JP7065034B2 - Message forwarding method, control plane gateway and user plane gateway - Google Patents

Description

This application claims the Chinese patent application filed on November 28, 2017, No. 201711219039.2, the title of the invention "Message forwarding method, control plane gateway and user plane gateway" as priority. The entire contents are incorporated herein by reference.

The present application relates to the field of communication, and particularly to message forwarding methods, control plane gateways and user plane gateways.

In vehicle-to-vehicle communication, it is necessary to maintain a balance between service continuity and low delay as much as possible due to the mobility of the vehicle. One of the expressions of service continuity is that the endpoint information for communication of the vehicle user (for example, the IP address for communication of the user) is not changed. As a result, both sides of the communication can quickly contact the other party without having to acquire the changed endpoint information of the other party by other techniques. Usually, the gateway is often sunk to reduce latency. That is, place more gateways closer to the vehicle user. In this way, vehicle-to-vehicle communication can occur in scenarios via subsided gateways.

If the conventional message forwarding method is used after the user plane gateway is sunk, the route may be bypassed or the forwarding delay may be increased. Therefore, in order to meet the requirements for low latency services, it is necessary to invent a solution that can effectively optimize the forwarding route.

The present application can provide a message forwarding method, a control plane gateway and a user plane gateway to meet the requirements of low latency service, and can effectively optimize the forwarding route.

In the first embodiment, a message forwarding method is provided. This method involves the following steps:

The control plane gateway acquires the registration information of the first UE and the registration information of the second UE. The registration information of the first UE includes a UE identifier for the first UE to communicate with, and the registration information of the second UE includes a UE identifier for the second UE to communicate with.

The control plane gateway generates a forwarding routing table for the first UE and the second UE based on the registration information of the first UE and the registration information of the second UE. The forwarding routing table contains information required for the route for the first UE and the second UE to execute message transmission.

The control plane gateway distributes the forwarding routing table to the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway. The forwarding routing table is used by the user plane gateway to determine a message forwarding route between the first UE and the second UE. The first user plane gateway is a gateway in which the first UE is located, and the second user plane gateway is a gateway in which the second UE is located.

In an embodiment of the present application, the control plane gateway determines the forwarding routing table and distributes the forwarding routing table to the first user plane gateway. This allows the first user plane gateway to determine the message forwarding route between the first UE and the second UE by means of the forwarding routing table, optimize the message forwarding route, and require low latency service. Can be met.

In the embodiment of the present application, the first UE and the second UE may be in the same user plane gateway or may cross the user plane gateway. That is, the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway may be the same or different.

In some possible embodiments, the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway are the same.

The step of generating the transfer routing table of the first UE and the second UE includes the following steps.

The control plane gateway generates the forwarding routing table by the registration information and the identifier of the first user plane gateway. The forwarding routing table includes a route from the first user plane gateway to the first UE and a route from the first user plane gateway to the second UE. The message forwarding of the first UE and the second UE is a direct transmission via the first user plane gateway.

In this way, the message forwarding of the first UE and the second UE may be a direct forwarding via the first user plane gateway. It is no longer necessary to bypass transfer from the first user plane gateway via the transmission network and the central gateway. It can optimize forwarding routes, reduce forwarding delays, and meet the requirements of low latency services.

In some possible embodiments, the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway are different user plane gateways.

The step of generating the transfer routing table of the first UE and the second UE includes the following steps.

The control plane gateway generates the forwarding routing table by the registration information, the identifier of the first user plane gateway, and the identifier of the second user plane gateway. The forwarding routing table includes a route from the first user plane gateway to the second UE via the second user plane gateway, and the first user plane from the second user plane gateway. The route to reach the first UE via the gateway is included.

Optionally, the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway are different user plane gateways in the same central gateway.

Here, the message forwarding between the first UE and the second UE may be a forwarding via a tunnel between the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway. There is no need for bypass forwarding from the user plane gateway over the transmission network and central gateway. It can optimize forwarding routes, reduce forwarding delays, and meet the requirements of low latency services. The IP address of the first UE and the IP address of the second UE are assigned by the central gateway. Since the central gateway is not changed, the IP address of the UE does not change even if the UE switches from local UPF1 to local UPF2. This ensures continuity of higher-tier applications and avoids service interruptions due to gateway reconnection.

In some possible embodiments, the method further comprises the following steps before generating the forwarding routing table.

The control plane gateway updates the registration information and acquires the updated registration information.

The control plane gateway updates the forwarding routing table with the updated registration information.

Here, when updating, the control plane gateway may update only the entries of the changed UE in the user plane gateway, and it is not necessary to update all the registered UE entries, so that the update range is reduced. However, the processing load is reduced.

In some possible embodiments, the method further performs the following steps before the control plane gateway distributes the forwarding routing table to the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway. include.

The control plane gateway sends a tunnel construction request to the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway. The tunnel construction request is used to request to construct a tunnel between the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway.

The control plane gateway receives the first tunnel construction request response transmitted by the first user plane gateway. The first tunnel construction request response is used to respond to the tunnel construction request by the first user plane gateway.

The control plane gateway receives the second tunnel construction request response transmitted by the second user plane gateway. The second tunnel construction request response is used to respond to the tunnel construction request by the second user plane gateway.

Here, the control plane gateway requests a tunnel connection between the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway to realize communication across the user plane gateway, thereby optimizing the forwarding path. be able to.

The second embodiment provides a message forwarding method. This method involves the following steps:

The first user plane gateway receives the forwarding routing table transmitted by the control plane gateway. The forwarding routing table contains information required for the route for the first UE and the second UE to perform message transmission.

The first user plane gateway determines a message forwarding route between the first UE and the second UE by the forwarding routing table. The first user plane gateway is a gateway where the first UE is located, and the second user plane gateway is a gateway where the second UE is located.

In an embodiment of the present application, the first user plane gateway receives the forwarding routing table transmitted by the control plane gateway, and the forwarding routing table allows the message forwarding path between the first UE and the second UE. Can now determine, optimize message forwarding routes, and meet the requirements of low latency services.

In the embodiment of the present application, the first UE and the second UE may be in the same user plane gateway or may cross the user plane gateway. That is, the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway may be the same or different.

In some possible embodiments, the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway are the same. The forwarding routing table includes a route from the first user plane gateway to the first UE and a route from the first user plane gateway to the second UE.

The step in which the first user plane gateway determines the message forwarding route between the first UE and the second UE by the forwarding routing table includes the following steps.

The first user plane gateway determines from the forwarding routing table that the message forwarding of the first UE and the second UE is direct transmission via the first user plane gateway.

In this way, the message forwarding of the first UE and the second UE may be a direct forwarding via the first user plane gateway. It is no longer necessary to bypass transfer from the first user plane gateway via the transmission network and the central gateway. It can optimize forwarding routes, reduce forwarding delays, and meet the requirements of low latency services.

