WO2022228192A1

WO2022228192A1 - Communication method, apparatus and system

Info

Publication number: WO2022228192A1
Application number: PCT/CN2022/087506
Authority: WO
Inventors: 孙海洋
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2021-04-26
Filing date: 2022-04-18
Publication date: 2022-11-03
Also published as: CN115250457A

Abstract

A communication method, apparatus and system, which are used for enabling a policy control network element, which provides access and mobility management for a terminal device, to acquire information of a policy control network element which provides session management. In the present application, a first policy control network element, which provides session management, reports, to a binding support network element and according to indication information, a subscription identifier of a terminal device and network information corresponding to a session of the terminal device; and then the binding support network element can send, according to the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device, information of the first policy control network element to a second policy control network element, which provides access and mobility management for the terminal device. Thus, it is possible to lay a foundation for a second policy control network element to subscribe start and stopping events of an application program to a first policy control network element, and to implement the characteristic of dynamically changing an access and mobility management policy.

Description

A communication method, device and system

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority of the Chinese patent application with the application number 202110452879.3 and the application title "a communication method, device and system" filed with the China Patent Office on April 26, 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference middle.

technical field

The present application relates to the field of wireless communication technologies, and in particular, to a communication method, device, and system.

Background technique

In the next generation wireless communication system, for example, in the New Radio (NR) system, the user equipment (UE) communicates with the data network (Data Network) through the User Plane Function (UPF) network element. The DN) network element establishes a Protocol Data Unit (Protocol Data Unit, PDU) session, and the PDU session provides the PDU connection service between the UE and the DN network element.

In the existing 5G standard, a scheme of dynamically changing the access and mobility management policy (Dynamically Changing AM Policies, DCAMP) is proposed, that is, the policy control network element (which can be called AM-PCF) serving the UE is allowed to start the application. Modify the AM policy when it stops and stop, for example, you can modify the radio access technology/frequency selection priority (radio access technology/frequency selection priority, RFSP) index value in the AM policy.

The above solution requires the AM-PCF to subscribe to the start and stop of the application to the policy control network element (may be called SM-PCF, where SM is the abbreviation of session management (SM)) that serves the PDU session, and then can be used in the application. Modify the AM policy when it starts and stops. However, in practical application scenarios, the AM-PCF and the SM-PCF serving the PDU session may be different. How to make the AM-PCF obtain the information of the SM-PCF is an urgent problem to be solved at present.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present application provides a communication method, device, and system for enabling a second policy control network element that provides access and mobility management for the terminal device to obtain information of a first policy control network element that provides session management.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. In the method, a first policy controls a network element to receive first indication information. The first policy control network element is a policy control network element that provides session management to the terminal device. The first policy control network element sends a first request message carrying the first information to the binding support network element according to the first indication information. The first information includes the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device. The first request message The message is used to request the registration of the first information to the binding support network element. The second policy control network element receives information from the first policy control network element of the binding support network element, and the second policy control network element is a policy control network element that provides access and mobility management to terminal devices.

Since the first policy controls the network element to report the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device to the binding support network element according to the first indication information, the binding support network element can The network information corresponding to the session of the device sends the information of the first policy control network element to the second policy control network element that provides access and mobility management for the terminal device. Further, a foundation can be laid for the second policy control network element to subscribe the start and stop events of the application to the first policy control network element, and to dynamically change the access and mobility management policy characteristics.

In a possible implementation manner, the subscription identifier of the terminal device includes at least one of: a subscription permanent identifier SUPI of the terminal device, or an external subscription identifier GPSI of the terminal device. The network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device includes: a data network name DNN corresponding to the session of the terminal device, or at least one item of single network slice selection assistance information S-NSSAI corresponding to the session of the terminal device. In this way, the first policy control network element can be uniquely determined according to the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device.

In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the second policy control network element sends a second request message carrying the second information to the binding support network element. The second request message is used to request to obtain information of the first policy control network element corresponding to the second information. The second information includes the subscription identifier of the terminal device and network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device. In this way, the second policy control network element can be made to send the second request message according to its own needs, and then the binding support network element can be made to feed back the corresponding first policy control network element to the second policy control network element according to the second request message. information, which in turn can improve the flexibility of the program.

In order to improve the flexibility of the solution, in a possible implementation manner, the first policy control network element receives the first indication information from the binding support network element.

In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the first policy control network element sending a registration request message carrying information of the first policy control network element to the binding support network element. The first policy control network element receives the registration request response message from the binding support network element, and the registration request response message carries the first indication information. In this way, the first indication information can be acquired in the process of registering with the binding support network element, so the solution is more compatible with the prior art.

In a possible implementation manner, the first request message is a registration update request. In this way, it can be more compatible with the existing technology.

In order to improve the flexibility of the solution, in another possible implementation manner, the first request message is: a registration request message.

In order to improve the flexibility of the solution, in another possible implementation manner, the first policy control network element receives the first indication information from the data management network element.

In a possible implementation manner, the data management network element is: a unified database or a unified data management network element.

In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the first policy control network element receives a request message from the session management network element for requesting to establish or update a session management policy corresponding to the session, and the first policy control network element sends a request message to the session management network element. The data management network element sends a request message for requesting subscription information corresponding to the session management policy. The first policy control network element receives a response message from the data management network element, where the response message carries the first indication information and subscription information. In this way, the first policy control network element can acquire the first indication information from the subscription information in the process of establishing the session management policy association, which can be more compatible with the prior art.

In a possible implementation manner, the first policy control network element receiving the first indication information includes: the first policy control network element receiving the first indication information from the session management network element, which is used for establishing or updating a session corresponding to Session management policy request message. In this way, the first indication information can be sent to the first policy control network element through the session management network element, thereby being more compatible with the prior art, and improving the flexibility of the solution.

In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information is at least one of the following contents: information used to indicate that the second policy control network element will apply the dynamically changing access and mobility management policy; information used to indicate the second The policy control network element supports the application to dynamically change the access and mobility management policy information; the information used to instruct the first policy control network element to send the first information to the binding support network element; or the demand information of the application corresponding to the session. In this way, the specific content of the first indication information can be flexibly set according to specific requirements.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, in which a binding support network element receives a registration request message from a first policy control network element, and the first policy control network element is a policy for providing session management to terminal devices Control network elements. The binding support network element controls the network element to dynamically change the access and mobility management policy information according to the acquired second policy, and sends a registration request response message carrying the first indication information to the first policy control network element. The second policy The control network element is a policy control network element that provides access and mobility management to terminal equipment. The binding support network element receives a first request message carrying first information from the first policy control network element, the first information includes the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device, and the first request message is used to request The first information is updated to the binding support network element. The binding support network element sends the information of the first policy control network element to the second policy control network element.

Since the first policy controls the network element to report the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device to the binding support network element according to the first indication information, the binding support network element can The network information corresponding to the session of the device sends the information of the first policy control network element to the second policy control network element that provides access and mobility management for the terminal device. Therefore, a foundation can be laid for the second policy control network element to subscribe to the first policy control network element for the start and stop events of the application program, and to realize the dynamic change of the access and mobility management policy characteristics.

In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the binding support network element receives a second request message carrying the second information from the second policy control network element; the second request message is used for requesting to obtain the corresponding information of the second information The first policy controls the information of the network element, and the second information includes the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device. According to the second request message, the binding support network element sends the information of the first policy control network element to the second policy control network element when part or all of the first information matches the second information. In this way, the second policy control network element can be made to send the second request message according to its own needs, and then the binding support network element can be made to feed back the corresponding first policy control network element to the second policy control network element according to the second request message. information, which in turn can improve the flexibility of the program.

In a possible implementation manner, the acquired information that the second policy control network element will apply to dynamically change the access and mobility management policy is: the second information in the first request. In this way, the binding support network element can infer, according to the second request message, that the second policy control network element will apply the dynamic change access and mobility management policy feature, and then determine that the first policy control network element needs to report the first information.

In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the binding support network element receives information from the second policy control network element indicating that the second policy control network element will apply the dynamically changing access and mobility management policy .

In a possible implementation manner, the binding support network element receives information from the second policy control network element indicating that the second policy control network element will apply the dynamically changing access and mobility management policy, including: binding The support network element receives a registration request message from the second policy control network element that carries information indicating that the second policy control network element will apply the dynamically changing access and mobility management policy. In this way, the binding support network element may determine that the first policy control network element needs to report the first information according to the received information indicating that the second policy control network element will apply the dynamically changing access and mobility management policy.

In a possible implementation manner, the binding support network element controls the network element to apply information that dynamically changes the access and mobility management policy according to the acquired second policy, and sends the information carrying the first indication to the first policy control network element The registration request response message includes: when the registration request message of the binding support network element does not carry the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device, the network element is controlled according to the acquired second policy to apply dynamic The information of the access and mobility management policy is changed, and a registration request response message carrying the first indication information is sent to the first policy control network element. In this way, the binding support network element can further determine whether the first policy control network element reports the first information when it is determined that the first policy control network element needs to report the first information, and instruct it to re-report if it does not report it. , and in the case of its reporting, it is not necessary to repeat the indication, so that signaling interaction can be saved.

In the second aspect, for the introduction of the first indication information, the subscription identifier of the terminal device, and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device, reference may be made to the relevant content of the aforementioned first aspect, which will not be repeated here.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, where the system includes a first policy control network element and a second policy control network element. The first policy control network element is configured to receive the indication information, and according to the first indication information, send a first request message carrying the first information to the binding support network element, and the first policy control network element is used for providing session management to the terminal device. The policy control network element, the first information includes the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device, and the first request message is used to request the registration of the first information to the binding support network element. The second policy control network element is configured to receive information from the first policy control network element of the binding support network element, and the second policy control network element is a policy control network element that provides access and mobility management to terminal equipment. Since the first policy control network element reports the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device to the binding support network element according to the first indication information, the second policy control network element can receive the first policy control network element from the binding support network element. A policy controls the information of the network element. Therefore, a foundation can be laid for the second policy control network element to subscribe to the first policy control network element for the start and stop events of the application program, and to realize the dynamic change of the access and mobility management policy characteristics.

In a possible implementation manner, a binding support network element is further included, configured to receive the first request message, and send the information of the first policy control network element to the second policy control network element, and the second policy control network element is to send the information to the second policy control network element. Terminal equipment provides policy control network elements for access and mobility management. Since the first request message received by the binding support network element carries the first information, the first policy can be controlled by the network element according to the subscription identifier of the terminal device in the first information and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device. The information is sent to the second policy control network element that provides access and mobility management for the terminal device.

In a possible implementation manner, the second policy control network element is further configured to send a second request message carrying the second information to the binding support network element; the second request message is used to request to obtain the first information corresponding to the second information. Information of a policy control network element; the second information includes a subscription identifier of the terminal device and network information corresponding to a session of the terminal device. In this way, the second policy control network element can be made to send the second request message according to its own needs, and then the binding support network element can be made to feed back the corresponding first policy control network element to the second policy control network element according to the second request message. information, which in turn can improve the flexibility of the program.

In a possible implementation manner, the first policy control network element is configured to: receive the first indication information from the binding support network element, and send the registration information carrying the information of the first policy control network element to the binding support network element The request message receives a registration request response message from the binding support network element, and the registration request response message carries the first indication information.

In another possible implementation manner, the first policy control network element is configured to: receive the first indication information from the binding support network element, and send the information carrying the first policy control network element and the binding support network element to the binding support network element. The registration request message of the first information. In this way, the flexibility of the scheme can be improved.

In a possible implementation manner, a second policy control network element is also included. The second policy control network element is configured to send a registration request message carrying information for indicating that the second policy control network element determines that the dynamically changing access and mobility management policy will be applied to the binding support network element. The binding support network element is further configured to receive a registration request message, and send a first instruction to the first policy control network element according to the information used to indicate that the second policy control network element determines that the dynamic change access and mobility management policy will be applied information. In this way, the second policy control network element can be made to send the second request message according to its own needs, and then the binding support network element can be made to feed back the corresponding first policy control network element to the second policy control network element according to the second request message. information, which in turn can improve the flexibility of the program.

In a possible implementation manner, the first policy control network element is configured to receive the first indication information from the data management network element. A request message for requesting to establish or update a session management policy corresponding to a session from a session management network element is received. A request message for requesting subscription information corresponding to the session management policy is sent to the data management network element. A response message from the data management network element is received, where the response message carries the first indication information and subscription information. In a possible implementation manner, a session management network element and a data management network element are also included. The session management network element is configured to send a request message for requesting to establish or update a session management policy corresponding to the session to the first policy control network element. The data management network element is configured to receive a request message for requesting subscription information corresponding to the session management policy, and send a response message carrying the first indication information and subscription information corresponding to the session management policy to the first policy control network element. In this way, the first policy control network element can acquire the indication information from the subscription information in the process of establishing the association of the session management policy, which can be more compatible with the prior art.

In a possible implementation manner, a session management network element is further included, configured to send a request message carrying the first indication information to the first policy control network element for requesting to establish or update a session management policy corresponding to the session. The first policy control network element is configured to receive a request message from the session management network element that carries the first indication information and is used to request to establish or update a session management policy corresponding to the session. In this way, the first indication information can be sent to the first policy control network element through the session management network element, thereby being more compatible with the prior art, and improving the flexibility of the solution.

In a possible implementation manner, a mobility management network element is further included, configured to send to the session management network element the information carrying the information used to instruct the second policy control network element to determine that the dynamically changing access and mobility management policy will be applied, A request message to request the establishment or update of a session. In this way, the session management network element may receive, through the request message for requesting to establish or update a session, information indicating that the second policy control network element determines that the dynamically changing access and mobility management policy will be applied. Further, the first indication information may be sent to the first policy control network element based on the information.

