WO2023071982A1

WO2023071982A1 - Communication method and apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2023071982A1
Application number: PCT/CN2022/127018
Authority: WO
Inventors: 张柔佳; 孙飞
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2021-10-25
Filing date: 2022-10-24
Publication date: 2023-05-04
Also published as: CN116033406A

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of communications. Provided are a communication method and apparatus, which are used for solving the problem in the prior art of relatively low communication efficiency due to it not being possible to enhance a network slicing service by means of a dual-connectivity (DC) network. The method comprises: a first network device receiving a network slicing request from a terminal device, wherein the network slicing request comprises an identifier of a first network slice, and the first network device does not support the first network slice; sending secondary node addition request information to a second network device, wherein the secondary node addition request information comprises a first indication, and the first indication is used for indicating that the second network device can support the first network slice; sending a second indication to a core network device, wherein the second indication is used for indicating whether a network slice is supported under a DC network composed of the first network device and the second network device; receiving a third indication from the core network device, wherein the third indication comprises an identifier of a network slice, which is allowed by the terminal device under the DC network.

Description

A communication method and device

This application claims the priority of a Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on October 25, 2021, with application number 202111243807.4, and application name "A Communication Method and Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference in this application .

technical field

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

Background technique

The fifth generation (5G) mobile communication network (5G network for short) proposes the concept of network slice (Network Slice) in order to meet the differentiated requirements of various types of services. Network slicing refers to the division of multiple virtual networks composed of specific network functions, network topologies, and network resources on a physical network to meet the business functions and service quality requirements of different network slicing users. Through network slicing, operators can build multiple dedicated, virtualized, and isolated logical subnets on a common physical platform, so as to meet the different requirements of users for different services on network capabilities.

Each base station supports network slices corresponding to different services. For example, base station 1 supports network slices Slice 1 and Slice 2, base station 2 supports network slices Slice 1 and Slice 3, and terminals support network slices Slice 1, Slice 2, and Slice 3. When the terminal is connected to the base station, it may initiate a slice service that the current base station cannot support. For example, when the terminal initiates a Slice 3 service request to the core network through base station 1, according to the existing agreement, because base station 1 does not support Slice3, the core network will reject the terminal. service request.

In view of the above problems, the dual-connectivity (DC) technology can be used to enhance the network slicing service. The DC network, that is, the terminal in the connected state supports simultaneous connection with two base stations. For example, the terminal can simultaneously connect with base station 1 and The base stations 2 communicate, one of which is a master node and the other is a slave node. Therefore, when the terminal initiates a network slicing request that is not supported by base station 1, DC operations can be triggered, that is, a DC network is formed by adding secondary nodes that support the network slicing, such as base station 2, and the DC network provides the terminal with the requested network slicing service .

However, at present, the prerequisite for the master node to add a slave node to form a DC network is that the terminal first initiates a Protocol Data Unit (Protocol Data Unit, PDU) session request. According to the existing protocol, the master node needs to Carry the PDU session identifier corresponding to the request. However, the core network device will directly reject the terminal's PDU session request because the master node where the current terminal is located does not support the slice requested by the current terminal, and the communication efficiency is low.

Contents of the invention

The present application provides a communication method and device, which solves the problem that in the prior art, network slicing services cannot be enhanced through a DC network, and communication efficiency is low.

In order to achieve the above object, the application adopts the following technical solutions:

In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a first network device, and the method includes: the first network device receives a network slicing request from a terminal device, and the network slicing request includes an identifier of the first network slice, wherein the first network The device does not support the first network slice; the first network device sends a secondary node addition request information to the second network device, and the secondary node addition request information includes a first indication, and the first indication is used to indicate that the second network device can support the first network slice ; The first network device sends a second instruction to the core network device, and the second instruction is used to indicate the support for network slicing under the dual-connection DC network formed by the first network device and the second network device; A third indication of the network device, where the third indication includes an identifier of a network slice allowed by the terminal device under the DC network.

Based on the method in the first aspect, it can be known that through pre-agreement (or protocol agreement) between network devices, the first network device can, before receiving a PDU session resource establishment request corresponding to a network slice that it does not support, through the secondary node The addition request information carries the first indication to add secondary nodes to form a DC network, so that the service requirements of the terminal device corresponding to the first network slice not supported by the first network device can be met through the DC network, and the core network device is prevented from rejecting the terminal device requests to improve communication efficiency.

In a possible implementation manner, the second indication includes indication information that the DC network supports the network slice requested by the terminal device, or, the second indication includes indication information that the second network device supports the network slice requested by the terminal device.

In the above possible implementation mode, through the pre-agreement (or protocol agreement) between the access network device and the core network device, the first network device carries the second indication in the interaction information with the core network device to instruct the core network device According to the support of network slicing under the DC network, the allowed network slicing corresponding to the terminal device, that is, Allowed NSSAI, can be determined, so that the service requirements of the terminal device corresponding to the first network slice not supported by the first network device can be met through the DC network. Prevent core network equipment from rejecting terminal equipment requests and improve communication efficiency.

In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the first network device receives a fourth indication from the core network device, the fourth indication is used to indicate the network slicing allowed by the terminal device under the DC network, and the fourth indication includes support for allowing At least one of TAC, base station identifier, or supported base station type corresponding to the network device of the network slice; the first network device sends a fourth indication to the terminal device.

In the above possible implementation mode, the core network device can indicate to the terminal device the network slice allowed by the terminal device under the DC network through the relay of the first network device, and at the same time indicate to the terminal device which provider the allowed network slice is from. Network equipment to improve communication efficiency.

In a possible implementation manner, the first indication includes an identifier corresponding to the first network slice. Therefore, the request information sent by the first network device to the second network device to add a secondary node may include information that the second network device can support network slices not supported by the first network device, such as the identifier corresponding to the first network slice, so that the second network The device determines that the network slice requested by the terminal device but not supported by the first network device can be supported, so as to perform RRC reconfiguration on the terminal device.

In a possible implementation manner, the first indication further includes an identifier of a network slice supported by the second network device in the network slice request. Therefore, the information of the secondary node addition request sent by the first network device to the second network device may include network slicing information that the second network device can support and that is included in the network slicing request. Making the second network device determine that it can support the network slice requested by the terminal device but not supported by the first network device, so as to perform RRC reconfiguration on the terminal device.

In a possible implementation manner, before the first network device sends the second indication to the core network device, the method further includes: the first network device sends an RRC reconfiguration message from the second network device to the terminal device to the terminal device, for the terminal The device requests random access from the second network device, wherein the RRC reconfiguration message includes the identifier of the network slice supported by the second network device in the network slice request, and the TAC, base station identifier or supported base station type of the second network device at least one.

In a possible implementation manner, the second indication includes an identifier of a network slice supported by the DC network.

In the above possible implementation mode, the second instruction sent by the first network device to the core network device may include information about the network slices supported by the DC network, so that the core network device can determine the network slices allowed by the terminal device under the DC network according to the second instruction. Network slicing Allowed NSSAI is equivalent to enhancing the network slicing service on the terminal device side through DC combination to improve communication efficiency.

In a possible implementation manner, the second indication includes a tracking area code TAC or a base station identifier of the second network device. Therefore, the core network device can determine the second network device according to the received second indication, that is, the core network device can determine the provider of the network slice not supported by the master node in the allowed network slice Allowed NSSAI.

In a possible implementation manner, before sending the secondary node addition request information to the second network device, the method further includes: the first network device compares the network slice in the network slice request with the network slice locally supported by the first network device, It is determined that the first network slice is not supported; or, the first network device determines that the first network slice is not supported according to the received target network slice information from the core network device.

In the above possible implementation mode, the first network device may determine unsupported network slice information through self-awareness, or the first network device may also register the target network slice requested for feedback with the network slice requested by the core network device through the terminal device The information is used to determine information about network slices not supported by the first network device. In this way, the flexibility of the master node in processing network slicing requests is improved, and the communication efficiency is further improved.

In a possible implementation manner, before the first network device sends the secondary node addition request information to the second network device, the method further includes: the first network device requests supported network slice information from nearby network devices; the first network device It is determined that the second network device supports the first network slice according to the network slice information reported by the multiple network devices.

In the above possible implementation mode, the first network device can determine the adjacent network devices that can support the network slices that the first network device does not support by exchanging the network slice information supported by each of the nearby network devices, so that the subsequent dual-connection DC network can To achieve enhanced processing of network slicing services and improve communication efficiency.

In a possible implementation manner, the secondary node addition request information is sent by the first network device before receiving the protocol data unit PDU session resource establishment request corresponding to the first network slice.

In a possible implementation manner, the identifier of the network slice is single network slice selection auxiliary information S-NSSAI.

In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a second network device, and the method includes: the second network device receives secondary node addition request information from the first network device, where the secondary node addition request information includes a first indication, and the first The indication is used to indicate that the second network device can support network slices that the first network device does not support; the second network device sends a secondary node addition response information to the first network device, which is used to indicate that the second network device has successfully formed with the first network device A dual-connection DC network; the second network device sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal device, and completes random access with the terminal device.

In a possible implementation manner, the first indication further includes an identifier corresponding to the first network slice.

In a possible implementation manner, the first indication further includes an identifier of a network slice supported by the second network device in the network slice request.

In a possible implementation manner, the RRC reconfiguration message includes the identifier of the network slice supported by the second network device in the network slice request, and at least one of the TAC, base station identifier or supported base station type of the second network device.

In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a core network device, and the method includes: receiving a network slice registration request from a terminal device, where the network slice registration includes an identifier of a first network slice; receiving a second network slice registration request from the first network device indication, the second indication is used to indicate the support for network slicing under the dual-connection DC network composed of the first network device and the second network device; a fourth indication is sent to the terminal device, and the fourth indication includes that the terminal device is allowed under the DC network The identity of the network slice.

In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: sending a third indication to the first network device, where the third indication is used to indicate identifiers of network slices allowed by the terminal device under the DC network.

