WO2024017262A1 - 数据包传输方法及虚拟网络组 - Google Patents

数据包传输方法及虚拟网络组 Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2024017262A1
WO2024017262A1 PCT/CN2023/107979 CN2023107979W WO2024017262A1 WO 2024017262 A1 WO2024017262 A1 WO 2024017262A1 CN 2023107979 W CN2023107979 W CN 2023107979W WO 2024017262 A1 WO2024017262 A1 WO 2024017262A1
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Prior art keywords
upf
data packet
communication
group communication
smf
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English (en)
French (fr)
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WO2024017262A9 (zh
Inventor
孙悦
刘海
龙彪
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China Telecom Corp Ltd
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China Telecom Corp Ltd
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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L12/00—Data switching networks
    • H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
    • H04L12/46—Interconnection of networks
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L12/00—Data switching networks
    • H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
    • H04L12/46—Interconnection of networks
    • H04L12/4633—Interconnection of networks using encapsulation techniques, e.g. tunneling
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L12/00—Data switching networks
    • H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
    • H04L12/46—Interconnection of networks
    • H04L12/4641—Virtual LANs, VLANs, e.g. virtual private networks [VPN]
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W4/00—Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
    • H04W4/06—Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services

Definitions

  • the present disclosure relates to the field of mobile communication technology, and in particular to a data packet transmission method and a virtual network group.
  • the fifth generation mobile communication technology local area network can provide users with a virtual data network, and designate a group of terminals signed with the same slice and data network name (Data Network Name, DNN) as A 5G virtual network (Virtual Network, VN) group, each terminal in the 5G VN group can communicate.
  • Data Network Name, DNN Data Network Name
  • VN Virtual Network
  • Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a data packet transmission method, which is applied to a virtual network group.
  • the virtual network group includes a first session management function (SMF, Session Management Function) and a second SMF.
  • the first SMF manages the first User plane function (UPF, UserPlane Function) and the first group communication UPF
  • the second SMF manages the second UPF and the second group communication UPF
  • the first group communication UPF communicates with the second group
  • a first communication tunnel is pre-configured between UPFs, the first UPF is associated with a first user equipment (User Equipment, UE), and the second UPF is associated with a second UE.
  • UPF User Plane Function
  • UE User Equipment
  • the method includes: the first UPF is When receiving the first data packet sent by the first UE, forward the first data packet to the first group communication UPF according to the first forwarding rule issued by the first SMF; A group communication UPF uses the first communication tunnel to send the first data packet to the second group communication UPF according to the destination address in the received first data packet; The second group communication UPF forwards the received first data packet to the second UPF according to the second forwarding rule issued by the second SMF; the second UPF forwards the received first data The packet is sent to the second UE.
  • the method further includes: the first SMF communicating to the first UPF and the first group when the first UE sends a first data packet to the first UPF.
  • the UPF sends the first N4 signaling, so that the first UPF and the first group communication UPF establish a second communication tunnel based on the received first N4 signaling; the first UPF receives the
  • forwarding the first data packet to the first group communication UPF according to the first forwarding rule issued by the first SMF includes: the first UPF receives The first forwarding rule issued by the first SMF; when receiving the first data packet sent by the first UE, the first UPF uses the second communication tunnel according to the first forwarding rule.
  • the first data packet is forwarded to the first group communication UPF.
  • the method further includes: when the second group communication UPF receives the first data packet, the second SMF sends a message to the first data packet according to the destination address in the first data packet.
  • the second group communication UPF and the second UPF send second N4 signaling, so that the second group communication UPF and the second UPF establish a third communication tunnel based on the received second N4 signaling.
  • the second group communication UPF forwards the received first data packet to the second UPF according to the second forwarding rule issued by the second SMF, including: the second group communication UPF receives The second forwarding rule issued by the second SMF; the second group communication UPF forwards the received first data packet to the second data packet using the third communication tunnel according to the second forwarding rule.
  • the first group communication UPF uses the first communication tunnel to send the first data packet to the second group communication according to the destination address in the received first data packet.
  • UPF includes: the first group communication UPF is based on the forwarding table between each group communication UPF, and uses the first communication tunnel to forward the first data packet according to the destination address in the received first data packet.
  • Send to the second group communication UPF; the method also includes: when a third SMF is added to the virtual network group, the third SMF selects a UPF as the third group from the UPFs managed by itself.
  • Group communication UPF the method further includes: a fourth communication tunnel configuration configured by the third SMF between the third group communication UPF, the first group communication UPF, and the second group communication UPF. After completion, based on the fourth communication tunnel Update the forwarding table.
  • Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a data packet transmission method, applied to a virtual network group, the virtual network group includes a first SMF and a second SMF, the first SMF manages the first group communication UPF, and the third The second SMF manages a second group communication UPF, a first communication tunnel is pre-configured between the first group communication UPF and the second group communication UPF, and the first group communication UPF is associated with a third UE, The second group communication UPF is associated with a fourth UE, and the method includes: after receiving the second data packet sent by the third UE, the first group communication UPF The destination address in the packet uses the first communication tunnel to send the second data packet to the second group communication UPF; the second group communication UPF sends the received second data packet to Describe the fourth UE.
  • Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a virtual network group.
  • the virtual network group includes a first SMF and a second SMF.
  • the first SMF manages a first UPF and a first group communication UPF.
  • the second SMF manages The second UPF and the second group communication UPF, a first communication tunnel is pre-configured between the first group communication UPF and the second group communication UPF, the first UPF is associated with the first UE, and the The second UPF is associated with a second UE; the first UE is configured to send a first data packet to the first UPF; and the first UPF is configured to receive the first data sent by the first UE.
  • the packet forward the first data packet to the first group communication UPF according to the first forwarding rule issued by the first SMF; the first group communication UPF is used to forward the first data packet to the first group communication UPF according to the received
  • the destination address in the first data packet is used to send the first data packet to the second group communication UPF using the first communication tunnel; the second group communication UPF is used to send the first data packet to the second group communication UPF according to the second communication tunnel.
  • the second forwarding rule issued by the SMF forwards the received first data packet to the second UPF; the second UPF is used to send the received first data packet to the second UE;
  • the second UE is configured to receive the first data packet.
  • the first SMF is also used to send a first data packet to the first UPF and the first group communication UPF when the first UE sends a first data packet to the first UPF.
  • first N4 signaling so that the first UPF and the first group communication UPF establish a second communication tunnel based on the received first N4 signaling;
  • the first UPF is also used to receive the first A first forwarding rule issued by the SMF; when receiving the first data packet sent by the first UE, according to the first forwarding rule, use the second communication tunnel to forward the first data packet to The first group communicates UPF.
  • the second SMF is also configured to send a message to the third data packet according to the destination address in the first data packet when the second group communication UPF receives the first data packet.
  • the second group communication UPF and the second UPF send the second N4 signaling, so that the second group communication UPF and the second UPF establish a third communication tunnel based on the received second N4 signaling;
  • the second group communication UPF is also used to receive the second forwarding rule issued by the second SMF; according to the second forwarding rule, use the third communication tunnel to forward the received first data packet to The second UPF.
  • the first group communication UPF is also used to use the first communication tunnel to transfer the data based on the destination address in the received first data packet based on the forwarding table between each group communication UPF.
  • the first data packet is sent to the second group communication UPF; the virtual network group also includes: a newly added third SMF; the third SMF is used to select one from the UPF managed by itself.
  • UPF serves as the third group communication UPF; the third SMF is also used for the fourth group communication UPF configured between the third group communication UPF, the first group communication UPF and the second group communication UPF.
  • the forwarding table is updated based on the fourth communication tunnel.
  • Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a virtual network group, which is applied to a virtual network group.
  • the virtual network group includes a first SMF and a second SMF.
  • the first SMF manages the first group communication UPF
  • the second The SMF manages the second group communication UPF.
  • a first communication tunnel is pre-configured between the first group communication UPF and the second group communication UPF.
  • the first group communication UPF is associated with a third UE, so The second group communication UPF is associated with a fourth UE; the third UE is used to send a second data packet to the first group communication UPF; the first group communication UPF is used to receive After the third UE sends the second data packet, the second data packet is sent to the second group communication UPF using the first communication tunnel according to the destination address in the received second data packet. ; The second group communication UPF is used to send the received second data packet to the fourth UE; the fourth UE is used to receive the second data packet.
  • Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide an entity device, which is any device among SMF, UPF, group communication UPF or UE included in the virtual network group.
  • the entity device includes a processor, a communication interface, and a memory. and a communication bus, in which the processor, communication interface, and memory complete communication with each other through the communication bus; the memory is used to store computer programs; The processor is used to implement any of the above-mentioned data packet transmission method steps when executing the program stored in the memory.
  • Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a computer-readable storage medium.
  • a computer program is stored in the computer-readable storage medium.
  • the computer program is executed by a processor, any one of the above-mentioned data packet transmission method steps is implemented.
  • Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a computer program product containing instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform any of the above-mentioned data packet transmission methods.
  • Figure 1A is a schematic structural diagram of the first 5G VN group in related technologies.
  • Figure 1B is a second structural schematic diagram of a 5G VN group in related technologies.
  • Figure 2 is a first signaling diagram of the data packet transmission method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • Figure 3 is a first structural schematic diagram of a virtual network group provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • Figure 4 is a second signaling diagram of the data packet transmission method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • Figure 5 is a third signaling diagram of the data packet transmission method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • Figure 6 is a fourth signaling diagram of the data packet transmission method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • Figure 7 is a fifth signaling diagram of the data packet transmission method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • Figure 8 is a second structural schematic diagram of a virtual network group provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • Figure 9 is a third structural schematic diagram of a virtual network group provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • Figure 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a physical device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • Figure 1A is a first structural diagram of a 5G VN group in related technologies.
  • the 5G VN group shown in Figure 1A includes an SMF.
  • the SMF manages two UPFs, namely UPF1 and UPF2 in Figure 1A.
  • UPF1 and UPF2 are each associated with the corresponding UE, namely UE1 and UE2 shown in Figure 1A.
  • UE1 and UE2 can communicate through data packet transmission. For example, when UE1 sends a data packet to UE2, UE1 can send the data packet to UPF1.
  • SMF can establish an N19 tunnel between UPF1 and UPF2, and UPF1 can transmit the data packet to UPF2 through the N19 tunnel. It is transmitted from UPF2 to UE2 to realize communication between UE1 and UE2.
  • FIG. 1B is a second structural schematic diagram of the 5G VN group in related technologies.
  • multiple SMFs can be included, such as SMF1 and SMF2 shown in Figure 1B.
  • SMF1 and SMF2 shown in Figure 1B.
  • N19 tunnels need to be configured between UPFs managed by different SMFs.
  • UPF1, UPF2, and UPF3 all establish N19 tunnels with UPF4 and UPF5 respectively.
  • the purpose of embodiments of the present disclosure is to provide a data packet transmission method and a virtual network group to deploy multiple SMFs in a virtual network to achieve communication across SMFs.
  • the embodiment of the present disclosure provides a data packet transmission method.
  • the method is applied to a virtual network group, the virtual network group includes a first SMF and a second SMF, the first SMF manages the first UPF and the first group communication UPF, and the second SMF manages the second UPF and the second group communication UPF.
