is used to instruct the EASDF to send a DNS query message containing a target fully qualified domain name FQDN to a first UPF.

Specifically, after the EASDF is deployed on the DNS information processing rule configured by the first SMF of the first PLMN, when the EASDF receives the DNS query message, the EASDF may compare the FQDN included in the DNS query message with the target FQDN, and when the DNS query message includes the target FQDN, send the DNS query message to the first UPF.

According to the data transmission method provided by the embodiment of the application, the EASDF receives the DNS information processing rule configured by the first SMF deployed on the first PLMN, so that the EASDF can send the DNS query message to the first UPF, and the DNS query message is sent to the second UPF through the tunnel between the first UPF and the second UPF.

Fig. 4 is a fourth flowchart of a data transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 4, where the data transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application is applied to a terminal accessing a first public land mobile network PLMN, and the method includes:

step 410, transmitting the target uplink data to a second UPF deployed in a second PLMN via a first user plane function UPF deployed in the first PLMN and a tunnel established between the first UPF and the second UPF deployed in the second PLMN; and/or

Step 420 receives target downstream data via the second UPF, the tunnel, and the first UPF.

Specifically, for the second PLMN, the second UPF, the first UPF, and the description of the tunnel between the first UPF and the second UPF, reference is made to the above description, and details are not repeated herein. A terminal accessing the first public land mobile network PLMN may be understood as a terminal registered to the first PLMN or a terminal accessing the RAN of the first PLMN, etc.

The target uplink data may be data initiated by the terminal UE and required to be sent to the second PLMN, such as DNS query message or PDU session data; the first PLMN may be a PLMN to which the user terminal UE is currently registered; the second PLMN is a target PLMN for data transmission, which may be a PLMN capable of providing a target MEC application.

For a tunnel established via a first user plane function, UPF, deployed on a first PLMN and between the first UPF and a second UPF deployed on a second PLMN, sending target uplink data to the second UPF: the terminal can directly send the target uplink data to the first UPF, and the first UPF sends the target uplink data to the second UPF through the tunnel; the terminal may also send the target uplink data to other network elements, where the other network elements send the target uplink data to the first UPF, and then the first UPF sends the target uplink data to the second UPF through the tunnel. Illustratively, the terminal may send a DNS query message to the EASDF, which is sent by the EASDF to the first UPF.

It should be appreciated that the second UPF may route the target uplink data to the final destination address of the target uplink data, and reference may be made to the above description and related techniques for how the second UPF routes the target uplink data to the final destination address, which are not repeated herein.

For example, for receiving the target downlink data via the second UPF, the tunnel, and the first UPF, the target address of the target downlink data is UE IP, and the network element located in the second PLMN sends the target downlink data to the second UPF, and the second UPF sends the data with the target address of the UE IP to the first UPF through the tunnel according to the routing rule.

It should be understood that the first UPF may route the target downlink data to the terminal, and the first UPF may send the data with the target address being the UE IP to the terminal according to the routing rule configured by the first UPF, and the first UPF may also send the target downlink data to the terminal based on the target address obtained by unpacking the target downlink data, which should be understood that, in order to facilitate understanding the distance performed by the embodiment of the present application, how the first UPF routes the target downlink data to the final target address may refer to the description above and related technologies, which are not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 5 is a fifth flow chart of a data transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 5, a scenario introduced in the embodiment of the present application is: the user terminal UE discovers the target EAS deployed in the second PLMN2 by accessing the RAN and UPF1 (N9 tunnel) of the first PLMN.

Step 0a, based on the related technology, the UE establishes a PDU Session in the first PLMN. The SMF confirms that the UE can find EAS through the EASDF based on the UE subscription information. The address of the EASDF is configured to the UE by PCO.

Step 0b, the first SMF locally configures or is provided by the AF of the different operators with EDI (EAS Deployment Information, which may contain PLMN ID, DNS Server Information, FQDN, DNAI, S-NSSAI, etc. information) that different PLMNs are available.

Step 1, the UE sends a DNS query message containing FQDN to the EASDF.

