CN112291752B - A kind of network registration method and device - Google Patents

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus, which relate to the field of communication technologies, and solve the technical problem that a terminal still needs to be connected to an anchor device for communication in other areas, causing waste of network resources. The communication method includes: the AMF entity determines that the terminal duration in the service area of the AMF entity is greater than or equal to a preset duration; the anchor device of the terminal cannot provide services for other terminals in the service area; when it is determined that the terminal does not transmit data In this case, the AMF entity sends a request to the policy control function PCF entity, and the request is used to request to determine whether to instruct the terminal to re-initiate the network registration; after receiving the re-registration policy sent from the PCF entity, the AMF entity communicates with the terminal according to the re-registration policy, In order to realize the re-registration of the terminal.

Description

A kind of network registration method and device

technical field

The present invention relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular, to a network registration method and device.

Background technique

In a fifth-generation (5th-Generation, 5G) network, after a user registers a network in the current area to establish a PDU session, the anchor device of the PDU session will remain unchanged, regardless of whether the terminal is still in the current area.

When the terminal leaves the current area and enters another area, since the anchor device remains unchanged, the terminal still needs to connect to the anchor device. Therefore, the network in the other area will start the intermediate session management function (intermediate SMF, I-SMF) entity and An intermediate user plane function (intermediate UPF, I-UPF) entity to ensure that the terminal can connect to the anchor device.

When the terminal uses services in other areas, the traffic will be detoured to the anchor device again based on the above communication method, resulting in a waste of network resources; at the same time, the distance between the terminal and the anchor device will increase the network delay and affect the user experience.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present application provides a communication method and apparatus, which solves the technical problem that a terminal still needs to be connected to an anchor device for communication in other areas, causing waste of network resources.

To achieve the above object, the application adopts the following technical solutions:

In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to an AMF entity. The communication method includes: the AMF entity determines that the terminal resides in a service area of the AMF entity (an anchor device of the terminal cannot provide services for other terminals in the service area) that is greater than or equal to a preset time; after determining that the terminal does not transmit data Under the circumstance, the AMF entity sends to the policy control function PCF entity a request for requesting to determine whether to instruct the terminal to re-initiate the network registration; after receiving the re-registration policy sent from the PCF entity, the AMF entity communicates with the terminal according to the re-registration policy, In order to realize the re-registration of the terminal.

As can be seen from the above, the AMF entity determines whether the terminal needs to re-register with the network in the service area to establish a new anchor point device according to the time period that the terminal resides in the service area. When the AMF entity determines that the terminal does not use the service, it sends a request to the PCF entity; after receiving the re-registration policy sent from the PCF entity, it instructs the terminal to re-register, so that the terminal re-registers in the current area and uses the new anchor point equipment. In this way, when the terminal uses the service, the traffic will no longer be detoured to the anchor device before the terminal has not re-registered with the network, saving network resources.

In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a PCF entity. The communication method includes: after receiving a request from the AMF entity including the identification of the terminal and the information of the network to which the terminal belongs (the request is used to request to determine whether to instruct the terminal to re-initiate the network registration), the PCF entity according to the identification of the terminal and the information of the network to which the terminal belongs, the PCF entity The information of the network determines the first information, and the first information is used to indicate whether to instruct the terminal to re-initiate the network registration; the PCF entity sends the first information to the AMF entity.

It can be seen from the above that after receiving the request, the PCF entity will determine the first information according to the identification of the terminal and the information of the network to which the terminal belongs. In this way, the PCF entity will determine whether the terminal can perform network registration again, and determine the first information based on the actual situation of the terminal, which can improve user experience.

In a third aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which is applied to an AMF entity, and the communication apparatus includes: a processing unit and a communication unit. The processing unit is configured to determine that the terminal duration in the service area of the AMF entity is greater than or equal to the preset duration; the anchor device of the terminal cannot provide services for other terminals in the service area. The communication unit is configured to send a request to the policy control function PCF entity when it is determined that the terminal does not transmit data, and the request is used to request to determine whether to instruct the terminal to re-initiate network registration. The communication unit is further configured to communicate with the terminal according to the re-registration policy after receiving the re-registration policy sent from the PCF entity, so as to realize the re-registration of the terminal.