  • a first communication tunnel is pre-configured between the first group communication UPF and the second group communication UPF, the first UPF is associated with the first UE, and the second UPF is associated with the second UE.
  • Figure 2 is a first signaling diagram of the data packet transmission method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • the method includes the following steps S201 to S204.
  • Step S201 When receiving the first data packet sent by the first UE, the first UPF forwards the first data packet to the first group communication UPF according to the first forwarding rule issued by the first SMF.
  • Step S202 The first group communication UPF uses the first communication tunnel to send the first data packet to the second group communication UPF according to the destination address in the received first data packet.
  • Step S203 The second group communication UPF forwards the received first data packet to the second UPF according to the second forwarding rule issued by the second SMF.
  • Step S204 The second UPF sends the received first data packet to the second UE.
  • FIG. 3 is a first structural schematic diagram of a virtual network group provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • the virtual network group shown in Figure 3 includes multiple SMFs, namely SMF1, SMF2 and SMF3 shown in Figure 3 .
  • Each SMF manages at least one UPF.
  • the UPF managed by SMF1 in Figure 3 includes: UPF1 and GC-UPF1, where GC-UPF1 is the Group Communication-User Plane Function (Group Communication-User Plane Function) managed by SMF1, that is, the above Group communication UPF, denoted as GC-UPF).
  • the UE can be associated with the UPF by accessing a Radio Access Network (RAN, not shown in Figure 3) within the SMF range.
  • RAN Radio Access Network
  • UE1 shown in Figure 3 is associated with UPF1 by accessing the RAN within the SMF range.
  • communication tunnels such as N19 and/or N6 tunnels, can be pre-configured between GC-UPFs managed by different SMFs.
  • tunnel 301 is pre-configured between GC-UPF1 and GC-UPF2
  • tunnel 302 is pre-configured between GC-UPF1 and GC-UPF3
  • tunnel 303 is pre-configured between GC-UPF2 and GC-UPF3. .
  • the virtual network group may include multiple SMFs, each SMF may manage multiple UPFs, and each UPF may be associated with multiple UEs.
  • the number of SMFs, UPFs and UEs in the above virtual network group is not specifically limited.
  • the following description only takes two SMFs in the virtual network group, a UPF and GC-UPF managed by each SMF, and a UE associated with the UPF as an example, and does not serve any limiting purpose.
  • SMF SMF
  • UPF UPF
  • GC-UPF GC-UPF
  • UE physical devices.
  • the number of GC-UPFs in the UPF managed by each SMF is one.
  • the first UPF managed by the first SMF in the virtual network group receives the first data packet sent by its associated first UE, the first data packet can be forwarded to the first UPF.
  • the first group communication UPF managed by SMF; the first group communication UPF is based on the The destination address of the received first data packet uses the first communication tunnel pre-configured between the first group communication UPF and the second group communication UPF managed by the second SMF to send the first data packet to the second group.
  • the group communication UPF enables the second group communication UPF to forward the first data packet to the second UE through the second UPF managed by the second SMF.
  • Multiple SMFs can be deployed in a virtual network group. For each two SMFs, the data packet transmission process between user devices in different SMFs can be realized through the pre-configured communication tunnels between the group communication UPFs in the two SMFs, which makes When multiple SMFs are deployed in a virtual network, data packet transmission between different SMFs can be realized, that is, cross-SMF communication is realized.
  • the communication between the SMFs in the virtual network group only relies on the communication tunnels between the group communication UPFs managed by each SMF, which greatly reduces the cost.
  • the network complexity of the virtual network group since there is only one group communication UPF in the UPF managed by each SMF, the communication between the SMFs in the virtual network group only relies on the communication tunnels between the group communication UPFs managed by each SMF, which greatly reduces the cost.
  • the network complexity of the virtual network group since there is only one group communication UPF in the UPF managed by each SMF.
  • the first UPF when receiving the first data packet sent by the first UE, the first UPF forwards the first data packet to the first group communication UPF according to the first forwarding rule issued by the first SMF.
  • the first UE in the virtual network group can initiate communication with the second UE in the virtual network group, that is, the first UE establishes a protocol data unit (Protocol Data Unit, PDU) session. At this time, the first UE will send the first data packet to its associated first UPF. The first UPF will receive the first data packet sent by the first UE.
  • PDU Protocol Data Unit
  • the above-mentioned first data packet may be a data request data packet requesting certain data, or a data transmission data packet transmitting certain data.
  • the first data packet is not specifically limited.
  • the first UE is sending a first data packet to the first UPF
  • the first SMF may send a forwarding rule (denoted as a first forwarding rule) for the first data packet to the first UPF according to the first data packet.
  • the first forwarding rule may include port information, address information, etc. of the first group communication UPF.
  • the first UPF may forward the first data packet to the first group communication UPF according to the first forwarding rule.
  • the information included in the first forwarding rule is not specifically limited.
  • step S202 that is, the first group communication UPF performs the following steps according to the received first data packet: using the first communication tunnel to send the first data packet to the second group communication UPF.
  • the first data packet includes at least triplet information, that is, source address, destination address and transport layer protocol.
  • the first group communication UPF can determine the group communication UPF that received the first data packet (i.e., the above-mentioned second group communication UPF) based on the destination address in the first data packet.
  • the group communication UPF is the group communication UPF managed under the SMF where the UPF associated with the second UE is located).
  • the first group communication UPF may use the first communication tunnel between it and the second group communication UPF to send the received first data packet to the second group communication UPF.
  • step S202 using the first communication tunnel to send the first data packet to the second group communication UPF according to the destination address in the received first data packet, can be expressed as:
  • the first data packet is sent to the second group communication UPF using the first communication tunnel.
  • the forwarding table between each group communication UPF can be configured according to the UPF managed by each SMF, the UPF managed by each SMF and the UE associated with each UPF.
  • the first group communication UPF receives the first data packet, since the first data packet is a data packet sent by the first UE to the second UE, the destination address in the first data packet is the first data packet. 2. The address corresponding to the UE.
  • the first group communication UPF can determine the outbound interface or next hop corresponding to the first data packet in the forwarding table based on the destination address, thereby determining that the first data packet needs to be forwarded to the second group.
  • Group communication UPF The first group communication UPF may forward the first data packet to the second group communication UPF by utilizing the first communication tunnel preconfigured between it and the second group communication UPF.
  • the above destination address may be the Media Access Control (MAC) address or Internet Protocol (IP address) of the second UE.
  • MAC Media Access Control
  • IP address Internet Protocol
  • step S203 that is, the second group communication UPF forwards the received first data packet to the second UPF according to the second forwarding rule issued by the second SMF.
  • the second SMF can deliver the data packet to the second group communication UPF according to the destination address of the data packet to be transmitted.
  • the forwarding rule of the first data packet (recorded as the second forwarding rule).
  • the second forwarding rule may include port information, address information, etc. of the second UPF.
  • the second group communication UPF forwards the first data packet to the second UPF according to the second forwarding rule.
  • the information included in the above-mentioned second forwarding rule is not specifically limited.
  • the second UPF sends the received first data packet to the second UE.
  • the second UPF may send the first data packet to the second UE according to the destination address of the first data packet.
  • the second UE ends the data packet transmission process of transmitting the first data packet from the first UE to the second UE with the received first data packet, thereby realizing communication between the first UE and the second UE.
  • first SMF is SMF1
  • first UPF is UPF1
  • first UE is UE1
  • first group communication UPF is GC-UPF1
  • second SMF is SMF2
  • the second UPF is UPF3
  • the second UE is UE2.
  • the second group communication UPF is GC-UPF2.
  • UE1 When UE1 initiates cross-SMF communication with UE2, UE1 sends the first data packet to UPF1.
  • UPF1 forwards the first received data packet to GC-UPF1 according to the forwarding rules issued by SMF1.
  • GC-UPF1 searches the forwarding table according to the destination address of the first data packet, that is, the address of UE2, and determines that the GC-UPF managed by SMF2 (that is, the SMF that manages UPF2 associated with UE2) is GC-UPF2.
  • GC-UPF1 may utilize tunnel 301 to send the first data packet to GC-UPF2.
  • GC-UPF2 forwards the first data packet to UPF2 according to the forwarding rules issued by SMF.
  • UPF2 sends the first data packet to UE2 according to the destination address of the first data packet, that is, the address of UE2.
  • embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a data packet transmission method.
  • Figure 4 is a second signaling diagram of the data packet transmission method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method includes the following steps S401 to S406.
  • Step S401 When the first UE sends the first data packet to the first UPF, the first SMF sends the first N4 signaling to the first UPF and the first group communication UPF, so that the first UPF and the first group communicate The UPF establishes a second communication tunnel based on the received first N4 signaling.
  • the first SMF when the first UE initiates communication with the second UE, that is, when the first UE sends the first data packet to the first UPF, the first SMF will monitor the establishment of the PDU session for cross-SMF communication. At this time, the first SMF may deliver N4 signaling (denoted as first N4 signaling) to the first UPF and the first group communication UPF. The first UPF and the first group communication UPF will establish a communication tunnel (denoted as the second communication tunnel) between them based on the first N4 signaling, such as the above-mentioned N19 tunnel, or it may also be an N9 tunnel.
  • N4 signaling denoted as first N4 signaling
  • Step S402 When receiving the first data packet sent by the first UE, the first UPF receives the first forwarding rule issued by the first SMF.
  • the order in which the first N4 signaling and the first forwarding rule are issued is not specifically limited.
  • Step S403 The first UPF uses the second communication tunnel to forward the first data packet to the first group communication UPF according to the first forwarding rule.
  • the control plane will also participate in the transmission of the first data packet, that is, the first SMF controls the establishment of the second communication tunnel between the first UPF and the first group communication UPF.
  • the above steps S402 to S403 are implementations of the above step S201 in some embodiments.
  • the first SMF can release the second communication tunnel according to preset release rules to save system resources.
  • the first SMF may be between the first UE and the second UE. After the communication is completed, the second communication tunnel is released.
  • the release of the second communication tunnel and the preset release rules there are no specific limitations here.
  • the establishment of the above-mentioned second communication tunnel is dynamically established in real time between the UPF associated with the UE and the group communication UPF under the same SMF based on the UE sending the above-mentioned first data packet, which is not as good as the above-mentioned first data packet.
  • the communication tunnel is pre-configured, which effectively improves the flexibility of establishing communication tunnels between UPF and group communication UPF.
  • Step S404 The first group communication UPF uses the first communication tunnel to send the first data packet to the second group communication UPF according to the destination address in the received first data packet.
  • Step S405 The second group communication UPF forwards the received first data packet to the second UPF according to the second forwarding rule issued by the second SMF.
  • Step S406 The second UPF sends the received first data packet to the second UE.
  • step S404 to step S406 reference may be made to the specific implementation of step S202 to step S204.
  • embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a data packet transmission method.
  • Figure 5 is a third signaling diagram of the data packet transmission method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method includes the following steps S501 to S506.
  • Step S501 When receiving the first data packet sent by the first UE, the first UPF forwards the first data packet to the first group communication UPF according to the first forwarding rule issued by the first SMF.