Step 2, the EASDF receives the DNS query message, determines that the DNS query message meets the reporting requirement in DNS message handling rule, obtains DNS query information based on the DNS query message, and reports the DNS query information to the first SMF if the DNS query information may be an FQDN (hereinafter referred to as a target FQDN) included in the DNS query message.

Step 3, the first SMF determines a target DNS server deployed on the second PLMN based on the DNS query information (e.g., FQDN included in the DNS query message) and the EDI. The first SMF selects a first UPF based on EDI (e.g., DNAI, S-nsai), UE location (optional), etc., and the first UPF may include PSAUPF, UL CL UPF, or BP UPF (UPF in the first PLMN may be abbreviated as UPF 1). Optionally, the first SMF selects the second UPF based on EDI.

Alternatively, after determining the first and second UPFs, the first routing rule may be generated based on FQDN information in EDI (i.e., EAS-supported FQDNs of different operators).

Step 4, the first SMF requests to configure a first routing rule to the UL CL/BP UPF or PSA UPF by sending N4 Session Establishment/N4 Session Modification, where the routing rule indicates that the UL CL/BP UPF or PSAUPF determines to route the DNS query message to a second UPF or DNS Server according to the target FQDN included in the DNS query message (the DNS Server is deployed on the second PLMN, and indicates the DNS Server if the second UPF is not selected in step 3).

Optionally, the first SMF configures edge application Server address replacement information (for example, the destination address of the DNS query message may be a DNS Server IP address or an EASDF IP address) to the first UPF, that is, when the FQDN in the DNS query message is the destination FQDN, the destination address is changed from the EASDF IP to the DNS Server IP address.

And 5, the first SMF sends a Neasdf_DNSContext_Update Request containing the updated DNS information processing rule to the EASDF, and the EASDF replies a Neasdf_DNSContext_Update Response to the first SMF. The DNS information processing rules indicate that for DNS queries containing a particular FQDN, forwarding to the UL CL/BP UPF or PSA first UPF.

And step 6, based on the updated DNS information processing rule, the EASDF sends a DNS query message to the UL CL/BP UPF or the PSA first UPF.

And 7, finding a second SMF. The second SMF may be found by:

the first SMF issues a target DNAI to a first AMF deployed on the first PLMN by calling Nsmf_PDUSion_SMContextStatusNotify. The first AMF selects the first SMF and/or the second SMF according to the target DNAI. Or (b)

The first AMF calls Nnrf_NFdiscover_Request to Request the first NRF to discover the second SMF, and the first NRF queries the second NRF.

The target DNAI refers to DNAI determined based on the target FQDN and EDI.

Step 8, the first SMF sends an nsmf_pduse_create Request to the second SMF (the Request message may include DNN, S-nsai corresponding to the second PLMN, PDU Session ID, first SMF ID, PCF ID, first AMF ID, etc.).

Alternatively, if the first SMF selects the second UPF, the first SMF may send the second UPF ID to the second SMF.

Alternatively, if the first SMF does not select the second UPF, the first SMF transmits indication information to the second SMF, and the indication information may include information of the target DNAI, the ID of the first UPF, and N6 traffic routing information (optional), etc.

And 9, the second SMF selects a second UPF according to the indication information, generates a second routing rule, configures the second routing rule to the second UPF through N4 Session Establishment, and sends the information with the target address of UE IP to the first UPF by the routing rule indication.

Step 10, establishing a connection between the first UPF and the second UPF.

Step 11, the first UPF sends the DNS query message to the DNS server through the second UPF.

And step 12, inquiring the target EAS IP address through the DNS server, and returning the target EAS IP address to the UE.

Fig. 6 is a sixth flow chart of a data transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 6, a scenario introduced in the embodiment of the present application is: the data is routed to the target EAS by the RAN of the first PLMN and the first UPF establishing a PDU session to a second UPF in the second PLMN.

Step 0, configuring a UE routing policy (UE route selection policy, urs) to the UE, including S-nsai of the first PLMN, optionally S-nsai of the second PLMN, has obtained an EAS IP address based on the EAS discovery procedure (not limited to the EAS discovery method of embodiment one).

