RU2785332C2 - Session processing method and device - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: wireless communication.

SUBSTANCE: session processing method implemented by the first network session control element includes: reception of information about an application access point of the first session, based on which a decision is made to allocate the first network session control element to the second session corresponding to the same data network as the first session, reception of a request message requesting establishment of the second session and allocation of the first network element of a user plane to the second session, wherein the first element of the user plane transmits in the second session a dataflow corresponding to the application.

EFFECT: selection of suitable of network devices for applications, which do not support movement, and selection of corresponding separation policy for application dataflows during the movement of a terminal.

23 cl, 17 dwg

Description

The technical field to which the invention belongs

It relates to the field of mobile communication technologies and, in particular, to a session processing method and apparatus.

State of the art

In some cases, the application may not support changing the location (it may not be possible to change the location of the application). For example, during the process of moving a terminal, no application function (AF) server corresponding to the application is deployed near the current location of the terminal, or even if an AF server corresponding to the application is deployed, the AF server does not support application layer context transfer. More specifically, in order to provide the terminal with a more efficient user interface and for other reasons, when the AF server corresponding to the application sends a request to the terminal to perform the application service, the terminal still needs to connect to the AF server that corresponds to the application and to which the terminal connects in the old location of the terminal where the terminal is located before moving.

For the above use case, there is currently no corresponding implementation solution.

Disclosure of the essence of the invention

The present application provides a session processing method and apparatus for selecting suitable network devices for applications that do not support movement and selecting an appropriate separation policy for application data streams during terminal movement.

In the present application, before moving the terminal, the network session control element providing a service to the terminal is referred to as the first network session control element. After the terminal has moved, one or more session control network elements, each providing a service to the terminal, may be implemented using the following methods.

Way 1 implementation. The session control network elements each providing a service to the terminal include a second session network element and a third session network element. The second session control network element may be configured to select the second user plane network element, and the second user plane network element may be configured to provide a service for an application data stream that does not support application relocation. The third session control network element may be configured to select the third user plane network element, and the third user plane network element is configured to provide a service for an application data stream that supports relocation of the application. The second session network element and the first session network element may be the same session network element or may be different session network elements.

Implementation method 2: The session network element providing a service to the terminal includes a fourth session network element, and the fourth session network element has the functions of the second session network element and the third session network element in the implementation method 1. The fourth session network element and the first session network element may be the same session network element or may be different session network elements.

To simplify the description, the implementation method 1 is used as an example for description below. Implementation method 2 is described in detail in the specific implementation.

In addition, in the present application, the session established by the terminal may be a session in mode (mode) 3 session and service continuity (Session and Service Continuity, SSC). More specifically, the session type is SSC mode 3. Alternatively, the session established by the terminal may be an SSC mode 1 session. In particular, the session type is SSC Mode 1.

To simplify the description, an example is given below in which the session mode type established by the terminal is SSC mode 3. In addition, the session established by the terminal before moving the terminal is referred to as the first session, and the session restored by the terminal after moving the terminal is referred to as the second session. SSC mode 1, which is the type of session mode set by the terminal, is described in detail in a specific implementation.

Furthermore, in the present application, before and after the movement of the terminal, the network access control elements each providing a service to the terminal may be the same network access control element or may be different network access control elements. To simplify the description, the present application has been described using an example in which, before and after the movement of the terminal, the network access control elements each providing a service to the terminal are the same network access control element.

According to a first aspect, the present application provides a method for handling a session. The method includes: receiving, by the access control network element, information about the access point, which is the application of the first session and which comes from the first session network element; receiving, by the access control network element, a request message from the terminal, the request message including a first session identifier and a second session identifier; selecting, by the access control network element, a second session network element based on the application's access point information; selecting, by the access control network element, a third session network element; transmitting, by the access control network element, a first request message to a second session network element, where the first request message requests the establishment of a second session; and transmitting, by the access control network element, a second request message to a third session network element, where the second request message requests the establishment of a second session. Based on this decision, the network access control element selects the second session network element based on the received first session application access point information. The access point information may come from an AF server that matches the application and does not support changing the location of the application. Thus, the selected second network session control element can provide a service to the AF server.

In an exemplary implementation, the selection, by the access control network element, of the second session network element based on the application's access point information specifically includes: selecting, by the access control network element, the first session network element as the second session network element based on application access point information.

In an exemplary implementation, the first request message may include information about the application's access point. The access point information is used by the second session network element to select the user plane network element. In particular, the second session network element may select the user plane network element based on information about the application's access point. The user plane network element is referred to as the second user plane network element in the present application. The second session control network element selects the second user plane network element based on the application's access point information. Thus, the second user plane network element can provide a service to the AF server corresponding to the application.

In another possible implementation, the first request message may further include a first session identifier and a second session identifier. Thus, when the second session network element and the first session network element are the same session network element, the second session network element can obtain locally stored session context information based on the second session identifier. The context stores information about the application's access point, which is received by the second session network element from the third-party application server. Thus, the second session network element can select the second user plane network element based on the application-specific access point information found in the session context information.

In an exemplary implementation, the access control network element may further convey information about the second session network element to the third session network element. The information about the second session web control is used to establish a connection between the third session web control and the second session web control. Once a connection has been established between the third Session Network Element and the second Session Network Element, the connection may be used to convey the second session's application data flow separation information. The partitioning information includes partitioning network element information and/or partitioning policy information. The separation information may further include information about the network policy control element.

In an exemplary implementation, the access control network element may further obtain the application separation policy information of the second session and then pass the separation policy information to the second session network element or to the third session network element. The partition policy information may be generated using the partition policy information and transmitted to the partition network element by the second session network element or the third session network element.

In another possible implementation, the network access control element may further obtain the network element policy control information corresponding to the first session and then pass the information about the network element policy control to the network element of the second session control or the third network session control element. Thus, the second session network element or the third session network element may send a request, based on the policy network element information, to obtain separation policy information from the policy network element.

According to a second aspect, the present application provides a method for handling a session. The method includes: receiving by a third network session control element a second request message from the network access control element, where the second request message includes information about the second network session control element, and the second request message requests the establishment of a second session; selecting, by the third session control network element, a third user plane network element, wherein the third user plane network element is configured to route the data flow of the first application of the second session, and the first application is an application that supports application location changes; and establishing a connection by the third session network element with the second session network element based on the information about the second session network element, where the connection is used to transfer the second session application data flow separation information. The partitioning information includes partitioning network element information and/or partitioning policy information. Based on this solution, the third user plane network element can be configured to route the data flow of the first application of the second session. The first application is an application that supports changing the location of an application. The data flow of an application that does not support changing the location of the application is routed by another user plane network element. Thus, it is possible to separate the data flow of an application that supports changing the location of an application and the data flow of an application that does not support changing the location of an application.

In an exemplary implementation, the third session network element may further select a split network element. The splitting network element is configured to split the second session application data streams.

In another possible implementation, the second session network element selects the split network element. The third session network element then obtains the split network element information from the second session network element.

In an exemplary implementation, the third session control network element may further establish a data link between the partition network element and the third user plane network element.

In an exemplary implementation, the third session network element may further obtain the policy partitioning information, determine the partitioning policy based on the policy partitioning information, and then transmit the partitioning policy for the partitioning network element.

The third network session control element may receive the separation policy information from the network policy control element. Alternatively, the third network session control element may additionally obtain the separation policy information from the network access control element. Alternatively, the third network session control element may further receive information about the separation policy from the second network session control element. If the third session network element obtains the separation policy information from the policy network element before obtaining the separation policy information from the policy network element, the third session network element must also obtain information about the policy network element, such as identification information about the network element. policy management.

According to a third aspect, the present application provides a method for handling a session. The method includes: receiving, by the second session network element, a first request message from the access control network element, where the first request message requests the establishment of a second session; and selecting, by the second session network element, a second user plane network element, where the second user plane network element is configured to route the data flow of the second application of the second session, and the second application is an application that does not support relocation. Based on this solution, the second user plane network element can be configured to route the data flow of the second application of the second session, and the second application is an application that does not support location change. In this way, it is possible to route the data flow of an application that does not support changing the location of the application, so after moving, the terminal can still access the application that does not support changing the location of the application.

In an exemplary implementation, if the first request message includes a first session identifier, selecting, by the second session network element, the second user plane network element, specifically includes: obtaining, by the second session network element, session context information based on first session ID and then selecting the second user plane network element based on the session context information, where the session context information includes application access point information.

In another possible implementation, if the first request message includes information about the application access point of the first session, the selection, by the second session network element, of the second user plane network element, in particular includes: selection, by the second session network element, of the second user plane network element based on information about the application access point.

In an exemplary implementation, the third session network element may optionally select a split network element. The splitting network element is configured to split the second session application data streams.

In another possible implementation, the third session network element selects the partition network element, and then the second session network element can obtain information about the partition network element from the third session network element.

In an exemplary implementation, the third session control network element may further establish a data link between the partition network element and the third user plane network element.

In an exemplary implementation, the second session network element may obtain the partition policy information, determine the partition policy based on the policy partition information, and then pass the partition policy to the partition network element.

The second network session control element may obtain the partitioning policy information from the network policy control element. Alternatively, the second network session control element may additionally obtain the separation policy information from the network access control element. Alternatively, the second network session control element may further receive information about the separation policy from the third network session control element. If the second session network element obtains the separation policy information from the policy network element before receiving the separation policy information from the policy network element, the second session network element must also obtain information about the policy network element, for example, identification information about the network element. policy management.

According to a fourth aspect, the present application provides a method for handling a session. The method includes: obtaining, an access control network element, separating second session application data flow policy information; and transmitting, by the access control network element, the separation policy information to the second session network element or the third session network element that corresponds to the second session. Based on this decision, the network access control element can obtain the information about the separation policy of the data flows of the applications of the second session and then transmit the information about the separation policy to the network session control element, such as the second network session control element or the third network session control element. The partition policy information may be used to generate the partition policy. A split policy can be used to split application data streams. The application data streams include an application data stream that supports changing the location of an application and/or an application data stream that does not support changing the location of an application.

In a possible implementation, receiving, by the access control network element, information about the data flow separation policy of the second session applications, in particular, includes: receiving, by the access control network element, information about the access point, which is the application of the first session and which comes from a session control element, where the partitioning policy information includes information about the application's access point.

In a possible implementation, receiving, by the access control network element, information about the second session's second session application data stream separation policy specifically includes: receiving, by the access control network element, a session setup request message from the terminal, where the session setup request message includes first session ID; determining, by the access control network element, session context information based on the first session identifier; and determining, by the access control network element, partition policy information based on the session context information.

According to a fifth aspect, the present application provides a method for handling a session. The method includes: obtaining, by the session network element, information about a data flow separation policy of second session applications; determining, by the session network element, a partitioning policy based on the partitioning policy information; and transmitting, by the session network element, the partitioning policy to the partitioning network element, where the partitioning network element is configured to split the second session application data streams. Based on this decision, the session network element can obtain information about the second session's application data flow split policy, then determine the split policy, and send the split policy to the split network element. Thus, the partitioning network element can separate the application data streams in accordance with the partitioning policy. In the above aspects, the Session Network Element may be a second Session Network Element or a third Session Network Element.

In an exemplary implementation, the session network element may obtain partitioning policy information from the network access control element. Alternatively, the network session control element may obtain the separation policy information from the network policy control element. Alternatively, the session network element may obtain the partitioning policy information from another session network element.

If the second session network element obtains the separation policy information from the policy network element before receiving the separation policy information from the policy network element, the second session network element must also obtain information about the session network element, such as identification information about the network element. session management.

In an exemplary implementation, the session network element may further select the split network element.

In an exemplary implementation, the application access point information according to any one of the first aspect through the fifth aspect includes at least one of the following: at least one data network access identifier (DNAI), location information application function (AF), an indication that the location of the application cannot be changed, and an indication that the DNAI has not changed.

In an exemplary implementation, the partition policy information according to any of the first through fifth aspects includes at least one of indication information and application data flow information. The indication information includes at least one of the following: an indication of local processing, at least one DNAI, and information about the possibilities of movement. Application data streams include application data streams that support changing the location of an application and/or application data streams that do not support changing the location of an application.

According to a sixth aspect, the present application provides a method for handling a session, including: receiving, by a first session network element, information about a first session application access point; deciding, by the first session network element, based on the application's access point information, whether to allocate the first session network element to a second session, where the first session and the second session correspond to the same data network; receiving, by the first session network element, a request message, where the request message requests the establishment of a second session; and allocating, by the first session control network element, the first user plane network element to the second session, wherein the first user plane network element is configured to transmit, in the second session, a data stream corresponding to the application.

In a possible implementation, the application is an application that does not support changing the DNAI.

In an exemplary implementation, the first session control network element allocates a second user plane network element to the second session. The second user plane network element is configured to transmit, in the second session, a data stream corresponding to an application that supports changing the DNAI.

In another possible implementation, the first session control network element communicates the separation policy information to the second session control network element. The split policy information is used by the second session network element to allocate the second user plane network element to the second session. The second user plane network element is configured to transmit, in the second session, a data stream corresponding to an application that supports changing the DNAI.

In an exemplary implementation, the application access point information includes at least one of at least one DNAI, AF location information, an indication that the application location cannot be changed, and an indication that the DNAI has not changed.

In a possible implementation, the mode type of the first session is SSC mode 3.

In a possible implementation, the method further includes: resetting, by the first session network element, the first session.

In an exemplary implementation, the second user plane network element in the sixth aspect is the eighth user plane network element in Embodiment 6 of the present application, and the second session control network element in the sixth aspect is the sixth session control network element in Embodiment 6 of the present application.

According to the seventh aspect, the present application provides a device. The device may be an access control network element, or a session network element (eg, a second session network element or a third session network element), or may be a chip. The apparatus has the function of implementing implementations of any of the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, the fourth aspect, the fifth aspect, or the sixth aspect. The function may be implemented in hardware, or may be implemented in hardware running corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to a function.

According to an eighth aspect, an apparatus is provided that includes a processor and a memory. The memory is configured to store a computer-executable instruction. When the device is operating, the processor executes a computer-executable instruction stored in memory such that the device executes the session processing method according to any of: the first aspect or possible implementations of the first aspect, the session processing method according to any of: the second aspect or possible implementations of the second aspect, the method session processing according to any of the third aspect or possible implementations of the third aspect, session processing method according to any of the fourth aspect or possible implementations of the fourth aspect, session processing method according to any of the fifth aspect or possible implementations of the fifth aspect, or session processing method according to any of: the sixth aspect or possible implementations of the sixth aspect.

