WO2018076215A1

WO2018076215A1 - Policy control rule transmission method and apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2018076215A1
Application number: PCT/CN2016/103447
Authority: WO
Inventors: 李永翠; 倪慧
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2016-10-26
Filing date: 2016-10-26
Publication date: 2018-05-03

Abstract

A policy control rule transmission method and apparatus. The method comprises: a policy decision network element determining a first policy control rule corresponding to a user-plane network element; and the policy decision network element sending the first policy control rule to the user-plane network element via an interface between the policy decision network element and the user-plane network element.

Description

Method and device for transmitting policy control rules

Technical field

The present application relates to the field of mobile communications technologies, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for transmitting a policy control rule.

Background technique

The core idea of Software Defined Network (SDN) is to separate the control plane of the network device from the data plane, thus achieving flexible control of network traffic and providing a good platform for innovation of core networks and applications. The mobile communication network that introduces the SDN technology includes a terminal, an access network (AN) network element, a control plane (Control Plane, CP) network element, a gateway user plane (GW-UP) network element, and a policy decision. Network element. The control plane network element is responsible for the mobility management and forwarding path management in the mobile network, for example, sending a packet forwarding policy to the gateway user plane network element, and instructing the gateway user plane network element to perform packet processing and forwarding according to the packet forwarding policy. . The control plane network element may be an SDN controller, a gateway control plane (GW-C), a mobility management entity (MME), or all or part of a control function formed by merging the network elements. The gateway user plane network element is responsible for packet processing and forwarding, and may be a forwarding plane function of a Packet Data Network Gateway (PDN GW), a forwarding plane function of a Serving Gateway (S-GW), a router, and a switch. A physical or virtual forwarding device.

In the mobile communication network with SDN technology, the policy control process is: the policy decision network element performs policy decision, and the policy control rule determined by the policy decision is sent to the control plane network element; the control plane network element separately accesses the access network element The gateway user plane network element sends the corresponding policy control rule. The gateway user plane network element triggering event reporting process is: the gateway user plane network element reports the triggering event information to the control plane network element, and the control plane network element sends the trigger event information to the policy decision network element.

In the above process, the policy control rule determined by the policy decision network element, whether it is the policy control rule corresponding to the access network element or the policy control rule corresponding to the gateway user plane network element, or the control The policy control rule corresponding to the surface network element must be sent to the control plane network element first, and then the control plane network element forwards the corresponding policy control rule to the access network element or the gateway user plane network element, thereby causing the policy control rule. The number of hops of the delivery path is large, which makes the delay of the policy control rule transmission process large and cannot meet the current service requirements.

Summary of the invention

The embodiment of the present invention provides a method and a device for sending a policy control rule, which are used to reduce the delay of transmitting a policy control rule between a policy decision network element and a user plane network element.

In a first aspect, the embodiment of the present application provides a method for sending a policy control rule, including:

The policy decision network element determines a first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element; and

The policy decision network element sends the first policy control rule to the user plane network element by using an interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, after the policy decision network element determines the first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element, the policy determines that the interface between the network element and the user plane network element is delivered to the user plane network element. The first policy control rule is implemented to optimize the policy control rule delivery path between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element, so that the first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element does not need to pass the control plane network element. Forwarding reduces the logical complexity of the control plane network element and reduces the complexity of the interface between the control plane network element and the user plane network element.

Optionally, before the policy determining network element determines the first policy control rule, the method further includes:

The policy decision network element receives the first message from the user plane network element by using the interface; the first message is used to request the first policy control rule from the policy decision network element, or The first message is used to request the policy decision network element to update the first policy control rule.

Optionally, before the policy determining network element determines the first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element, the method further includes:

The policy decision network element receives a second message from the user plane network element by using the interface, where the second message includes first trigger event indication information;

The policy decision network element determines a first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element, including:

The policy decision network element determines, according to the first trigger event indication information, the first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element.

The policy decision network element receives a third message from the control plane network element; the third message is used to request the first policy control rule from the policy decision network element, or the third message is used to The policy decision network element requests to update the first policy control rule.

The policy decision network element receives a fourth message from a control plane network element, where the fourth message includes second trigger event indication information;

The policy decision network element determines, according to the second trigger event indication information, the first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element.

Optionally, the first policy control rule includes a trigger event corresponding to the user plane network element.

Optionally, the method further includes:

Determining, by the policy decision network element, a second policy control rule corresponding to the control plane network element; and

Transmitting, by the policy decision network element, the second policy control rule to the control plane network element;

The second policy control rule includes a trigger event corresponding to the control plane network element.

Optionally, the user plane network element is an access network device or a gateway user plane GW-UP device.

In a second aspect, the embodiment of the present application provides a policy control rule sending apparatus, where the apparatus can perform any one of the methods provided by the foregoing first aspect.