Step 1, the UE sends PDU Session Establishment Request to a first AMF deployed on a first PLMN, requesting an S-nsai including the first PLMN and a second PLMN.

Step 2, the first AMF selects a first SMF based on the S-nsai of the first PLMN, and through NRF discovery, selects a second SMF based on the S-nsai of the second PLMN.

And 3, the first AMF sends Nsmf_PDUSion_ CreateSMContext Request to the first SMF, wherein the Nsmf_PDUSion_ CreateSMContext Request comprises information such as an AMF1 ID, a second SMF ID and the like and S-NSSAI of the first PLMN and the second PLMN.

Step 4, the first SMF selects a first UPF based on DNAI, S-NSSAI, UE position and other information. Wherein the target DNAI may be determined based on EDI provided by a second AF deployed in the second PLMN and the target FQDN.

Optionally, the first SMF selects the second UPF.

Step 5, the first SMF initiates N4 Session Establishment to the first UPF.

Step 6, the first SMF sends an nsmf_pduse_create Request (DNN, second PLMN S-nsai, PDU Session ID, first SMF ID, PCF ID, AMF1 ID) to the second SMF.

Optionally, the first SMF sends a second UPF ID to the second SMF. If the first SMF does not select the second UPF, the first SMF sends an indication message to the second SMF, wherein the indication message can comprise information such as a target DNAI, an ID of the first UPF, N6 traffic routing information (optional), an EAS IP (optional) and the like.

Step 7a, optionally, if in step 4 the first SMF does not select the second UPF, the second UPF is selected by the second SMF based on the indication information of step 6.

Step 7b, the second SMF initiates N4 Session Establishment to the second UPF. And configuring a routing rule to the second UPF, and transmitting downlink data to the first UPF when the routing rule indicates that the target address is the UE IP address.

And 8, the second SMF transmits tunnel information containing uplink data to the second UPF to the first SMF.

Step 9, the first SMF initiates N4 Session Modification to the first UPF. The first SMF configures a routing rule to the first UPF, and when the routing rule indicates that the target address is the target EAS IP address, uplink data is sent to the second UPF.

Fig. 7 is a seventh flowchart of a data transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 7, a scenario described in the embodiment of the present application is that a first SMF discovers a second UPF through a first NRF (belonging to a first PLMN) and a second NRF (belonging to a second PLMN).

Step 1, each UPF (e.g., the second UPF) sends an nrf_nfmanagement_nfregisterrequest to the second NRF, where the registration request information includes DNAI, NFtype, instanceID, FQDN, IPaddress, PLMNID, etc. supported by the request information. The second NRF stores the profile of the UPF and replies to the Nnrf_NFmanagement_NFRegisterresponse.

Step 2, the first SMF sends an nrf_nfdiscovery_request to the first NRF, where the Request information includes a PLMNID of the first PLMN, a PLMNID of the second PLMN, the first SMFID, a target DNAI, and the like.

Step 3, the first NRF sends an nrf_nfdiscovery_request to the second NRF, where the Request information includes a PLMNID of the first PLMN, a PLMNID of the second PLMN, the first SMFID, the target DNAI, and an NF Type.

Step 4, the second NRF determines that the second UPF information can be provided to the first SMF based on the local policy or the UPF registration PLMNID of step 1, and determines the second UPF based on the target DNAI.

Step 5, the second NRF sends information (such as FQDN or IP address) of the second UPF to the first SMF through the first NRF.

Referring to fig. 8, fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a data transmission device provided in an embodiment of the present application, where the embodiment of the present application provides a data transmission device applied to a first session management function entity SMF deployed in a first public land mobile network PLMN, the device includes:

a first configuration unit 810, configured to configure a first routing rule to a first user plane function entity UPF deployed on the first PLMN;

Specifically, the target uplink data may be data that needs to be sent to the second PLMN, such as DNS query message or PDU session data, initiated by the user terminal UE; the first PLMN may be a PLMN to which the user terminal UE is currently registered; the second PLMN is a target PLMN for data transmission, which may be a PLMN capable of providing a target MEC application.