In a possible implementation manner, the fourth indication includes at least one of a TAC corresponding to a network device that supports allowed network slicing, a base station identifier, or a supported base station type.

In a possible implementation manner, the second indication includes a TAC or a base station identifier of the second network device.

In a possible implementation manner, the fourth indication is determined with reference to the second indication.

In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a terminal device, and the method includes: the terminal device sends a network slice request to a first network device, and the network slice request includes an identifier of the first network slice; the terminal device receives an RRC reconfiguration message, The RRC reconfiguration message is used to instruct the terminal device to request random access from the second network device, where the second network device supports the first network slice, and the RRC reconfiguration message includes the information of the network slice supported by the second network device in the network slice request ID, and at least one of TAC, base station ID, or supported base station type of the second network device; the terminal device completes random access with the second network device.

In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the terminal device receiving a fourth indication, where the fourth indication is used to indicate network slices allowed by the terminal device under the dual-connectivity DC network formed by the first network device and the second network device.

In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, the communication device includes: a receiving module and a sending module, the receiving module is configured to receive a network slicing request from a terminal device, and the network slicing request includes an identifier of a first network slice, wherein the communication device The first network slice is not supported; the sending module is configured to send secondary node addition request information to the second network device, where the secondary node addition request information includes a first indication, and the first indication is used to indicate that the second network device can support the first network slice; The sending module is also used to send a second indication to the core network equipment, and the second indication is used to indicate the support for network slicing under the dual-connection DC network formed by the communication device and the second network equipment; the receiving module is also used to receive information from the core network A third indication of the network device, where the third indication includes an identifier of a network slice allowed by the terminal device under the DC network.

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving module is further configured to receive a fourth indication from the core network device, the fourth indication is used to indicate the network slicing allowed by the terminal device under the DC network, and the fourth indication includes information supporting the allowed network slicing. At least one of TAC, base station identifier, or supported base station type corresponding to the network device; the sending module is further configured to send a fourth indication to the terminal device.

In a possible implementation manner, the first indication includes an identifier corresponding to the first network slice.

In a possible implementation manner, the sending module is further configured to send an RRC reconfiguration message from the second network device to the terminal device to the terminal device, so that the terminal device requests random access from the second network device, where the RRC reconfiguration The message includes an identifier of the network slice supported by the second network device in the network slicing request, and at least one of the TAC, the base station identifier, or the supported base station type of the second network device.

In a possible implementation manner, the second indication includes a tracking area code TAC or a base station identifier of the second network device.

In a possible implementation manner, before the sending module sends the secondary node addition request information to the second network device, it further includes: according to the comparison between the network slice in the network slice request and the network slice locally supported by the first network device, determine whether Support the first network slice; or, determine according to the received target network slice information from the core network device that the first network slice is not supported.

In a possible implementation manner, the sending module is further configured to request supported network slice information from nearby network devices; the receiving module is further configured to determine that the second network device supports the first network slice according to the network slice information reported by multiple network devices .

In a possible implementation manner, the secondary node addition request information sent by the sending module is sent before the communication device receives the PDU session resource establishment request corresponding to the first network slice.

Optionally, the sending module and the receiving module may also be integrated into one module, such as a transceiver module. Wherein, the transceiver module is used to realize the sending function and the receiving function of the communication device described in the fifth aspect.

Optionally, the communication device described in the fifth aspect may further include a processing module. Wherein, the processing module is used to realize the processing function of the communication device.

Optionally, the device described in the fifth aspect may further include a storage module, where programs or instructions are stored in the storage module. When the processing module executes the program or instruction, the device can execute the method described in the first aspect.

It should be noted that the communication device described in the fifth aspect may be a network device, such as the first network device, or it may be a chip (system) or other components or components that can be set in the network device, or it may be a device, which is not limited in this application.

In addition, for the technical effect of the device described in the fifth aspect, reference may be made to the technical effect of the method described in the first aspect, which will not be repeated here.

According to a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, the communication device includes a receiving module and a sending module, the receiving module is configured to receive secondary node addition request information from a first network device, the secondary node addition request information includes a first indication, the first indication It is used to indicate that the communication device can support network slices not supported by the first network device; the sending module is used to send secondary node addition response information to the first network device, and is used to indicate that the communication device successfully forms a dual connection DC with the first network device The network; the sending module is also used to send an RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal device, and complete random access with the terminal device.

In a possible implementation manner, the first indication further includes an identifier of a network slice supported by the communication device in the network slice request.

In a possible implementation manner, the RRC reconfiguration message includes the identifier of the network slice supported by the communication device in the network slice request, and at least one of the TAC, base station identifier, or supported base station type of the communication device.

Optionally, the sending module and the receiving module may also be integrated into one module, such as a transceiver module. Wherein, the transceiver module is used to realize the sending function and the receiving function of the communication device described in the sixth aspect.

Optionally, the communication device described in the sixth aspect may further include a processing module. Wherein, the processing module is used to realize the processing function of the communication device.

Optionally, the device according to the sixth aspect may further include a storage module, where programs or instructions are stored in the storage module. When the processing module executes the program or instruction, the device can execute the method described in the second aspect.

It should be noted that the communication device described in the sixth aspect may be a network device, such as the second network device, or it may be a chip (system) or other components or components that can be set in the network device, or it may be a device, which is not limited in this application.

In addition, for the technical effect of the device described in the sixth aspect, reference may be made to the technical effect of the method described in the second aspect, which will not be repeated here.

In a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, the communication device includes a receiving module and a sending module, the receiving module is used to receive a network slice registration request from a terminal device, and the network slice registration includes an identifier of the first network slice; the receiving module is also used to Receive a second indication from the first network device, where the second indication is used to indicate the support for network slicing under the dual-connection DC network formed by the first network device and the second network device; the sending module is used to send the fourth indication to the terminal device indication, the fourth indication includes the identification of the network slice allowed by the terminal device under the DC network.

In a possible implementation manner, the sending module is further configured to send a third indication to the first network device, where the third indication is used to indicate network slices allowed by the terminal device under the DC network.

Optionally, the sending module and the receiving module may also be integrated into one module, such as a transceiver module. Wherein, the transceiver module is used to realize the sending function and the receiving function of the communication device described in the seventh aspect.

Optionally, the communication device described in the seventh aspect may further include a processing module. Wherein, the processing module is used to realize the processing function of the communication device.

Optionally, the device according to the seventh aspect may further include a storage module storing programs or instructions. When the processing module executes the program or instruction, the device can execute the method described in the third aspect.

It should be noted that the communication device described in the seventh aspect may be a core network device, or may be a chip (system) or other components or components that can be set in the core network device, or may be a device that includes the core network device. Applications are not limited to this.

In addition, for the technical effect of the device described in the seventh aspect, reference may be made to the technical effect of the method described in the third aspect, which will not be repeated here.

In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, the communication device includes a receiving module and a sending module, the sending module is used to send a slice request to the first network device, and the slice request includes an identifier of the first network slice; the receiving module is used to receive an RRC repeat The configuration message, the RRC reconfiguration message is used to instruct the communication device to request random access from the second network device, wherein the second network device supports the first network slice, and the RRC reconfiguration message includes the network slice request supported by the second network device The identifier of the network slice, and at least one of the TAC of the second network device, the base station identifier, or the supported base station type; the receiving module and the sending module are also used to interact with the second network device to complete random access; the receiving module also uses After receiving the fourth instruction, the fourth instruction is used to instruct the communication apparatus to allow network slicing under the dual-connection DC network formed by the first network device and the second network device.

Optionally, the sending module and the receiving module may also be integrated into one module, such as a transceiver module. Wherein, the transceiver module is used to realize the sending function and receiving function of the communication device described in the eighth aspect.

Optionally, the communication device described in the eighth aspect may further include a processing module. Wherein, the processing module is used to realize the processing function of the communication device.

Optionally, the device described in the eighth aspect may further include a storage module, where programs or instructions are stored in the storage module. When the processing module executes the program or instruction, the device can execute the method described in the fourth aspect.

It should be noted that the communication device described in the eighth aspect may be a terminal device, or it may be a chip (system) or other components or components that can be set in the terminal device, or it may be a device that includes the terminal device. No limit.

In addition, for the technical effect of the device described in the eighth aspect, reference may be made to the technical effect of the method described in the fourth aspect, which will not be repeated here.

In a ninth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device includes: a processor. Wherein, the processor is configured to execute the method described in any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect.

In a possible design solution, the device described in the ninth aspect may further include a transceiver. The transceiver may be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver can be used by the device to communicate with other devices.

In a possible design solution, the device described in the ninth aspect may further include a memory. The memory can be integrated with the processor or set separately. The memory may be used to store computer programs and/or data involved in the method described in any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect.

In this application, the device described in the ninth aspect may be the first network device described in the first aspect, or the second network device described in the second aspect, or the core network device described in the third aspect, or the first network device described in the third aspect. The terminal equipment described in the fourth aspect, or a chip (system) or other components or components that can be set in the terminal or network equipment, or a device including the terminal or network equipment.

In addition, for the technical effect of the device described in the ninth aspect, reference may be made to the technical effect of the method described in any one of the first to fourth aspects, which will not be repeated here.

In a tenth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device includes: a processor and a memory. Wherein, the memory is used to store computer instructions, and when the processor executes the instructions, the device executes the method according to any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect.

In a possible design solution, the device described in the tenth aspect may further include a transceiver. The transceiver may be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver can be used by the device to communicate with other devices.

In this application, the device described in the tenth aspect may be the first network device described in the first aspect, or the second network device described in the second aspect, or the core network device described in the third aspect, or the first network device described in the third aspect. The terminal equipment described in the fourth aspect, or a chip (system) or other components or components that can be set in the terminal or network equipment, or a device including the terminal or network equipment.

In addition, for the technical effect of the device described in the tenth aspect, reference may be made to the technical effect of the method described in any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect, which will not be repeated here.

In an eleventh aspect, a communication device is provided. The device includes: a logic circuit and an input and output interface. Among them, the input and output interface is used to receive the code instruction and transmit it to the logic circuit. The logic circuit is used to run code instructions to execute the method described in any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect.