According to a ninth aspect, the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readable storage medium stores instructions. When the instructions are executed on the computer, the computer may perform the methods in accordance with the above aspects.

According to a tenth aspect, the present application further provides a computer program product including instructions. When the computer program product is run on the computer, the computer may perform the methods in accordance with the above aspects.

According to an eleventh aspect, the present application further provides a system. The system includes a network access control element according to any of the implementations of the first aspect and a third network session control element according to any of the implementations of the second aspect. In addition, the system may further include a second network session control element according to any of the implementations of the third aspect.

According to the twelfth aspect, the present application further provides a system. The system includes a network access control element according to any of the implementations of the fourth aspect and a network session control element according to any of the implementations of the fifth aspect.

It should be noted that the second session network element in the Summary of the Invention section of the present application may be the second session network element or the third session network element in Embodiment 1 of the present application. The second user plane network element in the Disclosure section of the present application may be the second user plane network element in Embodiment 1 of the present application.

The second session network element in the Disclosure section of the present application may be the second session network element or the third session network element in Embodiment 2 of the present application. The second user plane network element in the Disclosure section of the present application may be the second user plane network element in Embodiment 2 of the present application.

The second session network element in the Disclosure section of the present application may be the fourth session network element in Embodiment 3 of the present application. The second user plane network element in the Disclosure section of the present application may be the fifth user plane network element in Embodiment 3 of the present application.

The second session network element in the Disclosure section of the present application may be the fourth session network element in Embodiment 4 of the present application. The second user plane network element in the Disclosure section of the present application may be the fifth user plane network element in Embodiment 4 of the present application.

The second session network element in the Disclosure section of the present application may be the sixth session network element in Embodiment 6 of the present application. The second user plane network element in the Disclosure section of the present application may be the eighth user plane network element in Embodiment 6 of the present application.

Brief description of the drawings

1 is a schematic representation of a possible network architecture according to the present application;

Figure 2 is a schematic representation of a PDU session in SSC Mode 3 according to the prior art;

Fig.3A and Fig.3B is a flowchart of the sequence of operations of the session processing method according to the present application;

Fig. 4 is a schematic representation of session data streams according to the present application;

Fig. 5 is another schematic representation of session data streams according to the present application;

Fig. 6 is a flowchart of another session processing method according to the present application;

Fig. 7 is another schematic representation of session data streams according to the present application;

Fig. 8 is another schematic representation of session data streams according to the present application;

Fig.9A and Fig.9B is a flowchart of the sequence of operations of another session processing method according to the present application;

Fig. 10 is a schematic representation of session data streams according to the present application;

11 is a flowchart of another session processing method according to the present application;

Fig. 12A is a schematic representation of session data streams according to the present application;

12B is another schematic representation of session data streams according to the present application;

Fig.13 is a schematic representation of the device according to the present application; and

Fig.14 is a schematic representation of another device according to the present application.

Implementation of the invention

In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more clear, the following is a detailed description of the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings. The particular mode of operation in a method embodiment may also apply to a device embodiment or system embodiment. In the description of the present application, unless otherwise indicated, "many" means two or more than two.

The network architecture and service scenario that are described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, and not to limit the technical solutions presented in the embodiments of the present application. A person skilled in the art may be aware that with the development of network architecture and the advent of a new service scenario, the technical solutions presented in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of a possible network architecture to which the present application applies. The network architecture includes a network access control element (the figure shows an example that uses a network access control element that uses an access and mobility management function (AMF) and a session network element (the figure uses an example , in which the session management network element is a session management function (SMF) network element). In addition, the network architecture may further include a network policy control element (the figure uses an example in which the network policy control element is a network element of the policy control function (policy control function, PCF)).

The access control network element is mainly used for attachment, mobility management, and a tracking area update process of a terminal in a mobile network. The access control network element terminates a non access stratum (NAS) message, terminates registration control, connection control, reachability control, track area list allocation (TA list), mobility control, etc., and transparently forwards a session management (SM) message to the session management network element. In 5th generation (5G) communications, the access and mobility control network element may be an AMF network element. In next generation communication, such as 6th generation (6G), the access control network element may still be an AMF network element or may have a different name. In the present application, this is not a limitation.

The Session Control Network Element is primarily used for session management, such as establishing, modifying, and resetting a session in a mobile communication network. A specific function is, for example, assigning an Internet protocol (IP) address to a terminal or selecting a user plane network element that performs a packet forwarding function. In 5G communication, the session control network element may be an SMF network element. In next generation communications such as 6G communications, the session control network element may still be an SMF network element or may have a different name. In the present application, this is not a limitation.

The user plane network element is primarily responsible for processing the user packet. Processing is, for example, forwarding, billing or lawful interception of messages. A user plane network element may also be referred to as a protocol data unit (PDU), a session anchor (PSA) PDU. In 5G communication, a user plane network element may be a UPF network element. In next generation communications such as 6G communications, the user plane network element may still be a UPF network element or may have a different name. In the present application, this is not a limitation.

The policy control network element has a subscriber subscription data control function, a policy control function, a charging policy control function, a quality of service (QoS) control function, and the like. In 5G communication, the policy control network element may be a PCF network element. In next generation communications such as 6G communications, the policy control network element may still be a PCF network element or may have a different name. In the present application, this is not a limitation.

In the present application, the core network may include network architecture network elements. Each of the core network and the radio access network (RAN) can provide a service for the terminal. For example, a terminal may transmit a data packet to a data network (DN) via the RAN and the core network. Alternatively, the DN transmits the data packet to the terminal via the RAN and the core network. When a connection is established between the terminal and the DN, a PDU session may be established between the terminal and the DN to enable the establishment of a data link. A PDU session refers to a connection dedicated to providing a PDU connection service between a terminal and a DN.

The terminal in the present application is a device that has the function of a wireless transceiver. The terminal may be deployed on land, where deployment includes indoor or outdoor deployment, or deployment of handheld or vehicle-mounted devices; or can be deployed on the water (for example, on a steam ship); or can be deployed in the air (for example, by aircraft, balloon and satellite). The terminal may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer (pad), a computer having a wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in an industrial control system. objects (industrial control), wireless terminal in the self driving system, wireless terminal in the remote medical system (remote medical), wireless terminal in the smart grid (smart grid), wireless terminal in the transport safety system , a wireless terminal in a smart city system, a wireless terminal in a smart home system, and the like.

In the example, the interface between the user plane network element and the DN may be referred to as the N6 interface, the interface between the user plane network element and the session control network element may be referred to as the N4 interface, the interface between the session network element and the access control network element may be referred to as the N11 interface, the interface between the session web element and the policy web element may be referred to as the N7 interface, and the interface between the access control web element and the policy web element may be referred to as the N15 interface. Of course, in next generation communication, the names of these interfaces may remain unchanged or may be replaced by other names. In the present application, this is not a limitation.

It may be understood that the above functions may be network elements in a hardware device, or may be software functions running on dedicated hardware, or may be virtualized functions built on a platform (eg, a cloud platform).

To simplify the description, the present application is hereinafter described using an example in which the user plane network element is a UPF network element, the session control network element is an SMF network element, the access control network element is an AMF network element, and the policy control network element is a PCF network element. . In addition, a UPF network element is referred to as UPF for short, an SMF network element is referred to as SMF for short, an AMF network element is referred to as AMF for short, and a PCF network element is referred to as PCF for short. In particular, in the following description of the present application, all UPFs may be replaced with user plane network elements, all SMFs may be replaced with session control network elements, all AMFs may be replaced with access control network elements, and all PCFs may be replaced with network policy controls.

To facilitate understanding of the solutions, some of the terms or nouns that will be used in this application and the related background knowledge are briefly described below.

The session and service continuity mode in the 5G system can meet the continuity requirements of various applications or services. Various session and service continuity modes are supported in the 5G system, and they mainly include the following several session and service continuity modes.

(1) SSC mode 1: In the process of moving the terminal, regardless of the type of access technology of the terminal, the location of the terminal, and the like, when a PDU session is established, the UPF used as the PSA remains unchanged.

(2) SSC Mode 2: Based on information such as operator policy, the network side may instruct the terminal to reset the current session PDU and restore a new session PDU. In a newly established PDU session, the UPF used as the PSA may be reselected.

(3) SSC Mode 3: For a PDU session in SSC Mode 3, the network side allows a new PDU session to be established for the PDU session DN. After the establishment of a new session PDU is completed, the network side may reset the previously established session PDU after a certain time has elapsed. There are many conditions under which the network side allows a new PDU session to be established for the PDU session DN. For example, the network side allows a new PDU session to be established for a PDU session DN due to terminal movement or device load balancing.

Figure 2 shows a schematic representation of a PDU session in SSC Mode 3 according to the prior art. It should be noted that the two DNs in FIG. 2 are the same DN.

The terminal establishes session 1 PDU (as shown by the dotted line in the figure) at location 1 (at the location shown by RAN 1). The user plane path of session 1 PDU is represented as follows: terminal - RAN 1 - UPF 1.

When the terminal moves to location 2 (the location shown by RAN 2), the terminal accesses RAN 2. In this case, session 1 PDU still exists and the user plane path of session 1 PDU is updated to: terminal - RAN 2 - UPF 1 Further, after the terminal has moved, the SMF 1 may send a NAS message to the terminal using the AMF to instruct the terminal to establish a session 2 PDU for the DN. The session 2 PDU user plane path is: terminal - RAN 2 - UPF 2.

In the above process, if the area in which the UE is located is not within the coverage area of SMF 1, or the UPF managed by SMF 1 has coverage, and the location of the UE is not within the coverage area of UPF managed by SMF 1, SMF 1 may instruct AMF re-select SMF. For example, when the terminal initiates a PDU session establishment, the AMF may reselect SMF 2 and then SMF 2 reselects UPF 2 and establishes the PDU session. The PDU session is a 2 PDU session.

Thus, for a session PDU in SSC mode 3, the old session 1 PDU still exists for a period of time after the session 2 PDU is newly established. In addition, when the PDU session is re-established, the AMF may reselect the SMF, and the reselected SMF may reselect the UPF. Figure 2 shows a reselection scenario. Before moving the terminal, the network elements each providing a service to the terminal are SMF 1 and UPF 1. After moving the terminal, each of the network elements providing a service to the terminal is SMF 2 and UPF 2. Further, after moving the terminal, there may be also changed the AMF providing the service for the terminal. To simplify the description, the present application uses an example in which the AMF is unchanged for description.

The present application mainly refers to SSC mode 1 and SSC mode 3. Two scenarios are described separately.

Referring to FIG. 1, it is assumed that there are three application function (AF) servers in the DN, namely, AF server 1, AF server 2, and AF server 3. In the following, to simplify the description, the AF server is referred to for brevity as AF. Thus, AF Server 1, AF Server 2, and AF Server 3 may be referred to for brevity as AF 1, AF 2, and AF 3, respectively. AF 1 includes Appendix 1, or AF 1 is meant to match Appendix 1. AF 2 includes Appendix 2, or AF 2 is meant to match Appendix 2. AF 3 includes Appendix 3, or AF 3 is meant to be corresponds to application 3. The terminal is currently located at location A. The terminal can access AF 1, AF 2, and AF 3 at location A. Thus, the terminal can access application 1, application 2, and application 3 at location A.

App 1 is supposed to not support changing app location. It should also be understood that when the terminal is at location A and is performing application service 1, the terminal connects to AF 1. Then, when the terminal's location changes (eg, the terminal moves to location B), AF 1 expects the terminal to still perform access to AF 1 when the terminal performs the service of application 1. For example, the AF corresponding to application 1 is not deployed at location B, or although the AF corresponding to application 1 is deployed at location B, the AF application layer does not support such an operation as transfer of the context at the application level. Thus, the terminal still needs access to AF 1, which corresponds to application 1 and is accessed by the terminal at location A.

App 2 and app 3 are supposed to support changing app location. It should also be understood that after leaving location A at a new location (for example, at location B), after moving, the terminal may be connected to an AF other than AF 2 to perform an application service 2, and may be connected to an AF other than AF 3, to perform the service of application 3.

After the terminal moves to location B in order to perform the service of application 1 at location B, the terminal must be connected to AF 1, which corresponds to application 1 and which is located at location A. Thus, in this scenario, in order to provide a relatively good experience service for the terminal, that a session gateway device (for example, including a user plane network element and a split network element) should determine, based on the location of AF 1, how to select the session network element, and how the session network element selects the gateway device. , represents the tasks to be solved in the present application.

For the above tasks, the present application provides a variety of different solutions, which are described individually below.

Embodiment 1

3A and 3B show a flowchart of a session processing method according to the present application. The method is applied during session processing in SSC mode 3. In this embodiment, the session established by the terminal before moving the terminal is referred to as the first session, and the SMF providing the service for the terminal is referred to as the first SMF. The session established by the terminal after moving the terminal is referred to as the second session. The SMFs each providing a service to the terminal include a second SMF and a third SMF. The UPF selected by the second SMF is referred to as the second UPF. The second UPF is configured to route the data flow of the second application of the second session. The second application is an application that does not support location change. For example, the second application may be the application corresponding to AF 1 in FIG. The UPF selected by the third SMF is referred to as the third UPF. The third UPF is configured to route the data flow of the first application of the second session. The first application is an application that supports changing the location of an application. For example, the first application may be the application corresponding to AF 2 or AF 3 in FIG. Before moving the terminal and after moving the terminal, the AMFs each providing a service to the terminal are the same AMF. In addition, the second SMF selected by the AMF in this embodiment and the first SMF are different SMFs.

Note that in this embodiment, the first SMF may also be referred to as A-SMF 1, the second SMF may also be referred to as A-SMF 2, and the third SMF may also be referred to as I-SMF. A-SMF is an abbreviation for anchor SMF, I-SMF is an abbreviation for intermediate SMF, and I-SMF is a newly added SMF.

The method includes the following steps.

Step 301: The first SMF sends the first session application access point information to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF may receive information about the access point of the first session application.

The application access point information includes at least one of at least one DNAI, location information AF, an indication that the application location cannot be changed, and an indication that the DNAI has not changed.

It should be noted that, in another implementation, application access point information that appears anywhere in the present application may be further replaced with indication information. In addition, the corresponding operation performed by any network element based on the application access point information can be replaced by the corresponding operation performed by the network element based on the indication information.