In a possible design, the device includes a plurality of functional modules, such that after the device determines the first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element, the interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element is determined by the policy. Transmitting the first policy control rule to the user plane network element, implementing the policy The optimization of the policy control rule delivery path between the decision network element and the user plane network element enables the first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element to be forwarded through the control plane network element, thereby reducing the control plane network element. The logic complexity and the complexity of the interface between the control plane network element and the user plane network element.

In a third aspect, the embodiment of the present application provides a policy control rule sending apparatus, where the apparatus includes a processor and a transceiver;

a processor, configured to determine a first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element;

The transceiver is configured to send the first policy control rule to the user plane network element by using an interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element.

Optionally, the transceiver is further configured to:

Receiving, by the interface, the first message from the user plane network element; the first message is used to request the first policy control rule from the policy decision network element, or the first message is used to The policy decision network element requests to update the first policy control rule.

Optionally, the transceiver is further configured to:

Receiving, by the interface, a second message from the user plane network element, where the second message includes first trigger event indication information;

The processor is specifically configured to:

Determining, according to the first trigger event indication information, the first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element.

Optionally, the transceiver is further configured to:

Receiving a third message from the control plane network element; the third message is used to request the first policy control rule from the policy decision network element, or the third message is used to request an update from the policy decision network element The first policy control rule.

Optionally, the transceiver is further configured to:

Receiving a fourth message from the control plane network element, where the fourth message includes second trigger event indication information;

The processor is specifically configured to:

Determining, according to the second trigger event indication information, the first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element.

Optionally, the processor is further configured to:

Determining a second policy control rule corresponding to the control plane network element; and

Transmitting the second policy control rule to the control plane network element;

In a fourth aspect, the embodiment of the present application provides a method for receiving a policy control rule, including:

The user plane network element receives the first policy control rule from the policy decision network element by using an interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element;

The user plane network element performs policy control according to the first policy control rule.

According to the above method, the user plane network element receives the first policy control rule from the policy decision network element through an interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element, thereby implementing policy control corresponding to the user plane network element. The optimization of the rule delivery path reduces the logic complexity of the control plane network element and reduces the complexity of the interface between the control plane network element and the user plane network element.

Optionally, before the user plane network element receives the first policy control rule sent by the policy decision network element by using the interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element, the user plane network element further includes:

Transmitting, by the user plane, the first message to the policy decision network element by using the interface;

The first message is used to request the first policy control rule from the policy decision network element, or the first message is used to request the policy decision network element to update the first policy control rule.

The user plane network element sends a second message to the policy decision network element by using the interface; the second message includes first trigger event indication information, where the first trigger event indication information is used to indicate the policy decision The network element determines the first policy control rule according to the first trigger event indication information.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a policy control rule receiving apparatus, where the apparatus can perform any one of the methods provided by implementing the foregoing fourth aspect.

In a possible design, the apparatus includes a plurality of functional modules, such that after receiving the first policy control rule from the policy decision network element by using an interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element, The first policy control rule performs policy control, which implements optimization of the policy control rule delivery path corresponding to the user plane network element, reduces the logic complexity of the control plane network element, and reduces the control plane network element and the user plane. The complexity of the interface between network elements.

In a sixth aspect, the embodiment of the present application provides a policy control rule receiving apparatus, including:

a transceiver, configured to receive, by using a policy, an interface between the network element and the user plane network element, to receive a first policy control rule from the policy decision network element;

And a processor, configured to perform policy control according to the first policy control rule.

Optionally, the transceiver is further configured to:

Transmitting, by the interface, the first message to the policy decision network element;

Optionally, the transceiver is further configured to:

Transmitting, by the interface, the second message to the policy decision network element, where the second message includes first trigger event indication information, where the first trigger event indication information is used to indicate that the policy decision network element is according to the A trigger event indication information determines the first policy control rule.

DRAWINGS

1 is a schematic diagram of a mobile communication network architecture introducing an SDN technology in the prior art;

2 is a schematic flowchart of a method for sending a policy control rule according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a mobile communication network according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a sending policy control rule according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a sending policy control rule according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a sending policy control rule according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a schematic flowchart of a sending policy control rule according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a schematic flowchart of a policy control rule update process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a device for sending a policy control rule according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a device for receiving a policy control rule according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a device for sending a policy control rule according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a device for receiving a policy control rule according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

detailed description

Hereinafter, some of the terms in the present application will be explained to be understood by those skilled in the art.

1) A terminal, also called a User Equipment (UE), is a device that provides voice and/or data connectivity to a user, for example, a handheld device with a wireless connection function, an in-vehicle device, and the like. Common terminals include, for example, mobile phones, tablets, notebook computers, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices such as smart watches, smart bracelets, pedometers, and the like.