In a possible implementation manner, a second policy control network element is also included. The mobility management network element is further configured to send a request message for requesting to establish or update an access and mobility management policy to the second policy control network element. The second policy control network element is configured to send, to the mobility management network element, a response message carrying information indicating that the second policy control network element determines that the dynamically changing access and mobility management policy will be applied. In this way, the second policy control network element may send a message indicating the second policy to the mobility management network element under the condition that it is determined that the information for dynamically changing the access and mobility management policy will be applied according to its own requirements or the requirements in the subscription information The control network element determines that the information about dynamically changing the access and mobility management policies will be applied, and then the mobility management network element sends the information to the session management network element based on the information to indicate that the second policy control network element determines that the dynamic change will be applied. Information on access and mobility management policies. It lays a foundation for the session management network element to send the first indication information to the first policy control network element.

In a possible implementation manner, a data management network element is also included. The mobility management network element is further configured to send a request message for requesting to acquire subscription information corresponding to the terminal device to the data management network element. The data management network element is used to receive a request message for requesting to obtain the subscription information corresponding to the terminal device, and send a request message to the mobility management network element that indicates that the second policy control network element determines that the dynamic change access and mobility management will be applied Policy information, and the response message of the subscription information corresponding to the terminal device. In this way, the mobility management network element can obtain information from the data management network element for instructing the second policy control network element to determine that the dynamically changing access and mobility management policy will be applied, and then make the mobility management network element use this information as the information. According to the information sent to the session management network element for instructing the second policy control network element to determine that the dynamically changing access and mobility management policy will be applied. It lays a foundation for the session management network element to send the first indication information to the first policy control network element.

In a possible implementation manner, a mobility management network element and a data management network element are also included. The mobility management network element is configured to send a request message for requesting to establish or update a session to the session management network element. The session management network element is further configured to receive a request message for requesting to establish or update a session, and send a request message for requesting subscription information corresponding to the session to the data management network element. The data management network element is used to receive a request message for requesting the subscription information corresponding to the session, and send to the session management network element the subscription information corresponding to the session and the request message used to indicate that the second policy control network element will apply the dynamic change of access and mobility to the session management network element. Response message with information about the sex management policy. The session management network element is further configured to receive the subscription information corresponding to the session and a response message used to indicate that the second policy control network element will apply the information to dynamically change the access and mobility management policy, and carry it to the first policy control network element. The first indication information is a request message for requesting to establish or update a session management policy corresponding to a session. In this way, the session management network element can be made to obtain information from the data management network element during the session establishment or update process for instructing the second policy control network element to determine that the dynamically changing access and mobility management policy will be applied. It lays a foundation for the session management network element to send the first indication information to the first policy control network element.

In a possible implementation manner, a second policy control network element is further included, which is used to determine that information about dynamically changing the access and mobility management policy will be applied, and sends information to the data management network element for indicating the second policy control network element Information to dynamically change access and mobility management policies will be applied. In this way, the second policy control network element may store information for indicating that the second policy control network element will apply the dynamic change in the data management network element in the case of determining that the information about the dynamically changing access and mobility management policy will be applied according to its own needs. Information about the access and mobility management policy, which may be part of the subscription information and sent to the network element requesting to acquire the subscription data in the subsequent steps.

In a possible implementation manner, an application network element and a network capability opening network element are also included. The application network element is used to send a request message to the network capability exposure network element, which carries information indicating that the second policy control network element will apply the dynamic change of the access and mobility management policy, and is used to influence the access and mobility management policy . The network capability opening network element is used to receive a request message carrying information used to indicate that the second policy control network element will apply the dynamic change of the access and mobility management policy, and to influence the access and mobility management policy, and send the request message to the data management The network element sends a request message for requesting to update the information for indicating that the second policy control network element will apply the dynamically changing access and mobility management policy to the data management network element. In this way, the application network element can store the information used to indicate that the second policy control network element will apply the dynamically changing access and mobility management policy to the data management network element according to actual needs, and the information can be used as a part of the subscription information, which can be used as part of the subscription information. is sent to the network element requesting to obtain the subscription data in the step of .

In the third aspect, for the introduction of the first indication information, the subscription identifier of the terminal device, and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device, reference may be made to the relevant content of the aforementioned first aspect, and details are not repeated here.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, where the device may be a first policy control network element, and may also be a chip used for the first policy control network element. The device has the function of implementing any method implemented by the first policy control network element in the first aspect. This function can be implemented by hardware or by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, where the device may be a second policy control network element, and may also be a chip used for the second policy control network element. The device has the function of implementing any method implemented by the second policy control network element in the first aspect. This function can be implemented by hardware or by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, where the device may be a binding support network element, and may also be a chip for binding a support network element. The device has the function of implementing any implementation method of the second aspect above. This function can be implemented by hardware or by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store computer instructions, and when the device runs, the processor executes the computer instructions stored in the memory, so that the device executes Any implementation method of the above-mentioned first aspect to the second aspect.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, including a unit or means for performing each step of any of the implementation methods in the first aspect to the second aspect.

In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including a processor and an interface circuit, where the processor is configured to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit, and execute any implementation method in the first aspect to the second aspect. The processor includes one or more.

In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, including a processor, which is coupled to a memory, and the processor is configured to call a program stored in the memory to execute any implementation method in the first to second aspects above. The memory may be located within the device or external to the device. And the processor includes one or more.

In an eleventh aspect, the embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium, where instructions are stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer-readable storage medium runs on a computer, any of the first to second aspects above can be implemented method is executed.

In a twelfth aspect, embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product, where the computer program product includes a computer program, and when the computer program runs, any implementation method in the above-mentioned first to second aspects is executed.

In a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, including: a processor configured to execute any implementation method in the first aspect to the second aspect.

In a fourteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, including a first policy control network element and a second policy control network element for executing any implementation method in the first aspect, and a communication system for executing any of the methods in the second aspect. Binding of any implementation method supports network elements.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1a is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 1b is a schematic diagram of a possible 5G network architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 1c is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a service-based architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application;

2a is a network architecture diagram of a home routing scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2b is a network architecture diagram of another home routing scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

2c is a network architecture diagram of a local grooming scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

2d is a network architecture diagram of another local grooming scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

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

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

6 is a schematic flowchart of a method for storing first indication information provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed ways

In order to solve the problems mentioned in the background art, as shown in FIG. 1a, the present application provides a communication system, which includes a first policy control network element and a second policy control network element. The first policy control network element is a policy control network element that provides mobility management. The first policy control network element is a policy control network element that provides session management to the terminal device. The second policy control network element is a policy control network element that provides access and mobility management to terminal equipment. In a possible implementation manner, the communication system may further include at least one of a binding support network element, a mobility management network element, a session management network element, a data management network element, an application network element or a network capability openness network element item.

The first policy control network element is configured to receive the indication information, and send a first request message carrying the first information to the binding support network element according to the indication information. The first information includes the subscription identifier of the terminal device and network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device. The first request message is used to request the registration of the first information to the binding support network element. The second policy control network element receives information from the first policy control network element of the binding support network element, and the second policy control network element is a policy control network element that provides access and mobility management to terminal devices.

In the embodiment of the present application, since the first policy control network element reports the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device to the binding support network element according to the indication information, the binding support network element can then transfer the first policy control network element to the binding support network element. The element information is sent to the second policy control network element that provides access and mobility management for the terminal device. Therefore, a foundation can be laid for the second policy control network element to subscribe to the first policy control network element for the start and stop events of the application program, and to realize the dynamic change of the access and mobility management policy characteristics.

The specific implementation of the above solution will be described in detail in the subsequent method embodiment section, and will not be repeated here.

The system shown in FIG. 1a can be used in the fifth generation (5th generation, 5G) network architecture, of course, can also be used in the future network architecture, as well as other mobile communication systems such as 6G in the future.

In the embodiments of this application, the application of the communication system shown in FIG. 1a to a 5G network architecture is used as an example for introduction. The 5G network architecture has multiple possible architectures, and FIG. 1b is a schematic diagram of a possible 5G network architecture provided by the embodiments of the application. , the following describes a communication system architecture applicable to the embodiments of the present application with reference to FIG. 1b. As shown in FIG. 1b, the network architecture may generally include:

1. Terminal equipment.

In FIG. 1b, the terminal device is a user equipment (user equipment, UE) as an example for illustration. In specific implementation, the terminal device in this embodiment of the present application may be a device for implementing a wireless communication function. The terminal equipment may be a user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a terminal unit, a terminal station, a mobile station, a mobile station in a 5G network or a public land mobile network (PLMN) evolved in the future. , remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, wireless communication device, terminal agent or terminal device, etc. The access terminal may be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless communication Functional handheld devices, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, in-vehicle devices or wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) end devices, augmented reality (AR) end devices, industrial control (industrial) wireless terminal in control), wireless terminal in self-driving, wireless terminal in remote medical, wireless terminal in smart grid, wireless terminal in transportation safety Terminals, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, etc. Terminals can be mobile or stationary.

The above-mentioned terminal device can establish a connection with the operator network through an interface (eg, N1, etc.) provided by the operator network, and use the data and/or voice services provided by the operator network. The terminal device can also access the DN through the operator's network, and use the operator's service deployed on the DN and/or the service provided by a third party. The above-mentioned third party may be a service provider other than the operator's network and the terminal device, and may provide other services such as data and/or voice for the terminal device. Wherein, the specific expression form of the above third party can be specifically determined according to the actual application scenario, and is not limited here.

2. (radio access network, (R)AN) network element: used to provide network access functions for authorized terminal equipment in a specific area, and can use different quality of transport tunnel.

(R)AN is a sub-network of an operator's network, and is an implementation system between a service node and a terminal device in the operator's network. To access the operator's network, the terminal device first passes through the RAN, and then can be connected to the service node of the operator's network through the RAN. The RAN device in this application is a device that provides a wireless communication function for a terminal device, and the RAN device is also called an access network device. The RAN equipment in this application includes but is not limited to: next-generation base station (g nodeB, gNB), evolved node B (evolved node B, eNB), radio network controller (radio network controller, RNC), node B in 5G (node B, NB), 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 (baseBand unit, BBU), transmission point (transmitting and receiving point, TRP), transmitting point (transmitting point, TP), mobile switching center, etc.

3. User plane network element: used for packet routing and forwarding, and quality of service (QoS) processing of user plane data.

As shown in Figure 1b, in a 5G communication system, the user plane network element may be a user plane function (UPF) network element, such as an intermediate user plane function (I-UPF) network element. element, or at least one of the PDU Session anchor user plane function (PSA-UPF) network elements. In the future communication system, the user plane network element may still be the UPF network element, or may have other names, which are not limited in this application.

4. Data network (DN) network element: a network for providing data transmission.

As shown in Figure 1b, in a 5G communication system, the data networks can be DN1 and DN2. In the future communication system, the data network may still be DN, or may have other names, which are not limited in this application.

5. Mobility management network element: mainly used for mobility management and access management, etc., and can be used to implement other functions except session management in the mobility management entity (MME) function, for example, legal Monitoring and access authorization/authentication functions.

As shown in Figure 1b, in a 5G communication system, the mobility management network element may be an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element. In future communication systems, access and mobility management may still be AMF network elements, or may have other names, which are not limited in this application.

6. Session management network element: mainly used for session management, Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management of terminal equipment, selection of endpoints that can manage user plane functions, policy control and charging function interfaces, and downlink data notice etc.

As shown in Figure 1b, in a 5G communication system, the session management network element may be a session management function (session management function, SMF) network element, such as an intermediate session management function (intermediate session management function, I-SMF) network element. element, or at least one of the anchor session management function (A-SMF) network elements. In the future communication system, the session management network element may still be an SMF network element, or may have other names, which are not limited in this application.

7. Policy control network element: a unified policy framework for guiding network behavior, providing policy rule information and the like for control plane functional network elements (such as AMF, SMF network elements, etc.).

As shown in Figure 1b, in a 5G communication system, the policy control network element may be a policy control function (PCF) network element. In the future communication system, the policy control network element may still be the PCF network element, or may have other names, which are not limited in this application.

8. Authentication service network element: used for authentication service and key generation to realize two-way authentication of terminal equipment, and support a unified authentication framework.

As shown in Figure 1b, in a 5G communication system, the authentication service network element may be an authentication service function (authentication server function, AUSF) network element. In the future communication system, the authentication service function network element may still be the AUSF network element, or may have other names, which are not limited in this application.

9. Data management network element.

As shown in Figure 1b, in a 5G communication system, the data management network element can be a unified data management (UDM) network element, which can be used to process terminal equipment identification, access authentication, registration and mobility management Wait. In the future communication system, the unified data management network element may still be a UDM network element, or may have other names, which are not limited in this application.

As shown in Figure 1b, in a 5G communication system, the data management network element may also be a unified database (Unified Data Repository, UDR). It is used to be responsible for the access function of contract data, policy data, application data and other types of data. For example, the PCF can obtain the subscription information related to or corresponding to the policy decision from the UDR. In future communication systems, the unified database may still be UDR, or may have other names, which are not limited in this application.

10. Application network elements: used for data routing affected by applications, access network elements with open functions, interacting with the policy framework for policy control, etc.

As shown in FIG. 1b, in a 5G communication system, the application network element may be an application function (application function, AF) network element 107. In the future communication system, the application network element may still be the AF network element, or may have other names, which are not limited in this application.

11. Network storage network element: used to maintain real-time information of all network function services in the network.

In a 5G communication system, the network storage network element may be a network repository function (NRF) network element. In the future communication system, the network storage network element may still be an NRF network element, or may have other names, which are not limited in this application.

