WO2022267583A1

WO2022267583A1 - Communication method and apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2022267583A1
Application number: PCT/CN2022/082697
Authority: WO
Inventors: 杨文进
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2021-06-23
Filing date: 2022-03-24
Publication date: 2022-12-29
Also published as: CN115515157A

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and apparatus, which enable interactions that optimize processes in a network architecture, thereby reducing the transmission of intermediate network elements and improving the network performance. The method comprises: a first policy control function network element determines a first policy, the first policy being used for a first session management function network element to manage a session established by a first terminal device UE, or the first policy being used for a first access and mobility management function network element to manage the mobility of the first UE; and the first policy control function network element sends first information to a first network element, the first information being used for subscribing to a first event, and the first event being used by the first policy control function network element to determine whether to send the first policy.

Description

A communication method and device

This application claims the priority of a Chinese invention patent application with an application date of June 23, 2021, an application number of 202110697764.0, and an application name of "A Communication Method and Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated in this application by reference.

technical field

The present application relates to the communication field, and more specifically, to a communication method and device.

Background technique

In some current technical solutions of the network architecture, some network elements (functional network elements) perform complex information interaction to perform some policy services, such as policy services such as event detection and event reporting. For example, in the network architecture of the fifth generation (5th generation, 5G) communication system, when the session management function (session management function, SMF) invokes the session policy service of the policy control function (policy control function, PCF), the PCF subscribes to the specified area from the SMF User location change reporting (change of UE presence in presence reporting area, PRA_CH) event; SMF subscribes PRA_CH event to access and mobility function (AMF); AMF reports to SMF after detecting PRA_CH event trigger; After the SMF receives the event report from the AMF, it reports the PRA_CH event to the PCF; after the PCF receives the PRA_CH event, it makes a policy decision and delivers the session policy to the SMF. It can be seen that in this technical solution, SMF needs to call two sets of interfaces of AMF and PCF respectively. When the definitions of the two sets of interfaces are inconsistent, event-related information needs to be saved. For example, SMF needs to retain the PRA structure, but SMF does not need these event-related information, so the memory waste is serious; in addition, the intermediate process interaction link is too long, which affects network performance; for user-level events (such as reporting the location of users in a specified area), each session of the same user must be reported according to the above process, The number of messages increases exponentially according to the number of sessions, further affecting network performance. Therefore, how to optimize the interaction of processes in the network architecture, reduce the transfer of intermediate network elements, and improve network performance has become an urgent problem to be solved.

Contents of the invention

The present application provides a communication method and device, which can optimize the interaction of processes in the network architecture, reduce the transmission of intermediate network elements, and improve network performance.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, the method includes: a first policy control function network element determines a first policy, and the first policy is used by a first session management function network element to manage a first terminal device UE The established session, or the first policy is used by the first access and mobility management function network element to manage the mobility of the first UE; the first policy control function network element sends the first information, the first information is used for subscribing to a first event, and the first event is used for the first policy control function network element to determine whether to send the first policy.

In the above method, the first policy control function network element may be a PCF network element in the 5G system, the first session management function network element may be an SMF network element in the 5G system, and the first access and mobility management function network element may be It is an AMF network element, which is not limited in this application.

Exemplarily, the first policy control function network element directly sends the first information to the first network element through a service interface.

Exemplarily, when the first policy is used by the first session management function network element to manage the session established by the first terminal equipment UE, the first network element may be an access and mobility management function network element.

Exemplarily, when the first policy is used by a first access and mobility management function network element to manage the mobility of the first UE, the first network element may be a session management function network element.

Using the above method, the network element that enables the first policy control function can not only determine the first policy, but also directly subscribe to the first event to the first network element, which optimizes the interaction of processes in the network architecture and reduces the transmission of intermediate network elements , taking the first policy control function network element decision-making session management policy of the 5G system as an example. At present, after the first policy control function network element determines the first policy, if it needs to subscribe to the event from the first network element, it must pass the first session The management function network element acts as an intermediate network element to subscribe to events, that is, the first policy control function network element first subscribes to the first session management function network element, and the first session management function network element then subscribes to the first network element. In the above manner, the network element with the first policy control function is enabled to directly subscribe to the first event to the first network element, which reduces the number of messages to be interacted with, saves the duration of interaction, and improves network performance.

In a possible implementation manner, the first information includes an address of the first policy control function network element and request information of the first event.

Exemplarily, the request information of the first event includes information such as an identifier of the first event, a reporting condition of the first event, and the like.

In a possible implementation manner, the address of the first policy control function network element is included in the event notification uniform resource identifier.

In a possible implementation manner, the method includes: the first policy control function network element receives second information from the first network element, and the second information is used for the first network element to report the occurrence of the first event; the first policy control function network element sends the first policy according to the second information.

Exemplarily, the first policy control function network element receives the second information directly from the first network element through a service interface.

Using the above method, after the first network element detects the occurrence of an event, it can directly report to the first policy control function network element, which optimizes the process interaction in the network architecture and reduces the transmission of intermediate network elements. The first network element with the policy control function decides the session management policy as an example. At present, after the first network element detects the occurrence of an event, it needs to use the first session management function network element as an intermediate network element to report the event, that is, the first network element first The event is reported to the first session management function network element, and the first session management function network element then reports the event to the first policy control function network element, and the above method is used to enable the first network element to directly report to the first policy control function network element. The network element reports the event, reduces the number of interactive messages, saves the interaction time, saves the memory of the network element with the first session management function, and improves the network performance.

In a possible implementation manner, before the first policy control function network element determines the first policy, the method includes: the first policy control function network element determines the second policy, and when the first policy When the first session management function network element manages the session established by the first terminal equipment UE, the second policy is used by the first network element to manage the mobility of the first UE, or, when the When the first policy is used by the first access and mobility management functional network element to manage the mobility of the first UE, the second policy is used by the first network element to manage the session; the first policy control function network element determines a first parameter, and the first parameter corresponds to the first policy; the first policy control function network element determines third information according to the first parameter, and the The third information is used to indicate that the first policy and the second policy are acquired from the first policy control function network element; the first policy control function network element sends the third policy to the first network element information.

It should be understood that when the third information is used to indicate that the first policy and the second policy are not obtained from the first policy control function network element, the first policy control function network element can only determine the first The policy or the second policy means that the network element with the first policy control function cannot directly subscribe to events from the first network element or receive information reported by the first network element.

Using the above method, the network element with the first policy control function can flexibly determine whether the first policy can be determined and the second policy can be determined according to the first parameter, and whether it can directly subscribe to the event from the first network element or receive the first policy. Information reported by network elements.

In a possible implementation manner, the first policy control function network element determining the third information according to the first parameter includes: the first policy control function network element determining the third information according to the first parameter and the first condition information.

In a possible implementation manner, the first condition includes one or more of the following information: local configuration information of the first policy control function network element, functional characteristics of the first policy control function network element information, the first policy.

Using the above method, enable the first policy control function network element to flexibly determine whether it can determine both the first policy and the second policy according to the first condition and the first parameter, and whether it can directly subscribe to the event to the first network element Or receive information reported by the first network element.

In a possible implementation manner, the first parameter includes network slice selection assistance information NSSAI and/or data network name DNN.

In a possible implementation manner, the method includes: the first policy control function network element simultaneously makes decisions on the first policy and the second policy, and determines a first update of the first policy information and second update information of the second policy; the first policy control function network element sends the first update information; the first policy control function network element sends the second update information.

Using the above method, the network element that enables the first policy control function only needs to subscribe and report an event with the first network element once, and then it can decide the first policy and the second policy, and update the first policy and the second policy, reducing For example, if the first policy control function network element decides that the first policy needs to subscribe and report an event with the first network element, the first policy control function network element decides that the second policy needs to communicate with the first network element The first network element subscribes and reports the same event again, then using the above method, the first policy control function network element performs the first policy and the second policy at the same time after receiving the reporting information sent by the first network element. The decision-making of the second strategy can save the interaction process and time, and improve network performance.

In a possible implementation manner, the first event is an event related to the first UE.

Exemplarily, the first event includes a user location change report event in a designated area or a UE time domain change event.

In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, the method includes: a first network element receives first information from a first policy control function network element, and the first information is used to indicate the first policy and the second A policy is obtained from the first policy control function network element, wherein the first information is determined according to a first parameter, the first parameter corresponds to the first policy, and when the first policy is used for the first session When the management function network element manages the session established by the first terminal equipment UE, the second policy is used for the first network element to manage the mobility of the first terminal equipment UE, or, when the first policy is used for the When the first access and mobility management function network element manages the mobility of the first UE, the second policy is used by the first network element to manage the session established by the first terminal equipment UE; the first network The element sends second information according to the first information, where the second information is used to indicate to request the first policy from the first policy control function network element.

