CN111200620B

CN111200620B - Method, apparatus and computer readable medium for updating network connection configuration

Info

Publication number: CN111200620B
Application number: CN201811367604.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 辛长春; 李�根
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Communications (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Priority date: 2018-11-16
Filing date: 2018-11-16
Publication date: 2022-07-19
Anticipated expiration: 2038-11-16
Also published as: CN111200620A

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method, apparatus, and computer-readable medium for updating a network connection configuration. In the communication method, at the network device, in response to receiving at the network device a message associated with a connection configuration update from the terminal device, the authentication information of the terminal device is obtained from the message; based on the authentication information, determining whether there is a previous connection between the terminal device and the network device that was established prior to receipt of the message; and in response to determining that the previous connection exists, sending an updated connection to the terminal device configuration information. In this way, even if the network device loses the information of the terminal device connected to it due to a failure, the connection can be restored through the authentication information shared by the network device and the terminal device.

Description

Method, apparatus and computer readable medium for updating network connection configuration

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a method, apparatus, and computer-readable medium for updating network connection configuration.

Background

Devices supporting the sixth version of the internet protocol (IPv6) need to access the internet using an IPv6 address. The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) of IPv6 enables a DHCP server to pass configuration parameters (e.g., IPv6 network addresses) to IPv6 nodes. The Optical Network Terminal (ONT) device operates as a dynamic host configuration protocol version six (DHCPv6) server, while the DHCPv6 client is capable of operating on the user device.

Disclosure of Invention

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method, apparatus, and computer-readable medium for updating a network connection configuration.

In a first aspect of the disclosure, a method of communication is provided. The method comprises the following steps: in response to receiving a message associated with a connection configuration update from a terminal device at a network device, obtaining authentication information for the terminal device from the message; determining, based on the authentication information, whether there is a previous connection between the terminal device and the network device that was established prior to receipt of the message; and in response to determining that the previous connection exists, sending updated connection configuration information to the terminal device.

In a second aspect of the disclosure, a method of communication is provided. The method comprises the following steps: sending a message associated with a connection configuration update from a terminal device to a network device, the message including authentication information of the terminal device; and receiving updated connection configuration information from the network device in response to the network device determining, based on the authentication information, that a previous connection exists between the terminal device and the network device, the previous connection being established prior to the network device receiving the message.

In a third aspect of the disclosure, a network device is provided. The network device includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program instructions. The at least one memory and the computer program instructions are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the network device to perform the method of the first aspect of the disclosure.

In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program instructions. The at least one memory and the computer program instructions are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to perform the method of the second aspect of the disclosure.

In a fifth aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus for updating a network connection configuration is provided. The apparatus comprises means for, in response to receiving at a network device a message associated with a connection configuration update from a terminal device, obtaining authentication information for the terminal device from the message; means for determining, based on the authentication information, whether there is a previous connection between the terminal device and the network device that was established prior to receipt of the message; and means for sending updated connection configuration information to the terminal device in response to determining that the previous connection exists.

In a sixth aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus for updating a network connection configuration is provided. The apparatus comprises means for sending a message associated with a connection configuration update from a terminal device to a network device, the message comprising authentication information of the terminal device; and means for receiving updated connection configuration information from the network device in response to the network device determining, based on the authentication information, that a previous connection exists between the terminal device and the network device, the previous connection being established prior to the network device receiving the message.

In a seventh aspect of the disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided. The computer readable medium comprises machine executable instructions which, when executed, cause a machine to perform a method according to the first aspect.

In an eighth aspect of the disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided. The computer readable medium comprises machine executable instructions which, when executed, cause a machine to perform a method according to the second aspect.

It should be understood that the statements herein reciting aspects are not intended to limit the critical or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor are they intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description.

Drawings

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure will become readily apparent from the following detailed description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Several embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which:

fig. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a communication scenario 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a process 200 of a communication method according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Fig. 3 shows a flow diagram of a communication method 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 shows a flow diagram of a communication method 400 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals are used to designate the same or similar components.

Detailed Description

The principles and spirit of the present disclosure will be described with reference to a number of exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings. It is understood that these specific embodiments are described merely to enable those skilled in the art to better understand and implement the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that conforms to any suitable communication standard or protocol, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-advanced (LTE-a), and 5G NR, and employs any suitable communication technology, including, for example, MIMO, OFDM, Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM), Code Division Multiplexing (CDM), bluetooth, ZigBee, Machine Type Communication (MTC), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), large scale Machine Type Communication (MTC), and ultra-reliable low latency communication (urrllc) technologies. For discussion purposes, in some example embodiments, an LTE network, an LTE-a network, a 5G NR network, or any combination thereof are considered examples of communication networks.