The DNAI is a data network access point identifier and can be thought of as information about the location of the data access network. For example, in a scenario due to load balancing, the AF server may request an access point to route data to a specific location (where the AF server is deployed at the location for the application). More specifically, the user's application data stream is expected to be sent to the AF server at that location. The AF server may provide AF location information to the NEF network element on the network side. The NEF maps the AF position information to one or more DNAIs and transmits the one or more DNAIs to the SMF using the PCF. The SMF selects one or more DNAIs from the DNAIs received by the SMF. The SMF may then select a UPF based on one or more selected DNAIs. To be precise, the DNAI can be used by the SMF to select the UPF. In the present application, the DNAI may additionally be used by the AMF to select the SMF.

Not application relocation possibility is used to indicate that an AF application does not support application relocation.

The no-change DNAI indication is used to indicate that one or more DNAIs corresponding to the AF location information cannot be changed. When an AF application does not support changing the application's location, the gateway device that transmits the AF application's data stream may conform to one or more DNAIs.

For example, if the application does not support changing the location of the application, the AF corresponding to the application can send DNAI to the SMF using a network exposure function (NEF) or PCF. It should be noted that the AF may optionally transmit the location information of the AF to the NEF. The NEF may determine the application access point information (where the access point information herein may be one or more DNAIs) based on the location information of the AF. The NEF may pass the application access point information to the first SMF using the PCF. After the first SMF receives the application access point information, on the one hand, the first SMF may store the application access point information in the session context information of the first session of the terminal. In this document, session context information is information related to a terminal session; and, on the other hand, the first SMF may further transmit the application access point information to the AMF. More specifically, after receiving the application access point information, the first SMF includes the access point information in a message and sends the message to the AMF. The particular message is not limiting and may be, for example, a Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message.

For example, after obtaining information about an application's access point, the first SMF stores the information first. When the first SMF decides to perform an SMF and/or UPF move, the first SMF may send a message (eg, a Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message) to the AMF. The message includes a first session identifier (where the first session identifier may be, for example, a PDU session identifier) and an indication of a request to change the location of an SMF (session management function, SMF), an N1 session management container (SM N1 container), and the like. The SM container N1 is information sent to the terminal and includes a session modification command (eg, a PDU session modification command), and may further include a cause value. The reason value is used to send to the terminal and instruct the terminal to re-establish the session for the same DN, namely to establish a second session.

In addition, the message may further include information about the access point of the application. According to the above method, the AMF can obtain the application access point information from the first SMF, and then store the access point information locally, for example, store the access point information in the session context information of the first session.

Step 302: The terminal sends a request message to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF may receive the request message. The request message includes a first session ID and a second session ID. The request message requests the establishment of a session.

Moving the terminal launches the terminal, initiating session recovery. Thus, the terminal sends a request message to the AMF to request the establishment of a session. In this document, the new session that is requested to be established is the second session.

The terminal initiates the session establishment process and the request message includes a first session identifier and a second session identifier. For example, when the session is a PDU session, the first session ID may hereinafter be referred to as the old PDU session ID (old PDU session ID) and the second session ID may hereinafter be referred to as the new PDU session ID (new PDU session ID). After receiving the first session ID and the second session ID, the AMF may determine that the second session is a PDU session recovered from the first session. Thus, the AMF reselects the SMF for the second session. In this embodiment, the AMF selects two SMFs, namely a second SMF and a third SMF, for the second session. In addition, both the selected second SMF and the selected third SMF are different from the first SMF providing the service for the second session.

During a particular implementation, the request message may be a session establishment request message.

Step 303: The AMF selects a second SMF based on the application's access point information.

The AMF selects the second SMF based on the application access point information. The second SMF selects the second UPF. The second UPF is configured to route the data flow of the second application of the second session. The second application is an application that does not support location change. For example, the second application may be the application corresponding to AF 1 in FIG.

Step 304: The AMF selects the third SMF.

For example, the AMF may select a third SMF based on the location information of the terminal and/or information on the second SMF. The third SMF selects the third UPF. The third UPF is configured to route the data flow of the first application of the second session. The first application is an application that supports changing the location of an application. For example, the first application may be the application corresponding to AF 2 or AF 3 in FIG.

Step 305: The AMF sends the first request message to the second SMF, where the first request message requests the establishment of a second session. Accordingly, the second SMF may receive the first request message.

During a specific implementation, the first request message may be, for example, an Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext request message.

Optionally, the first request message includes application access point information, and the second SMF uses the application access point information to select the UPF.

Optionally, the first request message may further include a first session identifier and a second session identifier.

Step 306. The second SMF selects the second UPF.

In an implementation, if the first request message includes application access point information, the second SMF may select a UPF based on the application access point information, and the selected UPF is the second UPF. Since the UPF is selected based on the application's access point information, the selected second UPF allows the terminal to access the AF server corresponding to the application. More specifically, after moving, the terminal can still access an application that does not support changing the location of the application. The second UPF corresponds to one or more DNAIs. One or more DNAIs correspond to the AF server corresponding to the application.

In another implementation, the second SMF may obtain the partition policy information and select the UPF based on the partition policy information, and the selected UPF is the second UPF.

It should be noted that the second UPF selected by the second SMF and the anchored UPF (which may be referred to as the first UPF) corresponding to the first session may be the same UPF or may be different UPFs. In the present application, this is not a limitation.

Step 307: The AMF sends a second request message to a third SMF, where the second request message requests to establish a second session. Accordingly, the third SMF may receive the second request message.

At implementation time, the second request message may be, for example, an Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext request message. The second request message includes information about the second SMF so that the second SMF and the third SMF establish a session PDU (ie, a second session) for the UE. The information about the second SMF is used by the third SMF to establish a connection with the second SMF.

If necessary, the AMF may decide, based on the information about the application's access point, to add information about the second SMF to the second request message.

Step 308: The third SMF selects the third UPF.

Specifically, the third SMF may select the UPF according to the UPF selection principle, for example, based on information such as terminal location information, UPF loading information, and data network name (data network name, DNN), and the selected UPF is the third UPF. . The third UPF is configured to route the data flow of the first application of the second session. The first application is an application that supports changing the location of an application.

Step 309: The third SMF establishes a connection with the second SMF based on the information about the second SMF, where the connection is used to transfer the second session application data stream separation information.

The partitioning information may include, for example, partitioning network element information and/or partitioning policy information, and may further include PCF information and the like. The information about the second SMF may be, for example, the identification information of the second SMF.

In an implementation, the third SMF may send an Nx message to the second SMF based on information about the second SMF, and the Nx message requests the establishment of a signaling connection with the second SMF.

In addition, the separation network element must additionally be selected. The separating network element is a device capable of separating second session application data streams and can determine appropriate data paths (in particular, select different gateway devices) for the data streams based on the characteristics of the data streams. In particular, the data flow of the first application of the second session is transmitted to the third UPF, and the data flow of the second application of the second session is transmitted to the second UPF.

In one implementation, the specific shape of the split network element is not limited and may be an uplink classifier (uplink classifier, CL UL). In particular, CL UL may be UPF. The separation network element separates service data streams. For the uplink data streams, when the uplink data streams reach the split network element, the split network element matches the split policy with the uplink data streams and passes the uplink data streams to the second UPF or the third UPF. For downlink data streams, the split network element combines the uplink data streams and transmits the uplink data streams to the terminal. With this processing method, there can be multiple data flow routing points in one PDU session.

The following describes two methods for selecting a partitioning NE.

Method 1: The second SMF selects a split network element, specifically includes the following steps 310 to 313.

Step 310: The second SMF selects a split network element.

The method for selecting the splitting network element by the second SMF is not limited in the present application. For example, the second SMF may select a partitioning network element based on some or all of the information such as terminal location information, a first session ID, and a second session ID.

Step 311: The second SMF establishes a data link between the split network element and the second UPF.

Step 312: The second SMF sends the partitioning network element information to the third SMF.

For example, the second SMF may convey identification information about a partitioning network element, or the like. to the third SMF. For example, the second SMF may send information about the partitioning network element to the third SMF via the connection established at step 309.

Step 313: The third SMF establishes a data link between the split network element and the third UPF.

Method 2: That the third SMF selects the split network element specifically includes the following steps 314 to 317.

Step 314: The third SMF selects a split network element.

The method for selecting the third SMF partitioning network element is not limited in the present application. For example, the third SMF may select a partitioning network element based on some or all of the information such as terminal location information, a first session ID, and a second session ID.

Step 315: The third SMF establishes a data link between the partitioning network element and the third UPF.

Step 316: The third SMF sends the partitioning network element information to the second SMF.

For example, the third SMF may convey identification information about the partitioning network element, and the like. to the second SMF. For example, the third SMF may send information about the partitioning network element to the second SMF via the connection established in step 309.

Step 317: The second SMF establishes a data link between the partitioning network element and the second UPF.

Using steps 310 to 313 or steps 314 to 317, a split network element is selected. In addition, the second SMF may establish a connection between the separation network element and the second UPF, and the third SMF may establish a connection between the separation network element and the third UPF. Thus, the partitioning network element may pass the received application data streams to the second UPF or the third UPF, respectively.

It should be noted that in the above stages there is no strict sequence of execution between the stages, which do not have a relationship in time sequence with each other. For example, there is no strict sequence between any of step 303, step 305 and step 306 and any of step 304, step 307 and step 308 if it is guaranteed that step 303 is performed before step 307 and step 309 can be performed after step 307 and can be performed before step 312 or step 316. If steps 310 to 313 are performed, step 311 may be performed after step 310. If steps 314 to 317 are performed, step 315 may be performed after step 314. Performing methods of other steps that are not restricted by time sequence, can be adjusted based on the actual case. The examples are not used one after the other for description.

According to the above embodiment, the second UPF may be selected. The second UPF is configured to route the data flow of the second application of the second session. The second application is an application that does not support location change. Thus, after the move, the terminal can still access the second application using the second session.

In the above embodiment, a possible reason for selecting two SMFs for the second session is: the third SMF selected by the AMF based on information such as the location of the terminal is relatively far away from the AF server corresponding to the application that does not support changing the location of the application. Thus, the third SMF cannot manage and control the UPF corresponding to the DNAI corresponding to the AF server. Thus, it is necessary to select another SMF, namely the second SMF, in order to select the second UPF and control the second UPF.

In addition, when separating received application data streams, the separation network element must separate the data streams in accordance with the adopted separation policy. Application data streams include application data streams that support changing the location of an application and/or application data streams that do not support changing the location of an application. Next, a specific implementation method for obtaining a separation policy by a separation network element is further described. It should be noted that any of the following methods may be implemented with reference to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, or may be implemented separately, which is not a limitation.

Next, the following implementation methods will be described using an example in which the following methods are implemented with reference to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B.

Implementation Method 1: The AMF obtains the partition policy information and sends the partition policy information to the second SMF or the third SMF, and then the second SMF or the third SMF determines the partition policy based on the partition policy information and sends the partition policy to the partition network element.

The partitioning policy information is information used to determine data flow paths. In the same PDU session, data streams with different functions may be sent to the DN through different UPFs, as shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 4, FIG. 5, and the like. In other words, there are different data paths for data streams in the same PDU session. Hereinafter, all information used to determine data paths for data streams may be referred to as separation policy information.

The partition policy information may include, for example, indication information and/or application data stream information. The indication information includes at least one of the following: a local processing indication, at least one DNAI, and location change capability information. Application data streams include application data streams that support changing the location of an application and/or application data streams that do not support changing the location of an application. The location change capability information includes an indication of not being able to change the location of the application (not being able to change the location of the application) or an indication of being able to change the location of the application (the ability to change the location of the application). The application data stream information includes at least one of: an application data stream destination IP address, an AF identifier, and application identifiers.

For example, in the step of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, when sending application access point information to the AMF, the first SMF may further send partition policy information to the AMF. It should be noted that if the access point information and the separation policy information are at least one DNAI or an indication that the application cannot be relocated, the first SMF shall send at least one DNAI or an indication that the application cannot be relocated in the AMF only once, not multiple times.

Alternatively, in another implementation, the first SMF may send access point information and application separation policy information to the AMF using different messages, respectively.

After receiving the partitioning policy information, the first SMF may alternatively store the partitioning policy information in the session context information of the first session.

In addition, the first SMF may optionally send information about the separation policy to the AMF. In an implementation, the first SMF may communicate the partitioning policy information to the AMF using a message. The particular message is not limiting and may be, for example, a Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message. Thus, the AMF can obtain information about the separation policy. In addition, the AMF may locally store the partition policy information, for example, store the partition policy information in the session context information of the first session.

In one implementation, after step 302 of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the AMF determines the session context information based on the first session identifier in the received request message, and then determines the partitioning policy information based on the session context information, and namely, obtains the stored partitioning policy information from the session context information.

After receiving the split policy information, the AMF may send the split policy information to the second SMF or to the third SMF. For example, if the partitioning network element is selected by the second SMF, the AMF may send the partitioning policy information to the second SMF; or the AMF may send the partition policy information to the third SMF, and the third SMF sends the partition policy information to the second SMF. Then, the second SMF generates a separation policy based on the information about the separation policy, and transmits the separation policy to the separation network element. If the partitioning network element is selected by the third SMF, the AMF may send the partitioning policy information to the third SMF; or the AMF may send the split policy information to the second SMF, and the second SMF sends the split policy information to the third SMF. Then, the third SMF generates a partition policy based on the partition policy information, and transmits the partition policy information to the partition network element.

It should be noted that the second SMF or the third SMF may directly use the partition policy information as the partition policy. More specifically, the partition policy is similar to the partition policy information. Alternatively, the second SMF or the third SMF may further add additional information to the partition policy information or modify the additional partition policy information to obtain the partition policy. In this case, the partition policy and the partition policy information do not match completely. In particular, the separation policy is implemented based on actual requirements. During a particular implementation, the separation policy may be, for example, a filter.

Implementation method 2: The second SMF obtains the partition policy information from the PCF, and then determines the partition policy based on the partition policy information, and sends the partition policy to the partition network element.

In an implementation, if the PCF corresponding to the second SMF and the PCF (where the PCF may also be referred to as the PCF corresponding to the first session) corresponding to the first SMF are the same PCF, the second SMF stores information about the PCF and thus can get partitioning policy information from PCF.