It should be understood that if the first information is used to indicate that the first policy and the second policy are not obtained from the same first policy control function network element, the first network element does not send the first session management function network element to the first session management function network element. Two information.

Exemplarily, the first network element receives the first information from the first policy control function network element through a service interface.

Using the above method, the first network element is enabled to determine whether the first session management function network element or the first access and mobility management function network element requests the first policy from the first policy control function network element according to the first information, if the first One piece of information indicates that the first policy and the second policy are obtained from the first policy control function network element, then the first policy control function network element can not only make the decision of the first policy, but also make the decision of the second policy, which enriches the The first policy controls the performance of the functional network element.

In a possible implementation manner, the determining the first information according to a first parameter includes: determining the first information according to a first parameter and a first condition.

By adopting the foregoing manner, the manner of determining the first information is enabled to be more flexible.

In a possible implementation manner, the method includes: the first network element receives third information from the first policy control function network element, and the third information is used to send the first network element Subscribing to a first event, the first event is used by the first policy control function network element to determine whether to send the first policy; the first network element detects the first event according to the third information.

Exemplarily, the first network element receives the third information directly from the first policy control function network element through a service interface.

Using the above method, the network element with the first policy control function can determine both the first policy and the second policy, and can directly subscribe to the first event to the first network element, which optimizes the interaction of processes in the network architecture. The transmission of intermediate network elements is reduced. Take the first policy control function network element of the 5G system to decide the session management policy as an example. At present, after the first policy control function network element determines the first policy, if it needs to subscribe to the first network element , then the first session management function network element must be used as an intermediate network element to subscribe to events, that is, the first policy control function network element first subscribes to the first session management function network element, and the first session management function network element then subscribes to the second One network element subscribes, and the above method enables the first policy control function network element to directly subscribe to the first event to the first network element, which reduces the number of interactive messages, saves the duration of interaction, and improves network performance.

In a possible implementation manner, the third information includes an address of the first policy control function network element and request information of the first event.

In a possible implementation manner, the address of the network element with the first policy control function is included in the event notification uniform resource identifier.

In a possible implementation manner, the method includes: after the first network element detects the first event, the first network element reports fourth information to the first policy control function network element, The fourth information is used to indicate the occurrence of the first event.

Exemplarily, the first network element directly reports the fourth information to the first policy control function network element through a service interface.

Using the above method, after the first network element detects the occurrence of an event, it can directly report to the first policy control function network element, which optimizes the process interaction in the network architecture and reduces the transmission of intermediate network elements. The first network element with the policy control function decides the session management policy as an example. At present, after the first network element detects the occurrence of an event, it needs to use the first session management function network element as an intermediate network element to report the event, that is, the first network element first The event is reported to the first session management function network element, and the first session management function network element then reports the event to the first policy control function network element, and the above method is used to enable the first network element to directly report to the first policy control function network element. Network elements report events, reducing the number of interactive messages, saving the duration of interaction, and improving network performance.

In a possible implementation manner, the first information includes an identifier of the first policy control function network element.

In a possible implementation manner, the first event is an event related to the terminal device.

In a third aspect, the present application proposes a communication device, which is characterized in that the device includes: a processing module, used for a first policy control function network element to determine a first policy, and the first policy is used for first session management The functional network element manages the session established by the first terminal equipment UE, or the first policy is used by the first access and mobility management functional network element to manage the mobility of the first UE; the transceiver module is used for the first UE A policy control function network element sends first information to a first network element, the first information is used to subscribe to a first event, and the first event is used by the first policy control function network element to determine whether to send the first a strategy.

In a possible implementation manner, the device includes: the transceiver module is further configured for the first policy control function network element to receive second information from the first network element, and the second information is used for the first network element. A network element reports the occurrence of the first event; the transceiver module is also used for the first policy control function network element to send the first policy according to the second information.

In a possible implementation manner, before the first policy control function network element determines the first policy, the device includes: the processing module is further used for the first policy control function network element to determine a second policy , when the first policy is used by the first session management function network element to manage the session established by the first terminal equipment UE, the second policy is used by the first network element to manage the movement of the first UE or, when the first policy is used by the first access and mobility management functional network element to manage the mobility of the first UE, the second policy is used by the first network element to manage The session established by the first UE; the processing module is also used for the first policy control function network element to determine a first parameter, and the first parameter corresponds to the first policy; the processing module is also used for the The first policy control function network element determines third information according to the first parameter, and the third information is used to indicate that the first policy and the second policy are obtained from the first policy control function network element; The transceiver module is further configured for the first policy control function network element to send the third information to the first network element.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing module is further used for the first policy control function network element to determine the third information according to the first parameter includes: the processing module is also used for the first policy control The functional network element determines the third information according to the first parameter and the first condition.

In a possible implementation manner, the device includes: the processing module is further configured for the first policy control function network element to simultaneously make decisions on the first policy and the second policy, and determine the The first update information of the first policy and the second update information of the second policy; the transceiver module is also used for the first policy control function network element to send the first update information; the transceiver module is also used Send the second update information to the first policy control function network element.

The above-mentioned third aspect and the communication device in each implementation manner of the third aspect may be referred to as a first communication device.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, wherein the device includes: a transceiver module, the transceiver module is used for a first network element to receive first information from a network element with a first policy control function, so The first information is used to indicate that the first policy and the second policy are obtained from the first policy control function network element, where the first information is determined according to a first parameter, and the first parameter corresponds to the first Policy, when the first policy is used by the first session management function network element to manage the session established by the first terminal equipment UE, the second policy is used by the first network element to manage the mobility of the first terminal equipment UE , or, when the first policy is used by the first access and mobility management functional network element to manage the mobility of the first UE, the second policy is used by the first network element to manage the first UE A session established by a terminal device UE; the transceiver module is also used for the first network element to send second information to the first session management function network element according to the first information, and the second information is used to indicate Requesting the first policy from the first policy control function network element.

It should be understood that if the first information is used to indicate that the first policy and the second policy are not obtained from the same first policy control function network element, the first network element does not send the first session management function network element to the first session management function network element. Two information

In a possible implementation manner, the first information determined according to the first parameter includes:

The first information is determined according to a first parameter and a first condition.

In a possible implementation manner, the first condition includes one or more of the following information:

Local configuration information of the first policy control function network element, function feature information of the first policy control function network element, and the first policy.

In a possible implementation manner, the device includes: the transceiver module is further configured for the first network element to receive third information from the first policy control function network element, the third information is used for Subscribing a first event to the first network element, where the first event is used by the first policy control function network element to determine whether to send the first policy to the first session management function network element; a processing module, The processing module is used for the first network element to detect the first event according to the third information.

In a possible implementation manner, the device includes: after the first network element detects the first event, the transceiver module is further configured to send the first policy control function to the first network element The network element reports fourth information, where the fourth information is used to indicate the occurrence of the first event.

The fourth aspect and the communication device in each implementation manner of the fourth aspect may be referred to as a second communication device.

In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, and the communication device may be the first communication device in the above method embodiment, or a chip provided in the first communication device. The communication device includes a communication interface, a processor, and optionally, a memory. Wherein, the memory is used to store computer programs or instructions, and the processor is coupled with the memory and the communication interface, and when the processor executes the computer programs or instructions, the communication device is made to execute the method performed by the first communication device in the above method embodiment. method.

Exemplarily, the memory and the processor may be integrated together, or may be independent devices.

In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be the second communication device in the above method embodiment, or a chip provided in the second communication device. The communication device includes a communication interface, a processor, and optionally, a memory. Wherein, the memory is used to store computer programs or instructions, and the processor is coupled to the memory and the communication interface. When the processor executes the computer programs or instructions, the communication device is made to execute the method performed by the second communication device in the above method embodiment. method.

In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, the computer program product including: computer program code, when the computer program code is executed, the method performed by the first communication device in the above aspects is executed .

In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, the computer program product including: computer program code, when the computer program code is executed, the method performed by the second communication device in the above aspects is executed .

In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a system-on-a-chip, where the system-on-a-chip includes a processor, configured to implement the functions of the first communication device in the methods of the foregoing aspects. In a possible design, the chip system further includes a memory, configured to store program instructions and/or data. The system-on-a-chip may consist of chips, or may include chips and other discrete devices.

In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a chip system, which includes a processor, configured to implement the functions of the second communication device in the methods of the above aspects. In a possible design, the chip system further includes a memory, configured to store program instructions and/or data. The system-on-a-chip may consist of chips, or may include chips and other discrete devices.

In an eleventh aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, where a computer program is stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer program is executed, the methods performed by the first communication device in the above aspects are realized.

In a twelfth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, where a computer program is stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer program is executed, the methods performed by the second communication device in the above aspects are realized.

