WO2023061207A1

WO2023061207A1 - Communication method, communication apparatus, and communication system

Info

Publication number: WO2023061207A1
Application number: PCT/CN2022/121648
Authority: WO
Inventors: 于游洋; 何青春
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2021-10-15
Filing date: 2022-09-27
Publication date: 2023-04-20
Also published as: CN115988473A

Abstract

Provided in the embodiments of the present application are a communication method, a communication apparatus, and a communication system. The method comprises: a control plane network element in a core network acquiring subscription data of a terminal device from a data management network element in the core network, wherein the subscription data comprises identification information of a configuration network element; the control plane network element receiving first configuration information of the terminal device from the configuration network element; and the control plane network element sending the first configuration information to the terminal device. By means of the solution, a configuration network element can send first configuration information to a terminal device by means of a control plane network element of a core network. The terminal device can be quickly configured by means of a control plane, and the sending of configuration information by means of a user plane can also be reduced, thereby reducing overheads caused by establishing a user plane connection.

Description

A communication method, communication device and communication system

Cross References to Related Applications

This application claims the priority of the Chinese patent application with the application number 202111204019.4 and the application title "a communication method, communication device and communication system" filed with the China Patent Office on October 15, 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference in In this application.

technical field

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

Background technique

At present, with the development of communication technology and the Internet, there are more and more types and quantities of terminal equipment, and the application range is wider and wider, and the application software or firmware in the terminal equipment is also becoming more and more complicated.

Therefore, it is necessary to design a method for quickly configuring the terminal equipment.

Contents of the invention

Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, a communication device, and a communication system, which are used to implement rapid configuration of terminal equipment.

In the first aspect, the embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, and the method may be executed by a control plane network element of a core network or a module (such as a chip) applied to the control plane network element. The control plane network element may be a session management network element or a mobility management network element. Taking the method executed by the control plane network element in the core network as an example, the method includes: the control plane network element in the core network obtains the subscription data of the terminal device from the data management network element in the core network, and the subscription data includes configuration network The identification information of the element; the control plane network element receives the first configuration information of the terminal device from the configuration network element; the control plane network element sends the first configuration information to the terminal device.

Through the above solution, it can be realized that the configuration network element sends the first configuration information to the terminal device through the control plane network element of the core network. On the one hand, it can quickly configure the terminal device through the control plane, and on the other hand, it can reduce the sending of configuration information through the user plane, thereby reducing the overhead caused by establishing the user plane connection.

As an implementation method, the control plane network element sends the identification information of the terminal device and the identification information of the control plane network element to the configuration network element according to the identification information of the configuration network element.

According to the above solution, the identification information of the terminal device of the control plane network element and the identification information of the control plane network element, so that when the configuration network element needs to send the first configuration information to the terminal device, the first configuration information for forwarding the first configuration information can be quickly obtained. The control plane network element of the configuration information realizes the rapid configuration of the terminal equipment.

As an implementation method, before the control plane network element sends the terminal device identification information and the control plane network element identification information to the configuration network element according to the configuration network element identification information, the control plane network element determines The type of the terminal device is the target type, and/or the service provider of the terminal device is the target service provider.

According to the above solution, the decision of the control plane network element is only configured by the configuration network element for a specific terminal device, which can reduce the burden of configuration and help the rational use of the configuration network element.

As an implementation method, the control plane network element receives type information of the terminal device and/or service provider information of the terminal device from the terminal device.

According to the solution above, it is possible to accurately acquire the type information of the terminal device and/or the service provider information of the terminal device.

As an implementation method, the subscription data of the terminal device further includes type information of the terminal device and/or service provider information of the terminal device.

As an implementation method, the control plane network element sends the first configuration information to the terminal device during the terminal registration process, session establishment process or session modification process.

As an implementation method, the first configuration information is an IoT user data container.

As an implementation method, the control plane network element receives the IoT user data container and the parameter type of the IoT user data container from the configuration network element; the control plane network element according to the parameter type of the IoT user data container , sending the IoT user data container to the terminal device.

According to the above solution, the control plane network element can accurately know the parameter type of the IoT user data container, so as to accurately determine that the IoT user data container needs to be sent to the terminal device, so as to realize fast and accurate configuration of the terminal device.

As an implementation method, the first configuration information includes one or more of Internet of Things user data, instruction information, or information reporting strategy; wherein, the instruction information indicates that the user plane is used to transmit the second configuration information; the information reporting strategy includes State parameters, or include state parameters and reporting conditions.

As an implementation method, the first configuration information includes an information reporting strategy, and the information reporting strategy includes a status parameter; the control plane network element receives the reported information from the terminal device, and the reported information corresponds to the status parameter; the control The plane network element sends the report information to the configuration network element.

Through the above solution, the configuration network element can receive the reported information reported by the terminal device from the control plane network element, so that the configuration network element can know the status of the terminal device according to the reported information, so as to facilitate decision-making and generate more accurate configuration information. Precise configuration of end devices.

As an implementation method, the reported information is an Internet of Things information reporting container.

As an implementation method, the control plane network element receives the IoT information reporting container from the terminal device and the parameter type of the IoT information reporting container; The configuration network element sends the IoT information to the container.

According to the above solution, the control plane network element can accurately know the parameter type of the Internet of Things information reporting container, so that it can accurately determine that the Internet of Things information reporting container needs to be sent to the configuration network element.

As an implementation method, the information reporting strategy further includes reporting conditions; the control plane network element receives the reporting information sent by the terminal device according to the reporting conditions.

As an implementation method, the first configuration information includes Internet of Things user data; the control plane network element receives a configuration success indication or a failure cause value from the terminal device, and the configuration success indication is used to indicate that the configuration is performed according to the Internet of Things user data. The configuration is successful, and the failure reason value is used to indicate the reason for the configuration failure based on the IoT user data; the control plane network element sends the configuration success indication or the failure reason value to the configuration network element.

According to the above solution, the configuration network element can know whether the configuration result is successful or failed, so as to make a decision on whether to reconfigure, which helps to improve the configuration success rate.

In a second aspect, the embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a configuration network element or a module (such as a chip) applied to the configuration network element. Taking the configuration network element of the core network to execute the method as an example, the method includes: the configuration network element determines that the first configuration information of the terminal device is sent through the control plane network element of the core network; The terminal device sends the first configuration information.

As an implementation method, the configuration network element receives the identification information of the terminal device and the identification information of the control plane network element from the control plane network element or data management network element.

As an implementation method, the first configuration information includes IoT user data; the configuration network element receives a configuration success indication or a failure cause value from the terminal device through the control plane network element, and the configuration success indication is used to indicate that according to the The IoT user data is successfully configured, and the failure reason value is used to indicate the reason for the configuration failure based on the IoT user data.

As an implementation method, the first configuration information includes an information reporting strategy, and the information reporting strategy includes a status parameter; the configuration network element receives the reporting information from the terminal device through the control plane network element, and the reporting information is related to the status parameter Corresponding.

As an implementation method, the information reporting strategy further includes a reporting condition; the configuration network element receives the reporting information sent by the terminal device according to the reporting condition through the control plane network element.

As an implementation method, the first configuration information includes indication information, and the indication information indicates that the user plane is used to transmit the second configuration information; the configuration network element acquires the second configuration information; the configuration network element determines that the second configuration information is transmitted by the user face to the terminal device.

Through the above solution, the configuration network element can send instruction information to the terminal device through the control plane network element of the core network, so as to instruct the terminal device to establish a user plane connection with the configuration network element, and then through the user to face the terminal device. Accurate configuration.