12. Network slice selection network element: used to provide the network slice selection function.

As shown in Figure 1b, in a 5G communication system, the network slice selection network element may be a Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF) network element. In future communication systems, the network slice selection network element may still be an NSSF. The network element, or, may also have other names, which are not limited in this application.

13. Network capability open network element: used to provide network customization functions.

As shown in Figure 1b, in a 5G communication system, the network capability exposure network element may be a network capability exposure function (NEF) network element. In a future communication system, the network capability exposure network element may still be an NEF network element. Yuan, or may have other names, which are not limited in this application.

14. Binding support network element: used to maintain the identification information of terminal equipment, data network name (Data Network Name, DNN), single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI), terminal equipment An address (such as an internet protocol (Internet protocol, IP) address), and a correspondence between at least two of the information of the PCF network element.

As shown in Figure 1b, in a 5G communication system, the binding support network element may be a binding support function (Binding Support Function, BSF) network element. In future communication systems, the binding support network element may still be a BSF network element, or may have other names, which are not limited in this application.

The communication system architecture applicable to the embodiments of the present application may further include other network elements, such as a network analysis function network element and a service communication function network element.

Among them, the network analysis function network element is used to provide the network slice instance-level data analysis function. For example, you can obtain data, then use the data for training and analysis, and make corresponding inferences based on the analysis results. In a 5G communication system, the network analysis function network element may be a network analysis function (network analytics function, NWDAF) network element. The service communication function network element is used to provide the function of selective communication between NFs.

In Figure 1b, Nnssf, Nausf, Nnef, Npcf, Nudm, Naf, Namf, Nsmf, Nbsf, N1, N2, N3, N4, and N6 are interface serial numbers. For the meanings of these interface serial numbers, refer to the meanings defined in the 3GPP standard protocol, which is not limited here.

It can be understood that the above network elements or functions may be network elements in hardware devices, software functions running on dedicated hardware, or virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (eg, a cloud platform). The above network elements or functions may be divided into one or more services, and further, services that exist independently of network functions may also appear. In this application, an instance of the above-mentioned function, or an instance of a service included in the above-mentioned function, or an instance of a service that exists independently of a network function may be referred to as a service instance.

It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application are not limited to the above-mentioned system architecture, and may also be applied to other communication systems in the future, such as the 6th generation (the 6th generation, 6G) system architecture, and the like. In addition, the names of the network elements used in the above-mentioned embodiments of the present application may keep the same functions in future communication systems, but the names will be changed.

Exemplarily, FIG. 1c exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a service-oriented architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application.

For the introduction of the functions of the network elements in FIG. 1c, reference may be made to the introduction of the functions of the corresponding network elements in FIG. 1b, and details are not repeated here. The main difference between Fig. 1c and Fig. 1b is that the interfaces between each network element in Fig. 1c are point-to-point interfaces, not service-oriented interfaces.

In the architecture shown in Figure 1c, the interface names and functions between each network element are as follows:

1. N7: The interface between the PCF and the SMF is used to issue a protocol data unit (protocol data unit, PDU) session granularity and a business data flow granularity control policy.

2. N15: the interface between the PCF and the AMF, used for delivering UE policies and access control related policies.

3. N5: The interface between the AF and the PCF, used for application service request delivery and network event reporting.

4. N4: The interface between SMF and UPF, which is used to transmit information between the control plane and the user plane, including controlling the distribution of forwarding rules for the user plane, QoS control rules, traffic statistics rules, etc., and reporting of information on the user plane .

5. N11: the interface between the SMF and the AMF, used to transfer the PDU session tunnel information between the RAN and the UPF, the control message sent to the UE, the radio resource control information sent to the RAN, and the like.

6. N2: the interface between the AMF and the RAN, used to transmit radio bearer control information from the core network side to the RAN, etc.

7. N1: The interface between the AMF and the UE, independent of access, is used to deliver QoS control rules to the UE.

8. N8: the interface between the AMF and the UDM, for the AMF to obtain the subscription data and authentication data related to access and mobility management from the UDM, and for the AMF to register the UE's current mobility management related information to the UDM.

9. N10: an interface between the SMF and the UDM, used for the SMF to obtain the session management-related subscription data from the UDM, and the SMF to register the UE's current session-related information to the UDM.

10. N35: an interface between the UDM and the UDR, used for the UDM to obtain user subscription data information from the UDR.

11. N36: an interface between the PCF and the UDR, used by the PCF to obtain policy-related subscription data and application data-related information from the UDR.

12. N12: the interface between the AMF and the AUSF, which is used by the AMF to initiate an authentication process to the AUSF, which can carry SUCI as a contract identifier;

13. N13: the interface between the UDM and the AUSF, for the AUSF to obtain the user authentication vector from the UDM to execute the authentication process.

14. N22: an interface between the NSSF and the AMF, for the AMF to receive slice selection information from the NSSF.

In addition to the system architectures shown in FIG. 1b and FIG. 1c above, the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to other system architectures, such as a system architecture of a roaming scenario. Roaming scenarios may include (1) home routing scenarios; (2) local grooming scenarios. Figures 2a to 2d exemplarily show the architecture diagrams of the roaming scenarios discussed in the 5G standard for the network architecture shown in Figures 1b and 1c, which will be described below with reference to Figures 2a to 2d.

In a New Radio (NR) system, a terminal establishes a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session with a Data Network (DN) network element through a User Plane Function (UPF) network element. The PDU session provides the PDU connection service between the terminal and the DN network element. When the terminal is located in the home area, the PDU session used to provide the PDU connection service is the PDU session of the home public land mobile network (Home Public Land Mobile Network, HPLMN). When the terminal is located in the visited place (ie, roaming scenario), one possible situation is home-routed. At this time, the PDU session used to provide the PDU connection service is the PDU session of HPLMN; another possibility is The situation is local breakout. At this time, the PDU session used to provide the PDU connection service is the PDU session of the Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN).

Figures 2a and 2b are network architecture diagrams of the home routing scenario, Figure 2a is a presentation based on the 5G network architecture shown in Figure 1b, and Figure 2b is based on the 5G network architecture shown in Figure 1c based on a service-oriented architecture. 's display. Figure 2b is used as an example to illustrate: As shown in Figure 2b, the network architecture includes network elements of HPLMN and network elements of VPLMN, wherein the network elements of HPLMN include AUSF network elements, UDM network elements, and home SMF network elements element (also called H-SMF network element), home PCF network element (also called H-PCF network element), AF network element, home UPF network element (also called H-UPF network element) element) and DN network element and BSF network element; the network elements of the VPLMN include the PCF network element (also referred to as the V-PCF network element) in the visited place, the SMF network element in the visited place (also referred to as the V-SMF network element) ), AMF network element, RAN network element, UPF network element (also referred to as V-UPF network element) and terminal in the visited place. The H-SMF can be connected with the H-PCF (the H-PCF can be hSM-PCF) to perform SM-related policy control. Combined with the architecture shown in Figure 2a, home routing means that when establishing a PDU session, the V-SMF cannot process the SM information in the NAS signaling, so the network element of the HPLMN is required to complete the establishment of the PDU session.

Figures 2c and 2d are network architecture diagrams of the local grooming scenario, Figure 2c is based on the 5G network architecture shown in Figure 1b, and Figure 2d is based on the 5G network architecture shown in Figure 1c. 's display. Figure 2d is used as an example to illustrate: As shown in Figure 2d, the network architecture includes HPLMN network elements and VPLMN network elements, wherein the HPLMN network elements include AUSF network elements, UDM network elements, and H-PCF network elements ; The network elements of the VPLMN include V-PCF network elements, AF network elements, SMF network elements, AMF network elements, RAN network elements, UPF network elements, DN network elements and terminals. SMF (or called V-SMF) can be connected with vPCF (or called vSM-PCF) to perform SM-related policy control.

Based on the system architecture shown in FIG. 2a to FIG. 2d, in the embodiment of the present application, after the AMF selects the PCF (AM-PCF) for the UE, the AM policy association and the UE policy association can be established. After the SMF selects the PCF (SM-PCF) for the PDU session, an SM policy association is established. In particular, in a roaming scenario, an AM policy may be generated by a vPCF (or referred to as VAM-PCF), and the sum of AMFs and vPCF (or referred to as VAM-PCF) establishes an AM policy association. Both hPCF (or referred to as hAM-PCF) and vPCF (or referred to as VAM-PCF) can generate UE policies, and AMF and vPCF (or referred to as VAM-PCF) establish UE policy association with hPCF (or referred to as hAM-PCF) .

It should be noted that the layout method of the BSF network elements in the above Figures 2a to 2d is only a possible example. The application embodiment does not limit the specific layout position and quantity of the BSF network elements.

The mobility management network elements, session management network elements, policy control network elements, application network elements, network capability opening network elements, and binding support network elements in the embodiments of the present application may be AMF and SMF in FIG. 1b to FIG. 2d, respectively. (can be V-SMF or H-SMF), PCF (can be V-PCF or H-PCF), AF, NEF, BSF, or future communication such as the 6th generation (6G) network with the above Network elements with functions of AMF, SMF, PCF, AF, NEF, and BSF are not limited in this application. For the convenience of description, this application uses mobility management network elements, session management network elements, policy control network elements, application network elements, network capability exposure network elements, and binding support network elements as the above-mentioned AMF, SMF, PCF, AF, and NEF, respectively. , BSF as an example to illustrate.

The data management network element in this embodiment of the present application may be the UDM or UDR in FIG. 1b to FIG. 2d, or may be the network element having the above-mentioned UDM or UDR function in future communication such as the 6th generation (6G) network , which is not limited in this application. For the convenience of description, the present application takes the data management network element as the above-mentioned UDM or UDR as an example for description. In the following content, the data management network element is used as the UDM in some places, and the data management network element is used as the UDR in some places.

In the embodiment of the present application, the policy control network element may include two types, which are respectively referred to as the first policy control network element and the second policy control network element in the embodiment of the present application. The first policy control network element is a policy control network element that provides session management to the terminal device. The second policy control network element is a policy control network element that provides access and mobility management to terminal equipment.

The first policy control network element may be the PCF to which the SMF is connected. The first policy control network element may be selected by the SMF. The first policy control network element may provide a session management policy, and the session management policy may be a session management (Session Management, SM) policy. The first policy control network element may provide services for a session (such as a PDU session) (PCF for a PDU Session). In this embodiment of the present application, the first policy control network element may also be referred to as the first PCF, SM-PCF, or SM PCF. For easy understanding, the following content is introduced by taking the first policy control network element as the SM-PCF and the session management policy as the SM policy as an example.

The second policy control network element may be the PCF to which the AMF is connected. The second policy control network element may be selected by the AMF. The second policy control network element may provide an access and mobility management policy and a UE policy, where the access and mobility management policy may include an access and mobility management (access and mobility management, AM) policy. The second policy control network element may provide services for terminal equipment (PCF for a PDU Session). In this embodiment of the present application, the second policy control network element may also be referred to as the second PCF, AM-PCF, or AM PCF. For easy understanding, the following content is introduced by taking the second policy control network element as the AM-PCF and the access and mobility management policy as the AM policy as an example.

In actual deployment, the PCF (ie AM-PCF) connected to the AMF and the PCF (ie SM-PCF) connected to the SMF may be the same PCF or different PCFs.

In a possible implementation manner, the first policy control network element, the second policy control network element, the binding support network element, the mobility management network element, the session management network element, the application network element, the network element in the embodiment of the present application The capability opening network element or the data management network element may also be referred to as a communication device, which may be a general-purpose device or a dedicated device, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

In another possible implementation manner, the first policy control network element, the second policy control network element, the binding support network element, the mobility management network element, the session management network element, the application network element, The related functions of the network capability exposure network element or the data management network element may be implemented by one device, or jointly implemented by multiple devices, and may also be implemented by one or more functional modules in one device. No specific limitation is made. It is to be understood that the above-mentioned functions can be either network elements in hardware devices, or software functions running on dedicated hardware, or a combination of hardware and software, or instantiated on a platform (eg, a cloud platform). Virtualization capabilities.

For example, the first policy control network element, the second policy control network element, the binding support network element, the mobility management network element, the session management network element, the application network element, the network capability opening network element or the data in the embodiment of the present application The related functions of managing network elements can be implemented by the communication device 300 in FIG. 3 . FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 300 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 300 includes one or more processors 301, a communication line 302, and at least one communication interface (in FIG. 3, the communication interface 304 and one processor 301 are used as an example for illustration only), optional The memory 303 may also be included.

The processor 301 may be a chip. For example, the processor 301 may be a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a system on chip (SoC), or a system on chip (SoC). It can be a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), a digital signal processing circuit (DSP), or a microcontroller (microcontroller). unit, MCU), it can also be a programmable logic device (PLD) or other integrated chips.

In the implementation process, each step of the method in the embodiments of the present application may be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in a processor or an instruction in the form of software. The steps of the methods disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application may be directly embodied as executed by a hardware processor, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor. The software modules may be located in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory or electrically erasable programmable memory, registers and other storage media mature in the art. The storage medium is located in the memory 303, and the processor 301 reads the information in the memory 303, and completes the steps of the above method in combination with its hardware.

It should be noted that the processor 301 in this embodiment of the present application may be an integrated circuit chip, which has a signal processing capability. In the implementation process, each step of the above method embodiments may be completed by a hardware integrated logic circuit in a processor or an instruction in the form of software. The aforementioned processors may be general purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components . The methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of this application can be implemented or executed. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like. The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application may be directly embodied as executed by a hardware decoding processor, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software modules may be located in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory or electrically erasable programmable memory, registers and other storage media mature in the art. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory, and completes the steps of the above method in combination with its hardware.

Communication line 302 may include a path for connecting the various components.

