WO2021062850A1

WO2021062850A1 - Method, device and system for establishing interface

Info

Publication number: WO2021062850A1
Application number: PCT/CN2019/109779
Authority: WO
Inventors: 罗海燕; 曾清海; 戴明增
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2019-09-30
Filing date: 2019-09-30
Publication date: 2021-04-08
Also published as: CN114430931B; CN114430931A

Abstract

Disclosed in the present application are a method, apparatus and system for establishing an interface. The method comprises: a first node sends a first message to an access management function (AMF), the first message comprising local user plane management function (L-UPF) information and a data network name (DNN); after receiving the first message from the first node, the AMF sends to a session management function (SMF) an identifier of the first node, the L-UPF information and the DNN; the SMF returns a first interface message to the AMF; and the AMF sends to the first node the first interface message received from the SMF. The first interface message is used to establish an interface between the L-UPF and the SMF.

Description

Method, device and system for establishing interface

Technical field

This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a method, device and system for establishing an interface.

Background technique

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) mainly includes three types of nodes: line controllers, machine controllers, and equipment. Among them, the device may be, for example, a sensor, an actuator, an I/O box, and so on. Generally speaking, the line controller controls the machine controller, and the machine controller controls the equipment. Whether it is a line controller or a machine controller, it may be a programmable logic controller PLC. For example, on the automobile assembly line, the line controller informs the machine controller when to catch the car, and the machine controller tells the various actuators on the robot arm what to do at what time.

There are four main types of transmission between industrial IoT: communication between line controller and machine controller (L2C), communication between machine controller and machine controller (C2C), communication between machine controller and equipment (C2D), communication between devices (D2D). Among them, C2D communication has high requirements for delay. Assuming that the transmission cycle is the time required for the machine controller to send instructions to the device until the device feedbacks parameters to the machine controller, C2D generally has a transmission cycle requirement of 0.5ms to 2ms.

Generally speaking, machine controllers in factories may have certain mobility requirements, so the flexible deployment requirements for machine controllers are high. How to deploy interfaces between devices in the transmission of the Industrial Internet of Things to meet the requirements of flexible deployment of machine controllers and at the same time meet the requirements of short-latency transmission cycle is a problem that needs to be solved.

Summary of the invention

This application provides a method and device for establishing an interface to solve the problem of how to deploy an interface between network elements in the industrial Internet of Things transmission to meet the requirements of flexible deployment of machine controllers.

In the first aspect, a method for establishing an interface is provided. The method is described from the perspective of execution by the first node. The method can be implemented by the following steps: the first node sends a first message to the access management function AMF, the first message The information including the local user plane management function L-UPF and the data network name DNN; the first node receives a second message from the AMF, the second message includes a first interface message, and the first interface message is used for Establish an interface between the L-UPF and the session management function SMF. For example, the first interface message may be, for example, a first N4 message, which is used to establish an N4 interface between the L-UPF and the session management function SMF. Through this method, the N4 logical interface for wireless transmission can be established. Compared with the wired N4 interface, the established N4 interface is more suitable for the distributed and flexible deployment requirements of the machine controller in the industrial Internet of Things, and improves the data transmission efficiency of C2D communication and industrial objects. Networking performance.

The first node may be an IAB node, which has the functions of MT and DU. The DU in the first node is an enhanced DU, and the enhanced DU mainly includes SDAP/PDCP/RLC/MAC/PHY protocol layers, or includes PDCP/RLC/MAC/PHY protocol layers.

In a possible design, the L-UPF and the first node are physically deployed together; or the L-UPF and the data network DN corresponding to the DNN are physically deployed together with the first node .

For example, the DNN is the name or address of the machine controller.

In a possible design, the first node sending the first message to the AMF can be implemented by the following method: the first node sends the first message to the AMF through the second node, and the first message is the first message. A non-access stratum NAS message, wherein the second node is an upper-level node of the first node or the second node is an access network device.

In a possible design, the first node receiving the second message from the AMF includes:

The first node receives a second message from the AMF through a second node, the second message is a second NAS message, and the second node is an upper node of the first node or the second node The node is an access network device.

In a second aspect, a method for establishing an interface is provided. The execution subject of the method is AMF. The method may specifically include the following steps: the access management function AMF receives a first message from a first node, and the first message includes a local user The information of the plane management function L-UPF and the data network name DNN; the AMF sends the identification of the first node, the information of the L-UPF and the DNN to the session management function SMF; the AMF receives the information from the SMF Receiving a first interface message; the AMF sends the first interface message to the first node, where the first interface message is used to establish an interface between the L-UPF and a session management function SMF. For example, the first interface message may be, for example, a first N4 message, which is used to establish an N4 interface between the L-UPF and the session management function SMF. Through this method, the N4 logical interface for wireless transmission can be established. Compared with the wired N4 interface, the established N4 interface is more suitable for the distributed and flexible deployment requirements of the machine controller in the industrial Internet of Things, and improves the data transmission efficiency of C2D communication and industrial objects. Networking performance.

In a possible design, the method further includes: the AMF storing the information of the L-UPF and the correspondence relationship between at least two of the DNN and the SMF. In this way, when the terminal subsequently applies to establish a PDU session, it will carry the DNN in the PDU session establishment request, and the AMF can find the corresponding SMF according to the previously saved mapping relationship between the DNN, SMF and L-UPF.

In a possible design, the method further includes: the AMF receives a protocol data unit PDU session establishment request from a terminal device, the PDU session establishment request includes the DNN; the AMF according to the saved correspondence Relationship, determining the L-UPF and the SMF associated with the DNN; the AMF sends the L-UPF information or at least one of the DNN to the SMF, and the identification of the terminal device; The AMF receives the identification of the terminal device, the identification of the first node, and the second interface message from the SMF, where the second interface message is used to establish a connection between the L-UPF and the SMF Session, the session between the L-UPF and the SMF corresponds to the PDU session requested by the terminal device to be established. The AMF finds the corresponding L-UPF and SMF according to the target DNN of the terminal device, so that the SMF triggers the N4 session establishment process through the N4 logical channel. Through wireless N4 interface or logical N4 interface, the flexible deployment of equipment is realized, which is suitable for the needs of distributed deployment of industrial IoT machine controllers. In addition, when the terminal device requests to establish a PDU session, it is not necessary for the first node and the second node to carry the L-UPF information every time the NAS message is sent, thereby saving overhead.

In a possible design, the AMF sends the second interface message to the first node.

In a possible design, the AMF receiving the first message from the first node may be: the AMF receives the first message from the first node through the second node, and the first message is a first NAS message, where The second node is an upper-level node of the first node or the second node is an access network device.

In a possible design, the AMF sending the first interface message to the first node may be: the AMF sends a second message to the first node through a second node, and the second message It is a second NAS message, and the second NAS message includes the first interface message, wherein the second node is an upper-level node of the first node or the second node is an access network device.

In a possible design, the second interface message is an N4 session establishment request message or an N4 session modification request message.

In a third aspect, a method for establishing an interface is provided. The execution subject of the method is SMF. The method mainly includes the following steps: the session management function SMF receives the identification of the first node and the local user plane management from the access management function AMF. The information of the function L-UPF and the data network name DNN; the SMF sends a first interface message to the AMF, and the first interface message is used to establish an N4 interface between the L-UPF and the session management function SMF. For example, the first interface message may be, for example, a first N4 message, which is used to establish an N4 interface between the L-UPF and the session management function SMF. Through this method, the N4 logical interface for wireless transmission can be established. Compared with the wired N4 interface, the established N4 interface is more suitable for the distributed and flexible deployment requirements of the machine controller in the industrial Internet of Things, and improves the data transmission efficiency of C2D communication and industrial objects. Networking performance.

In a possible design, the SMF receives the identification of the terminal device, the information of the L-UPF, and the DNN from the AMF; the SMF sends the identification of the terminal device, the first The identification of a node and a second interface message, the second interface message is used to establish a session between the L-UPF and the SMF, and the session between the L-UPF and the SMF and a terminal device request Corresponding to the established PDU session. SMF can trigger the N4 session establishment process through the N4 logical channel. In addition, when the terminal device requests to establish a PDU session, it is not necessary for the first node and the second node to carry the L-UPF information every time the NAS message is sent, thereby saving overhead.