In another implementation, if the PCF corresponding to the second SMF and the PCF corresponding to the first SMF are not the same PCF, the second SMF must first obtain information about the PCF corresponding to the first SMF. For example, the second SMF may obtain information about the PCF corresponding to the first SMF from the AMF (where information about the PCF corresponding to the first SMF in the AMF may come from the first SMF to the AMF). The second SMF then obtains the partition policy information from the PCF based on the received PCF information. For example, the AMF may add the PCF information to the first request message in step 305 of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B and pass the first request message to the second SMF.

After receiving the partitioning policy information, the second SMF determines the partitioning policy based on the partitioning policy information. With regard to a particular implementation, reference should be made to the corresponding description of implementation method 1. The details are again not described in this document.

Implementation Method 3: The second SMF obtains the partition policy information from the PCF and then sends the partition policy information to the third SMF. The third SMF determines the partitioning policy based on the partitioning policy information and sends the partitioning policy to the partitioning network element.

The main difference from the implementation method 2 is that in the implementation method 3, after receiving the partition policy information from the PCF, the second SMF transmits the partition policy information to the third SMF, and then the third SMF determines the partition policy based on the partition policy information and transmits the partition policy. separation into a separation network element.

It should be noted that the partition policy information received by the second SMF from the PCF may be the same or different from the partition policy information supplied from the second SMF to the third SMF. For example, the split policy information received by the second SMF from the PCF may be application data stream identifiers and corresponding application data stream DNAIs. The second SMF may pass the application data stream identifiers and the corresponding application data stream DNAIs to the third SMF. The values may vary. In another example, the split policy information received by the second SMF from the PCF includes application data stream identifiers and information indicating that the application cannot be relocated. The second SMF then determines the DNAI of the application data streams based on the split policy information. Then, the second SMF uses the application data stream identifiers and the application data stream DNAI as the split policy information, and passes the split policy information to the third SMF.

The partition policy information supplied from the second SMF to the third SMF may be the same as or different from the partition policy determined by the third SMF. For example, the split policy information from the second SMF to the third SMF includes application data stream identifiers and corresponding DNAIs. The third SMF may determine the application data stream separation policy based on the application data stream identifiers and the corresponding DNAIs. The separation policy may include data stream identifiers (eg, destination addresses of application data streams) and corresponding routes (eg, addresses of gateway devices to which application data streams are routed). The third SMF may send the partitioning policy to the partitioning network element.

Implementation Method 4: The third SMF obtains the partition policy information from the PCF, and then determines the partition policy based on the partition policy information, and sends the partition policy to the partition network element.

The main difference from the implementation method 2 is that in the implementation method 4, the third SMF obtains the partition policy information from the PCF. For the acquisition method, one should refer to the manner in which the second SMF obtains the partitioning policy information from the PCF. After receiving the partitioning policy information, the third SMF determines the partitioning policy based on the partitioning policy information. With regard to a particular implementation, reference should be made to the corresponding description of implementation method 1. The details are again not described in this document.

In one implementation, if the third SMF further needs to obtain the PCF information, the AMF may add the PCF information to the second request message at step 307 of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B and send the second request message to the third SMF.

It should be noted that the partition policy information obtained by the third SMF from the PCF may be the same or different from the partition policy determined by the third SMF. For example, the split policy information received by the third SMF from the PCF includes application data stream identifiers and corresponding DNAIs. The third SMF may determine the application data stream separation policy based on the application data stream identifiers and the corresponding DNAIs. The separation policy may include data stream identifiers (eg, destination addresses of application data streams) and corresponding routes (eg, addresses of gateway devices to which application data streams are routed). The third SMF may send the partitioning policy to the partitioning network element.

Implementation Method 5: The third SMF obtains the partition policy information from the PCF, and then sends the partition policy information to the second SMF. The second SMF determines the separation policy based on the information about the separation policy and sends the separation policy to the separation network element.

The main difference from the implementation method 4 is that in the implementation method 5, after receiving the partition policy information from the PCF, the third SMF transmits the partition policy information to the second SMF, and then the second SMF determines the partition policy based on the partition policy information and transmits the policy. separation into a separation network element.

It should be noted that the partition policy information received by the third SMF from the PCF may be the same or different from the partition policy information supplied from the third SMF to the second SMF. For example, the split policy information received by the third SMF from the PCF may be application data stream identifiers and corresponding application data stream DNAIs. The third SMF may pass the application data stream identifiers and the corresponding application data stream DNAIs to the second SMF. The values may vary. In another example, the partitioning policy information received by the third SMF from the PCF includes application data stream identifiers and information indicating that the application cannot be relocated. The third SMF then determines the DNAI of the application data streams based on the split policy information. Then, the third SMF uses the application data stream identifiers and the application data stream DNAI as the split policy information, and passes the split policy information to the second SMF.

The partition policy information supplied from the third SMF to the second SMF may be the same as or different from the partition policy determined by the second SMF. For example, the split policy information from the third SMF to the second SMF includes application data stream identifiers and corresponding DNAIs. The second SMF may determine the application data stream separation policy based on the application data stream identifiers and the corresponding DNAIs. The separation policy may include data stream identifiers (eg, destination addresses of application data streams) and corresponding routes (eg, addresses of gateway devices to which application data streams are routed). The second SMF may send the partitioning policy to the partitioning network element.

For implementation method 2 - implementation method 4, the PCF information in the AMF can be obtained by the AMF using the following method: in step 301, when sending the application access point information to the AMF, the first SMF can optionally send the PCF information to the AMF. In particular, the PCF information may be added to the Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message and passed to the AMF. Alternatively, in another implementation, step 301 may be replaced by transmitting the first SMF of PCF information to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF can obtain information about the PCF. To be precise, the first SMF does not pass information about the access point to the AMF, but sends information about the PCF. Then, after getting the PCF information, the AMF can get the access point information from the PCF.

The following provides a specific implementation method used by the second SMF or the third SMF to determine the separation policy.

Step 1: If the application does not support changing the location of the application, the AF corresponding to the application may send an indication of the inability to change the location of the application, the location information of the AF, and information about the characteristics of the data streams in the NEF.

An indication of not being able to change the location of the application is used to indicate that the application does not support changing the location of the application.

The AF location information is used to identify the location of the AF.

Information about the features of the data streams is used to identify the characteristics of the data streams and includes, for example, a 3-tuple (including destination IP address, destination port number and protocol type), a 5-tuple (destination IP address , destination port number, source IP address, source port number, and protocol type) or an application identifier (including, for example, all or part of the URL information, such as a host name).

Step 2: The NEF generates at least one DNAI based on the AF location information and the data stream characteristics information, transmits at least one generated DNAI to the PCF, and transmits the data stream properties information to the PCF.

The PCF includes partition policy information. For example, the partitioning policy information on the PCF includes at least one DNAI and data flow characteristics information.

Step 3: AMF/Second SMF/Third SMF/First SMF receives the partitioning policy information from the PCF.

The split policy information from the PCF to the AMF, the second SMF, the third SMF, or the first SMF includes at least one DNAI and information about data stream features, and may further include other information.

Step 4: The second SMF/third SMF generates a partition policy based on the partition policy information.

If, in step 3, the AMF or the first SMF obtains the separation policy information from the PCF, the second SMF or the third SMF must additionally obtain the separation policy information from the AMF or the first SMF.

Alternatively, if in step 3 the second SMF obtains the partition policy information from the PCF and in step 4 the third SMF generates the partition policy, the third SMF additionally needs to obtain the partition policy information from the second SMF.

Alternatively, if in step 3 the third SMF obtains the partition policy information from the PCF, and in step 4 the second SMF generates the partition policy, the second SMF must additionally obtain the partition policy information from the third SMF.

The separation policy generated by the second SMF/third SMF includes feature information and data flow routing information. The routing information indicates a partitioning network element to separate the application data streams, for example, direct the second application data stream to the second UPF and direct the first application data stream to the third UPF. The specific form of this is not limited. For example, the route information may be DNAI.

In addition, the second SMF may further select one or more DNAIs from at least one DNAI in the split policy information, and then select the second UPF based on the one or more selected DNAIs. In this case, at least one DNAI in the separation policy information may also be referred to as application access point information.

Step 5: The second SMF/third SMF sends the separation policy to the separation network element.

The above steps are used as a specific implementation only. There may be a different implementation during actual application. This is not limited to the present invention.

It should be noted that the specific process for implementing the transmission of the separation policy to the separation network element can be combined with the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. Specific implementation details, including, for example, the sequence of steps, are not limited in the present application, and can be flexibly set based on actual requirement.

Figure 4 shows a schematic representation of session data streams according to Embodiment 1. Before moving the terminal, the session established by the terminal is the first session (shown in dotted line in the figure). The path in the session user plane is represented as follows: terminal - RAN 1 - first UPF. After moving the terminal, the user plane path of the first session is updated to: terminal - RAN 2 - first UPF, and the terminal further establishes a second session. The SMFs selected by the AMF include a second SMF and a third SMF. The UPF selected by the second SMF is the second UPF (the figure uses an example in which the second UPF and the first UPF are different UPFs, and in fact the second UPF and the first UPF may be the same UPF). The UPF selected by the third SMF is the third UPF, and the second SMF or the third SMF selects the UPF as the partitioning network element. According to the separation policy, the separation network element can transmit the data flow of the second application of the second session to the second UPF and transmit the data flow of the first application of the second session to the third UPF, so after moving, the terminal can access the second application using the second UPF. The second application is an application that does not support location change. The second UPF corresponds to one or more DNAIs and one or more DNAIs corresponds to the AF server corresponding to the second application.

In Embodiment 1, for the second SMF and the third SMF that correspond to the second session, in the implementation method, an interface exists between the AMF and the second SMF, an interface exists between the AMF and the third SMF, and an interface exists between the second SMF and the third SMF. Based on this scenario, the session processing method is shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B.

In Embodiment 1, for the second SMF and the third SMF that correspond to the second session, in another implementation, there is an interface between the AMF and the second SMF, no interface between the AMF and the third SMF, and an interface between the second SMF and the third SMF. Based on this scenario, the first request message in step 305 of the session processing method shown in Figs. , where the request message requests the establishment of a second session.

In Embodiment 1, for the second SMF and the third SMF that correspond to the second session, in another implementation, there is no interface between the AMF and the second SMF, there is an interface between the AMF and the third SMF, and there is an interface between the second SMF and the third SMF. Based on this scenario, the second request message in step 307 of the session processing method shown in FIGS. 3A and FIG. SMF, where the request message requests the establishment of a second session. In this case, step 306 should be performed after this step.

Embodiment 2

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the second SMF selected by the AMF and the first SMF are different SMFs. In another embodiment, the second SMF selected by the AMF and the first SMF may be the same SMF. For example, during a particular implementation, when the first SMF determines that the application data flow in the first session has a requirement not to support application location changes, the SMF remains unchanged. Then, the first SMF may not send the change location command of the SMF to the AMF. Also, when a new session (namely, the second session) is established, the AMF always uses the first SMF in the first session as the SMF in the second session. More specifically, the AMF selects the first SMF as the second SMF.

Specifically, in this embodiment, the session established by the terminal before moving the terminal is referred to as the first session, and the SMF providing the service to the terminal is referred to as the first SMF. The session established by the terminal after moving the terminal is referred to as the second session. The SMFs each providing a service to the terminal include a second SMF and a third SMF. The UPF selected by the second SMF is referred to as the second UPF. The second UPF is configured to route the data flow of the second application of the second session. The second application is an application that does not support location change. For example, the second application may be the application corresponding to AF 1 in FIG. The UPF selected by the third SMF is referred to as the third UPF. The third UPF is configured to route the data flow of the first application of the second session. The first application is an application that supports changing the location of the application. For example, the first application may be the application corresponding to AF 2 or AF 3 in FIG. Before moving the terminal and after moving the terminal, the AMFs each providing a service to the terminal are the same AMF. In addition, the second SMF selected by the AMF in this embodiment and the first SMF are the same SMF.

In this embodiment, the second SMF stores information about the session context of the first session. The session context information includes application access point information and may further include separation policy information. In addition, the second SMF additionally stores information about the PCF.

Thus, based on Embodiment 2, Embodiment 2 mainly has the following differences based on Embodiment 1 shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B.

First, at step 303, the AMF selects the first SMF as the second SMF based on the application's access point information.

Second, at block 305, in the newly added implementation, the first request message may not carry application access point information, but may carry the first session identifier. The second SMF may then obtain the session context information based on the first session ID, and then select the second UPF based on the session context information. Specifically, the session context information includes information about an application's access point. The application access point information that is included in the session context information may be obtained by the first SMF from the NEF or PCF. The NEF may determine the access point information (including one or more DNAIs) based on the AF's location information received from the AF. Thus, the second SMF may select the second UPF based on the application-specific access point information found in the session context information.

Fig. 5 shows a schematic representation of session data streams according to Embodiment 2. Before moving the terminal, the session established by the terminal is the first session (shown in dotted line in the figure). The path in the session user plane is represented as follows: terminal - RAN 1 - first UPF. After moving the terminal, the user plane path of the first session is updated to: terminal - RAN 2 - first UPF, and the terminal further establishes a second session. The SMFs selected by the AMF include a second SMF and a third SMF. The UPF selected by the second SMF is the second UPF (the figure uses an example in which the second UPF and the first UPF are the same UPF, and in fact the second UPF and the first UPF may be different UPFs). The UPF selected by the third SMF is the third UPF, and the second SMF or the third SMF selects the UPF as the partitioning network element. According to the separation policy, the separation network element can transmit the data flow of the second application of the second session to the second UPF and transmit the data flow of the first application of the second session to the third UPF, so after moving, the terminal can access the second application using the second UPF. The second application is an application that does not support location change. The second UPF corresponds to one or more DNAIs and one or more DNAIs corresponds to the AF server corresponding to the second application.

Based on this embodiment, for the separation network element to obtain the separation policy information, the main difference from the separation network element to obtain the separation policy information in Embodiment 1 shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B is that if the second SMF obtains the partition policy information, the second SMF can directly obtain the partition policy information locally without having to obtain the partition policy information from the AMF or PCF. After receiving the partitioning policy information, the second SMF may generate a partitioning policy based on the partitioning policy information and transmit the partitioning policy to the partitioning network element. Alternatively, after receiving the partition policy information, the second SMF transmits the partition policy information to the third SMF, and the third SMF generates a partition policy based on the partition policy information and transmits the partition policy to the partition network element.

In Embodiment 2, for the second SMF and the third SMF that correspond to the second session, in the implementation method, an interface exists between the AMF and the second SMF, an interface exists between the AMF and the third SMF, and an interface exists between the second SMF and the third SMF. Based on this scenario, the session processing method is shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B.