2) an access network device, which is a device that connects a terminal to a wireless network, including but not limited to: an evolved Node B (eNB), a radio network controller (RNC), Node B (NB), Base Station Controller (BSC), Base Transceiver Station (BTS), Home Base Station (for example, Home evolved NodeB, or Home Node B, HNB), baseband unit (BaseBand Unit, BBU).

The solution provided by the embodiment of the present application is applicable to a network such as a mobile communication network that introduces SDN technology. As shown in FIG. 1 , it is a schematic diagram of a mobile communication network architecture that introduces SDN technology in the prior art. The network architecture shown in FIG. 1 includes: a Control Plane (CP) network element, a policy decision network element, a Gateway User Plane (GW-U) network element, and an access network (AN). Equipment, terminal, data network (DN), etc.

The control plane network element is responsible for mobility management and forwarding path management in the mobile network, for example, sending a packet forwarding policy to the gateway forwarding plane, indicating that the gateway user plane network element is based on the packet forwarding policy. Line message processing and forwarding. The control plane network element may be an SDN controller, a Gateway Control Plane (GW-C) network element, a Mobility Management Entity (MME), or all or part of a control function formed by combining the Internet elements. .

The gateway user plane network element is responsible for packet processing and forwarding. It can be the forwarding plane function of the packet data network (PDN) gateway, the forwarding plane function of the Serving Gateway (S-GW), routers, switches, etc. Physical or virtual forwarding device.

Access network equipment to provide wireless access services to terminals.

The data network provides a data transmission service for the user, and may be a PDN, such as an Internet Protocol Multi-media Service (IMS).

The policy decision network element performs the policy decision, and sends the policy control rule to the control plane network element; the control plane network element sends the corresponding policy control rule to the access network device and the gateway user plane network element respectively. The policy decision network element may be a device such as a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF).

According to the foregoing description, in the network shown in FIG. 1, the number of hops of the policy control rule is too large, which makes the delay of the policy control rule transmission process large and cannot meet the current service requirements.

Based on the foregoing description, as shown in FIG. 2, a schematic flowchart of a method for sending a policy control rule according to an embodiment of the present application includes:

Step 201: The policy decision network element determines a first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element.

The policy decision network element may be a device such as a PCRF; the user plane network element may be an access network device or a gateway user plane network element.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the first policy control rule may include a trigger event corresponding to the user plane network element. For example, the trigger event corresponding to the user plane network element may be a usage report, a start/stop of application traffic detection, or a resource modification request event. , credit management session failure event, out of credit, etc.

Optionally, the first policy control rule may further include one or more of the following: service flow mode Traffic Flow Template (TFT), policy control rule identifier, or Quality of Service (QoS) information.

The service flow template is used for service flow detection. For example, a business flow template can be a set of business flow filters or a set of application detection filters. The service flow filter classifies different service flows according to the characteristics of the service flow, such as an Internet Protocol (IP) quintuple; the application detection filter is different according to the application type. Business flow classification.

A policy control rule identifier that uniquely identifies a policy control rule.

The QoS information includes but is not limited to QoS Class Identifier (QCI), Guaranteed Bit Rate (GBR), Allocation and Retention Priority (ARP), or maximum bit rate (maximum). Bit rate, MBR), etc.

Step 202: The policy decision network element sends the first policy control rule to the user plane network element by using an interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element.

The interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element is a new interface, and the interface is an interface for performing data or signaling transmission between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element. The specific form of the interface is not limited.

Referring to FIG. 1, after a new interface is added between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element, the mobile communication network architecture introducing the SDN technology may be as shown in FIG. 3. In FIG. 3, the user plane network element is an access network device or a gateway user plane network element, and the interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element may be specifically between the policy decision network element and the access network device. The interface or policy determines the interface between the network element and the GW-U. The policy decision network element has an interface with the user plane network element and an interface with the control plane network element. The implementation of the interface between the policy decision network element and the control plane network element can refer to the existing protocol. No longer. For other contents in FIG. 3, reference may be made to the description related to FIG. 1, and details are not described herein again.

In the embodiment of the present application, the policy decision network element may further send the second policy control rule to the control plane network element. The second policy control rule may include a trigger event corresponding to the control plane network element. For example, the trigger event corresponding to the control plane network element may be a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) change event (PLMN change), location. Change event (Location change), The IP address change event, the resource change request event, the credit management session failure event, and the like of the terminal may also be out of credit.

It should be noted that, when the control plane network element triggering event is a location change, and the terminal is in an idle (IDLE) state, the policy decision network element does not need to send a corresponding policy control rule to the access network device, but only needs to send the GW to the GW. -U can send the corresponding policy control rules. When the terminal enters the CONNECT state by the IDLE, the access network device can obtain the corresponding policy control rule through the interface between the access network device and the policy decision network element, or the corresponding network policy is controlled by the control plane network element. The rules are sent to the access network device.