In some possible embodiments, the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway are different user plane gateways. The forwarding routing table includes a route from the first user plane gateway to the second UE via the second user plane gateway, and the first user plane from the second user plane gateway. The route to reach the first UE via the gateway is included.

Among them, the step in which the first user plane gateway determines the message forwarding route between the first UE and the second UE by the forwarding routing table includes the following steps.

In the first user plane gateway, message forwarding between the first UE and the second UE is performed through a tunnel between the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway according to the forwarding routing table. Determine to be a transmission.

Optionally, the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway are different user plane gateways in the same central gateway.

Here, the message forwarding between the first UE and the second UE may be a forwarding via a tunnel between the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway. There is no need for bypass forwarding from the user plane gateway over the transmission network and central gateway. It can optimize forwarding routes, reduce forwarding delays, and meet the requirements of low latency services. The IP address of the first UE and the IP address of the second UE are assigned by the central gateway. Since the central gateway is not changed, the IP address of the UE does not change even if the UE switches from local UPF1 to local UPF2. This ensures continuity of higher-tier applications and avoids service interruptions due to gateway reconnection.

In some possible embodiments, the method further comprises the following steps:

The first user plane gateway receives the tunnel construction request transmitted by the control plane gateway. The first tunnel construction request is used to request the construction of a tunnel between the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway.

The first user plane gateway sends a first tunnel construction request response to the control plane gateway. The first tunnel construction request response is used to respond to the tunnel construction request by the first user plane gateway.

Here, the control plane gateway requests a tunnel connection between the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway to realize communication across the user plane gateway, thereby optimizing the forwarding path. be able to.

A third embodiment provides a control plane gateway for performing the method according to any possible embodiment of the first embodiment described above or the first embodiment. Specifically, the control plane gateway includes a module for performing the method according to the first embodiment described above or any possible embodiment of the first embodiment.

A fourth aspect provides a user plane gateway for performing the method according to any possible embodiment of the second or second embodiment described above. Specifically, the user plane gateway includes a module for performing the method according to the second embodiment described above or any possible embodiment of the second embodiment.

A fifth embodiment provides a control plane gateway that includes a processor, memory, and a transceiver. The processor is connected to the memory and transceiver. Memory is used to store instructions, processors are used to execute instructions, and transceivers are used to communicate with other network elements under the control of the processor. When the processor executes an instruction stored in memory, the execution causes the processor to execute the method according to the first aspect or any possible embodiment of the first aspect.

A sixth embodiment provides a user plane gateway that includes a processor, memory, and a transceiver. The processor is connected to the memory and transceiver. Memory is used to store instructions, processors are used to execute instructions, and transceivers are used to communicate with other network elements under the control of the processor. When the processor executes an instruction stored in memory, depending on the execution, the processor is made to execute the method according to the second aspect or any possible embodiment of the second aspect.

A seventh embodiment provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a program. This program causes the control plane gateway to execute any of the processor transfer methods according to the first aspect and each embodiment.

Eighth embodiment provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a program. This program causes the user plane gateway to execute any of the processor transfer methods according to the second user aspect and each embodiment.

A ninth aspect provides a communication chip that stores instructions. This instruction, when executed at the control plane gateway, causes the communication chip to perform the method according to any possible embodiment of the first aspect or the first aspect.

A tenth aspect provides a communication chip that stores instructions. When executed at the user plane gateway, this instruction causes the communication chip to perform the method according to any possible embodiment of the second aspect or the second aspect.

In the eleventh form, a computer program product for storing instructions is provided. When executed on the computer, this instruction applies to the computer according to any possible embodiment of the first aspect or the first aspect or any possible embodiment of the second aspect or the second aspect. Have the method executed.

It is a network architecture diagram in which the control plane and the user plane are separated (CUPS). It is a schematic diagram of the scenario to which the embodiment of this application is applied. It is a block diagram of the control plane gateway which concerns on embodiment of this application. It is a block diagram of the user plane gateway which concerns on embodiment of this application. It is a schematic sequence diagram of the message forwarding method which concerns on one Embodiment of this application. It is a schematic diagram of the application example of the embodiment of this application. It is a schematic diagram of another application example of the embodiment of this application. FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram of a specific process according to an embodiment of the present application. It is a schematic block diagram of the control plane gateway which concerns on embodiment of this application. It is a schematic block diagram of the user plane gateway which concerns on embodiment of this application. It is a schematic block diagram of the user plane gateway which concerns on embodiment of this application.

Hereinafter, the technical solutions according to the present application will be described together with the drawings.

Technical solutions according to embodiments of the present application are a Global System of Mobile communication (GSM®) system, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, and a broadband code division duplex. Connection (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access, WCDMA®) system, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, LTE Frequency Division Duplex. , FDD) Systems, LTE Division Duplex (TDD), Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Global Interoperability It can be applied to communication systems and various communication systems such as future 5th Generation (5G) systems or new radios (New Radio, NR).

The technical solution according to the embodiment of the present application can be applied to a network architecture in which the control plane and the user plane are separated (CUPS). Separation of the control plane and the user plane means that a part or all of the network elements having the functions of the control plane and the user plane are divided into two individuals, the network element of the control plane and the network element of the user plane. .. CUPS is also called CU separation. In a CU-separated network architecture, the network elements of the control plane are signaling connections with other network elements, handling user device mobility and session management requests, managing user device contexts, and establishing data transmission channels. Has the main function of the control plane. The network elements of the user plane have the main functions of the user plane such as forwarding of downlink and uplink communication data packets of the user equipment, quality of service (QoS) control for the data packets, and traffic statistics processing. Of these, the channel can also be referred to as a tunnel, and may be, for example, a tunneling protocol (GPRS Tunneling Protocol, GTP) tunnel of a general packet radio service (General Packet Radio Service, GPRS).

FIG. 1 shows a network architecture diagram of CUPS. As shown in FIG. 1, the network architecture mainly includes UEs, base stations, control plane gateways, and servers. In FIG. 1, the dotted line indicates that the message is transmitted through the control plane, and the solid line indicates that the message or data packet is transmitted through the user plane.

The UE may be a terminal device, an access terminal, a user unit, a user station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user device. .. The terminal device is a handheld device equipped with a mobile phone, a cordless phone, a SIP (Session Initiation Protocol, SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and a wireless communication function. In a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a terminal device of a future 5G network or a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN). Terminal device, wireless to X, V2X device, vehicle-to-vehicle communication (Wireless to Wireless, V2V) device, and the like. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to this. The UE can communicate with the control plane gateway via signaling messages or can carry data packets to the user plane gateway.

A base station is a possible component of the CP-separated network architecture used in embodiments of this application. It may be a base station device g-NB, a small base station device, an eNB in a future 5G network, a radio controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario, or a mobility management entity (mobility). It may be Management Entry, MME). Alternatively, the base station may be a relay station, an access point, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, and a network device in a future 5G network or a network device in a future evolved PLMN network. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to this. The UE communicates with the control plane gateway and the user plane gateway via the base station. Of course, the UE can also communicate directly with the control plane gateway and the user plane gateway. That is, the CP-separated network architecture does not have to have a base station. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to this.