In a possible design, the method further includes: the SMF receives the identification of the first node from the AMF; or, the SMF determines the The ID of the first node.

In a possible design, the information of the L-UPF includes one or more of the following: the identifier of the L-UPF, the name of the L-UPF, and the address of the L-UPF.

In a possible design, the first interface message is an N4 association establishment request message.

In a fourth aspect, a method for establishing an interface is provided. The method is described from the perspective of execution by the first node. The method can be implemented by the following steps: the first node sends a first RRC message to the second node, and the first RRC message includes L-UPF information and DNN. The first node receives a second RRC message from the second node, the second RRC message includes a first interface message, and the first interface message is used to establish a connection between the L-UPF and a session management function SMF Interface. Through this method, the N4 logical interface for wireless transmission can be established. Compared with the wired N4 interface, the established N4 interface is more suitable for the distributed and flexible deployment requirements of the machine controller in the industrial Internet of Things, and improves the data transmission efficiency of C2D communication and industrial objects. Networking performance.

For example, the DNN is the name or address of the machine controller.

In a fifth aspect, a method for establishing an interface is provided. The method is described from the perspective of execution by the second node. The method can be implemented by the following steps: the second node receives the first RRC message from the first node, and the second node sends the AMF L-UPF information and DNN; the second node sends a second RRC message to the first node, the second RRC message carries a first interface message, and the first interface message is used to establish the L-UPF and the session management function SMF between interface. Through this method, the N4 logical interface for wireless transmission can be established. Compared with the wired N4 interface, the established N4 interface is more suitable for the distributed and flexible deployment requirements of the machine controller in the industrial Internet of Things, and improves the data transmission efficiency of C2D communication and industrial objects. Networking performance.

In the sixth aspect, a method for establishing an interface is provided. The method is described from the perspective of AMF execution. The method can be implemented by the following steps: AMF receives L-UPF information and DNN from a second node, and AMF first The interface message, for example, the first interface message may be an N4 message, which is recorded as the first N4 message. Through this method, the N4 logical interface for wireless transmission can be established. Compared with the wired N4 interface, the established N4 interface is more suitable for the distributed and flexible deployment requirements of the machine controller in the industrial Internet of Things, and improves the data transmission efficiency of C2D communication and industrial objects. Networking performance.

In a possible design, the method further includes: the AMF receives a protocol data unit PDU session establishment request from a terminal device, the PDU session establishment request includes the DNN; the AMF according to the saved correspondence Relationship, determining the L-UPF and the SMF associated with the DNN; the AMF sends the L-UPF information or at least one of the DNN to the SMF, and the identification of the terminal device; The AMF receives the identification of the terminal device, the identification of the first node, and the second interface message from the SMF, where the second interface message is used to establish a connection between the L-UPF and the SMF The session between the L-UPF and the SMF corresponds to the PDU session requested by the terminal device. The AMF finds the corresponding L-UPF and SMF according to the target DNN of the terminal device, so that the SMF triggers the N4 session establishment process through the N4 logical channel. Through wireless N4 interface or logical N4 interface, the flexible deployment of equipment is realized, which is suitable for the needs of distributed deployment of industrial IoT machine controllers. In addition, when the terminal device requests to establish a PDU session, it is not necessary for the first node and the second node to carry the L-UPF information every time the NAS message is sent, thereby saving overhead.

In a seventh aspect, a device is provided. The device may be a first node, may be a device (for example, a chip, or a chip system, or a circuit) in the first node, or a device that can be matched and used with the first node. In one design, the device may include modules that perform one-to-one correspondence of the methods/operations/steps/actions described in the first aspect or the fourth aspect. The device may be a second node, may be a device in the second node (for example, a chip, or a chip system, or a circuit), or a device that can be matched and used with the second node. In one design, the device may include modules that perform one-to-one correspondence of the methods/operations/steps/actions described in the fifth aspect,

The module can be a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of hardware circuit and software. In one design, the device may include a processing module and a communication module. The processing module is used to call the communication module to perform the function of receiving and/or sending. The communication module includes a sending module and a receiving module. Exemplarily, the processing module is used to generate a first message, and the sending module is used to send a first message to the access management function AMF, where the first message includes the information of the local user plane management function L-UPF and the data network name DNN. The receiving module is configured to receive a second message from the AMF, the second message including a first interface message, and the first interface message is used to establish an interface between the L-UPF and a session management function SMF.

Alternatively, the processing module is configured to generate the first RRC message, and the sending module is configured to send the first RRC message to the second node, and the first RRC message includes the information of the L-UPF and the DNN. The receiving module is configured to receive a second RRC message from the second node, the second RRC message includes a first interface message, and the first interface message is used to establish a connection between the L-UPF and the session management function SMF Interface.

Alternatively, the receiving module is used to receive the first RRC message from the first node, the sending module is used to send L-UPF information and DNN to the AMF; the processing module is used to generate the second RRC message, and the sending module is also used to Send a second RRC message to the first node, where the second RRC message carries a first interface message, and the first interface message is used to establish an interface between the L-UPF and the session management function SMF.

For other features, reference may be made to the description of the first aspect or the fourth aspect or the fifth aspect, and details are not described herein again.

In an eighth aspect, a device is provided. The device may be an AMF, a device in the AMF (for example, a chip, or a chip system, or a circuit), or a device that can be matched and used with the AMF. In one design, the device may include modules that perform one-to-one correspondence of the methods/operations/steps/actions described in the second aspect or the sixth aspect. The modules may be hardware circuits, software, or hardware Circuit combined with software implementation. In one design, the device may include a processing module and a communication module. The processing module is used to call the communication module to perform the function of receiving and/or sending. The communication module includes a sending module and a receiving module. Exemplarily, the receiving module is configured to receive a first message from the first node, where the first message includes the information of the local user plane management function L-UPF and the data network name DNN. The processing module is configured to obtain the identifier of the first node, and the sending module sends the identifier of the first node, the information of the L-UPF, and the DNN to the session management function SMF. The receiving module is further configured to receive a first interface message from the SMF; the sending module is further configured to send the first interface message to the first node, and the first interface message is used to establish a The N4 interface between the L-UPF and the session management function SMF is described.

Alternatively, the receiving module is used to receive L-UPF information and DNN from the second node, the processing module is used to generate a first interface message, and the sending module is used to send a first interface message to the second node. For example, the first interface message may be The N4 message is recorded as the first N4 message.

For other features, reference can be made to the description of the second aspect or the sixth aspect, which is not repeated here.

In a ninth aspect, a device is provided. The device may be an SMF, a device in the SMF (for example, a chip, or a chip system, or a circuit), or a device that can be used in conjunction with the SMF. In one design, the device may include modules that perform one-to-one correspondence of the methods/operations/steps/actions described in the third aspect. The modules may be hardware circuits, software, or hardware circuits combined with software. . In one design, the device may include a processing module and a communication module. The processing module is used to call the communication module to perform the function of receiving and/or sending. The communication module includes a sending module and a receiving module. Exemplarily, the receiving module is configured to receive the identifier of the first node, the information of the local user plane management function L-UPF, and the data network name DNN from the access management function AMF; the processing module is configured to generate the first interface message , A sending module, configured to send a first interface message to the AMF, where the first interface message is used to establish an N4 interface between the L-UPF and the session management function SMF.

For other features, reference can be made to the description of the third aspect, which will not be repeated here.

In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a device. For example, the device is a first node. The device includes a communication interface and a processor. The communication interface is used for communication between the device and other devices, such as data or signal communication. Send and receive. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, or other type of communication interface, and the other device may be a second node or terminal or AMF. The processor is used to call a set of programs, instructions or data to execute the method described in the first or fourth aspect. The device may also include a memory for storing programs, instructions or data called by the processor. The memory is coupled with the processor, and when the processor executes instructions or data stored in the memory, the method described in the first aspect or the fourth aspect can be implemented. Alternatively, the device is a second node, and the device includes a communication interface and a processor, and the communication interface is used for communication between the device and other devices, for example, data or signal transmission and reception. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, or other type of communication interface, and the other device may be the first node or AMF. The processor is used to call a set of programs, instructions or data to execute the method described in the fifth aspect.