In a third aspect, the embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, and the method may be executed by a terminal device or a module (such as a chip) applied to the terminal device. Taking the method performed by a terminal device as an example, the method includes: the terminal device sends a registration request message to a mobility management network element, and the registration request message is used to request registration to the network; The first configuration information of the configured network element, where the control plane network element is the mobility management network element or the session management network element.

As an implementation method, the first configuration information includes Internet of Things user data; and the terminal device configures the terminal device according to the Internet of Things user data.

As an implementation method, the terminal device sends a configuration success indication or a failure reason value to the configuration network element through the control plane network element, the configuration success indication is used to indicate that the configuration is successful according to the IoT user data, and the failure reason value is Indicates the reason why provisioning based on this IoT user data failed.

As an implementation method, the first configuration information includes an information reporting strategy, and the information reporting strategy includes a status parameter; the terminal device obtains the reported information of the terminal device according to the status parameter; The configuring network element sends the reporting information.

Through the above scheme, the configuration network element can receive the reported information reported by the terminal equipment, so that the configuration network element can know the status of the terminal equipment according to the reported information, so as to facilitate the decision-making and generate more accurate configuration information, and realize the accurate configuration of the terminal equipment. configuration.

As an implementation method, the terminal device sends the IoT information reporting container and the parameter type of the IoT information reporting container to the control plane network element, and the parameter type of the IoT information reporting container is used by the control plane network element to send The configuration network element sends the IoT information to the container.

As an implementation method, the information reporting strategy further includes a reporting condition; the terminal device sends the reporting information to the configuration network element through the control plane network element according to the reporting condition.

As an implementation method, the first configuration information includes instruction information, and the instruction information indicates that the user plane is used to transmit the second configuration information; the terminal device establishes a communication between the terminal device and the configuration network element according to the instruction information. A user plane connection for transmitting the second configuration information.

As an implementation method, the terminal device receives the first configuration information from the configuration network element through the control plane network element during the registration process or the session establishment process or the session modification process.

In a fourth aspect, the embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a control plane network element or a module (such as a chip) applied to the control plane network element. The control plane network element may be a session management network element or a mobility management network element. The device has the function of realizing any realization method of the first aspect above. This function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

In a fifth aspect, the embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, and the device may be a configuration network element or a module (such as a chip) applied to the configuration network element. The device has the function of implementing any implementation method of the second aspect above. This function may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by executing corresponding software on the hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

In a sixth aspect, the embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, and the device may be a terminal device or a module (such as a chip) applied to the terminal device. The device has the function of realizing any realization method of the third aspect above. This function may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by executing corresponding software on the hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

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

In an eighth aspect, the embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including a unit or means (means) for performing each step of any implementation method in the first aspect to the third aspect.

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

In the tenth aspect, the embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including a processor coupled to the memory, and the processor is used to call the program stored in the memory to execute any implementation method in the first aspect to the third aspect above . The memory may be located within the device or external to the device. And there may be one or more processors.

In the eleventh aspect, the embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable storage medium stores instructions, and when it is run on a communication device, the above-mentioned first to third aspects Any implementation method of is executed.

In the twelfth aspect, the embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, the computer program product includes a computer program or instruction, when the computer program or instruction is run by a communication device, any of the above first to third aspects The implementation method is executed.

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

In a fourteenth aspect, the embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, including a control plane network element in a core network and a configuration network element of the core network. The control plane network element is configured to execute any implementation method of the first aspect above. The configuration network element is used to send the first configuration information to the control plane network element.

In a fifteenth aspect, the embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, including a control plane network element in a core network and a configuration network element of the core network. The configuration network element is used to execute any implementation method of the second aspect above. The control plane network element is configured to receive the first configuration information from the configuration network element, and send the first configuration information to the terminal device.

Description of drawings

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a service architecture;

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a point-to-point interface;

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

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

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

FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed ways

In order to meet the challenges of wireless broadband technology and maintain the leading edge of the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) network, the 3GPP standard group formulated the next generation mobile communication network system (Next Generation System) architecture, called the fifth Generation (the 5th generation, 5G) network architecture. This architecture not only supports wireless access technologies (such as long term evolution (LTE) access technologies, 5G radio access network (RAN) access technologies, etc.) defined by the 3GPP standard group to access the 5G core Network (core network, CN), and supports the use of non-3GPP (non-3GPP) access technology through non-3GPP interworking function (non-3GPP interworking function, N3IWF) or next generation access gateway (next generation packet data gateway, ngPDG) Access to the core network.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a service-based architecture. The 5G network architecture shown in FIG. 1 may include terminal equipment, access network equipment, and core network equipment. The terminal device accesses the data network (data network, DN) through the access network device and the core network device. Among them, the core network equipment includes but is not limited to some or all of the following network elements: application function (application function, AF) network elements, unified data management (unified data management, UDM) network elements, unified database (unified data repository, UDR) ) network element, policy control function (policy control function, PCF) network element, session management function (session management function, SMF) network element, access and mobility management function (access and mobility management function, AMF) network element, network Storage function (network repository function, NRF) network element, authentication server function (authentication server function, AUSF) network element, network exposure function (network exposure function, NEF) network element, configuration network function (configuration network function, CNF) network element, User plane function (user plane function, UPF) network element.

The terminal device may be a user equipment (user equipment, UE), a mobile station, a mobile terminal, and the like. Terminal devices can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (internet of things, IOT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, automatic driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wear, smart transportation, smart city, etc. Terminal devices can be mobile phones, tablet computers, computers with wireless transceiver functions, wearable devices, vehicles, urban air vehicles (such as drones, helicopters, etc.), ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, etc.

The access network device may be a radio access network (RAN) device or a wired access network (wireline access network, FAN) device. Wherein, the wireless access network equipment includes 3GPP access network equipment, untrusted non-3GPP access network equipment and trusted non-3GPP access network equipment. 3GPP access network equipment includes but not limited to: evolved base station (evolved NodeB, eNodeB) in LTE, next generation base station (next generation NodeB, gNB) in 5G mobile communication system, base station or completed base station in future mobile communication system Partial functional modules or units, such as centralized unit (central unit, CU), distributed unit (distributed unit, DU), etc. Untrusted non-3GPP access network devices include but are not limited to: untrusted non-3GPP access gateways, untrusted star flash short-range access gateways, N3IWF equipment, untrusted wireless local area network (wireless local area network, WLAN) Access point (access point, AP), switch or router. Trusted non-3GPP access network devices include, but are not limited to: trusted non-3GPP access gateways, trusted Starlight short-distance access gateways, trusted WLAN APs, switches or routers. Wired access network equipment includes but not limited to: wired access gateway (wireline access gateway), fixed telephone network equipment, switches or routers. Among them, the wired access gateway includes a fixed home network access gateway, an industrial park wired access gateway, and the like.

Access network equipment and terminal equipment can be fixed or mobile. Access network equipment and terminal equipment can be deployed on land, including indoor or outdoor, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; they can also be deployed on aircraft, balloons and artificial satellites in the air. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the application scenarios of the access network device and the terminal device.

The AMF network element includes functions such as mobility management and access authentication/authorization. In addition, it is also responsible for transferring user policies between terminal equipment and PCF.

The SMF network element includes the functions of executing session management, executing the control strategy issued by the PCF, selecting UPF, and assigning the Internet protocol (internet protocol, IP) address of the terminal device, etc.

The UPF network element includes functions such as user plane data forwarding, session/flow-based charging statistics, and bandwidth limitation.

UDM network element, including the execution management of subscription data, user access authorization and other functions.

UDR, including the access function of execution contract data, policy data, application data and other types of data.

NEF network elements are used to support the opening of capabilities and events.

The AF network element transmits the requirements from the application side to the network side, such as QoS requirements or user status event subscription. The AF may be a third-party functional entity, or an application service deployed by an operator, such as an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IP Multimedia Subsystem, IMS) voice call service.