In a fourth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which is applied to a PCF entity. The communication device includes: a communication unit and a processing unit. The communication unit is used for receiving a request from the AMF entity, and the request is used for requesting to determine whether to instruct the terminal to re-initiate network registration; the request includes the identification of the terminal and the information of the network to which the terminal belongs. The processing unit is configured to determine the first information according to the identification of the terminal and the information of the network to which the terminal belongs, where the first information is used to indicate whether to instruct the terminal to re-initiate network registration. The communication unit is further configured to send the first information to the AMF entity.

In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, including a memory and a processor. The memory is used to store the instructions to be executed by the computer, and the processor and the memory are connected through a bus. When the communication apparatus is running, the processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory, so that the communication apparatus executes the communication method described in the first aspect or the second aspect.

The communication device may be a network device, or may be a part of the device in the network device, for example, a chip system in the network device. The chip system is used to support the network device to implement the functions involved in the first aspect and any possible implementation manners thereof, for example, receiving, determining, and offloading the data and/or information involved in the above communication method. The chip system includes chips, and may also include other discrete devices or circuit structures.

In a sixth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, where the computer-readable storage medium includes computer-executable instructions, which, when the computer-executable instructions are run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the communication method described in the first aspect or the second aspect.

In a seventh aspect, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product comprising computer instructions, when the computer instructions are run on a computer, causing the computer to execute the above-mentioned first aspect and various possible implementations thereof or the second aspect and its Various possible implementations of the described communication methods.

It should be noted that the above computer instructions may be stored in whole or in part on the first computer-readable storage medium. The first computer-readable storage medium may be packaged with the processor of the communication device, or may be packaged separately with the processor of the communication device, which is not limited in this application.

For the description of the third, fifth, sixth and seventh aspects of the present invention, reference may be made to the detailed description of the first aspect; and, for the description of the third, fifth, sixth and seventh aspects For the beneficial effects, reference may be made to the analysis of the beneficial effects of the first aspect, which will not be repeated here. For the description of the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh aspects of the present invention, reference may be made to the detailed description of the second aspect; and, for the description of the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh aspects For the beneficial effects, reference may be made to the analysis of the beneficial effects of the second aspect, which will not be repeated here.

In this application, the names of the above communication apparatuses do not limit the devices or functional modules themselves, and in actual implementation, these devices or functional modules may appear in other names. As long as the functions of various devices or functional modules are similar to the present invention, they fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents.

These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

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

3 is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of another communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of another communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

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

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

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

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

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

FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of still another communication apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed ways

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, but not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

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

In order to clearly describe the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish the same items or similar items with basically the same functions and functions. Persons can understand that words such as "first" and "second" are not intended to limit the quantity and execution order.

As described in the background art, after a user registers a network in a current area to establish a PDU session, the anchor device of the PDU session will remain unchanged, regardless of whether the terminal is still in the current area.

Exemplarily, as shown in FIG. 1 , the terminal performs network registration in area 1 and establishes a PDU session. When the terminal does not re-register with the network, the UPF of the terminal's anchor device remains unchanged. When the terminal leaves area 1 and enters area 2, the terminal still needs to connect to the anchor point UPF (UPF in area 1), at this time, the area 2 network enables the first device I-SMF and I-UPF to connect the terminal to the anchor point Click on UPF. It can be seen that when the terminal is in area 2, the terminal uses services, and the traffic needs to be detoured to the UPF of area 1, resulting in a network of network resources.

It should be noted that, enabling the first devices I-SMF and I-UPF above refers to inserting the first devices I-SMF and I-UPF in the network architecture between the area 2 and the area 1.