The term "network device" as used herein refers to a base station or other entity or node having a particular function in a communication network. A "base station" (BS) may denote a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved node B (eNodeB or eNB), a node B used in a 5g network (gdnodeb or gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a Radio Head (RH), a Remote Radio Head (RRH), a relay, or a low power node such as a pico base station, a femto base station, or the like. In the context of the present disclosure, the terms "network device" and "base station" may be used interchangeably for purposes of discussion convenience, and may primarily be referred to as an eNB as an example of a network device.

The network equipment may also include any suitable equipment in the core network, including, for example, multi-standard radio (MSR) radios such as MSR BSs, network controllers or Base Station Controllers (BSCs) such as Radio Network Controllers (RNCs), multi-cell/Multicast Coordination Entities (MCEs), Mobile Switching Centers (MSCs) and MMEs, operations and management (O & M) nodes, Operations Support Systems (OSS) nodes, self-organizing network (SON) nodes, location nodes such as enhanced serving mobile location centers (E-SMLCs) and/or Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs), and 5G core network nodes such as Access Management Functions (AMFs), Session Management Functions (SMFs).

The term "terminal device" or "user equipment" (UE) as used herein refers to a device that is capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate with a network device or another terminal device in a communication network. Communication may involve the transmission and/or reception of wireless signals using electromagnetic signals, radio waves, infrared signals, and/or other types of signals suitable for the transfer of information over the air. In some example embodiments, a terminal device may be configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, the terminal device may transmit information to the network device on a predetermined schedule when triggered by an internal or external event or in response to a request from the network side.

Examples of end devices include, but are not limited to, User Equipment (UE) such as smart phones, wireless-enabled tablets, Laptop Embedded Equipment (LEE), Laptop Mounted Equipment (LME), Mobile Terminals (MT), such as those embedded in IAB nodes and/or wireless client devices (CPE). For discussion purposes, some example embodiments will be described below with reference to a UE as an example of a terminal device, and the terms "terminal device" and "user equipment" (UE) may be used interchangeably in the context of the present disclosure.

As used herein, the terms "includes," including, "and the like are to be construed as open-ended inclusions, i.e.," including, but not limited to. The term "based on" should be understood as "based at least in part on". The term "one embodiment" or "the embodiment" should be understood as "at least one embodiment". The terms "first," "second," and the like may refer to different or the same object. Other explicit and implicit definitions are also possible below.

As used herein, the term "determining" encompasses a wide variety of actions. For example, "determining" can include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (e.g., looking up in a table, a database or another data structure), ascertaining and the like. Further, "determining" can include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory), and the like. Further, "determining" may include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, and the like.

The term "circuitry" as used herein refers to one or more of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry); and (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (if applicable): (i) a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuitry and software/firmware, and (ii) any portion of a hardware processor and software (including a digital signal processor, software, and memory that work together to cause an apparatus, such as an OLT or other computing device, to perform various functions); and (c) hardware circuitry and/or a processor, such as a microprocessor or a portion of a microprocessor, that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but may be software-free when software is not required for operation.

The definition of circuit applies to all usage scenarios of this term in this application, including any claims. As another example, the term "circuitry" as used herein also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors), or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor, or software or firmware accompanying it. For example, the term "circuitry" would also cover a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit or a similar integrated circuit in an OLT or other computing device, as applicable to the particular claim element.

In scenario 100, network device 110 may be viewed as a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, particularly a dynamic host configuration protocol version six (DHCPv6) server. Accordingly, the terminal device 120 may be viewed as a DHCPv6 client. DHCP, internet protocol version six (IPv6), enables network device 110 to communicate configuration parameters (e.g., IPv6 network address) to terminal device 120 with which a connection is established.

In general, when creating a connection between the network device 110 and the terminal device 120, the terminal device 120 sends its own client information to the network device 110 by means of request (Solicit) data packets. Network device 110 will maintain information about terminal device 120 and send a reply to the request data packet to the terminal device, thereby establishing a connection between network device 110 and terminal device 120.