For the description of the first UPF, the second UPF, how the first UPF is determined, and how the second UPF is determined, reference is made to the above description, and no further description is given here.

Optionally, the apparatus further comprises: a first transmitting unit, a first receiving unit, and a first determining unit;

the first sending unit is configured to send, to a second session management function entity SMF deployed in the second PLMN, indication information for determining a second UPF;

the first receiving unit is configured to receive second UPF information sent by the second SMF;

the first determining unit is configured to determine the second UPF based on the second UPF information.

According to the data transmission device provided by the embodiment of the application, the first routing rule is configured for the UPF deployed at the first user plane function entity of the first PLMN, the target uplink data is sent to the UPF through the tunnel established between the UPF deployed at the second PLMN and the first UPF, and data transmission across PLMNs is realized through the tunnel between UPF1 and UPF2, such as cross-PLMN EAS discovery and session establishment can be realized.

The method and the device provided in each embodiment of the present application are based on the same application conception, and because the principles of solving the problems by the method and the device are similar, the data transmission device provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement all the method steps implemented in the data transmission method embodiment applied to the first SMF, and can achieve the same technical effects, so that the implementation of the device and the method can be referred to each other, and the repetition is omitted.

Referring to fig. 9, fig. 9 is a second schematic structural diagram of a data transmission device provided in an embodiment of the present application, where the embodiment of the present application provides a data transmission device applied to a second session management function entity SMF deployed in a second public land mobile network PLMN, the device includes:

a second configuration unit 910, configured to configure a second routing rule to a second user plane function entity UPF deployed on the second PLMN;

Optionally, the apparatus further comprises: a second transmitting unit, a second receiving unit, and a second determining unit;

The second receiving unit is configured to receive, from a first SMF deployed in a first PLMN, indication information for determining the second UPF;

the second determining unit is configured to determine the second UPF based on the indication information;

the second sending unit is configured to send second UPF information corresponding to the second UPF to the first SMF.

According to the data transmission device provided by the embodiment of the application, the second routing rule is configured for the second user plane function entity UPF deployed on the second PLMN, the target downlink data is sent to the first user plane function entity UPF through the tunnel established between the second UPF deployed on the second PLMN and the first UPF deployed on the first PLMN, and data transmission across PLMNs is realized through the tunnel between UPF1 and UPF2, for example, the EAS discovery and session establishment across PLMNs can be realized.

The method and the device provided in each embodiment of the present application are based on the same application conception, and because the principles of solving the problems by the method and the device are similar, the data transmission device provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement all the method steps implemented in the data transmission method embodiment applied to the second SMF, and can achieve the same technical effects, so that the implementation of the device and the method can be referred to each other, and the repetition is omitted.

Referring to fig. 10, fig. 10 is a third schematic structural diagram of a data transmission device provided in an embodiment of the present application, where the embodiment of the present application provides a data transmission device applied to an edge application server discovery function entity EASDF deployed in a first public land mobile network PLMN, and the device includes:

a third receiving unit 1010, configured to receive a DNS information processing rule configured by a first session management function entity SMF deployed on the first PLMN, where the DNS information processing rule is configured to instruct the EASDF to send a DNS query message containing a target fully qualified domain name FQDN to a first UPF.

According to the data transmission device provided by the embodiment of the application, the EASDF receives the DNS information processing rule configured by the first SMF deployed on the first PLMN, so that the EASDF can send the DNS query message to the first UPF, and the DNS query message is sent to the second UPF through the tunnel between the first UPF and the second UPF.

The method and the device provided in each embodiment of the present application are based on the same application conception, and because the principles of solving the problems by the method and the device are similar, the data transmission device provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement all the method steps implemented in the embodiment of the data transmission method applied to the EASDF, and can achieve the same technical effects, so that the implementation of the device and the method can be mutually referred to, and the repetition is omitted.

Fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a first SMF according to an embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 11, where the first SMF includes a memory 1120, a transceiver 1100, and a processor 1110; wherein the processor 1110 and the memory 1120 may also be physically separate.

A memory 1120 for storing a computer program; a transceiver 1100 for transmitting and receiving data under the control of a processor 1110.