In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a device, for example, the device is an AMF. The device includes a communication interface and a processor, and the communication interface is used for communication between the device and other devices, such as sending and receiving data or signals. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, a circuit, a bus, a module, or another type of communication interface, and the other device may be an SMF or the first node or the second node. The processor is used to call a set of programs, instructions or data to execute the method described in the second or sixth aspect. The device may also include a memory for storing programs, instructions or data called by the processor. The memory is coupled with the processor, and when the processor executes instructions or data stored in the memory, the method described in the second aspect can be implemented.

In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a device, for example, the device is an SMF, the device includes a communication interface and a processor, and the communication interface is used for communication between the device and other devices, such as data or signal transmission and reception. . Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, or other type of communication interface, and other devices may be AMF. The processor is used to call a set of programs, instructions or data to execute the method described in the third aspect. The device may also include a memory for storing programs, instructions or data called by the processor. The memory is coupled with the processor, and when the processor executes instructions or data stored in the memory, the method described in the third aspect can be implemented.

In a thirteenth aspect, the embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium stores computer-readable instructions. When the computer-readable instructions run on the computer, the computer can execute The method described in each aspect or any possible design in each aspect.

In a fourteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, which includes a processor and may also include a memory, which is used to implement any one of the possible designs of the first aspect, the fourth aspect, and the first aspect. The method described in any one of the possible designs in the fourth aspect or the fourth aspect. The chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices.

In a fifteenth aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a chip system, which includes a processor and may also include a memory, for implementing any one of the possible designs of the second aspect, the sixth aspect, and the second aspect. Or the method described in any of the possible designs in the sixth aspect. The chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices.

In a sixteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, which includes a processor and may also include a memory, configured to implement the method described in the third aspect. The chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices.

In a sixteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, which includes a processor and may also include a memory, configured to implement the method described in the fifth aspect. The chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices.

In a seventeenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a system, the system includes a first node, an AMF, and an SMF, and the first node is used to execute the method in the first aspect or any possible design. AMF is used to implement the method in the second aspect or any possible design; SMF is used to implement the method in the third aspect or any possible design.

In an eighteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a system that includes a first node, a second node, and an AMF, and the first node is used to execute the method in the fourth aspect or any possible design. . The second node is used to execute the above-mentioned fifth aspect or the method in any possible design; the AMF is used to execute the above-mentioned sixth aspect or the method in any possible design.

In the nineteenth aspect, the embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product, including instructions, which when run on a computer, cause the computer to execute the method described in each aspect or any possible design in each aspect .

Description of the drawings

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a 5G NR network architecture in the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system in an embodiment of the application;

FIG. 3 is one of the schematic flowcharts of the method for establishing an interface in an embodiment of the application;

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a channel of an N4 interface in an embodiment of the application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a method for establishing a session in an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 6 is the second schematic diagram of the method flow for establishing an interface in an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 7 is one of the schematic diagrams of the device structure in an embodiment of the application;

FIG. 8 is the second schematic diagram of the device structure in the embodiment of the application.

Detailed ways

The embodiments of the present application provide a method and device for establishing an interface. The method and device are based on the same technical concept. Since the principles of the method and device to solve the problem are similar, the implementation of the device and the method can be referred to each other, and the repetition will not be repeated. . In the description of the embodiments of the present application, “and/or” describes the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that there can be three types of relationships, for example, A and/or B, which can mean: A alone exists, and both A and B exist separately. There are three cases of B. The character "/" generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. At least one involved in this application refers to one or more; multiple refers to two or more. In addition, it should be understood that in the description of this application, words such as "first", "second", and "third" are only used for the purpose of distinguishing description, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance. Nor can it be understood as indicating or implying order.

The method for establishing an interface provided in the embodiments of this application can be applied to the fourth generation (4G) communication system, the fifth generation (5G) communication system, such as 5G new radio (NR), or applications Various communication systems in the future, such as the 6th generation (6G) communication system. Specifically, for example, it can be applied to a communication scenario of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

The embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the embodiments of the present application, based on the 5G NR network architecture, a system architecture applicable to the embodiments of the present application is provided.

Figure 1 shows the existing 5G NR network architecture. The interface names between the various devices in the NR network structure are shown in Figure 1. It should be noted that Fig. 1 shows some network elements, network functions or devices in the NR network architecture. In practical applications, the NR network architecture can include more network functions or devices.

Based on the network architecture shown in Figure 1, the session management function (SMF) first triggers the process of establishing an interface with the UPF. Taking the interface as the N4 interface as an example, for example, the N4 interface establishment process between the SMF trigger and the UPF, such as the N4 association setup process. After the N4 interface is established, the subsequent UE requests the core network to establish a protocol data unit (protocol data unit, PDU) session through a non-access stratum (NAS) message. Correspondingly, the SMF will trigger the establishment of a corresponding session (for example, referred to as an N4 session) for the PDU session, such as an N4 session establishment process. After the PDU session is established, the user plane data of the PDU session of the UE passes through the nodes in the radio access network (RAN) and the user plane function (UPF) to the data network (DN). ). As shown in Figure 1, the UPF can be close to other network elements of the core network, and can also be close to the location of the RAN. The closer the UPF is to the RAN, the smaller the delay of data transmission.

Based on the existing NG network architecture, a possible communication system architecture to which the method provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied is shown in FIG. 2. The communication system architecture includes UE201, first node 202, UPF203, DN204, second node 205, AMF206, or SMF207. It is understandable that the communication system architecture may include more or fewer network elements or devices. In the communication system architecture, the UPF 203 and the first node 202 are physically deployed together. Alternatively, the UPF 203, the DN 204, and the first node 202 are physically deployed together, where the DN 204 may be a machine controller in the industrial Internet of Things. By physically deploying them together, the delay of data transmission can be reduced, and the short delay requirements of C2D can be met.

The first node 202 may have the functions and attributes of an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, and be enhanced on this basis. The first node 202 is introduced below, and for parts not introduced, reference may be made to the related description of the existing IAB node. The first node 202 is a kind of base station or terminal device with a forwarding function, and may also be an independent device form. The first node 202 can generally refer to any node or device with a relay function. For any first node, it includes two parts, which are used to implement functions similar to a base station and functions similar to a terminal. As shown in FIG. 2, the first node 202 may include two parts: a mobile terminal (MT) and a distributed unit (DU). Among them, the MT is a functional module used to implement a function similar to an ordinary terminal, and is used to communicate with an upper-level node, for example, sending uplink (UL) data to an upper-level node, and receiving downlink (DL) data from an upper-level node. The DU is a functional module similar to a common base station, and is used to communicate with lower-level nodes, such as sending downlink (DL) data to and receiving uplink (UL) data from lower-level nodes. In IAB node, DU mainly includes RLC/MAC/PHY protocol layer. Here, the first node 202 is an enhanced DU, and the enhanced DU (may be denoted as DU*) mainly includes SDAP/PDCP/RLC/MAC/PHY protocol layers, or includes PDCP/RLC/MAC/PHY protocol layers. It can be understood that the description of the protocol layer included in the enhanced DU in the first node is only an example, and the present application is not limited to the protocol layer included in the enhanced DU.

The second node 205 is an upper node of the first node 202, and may have the same or similar functions and attributes as the base station. The second node 205 may also be an IAB donor (donor) node. The IAB donor node refers to a node that can access the core network through this node, or an anchor base station of the wireless access network, through which the anchor base station can access the core network. The anchor base station is responsible for packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer or PDCP and SDAP layer data processing, or is responsible for receiving core network data and forwarding to the first node, or receiving data from the first node and forwarding it to Core Network.

In other words, the second node 205 is an access network device. Access network equipment includes but is not limited to: evolved node B (evolved node base, eNB), radio network controller (RNC), node B (node B, NB), base station controller (base station controller, BSC), base transceiver station (base transceiver station, BTS), home base station (for example, home evolved NodeB, or home node B, HNB), baseband unit (BBU), eLTE (evolved LTE, eLTE) base station, NR Base station (next generation node B, gNB) or base station of the next generation communication system, etc.

UE201 includes but is not limited to: mobile station, access terminal, subscriber unit, user station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, terminal, wireless communication equipment, user agent, wireless local access network (WLAN) Station (ST), cell phone, cordless phone, session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, wireless local loop (WLL) station, personal digital assistant (PDA) , Handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices, other processing devices connected to wireless modems, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, mobile stations in 5G networks, and public land mobile networks (PLMN) networks Any of terminal equipment, etc. In the embodiments of the present application, a terminal device is used for description.

