CN114189908B - Communication method, device, equipment and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method, device, equipment and storage medium, which relates to the field of communication technology and can adjust the network and its service path according to the QoS monitoring results to ensure the QoS requirements of the service. The method includes: a routing policy control network element receives a first message including terminal information from a first SMF network element, and the first message is used to request the selection of a UPF network element corresponding to the terminal; the routing policy control network element obtains the QoS index of the terminal; the routing policy control network element determines the first UPF network element according to the terminal information, the QoS index of the terminal, the preset network topology structure and the QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element; the first UPF network element is a UPF network element that can provide services for the terminal in the preset network topology structure, and the QoS monitoring result of the corresponding GTP-U channel can meet the QoS index of the terminal; the routing policy control network element sends a second message including the identifier of the first UPF network element to the first SMF network element, and the second message is used to indicate the selected UPF network element.

Description

Communication method, device, equipment and storage medium

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method, apparatus, device and storage medium.

Background technique

At present, with the development of the fifth generation mobile communication technology (5G), we have entered the 5G era. The 5G era defines the application scenario of ultra-reliable & low latency communication (ultra-reliable & low latency communication, uRLLC), and the services in this application scenario have high requirements for latency. To this end, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), an international communications standards organization, specifically defines the quality of service (QoS) monitoring technology, which can be used to measure the latency of data packets. However, the current QoS monitoring solution can only realize the monitoring function, and the results of QoS monitoring are mostly only used for manual analysis of network performance, and the network and service paths cannot be adjusted according to the monitoring results.

Summary of the invention

The present application provides a communication method, apparatus, device and storage medium, which can adjust the network and its service paths according to the results of QoS monitoring to ensure the QoS requirements of the service.

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

In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, the method comprising: a routing policy control network element receives a first message from a first session management function SMF network element, the first message including terminal information, and the first message is used to request selection of a user plane function UPF network element corresponding to the terminal; the terminal corresponds to the terminal information; the routing policy control network element obtains the QoS indicator of the terminal; the routing policy control network element determines a first UPF network element based on the terminal information, the QoS indicator of the terminal, the preset network topology structure, and the service quality QoS monitoring result of the general packet radio service tunnel protocol user plane GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element; wherein the preset network topology structure is a connection relationship between one or more devices in the terminal, access network equipment, and core network element, and the first UPF network element is a UPF network element in the preset network topology structure that can provide services to the terminal, and the QoS monitoring result of the corresponding GTP-U channel can meet the QoS indicator of the terminal; the routing policy control network element sends a second message to the first SMF network element, the second message is used to indicate the selected UPF network element, and the second message includes an identifier of the first UPF network element.

Based on the above technical solution, the corresponding UPF network element is determined for the terminal according to the terminal information, the QoS index of the terminal, the preset network topology and the QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element. The UPF network element is a UPF network element that can provide services for the terminal in the preset network topology, and the QoS monitoring result of the corresponding GTP-U channel can meet the QoS index of the terminal. Therefore, a suitable service path can be determined for the terminal, and the determined service path can guarantee the QoS requirements of the terminal service, realize the adjustment of the network and its service path, and ensure the QoS requirements of the service.

In one possible design, the routing policy control network element determines a first UPF network element based on terminal information, QoS indicators of the terminal, a preset network topology structure, and QoS monitoring results of a GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element, including: the routing policy control network element determines at least one second UPF network element based on the terminal information and the preset network topology structure, the second UPF network element is a UPF network element that can provide services to the terminal; the routing policy control network element determines the first UPF network element based on the QoS monitoring results of the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one second UPF network element and the QoS indicators of the terminal.

In one possible design, the terminal information includes the following information: the terminal's identity, the terminal's location information, the data network information and/or network slice information requested by the terminal.

In one possible design, the QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element is determined based on the measured QoS parameters of data packets of different priorities transmitted through the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element.

In one possible design, after the routing policy control network element determines the first UPF network element based on the terminal information, the QoS indicators of the terminal, the preset network topology structure, and the QoS monitoring results of the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element, the method also includes: if the routing policy control network element determines that the second SMF network element connected to the first UPF network element is different from the first SMF network element based on the preset network topology structure, the routing policy control network element sends a fourth message to the authentication management function AMF network element, the fourth message is used to indicate the selection of the second SMF network element, and the fourth message includes the identifier of the second SMF network element.

In one possible design, after the routing policy control network element sends the fourth message to the AMF network element, the method also includes: the routing policy control network element receives a fifth message from the second SMF network element, and the fifth message is used to request selection of the UPF network element corresponding to the terminal; the routing policy control network element sends a sixth message to the second SMF network element, and the sixth message is used to indicate the selected UPF network element, and the sixth message includes the identifier of the first UPF network element.