The core network (Core Network, CN) in a 5G network includes the network function of the control plane (Network Function, NF) and the network function of the user plane. The core network is connected to a 5G access network (Radio Access Network, RAN).

The control plane (CP) gateway has an interface for the control plane. It is primarily used for signaling connections with other network elements, processing user mobility management and session management requests, managing user contexts and establishing data transmission channels. The control plane gateway can be used for autonomous gateway assignment during static or dynamic IP address assignment. The control plane gateway may be a control gateway (Control Gateway, CGW) having the function of the control plane after the public data network gateway (Public Data Network Gateway, PGW) is separated.

Optionally, the network function of the control plane may be a Session Management Function (SMF), an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF).

The User Plane (UP) gateway (Gateway) has a user plane interface. It is primarily used to send data packets in the context of the user, perform QoS control on the data packets, perform traffic statistics, and so on. The user plane gateway can be used for autonomous gateway allocation during dynamic IP address allocation and external network allocation during dynamic IP address allocation. The server can be assigned an IP address and can connect to a user plane gateway to send and receive data packets. The user plane gateway may be a user plane gateway (User Gateway, UGW) having a user plane function after the PGW is separated.

In addition, in scenarios where the user plane gateway is subsided, the user plane gateway can be a central gateway (eg, Anchor User Plane Function (UPF)) and an edge gateway (eg, Local UPF). May be separated into. Among them, the Anchor UPF is used as a user plane anchor, and the Local UPF extends the user plane to provide near-end forwarding for low latency services. One Anchor UPF can correspond to a plurality of Local UPFs. As the UE moves, a scenario across the Local UPF occurs.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a scenario to which embodiments of the present application apply. As shown in FIG. 2, the network architecture mainly includes a control plane gateway, a transmission network, a user plane gateway, and a vehicle (including vehicle 1 and vehicle 2). Among them, the user plane gateway is separated into an anchor UPF and a local UPF (including the Local UPF1 and the Local UPF2). Alternatively, vehicle 1 and vehicle 2 can communicate in the same Local UPF (eg, vehicle 1 and vehicle 2 shown in lane T1 of FIG. 2) and across the Local UPF (in lane T2 of FIG. 2). Vehicle 1 and vehicle 2) shown can also be communicated.

It should be understood that the above description is based on the scenario of FIG. 2 and does not limit the scope of protection of the embodiments of the present application.

In the conventional solution, if both vehicle 1 and vehicle 2 are in Local UPF 1, vehicle 1 and vehicle 2 transfer a message via route 1. When vehicle 2 moves to Local UPF2, vehicle 1 and vehicle 2 transfer a message via route 2. However, whether it is route 1 or route 2, the route of message forwarding between vehicle 1 and vehicle 2 is long, has a large delay, and cannot meet the requirements for low delay service.

In view of this, embodiments of the present application propose new solutions for meeting the requirements of low latency services by optimizing routes.

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of the control plane gateway 300 according to the embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 3, the illustrated control plane gateway 300 includes a processor 301, a memory 302, and a transceiver 303.

The processor 301, memory 302 and transceiver 303 communicate with each other over an internal connection path to carry control and / or data signals. In one possible design, the processor 301, memory 302, and transceiver 303 can be implemented by the chip. The memory 302 can store the program code. The processor 301 calls the program code stored in the memory 302 to realize the function related to the control plane gateway.

Processor 301 is used for:

The registration information of the first UE and the registration information of the second UE are acquired via the transceiver 303. The registration information of the first UE includes a UE identifier for the first UE to communicate with. The registration information of the second UE includes a UE identifier for the second UE to communicate with.

The control plane gateway generates a forwarding routing table for the first UE and the second UE based on the registration information of the first UE and the registration information of the second UE. The forwarding routing table contains information required for the route by which the first UE and the second UE perform message transmission.

The forwarding routing table is transmitted by the transceiver 303 to the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway. The forwarding routing table is used by the user plane gateway to determine the message forwarding route between the first UE and the second UE. The first user plane gateway is the gateway where the first UE is located. The second user plane gateway is the gateway where the second UE is located.

As will be appreciated, although not shown, the control plane gateway 300 may include other devices such as input devices, output devices, batteries and the like.

In one possible design, the memory 302 can store instructions for executing the method performed by the control plane gateway in the message forwarding method according to the embodiment of the present application. The processor 301 can execute an instruction stored in the memory 302 to realize a step executed by the control plane gateway together with other hardware (for example, the transceiver 303) in the following manner. Specific working processes and advantages may be referred to in the description of embodiments for the following methods.

FIG. 4 shows a structural block diagram of the user plane gateway 400 according to the embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 4, the illustrated user plane gateway 400 includes a processor 401, a memory 402, and a transceiver 403.

The processor 401, memory 402, and transceiver 403 communicate with each other over an internal connection path to carry control and / or data signals. In one possible design, the processor 401, memory 402, and transceiver 403 can be implemented by the chip. The memory 402 can store the program code. The processor 401 calls the program code stored in the memory 402 to realize the function related to the user plane gateway.

Processor 401, used for:

Receives the forwarding routing table transmitted from the control plane gateway through transceiver 403. The forwarding routing table contains information required for the route by which the first UE and the second UE perform message transmission.

The forwarding routing table determines the message forwarding route between the first UE and the second UE.

As will be appreciated, although not shown, the user plane gateway 400 may include other devices such as input devices, output devices, batteries and the like.

In one possible design, the memory 402 can store instructions for executing the method performed by the user plane gateway in the message forwarding method according to the embodiment of the present application. Processor 401, along with other hardware (eg, transceiver 403), executes instructions stored in memory 402 and is a user plane gateway (first user plane gateway or second user plane gateway) in the following way: The steps performed by can be realized. Specific working processes and advantages may be referred to in the description of embodiments relating to the following invention methods.

The method according to an embodiment of the present application may be applied to a processor or may be realized by a processor. The processor may be an integrated circuit chip having signal processing capability. In the implementation process, each step in the following method may be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor or an instruction in software form. The above-mentioned processors include general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), integrated circuits for specific applications (application specific integrated circuits, ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (field programmable gate array (field processor), etc.), FPGAs, and FPGAs. , Individual gates or transistor logic devices, individual hardware components, and the like. In addition, a system on chip (SoC), a central processing unit (central processor unit, CPU), a network processor (newwork processor, NP), a digital signal processing circuit (digital linear processor, DSP), a microcontroller (microcomputer). It may be a unit, MCU), a programmable logic device (PLD), or other integrated chip, and can implement or implement the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams according to embodiments of the present application. .. The general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like. The steps of the method according to embodiments of the present application may be implemented by direct execution by a hardware decoding processor or by combined execution by hardware and software modules within the decoding processor. Software modules mature in the field of random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (read-only memory, ROM), programmable read-only memory or electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, etc. It may be arranged in the storage medium. This storage medium is located in memory, where the processor reads the instructions in memory and, along with the hardware, performs the steps in the method described below.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic sequence diagram of the message forwarding method 500 according to the embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 5, the method 500 includes the following steps.