In the prior art, to solve this technical problem, the operator usually deletes all terminals that enter area 2 on the day when the network is idle at night, forcibly triggering the terminals to re-register with the network. Alternatively, with the help of the network-side de-registration process defined in the standard, manually operate on the UDM, forcibly trigger the user to de-register, and re-register the network at the current location (area 2).

However, the existing technical solutions have the following disadvantages:

1. Manual participation is required and the efficiency is low.

2. In the face of special scenarios, the applicability is poor.

For example, the terminal is just passing through the current area, and it is meaningless to force the terminal to re-register the network; or the service used by the terminal is a special service, and the anchor device (in area 1) must be used to provide the service. At this time, the terminal (in the Area 2) Re-register the network, cannot connect to the anchor device, and the terminal will not be able to use the service.

It can be seen that the existing technical solutions cannot well solve the technical problem that the terminal uses the anchor device in other areas, which causes waste of network resources.

In view of the above problems, the embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. The AMF entity first determines that the terminal needs to perform network registration again, and then sends a request to the PCF; after receiving the re-registration policy issued by the PCF entity, it instructs the terminal to perform network registration again. , establish a new anchor device, so that when the terminal uses the service, the traffic no longer needs to be detoured, saving network resources.

The communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application is applicable to a communication system. Figure 1 shows a 5G network structure of the communication system. As shown in FIG. 1 , the 5G network 10 may include: an authentication server function (authentication server function, AUSF) entity, a core access and mobility management function (core access and mobility management function, AMF) entity, a data network (data network, DN) entity ), unified data management (UDM) entity, policy control function (PCF) entity, (radio) access network ((radio) access network, (R)AN) equipment, user plane function (user plane function (UPF) entity, UE, application function (application function, AF) entity, session management function (session management function, SMF) entity, network slice selection function (network slice selection function, NSSF) entity.

The UE communicates with the AMF entity through the next generation network interface 1 (N1 for short), the (R)AN device communicates with the AMF entity through the next generation network interface 2 (N2 for short), and the (R)AN device communicates with the AMF entity through the next generation network interface 2 (N2 for short). The network interface 3 (N3 for short) communicates with the UPF entity.

It should be noted that the 5G network 10 shown in FIG. 2 is only an implementation provided by the embodiments of the present application. In practical applications, the 5G network 10 may also include other functional entities, which are not limited in the present application.

The functional entities in FIG. 2 include elements included in the communication device shown in FIG. 3 . Taking the communication device shown in FIG. 3 as an example, the hardware structure of the functional entity in FIG. 2 is described below.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of a communication apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 3 , the communication device includes a processor 21 , a memory 22 , a communication interface 23 , and a bus 24 . The processor 21 , the memory 22 and the communication interface 23 can be connected through a bus 24 .

The processor 21 is the control center of the communication device, and may be a processor or a general term for multiple processing elements. For example, the processor 21 may be a general-purpose central processing unit (central processing unit, CPU), or other general-purpose processors or the like. Wherein, the general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor or the like.

As an example, the processor 21 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU 0 and CPU 1 shown in FIG. 2 .

The memory 22 may be read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, random access memory (RAM), or other type of static storage device that can store information and instructions The dynamic storage device can also be an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, EEPROM), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage devices, or can be used to carry or store data in the form of instructions or data structures. desired program code and any other medium that can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto.

In a possible implementation manner, the memory 22 may exist independently of the processor 21, and the memory 22 may be connected to the processor 21 through a bus 24 for storing instructions or program codes. When the processor 21 calls and executes the instructions or program codes stored in the memory 22, the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present invention can be implemented.

In another possible implementation manner, the memory 22 may also be integrated with the processor 21 .

The communication interface 23 is used to connect with other devices through a communication network. The communication network may be Ethernet, wireless access network, wireless local area networks (wireless local area networks, WLAN) and the like. The communication interface 23 may include a receiving unit for receiving data, and a transmitting unit for transmitting data.