The communication interface 304 can be a transceiver module for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as Ethernet, RAN, wireless local area networks (wireless local area networks, WLAN) and the like. For example, the transceiver module may be a device such as a transceiver or a transceiver. Optionally, the communication interface 304 may also be a transceiver circuit located in the processor 301 to implement signal input and signal output of the processor.

The memory 303 may be a device having a storage function. It can be understood that the memory 303 in this embodiment of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory may be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically programmable Erase programmable read-only memory (electrically EPROM, EEPROM) or flash memory. Volatile memory may be random access memory (RAM), which acts as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous DRAM, SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (double data rate SDRAM, DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (enhanced SDRAM, ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (synchlink DRAM, SLDRAM) ) and direct memory bus random access memory (direct rambus RAM, DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but not be limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory. The memory may exist independently and be connected to the processor through communication line 302 . The memory can also be integrated with the processor.

The memory 303 is used for storing computer-executed instructions for executing the solution of the present application, and the execution is controlled by the processor 301 . The processor 301 is configured to execute the computer-executed instructions stored in the memory 303, so as to implement the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application.

Or, optionally, in this embodiment of the present application, the processor 301 may also perform processing-related functions in the methods provided in the following embodiments of the present application, and the communication interface 304 is responsible for communicating with other devices or communication networks, and this application implements The example does not specifically limit this.

Optionally, the computer-executed instructions in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as application code, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 301 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 in FIG. 3 .

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 300 may include multiple processors, such as the processor 301 and the processor 308 in FIG. 3 . Each of these processors can be a single-core processor or a multi-core processor. The processor here may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a microcontroller (MCU), or artificial intelligence Processors and other types of computing devices that run software, each computing device may include one or more cores for executing software instructions to perform operations or processing.

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 300 may further include an output device 305 and an input device 306 . The output device 305 is in communication with the processor 301 and can display information in a variety of ways. For example, the output device 305 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display device, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, or a projector (projector) Wait. Input device 306 is in communication with processor 301 and can receive user input in a variety of ways. For example, the input device 306 may be a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen device, a sensor device, or the like.

The above-mentioned communication device 300 may also be sometimes referred to as a communication device, which may be a general-purpose device or a dedicated device. For example, the communication device 300 may be a desktop computer, a portable computer, a network server, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wireless terminal device, an embedded device, the above-mentioned terminal device, the above-mentioned network device, or a 3 devices of similar structure. This embodiment of the present application does not limit the type of the communication device 300 .

The following will further introduce the embodiments of the present application based on the above content. Before that, it should be noted that, in the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, "/" indicates that the related objects are an "or" relationship , for example, A/B can represent A or B; "and/or" in this application is only an association relationship that describes related objects, indicating that there can be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and/or B, can represent: There are three cases of A alone, both A and B, and B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. Also, in the description of the present application, unless stated otherwise, "plurality" means two or more than two. "At least one item(s) below" or similar expressions thereof refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single item(s) or plural items(s). For example, at least one (a) of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, where a, b, c may be single or multiple . In addition, in order to clearly describe the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish the same or similar items with basically the same function and effect. Those skilled in the art can understand that the words "first", "second" and the like do not limit the quantity and execution order, and the words "first", "second" and the like are not necessarily different. Meanwhile, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to represent examples, illustrations or illustrations. Any embodiments or designs described in the embodiments of the present application as "exemplary" or "such as" should not be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "such as" is intended to present the related concepts in a specific manner to facilitate understanding.

In addition, the network architecture and service scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are for the purpose of illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application more clearly, and do not constitute limitations on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. With the evolution of the network architecture and the emergence of new service scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

Embodiment 1

Based on the above content, the implementation of the present application provides a possible implementation manner, which is referred to as the first implementation manner for the ease of distinguishing the subsequent contents. For the first implementation manner, FIG. 4 exemplarily shows a communication provided by the embodiment of the present application. Schematic flow diagram of the method. In the method, the first policy controls the actions of the network element, the second policy control network element, the binding support network element, the mobility management network element, the session management network element, the application network element, the network capability exposure network element or the data management network element The application code stored in the memory 303 may be called by the processor 301 in the communication device 300 shown in FIG. 3 to execute, which is not limited in this embodiment. As shown in Figure 4, the method includes:

Step 401. The AMF establishes/updates the AM policy association with the AM-PCF.

Establishing/updating AM policy associations may also be referred to as AM policy associationg establishment/modification. The specific AM policy association establishment steps can be found in the subsequent content, and will not be described here.

Step 402. The AM-PCF sends a second request message to the BSF. The second request message carries the second information. The second request message is used to request to obtain information of the SM-PCF corresponding to the second information. Correspondingly, the BSF receives the second request message.

In the specific implementation, AM-PCF can dynamically change the AM policy (Dynamically Changing AM Policies in the 5GC, DCAMP) standard in 5GC, and can modify the AM policy when detecting the start and stop of the application, such as the RFSP index value. In order to dynamically change the access and mobility management policy features, the AM-PCF needs to obtain the information of the SM-PCF corresponding to the second information, so as to subscribe to the SM-PCF for the start and stop events of the application, and then the AM-PCF can start the application. Modify AM policy when an event occurs. The AM policy can also be modified when the application's stop event occurs.

In this embodiment of the present application, the second request message may be a subscription request message, which is used to subscribe the information of the SM-PCF corresponding to the second information to the BSF. The subscription request message may be a conventional request message, or the content requested by the message may be implemented by invoking a service. In another possible implementation manner, the second request message may be a query request message, which is used to query the information of the SM-PCF corresponding to the second information from the BSF.

The information of the SM-PCF in the implementation of this application may be the identifier of the SM-PCF or the address of the SM-PCF, etc. The information of the SM-PCF can be found out.

In this embodiment of the present application, the second information includes the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device. The subscription identifier of the terminal device in the embodiment of the present application includes at least one of the SUPI of the terminal device or the external subscription identifier (Generic Public Subscription Identifier, GPSI) of the terminal device. The GPSI of the terminal device may be, for example, a phone number (mobile subscriber ISDN number, MSISDN) or other external identifiers, where ISDN is an abbreviation for Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN). In this embodiment of the present application, the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device includes at least one of: a DNN corresponding to the session of the terminal device, or an S-NSSAI corresponding to the session of the terminal device. The DNN and S-NSSAI in the embodiment of the present application can prevent the duplication problem that may occur when private IP addresses are used (there will be no duplicate IP addresses within the same S-NSSAI for the same DNN), and SUPI can be used to identify the SM - The terminal equipment corresponding to the PCF.

It should be noted that, step 402 may be at the current location, or may be at another location, for example, after step 405 . There is no limitation here.

Step 403. The SMF establishes/updates the SM policy association with the SM-PCF.

For specific steps of establishing an SM policy association, refer to the subsequent content, which will not be described here.

Step 404. The SM-PCF receives the first indication information.

In order to distinguish several indication information in the embodiment of the present application, the indication information received by the first policy control network element may be referred to as the first indication information in the embodiment of the present application.

In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information may be information used to indicate that the AM-PCF will apply a dynamically changing access and mobility management policy. Alternatively, the first indication information may be a dynamically changing access and mobility management policy indication. Since the AM-PCF will apply dynamic changes to the access and mobility management policies, the AM-PCF needs to know the information of the SM-PCF. Therefore, based on the received first indication information, the SM-PCF determines that the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device need to be reported to the BSF. Then the BSF can compare the second information with the first information, so as to query the SM-PCF corresponding to the second information, and return the SM-PCF corresponding to the second information to the AM-PCF, and send the SM-PCF to the SM-PCF for the AM-PCF. The PCF subscribes to the start and stop events of the application, which in turn lays the foundation for the AM-PCF to dynamically change the access and mobility management policy features.

In another possible implementation manner, the first indication information may be information used to indicate that the AM-PCF supports dynamic change of the access and mobility management policy. According to the first indication information, it can be inferred that the AM-PCF will apply the dynamically changing access and mobility management policy, so the AM-PCF needs to know the information of the SM-PCF. Therefore, based on the received first indication information, the SM-PCF determines that the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device need to be reported to the BSF.

In another possible implementation manner, the first indication information may be information used to indicate that the SM-PCF needs to report the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device to the BSF. The SM-PCF reports the first information based on the received first indication information.

In another possible implementation manner, the first indication information is requirement information of the application corresponding to the session. In the embodiment of the present application, the application corresponding to the session may be understood as the application corresponding to the data transmitted by the session, or may also be understood as the session created to transmit the data of the application. The requirement information of the application corresponding to the session in the embodiment of the present application may include, for example, service coverage requirements (service coverage requirements), throughput requirements (throughput requirements), and the like. In this case, the SM-PCF can infer (for example, can infer according to a preset rule) that the AM-PCF will dynamically change the access and mobility management policy under the requirements of the application. Then it can be inferred that the SM-PCF needs to report the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device to the BSF.

In another possible implementation manner, the first indication information may also be a variety of information, such as information used to indicate that the AM-PCF will apply the dynamically changing access and mobility management policy, information used to indicate the AM-PCF Information that supports dynamic change of access and mobility management policies, information used to indicate that the SM-PCF needs to report the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device to the BSF, or the application requirement information corresponding to the session. at least two.

There are many ways for the SM-PCF to receive the first indication information. For example, the BSF sends the first indication information to the SM-PCF; for another example, the data management network element (such as the UDR) can send the first indication information to the SM-PCF; For another example, the first indication information may be sent by the SMF to the SM-PCF. How to obtain the first indication information will be further introduced in the subsequent content.

Step 405. The SM-PCF sends a first request message to the BSF according to the first indication information. The first request message includes first information. The first information includes the subscription identifier of the terminal device and network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device. In this embodiment of the present application, the first request message may be used to request the registration of the first information to the binding support network element. Correspondingly, the BSF receives the first request message.

For the network information corresponding to the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the session of the terminal device, reference may be made to the relevant introduction in the foregoing step 402 . It should be noted that, in a possible implementation manner, if only one S-NSSAI is supported in the network, the S-NSSAI may not be registered, that is, the first information may not include the S-NSSAI. When only one DNN is supported in the network, the DNN may not be registered, that is, the DNN may not be included in the first information. When the services of other terminal devices have an impact on AM policies such as access type frequency band selection priority (radio access technology, RAT/Frequency Selection Priority, RFSP), the SUPI of the terminal device may not be registered, that is, the first information may not be registered. Including SUPI. Because in this case, the PCF may also need to judge the service conditions of other terminal devices.

In a possible implementation manner, the first request message further includes indication information for indicating that the PCF sending the first request message is an SM-PCF. For example, when the first request message is a registration request message, since the address of the terminal device must be carried in the registration request message, the PCF that sends the first request message can be determined according to whether the address of the terminal device is included in the registration request message. If the indication information of the SM-PCF is included, it is determined that the PCF that sends the first request message is the SM-PCF; if it is not included, it is determined that the PCF that sends the first request message is not the SM-PCF.

In this embodiment of the present application, the first request message may be a newly defined signaling, or a registration request message, or a registration update message. Examples will be given in the following sections.

Step 406. The BSF compares the first information with the second information based on the second request message received, and if it is determined that part or all of the first information matches the second information, step 407 is performed.

In FIG. 4 , it is shown that all the first information matches all the second information as an example.

In a possible implementation manner, the parameter items included in the first information and the second information are the same. In this case, the matching between the second information and the first information in this embodiment of the present application refers to: the terminal included in the second information. The subscription identifier of the device is the same as the subscription identifier of the terminal device in the first information, and the network information corresponding to the session included in the second information is the same as the network information corresponding to the session included in the first information. For example, the first information includes SUPI, DNN and S-NSSAI of the terminal device. The second information includes SUPI, DNN and S-NSSAI of the terminal device. The SUPI of the terminal device in the second information is the same as the SUPI of the terminal device in the first information, the DNN in the second information is the same as the DNN in the first information, and the S-NSSAI in the second information is the same as that in the first information. S-NSSAI is the same. If the first information and the second information further include the GPSI of the terminal device, the GPSI of the terminal device in the first information is the same as the GPSI in the second information.

In another possible implementation manner, the number of parameters included in the second information is different from the number of parameters included in the first information, for example, the first information includes SUPI of the terminal device, GPSI, DNN and S- NSSAI. The second information may only include the SUPI, DNN and S-NSSAI of the terminal device. In this case, the matching between the second information and the first information may refer to: the SUPI of the terminal device in the second information is the same as the SUPI of the terminal device in the first information, and the DNN in the second information is the same as that in the first information. The DNN is the same, and the S-NSSAI in the second information is the same as the S-NSSAI in the first information. Since there is no GPSI of the terminal device in the second information, the GPSI corresponding to the SUPI of the terminal device in the second information may be required to be the same as the GPSI of the terminal device in the first information, or the GPSI may not be required to be compared. . In the embodiment of the present application, there is a preset correspondence between the SUPI and the GPSI of the terminal device, and they can be converted to each other.

In another possible implementation manner, the parameter item included in the second information may be different from the parameter item included in the first information, for example, the first information includes GPSI, DNN and S-NSSAI of the terminal device. The second information may only include the SUPI, DNN and S-NSSAI of the terminal device. In this case, the matching between the second information and the first information may mean that the SUPI of the terminal device in the second information has a corresponding relationship with the GPSI of the terminal device in the first information, and the DNN in the second information and the first information have a corresponding relationship The DNN in is the same, and the S-NSSAI in the second information is the same as the S-NSSAI in the first information.

Step 407. The BSF sends a first notification message to the AM-PCF corresponding to the first information, where the first notification message includes the information of the SM-PCF.

Correspondingly, the AM-PCF receives the first notification message.

In this embodiment of the present application, part or all of the first information matches the second information. Therefore, the AM-PCF that sends the second information may also be called the AM-PCF corresponding to the first information, and the SM-PCF that sends the first information is also called the AM-PCF corresponding to the first information. It may be called the SM-PCF corresponding to the second information.