The PCF network element includes policy control functions such as charging for sessions and service flow levels, QoS bandwidth guarantee, mobility management, and terminal policy decision-making. PCF network elements include access and mobility management policy control function (access and mobility management policy control function, AM PCF) network elements and session management policy control function (session management PCF, SM PCF) network elements, AM PCF network elements can To provide mobility management policies, SM PCF network elements can provide session management policies.

The NRF network element can be used to provide a network element discovery function, and provide network element information corresponding to the network element type based on the request of other network elements. NRF also provides network element management services, such as network element registration, update, de-registration, network element status subscription and push, etc.

The AUSF network element is responsible for authenticating the terminal equipment and verifying the legitimacy of the terminal equipment.

The CNF network element can configure at least one of terminal device parameters, monitor the state of the terminal device, detect the air interface state of the terminal device, and detect the link state between the terminal device and the UPF network element. It should be noted that the embodiment of the present application does not limit the name of the CNF network element, and may have other names.

DN, on which various services can be deployed, can provide data and/or voice services for terminal equipment. For example, DN is a private network of a smart factory. The sensors installed in the workshop of the smart factory can be terminal devices. The control server of the sensor is deployed in the DN, and the control server can provide services for the sensor. The sensor can communicate with the control server, obtain instructions from the control server, and transmit the collected sensor data to the control server according to the instructions. For another example, DN is a company's internal office network, and the mobile phone or computer of the company's employees can be a terminal device, and the employee's mobile phone or computer can access information and data resources on the company's internal office network.

In Figure 1, Nausf, Nnef, Nnfr, Namf, Npcf, Nsmf, Nudm, Nudr, and Naf are the service interfaces provided by the above-mentioned AUSF, NEF, NRF, AMF, PCF, SMF, UDM, UDR, and AF respectively, and are used to call the corresponding service operation. N1, N2, N3, N4, and N6 are interface serial numbers. The meanings of these interface serial numbers are as follows:

1), N1: the interface between the AMF and the terminal device, which can be used to transmit non-access stratum (non access stratum, NAS) signaling (such as including QoS rules from the AMF) to the terminal device.

2), N2: the interface between the AMF and the access network device, which can be used to transfer radio bearer control information from the core network side to the access network device.

3), N3: the interface between the access network device and the UPF, mainly used to transfer the uplink and downlink user plane data between the access network device and the UPF.

4), N4: The interface between SMF and UPF, which can be used to transfer information between the control plane and the user plane, including controlling the delivery of forwarding rules, QoS rules, traffic statistics rules, etc. for the user plane, as well as user plane information report.

5), N6: interface between UPF and DN, used to transmit uplink and downlink user data flow between UPF and DN.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a point-to-point interface. The introduction of the functions of the network elements can refer to the introduction of the functions of the corresponding network elements in FIG. 1 , and will not be repeated here. The main difference between Figure 2 and Figure 1 is that the interface between the control plane network elements in the core network in Figure 1 is a service interface, and the interface between the control plane network elements in the core network in Figure 2 is point-to-point Interface.

Moreover, FIG. 2 shows an application scenario of accessing a core network through a 3GPP access technology and/or an untrusted non-3GPP access technology. For trusted 3GPP access scenarios, "untrusted non-3GPP access" in Figure 2 can be replaced with "trusted non-3GPP access", and "N3IWF" in Figure 2 can be replaced with "trusted Xinfei 3GPP Access Gateway". For the wired access scenario, "untrusted non-3GPP access" in Figure 2 can be replaced with "wired access", and "N3IWF" in Figure 2 can be replaced with "wired access gateway".

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). As a possible implementation method, the foregoing network element or function may be implemented by one device, or jointly implemented by multiple devices, or may be a functional module in one device, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

As an implementation method, the user plane network elements in the embodiments of the present application may be the above-mentioned UPF network elements, or they may be future communication networks such as the network with the functions of the above-mentioned UPF network elements in the sixth generation (6th generation, 6G) network. Yuan. For ease of description, the following description will be made by taking the user plane network element as an example of a UPF network element, and the UPF network element will be referred to as UPF for short.

As an implementation method, the session management network elements in the embodiments of the present application may be the above-mentioned SMF network elements, or may be network elements that have the functions of the above-mentioned SMF network elements in future communications such as 6G networks. For ease of description, the following uses an example where the session management network element is an SMF network element, and the SMF network element is referred to as SMF for short.

As an implementation method, the mobility management network elements in the embodiments of the present application may be the above-mentioned AMF network elements, or may be network elements that have the functions of the above-mentioned AMF network elements in future communications such as 6G networks. For the convenience of description, the mobility management network element is an AMF network element as an example for description below, and the AMF network element is referred to as AMF for short.

As an implementation method, the policy control network elements in the embodiments of the present application may be the above-mentioned PCF network elements respectively, or may be network elements having the functions of the above-mentioned PCF network elements in future communications such as 6G networks. For ease of description, the policy control network element is a PCF network element as an example for description below, and the PCF network element is referred to as PCF for short.

As an implementation method, the data management network elements in the embodiments of the present application may be the above-mentioned UDM network elements, or may be network elements that have the functions of the above-mentioned UDM network elements in future communications such as 6G networks. For ease of description, the following description takes the data management network element as an example of a UDM network element, and the UDM network element is referred to as UDM for short.

As an implementation method, the configuration network elements in the embodiments of the present application can be the above-mentioned CNF network elements, or management detection function (management detection function, MDF) network elements, or future communications such as 6G networks with the above-mentioned CNF network elements. A network element of the function of the network element.

Referring to FIG. 3 , it is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method includes the following steps:

In step 301, the terminal device registers with the network.

For example, the terminal device sends a registration request message to a mobility management network element (such as AMF). Correspondingly, the mobility management network element receives the registration request message. The registration request message is used to request registration to the network. Subsequent registration procedures are used to register the terminal device to the network.

In step 302, the configuration network element of the core network determines that the first configuration information of the terminal device is sent through the control plane network element of the core network.

The control plane network element may be SMF or AMF.

For example, the configuration network element determines that the size of the first configuration information of the terminal device is smaller than a preset first threshold, and then determines that the first configuration information of the terminal device is sent through the control plane network element. For another example, the configuration network element determines that the first configuration information of the terminal device is sent through the control plane network element according to the local policy.

Step 303, the configuration network element sends the first configuration information of the terminal device to the control plane network element. Correspondingly, the control plane network element receives the first configuration information of the terminal device.

As an implementation method, the first configuration information includes one or more of Internet of Things user data (IoT user data), indication information, or information reporting policies.

Wherein, the Internet of Things user data may also be called a small data packet, or may have other names, which is not limited in this application. The size of the IoT user data is smaller than the second threshold. In an implementation method, the IoT user data includes one or more of version data, software data, firmware data or service parameters. Wherein, the version data includes software version information and/or firmware version information, the software data is the data required for upgrading the software, the firmware data is the data required for upgrading the firmware, and the service parameters are hardware-related or service-related configuration parameters of the terminal device.

The indication information indicates that the user plane is used to transmit the second configuration information, or the indication information indicates that the establishment of a user plane connection for transmitting the second configuration information between the terminal device and the configuration network element is initiated, and the second configuration information may also be referred to as large In the data packet, the size of the second configuration information is greater than the third threshold. Wherein, after the configuration network element obtains the second configuration information, if it determines that the second configuration information is sent to the terminal device through the user plane, the first configuration information includes the indication information. For example, when the configuration network element has second configuration information, such as a firmware update large data packet and/or a software update large data packet that needs to be sent to the terminal device, and the configuration network element determines to send the second configuration information to the terminal device through the user plane, then The configuration network element carries the indication information in the configuration information.