In a possible design solution, the device described in the eleventh aspect may further include a transceiver. The transceiver may be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver can be used by the device to communicate with other devices.

In a possible design solution, the device described in the eleventh aspect may further include a memory. The memory can be integrated with the processor or set separately. The memory may be used to store computer programs and/or data involved in the method described in any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect.

In this application, the device described in the eleventh aspect may be the first network device described in the first aspect, or the second network device described in the second aspect, or the core network device described in the third aspect, or The terminal equipment described in the fourth aspect, or a chip (system) or other components or components that can be set in the terminal or network equipment, or a device including the terminal or network equipment.

In addition, for the technical effect of the device described in the eleventh aspect, reference may be made to the technical effect of the method described in any one of the first to fourth aspects, which will not be repeated here.

In a twelfth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device includes: a processor and a transceiver. Wherein, the transceiver is used for information exchange between the communication device and other devices, and the processor executes program instructions to execute the method according to any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect.

In a possible design solution, the device described in the twelfth aspect may further include a memory. The memory can be integrated with the processor or set separately. The memory may be used to store computer programs and/or data involved in the method described in any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect.

In this application, the device described in the twelfth aspect may be the first network device described in the first aspect, or the second network device described in the second aspect, or the core network device described in the third aspect, or The terminal equipment described in the fourth aspect, or a chip (system) or other components or components that can be set in the terminal or network equipment, or a device including the terminal or network equipment.

In addition, for the technical effect of the device described in the twelfth aspect, reference may be made to the technical effect of the method described in any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect, which will not be repeated here.

In a thirteenth aspect, a communication system is provided. The communication system includes the first network device described in the first aspect, the second network device described in the second aspect, the core network device described in the third aspect, and the terminal device described in the fourth aspect.

A fourteenth aspect provides a computer-readable storage medium, including: a computer program; when the computer program is run on a computer, the method described in any one of the first to fourth aspects is executed.

A fifteenth aspect provides a computer program product, including a computer program. When the computer program or instruction is run on a computer, the method described in any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect is executed.

It can be understood that any communication device, computer-readable storage medium, computer program product, and communication system provided above can be implemented by the corresponding method provided above, and therefore, the beneficial effects it can achieve can be achieved by With reference to the beneficial effects in the corresponding method provided above, details will not be repeated here.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is an architecture diagram of a dual-link system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is an architecture diagram of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of a communication device 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 another communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device for network slicing provided by an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed ways

Hereinafter, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the quantity of indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of these features. In the description of this embodiment, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more.

It should be noted that, in this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used as examples, illustrations or illustrations. Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" or "for example" is not to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "such as" is intended to present related concepts in a concrete manner.

The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the application with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the application. Apparently, the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the application, not all of them. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by persons of ordinary skill in the art without making creative efforts belong to the scope of protection of this application.

First, a brief introduction is made to the related technologies involved in this application.

1. Network slicing: It is a logical subnet used to support the logical isolation of specific network capabilities and network characteristics. It can include the entire network end-to-end (E2E), or some network functions can be in multiple network slices. ChinaShare is a key technology to meet the network differentiation requirements of 5G mobile communication technology proposed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). For example, network slicing that meets augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) services requires large bandwidth and low latency; network slicing that meets Internet of Things (IOT) services requires support Massive terminal access. Among them, different network slices (logical subnets) can be identified and distinguished by Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI).

2. Network slice selection assistance information (network slice selection assistance information, NSSAI): NSSAI includes one or more single NSSAI (single NSSAI, S-NSSAI). S-NSSAI consists of a service type (slice/service type, SST) and a slice differentiator (SD). Among them, SST includes standardized and operator-defined slice-specific features and service types; SD is optional information supplementing SST to distinguish multiple network slice instances of the same SST. The types and functions of NSSAI include the following.

(1) Subscribed NSSAI (Subscribed NSSAI), which belongs to the network slice corresponding to the user's subscription data.

(2) Default NSSAI (Default NSSAI), that is, according to the operator's policy, one or more network slices in the user's subscription NSSAI may be set as the default NSSAI. When the default NSSAI is set, if the terminal does not carry the allowed NSSAI in the registration request message (Registration Request), the network will use the default NSSAI to provide services to the terminal.

(3) Requested NSSAI (Requested NSSAI), that is, the NSSAI identification information of the network slice carried by the terminal in the registration request message (Registration Request). Specifically, when the terminal requests a certain service for the first time, the registration request message may carry the configured NSSAI (Configured NSSAI), and when the terminal requests the service again, the registration request message may carry the allowed NSSAI (Allowed NSSAI).

(4) Allowed NSSAI (Allowed NSSAI), which indicates one or more S-NSSAIs allowed by the network device in the NSSAI requested by the terminal. Specifically, the network device may carry the Allowed NSSAI network element in the registration acceptance message (Registration Accept) to notify the terminal of allowing NSSAI information.

(5) Rejected NSSAI (Rejected NSSAI), indicating one or more S-NSSAIs rejected by the network device among the NSSAIs requested by the terminal. Specifically, the network device can notify the terminal of rejecting the NSSAI information by carrying the Rejected NSSAI network element in the registration acceptance message (Registration Accept).

(6) Configure NSSAI (Configured NSSAI), the NSSAI configured by the network for the terminal to use. The terminal receives an indication message from the network device to configure the NSSAI, so as to determine the NSSAI available on the network. Specifically, the network can inform the terminal of configuring NSSAI by carrying the Configured NSSAI network element in the registration accept message (Registration Accept). The terminal can save the Configured NSSAI of different network configurations in the non-volatile storage space, and each PLMN can only configure one Configured NSSAI at most. In addition, if the NSSAI configured by the network for the terminal changes after the registration is completed, the network can notify the terminal to update the configured NSSAI information through an update configuration command (Configuration Update Command).

3. DC network: The terminal in the connected state supports simultaneous connection with two base stations, and the terminal can perform shunt transmission between the two base stations, thereby improving wireless resource utilization, reducing system switching delay, and improving network system performance.

The DC network includes a master node (Master Node, MN) and a secondary node (Secondary Node, SN), where the MN and SN are connected through a network interface, and the MN at least provides a control plane connection to the core network, and can also provide user The SN can only provide the user plane connection with the core network.

In addition, in the process of establishing a DC network, the master node can send a slave node addition request (SN Addition Request) message to the slave node, so as to successfully add the slave node to form a DC network.

There are many possible networking architectures in the DC network. For example, as shown in (1) in Figure 1, the core network is a 5G core network (5G Core Network, 5GC), and both the master node and the slave node are NR base stations (such as The main base station and the secondary base station are gNB1 and gNB2 respectively), there is an Xn interface between the main node and the secondary node, at least there is a control plane connection, and there may also be a user plane connection; there is an NG interface between the NR main node and the 5GC, at least there is a control plane connection There may be a user plane connection, and there may be a user plane connection; there is an NG-U interface between the NR secondary node and the 5GC, that is, there may be only a user plane connection.

At this time, the NR main base station can provide air interface resources for the terminal through at least one NR cell. At this time, the at least one NR cell is called a master cell group (Master Cell Group, MCG). Correspondingly, the NR secondary base station can also provide air interface resources for the terminal through at least one NR cell. At this time, the at least one NR cell is called a secondary cell group (Secondary Cell Group, SCG).

In addition, the DC network can also be shown in (2) in Figure 1. The core network is 5GC, the primary station is the LTE base station eNB, and the secondary node is the NR base station gNB. There is an Xn interface between the LTE base station and the NR base station, and at least a control plane There may be a user plane connection; there is an NG interface between the LTE base station and the 5GC, at least there is a control plane connection, and there may also be a user plane connection; there is an NG-U interface between the NR base station and the 5GC, that is, there can only be a user plane connection. connect.

The DC network can also be shown in (3) in Figure 1. The core network is 5GC, the primary node is NR base station gNB, and the secondary node is LTE base station eNB. There is an Xn interface between the NR base station and the LTE base station, and there is at least a control plane connection. There may be a user plane connection; there is an NG interface between the NR base station and the 5GC, at least a control plane connection, and there may also be a user plane connection; there is an NG-U interface between the LTE base station and the 5GC, that is, there may be only a user plane connection.

It should be noted that the DC network composed of network devices in the following embodiments of the present application can be any DC network architecture shown in FIG. 1 above, or other DC network architectures that are not shown. No longer.

In addition, under the DC network, the bearer of data is divided into the following types:

MCG bearer: The MCG bearer is routed from the core network to the MN, and the MN directly forwards it to the terminal device, which is the traditional downlink data forwarding method.

SCG bearer: The SCG bearer is routed from the core network to the SN, and then forwarded by the SN to the terminal device.

Split bearer: The split bearer is separated on the base station side, and can be forwarded by the MN or SN to the terminal equipment, or can be served by the MN and SN at the same time according to the split ratio.

Next, the implementation environment and application scenarios of the embodiments of the present application are briefly introduced.

As shown in FIG. 2 , it is a schematic structural diagram of a communication system 100 provided in the embodiment of the present application. In FIG. 2 , a communication system 100 includes a network device 101 , a network device 102 , a terminal 103 and a core network device 104 .

The network device 101 is connected to the network device 102, and data transmission can be performed between the two. The network device 101 may also provide wireless access services for at least one terminal such as the terminal 103 . Specifically, each network device corresponds to a service coverage area, and a terminal entering the area can communicate with the network device through the Uu port to receive the wireless access service provided by the network device. For example, the terminal 103 may send uplink data to the network device 101 , and the network device 101 may send downlink data to the terminal 103 .

The network device 101 establishes a data channel 1 based on the terminal 103 and the core network device 104 , and the network device 101 sends data from the terminal 103 to the core network device 104 or receives data from the core network 104 through the data channel 1 .