In this embodiment of the present application, the BSF can notify the AM-PCF of the The SM-PCF of the session service is registered in the BSF. When there are multiple sessions corresponding to the same DNN and the same S-NSSAI, the BSF can provide multiple notifications to the AM-PCF.

Step 408. The AM-PCF may return a first notification response message to the BSF.

Correspondingly, the BSF receives the first notification response message.

The first notification response message is a response message of the first notification message, and may be used to indicate whether the AM-PCF has received the information of the SM-PCF sent by the BSF.

Step 409. After the AM-PCF successfully receives the information of the SM-PCF, it sends a second subscription request message to the SM-PCF. Correspondingly, the SM-PCF receives the second subscription request message.

The second subscription request message may be used to start/stop the application corresponding to the subscription session. It can also be said that the AM-PCF subscribes the "start/stop of application traffic" event notification to the SM-PCF serving the session through the second subscription request message.

In this embodiment of the present application, the AM-PCF may call Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_subscribe to subscribe to the start/stop event of the application corresponding to the session.

Step 410. The SM-PCF returns a second subscription response message to the AM-PCF. Correspondingly, the AM-PCF receives the second subscription response message.

The second subscription response message is a response message of the second subscription request message, and may be used to instruct the SM-PCF to accept the second subscription request message.

Step 411. The SM-PCF can generate Policy Control and Charging (PCC) rules and policy control request triggers, and send them to the SMF.

Wherein, the PCC rule includes the ID of the application in the service data flow (service data flow, SDF) template.

Among them, the policy control request trigger can be used to make the SMF detect whether the "start/stop of application traffic" event is satisfied.

In this embodiment of the present application, the SM-PCF may call Npcf_SMPolicyControl_Updata_Notify to send the PCC rule and policy control request trigger to the SMF.

Step 412. The SMF detects whether the policy control request trigger is satisfied. When it is satisfied, that is, the "start of application traffic" event is detected, or the event of "stop of application traffic" is detected, step 413 may be executed.

Step 413, the SMF sends a second notification message to the SM-PCF. Correspondingly, the SM-PCF receives the second notification message.

The first notification message is used to notify the SM-PCF that the policy control request trigger is satisfied, that is, to notify the SM-PCF of the occurrence of an "application traffic start" event, or to notify the SM-PCF of the occurrence of an "application traffic stop" event.

In this embodiment of the present application, the SMF may call Npcf_SMPolicyControl_Updata to notify the SM-PCF that the "application traffic start or stop" event occurs.

Step 414. The SM-PCF sends a third notification message to the AM-PCF. Correspondingly, the AM-PCF receives the third notification message.

The third notification message is used to notify the AM PCF of the occurrence of the "application traffic start" event, or to notify the SM-PCF of the occurrence of the "application traffic stop" event.

In this embodiment of the present application, the SM-PCF may notify the AM-PCF of the occurrence of an "application traffic start or stop" event to the AM-PCF by calling Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Notify.

Step 415. The AM-PCF sends a third notification response message to the SM-PCF.

The third notification response message is a response message of the third notification message, and may be used to feed back to the SM-PCF that the AM-PCF successfully received the third notification message.

Step 416. AM-PCF may modify AM policy.

In step 416, the AM-PCF can modify the AM policy (AM policy association modification initiated by PCF), such as the RFSP index value, when detecting the start and stop of the application according to the DCAMP standard in 5GC. For example, the AM-PCF may check the operator policy, and then change the AM policy according to the notification message (or report) of "start/stop of application traffic" in step 414, for example, the RFSP index value may be changed.

In this embodiment of the present application, the DCAMP feature can be applied to the system architecture shown in FIG. 1 a to FIG. 2 d, for example, it can be applied to non-roaming and LBO deployment. In this case, PCF, SMF, and UPF may belong to the situation of Serving PLMN.

In yet another possible implementation manner, the solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application may also be applied to a home-routed (home-routed, HR) scenario. In HR scenarios, AM-PCF can be located in VPLMN, and SM-PCF can be located in HPLMN. In the HR scenario, AM-PCF can transmit data between VBSF and HBSF, or directly transmit data between HBSF. The following content introduces the data transmission process between AM-PCF and HBSF by taking the information of AM-PCF subscribed to SM-PCF as an example. Those skilled in the art know that the following solutions can also be applied to the transmission of other information between AM-PCF and HBSF. The information of the SM-PCF mentioned in the embodiments of the present application is not limited.

In a possible implementation, BSF can be divided into VBSF and HBSF. The VBSF can further subscribe the corresponding information to the HBSF (for example, the information of the SM-PCF can be subscribed). The HBSF sends a notification to the VBSF (for example, the notification may include the information of the SM-PCF), and the VBSF notifies the AM-PCF of the obtained information (for example, the information of the SM-PCF).

In a possible implementation manner, the AM-PCF may send indication information to the V-BSF for indicating that the VBSF subscribes to the HBSF. In another possible implementation, the AM-PCF may also directly subscribe to the HBSF located at the HPLMN.

AM-PCF can subscribe to AMF (in a certain DNN or S-NSSAI) for PDU session establishment with HR. When AMF reports that a qualified PDU session is established, AM-PCF sends the above indication information to V-BSF or directly to V-BSF HBSF subscription. The AM-PCF can also determine whether it is necessary to send the above-mentioned indication information "for instructing the VBSF to subscribe to the HBSF" to the V-BSF based on the DNN and the S-NSSAI. Or AM-PCF can also judge based on DNN and S-NSSAI whether it is necessary to directly subscribe SM-PCF information to HBSF.

In another possible implementation manner, the VBSF may determine whether it is necessary to subscribe the SM-PCF information to the HBSF based on the DNN and the S-NSSAI.

It can be seen from the solution in FIG. 4 that since the SM-PCF receives the first indication information, it can send the first information to the BSF, and the first information includes the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device. Then, the BSF can feed back the information of the SM-PCF to the AM-PCF corresponding to the first information, so that the AM-PCF can subscribe to the SM-PCF for the start and stop events of the application, and realize the DCAMP feature.

It should be noted that, after the BSF receives the second request message in step 406 in FIG. 4 , since the second request message is used to request to obtain the information of the SM-PCF corresponding to the second information, the BSF sends the AM-PCF information to the AM-PCF in step 406 The PCF feeds back the information of the SM-PCF. In another possible implementation, it is not necessary to receive the second request message. For example, the AM-PCF does not send the second request message to the BSF. The AM-PCF corresponding to the first message is queried for information. Regardless of whether the AM-PCF subscribes or queries the information of the SM-PCF, the information of the SM-PCF can be fed back to it, so that the DCAMP feature can be realized for the AM-PCF. FIG. 4 in this embodiment of the present application merely provides an example, and steps other than step 404 , step 405 , and step 407 are not necessary, and the sequence is not fixed.

Embodiment 2

Based on the above content (such as the first embodiment), the present application provides a possible implementation manner, which is called the second embodiment for easy differentiation of the subsequent contents. For the second embodiment, FIG. 5 exemplarily shows a schematic flowchart of another possible communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application. In the method, the first policy controls the actions of the network element, the second policy control network element, the binding support network element, the mobility management network element, the session management network element, the application network element, the network capability exposure network element or the data management network element The application code stored in the memory 303 may be called by the processor 301 in the communication device 300 shown in FIG. 3 to execute, which is not limited in this embodiment. As shown in Figure 5, the method includes:

Step 1. The terminal device sends a first registration request message to the (R)AN.

Correspondingly, the (R)AN receives the first registration request message.

Through step 1, the terminal device may initiate a registration process. The first registration request message may include information of the terminal device. For example, the first registration request message may be registration request.

Step 2. The (R)AN sends a second registration request message to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the second registration request message.

In step 2, the (R)AN may select an AMF, and then send a second registration request message to the selected AMF. The information of the terminal device carried in the second registration request message may be the same as the information of the terminal device carried in the first registration request message. For example, the second registration request message may be registration request.

Step 3. The AMF sends a first subscription information acquisition request message to the data management network element (such as the UDM). Correspondingly, the data management network element receives the first subscription information acquisition request message.

The first subscription information acquisition request message is used to acquire subscription data of the terminal device. The subscription data of the terminal device may be, for example, subscribed slice information, subscribed frequency selection information, subscribed DNN, and the like.

Step 4. The UDM sends a first subscription information acquisition response message to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the first subscription information acquisition response message.

The first subscription information acquisition response message is a response message of the first subscription information acquisition request message, and may carry subscription data of the terminal device.

Step 5. AMF selects AM-PCF.

The AMF can select the AM-PCF according to the acquired subscription information of the terminal device.

Step 6. The AM sends an AM policy association establishment/update request message to the AM-PCF. Correspondingly, the AM-PCF receives the AM policy association establishment/update request message.

The AM policy association establishment/update request message may be a request message for requesting establishment or update of an access and mobility management policy. The AM policy association establishment/update request message may be a conventional message, or may be a message under a service-oriented architecture, such as Npcf_AMPolicyControl_create/modification.

Step 7. The AM-PCF sends a third registration request message to the BSF. Correspondingly, the BSF receives the third registration request message.

After the AM-PCF receives the message in step 6, it can establish or update the AM policy. The AM-PCF can determine the AM policy (for example, the RFSP index value) according to the application corresponding to the session, and the DNN and S-NSSAI corresponding to the session. Then, the registration information corresponding to the created or updated AM policy can be registered with the BSF through the third registration request message in step 7 .

The registration information carried in the third registration request message may include, for example, information such as the address of the terminal device and the address of the AM-PCF. It can also carry the subscription identifier of the terminal device. It can also carry network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device. The third registration request is used to request the registration of registration information to the BSF.

Step 8. The BSF sends a third registration response message to the AM-PCF. Correspondingly, the AM-PCF receives the third registration response message.

The third registration response message is a response message of the third registration request message, and may also be referred to as a third registration request response message. The third registration response message may be used to indicate that the BSF has successfully registered the registration information in the third registration request to the BSF.

Step 9. AM-PCF may send AM Policy Association Setup/Update Response message to AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the AM policy association establishment/update response message.

The AM policy association establishment/update response message is a response message of the AM policy association establishment/update request message. The AM Policy Association Establish/Update Response message may be used to indicate that the AM-PCF has established or updated the AM policy. The AM policy association establishment/update response message can be a conventional message or a message in a service-oriented architecture, such as Npcf_AMPolicyControl_create/modification response.

Steps 6 and 9 may be an example of the aforementioned step 401 in FIG. 4 . Steps 7 and 8 can also be divided into steps in the aforementioned step 401 .

Step 10. The AMF feeds back the first registration acceptance message to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first registration acceptance message.

The first registration acceptance message may be used to indicate that the terminal device has successfully registered or failed to register. After the terminal device is successfully registered, the subsequent session establishment process may be continued, and the session in the embodiment of the present application may be introduced by taking the PDU session as an example.

Step 11. The AM-PCF sends a first subscription request message to the BSF. Correspondingly, the BSF receives the first subscription request message.

The first subscription request message may include the second information, and the first subscription request message may be used to subscribe to the information of the SM-PCF corresponding to the second information. The first subscription request message in step 11 is an example of the first request message in step 405 in FIG. 4 . For the related introduction of step 11, please refer to the related content of the foregoing step 405.

The AM-PCF may determine the information of the SM PCF corresponding to the session that needs to be subscribed to the BSF based on information such as the pre-configured information in the AM-PCF or the ID of the application corresponding to the session obtained from the UDR. Alternatively, the AM-PCF may determine that the AM-PCF will apply the dynamic change access and mobility management policy based on information preconfigured in the AM-PCF or the ID of the application corresponding to the session obtained from the UDR. After that, when the first subscription request message is sent, it can subscribe to the BSF by calling Nbsf_Management_Subscribe (which can carry the SUPI of the terminal device, and the DNN and S-NSSAI corresponding to the session). In order to notify the AM-PCF of the information of the SM-PCF when the SM-PCF serving the session of the SUPI terminal device is registered in the BSF.

Step 12. The BSF sends a first subscription response message to the AM-PCF. Correspondingly, the AM-PCF receives the first subscription response message.

The first subscription response message may be a response message of the first subscription request message, and may be used to instruct the BSF to accept the content subscribed by the first subscription request message.

Step 13. The terminal device sends a first session establishment request to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the first session establishment request.

The first session establishment request is used to request establishment of a session. In 5G, the first session establishment request may be, for example, a PDU session establishment request or a PDU session establishment request.

It should be noted that in some places in the embodiments of this application, a session is used as an example for a PDU session. In a future communication system, a session may still be a PDU session, or may have other names, which are not limited in this application.

Step 14. The AMF sends a second session establishment request to the SMF. Correspondingly, the SMF receives the second session establishment request.

The second session establishment request is used to request establishment of a session. In 5G, the second session establishment request may be, for example, a PDU session establishment request, or an Nsmf_PDU session_CreateSMContext request.

In this embodiment of the present application, the session establishment requests in steps 13 and 14 are used for requesting session establishment, and the request messages in steps 13 and 14 for requesting session establishment may also be replaced by request messages for requesting session update. In FIG. 5 , only the AMF sends a request message for requesting to establish a session to the SMF as an example for illustration.

Step 15. The SMF sends a second subscription information acquisition request message to the data management network element (such as the UDM). Correspondingly, the data management network element receives the second subscription information acquisition request message.

The second subscription information acquisition request message is used to acquire subscription data corresponding to the session of the terminal device. The subscription data corresponding to the session may include, for example, information such as an allowed PDU session type. The subscription data corresponding to the session may be set at S-NSSAI granularity (per S-NSSAI), or set at DNN granularity (per DNN).