When the UPF 203 and the first node 202 are deployed together, the UPF 203 can be regarded as a local UPF (local UPF, L-UPF).

The DN 204 is deployed with the first node 202, and the DN 204 can be considered as a machine controller in the Industrial Internet of Things. Generally speaking, the machine controller in the factory may have mobility requirements. When the machine controller and the first node 202 are deployed together, the air interface communication between the first node and the upper-level node or network equipment can be helpful. Realize the flexible deployment of machine controllers and adapt to mobility requirements.

When the architecture shown in Figure 2 is applied to the Industrial Internet of Things, that is, the devices in the Industrial Internet of Things can be regarded as the application layer of UE201, that is, the devices in the Industrial Internet of Things and UE201 are physically deployed together. For example, UE201 can use plug-in The card is inserted into the equipment in the Industrial Internet of Things. It is mentioned later that UE201 is equivalent to equipment in the Industrial Internet of Things. The communication (C2D) between the device and the machine controller is the communication between the UE201 and the DN204 in FIG. 2.

Based on the architecture shown in FIG. 2, C2D communication can be implemented through the UE201, the DU* part in the first node 202, and the transmission path from the UPF203 to the DN204.

With reference to the foregoing description of the communication system architecture, the method for establishing an interface provided in the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below.

According to 5G network deployment requirements, a wired N4 interface is required between SMF and UPF. Considering the mobility requirements of machine controllers, machine controllers may be deployed in a distributed manner, which is not suitable for establishing a wired N4 interface between UPF and SMF. Based on this, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for establishing an interface, as shown in FIG. 3, and the specific process of the method is as follows.

S301. The first node sends a first message to the AMF, and the AMF receives the first message from the first node.

The first message includes L-UPF information and data network name (DNN). Specifically, the first node has the functions and attributes of the IAB node, and the MT part of the first node sends the first message to the AMF. How the MT of the first node obtains the first message belongs to a specific implementation. The information of the L-UPF includes one or more of an identification (ID) of the L-UPF, a name (name) of the L-UPF, or an IP address (IP address) of the L-UPF. In the industrial Internet of Things application scenario, DN can represent the machine controller, then DNN can be the address, logo, or name of the machine controller. For example, it is the medium access control (MAC) address of the machine controller.

The MT part of the first node is equivalent to a terminal device, and the first message sent by the first node to the AMF may be a NAS message, for example, a NAS layer registration request (registration request) message. For example, the first node sends a NAS message to the AMF through the second node, which is recorded as the first NAS message, and the first NAS message is the first message. Specifically, the first node first sends the first NAS message to the second node, and after the second node receives the first NAS message from the first node, the second node sends the first NAS message to the AMF node. The second node is equivalent to the function of an IAB donor or anchor base station, and the first NAS message sent by the first node to the second node may be carried in a radio resource control (radio resource control, RRC) message. After receiving the first NAS message, the second node may also send the first node's identity when sending the first NAS message to the AMF. For distinguishing purposes, it is recorded as the first node's first identity here. The first identifier of the first node may be an interface identifier of the first node on the side of the second node. The second node saves the mapping relationship between the first identity of the first node and the RAN side identity of the first node, where the RAN side identity of the first node may be, for example, a cell radio network temporary identity (C-RNTI). For example, the second node is IAB donor/gNB, and the first node is equivalent to UE relative to IAB donor/gNB. In order to distinguish it from UE201, the MT part of the first node here is marked as UE*. Then the identifier of UE* on the IAB donor/gNB side can be recorded as UE*N2AP ID. Among them, N2 is the interface between IAB donor/gNB and AMF.

The DNN is sent to the AMF through the first node. When the terminal applies for the establishment of a PDU session, the DNN will be carried in the PDU session establishment request. The AMF can be based on the mapping relationship between DNN, SMF and L-UPF saved in the interface establishment process. , Find the corresponding SMF.

S302. After receiving the first message from the first node, the AMF saves the correspondence between the L-UPF and the DNN.

The corresponding relationship can also be referred to as a mapping relationship. The AMF may also save the corresponding first identification of the first node.

The AMF obtains the identity of the first node, where the identity of the first node can be recorded as the second identity of the first node. The second identifier of the first node may be the identifier of the first node on the AMF side assigned by the AMF to the first node, or may be the subscription permanent identifier (SUPI) of the first node, or may be the first node The IP address of may also be other identifiers of the first node in the core network (for example, 5G-S-TMSI, 5G-GUTI, PEI, GPSI, etc.). For example, the second identifier of the first node is SUPI. The AMF may also store the first identification of the first node and the second identification of the first node.

Where the AMF obtains the identity of the first node, it may be that the AMF generates the identity of the first node, or it may be that the AMF obtains the identity of the first node from other devices.

S303. The AMF sends the identity of the first node, the information of the L-UPF, and the DNN to the SMF, and the SMF receives the identity of the first node, the information of the L-UPF, and the DNN from the AMF.

When the AMF determines the SMF that needs to send the above information, it can be determined according to any one or a combination of the following information: the location of the first node, the location of the second node, the load of the SMF, or the location of the SMF.

S304. The SMF sends an interface message to the AMF, which is recorded as the first interface message, and the AMF receives the first interface message from the SMF.

In the case where the interface between the SMF and the L-UPF is an N4 interface, the first interface message may be an N4 message, which may be recorded as the first N4 message. In the embodiment of this application, N4 is only an example name, and other names can also be used. As long as the corresponding interface is L-UPF and SMF, the method provided in this application can be applied. In the embodiment of the present application, the interface message is described by using the N4 message as an example. For example, the first interface message is described by the first N4 message, and the second interface message is described by the second N4 message. It can be understood that interface messages are not limited to N4 messages.

The first N4 message is used to establish the N4 interface between L-UPF and SMF. For example, the first N4 message may be an N4 association setup request (N4 association setup request) message.

The SMF may also send the second identifier of the first node to the AMF, so that the AMF determines to send the N4 message to the first node. When the second identifier of the first node is the AMF-side UE*N11AP ID, the SMF may also include the third identifier of the first node, for example, the SMF-side UE*N11AP ID. Among them, N11 is the interface between AMF and SMF.

S305. The AMF sends a first N4 message to the first node, and the first node receives the first N4 message from the AMF.

The AMF may send a second message to the first node, and the second message includes the first N4 message. The second message may be a NAS message, which is recorded as a second NAS message, and the second NAS message carries the first N4 message. Or, the second message includes a second NAS message, and the second NAS message carries the first N4 message. The first N4 message is placed in the second NAS message as a container.

Similar to the first node sending the first message to the AMF, the AMF sending the second message to the first node can also be implemented in the following manner: the AMF sends the second NAS message to the first node through the second node.

For example, the AMF may first send the second NAS message to the second node, and the second node receives the second NAS message from the AMF. The second node forwards the second NAS message to the first node.

The AMF may also send the first identifier of the first node to the second node. The first identifier of the first node may be carried outside the second NAS message. For example, after obtaining the first identifier of the first node, the second node finds the corresponding RAN side identifier C-RNTI according to the first identifier of the first node. Then the second node sends the NAS message to the first node through the air interface according to the C-RNTI of the first node. For example, the second node may use the NAS message as a container in the RRC message to the first node.

Wherein, the AMF may determine the corresponding first identifier of the first node according to the second identifier of the first node.

For example, the second NAS message may be a registration acceptance (RA) message.

It should be noted that in this embodiment of the application, the identity of the first node (including the first identity, the second identity, or the third identity) can be any identity that can identify the identity of the first node, for example, it may be a subscription permanent identity ( subscription permanent identifier, SUPI), subscription concealed identifier (SUCI), or 5G-GUTI. Among them, the ciphertext encrypted by the key by SUPI is SUCI.