In particular, transceiver 1100 is configured to receive and transmit data under the control of processor 1110.

Wherein in fig. 11, bus interface 1130 may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, and in particular one or more processors represented by processor 1110, and various circuits of memory represented by memory 1120, coupled together. The bus interface 1130 may also connect various other circuits such as peripheral devices, voltage regulators, power management circuits, etc., as are well known in the art and therefore not further described herein. The bus interface provides an interface. Transceiver 1100 may be a number of elements, including a transmitter and a receiver, providing a means for communicating with various other apparatus over transmission media, including wireless channels, wired channels, optical cables, etc.

The processor 1110 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 1120 may store data used by the processor 1110 in performing operations.

Alternatively, the processor 1110 may be a CPU (central processing unit), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit ), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array, field programmable gate array) or CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device ), and the processor may also employ a multi-core architecture.

The processor 1110 is configured to execute any of the operations corresponding to the data transmission method applied to the first SMF provided in the embodiments of the present application according to the obtained executable instructions by calling a computer program stored in the memory 1120, for example:

The second UPF may be predetermined. If the second PLMN may provide the MEC application supported by the second PLMN and the UPF list to the first PLMN in advance, each UPF-supported access MEC application may be included in the UPF list, so that the first MEC application corresponding to the target uplink data determines the second UPF.

The second UPF may be selected by an AF deployed on the second PLMN, which upon selection of the second UPF, notifies the first SMF.

In one embodiment, the UE registers with the first PLMN, but the MEC platform of the first PLMN cannot find the target MEC application, and the MEC platform of the second PLMN is capable of providing the target MEC application, and the UE may send a DNS query message to the second PLMN through a tunnel between the first UPF and the second UPF, where the DNS query message is used to request the EAS IP corresponding to the target MEC application, so as to implement discovery of the target MEC application (i.e. discovery of the EAS IP corresponding to the target MEC application).

In one embodiment, the UE registers with the first PLMN, has obtained the EAS IP of the target MEC application in advance, and may determine the target EAS deployed in the second PLMN (i.e., the edge application server corresponding to the target MEC application) according to the EAS IP, and the UE may establish a PDU session through a tunnel between the first UPF and the second UPF, and access the target EAS.

According to the first SMF provided by the embodiment of the invention, the first routing rule is configured to the first user plane function entity UPF deployed on the first PLMN, the target uplink data is sent to the second user plane function entity UPF through the tunnel established between the second UPF deployed on the second PLMN and the first UPF, and data transmission across PLMNs is realized through the tunnel between UPF1 and UPF2, such as cross-PLMN EAS discovery and session establishment can be realized.

Optionally, the operations further comprise:

receiving second UPF information sent by the second SMF;

the second UPF is determined based on the second UPF information.

Specifically, the indication information is used to determine the second UPF. The second UPF determined by the second SMF according to the indication information may access the destination address of the destination uplink data, so as to implement routing of the destination uplink data to the final destination address.

According to the first SMF provided by the embodiment of the application, the UPF is selected by the second SMF by sending the indication information to the second SMF, so that the number of functional entities involved in the interaction process in the embodiment of the application is small, and the steps are simple; and the second SMF deployed on the second PLMN selects the second UPF deployed on the second PLMN, so that the accuracy of the second UPF selection can be improved, and the condition that the selected second UPF cannot access the target address is avoided.

Optionally, the operations further comprise:

the second UPF is determined based on the second UPF information.

According to the first SMF provided by the embodiment of the application, the second UPF selection is realized through the NRF, the second SMF is not required to send the second UPF information, the first SMF selects the second UPF, and after the first SMF determines the second UPF, the routing rule can be directly configured for the first UPF, so that the time delay is reduced.

Optionally, the operations further comprise: and sending the identification of the second UPF to a second session management function entity SMF deployed on a second PLMN.

Optionally, the operations further comprise: and sending the identification of the first UPF to a second session management function entity SMF deployed on a second PLMN.