The information reporting strategy may also be called a status reporting strategy, a status parameter reporting strategy, etc., or may have other names, which are not limited in this application. The information reporting strategy includes status parameters, or includes status parameters and reporting conditions. As an implementation method, the state parameter includes one or more of power information, version information, air interface state information, or link state information. The power information includes remaining power and/or used power of the terminal device, and the version information includes software version information and/or firmware version information. Air interface status information includes reference signal receiving power (reference signal receiving power, RSRP), reference signal receiving quality (reference signal receiving quality, RSRQ), signal to interference plus noise ratio (signal to interference plus noise ratio, SINR), channel quality indicator One or more of (channel quality indicator, CQI), precoding matrix indicator (precoding matrix indicator, PMI) or rank indication (rank indication, RI). Link state information includes one or more of packet loss, jitter, or latency. As an implementation method, the reporting condition includes one or more of a reporting period, a reporting threshold, or a reporting event. The reporting cycle is used to indicate the reporting cycle of status parameters, such as reporting once every minute or once every hour. The reporting threshold is used to indicate the threshold for status parameter reporting, for example, report the power information when the power is lower than 10%. The report event is used to indicate the event reported by the status parameter, for example, the latest version information is reported when a version update event occurs.

Step 304, the control plane network element sends the first configuration information of the terminal device to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first configuration information of the terminal device.

As an implementation method, the control plane network element sends the first configuration information to the terminal device during the terminal registration process, session establishment process, session modification process, NAS transmission process or NAS notification process.

The above step 303 and step 304 can also be understood as the configuration network element sending the first configuration information of the terminal device to the terminal device through the control plane network element.

As an implementation method, the above steps 302 to 304 may be performed in a terminal registration process, a session establishment process, a session modification process, a NAS transmission process or a NAS notification process.

Through the above solution, it can be realized that the configuration network element sends the first configuration information to the terminal device through the control plane network element of the core network. On the one hand, it can quickly configure the terminal device through the control plane, and on the other hand, it can reduce the sending of configuration information through the user plane, thereby reducing the overhead caused by establishing the user plane connection. Moreover, this solution designs a configuration network element that is solely used to configure and manage terminal equipment, which helps to improve the configuration efficiency of terminal equipment.

As an implementation method, the above-mentioned first configuration information is an Internet of Things (Internet of Things, IoT) user data container (user data container). In the above step 303, while the configuration network element sends the IoT user data container to the control plane network element, it also sends the parameter type of the IoT user data container, and the parameter type of the IoT user data container is used to indicate that the IoT user The data container contains the configuration information sent by the configuration network element to the terminal device. After receiving the IoT user data container and the parameter type of the IoT user data container, the control plane network element determines that the IoT user data container contains the configuration sent by the configuration network element to the terminal device according to the parameter type of the IoT user data container. information, the IoT user data container is sent to the terminal device, that is, the control plane network element sends the IoT user data container to the terminal device according to the parameter type of the IoT user data container.

As an implementation method, before the above step 302, it is also necessary to establish a connection between the control plane network element and the configuration network element. Specifically, the control plane network element needs to obtain the identification information of the configuration network element, and the identification information may be The identification or address information, and the configuration of the network element also need to obtain the identification information of the control plane network element, and the identification information may be identification or address information.

As an implementation method, the control plane network element can obtain the subscription data of the terminal device from the UDM in the core network, and the subscription data includes the identification information of the configured network element.

As an implementation method, after obtaining the identification information of the configuration network element, the control plane network element may send a request message to the configuration network element according to the identification information of the configuration network element, and the request message includes the identification information of the terminal device and The identification information of the control plane network element, the request message is used to notify the configuration network element to send configuration information to the terminal device through the control plane network element, so that the configuration network element can obtain the identification information of the control plane network element and the terminal equipment Identification information for the device. Subsequently, when the configuration network element determines to send the configuration information of the terminal device to the terminal device through control, the configuration network element may send the configuration information of the terminal device to the control plane network element, and the control plane network element sends the configuration information to the terminal device. For the terminal device, refer to the above step 302 to step 304 for details. In one implementation method, before the control plane network element sends a request message to the configuration network element, it is also determined that the type of the terminal device is the target type and/or the service provider of the terminal device is the target service provider, that is, when the control plane When the network element determines that the type of the terminal device is the target type and/or the service provider of the terminal device is the target service provider, the control plane network element sends a request message to the configuration network element to establish a connection between the control plane network element and the configuration network element. connections between elements. Wherein, the type information of the terminal device comes from the terminal device or from the subscription data of the terminal device, and the type information of the terminal device indicates the type of the terminal device. The service provider information of the terminal device comes from the terminal device or from the subscription data of the terminal device, and the service provider information of the terminal device indicates the service provider of the terminal device.

As another implementation method, when the control plane network element obtains the subscription data of the terminal device from the UDM, the UDM can obtain the identification information of the control plane network element and the identification information of the terminal device, and then the UDM actively sends the The configuration network element sends a request message or sends a request message to the configuration network element based on the configuration network element's request. The request message includes the identification information of the terminal device and the identification information of the control plane network element, and the request message is used to notify the configuration network element to send configuration information to the terminal device through the control plane network element, so that the configuration network element can obtain the The identification information of the control plane network element and the identification information of the terminal equipment. Subsequently, when the configuration network element determines to send the configuration information of the terminal device to the terminal device through control, the configuration network element may send the configuration information of the terminal device to the control plane network element, and the control plane network element sends the configuration information to the terminal device. For the terminal device, refer to the above step 302 to step 304 for details. In this method, if the configuration network element actively obtains the identification information of the AMF from the UDM when necessary, the advantage is that when the identification information of the AMF stored in the UDM changes, the UDM does not need to notify the configuration network element in real time, but instead When configuration is required, for example, the first configuration information needs to be sent to the terminal device, the configuration network element actively obtains the latest AMF identification information that provides services for the terminal device from the UDM, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

Taking the AMF as an example of the network element on the control plane, the implementation process of establishing the connection between the AMF and the configuration network element in the registration process of the terminal device is introduced below.

Referring to FIG. 4 , it is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method includes the following steps:

Step 401, the terminal device sends a registration request message to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the registration request message.

The registration request message is used to request to register the terminal device to the network.

The registration request message includes identification information of the terminal device.

Optionally, the registration request message also includes information about the type of the terminal device and/or the service provider of the terminal device. Wherein, the type of terminal equipment may be, for example, a starlight terminal, an industrial terminal, and the like. Wherein, the information of the service provider of the terminal device is used to indicate the information of the service provider providing the service for the terminal device.

As an implementation method, the terminal device may carry the identification information of the terminal device and the information of the service provider of the terminal device by carrying a network access identifier (NAI) in the registration request message, that is, the NAI includes The identification information of the terminal device and the information of the service provider of the terminal device.

In step 402, the AMF sends a request message to the UDM. Correspondingly, the UDM receives the request message.

The request message includes the identification information of the terminal device, and the request message is used to request to acquire the subscription data of the terminal device.

In step 403, the UDM sends the subscription data of the terminal device to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the subscription data of the terminal device.

According to the identification information of the terminal equipment, the UDM searches for the subscription data of the terminal equipment, and sends the subscription data of the terminal equipment to the AMF. The subscription data includes the identification information of the configuration network element, which stores the configuration information of the terminal equipment .

Wherein, when the configuration information of a terminal device is stored in the configuration network element, the subscription data of the terminal device in the UDM includes the identification information of the configuration network element, and the identification information may be identification or address information.

In an implementation method, the subscription data further includes information about the type of the terminal device and/or the service provider of the terminal device.