In a thirteenth aspect, the present application provides a communication method. The method includes: a network element with a first policy control function determines a first policy, where the first policy is used by a network element with a first session management function to manage a first A session established by a terminal device UE; the first policy control function network element sends first information to the first session management function network element, and the first information is used to indicate the address of the first policy control function network element and a first event, the first event is used by the first policy control function network element to determine whether to send the first policy to the first session management function network element, the first event is the first network element detected events.

In the above method, the first policy control function network element may be a PCF network element in the 5G system, the first session management function network element may be an SMF network element in the 5G system, and the first network element may be an access and mobility management network element. A functional network element, such as an AMF network element, is not limited in this application.

In the above manner, the first policy control function network element notifies the first session management function network element by sending the first information indicating the address of the first policy control function network element and the first event to the first session management function network element The first event is subscribed to other network elements, and other network elements report information to this address after detecting the first event, that is, report to the first policy control function network element. Compared with the current technology, the first policy The control function network element only sends the first event to the first session management function network element, the first session management function network element subscribes to the first event to other network elements, and other network elements detect the occurrence of the first event and report to the first session management function network element. Functional network elements report information, adopt the above method of this application, enable other network elements to directly report information to the first policy control functional network element, optimize the process interaction in the network architecture, reduce the transfer of intermediate network elements, and reduce The number of interactive messages saves the duration of interaction and improves network performance. And because the first session management function network element is more connected to the 5G core network service process, and basically interacts with surrounding network elements, it is relatively easy to find other network elements that provide services for the UE.

Exemplarily, the first policy control function network element directly receives the second information from the first network element through a service interface.

In a fourteenth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, the method including: the first session management function network element receives first information, and the first information is used to indicate the address of the first policy control function network element and send A first event subscribed by a first network element, where the first event is used by the first policy control function network element to determine whether to send the first policy to the first session management function network element, the first policy The first session management function network element is used to manage the session established by the first terminal equipment UE; the first session management function network element sends second information to the first network element, and the second information is used to indicate Subscribe to the first event and the address of the first policy control function network element.

In a fifteenth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, the device including: a processing module, the processing module is used for a first policy control function network element to determine a first policy, wherein the first policy is used for the first policy A session management function network element manages the session established by the first terminal equipment UE; a transceiver module, the transceiver module is used for the first policy control function network element to send the first information to the first session management function network element, so The first information is used to indicate the address of the first policy control function network element and the first event, and the first event is used by the first policy control function network element to determine whether to send a message to the first session management function network The element sends the first policy, and the first event is an event detected by the first network element.

In a possible implementation manner, the device includes: the transceiver module is further configured for the first policy control function network element to receive second information from the first network element, and the second information is used for the The first network element reports the occurrence of the first event; the transceiver module is further configured for the first policy control function network element to send the first session management function network element to the first session management function network element according to the second information a strategy.

Exemplarily, the first event includes a user location change report event in a designated area or a UE time domain change event. .

The communication device in each implementation manner of the above fifteenth aspect and the fifteenth aspect may be referred to as a third communication device.

In a sixteenth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, the device comprising: a transceiver module, the transceiver module is used for a first session management function network element to receive first information, and the first information is used to indicate the first The address of the policy control function network element and the first event subscribed to the first network element, the first event is used by the first policy control function network element to determine whether to send the A first policy, where the first policy is used by the first session management function network element to manage the session established by the first terminal equipment UE; the transceiver module is also used for the first session management function network element to send A network element sends second information, where the second information is used to indicate the address of the network element that subscribes to the first event and the first policy control function.

In the above manner, the first policy control function network element notifies the first session management function network element by sending the first information indicating the address of the first policy control function network element and the first event to the first session management function network element The first event is subscribed to other network elements, and other network elements report information to this address after detecting the first event, that is, report to the first policy control function network element. Compared with the current technology, the first policy The control function network element only sends the first event to the first session management function network element, the first session management function network element subscribes to the first event to other network elements, and other network elements detect the occurrence of the first event and report to the first session management function network element. Functional network elements report information, adopt the above method of this application, enable other network elements to directly report information to the first policy control functional network element, optimize the process interaction in the network architecture, reduce the transfer of intermediate network elements, and reduce The number of interactive messages saves the duration of interaction and improves network performance. And because the network element with the first session management function is more connected to the 5G core network service process and basically interacts with surrounding network elements, it is relatively easy to find other network elements that provide services for the UE.

The communication device in the above sixteenth aspect and each implementation manner of the sixteenth aspect may be referred to as a fourth communication device.

In a seventeenth aspect, a communication device is provided, and the communication device may be the third communication device in the above method embodiment, or a chip provided in the third communication device. The communication device includes a communication interface, a processor, and optionally, a memory. Wherein, the memory is used to store computer programs or instructions, and the processor is coupled to the memory and the communication interface. When the processor executes the computer programs or instructions, the communication device is made to execute the method performed by the third communication device in the above method embodiment. method.

In an eighteenth aspect, a communication device is provided, and the communication device may be the fourth communication device in the foregoing method embodiment, or a chip provided in the fourth communication device. The communication device includes a communication interface, a processor, and optionally, a memory. Wherein, the memory is used to store computer programs or instructions, and the processor is coupled with the memory and the communication interface, and when the processor executes the computer programs or instructions, the communication device is made to execute the method performed by the fourth communication device in the above method embodiment. method.

In a nineteenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product comprising: computer program code, when the computer program code is executed, the method performed by the third communication device in the above aspects is executed.

In a twentieth aspect, a computer program product is provided, and the computer program product includes: computer program code. When the computer program code is executed, the method performed by the fourth communication device in the above aspects is executed.

In a twenty-first aspect, the present application provides a chip system, where the chip system includes a processor, configured to implement the function of the third communication device in the methods of the above aspects. In a possible design, the chip system further includes a memory, configured to store program instructions and/or data. The system-on-a-chip may consist of chips, or may include chips and other discrete devices.

In a twenty-second aspect, the present application provides a chip system, where the chip system includes a processor, configured to implement the function of the fourth communication device in the methods of the above aspects. In a possible design, the chip system further includes a memory, configured to store program instructions and/or data. The system-on-a-chip may consist of chips, or may include chips and other discrete devices.

In a twenty-third aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed, the methods performed by the third communication device in the above aspects are implemented .

In the twenty-fourth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed, the method performed by the fourth communication device in the above aspects is realized .

Description of drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram of an application scenario applicable to the embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 2 is a schematic flowchart of an example of the embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3 is a schematic flowchart of another example of the embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 4 is another schematic flowchart of the embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 5 is another schematic flowchart of the embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 6 is another schematic flowchart of the embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a possible communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a possible communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application.

detailed description

The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Apparently, the described embodiments are some of the embodiments of the present application, but not all of them. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by persons of ordinary skill in the art without making creative efforts belong to the scope of protection of this application.

The technical solution of the embodiment of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: narrow band-internet of things (NB-IoT), global system of mobile communication (GSM) system, code division Multiple access (code division multiple access, CDMA) system, wideband code division multiple access (wideband code division multiple access, WCDMA) system, general packet radio service (general packet radio service, GPRS), long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD), universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), global interconnection microwave access (worldwide interoperability for Microwave access, WiMAX) communication system, fifth generation (5th generation, 5G) system or new radio (new radio, NR), satellite communication system, future sixth generation (6th generation, 6G) system, etc.

The terminal equipment in the embodiment of the present application may also be referred to as user equipment (user equipment, UE), access terminal, terminal equipment unit (subscriber unit), terminal equipment station, mobile station, mobile station (mobile station, MS), Remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, terminal agent, or terminal device. The terminal device may include various handheld devices with wireless communication functions, vehicle-mounted devices, Internet of things (internet of things, IoT) devices, wearable devices, computing devices, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem. It can also include subscriber unit, cellular phone (cellular phone), smart phone (smart phone), wireless data card, personal digital assistant (personal digital assistant, PDA) computer, tablet computer, wireless modem (modem), handheld device (handset ), laptop computer (laptop computer), machine type communication (machine type communication, MTC) terminal, station (station, ST) in wireless local area network (wireless local area networks, WLAN). It can be cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (session initiation protocol, SIP) phones, wireless local loop (wireless local loop, WLL) stations, and next-generation communication systems, such as terminal equipment in 5G networks or future evolved Terminal equipment in the PLMN network, etc.

The network device in the embodiment of the present application may be a device for communicating with a terminal device, and the network device may be a global system of mobile communication (GSM) system or a code division multiple access (code division multiple access, CDMA) base transceiver station (BTS), or a base station (nodeB, NB) in a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) system, or an evolved base station (evolutional nodeB) in an LTE system , eNB or eNodeB), can also be a wireless controller in a cloud radio access network (cloud radio access network, CRAN) scenario, or a satellite base station in a satellite communication system, or a network device can be a relay station, an access point , in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, and network devices in a 5G network or network devices in a future evolved PLMN network, etc., are not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

It should be noted that the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to centralized unit (central unit, CU) and distributed unit (distributed unit, DU) architectures, and can also be applied to control plane (control plane, CP) and (user plane, UP), which is not limited in this application.