In S501, the control plane gateway acquires the registration information of the first UE and the registration information of the second UE. The registration information of the first UE includes a UE identifier for the first UE to communicate with. The registration information of the second UE includes a UE identifier for the second UE to communicate with.

Optionally, the control plane gateway may be an AMF / SMF node or device, or may be an MME, and is not limited thereto.

Optionally, the registration information of the first UE can include a user entry of the first UE and a UE identifier for the first UE to communicate with. The registration information of the second UE can include a user entry of the second UE and a UE identifier for the second UE to communicate with.

Optionally, the control plane gateway can detect the message forwarding relationship between the first UE and the second UE by the registration information.

Specifically, both the first UE and the second UE register with the V2X server and join the group. Then, the control plane gateway detects that the first UE and the second UE belong to the same communication group by acquiring the registration information via the V2X controller, and distributes the forwarding routing table.

Optionally, in an actual implementation, the registration information may be spontaneously acquired by a control plane gateway via a server (eg, a V2X server) or through a network exposure function (NEF). May be transmitted to the control plane gateway by, or may be preset in the control plane gateway. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to this.

As will be appreciated, the first UE and the second UE are shown here as an example. Optionally, the control plane gateway may acquire registration information for multiple UEs with communication needs. In the embodiments of the present application, this is not limited to this.

In S502, the control plane gateway generates a forwarding routing table for the first UE and the second UE based on the registration information of the first UE and the registration information of the second UE. The forwarding routing table contains information required for the route by which the first UE and the second UE perform message transmission.

Specifically, the control plane gateway associates with the user's context based on the registration information of the first UE and the registration information of the second UE, and generates a forwarding routing table in the forwarding plane.

Optionally, the control plane gateway can maintain a forwarding routing table. The forwarding routing table can contain information necessary for the communication path between the first UE and the second UE. For example, the forwarding routing table is the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the first UE, the IP address of the second UE, and the identifier of the user plane gateway where the first UE and the second UE are located. , ID), the address of the next hop device of the first UE, the address of the next hop device of the second UE, and the like may be included.

As will be understood, the route through which the first UE and the second UE perform message forwarding may be communication from the first UE to the second UE, or from the second UE to the first UE. It may be communication to the UE. This is not particularly limited. Correspondingly, the forwarding routing table may include one-way routing information when the first UE communicates with the second UE, or may include bidirectional routing information. This is not limited.

In S503, the control plane gateway distributes the forwarding routing table to the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway. The forwarding routing table is used by the user plane gateway to determine the message forwarding route between the first UE and the second UE.

Optionally, the first user plane gateway or the second user plane gateway is a Local UPF. Optionally, if the first UE and the second UE are on the same user plane gateway (eg, the first user plane gateway), the control plane gateway distributes the forwarding routing table to the first user plane gateway. ..

Correspondingly, the first user plane gateway receives the forwarding routing table delivered by the control plane gateway.

In S504, the first user plane gateway determines the message forwarding route between the first UE and the second UE by the forwarding routing table.

Correspondingly, the second user plane gateway receives the forwarding routing table delivered by the control plane gateway.

In S505, the second user plane gateway determines the message forwarding route between the first UE and the second UE by the forwarding routing table.

Optionally, the UE's forwarded message contains an IP address for communication between the two. The UE can search the forwarding routing table based on the IP address.

As will be appreciated, if the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway are the same, step S505 may not be performed. In step S503, the control plane gateway may send the forwarding routing table only to the first user plane gateway.

In embodiments of the present application, the control plane gateway determines the forwarding routing table and distributes the forwarding routing table to the first user plane gateway. This allows the first user plane gateway to determine the message forwarding route between the first UE and the second UE by means of the forwarding routing table, optimize the message forwarding route, and require low latency service. Can be met.

As a supplementary explanation, in the embodiment of the present application, the first UE and the second UE may be in the same user plane gateway or may cross the user plane gateway. That is, the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway may be the same or different. Of course, in either case, the technical solutions according to the embodiments of the present application are applicable. These situations are described in detail below.

Optionally, if the first user plane gateway and the second UE user plane gateway are the same, the steps to generate the forwarding routing table for the first UE and the second UE are as follows:

The control plane gateway generates a forwarding routing table based on the registration information and the identifier of the first user plane gateway. The forwarding routing table includes a route from the first user plane gateway to the first UE and a route from the first user plane gateway to the second UE. The message forwarding of the first UE and the second UE is a direct transmission via the first user plane gateway.

Specifically, when the first UE and the second UE are in the same user plane gateway (for example, the first user plane gateway), the control plane gateway is the registration information of the first UE and the second UE. In addition, a forwarding routing table is generated based on the identifier of the first user plane gateway, and the forwarding routing table is distributed to the first user plane gateway. The forwarding routing table includes a route from the first user plane gateway to the first UE and a route from the first user plane gateway to the second UE. That is, the message forwarding of the first UE and the second UE is a local forwarding via the first user plane gateway.

Correspondingly, the first user plane gateway determines from the forwarding routing table that the message forwarding of the first UE and the second UE is a direct transmission through the first user plane gateway.

In this way, the message forwarding of the first UE and the second UE may be a direct forwarding via the first user plane gateway (for example, UPF1 in FIG. 2). There is no need to bypass transfer from the first user plane gateway via the transmission network and the central gateway (such as the anchor UPF in FIG. 2). It can optimize forwarding routes, reduce forwarding delays, and meet the requirements of low latency services.

Optionally, the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway may be different user plane gateways.

In this case, the step of generating the forwarding routing table of the first UE and the second UE includes the following steps.

The control plane gateway generates a forwarding routing table by the registration information, the identifier of the first user plane gateway, and the identifier of the second user plane gateway. The forwarding routing table is a route from the first user plane gateway to the second UE via the second user plane gateway, and from the second user plane gateway to the first user plane gateway via the first user plane gateway. Includes a route to reach one UE.

Optionally, the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway are different user plane gateways in the same central gateway.

Specifically, when the first UE and the second UE are not in the same user plane gateway, the control plane gateway is the registration information of the first UE and the second UE, the identifier of the first user plane gateway. , And the forwarding routing table can be generated by the identifier of the second user plane gateway, and the forwarding routing table can be distributed to the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway. The forwarding routing table is a route from the first user plane gateway to the first UE via the second user plane gateway, and from the second user plane gateway to the first user plane gateway via the first user plane gateway. Includes a route to reach the UE of 2. The message forwarding of the first UE and the second UE may be the forwarding via the tunnel between the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway.