  • Step S502 The first group communication UPF uses the first communication tunnel to send the first data packet to the second group communication UPF according to the destination address in the received first data packet.
  • step S501 to step S502 may refer to the specific implementation of step S201 to step S202.
  • Step S503 When the second group communication UPF receives the first data packet, the second SMF sends the second N4 signaling to the second group communication UPF and the second UPF according to the destination address in the first data packet to The second group communication UPF and the second UPF are caused to establish a third communication tunnel based on the received second N4 signaling.
  • the second SMF can determine based on the destination address of the first data packet that the destination address corresponds to the UE
  • the associated UPF is the second UPF.
  • the second SMF may send N4 signaling (denoted as second N4 signaling) to the second group communication UPF and the second UPF.
  • the second group communication UPF and the second UPF establish a communication tunnel (denoted as a third communication tunnel) between them based on the received second N4 signaling, such as an N19 tunnel or an N9 tunnel.
  • Step S504 The second group communication UPF receives the second forwarding rule issued by the second SMF.
  • the order in which the second N4 signaling and the second forwarding rule are issued is not specifically limited.
  • Step S505 The second group communication UPF uses the third communication tunnel to forward the received first data packet to the second UPF according to the second forwarding rule.
  • the above steps S504 to S505 are implementations of the above step S203 in some embodiments.
  • the second SMF can release the third communication tunnel according to preset release rules to save system resources.
  • the second SMF may release the third communication tunnel after the communication between the first UE and the second UE is completed.
  • the release of the third communication tunnel and the preset release rules there are no specific limitations here.
  • Step S506 The second UPF sends the received first data packet to the second UE.
  • the specific implementation of the above step S506 may refer to the specific implementation of the above step S204.
  • embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a data packet transmission method.
  • Figure 6 is a fourth signaling diagram of the data packet transmission method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method includes the following steps S601 to S606.
  • Step S601 When receiving the first data packet sent by the first UE, the first UPF forwards the first data packet to the first group communication UPF according to the first forwarding rule issued by the first SMF.
  • Step S602 The first group communication UPF uses the first communication tunnel to send the first data packet to the second group communication UPF according to the destination address in the received first data packet.
  • Step S603 The second group communication UPF forwards the received first data packet to the second UPF according to the second forwarding rule issued by the second SMF.
  • Step S604 The second UPF sends the received first data packet to the second UE.
  • the above steps S601 to S604 are the same as the above steps S201 to S204.
  • Step S605 When a third SMF is added to the virtual network group, the third SMF selects a UPF from the UPFs managed by itself as the third group communication UPF.
  • the user can add a new SMF (denoted as the third SMF) to the above virtual network group according to specific needs.
  • the third SMF will select a UPF from its associated UPF as the group communication UPF (denoted as the third group communication UPF).
  • the third SMF when selecting the above third group communication UPF, may select a UPF without UE association as the third group communication UPF.
  • the third SMF when selecting the third group communication UPF, may select the UPF with the highest performance among all UPFs as the third group communication UPF.
  • the user can use the third group communication UPF to communicate with other group communication UPFs in the virtual network group (i.e., the above-mentioned first group communication UPF and the above-mentioned second group communication UPF). ), such as the above-mentioned N19 and/or N6 tunnel.
  • group communication UPFs in the virtual network group i.e., the above-mentioned first group communication UPF and the above-mentioned second group communication UPF.
  • the configuration process of the fourth tunnel will not be described in detail here.
  • cross-SMF communication between different SMFs can be achieved.
  • SMFs correspond to different provinces, cities or countries
  • the addition of SMFs in the virtual network group can realize cross-regional communication between different provinces, cities or different countries, reducing the communication cost of cross-regional communication.
  • Step S606 After completing the configuration of the fourth communication tunnel configured between the third group communication UPF, the first group communication UPF and the second group communication UPF, the third SMF updates the forwarding table based on the fourth communication tunnel.
  • the third SMF can be configured according to each fourth communication tunnel, and The two group communication UPFs connected to each fourth communication tunnel and the UEs associated with the UPF managed by the SMF update the above forwarding table.
  • the above virtual network group shown in Figure 3 is still used as an example for explanation.
  • the above third SMF is SMF3 in Figure 3.
  • tunnel 302 and tunnel 303 shown in Figure 3 can be configured.
  • SMF3 can perform the above forwarding table according to each UPF managed by SMF1, SMF2 and SMF3 corresponding to GC-UPF1, GC-UPF2 and GC-UPF3 connected by tunnel 302 and tunnel 303 and the UE associated with each UPF. renew.
  • the validity and accuracy of the forwarding table can be effectively guaranteed, which facilitates the forwarding of data packets between different GC-UPFs and provides guarantee for communication across SMFs.
  • the above steps S605 and S606 may be executed before or after any of the above steps S601 to S604.
  • the execution of the above steps S605 and S606 is not specifically limited.
  • the embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a data packet transmission method.
  • the method is applied to a virtual network group.
  • the virtual network group includes a first SMF and a second SMF.
  • the first SMF manages the first group communication UPF.
  • the second SMF manages the second group communication UPF.
  • the first group communication UPF is connected to the first group communication UPF.
  • a first communication tunnel is pre-configured between the two group communication UPFs.
  • the first group communication UPF is associated with the third UE, and the second group communication UPF is associated with the fourth UE.
  • Figure 7 is a fifth signaling diagram of the data packet transmission method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • the method includes the following steps S701 to step S702.
  • Step S701 After receiving the second data packet sent by the third UE, the first group communication UPF uses the first communication tunnel to send the second data packet to the second data packet according to the destination address in the received second data packet.
  • Group communication UPF After receiving the second data packet sent by the third UE, the first group communication UPF uses the first communication tunnel to send the second data packet to the second data packet according to the destination address in the received second data packet.
  • the first group communication UPF associated with the third UE will receive the the second data packet.
  • the first group communication UPF may use the first communication tunnel to send the second data packet to the second group communication UPF according to the destination address in the second data packet.
  • the process of sending the above-mentioned second data packet by the first group communication UPF may refer to the process of sending the above-mentioned first data packet by the first group communication UPF, which will not be described in detail here.
  • Step S702 The second group communication UPF sends the received second data packet to the fourth UE.
  • the second group communication UPF may send the second data packet to the fourth UE according to the destination address of the second data packet.
  • multiple SMFs can be deployed in the virtual network group.
  • user equipment in different SMFs can be implemented through the pre-configured communication tunnels between the group communication UPFs in the two SMFs. This enables the data packet transmission between different SMFs to be realized while deploying multiple SMFs in the virtual network, that is, communication across SMFs is realized.
  • the communication between the SMFs in the virtual network group only relies on the communication tunnels between the group communication UPFs managed by each SMF, which greatly reduces the cost.
  • the network complexity of the virtual network group since there is only one group communication UPF in the UPF managed by each SMF, the communication between the SMFs in the virtual network group only relies on the communication tunnels between the group communication UPFs managed by each SMF, which greatly reduces the cost.
  • the network complexity of the virtual network group since there is only one group communication UPF in the UPF managed by each SMF.
  • the data packet transmission process between UEs not associated with the group communication UPF and the data packet transmission process between UEs associated with the group communication UPF are respectively described.
  • the sending end/receiving end of the data packet may also be a UE that is not associated with the group communication UPF
  • the receiving end/sending end of the data packet may be a UE that is associated with the group communication UPF.
  • the data packet sending process can be carried out by referring to the method shown in Figure 2 and Figure 7 above to achieve cross-SMF communication. The specific transmission process will not be described here.
  • FIG. 8 is a second structural schematic diagram of a virtual network group provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • the virtual network group includes a first SMF 801 and a second SMF 802.
  • the first SMF 801 manages the first UPF 803 and the first group communication UPF 804.
  • the second SMF 802 manages the second UPF 806 and the second group communication UPF 805.
  • a first communication tunnel 809 is pre-configured between the first group communication UPF 804 and the second group communication UPF 805, the first UPF 803 is associated with the first UE 807, and the second UPF 806 is associated with the second UE 808.
  • the first UE 807 may be used to send the first data packet to the first UPF 803.
  • the first UPF 803 may be used to forward the first data packet to the first group communication UPF 804 according to the first forwarding rule issued by the first SMF 801 when receiving the first data packet sent by the first UE 807.
  • the first group communication UPF 804 may be configured to use the first communication tunnel 809 to send the first data packet to the second group communication UPF 805 according to the destination address in the received first data packet.
  • the second group communication UPF 805 can be used to forward the received first data packet to the second UPF 806 according to the second forwarding rule issued by the second SMF 802.
  • the second UPF 806 may be used to send the received first data packet to the second UE 808.
  • the second UE 808 can be used to receive the first data packet.
  • the first SMF 801 can also be used to send the first N4 signaling to the first UPF 803 and the first group communication UPF 804 when the first UE sends the first data packet to the first UPF 803. , so that the first UPF 803 and the first group communication UPF 804 establish a second communication tunnel based on the received first N4 signaling.
  • the first UPF 803 can also be used to receive the first forwarding rule issued by the first SMF 801; according to the first forwarding rule, use the second communication tunnel to forward the first data packet to the first group communication UPF 804.
  • the second SMF 802 can also be used to communicate to the second group communication UPF 805 and 805 according to the destination address in the first data packet when the second group communication UPF 805 receives the first data packet.
  • the second UPF 806 sends the second N4 signaling, so that the second group communication UPF 805 and the second UPF 806 establish a third communication tunnel based on the received second N4 signaling.
  • the second group communication UPF 805 can also be used to receive the second forwarding rule issued by the second SMF 802; according to the second forwarding rule, use the third communication tunnel to transfer the received first data The packet is forwarded to the second UPF 806.
  • the first group communication UPF 804 can also be used to use the first communication tunnel to forward the first group communication UPF according to the destination address in the received first data packet based on the forwarding table between each group communication UPF.
  • the data packet is sent to the second group communication UPF.
  • the virtual network group may also include: a newly added third SMF.
  • the third SMF can be used to select a UPF from the UPFs managed by itself as the third group communication UPF.
  • the third SMF can also be used to update the forwarding table based on the fourth communication tunnel after the configuration of the fourth communication tunnel configured between the third group communication UPF and the first group communication UPF 804 and the second group communication UPF 805 is completed. .
  • FIG. 9 is a third structural schematic diagram of a virtual network group provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • the virtual network group includes a first SMF 901 and a second SMF 902.
  • the first SMF 901 manages the first group communication UPF 903.
  • the second SMF 902 manages the second group communication UPF 904.
  • the first group communication UPF 903 is connected to the second group communication UPF 904.
  • the first communication tunnel 907 is pre-configured between the two group communication UPF 904, the first group communication UPF 903 is associated with the third UE 905, and the second group communication UPF 904 is associated with the fourth UE 906.
  • the third UE 905 may be used to send the second data packet to the first group communication UPF 903.
  • the first group communication UPF 903 can be used to send the second data packet using the first communication tunnel 907 according to the destination address in the received second data packet after receiving the second data packet sent by the third UE 905. To the second group communication UPF 904.
  • the second group communication UPF 904 may be used to send the received second data packet to the fourth UE 906.
  • the fourth UE 906 can be used to receive the second data packet.