The second policy control rule may further include a policy control rule identifier. The policy control rule identifier is used to uniquely identify a policy control rule.

Step 203: The user plane network element receives the first policy control rule sent by the policy decision network element by using an interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element.

Step 204: The user plane network element performs policy control according to the first policy control rule.

According to the above method, after the policy decision network element determines the first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element, the first policy control is sent to the user plane network element through the interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element. The rule is implemented to optimize the policy control rule delivery path between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element, so that the policy decision network element does not need to pass the control when the first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element is delivered. The surface network element forwards the first policy control rule, thereby reducing the logic complexity of the control plane network element and reducing the complexity of the interface between the control plane network element and the user plane network element.

In this embodiment of the present application, the policy decision network element may determine the first policy control rule in multiple cases, which is described in detail below.

In a first possible scenario, the policy decision network element receives the first message sent by the user plane network element through the interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element, so that after determining the first policy control rule for the user plane network element, Transmitting, by using the interface, the first policy control rule to the user plane network element. The first message is used to request the first policy control rule from the policy decision network element, or the first message is used to request the policy decision network element to update the first policy control rule. . The The scene will be further described in conjunction with FIG.

In a second possible scenario, the policy decision network element receives a second message that is sent by the user plane network element by using an interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element, and includes the first trigger event indication information, so that according to the first The triggering event indication information determines a first policy control rule for the user plane network element, and sends the first policy control rule to the user plane network element by using the interface. This scenario will be further described in conjunction with FIG.

In a third possible scenario, the policy decision network element receives and receives the third message from the control plane network element, and after sending the first policy control rule for the user plane network element, sends the first message to the user plane network element through the interface. Policy control rules. The third message is used to request the first policy control rule from the policy decision network element, or the third message is used to request the policy decision network element to update the first policy control rule. . This scenario will be further described in conjunction with FIG.

The fourth possible scenario, the policy decision network element receives the fourth message that is sent by the control plane network element and includes the second trigger event indication information, so as to determine the first policy control for the user plane network element according to the second trigger event indication information. The rule sends the first policy control rule to the user plane network element by using an interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element. This scenario will be further described in conjunction with FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a sending policy control rule according to an embodiment of the present application. Referring to FIG. 2, the flow shown in FIG. 4 includes the following steps:

Step 401: The control plane network element receives a setup request message, where the setup request message is used to instruct the control plane network element to establish a packet forwarding path for the terminal. For example, the setup request message may be a create session setup request message.

Step 402: After receiving the setup request message, the control plane network element determines the IP address of the terminal, and determines the GW-U that provides the forwarding service for the terminal.

There are two methods for the control plane network element to determine the IP address of the terminal:

The first method: the control plane network element allocates an IP address to the terminal according to the establishment request message;

The second method: the control plane network element sends an address acquisition request message to the user plane network element, indicating that the user plane network element allocates an IP address to the terminal; the user plane network element obtains the request message according to the received address, and allocates an IP address to the terminal. And sending an address response message to the control plane network element, carrying the assignment for the terminal IP address. It should be noted that the user plane network element herein may be a GW-U, that is, the IP address anchor point of the terminal is the GW-U.

Step 403: The control plane network element sends a packet forwarding policy to the user plane network element, where the packet forwarding policy is used to instruct the user plane network element to forward the packet.

The packet forwarding policy may include information such as a service flow identifier and a forwarding rule. The service flow identifier may be one or more of an IP address of the terminal, a port number of the terminal, an IP address of the server, and a port number of the server. The server refers to a server corresponding to the service initiated by the terminal. For example, if the terminal initiates a video service, the server refers to a server that provides the video service. The packet forwarding rule policy is used to instruct the user plane network element to forward the received user packet.

Optionally, in step 404, the user plane network element sends a response message to the control plane network element.

The response message is used to indicate that the user plane network element successfully receives the packet forwarding policy sent by the control plane network element.

Step 405: The user plane network element sends a first message to the policy decision network element by using an interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element.

For example, the first message can be a policy control session setup request message. Of course, the first message can also be other messages, and will not be described here.

Step 406: After receiving the first message sent by the user plane network element by using the interface, the policy determining network element determines a first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element, and sends the foregoing to the user plane network element by using the interface. The first policy control rule.

For example, the policy decision network element may send a first message response including the first policy control rule to the user plane network element through the interface. When the first message is a policy control session establishment request message, the first message response is a policy control session response message.

Optionally, in step 407, the control plane network element sends a policy control session establishment request message to the policy decision network element.