In an implementation method, the subscription data also includes identification information of the terminal device, and the identification information may be a permanent user identifier (subscription permanent identifier, SUPI), a generic external subscription identifier (generic public subscription identifier, GPSI) or a terminal device identification information. device ID. The device ID is used to identify the terminal device corresponding to the configuration information when the configuration network element stores the configuration information of the terminal device, that is, the configuration network element stores the device ID of the terminal device and the configuration information of the terminal device, and the device ID Used to identify the terminal device.

In step 404, the AMF stores the identification information of the configuration network element.

For example, the AMF stores the subscription data of the terminal equipment acquired from the UDM, and the subscription data includes the identification information of the configuration network element.

In step 405, the AMF judges whether the configuration network element configures the terminal equipment.

For example, when the AMF determines that the type of the terminal device is the target type, it determines that the configuration network element configures the terminal device; otherwise, it determines that the configuration network element does not configure the terminal device.

For another example, when the AMF determines that the service provider of the terminal device is the target service provider, it determines that the configuration network element configures the terminal device; otherwise, it determines that the configuration network element does not configure the terminal device.

For another example, when the AMF determines that the type of the terminal device is the target type, and the service provider of the terminal device is the target service provider, it is determined that the configuration network element configures the terminal device, otherwise it is determined that the configuration network element does not configure the terminal device. End device configuration.

Wherein, the type of the terminal device may be the subscription data from the terminal device, or the registration request message from the above step 401 . The service provider information of the terminal device may be the subscription data from the terminal device, or the registration request message from step 401 above.

This step is optional. When this step is executed, if the AMF determines that the configuration network element configures the terminal device, the following steps 406 to 407 will be executed, or steps 406 to 408 will be executed, or steps 409 to 410 will be executed . If the AMF determines that the configuration network element does not configure the terminal device, none of the following steps 406 to 410 will be executed.

If step 405 is not performed, the configuration network element configures the terminal device by default.

After the above step 404, or after step 405 (if the step 405 is performed), the following steps 406 to 407 and step 411 are performed, or the following steps 406 to 408 and step 411 are performed, or the following steps 409 to 411 are performed .

In step 406, the AMF sends a request message to the configuration network element. Correspondingly, the network element is configured to receive the request message.

The request message includes the identification information of the terminal device and the identification information of the AMF, and the identification information of the terminal device may be a registration request message from the terminal device, or may be subscription data from the terminal device. The request message is used to notify the configuration network element to send configuration information to the terminal device through the AMF, so that the configuration network element can obtain the identification information of the AMF and the identification information of the terminal device. When the terminal device sends configuration information of the terminal device, the configuration network element may send the configuration information of the terminal device to the AMF, and the AMF sends the configuration information to the terminal device. For details, refer to steps 302 to 304 above.

In an implementation method, the configuration network element may search the configuration network element for the context of the terminal device according to the received identification information of the terminal device, and then store the identification information of the AMF in the context of the terminal device.

Step 407, configure the network element to send a response message to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the response message.

The response message is used to notify the receipt of the identification information of the AMF.

Step 408, configure the network element to send an online subscription message to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the online subscription message.

The online subscription message includes identification information of the terminal device, and is used for subscribing to state change information of the terminal device. For example, when the terminal device is successfully registered, the AMF notifies the configuration network element. For another example, when the terminal device enters the connected state, the AMF also notifies the configuration network element. For another example, when the terminal device goes to register, the AMF also notifies the configuration network element.

It should be noted that step 408 may also be performed after step 411 below.

In step 409, the UDM sends a request message to the configuration network element. Correspondingly, the network element is configured to receive the request message.

As an implementation method, if step 409 is executed, the request message in step 402 includes not only the identification information of the terminal device, but also the identification information of the AMF. Therefore, the request message in step 409 carries the identification information of the terminal device and the identification information of the AMF. The identification information of the terminal device may be a registration request message from the terminal device or subscription data from the terminal device. The request message is used to notify the configuration network element to send configuration information to the terminal device through the AMF, so that the configuration network element can obtain the identification information of the AMF and the identification information of the terminal device. When the terminal device sends configuration information of the terminal device, the configuration network element may send the configuration information of the terminal device to the AMF, and the AMF sends the configuration information to the terminal device. For details, refer to steps 302 to 304 above.

As another implementation method, if step 409 is performed, the request message in step 409 may carry the identification information of the terminal device, but does not carry the identification information of the AMF. Subsequently, when the configuration network element needs to send the first configuration information to the terminal device, the configuration network element may send the identification information of the terminal device to the UDM, so as to request to obtain the identification information of the AMF providing services for the terminal device.

As an implementation method, the request message in step 409 may also include the registration status of the terminal device, and the registration status is used to indicate that the terminal device is currently in a registration status.

Therefore, the request message in step 409 may carry the identification information of the terminal device, or carry the identification information of the terminal device and the identification information of the AMF, or carry the identification information of the terminal device and the registration status of the terminal device, or carry the identification information of the terminal device , the identification information of the AMF and the registration status of the terminal device.

Step 410, configure the network element to send a response message to the UDM. Correspondingly, the UDM receives the response message.

In step 411, the AMF sends a registration acceptance message to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the registration acceptance message.

The registration acceptance message is used to indicate that the registration is successful.

According to the above solution, in the registration process of the terminal equipment, the establishment of the connection between the AMF and the configuration network element is completed, so that the AMF and the configuration network element can obtain the identification information of each other. Therefore, the configuration network element can send the configuration information of the terminal device to the terminal device through the control plane network element according to the identification information of the control plane network element, and the control plane network element can, after receiving the reported information from the terminal device, configure The identification information of the network element, and send the report information to the configuration network element. This solution can realize the configuration and information reporting of the terminal equipment through the control plane.

After the connection is established between the AMF and the configuration network element, the above solutions from step 302 to step 304 can be executed. In an implementation method, the foregoing steps 302 to 304 may be performed in a registration process of the terminal device. For example, step 302 is executed after step 406 and before step 407, the first configuration information of step 303 is carried in the response message of step 407, and step 304 is carried in the registration acceptance message of step 411 or an additional NAS transmission message The first configuration information. In another implementation method, the above steps 302 to 304 may also be performed in a session establishment process or a session modification process after the registration process of the terminal device.

The above describes an implementation method for establishing a connection between the AMF and the configuration network element when the control plane network element is the AMF. If the control plane network element is an SMF, the method for establishing the connection between the SMF and the configuration network element may be, for example: in the terminal registration process, session establishment process, or session modification process, the AMF uses the method described in steps 402 to 403 above Obtain the identification information of the configuration network element, and then send the identification information of the configuration network element to the SMF, and then the SMF sends the identification information of the SMF to the configuration network element according to the identification information of the configuration network element, so that the SMF and the configuration network element can obtain each other The identification information of the other party is obtained, and the connection establishment between the SMF and the configuration network element is completed. Alternatively, the SMF may also obtain the subscription data of the terminal device from the UDM, and obtain the identification information of the configuration network element from the subscription data, and then the SMF sends the identification information of the SMF to the configuration network element according to the identification information of the configuration network element, Therefore, the SMF and the configuration network element can obtain the identification information of each other, and complete the establishment of the connection between the SMF and the configuration network element.

The operations after the above step 304 are described below.

Scenario 1, the first configuration information includes IoT user data

Referring to FIG. 5 , it is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method includes the following steps:

Step 501, the terminal device configures the terminal device according to the IoT user data.

Wherein, the IoT user data includes one or more of version data, software data, firmware data or service parameters.

For example, the terminal device updates the local software according to the software data.

For another example, the terminal device updates the local firmware according to the firmware data.

For another example, the terminal device configures hardware or services of the terminal device according to service parameters.

Step 502, the terminal device sends a configuration success indication or a failure reason value to the control plane network element. Correspondingly, the control plane network element receives the configuration success indication or the failure cause value.