Correspondingly, the first user plane gateway is a tunnel between the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway where the message forwarding of the first UE and the second UE is performed by the forwarding routing table. It is determined that the transmission is via.

Here, the message forwarding of the first UE and the second UE is performed through a tunnel between the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway (for example, the tunnel of local UPF1 and local UPF2 in FIG. 2). It may be a direct transfer via. There is no need for bypass forwarding from the user plane gateway via the transmission network and the central gateway (eg, the anchor Anchor UPF in FIG. 2). It can optimize forwarding routes, reduce forwarding delays, and meet the requirements of low latency services. The IP address of the first UE and the IP address of the second UE are assigned by the central gateway. Since the central gateway is not changed, the IP address of the UE does not change even if the UE switches from local UP1 to local UPF2. This ensures continuity of higher-tier applications and avoids service interruptions due to gateway reconnection.

It is described above that the first UE and the second UE can perform message transmission using the tunnel between the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway. Has been done. Hereinafter, how to open the tunnel between the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway will be described.

Optionally, the method further comprises the following steps before the control plane gateway distributes the forwarding routing table to the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway.

The control plane gateway sends a tunnel construction request to the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway. The tunnel construction request is used to request that a tunnel be constructed between the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway.

Correspondingly, the first user plane gateway receives the tunnel construction request, and the second user plane gateway receives the tunnel construction request.

After constructing a tunnel between the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway, the first user plane gateway sends a first tunnel construction request response to the control plane gateway. The first tunnel construction request response is used by the first user plane gateway to respond to the tunnel construction request.

Correspondingly, the control plane gateway receives the first tunnel construction request response transmitted by the first user plane gateway.

After constructing a tunnel between the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway, the second user plane gateway sends a second tunnel construction request response to the control plane gateway. The second tunnel construction request response is used by the second user plane gateway to respond to the tunnel construction request.

Correspondingly, the control plane gateway receives the second tunnel construction request response transmitted by the second user plane gateway.

That is, the control plane gateway requests a tunnel connection between the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway to realize communication between the user plane gateways, thereby optimizing the forwarding route. Can be done.

In order to make a person skilled in the art more clearly understand the technical solution according to the embodiment of the present application, the following will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of an application example according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 6, both vehicle 1 and vehicle 2 are accessing the local UPF1, and vehicle 3 is accessing the local UPF2. Local UPF1 and local UPF2 correspond to the same anchor UPF (ie, local UPF1). Alternatively, the vehicle 2 may move to the local UPF2. Among them, the vehicle (car) can be regarded as a UE.

If the conventional technical means is adopted when the vehicle 1 and the vehicle 2 try to communicate with each other, the vehicle 1 and the vehicle 2 perform message forwarding using the route 1. After applying the technical solution according to the embodiment of the present application, the control plane gateway distributes the forwarding routing table to the local UPF1, so that the vehicle 1 and the vehicle 2 perform message forwarding using the route 1'. You will be able to do it. As a result, since the transfer is completed directly in the local UPF1, it is not necessary to transfer the message to the anchor UPF via the transmission network, the transfer path is optimized, and the transfer delay is reduced.

If the conventional technical means is adopted when the vehicle 2 and the vehicle 3 try to communicate with each other, the vehicle 2 and the vehicle 3 perform message forwarding using the route 1. After applying the technical solution according to the embodiment of the present application, the control plane gateway distributes the forwarding routing table to the local UPF1 and the local UPF2 so as to construct a tunnel between UPF1 and UPF2. The vehicle 1 and the vehicle 2 will be able to perform message forwarding using the route 2'. This completes the transfer through the tunnel between UPF1 and UPF2, eliminating the need to transfer the message to the anchor UPF over the transmission network, optimizing the transfer path and reducing the transfer delay. ..

As will be appreciated, in FIG. 6, vehicle 2 may also realize communication with vehicle 1 via a tunnel between UPF1 and UPF2 when moving to the local UPF2. For the sake of brevity, I won't repeat it here.

In short, as can be seen from FIG. 6, the transfer path obtained by applying the technical solution according to the embodiment of the present application is clearly superior to the transfer path according to the prior art, and realizes high-speed transfer. Can be done.

Optionally, as one embodiment, the method 500 further comprises the following steps:

The control plane gateway updates the registration information and acquires the updated registration information.

The control plane gateway updates the forwarding routing table with the updated registration information.

Specifically, if the UE moves or switches to a different user plane gateway, the control plane gateway can update the registration information of the UE. The control plane gateway can update the forwarding routing table based on the updated registration information. Here, when updating, the control plane gateway may update only the entries of the changed UE in the user plane gateway, and it is not necessary to update all the registered UE entries, so that the update range is reduced. However, the processing load is reduced.

As a supplementary explanation, in the embodiment of the present application, both UEs to communicate with each other may be scheduled to participate in advance or may dynamically participate after the fact. This is not limited. In embodiments of the present application, a registration mechanism is introduced in which both or many of the UEs attempting to communicate are managed or maintained through the application layer.

In order for a person skilled in the art to easily understand the embodiment of the present application, an application example shown in FIG. 7 will be described below.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of another application example according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 7, vehicle 1, vehicle 2, and vehicle 3 are one mobile vehicle group. Vehicles in the mobile vehicle group need to maintain continuous service communication. After being established, the vehicles in the group first send a group communication request to the server (eg, V2X server). The server organizes the vehicle 1, the vehicle 2, and the vehicle 3 as a group according to the received group communication request. The server transmits the group vehicle information (that is, the above registration information) to the control plane gateway (for example, AMF / SMF in FIG. 7) via the NEF. The control plane gateway generates a forwarding routing table based on the group vehicle information and distributes it to the user plane gateway (including the local UPF1 and the local UPF2). For vehicles that are not grouped, there is no need to group them and no group request is sent to the server. Illustratively, in FIG. 7, when vehicle 2 moves from local UPF1 to local UPF2, the control plane gateway needs to update the route from local UPF1 to vehicle 2 and the route from local UPF2 to vehicle 1. be. This ensures that vehicles 1 and 2 communicate through the tunnel between the local UPF1 and the local UPF2, eliminating the need for route updates for ungrouped vehicles.

Thus, if a vehicle in the vehicle group moves across the UPF, the control plane gateway may only need to update the user entry for the vehicle in the vehicle group. This reduces the number of user entry updates, reduces the processing load on the network, and improves network performance.

FIG. 8 shows a sequence diagram of a specific flow according to an embodiment of the present application. In FIG. 8, the solid line shows the sequence of control signals between each equipment, and the broken line shows the message forwarding path between UE1 and UE2. As shown in FIG. 8, this flow includes the following steps.

In 801 the UE 1 establishes a packet data network (Packet Data Network, PDN) connection to the anchor UPF, and an edge user plane is constructed in the local UPF1.

At 802, the UE 2 establishes a PDN connection to the anchor UPF and an edge user plane is constructed at the local UPF1.

At 803, UE1 registers with the V2X server (or controller controller) and joins the vehicle group.