Terminal device 110 may send a request to a network device to access a network (e.g., the internet, etc.), and network device 110 may be able to send configuration information (e.g., an IPv6 network address) for accessing the network to terminal device 120. Based on the configuration information, the terminal device makes access to the network.

A potential problem is that if a network device 110 fails, such as a power outage, the network device 110 may lose client information for the terminal devices 120 that were previously connected to it. Whereas the network address previously assigned to the terminal device 120 may fail after a period of time, the terminal device 120 is required to send a RENEW (RENEW) packet to the network device for extension to obtain updated connection configuration information.

When the network device 110 receives the RENEW packet, it will check the client information associated with the terminal device 120. However, since the client information of the terminal device 120 has been lost at the network device 110, the client information is not found at the network device 110, in which case the RENEW packet will be discarded. The terminal device 120 will not be able to continue accessing the network.

Further, if the network device 110 assigns a new address to the terminal device 120 because it cannot recognize it, other problems arise, for example, if a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) server is running on the terminal device 120, all FTP clients connected to this FTP server will lose their contact if the address has changed.

If a Local Area Network (LAN) end device (e.g., terminal device 120) acquires an address through stateless address auto-configuration (SLAAC), the address may be discarded by the new RA message. This does not apply to DHCPv 6.

Another way to solve this problem is to save the client information to flash memory, but this may have drawbacks. The stored information may expire due to the lengthy server recovery time. It may also be invalid because the client has already established interactions with other servers. On the other hand, if the number of clients is too large, a large amount of flash memory space is occupied. As more and more LAN side devices will be connected to this server over time, the flash overhead will increase. Moreover, this does not fully guarantee that user information is not lost.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, as well as other potential problems, presented in conventional approaches, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method of updating a network connection configuration. Example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The principles and implementations of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to fig. 2, where fig. 2 illustrates a process 200 according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, process 200 will be described with reference to fig. 1. Process 200 may relate to a method of updating a network connection configuration.

As shown in fig. 2, terminal device 120 sends 210 a request to create a connection between network device 110 and terminal device 120 to network device, and network device 110 may generate 220 authentication information for the terminal device based on the request.

In some embodiments, network device 110 can obtain a dynamic host configuration protocol-specific identification (DUID) of the end device from the request to create the connection, network device 110 can assign a network address to the end device, and the authentication information for end device 120 is generated based on the DUID of end device 120, the assigned network address for the end device, and the address of the network device.

In some embodiments, the authentication information may be a KEY (KEY). For example, the generated key is 16 bytes in total. The first 6 bytes may be the MAC address of terminal device 120, the next 6 bytes are the MAC address of network device 110, and the last 4 bytes are generated by the DUID of the terminal device according to an algorithm. For example, if the length of the DUID of the terminal device exceeds 4 bytes, the last 4 bytes of the DUID are acquired. If the length of the DUID of the terminal device does not exceed 4 bytes, a static string of 4 bytes in length is preconfigured. The DUID of the terminal device is concatenated after the static string to form a new string, and then the last 4 bytes of this new string are obtained.

Thus, the key may be represented, for example, in the form of table 1 below:

TABLE 1

6 bytes: MAC address of client

6 bytes: MAC address of server

4 bytes: generated by an algorithm

After generating the authentication information, the network device 110 sends 230 the authentication information to the terminal device 120. The authentication information obtained by this method will remain unchanged and shared by the network device 110 and the terminal device 120 during the operation of the terminal device 120. This is important for network device 110 to check the authentication options of terminal device 120 after network device 110 is rebuilt.

Once the authentication information and the network address assigned by the network device 110 are obtained, the terminal device 120 can access the network.

At this point, the network device 110 may restart for its own reasons, and the client information about the terminal device 120 present in its memory is thus lost. On the side of the terminal device, the terminal device may initiate a request to update the link configuration. For example, because the original connection configuration has expired.

With continued reference to fig. 2, terminal device 120 sends 240 a message associated with the connection configuration update to network device 110. The message may be a reconnection request sent by the terminal device 120 or a request to reallocate a network address. The message may be, for example, the RENEW data packet already mentioned above.

Although network device 110 has lost the client information for the terminal device at this point, network device 110 is able to obtain the terminal device's authentication information from the message associated with the connection configuration update.

Based on the authentication information, network device 110 determines 250 whether there is a previous connection between the terminal device 120 and network device 110 that was established prior to receiving the message associated with the connection configuration update.