For example, the terminal device may send a NAS message to the control plane network element, and the NAS message includes a configuration success indication or a failure reason value.

Wherein, the configuration success indication is used to indicate that the configuration according to the IoT user data is successful.

The Failure Reason value is used to indicate why provisioning from IoT user data failed.

Optionally, this step 502 may be a response to the above step 304 .

Step 503, the control plane network element sends the configuration success indication or the failure cause value to the configuration network element. Correspondingly, the configuration network element receives the configuration success indication or the failure cause value.

Optionally, this step 503 may be a response to the above step 303 .

Through the above solution, it can be realized that the configuration network element sends the Internet of Things user data to the terminal device through the control plane network element of the core network. On the one hand, it can quickly configure the terminal device through the control plane, and on the other hand, it can reduce the sending of configuration information through the user plane, thereby reducing the overhead caused by establishing the user plane connection. In addition, the configuration network element can also know whether the configuration result is successful or failed, so as to decide whether to reconfigure, which helps to improve the success rate of configuration.

Scenario 2, the first configuration information includes information reporting policy

The information reporting strategy includes status parameters, or includes status parameters and reporting conditions. For the meaning of the status parameter and the reporting condition, reference may be made to the foregoing description.

Referring to FIG. 6 , it is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method includes the following steps:

In step 601, the terminal device obtains the reported information of the terminal device according to the status parameter.

The reported information has a corresponding relationship with the state parameters.

For example, the status parameter includes power information, and the reported information includes the current remaining power and/or the current consumed power acquired by the terminal device.

For another example, if the state parameter includes version information, the reported information includes software and/firmware version information acquired by the terminal device.

For another example, if the status parameter includes air interface status information, the reported information includes air interface status information measured by the terminal device.

For another example, if the state parameter includes link state information, the reported information includes link state information measured by the terminal device.

Step 602, the terminal device sends reporting information to the control plane network element. Correspondingly, the control plane network element receives the reported information.

As an implementation method, the reporting information may be an Internet of Things information reporting container.

When the reported information is the IoT information reporting container, then in step 602, the terminal device also sends the parameter type of the IoT information reporting container to the control plane network element, and the parameter type of the IoT information reporting container is used for the control plane network element Send the IoT information reporting container to the configuration network element.

As an implementation method, the terminal device may carry the reporting information in a PDU session establishment request message, a PDU session update request message, or a PDU session update request message.

Step 603, the control plane network element sends the report information to the configuration network element. Correspondingly, the network element is configured to receive the reported information.

As an implementation method, the control plane network element may send a request message to the configuration network element, and the request message includes the identification information of the terminal device and the reporting information.

Wherein, if the reported information is the Internet of Things information reporting container, then step 603 is specifically: the control plane network element determines to send the Internet of Things information reporting container to the configuration network element according to the parameter type of the Internet of Things information reporting container, so that the control plane network The element sends the IoT information reporting container to the configuration network element. That is, the control plane network element sends the IoT information reporting container to the configuration network element according to the parameter type of the IoT information reporting container.

After the configuration network element receives the reported information, it can obtain the status of the terminal device according to the reported information, so as to facilitate decision-making and generate more accurate configuration information. For example, it is determined whether the terminal device is faulty according to whether the power information is abnormal. Another example is to determine whether to modify the QoS parameters of the service flow according to the link state information, and so on.

Through the above solution, the configuration network element can send the information reporting policy to the terminal device through the control plane network element of the core network. On the one hand, it can quickly configure the terminal device through the control plane, and on the other hand, it can reduce the sending of configuration information through the user plane, thereby reducing the overhead caused by establishing the user plane connection. In addition, the configuration network element can also receive the reported information reported by the terminal device from the control plane network element, so that the configuration network element can know the status of the terminal device according to the reported information, so as to facilitate decision-making and generate more accurate configuration information. Precise configuration of end devices.

As an implementation method, the above information reporting strategy also includes reporting conditions. Optionally, each status parameter corresponds to a reporting condition, or multiple status parameters correspond to a reporting condition, or all status parameters correspond to the same reporting condition. For example, the reporting condition includes a reporting threshold corresponding to the power information in the state parameter, for example, reporting the power information when the power is lower than 10%. For another example, the reporting condition includes a reporting event corresponding to the version information in the status parameter, for example, when a version update event occurs, the latest version information is reported. For another example, the reporting condition includes the reporting period corresponding to the air interface status information and the link status information in the status parameter, for example, reporting once every minute, or reporting air interface status information and/or link status information once an hour.

When the information reporting policy further includes a reporting condition, the above step 602 may be: the terminal device sends the reporting information to the control plane network element according to the reporting condition. Correspondingly, the control plane network element receives the reporting information sent by the terminal device according to the reporting condition.

Case 3, the first configuration information includes indication information

Referring to FIG. 7 , it is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method includes the following steps:

Step 701 The terminal device establishes a user plane connection for transmitting the second configuration information between the terminal device and the configuration network element according to the indication information.

Specifically, the terminal device sends a request message to the control plane network element, and the request message is used to request to establish a user plane connection between the terminal device and the configuration network element, and the request message may be a PDU session establishment request message, a PDU session update request message or PDU Session Update Request message.

Step 702, the configuration network element sends the second configuration information to the terminal device through the user plane connection. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second configuration information.

Specifically, the configuration network element sends the second configuration information to the user plane network element (such as UPF), and then the user plane network element sends the second configuration information to the terminal device.

Step 703, the terminal device configures the terminal device according to the second configuration information.

Wherein, the second configuration information includes, for example, a firmware update large data package and/or a software update large data package.

Optionally, after step 703, the terminal device may send a configuration success indication or a failure reason value to the configuration network element through the control plane network element. The specific implementation is similar to the above step 502 to step 503, and reference may be made to the foregoing description.

It should be noted that, in the various solutions described above, the first configuration information sent by the configuration network element to the terminal device through the control plane network element may include the information reporting policy, that is, the information reporting policy obtained by the terminal device is from for configuration information. As another implementation method, in the embodiment of the present application, the following technical solution can also be added: the above-mentioned first configuration information includes the above-mentioned instruction information and/or Internet of Things user data, that is, the configuration network element is still controlled by The network element on the plane sends instruction information and/or IoT user data to the device, while the information reporting policy is obtained by the network element on the control plane from the policy control network element (such as PCF), and then sent to the terminal device. That is, the control plane network element obtains instruction information and/or IoT user data from the configuration network element, and obtains the information reporting policy from the policy control network element, and then the control plane network element sends instructions to the terminal device in one or more steps Information and/or IoT user data, and reporting strategies for sending information. For example, in conjunction with the embodiment corresponding to FIG. 3, the first configuration information in step 303 and step 304 includes indication information and/or Internet of Things user data, and the control plane network element can also receive the information reporting policy from the policy control network element, And before, after or in step 304, an information reporting policy is sent to the terminal device.

It can be understood that, in order to implement the functions in the foregoing embodiments, the terminal device, the control plane network element, or the configuration network element includes a corresponding hardware structure and/or software module for performing each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software with reference to the units and method steps of the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in the present application. Whether a certain function is executed by hardware or computer software drives the hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 are schematic structural diagrams of possible communication devices provided by the embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the terminal equipment, the control plane network element, or the configuration network element in the above method embodiments, and thus can also realize the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments. In the embodiment of the present application, the communication device may be a terminal device, a control plane network element or a configuration network element, or a module (such as a chip) applied to a terminal device, a control plane network element or a configuration network element.

As shown in FIG. 8 , a communication device 800 includes a processing unit 810 and a transceiver unit 820 . The communication device 800 is configured to implement the functions of the terminal device, the control plane network element, or the configuration network element in the foregoing method embodiments.