At 804, the UE 2 registers with the V2X server (or controller controller) and joins the vehicle group.

Here, UE1 and UE2 are registered in the application server (Application Server, AS). Among them, UE1 and UE2 are vehicles in the same vehicle group. It is necessary to perform message forwarding between UE1 and UE2.

Correspondingly, the V2X server can acquire the vehicle group information of UE1 and UE2.

At 805, the V2X server transmits the vehicle group information (or registration information) of UE1 and UE2 to the SMF.

As an option, this vehicle group information may be preset in the SMF.

Correspondingly, the SMF has acquired the vehicle group information of UE1 and UE2. Further, the SMF generates a forwarding routing table based on the vehicle group information of UE1 and UE2.

At 806, the SMF distributes a user-level forwarding routing table to the local UPF1.

Correspondingly, the local UPF1 can determine the message forwarding route of UE1 and UE2 by the forwarding routing table.

In 807, the message forwarding route from UE1 to UE2 is UE1-RAN1-local UPF1-RAN1-UE2.

At 808, UE2 switches. UE2 switches from RAN1 to RAN2, and correspondingly, UPF switches from local UPF1 to local UPF2.

At this time, if the system supports the dual link scenario, the message forwarding of UE1 and UE2 may be forwarding via the following route. (1) Original link: UE1-RAN1-local UPF1-RAN1-UE2; (2) New link: UE1-RAN1-local UPF1-RAN2-UE2. The new link here refers to a link that has not been optimized yet after the UE2 is switched. Optionally, the message between UE1 and UE2 may be a V2V message.

At 809, the RAN 2 transmits a route switching request (path switch request) to the AMF.

At 810, the AMF initiates a create session request to the SMF. Among them, the session creation request in step 810 is transmitted by AMF to SMF.

At 811 the SMF can send a session creation request to the local UPF2 by an algorithm. Among them, the session creation request in step 811 is transmitted by SMF to the local UPF2.

At 812, the local UPF2 responds to the SMF with a create session response. Here, the "session creation response" corresponds to the "session creation request" in step 811.

At 813, the SMF sends an UPF tunnel construction request (GTP tunnel create request) to the local UPF1.

Among them, the UPF tunnel construction request in step 813 is used to request to construct a tunnel (for example, a GTP tunnel) between the local UPF1 and the local UPF2.

At 814, the local UPF1 returns an inter-UPF tunnel construction response to the SMF.

At 815, the SMF sends an inter-UPF tunnel construction request to the local UPF2. Among them, the UPF-to-UPF tunnel construction request in step 815 has the same role as the UPF-to-UPF tunnel construction request in step 813. Both are used to request the construction of a tunnel (eg, a GTP tunnel) between the local UPF1 and the local UPF2.

At 816, the local UPF2 replies to the SMF with an inter-UPF tunnel construction response.

Here, the tunnel between the local UPF1 and the local UPF2 is constructed by the above steps 813 to 816.

At 817, the SMF sends a session change request to the anchor UPF. The session change request in step 817 is transmitted by the SMF to the anchor UPF.

At 818, the anchor UPF replies to the SMF with a session change response. Here, the "session change response" corresponds to the "session change request" in step 817.

Here, when the UE 2 is switched, the SMF needs to update the forwarding routing table and send the updated forwarding routing table to the local UPF1 and the local UPF2.

At 819, the SMF sends a user-level forward routing request to the local UPF2.

At 820, the local UPF2 responds to the SMF with a user-level forwarding routing response. The user-level forwarding routing response in step 820 is used by the local UPF2 to respond to the user-level forwarding routing update request in step 819.

At 821, the SMF sends a user-level forward routing request to the local UPF1.

At 822, the local UPF1 replies to the SMF with a user-level forwarding routing response. The user-level forwarding routing response in step 822 is used by the local UPF1 to respond to the user-level forwarding routing update request in step 821.

Here, the local UPF1 can determine the transfer route of UE1 and UE2 by the updated transfer routing table. In the case of from UE1 to UE2, the message forwarding route is UE1-RAN1-local UPF1-local UPF2-RAN2-UE2. Here, in the case of from UE2 to UE1, the message forwarding route does not match the route from UE1 to UE2. The message forwarding route from UE2 to UE1 is UE2-RAN2-local UPF1-RAN1-UE1.

At 823, the SMF responds to the AMF with a create session response. Of these, the session creation response in step 823 is used to respond to the session creation request in step 810.

At 824, the AMF responds to the RAN2 with a route switching request response.

At that time, the message forwarding route from UE2 to UE1 is updated to UE2-RAN2-local UPF2-local UPF1-RAN1-UE1. The uplink and the downlink are matched, that is, the message forwarding path from UE2 to UE1 is matched with the message forwarding path from UE1 to UE2.

At 825, RAN2 sends a route release request or a resource release request to RAN1.

At 826, the SMF sends a resource release request or a session deletion request to UPF1.

In short, the technical solutions according to embodiments of the present application can optimize routes, effectively reduce message forwarding delays, and meet the requirements for low latency services.

Supplementally, the meaning, interpretation or role of each term in FIG. 8 (session creation request, session creation response, etc.) may correspond to the corresponding source and / or receiver. Of these, the names of the terms used in each step do not limit the steps to be performed. Optionally, term naming can be replaced with other naming.

As will be appreciated, the examples of application in FIGS. 6-8 are for those skilled in the art to easily understand embodiments of the present application and are limited to specific scenarios exemplifying embodiments of the present application. It's not a thing. It is clear that one of ordinary skill in the art can make various modifications and changes based on the application examples of FIGS. 6 to 8. Such modifications or modifications also fall within the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

In the above contents, the message forwarding method according to the embodiment of the present application is described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8. The control plane gateway and the user plane gateway according to the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.

FIG. 9 shows a schematic block diagram of the control plane gateway 900 according to the embodiment of the present application. The control plane gateway 900 is used to perform the method or step corresponding to the control plane gateway. Optionally, each module in the control plane gateway 900 can be implemented by software. The control plane gateway 900 may be installed on a general purpose computer device. As shown in FIG. 9, the control plane gateway 900 includes the following modules.

The acquisition module 910 is used to acquire the registration information of the first user apparatus UE and the registration information of the second user apparatus UE. The registration information of the first UE includes a UE identifier for the first UE to communicate with. The registration information of the second UE includes a UE identifier for the second UE to communicate with.

The processing module 920 is used to generate a transfer routing table for the first UE and the second UE based on the registration information of the first UE and the registration information of the second UE. The forwarding routing table contains information required for the route by which the first UE and the second UE perform message transmission.

The transceiver module 930 is used to distribute the forwarding routing table to the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway. The forwarding routing table is used by the user plane gateway to determine the message forwarding route between the first UE and the second UE. Among them, the first user plane gateway is the gateway where the first UE is located, and the second user plane gateway is the gateway where the second UE is located.

Optionally, the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway are the same.