In Embodiment 2, for the second SMF and third SMF that correspond to the second session, in another implementation, there is an interface between the AMF and the second SMF, no interface between the AMF and the third SMF, and an interface between the second SMF and the third SMF. Based on this scenario, the first request message in step 305 of the session processing method shown in Figs. , where the request message requests the establishment of a second session.

In Embodiment 2, for the second SMF and the third SMF that correspond to the second session, in another implementation, there is no interface between the AMF and the second SMF, there is an interface between the AMF and the third SMF, and there is an interface between the second SMF and the third SMF. Based on this scenario, the second request message in step 307 of the session processing method shown in FIGS. 3A and FIG. SMF, where the request message requests the establishment of a second session. In this case, step 306 should be performed after this step.

Embodiment 3

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the AMF selects two SMFs: a second SMF and a third SMF. If the AMF can select one SMF and the coverage area of the SMF is large enough, the AMF may also need to select only one SMF. Thus, in another embodiment, the AMF selects the SMF and the SMF is different from the first SMF. To simplify the description, the SMF is referred to as the fourth SMF. The fourth SMF has the functions of the second SMF and the third SMF.

In this embodiment, the session established by the terminal before moving the terminal is referred to as the first session, and the SMF providing the service for the terminal is referred to as the first SMF. The session established by the terminal after moving the terminal is referred to as the second session. The SMF providing the service for the terminal is the fourth SMF. The UPFs selected by the second SMF include the fifth UPF and the sixth UPF. The fifth UPF is configured to route the data flow of the second application of the second session. The second application is an application that does not support location change. For example, the second application may be the application corresponding to AF 1 in FIG. The sixth UPF is configured to route the data flow of the first application of the second session. The first application is an application that supports changing the location of the application. For example, the first application may be the application corresponding to AF 2 or AF 3 in FIG. Before moving the terminal and after moving the terminal, the AMFs each providing a service to the terminal are the same AMF. In addition, the fourth SMF selected by the AMF in this embodiment and the first SMF are different SMFs.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of another session processing method according to the present application. The method includes the following steps.

Step 601 and step 602 are the same as step 301 and step 302 in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, so the above descriptions should be referred to.

Step 603: The AMF selects the fourth SMF.

For example, the AMF may select the SMF based on application access point information and/or terminal location information. The SMF is referred to as the fourth SMF. In addition, the fourth SMF and the first SMF are different SMFs.

Step 604: The AMF sends a request message to the fourth SMF, where the request message requests the establishment of a second session. Accordingly, the fourth SMF may receive the request message.

During a specific implementation, the request message may be, for example, an Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext request message.

Optionally, the request message includes information about the application's access point. The application access point information is used by the fourth SMF to select the UPF.

Optionally, the request message may further include a first session identifier and a second session identifier.

Step 605: The fourth SMF selects the fifth UPF and the sixth UPF based on the application access point information.

The specific implementation process in which the fourth SMF selects the fifth UPF is similar to the selection method, second SMF, second UPF in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B. The specific implementation process in which the fourth SMF selects the sixth UPF is similar to the selection method, third SMF, third UPF in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, so the above descriptions should be referred to.

The fifth UPF is configured to route the data flow of the second application of the second session. The second application is an application that does not support location change. The sixth UPF is configured to route the data flow of the first application of the second session. The first application is an application that supports changing the location of the application.

Step 606: The fourth SMF selects a split network element.

The selection method, the fourth SMF, of the partition network element is not limited in the present application. For example, the fourth SMF may select a partitioning network element based on some or all of the information such as terminal location information, a first session ID, and a second session ID.

Step 607: The fourth SMF establishes a data link between the split network element and the fifth UPF and a data link between the split network element and the sixth UPF.

Based on this embodiment, a fifth UPF may be selected. The fifth UPF is configured to route the data flow of the second application of the second session. The second application is an application that does not support location change. Thus, after the move, the terminal can still access the second application using the fifth UPF and the second session. The fifth UPF corresponds to one or more DNAIs. One or more DNAIs correspond to the AF server corresponding to the second application.

FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of session data streams according to Embodiment 3. FIG. Before moving the terminal, the session established by the terminal is the first session (shown in dotted line in the figure). The path in the session user plane is represented as follows: terminal - RAN 1 - first UPF. After moving the terminal, the user plane path of the first session is updated to: terminal - RAN 2 - first UPF, and the terminal further establishes a second session. The SMF selected by AMF is the fourth SMF. In addition, the fourth SMF and the first SMF are different SMFs. The UPFs selected by the fourth SMF include a fifth UPF (the figure uses an example in which the fifth UPF and the first UPF are the same UPF, and in fact the fifth UPF and the first UPF may alternatively be different UPFs) and the sixth UPF. In addition, the fourth SMF selects the UPF as the partitioning NE. According to the partitioning policy, the partitioning network element can transmit the data flow of the second application of the second session to the fifth UPF and transmit the data flow of the first application of the second session to the sixth UPF, so after moving the terminal can still access the second application using the fifth UPF. The second application is an application that does not support location change. The fifth UPF corresponds to one or more DNAIs and one or more DNAIs corresponds to the AF server corresponding to the second application.

In addition, when separating received application data streams, the separation network element must separate the data streams in accordance with the adopted separation policy. The application data streams include applications that support changing the location of an application and/or applications that do not support changing the location of an application. In this embodiment, the fourth SMF obtains the partition policy information, determines the partition policy based on the partition policy information, and then transmits the partition policy to the partition network element. Next, a specific implementation method for obtaining, the fourth SMF, separation policy information is described. It should be noted that any of the following methods may be implemented with reference to the embodiment shown in Fig. 6, or may be implemented separately, which is not a limitation.

Implementation Method 1: The AMF obtains the partition policy information and sends the partition policy information to the fourth SMF.

For example, in the step of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, when sending application access point information to the first SMF, the AF may further send separation policy information to the first SMF. It should be noted that if the access point information and the partitioning policy information are each at least one DNAI or an indication that the application cannot be relocated, the AF needs to transmit at least one DNAI or an indication that the application cannot be relocated in the first SMF only once, not multiple times.

Alternatively, in another implementation, the AF may separately transmit application access point information and separation policy information to the first SMF.

After receiving the partitioning policy information, the first SMF may alternatively store the partitioning policy information in the session context information of the first session.

In addition, the first SMF may optionally send information about the separation policy to the AMF. In an implementation, the first SMF may separately convey partitioning policy information to the AMF. In another implementation, the first SMF may alternatively add the separation policy information to the Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message and send the Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message to the AMF. Thus, the AMF can obtain information about the separation policy. In addition, the AMF may locally store the partition policy information, for example, store the partition policy information in the session context information of the first session.

In the implementation, after step 602 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the AMF determines the session context information based on the first session identifier in the received request message, and then determines the partitioning policy information based on the session context information, namely, obtains the stored separation policy information from the session context information.

After receiving the split policy information, the AMF may send the split policy information to the fourth SMF. For example, the AMF may send the split policy information to the fourth SMF using a separate message. Alternatively, the AMF includes the split policy information in the request message at 604 and sends the request message to the fourth SMF.

It should be noted that the fourth SMF may directly use the partition policy information as the partition policy. More specifically, the partition policy is similar to the partition policy information. Alternatively, the fourth SMF may further add additional information to the partition policy information or modify the additional partition policy information to obtain the partition policy. In this case, the partition policy and the partition policy information do not match completely. In particular, the separation policy is implemented based on the actual requirement. During a particular implementation, the separation policy may be, for example, a filter.

Embodiment 4

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the fourth SMF selected by the AMF and the first SMF are different SMFs. In another embodiment, the fourth SMF selected by the AMF and the first SMF may alternatively be the same SMF. For example, during a particular implementation, when the first SMF determines that the application data flow in the first session has a requirement not to support application location changes, the SMF remains unchanged. Then, the first SMF may not send the change location command of the SMF to the AMF. Also, when a new session (namely, the second session) is established, the AMF always uses the first SMF in the first session as the SMF in the second session. More specifically, the AMF selects the first SMF as the fourth SMF. In this embodiment, since the selected fourth SMF is the first SMF, the fourth SMF stores the session context information of the first session. The session context information includes application access point information and may further include separation policy information. In addition, the fourth SMF additionally stores information about the PCF.

In this embodiment, the session established by the terminal before moving the terminal is referred to as the first session, and the SMF providing the service for the terminal is referred to as the first SMF. The session established by the terminal after moving the terminal is referred to as the second session. The SMF providing the service for the terminal is the fourth SMF. The UPFs selected by the second SMF include the fifth UPF and the sixth UPF. The fifth UPF is configured to route the data flow of the second application of the second session. The second application is an application that does not support location change. For example, the second application may be the application corresponding to AF 1 in FIG. The sixth UPF is configured to route the data flow of the first application of the second session. The first application is an application that supports changing the location of the application. For example, the first application may be the application corresponding to AF 2 or AF 3 in FIG. Before moving the terminal and after moving the terminal, the AMFs each providing a service to the terminal are the same AMF. In addition, the fourth SMF selected by the AMF in this embodiment and the first SMF are the same SMF.

Thus, based on this embodiment, this embodiment has mainly the following differences based on the embodiment shown in FIG.

First, in step 603, the AMF selects the first SMF as the fourth SMF.

For example, if the partitioning policy information received by the first SMF from the PCF includes an application that does not support application relocation, the first SMF may not send an SMF relocation instruction to the AMF. In other words, if the partition policy information received by the first SMF from the PCF does not include an application that does not support application relocation, the first SMF may send an SMF relocation command to the AMF. Thus, the AMF does not reselect the first SMF. More specifically, the AMF still selects the first SMF. The first SMF may also be referred to as the fourth SMF. Alternatively, it is understood that the first SMF is selected as the fourth SMF.

Second, at block 604, in the newly added implementation, the request message may optionally carry application access point information, but may carry a first session identifier. Further, the fourth SMF may obtain the session context information based on the first session ID and then select the fifth UPF and the sixth UPF based on the session context information. Specifically, the session context information includes information about an application's access point. The application access point information that is included in the session context information may come from the AF to the first SMF (namely, the fourth SMF). Thus, the fourth SMF may select the fifth UPF and the sixth UPF based on the application-specific access point information found in the session context information.

FIG. 8 is a schematic representation of session data streams according to Embodiment 4. FIG. Before moving the terminal, the session established by the terminal is the first session (shown in dotted line in the figure). The path in the session user plane is represented as follows: terminal - RAN 1 - first UPF. After moving the terminal, the user plane path of the first session is updated to: terminal - RAN 2 - first UPF, and the terminal further establishes a second session. The SMF selected by the AMF is the fourth SMF (where the fourth SMF and the first SMF are the same SMF). The UPFs selected by the fourth SMF include a fifth UPF (the figure uses an example in which the fifth UPF and the first UPF are the same UPF, and in fact the fifth UPF and the first UPF may alternatively be different UPFs) and the sixth UPF. In addition, the fourth SMF selects the UPF as the partitioning network element. According to the partitioning policy, the partitioning network element can transmit the data flow of the second application of the second session to the fifth UPF and transmit the data flow of the first application of the second session to the sixth UPF, so after the movement, the terminal still accesses the second application. The second application is an application that does not support location change.

Based on this embodiment, in order for the partitioning network element to obtain partition policy information, the main difference from the partition network element to obtain partition policy information in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is that the fourth SMF can directly receive partitioning policy information locally without having to obtain partitioning policy information from the AMF or PCF.

Option 5 implementation

In the above embodiments, session processing methods for SSC Mode 3 have been described. Next, another embodiment is described. This embodiment shows a session processing method for SSC Mode 1. 9A and 9B show another session processing method according to the present application.

In this embodiment, before moving the terminal, the SMF that provides the service for the terminal is referred to as the first SMF, and the UPF that provides the service for the terminal is referred to as the first UPF. After the movement of the terminal, the SMFs each providing a service to the terminal include a first SMF and a fifth SMF. The UPF chosen as the fifth SMF is referred to as the seventh UPF. The seventh UPF is configured to route the data flow of the first session application. The first application is an application that supports changing the location of the application. For example, the first application may be the application corresponding to AF 2 or AF 3 in FIG. The first UPF is configured to route the data flow of the second session application. The second application is an application that does not support location change. For example, the second application may be the application corresponding to AF 1 in FIG. Before moving the terminal and after moving the terminal, the AMFs each providing a service to the terminal are the same AMF. In addition, the fifth SMF selected by the AMF in this embodiment and the first SMF are different SMFs. Of course, the fifth SMF and the first SMF may alternatively be the same SMF.

The method includes the following steps.

Step 901: The AMF selects the fifth SMF.

For example, the AMF may select a fifth SMF based on the location information of the terminal and/or information on the first SMF. The fifth SMF may be configured to select the seventh UPF. The seventh UPF is configured to route the data flow of the first application of the second session. The first application is an application that supports changing the location of an application. For example, the first application may be the application corresponding to AF 2 or AF 3 in FIG.

Step 902: The AMF sends a request message to the fifth SMF. Accordingly, the fifth SMF may receive a request message.

The request message includes information about the first SMF. The information about the first SMF is used by the fifth SMF to establish a connection with the first SMF.

Step 903: The fifth SMF selects the seventh UPF.

Specifically, the fifth SMF may select the UPF according to the UPF selection principle, for example, based on information such as terminal location information, UPF loading information, and DNN, and the seventh UPF is the selected UPF.

Step 904: The fifth SMF establishes a connection with the first SMF based on the information about the first SMF, where the connection can be used to transfer session application data flow separation information.

The partitioning information may be, for example, partitioning network element information, or it may be partitioning policy information or PCF identification information.

The information about the first SMF may be, for example, information such as the identifier of the first SMF.

In an implementation, the fifth SMF may send an Nx message to the first SMF based on information about the first SMF, and the Nx message requests the establishment of a signaling connection with the first SMF.

In addition, the separation network element must additionally be selected. The splitting network element is configured to split the session application data streams. Specifically, the data flow of the first session application is transmitted to the seventh UPF, and the data flow of the second session application is transmitted to the first UPF.

In an implementation, the partition network element may be a CL UL. CL UL may in particular be UPF. The separation network element separates service data streams. For the uplink data streams, when the uplink data streams reach the split network element, the split network element matches the split policy with the uplink data streams and transmits the uplink data streams to the first UPF or the seventh UPF. For downlink data streams, the split network element combines the uplink data streams and transmits the uplink data streams to the terminal. With this processing method, there can be multiple data flow routing points in one PDU session.