In the above process, SMF passes AMF, the second node, and the first node sends an N4 interface setup request message (such as N4 association setup request) to L-UPF, and L-UPF can pass the first node, second node, and AMF to SMF Send the N4 interface setup response message (N4 association setup response). For example, the N4 interface establishment reply message is put as a container in another NAS message sent by the first node to the AMF, and the AMF takes out the N4 interface establishment reply message and forwards it to the SMF after receiving it. Through the above process, the N4 interface between L-UPF and SMF can be established. As shown in Figure 4, the N4 interface is different from the wired N4 interface, and can be considered as an N4 logical interface for wireless transmission, and the transmission path is the MT of the first node, the second node, and AMF to SMF. The wired N4 interface is shown by the dotted line in Figure 4. Compared with the wired N4 interface, the established N4 interface can better adapt to the distributed and flexible deployment requirements of the machine controller in the industrial Internet of things, and improve the data transmission efficiency of C2D communication and the performance of the industrial Internet of things.

In the method provided above in the embodiments of this application, a channel of first node-second node-AMF-SMF is established through NAS messages, and the first node informs SMF and L-UPF information through this channel, so that SMF can trigger the N4 interface through this channel In the established process, the established N4 interface is equivalent to the wireless N4 interface.

Further, the DNN is sent to the AMF through the first node, and subsequently when the terminal applies to establish a PDU session, the DNN will be carried in the PDU session establishment request, and the AMF can be based on the previously saved mapping relationship between DNN, SMF and L-UPF, Find the corresponding SMF. This point will be explained in detail below.

After the N4 interface between the L-UPF and the SMF is established, the subsequent terminal device requests the core network to establish a PDU session through a NAS message. Correspondingly, SMF will trigger the establishment of a corresponding session for the PDU session. In the embodiment of the present application, the session between the L-UPF and the SMF may be referred to as an N4 session, but is not limited to this name.

As shown in Figure 5, the process of N4 session establishment is as follows.

S501: The terminal device sends a PDU session setup request (PDU session setup request) message to the AMF, and the AMF receives the PDU session setup request message from the terminal device.

The PDU session establishment request message is used to establish the PDU session of the terminal device.

The terminal device determines the DNN that needs to establish a session. For example, in the industrial Internet of Things scenario, a C2D session is established between the terminal device and the machine controller. The terminal device determines the machine controller of the C2D session, obtains the information of the machine controller, and sets the machine The information of the controller is included in the PDU session establishment request message as a DNN. The way of obtaining the DNN may be that the first node sends a broadcast message in advance, the broadcast message carries the DNN information, and the terminal device obtains the DNN information from the broadcast message. In other words, the information of the machine controller is configured for the industrial equipment when it leaves the factory, or the network manager configures the information of the machine controller for the industrial equipment.

The DNN is included in the PDU session establishment request. The DNN may be the DNN carried in the first message sent by the first node to the AMF in S301. DN can represent the machine controller, and DNN can be the address, identification or name of the machine controller. For example, it is the MAC address of the machine controller.

Based on the architecture shown in Figure 2, the terminal device needs to send a message to the core network device through the relay node. Specifically, the terminal device sends a PDU session establishment request to the AMF through the first node and the second node.

The first node is equivalent to the access point of the terminal device. The first node and the second node are similar to the roles of IAB node and IAB donor.

The terminal device sends a NAS message to the DU part of the first node, and the NAS message contains the DNN. The first node forwards the NAS message to the second node, and the second node forwards the NAS message to the AMF. The NAS message is the aforementioned PDU session establishment request message. Optionally, the NAS message may also be a PDU session modification request (PDU session modification request). The PDU session modification request is used to request to modify the relevant parameters of the PDU session of the terminal device.

In a possible implementation manner, when the second node sends the NAS message to the AMF, it may also send the identification of the terminal device. The identification of the terminal device may be SUPI, 5G-S-TMSI, or the identification UE N2 AP ID allocated by the second node to the terminal device on the second node side. N2 is the interface between the second node and the AMF.

In another possible implementation manner, after receiving the NAS message forwarded by the first node, the second node may also identify the first identification UE*N2AP ID of the first node. Assuming that the second node knows in advance the mapping relationship between the first identity of the first node and the identity that the first node is an access point, the second node may determine the first identity of the first node according to the mapping relationship. The first node is an access point, that is, the first node is an access point of a terminal device, and the DU* part of the first node is for the terminal device to access. The identification of the access point of the first node may be DU*ID, DU*name or DU*IP address, etc. When the second node sends the NAS message to the AMF, it may also send the first identifier of the first node.

S502. The AMF determines the L-UPF and SMF associated with the DNN according to the stored correspondence relationship.

S503. The AMF sends at least one of L-UPF information or DNN to the SMF, and the identifier of the terminal device, and the SMF receives the information from the AMF.

Here, the identification of the terminal device sent by the AMF to the SMF may be any one or more of the following: it may be SUPI, 5G-S-TMSI, or the identification of the terminal device on the AMF side (UE N11AP ID).

The AMF may also send the first identification of the first node to the SMF. As mentioned above, the AMF may receive the first identifier of the first node from the second node, or it may determine the first node based on the DNN, and the correspondence between the DNN, the first identifier of the first node, and the second identifier of the first node. The first identification of a node and the second identification of the first node.

AMF can also send a PDU session identifier to SMF.

The AMF may include the above information in the Nsmf_PDU Session Create SM Context Request (Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Request) message.

Wherein, if the second node in S501 also sends the first identifier of the first node when sending the NAS message to the AMF, then the AMF sends the second identifier corresponding to the first identifier of the first node to the SMF.

S504. The SMF determines the second identity of the first node.

The SMF determines the second identity of the first node according to at least one of the L-UPF information received from the AMF or the DNN.

The SMF may determine the second identity of the first node according to the second identity of the first node received from the AMF.

S505: The SMF sends an interface message to the AMF, for example, the interface message is an N4 message. AMF receives this information from SMF.

The interface message here is recorded as the second interface message, and the N4 message is recorded as the second N4 message. The second N4 message is used to establish an N4 session between L-UPF and SMF. The N4 session corresponds to the aforementioned PDU session.

The second N4 message may be an N4 session establishment request (N4 session establishment request) message, or an N4 session modification request (N4 session modification request) message.

The AMF finds the corresponding identifier of the first node according to the previously provided L-UPF or DNN information, for example, the first identifier and/or the second identifier of the first node.

The SMF may also send the identity of the first node to the AMF. The identifier of the first node may include the second identifier of the first node, and may also include the third identifier of the first node.

The N4 message, or the identification of the first node and the N4 message may be included in the Nsmf_PDU Session Establishment SM Context Response (Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Response) message sent by the SMF to the AMF.

S506. The AMF sends a second N4 message to the second node, and the second node receives the second N4 message from the AMF.

The AMF can also send the identification of the terminal device to the second node, such as the UE N2 AP ID. The identification of the terminal device may be the identification on the AMF side or the identification on the second node side.

The AMF may also send a NAS message to the second node, where the NAS message is determined according to the PDU session establishment request message of the terminal device. The NAS message is forwarded to the terminal device by the second node and the first node.

The AMF may also send the identity of the first node to the second node, where the identity of the first node may be the first identity of the first node. The AMF sends the second N4 message to the first node through the second node, and the first node receives the second N4 message from the AMF through the second node. Specifically, the AMF may include the identity of the terminal device and the NAS message sent to the terminal device, the identity of the first node, and the identity of the first node in a message (such as Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Response message or Namf_Contact_N1N2 message transfer (Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message)) N4 message sent by a node. It is also possible to include the identification of the terminal device and the NAS message sent to the terminal device in one message (same as above, such as Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Response message or Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message), and include the first message in another message (such as Downlink NAS Transport). The identification of the node and the N4 message sent to the first node.

S507. The second node sends the second N4 message to the first node, and the first node receives the second N4 message from the second node.

The second node finds the corresponding RAN side identifier (C-RNTI) according to the identifier of the first node provided by the AMF, and sends the second N4 message to the first node through the air interface. Specifically, for example, the second node puts the second N4 message as a container into the RRC message sent to the first node.

S506 and S507 can also be described as the AMF sending the second N4 message to the first node. Here, it can be understood that the AMF sends the second N4 message to the first node through the second node.

S508. The second node sends the NAS message received from the AMF to the terminal, and the terminal receives the NAS message from the second node.

Specifically, the second node sends the NAS message to the MT part of the first node, and after the MT part of the first node receives the NAS message, the DU part of the first node sends the NAS message to the terminal device.

S507 and S508 have no strict execution order and can be reversed.