Step 16. The UDM sends a second subscription information acquisition response message to the SMF. Correspondingly, the SMF receives the second subscription information acquisition response message.

The second subscription information acquisition response message is a response message to the second subscription information acquisition request message, and may carry subscription data of the terminal device.

It should be noted that, if the subscription data corresponding to the session of the terminal device is not stored on the SMF, the subscription data can be obtained from the UDM through steps 15 and 16 . In another possible implementation, the SMF can obtain the subscription data in advance and store it, so that after receiving the second session establishment request, it can perform subsequent processing according to the stored subscription data without temporarily querying the UDM.

Step 17. SMF selects SM-PCF.

The SMF can select the SM-PCF according to the queried subscription information of the terminal device.

Step 18. The SMF sends an SM policy association establishment/update request message to the SM-PCF. Correspondingly, the SM-PCF receives the SM policy association establishment/update request message.

The SM policy association establishment/update request message may be a request message for requesting establishment or update of a session management policy. The SMF can report information such as the identifier of the session, the SUPI of the terminal device, the DNN and S-NSSAI corresponding to the session to the SM-PCF. After allocating the address of the terminal device to the session, the SMF can also report the address of the terminal device to the SM-PCF, such as IPv4 address, IPv6 prefix, or media access control (Medium Access Control, MAC) address, etc. The SM policy association establishment/update request message may be a conventional message, or may be a message under a service-oriented architecture, such as Npcf_SMPolicyControl_create/modification.

Step 19. The SM-PCF sends a third subscription information acquisition request message to the data management network element (such as the UDR). Correspondingly, the data management network element receives the third subscription information acquisition request message.

The third subscription information acquisition request message is used to acquire the subscription data of the terminal device, and it may also be said that the third subscription information is used to request to acquire the subscription data corresponding to the SM policy. The subscription data of the terminal device may include, for example, user level information (for example, whether the user is a gold medal user or a silver medal user) and the like.

Step 20. The UDR sends a third subscription information acquisition response message to the SM-PCF. Correspondingly, the SM-PCF receives the third subscription information acquisition response message.

The third subscription information acquisition response message is a response message to the third subscription information acquisition request message, which may carry subscription data of the terminal device, or carry subscription data corresponding to the SM policy.

Step 21. The SM-PCF sends a fourth registration request message to the BSF. Correspondingly, the BSF receives the fourth registration request message.

After receiving the message in step 18, the SM-PCF can establish or update the SM policy, and then register the registration information corresponding to the created or updated SM policy to the BSF through the fourth registration request message in step 22.

The registration information corresponding to the SM policy carried in the fourth registration request message may include, for example, the allocated address/prefix of the terminal device, the address of the SM-PCF, and other information; and may also carry information such as the identifier of the session.

In the embodiment of the present application, in step 21, the SM-PCF may call Nbsf_management_registration.

Step 22. The BSF sends a fourth registration response message to the SM-PCF. Correspondingly, the SM-PCF receives the fourth registration response message.

The fourth registration response message is a response message of the fourth registration request message, and may also be referred to as a fourth registration request response message. The fourth registration response message may be used to indicate that the BSF has successfully registered the registration information in the fourth registration request to the BSF.

In this embodiment of the present application, the BSF may carry the first indication information in the fourth registration response message, and then the SM-PCF receives the first indication information from the BSF by receiving the fourth registration response message. Step 22 may be an example of the aforementioned step 404 .

In a possible implementation manner, the BSF may apply the information of dynamically changing the access and mobility management policy according to the acquired AM-PCF, and carry the first indication information in the fourth registration response message. In another possible implementation manner, the acquired information that the AM-PCF will apply the dynamic change of the access and mobility management policy may be the second information in the foregoing first subscription request message. Specifically, since the second information in the first subscription request message is received, it can be inferred that the AM-PCF will apply the dynamic change access and mobility management policy, so the BSF can use the second information in the first subscription request message information, and the first indication information is carried in the fourth registration response message. In another possible implementation manner, the BSF may carry the first indication information in the fourth registration response message based on the received first subscription request message. After the BSF receives the first subscription request message, in order to query the SM-PCF corresponding to the second information, the SM-PCF needs to report the first information. Therefore, the BSF does not need to receive the indication information sent by other network elements. The first subscription request message carried the first indication information in the fourth registration response message.

In yet another possible implementation, the fourth registration request message may also carry the subscription identifier of the terminal device and network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device, such as the SUPI of the terminal device, the DNN and S-NSSAI corresponding to the session, etc. , or may not carry information such as the SUPI of the terminal device, the DNN and S-NSSAI corresponding to the session. The BSF may make a judgment after receiving the fourth registration request message to determine whether the fourth registration request message carries the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device. Then carry the first indication information. If not carried, the fourth registration response message carries the first indication information.

In yet another possible implementation, the BSF may store the correspondence between the terminal equipment subscription identifier and the terminal equipment address, and may only send the first indication information to the SM-PCF corresponding to the terminal equipment in the correspondence. Or other network elements such as AM-PCF may acquire the above-mentioned correspondence between the terminal equipment subscription identifier and the terminal equipment address and send it to the BSF.

In a possible implementation, AM-PCF obtains the correspondence between the terminal device subscription identifier and the terminal device address by subscribing to the AMF the address of the terminal device for a session (eg, a PDU session) (the AMF may further subscribe to the SMF). Or, in another possible implementation manner, the fourth registration request message sent by the SM-PCF may carry SUPI, but does not carry DNN or S-NSSAI. In this case, the BSF can obtain the terminal from the SM-PCF. The correspondence between the subscription identifier of the device and the address of the terminal device.

Step 22 in this embodiment of the present application may be an example of the foregoing step 404 in FIG. 4 , and for related content, please refer to the relevant introduction of the foregoing step 404 .

Step 21.1. The SM-PCF sends a registration update request message to the BSF, where the registration update request message includes the first information. The registration update request message is used to request to update the first information to the BSF.

Correspondingly, the BSF receives the registration update request message.

Step 21.1 in this embodiment of the present application may be an example of the foregoing step 405 in FIG. 4 , and for related content, please refer to the relevant introduction of the foregoing step 405 .

In a possible implementation, after the SM-PCF is registered with the BSF, the AF can discover the information of the SM-PCF serving the session through the BSF. For example, the AF can send (possibly sent through the NEF) to the BSF to request to obtain the SM-PCF. The information request message, for example, can be Nbsf_management_discovery_request, and the message can carry the address of the terminal device. The address of the terminal device can be used as mandatory information. It can also carry information such as the DNN corresponding to the session and the identifier of the terminal device. The BSF can feed back the information of the SM-PCF serving the session to the AF according to the stored tuple relationship. The AF sends an authorization request message (for example, Npcf_PolicyAuthorization can be called) to the SM-PCF. The authorization request message may include information such as Quality of Service (QoS) requirements, and may also carry information such as bandwidth and service type. The identifier of the terminal device mentioned in the embodiment of this application may be an external identifier (such as a phone number), or may be the SUPI of the terminal device. When the AF carries the external identifier in the message sent to the SM-PCF, the NEF can convert the external identifier of the terminal device into the internal identifier of the terminal device, and then send it to the SM-PCF.

Step 23. The SM-PCF may send an SM Policy Association Setup/Update Response message to the SMF. Correspondingly, the SMF receives the SM policy association establishment/update response message.

The SM policy association establishment/update response message is a response message of the SM policy association establishment/update request message. The SM Policy Association Establishment/Update Response message may be used to indicate that the SM-PCF has established or updated the SM Policy. The SM policy association establishment/update response message can be a conventional message or a message in a service-oriented architecture, such as Npcf_SMPolicyControl_create/modification response.

Steps 18 and 23 may be an example of the aforementioned step 403 in FIG. 4 . Steps 19 and 20 may also belong to the steps in the aforementioned step 403 in FIG. 4 .

Step 24. The BSF determines that part or all of the first information matches the second information, and then executes step 25.

In FIG. 5 , it is shown that all the first information matches all the second information as an example.

For the content of step 25 in this embodiment of the present application, reference may be made to the content of step 406 in the foregoing FIG. 4 .

Step 25. The BSF sends a first notification message to the AM-PCF corresponding to the first information, where the first notification message includes the information of the SM-PCF. Correspondingly, the AM-PCF receives the first notification message.

For the content of step 25 in this embodiment of the present application, reference may be made to the content of step 407 in the foregoing FIG. 4 . After step 25, the related content of steps 408 to 416 in FIG. 4 can be executed, and details are not repeated here.

It can be seen from the solution in FIG. 5 that the BSF can send the first indication information to the SM-PCF, and the SM-PCF sends the first information to the BSF through a registration update request message, and then the BSF can feed back the AM-PCF corresponding to the first information The information of the SM-PCF, so that the AM-PCF can subscribe to the SM-PCF for the start and stop events of the application, and realize the DCAMP feature.

Embodiment 3

Based on the solution shown in FIG. 5 , this embodiment of the present application provides another possible implementation, which is referred to as the third implementation in order to easily distinguish the subsequent contents. Compared with FIG. 5 , the BSF determines that the fourth registration response message The information on which the first indication information is carried is different, specifically:

In step 7 in FIG. 5 , the third registration request message sent by the AM-PCF to the BSF may carry the second indication information. In a possible implementation manner, the second indication information is information used to indicate that the AM-PCF will apply the dynamically changing access and mobility management policy. In another possible implementation manner, the second indication information is information used to indicate that the AM-PCF supports dynamically changing the access and mobility management policy. In another possible implementation manner, the second indication information is information used to indicate that the SM-PCF needs to report the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device to the BSF. In another possible implementation manner, the second indication information is requirement information of the application corresponding to the session.

The first indication information and the second indication information may be the same or different. For example, the first indication information is information used to indicate that the SM-PCF needs to report the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device to the BSF, and the second indication information is that the AM-PCF will apply dynamic change access. Information with mobility management policies.

The BSF may determine to carry the first indication information in the fourth registration response message according to the received second indication information.

In a possible implementation, the AM-PCF can determine whether it will apply the information of dynamically changing the access and mobility management policy. In the case that the AM-PCF will apply the information of dynamically changing the access and mobility management policy, the second indication information is carried in the third registration request message. The second indication information may also be sent to the BSF through a separate piece of signaling.

In this embodiment of the present application, the AM-PCF may acquire the first indication information from the UDR, and then send the second indication information to other network elements according to the first indication information. The first indication information may be different from or the same as the second indication information.

It can be seen from the third embodiment and the second embodiment of FIG. 5 that the BSF can infer from the second information in The second indication information in step 7 in the third way determines that the AM-PCF will apply the information for dynamically changing the access and mobility management policy. There are various ways to increase the flexibility of the scheme.

Embodiment 4

Based on the foregoing content shown in FIG. 5 , another possible fourth implementation provided by this embodiment of the present application, compared with the second implementation shown in FIG. 5 , in the fourth implementation, the SM-PCF obtains the first indication information. The way is different from that in Fig. 5, and the way of sending the first information is different from that in Fig. 5, specifically:

In the fourth embodiment, in the aforementioned step 20 in FIG. 5 , the UDR may further carry the first indication information in the third subscription information acquisition response message.

Correspondingly, the SM-PCF receives the first indication information by receiving the third subscription information acquisition response message. This step may be an example of the aforementioned 404 .

Another difference from FIG. 6 is that the fourth registration request message sent in step 21 of FIG. 5 may carry the first information. Since the fourth registration request message already carries the first information, the BSF also does not need to carry the first indication information in the fourth registration response message. Furthermore, the SM-PCF does not need to send a registration update request message carrying the first information to the BSF.

For the rest of the content in the fourth embodiment, reference may be made to the above-mentioned related introduction in FIG. 5 , which will not be repeated here.

In this embodiment of the present application, the UDR may store the first indication information, and the first indication information may be stored in the subscription by the user, or stored by the operator or the application network element.

It can be seen from the fourth embodiment that the SM PCF can obtain the first indication information from the subscription information. Then the SM-PCF sends the first information to the BSF through the registration request message, and then the BSF can feed back the information of the SM-PCF to the AM-PCF corresponding to the first information, so that the AM-PCF can subscribe to the SM-PCF for application startup. and stop events, there are various ways to implement the DCAMP feature, which can improve the flexibility of the scheme.

Embodiment 5

Based on the content shown in the foregoing Embodiment 4, another possible Embodiment 5 provided by the embodiments of the present application, compared with Embodiment 4, the manner in which the SM-PCF obtains the first indication information in Embodiment 5 is the same as that in Embodiment 4. That is, in Embodiment 5, the third subscription information acquisition response message in step 20 may not carry the first indication information, specifically:

In the fifth embodiment, in step 16: the UDM may further carry third indication information in the second subscription information acquisition response message. In a possible implementation manner, the third indication information is information used to indicate that the AM-PCF will apply the dynamically changing access and mobility management policy. In another possible implementation manner, the third indication information is information used to indicate that the AM-PCF supports dynamically changing the access and mobility management policy. In another possible implementation manner, the third indication information is information used to indicate that the SM-PCF needs to report the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device to the BSF.

In another possible implementation manner, the third indication information acquired by the SMF is the requirement information of the application corresponding to the session. The first indication information and the third indication information may be the same or different.

In the embodiment of the present application, there are various ways for the SMF to obtain the demand information of the application corresponding to the session. In a possible implementation manner, the terminal device may store the demand information of the application corresponding to the session, and the SMF may also obtain the demand information of the application corresponding to the session from the terminal device. For example, the demand information of the application corresponding to the session can be obtained through the information for requesting to establish or update the session (for example, the UE Route Selection Policy (URSP) of the terminal device is based on the information used to indicate that the AM-PCF will apply It is generated from the information of dynamically changing the access and mobility management strategy, including the application and its corresponding demand information. The terminal device can associate the application with the corresponding session (such as a PDU session) according to the URSP, and instruct the SMF to the PDU session. The corresponding PCF (SM-PCF) needs to register the first information to the BSF). In another possible implementation, the AF can store the requirement information of the application corresponding to the session in the UDR through the NEF, and the SMF can obtain the requirement information of the application corresponding to the session from the UDR through the NEF or the UDM.