The bus 24 may be an industry standard architecture (Industry Standard Architecture, ISA) bus, a peripheral device interconnect (Peripheral Component Interconnect, PCI) bus, or an extended industry standard architecture (Extended Industry Standard Architecture, EISA) bus or the like. The bus can be divided into address bus, data bus, control bus and so on. For ease of presentation, only one thick line is used in FIG. 3, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

It should be noted that the structure shown in FIG. 3 does not constitute a limitation on the communication device. In addition to the components shown in FIG. 3, the communication device may include more or fewer components than shown, or some components may be combined, or a different arrangement of components.

FIG. 4 shows another hardware structure of the communication apparatus in the embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 4 , the communication apparatus may include a processor 31 and a communication interface 32 . The processor 31 is coupled with the communication interface 32 .

For the function of the processor 31, reference may be made to the description of the processor 21 above. In addition, the processor 31 also has a storage function, and reference may be made to the function of the memory 22 described above.

The communication interface 32 is used to provide data to the processor 31 . The communication interface 32 may be an internal interface of the communication device, or may be an external interface of the communication device (equivalent to the communication interface 23).

It should be pointed out that the structure shown in FIG. 3 (or FIG. 4 ) does not constitute a limitation on the communication device, and in addition to the components shown in FIG. 3 (or FIG. 4 ), the communication device may include more than shown in the figure or fewer components, or a combination of certain components, or a different arrangement of components.

The communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the 5G network shown in FIG. 2 and the communication device shown in FIG. 3 (or FIG. 4 ).

FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 5 , the communication method includes the following S501-S510.

S501. The AMF entity determines whether the terminal residency duration in the service area of the AMF entity is greater than or equal to a preset duration.

When the AMF entity determines that the dwell duration is less than the preset duration, S502 is performed. When the AMF entity determines that the dwell duration is greater than or equal to the preset duration, S503 is performed.

The anchor device of the terminal cannot provide services for other terminals in the service area.

Optionally, the preset duration is pre-set by the operator on the AMF entity. Different regions can set different preset durations according to the actual situation.

Exemplarily, as shown in FIG. 1 , the terminal leaves area 1 and enters area 2. At this time, the AMF entity of area 2 starts I-SMF and I-UPF to realize the communication between the terminal and the anchor UPF of area 1. The dwell time in this step starts counting when the terminal realizes the communication with the anchor UPF of the area 1 in the area 2.

S502, the AMF entity does not perform processing.

S503, the AMF entity determines whether the terminal is transmitting data.

When it is determined that the terminal does not transmit data, step S504 is executed. When it is determined that the terminal is transmitting data, step S505 is performed.

Exemplarily, if the AMF entity receives the interface release message sent by the terminal, and the cause value carried in the message is that the terminal is inactive, it is determined that the terminal does not transmit data.

S504, the AMF entity sends a request to the policy control function PCF entity.

Wherein, the request is used to request to determine whether to instruct the terminal to re-initiate network registration.

It should be noted that the AMF entity further determines whether the current terminal is using a service only after it is determined that the terminal duration in the service area of the AMF entity is greater than or equal to the preset duration (that is, it is determined that the terminal needs to re-register with the network).

S505, the AMF entity sends a request to the PCF entity after waiting for the user to use the service.

S506, the PCF entity receives the request from the AMF entity.

Wherein, the request may include the identification of the terminal and the information of the network to which the terminal belongs.

Optionally, the identifier of the terminal may be the IMSI number information of the terminal, or may be other identifiers that can be used to uniquely identify the terminal, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

The information of the network to which the terminal belongs may be data network name (data network name, DNN) information.

S507. The PCF entity determines the first information according to the identifier of the terminal and the information of the network to which the terminal belongs.

The first information is used to indicate whether to instruct the terminal to re-initiate network registration.

Optionally, the PCF entity distinguishes different terminals according to the identifiers of the terminals, and determines whether the network information of the terminal is special network information according to the information of the network to which the terminal belongs.