  • the first UPF managed by the first SMF in the virtual network group when the first UPF managed by the first SMF in the virtual network group receives the first data packet sent by its associated first UE, it can forward the first data packet to The first group communication UPF managed by the first SMF; the first group communication UPF uses the first group communication UPF and the second group communication UPF managed by the second SMF based on the destination address of the received first data packet.
  • the first communication tunnel is pre-configured between the two groups, and the first data packet is sent to the second group communication UPF, so that the second group communication UPF can pass The second UPF managed by the second SMF forwards the first data packet to the second UE.
  • Multiple SMFs can be deployed in a virtual network group. For each two SMFs, the data packet transmission process between user devices in different SMFs can be realized through the pre-configured communication tunnels between the group communication UPFs in the two SMFs, which makes When multiple SMFs are deployed in a virtual network, data packet transmission between different SMFs can be realized, that is, cross-SMF communication is realized.
  • the communication between the SMFs in the virtual network group only relies on the communication tunnels between the group communication UPFs managed by each SMF, which greatly reduces the cost.
  • the network complexity of the virtual network group since there is only one group communication UPF in the UPF managed by each SMF, the communication between the SMFs in the virtual network group only relies on the communication tunnels between the group communication UPFs managed by each SMF, which greatly reduces the cost.
  • the network complexity of the virtual network group since there is only one group communication UPF in the UPF managed by each SMF.
  • the embodiments of the present disclosure also provide an entity device.
  • the physical device can be SMF, UPF, group communication included in the above virtual network group. Either device in UPF or UE. As shown in Figure 10, it includes a processor 1001, a communication interface 1002, a memory 1003, and a communication bus 1004. The processor 1001, the communication interface 1002, and the memory 1003 complete communication with each other through the communication bus 1004.
  • Memory 1003 can be used to store computer programs.
  • the processor 1001 can be used to implement any of the above data packet transmission method steps when executing the program stored in the memory 1003.
  • the communication bus 1004 mentioned in the above target terminal and target network device may be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, etc.
  • PCI Peripheral Component Interconnect
  • EISA Extended Industry Standard Architecture
  • the communication bus 1004 can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of presentation, only one thick line is used in the figure, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.
  • the communication interface 1002 can be used for communication between the above-mentioned physical device and other devices.
  • the memory 1003 may include random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM) or non-volatile memory (Non-Volatile Memory, NVM), such as at least one disk memory.
  • RAM Random Access Memory
  • NVM Non-Volatile Memory
  • the memory may also be at least one storage device located far away from the aforementioned processor.
  • the above-mentioned processor 1001 can be a general-purpose processor, including a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (Network Processor, NP), etc.; it can also be a digital signal processor (Digital Signal Processor, DSP), a dedicated integrated circuit (Application Specific Integrated Circuit, ASIC), Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, and discrete hardware components.
  • CPU central processing unit
  • NP Network Processor
  • DSP Digital Signal Processor
  • ASIC Application Specific Integrated Circuit
  • FPGA Field-Programmable Gate Array
  • the embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a computer-readable storage medium.
  • the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program.
  • the computer program The steps that, when executed by a processor, implement any of the above packet transmission methods.
  • the embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a computer program product containing instructions, which when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute the above embodiments. Any packet transmission method.
  • the computer program product includes one or more computer instructions.
  • the computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device.
  • the computer instructions may be stored in or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another, e.g., the computer instructions may be transferred from a website, computer, server, or data center Transmission to another website, computer, server or data center by wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means.
  • the computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that contains one or more available media integrated.
  • the available media may be magnetic media (eg, floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), optical media (eg, DVD), or semiconductor media (eg, Solid State Disk (SSD)), etc.