The network device 101 or the network device 102 may be any device with a wireless transceiver function. Including but not limited to: evolved base station (NodeB or eNB or e-NodeB, evolutional Node B) in long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE), base station (gNodeB or gNB) in new radio (new radio, NR) or Transmitting point (transmission receiving point/transmission reception point, TRP), the base station of the subsequent evolution of the third generation partnership project (3rd generation partnership project, 3GPP), the access node in the wireless fidelity (wireless-fidelity, WiFi) system, Wireless relay nodes, wireless backhaul nodes, etc. The base station can be: a macro base station, a micro base station, a pico base station, a small station, a relay station, or a balloon station, etc. Multiple base stations may support the aforementioned networks of the same technology, or may support the aforementioned networks of different technologies. A base station may contain one or more co-sited or non-co-sited TRPs. The network device may also be a wireless controller, a centralized unit (centralized unit, CU), and/or a distributed unit (distributed unit, DU) in a cloud radio access network (cloud radio access network, CRAN) scenario. In the following, the network device 101 or the network device 102 is taken as an example for description. The network device 101 or the network device 102 may be the same type of base station, or may be different types of base stations. The base station can communicate with the terminal, and can also communicate with the terminal through a relay station. The terminal can communicate with multiple base stations of different technologies. For example, the terminal can communicate with the base station supporting the LTE network, and can also communicate with the base station supporting the 5G network. It can also support dual connection with the base station of the LTE network and the base station of the 5G network .

In some embodiments, the network device 101 and/or the network device 102 may be a centralized-distributed unit (Centralized Unit-Distributed Unit, CU-DU) separated architecture. That is, the network device 101 and/or the network device 102 may include one CU and one or more DUs. Among them, the CU is mainly responsible for centralized wireless resource and connection management and control, and has the function of a wireless high-layer protocol stack. The DU has distributed user plane processing functions, and mainly has physical layer functions and layer 2 functions with high real-time requirements.

Terminal 103 is a device with wireless transceiver function, which can be deployed on land, including indoor or outdoor, handheld, wearable or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on water (such as ships, etc.); it can also be deployed in the air (such as aircraft, balloons and satellites, etc.). The terminal may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer (Pad), a computer with a wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (virtual reality, VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (augmented reality, AR) terminal device, an industrial control (industrial control), vehicle terminal equipment, unmanned driving (self driving) terminal, assisted driving terminal, telemedicine (remote medical) terminal, smart grid (smart grid) terminal, transportation safety ( Terminals in transportation safety, terminals in smart city, terminals in smart home, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the application scenarios. A terminal may sometimes be referred to as terminal equipment, user equipment (UE), access terminal equipment, vehicle-mounted terminal, industrial control terminal, UE unit, UE station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal equipment, mobile equipment, UE terminal equipment, wireless communication equipment, machine terminal, UE proxy or UE device, etc. Terminals can be fixed or mobile.

The core network device 104 may be an access and mobility management function (Access and Mobility management Function, AMF) network element. AMF is the main functional unit of the 5G core network, which performs access control and mobility management capabilities and ensures the service continuity of terminals during the mobile process. AMF is mainly responsible for receiving all connection and session-related information from user equipment, and is responsible for processing connection and mobility management tasks. All messages related to session management are forwarded to session management function (session management function, SMF) network elements through the N11 reference interface. AMF mainly includes: registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, providing transmission of SM messages between terminals and SMF, access authentication, access authorization and other functions.

It should be noted that the communication system 100 shown in FIG. 2 is only used as an example, and is not used to limit the technical solution of the present application. Those skilled in the art should understand that in a specific implementation process, the communication system 100 may also include other devices, and the number of network devices, terminals and core network devices may also be determined according to specific needs.

Optionally, each network element in FIG. 2 of the embodiment of the present application, such as the network device 101, the network device 102, the terminal 103, or the core network device 104, may be a functional module in one device. It can be understood that the above-mentioned function can be a network element in a hardware device, such as a communication chip in a mobile phone, or a software function running on dedicated hardware, or a virtual function.

For example, each network element in FIG. 2 can be implemented by the communication device 300 in FIG. 3 . FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of a communication device applicable to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 300 includes at least one processor 301, a communication line 302, a memory 303 and at least one communication interface 304.

The processor 301 can be a general-purpose central processing unit (central processing unit, CPU), a microprocessor, a specific application integrated circuit (application-specific integrated circuit, ASIC), or one or more for controlling the execution of the application program program integrated circuit.

Communication line 302 may include a path, such as a bus, for transferring information between the aforementioned components.

The communication interface 304 uses any device such as a transceiver for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as an Ethernet interface, a RAN interface, a wireless local area network (wireless local area networks, WLAN) interface, and the like.

Memory 303 may be read-only memory (read-only memory, ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, random access memory (random access memory, RAM) or other types that can store information and instructions It can also be an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compact discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be programmed by a computer Any other medium accessed, but not limited to. The memory may exist independently and be connected to the processor through the communication line 302 . Memory can also be integrated with the processor. The memory provided by the embodiment of the present application may generally be non-volatile. Wherein, the memory 303 is used to store computer-executed instructions involved in implementing the solution of the present application, and the execution is controlled by the processor 301 . The processor 301 is configured to execute computer-executed instructions stored in the memory 303, so as to implement the method provided in the embodiment of the present application.

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

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

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 300 may include multiple processors, for example, the processor 301 and the processor 307 in FIG. 3 . Each of these processors may be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. A processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and/or processing cores for processing data (eg, computer program instructions).

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

The aforementioned communication device 300 may be a general-purpose device or a special-purpose device. In a specific implementation, the communication device 300 may be a portable computer, a network server, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wireless terminal, an embedded device or a device having a structure similar to that shown in FIG. 3 . The embodiment of the present application does not limit the type of the communication device 300 .

The communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below.

It should be noted that the name of the message between network elements or the name of each parameter in the message in the following embodiments of the present application is just an example, and other names may also be used in the specific implementation, and the embodiment of the present application does not make specific details on this limited.

It can be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, network elements such as the first network device, the second network device, or the core network may perform some or all of the steps in the embodiment of the present application, these steps are only examples, and the embodiment of the present application may also Other steps or variations of various steps are performed. In addition, each step may be performed in a different order presented in the embodiment of the present application, and it may not be necessary to perform all the steps in the embodiment of the present application.

As shown in FIG. 4 , it is a communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application, and the method includes step 401 - step 405 .

401: The terminal device sends a network slicing request to the first network device.

Wherein, the network slice request may include multiple network slices. For example, if the network slices corresponding to the network service requested by the terminal device are Slice 1 and Slice 3, then the network slice request can be used to indicate the Slice 1 and Slice 3.

In one embodiment, the identifier of the network slice can be uniquely identified by S-NSSAI. In the embodiment of the present application, the network slice can be represented by S-NSSAI for example, but this is not limited.

In one embodiment, the network slicing request may carry multiple identifiers S-NSSAI corresponding to network slicing, for example, the network slicing request is Requested NSSAI, where the Requested NSSAI includes one or more S-NSSAIs. Exemplarily, the Requested NSSAI requested by the terminal device includes the S-NSSAI corresponding to Slice 1 and the S-NSSAI corresponding to Slice 3.

In one embodiment, the terminal device resides within the signal coverage of the first network device, and the terminal device can initiate a network slice registration request (Registration Request), used to request the core network to complete the corresponding network slice registration. Wherein, the first network device serves as a transit device and forwards the network slice registration request to the core network device for the terminal device. It should be noted that the network slice registration request also includes the Requested NSSAI, but the first network device does not parse the encapsulated data packet of the network slice registration request during the transfer process.

Further, in an implementation manner, the terminal device may carry the network information in the Radio Resource Control (Radio Resource Control, RRC) Setup Complete (Setup Complete) message, that is, MSG5, during the random access process with the first network device. Slice registration request and Requested NSSAI.

Exemplarily, step 401 may specifically be that the terminal device sends MSG5 to the first network device, wherein MSG5 carries a network slice registration request and a Requested NSSAI, and the Requested NSSAI includes the S-NSSAI of Slice 1 and the S-NSSAI of Slice 3 .

402: The first network device receives a network slicing request, where the first network device does not support the first network slicing.

Wherein, the Requested NSSAI of the terminal device includes multiple network slices, and the multiple network slices include the first network slice. For example, the network slices corresponding to the service of the network slice requested by the terminal device are Slice 1 and Slice 3, wherein the first network slice is Slice 1.

The first network device does not support the first network slice, that is, the first network slice is a network slice not supported by the first network device.

In one implementation manner, in step 402, the process of the first network device determining that the first network slice requested by the terminal device does not support specifically includes the following two ways.

Method 1: The first network device self-perceives.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, after step 401, the method may further include:

500: The first network device determines that the first network slice is not supported according to the comparison between the network slice in the network slice request and the network slice locally supported by the first network device.

Exemplarily, in combination with the communication system shown in FIG. 2, the configuration NSSAI of the first network device may be Slice 2 and Slice 3. Then the first network device is Slice 1 and Slice 3 according to the Requested NSSAI of the terminal device, combined with the NSSAI configuration, it can be determined that the first network device does not support the first network slice Slice 1.

Subsequently, the first network device can acquire other access network devices that support the first network slice, such as the second network device, according to nearby network devices, and request to add the second network device as a secondary node to establish a DC network, so that the core network device Allowed NSSAI can be obtained based on the network slicing supported by the terminal device under the DC network to provide services for the network slicing request of the terminal device. The detailed process will be described below.

Manner 2: The first network device determines not to support the first network slice according to the received target network slice information from the core network device.

501: The terminal device and the core network device exchange a registration request message and a registration completion message.

Generally speaking, after a terminal device initiates a network slice registration request (Registration Request), it will forward the network slice registration request of the terminal device to the core network device through the transfer of the first network device, and realize the registration complete (Registration Complete) message, etc. interaction, successfully complete the registration process of the network slice. Among them, the Registration Request can carry the Requested NSSAI requested by the terminal device, and the Registration Complete can carry the Allowed NSSAI of the terminal device supported by the current network.