The special network information may be enterprise network information. Usually, the business corresponding to the enterprise network information must use the network in the area where the enterprise server is located.

Specifically, if the PCF entity determines that the information of the network to which the terminal belongs is special network information, the first information sent to the AMF entity is general response information, and the AMF entity does not process the terminal.

If the PCF entity determines that the information of the network to which the terminal belongs is non-special network information, the first information sent to the AMF entity includes a re-registration policy, and the first information is specifically used to instruct the terminal to re-initiate the network according to the re-registration policy register.

S508, the PCF entity sends the first information to the AMF entity.

S509. The AMF entity receives the first information sent by the PCF entity.

When it is determined that the re-registration policy is included in the first information, step S510 is performed; when it is determined that the re-registration policy is not included in the first information, step S502 is performed.

S510. The AMF entity communicates with the terminal according to the re-registration policy, so as to realize the re-registration of the terminal.

Optionally, the AMF entity sends a re-registration policy to the terminal, instructing the terminal to re-register the network in the current area after de-registration. At the same time, the AMF entity closes the first device I-SMF entity and I-UPF entity activated for the terminal. Wherein, shutting down the first device refers to deleting the I-SMF and I-UPF in the network architecture jointly constructed by the area 1 and the area 2, so that the terminal is no longer connected to the anchor device UPF through the first device.

Exemplarily, after deregistering, the terminal re-registers with the network in the current area, and uses the UPF of the current network to access the network without routing to the anchor UPF.

It can be seen from the above that the AMF entity will determine the length of time that the terminal resides in the service area, so as to determine whether the terminal needs to re-register with the network in the service area to establish a new anchor device. When the AMF entity determines that the terminal does not use the service, it sends a request to the PCF entity; after receiving the re-registration policy sent from the PCF entity, it instructs the terminal to re-register, so that the terminal re-registers in the current area and uses the new anchor point equipment. In this way, when the terminal uses the service, the traffic will no longer be detoured to the anchor device before the terminal has not re-registered with the network, saving network resources.

Optionally, with reference to the foregoing FIG. 5 , as shown in FIG. 6 , the foregoing S501 may include S601-S602.

S601. When determining that the terminal enters the service area, the AMF entity starts the first device and the timer.

Wherein, within the service area, the terminal communicates with the anchor device of the terminal through the first device, and the timer is used to represent the running time of the first device.

S602. When the duration of the timer is equal to the preset duration, the AMF entity determines that the terminal duration in the service area is greater than or equal to the preset duration.

The AMF entity turns off the timer when it is determined that the duration of the timer is equal to the preset duration.

Optionally, with reference to the foregoing FIG. 5 , as shown in FIG. 7 , the foregoing S503 may include S701-S702.

S701. The AMF entity obtains the state information of the air interface interface.

The air interface is at least one of the interface between the terminal and the access network device, the interface between the access network device and the AMF entity, and the interface between the access network device and the user plane function UPF entity. With reference to Figure 2, the air interface interfaces refer to N1, N2 and N3.

S702. The AMF entity determines whether the air interface is in a disconnected state.

When it is determined that the air interface is in a disconnected state, perform S504. When it is determined that the air interface is in a disconnected state, perform S505.

Optionally, with reference to the foregoing FIG. 5 , as shown in FIG. 7 , before performing the foregoing S508 , the method may further include: S801 .

S801. The PCF entity determines that the current network is in an idle state.

The solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application have been introduced above mainly from the perspective of methods. In order to realize the above-mentioned functions, it includes corresponding hardware structures and/or software modules for executing each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in conjunction with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is performed by hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality using different methods for each particular application, but such implementations should not be considered beyond the scope of the present invention.

In this embodiment of the present application, the communication device may be divided into functional modules according to the foregoing method examples. For example, each functional module may be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions may be integrated into one processing module. The above-mentioned integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware, and can also be implemented in the form of software function modules. Optionally, the division of modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic, and is only a logical function division, and another division manner may be used in actual implementation.