The policy control session establishment request message is used to request the second policy control rule from the policy decision network element, or the policy control session establishment request message is used to request the policy decision network element to update the second policy control rule. .

Correspondingly, in step 408, the policy decision network element receives the policy control session establishment request message sent by the control plane network element, determines a second policy control rule corresponding to the control plane network element, and sends the second policy control element to the control plane network element. Policy control rules.

For example, the policy decision network element may send a policy control session response message including the second policy control rule to the control plane network element.

It should be noted that there is no strict sequence of execution between step 405 and step 407, and it may also occur simultaneously.

In the above process, the policy decision network element sends a first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element to the user plane network element through the interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element, and implements the policy decision network element and the user. The optimization of the policy control rule delivery path between the surface network elements enables the first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element to be forwarded through the control plane network element, thereby reducing the logic complexity of the control plane network element, and The complexity of the interface between the control plane network element and the user plane network element is reduced.

FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a sending policy control rule according to an embodiment of the present application. Referring to FIG. 2, the flow shown in FIG. 5 includes the following steps:

Step 501: The user plane network element generates first trigger event indication information according to the first trigger event.

The first trigger event indication information is used for determining the first policy control rule. For example, the first trigger event indication information may indicate one or more of the following trigger events:

Use report events; start/stop events for application traffic detection; resource change request events; credit management session failure events; balance run out events.

Step 502: The user plane network element sends a second message including the first trigger event indication information to the policy decision network element by using an interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element.

The second message may also include other parameters, which are determined according to actual conditions, and are not described herein again.

Step 503: The policy decision network element receives the second message sent by the user plane network element through the interface. Then, the first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element is determined, and the first policy control rule is sent to the user plane network element by using the interface.

Optionally, in step 504, the user plane network element sends a first acknowledgement message to the policy decision network element, where the first acknowledgement message indicates that the user plane network element successfully receives the first policy control rule sent by the policy decision network element.

Optionally, in step 505, the policy decision network element determines a second policy control rule corresponding to the control plane network element, and sends the second policy control rule to the control plane network element.

Optionally, in step 506, the control plane network element sends a second acknowledgement message to the policy decision network element, where the second acknowledgement message indicates that the control plane network element successfully receives the second policy control rule sent by the policy decision network element.

It should be noted that there is no strict sequence of execution between step 503 and step 505, and it may also occur simultaneously.

In the above process, after the first trigger event occurs, the user plane network element generates the first trigger event indication information indicating the first trigger event, and sends the first trigger event indication information to the policy decision network element, thereby implementing the policy. After receiving the first trigger event indication information, the determining network element may determine, according to the first trigger event indication information, a first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element. At the same time, the policy decision network element can also send the first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element to the user plane network element through the interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element, so that the policy decision network element is delivered to the user. The first policy control rule corresponding to the surface network element is no longer required to be forwarded by the control plane network element, thereby reducing the logic complexity of the control plane network element and reducing the interface between the control plane network element and the user plane network element. the complexity.

FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a sending policy control rule according to an embodiment of the present application. Referring to FIG. 2, the flow shown in FIG. 6 includes the following steps:

Step 601: The control plane network element receives the setup request message.

Step 602: After receiving the setup request message, the control plane network element determines the IP address of the terminal, and determines the GW-U that provides the forwarding service for the terminal.

Step 603: The control plane network element sends a packet forwarding policy to the user plane network element, where the packet forwarding policy is sent. Slightly used to instruct the user plane NE to forward packets.

Optionally, in step 604, the user plane network element sends a response message to the control plane network element, where the response message is used to indicate that the user plane network element successfully receives the packet forwarding policy sent by the control plane network element.

For details of the steps 601 to 604, reference may be made to the descriptions in the steps 301 to 304, and details are not described herein again.

Step 605: The control plane network element sends a third message to the policy decision network element.

For example, the third message can be a policy control session setup request message. Of course, the third message can also be other messages, and will not be described here.

Step 606: After receiving the third message from the control plane network element, the policy decision network element determines a first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element, and uses the interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element to the user. The surface network element sends the first policy control rule.

Optionally, in step 607, the policy decision network element may further determine a second policy control rule corresponding to the control plane network element, and send the second policy control rule to the control plane network element.

It should be noted that there is no strict sequential execution sequence between step 606 and step 607, and it may also occur simultaneously.

Optionally, in step 608, the user plane network element sends a first acknowledgement message to the policy decision network element, where the first acknowledgement message indicates that the user plane network element successfully receives the first policy control rule sent by the policy decision network element.

Optionally, in step 609, the control plane network element sends a second acknowledgement message to the policy decision network element, where the second acknowledgement message indicates that the control plane network element successfully receives the second policy control rule sent by the policy decision network element.

Finally, in step 610, the policy decision network element may send a policy control session establishment response message to the control plane network element, indicating that the policy control rule is delivered.