In one embodiment, when a core network device initiates a network slice registration request for a terminal device, it may first complete the registration of some network slices supported by the current network in the Requested NSSAI, and respond to the registration request. In addition, the network slice information not supported by the current network Feedback to the first network device as the target network slice.

Exemplarily, as shown in FIG. 5, the aforementioned terminal device sends the Registration Request (Registration Request) message through the NAS layer. The Requested NSSAI will also be carried. After the AMF of the core network receives the Registration Request message, according to the support of the first network device Network slice information (for example, the network slices supported by the first network device through NG interface interaction are Slice 2 and Slice 3), unified data management (Unified Data Management, UDM) contract information, network slice selection function (Network Slice Selection Function, NSSF) policy and its own support for network slicing, etc., it can be obtained that the Allowed NSSAI corresponding to the terminal device under the first network device is Slice 3. Then, the core network device can first complete the registration request of Slice3, and feed back Registration Complete to the terminal device, where the Allowed NSSAI carried in Registration Complete is Slice3.

502: The core network device sends target network slice information to the first network device.

In an implementation manner, the target network slice information may be represented by Target NSSAI, and the target network slice information may include information about network slices not supported by the terminal device under the first network device.

Based on the preceding example, among the network slices (Slice 1 and Slice 3) requested by the terminal device, Slice 1 is a network slice not supported by the first network device, and the core network device can carry Slice 1 in the Target NSSAI and send it to the first network equipment. That is to say, the Target NSSAI is at least one S-NSSAI that is not in the Allowed NSSAI because the current base station does not support it in the Requested NSSAI initiated by the terminal device.

503: The terminal device sends a registration request of the first network slice to the first network device.

The terminal device can initiate a registration request based on the first network slice to the first network device again, so as to find a suitable access network device to provide the terminal device with the service corresponding to the first network slice.

Subsequently, the first network device can acquire other access network devices that support the first network slice, such as the second network device, according to nearby network devices, and request to add the second network device as a secondary node to establish a DC network, so that the core network device The Allowed NSSAI can be updated based on the network slicing supported by the terminal device under the DC network, and the updated Allowed NSSAI can be carried in the initial context establishment request and fed back to the first network device, so as to provide services for the network slicing request of the terminal device. The detailed process will be described below.

Through the above two possible manners, the first network device may determine a network slice not supported by the first network device, such as the first network slice, based on the request of the terminal device. Then, the first network device can find other access network devices that support the first network slice requested by the terminal device by exchanging information with adjacent network devices, so as to provide network slice enhancement for the terminal device by forming a DC network Serve.

For example, the first network device discovers that the adjacent second network device can support the first network slice. Specifically, the following methods can be adopted.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, after step 402, the method may further include:

504: The first network device exchanges supported network slice information with nearby network devices.

Specifically, the first network device may send request information about supported network slices to multiple nearby network devices through the Xn interface, so as to obtain network slices supported by neighboring network devices. Then, after receiving the request information, multiple nearby network devices may report the network slices they support to the first network device through the Xn interface. For example, the second network device reports to the first network device that the network slices it supports are Slice 1 and Slice 3.

Therefore, the first network device can obtain a list of nearby cells/access network devices that can support the first network slice.

505: The first network device sends a measurement-related RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal device.

506: The terminal device sends a measurement report to the first network device.

The first network device may send a measurement-related RRC reconfiguration message, that is, an RRC Reconfiguration message, to the terminal device according to the list of cells capable of supporting the first network slice acquired in step 504.

According to the RRC reconfiguration message, the terminal device measures the neighboring cell and reports a measurement report to the first network device.

507: The first network device determines a second network device that supports the first network slice.

The first network device selects a suitable cell from the list of cells capable of supporting the first network slice through the measurement report reported by the terminal device, and uses the access network device of the cell, such as the second network device, as a secondary node forming the DC network .

In one embodiment, if the first network device determines that the list of nearby cells capable of supporting the first network slice includes multiple cells, or includes multiple access network devices, the first network device may, according to the measurement report reported by the terminal device, Select the one with the best signal strength or the best signal quality as the secondary node of the DC network.

403: The first network device sends secondary node addition request information to the second network device, where the secondary node addition request information includes the first indication.

In an implementation manner, the secondary node addition request information may specifically be an SN Addition Request message, which is used to request to add a second network device as a secondary node to form a DC network with the first network device. Wherein, the first network device serves as the master node of the DC network.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the secondary node addition request information is sent before the first network device receives the protocol data unit (Protocol Data Unit, PDU) session resource establishment request corresponding to the first network slice. That is to say, through the implementation of the present application, the first network device can form a DC network by adding secondary nodes before receiving a PDU session resource establishment request corresponding to a network slice that it does not support, so that the DC network can satisfy The terminal device has a service requirement corresponding to a network slice (first network slice) not supported by the MN (first network device).

Based on this, in the embodiments of this application, through a pre-agreement (or protocol agreement) between network devices, the secondary node addition request information carries the first indication, which is used to indicate that the second network device can support the first network device not Supported network slicing, so that the first network device can complete secondary node addition and combination with the second network device to form a DC network before receiving the PDU session resource establishment request corresponding to the first network slice.

That is to say, the first network device carries the first indication in the secondary node addition request information sent to the second network device to notify the second network device that it can process the PDU corresponding to the first network slice according to the protocol or agreement. Before the session resource establishment request, the second network device serves as a secondary node and combines with the first network device to form a DC network, which is used to realize the service request of the terminal device for the first network slice.

In one embodiment, the first indication can be indicated by the SN Support Indication field. Exemplarily, when the value of the SN Support Indication field is true (true) or 1, it is represented as the first indication, that is, the MN indicates that the SN The network slicing that can support the request of the terminal device but cannot be supported by the MN can directly trigger the process of adding the SN.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, after step 403, the method may further include:

508: The second network device sends secondary station addition response information to the first network device, which is used to indicate that the second network device successfully forms a DC network with the first network device.

Wherein, the secondary station addition response information may specifically be an SN Addition Request ACK message, which is used for the second network device to feed back the successful completion of the SN addition process to the first network device.

Through the above method, the first network device can directly trigger the SN addition process before receiving the PDU session resource establishment request related to the first network slice, and add the second network device capable of supporting the first network slice as a secondary node, so as to A DC network is formed, so that the terminal device can support the related services of the first network slice requested by the terminal device under the DC network, avoiding the problem of the core network rejecting the service request of the terminal device because the first network device does not support it, and improving communication efficiency.

Next, the terminal device can complete random access with the SN side according to the RRC reconfiguration message delivered by the SN side.

509: The second network device sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal device.

Wherein, the RRC reconfiguration message may be first sent to the first network device through the second network device, and then the first network device performs relay to send the RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal device.

510: The terminal device interacts with the second network device to complete random access.

The terminal device may request random access from the second network device according to the RRC reconfiguration message, and complete the random access interaction process.

Through the above implementation manner, after the establishment of the DC network is completed, the first network device, that is, the master node, needs to update the supported network slicing to the core network device, which may specifically include the following steps.

404: The first network device sends a second indication to the core network device, and the second indication is used to indicate the support of network slicing under the DC network formed by the first network device and the second network device.

After the first network device and the second network device form a DC network, the DC network is equivalent to combining the network slices supported by the first network device and the second network device, that is, the DC network expands the network cut service supported by a single network device. That is to say, the network slices that can be supported by the DC network may be a union of network slice sets supported by the first network device and the second network device respectively. Therefore, at this time, when the core network device determines the allowed network slice corresponding to the terminal device, that is, the Allowed NSSAI, it should consider the network slices that the terminal device can support under the DC network.

Based on this, in the embodiments of the present application, through the pre-agreement (or protocol agreement) between the access network device and the core network device, the second indication is carried in the interaction information to indicate that the core network device can Under the support of network slicing, determine the allowed network slicing corresponding to the terminal device, that is, Allowed NSSAI.

In an implementation manner, specifically, specific indication manners of the second indication may include the following.

(1) The second indication may include indication information that the DC network supports the network slice requested by the terminal device. Specifically, the second indication may be used to indicate that the current DC network can support all network slices requested by the terminal device.

Exemplarily, the second indication may be indicated by the Supported NSSAI Indication field. When the value of the Supported NSSAI Indication field is true (true) or 1, it represents the second indication, which can be used to indicate that the current DC combination can support the slice service requested by the UE, and the core network device can further determine the Allowed NSSAI.

(2) The second indication may include indication information that the second network device supports the network slice requested by the terminal device. Specifically, the second indication may be used to indicate that the SN (that is, the second network device) can support the network slice requested by the terminal device but not supported by the MN (that is, the first network device).

Exemplarily, the second indication may be indicated by the Supported NSSAI Indication field. When the value of the Supported NSSAI Indication field is true (true) or 1, it is represented as the second indication, which can be used to indicate that the SN can support a slice service requested by the UE when the MN cannot support the slice service, and the core The network device can further determine the Allowed NSSAI.

(3) The second indication may include the tracking area code (Tracking Area Code, TAC) of the second network device, or a base station identifier such as a global RAN node identifier (ie Global RAN Node ID), or other base station identifiers in information such as at least one. That is to say, the first network device can agree with the core network that the MN can notify the core network device of any of the aforementioned information by sending the TAC/Global RAN Node ID corresponding to the SN to the core network device, that is, to indicate The current DC combination can support all network slicing services requested by the UE, or it can be used to indicate that the current SN can support services requested by the UE but not supported by the MN.

In addition, by sending the TAC/Global RAN Node ID corresponding to the SN to the core network device, the MN can also be used by the core network device to determine the provider of the Allowed NSSAI (that is, the network device supporting the Allowed NSSAI is the MN/SN/DC). Among them, the detailed process of determining the Allowed NSSAI and the Allowed NSSAI provider on the core network side will be described below, and will not be repeated here.

(4) The second indication may include the aforementioned (1) and (3), that is, the second indication is used to indicate that the current DC network can support all network slices requested by the terminal device, and the second indication also includes the TAC/ Global RAN Node ID.