The following describes two methods for selecting a partitioning NE.

Method 1: That the first SMF selects a split network element specifically includes the following steps 905 to 910.

Step 905: The first SMF selects a split network element.

The selection method, the first SMF, the partition network element in the present application is not limited. For example, the first SMF may select a partitioning network element based on some or all of the information such as terminal location information and a session ID.

Step 906: The first SMF obtains the partition policy information and determines the partition policy based on the partition policy information.

In this document, the first SMF may obtain the partitioning policy information from the local session context information. The first SMF may directly use the partition policy information as the partition policy. More specifically, the partition policy is similar to the partition policy information. Alternatively, the first SMF may further add additional information to the partition policy information or modify the additional partition policy information to obtain the partition policy. In this case, the partition policy and the partition policy information do not match completely. In particular, the implementation is based on actual requirements. During a particular implementation, the separation policy may be, for example, a filter.

Step 907: The first SMF sends the partitioning policy to the partitioning network element. Accordingly, the partitioning network element can obtain the partitioning policy.

Step 908: The first SMF establishes a data link between the partitioning network element and the first UPF.

Step 909: The first SMF sends the partitioning network element information to the fifth SMF. Accordingly, the fifth SMF may receive information about the partitioning network element.

For example, the first SMF may convey identification information about a partitioning network element, and the like. into the fifth SMF. For example, the first SMF may send information about the partitioning network element to the fifth SMF via the connection established at step 904.

Step 910: The fifth SMF establishes a data link between the partitioning network element and the seventh UPF.

Method 2: That the fifth SMF selects the split network element specifically includes the following steps 911 to 917.

Step 911: The fifth SMF selects a split network element.

The selection method, the fifth SMF, of the partition network element is not limited in the present application. For example, the fifth SMF may select a partitioning network element based on some or all of the information such as terminal location information and session ID.

Step 912: The fifth SMF establishes a data link between the partitioning network element and the seventh UPF.

Step 913: The fifth SMF sends the partitioning network element information to the first SMF. Accordingly, the first SMF may receive information about the partitioning network element.

For example, the fifth SMF may convey identification information about the partitioning network element, and the like. to the first SMF. For example, the fifth SMF may send information about the partitioning network element to the first SMF via the connection established at step 904.

Step 914: The first SMF establishes a data link between the partitioning network element and the first UPF.

Step 915: The first SMF sends the partition policy information to the fifth SMF. Accordingly, the fifth SMF may receive information about the separation policy.

Step 915 is an optional step. If step 915 is not performed, the fifth SMF may obtain the partitioning policy information from the PCF based on the identification information of the PCF. The PCF is the PCF corresponding to the first SMF. The PCF identity information may flow from the first SMF to the fifth SMF through the connection established at 904.

Step 916: The fifth SMF determines a split policy based on the split policy information.

The method for determining the fifth SMF, the separation policy, is the same as the method for determining the first SMF, the separation policy in step 906. See the description above.

Step 917: The fifth SMF sends the partitioning policy to the partitioning network element. Accordingly, the partitioning network element can obtain the partitioning policy.

It should be noted that in the above stages there is no strict sequence of execution between the stages, which do not have a relationship in time sequence with each other. For example, step 904 may be performed after step 902 and before step 909 or step 913. If steps 905 through 910 are performed, then step 906 may be performed after step 905, and step 909 may be performed after step 905 and before step 910. If steps 911 to 917, then step 912 may be performed after step 911, and step 913 and step 914 may be performed after step 911. The execution of methods of other steps that do not have time sequence constraints may be adjusted based on the actual case. The examples are not used one after the other for description.

According to the above embodiment, the data flow of the second session application can be routed using the first UPF, and the second application is an application that does not support changing the location of the application. Thus, after the move, the terminal can still access the second application using the first UPF and session. The first UPF corresponds to one or more DNAIs. One or more DNAIs correspond to the AF server corresponding to the second application.

FIG. 10 is a schematic representation of session data streams according to Embodiment 5. FIG. Before and after moving the terminal, a new session is not established for the terminal. Before moving the terminal, the path in the session user plane is represented as follows: terminal - RAN 1 - first UPF. After the terminal moves, the split network element and the seventh UPF (selected by the fifth SMF) are inserted into the network, and further, the split network element splits the session application data streams. Then, the path in the user session plane is updated as follows: Terminal - RAN 2 - Partition NE - First UPF, and Terminal - RAN 2 - Partition NE - UPF 7. According to the partitioning policy, the partitioning network element can send the data flow of the second session application to the first UPF, and send the data flow of the first session application to the seventh UPF, so that after moving, the terminal can still access the second application with the first UPF. The second application is an application that does not support location change. The first UPF corresponds to one or more DNAIs. One or more DNAIs correspond to the AF server corresponding to the second application.

Embodiment 6

In Embodiment 6, after the first SMF receives the application access point information, if the first SMF determines, based on the application access point information, that an application that does not support application location change exists in the current session (namely, in the first session ), the first SMF does not send an SMF reselection command to the AMF. Alternatively, this can be understood to mean that after the first SMF obtains the application access point information, if the first SMF determines, based on the application access point information, that the current session (i.e., the first session) does not exist application that does not support changing the location of the application, the first SMF may send an SMF reselection instruction to the AMF, for example, when the UE's location is not in the UPF coverage area managed by the first SMF.

In this embodiment, the session established by the terminal before moving the terminal is referred to as the first session, and the SMF providing the service for the terminal is referred to as the first SMF. The session established by the terminal after moving the terminal is referred to as the second session. The SMFs each providing a service to the terminal are the first SMF and the sixth SMF. The UPF chosen by the sixth SMF is referred to as the eighth UPF. The eighth UPF is configured to route the data flow of the first application of the second session. The first application is an application that supports changing the location of an application. For example, the first application may be the application corresponding to AF 2 or AF 3 in FIG. The first UPF is configured to route the data flow of the second application of the second session. The second application is an application that does not support location change. For example, the second application may be the application corresponding to AF 1 in FIG. Before moving the terminal and after moving the terminal, the AMFs each providing a service to the terminal are the same AMF. In addition, the sixth SMF selected by the AMF in this embodiment and the first SMF are different SMFs.

The first session and the second session correspond to the same data network (DN).

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of another session processing method according to the present application. The method includes the following steps.

Step 1101: The AF sends the first session application access point information to the first SMF. Accordingly, the first SMF may receive information about the access point of the application of the first session.

The application access point information is the same as the application access point information in the previous step 301. See the previous description.

Step 1102: The first SMF decides, based on the application access point information of the first session, not to trigger SMF reselection, and decides whether to allocate the first SMF to the second session.

After receiving the application access point information of the first session, the first SMF determines that the application does not support changing the application location and decides not to initiate SMF reselection, namely, does not send, to the AMF, the information used to instruct the SMF to reselect. With this processing method, it can be considered that the first SMF decides to allocate the first SMF to the second session.

It should be noted that that the first SMF decides not to initiate SMF reselection based on the application access point information of the first session may include: if the application access point information that is received by the first SMF includes: an application that does not support changing the application location, even if the UE location is outside the UPF location area currently controlled by the first SMF, the first SMF also decides not to initiate SMF reselection; and/or if the application access point information received by the first SMF does not include an application that does not support changing the application location, the first SMF may send, to the AMF, information to instruct the SMF to reselect the network element, for example, when the UE location is outside the UPF location area currently managed by the first SMF.

Step 1103: The first SMF sends a notification message to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF may receive the notification message.

The notification message may be, for example, a Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message.

The notification message includes a first session identifier (where the first session identifier may be, for example, a PDU session identifier), a session control container N1 (SM container N1), and the like. The SM N1 container is information sent to the terminal, includes a session modification command (eg, a PDU session modification command), and may further include a cause value. The reason value is used to send to the terminal and instruct the terminal to restore the session to the same DN, namely to establish a second session.

Step 1104: The AMF sends a session modification command to the terminal. Accordingly, the terminal may receive a session modification command.

The session modification instruction is, for example, a PDU session modification instruction.

Step 1105: The terminal sends a request message to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF may receive the request message. The request message includes a first session ID and a second session ID. The request message requests the establishment of a session.

The terminal initiates session recovery based on the session modification command. Thus, the terminal sends a request message to the AMF to request the establishment of a session. In this document, the new session that is requested to be established is the second session.

The terminal initiates the session establishment process and transmits a request message including a first session identifier and a second session identifier. For example, when the session is a PDU session, the first session ID may hereinafter be referred to as the old PDU session ID (old PDU session ID) and the second session ID may hereinafter be referred to as the new PDU session ID (new PDU session ID). After receiving the first session ID and the second session ID, the AMF may determine that the second session is a PDU session recovered from the first session.

During a particular implementation, the request message may be a session setup request message (session setup request PDU).

Step 1106: The AMF sends a request message to the first SMF. Accordingly, the first SMF may receive the request message.

The request message may be, for example, an Nsmf_PDU CreateSMcontext session request message.

The request message requests the establishment of a second session.

Step 1107: The first SMF allocates the first UPF to the second session.

The first UPF is configured to transmit, in the second session, the data stream corresponding to the second application.

Step 1108: The first SMF selects the sixth SMF.

For example, the first SMF determines the context information of the terminal based on the identification information of the first session, and selects the sixth SMF for the terminal. The terminal context information includes access point information related to the first session application, which is received in step 1101, and the application does not support changing the location of the application. Thus, it can also be understood that the first SMF selects the sixth SMF for the terminal based on the application access point information and other information.

The sequence of the previous step 1107 and step 1108 is not limited.

Step 1109: The first SMF sends a request message to the sixth SMF. Accordingly, the sixth SMF may receive the request message.

The request message may be, for example, an Nxy message.

In an implementation, the request message indicates the selection of a partitioning network element. The splitting network element is configured to split the second session application data streams.

In another implementation, the request message includes indication information. The indication information indicates the selection of the partition network element. The splitting network element is configured to split the second session application data streams.

Optionally, the request message includes partitioning policy information. The split policy information is used by the sixth SMF to select the UPF. The selected UPF is configured to transmit, in the second session, the data stream corresponding to the application supporting the DNAI change, namely, is configured to transmit the data stream corresponding to the first application.

Step 1110: The sixth SMF selects a split network element based on the request message.

For an implementation method for selecting a split network element, reference should be made to the respective descriptions given in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B.

Step 1111: The sixth SMF selects the eighth UPF.

The sequence of the previous step 1110 and step 1111 is not limited.

Further, the sixth SMF may further transmit information about the eighth UPF to the partition network element, and transmit information about the partition network element to the first SMF. In addition, the first SMF may send information about the first UPF to the split network element. Thus, the partitioning network element can determine the appropriate data paths (in particular, select different gateway devices) for the data flows based on the characteristics of the data flows. Specifically, the data flow of the first application of the second session is transmitted to the eighth UPF, and the data flow of the second application of the second session is transmitted to the first UPF. The first application is an application that supports changing the location of an application. For example, the first application may be an application corresponding to AF 2 or AF 3 as shown in FIG. The second application is an application that does not support changing the location of the application. For example, the second application may be the application corresponding to AF 1 as shown in FIG.

Step 1112: The remaining step is the second session establishment step.

For example, step 1112 includes establishing an uplink data channel and a downlink data channel. For details, refer to the relevant descriptions of PDU session establishment in the prior art. This document does not re-describe the details.

In an alternative implementation, after step 1107 and before step 1112, steps 1108 to 1111 are not performed and are replaced in the following way.

Step A1: The first SMF selects the eighth UPF.

Step B1: The first SMF selects a partitioning network element based on the partitioning policy information.

Step C1: The first SMF transmits the first UPF information and the eighth UPF information to the partitioning network element.

The partitioning network element may determine appropriate data paths (in particular, select different gateway devices) for the data flows based on the characteristics of the data flows. Specifically, the data flow of the first application of the second session is transmitted to the eighth UPF, and the data flow of the second application of the second session is transmitted to the first UPF. The first application is an application that supports changing the location of the application. For example, the first application may be the application corresponding to AF 2 or AF 3 in FIG. The second application is an application that does not support changing the location of the application. For example, the second application may be the application corresponding to AF 1 in FIG.

Specifically, in the method in which step 1108 is replaced with step 1111, the first SMF does not need to select the sixth SMF, but selects the first UPF, the eighth UPF, and the split network element for the split network element based implementation.

In another alternative implementation, after step 1105 and before step 1110, steps 1106 to 1109 are not performed and are replaced by the following method.

Step A2: The AMF selects the sixth SMF.

For example, the AMF may determine, based on the location information of the UE, that the UE is not within the coverage area of the UPF managed by the first SMF, and the AMF may select the SMF. The SMF is referred to as the sixth SMF.

Step B2: The AMF sends a request message to the first SMF. Accordingly, the first SMF may receive the request message.

The request message may be, for example, a CreateSMcontext request message of an Nsmf_PDU session.

The request message requests the establishment of a second session.

The request message carries identification information about the sixth SMF so that the sixth SMF and the first SMF establish a PDU session (namely, a second session) for the UE.

Step C2: The first SMF allocates the first UPF to the second session.

The first UPF is configured to transmit, in the second session, the data stream corresponding to the second application.

It should be noted that there is no ordered relationship between step C2, step A2 and step B2.

Step D2: The first SMF sends a request message to the sixth SMF. Accordingly, the sixth SMF may receive the request message.

The request message requests the establishment of a second session.

In an implementation, the request message may optionally be used to indicate the selection of the partitioning network element. The splitting network element is configured to split the second session application data streams. In another implementation, the request message includes indication information. The indication information indicates the selection of the partition network element. The splitting network element is configured to split the second session application data streams. Optionally, the request message includes partitioning policy information. The split policy information is used by the sixth SMF to select the UPF. The selected UPF is configured to transmit, in the second session, the data stream corresponding to the application supporting the DNAI change, namely, is configured to transmit the data stream corresponding to the first application.

In the implementation based on steps A2 to D2, there is no interface between the AMF and the sixth SMF, there is an interface between the AMF and the first SMF, and there is an interface between the sixth SMF and the first SMF.

In another alternative implementation, after step 1105 and before step 1110, steps 1106 to 1109 are not performed and are replaced by the following method.

Step A3: The AMF selects the sixth SMF.

For example, the AMF may determine, based on the location information of the UE, that the UE is not within the coverage area of the UPF managed by the first SMF, and the AMF may select the SMF. The SMF is referred to as the sixth SMF.