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Abstract

本公开实施例提供了一种数据包传输方法及虚拟网络组。方案如下：第一UPF在接收到第一UE发送的第一数据包时，根据第一SMF下发的第一转发规则，将第一数据包转发至第一群组通信UPF；第一群组通信UPF根据接收到的第一数据包中的目的地址，利用第一通信隧道将第一数据包发送至第二群组通信UPF；第二群组通信UPF根据第二SMF下发的第二转发规则，将接收到的第一数据包转发至第二UPF；第二UPF将接收到的第一数据包发送至第二UE。通过本公开实施例提供的技术方案，在虚拟网络中部署多个SMF，实现了跨SMF间的通信。

Description

数据包传输方法及虚拟网络组
本公开基于申请号为202210842405.4、申请日为2022年7月18日、发明名称为《一种数据包传输方法及虚拟网络组》的中国专利申请提出，并要求该中国专利申请的优先权，该中国专利申请的全部内容在此引入本公开作为参考。
技术领域
本公开涉及移动通信技术领域，特别是涉及一种数据包传输方法及虚拟网络组。
背景技术
第五代移动通信技术局域网(5th Generation Mobile Communication Technology Local Area Network，5G LAN)可以为用户提供一个虚拟数据网络，将签约同一切片和数据网络名称(Data Network Name，DNN)的一组终端指定为一个5G虚拟网络(Virtual Network，VN)组，该5G VN组内的各终端可以进行通信。
发明内容
本公开实施例提供了一种数据包传输方法，应用于虚拟网络组，所述虚拟网络组包括第一会话管理功能(SMF，Session Management Function)和第二SMF，所述第一SMF管理第一用户面功能(UPF，UserPlane Function)和第一群组通信UPF，所述第二SMF管理第二UPF和第二群组通信UPF，所述第一群组通信UPF与所述第二群组通信UPF间预先配置有第一通信隧道，所述第一UPF关联有第一用户设备(User Equipment，UE)，所述第二UPF关联有第二UE，所述方法包括：所述第一UPF在接收到所述第一UE发送的第一数据包时，根据所述第一SMF下发的第一转发规则，将所述第一数据包转发至所述第一群组通信UPF；所述第一群组通信UPF根据接收到的第一数据包中的目的地址，利用所述第一通信隧道将所述第一数据包发送至所述第二群组通信UPF； 所述第二群组通信UPF根据所述第二SMF下发的第二转发规则，将接收到的第一数据包转发至所述第二UPF；所述第二UPF将接收到的第一数据包发送至所述第二UE。
在一些实施例中，所述方法还包括：所述第一SMF在所述第一UE向所述第一UPF发送第一数据包时，向所述第一UPF和所述第一群组通信UPF发送第一N4信令，以使所述第一UPF和所述第一群组通信UPF基于接收到的第一N4信令建立第二通信隧道；所述第一UPF在接收到所述第一UE发送的第一数据包时，根据所述第一SMF下发的第一转发规则，将所述第一数据包转发至所述第一群组通信UPF，包括：所述第一UPF接收所述第一SMF下发的第一转发规则；所述第一UPF在接收到所述第一UE发送的第一数据包时，按照所述第一转发规则，利用所述第二通信隧道将所述第一数据包转发至所述第一群组通信UPF。
在一些实施例中，所述方法还包括：所述第二SMF在所述第二群组通信UPF接收到所述第一数据包时，根据所述第一数据包中的目的地址，向所述第二群组通信UPF和所述第二UPF发送第二N4信令，以使所述第二群组通信UPF和所述第二UPF基于接收到的第二N4信令建立第三通信隧道；所述第二群组通信UPF根据所述第二SMF下发的第二转发规则，将接收到的第一数据包转发至所述第二UPF，包括：所述第二群组通信UPF接收所述第二SMF下发的第二转发规则；所述第二群组通信UPF按照所述第二转发规则，利用所述第三通信隧道将接收到的第一数据包转发至所述第二UPF。
在一些实施例中，所述第一群组通信UPF根据接收到的第一数据包中的目的地址，利用所述第一通信隧道将所述第一数据包发送至所述第二群组通信UPF，包括：所述第一群组通信UPF基于各群组通信UPF间的转发表，根据接收到的第一数据包中的目的地址，利用所述第一通信隧道将所述第一数据包发送至所述第二群组通信UPF；所述方法还包括：在所述虚拟网络组中新增第三SMF时，所述第三SMF从自身管理的UPF中，选取一个UPF作为第三群组通信UPF；所述方法还包括：所述第三SMF在所述第三群组通信UPF与所述第一群组通信UPF以及所述第二群组通信UPF间配置的第四通信隧道配置完成后，基于所述第四通信隧道 更新所述转发表。
本公开实施例还提供了一种数据包传输方法，应用于虚拟网络组，所述虚拟网络组包括第一SMF和第二SMF，所述第一SMF管理第一群组通信UPF，所述第二SMF管理第二群组通信UPF，所述第一群组通信UPF与所述第二群组通信UPF间预先配置有第一通信隧道，所述第一群组通信UPF关联有第三UE，所述第二群组通信UPF关联有第四UE，所述方法包括：所述第一群组通信UPF在接收到所述第三UE发送的第二数据包后，根据接收到的第二数据包中的目的地址，利用所述第一通信隧道将所述第二数据包发送至所述第二群组通信UPF；所述第二群组通信UPF将接收到的第二数据包发送至所述第四UE。
本公开实施例还提供了一种虚拟网络组，所述虚拟网络组包括第一SMF和第二SMF，所述第一SMF管理第一UPF和第一群组通信UPF，所述第二SMF管理第二UPF和第二群组通信UPF，所述第一群组通信UPF与所述第二群组通信UPF间预先配置有第一通信隧道，所述第一UPF关联有第一UE，所述第二UPF关联有第二UE；所述第一UE，用于向所述第一UPF发送第一数据包；所述第一UPF，用于在接收到所述第一UE发送的第一数据包时，根据所述第一SMF下发的第一转发规则，将所述第一数据包转发至所述第一群组通信UPF；所述第一群组通信UPF，用于根据接收到的第一数据包中的目的地址，利用所述第一通信隧道将所述第一数据包发送至所述第二群组通信UPF；所述第二群组通信UPF，用于根据所述第二SMF下发的第二转发规则，将接收到的第一数据包转发至所述第二UPF；所述第二UPF，用于将接收到的第一数据包发送至所述第二UE；所述第二UE，用于接收所述第一数据包。
在一些实施例中，所述第一SMF，还用于在所述第一UE向所述第一UPF发送第一数据包时，向所述第一UPF和所述第一群组通信UPF发送第一N4信令，以使所述第一UPF和所述第一群组通信UPF基于接收到的第一N4信令建立第二通信隧道；所述第一UPF，还用于接收所述第一SMF下发的第一转发规则；在接收到所述第一UE发送的第一数据包时，按照所述第一转发规则，利用所述第二通信隧道将所述第一数据包转发至所述第一群组通信UPF。
在一些实施例中，所述第二SMF，还用于在所述第二群组通信UPF接收到所述第一数据包时，根据所述第一数据包中的目的地址，向所述第二群组通信UPF和所述第二UPF发送第二N4信令，以使所述第二群组通信UPF和所述第二UPF基于接收到的第二N4信令建立第三通信隧道；所述第二群组通信UPF，还用于接收所述第二SMF下发的第二转发规则；按照所述第二转发规则，利用所述第三通信隧道将接收到的第一数据包转发至所述第二UPF。
在一些实施例中，所述第一群组通信UPF，还用于基于各群组通信UPF间的转发表，根据接收到的第一数据包中的目的地址，利用所述第一通信隧道将所述第一数据包发送至所述第二群组通信UPF；所述虚拟网络组中还包括：新增的第三SMF；所述第三SMF，用于从自身管理的UPF中，选取一个UPF作为第三群组通信UPF；所述第三SMF，还用于在所述第三群组通信UPF与所述第一群组通信UPF以及所述第二群组通信UPF间配置的第四通信隧道配置完成后，基于所述第四通信隧道更新所述转发表。
本公开实施例还提供了一种虚拟网络组，应用于虚拟网络组，所述虚拟网络组包括第一SMF和第二SMF，所述第一SMF管理第一群组通信UPF，所述第二SMF管理第二群组通信UPF，所述第一群组通信UPF与所述第二群组通信UPF间预先配置有第一通信隧道，所述第一群组通信UPF关联有第三UE，所述第二群组通信UPF关联有第四UE；所述第三UE，用于向所述第一群组通信UPF发送第二数据包；所述第一群组通信UPF，用于在接收到所述第三UE发送的第二数据包后，根据接收到的第二数据包中的目的地址，利用所述第一通信隧道将所述第二数据包发送至所述第二群组通信UPF；所述第二群组通信UPF，用于将接收到的第二数据包发送至所述第四UE；所述第四UE，用于接收所述第二数据包。
本公开实施例还提供了一种实体设备，所述实体设备为虚拟网络组包括的SMF、UPF、群组通信UPF或UE中的任一设备，所述实体设备包括处理器、通信接口、存储器和通信总线，其中，处理器，通信接口，存储器通过通信总线完成相互间的通信；存储器，用于存放计算机程序； 处理器，用于执行存储器上所存放的程序时，实现上述任一所述的数据包传输方法步骤。
本公开实施例还提供了一种计算机可读存储介质，所述计算机可读存储介质内存储有计算机程序，所述计算机程序被处理器执行时实现上述任一所述的数据包传输方法步骤。
本公开实施例还提供了一种包含指令的计算机程序产品，当其在计算机上运行时，使得计算机执行上述任一所述的数据包传输方法。
附图说明
为了更清楚地说明本公开实施例或现有技术中的技术方案，下面将对实施例或现有技术描述中所需要使用的附图作简单地介绍，显而易见地，下面描述中的附图仅仅是本公开的一些实施例，对于本领域普通技术人员来讲，还可以根据这些附图获得其他的实施例。
图1A为相关技术中的5G VN组的第一种结构示意图。
图1B为相关技术中的5G VN组的第二种结构示意图。
图2为本公开实施例提供的数据包传输方法的第一种信令图。
图3为本公开实施例提供的虚拟网络组的第一种结构示意图。
图4为本公开实施例提供的数据包传输方法的第二种信令图。
图5为本公开实施例提供的数据包传输方法的第三种信令图。
图6为本公开实施例提供的数据包传输方法的第四种信令图。
图7为本公开实施例提供的数据包传输方法的第五种信令图。
图8为本公开实施例提供的虚拟网络组的第二种结构示意图。
图9为本公开实施例提供的虚拟网络组的第三种结构示意图。
图10为本公开实施例提供的实体设备的一种结构示意图。
具体实施方式
下面将结合本公开实施例中的附图，对本公开实施例中的技术方案进行清楚、完整地描述，显然，所描述的实施例仅仅是本公开一部分实施例，而不是全部的实施例。基于本公开中的实施例，本领域普通技术人员基于本公开所获得的所有其他实施例，都属于本公开保护的范围。
如图1A所示，图1A为相关技术中的5G VN组的第一种结构示意图。在图1A所示的5G VN组中包括一个SMF，该SMF管理两个UPF，即图1A中的UPF1和UPF2，UPF1和UPF2各自关联对应的UE，即图1A所示的UE1和UE2。UE1和UE2可以通过数据包传输的方式实现通信。例如，UE1在向UE2发送数据包时，UE1可以将数据包发送至UPF1，此时，SMF可以在UPF1和UPF2之间建立N19隧道，UPF1可以通过该N19隧道，将数据包传输至UPF2，从而由UPF2传输至UE2，实现UE1和UE2间的通信。
由于上述5G VN组中仅包括一个SMF，不同5G VN组中的UE无法进行数据包传输，也就是不同SMF之间无法实现跨SMF的通信，因此，相关技术中为了解决这一问题提供了如图1B所示的方式以实现跨SMF的通信。其中，图1B为相关技术中的5G VN组的第二种结构示意图。
在图1B所示的5G VN组中，可以包括多个SMF，如图1B所示的SMF1和SMF2。为了实现跨SMF的通信过程，需要在不同SMF所管理的UPF间均配置N19隧道，如图1B中UPF1、UPF2、UPF3均分别与UPF4、UPF5建立N19隧道。
在图1B所示的5G VN组中，不同SMF所管理的UPF需要两两建立网状连接，随着该5G VN组中UPF数量和SMF数量的增加，不同SMF所管理的UPF间网状连接的数量将大大增加，这大大增加了网络的复杂度。
为了解决相关技术中的问题，本公开实施例的目的在于提供一种数据包传输方法及虚拟网络组，以在虚拟网络中部署多个SMF，实现跨SMF间的通信。
本公开实施例提供了一种数据包传输方法。该方法应用于虚拟网络组，该虚拟网络组包括第一SMF和第二SMF，第一SMF管理第一UPF和第一群组通信UPF，第二SMF管理第二UPF和第二群组通信UPF，第一群组通信UPF与第二群组通信UPF间预先配置有第一通信隧道，第一UPF关联有第一UE，第二UPF关联有第二UE。