(5) The second indication may include the aforementioned (2) and (3), that is, the second indication is used to indicate that the SN can support the network slice requested by the terminal device but not supported by the MN, and the second indication also includes the corresponding TAC/ Global RAN Node ID.

In an implementation manner, the second indication sent by the first network device (MN) to the core network device may be carried in RAN configuration update (RAN Configuration Update) information. Specifically, the second indication may be that after the MN adds the SN, before the terminal device initiates a PDU session request for the first network slice, the MN sends the RAN Configuration Update information carrying the second indication to the core network device for core network The network device determines the Allowed NSSAI.

In another implementation manner, the second indication sent by the first network device (MN) to the core network device may be carried in PDU Session Resource Modify Indication (PDU Session Resource Modify Indication) information. Specifically, after the terminal device initiates a PDU session request, the MN sends the PDU Session Resource Modify Indication information carrying the second indication and then sends it to the core network device for the core network device to determine Allowed NSSAI and perform service transmission. Sending the second indication in this way can reduce the overhead of signaling interaction between the MN and the core network equipment.

405: The core network device sends identifiers of network slices allowed by the terminal device under the DC network.

In one embodiment, the core network device sends an Initial Context Setup Request (Initial Context Setup Request), where the initial context setup request carries the third indication sent to the first network device, and also carries the first instruction sent to the terminal device. Four instructions. Wherein, the fourth indication may specifically be a registration complete (Registration Complete) message, and the fourth indication includes an identifier of a network slice allowed by the terminal device under the DC network, that is, Allowed NSSAI. Wherein, the Allowed NSSAI is determined with reference to the second indication, therefore, the fourth indication is determined with reference to the second indication.

The core network device sends a third indication to the first network device, where the third indication includes identifiers of network slices allowed by the terminal device under the DC network. The third indication is determined by the core network device with reference to the second indication. The third indication is the network slice allowed by the terminal device under the DC network, that is, Allowed NSSAI.

In an implementation manner, the core network device may determine the Allowed NSSAI according to the second indication in combination with the Requested NSSAI, UDM subscription information, NSSF policy, and AMF support capability in the network slice registration request message of the terminal device.

Further, the Allowed NSSAI is the Requested NSSAI, the subscription information can be queried in the UDM, and the network slicing can be supported by the base station (currently a DC network) and the core network equipment at the same time. That is to say, the core network device can combine the Requested NSSAI (which can be one or more S-NSSAIs), UDM subscription information, NSSF policy, and network slicing supported by AMF in the network slice registration request message of the terminal device according to the second instruction. The sets are intersected to determine the Allowed NSSAI.

It should be noted that, in combination with the aforementioned embodiments, in step 402, the first network device determines that the first network slice in the Requested NSSAI is an unsupported network slice. The specific process can be method 1 and method 2. Therefore, based on the first network In the first way of device self-awareness, the third indication sent by the core network device to the first network device in step 405 is that the core network device sends a determined Allowed NSSAI to the first network device for the first time based on the terminal device’s network slicing request. . Based on the aforementioned method 2, the core network device has first sent the determined Allowed NSSAI (including Slice 3) to the first network device, and at this time, the third indication in step 405 is that the core network device sends the determined Allowed NSSAI (including Slice 3) to the first network device. Send the updated Allowed NSSAI (including Slice 1 and Slice 3) to the first network device.

In conjunction with the aforementioned step 404, the first network device sends (1)-(5) different indication modes of the second indication to the core network device, and the core network device can determine the Allowed NSSAI.

When the second indication is the aforementioned method (1), that is, the second indication is used to indicate that the current DC network can support all the network slices requested by the terminal device, the core network device can according to the Requested NSSAI and UDM subscription information of the terminal device , NSSF policy, and the network slice set supported by AMF take the intersection to determine the Allowed NSSAI. Exemplarily, the Requested NSSAI of the terminal device includes {Slice1, Slice3}, wherein the UDM subscription information, NSSF policy, and network slice set supported by AMF all include Slice1 and Slice3, and the core network device can obtain the Allowed NSSAI including {Slice1 , Slice3}.

When the second indication is the aforementioned method (2), that is, the second indication is used to indicate that the SN can support the network slicing requested by the terminal device but not supported by the MN, the core network device can use the Requested NSSAI of the terminal device and the network slice supported by the MN. Network slicing information, UDM subscription information, NSSF policy, and network slicing set supported by AMF determine the Allowed NSSAI. Exemplarily, the Requested NSSAI of the terminal device includes {Slice1, Slice3}. According to the second indication, it can be known that the SN can support the network slice requested by the terminal device but not supported by the MN, that is, the DC network can support all the network slices requested by the terminal device. Network slicing. In addition, the UDM subscription information, NSSF policy, and network slice set supported by AMF all include Slice1 and Slice3, and the core network device can obtain Allowed NSSAI including {Slice1, Slice3}.

Optionally, when the second indication is mode (3), (4) or (5), the core network device may also determine the provider corresponding to each S-NSSAI in the Allowed NSSAI, that is, the TAC/ Global RAN Node ID. Exemplarily, the second indication includes the base station identifier of the second network device, and the core network device may also determine that the provider of the first network slice in the Allowed NSSAI, that is, Slice1, is the second network device.

Therefore, the first network device receives the third indication from the core network device to acquire the Allowed NSSAI.

In an implementation manner, the core network device sends a fourth indication to the terminal device, where the fourth indication is used to indicate network slices allowed by the terminal device under the DC network. Core network devices such as AMF can send Allowed NSSAI to terminal devices through NAS layer messages. Wherein, the first network device is used to relay the first indication, and the first network device does not parse the fourth indication message.

In an implementation manner, the fourth indication may further include at least one of TAC, Global RAN Node ID, or supported base station type corresponding to the network device that supports allowed network slicing. Wherein, the base station type (Type) may include MN, SN or DC. For example, if the base station type corresponding to a network slice (Slice 2) is MN, it means that the network device supporting the network slice (Slice 2) is the master node (the first network device). The base station type corresponding to a network slice (Slice 1) is SN, which means that the network device supporting the network slice (Slice 1) is a secondary node (second network device). The base station type corresponding to a certain network slice (Slice 3) is DC, which means that the network device supporting the network slice (Slice 3) is the primary node and the secondary node (the first network device and the second network device).

That is to say, in the fourth instruction, the S-NSSAI in the Allowed NSSAI is bound to the TAC/Global RAN Node ID/Type of the base station that can support the S-NSSAI, so that the terminal device can obtain each S-NSSAI in the Allowed NSSAI provider of .

Specifically, in an implementation manner, the specific manner in which the S-NSSAI in the fourth indication is bound to the information of the base station supporting the S-NSSAI may be that each S-NSSAI and the base station TAC/Global One-to-one binding of RAN Node ID/Type. Among them, the network slice supported by the MN or the SN alone must be bound, and the network slice supported by both the MN and the SN may or may not be bound with base station information.

Exemplarily, the Allowed NSSAI can be expressed as, Allowed NSSAI={Slice1: SN_TAC; Slice3: MN_TAC, SN_TAC}, where each S-NSSAI is bound to a supported base station TAC. Or, Allowed NSSAI={Slice1: SN; Slice3: DC}, where each S-NSSAI is bound to a supported base station type. Or, Allowed NSSAI={Slice1: SN_TAC; Slice3}, wherein, Slice3 is a network slice supported by both the MN and the SN, and the base station information may not be bound.

Alternatively, the Allowed NSSAI can also be expressed as the S-NSSAI list supported by the MN and the S-NSSAI list supported by the SN, respectively, and then bind the two lists with the provider information (TAC/Global RAN Node ID/Type ). Among them, the network slice supported by the MN or the SN alone must be bound, and the network slice supported by both the MN and the SN may or may not be bound with base station information.

Exemplarily, Allowed NSSAI can also be expressed in the following form, Allowed NSSAI={{Slice1,...}: SN_TAC/Global RAN Node ID/SN; {Slice3,...}: MN_TAC/Global RAN Node ID/MN , SN_TAC/Global RAN Node ID/SN}. Or, Allowed NSSAI={{Slice1,...}: SN_TAC/Global RAN Node ID/SN; {Slice3,...}}.

Through the above-mentioned implementation, when the first network device receives the slicing service (the first network slice) of the terminal device that the first network device does not support but the second network device can support, when receiving the first network slice related Before the establishment request of the PDU session resource, the SN addition process is directly triggered to add the second network device as a secondary node to form a DC network to provide the slice service for the terminal device, avoiding the core network rejecting the terminal because the first network device does not support it. Device service request issues, improve communication efficiency. In addition, the first network device determines the Allowed NSSAI of the UE in the current DC combination area and the corresponding provider by updating the network slice supported under the DC combination.

In another implementation manner, in the aforementioned step 403, the first indication may include an identifier corresponding to the first network slice.

That is to say, the request information sent by the first network device to the second network device for adding a secondary node may include information that the second network device can support network slices that the first network device does not support, for example, identification information of the first network slice, It is used to indicate that the second network device can support network slices that the first network device does not support. For example, the first indication may be indicated through the SN Support Indication field, where the SN Support Indication field may include the S-NSSAI corresponding to the first network slice Slice 1.

In an implementation manner, the first indication may include at least one network slice supported by the second network device in the network slice request. That is, the request information sent by the first network device to the second network device for adding a secondary node may include all network slicing information that the second network device can support in the network slicing request. Exemplarily, the first indication may be indicated through the SN Support Indication field, where the SN Support Indication field may include the S-NSSAI corresponding to Slice 1 and the S-NSSAI corresponding to Slice 3.

Based on this, before step 404 in the foregoing embodiment, that is, before the first network device sends the second indication to the core network device, that is, in step 509, the second network device sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal device, and the RRC reconfiguration message includes The identifier of the network slice supported by the second network device in the network slice request, and at least one of the TAC, Global RAN Node ID or supported base station type of the second network device.