Step B3: The AMF sends a request message to the sixth SMF. Accordingly, the sixth SMF may receive the request message.

The request message may be, for example, a CreateSMcontext request message of an Nsmf_PDU session.

The request message requests the establishment of a second session.

The request message carries the identification information of the first SMF so that the sixth SMF and the first SMF establish a PDU session (namely, a second session) for the UE.

Step C3: The first SMF allocates the first UPF to the second session.

The first UPF is configured to transmit, in the second session, the data stream corresponding to the second application.

It should be noted that there is no ordered relationship between step C2, step A2 and step B2.

Step D3: The sixth SMF sends a request message to the first SMF. Accordingly, the first SMF may receive the request message.

The request message requests the establishment of a second session.

Step E3: The first SMF sends a response message to the sixth SMF. Accordingly, the sixth SMF may receive the response message.

In an implementation, the response message indicates the selection of the partitioning network element. The splitting network element is configured to split the second session application data streams. In another implementation, the response message includes indication information. The indication information indicates the selection of the partition network element. The splitting network element is configured to split the second session application data streams. Optionally, the response message includes information about the separation policy. The split policy information is used by the sixth SMF to select the UPF. The selected UPF is configured to transmit, in the second session, the data stream corresponding to the application supporting the DNAI change, namely, is configured to transmit the data stream corresponding to the first application.

In the implementation based on steps A3 to step E3, there is an interface between the AMF and the sixth SMF, there is no interface between the AMF and the first SMF, and there is an interface between the sixth SMF and the first SMF.

In another alternative implementation, after step 1105 and before step 1110, steps 1106 to 1109 are not performed and are replaced by the following method.

Step A4: The AMF selects the sixth SMF.

For example, the AMF may determine, based on the location information of the UE, that the UE is not within the coverage area of the UPF managed by the first SMF, and the AMF may select the SMF. The SMF is referred to as the sixth SMF.

Step B4: The AMF sends a request message to the first SMF. Accordingly, the first SMF may receive the request message.

The request message may be, for example, an Nsmf_PDU CreateSMcontext session request message.

The request message requests the establishment of a second session.

Optionally, the request message carries identification information about the sixth SMF so that the sixth SMF and the first SMF establish a PDU session (namely, a second session) for the UE.

Step C4: The first SMF allocates the first UPF to the second session.

The first UPF is configured to transmit, in the second session, the data stream corresponding to the second application.

Step D4: The AMF sends a request message to the sixth SMF. Accordingly, the sixth SMF may receive the request message.

The request message may be, for example, an Nsmf_PDU CreateSMcontext session request message.

The request message requests the establishment of a second session.

Optionally, the request message carries the identification information of the first SMF so that the sixth SMF and the first SMF establish a PDU session (namely, a second session) for the UE.

Optionally, if the request message in step B4 carries the identification information of the sixth SMF, the next step E11 may be performed. If the request message in step D4 carries the identification information of the first SMF, the following steps E12 and step E13 may be performed. If step E11 is executed, step E12 and step E13 need not be performed. Similarly, if step E12 and step E13 are performed, step E11 need not be performed.

Step E11: The first SMF sends a request message to the sixth SMF. Accordingly, the sixth SMF may receive the request message.

The request message indicates the selection of the partitioning network element. The splitting network element is configured to split the second session application data streams. In another implementation, the request message includes indication information. The indication information indicates the selection of the partition network element. The splitting network element is configured to split the second session application data streams. Optionally, the request message includes partitioning policy information. The split policy information is used by the sixth SMF to select the UPF. The selected UPF is configured to transmit, in the second session, the data stream corresponding to the application supporting the DNAI change, namely, is configured to transmit the data stream corresponding to the first application.

Step E12: The sixth SMF sends a request message to the first SMF. Accordingly, the first SMF may receive the request message.

Step E13: The first SMF sends a response message to the sixth SMF. Accordingly, the sixth SMF may receive the response message.

In an implementation, the response message indicates the selection of the partitioning network element. The splitting network element is configured to split the second session application data streams. In another implementation, the response message includes indication information. The indication information indicates the selection of the partition network element. The splitting network element is configured to split the second session application data streams. Optionally, the response message includes information about the separation policy. The split policy information is used by the sixth SMF to select the UPF. The selected UPF is configured to transmit, in the second session, the data stream corresponding to the application supporting the DNAI change, namely, is configured to transmit the data stream corresponding to the first application.

In implementations based on steps A4 to D4 and step E11 or based on steps A4 to D4, step E12 and step E13, there is an interface between the AMF and the sixth SMF, there is an interface between the AMF and the first SMF, and there is an interface between the sixth SMF and the first SMF.

It should be noted that if there is no time sequence dependency between steps in Embodiment 6 of the present application, the sequence between steps can be adjusted.

According to the above embodiment, the data flow of the second application of the second session can be routed using the first UPF, and the second application is an application that does not support relocation. Thus, after the move, the terminal can still access the second application using the second session.

FIG. 12(a) shows a schematic representation of session data streams according to Embodiment 6. FIG. Before moving the terminal, the session established by the terminal is the first session (shown in dotted line in the figure). The path in the session user plane is represented as follows: terminal - RAN 1 - first UPF. After moving the terminal, the user plane path of the first session is updated to: terminal - RAN 2 - first UPF, and the terminal further establishes a second session. The SMF selected by the first SMF is the sixth SMF, and the sixth SMF and the first SMF are different SMFs. The UPF selected by the sixth SMF is the eighth UPF, and the sixth SMF selects the UPF as the split network element. According to the partitioning policy, the partitioning network element can transmit the data flow of the second application of the second session to the first UPF, and transmit the data flow of the first application of the second session to the eighth UPF, so that the terminal can still access the second application using the first UPF after moving. The second application is an application that does not support location change. The first UPF corresponds to one or more DNAIs. One or more DNAIs correspond to the AF server corresponding to the second application.

In Embodiment 6, for the first SMF and the sixth SMF that correspond to the second session, in the implementation method, an interface exists between the AMF and the first SMF, an interface exists between the AMF and the sixth SMF, and an interface exists between the first SMF and the sixth SMF. Based on this scenario, the session processing method is shown in FIG.

In Embodiment 6, for the first SMF and the sixth SMF that correspond to the second session, in another implementation, there is an interface between the AMF and the first SMF, there is no interface between the AMF and the sixth SMF, and there is an interface between the first SMF and the sixth SMF. Based on this scenario, in the session processing method shown in FIG. 11, if the sixth SMF is selected by the AMF, the AMF does not send the request message used to request the second session establishment to the sixth SMF, but sends information about the sixth SMF to the first SMF. The first SMF then sends to the sixth SMF a request message used to request the establishment of a second session.

In Embodiment 6, for the first SMF and the sixth SMF that correspond to the second session, in another implementation, there is no interface between the AMF and the first SMF, there is an interface between the AMF and the sixth SMF, and there is an interface between the first SMF and the sixth SMF. Based on this scenario, in the session processing method shown in FIG. 11, if the AMF selects the sixth SMF, the AMF sends to the sixth SMF a request message used to request the establishment of a second session, and sends information about the first SMF to the sixth SMF. In addition, the AMF does not send to the first SMF the request message used to request the establishment of the second session. The sixth SMF then sends to the first SMF a request message used to request the establishment of a second session.

FIG. 12(b) shows another schematic representation of session data streams according to Embodiment 6. FIG. Before moving the terminal, the session established by the terminal is the first session (shown in dotted line in the figure). The path in the session user plane is represented as follows: terminal - RAN 1 - first UPF. After moving the terminal, the user plane path of the first session is updated to: terminal - RAN 2 - first UPF, and the terminal further establishes a second session. The UPFs selected by the first SMF include the first UPF and the eighth UPF, and the first SMF selects the UPF as a partitioning network element. According to the partitioning policy, the partitioning network element can transmit the data flow of the second application of the second session to the first UPF, and transmit the data flow of the first application of the second session to the eighth UPF, so that the terminal can still access the second application using the first UPF after moving. The second application is an application that does not support location change. The first UPF corresponds to one or more DNAIs. One or more DNAIs correspond to the AF server corresponding to the second application.

The solutions presented in this application are described above, mainly in terms of interaction between network elements. It is understood that in order to implement the above functions, each network element includes an appropriate hardware structure and/or software module to perform each function. One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that, in combination with the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in this specification, the flowchart steps and flowcharts may be implemented in the present invention by hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. . Whether the function is performed by hardware or by hardware controlled by computer software depends on particular applications and design constraints. A person skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each particular application, but the implementation should not be considered outside the scope of the present invention.

FIG. 13 shows a possible exemplary block diagram of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, in the case where an integrated unit is used, the Device 1300 may exist as software. The device 1300 may include a processing unit 1302 and a communication unit 1303. In one implementation, communication block 1303 may include a receive block and a transmit block. The processing unit 1302 is configured to control and control the operation of the device 1300. The communication unit 1303 is configured to support the device 1300 in interacting with another network entity. Device 1300 may further include a storage unit 1301 configured to store program code and data of device 1300.

The processing unit 1302 may be a processor or controller, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a general purpose processor, a digital signal processing (DSP), an application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, transistorized logic device, hardware component, or any combination thereof. Processing unit 1302 may implement or execute various exemplary logical blocks, modules, and circuits described with reference to the content disclosed in the present invention. Alternatively, the processor may be a combination of a computing function, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, or a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor. The communication unit 1303 may be a communication interface, a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or the like. The term "communication interface" is generic. During a particular implementation, a communication interface may include a plurality of interfaces. The storage device 1301 may be a memory.

Device 1300 may be a network access control element in any of the above embodiments, or may be a chip in a network access control element. For example, the processing module 1302 may support the device 1300 in performing the actions of the network access control element in the above example methods. For example, the processing unit 1302 is configured to support the device 1300 in performing step 303 and step 304 in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, step 603 in FIG. 6, and step 901 in FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B. The communication unit 1303 can support the device 1300 in interaction with the terminal, the fifth session network element, the fourth session network element, the third session network element, the second session network element, the first session network element, and the policy network element. For example, communication module 1303 is configured to support device 1300 in step 301, step 302, step 305, and step 307 in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, step 601, step 602, and step 604 in FIG. 6, and step 902 in FIG. .9A and fig.9B.

In an exemplary implementation, communication block 1303 may include a first communication subblock. The first communication subunit is configured to support the device 1300 in interaction with a fifth session web element, a fourth session web element, a third session web element, a second session web element, a first session web element, and a policy web element. In addition, the communication block 1303 may further include a second communication sub-unit. The second communication subunit is configured to support the device 1300 in interacting with the terminal.

Specifically, when the communication module 1303 includes a transmission module and a reception module, in the embodiment, the reception module is configured to receive access point information that is the application of the first session and that comes from the first session control to the network element; and receiving a request message from the terminal, where the request message includes a first session identifier and a second session identifier; the processing unit is configured to select a second network session control element based on the application access point information; and selecting a third network session control element; and the sender is configured to: send the first request message to the second session network element, where the first request message requests the establishment of a second session; and transmitting a second request message to a third session network element, where the second request message requests the establishment of a second session.

In an exemplary implementation, the first request message includes information about the application's access point.

In an exemplary implementation, the first request message further includes a first session identifier and a second session identifier.

In an exemplary implementation, the transmission module is further configured to send information about the second session network element to the third session network element.

In a possible implementation, the processing unit is further configured to obtain information about the application separation policy of the second session; and the transmitting unit is further configured to transmit the separation policy information to the second network session control element or to the third network session control element.

In a possible implementation, the processing unit is further configured to obtain information about the network policy control element corresponding to the first session; and the transmitting unit is further configured to transmit the policy network element information to the second session network element or to the third session network element.

In an exemplary implementation, the processing unit is specifically configured to select the first network session control element as the second network session control element based on information about the application's access point.

In another embodiment, the processing unit is configured to obtain information about the data stream separation policy of the applications of the second session; and the transmission module is configured to transmit the separation policy information to the second session network element or to the third session network element that corresponds to the second session.

In an exemplary implementation, the receiving unit is configured to receive information about the access point, which is the application of the first session and which comes from the first network session control element. The partition policy information includes information about the access point of the application.

In an exemplary implementation, the receiving unit is configured to receive a session setup request message from the terminal, where the session setup request message includes a first session identifier; and the processing unit is specifically configured to: determine the session context information based on the first session ID; and determining separation policy information based on the session context information.

In addition, the device 1300 may be a Session Control Network Element in any of the above embodiments, or may be a chip in a Session Control Network Element. Herein, the Session Web Element includes a second Session Web Element, a third Session Web Element, a fourth Session Web Element, and a fifth Session Web Element.

When the device is a second network session control element, for example, the processing unit 1302 may support the device 1300 when performing the actions of the second network session control element in the above method examples, and, for example, the processing unit 1302 is configured to support the device 1300 when performing step 306, step 310, step 311 and step 317 in Fig. 3A and Fig. 3B. The communication unit 1303 may support the device 1300 in interaction with a third session network element, an access control network element, and a policy network element. For example, communication module 1303 is configured to support device 1300 in step 305, step 309, step 312, and step 316 in FIGS. 3A and 3B.

In particular, when the communication module 1303 includes a transmission module and a reception module, in an embodiment, the reception module is configured to receive a first request message from the access control network element, where the first request message requests the establishment of a second session; and the processing unit is configured to select a second user plane network element, where the second user plane network element is configured to route the data flow of the second application of the second session, and the second application is an application that does not support application location changes.

In an exemplary implementation, the first request message includes a first session identifier. The processing unit is specifically configured to: obtain session context information based on the first session ID; and selecting a second user plane network element based on the session context information.

In an exemplary implementation, the first request message includes information about the access point of the first session application; and the processing unit is specifically configured to select the second user plane network element based on the application access point information.

In a possible implementation, the processing unit is further configured to select the splitting network element. The splitting network element is configured to split the second session application data streams.

In an exemplary implementation, the processing unit is further configured to obtain partitioning network element information from the third session network element. The splitting network element is configured to split the second session application data streams.

In an exemplary implementation, the processing unit is further configured to establish a data link between the partition network element and the second user plane network element.

In a possible implementation, the processing unit is further configured to obtain information about the separation policy; and determining a separation policy based on the information about the separation policy. The apparatus further includes a transmission unit configured to transmit the separation policy to the separation network element.

In an exemplary implementation, the processing unit is specifically configured to: obtain partition policy information from the network policy control element; or obtaining information about the separation policy from the network access control element; or obtaining information about the separation policy from the third network session control element.