In the method provided above in the embodiment of the present application, after the N4 interface is established, when the subsequent terminal device requests the establishment of a PDU session through the first node → the second node → AMF, the AMF finds the corresponding L-UPF and SMF according to the target DNN of the terminal device, So that SMF triggers the N4 session establishment process through the above-mentioned channel. Through wireless N4 interface or logical N4 interface, the flexible deployment of equipment is realized, which is suitable for the needs of distributed deployment of industrial IoT machine controllers. In addition, when the terminal device requests to establish a PDU session, it is not necessary for the first node and the second node to carry the L-UPF information every time the NAS message is sent, thereby saving overhead.

Based on the same technical concept as the foregoing method embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the interface establishment method provided by the embodiment of the present application may further specifically include the following steps.

S601. The first node sends a first RRC message to the second node, and the second node receives the first RRC message from the first node.

The first RRC message includes L-UPF information and DNN. The information of the L-UPF includes one or more of an identification (ID) of the L-UPF, a name (name) of the L-UPF, or an IP address (IP address) of the L-UPF. In the industrial Internet of Things application scenario, DN can represent a machine controller, and then DNN can be the address, logo, or name of the machine controller. For example, it is the MAC address of the machine controller.

S602. The second node sends L-UPF information and DNN to AMF, and AMF receives L-UPF information and DNN from the second node.

The second node may also send the first identification of the first node to the AMF. The first identifier of the first node refers to the interface identifier of the first node on the side of the second node. For example, the second node is IAB donor/gNB, and the first node is equivalent to UE relative to IAB donor/gNB. The MT part of the first node is denoted as UE*. Then the identifier of UE* on the IAB donor/gNB side can be recorded as UE*N2AP ID. Among them, N2 is the interface between IAB donor/gNB and AMF.

S603, same as S302.

S604, same as S303.

S605, same as S304.

S606. The AMF sends a first interface message to the second node. For example, the first interface message may be an N4 message, which is recorded as the first N4 message, and the second node receives the first interface message from the AMF.

The AMF may also send the identity of the first node to the second node, where the identity of the first node is the first identity of the first node. The AMF may determine the first identity of the first node according to the second identity of the first node. For example, the AMF finds the corresponding gNB-side UE*N2AP ID according to SUPI.

S607. The second node sends a second RRC message to the first node, where the second RRC message carries the first N4 message. The first node receives the second RRC message from the second node.

The second node finds the air interface identifier (for example, C-RNTI) corresponding to the UE* according to the UE*N2AP ID on the gNB side, and sends the first N4 message (for example, N4 message container) to the corresponding MT part of the first node, for example, N4 message container Put it into the RRC reconfiguration message for the first node. That is, the second RRC message may be an RRC reconfiguration message.

Subsequently, the MT part of the first node can reply to the N4 message through the previously opened channel first node>second node>AMF>SMF, for example, the returned N4 message is an N4 association response message (N4 association response) message. The replied N4 message can be put in the RRC message as a container, and the second node sends the N4 message to AMF, and then AMF forwards it to SMF. The SMF receives the N4 Association response message sent by the first node. So far, the N4 interface between SMF and L-UPF is successfully established.

After the N4 interface between the L-UPF and the SMF is established, the subsequent terminal device requests the core network to establish a PDU session through a NAS message. Correspondingly, SMF will trigger the establishment of a corresponding N4 session for the PDU session. The process of establishing an N4 session is the same as the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, which will not be repeated here.

In the method provided in Figure 6 and Figure 5 of the embodiment of the application, the first node-second node-AMF-SMF channel is established by means of RRC, and the first node informs SMF L-UPF information through this channel so that SMF can be triggered through this channel N4 interface establishment process. When the subsequent terminal device applies for PDU session establishment through the first node→second node→AMF, the AMF finds the corresponding L-UPF and SMF according to the target DNN of the terminal device, so that the SMF triggers the N4 session establishment process through the above-mentioned channel. Through wireless N4 interface or logical N4 interface, the flexible deployment of equipment is realized, which is suitable for the needs of distributed deployment of industrial IoT machine controllers. In addition, when the terminal device requests to establish a PDU session, it is not necessary for the first node and the second node to carry the L-UPF information every time the NAS message is sent, thereby saving overhead.

It should be noted that the embodiments described in FIG. 3, FIG. 5, and FIG. 6 can be executed independently or in combination with each other. When executed independently, another embodiment serves as an optional implementation of the independently executed embodiment. For example, the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is executed independently, and the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 is used as an alternative implementation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3. For another example, the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is executed independently, and the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 is used as an alternative implementation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6. In other words, the interface establishment solution may be a solution that needs to be protected in this application, and the session establishment solution is an optional embodiment based on the interface establishment solution. Or the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 is executed independently, and FIG. 3 or FIG. 6 is used as an alternative implementation of the embodiment in FIG. 5. In other words, the session establishment solution may be an independently executed solution that needs to be protected by this application, and the interface establishment solution is an optional embodiment based on the session establishment solution.

Any two or more steps in the embodiments shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 5, and FIG. 6 can form a solution that needs to be protected in this application, and other steps are optional steps.

It should be noted that the examples in each application scenario in this application only show some possible implementation manners, which are for a better understanding and description of the method of this application. Those skilled in the art can obtain some examples of evolution forms according to the data transmission method provided in the application.

In the above-mentioned embodiments provided in the present application, the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application are introduced from the perspective of network equipment, terminal, and interaction between the network equipment and the terminal. In order to realize the functions in the methods provided in the above embodiments of the present application, the network device and the terminal may include a hardware structure and/or software module, and the above functions are implemented in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module. Whether a certain function of the above-mentioned functions is executed by a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module depends on the specific application and design constraint conditions of the technical solution.

As shown in FIG. 7, based on the same technical concept, an embodiment of the present application also provides an apparatus 700, which may be a first node, AMF or SMF, or a device in the first node, AMF or SMF, Or it is a device that can be matched with the first node, AMF or SMF. In one design, the device 700 may include a one-to-one corresponding module for executing the method/operation/step/action executed by the first node, AMF or SMF in the foregoing method embodiment. The module may be a hardware circuit or software. It can also be realized by hardware circuit combined with software. In one design, the device may include a processing module 701 and a communication module 702. The processing module 701 is used to call the communication module 702 to perform receiving and/or sending functions. The communication module 702 may include a receiving module 702-1 and a sending module 702-2.

When used to execute the method executed by the first node:

The processing module 701 is configured to generate a first message, the first message including the information of the local user plane management function L-UPF and the data network name DNN.

The sending module 702-2 is configured to send the first message to the access management function AMF.

The receiving module 702-1 is configured to receive a second message from the AMF, the second message includes a first interface message, and the first interface message is used to establish an interface between the L-UPF and the session management function SMF.

Optionally, L-UPF and the first node are physically deployed together;

Or L-UPF and DNN are physically deployed together with the first node.

Optionally, the sending module 702-2 is used to:

The first message is sent to the AMF through the second node, where the first message is a first non-access stratum NAS message, where the second node is an upper node of the first node or the second node is an access network device.

Optionally, the receiving module 702-1 is used to:

The second message is received from the AMF through the second node, the second message is a second NAS message, where the second node is an upper node of the first node or the second node is an access network device.

When used to execute methods executed by AMF:

The receiving module 702-1 is configured to receive a first message from the first node, where the first message includes the information of the local user plane management function L-UPF and the data network name DNN;

The processing module 701 is configured to obtain the identifier of the first node.

The sending module 702-2 is used to send the identity of the first node, the information of the L-UPF and the DNN to the session management function SMF;

The receiving module 702-1 is also used to receive the first interface message from the SMF;

The sending module 702-2 is further configured to send a first interface message to the first node, where the first interface message is used to establish an interface between the L-UPF and the session management function SMF.

Optionally, the processing module 701 is configured to store the correspondence relationship between at least two of L-UPF information and DNN and SMF.

Optionally, the receiving module 702-1 is also used for:

Receive a protocol data unit PDU session establishment request from a terminal device, and the PDU session establishment request includes DNN;

The processing module 701 is further configured to determine the L-UPF and SMF associated with the DNN according to the saved correspondence relationship;

The sending module 702-2 is also used to send at least one of L-UPF information or DNN, and the identification of the terminal device to the SMF;

The receiving module 702-1 is also used to receive the identification of the terminal device, the identification of the first node, and a second interface message from the SMF. The second interface message is used to establish an N4 session, an N4 session and a PDU session between the L-UPF and the SMF. correspond.