In some embodiments, network device 110 obtains the DUID of the terminal device from the authentication information, and if the network device stores pairing information corresponding to the DUID of the terminal device, the network device may determine that a previous connection exists.

If it is determined that there is a previous connection, network device 110 sends 260 updated connection configuration information to terminal device 120.

In some embodiments, network device 110 may assign an updated network address to the terminal device and send the updated network address to terminal device 120.

If it is determined that there is no previous connection, network device 110 will discard the message associated with the connection configuration update.

In this way, the reconstruction of the server is made completely transparent to the client. This means that the client can communicate with the server without any impact from the server reconstruction. All services running on the LAN side device are not affected by the server re-establishment. When the server receives any message from the client, the server will obtain the information of the client. For example, when network device 110 receives the renew message, network device 110 may obtain client information for terminal device 120 such as the DUID, address, preferred remaining time, and valid remaining time. Even if all information of the client cannot be immediately reconstructed, the normal operation of the server and the client cannot be influenced.

Fig. 3 shows a flow diagram of a communication method 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the method 300 may be implemented by the network device 110 in the communication scenario 100, e.g., may be implemented by a processor or processing unit of the network device 110. In other embodiments, the method 300 may also be implemented by a computing device separate from the network device 110, or may be implemented by other elements in the communication scenario 100. For ease of discussion, the method 300 will be discussed in conjunction with FIG. 1.

At 310, if network device 110 receives a message from terminal device 120 associated with a connection configuration update, network device 110 obtains authentication information for terminal device 120 from the message.

In some embodiments, the message includes at least one of: a reconnection request; and a request to reassign a network address.

At 320, network device 110 determines whether there is a previous connection between the terminal device and the network device that was established prior to receipt of the message based on the authentication information.

In some embodiments, network device 110 obtains a dynamic host configuration protocol specific identification (DUID) of end device 120 from the authentication information. If network device 110 stores pairing information corresponding to the DUID of terminal device 120, it is determined that a previous connection exists.

At 330, if network device 110 determines that there is a previous connection, network device 110 sends updated connection configuration information to terminal device 120.

In some embodiments, network device 110 assigns an updated network address to terminal device 120 and sends the updated network address to terminal device 120.

At 340, if network device 110 determines that there is no previous connection, the message received from terminal device 120 is discarded.

In some embodiments, network device 110 generates authentication information for the terminal device and sends the authentication information for the terminal device to the terminal device when the previous connection is established.

In some embodiments, network device 110 extracts the DUID of end device 120 and assigns a network address to the end device from the request received from end device 120 to create the previous connection. The network device 110 generates authentication information based on the DUID of the terminal device, the assigned network address, and the address of the network device.

Fig. 4 shows a flow diagram of a communication method 400 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the method 400 may be implemented by the terminal device 120 in the communication scenario 100, e.g., may be implemented by a processor or processing unit of the terminal device 120. In other embodiments, the method 400 may also be implemented by a computing device separate from the terminal device 120, or may be implemented by other elements in the communication scenario 100. For ease of discussion, the method 400 will be discussed in conjunction with FIG. 1.

At 410, the terminal device 120 sends a message associated with a connection configuration update to the network device, the message including authentication information for the terminal device.

In some embodiments, the authentication information is generated by the DUID of end device 120, the network address assigned by network device 110 to end device 120, and the address of network device 110, the DUID of end device 120 being extracted by network device 110 from the request to create the previous connection.

At 420, terminal device 120 receives updated connection configuration information from network device 110 if network device 110 determines that a previous connection exists between terminal device 120 and the network device 110 based on the authentication information, the previous connection being established prior to network device 110 receiving the message.

In some embodiments, terminal device 120 receives an updated network address from network device 110, the updated network address being assigned by the terminal device.

In some embodiments, upon establishing the previous connection, terminal device 120 sends a request to network device 110 to create the previous connection, and terminal device 120 receives terminal device authentication information generated by network device 110 from network device 110.