The system architecture or scenario applicable to the embodiment of the present application will be described below, as shown in FIG. 1 , wherein FIG. 1 is a diagram of an application scenario applicable to the embodiment of the present application. Each network element that may be involved in the network architecture 100 shown in FIG. 1 will be described respectively below.

1. Terminal device 110: refer to the description above, and details will not be repeated here.

2. (wireless) access network (radio access network, (R)AN) network element 120: refer to the above description, and will not be repeated here.

It should be noted that the foregoing "network element" may also be referred to as an entity, device, device, or module, etc., which are not specifically limited in this application. Moreover, in this application, for the convenience of understanding and explanation, the description of "network element" is omitted in some descriptions, for example, (R)AN network element is referred to as (R)AN, in this case, the "(R) ") AN network element" should be understood as (R)AN network element or (R)AN entity, and the description of the same or similar situations will be omitted below.

3. User plane network element 130: used for packet routing and forwarding, and user plane data quality of service (quality of service, QoS) processing, etc.

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

4. Data network 140: used to provide a network for transmitting data.

In a 5G communication system, the data network may be a data network (data network, DN). In future communication systems, the data network may still be a DN, or may have other names, which are not limited in this application.

5. Access management network element 150: mainly used for mobility management and access management, etc., and can be used to implement functions other than session management in mobility management entity (mobility management entity, MME) functions, for example, legal functions such as monitoring and access authorization/authentication.

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

6. Session management network element 160: mainly used for session management, network interconnection protocol (internet protocol, IP) address allocation and management of terminal equipment, selection of manageable user plane functions, termination points of policy control and charging function interfaces, and downlink Data Notification etc.

In a 5G communication system, the session management network element may be a session management function (session management function, SMF) network element. 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 170: 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.).

In the 4G communication system, the policy control network element may be a policy and charging rules function (policy and charging rules function, PCRF) network element. In a 5G communication system, the policy control network element may be a policy control function (policy control function, PCF) network element. In the future communication system, the policy control network element may still be a PCF network element, or may have other names, which are not limited in this application.

8. Storage function network element 180: 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 registry function (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.

9. Authentication service network element 190: used for authentication services, generating keys to implement bidirectional authentication on terminal devices, and supporting a unified authentication framework.

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

10. Data management network element 1100: used for processing terminal equipment identification, access authentication, registration and mobility management, etc.

In a 5G communication system, the data management network element may be a unified data management (unified data management, UDM) network element. In the future communication system, the unified data management may still be a UDM network element, or may have other names, which are not limited in this application.

11. Billing network element 1200: used for price approval, fee deduction, quota and billing parameter issuance, processing quota usage reported by SMF, etc.

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

12. Network opening function network element 1300: mainly used for services and capabilities provided by the secure open 3GPP network function, which may be opened internally or to third parties.

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

13. Slice selection function network element 1400: used to select a group of network slice instances for the user equipment, determine allowed network slice selection assistance information (network slice selection assistance information, NSSAI), and determine the AMF set that can serve the user equipment.

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

14. Application function network element (application function, AF) 1500: used to implement information exchange between an external server and a 3GPP network.

15. Communication service proxy (service communication proxy, SCP) network element 1600: used for indirect communication between a network function (network function, NF) network element as a consumer and an NF network element as a producer.

It can be understood that the above-mentioned network element or function may be a network element in a hardware device, or a software function running on dedicated hardware, or a virtualization function instantiated on a platform (for example, a cloud platform).

In this network architecture, the N2 interface is the reference point of the RAN120 network element and the AMF160 network element, and is used for sending non-access stratum (NAS) messages, etc.; the N3 interface is between the RAN120 network element and the UPF130 network element The reference point between them is used to transmit user plane data, etc.; the N4 interface is the reference point between the SMF170 network element and the UPF130 network element, and is used to transmit tunnel identification information such as N3 connection, data cache indication information, and downlink data notification information such as messages; the N6 interface is a reference point between the UPF network element 130 and the DN network element 140, and is used to transmit user plane data and the like.

It should be understood that the network elements included in the communication system listed above are only illustrative, and the present application is not limited thereto. For example, it may also include but not limited to:

Binding support function (binding support function, BSF) network element: used to find the PCF associated with the session.

Network data analysis function (network data analysis function, NWDAF) network element: used to collect and store information from terminal devices, RAN network elements, and other network entities (for example, AMF network elements), and analyze these information, And generate context information about the user (which can be regarded as application layer information), and distribute the application layer information.

Unified data repository function (unified data repository, UDR) network element: used to provide contract data to UDM network elements or obtain contract data from UDM network elements; and provide policy data to PCF network elements, or obtain from PCF network elements policy data, etc.

It should be understood that the above-mentioned network architecture applied to the embodiment of the present application is only an example network architecture described from the perspective of a service-oriented architecture, and the network architecture applicable to the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto. Any network element that can implement the above-mentioned All functional network architectures are applicable to this embodiment of the application.

For example, in some network architectures, network functional entities such as AMF, SMF, PCF, GMF, and UDM are called network function (Network Function, NF) network elements; or, in other network architectures, AMF, SMF, PC A collection of network elements such as , GMF, and UDM can be called a control plane function (Control Plane Function, CPF) network element.

The embodiments of the present application describe various embodiments in conjunction with core network equipment, wherein the functions of the core network are mainly to provide user connections, manage users, and carry out services, and provide interfaces to external networks as the bearer network. The establishment of a user connection includes functions such as mobility management (MM), call management (Connection Management, CM), switching/routing, and recording notification. User management includes user description, quality of service (Quality of Service, QoS), user communication records (accounting), virtual home environment (virtual home environment, VHE) and security (corresponding security measures provided by the authentication center include Security management of mobile services and security processing of external network access). Bearer connections (access) include to the external public switched telephone network (public switched telephone network, PSTN), external circuit data network and packet data network, the Internet and the intranet (intranets), and mobile phone text messages of the mobile network itself Service (short message service, SMS) server and so on.

The basic services that the core network can provide include mobile office, e-commerce, communication, entertainment services, travel and location-based services, remote sensing services (telemetry), simple message delivery services (monitoring and control), and so on.

In the above network architecture, the process of information interaction between some network elements has the problem of long transmission links and too many messages. To solve the above problem, the present application provides a method 200, as shown in FIG. 2 , which is a schematic flowchart of an example of an embodiment of the present application.

S210. The network element with the first policy control function determines the first policy.

Wherein, the first policy is used by the first session management functional network element to manage the session established by the first terminal equipment UE, or the first policy is used by the first access and mobility management functional network element to manage the mobility of the first UE.

Exemplarily, the first policy control function network element directly sends the first information to the first network element through the service interface.

Exemplarily, when the first policy is used by the first session management function network element to manage the session established by the first terminal device UE, the first network element may be an access and mobility management function network element.

Exemplarily, when the first policy is used by the first access and mobility management functional network element to manage the mobility of the first UE, the first network element may be a session management functional network element.

S220. The first policy control function network element sends the first information to the first network element, and the first network element receives the first information.

Wherein, the first information is used for subscribing to the first event, and the first event is used for the first policy control function network element to determine whether to send the first policy to the first session management function network element.

In a possible implementation manner, the first policy control function network element receives the second information from the first network element, and the second information is used for the first network element to report the occurrence of the first event; the first policy control function network element The first policy is sent according to the second information.

Exemplarily, the first policy control function network element receives the second information directly from the first network element through the service interface.

In a possible implementation manner, before the first policy control function network element determines the first policy, the first policy control function network element determines the second policy, and when the first policy is used by the first session management function network element to manage the second policy When a terminal device UE establishes a session, the second policy is used by the first network element to manage the mobility of the first UE, or, when the first policy is used by the first access and mobility management function network element to manage the first UE’s During mobility, the second policy is used by the first network element to manage the session established by the first UE; the first policy control function network element determines the third information according to the first parameter, and the third information is used to indicate the first policy and the second policy Acquired from the first policy control function network element; the first policy control function network element sends the third information to the first network element.

It should be understood that when the third information is used to indicate that the first policy and the second policy are not obtained from the first policy control function network element, the first policy control function network element can only determine the first policy or the second policy, which means The first network element with the policy control function cannot directly subscribe to events from the first network element or receive information reported by the first network element.

In a possible implementation manner, the first policy control function network element determining the third information according to the first parameter includes: the first policy control function network element determining the third information according to the first parameter and the first condition.