When the device is the third network session control element, for example, the processing unit 1302 may support the device 1300 when performing the actions of the third network session control element in the above method examples, and, for example, the processing unit 1302 is configured to support the device 1300 when performing step 308, step 313, step 314 and step 315 shown in Fig.3A and Fig.3B. The communication unit 1303 may support the device 1300 in interaction with the second session network element, the access control network element, and the policy network element. For example, communication module 1303 is configured to support device 1300 in step 307, step 309, step 312, and step 316 in FIGS. 3A and 3B.

In particular, when the communication block 1303 includes a transmit block and a receive block, in an embodiment, the receive block is configured to receive a second request message from the network access control element, where the second request message includes information about the second network session control element, and the second request message requests the establishment of a second session; and the processing unit is configured to: select a third user plane network element, where the third user plane network element is configured to route the data flow of the first application of the second session, and the first application is an application that supports relocation; and establishing a connection with the second session network control element based on the information about the second session network control element, where the connection is used to transfer the second session application data flow separation information.

In a possible implementation, the processing unit is further configured to select the splitting network element. The splitting network element is configured to split the second session application data streams.

In an exemplary implementation, the processing unit is further configured to obtain information about the split network element from the second session network element. The splitting network element is configured to split the second session application data streams.

In an exemplary implementation, the processing unit is further configured to establish a data link between the partition network element and the third user plane network element.

In a possible implementation, the processing unit is further configured to: obtain information about the separation policy; and determining a separation policy based on the information about the separation policy. The transmission unit is configured to send the separation policy to the separation network element.

In an exemplary implementation, the processing unit is specifically configured to: obtain partition policy information from the network policy control element; or obtaining information about the separation policy from the network access control element; or obtaining information about the separation policy from the second network session control element.

When the device is a second session network element or a third session network element, and the communication unit 1303 includes a transmit unit and a receive unit, in another embodiment, the processing unit is configured to: obtain information about the data stream separation policy of the second session applications; and determining a separation policy based on the information about the separation policy; and the transmission module is configured to transmit the separation policy to the separation network element, where the separation network element is configured to separate the second session application data streams.

In an exemplary implementation, the processing unit is specifically configured to: obtain partition policy information from the network access control element; or obtaining information about the separation policy from the network policy control element; or obtaining information about the separation policy from another network session control element.

In an exemplary implementation, the processing unit is further configured to obtain information about the network policy control element from another network session control element.

In a possible implementation, the processing unit is further configured to select the splitting network element.

When the device is the fourth network session control element, for example, the processing unit 1302 may support the device 1300 when performing the actions of the fourth session network element in the above method examples, and, for example, the processing unit 1302 is configured to support the device 1300 when performing step 605, step 606 and step 607 in FIG. The communication unit 1303 can support the device 1300 in interaction with an access control network element, a policy network element, and a user plane network element. For example, communication module 1303 is configured to support device 1300 in step 604 in FIG.

When the device is, for example, the fifth session network element, the processing unit 1302 may support the device 1300 in performing the actions of the fifth session network element in the above method examples, and, for example, the processing unit 1302 is configured to support the device 1300 in performing step 903 , step 910, step 911, step 912, and step 916 in FIGS. 9A and 9B. The communication unit 1303 can support the device 1300 in interaction with an access control network element, a policy network element, and a user plane network element. For example, communication module 1303 is configured to support device 1300 in step 902, step 904, step 909, step 913, step 915, and step 917 in FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B.

When the device is the first network session control element, for example, the processing block 1302 may support the device 1300 when performing the actions of the first network session control element in the above method examples, and, for example, the processing block 1302 is configured to support the device 1300 when performing step 1102, step 1107 and step 1108 shown in Fig.11. The communication unit 1303 may support the device 1300 in interaction with the sixth Session Network Element, Access Control Network Element, and AF. For example, the communication module 1303 is configured to support the device 1300 in step 1101, step 1103, step 1106, and step 1109 shown in FIG.

Specifically, when the communication module 1303 includes a transmission module and a reception module, the reception module is configured to receive information about the access point of the first session application; the processing unit is configured to decide, based on the application access point information, whether to allocate the first session control network element to the second session, where the first session and the second session correspond to the same data network; and the receiving unit is further configured to receive a request message, where the request message requests the establishment of a second session. The first session control network element allocates the first user plane network element for the second session, where the first user plane network element is configured to transmit, in the second session, a data stream corresponding to the application.

In a possible implementation, the application is an application that does not support changing the DNAI.

In an exemplary implementation, the processing unit is configured to allocate a second user plane network element for a second session. The second user plane network element is configured to transmit, in the second session, a data stream corresponding to an application that supports changing the DNAI.

In another possible implementation, the transmission module is configured to send information about the separation policy to the second network session control element. The split policy information is used by the second session network element to allocate the second user plane network element for the second session. The second user plane network element is configured to transmit, in the second session, a data stream corresponding to an application that supports changing the DNAI.

In an exemplary implementation, the application access point information includes at least one of the following information: at least one DNAI, AF location information, an indication that the application location cannot be changed, and an indication that the DNAI has not changed.

In another possible implementation, the first session mode type is SSC mode 3.

In an exemplary implementation, the second user plane network element is the eighth UPF in Embodiment 6 of the present application, and the second session control network element is the sixth SMF in Embodiment 6 of the present application.

In a possible implementation, the processing unit is further configured to reset the first session.

The application access point information in the device in any of the above embodiments includes at least one of the following: at least one data network access identifier (DNAI), location information of the application's AF function, an indication of not being able to change location applications and an indication that the DNAI has not changed.

The partition policy information in the device in any of the above embodiments includes at least one of indication information and application data stream information. The indication information includes at least one of the following: a local processing indication, at least one DNAI, and location change capability information. Application data streams include application data streams that support changing the location of an application and/or application data streams that do not support changing the location of an application.

On Fig shows a schematic representation of the device according to the present application. The device may be an access control network element or a session network element (including a second session network element, a third session network element, a fourth session network element, or a fifth session network element) in the above embodiments. The device 1400 includes a processor 1402, a communication interface 1403, and a memory 1401. If desired, the device 1400 may further include a bus 1404. The communication interface 1403, the processor 1402, and the memory 1401 may communicate with each other using a communication link 1404. Link 1404 may be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus, an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, and the like. Link 1404 may be classified into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like. To simplify the presentation, only one thick line is used to represent the tire in Fig. 14, but this does not mean that there is only one tire or only one type of tire.

Processor 1402 may be a processor, microprocessor, ASIC, or one or more integrated circuits configured to control program execution in the solutions of the present application.

Communication interface 1403, which uses any device, such as a transceiver, is configured to communicate with another device or communication network, such as Ethernet, RAN, wireless local area networks (WLAN), or a wired access network.

Memory 1401 may be, but is not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) or another type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, or random access memory (RAM) or dynamic another type of storage device that can store information and instructions, or can be electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), compact disc read-only memory, CD -ROM) or other compact disc-based storage device, optical disc-based storage device (including compact optical disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc or the like), storage media based on magnetic disk or other magnetic storage device a filament storage medium or any other storage medium that can be used to carry or store the intended program code in the form of an instruction or data structure and that can be accessed by a computer. The memory may be self-contained and be able to be connected to the processor using link 1404. Alternatively, the memory may be integrated with the processor.

The memory 1401 is configured to store a computer-executable instruction for executing the solutions of the present application, and the execution of the computer-executable instruction is controlled by the processor 1402. The processor 1402 is configured to execute the computer-executable instruction stored in the memory 1401 to implement the session processing method provided in the previous embodiments of the present application.

If necessary, the computer-executable instruction in this embodiment of the present application may also be referred to as an application program code. This embodiment of the application is not limited to this.

All or some of the above embodiments may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When software is used to implement the embodiments, the embodiments may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. A computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When a computer program instruction is downloaded and executed on a computer, procedures or functions are generated in whole or in part in accordance with embodiments of the present application. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a specialized computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instruction may be stored on a computer readable medium or may be transferred from a computer readable medium to another computer readable medium. For example, a computer instruction may be transmitted from a website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by wire (for example, coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, or digital subscriber line, DSL)) or wireless (for example, via infrared, radio or microwave waves) method. A computer-readable storage medium can be any usable storage medium accessible to a computer, or a data storage device, such as a server or data center, that integrates one or more usable storage media. The storage medium used may be a magnetic storage medium (for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape), an optical storage medium (for example, a DVD), a semiconductor storage medium (for example, a solid state drive (Solid State Disk, SSD)) or the like. .

Various illustrative logical blocks and circuits described in embodiments of the present invention may implement or control the described functions using a general purpose processor, digital signal processor, application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, a discrete hardware component, or an implementation of any combination thereof. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor. If desired, a general purpose processor may alternatively be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. Alternatively, the processor may be implemented with a combination of computing devices such as a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors with a digital signal processor core, or any other similar configuration.

The steps of the methods or algorithms described in embodiments of the present application may be directly embedded in hardware, a software block executed by a processor, or a combination of the two. The program block may be stored in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, register, hard disk, removable magnetic disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of storage media known in the art. For example, a storage medium may be coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from the storage medium and store and write information to the storage medium. If necessary, the storage medium can be further integrated into the processor. The processor and the storage medium may be located in the ASIC, and the ASIC may be located in the terminal device. If necessary, the processor and the storage medium may alternatively be located in different components of the terminal device.

These computer program instructions may alternatively be downloaded to a computer or other programmable processing device such that a series of steps are performed on the computer or other programmable processing device to generate computer-implemented processing. Thus, instructions executable on a computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing a function indicated in one or more processes in flowcharts and/or in one or more blocks in flowcharts.

Although the present application has been described with reference to specific features and their embodiments, it is obvious that various modifications and combinations can be made in this application without deviating from the scope of this application. Accordingly, the description and accompanying drawings are merely an exemplary description of the present application, limited by the appended claims, and are considered to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents within the scope of this application. Obviously, a person skilled in the art can make various modifications and changes to the present application without deviating from the essence and scope of the present application. The present application is intended to cover these modifications and variations of the present application, provided that they fall within the scope of the claims and their equivalent technologies.

Claims (40)

1. A method for processing a session, comprising the steps of: receive, using the first network session control element, information about the access point of the application of the first session; deciding, with the first session network element, based on the application access point information, to allocate the first session network element to the second session, the first session and the second session corresponding to the same data network; receiving, with the first session network element, a request message, the request message requesting the establishment of a second session; and allocating, by means of the first session network element, the first user plane network element to a second session, the first user plane network element being configured to transmit, in the second session, a data stream corresponding to the application. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the application access point information includes an indication of not changing the data network access identifier (DNAI) or an indication of not being able to change the location of the application. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first session mode type is session and service continuity (SSC) mode 3. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising the step of: transmitting, using the first network session control element, a notification message to the network element of the access and mobility control function, the notification message containing the first session identifier and the reason value, the reason value indicating the establishment of the second session for the same data network, corresponding to the first session. 5. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the step of receiving, with the first network session control element, the request message comprises a sub-step of: receiving, by means of the first session network element, a request message from the mobility management function network element, the request message comprising a first session identifier and a second session identifier. 6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising the step of: resetting, with the first web session control, the first session. 7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the step of deciding, using the first network session control, based on information about the access point of the application, to allocate the first network session control to the second session, comprises the sub-step of: skipping a transmission from the first network session control element to the network element of the mobility management function, based on the application access point information indicating whether the network session control element needs to be reselected. 8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising the step of: allocating, by means of the first session control network element, the second user plane network element to a second session, the second user plane network element being configured to transmit, in the second session, a data stream corresponding to the application supporting the DNAI change. 9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the method further comprises the step of: transmitting, by means of the first session network element, partition policy information to the second session network element, wherein the partition policy information is used by the second session network element to allocate the second user plane network element to the second session, wherein the second user plane network element is executed capable of transmitting, in the second session, the data stream corresponding to the application supporting the DNAI change. 10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the step of obtaining, using the first session network element, information about the access point of the application of the first session comprises a sub-step of: receiving, with the first network session control element, information about the access point of the application of the first session from the network policy element. 11. The first network session control element, containing a receive block and a processing block, while the receiving unit is configured to receive information about the access point of the application of the first session; the processing unit is configured to decide, based on the application access point information, to allocate the first session control network element to the second session, the first session and the second session corresponding to the same data network; the receiving unit is further configured to receive a request message, wherein the request message requests the establishment of a second session; and the processing unit is further configured to allocate the first user plane network element for the second session, wherein the first user plane network element is configured to transmit, in the second session, a data stream corresponding to the application. 12. The network element of claim 11, wherein the application access point information contains an indication that the DNAI has not changed or an indication that the application location cannot be changed. 13. The network element of claim 11, wherein the first session mode type is SSC mode 3. 14. The network element according to any one of claims 11-13, wherein the network element further comprises a transmission module configured to send a notification message to the access and mobility control network element, the notification message comprising a first session identifier and a reason value indicating setting up a second session for the same data network corresponding to the first session. 15. The network element according to any one of claims 11 to 14, wherein the receiving unit is specifically configured to receive a request message from the mobility management network element, the request message comprising a first session identifier and a second session identifier. 16. A network element according to any one of claims 11-15, wherein the processing unit is further configured to reset the first session. 17. The network element according to any one of claims 11 to 16, wherein the processing module is specifically configured to skip transmission to the mobility management function network element based on the application access point information, information used to instruct the network element to reselect session management. 18. The network element according to any one of claims 11-17, wherein the processing unit is further configured to allocate the second user plane network element to the second session, wherein the second user plane network element is configured to transmit, in the second session, a data stream corresponding to the application , which supports changing the DNAI. 19. The network element according to any one of claims 11 to 17, wherein the network element further comprises a transmission module configured to send the separation policy information to the second session control network element, the separation policy information being used by the second session network element to extract the second user plane network element to the second session, and the second user plane network element is configured to transmit, in the second session, a data stream corresponding to the application supporting the DNAI change. 20. The network element according to any one of claims 11-19, wherein the receiving module is configured to receive first session application access point information from the policy network element. 21. A first network session control element comprising a processor and a memory, the processor being configured to call a program stored in the memory for execution, by the communications device, of the method of any one of claims 1-10. 22. A storage medium storing a computer program or instructions causing, when executed by a processor contained in the communication device, the communication device to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-10. 23. Communication system containing a first network session control element configured to implement the method of any one of claims 1-10, and a first user plane network element configured to communicate with the first session control network element.

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