Correspondingly, the SMF receives the third indication information.

Then in step 18, the SMF carries the first indication information in the SM policy association establishment/update request message according to the third indication information.

Correspondingly, the SM-PCF obtains the first indication information by receiving the SM policy association establishment/update request message in step 18 . This step may be an example of the aforementioned 404 .

In another possible implementation manner, if the subscription data corresponding to the session of the terminal device is not stored on the SMF, the subscription data can be obtained from the UDM through steps 15 and 16, and then can be obtained through the second subscription information acquisition response message third indication information. In another possible implementation, the SMF may acquire the subscription data and the third indication information in advance, and store them, so that after receiving the second session establishment request, it can perform subsequent processing according to the stored third indication information, without temporarily requesting UDM query.

For the rest of the content in the fifth embodiment, reference may be made to the relevant introduction of the foregoing fourth embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

In the embodiment of the present application, the first indication information may be stored in the UDM, and the first indication information may be stored in the user's subscription, or stored by the operator or the application terminal.

It can be seen from the content of Embodiment 5 that the SMF can obtain the third indication information from the subscription information, and then send the first indication information to the SM-PCF according to the third indication information. Then the SM-PCF sends the first information to the BSF through the registration request message, and then the BSF can feed back the information of the SM-PCF to the AM-PCF corresponding to the first information, so that the AM-PCF can subscribe to the SM-PCF for application startup. and stop events, there are various ways to implement the DCAMP feature, which can improve the flexibility of the scheme.

Embodiment 6

Based on the content shown in the fifth embodiment, another possible sixth embodiment provided by the embodiment of the present application, compared with the fifth embodiment, that is, the second subscription information acquisition response message in step 16 in the sixth embodiment can be Without carrying the third indication information, the information on which the SMF sends the first indication information to the SM-PCF in Embodiment 6 is different from that in Embodiment 5, specifically:

In step 9 in the sixth embodiment, the AM policy association establishment/update response message sent by the AM-PCF to the AMF carries the second indication information. The second indication information is used to indicate that the AM-PCF will apply information that dynamically changes the access and mobility management policy.

The AMF may carry the fourth indication information in the second session establishment request message in step 14 according to the second indication information. In a possible implementation manner, the fourth indication information is information used to indicate that the AM-PCF will apply the dynamically changing access and mobility management policy. In another possible implementation manner, the fourth indication information is information used to indicate that the AM-PCF supports dynamically changing the access and mobility management policy. In another possible implementation manner, the fourth indication information is information used to indicate that the SM-PCF needs to report the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device to the BSF. In another possible implementation manner, the fourth indication information is requirement information of the application corresponding to the session. The first indication information and the fourth indication information may be the same or different.

After the SMF receives the fourth indication information, according to the fourth indication information, in step 18, the SMF carries the first indication information in the SM policy association establishment/update request message according to the fourth indication information.

Correspondingly, the SM-PCF obtains the first indication information by receiving the SM policy association establishment/update request message in step 18. This step may be an example of the aforementioned 404 .

For the rest of the content of the sixth embodiment, reference may be made to the relevant introduction of the fifth embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

In a possible implementation, the AM-PCF can determine whether it will apply the information of dynamically changing the access and mobility management policy. In the case that the AM-PCF will apply the information of dynamically changing the access and mobility management policy, the second indication information is carried in the third registration request message. The second indication information may also be sent to the AMF through a separate piece of signaling.

It can be seen from the content of Embodiment 6 that the AM PCF can send the second indication information to the AMF according to its own capabilities and needs, and then the AMF sends the fourth indication information to the SMF according to the second indication information, and the SMF sends the SM- The PCF sends the first indication information. Then the SM-PCF sends the first information to the BSF through the registration request message, and then the BSF can feed back the information of the SM-PCF to the AM-PCF corresponding to the first information, so that the AM-PCF can subscribe to the SM-PCF for application startup. and stop events, there are various ways to implement the DCAMP feature, which can improve the flexibility of the scheme.

Embodiment 7

Based on the content shown in the foregoing Embodiment 6, another possible Embodiment 7 provided by the embodiments of the present application, compared with Embodiment 6, in Embodiment 7, the AMF sends the fourth indication information to the AM-PCF based on the The information is different from that in Embodiment 6, that is, the AM policy association establishment/update response message in Step 9 in Embodiment 7 may not carry the second indication information, specifically:

In step 4 in Embodiment 7, the UDM carries the third indication information in the first subscription information acquisition response message. The third indication information is used to indicate that the AM-PCF will apply information that dynamically changes the access and mobility management policy.

The AMF may carry the fourth indication information in the second session establishment request message in step 14 according to the third indication information. The fourth indication information is used to indicate that the AM-PCF will apply information that dynamically changes the access and mobility management policy.

For the rest of the content of the seventh embodiment, reference may be made to the relevant introduction of the sixth embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

In the embodiment of the present application, third indication information may be stored in the UDR, and the third indication information may be stored by the user when signing the contract, or stored by the operator or the application terminal.

It can be seen from the content of Embodiment 7 that the AMF can obtain the third indication information from the frontline information, and then the AMF sends the fourth indication information to the SMF according to the third indication information, and the SMF sends the first indication information to the SM-PCF according to the fourth indication information Instructions. Then the SM-PCF sends the first information to the BSF through the registration request message, and then the BSF can feed back the information of the SM-PCF to the AM-PCF corresponding to the first information, so that the AM-PCF can subscribe to the SM-PCF for application startup. and stop events, there are various ways to implement the DCAMP feature, which can improve the flexibility of the scheme.

FIG. 6 exemplarily shows a schematic flowchart of a method for storing first indication information provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 6 , the method includes:

Step 1001. The AF sends an AM Policy Impact Request message to the NEF.

The AM policy influence request message carries fifth indication information. In a possible implementation manner, the fifth indication information is information used to indicate that the AM-PCF will apply the dynamically changing access and mobility management policy. In another possible implementation manner, the fifth indication information is information used to indicate that the AM-PCF supports dynamically changing the access and mobility management policy. In another possible implementation, the fifth indication information is information used to indicate that the SM-PCF needs to report the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device to the BSF. The fifth indication information may also be requirement information of the application corresponding to the session. The first indication information and the fifth indication information may be the same or different.

In another possible implementation manner, any one of the first indication information, the second indication information, the third indication information, the fourth indication information, and the fifth indication information in this embodiment of the present application may also be multiple types Information, such as the information used to indicate that the AM-PCF will apply the dynamically changing access and mobility management policies, the information used to indicate that the AM-PCF supports the dynamically changing access and mobility management policies, the information used to indicate the SM-PCF At least two items of information about the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device, or the demand information of the application corresponding to the session need to be reported to the BSF.

It should be noted that any two of the first indication information, the second indication information, the third indication information, the fourth indication information, and the fifth indication information in this embodiment of the present application may be the same or different.

The AM policy impact request message may also include "AM impact information", and the AM impact information may include the identity of the target terminal device (one UE identified by SUPI or GPSI, a group of terminal devices or all terminal devices identified by the external group identifier) ), the traffic of the target application (DNN, S-NSSAI, and application ID) (optional), and requirements related to AM policy (such as service coverage requirements, throughput requirements), etc.

Step 1002. After receiving the AM policy impact request message, the NEF sends a data setup/update request message to the UDR.

The data establishment/update request message carries the first indication information.

The data establishment/update request message may further carry the AM impact information in the AM policy impact request message. If the AM influence information includes the external identifier of the terminal device, the NEF can convert it into the internal identifier of the terminal device, for example, it can convert the GPSI of the terminal device into SUPI.

Step 1003. The UDR sends a data setup/update response message to the NEF.

The data establishment/update response message may be a response message of the data establishment/update request message, and may be used to instruct the UDR to store the first indication information.

Step 1004. The NEF sends an AM Policy Impact Response message to the AF.

The AM policy influence response message may be a response message of the AM policy influence request message, and may be used to indicate that the data affecting the AM policy has been stored in the UDR.

This embodiment of the present application may also provide another solution for storing the first indication information in the UDR. For example, during registration, the AM-PCF uses the location information of the terminal device and the slice information allowed to be used by the terminal device (such as allowed NSSAI), and application requests and other information to make policy decisions, and when it is determined that the AM-PCF will dynamically change the access and mobility management policy, the first indication information is sent to the UDR.

After the first indication information is stored in the UDR, the SM-PCF, UDM, AM-PCF (such as the network elements with interfaces to the UDR that have appeared in the above-mentioned embodiments) can obtain the information from the UDR. After the acquisition, operations can be performed according to the descriptions in the foregoing embodiments. For example, the AM-PCF can generate a UE policy (such as URSP) according to the first instruction, which includes the application and the corresponding demand information. When the terminal device associates the application with a PDU session, it instructs the SMF that the PCF ( SM-PCF) needs to register the first information to the BSF.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments shown in FIG. 4 to FIG. 6 are all described by taking FIG. 1a applied to the 5G network architecture in the non-roaming scenario shown in FIG. 1b or FIG. 1c as an example. Take the home routing roaming 5G network architecture shown in Figure 2a or Figure 2b as an example for description, or take Figure 1a applied to the local grooming roaming 5G network architecture shown in Figure 2c or Figure 2d as an example to illustrate, then the corresponding The communication method is similar to the method in the above-mentioned embodiment, and it is only necessary to perform adaptive replacement of the relevant network elements, which will not be repeated here.

It can be understood that, in the above embodiments, the methods and/or steps implemented by the first policy control network element may also be implemented by components (eg, chips or circuits) that can be used for the first policy control network element. The methods and/or steps implemented by the second policy control network element may also be implemented by a component (for example, a chip or a circuit) that can be used for the second policy control network element. The methods and/or steps implemented by the binding support network element may also be implemented by a component (eg, a chip or a circuit) that can be used for the binding support network element. The methods and/or steps implemented by the mobility management network element may also be implemented by components (eg, chips or circuits) that can be used for the mobility management network element. The methods and/or steps implemented by the session management network element may also be implemented by components (eg, chips or circuits) that can be used for the session management network element. The methods and/or steps implemented by the application network element may also be implemented by components (eg, chips or circuits) available for the application network element. The methods and/or steps implemented by the network capability openness network element may also be implemented by components (eg, chips or circuits) that can be used for the network capability openness network element. The methods and/or steps implemented by the data management network element may also be implemented by components (eg, chips or circuits) that can be used for the data management network element.

The foregoing mainly introduces the solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application from the perspective of interaction between various network elements. Based on the above embodiments and the same concept, FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a communication apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application.

The communication device may be a first policy control network element, a second policy control network element, a binding support network element, a mobility management network element, a session management network element, an application network element or a data management network element in the above method embodiments , or may also be a device, a chip or a circuit.

The communication device 1100 includes a processing module 1102 and a transceiver module 1101 . Further, the communication apparatus 1100 may include the storage module 1103 or may not include the storage module 1103 . The dotted line in the storage module 1103 in the figure further identifies the storage module as optional.

The processing module 1102 may be a processor or a controller, for example, a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), general-purpose processor, digital signal processing (DSP), application specific integrated circuit (application specific integrated circuit) circuits, ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. It may implement or execute the various exemplary logical blocks, modules and circuits described in connection with this disclosure. A processor may also be a combination that implements computing functions, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, and the like. The processing module 1102 can execute computer-executable instructions stored in the storage module.

The storage module 1103 may be a memory. Optionally, the storage module can be a storage module in a chip, such as a register, a cache, etc., and the storage module can also be a storage module located outside the chip in the communication device, such as a read-only memory (ROM). ) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, random access memory (RAM), etc.

The transceiver module 1101 is an interface circuit of the communication device, and is used to receive signals from other devices. For example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the transceiver module 1101 is an interface circuit used by the chip to receive signals from other chips or devices, or an interface circuit used by the chip to send signals to other chips or devices. The transceiver module 1101 can be, for example, a transceiver. Optionally, the transceiver may include radio frequency circuitry. The transceiver module 1101 can be, for example, an input/output interface, a pin, a circuit, or the like.

Specifically, the functions/implementation process of the transceiver module 1101 and the processing module 1102 in FIG. 7 can be implemented by the processor 301 in the communication device 300 shown in FIG. 3 calling the computer execution instructions stored in the memory 303 . Alternatively, the function/implementation process of the processing module 1102 in FIG. 7 may be implemented by the processor 301 in the communication device 300 shown in FIG. 3 calling the computer-executed instructions stored in the memory 303, and the function of the transceiver module 1101 in FIG. The implementation process can be implemented through the communication interface 304 in the communication device 300 shown in FIG. 3 .

For example, taking the communication device 1100 as the first policy control network element in the above method embodiments as an example, the processing module 1102 is configured to send a message carrying the first instruction to the binding support network element through the transceiver module 1101 according to the first indication information. The first request message for information. The transceiver module 1101 is further configured to receive the first indication information. The first information includes the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device, and the first request message is used to request the registration of the first information to the binding support network element.

In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver module 1101 is configured to receive the first indication information from the binding support network element.

In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver module 1101 is configured to send a registration request message carrying information of the first policy control network element to the binding support network element, receive a registration request response message from the binding support network element, and register The request response message carries the first indication information.

In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver module 1101 is configured to receive the first indication information from the data management network element.