In a possible implementation manner, the first condition includes one or more of the following information: local configuration information of the first policy control function network element, function characteristic information of the first policy control function network element, and the first policy.

In a possible implementation manner, the first strategy control function network element simultaneously makes decisions on the first strategy and the second strategy, and determines the first update information of the first strategy and the second update information of the second strategy; the first The policy control function network element sends the first update information; the first policy control function network element sends the second update information.

Using the above method, the network element that enables the first policy control function only needs to subscribe and report an event with the first network element once, and then it can decide the first policy and the second policy, and update the first policy and the second policy, reducing For example, if the first policy control function network element decides that the first policy needs to subscribe and report an event with the first network element, the first policy control function network element decides that the second policy needs to communicate with the first network element The first network element subscribes and reports the same event again, then using the above method, the first policy control function network element will simultaneously make decisions on the first policy and the second policy after receiving the reporting information sent by the first network element , which can save the interaction process and time, and improve network performance.

Exemplarily, the first event includes a user location change report event in a specified area or a UE time domain change event.

The foregoing embodiments can optimize the process of event subscription and reporting, reduce transmission of intermediate network elements, and improve network performance.

The present application also provides a method 300 , as shown in FIG. 3 , which is another schematic flowchart of an embodiment of the present application.

S310. The network element with the first policy control function determines the first policy.

Wherein, the first policy is used by the first session management function network element to manage the session established by the first terminal equipment UE.

S320. The first policy control function network element sends the first information, and the first session management function network element receives the first information.

Wherein, the first information is used to indicate the address of the first policy control function network element and the first event, the first event is used by the first policy control function network element to determine whether to send the first policy, and the first event is the first network element detection event.

In the above manner, the first policy control function network element notifies the first session management function network element by sending the first information indicating the address of the first policy control function network element and the first event to the first session management function network element The first event is subscribed to other network elements, and other network elements report information to this address after detecting the first event, that is, report to the first policy control function. Compared with the current technology, the first policy control function The network element only sends the first event to the first session management function network element, the first session management function network element subscribes the first event to other network elements, and other network elements detect the occurrence of the first event and send the first event to the first session management function network element. By adopting the above method of this application, other network elements can directly report information to the first policy control function network element, which optimizes the interaction of processes in the network architecture, reduces the transmission of intermediate network elements, and reduces the cost of interaction. The number of messages saves the time of interaction and improves network performance. And because the first session management function network element is more connected to the 5G core network service process, and basically interacts with surrounding network elements, it is relatively easy to find other network elements that provide services for the UE.

In a possible implementation manner, the first policy control function network element receives the second information from the first network element, and the second information is used for the first network element to report the occurrence of the first event; the first policy control function network element according to The second message sends the first policy.

Exemplarily, the first policy control function network element directly receives the second information from the first network element through the service interface.

The communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The present application provides a method 400 , as shown in FIG. 4 , which is another schematic flowchart of an embodiment of the present application.

As shown in FIG. 4, in S410, UE#1 initiates a registration request to AMF#1.

Specifically, UE#1 initiates a registration request through a registration request message (register request), and AMF#1 receives the message.

S420, AMF#1 requests PCF#1 to obtain a first access and mobility management (access and mobility management, AM) policy.

Specifically, AMF#1 requests PCF#1 to obtain the first AM policy through an access and mobility policy control service (Npcf_AMPolicyControl_Create) message.

S430, PCF#1 queries UDR#1 and subscribes to notifications.

Specifically, PCF#1 sends a Nudr_DM_Query message and a Nudr_DM_Subscribe message to UDR#1, UDR#1 replies relevant policy data to PCF#1, and PCF#1 determines the first AM policy.

S440, PCF#1 determines information #A.

Specifically, the information #A is used to indicate that the session management (session management, SM) policy of UE #1 or all sessions selects the same PCF as the first AM policy, for example, both select PCF #1.

In a possible implementation manner, PCF#1 determines whether to generate information #A according to a first condition, where the first condition includes one or more of the following information:

Local configuration information: that is, in the local configuration information of PCF#1, whether PCF#1 is configured to make decisions on both the SM policy and the AM policy, that is, whether information #A can be generated.

Functional feature information: whether PCF#1 has the function of PCF selection for SM policy control (PCF selection for SM policy control), if so, it means that PCF#1 can make decisions on both SM policy and AM policy, then PCF #1 can generate information #A, if not, it means that PCF#1 cannot generate information #A.

Policy data information: That is, PCF#1 determines whether to subscribe to events detected by AMF according to SM policy data. If it needs to subscribe to events detected by AMF, then PCF#1 can make decisions on both SM policies and AM policies, then PCF#1 Information #A can be generated, and if not required, it means that PCF#1 cannot generate information #A.

Information #A may include PCF selection data (PCF selection data). Exemplarily, the PCF selection data may be determined according to Table 1.

Table I

In addition to the single network slice selection assistance information (single network slice selection assistance information, S-NSSAI) parameter and/or the data network name (data network name, DNN) parameter, the condition field in Table 1 can also be other parameters. Applications are not limited to this.

The following example illustrates how to determine the PCF selection data according to Table 1:

PCF#1 determines the first AM policy, and determines the field information of the session of UE#1, if both the S-NSSAI field and the DNN field are invalid (or, there is no relevant information about the S-NSSAI field and the DNN field), then according to the table One, it is determined that the PCF selection data is that all sessions of UE#1 select the PCF corresponding to the first AM strategy, such as PCF#1; if the S-NSSAI field is equal to S-NSSAI#1, then according to Table 1, no matter What is the information in the DNN field, then determine the PCF selection data as when the S-NSSAI field in the session of UE#1 is equal to S-NSSAI#1, the session selects the PCF corresponding to the first AM strategy, such as PCF#1; If the S-NSSAI field is equal to S-NSSAI#2 and the DNN field is equal to DNN#2, then according to Table 1, it is determined that the PCF selection data is when the S-NSSAI field in the session of UE#1 is equal to S-NSSAI#2 and DNN When the field is equal to DNN#2, the session selects the PCF corresponding to the first AM policy, such as PCF#1.

In addition to determining the PCF selection data according to the method in Table 1, it can also be determined in the following manner. For example, the core network can specify the AM policy and the SM policy for UE#1 to use a PCF together, such as PCF#1, which is the default UE#1 The SM policy of all sessions in the session uses the same PCF as the first AM policy.

In a possible implementation manner, the information #A may also include information about the first AM policy, events (request triggers) subscribed by the PCF#1 to the AMF#1, and the like.

S450, PCF#1 sends information #A, and AMF#1 receives information #A.

Exemplarily, the information #A may be included in the Access and Mobility Policy Control Service Response (Npcf_AMPolicyControl_Create Response) message.

S460, AMF#1 saves information #A.

S470, UE#1 initiates a first protocol data unit (protocol data unit, PDU) session establishment request (PDU session establishment request) process.

S480, AMF#1 determines information #B.

Specifically, AMF#1 determines whether the first SM policy and the first AM policy of the first PDU session initiated by UE#1 select the same PCF according to information #A, and if the same PCF is selected, AMF#1 determines information #B , the information #B includes the identifier of the PCF corresponding to the first AM policy, for example, the identifier of PCF#1.

For example, the PCF selection data contained in information #A is that all sessions of UE#1 select the PCF corresponding to the first AM strategy, then AMF#1 determines information #B, and information #B includes the AM strategy corresponding to the AM strategy executed by AMF#1 The identifier of the PCF.

For another example, the PCF selection data contained in the information #A is when the S-NSSAI field in the session of UE#1 is equal to S-NSSAI#2 and the DNN field is equal to DNN#2, the session selects the AM strategy executed by AMF#1 Corresponding PCF, at this time, AMF#1 judges whether the identifier of the PCF corresponding to the SM policy is consistent with the PCF selection data contained in the information #A according to whether the S-NSSAI field and the DNN field in the PDU session initiated by the UE#1 meet the The IDs of the PCFs corresponding to the AM policies executed by AMF#1 are the same.

If the same PCF is not selected, it means that the PCF corresponding to the first AM policy is different from the PCF corresponding to the first SM policy. At this time, the PCF corresponding to the first SM policy needs to subscribe events to AMF#1 through SMF#1. When AMF#1 reports an event, it not only needs to report to the PCF corresponding to the first AM policy, but also needs to report to the PCF corresponding to the first SM policy.

In a possible implementation manner, if UE#1 also initiates a second PDU session, AMF#1 judges the second SM policy and the first AM policy of the second PDU session initiated by UE#1 according to information #A Whether to select the same PCF.

In the following, the same PCF (for example, PCF#1) is selected as an example for the first SM policy and the first AM policy of the first PDU session initiated by UE#1 to continue the description.