As shown in FIG. 8 , it is a schematic structural diagram of a communication apparatus 90 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 90 is used to solve the technical problem that the terminal still needs to be connected to the anchor point device for communication in other areas, resulting in waste of network resources. The communication device 90 is applied to an AMF entity, including: a processing unit 901 and a communication unit 902 .

The processing unit 901 is configured to determine that the terminal duration in the service area of the AMF entity is greater than or equal to a preset duration. The terminal's anchor device cannot serve other terminals in the service area. For example, in conjunction with FIG. 5, the processing unit 901 is used for S501.

The communication unit 902 is configured to send a request to the policy control function PCF entity when it is determined that the terminal does not transmit data. This request is used to request to determine whether to instruct the terminal to re-initiate network registration. For example, in conjunction with FIG. 5, the communication unit 902 is configured to perform S504.

The communication unit 902 is further configured to communicate with the terminal according to the re-registration policy after receiving the re-registration policy sent from the PCF entity, so as to realize the re-registration of the terminal. With reference to FIG. 5 , the communication unit 902 is configured to execute S509.

Optionally, the request includes the identifier of the terminal and information of the network to which the terminal belongs.

Optionally, the processing unit 901 is specifically configured to: start the first device and the timer when it is determined that the terminal enters the service area; within the service area, the terminal communicates with the anchor device of the terminal through the first device, and the timer is used to represent the first device. A running duration of the device; when the duration of the timer is equal to the preset duration, it is determined that the dwell duration of the terminal in the service area is greater than or equal to the preset duration. As shown in FIG. 6 , the processing unit 901 is configured to execute S601 and S602.

Optionally, the processing unit 901 is further configured to: when the duration of the timer is equal to the preset duration, turn off the timer.

Optionally, the processing unit 901 is specifically configured to: obtain state information of an air interface interface, where the air interface interface is an interface between a terminal and an access network device, an interface between an access network device and an AMF entity, and an access network device and a user. If at least one of the interfaces between the plane function UPF entities is in a disconnected state, it is determined that the terminal does not transmit data. As shown in FIG. 7 , the processing unit 901 is configured to execute S701 and S702.

Optionally, the processing unit 901 is further configured to: in the case that it is determined that the terminal no longer resides in the service area, shut down the first device. Wherein, shutting down the first device refers to deleting the I-SMF and I-UPF in the network architecture jointly constructed by the area 1 and the area 2, so that the terminal is no longer connected to the anchor device UPF through the first device.

As an example, in conjunction with FIG. 8 , the functions implemented by the processing unit 901 in the communication device 90 are the same as those of the processor 21 in FIG. 3 .

As shown in FIG. 9 , it is a schematic structural diagram of a communication apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication apparatus 100 is used to solve the technical problem that the terminal still needs to be connected to the anchor point device for communication in other areas, resulting in waste of network resources. The communication device 100 is applied to an AMF entity, including:

I-SMF management module 1001: responsible for the startup and shutdown of the I-SMF entity.

Threshold setting module 1002: configure a time threshold in advance according to the actual situation of the terminal.

Event collection module 1003: collect three types of events: 1. The terminal moves into the coverage area of the AMF entity, and the AMF entity starts the I-SMF entity for it; 2. For the terminal, the N2 interface connection between the AMF entity and the RAN entity is disconnected , and the cause value is terminal inactivation; 3. The terminal moves out of the coverage area of the current AMF entity or I-SMF entity.

Timer 1004: Start timing according to the notification from the event collection module 1003, reach the threshold value in the threshold setting module, notify the event reporting module 1005 to report the event, and close the timer 1004.

Event reporting module 1005: report two types of events to the PCF entity: a, the terminal accessing the coverage area of the current AMF entity stays, b, the terminal moves out of the coverage area (of the AMF entity or the I-SMF entity).