That is to say, when the SN forwards the RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal device through the MN, it can bind the network slice information that the SN can support with its TAC/Global RAN Node ID/Type and send it to the terminal device, so that the terminal device can obtain the information that supports the network slice. Access network device information of the network slice.

Exemplarily, the second network device may carry the SN Supported NSSAI field when sending the RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal device in combination with the support status of the network slice of the first network device. Among them, the base station type of the network slice supported by the second network device alone in the SN Supported NSSAI is set to SN, and the base station type of the network slice supported by both the first network device and the second network device is set to DC. This field can be expressed as: SN Supported NSSAI={Slice1: SN_TAC/Global RAN Node ID/SN; Slice3: SN_TAC/Global RAN Node ID/DC}.

Then, the terminal device may interact with the second network device based on the RRC reconfiguration message to complete random access.

Based on this, in step 404 in the foregoing embodiment, the first network device sends a second indication to the core network device, and the second indication is used to indicate the number of network slices supported under the DC network composed of the first network device and the second network device. information. That is to say, the second indication may include identifiers of network slices supported under the DC network.

In an implementation manner, the second indication may be indicated by a Supported NSSAI Indication field.

Exemplarily, the configuration NSSAI of the first network device can be {Slice 2, Slice 3}, and the configuration NSSAI of the second network device can be {Slice 1, Slice 3}, then based on the second indication, the network slices supported under the DC network can be known The union of is {Slice 1, Slice 2, Slice 3}. Then the Supported NSSAI Indication field can be expressed as: Supported NSSAI Indication={Slice1, Slice2, Slice3}, that is, the MN indicates that the slice information that can be supported under the current DC combination of the AMF is ={Slice1, Slice2, Slice3}, to notify the AMF according to Indicates further determination of Allowed NSSAI.

Based on this, in step 404 in the foregoing implementation manner, the core network device sends a third indication to the first network device, and the third indication includes an identifier of a network slice allowed by the terminal device under the DC network. In an implementation manner, the process for the core network device to determine the Allowed NSSAI according to the second indication may include the following process.

The AMF determines the Allowed NSSAI in combination with the Requested NSSAI in the NAS message, the slice information supported under the DC combination, the UDM subscription information, the NSSF policy, and the AMF support capability. Exemplarily, the slice information that can be supported under the current DC combination indicated by the MN is, Supported NSSAI Indication={Slice1, Slice2, Slice3}, AMF combines the Requested NSSAI (that is, {Slice 1, Slice 3}) and DC in the NAS message The slice information supported under the combination is {Slice1, Slice2, Slice3}, UDM subscription information, NSSF policy, and AMF support capability determination Allowed NSSAI={Slice1, Slice3}.

In addition, in a possible implementation manner, the core network device can also send indication information according to the Allowed NSSAI to the terminal device, so that the terminal device can combine the SN Supported NSSAI indication in the RRC reconfiguration message in the preceding steps according to the Allowed NSSAI , determine the TAC, Global RAN Node ID or Type of the network device corresponding to each network slice supported by the terminal device under the DC network, that is, the terminal device can obtain the provider of each network slice.

Exemplarily, Allowed NSSAI={Slice1, Slice3}, SN Supported NSSAI={Slice1: SN_TAC/Global RAN Node ID/SN; Slice3: SN_TAC/Global RAN Node ID/DC}, so that the terminal device can determine each The provider of S-NSSAI, that is, the provider of Slice 1 is SN, and the provider of Slice 3 is SN and MN.

Through the above implementation, before the terminal device initiates a PDU session request that the MN does not support, the addition of the SN can be completed in advance, so as to realize the enhancement of network slicing based on the DC network, and by updating the network slice supported by the terminal device under the DC network In order to determine the Allowed NSSAI of the terminal device under the current DC network and the corresponding provider, improve the communication efficiency of the network slicing service.

The communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application is described in detail above with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 . The communication device configured to execute the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 6 .

Exemplarily, FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 6 , the communication device 600 includes: a receiving module 601 and a sending module 602 . For ease of illustration, FIG. 6 only shows the main components of the communication device.

In some embodiments, the communication device 600 may be applicable to the network architecture shown in FIG. 2 , and execute the function of the first network device in the method shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5 .

Wherein, the receiving module 601 is configured to receive a network slicing request from a terminal device, where the network slicing request includes an identifier of a first network slice, where the communication apparatus does not support the first network slice.

The sending module 602 is configured to send secondary node addition request information to the second network device, where the secondary node addition request information includes a first indication, and the first indication is used to indicate that the second network device can support the first network slice.

The sending module 602 is further configured to send a second indication to the core network device, where the second indication is used to indicate support for network slicing under the dual-connection DC network formed by the communication device and the second network device.

The receiving module 601 is further configured to receive a third indication from the core network device, where the third indication includes an identifier of a network slice allowed by the terminal device under the DC network.

In a possible implementation manner, the first indication further includes at least one network slice supported by the second network device in the network slice request.

In a possible implementation manner, the sending module 602 is further configured to send an RRC reconfiguration message from the second network device to the terminal device to the terminal device, so that the terminal device requests random access from the second network device, wherein the RRC reconfiguration message The configuration message includes the identifier of the network slice supported by the second network device in the network slice request, and at least one of the TAC, the base station identifier, or the supported base station type of the second network device.

In a possible implementation manner, the second indication is included in the network slicing request of the network slicing supported by the DC network.

In a possible implementation manner, before the sending module 602 sends the secondary node addition request information to the second network device, it further includes: comparing the network slice in the network slice request with the network slice locally supported by the first network device, and determining that it does not support The first network slice; or, according to the received target network slice information from the core network device, it is determined that the first network slice is not supported.

In a possible implementation manner, the sending module 602 is further configured to request supported network slice information from nearby network devices. The receiving module 601 is configured to determine that the second network device supports the first network slice according to network slice information reported by multiple network devices.

In a possible implementation manner, the secondary node addition request information sent by the sending module 602 is sent before the communication device 600 receives the PDU session resource establishment request corresponding to the first network slice.

Optionally, the sending module 602 and the receiving module 601 may also be integrated into one module, such as a transceiver module (not shown in FIG. 6 ). Wherein, the transceiver module is used to realize the sending function and the receiving function of the communication device 600 .

Optionally, the communication device 600 may further include a processing module (not shown in FIG. 6 ). Wherein, the processing module is used to realize the processing function of the communication device 600 .

Optionally, the communication device 600 may further include a storage module (not shown in FIG. 6 ), where programs or instructions are stored in the storage module. When the processing module executes the program or the instruction, the communication device 600 can execute the function of the first network device in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 .

It should be noted that the communication device 600 may be a network device, such as the first network device, or it may be a chip (system) or other components or components that can be set in the network device, or it may be a device that includes the network device. This is not limited.

It should be understood that the processing module involved in the communication device 600 may be implemented by a processor or a processor-related circuit component, and may be a processor or a processing unit; the transceiver module may be implemented by a transceiver or a transceiver-related circuit component, and may be a transceiver or transceiver unit.

In addition, for the technical effects of the communication device 600, reference may be made to the corresponding technical effects in the methods shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 , which will not be repeated here.

In some other embodiments, the communication device 600 may be applicable to the network architecture shown in FIG. 2 , and execute the function of the second network device in the method shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5 .

Wherein, the receiving module 601 is configured to receive secondary node addition request information from the first network device, where the secondary node addition request information includes a first indication, and the first indication is used to indicate that the communication apparatus can support the first network slice.

The sending module 602 is configured to send secondary node addition response information to the first network device, which is used to indicate that the communication apparatus 600 successfully forms a dual-connection DC network with the first network device.

The sending module 602 is also configured to send an RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal device, and complete random access with the terminal device.

In a possible implementation manner, the first indication further includes an identifier of a network slice supported by the communication device 600 in the network slice request.

In a possible implementation manner, the RRC reconfiguration message includes an identifier of at least one network slice supported by the communications apparatus 600, and at least one of TAC, base station identifier, or supported base station type of the communications apparatus 600.

Optionally, the communication device 600 may further include a storage module (not shown in FIG. 6 ), where programs or instructions are stored in the storage module. When the processing module executes the program or the instruction, the communication device 600 can execute the function of the second network device in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 .

It should be noted that the communication device 600 may be a network device, such as a second network device, or a chip (system) or other components or components that can be set in a network device, or a device that includes a network device. This is not limited.

In some other embodiments, the communication device 600 may be applicable to the network architecture shown in FIG. 2 , and perform the functions of the core network device in the method shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5 .

Wherein, the receiving module 601 is configured to receive a network slice registration request from a terminal device, where the network slice registration includes the identifier of the first network slice.

The receiving module 601 is further configured to receive a second indication from the first network device, where the second indication is used to indicate support for network slicing under the dual-connection DC network formed by the first network device and the second network device.

The sending module 602 is configured to send a fourth indication to the terminal device, where the fourth indication includes identifiers of network slices allowed by the terminal device under the DC network.

In a possible implementation manner, the sending module 602 is further configured to send a third indication to the first network device, where the third indication is used to indicate network slices allowed by the terminal device under the DC network.

Optionally, the communication device 600 may further include a storage module (not shown in FIG. 6 ), where programs or instructions are stored in the storage module. When the processing module executes the program or instruction, the communication device 600 can execute the functions of the core network equipment in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 .

It should be noted that the communication device 600 may be network equipment, such as core network equipment, or a chip (system) or other components or components that can be set in the network equipment, or a device that includes network equipment. No limit.

In some other embodiments, the communication device 600 may be applicable to the network architecture shown in FIG. 2 , and execute the function of the terminal device in the method shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5 .

Wherein, the sending module 602 is configured to send a network slice request to the first network device, where the network slice request includes an identifier of the first network slice.

The receiving module 601 is configured to receive an RRC reconfiguration message, the RRC reconfiguration message is used to instruct the communication apparatus 600 to request random access from the second network device, wherein the second network device supports the first network slice, and the RRC reconfiguration message includes An identifier of the network slice supported by the second network device in the network slicing request, and at least one of the TAC, base station identifier, or supported base station type of the second network device.