S490, AMF#1 sends information #B, and SMF#1 receives information #B.

Exemplarily, information #B may be included in a request to create a PDU session context (Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Request) message.

S4100, SMF#1 initiates an association establishment process of the first SM policy.

Specifically, SMF#1 determines the PCF corresponding to the first SM policy according to the PCF identifier in information #B, that is, PCF#1, and SMF#1 initiates the SM policy by sending an SM policy control creation (Npcf_SMPolicyControl_Create) message to PCF#1 Association establishment (SM policy association establishment) process.

S4110, PCF#1 determines information #C and information #D.

PCF#1 specifies information #D. Information #D may include policy-related information corresponding to the first SM policy, events subscribed to SMF #1 that need to be detected by SMF #1, and the like.

In a possible implementation manner, when PCF#1 needs to subscribe to AMF#1 for an event that needs to be detected by AMF#1, information #C can also be determined, and information #C includes event information that needs to be detected by AMF#1 and PCF# 1 address, wherein the address of PCF#1 can be included in the event notify uniform resource identifier (event notify uniform resource identifier, event notify URI), the event that needs to be detected by AMF#1 can be PRA event information, UE time domain change event Information and other related events of UE or RAN.

S4120, PCF#1 sends information #C, and AMF#1 receives information #C.

Exemplarily, information #C may be contained in an AM policy control update notification (Npcf_AMPolicyControl_UpdateNotify) message.

In a possible implementation manner, after receiving the information #C, the AMF#1 replies with the information #CA to the PCF#1, which is used to indicate that the information #C is successfully received.

S4130, PCF#1 sends information #D, and SMF#1 receives information #D.

Exemplarily, information #D may be included in the SM policy control create response (Npcf_SMPolicyControl_Create Response) message.

The following describes an example of a processing flow for reporting an event to the PCF after the AMF detects the occurrence of the event.

S4140, AMF#1 detects that the event in information #C occurs.

S4150, AMF#1 sends information #E, and PCF#1 receives information #E.

Specifically, information #E includes information related to events detected by AMF #1.

Exemplarily, AMF#1 invokes the AM policy control update (Npcf_AMPolicyControl_Update) service to report information #E to PCF#1 (it may also be referred to as information #E contained in the AM policy control update (Npcf_AMPolicyControl_Update) message).

S4160, PCF#1 determines information #F and information #G.

Specifically, PCF#1 determines information #F, wherein information #F may include update information of the first AM policy, information #F may be included in an AM policy control update response (Npcf_AMPolicyControl_UpdateResponse) message, and PCF#1 determines information #G , where the information #G may include the update information of the first SM policy, and the information #G may be included in the SM policy control update notification (Npcf_SMPolicyControl_UpdateNotify) message. It should be noted that the update information of the first AM policy may include the updated first AM policy, or may only include information about the updated part of the first AM policy.

In a possible implementation manner, PCF#1 determines information #F and information #G at the same time, that is, simultaneously decides the AM strategy and the SM strategy.

It should be understood that after PCF#1 receives the information #E, it can simultaneously decide the AM strategy and the SM strategy to reduce the number of events reported by the AMF. Request to subscribe to the event, and AMF will report it again.

In a possible implementation manner, if UE#1 also initiates a second PDU session corresponding to SMF#2 (not shown in FIG. 4 ), and AMF#1 judges the second PDU session initiated by UE#1 according to information #A The second SM policy and the first AM policy of the PDU session select the same PCF, then PCF#1 determines information #G1, where the information #G1 can include the update information of the first AM policy, and the information #G1 can be included in the SM policy control In the update notification (Npcf_SMPolicyControl_UpdateNotify) message.

S4170, PCF#1 sends information #F, and AMF#1 receives information #F.

S4180, PCF#1 sends information #G, and SMF#1 receives information #G.

Specifically, PCF#1 sends information #G after receiving information #E (that is, the occurrence of the event contained in information #E triggers PCF#1 to send information #G), for example, PCF#1 determines that the first SM policy needs to be updated, then in After receiving information #E reported by AMF#1, send information #G to SMF#1.

In a possible implementation manner, after receiving the information #G, the SMF#1 replies with the information #GA to the PCF#1, which is used to indicate that the information #G is successfully received.

In a possible implementation manner, if UE#1 also initiates a second PDU session corresponding to SMF#2 (not shown in FIG. 4 ), and AMF#1 judges the second PDU session initiated by UE#1 according to information #A The second SM policy and the first AM policy of the PDU session select the same PCF, then PCF#1 determines information #G1, when an event that needs to be detected by AMF#1 occurs, AMF#1 reports the event to PCF#1, PCF# 1 After receiving the report of the event, send message #G1 to SMF#2.

It should be understood that when the PCF makes an AM policy decision for the AMF, if it needs to subscribe to the event from the SMF, it can also apply the method 400 to subscribe the event to the SMF, and the SMF applies the method 400 to report the event to the PCF. For details, refer to the method 400, which will not be repeated here. .

Through the method 400, the PCF can provide the PCF selection control function of the SM policy. When the SM policy needs to subscribe to the events detected by the AMF (such as PRA, UE time domain changes, etc. and UE/RAN related events), it can control the AMF and SMF to select the same The PCF enables the PCF to directly subscribe to events from the AMF, and no longer needs to pass through the SMF, saving the process of signaling interaction. On the other hand, the AMF only needs to report the detection result of the same event to one PCF, which reduces the burden of the AMF.

This application also provides another embodiment of the event subscription interface where PCF directly invokes AMF/other network function (network function, NF). The following uses PCF to directly invoke AMF as an example for illustration. This implementation is also applicable to PCF directly invoke other NFs For example, as shown in FIG. 5 , FIG. 5 is another schematic flowchart of the embodiment of the present application.

S510, UE#1 initiates a registration request and requests establishment of a third PDU session.

For a specific process, reference may be made to method 400, which will not be repeated here.

S520, SMF#1 initiates a third SM policy association establishment procedure to PCF#1.

Specifically, it can be divided into the following steps:

Step a: SMF#1 sends an SM policy control creation (Npcf_SMPolicyControl_Create) message request to PCF#1 to obtain a third SM policy;

Step b: PCF#1 sends Nudr_DM_Query message and Nudr_DM_Subscribe message to UDR#1, UDR#1 replies relevant policy data to PCF#1, and PCF#1 determines the third SM policy.

In a possible implementation manner, UE#1 may also initiate a fourth PDU session establishment procedure, which corresponds to SMF#2. For specific steps, refer to the above description, which will not be repeated here.

S530, PCF#1 determines information #C1 and information #D1.

Specifically, PCF#1 determines information #D1, where information #D1 includes information related to the policy decision of the third SM, and optionally, may also include subscribed events that need to be detected by SMF#1.

If it is necessary to subscribe to events detected by AMF#1 (such as PRA, UE time domain changes and other UE/RAN-related events), PCF#1 determines information #C1, where information #C1 includes the address of PCF#1 and the need for AMF For events detected by #1, the address of PCF #1 may be included in the event notification URI. It should be noted that the PCF that determines the AM policy corresponding to AMF#1 may be PCF#1 or other PCFs.

S540, PCF#1 sends information #C1, and AMF#1 receives information #C1.

Specifically, PCF#1 invokes the event subscription interface of AMF by sending information #C1 to AMF#1.

Exemplarily, PCF#1 obtains the identifier of AMF#1 through UDR#1, and sends information #C1 to AMF#1.

In a possible implementation manner, after receiving the information #C1, the AMF#1 replies with the information #CA1 to the PCF#1, which is used to indicate that the information #C1 is successfully received.

S550, PCF#1 sends information #D1, and SMF#1 receives information #D1.

Exemplarily, the information #D1 may be included in the SM policy control create response (Npcf_SMPolicyControl_Create Response) message.

S560, AMF#1 detects that an event occurs.

Specifically, AMF#1 detects the occurrence of an event based on information #C1. If an occurrence of an event is detected, information #E1 is determined, and information #E1 includes information related to the detected event.

S570, AMF#1 sends information #E1, and PCF#1 receives information #E1.

In a possible implementation manner, after receiving the information #E1, the PCF#1 replies with the information #EA to the AMF#1, which is used to indicate that the information #E1 is successfully received.

In a possible implementation manner, if it is determined that the PCF of the AM policy corresponding to AMF#1 is PCF#2 (not shown in FIG. 5 ), and PCF#2 also subscribes to the above events from AMF#1, then AMF# 1 It is also necessary to report information #E1 to PCF#2.

S580, PCF#1 determines and sends information #G2.

Specifically, PCF#1 determines information #G2, information #G2 includes the update information of the third SM policy, information #G2 may be included in the SM policy control update notification (Npcf_SMPolicyControl_UpdateNotify) message, when PCF#1 receives information #E1 , if PCF#1 determines that the third SM policy needs to be updated, then send information #G2 to SMF#1.