In this way, the reconstruction of the server is made completely transparent to the client. This means that the client can communicate with the server without any impact from the server reconstruction. All services running on the LAN side device are not affected by the server re-establishment. When the server receives any message from the client, the server will obtain the information of the client. For example, when network device 110 receives the renewal message, network device 110 will obtain the client information of terminal device 120, such as the DUID, address, preferred remaining time, and valid remaining time. Even if all information of the client cannot be immediately reconstructed, the normal operation of the server and the client cannot be influenced.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, an apparatus for updating a network connection configuration is presented. The apparatus comprises: means for obtaining authentication information of the terminal device from a message associated with the connection configuration update received at the network device from the terminal device; means for determining, based on the authentication information, whether there is a previous connection between the terminal device and the network device that was established prior to receipt of the message; and means for sending updated connection configuration information to the terminal device in response to determining that there is a previous connection.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, there is also provided an apparatus for updating a network connection configuration. The apparatus comprises: means for sending a message associated with the connection configuration update from the terminal device to the network device, the message comprising authentication information of the terminal device; and means for receiving updated connection configuration information from the network device in response to the network device determining, based on the authentication information, that a previous connection exists between the terminal device and the network device, the previous connection being established prior to the network device receiving the message.

Fig. 5 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device 500 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, device 500 may be used to implement network devices and terminal devices, such as network device 110 and terminal device 120 shown in fig. 1.

As shown in fig. 5, the device 500 includes a controller 510. The controller 510 controls the operation and functions of the device 500. For example, in certain embodiments, controller 510 may perform various operations by way of instructions 530 stored in memory 520 coupled thereto.

The memory 520 may be of any suitable type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, including but not limited to semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems. It will be appreciated that although only one memory 520 is illustrated in FIG. 5, many physically distinct memory units may be present in the device 500.

The controller 510 may be of any suitable type suitable to the local technical environment, and may include, but is not limited to, one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microcontrollers, digital signal controllers (DSPs), and controller-based multi-core controller architectures. The device 500 may also include a plurality of controllers 510. The controller 510 is coupled to a transceiver 540, which transceiver 540 may facilitate the reception and transmission of information by way of one or more antennas 550 and/or other components.

When device 500 is acting as network device 110 or terminal device 120, controller 510, memory 520, instructions 530, and transceiver 540 may cooperate to implement

methods

300 and 400 described above with reference to fig. 3-4. All of the features described above with reference to fig. 2-4 apply to the apparatus 500 and are not described in detail herein.

It should be noted that the embodiments of the present disclosure can be realized by hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware. The hardware portion may be implemented using dedicated logic; the software portions may be stored in a memory and executed by a suitable instruction execution system, such as a microprocessor or specially designed hardware. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the apparatus and methods described above may be implemented using computer executable instructions and/or embodied in processor control code, such code being provided, for example, in programmable memory or on a data carrier such as an optical or electronic signal carrier.

By way of example, embodiments of the disclosure may be described in the context of machine-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, executed in devices on a target real or virtual processor. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or divided between program modules as described. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within local or distributed devices. In a distributed facility, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage media.

Computer program code for implementing the methods of the present disclosure may be written in one or more programming languages. These computer program codes may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program codes, when executed by the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, cause the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks to be performed. The program code may execute entirely on the computer, partly on the computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server.

In the context of the present disclosure, computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations described above. Examples of a carrier include a signal, computer readable medium, and the like. Examples of signals may include electrical, optical, radio, acoustic, or other forms of propagated signals, such as carrier waves, infrared signals, and the like.

The computer readable medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination thereof. More detailed examples of a computer-readable storage medium include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof.

Further, while the operations of the methods of the present disclosure are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this does not require or imply that these operations must be performed in this particular order, or that all of the illustrated operations must be performed, to achieve desirable results. Rather, the steps depicted in the flowcharts may change the order of execution. Additionally or alternatively, certain steps may be omitted, multiple steps combined into one step execution, and/or one step broken down into multiple step executions. It should also be noted that the features and functions of two or more devices according to the present disclosure may be embodied in one device. Conversely, the features and functions of one apparatus described above may be further divided into embodiments by a plurality of apparatuses.