如图2所示，图2为本公开实施例提供的数据包传输方法的第一种信令图。该方法包括以下步骤S201至步骤S204。
步骤S201，第一UPF在接收到第一UE发送的第一数据包时，根据第一SMF下发的第一转发规则，将第一数据包转发至第一群组通信UPF。
步骤S202，第一群组通信UPF根据接收到的第一数据包中的目的地址，利用第一通信隧道将第一数据包发送至第二群组通信UPF。
步骤S203，第二群组通信UPF根据第二SMF下发的第二转发规则，将接收到的第一数据包转发至第二UPF。
步骤S204，第二UPF将接收到的第一数据包发送至第二UE。
为便于理解，如图3所示，图3为本公开实施例提供的虚拟网络组的第一种结构示意图。在图3所示的虚拟网络组中包括多个SMF，即图3所示的SMF1、SMF2和SMF3。每一SMF至少管理一个UPF，例如，图3中SMF1管理的UPF包括：UPF1和GC-UPF1，其中，GC-UPF1为SMF1管理的群组通信用户面功能(Group Communication-User Plane Function，即上群组通信UPF，记为GC-UPF)。UE可以通过接入SMF范围内的无线接入网(Radio Access Network，RAN，图3中未示出)的方式与UPF关联。例如，图3所示的UE1通过接入SMF范围内的RAN的方式与UPF1关联。
在图3所示的虚拟网络组中，不同SMF所管理的GC-UPF间可预先配置有通信隧道，如N19和/或N6隧道。例如，在图3中，GC-UPF1与GC-UPF2之间预先配置有隧道301，GC-UPF1与GC-UPF3之间预先配置有隧道302，GC-UPF2与GC-UPF3之前预先配置有隧道303。
在本公开实施例中，上述虚拟网络组中可以包括多个SMF，每一SMF可以管理多个UPF，每一UPF可以关联多个UE。在此，对上述虚拟网络组中的SMF、UPF和UE的数量不作具体限定。为便于理解，下面仅以虚拟网络组中的两个SMF，每一SMF所管理的一个UPF和GC-UPF，该UPF所关联的一个UE为例进行说明，并不起任何限定作用。
在上述虚拟网络组中，SMF、UPF、GC-UPF和UE均为实体设备。每一SMF所管理的UPF中GC-UPF的数量为一个。
通过图2所示的方法，可以在虚拟网络组中的第一SMF所管理的第一UPF接收到其关联的第一UE发送的第一数据包时，将该第一数据包转发至第一SMF所管理的第一群组通信UPF；第一群组通信UPF基于接 收到的第一数据包的目的地址，利用第一群组通信UPF与第二SMF管理的第二群组通信UPF间预先配置有的第一通信隧道，将第一数据包发送至第二群组通信UPF，使得第二群组通信UPF可以通过第二SMF管理的第二UPF将第一数据包转发至第二UE。
虚拟网络组中可以部署有多个SMF，针对每两个SMF，通过这两个SMF中群组通信UPF间预先配置的通信隧道，可以实现不同SMF中用户设备间的数据包传输过程，这使得在虚拟网络中部署多个SMF的同时，可以实现不同SMF间的数据包传输，即实现了跨SMF间的通信。
再者，由于每一SMF所管理的UPF中仅有一个群组通信UPF，这使得虚拟网络组中个SMF间的通信均只依赖各自管理的群组通信UPF间的通信隧道，这大大降低了虚拟网络组的网络复杂度。
当然，实施本公开的任一产品或方法并不一定需要同时达到以上所述的所有优点。
针对上述步骤S201，即第一UPF在接收到第一UE发送的第一数据包时，根据第一SMF下发的第一转发规则，将第一数据包转发至第一群组通信UPF。
上述虚拟网络组中的第一UE可以发起其与虚拟网络组中第二UE间的通信，也就是第一UE建立协议数据单元(Protocol Data Unit，PDU)会话。此时，第一UE将向其关联的第一UPF发送第一数据包。第一UPF将接收到的第一UE发送的第一数据包。
根据第一UE与第二UE所对应用户的具体需求的不同，上述第一数据包可以为请求某一数据的数据请求数据包，或传输某一数据的数据传输数据包，在此，对上述第一数据包不作具体限定。
上述第一UE在向第一UPF发送第一数据包，上述第一SMF可以根据该第一数据包，向第一UPF发送针对该第一数据包的转发规则(记为第一转发规则)。该第一转发规则中可以包括第一群组通信UPF的端口信息、地址信息等。第一UPF在接收到该第一转发规则后，可以根据该第一转发规则，将上述第一数据包转发至第一群组通信UPF。在此，对上述第一转发规则中包括的信息不作具体限定。
针对上述步骤S202，即第一群组通信UPF根据接收到的第一数据包 中的目的地址，利用第一通信隧道将第一数据包发送至第二群组通信UPF。
在本步骤中，上述第一数据包中至少包括三元组信息，即源地址、目的地址和传输层协议。第一群组通信UPF在接收到第一UPF发送的第一数据包后，可以根据该第一数据包中的目的地址，确定接收到第一数据包的群组通信UPF(即上述第二群组通信UPF，也就是与第二UE所关联UPF所在SMF下管理的群组通信UPF)。第一群组通信UPF可以利用其与第二群组通信UPF间的第一通信隧道，将接收到的第一数据包发送至第二群组通信UPF。
在一些实施例中，上述步骤S202，根据接收到的第一数据包中的目的地址，利用第一通信隧道将第一数据包发送至第二群组通信UPF，可以表示为：
基于各群组通信UPF间的转发表，根据接收到的第一数据包中的目的地址，利用第一通信隧道将第一数据包发送至第二群组通信UPF。
在本公开实施例中，上述虚拟网络组部署完成中，可以根据各SMF管理的UPF，各SMF管理的UPF和各UPF关联的UE，配置各群组通信UPF间的转发表。上述第一群组通信UPF在接收到的上述第一数据包后，由于该第一数据包为第一UE向第二UE发送的数据包，因此，该第一数据包中的目的地址为第二UE所对应的地址。此时，第一群组通信UPF可以根据该目的地址，在转发表中确定出该第一数据包所对应的出接口或下一跳，从而确定出需要将第一数据包转发至第二群组通信UPF。第一群组通信UPF可以利用其与第二群组通信UPF间预先配置的第一通信隧道，将第一数据包转发至第二群组通信UPF。
上述目的地址可以为第二UE的媒体存取控制(Media Access Control，MAC)地址或互联网协议(Internet Protocol，IP地址)。在此，对上述目的地址不作具体限定。
针对上述步骤S203，即第二群组通信UPF根据第二SMF下发的第二转发规则，将接收到的第一数据包转发至第二UPF。
在本步骤中，第二群组通信UPF在接收到上述第一数据包时，第二SMF可以根据该待传输数据包的目的地址，向第二群组通信UPF下发该 第一数据包的转发规则(记为第二转发规则)。该第二转发规则中可以包括第二UPF的端口信息、地址信息等。第二群组通信UPF根据该第二转发规则，将第一数据包转发至第二UPF。在此，对上述第二转发规则中包括的信息不作具体限定。
针对上述步骤S204，即第二UPF将接收到的第一数据包发送至第二UE。
在本步骤中，第二UPF在接收到第二群组通信UPF发送的第一数据包后，可以根据该第一数据包的目的地址，将该第一数据包发送至第二UE。此时，第二UE将接收到的该第一数据包，结束第一数据包从第一UE传输至第二UE的数据包传输过程，实现第一UE与第二UE间的通信。
为便于理解，结合上述图3所示的虚拟网络组，对上述步骤S201-步骤S204进行说明。现假设上述第一SMF为SMF1，第一UPF为UPF1，第一UE为UE1，第一群组通信UPF为GC-UPF1，第二SMF为SMF2，第二UPF为UPF3，第二UE为UE2，第二群组通信UPF为GC-UPF2。
在UE1发起与UE2的跨SMF通信时，UE1将第一数据包发送至UPF1。UPF1根据SMF1下发的转发规则，将接收到的第一数据包转发至GC-UPF1。GC-UPF1根据第一数据包的目的地址，即UE2的地址，查找转发表确定SMF2(即管理UE2关联的UPF2的SMF)所管理的GC-UPF为GC-UPF2。GC-UPF1可以利用隧道301将第一数据包发送至GC-UPF2。GC-UPF2根据SMF下发的转发规则，将第一数据包转发至UPF2。UPF2根据第一数据包的目的地址，即UE2的地址，将该第一数据包发送至UE2。
相比于上述图1B所示的虚拟网络组，采用图3所示的虚拟网络组可以实现跨SMF间的通信，并且，在图3所示的虚拟网络组中，由于GC-UPF可以为SFM所管理的至少一个UPF中的任一UPF，因此，在图3所示的UPF并没有引入新的网元/功能模块。另外，相比于上述图1B所示的虚拟网络组，在图3所示的虚拟网络中，仅在不同GC-UPF间预先建立通信隧道，并不需要在各SMF所管理的UPF间建立网状连接。例如，在图3所示虚拟网络组中，并不需要在UPF1、UPF2以及UPF3间建立 网状连接。并且，随着虚拟网络组中SMF数量的增加，仅需配置各SMF管理的GC-UPF间的通信隧道，UPF的增加并不会增加新的网状连接。这大大降低了虚拟网络组的部署成本，以及虚拟网络组的复杂度，从而降低了跨SMF通信过程的复杂度。
在一些实施例中，根据上述图2所示的方法，本公开实施例还提供了一种数据包传输方法。如图4所示，图4为本公开实施例提供的数据包传输方法的第二种信令图。该方法包括以下步骤S401至步骤S406。
步骤S401，第一SMF在第一UE向第一UPF发送第一数据包时，向第一UPF和第一群组通信UPF发送第一N4信令，以使第一UPF和第一群组通信UPF基于接收到的第一N4信令建立第二通信隧道。
在本步骤中，当上述第一UE发起与第二UE的通信时，也就是第一UE向第一UPF发送第一数据包时，第一SMF将监测到跨SMF通信的PDU会话的建立，此时，第一SMF可以向第一UPF和第一群组通信UPF下发N4信令(记为第一N4信令)。第一UPF和第一群组通信UPF将基于该第一N4信令建立二者间的通信隧道(记为第二通信隧道)，如上述N19隧道，也可为N9隧道。
步骤S402，第一UPF在接收到第一UE发送的第一数据包时，接收第一SMF下发的第一转发规则。
在本公开实施例中，对上述第一N4信令和上述第一转发规则的下发顺序不作具体限定。
步骤S403，第一UPF按照第一转发规则，利用第二通信隧道将第一数据包转发至第一群组通信UPF。
在上述图2所示的方法中，仅从用户面对第一数据包的传输过程进行说明。在上述第一数据包传输过程中，控制面也会参与该第一数据包的传输，即上述第一SMF控制第一UPF和第一群组通信UPF间第二通信隧道的建立。
上述步骤S402-步骤S403是上述步骤S201在一些实施例中的实施方式。
在一些实施例中，上述第一SMF可以按照预设释放规则，释放该第二通信隧道，节约系统资源。例如，第一SMF可以在第一UE与第二UE 通信完成后，释放第二通信隧道。关于第二通信隧道的释放以及预设释放规则，在此不作具体限定。
在本公开实施例中，上述第二通信隧道的建立是根据发送上述第一数据包的UE，实时在该UE关联的UPF和同SMF下群组通信UPF间动态建立的，并不如上述第一通信隧道预先配置好的，有效提高了UPF与群组通信UPF间通信隧道建立的灵活性。
步骤S404，第一群组通信UPF根据接收到的第一数据包中的目的地址，利用第一通信隧道将第一数据包发送至第二群组通信UPF。
步骤S405，第二群组通信UPF根据第二SMF下发的第二转发规则，将接收到的第一数据包转发至第二UPF。
步骤S406，第二UPF将接收到的第一数据包发送至第二UE。
上述步骤S404-步骤S406的具体实施方式可参照上述步骤S202-步骤S204的具体实施方式。
在一些实施例中，根据上述图2所示的方法，本公开实施例还提供了一种数据包传输方法。如图5所示，图5为本公开实施例提供的数据包传输方法的第三种信令图。该方法包括以下步骤S501至步骤S506。
步骤S501，第一UPF在接收到第一UE发送的第一数据包时，根据第一SMF下发的第一转发规则，将第一数据包转发至第一群组通信UPF。
步骤S502，第一群组通信UPF根据接收到的第一数据包中的目的地址，利用第一通信隧道将第一数据包发送至第二群组通信UPF。
上述步骤S501-步骤S502的具体实施方式可参照上述步骤S201-步骤S202的具体实施方式。
步骤S503，第二SMF在第二群组通信UPF接收到第一数据包时，根据第一数据包中的目的地址，向第二群组通信UPF和第二UPF发送第二N4信令，以使第二群组通信UPF和第二UPF基于接收到的第二N4信令建立第三通信隧道。
在本步骤中，当上述第二群组通信UPF接收到第一群组通信UPF发送的第一数据包时，第二SMF可以根据该第一数据包的目的地址，确定出该目的地址对应UE所关联的UPF，即第二UPF。此时，第二SMF可以向第二群组通信UPF和第二UPF发送N4信令(记为第二N4信令)。 第二群组通信UPF和第二UPF基于接收到的第二N4信令建立二者间的通信隧道(记为第三通信隧道)，如N19隧道，也可为N9隧道。