In a possible implementation manner, after receiving the information #G2, the SMF#1 replies with the information #GA2 to the PCF#1, which is used to indicate that the information #G2 is successfully received.

In a possible implementation manner, if PCF#1 supports simultaneous decision-making of multiple SM strategies, for example, UE#1 also initiates a fourth PDU session corresponding to a fourth SM strategy, which is determined by SMF#2 (not shown in FIG. 5 shown) is executed, then PCF#1 can also determine information #G3 at the same time, wherein, information #G3 includes the update information of the fourth SM policy, and information #G3 can be included in the SM policy control update notification (Npcf_SMPolicyControl_UpdateNotify) message, when the PCF After #1 receives information #E1, if PCF#1 determines that the fourth SM policy needs to be updated, it sends information #G3 to SMF#1.

It should be understood that when the PCF makes an AM policy decision for the AMF, if it needs to subscribe to the event from the SMF, it can also apply the method 500 to subscribe the event to the SMF, and the SMF applies the method 500 to report the event to the PCF. For details, refer to the method 500, which will not be repeated here. .

Through the method 500, the PCF is enabled to directly call the event subscription interface of the AMF/other NF, and the AMF/other NF directly reports the event to the PCF, eliminating the intermediate transmission link of event subscription and reporting, reducing the number of messages, thereby saving memory and improving network performance. performance.

This application provides another embodiment of AMF/other NFs reporting events directly to PCF. The following uses AMF reporting events directly to PCF as an example. Other NFs are also applicable to this embodiment, as shown in FIG. Yet another schematic flowchart of the application embodiment.

S610, UE#1 initiates a registration request and requests establishment of a fifth PDU session.

S620, SMF#1 initiates a fifth SM policy association establishment process to PCF#1.

For specific steps, refer to method S520, which will not be repeated here.

In a possible implementation manner, other SMFs may also initiate an SM policy association establishment process to PCF#1, that is, multiple SMFs establish an SM policy association process with PCF#1.

S630, PCF#1 determines information #H.

Specifically, when PCF#1 executes the fifth SM policy decision, when it is necessary to subscribe to events detected by AMF#1 (such as events related to UE/RAN such as PRA, UE time domain change), determine information #H, information #H Including events detected by the subscribed AMF#1, and the address of PCF#1.

In a possible implementation manner, the address of PCF#1 may be included in an event notification URI (EventNotifyUri).

S640, PCF#1 sends information #H, and SMF#1 receives information #H.

In a possible implementation manner, the information #H is included in the SM policy control creation response (Npcf_SMPolicyControl_Create Response) message.

S650, SMF#1 determines and sends information #J, and AMF#1 receives information #J.

Specifically, SMF#1 determines information #J according to information #H, where information #J includes the event detected by subscribed AMF#1 and the address of PCF#1.

In a possible implementation manner, after receiving information #J, AMF#1 replies with information #JA to SMF#1, which is used to indicate that information #J is received successfully.

S660, AMF#1 determines and sends information #K, and PCF#1 receives information #K.

Specifically, AMF#1 detects the occurrence of an event according to information #J, and if an event is detected, then determines information #K, and information #K includes relevant information of the detected event.

In a possible implementation manner, after receiving the information #K, the PCF #1 replies the information #KA to the PCF #1, which is used to indicate that the information #K is successfully received.

It should be noted that the PCF that determines the AM policy corresponding to AMF#1 may be PCF#1 or other PCFs. If it is determined that the PCF of the AM strategy corresponding to AMF#1 is PCF#2 (not shown in Figure 6), and PCF#2 also subscribes to the above event to AMF#1, then AMF#1 also needs to send information to PCF#2 #K.

S670, PCF#1 determines and sends information #G4.

Specifically, PCF#1 determines information #G4, and information #G4 includes the update information of the fifth SM strategy. After PCF#1 receives information #K, if PCF#1 determines that the fifth SM strategy needs to be updated, then send the information to SMF#1 Send information #G4, and the information G4 may be included in the SM policy control update notification (Npcf_SMPolicyControl_UpdateNotify) message.

In a possible implementation manner, after receiving the information #G4, the SMF#1 replies with the information #GA4 to the PCF#1, which is used to indicate that the information #G4 is successfully received.

In a possible implementation manner, if PCF#1 supports simultaneous decision-making of multiple SM policies, when other SM policies need to be updated, PCF#1 may send an SM policy control update notification (Npcf_SMPolicyControl_UpdateNotify) message to other SMFs.

Through method 600, enable SMF to replace PCF to call the event subscription interface of AMF/other NF, AMF/other NF directly report events to PCF, eliminate the intermediate transmission link of event subscription and reporting, reduce the number of messages, thereby saving memory and improving network Moreover, compared with PCF, SMF is more connected to the 5G core network business process, and basically interacts with surrounding NFs. It is easier than PCF to find the AMF/other NF where the UE is located.

FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 are schematic structural diagrams of possible communication devices provided by the embodiments of the present application. These communication apparatuses can realize the functions of the terminal equipment or the network equipment in the above method embodiments, and therefore can also realize the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments. In the embodiment of the present application, the communication device may be the communication device in method 200, or the communication device in method 300, or a module applied to the communication device in method 200 or the communication device in method 300 ( such as chips).

As shown in FIG. 7 , a communication device 700 includes a transceiver module 701 and a processing module 702 . The communication device 700 may be used to implement the functions of the communication device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3 above.

When the communication device 700 is used to implement the functions of the communication device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 2: the processing module 702 is used for the first policy control function network element to determine the first policy, and the first policy is used for the first session The management function network element manages the session established by the first terminal equipment UE, or the first policy is used by the first access and mobility management function network element to manage the mobility of the first UE; the transceiver module 701 is used for the The first policy control function network element sends first information to the first network element, the first information is used to subscribe to a first event, and the first event is used by the first policy control function network element to determine whether to send the Describe the first strategy.

When the communication device 700 is used to realize the functions of the communication device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 3: the processing module 702, the processing module is used for the first policy control function network element to determine the first policy, wherein the first The strategy is used by the first session management function network element to manage the session established by the first terminal equipment UE; the transceiver module 701, the transceiver module is used for the first policy control function network element to send First information, where the first information is used to indicate the address of the first policy control function network element and a first event, and the first event is used by the first policy control function network element to determine whether to send a request to the first policy control function network element A network element with a session management function sends the first policy, and the first event is an event detected by the first network element.

For a more detailed description of the foregoing transceiver module 701 and processing module 702, reference may be made to relevant descriptions in the foregoing method embodiments, and no further description is given here.

As shown in FIG. 8 , the communication device 800 includes a processor 810 and an interface circuit 820 . The processor 810 and the interface circuit 820 are coupled to each other. It can be understood that the interface circuit 820 may be a transceiver or an input/output interface. Optionally, the communication device 800 may further include a memory 830 for storing instructions executed by the processor 810 or storing input data required by the processor 810 to execute the instructions or storing data generated after the processor 810 executes the instructions.

Exemplarily, the memory 830 and the processor 810 may be integrated together, or may be independent devices.

When the communication device 800 is used to implement the method in the above method embodiment, the processor 810 is used to execute the function of the processing module 702, and the interface circuit 820 is used to execute the function of the transceiver module 701 above.

When the above communication device is a chip applied to the communication device, the communication device chip implements the functions of the communication device in the above method embodiment. The communication device chip receives information from other modules (eg radio frequency module or antenna) in the communication device; or, the communication device chip sends information to other modules (eg radio frequency module or antenna) in the communication device.

It can be understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (central processing unit, CPU), and may also be other general processors, digital signal processors (digital signal processor, DSP), application specific integrated circuits (application specific integrated circuit, ASIC), field programmable gate array (field programmable gate array, FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor, or any conventional processor.

It should be noted that each embodiment in this specification is described in a progressive manner, the same and similar parts of each embodiment can be referred to each other, and each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments. place. In particular, for the system or the system embodiment, since it is basically similar to the method embodiment, the description is relatively simple, and for related parts, please refer to the part of the description of the method embodiment. The systems and system embodiments described above are only illustrative, and the units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is It can be located in one place, or it can be distributed to multiple network elements. Part or all of the modules can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment. It can be understood and implemented by those skilled in the art without creative effort.

It should also be noted that in this article, relational terms such as first, second, "#1", "#2" are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and No such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations is necessarily required or implied. Furthermore, the term "comprises", "comprises" or any other variation thereof is intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion such that a process, method, article, or apparatus comprising a set of elements includes not only those elements, but also includes elements not expressly listed. other elements of or also include elements inherent in such a process, method, article, or device. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising a ..." does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article or apparatus comprising said element.