The processing module 920 is specifically used for the following purposes.

A forwarding routing table is generated by the registration information and the identifier of the first user plane gateway. The forwarding routing table includes a route from the first user plane gateway to the first UE and a route from the first user plane gateway to the second UE. Among them, the message forwarding of the first UE and the second UE is the direct forwarding via the first user plane gateway.

Optionally, the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway are different user plane gateways.

The processing module 920 is specifically used for the following purposes.

The control plane gateway generates a forwarding routing table by the registration information, the identifier of the first user plane gateway, and the identifier of the second user plane gateway. The forwarding routing table is a route from the first user plane gateway to the second UE via the second user plane gateway, and from the second user plane gateway to the first user plane gateway via the first user plane gateway. Includes a route to reach one UE.

Optionally, the processing module 920 is further used to update the registration information, obtain the updated registration information, and update the forwarding routing table with the updated registration information.

Optionally, the transceiver module 930 is further used below.

A tunnel construction request is sent to the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway. The tunnel construction request is used to request that a tunnel be constructed between the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway.

Then, the first tunnel construction request response transmitted by the first user plane gateway is received. The first tunnel construction request response is used by the first user plane gateway to respond to the tunnel construction request.

Then, the tunnel construction request response transmitted by the second user plane gateway is received. The second tunnel construction request response is used by the second user plane gateway to respond to the tunnel construction request.

As will be understood, the control plane gateway 900 according to the embodiment of the present application can correspond to the control plane gateway in the message forwarding according to the above method embodiment. And since the above and other management operations and / or functions of each module in the control plane gateway 900 are used to realize each step in the above method respectively, there is also an advantageous effect in the above method embodiment. Can be achieved. For the sake of brevity, I won't repeat it here.

As will be further understood, the processing module 920 according to the embodiment of the present application may be realized by a processor, and the transceiver module 930 and the acquisition module 910 may be realized by a transceiver.

FIG. 10 shows a schematic block diagram of the user plane gateway 1000 according to the embodiment of the present application. The user plane gateway 1000 is used to perform a method or step corresponding to the first user plane gateway. Optionally, each module within the user plane gateway 1000 can be implemented by software. The user plane gateway 1000 may be installed in a general-purpose computer device. As shown in FIG. 10, the user plane gateway 1000 includes the following modules.

The transceiver module 1010 is used to receive the forwarding routing table transmitted by the control plane gateway. The forwarding routing table contains information required for the route by which the first user appliance UE and the second user appliance UE perform message transmission.

The processing module 1020 is used to determine the message forwarding route between the first UE and the second UE by the forwarding routing table. Among them, the first user plane gateway is the gateway where the first UE is located, and the second user plane gateway is the gateway where the second UE is located.

Optionally, the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway are the same. Among them, the forwarding routing table includes a route from the first user plane gateway to the first UE and a route from the first user plane gateway to the second UE.

The processing module 1020 is specifically used for the following purposes.

The forwarding routing table determines that the message forwarding of the first UE and the second UE is a direct forwarding through the first user plane gateway.

Optionally, the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway are different user plane gateways. The forwarding routing table is a route from the first user plane gateway to the second UE via the second user plane gateway, and from the second user plane gateway to the first user plane gateway via the first user plane gateway. Includes a route to reach one UE.

Among them, the processing module 1020 is specifically used for the following purposes.

The forwarding routing table determines that the message forwarding of the first UE and the second UE is the transmission through the tunnel between the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway.

Optionally, the transceiver module 1010 is further used to:

Receives the tunnel construction request sent by the control plane gateway. The first tunnel construction request is used to request the construction of a tunnel between the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway.

Then, the first tunnel construction request response is transmitted to the control plane gateway. The first tunnel construction request response is used by the first user plane gateway to respond to the tunnel construction request.

As will be understood, the user plane gateway 1000 according to the embodiment of the present application can correspond to the first user plane gateway in the message forwarding according to the above method embodiment. And since the above and other management operations and / or functions of each module in the user plane gateway 1000 are used to realize each step in the above method respectively, there is also an advantageous effect in the above method embodiment. Can be achieved. For the sake of brevity, I won't repeat it here.

As will be further understood, the processing module 1020 according to the embodiment of the present application may be realized by a processor, and the transceiver module 1010 may be realized by a transceiver.

FIG. 11 shows a schematic block diagram of the user plane gateway 1100 according to the embodiment of the present application. The user plane gateway 1100 is used to perform a method or step corresponding to a second user plane gateway. Optionally, each module in the user plane gateway 1100 can be implemented by software. The user plane gateway 1100 may be installed in a general-purpose computer device. As shown in FIG. 11, the user plane gateway 1100 includes:

Transceiver module 1110 is used to receive the forwarding routing table transmitted by the control plane gateway. The forwarding routing table includes a route from the first user plane gateway to the second user equipment UE via the second user plane gateway, and a route from the second user plane gateway to the first user plane gateway. Includes a route to reach the first UE. Among them, the first user plane gateway is the user plane gateway in which the first UE is located, and the second user plane gateway is the user plane gateway in which the second UE is located. The first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway are different user plane gateways.

The processing module 1120 is used to determine the message forwarding route between the first UE and the second UE by the forwarding routing table.

Optionally, the transceiver module 1110 is further used to:

Receives the tunnel construction request sent by the control plane gateway. The tunnel construction request is used to request that a tunnel be constructed between the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway.

Then, a second tunnel construction request response is sent to the control plane gateway. The second tunnel construction request response is used by the second user plane gateway to respond to the tunnel construction request.

As will be appreciated, the user plane gateway 1100 according to the embodiment of the present application can correspond to the second user plane gateway in the message forwarding according to the above method embodiment. And since the above and other management operations and / or functions of each module in the user plane gateway 1100 are used to realize each step in the above method respectively, there is also an advantageous effect in the above method embodiment. Can be achieved. For the sake of brevity, I won't repeat it here.

As will be further understood, the processing module 1120 in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by a processor and the transceiver module 1110 may be implemented by a transceiver.

As will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, the unit and algorithm steps in each application described with reference to the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical means. Professional technicians may use different methods for each particular application to achieve the described functionality. However, such realization should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, for convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above may refer to the corresponding processes in the method embodiments described above. Details will not be repeated here.

In some embodiments provided by this application, the disclosed systems, devices, and methods can be implemented in other ways, as will be understood. For example, the device embodiment described above is merely an example. For example, the division of units is only a logical functional division. There are other division methods when it is actually realized. For example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system. Alternatively, some functions may be ignored and not executed. Also, the interconnected or direct coupled or communication connection illustrated or described may be an indirect coupling or communication connection via some interface, device or unit, and may be of an electrical, mechanical or other form. May be good.

Units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and components displayed as units may or may not be physical units in one place. It can be distributed to multiple network units. In order to achieve the object corresponding to the solution according to the embodiment of the present application, some or all of the units may be selected depending on the actual needs.