FIG. 7 is a schematic flowchart of a sending policy control rule according to an embodiment of the present application. Referring to FIG. 2, the flow shown in FIG. 7 includes the following steps:

Step 701: The control plane network element generates second trigger event indication information according to the second trigger event.

The second trigger event indication information may indicate one or more of the following trigger events:

Public land mobile network change events, location change events, terminal IP address change events; resource change request events; credit management session failure events; balance run-out events.

Step 702: The control plane network element sends a fourth message including the second trigger event indication information to the policy decision network element.

The fourth message may further include other parameters, which are determined according to actual conditions, and are not described herein again.

Step 703: After receiving the fourth message sent by the control plane network element, the policy decision network element determines, according to the second trigger event indication information in the fourth message, the first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element, and passes the The interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element sends the first policy control rule to the user plane network element.

Optionally, in step 704, the user plane network element sends a first acknowledgement message to the policy decision network element, where the first acknowledgement message indicates that the user plane network element successfully receives the first policy control rule sent by the policy decision network element.

Optionally, in step 705, the policy decision network element determines a second policy control rule corresponding to the control plane network element, and sends the second policy control rule to the control plane network element.

Optionally, in step 706, the control plane network element sends a second acknowledgement message to the policy decision network element, where the second acknowledgement message indicates that the control plane network element successfully receives the second policy control rule sent by the policy decision network element.

It should be noted that there is no strict sequence of execution between step 703 and step 705, and it may also occur simultaneously.

In the above process, the control plane network element determines that the second trigger event indication information indicating the second trigger event is generated after the second trigger event occurs, and sends the second trigger event indication information to the policy decision network element, thereby implementing the policy. After receiving the second trigger event indication information, the determining network element may determine, according to the second trigger event indication information, a first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element.

Optionally, the policy decision network element may further update the process of the policy control rule initiated by the control plane network element or the user plane network element. Specifically, in conjunction with the foregoing description, as shown in FIG. 8 , a schematic diagram of a policy control rule update process provided by an embodiment of the present application is provided. User flow network in the flow shown in Figure 8. For example, the access network device and the GW-U are used as an example. When the user plane network element is another device, refer to the description here, and details are not described herein.

Step 801: The policy decision network element determines at least one of the following policy control rules: a policy control rule corresponding to the control plane network element, a policy control rule corresponding to the access network device, and a policy control rule corresponding to the GW-U.

If the policy decision network element determines the policy control rule corresponding to the GW-U, the method includes: Step 802: The policy decision network element sends the GW-U corresponding to the GW-U by using an interface between the policy decision network element and the GW-U. Policy control rules.

The policy control rule corresponding to the GW-U may include a service flow template and QoS information. Optionally, the policy control rule corresponding to the GW-U may further include a policy control rule identifier and a GW-U related trigger event. For the triggering event related to the GW-U, refer to the description of the triggering event corresponding to the user plane network element, and details are not described herein.

Optionally, in step 803, the GW-U sends an acknowledgment message to the policy decision network element by using an interface between the policy decision network element and the GW-U, where the acknowledgment message is used to indicate that the completion of the policy delivery message is received.

If the policy control network element determines the policy control rule corresponding to the control plane network element, the method includes the following steps: Step 804: The policy decision network element sends a policy control rule corresponding to the control plane network element to the control plane network element.

The policy control rule corresponding to the control plane network element may include information such as a trigger event and a policy control rule identifier corresponding to the control plane network element. For details, refer to the foregoing description, and details are not described herein again.

Optionally, in step 805, the control plane network element sends an acknowledgement message to the policy decision network element, where it is used to indicate that the policy is sent by the policy decision network element.

If the policy decision network element determines the policy control rule corresponding to the access network device, the method includes the following steps: Step 806: The policy decision network element sends and accesses the access network device through the interface between the policy decision network element and the access network device. The policy control rule corresponding to the network device.

The policy control rule corresponding to the access network device may be the same as or different from the policy control rule corresponding to the GW-U in step 802. For example, the QoS information in the policy control rule corresponding to the GW-U may include an APN-AMBR (Per APN aggregate maximum bit rate, The maximum bit rate of each APN set), and the QoS information included in the policy control rule corresponding to the access network device may include a UE-AMBR (per UE aggregate maximum bit rate, a maximum bit rate per UE set); or, with GW- The resource modification event is not included in the trigger event in the policy control rule corresponding to the U, and the resource modification event corresponding to the access network device includes a resource modification event.

Optionally, in step 807, the access network device sends an acknowledgment message to the policy decision network element by using the interface between the policy decision network element and the access network device, indicating that the policy is sent by the policy decision network element.