The method steps in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by means of hardware, or may be implemented by means of a processor executing software instructions. Software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and software modules can be stored in random access memory (random access memory, RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (read-only memory, ROM), programmable read-only memory (programmable ROM) , PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (erasable PROM, EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (electrically EPROM, EEPROM), register, hard disk, mobile hard disk, CD-ROM or known in the art any other form of storage medium. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium may also be a component of the processor. The processor and storage medium can be located in the ASIC. In addition, the ASIC may be located in the access network device or the terminal device. Certainly, the processor and the storage medium may also exist in the access network device or the terminal device as discrete components.

In the above embodiments, all or part of them may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product comprises one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on the computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are executed in whole or in part. The computer can be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer program or instructions may be stored in or transmitted via a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer, or a data storage device such as a server integrating one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetic tape; it may also be an optical medium, such as a DVD; it may also be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid state disk (solid state disk, SSD).

In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "And/or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there may be three types of relationships, for example, A and/or B, which can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, where A, B can be singular or plural. In the text description of this application, the character "/" generally indicates that the contextual objects are an "or" relationship; in the formulas of this application, the character "/" indicates that the contextual objects are a "division" Relationship.

It can be understood that the various numbers involved in the embodiments of the present application are only for convenience of description, and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of each process should be determined by its functions and internal logic. It should be noted that not all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application must be executed, some of them can be omitted, and a similar effect can also be achieved.

Claims

A communication method, characterized in that the method comprises:

The first policy control function network element determines the first policy, and the first policy is used by the first session management function network element to manage the session established by the first terminal equipment UE, or the first policy is used for the first access and mobile a network element with a performance management function manages the mobility of the first UE;

The first policy control function network element sends first information to the first network element, the first information is used to subscribe to a first event, and the first event is used by the first policy control function network element to determine whether to send The first strategy.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the first information includes the address of the first policy control function network element and request information of the first event.
The method according to claim 2, wherein the address of the first policy control function network element is included in the event notification uniform resource identifier.
The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that the method comprises:

The first policy control function network element receives second information from the first network element, and the second information is used for the first network element to report the occurrence of the first event;

The network element with the first policy control function sends the first policy according to the second information.
The method according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein before the first policy control function network element determines the first policy, the method comprises:

The first policy control function network element determines a second policy, and when the first policy is used by the first session management function network element to manage the session established by the first terminal equipment UE, the second policy is used for all The first network element manages the mobility of the first UE, or,

When the first policy is used by the first access and mobility management functional network element to manage the mobility of the first UE, the second policy is used by the first network element to manage the first The session established by the UE;

The first policy control function network element determines a first parameter, and the first parameter corresponds to the first policy;

The first policy control function network element determines third information according to the first parameter, and the third information is used to indicate that the first policy and the second policy are obtained from the first policy control function network element ;

The first policy control function network element sends the third information to the first network element.
The method according to claim 5, wherein the determining of the third information by the first policy control function network element according to the first parameter comprises:

The first policy control function network element determines the third information according to the first parameter and the first condition.
The method according to claim 6, wherein the first condition includes one or more of the following information:

Local configuration information of the first policy control function network element, function feature information of the first policy control function network element, and the first policy.
The method according to any one of claims 5-7, wherein the first parameter includes network slice selection auxiliary information NSSAI and/or data network name DNN.
The method according to any one of claims 5-8, wherein the method comprises:

The first strategy control function network element simultaneously performs decisions on the first strategy and the second strategy, and determines first update information of the first strategy and second update information of the second strategy;

The first policy control function network element sends the first update information;

The first policy control function network element sends the second update information.
The method according to any one of claims 1-9, wherein the first event is an event related to the first UE.
A communication method, characterized in that the method comprises:

The first network element receives first information from a first policy control function network element, where the first information is used to indicate that the first policy and the second policy are acquired from the first policy control function network element, wherein the first The information is determined according to the first parameter, the first parameter corresponds to the first policy, and when the first policy is used by the first session management function network element to manage the session established by the first terminal equipment UE, the first The second policy is used by the first network element to manage the mobility of the first terminal equipment UE, or,

When the first policy is used by the first access and mobility management functional network element to manage the mobility of the first UE, the second policy is used by the first network element to manage the first terminal equipment The session established by the UE;

The first network element sends second information according to the first information, where the second information is used to indicate to request the first policy from the first policy control function network element.
The method according to claim 11, wherein the first information is determined according to a first parameter and includes:

The first information is determined according to a first parameter and a first condition.
The method according to claim 12, wherein the first condition includes one or more of the following information:

Local configuration information of the first policy control function network element, function feature information of the first policy control function network element, and the first policy.
The method according to any one of claims 11-13, characterized in that the method comprises:

The first network element receives third information from the first policy control function network element, where the third information is used to subscribe to a first event from the first network element, and the first event is used for the The first policy control function network element determines whether to send the first policy;

The first network element detects the first event according to the third information.
The method according to claim 14, wherein the third information includes the address of the first policy control function network element and the request information of the first event.
The method according to claim 15, wherein the address of the first policy control function network element is included in the event notification uniform resource identifier.
The method according to any one of claims 14-16, wherein the method comprises:

After the first network element detects the first event, the first network element reports fourth information to the first policy control function network element, where the fourth information is used to indicate the occur.
The method according to claim 11-17, wherein the first information includes an identifier of the first policy control function network element.
The method according to any one of claims 11-18, wherein the first parameter includes network slice selection auxiliary information NSSAI and/or data network name DNN.
The method according to any one of claims 11-19, wherein the first event is an event related to a terminal device.
A communication device, characterized in that the device includes:

The processing module is used for the first policy control function network element to determine a first policy, and the first policy is used by the first session management function network element to manage the session established by the first terminal equipment UE, or the first policy is used by the second An access and mobility management functional network element manages the mobility of the first UE;

A transceiver module, configured for the network element of the first policy control function to send first information to the first network element, the first information is used for subscribing to a first event, and the first event is used for the first policy control function The network element determines whether to send the first policy to the first session management function network element.
The device according to claim 21, characterized in that said device comprises:

The transceiver module is also used for the first policy control function network element to receive second information from the first network element, and the second information is used for the first network element to report the occurrence of the first event;

The transceiver module is further configured for the first policy control function network element to send the first policy according to the second information.
The device according to claim 21 or 22, wherein before the first policy control function network element determines the first policy, the device comprises:

The processing module is also used for the first policy control function network element to determine a second policy, and when the first policy is used by the first session management function network element to manage the session established by the first terminal equipment UE, the The second policy is used by the first network element to manage the mobility of the first UE, or,

When the first policy is used by the first access and mobility management functional network element to manage the mobility of the first UE, the second policy is used by the first network element to manage the first The session established by the UE;

The processing module is also used for the first policy control function network element to determine a first parameter, and the first parameter corresponds to the first policy;

The processing module is further used for the first policy control function network element to determine third information according to the first parameter, and the third information is used to indicate that the first policy and the second policy are obtained from the first policy. - Acquisition of network elements with policy control functions;

The transceiver module is further configured for the first policy control function network element to send the third information to the first network element.
A communication device, characterized in that the device includes:

A transceiver module, the transceiver module is used for the first network element to receive first information from the network element of the first policy control function, and the first information is used to indicate that the first policy and the second policy are obtained from the first policy control function Obtaining by a network element, wherein the first information is determined according to a first parameter, the first parameter corresponds to the first policy, and when the first policy is used by a first session management function network element to manage the first terminal device When the session is established by the UE, the second policy is used by the first network element to manage the mobility of the first terminal device UE, or,

When the first policy is used by the first access and mobility management functional network element to manage the mobility of the first UE, the second policy is used by the first network element to manage the first terminal equipment The session established by the UE;

The transceiver module is also used for the first network element to send second information to the first session management function network element according to the first information, and the second information is used to indicate that the first policy control function A network element requests the first policy.
The device according to claim 24, wherein the first information is determined according to the first parameter and includes:

The first information is determined according to a first parameter and a first condition.
The device according to claim 25, wherein the first condition includes one or more of the following information:

Local configuration information of the first policy control function network element, function feature information of the first policy control function network element, and the first policy.
A communication device for communication, characterized in that it includes a processor and a communication interface, and the communication interface is used to receive signals from other communication devices other than the communication device and transmit them to the processor or transmit signals from Signals of the processor are transmitted to other communication devices other than the communication device, and the processor is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1-10 or 11-20.
A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is run, the computer program according to any one of claims 1 to 10 or 11 to 20 is implemented. Methods.
A computer program product, the computer program product comprising: computer program code, when the computer program code is executed by the first communication device, the first communication device executes the described method.
A computer program product, the computer program product comprising: computer program code, when the computer program code is executed by the second communication device, the second communication device executes the described method.