In the first embodiment, the communication device is used to execute the operations performed by the control plane network elements in the above method embodiments, including: a processing unit 810, configured to acquire Subscription data of the terminal equipment, the subscription data including the identification information of the configuration network element; receiving the first configuration information of the terminal equipment from the configuration network element through the transceiver unit 820; sending the first configuration information to the terminal equipment through the transceiver unit 820 information.

As a possible implementation method, the processing unit 810 is further configured to send the identification information of the terminal device and the identification information of the control plane network element to the configuration network element through the transceiver unit 820 according to the identification information of the configuration network element.

As a possible implementation method, the processing unit 810 is further configured to send the identification information of the terminal device and the identification information of the control plane network element to the configuration network element through the transceiver unit 820 according to the identification information of the configuration network element Before, it is determined that the type of the terminal device is the target type, and/or the service provider of the terminal device is the target service provider.

As a possible implementation method, the processing unit 810 is further configured to receive the type information of the terminal device and/or the service provider information of the terminal device from the terminal device through the transceiver unit 820 .

As a possible implementation method, the subscription data of the terminal device further includes type information of the terminal device and/or service provider information of the terminal device.

As a possible implementation method, the processing unit 810 is specifically configured to send the first configuration information to the terminal device through the transceiver unit 820 during the terminal registration process, session establishment process or session modification process.

As a possible implementation method, the first configuration information is an IoT user data container.

As a possible implementation method, the processing unit 810 is specifically configured to receive the IoT user data container and the parameter type of the IoT user data container from the configuration network element through the transceiver unit 820; according to the IoT user data container The parameter type of the Internet of Things user data container is sent to the terminal device through the transceiver unit 820 .

As a possible implementation method, the first configuration information includes one or more of Internet of Things user data, indication information, or information reporting strategy; wherein, the indication information indicates that the user plane is used to transmit the second configuration information; the information reporting The strategy includes status parameters, or includes status parameters and reporting conditions.

As a possible implementation method, the first configuration information includes an information reporting strategy, and the information reporting strategy includes a status parameter; the processing unit 810 is further configured to receive the reporting information from the terminal device through the transceiver unit 820, and the reporting information is related to The status parameter corresponds; the report information is sent to the configuration network element through the transceiver unit 820 .

As a possible implementation method, the reported information is an IoT information reporting container.

As a possible implementation method, the processing unit 810 is specifically configured to receive the IoT information reporting container and the parameter type of the IoT information reporting container from the terminal device through the transceiver unit 820; type, the IoT information reporting container is sent to the configuration network element through the transceiver unit 820.

As a possible implementation method, the information reporting policy further includes a reporting condition; the processing unit 810 is configured to receive the reporting information sent by the terminal device according to the reporting condition through the transceiver unit 820 .

As a possible implementation method, the first configuration information includes IoT user data; the processing unit 810 is further configured to receive a configuration success indication or a failure cause value from the terminal device through the transceiver unit 820, and the configuration success indication is used to Indicates that the configuration is successful according to the IoT user data, and the failure reason value is used to indicate the reason for the configuration failure according to the IoT user data; the configuration success indication or the failure reason value is sent to the configuration network element through the transceiver unit 820.

In the second embodiment, the communication device is used to perform the operations performed by the configuration network element in the above method embodiments, including: a processing unit 810, configured to determine that the first configuration information of the terminal device passes through the control plane network of the core network element sending; a transceiver unit 820, configured to send the first configuration information to the terminal device through the control plane network element.

As a possible implementation method, the transceiving unit 820 is further configured to receive the identification information of the terminal device and the identification information of the control plane network element from the control plane network element or the data management network element.

As a possible implementation method, the first configuration information includes IoT user data; the transceiver unit 820 is also configured to receive a configuration success indication or failure cause value from the terminal device through the control plane network element, the configuration success indication It is used to indicate that the configuration according to the IoT user data is successful, and the failure reason value is used to indicate the reason why the configuration according to the IoT user data fails.

As a possible implementation method, the first configuration information includes an information reporting strategy, and the information reporting strategy includes status parameters; Information corresponds to this status parameter.

As a possible implementation method, the information reporting strategy further includes a reporting condition; the transceiver unit 820 is specifically configured to receive the reporting information sent by the terminal device according to the reporting condition through the control plane network element.

As a possible implementation method, the first configuration information includes indication information, and the indication information indicates that the user plane is used to transmit the second configuration information; the processing unit 810 is also configured to obtain the second configuration information; determine the second configuration information by The user plane is sent to the terminal device.

In a third embodiment, the communication device is configured to perform the operations performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiments, including: a processing unit 810, configured to send a registration request to a mobility management network element of the core network through a transceiver unit 820 message, the registration request message is used to request registration to the network; the first configuration information from the configuration network element of the core network is received by the transceiver unit 820 through the control plane network element of the core network, and the control plane network element is the mobility management network element or session management network element.

As a possible implementation method, the first configuration information includes Internet of Things user data; the processing unit 810 is further configured to configure the terminal device according to the Internet of Things user data.

As a possible implementation method, the processing unit 810 is configured to use the transceiver unit 820 to send a configuration success indication or failure cause value to the configuration network element through the control plane network element, and the configuration success indication is used to indicate that according to the Internet of Things user The configuration of the data is successful, and the failure reason value is used to indicate the reason for the failure of configuration based on the IoT user data.

As a possible implementation method, the first configuration information includes an information reporting strategy, and the information reporting strategy includes a status parameter; the processing unit 810 is further configured to acquire the reporting information of the terminal device according to the status parameter; and through the transceiver unit 820 Send the report information to the configuration network element through the control plane network element.

As a possible implementation method, the processing unit 810 is specifically configured to send the Internet of Things information reporting container and the parameter type of the Internet of Things information reporting container to the control plane network element through the transceiver unit 820, and the Internet of Things information reporting container. The parameter type is used for the control plane network element to send the IoT information reporting container to the configuration network element.

As a possible implementation method, the information reporting policy also includes reporting conditions; the processing unit 810, specifically according to the reporting conditions, sends the reporting information to the configuration network element through the transceiver unit 820 through the control plane network element.

As a possible implementation method, the first configuration information includes indication information, and the indication information indicates that the user plane is used to transmit the second configuration information; the processing unit 810 is further configured to establish the terminal device and the configuration network according to the indication information. A user plane connection between elements for transmitting the second configuration information.

As a possible implementation method, the processing unit 810 is configured to receive the first configuration information from the configuration network element through the control plane network element through the transceiver unit 820 during the registration process or the session establishment process or the session modification process .

More detailed descriptions about the processing unit 810 and the transceiver unit 820 can be directly obtained by referring to related descriptions in the above method embodiments, and details are not repeated here.

As shown in FIG. 9 , the communication device 900 includes a processor 910 . As an implementation method, the communication device 900 further includes an interface circuit 920, and the processor 910 and the interface circuit 920 are coupled to each other. It can be understood that the interface circuit 920 may be a transceiver or an input-output interface. Wherein, when the communication device 900 is a terminal device, the interface circuit 920 may be a transceiver, and the transceiver may receive air interface messages from the access network device or other devices, or send air interface messages to the access network device or other devices. As an implementation method, the communication device 900 may further include a memory 930 for storing instructions executed by the processor 910 or storing input data required by the processor 910 to execute the instructions or storing data generated after the processor 910 executes the instructions.

When the communication device 900 is used to implement the above method embodiments, the processor 910 is used to implement the functions of the processing unit 810 , and the interface circuit 920 is used to implement the functions of the transceiver unit 820 .