Optionally, the sending module 702-2 is also used to:

Send a second interface message to the first node.

Optionally, the receiving module 702-1 is used to:

The first message is received from the first node through the second node, where the first message is a first NAS message, where the second node is an upper node of the first node or the second node is an access network device.

Optionally, the sending module 702-2 is used to:

Send a second message to the first node through the second node, the second message is a second NAS message, and the second NAS message includes the first interface message, where the second node is the superior node of the first node or the second node is Access network equipment.

Optionally, the second interface message is an N4 session establishment request message or an N4 session modification request message.

When used to execute the method executed by SMF:

The receiving module 702-1 is configured to receive the identification of the first node, the information of the local user plane management function L-UPF, and the data network name DNN from the access management function AMF;

The processing module 701 is configured to generate a first interface message, and the first interface message is used to establish an interface between the L-UPF and the session management function SMF.

The sending module 702-2 is used to send the first interface message to the AMF.

Optionally, the receiving module 702-1 is also used for:

Receive terminal equipment identification, L-UPF information and DNN from AMF;

The sending module 702-2 is also used to send the identification of the terminal device, the identification of the first node, and a second interface message to the AMF. The second interface message is used to establish a session between L-UPF and SMF. The inter-session corresponds to the PDU session requested by the terminal device.

Optionally, the receiving module 702-1 is also used for:

Receive the identity of the first node from the AMF;

Alternatively, the device further includes a processing module 701, which is configured to determine the identity of the first node according to the information of the L-UPF or the DNN.

Optionally, the L-UPF information includes one or more of the following: the identifier of the L-UPF, the name of the L-UPF, and the address of the L-UPF.

Optionally, the first interface message is an N4 association establishment request message.

The processing module 701 and the communication module 702 may also be used to execute other corresponding steps or operations performed by the devices in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

The division of modules in the embodiments of this application is illustrative, and it is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. In addition, the functional modules in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one process. In the device, it can also exist alone physically, or two or more modules can be integrated into one module. The above-mentioned integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or software function modules.

As shown in FIG. 8, an apparatus 800 provided in an embodiment of this application is used to implement the functions of the first node, AMF or SMF in the above method. When the function of the first node is realized, the device may be the first node, or a device in the first node, or a device that can be matched and used with the first node. When realizing the function of AMF, the device can be AMF, a device in AMF, or a device that can be used with AMF. Among them, the device may be a chip system. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system may be composed of chips, or may include chips and other discrete devices. The apparatus 800 includes at least one processor 820, configured to implement the functions of the terminal or the network device in the method provided in the embodiment of the present application. The device 800 may also include a communication interface 810. In the embodiment of the present application, the communication interface may be a transceiver, a circuit, a bus, a module, or other types of communication interfaces, which are used to communicate with other devices through a transmission medium. For example, the communication interface 810 is used for the device in the device 800 to communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, when the apparatus 800 is the first node, the other device may be the second node, AMF, or terminal. The processor 820 uses the communication interface 810 to send and receive data, and is used to implement the methods in the foregoing method embodiments. Exemplarily, when the function of the first node is implemented, the processor 820 is configured to generate a first message, and the communication interface 810 is configured to send a first message to the access management function AMF, and the first message includes the local user plane. Information of the management function L-UPF and the data network name DNN; and used to receive a second message from the AMF, the second message including a first interface message, and the first interface message is used to establish the L-UPF Interface with the session management function SMF. Exemplarily, when the AMF function is implemented, the communication interface 810 receives a first message from the first node. The first message includes the information of the local user plane management function L-UPF and the data network name DNN, and the processor 820 is configured to Obtain the identity of the first node, the communication interface 810 is used to send the identity of the first node, the information of the L-UPF and the DNN to the session management function SMF, receive the first interface message from the SMF, and send the The first node sends the first interface message, and the first interface message is used to establish an interface between the L-UPF and the session management function SMF. When the SMF function is implemented, the communication interface 810 receives the identification of the first node, the information of the local user plane management function L-UPF, and the data network name DNN from the access management function AMF, and the processor 820 is used to generate the first interface Message, the communication interface 810 is used to send a first interface message to the AMF, and the first interface message is used to establish an interface between the L-UPF and the session management function SMF.

The processor 820 and the communication interface 810 may also be used to perform other corresponding steps or operations performed by the devices in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

The device 800 may further include at least one memory 830 for storing program instructions and/or data. The memory 830 and the processor 820 are coupled. The coupling in the embodiments of the present application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units or modules, and may be in electrical, mechanical or other forms, and is used for information exchange between devices, units or modules. The processor 820 may cooperate with the memory 830 to operate. The processor 820 may execute program instructions stored in the memory 830. At least one of the at least one memory may be included in the processor.

The specific connection medium between the aforementioned communication interface 810, the processor 820, and the memory 830 is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. In the embodiment of the present application, the communication interface 810, the processor 820, and the memory 830 are connected by a bus 840 in FIG. 8. The bus is represented by a thick line in FIG. 8. The connection mode between other components is only for schematic illustration. , Is not limited. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and so on. For ease of representation, only one thick line is used in FIG. 8, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

When the device 700 and the device 800 are specifically chips or chip systems, what the communication module 702 and the communication interface 810 output or receive may be baseband signals. When the apparatus 700 and the apparatus 800 are specifically devices, the output or reception of the communication module 702 and the communication interface 810 may be radio frequency signals. In the embodiments of the present application, the processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component, which may implement or Perform the methods, steps, and logical block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor or the like. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application may be directly embodied as being executed and completed by a hardware processor, or executed and completed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor.

In the embodiment of the present application, the memory may be a non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), etc., or a volatile memory (volatile memory), for example Random-access memory (random-access memory, RAM). The memory is any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program codes in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited to this. The memory in the embodiments of the present application may also be a circuit or any other device capable of realizing a storage function for storing program instructions and/or data.

The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable medium on which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed on an apparatus, the apparatus enables the apparatus to implement the method described in the foregoing method embodiment.

The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product, which when executed on an apparatus, causes the apparatus to implement the method described in the foregoing method embodiment.

Those skilled in the art should understand that the embodiments of the present application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this application may adopt the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware. Moreover, this application may adopt the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program codes.

This application is described with reference to flowcharts and/or block diagrams of methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of this application. It should be understood that each process and/or block in the flowchart and/or block diagram, and the combination of processes and/or blocks in the flowchart and/or block diagram can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to the processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing equipment to generate a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing equipment are generated It is a device that realizes the functions specified in one process or multiple processes in the flowchart and/or one block or multiple blocks in the block diagram.

These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can guide a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to work in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including the instruction device. The device implements the functions specified in one process or multiple processes in the flowchart and/or one block or multiple blocks in the block diagram.

These computer program instructions can also be loaded on a computer or other programmable data processing equipment, so that a series of operation steps are executed on the computer or other programmable equipment to produce computer-implemented processing, so as to execute on the computer or other programmable equipment. The instructions provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one process or multiple processes in the flowchart and/or one block or multiple blocks in the block diagram.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present application have been described, those skilled in the art can make additional changes and modifications to these embodiments once they learn the basic creative concept. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to be interpreted as including the preferred embodiments and all changes and modifications falling within the scope of the present application.

Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the embodiments of the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present application. In this way, if these modifications and variations of the embodiments of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalent technologies, the present application is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

A method for establishing an interface, characterized in that it includes:

The first node sends a first message to the access management function AMF, where the first message includes the information of the local user plane management function L-UPF and the data network name DNN;

The first node receives a second message from the AMF, the second message includes a first interface message, and the first interface message is used to establish an interface between the L-UPF and a session management function SMF.
The method of claim 1, wherein:

The L-UPF and the first node are physically deployed together;

Or the L-UPF and the data network DN corresponding to the DNN are physically deployed together with the first node.
The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sending of the first message by the first node to the AMF comprises:

The first node sends a first message to the AMF through a second node, where the first message is a first non-access stratum NAS message, and the second node is an upper-level node of the first node or The second node is an access network device.
The method of claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the first node receiving the second message from the AMF comprises:

The first node receives a second message from the AMF through a second node, the second message is a second NAS message, and the second node is an upper node of the first node or the second node The node is an access network device.
A method for establishing an interface, characterized in that it includes:

The access management function AMF receives a first message from the first node, where the first message includes the information of the local user plane management function L-UPF and the data network name DNN;

Sending, by the AMF, the identifier of the first node, the information of the L-UPF, and the DNN to the session management function SMF;

The AMF receives a first interface message from the SMF;

The AMF sends the first interface message to the first node, where the first interface message is used to establish an interface between the L-UPF and a session management function SMF.
The method of claim 5, wherein the method further comprises:

The AMF stores the information of the L-UPF and the correspondence relationship between at least two of the DNN and the SMF.
The method of claim 6, wherein the method further comprises:

The AMF receives a protocol data unit PDU session establishment request from a terminal device, and the PDU session establishment request includes the DNN;

The AMF determines the L-UPF and the SMF associated with the DNN according to the stored correspondence relationship;

Sending, by the AMF, at least one of the information of the L-UPF or the DNN, and the identification of the terminal device to the SMF;

The AMF receives the identification of the terminal device, the identification of the first node, and the second interface message from the SMF, where the second interface message is used to establish a connection between the L-UPF and the SMF N4 session, the N4 session corresponds to the PDU session.
The method according to claim 7, wherein the method further comprises:

The AMF sends the second interface message to the first node.
The method according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the AMF receiving the first message from the first node comprises:

The AMF receives a first message from a first node through a second node, the first message is a first NAS message, wherein the second node is an upper node of the first node or the second node is Access network equipment.
The method according to any one of claims 5 to 9, wherein the sending of the first interface message by the AMF to the first node comprises:

The AMF sends a second message to the first node through a second node, the second message is a second NAS message, and the second NAS message includes the first interface message, wherein the second The node is an upper-level node of the first node or the second node is an access network device.
The method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the second interface message is an N4 session establishment request message or an N4 session modification request message.
A method for establishing an interface, characterized in that it includes:

The session management function SMF receives the identification of the first node, the information of the local user plane management function L-UPF, and the data network name DNN from the access management function AMF;

The SMF sends a first interface message to the AMF, where the first interface message is used to establish an interface between the L-UPF and the session management function SMF.
The method of claim 12, wherein the method further comprises:

The SMF receives the identification of the terminal device, the information of the L-UPF, and the DNN from the AMF;

The SMF sends the identification of the terminal device, the identification of the first node, and a second interface message to the AMF, where the second interface message is used to establish a session between the L-UPF and the SMF , The session between the L-UPF and the SMF corresponds to the PDU session requested by the terminal device to be established.
The method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the method further comprises:

The SMF receives the identity of the first node from the AMF;

Alternatively, the SMF determines the identity of the first node according to the information of the L-UPF or the DNN.
The method according to claim 13, wherein the second interface message is an N4 session establishment request message or an N4 session modification request message.
The method according to any one of claims 1-15, wherein the information of the L-UPF includes one or more of the following: an identifier of the L-UPF, a name of the L-UPF, and an address of the L-UPF .
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the first interface message is an N4 association establishment request message.
A device, characterized in that it is applied to a first node, and includes:

A processing module, configured to generate a first message, the first message including the information of the local user plane management function L-UPF and the data network name DNN;

A sending module, configured to send the first message to the access management function AMF;

The receiving module is configured to receive a second message from the AMF, the second message including a first interface message, and the first interface message is used to establish an interface between the L-UPF and a session management function SMF.
The device of claim 18, wherein:

The L-UPF and the first node are physically deployed together;

Or the L-UPF and the data network DN corresponding to the DNN are physically deployed together with the first node.
The device according to claim 18 or 19, wherein the sending module is configured to:

A first message is sent to the AMF through a second node, where the first message is a first non-access stratum NAS message, where the second node is an upper node of the first node or the second node It is an access network device.
The device according to claim 18, 19 or 20, wherein the receiving module is configured to:

A second message is received from the AMF through a second node, the second message is a second NAS message, wherein the second node is an upper node of the first node or the second node is an access network equipment.
A device applied to the access management function AMF, characterized in that it includes:

The receiving module is configured to receive a first message from the first node, where the first message includes the information of the local user plane management function L-UPF and the data network name DNN;

A processing module, configured to obtain the identifier of the first node;

A sending module, configured to send the identifier of the first node, the information of the L-UPF, and the DNN to the session management function SMF;

The receiving module is further configured to receive a first interface message from the SMF;

The sending module is further configured to send the first interface message to the first node, where the first interface message is used to establish an interface between the L-UPF and the session management function SMF.
The device of claim 22, wherein the device further comprises:

The processing module is configured to store the information of the L-UPF and the correspondence relationship between at least two of the DNN and the SMF.
The device according to claim 23, wherein the receiving module is further configured to:

Receiving a protocol data unit PDU session establishment request from a terminal device, where the PDU session establishment request includes the DNN;

The processing module is further configured to determine the L-UPF and the SMF associated with the DNN according to the stored correspondence relationship;

The sending module is further configured to send at least one of the information of the L-UPF or the DNN, and the identification of the terminal device to the SMF;

The receiving module is further configured to receive the identification of the terminal device, the identification of the first node, and the second interface message from the SMF, where the second interface message is used to establish the L-UPF and The session between the SMFs and the session between the L-UPF and the SMF correspond to the PDU session.
The device according to claim 24, wherein the sending module is further configured to:

Sending the second interface message to the first node.
The device according to any one of claims 22 to 25, wherein the receiving module is configured to:

A first message is received from a first node through a second node, where the first message is a first NAS message, wherein the second node is an upper node of the first node or the second node is an access network equipment.
The device according to any one of claims 22 to 26, wherein the sending module is configured to:

A second message is sent to the first node through a second node. The second message is a second NAS message. The second NAS message includes the first interface message. The upper node of the first node or the second node is an access network device.
The device according to claim 24 or 25, wherein the second interface message is an N4 session establishment request message or an N4 session modification request message.
A device applied to the session management function SMF, which is characterized in that it includes:

The receiving module is configured to receive the identifier of the first node, the information of the local user plane management function L-UPF, and the data network name DNN from the access management function AMF;

A processing module, configured to generate a first interface message, where the first interface message is used to establish an interface between the L-UPF and the session management function SMF;

The sending module is configured to send the first interface message to the AMF.
The device of claim 29, wherein the receiving module is further configured to:

Receiving the identification of the terminal device, the information of the L-UPF, and the DNN from the AMF;

The sending module is further configured to send the terminal device identifier, the first node identifier, and a second interface message to the AMF, where the second interface message is used to establish the L-UPF and the SMF The session between the L-UPF and the SMF corresponds to the PDU session requested by the terminal device to be established.
The device according to claim 29 or 30, wherein the receiving module is further configured to:

Receiving the identifier of the first node from the AMF;

Alternatively, the processing module is configured to determine the identity of the first node according to the information of the L-UPF or the DNN.
The apparatus according to claim 30, wherein the second interface message is an N4 session establishment request message or an N4 session modification request message.
The device according to any one of claims 18 to 32, wherein the information of the L-UPF includes one or more of the following: an identifier of the L-UPF, a name of the L-UPF, and an address of the L-UPF .
The device according to any one of claims 18 to 33, wherein the first interface message is an N4 association establishment request message.
A communication system, characterized by comprising a first node, an access management function AMF, and a session management function SMF;

Wherein, the first node is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4; the AMF is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 5 to 11; and the SMF is used to execute The method according to any one of claims 12-17.
A chip, characterized in that the chip is connected to a memory or the chip includes the memory, and is used to read and execute a software program stored in the memory to implement any one of claims 1 to 4 The described method; or

The chip is connected to a memory or the chip includes the memory, and is used to read and execute a software program stored in the memory to implement the method according to any one of claims 5 to 11; or

The chip is connected to a memory or the chip includes the memory, and is used to read and execute a software program stored in the memory to implement the method according to any one of claims 12-17.
A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that computer-readable instructions are stored in the computer storage medium, and when the computer-readable instructions run on a device, the device executes any of claims 1 to 4 One of the methods; or

The computer storage medium stores computer readable instructions, and when the computer readable instructions run on a device, the device executes the method according to any one of claims 5 to 11; or

The computer storage medium stores computer readable instructions, and when the computer readable instructions run on a device, the device executes the method according to any one of claims 12-17.