Policy receiving module 1006: Receive the policy issued by the PCF entity, and notify the corresponding de-registration triggering module 1007 to execute the policy. With reference to Fig. 5, the strategy is included in the first information of S509.

Deregistration triggering module 1007 : according to the policy issued by the PCF entity, actively initiate the deregistration process of the terminal.

8 and 9, the processing unit 901 includes: an I-SMF management module 1001, a threshold setting module 1002, an event collection module 1003 and a timer 1004; the communication module 902 includes: an event reporting module 1005, a policy receiving module 1006 and Deregister trigger module 1007.

As shown in FIG. 10 , it is a schematic structural diagram of another communication apparatus 200 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication apparatus 200 is applied to a PCF entity, and includes: a processing unit 2001 and a communication unit 2002 .

The communication unit 2001 is configured to receive a request from an AMF entity, and the request is used to request to determine whether to instruct the terminal to re-initiate network registration; the request includes an identifier of the terminal and information of the network to which the terminal belongs. As shown in FIG. 5 , the communication unit 2001 is configured to execute S506.

The processing unit 2002 is configured to determine the first information according to the identification of the terminal and the information of the network to which the terminal belongs, where the first information is used to indicate whether to instruct the terminal to re-initiate network registration. As shown in FIG. 5 , the processing unit 2002 is configured to execute S507.

The communication unit 2001 is further configured to send the first information to the AMF entity. As shown in FIG. 5 , the communication unit 2001 is configured to execute S508.

Optionally, the first information includes a re-registration policy, and the first information is specifically used to instruct the terminal to re-initiate network registration according to the re-registration policy.

Optionally, the processing unit 2002 is further configured to: determine that the current network of the PCF entity is in an idle state. With reference to Fig. 7, it is used to execute S801.

Embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium, where the computer-readable storage medium includes computer-executable instructions. When the computer executes the instructions and runs on the computer, the computer is made to execute each step performed by the communication apparatus in the communication method provided by the above embodiments.

The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product, which can be directly loaded into a memory and contains software codes, and after the computer program product is loaded and executed by a computer, can implement the communication methods provided by the above embodiments, The various steps performed by the communication device.

In the above-mentioned embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer-executed instructions are loaded and executed on the computer, the flow or function according to the embodiments of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. Computer instructions may be stored in or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from a website site, computer, server, or data center over a wire (e.g. coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (eg infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means to another website site, computer, server or data center. Computer-readable storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer or data storage devices including one or more servers, data centers, etc., that can be integrated with the media. Useful media may be magnetic media (eg, floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (eg, DVDs), or semiconductor media (eg, solid state disks (SSDs)), and the like.

From the description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that for the convenience and brevity of the description, only the division of the above functional modules is used as an example for illustration. In practical applications, the above functions can be allocated as required. It is completed by different functional modules, that is, the internal structure of the device is divided into different functional modules, so as to complete all or part of the functions described above.

In the several embodiments provided by the present invention, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method may be implemented in other manners. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are only illustrative. For example, the division of the modules or units is only a logical function division, and there may be other division manners in actual implementation. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or may be integrated into another device, or some features may be omitted, or not implemented. On the other hand, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, and may be in electrical, mechanical or other forms. Units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and components shown as units may be one physical unit or multiple physical units, that is, may be located in one place, or may be distributed in multiple different places. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution in this embodiment.

In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically alone, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The above-mentioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware, or may be implemented in the form of software functional units. The integrated unit, if implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be embodied in the form of software products in essence, or the parts that contribute to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solutions, which are stored in a storage medium Among them, several instructions are included to cause a device (which may be a single-chip microcomputer, a chip, etc.) or a processor (processor) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of the present invention. The aforementioned storage medium includes: a U disk, a removable hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk and other mediums that can store program codes.