The receiving module 601 and the sending module 602 are also configured to interact with the second network device to complete random access.

The receiving module 601 is further configured to receive a fourth indication, where the fourth indication is used to indicate network slices allowed by the communications apparatus 600 under the dual-connection DC network formed by the first network device and the second network device.

Optionally, the communication device 600 may further include a storage module (not shown in FIG. 6 ), where programs or instructions are stored in the storage module. When the processing module executes the program or instruction, the communication device 600 can execute the functions of the terminal device in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 .

It should be noted that the communication device 600 may be a terminal device, may also be a chip (system) or other components or components that can be set in the terminal device, or may be a device including the terminal device, which is not limited in this application.

It should be noted that, for the specific execution process and embodiments of the above-mentioned communication device, reference may be made to the steps performed by the network device or terminal device and related descriptions in the above-mentioned method embodiments, and for the technical problems to be solved and the technical effects brought about, reference may also be made to The content described in the foregoing embodiments will not be repeated here one by one.

In this embodiment, the communication device may be presented in the form of dividing various functional modules in an integrated manner. A "module" here may refer to a specific circuit, a processor and memory executing one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and/or other devices that can provide the above functions. In a simple embodiment, those skilled in the art can imagine that the communication device can take the form shown in FIG. 3 in the foregoing.

Exemplarily, the function/implementation process of the receiving module 601 or the sending module 602 in FIG. 6 may be implemented by the processor 301 in FIG. 3 invoking computer program instructions stored in the memory 303 . For example, the functions/implementation process of the sending module 602 and the receiving module 601 in FIG. 6 may be implemented through the communication interface 304 in FIG. 3 .

In some implementations, the processor 301 in FIG. 3 can call the computer-executed instructions stored in the memory 303, so that the apparatus 300 can perform the operations performed by the network device or the terminal device in the above-mentioned various method embodiments, so as to realize the implementation of the present application. Each of the above possible implementation methods.

The communication group device in each of the above device embodiments can completely correspond to the network device or terminal device in the method embodiment, and the corresponding steps are performed by the corresponding modules or units. For example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the communication A unit may be an interface circuit that the chip uses to receive signals from other chips or devices. The above communication unit for sending or receiving is an interface circuit of the device, used to send signals to other devices, for example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the communication unit can be used to send signals to other chips or devices Interface circuit for sending signals.

In an exemplary embodiment, there is also provided a computer-readable storage medium including instructions, or a computer program product. The above-mentioned instructions can be executed by the processor 301 of the communication device 300 to implement the methods of the above-mentioned embodiments. Therefore, the technical effects that can be obtained can refer to the above-mentioned method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

The present application also provides a computer program product. The computer program product includes instructions. When the instructions are executed, the computer can respectively perform operations performed by the network device or the terminal device corresponding to the above method.

The embodiment of the present application also provides a system chip. The system chip includes: a processing unit and a communication unit. The processing unit may be, for example, a processor, and the communication unit may be, for example, an input/output interface, a pin, or a circuit. The processing unit may execute computer instructions, so that the communication device to which the chip is applied executes the operations performed by the network device or the terminal device in the method provided by the above embodiments of the present application.

Optionally, any communication device provided in the foregoing embodiments of the present application may include the system chip.

Optionally, the computer instructions are stored in a storage unit.

An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, and the communication system may include: any network device in the foregoing implementation manners and at least one terminal device.

It should be understood that, in various embodiments of the present application, the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes do not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of the processes should be determined by their functions and internal logic, and should not be used in the embodiments of the present application. The implementation process constitutes any limitation.

Those skilled in the art can appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are executed by hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be regarded as exceeding the scope of the present application.

Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that for the convenience and brevity of the description, the specific working process of the above-described system, device and unit can refer to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

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

The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place, or may be distributed to multiple network units. Part or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, each unit may exist separately physically, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

In the above embodiments, all or part of them may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, it may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on the computer, the processes or functions according to the embodiments of the present application will be generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions may be stored in or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from a website, computer, server, or data center Transmission to another website site, computer, server or data center via wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer, or may be a data storage device including one or more servers, data centers, etc. that can be integrated with the medium. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (such as a solid state disk (Solid State Disk, SSD)), etc.

As used in this application, the terms "component," "module," "system" and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, which may be hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or an operating system. software. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. As an example, both an application running on a computing device and the computing device can be components. One or more components can reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component can be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, these components can execute from various computer readable media having various data structures thereon. These components can be communicated through, for example, according to having one or more packets of data (e.g., data from a component that interacts with another component in a local system, a distributed system, and/or in the form of network to interact with other systems) to communicate with local and/or remote processes.

Various aspects, embodiments or features are presented herein in terms of systems that can include a number of devices, components, modules and the like. It is to be understood and appreciated that the various systems may include additional devices, components, modules, etc. and/or may not include all of the devices, components, modules etc. discussed in connection with the figures. In addition, combinations of these schemes can also be used.

In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the word "exemplary" is used as an example, illustration or description. Any embodiment or design described herein as "example" is not to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of the word example is intended to present concepts in a concrete manner.

In this embodiment of the present application, information, signal, message, and channel may sometimes be used interchangeably. It should be noted that when the differences are not emphasized, the meanings they intend to express are consistent. "的(of)", "corresponding (corresponding, relevant)" and "corresponding (corresponding)" can sometimes be used interchangeably. It should be pointed out that when the difference is not emphasized, the meanings they intend to express are consistent. "System" and "network" can sometimes be used interchangeably. When the difference is not emphasized, the meanings they intend to express are consistent. For example, "communication system" also refers to "communication network".

The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are for more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute limitations on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. For the evolution of architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

The above is only a specific implementation of the application, but the scope of protection of the application is not limited thereto. Anyone familiar with the technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the application. Should be covered within the protection scope of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be determined by the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

A communication method, characterized in that the method comprises:

The first network device receives a network slicing request from the terminal device, where the network slicing request includes an identifier of the first network slice, where the first network device does not support the first network slice;

The first network device sends secondary node addition request information to the second network device, where the secondary node addition request information includes a first indication, and the first indication is used to indicate that the second network device can support the first network slicing;

The first network device sends a second indication to the core network device, where the second indication is used to indicate support for network slicing under the dual-connection DC network formed by the first network device and the second network device;

The first network device receives a third indication from the core network device, where the third indication includes an identifier of a network slice allowed by the terminal device under the DC network.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the second indication includes indication information that the DC network supports the network slice requested by the terminal device, or the second indication includes the second network device Indication information supporting the network slice requested by the terminal device.
The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first indication includes an identifier corresponding to the first network slice.
The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first indication further includes an identifier of a network slice supported by the second network device in the network slice request.
The method according to claim 4, wherein before the first network device sends the second indication to the core network device, the method further comprises:

The first network device sends an RRC reconfiguration message from the second network device to the terminal device to the terminal device, for the terminal device to request random access from the second network device, wherein, The RRC reconfiguration message includes an identifier of a network slice supported by the second network device in the network slice request, and at least one of a TAC, a base station identifier, or a supported base station type of the second network device.
The method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the second indication includes an identifier of a network slice supported by the DC network.
The method according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein the second indication includes a Tracking Area Code (TAC) or a base station identifier of the second network device.
The method according to any one of claims 1-7, wherein before sending the secondary node addition request information to the second network device, the method further comprises:

The first network device determines that the first network slice is not supported according to the comparison between the network slice in the network slice request and the network slice locally supported by the first network device;

Or, the first network device determines not to support the first network slice according to the received target network slice information from the core network device.
The method according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein the secondary node addition request information is a protocol data unit (PDU) session resource establishment request received by the first network device corresponding to the first network slice sent before.
The method according to any one of claims 1-9, wherein the identifier of the network slice is single network slice selection auxiliary information S-NSSAI.
A communication device, characterized in that the communication device includes a receiving module and a sending module:

The receiving module is configured to receive a network slicing request from a terminal device, where the network slicing request includes an identifier of a first network slice, wherein the communication device does not support the first network slice;

The sending module is configured to send secondary node addition request information to the second network device, where the secondary node addition request information includes a first indication, and the first indication is used to indicate that the second network device can support the first network slicing;

The sending module is further configured to send a second indication to the core network device, where the second indication is used to indicate support for network slicing under the dual-connection DC network formed by the communication device and the second network device;

The receiving module is further configured to receive a third indication from the core network device, where the third indication includes an identifier of a network slice allowed by the terminal device under the DC network.
The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the second indication includes indication information that the DC network supports the network slice requested by the terminal device, or the second indication includes the second network device Indication information supporting the network slice requested by the terminal device.
The device according to claim 12, wherein the first indication includes an identifier corresponding to the first network slice.
The apparatus according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the first indication further includes an identifier of a network slice supported by the second network device in the network slice request.
The device according to claim 14, wherein the sending module is further configured to send an RRC reconfiguration message from the second network device to the terminal device to the terminal device, for the terminal device to send an RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal device. The second network device requests random access, wherein the RRC reconfiguration message includes an identifier of a network slice supported by the second network device in the network slice request, and a TAC, At least one of a base station identifier or a supported base station type.
The device according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the second indication includes an identifier of a network slice supported by the DC network.
The apparatus according to any one of claims 11-16, wherein the second indication includes a Tracking Area Code (TAC) or a base station identifier of the second network device.
The apparatus according to any one of claims 11-17, wherein the receiving module is further configured to compare the network slice in the network slice request with the network slice locally supported by the first network device, determining that the first network slice is not supported;

Alternatively, the receiving module is further configured to determine that the first network slice is not supported according to the received target network slice information from the core network device.
The apparatus according to any one of claims 11-18, wherein the secondary node addition request information is that the first network device receives a protocol data unit (PDU) session resource establishment request corresponding to the first network slice sent before.
The device according to any one of claims 11-19, wherein the identifier of the network slice is single network slice selection auxiliary information S-NSSAI.
A computer program product, characterized in that the computer program product comprises: a computer program, when the computer program is run on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1-10 is executed.