Optionally, in the case that the target upstream data is a target domain name system DNS query message, the operations further include:

Optionally, the operations further comprise:

Optionally, the first routing rule includes:

routing the DNS query message to the second UPF; or (b)

The DNS query message is routed to the target DNS server.

Optionally, the first routing rule includes: and routing target uplink data with the target address of EAS IP to the second UPF.

It should be noted that, the foregoing first SMF provided in this embodiment of the present application may implement all the method steps implemented in the foregoing data transmission method embodiment applied to the first SMF, and may achieve the same technical effects, and detailed descriptions of the same parts and beneficial effects as those of the method embodiment in this embodiment are omitted herein.

Fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a second SMF provided in an embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 12, where the second SMF includes a memory 1220, a transceiver 1200 and a processor 1210; wherein processor 1210 and memory 1220 may also be physically separate.

A memory 1220 for storing a computer program; a transceiver 1200 for transceiving data under the control of a processor 1210.

In particular, transceiver 1200 is configured to receive and transmit data under the control of processor 1210.

Wherein in fig. 12, bus interface 1230 may comprise any number of interconnected buses and bridges, and in particular one or more processors represented by processor 1210 and various circuits of memory represented by memory 1220, coupled together. The bus interface 1230 may also connect various other circuits, such as peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. Transceiver 1200 may be a number of elements, including a transmitter and a receiver, providing a means for communicating with various other apparatus over transmission media, including wireless channels, wired channels, optical cables, etc.

The processor 1210 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 1220 may store data used by the processor 1210 in performing operations.

Alternatively, processor 1210 may be a CPU (Central processing Unit), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit ), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array, field programmable Gate array) or CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device ), and the processor may also employ a multi-core architecture.

The processor 1210 is configured to execute any of the operations corresponding to the data transmission method applied to the second SMF provided in the embodiments of the present application according to the obtained executable instructions by calling a computer program stored in the memory 1220, for example:

Optionally, the operations further comprise:

Determining the second UPF based on the indication information;

Optionally, the operations further comprise:

the second UPF is determined based on an identification of the second UPF.

Optionally, the operations further comprise: and receiving an identification of the first UPF sent by a first SMF deployed on the first PLMN.

It should be noted that, the second SMF provided in this embodiment of the present application may implement all the method steps implemented in the data transmission method embodiment applied to the second SMF, and may achieve the same technical effects, and detailed descriptions of the same parts and beneficial effects as those of the method embodiment in this embodiment are omitted herein.

Fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of an EASDF according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 13, the second SMF includes a memory 1320, a transceiver 1300 and a processor 1310; wherein the processor 1310 and the memory 1320 may also be physically separate.

A memory 1320 for storing a computer program; a transceiver 1300 for transceiving data under the control of a processor 1310.

In particular, transceiver 1300 is configured to receive and transmit data under the control of processor 1310.

Wherein in fig. 13, bus interface 1330 may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, and in particular one or more processors represented by processor 1310 and various circuits of memory represented by memory 1320, coupled together. Bus interface 1330 may also connect together various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. Transceiver 1300 may be a number of elements, i.e., including a transmitter and a receiver, providing a means for communicating with various other apparatus over transmission media, including wireless channels, wired channels, optical cables, etc.

The processor 1310 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 1320 may store data used by the processor 1310 in performing operations.

Alternatively, the processor 1310 may be a CPU (central processing unit), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit ), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array, field programmable gate array) or CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device ), and the processor may also employ a multi-core architecture.

The processor 1310 is configured to execute any of the operations corresponding to the data transmission method applied to the second SMF according to the embodiments of the present application by calling a computer program stored in the memory 1320, for example:

The EASDF provided by the embodiment of the present application receives a DNS information processing rule configured by a first SMF deployed on the first PLMN, so that the EASDF can send a DNS query message to the first UPF, and thus send the DNS query message to the second UPF through a tunnel between the first UPF and the second UPF.

It should be noted that, the EASDF provided by the embodiment of the present application can implement all the method steps implemented by the embodiment of the data transmission method applied to the EASDF, and can achieve the same technical effects, and detailed descriptions of the same parts and beneficial effects as those of the embodiment of the method in the embodiment are omitted herein.