It should be noted that steps 802, 804, and 806 do not have strict sequential execution sequences, and the three can occur simultaneously. Additionally, steps 802, 804, 806 may only occur in one of the steps, or two or more of them.

Through the foregoing method, the policy decision network element can complete the delivery of the corresponding policy control rule through the interface between the control plane network element, the GW-U, and the access network device. The policy control rule corresponding to the GW-U and the optimization of the policy control rule delivery path corresponding to the access network device are implemented, the logic complexity of the control plane network element is reduced, and the control plane network element and the GW-U are reduced. The complexity of the interface between access network devices.

Based on the same concept, the embodiment of the present invention provides a policy control rule sending apparatus, which is used to execute the foregoing method flow.

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a policy control rule sending apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application.

Referring to Figure 9, the device includes:

The processing unit 901 is configured to determine a first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element.

The transceiver unit 902 is configured to send the first policy control rule to the user plane network element by using an interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element.

Optionally, the transceiver unit 902 is further configured to:

The processing unit 901 is specifically configured to:

Optionally, the transceiver unit 902 is further configured to:

The processing unit 901 is specifically configured to:

Optionally, the processing unit 901 is further configured to:

Based on the same concept, an embodiment of the present invention provides a policy control rule receiving apparatus for performing the foregoing method flow.

FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a policy control rule receiving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application.

Referring to Figure 10, the apparatus includes:

The transceiver unit 1001 is configured to receive, by using an interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element, the first policy control rule from the policy decision network element;

The processing unit 1002 is configured to perform policy control according to the first policy control rule.

Optionally, the transceiver unit 1001 is further configured to:

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a policy control rule sending apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application.

Referring to Figure 11, the apparatus includes:

The processor 1101 is configured to determine a first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element.

The transceiver 1102 is configured to send the first policy control rule to the user plane network element by using an interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element.

Optionally, the transceiver 1102 is further configured to:

The processor 1101 is specifically configured to:

Optionally, the transceiver 1102 is further configured to:

The processor 1101 is specifically configured to:

Optionally, the processor 1101 is further configured to:

FIG. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a policy control rule receiving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application.

Referring to Figure 12, the apparatus includes:

The transceiver 1201 is configured to receive, by using an interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element, a first policy control rule from the policy decision network element;

The processor 1202 is configured to perform policy control according to the first policy control rule.

Optionally, the transceiver 1201 is further configured to:

In the embodiment of the present application, the transceiver may be a wired transceiver, a wireless transceiver, or a combination thereof. The wired transceiver can be, for example, an Ethernet interface. The Ethernet interface can be an optical interface, an electrical interface, or a combination thereof. The wireless transceiver can be, for example, a wireless local area network communication interface, a cellular network communication interface, or a combination thereof. The processor may be a central processing unit (English: central processing unit, abbreviated: CPU), a network processor (English: network processor, abbreviated: NP) or a combination of CPU and NP. The processor may further include a hardware chip. The hardware chip may be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (abbreviated as PLD), or a combination thereof. The above PLD can be a complex programmable logic device (English: complex programmable logic device, abbreviation: CPLD), field-programmable gate array (English: field-programmable gate array, abbreviation: FPGA), general array logic (English: generic array Logic, abbreviation: GAL) or any combination thereof.

Also included in Figures 11 and 12 may be a bus that may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, specifically linked by one or more processors represented by the processor and various circuits of memory represented by the memory. The bus can also link various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, and will not be further described in this application. The transceiver provides means for communicating with various other devices on a transmission medium. The processor is responsible for managing the bus architecture and the usual processing, and the memory can store the data that the processor uses when performing operations.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the description of the embodiments of the present invention can be referred to each other. For the convenience and brevity of the description, the functions and steps of the devices and devices provided by the embodiments of the present invention may be Reference is made to the related description of the method embodiment of the present invention, and details are not described herein.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that embodiments of the present application can be provided as a method, or a computer program product. Thus, the present application can take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment in combination of software and hardware. Moreover, the application can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) including computer usable program code.

The present application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (system), and computer program products according to embodiments of the present application. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flowchart illustrations and/or FIG. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine for the execution of instructions for execution by a processor of a computer or other programmable data processing device. A device that implements the functions specified in one or more processes and/or block diagrams of one or more blocks of the flowchart.

While the preferred embodiment of the present application has been described, it will be apparent that those skilled in the art can make further changes and modifications to the embodiments. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to be interpreted as including the preferred embodiments and the modifications and

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes can be made in the present application without departing from the scope of the application. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of the present invention.