The above are only specific embodiments of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art who is familiar with the technical scope disclosed by the present invention can easily think of changes or substitutions. All should be included within the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims (11)

1. A communication method applied to an access and mobility management function (AMF) entity is characterized by comprising the following steps:

the AMF entity determines that the residence time of the terminal in the service area of the AMF entity is greater than or equal to a preset time; the anchor point equipment of the terminal can not provide service for other terminals in the service area;

under the condition that the terminal is determined not to transmit data, the AMF entity sends a request to a Policy Control Function (PCF) entity, wherein the request is used for requesting to determine whether to instruct the terminal to initiate network registration again;

after receiving the re-registration strategy sent by the PCF entity, the AMF entity communicates with the terminal according to the re-registration strategy so as to realize the re-registration of the terminal.

2. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein the request includes an identification of the terminal and information of a network to which the terminal belongs.

3. The communication method according to claim 1,

the determining, by the AMF entity, that a residence time of the terminal in a service area of the AMF entity is greater than or equal to a preset time includes:

starting first equipment and a timer when the terminal is determined to enter the service area; in the service area, the terminal communicates with an anchor point device of the terminal through the first device, and the timer is used for representing the running time of the first device;

and when the duration of the timer is equal to the preset duration, determining that the residence duration of the terminal in the service area is greater than or equal to the preset duration.

4. The communication method according to claim 3, further comprising:

and when the time length of the timer is equal to the preset time length, closing the timer.

5. The communication method according to claim 1,

the determining that the terminal does not transmit data includes:

acquiring state information of an air interface, wherein the air interface is at least one of an interface between the terminal and access network equipment, an interface between the access network equipment and the AMF entity, and an interface between the access network equipment and a User Plane Function (UPF) entity;

and if the air interface is in a disconnected state, determining that the terminal does not transmit data.

6. The communication method according to any one of claims 3 to 5, further comprising:

and turning off the first equipment under the condition that the terminal is determined to no longer reside in the service area.

7. A communication method applied to a Policy Control Function (PCF) entity is characterized by comprising the following steps:

the PCF entity receives a request from the AMF entity, wherein the request is used for requesting to determine whether to instruct the terminal to initiate network registration again; the request comprises the identification of the terminal and the information of the network to which the terminal belongs;

the PCF entity determines first information according to the identification of the terminal and the information of the network to which the terminal belongs, wherein the first information is used for indicating whether to instruct the terminal to reinitiate network registration;

and the PCF entity sends the first information to the AMF entity.

8. The communication method according to claim 7, wherein the first information includes a re-registration policy, and the first information is specifically used to indicate that the terminal is instructed to re-initiate network registration according to the re-registration policy.

9. The method of communicating of claim 7, wherein prior to the PCF entity sending the first information to the AMF entity, the method of communicating further comprises:

the PCF entity determines that the current network is in an idle state.

10. A communication device, adapted to an access and mobility management function, AMF, entity, the communication device comprising: a processing unit and a communication unit;

the processing unit is used for determining that the residence time of the terminal in the service area of the AMF entity is greater than or equal to a preset time; the anchor point equipment of the terminal can not provide service for other terminals in the service area;

the communication unit is used for sending a request to a Policy Control Function (PCF) entity under the condition that the terminal is determined not to transmit data, wherein the request is used for requesting whether to instruct the terminal to initiate network registration again;

the communication unit is further configured to communicate with the terminal according to the re-registration policy after receiving the re-registration policy sent by the PCF entity, so as to implement re-registration of the terminal.

11. A communication apparatus, applied to a policy control function, PCF, entity, the communication apparatus comprising: a communication unit and a processing unit;

the communication unit is used for receiving a request from the AMF entity, wherein the request is used for requesting to determine whether to instruct the terminal to reinitiate network registration; the request comprises the identification of the terminal and the information of the network to which the terminal belongs;

the processing unit is configured to determine first information according to the identifier of the terminal and information of a network to which the terminal belongs, where the first information is used to indicate whether to instruct the terminal to re-initiate network registration;

the communication unit is further configured to send the first information to the AMF entity.

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