In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver module 1101 is further configured to receive a request message from a session management network element for requesting to establish or update a session management policy corresponding to a session; send a request message to the data management network element for requesting session management The request message of the subscription information corresponding to the policy; and the response message from the data management network element is received, and the response message carries the first indication information and the subscription information.

In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver module 1101 is configured to receive a request message from the session management network element that carries the first indication information and is used to establish or update a session management policy corresponding to the session.

Wherein, all relevant contents of the steps involved in the above method embodiments can be cited in the functional descriptions of the corresponding functional modules, which will not be repeated here.

For example, taking the communication device 1100 as a binding support network element in the above method embodiments as an example, the transceiver module 1101 is configured to receive a registration request message from the first policy control network element, and receive a registration request message from the first policy control network element. The first request message carrying the first information sends the information of the first policy control network element to the second policy control network element. The first information includes the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device. The first request message The first policy control network element is used for requesting to update the first information to the communication device, and the first policy control network element is a policy control network element that provides session management to the terminal device. The processing module 1102 is configured to control the network element to dynamically change the access and mobility management policy information according to the acquired second policy, and send a registration request response carrying the first indication information to the first policy control network element through the transceiver module 1101 message, the second policy control network element is a policy control network element that provides access and mobility management to the terminal device.

In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver module 1101 is further configured to receive a second request message carrying the second information from the second policy control network element; the second request message is used to request to obtain the first request message corresponding to the second information The information of the policy control network element, and the second information includes the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device. The processing module 1102 is further configured to, according to the second request message, send the information of the first policy control network element to the second policy control network element through the transceiver module 1101 when part or all of the first information matches the second information .

It can be understood that, in order to realize the above-mentioned functions, the communication apparatus includes corresponding hardware structures and/or software modules for executing each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that the present application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein. Whether a function is performed by hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality using different methods for each particular application, but such implementations should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

According to the method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the present application also provides a computer program product, the computer program product includes: computer program code or instructions, when the computer program code or instructions are run on a computer, the computer is made to execute FIG. 4 To the method of any one of the embodiments shown in FIG. 6 .

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, where the computer-readable storage medium stores program codes, and when the program codes are executed on a computer, causes the computer to execute FIG. 4 to FIG. 6 . The method of any one of the illustrated embodiments.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, the present application further provides a chip system, where the chip system may include a processor. The processor is coupled to the memory and can be used to perform the method of any one of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 . Optionally, the chip system further includes a memory. Memory, used to store computer programs (also called code, or instructions). The processor is used to call and run the computer program from the memory, so that the device installed with the chip system executes the method of any one of the embodiments shown in FIG. 4 to FIG. 6 .

In the above-mentioned embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions according to the embodiments of the present application are produced in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. Computer instructions may be stored on or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from a website site, computer, server, or data center over a wire (e.g. coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (eg infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means to transmit to another website site, computer, server or data center. A computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, or the like that contains one or more of the available mediums integrated. Useful media may be magnetic media (eg, floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), optical media (eg, high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or semiconductor media (eg, solid state disc (SSD)) )Wait.

It should be noted that a part of this patent application file contains content protected by copyright. Except for making copies of the patent files of the Patent Office or the contents of the recorded patent files, the copyright owner reserves the right to copyright.

The network equipment in the above apparatus embodiments corresponds to the terminal equipment and the network equipment or terminal equipment in the method embodiments, and corresponding steps are performed by corresponding modules or units, for example, the transceiver module (transceiver) performs the receiving or sending in the method embodiments. The steps other than sending and receiving can be performed by a processing module (processor). For functions of specific units, reference may be made to corresponding method embodiments. The number of processors may be one or more.

The terms "component", "module", "system" and the like are used in this specification to refer to a computer-related entity, hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a computing device and the computing device may be components. One or more components may reside within a process and/or thread of execution, and a component may be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, these components can execute from various computer readable media having various data structures stored thereon. A component may, for example, be based on a signal having one or more data packets (eg, data from two components interacting with another component between a local system, a distributed system, and/or a network, such as the Internet interacting with other systems via signals) Communicate through local and/or remote processes.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks and steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware accomplish. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality using different methods for each particular application, but such implementations should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working process of the above-described systems, devices and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus and method may be implemented in other manners. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are only illustrative. For example, the division of units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, for example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated. to another system, or some features can be ignored, or not implemented. On the other hand, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, and may be in electrical, mechanical or other forms.

Units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, may be located in one place, or may be distributed to multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution in this embodiment. In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing module, or each unit may exist physically alone, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as stand-alone products, may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium.

The above are only specific embodiments of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited to this. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, and should cover within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

A communication method, comprising:

receiving the indication information by a first policy control network element, where the first policy control network element is a policy control network element that provides session management to the terminal device;

The first policy control network element sends a first request message carrying first information to the binding support network element according to the indication information, where the first information includes the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the session of the terminal device Corresponding network information, the first request message is used to request to register the first information to the binding support network element;

A second policy control network element receives information from the first policy control network element of the binding support network element, the second policy control network element is a policy for providing access and mobility management to the terminal device Control network elements.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the subscription identifier of the terminal device comprises: at least one of the subscription permanent identifier SUPI of the terminal device or the external subscription identifier GPSI of the terminal device;

The network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device includes: a data network name DNN corresponding to the session of the terminal device, or at least one item of assistance information S-NSSAI for selecting a single network slice corresponding to the session of the terminal device.
The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the method further comprises:

The second policy control network element sends a second request message carrying the second information to the binding support network element; the second request message is used to request to obtain the first policy control network element corresponding to the second information The second information includes the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device.
The method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the first policy control network element receiving indication information comprises:

The first policy control network element receives the indication information from the binding support network element.
The method of claim 4, wherein the method further comprises:

sending, by the first policy control network element, a registration request message carrying information of the first policy control network element to the binding support network element;

The first policy control network element receives the indication information from the binding support network element, including:

The first policy control network element receives a registration request response message from the binding support network element, where the registration request response message carries the indication information.
The method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the first policy control network element receives the indication information, comprising:

The first policy control network element receives the indication information from the data management network element.
The method of claim 6, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, by the first policy control network element, a request message from the session management network element for requesting to establish or update a session management policy corresponding to the session;

sending, by the first policy control network element, a request message for requesting subscription information corresponding to the session management policy to the data management network element;

The first policy control network element receives the indication information from the data management network element, including:

The first policy control network element receives a response message from the data management network element, where the response message carries the indication information and the subscription information.
The method according to any one of claims 1-7, wherein the indication information is at least one of the following:

information used to indicate that the second policy control network element will apply a dynamically changing access and mobility management policy;

information used to indicate that the second policy control network element supports the application to dynamically change the access and mobility management policy;

information used to instruct the first policy control network element to send the first information to the binding support network element;

Requirement information of the application corresponding to the session.
A communication method, comprising:

The binding support network element receives a registration request message from a first policy control network element, where the first policy control network element is a policy control network element that provides session management to the terminal device;

The binding support network element will apply the information of dynamically changing the access and mobility management policy according to the acquired second policy control network element, and send a registration request response message carrying the indication information to the first policy control network element, so the The second policy control network element is a policy control network element that provides access and mobility management to the terminal device;

The binding support network element receives a first request message from the first policy control network element that carries first information, where the first information includes a subscription identifier of the terminal device corresponding to a session of the terminal device. network information, where the first request message is used to request to update the first information to the binding support network element;

The binding support network element sends the information of the first policy control network element to the second policy control network element.
The method according to claim 9, wherein the subscription identifier of the terminal device comprises: at least one of a subscription permanent identifier SUPI of the terminal device or an external permanent identifier of the terminal device;

The network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device includes: a data network name DNN corresponding to the session of the terminal device, or at least one item of assistance information S-NSSAI for selecting a single network slice corresponding to the session of the terminal device.
The method of claim 9 or 10, wherein the method further comprises:

The binding support network element receives a second request message carrying the second information from the second policy control network element; the second request message is used to request to acquire the first policy control network corresponding to the second information meta information, the second information includes the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device;

The binding support network element sends the information of the first policy control network element to the second policy control network element, including:

According to the second request message, the binding support network element sends the first information to the second policy control network element when part or all of the first information matches the second information. The policy controls the information of the network element.
The method according to claim 11, wherein the acquired information that the second policy control network element will apply dynamic change of access and mobility management policies is: the first request in the first request 2. Information.
The method of claim 11 or 12, wherein the method further comprises:

The binding support network element receives information from the second policy control network element indicating that the second policy control network element will apply a dynamically changing access and mobility management policy.
The method of claim 13, wherein the binding support network element receives a message from the second policy control network element indicating that the second policy control network element will apply dynamic changes to access and mobility information on sexuality management policies, including:

The binding support network element receives a registration request message from the second policy control network element carrying information indicating that the second policy control network element will apply a dynamically changing access and mobility management policy.
The method according to any one of claims 9 to 14, wherein the binding support network element controls the network element to apply information that dynamically changes the access and mobility management policy according to the acquired second policy, Sending a registration request response message carrying indication information to the first policy control network element, including:

In the case that the registration request message does not carry the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device, the binding support network element controls the network element according to the acquired second policy. The information of dynamically changing the access and mobility management policy is applied, and a registration request response message carrying the indication information is sent to the first policy control network element.
The method according to any one of claims 9-15, wherein the indication information is at least one of the following:

information used to indicate that the second policy control network element will apply a dynamically changing access and mobility management policy;

information used to indicate that the second policy control network element supports the application to dynamically change the access and mobility management policy;

information used to instruct the first policy control network element to send the first information to the binding support network element;

Requirement information of the application corresponding to the session.
A communication system, comprising:

a first policy control network element, configured to receive indication information, and send a first request message carrying the first information to a binding support network element according to the indication information, where the first policy control network element is used to provide a session to a terminal device The managed policy control network element, the first information includes the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device, and the first request message is used to request the registration of the first information to the terminal device. Binding support network elements described above;

a second policy control network element, configured to receive information from the first policy control network element of the binding support network element, where the second policy control network element provides access and mobility to the terminal device Managed policies control network elements.
The communication system according to claim 17, wherein the second policy control network element is further used for:

sending a second request message carrying the second information to the binding support network element; the second request message is used to request to obtain the information of the first policy control network element corresponding to the second information; the second information It includes the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device.
The communication system according to any one of claims 17-18, wherein the first policy control network element is used for:

receiving the indication information from the binding support network element;

sending a registration request message carrying the information of the first policy control network element to the binding support network element;

A registration request response message from the binding support network element is received, where the registration request response message carries the indication information.
The communication system according to any one of claims 17-19, further comprising the second policy control network element;

The second policy control network element is configured to send, to the binding support network element, a registration request message that carries information indicating that the second policy control network element determines that the dynamic change access and mobility management policy will be applied ;

The binding support network element is further configured to receive the registration request message, and according to the information used to instruct the second policy control network element to determine that a dynamically changing access and mobility management policy will be applied, send the message to the The first policy controls the network element to send the indication information.
The communication system according to any one of claims 17-18, wherein the first policy control network element is used for:

receiving the indication information from the data management network element;

receiving a request message from a session management network element for requesting to establish or update a session management policy corresponding to the session;

sending a request message for requesting subscription information corresponding to the session management policy to the data management network element;

A response message from the data management network element is received, where the response message carries the indication information and the subscription information.
The communication system of claim 21, further comprising a session management network element and a data management network element;

the session management network element, configured to send a request message for requesting to establish or update a session management policy corresponding to the session to the first policy control network element;

The data management network element is configured to receive a request message for requesting subscription information corresponding to the session management policy, and send a subscription carrying the indication information and the subscription corresponding to the session management policy to the first policy control network element Informational response message.
The communication system according to any one of claims 17-18, further comprising a session management network element;

the session management network element, configured to send, to the first policy control network element, a request message that carries the indication information and is used to request to establish or update a session management policy corresponding to the session;

The first policy control network element is configured to receive the request message from the session management network element.
A communication device, comprising:

a transceiver module, configured to receive a registration request message from a first policy control network element, receive a first request message carrying first information from the first policy control network element, and send the first request message to a second policy control network element Information about a policy control network element, the first information includes a subscription identifier of a terminal device and network information corresponding to a session of the terminal device, and the first request message is used to request to update the first information to the a communication apparatus, wherein the first policy control network element is a policy control network element that provides session management to the terminal device;

A processing module, configured to control the network element to dynamically change the access and mobility management policy information according to the acquired second policy, and send the registration information carrying the indication information to the first policy control network element through the transceiver module request response message, the second policy control network element is a policy control network element that provides access and mobility management to the terminal device.
The communication device of claim 24, wherein the transceiver module is further configured to:

Receive a second request message carrying the second information from the second policy control network element; the second request message is used to request to obtain information of the first policy control network element corresponding to the second information, and the first policy control network element The second information includes the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device;

The processing module is also used for:

According to the second request message, if part or all of the first information matches the second information, send the first policy control to the second policy control network element through the transceiver module NE information.
The communication device according to claim 25, wherein the acquired information that the second policy control network element will apply a dynamically changing access and mobility management policy is: the information in the first request second information.
The communication device of claim 24, wherein the transceiver module is further configured to:

receiving information from the second policy control network element indicating that the second policy control network element will apply a dynamically changing access and mobility management policy.
The communication device according to claim 27, wherein the transceiver module is used for:

A registration request message carrying information for indicating that the second policy control network element will apply a dynamically changing access and mobility management policy is received from the second policy control network element.
The communication device according to any one of claims 24-28, wherein the transceiver module is configured to:

In the case that the subscription identifier of the terminal device and the network information corresponding to the session of the terminal device are not carried in the registration request message, the network element will dynamically change the access and mobility changes according to the acquired second policy. information of the property management policy, and send a registration request response message carrying the indication information to the first policy control network element.