While the present disclosure has been described with reference to several particular embodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed. The disclosure is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A communication method comprising:

In response to receiving at the network device a message associated with the connection configuration update from the terminal device, obtaining the authentication information of the terminal device from the message; the message is a dynamic host configuration protocol message;

determining, based on the authentication information, whether there is a previous connection between the terminal device and the network device that was established prior to receipt of the message; and

In response to determining that the previous connection exists, updated connection configuration information is sent to the end device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating authentication information for the end device when the previous connection was created; and

Send the identity verification information of the terminal device to the terminal device.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein generating the identity verification information of the terminal device comprises:

extracting a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol Specific Identification (DUID) of the terminal device from the request received from the terminal device to create the previous connection;

assigning a network address to the end device; and

The authentication information is generated based on the DUID of the terminal device, the assigned network address, and the address of the network device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein assigning a network address to the end device comprises assigning a media access control (MAC) address to the end device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the message includes at least one of:

reconnect request; and

A request to reassign a network address.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining comprises:

Obtaining the dynamic host configuration protocol specific identifier (DUID) of the terminal device from the authentication information;

It is determined that the previous connection exists in response to the network device storing pairing information corresponding to the DUID of the terminal device.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

In response to determining that the previous connection does not exist, the message is discarded.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the sending comprises:

assigning an updated network address to the end device; and

The updated network address is sent to the terminal device.

9. A method of communication comprising:

sending, from the terminal device to the network device, a message associated with a connection configuration update, the message being a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol message, the message including authentication information for the terminal device; and

In response to the network device determining based on the authentication information that a previous connection exists between the terminal device and the network device, receiving updated connection configuration information from the network device, the previous connection being at the network device was established before receiving the message.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

sending a request to the network device to create the previous connection upon creation of the previous connection; and

The identity verification information of the terminal device generated by the network device is received from the network device.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the authentication information is a dynamic host configuration protocol specific identification (DUID) of the terminal device, a network address assigned by the network device to the terminal device, and the The address of the network device is generated, and the DUID of the terminal device is extracted by the network device from the request for creating the previous connection.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the message includes at least one of:

reconnect request; and

A request to reassign a network address.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the receiving comprises:

An updated network address is received from the network device, the updated network address is allocated for the terminal device.

14. A network device comprising:

at least one processor; and

At least one memory including computer program instructions, the at least one memory and the computer program instructions configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the network device:

15. The network device of claim 14, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program instructions are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the network device to:

generating authentication information for the end device upon creation of the previous connection; and

16. The network device according to claim 15, wherein the network device is caused to generate the authentication information of the terminal device in the following manner:

assigning a network address to the end device; and

17. The network device of claim 16, wherein assigning a network address to the end device comprises assigning a media access control (MAC) address to the end device.

18. The network device of claim 14, wherein the message includes at least one of:

reconnect request; and

A request to reassign a network address.

19. The network device of claim 14, wherein the network device is caused to determine whether there is a previous connection between the terminal device and the network device that was established prior to receipt of the message by:

20. The network device of claim 14, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program instructions are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the network device to:

21. The network device of claim 14, wherein the network device is caused to send the updated connection configuration information to the terminal device by:

assigning an updated network address to the end device; and

The updated network address is sent to the terminal device.

22. A terminal device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

At least one memory including computer program instructions, the at least one memory and the computer program instructions configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to:

23. The terminal device of claim 22, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program instructions are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to:

sending a request to create the previous connection to the network device upon creation of the previous connection; and

24. The terminal device of claim 23, wherein the authentication information is a dynamic host configuration protocol specific identification (DUID) of the terminal device, a network address assigned by the network device to the terminal device, and The address of the network device is generated, and the DUID of the terminal device is extracted by the network device from the request for creating the previous connection.

25. The terminal device of claim 22, wherein the message includes at least one of:

reconnect request; and

A request to reassign a network address.

26. The terminal device of claim 22, wherein the terminal device is caused to receive updated connection configuration information from the network device by:

27. An apparatus for updating a network connection configuration, comprising:

means for obtaining the authentication information of the terminal device from the message in response to receiving a message associated with the connection configuration update from the terminal device at the network device; the message is a dynamic host configuration protocol message;

means for determining, based on the authentication information, whether there is a previous connection between the terminal device and the network device that was established prior to receipt of the message; and

Means for sending updated connection configuration information to the terminal device in response to determining that the previous connection exists.

28. An apparatus for updating a network connection configuration, comprising:

means for sending a message from a terminal device to a network device associated with a connection configuration update, the message being a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol message, the message including authentication information for the terminal device; and

means for receiving updated connection configuration information from the network device in response to the network device determining based on the authentication information that a previous connection exists between the terminal device and the network device, the previous connection being The network device was established before receiving the message.

29. A computer-readable medium comprising machine-executable instructions that, when executed, cause a machine to perform the method of any of claims 1-8.

30. A computer-readable medium comprising machine-executable instructions which, when executed, cause a machine to perform the method of any of claims 9-13.