步骤S504，第二群组通信UPF接收第二SMF下发的第二转发规则。
在本公开实施例中，对上述第二N4信令和上述第二转发规则的下发顺序不作具体限定。
步骤S505，第二群组通信UPF按照第二转发规则，利用第三通信隧道将接收到的第一数据包转发至第二UPF。
在上述图2所示的方法中，仅从用户面对第一数据包的传输过程进行说明。在上述第一数据包传输过程中，控制面也会参与该第一数据包的传输，即上述第二SMF控制第二UPF和第二群组通信UPF间第三通信隧道的建立。
上述步骤S504-步骤S505是上述步骤S203在一些实施例中的实施方式。
在一些实施例中，上述第二SMF可以按照预设释放规则，释放该第三通信隧道，节约系统资源。例如，第二SMF可以在第一UE与第二UE通信完成后，释放第三通信隧道。关于第三通信隧道的释放以及预设释放规则，在此不作具体限定。
步骤S506，第二UPF将接收到的第一数据包发送至第二UE。
上述步骤S506的具体实施方式可参照上述步骤S204的具体实施方式。
在一些实施例中，根据上述图2所示的方法，本公开实施例还提供了一种数据包传输方法。如图6所示，图6为本公开实施例提供的数据包传输方法的第四种信令图。该方法包括以下步骤S601至步骤S606。
步骤S601，第一UPF在接收到第一UE发送的第一数据包时，根据第一SMF下发的第一转发规则，将第一数据包转发至第一群组通信UPF。
步骤S602，第一群组通信UPF根据接收到的第一数据包中的目的地址，利用第一通信隧道将第一数据包发送至第二群组通信UPF。
步骤S603，第二群组通信UPF根据第二SMF下发的第二转发规则，将接收到的第一数据包转发至第二UPF。
步骤S604，第二UPF将接收到的第一数据包发送至第二UE。
上述步骤S601-步骤S604与上述步骤S201-步骤S204相同。
步骤S605，在虚拟网络组中新增第三SMF时，第三SMF从自身管理的UPF中，选取一个UPF作为第三群组通信UPF。
在本公开实施例中，用户可以根据具体需求在上述虚拟网络组中增加新的SMF(记为第三SMF)。当第三SMF被添加到上述虚拟网路组后，第三SMF将从其关联的UPF中选取一个UPF作为群组通信UPF(记为第三群组通信UPF)。
在一些实施例中，在选取上述第三群组通信UPF时，第三SMF可以选取没有UE关联的UPF作为第三群组通信UPF。
在另一些实施例中，在选取上述第三群组通信UPF时，第三SMF可以选取所有UPF中性能最高的UPF作为第三群组通信UPF。
在本公开实施例中，对上述第三群组通信UPF的选取方式不作具体限定。
在确定上述第三群组通信UPF后，用户可以在该第三群组通信UPF与该虚拟网络组中的其他群组通信UPF(即上述第一群组通信UPF和上述第二群组通信UPF)间配置通信隧道(记为第四通信隧道)，如上述N19和/或N6隧道。关于第四隧道的配置过程在此不作具体说明。
在本公开实施例中，通过在上述虚拟网络中增加新的SMF，可以实现不同SMF间的跨SMF通信。当不同SMF对应不同的省市或者不同的国家时，在虚拟网络组中通过SMF的新增，可以实现不同省市或者不同国家间的跨地区通信，降低跨地区通信的通信成本。
步骤S606，第三SMF在第三群组通信UPF与第一群组通信UPF以及第二群组通信UPF间配置的第四通信隧道配置完成后，基于第四通信隧道更新转发表。
在本步骤中，当上述第三群组通信UPF与第一群组通信UPF以及第二群组通信UPF间的第四通信隧道配置完成后，第三SMF可以根据每一第四通信隧道，以及与每一第四通信隧道连接的两个群组通信UPF同SMF管理的UPF所关联的UE，对上述转发表进行更新。
为便于理解，仍以上述图3所示的虚拟网络组为例进行说明。现假设上述第三SMF为图3中的SMF3。在将SMF3添加到图3所示的虚拟 网络组后，可以配置图3所示的隧道302和隧道303。并且，SMF3可以根据隧道302和隧道303所连接的GC-UPF1、GC-UPF2、GC-UPF3所对应SMF1、SMF2和SMF3所管理的每一UPF和每一UPF关联的UE，对上述转发表进行更新。
通过对上述转发表的更新，可以有效保证转发表的有效性和准确性，便于不同GC-UPF间的数据包转发，为跨SMF间的通信提供保证。
在上述实施例中，仅以虚拟网络组中新增SMF时转发表的更新为例进行说明。除此以外，当上述SFM中新增UPF、新增UE、UE关联的UPF发生变更或者删除某一SMF、UPF或UE时，上述转发表都将同步进行更新。在此，对上述转发表的更新时机不作具体限定。
相比于上述图1B所示的虚拟网络组，在图3所示的虚拟网络组中，随着该虚拟网络中的SMF数量的增加，虚拟网络组中仅需配置各GC-UPF间的通信隧道。而在图1B所示的虚拟网络组中，由于需要在不同SMF所管理的UPF间新增通信隧道，这使得新增的通信隧道数将随新增的SMF数和各SMF所管来的UPF数的增加而递增。也就是在图3所示的虚拟网络组中仅需在各群组通信UPF间配置通信隧道即可，而在图1B所示的虚拟网络组中却需要在各SMF所管理的UPF间建立通信隧道。采用本公开实施例提供的虚拟网络组，通过在各群组通信UPF间预先配置通信隧道，在实现跨SMF通信的同时，可以有效降低虚拟网络组的网络复杂度。
在本公开实施例中，上述步骤S605和步骤S606可以在上述步骤S601-步骤S604中任一步骤执行之前或之后执行，在此，对上述步骤S605和步骤S606的执行不作具体限定。
基于同一种发明构思，根据上述本公开实施例提供的数据包传输方法，本公开实施例还提供了一种数据包传输方法。该方法应用于虚拟网络组，虚拟网络组包括第一SMF和第二SMF，第一SMF管理第一群组通信UPF，第二SMF管理第二群组通信UPF，第一群组通信UPF与第二群组通信UPF间预先配置有第一通信隧道，第一群组通信UPF关联有第三UE，第二群组通信UPF关联有第四UE。如图7所示，图7为本公开实施例提供的数据包传输方法的第五种信令图。该方法包括以下步骤 S701至步骤S702。
步骤S701，第一群组通信UPF在接收到第三UE发送的第二数据包后，根据接收到的第二数据包中的目的地址，利用第一通信隧道将第二数据包发送至第二群组通信UPF。
在本步骤中，当第三UE发起与第四UE间的通信时，也就是第三UE向第四UE发送第二数据包时，第三UE关联的第一群组通信UPF将接收到的该第二数据包。此时，第一群组通信UPF可以根据第二数据包中的目的地址，利用第一通信隧道将第二数据包发送至第二群组通信UPF。
上述第一群组通信UPF对上述第二数据包的发送过程可参照第一群组通信UPF对上述第一数据包的发送过程，在此不作具体说明。
步骤S702，第二群组通信UPF将接收到的第二数据包发送至第四UE。
在本步骤中，第二群组通信UPF在接收到上述第二数据包后，可以根据该第二数据包的目的地址，将该第二数据包发送至第四UE。
在图7所示的方法中，虚拟网络组中可以部署有多个SMF，针对每两个SMF，通过这两个SMF中群组通信UPF间预先配置的通信隧道，可以实现不同SMF中用户设备间的数据包传输过程，这使得在虚拟网络中部署多个SMF的同时，可以实现不同SMF间的数据包传输，即实现了跨SMF间的通信。
再者，由于每一SMF所管理的UPF中仅有一个群组通信UPF，这使得虚拟网络组中个SMF间的通信均只依赖各自管理的群组通信UPF间的通信隧道，这大大降低了虚拟网络组的网络复杂度。
在上述图2和图7所示的实施例中，分别针对未关联群组通信UPF的UE间的数据包传输过程，以及关联群组通信UPF的UE间的数据包传输过程进行说明。除此以外，数据包的发送端/接收端还可以为未关联群组通信UPF的UE，数据包的接收端/发送端可以为关联群组通信UPF的UE。此时，数据包的发送过程可参照上述图2和图7所示的方法进行传输，实现跨SMF的通信，具体传输过程在此不作说明。
基于同一种发明构思，根据上述本公开实施例提供的数据包传输方 法，本公开实施例还提供了一种虚拟网络组。如图8所示，图8为本公开实施例提供的虚拟网络组的第二种结构示意图。该虚拟网络组包括第一SMF 801和第二SMF 802，第一SMF 801管理第一UPF 803和第一群组通信UPF 804，第二SMF 802管理第二UPF 806和第二群组通信UPF 805，第一群组通信UPF 804与第二群组通信UPF 805间预先配置有第一通信隧道809，第一UPF 803关联有第一UE 807，第二UPF 806关联有第二UE 808。
第一UE 807，可用于向第一UPF 803发送第一数据包。
第一UPF 803，可用于在接收到第一UE 807发送的第一数据包时，根据第一SMF 801下发的第一转发规则，将第一数据包转发至第一群组通信UPF 804。
第一群组通信UPF 804，可用于根据接收到的第一数据包中的目的地址，利用第一通信隧道809将第一数据包发送至第二群组通信UPF 805。
第二群组通信UPF 805，可用于根据第二SMF 802下发的第二转发规则，将接收到的第一数据包转发至第二UPF 806。
第二UPF 806，可用于将接收到的第一数据包发送至第二UE 808。
第二UE 808，可用于接收第一数据包。
在一些实施例中，第一SMF 801，还可以用于在第一UE向第一UPF 803发送第一数据包时，向第一UPF 803和第一群组通信UPF 804发送第一N4信令，以使第一UPF 803和第一群组通信UPF 804基于接收到的第一N4信令建立第二通信隧道。
第一UPF 803，还可以用于接收第一SMF 801下发的第一转发规则；按照第一转发规则，利用第二通信隧道将第一数据包转发至第一群组通信UPF 804。
在一些实施例中，第二SMF 802，还可以用于在第二群组通信UPF 805接收到第一数据包时，根据第一数据包中的目的地址，向第二群组通信UPF 805和第二UPF 806发送第二N4信令，以使第二群组通信UPF 805和第二UPF 806基于接收到的第二N4信令建立第三通信隧道。
第二群组通信UPF 805，还可以用于接收第二SMF 802下发的第二转发规则；按照第二转发规则，利用第三通信隧道将接收到的第一数据 包转发至第二UPF 806。
在一些实施例中，第一群组通信UPF 804，还可以用于基于各群组通信UPF间的转发表，根据接收到的第一数据包中的目的地址，利用第一通信隧道将第一数据包发送至第二群组通信UPF。
虚拟网络组还可以包括：新增的第三SMF。
第三SMF，可用于从自身管理的UPF中，选取一个UPF作为第三群组通信UPF。
第三SMF，还可以用于在第三群组通信UPF与第一群组通信UPF 804以及第二群组通信UPF 805间配置的第四通信隧道配置完成后，基于第四通信隧道更新转发表。
基于同一种发明构思，根据上述本公开实施例提供的数据包传输方法，本公开实施例还提供了一种虚拟网络组。如图9所示，图9为本公开实施例提供的虚拟网络组的第三种结构示意图。该虚拟网络组包括第一SMF 901和第二SMF 902，第一SMF 901管理第一群组通信UPF 903，第二SMF 902管理第二群组通信UPF 904，第一群组通信UPF 903与第二群组通信UPF 904间预先配置有第一通信隧道907，第一群组通信UPF 903关联有第三UE 905，第二群组通信UPF 904关联有第四UE 906。
第三UE 905，可用于向第一群组通信UPF 903发送第二数据包。
第一群组通信UPF 903，可用于在接收到第三UE 905发送的第二数据包后，根据接收到的第二数据包中的目的地址，利用第一通信隧道907将第二数据包发送至第二群组通信UPF 904。
第二群组通信UPF 904，可用于将接收到的第二数据包发送至第四UE 906。
第四UE 906，可用于接收第二数据包。
通过本公开实施例提供的虚拟网络组，可以虚拟网络组中的第一SMF所管理的第一UPF接收到其关联的第一UE发送的第一数据包时，将该第一数据包转发至第一SMF所管理的第一群组通信UPF；第一群组通信UPF基于接收到的第一数据包的目的地址，利用第一群组通信UPF与第二SMF管理的第二群组通信UPF间预先配置有的第一通信隧道，将第一数据包发送至第二群组通信UPF，使得第二群组通信UPF可以通过 第二SMF管理的第二UPF将第一数据包转发至第二UE。
虚拟网络组中可以部署有多个SMF，针对每两个SMF，通过这两个SMF中群组通信UPF间预先配置的通信隧道，可以实现不同SMF中用户设备间的数据包传输过程，这使得在虚拟网络中部署多个SMF的同时，可以实现不同SMF间的数据包传输，即实现了跨SMF间的通信。