Further, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, may exist physically separately, or two or more or two or more may be integrated into one unit. It may be integrated.

The above functions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium when realized in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the present application can be embodied in the form of software products, either in essential or in part contributive to the prior art or in part of the technical solutions. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and can be applied to computer equipment (which may be a personal computer, server, network device, etc.) in whole or in part in the methods described in each embodiment of the present application. Contains instructions to execute. The storage medium includes a medium capable of storing various program codes such as a USB memory, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, and the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. One of ordinary skill in the art can easily conceive of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed by this application. All fall within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of claims.

Claims (7)

It ’s a message forwarding method.
A step in which the control plane gateway acquires the registration information of the first UE and the registration information of the second UE,
A step in which the control plane gateway generates a forwarding routing table for the first UE and the second UE based on the registration information of the first UE and the registration information of the second UE.
A step in which the control plane gateway distributes the forwarding routing table to the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway.
Including
The registration information of the first UE includes a UE identifier for the first UE to communicate with, and the registration information of the second UE includes a UE identifier for the second UE to communicate with.
The forwarding routing table contains information required for the route for the first UE and the second UE to execute message transmission.
The forwarding routing table is used by the user plane gateway to determine a message forwarding route between the first UE and the second UE, and the first user plane gateway is the first UE. Is a gateway where the second user plane gateway is located, and the second user plane gateway is a gateway where the second UE is located.
The first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway are different user plane gateways.
In the step of generating the forwarding routing table of the first UE and the second UE, the control plane gateway uses the registration information, the identifier of the first user plane gateway, and the second user plane gateway. Including the step of generating the forwarding routing table based on the identifier of
The forwarding routing table includes a route from the first user plane gateway to the second UE via the second user plane gateway, and the first user plane from the second user plane gateway. Including the route to reach the first UE via the gateway.
Prior to the step in which the control plane gateway distributes the forwarding routing table to the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway.
A step in which the control plane gateway sends a tunnel construction request to the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway.
The step in which the control plane gateway receives the first tunnel construction request response transmitted by the first user plane gateway, and
A step in which the control plane gateway receives a second tunnel construction request response transmitted by the second user plane gateway.
Including
The tunnel construction request is used to request to construct a tunnel between the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway.
The first tunnel construction request response is used for the first user plane gateway to respond to the tunnel construction request.
The second tunnel construction request response is used by the second user plane gateway to respond to the tunnel construction request.
Message forwarding method. A step in which the control plane gateway updates the registration information and acquires the updated registration information.
A step in which the control plane gateway updates the forwarding routing table based on the updated registration information.
The message forwarding method according to claim 1 . It ’s a message forwarding method.
The step in which the first user plane gateway receives the forwarding routing table transmitted by the control plane gateway, and
A step in which the first user plane gateway determines a message forwarding route between the first UE and the second UE based on the forwarding routing table.
Including
The forwarding routing table contains information required for the route for the first UE and the second UE to execute message transmission.
The first user plane gateway is a gateway in which the first UE is located, and the second user plane gateway is a gateway in which the second UE is located.
The first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway are different user plane gateways.
The forwarding routing table includes a route from the first user plane gateway to the second UE via the second user plane gateway, and the first user plane from the second user plane gateway. Including the route to reach the first UE via the gateway.
In a step in which the first user plane gateway determines a message forwarding route between the first UE and the second UE based on the forwarding routing table, the first user plane gateway determines the forwarding route. Including the step of determining that the message forwarding of the first UE and the second UE is the transmission through the tunnel between the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway based on the routing table.
The message forwarding method is
The step in which the first user plane gateway receives the first tunnel construction request transmitted by the control plane gateway, and
A step in which the first user plane gateway sends a first tunnel construction request response to the control plane gateway.
Including
The first tunnel construction request is used to request the construction of a tunnel between the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway.
The first tunnel construction request response is used by the first user plane gateway to respond to the first tunnel construction request.
Message forwarding method. A control plane gateway that includes acquisition modules, processing modules, and transceiver modules.
The acquisition module is used to acquire the registration information of the first UE and the registration information of the second UE, and the registration information of the first UE is a UE identifier for the first UE to communicate with. The registration information of the second UE includes a UE identifier for the second UE to communicate with.
The processing module is used to generate a transfer routing table for the first UE and the second UE based on the registration information of the first UE and the registration information of the second UE. The forwarding routing table contains information required for the route for the first UE and the second UE to perform message transmission.
The transceiver module is used to distribute the forwarding routing table to the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway, and the forwarding routing table is such that the user plane gateway has the first UE and the second user plane gateway. The first user plane gateway is the gateway in which the first UE is located, and the second user plane gateway is the second user plane gateway, which is used to determine a message transfer route to and from the UE. The gateway where the UE is located
The first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway are different user plane gateways.
Specifically, the processing module generates the forwarding routing table based on the registration information, the identifier of the first user plane gateway, and the identifier of the second user plane gateway. In particular, the forwarding routing table is a route from the first user plane gateway to the second UE via the second user plane gateway and from the second user plane gateway to the said. Including the route to reach the first UE via the first user plane gateway.
The transceiver module further
Sending a tunnel construction request to the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway, and
Receiving the first tunnel construction request response transmitted by the first user plane gateway, and
To receive the second tunnel construction request response transmitted by the second user plane gateway.
Used for
The tunnel construction request is used to request to construct a tunnel between the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway.
The first tunnel construction request response is used for the first user plane gateway to respond to the tunnel construction request.
The second tunnel construction request response is used by the second user plane gateway to respond to the tunnel construction request.
Control plane gateway. The processing module is further used to update the registration information, obtain the updated registration information, and update the forwarding routing table based on the updated registration information.
The control plane gateway according to claim 4 . The first user plane gateway is a user plane gateway including a transceiver module and a processing module.
The transceiver module is used to receive the forwarding routing table transmitted by the control plane gateway, which is needed for the route for the first UE and the second UE to perform message transmission. Including information to be routed
The processing module is used to determine a message forwarding route between the first UE and the second UE based on the forwarding routing table, and the first user plane gateway is the first. The second user plane gateway is the gateway where the second UE is located, and the second user plane gateway is the gateway where the second UE is located.
The first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway are different user plane gateways.
The forwarding routing table includes a route from the first user plane gateway to the second UE via the second user plane gateway, and the first user plane from the second user plane gateway. Including the route to reach the first UE via the gateway.
Specifically, based on the forwarding routing table, the processing module causes message forwarding between the first UE and the second UE to tunnel between the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway. Used to determine that it is a transmission over,
The transceiver module further
Receiving the first tunnel construction request transmitted by the control plane gateway and
Sending the first tunnel construction request response to the control plane gateway,
Used for
The first tunnel construction request is used to request to construct a tunnel between the first user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway.
The first tunnel construction request response is used by the first user plane gateway to respond to the first tunnel construction request.
User plane gateway. A program for causing a computer to execute the message forwarding method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 .

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