It should be noted that, the user equipment and the network equipment provided by the embodiments of the present invention can implement all the method steps implemented by the embodiments of the present invention, and can achieve the same technical effects, and detailed descriptions of the same parts and beneficial effects as those of the embodiments of the present invention are omitted herein.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the division of the units is schematic, which is merely a logic function division, and other division manners may be implemented in actual practice. In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integrated in one unit. The integrated units may be implemented in hardware or in software functional units.

The integrated units, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as stand-alone products, may be stored in a processor-readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or a portion or all or part of the technical solution contributing to the related art, may be embodied in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium, including several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) or a processor (processor) to perform all or part of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: a U-disk, a removable hard disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a random access Memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk, or other various media capable of storing program codes.

It should be noted that, the above device provided in the embodiment of the present invention can implement all the method steps implemented in the method embodiment and achieve the same technical effects, and detailed descriptions of the same parts and beneficial effects as those in the method embodiment in this embodiment are omitted.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a processor readable storage medium, where a computer program is stored, where the computer program is configured to cause the processor to perform the data transmission method provided in the foregoing embodiments and applied to the first session management function entity SMF deployed in the first public land mobile network PLMN, where the method includes:

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a processor readable storage medium, where a computer program is stored, where the computer program is configured to cause the processor to perform the data transmission method provided in the foregoing embodiments and applied to the second session management function entity SMF deployed in the second public land mobile network PLMN, where the method includes: configuring a second routing rule to a second User Plane Function (UPF) deployed in the second PLMN;

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a processor readable storage medium, where a computer program is stored, where the computer program is configured to cause the processor to execute the data transmission method provided in the foregoing embodiments and applied to an edge application server discovery function entity EASDF deployed in a first public land mobile network PLMN, where the method includes:

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a processor readable storage medium, where the processor readable storage medium stores a computer program, where the computer program is configured to cause the processor to execute the data transmission method provided in the foregoing embodiments and applied to a terminal accessing a first public land mobile network PLMN, where the method includes:

And receiving target downlink data through the second UPF, the tunnel and the first UPF.

The processor-readable storage medium may be any available medium or data storage device that can be accessed by a processor, including, but not limited to, magnetic storage (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tape, magneto-optical disks (MOs), etc.), optical storage (e.g., CD, DVD, BD, HVD, etc.), semiconductor storage (e.g., ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, nonvolatile storage (NAND FLASH), solid State Disk (SSD)), and the like.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that embodiments of the present application may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present application may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present application may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, magnetic disk storage, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

The present application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the application. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer-executable instructions. These computer-executable instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These processor-executable instructions may also be stored in a processor-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the processor-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These processor-executable instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present application without departing from the spirit or scope of the application. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims and the equivalents thereof, the present application is intended to cover such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A data transmission method, applied to a first session management function entity SMF deployed in a first public land mobile network PLMN, comprising:

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

receiving second UPF information sent by the second SMF;

the second UPF is determined based on the second UPF information.

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

the second UPF is determined based on the second UPF information.

4. A data transmission method according to claim 3, characterized in that the method further comprises: and sending the identification of the second UPF to a second session management function entity SMF deployed on a second PLMN.

5. The method for data transmission according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: and sending the identification of the first UPF to a second session management function entity SMF deployed on a second PLMN.

6. The data transmission method according to any one of claims 2-4, characterized in that the indication information is a data network access identifier DNAI.

7. The data transmission method according to claim 6, wherein in case the target upstream data is a target domain name system DNS query message, the method further comprises:

8. The data transmission method according to claim 7, characterized in that the method further comprises:

9. The data transmission method according to claim 7, characterized in that the method further comprises:

10. The data transmission method of claim 7, wherein the first routing rule comprises:

routing the DNS query message to the second UPF; or (b)

The DNS query message is routed to the target DNS server.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein the first routing rule comprises: and routing the target uplink data with the target address being the edge application server address EAS IP to the second UPF.