Claims

A method for sending a policy control rule, comprising:

The policy decision network element determines a first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element; and

The policy decision network element sends the first policy control rule to the user plane network element by using an interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element.
The method according to claim 1, wherein before the policy decision network element determines the first policy control rule, the method further includes:

The policy decision network element receives the first message from the user plane network element by using the interface; the first message is used to request the first policy control rule from the policy decision network element, or The first message is used to request the policy decision network element to update the first policy control rule.
The method according to claim 1, wherein before the policy decision network element determines the first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element, the method further includes:

The policy decision network element receives a second message from the user plane network element by using the interface, where the second message includes first trigger event indication information;

The policy decision network element determines a first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element, including:

The policy decision network element determines, according to the first trigger event indication information, the first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element.
The method according to claim 1, wherein before the determining the first policy control rule by the policy decision network element, the method further comprises:

The policy decision network element receives a third message from the control plane network element; the third message is used to request the first policy control rule from the policy decision network element, or the third message is used to The policy decision network element requests to update the first policy control rule.
The method according to claim 1, wherein before the policy decision network element determines the first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element, the method further includes:

The policy decision network element receives a fourth message from a control plane network element, the fourth message including Second trigger event indication information;

The policy decision network element determines a first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element, including:

The policy decision network element determines, according to the second trigger event indication information, the first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first policy control rule comprises a trigger event corresponding to a user plane network element.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the method further comprises:

Determining, by the policy decision network element, a second policy control rule corresponding to the control plane network element; and

Transmitting, by the policy decision network element, the second policy control rule to the control plane network element;

The second policy control rule includes a trigger event corresponding to the control plane network element.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the user plane network element is an access network device or a gateway user plane GW-UP device.
A method for receiving a policy control rule, comprising:

The user plane network element receives the first policy control rule from the policy decision network element by using an interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element;

The user plane network element performs policy control according to the first policy control rule.
The method according to claim 9, wherein the user plane network element receives the first policy control rule sent by the policy decision network element by using an interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element. include:

Transmitting, by the user plane, the first message to the policy decision network element by using the interface;

The first message is used to request the first policy control rule from the policy decision network element, or the first message is used to request the policy decision network element to update the first policy control rule.
The method according to claim 9, wherein the user plane network element receives the first policy control rule sent by the policy decision network element by using an interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element. include:

Transmitting, by the user plane, a second message to the policy decision network element by using the interface; The second message includes first trigger event indication information, where the first trigger event indication information is used to indicate that the policy decision network element determines the first policy control rule according to the first trigger event indication information.
A policy control rule sending device, comprising:

a processing unit, configured to determine a first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element;

The transceiver unit is configured to send the first policy control rule to the user plane network element by using an interface between the policy decision network element and the user plane network element.
The device according to claim 12, wherein the transceiver unit is further configured to:

Receiving, by the interface, the first message from the user plane network element; the first message is used to request the first policy control rule from the policy decision network element, or the first message is used to The policy decision network element requests to update the first policy control rule.
The device according to claim 12, wherein the transceiver unit is further configured to:

Receiving, by the interface, a second message from the user plane network element, where the second message includes first trigger event indication information;

The processing unit is specifically configured to:

Determining, according to the first trigger event indication information, the first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element.
The device according to claim 12, wherein the transceiver unit is further configured to:

Receiving a third message from the control plane network element; the third message is used to request the first policy control rule from the policy decision network element, or the third message is used to request an update from the policy decision network element The first policy control rule.
The device according to claim 12, wherein the transceiver unit is further configured to:

Receiving a fourth message from the control plane network element, where the fourth message includes second trigger event indication information;

The processing unit is specifically configured to:

Determining, according to the second trigger event indication information, the first policy control rule corresponding to the user plane network element.
The apparatus according to any one of claims 12 to 16, wherein the first policy control rule comprises a trigger event corresponding to a user plane network element.
The device according to any one of claims 12 to 17, wherein the processing unit is further configured to:

Determining a second policy control rule corresponding to the control plane network element; and

Transmitting the second policy control rule to the control plane network element;

The second policy control rule includes a trigger event corresponding to the control plane network element.
The device according to any one of claims 12 to 18, wherein the user plane network element is an access network device or a gateway user plane GW-UP device.
A policy control rule receiving device, comprising:

a transceiver unit, configured to receive, by using a policy, an interface between the network element and the user plane network element, to receive a first policy control rule from the policy decision network element;

And a processing unit, configured to perform policy control according to the first policy control rule.
The device according to claim 20, wherein the transceiver unit is further configured to:

Transmitting, by the interface, the first message to the policy decision network element;

The first message is used to request the first policy control rule from the policy decision network element, or the first message is used to request the policy decision network element to update the first policy control rule.
The device according to claim 20, wherein the transceiver unit is further configured to:

Transmitting, by the interface, the second message to the policy decision network element, where the second message includes first trigger event indication information, where the first trigger event indication information is used to indicate that the policy decision network element is according to the A trigger event indication information determines the first policy control rule.