As an implementation method, the processor 910 executes the instructions in the memory 930, so that the communication device 900 performs the operation of configuring the network element in the above method embodiment, or performs the operation of the control plane network element in the above method embodiment, or executes Operations of the terminal device in the foregoing method embodiments.

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.

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, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only Memory, registers, hard disk, removable hard disk, CD-ROM or any other form of storage medium known in the art. 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 can be located in the base station or the terminal. Certainly, the processor and the storage medium may also exist in the base station or the terminal 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 may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, a base station, user equipment or other programmable devices. The computer program or instructions may be stored in or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer program or instructions may be downloaded from a website, computer, A server or data center transmits to another website site, computer, server or data center by wired or wireless means. 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 or a data center 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 digital video disk; or it may be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state hard disk. The computer readable storage medium may be a volatile or a nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile types of storage media.

In each embodiment of the present application, if there is no special explanation and logical conflict, the terms and/or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referred to each other, and the technical features in different embodiments are based on their inherent Logical relationships can be combined to form new embodiments.

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.

Claims

A communication method, characterized in that, comprising:

The control plane network element in the core network obtains the subscription data of the terminal device from the data management network element in the core network, and the subscription data includes identification information of the configuration network element;

receiving, by the control plane network element, first configuration information of the terminal device from the configuration network element;

The control plane network element sends the first configuration information to the terminal device.
The method of claim 1, further comprising:

The control plane network element sends the identification information of the terminal device and the identification information of the control plane network element to the configuration network element according to the identification information of the configuration network element.
The method according to claim 2, wherein the control plane network element sends the identification information of the terminal device and the control plane network element to the configuration network element according to the identification information of the configuration network element Before the identifying information, also include:

The control plane network element determines that the type of the terminal device is a target type, and/or the service provider of the terminal device is a target service provider.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first configuration information is an Internet of Things user data container.
The method according to claim 4, wherein the control plane network element receives the first configuration information of the terminal device from the configuration network element, comprising:

The control plane network element receives the IoT user data container and the parameter type of the IoT user data container from the configuration network element;

The control plane network element sending the first configuration information to the terminal device includes:

The control plane network element sends the IoT user data container to the terminal device according to the parameter type of the IoT user data container.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first configuration information includes an information reporting strategy, and the information reporting strategy includes status parameters; the method further includes:

The control plane network element receives reported information from the terminal device, where the reported information corresponds to the state parameter;

The control plane network element sends the report information to the configuration network element.
The method according to claim 6, wherein the reported information is an Internet of Things information reporting container.
The method according to claim 7, wherein the control plane network element receiving the reported information from the terminal device comprises:

The control plane network element receives the IoT information reporting container from the terminal device and the parameter type of the IoT information reporting container;

The control plane network element sends the reporting information to the configuration network element, including:

The control plane network element sends the Internet of Things information reporting container to the configuration network element according to the parameter type of the Internet of Things information reporting container.
The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the information reporting strategy further includes a reporting condition; the control plane network element receiving the reporting information from the terminal device includes:

The control plane network element receives the report information sent by the terminal device according to the report condition.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first configuration information includes Internet of Things user data; the method further comprises:

The control plane network element receives a configuration success indication or a failure cause value from the terminal device, the configuration success indication is used to indicate that the configuration is successful according to the Internet of Things user data, and the failure reason value is used to indicate that the configuration is based on the specified Reasons for failure to configure IoT user data;

The control plane network element sends the configuration success indication or the failure cause value to the configuration network element.
A communication method, characterized in that, comprising:

The configuration network element of the core network determines that the first configuration information of the terminal device is sent through the control plane network element of the core network;

The configuration network element sends the first configuration information to the terminal device through the control plane network element.
The method of claim 11, further comprising:

The configuration network element receives the identification information of the terminal device and the identification information of the control plane network element from the control plane network element or the data management network element.
The method according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the first configuration information is an IoT user data container.
The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the first configuration information includes Internet of Things user data; the method further includes:

The configuration network element receives a configuration success indication or a failure cause value from the terminal device through the control plane network element, the configuration success indication is used to indicate that the configuration is successful according to the Internet of Things user data, and the failure reason is Value indicating the reason why provisioning with said IoT user data failed.
The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the first configuration information includes an information reporting strategy, and the information reporting strategy includes status parameters; the method further includes:

The configuration network element receives the reported information from the terminal device through the control plane network element, and the reported information corresponds to the state parameter.
The method according to claim 15, wherein the information reporting strategy further includes a reporting condition; and the configuration network element receives the reporting information from the terminal device through the control plane network element, comprising:

The configuration network element receives the report information sent by the terminal device according to the report condition through the control plane network element.
The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the first configuration information includes indication information, and the indication information indicates that the user plane is used to transmit the second configuration information; the method further comprises:

The configuration network element acquires second configuration information;

The configuration network element determines that the second configuration information is sent to the terminal device through a user plane.
A communication method, characterized in that, comprising:

The terminal device sends a registration request message to a mobility management network element of the core network, where the registration request message is used to request registration to the network;

The terminal device receives the first configuration information from a configuration network element of the core network through a control plane network element of the core network, where the control plane network element is the mobility management network element or the session management network element.
The method of claim 18, wherein the first configuration information is an Internet of Things user data container.
The method according to claim 18 or 19, wherein the first configuration information includes Internet of Things user data; the method also includes:

The terminal device configures the terminal device according to the Internet of Things user data.
The method of claim 20, further comprising:

The terminal device sends a configuration success indication or a failure reason value to the configuration network element through the control plane network element, the configuration success indication is used to indicate that the configuration is successful according to the Internet of Things user data, and the failure reason value is It is used to indicate the reason for the configuration failure based on the IoT user data.
The method according to claim 18 or 19, wherein the first configuration information includes an information reporting strategy, and the information reporting strategy includes status parameters; the method further includes:

The terminal device obtains the reported information of the terminal device according to the state parameter;

The terminal device sends the report information to the configuration network element through the control plane network element.
The method according to claim 22, wherein the reported information is an Internet of Things information reporting container.
The method according to claim 23, wherein the terminal device sends the reporting information to the configuration network element through the control plane network element, comprising:

The terminal device sends the Internet of Things information reporting container and the parameter type of the Internet of Things information reporting container to the control plane network element, and the parameter type of the Internet of Things information reporting container is used by the control plane network element to send The configuration network element sends the IoT information reporting container.
The method according to claim 22 or 23, wherein the information reporting strategy further includes reporting conditions;

The terminal device sends the reporting information to the configuration network element through the control plane network element, including:

The terminal device sends the reporting information to the configuration network element through the control plane network element according to the reporting condition.
The method according to claim 18 or 19, wherein the first configuration information includes indication information, and the indication information indicates that the user plane is used to transmit the second configuration information; the method further comprises:

The terminal device establishes a user plane connection for transmitting second configuration information between the terminal device and the configuration network element according to the indication information.
A communication device, characterized in that it includes a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store computer-readable instructions, and the processor is used to execute the computer-readable instructions stored in the memory, so that the device performs The method described in any one of the above claims 1 to 10, or performing the method described in any one of the above claims 11 to 17, or performing the method described in any one of the above claims 18 to 26.
A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that the storage medium stores a computer-readable program or instruction, and when the computer program or instruction is executed by a communication device, any one of claims 1 to 10 is implemented. The method, or performing the method described in any one of claims 11 to 17 above, or performing the method described in any one of claims 18 to 26 above.
A communication system, characterized in that it includes:

A control plane network element in the core network, configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10; and

The configuration network element of the core network is configured to send the first configuration information to the control plane network element.
A communication system, characterized in that it includes:

A configuration network element in the core network, configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 11 to 17; and

The control plane network element of the core network is configured to receive the first configuration information from the configuration network element, and send the first configuration information to a terminal device.