12. A data transmission method, characterized by being applied to a second session management function entity SMF deployed in a second public land mobile network PLMN, comprising:

13. The data transmission method according to claim 12, characterized in that the method further comprises:

determining the second UPF based on the indication information;

14. The data transmission method according to claim 13, wherein the indication information is a data network access identifier DNAI.

15. The data transmission method according to claim 12, characterized in that the method further comprises:

the second UPF is determined based on an identification of the second UPF.

16. A data transmission method according to any one of claims 12-15, characterized in that the method further comprises: and receiving an identification of the first UPF sent by a first SMF deployed on the first PLMN.

17. A data transmission method applied to an edge application server discovery function entity EASDF deployed in a first public land mobile network PLMN, the method comprising:

18. A data transmission method, applied to a terminal accessing a first public land mobile network PLMN, comprising:

19. A first session management function, SMF, deployed in a first public land mobile network, PLMN, the first SMF comprising a memory, a transceiver, a processor:

a memory for storing a computer program; a transceiver for transceiving data under control of the processor; a processor for reading the computer program in the memory and performing the following operations:

20. The first SMF of claim 19, wherein said operations further comprise:

receiving second UPF information sent by the second SMF;

the second UPF is determined based on the second UPF information.

21. The first SMF of claim 19, wherein said operations further comprise:

the second UPF is determined based on the second UPF information.

22. The first SMF of claim 21, wherein said operations further comprise: and sending the identification of the second UPF to a second session management function entity SMF deployed on a second PLMN.

23. The first SMF of any of claims 19-22, wherein said operations further comprise: and sending the identification of the first UPF to a second session management function entity SMF deployed on a second PLMN.

24. The first SMF according to any of the claims 20-22, characterized in that said indication information is a data network access identifier DNAI.

25. The first SMF of claim 24, wherein in case said target upstream data is a target domain name system DNS query message, said operations further comprise:

26. The first SMF of claim 25, wherein said operations further comprise:

27. The first SMF of claim 25, wherein said operations further comprise:

28. The first SMF of claim 25, wherein said first routing rule comprises:

routing the DNS query message to the second UPF; or (b)

The DNS query message is routed to the target DNS server.

29. The first SMF of any of claims 19-22, wherein said first routing rule comprises: and routing the target uplink data with the target address being the edge application server address EAS IP to the second UPF.

30. A second session management function, SMF, deployed in a second public land mobile network, PLMN, said second SMF comprising a memory, a transceiver, a processor:

31. The second SMF of claim 30, wherein said operations further comprise:

determining the second UPF based on the indication information;

32. The second SMF of claim 31, wherein said indication information is a data network access identifier DNAI.

33. The second SMF of claim 30, wherein said operations further comprise:

the second UPF is determined based on an identification of the second UPF.

34. The second SMF of any of claims 30-33, wherein said operations further comprise: and receiving an identification of the first UPF sent by a first SMF deployed on the first PLMN.

35. An edge application server discovery function entity EASDF deployed in a first public land mobile network PLMN, the EASDF comprising a memory, a transceiver, and a processor:

36. A data transmission device for application to a first session management function entity, SMF, deployed in a first public land mobile network, PLMN, the device comprising:

a first configuration unit, configured to configure a first routing rule to a first user plane function entity UPF deployed on the first PLMN;

37. A data transmission device for application to a second session management function, SMF, deployed in a second public land mobile network, PLMN, the device comprising:

A second configuration unit, configured to configure a second routing rule to a second user plane function entity UPF deployed in the second PLMN;

38. A data transmission apparatus for use in an edge application server discovery function entity EASDF deployed in a first public land mobile network PLMN, the apparatus comprising:

and a third receiving unit, configured to receive a domain name system DNS information handling rule configured by a first session management function entity SMF deployed on the first PLMN, where the DNS information handling rule is configured to instruct the EASDF to send a DNS query message containing a target fully qualified domain name FQDN to a first UPF.

39. A processor-readable storage medium, characterized in that the processor-readable storage medium stores a computer program for causing the processor to perform the data transmission method of any one of claims 1 to 11, to perform the data transmission method of any one of claims 12 to 16, to perform the data transmission method of claim 17, or to perform the data transmission method of claim 18.