再者，由于每一SMF所管理的UPF中仅有一个群组通信UPF，这使得虚拟网络组中个SMF间的通信均只依赖各自管理的群组通信UPF间的通信隧道，这大大降低了虚拟网络组的网络复杂度。
基于同一种发明构思，根据上述本公开实施例提供的数据包传输方法，本公开实施例还提供了一种实体设备，该实体设备可以为上述虚拟网络组所包括的SMF、UPF、群组通信UPF或UE中的任一设备。如图10所示，包括处理器1001、通信接口1002、存储器1003和通信总线1004，其中，处理器1001，通信接口1002，存储器1003通过通信总线1004完成相互间的通信。
存储器1003，可用于存放计算机程序。
处理器1001，可用于执行存储器1003上所存放的程序时，实现上述任一的数据包传输方法步骤。
上述目标终端和目标网络设备提到的通信总线1004可以是外设部件互连标准(Peripheral Component Interconnect，PCI)总线或扩展工业标准结构(Extended Industry Standard Architecture，EISA)总线等。该通信总线1004可以分为地址总线、数据总线、控制总线等。为便于表示，图中仅用一条粗线表示，但并不表示仅有一根总线或一种类型的总线。
通信接口1002可用于上述实体设备与其他设备之间的通信。
存储器1003可以包括随机存取存储器(Random Access Memory，RAM)，也可以包括非易失性存储器(Non-Volatile Memory，NVM)，例如至少一个磁盘存储器。可选的，存储器还可以是至少一个位于远离前述处理器的存储装置。
上述的处理器1001可以是通用处理器，包括中央处理器(Central Processing Unit，CPU)、网络处理器(Network Processor，NP)等；还可以是数字信号处理器(Digital Signal Processor，DSP)、专用集成电路 (Application Specific Integrated Circuit，ASIC)、现场可编程门阵列(Field-Programmable Gate Array，FPGA)或者其他可编程逻辑器件、分立门或者晶体管逻辑器件、分立硬件组件。
基于同一种发明构思，根据上述本公开实施例提供的数据包传输方法，本公开实施例还提供了一种计算机可读存储介质，该计算机可读存储介质内存储有计算机程序，所述计算机程序被处理器执行时实现上述任一数据包传输方法的步骤。
基于同一种发明构思，根据上述本公开实施例提供的数据包传输方法，本公开实施例还提供了一种包含指令的计算机程序产品，当其在计算机上运行时，使得计算机执行上述实施例中任一数据包传输方法。
在上述实施例中，可以全部或部分地通过软件、硬件、固件或者其任意组合来实现。当使用软件实现时，可以全部或部分地以计算机程序产品的形式实现。所述计算机程序产品包括一个或多个计算机指令。在计算机上加载和执行所述计算机程序指令时，全部或部分地产生按照本公开实施例所述的流程或功能。所述计算机可以是通用计算机、专用计算机、计算机网络、或者其他可编程装置。所述计算机指令可以存储在计算机可读存储介质中，或者从一个计算机可读存储介质向另一个计算机可读存储介质传输，例如，所述计算机指令可以从一个网站站点、计算机、服务器或数据中心通过有线(例如同轴电缆、光纤、数字用户线(DSL))或无线(例如红外、无线、微波等)方式向另一个网站站点、计算机、服务器或数据中心进行传输。所述计算机可读存储介质可以是计算机能够存取的任何可用介质或者是包含一个或多个可用介质集成的服务器、数据中心等数据存储设备。所述可用介质可以是磁性介质，(例如，软盘、硬盘、磁带)、光介质(例如，DVD)、或者半导体介质(例如固态硬盘Solid State Disk(SSD))等。
需要说明的是，在本文中，诸如第一和第二等之类的关系术语仅仅用来将一个实体或者操作与另一个实体或操作区分开来，而不一定要求或者暗示这些实体或操作之间存在任何这种实际的关系或者顺序。而且，术语“包括”、“包含”或者其任何其他变体意在涵盖非排他性的包含，从而使得包括一系列要素的过程、方法、物品或者设备不仅包括那些要 素，而且还包括没有明确列出的其他要素，或者是还包括为这种过程、方法、物品或者设备所固有的要素。在没有更多限制的情况下，由语句“包括一个……”限定的要素，并不排除在包括所述要素的过程、方法、物品或者设备中还存在另外的相同要素。
本说明书中的各个实施例均采用相关的方式描述，各个实施例之间相同相似的部分互相参见即可，每个实施例重点说明的都是与其他实施例的不同之处。尤其，对于虚拟网络组、实体设备、计算机可读存储介质及计算机程序产品等实施例而言，由于其基本相似于方法实施例，所以描述的比较简单，相关之处参见方法实施例的部分说明即可。
以上所述仅为本公开的较佳实施例，并非用于限定本公开的保护范围。凡在本公开的精神和原则之内所作的任何修改、等同替换、改进等，均包含在本公开的保护范围内。

Claims (10)

  1. 一种数据包传输方法，其中，应用于虚拟网络组，所述虚拟网络组包括第一会话管理功能SMF和第二SMF，所述第一SMF管理第一用户面功能UPF和第一群组通信UPF，所述第二SMF管理第二UPF和第二群组通信UPF，所述第一群组通信UPF与所述第二群组通信UPF间预先配置有第一通信隧道，所述第一UPF关联有第一用户设备UE，所述第二UPF关联有第二UE，所述方法包括：
    所述第一UPF在接收到所述第一UE发送的第一数据包时，根据所述第一SMF下发的第一转发规则，将所述第一数据包转发至所述第一群组通信UPF；
    所述第一群组通信UPF根据接收到的第一数据包中的目的地址，利用所述第一通信隧道将所述第一数据包发送至所述第二群组通信UPF；
    所述第二群组通信UPF根据所述第二SMF下发的第二转发规则，将接收到的第一数据包转发至所述第二UPF；
    所述第二UPF将接收到的第一数据包发送至所述第二UE。
  2. 根据权利要求1所述的方法，其中，所述方法还包括：
    所述第一SMF在所述第一UE向所述第一UPF发送第一数据包时，向所述第一UPF和所述第一群组通信UPF发送第一N4信令，以使所述第一UPF和所述第一群组通信UPF基于接收到的第一N4信令建立第二通信隧道；
    所述第一UPF在接收到所述第一UE发送的第一数据包时，根据所述第一SMF下发的第一转发规则，将所述第一数据包转发至所述第一群组通信UPF，包括：
    所述第一UPF接收所述第一SMF下发的第一转发规则；
    所述第一UPF在接收到所述第一UE发送的第一数据包时，按照所述第一转发规则，利用所述第二通信隧道将所述第一数据包转发至所述第一群组通信UPF。
  3. 根据权利要求1所述的方法，其中，所述方法还包括：
    所述第二SMF在所述第二群组通信UPF接收到所述第一数据包时，根据所述第一数据包中的目的地址，向所述第二群组通信UPF和所述第 二UPF发送第二N4信令，以使所述第二群组通信UPF和所述第二UPF基于接收到的第二N4信令建立第三通信隧道；
    所述第二群组通信UPF根据所述第二SMF下发的第二转发规则，将接收到的第一数据包转发至所述第二UPF，包括：
    所述第二群组通信UPF接收所述第二SMF下发的第二转发规则；
    所述第二群组通信UPF按照所述第二转发规则，利用所述第三通信隧道将接收到的第一数据包转发至所述第二UPF。
  4. 根据权利要求1所述的方法，其中，所述第一群组通信UPF根据接收到的第一数据包中的目的地址，利用所述第一通信隧道将所述第一数据包发送至所述第二群组通信UPF，包括：
    所述第一群组通信UPF基于各群组通信UPF间的转发表，根据接收到的第一数据包中的目的地址，利用所述第一通信隧道将所述第一数据包发送至所述第二群组通信UPF；
    所述方法还包括：
    在所述虚拟网络组中新增第三SMF时，所述第三SMF从自身管理的UPF中，选取一个UPF作为第三群组通信UPF；
    所述方法还包括：
    所述第三SMF在所述第三群组通信UPF与所述第一群组通信UPF以及所述第二群组通信UPF间配置的第四通信隧道配置完成后，基于所述第四通信隧道更新所述转发表。
  5. 一种数据包传输方法，其中，应用于虚拟网络组，所述虚拟网络组包括第一会话管理功能SMF和第二SMF，所述第一SMF管理第一群组通信用户面功能UPF，所述第二SMF管理第二群组通信UPF，所述第一群组通信UPF与所述第二群组通信UPF间预先配置有第一通信隧道，所述第一群组通信UPF关联有第三用户设备UE，所述第二群组通信UPF关联有第四UE，所述方法包括：
    所述第一群组通信UPF在接收到所述第三UE发送的第二数据包后，根据接收到的第二数据包中的目的地址，利用所述第一通信隧道将所述第二数据包发送至所述第二群组通信UPF；
    所述第二群组通信UPF将接收到的第二数据包发送至所述第四UE。
  6. 一种虚拟网络组，其中，所述虚拟网络组包括第一会话管理功能SMF和第二SMF，所述第一SMF管理第一用户面功能UPF和第一群组通信UPF，所述第二SMF管理第二UPF和第二群组通信UPF，所述第一群组通信UPF与所述第二群组通信UPF间预先配置有第一通信隧道，所述第一UPF关联有第一用户设备UE，所述第二UPF关联有第二UE；
    所述第一UE，用于向所述第一UPF发送第一数据包；
    所述第一UPF，用于在接收到所述第一UE发送的第一数据包时，根据所述第一SMF下发的第一转发规则，将所述第一数据包转发至所述第一群组通信UPF；
    所述第一群组通信UPF，用于根据接收到的第一数据包中的目的地址，利用所述第一通信隧道将所述第一数据包发送至所述第二群组通信UPF；
    所述第二群组通信UPF，用于根据所述第二SMF下发的第二转发规则，将接收到的第一数据包转发至所述第二UPF；
    所述第二UPF，用于将接收到的第一数据包发送至所述第二UE；
    所述第二UE，用于接收所述第一数据包。
  7. 根据权利要求6所述的虚拟网络组，其中，所述第一SMF，还用于在所述第一UE向所述第一UPF发送第一数据包时，向所述第一UPF和所述第一群组通信UPF发送第一N4信令，以使所述第一UPF和所述第一群组通信UPF基于接收到的第一N4信令建立第二通信隧道；
    所述第一UPF，还用于接收所述第一SMF下发的第一转发规则；在接收到所述第一UE发送的第一数据包时，按照所述第一转发规则，利用所述第二通信隧道将所述第一数据包转发至所述第一群组通信UPF。
  8. 根据权利要求6所述的虚拟网络组，其中，所述第二SMF，还用于在所述第二群组通信UPF接收到所述第一数据包时，根据所述第一数据包中的目的地址，向所述第二群组通信UPF和所述第二UPF发送第二N4信令，以使所述第二群组通信UPF和所述第二UPF基于接收到的第二N4信令建立第三通信隧道；
    所述第二群组通信UPF，还用于接收所述第二SMF下发的第二转发规则；按照所述第二转发规则，利用所述第三通信隧道将接收到的第一 数据包转发至所述第二UPF。
  9. 根据权利要求6所述的虚拟网络组，其中，所述第一群组通信UPF，还用于基于各群组通信UPF间的转发表，根据接收到的第一数据包中的目的地址，利用所述第一通信隧道将所述第一数据包发送至所述第二群组通信UPF；
    所述虚拟网络组中还包括：新增的第三SMF；
    所述第三SMF，用于从自身管理的UPF中，选取一个UPF作为第三群组通信UPF；
    所述第三SMF，还用于在所述第三群组通信UPF与所述第一群组通信UPF以及所述第二群组通信UPF间配置的第四通信隧道配置完成后，基于所述第四通信隧道更新所述转发表。
  10. 一种虚拟网络组，其中，应用于虚拟网络组，所述虚拟网络组包括第一会话管理功能SMF和第二SMF，所述第一SMF管理第一群组通信用户面功能UPF，所述第二SMF管理第二群组通信UPF，所述第一群组通信UPF与所述第二群组通信UPF间预先配置有第一通信隧道，所述第一群组通信UPF关联有第三用户设备UE，所述第二群组通信UPF关联有第四UE；
    所述第三UE，用于向所述第一群组通信UPF发送第二数据包；
    所述第一群组通信UPF，用于在接收到所述第三UE发送的第二数据包后，根据接收到的第二数据包中的目的地址，利用所述第一通信隧道将所述第二数据包发送至所述第二群组通信UPF；
    所述第二群组通信UPF，用于将接收到的第二数据包发送至所述第四UE；
    所述第四UE，用于接收所述第二数据包。
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