In one possible design, the routing policy control network element determines a first UPF network element based on terminal information, QoS indicators of the terminal, a preset network topology structure, and QoS monitoring results of a GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element, including: the routing policy control network element determines multiple third UPF network elements based on terminal information, QoS indicators of the terminal, a preset network topology structure, and QoS monitoring results of a GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element, the third UPF network element being a UPF network element that can provide services to the terminal in the preset network topology structure, and the QoS monitoring results of the corresponding GTP-U channel can meet the QoS indicators of the terminal; the routing policy control network element determines the first UPF network element based on the loads of multiple third UPF network elements.

In the second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, the method comprising: the AMF network element receives a fourth message from the routing policy control network element, the fourth message is used to indicate the selection of a second SMF network element, the fourth message includes an identifier of the second SMF network element, and the second SMF network element is determined based on the first UPF network element; wherein the first UPF network element is a UPF network element that can provide services to the terminal in a preset network topology structure, and the QoS monitoring result of the corresponding GTP-U channel can meet the QoS indicators of the terminal, and the preset network topology structure is a connection relationship between one or more devices in the terminal, access network equipment, and core network elements, and the terminal corresponds to the terminal information; the AMF network element sends a seventh message to the second SMF network element according to the fourth message, and the seventh message is used to request the establishment of a session management SM context.

In one possible design, the terminal information includes the following information: the terminal's identity, the terminal's location information, the data network information and/or network slice information requested by the terminal.

In one possible design, the QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element is determined based on the measured QoS parameters of data packets of different priorities transmitted through the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element.

In the third aspect, the present application provides a communication device, including: a communication unit and a processing unit; the communication unit is used to receive a first message from a first SMF network element, the first message including terminal information, and the first message is used to request selection of a UPF network element corresponding to the terminal; the terminal corresponds to the terminal information; the communication unit is also used to obtain the QoS indicator of the terminal; the processing unit is used to determine the first UPF network element based on the terminal information, the QoS indicator of the terminal, the preset network topology structure, and the QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element; wherein the preset network topology structure is a connection relationship between one or more devices in the terminal, access network equipment, and core network element, and the first UPF network element is a UPF network element in the preset network topology structure that can provide services to the terminal, and the QoS monitoring result of the corresponding GTP-U channel can meet the QoS indicator of the terminal; the communication unit is also used to send a second message to the first SMF network element, the second message is used to indicate the selected UPF network element, and the second message includes an identifier of the first UPF network element.

In one possible design, the processing unit is specifically used to determine at least one second UPF network element according to the terminal information and the preset network topology structure, and the second UPF network element is a UPF network element that can provide services for the terminal. The processing unit is specifically used to determine the first UPF network element according to the QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to the at least one second UPF network element and the QoS indicator of the terminal.

In one possible design, the terminal information includes the following information: the terminal's identity, the terminal's location information, the data network information and/or network slice information requested by the terminal.

In one possible design, the QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element is determined based on the measured QoS parameters of data packets of different priorities transmitted through the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element.

In one possible design, if the routing policy control network element determines based on a preset network topology that the second SMF network element connected to the first UPF network element is different from the first SMF network element, the communication unit is also used to send a fourth message to the authentication management function AMF network element, and the fourth message is used to indicate the selection of the second SMF network element, and the fourth message includes an identifier of the second SMF network element.

In one possible design, the communication unit is further used to receive a fifth message from the second SMF network element, the fifth message being used to request the selection of a UPF network element corresponding to the terminal. The communication unit is further used to send a sixth message to the second SMF network element, the sixth message being used to indicate the selected UPF network element, the sixth message including an identifier of the first UPF network element.

In one possible design, the processing unit is specifically used to determine multiple third UPF network elements according to the terminal information, the QoS index of the terminal, the preset network topology structure, and the QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element, where the third UPF network element is a UPF network element that can provide services for the terminal in the preset network topology structure, and the QoS monitoring result of the corresponding GTP-U channel can meet the QoS index of the terminal. The processing unit is specifically used to determine the first UPF network element according to the load of the multiple third UPF network elements.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising a communication unit and a processing unit; the communication unit is used to receive a fourth message from a routing policy control network element, the fourth message is used to indicate the selection of a second SMF network element, the fourth message includes an identifier of the second SMF network element, and the second SMF network element is determined based on the first UPF network element; wherein the first UPF network element is a UPF network element that can provide services to a terminal in a preset network topology structure, and the QoS monitoring result of the corresponding GTP-U channel can meet the QoS indicators of the terminal, and the preset network topology structure is a connection relationship between one or more devices in the terminal, access network equipment, and core network elements, and the terminal corresponds to the terminal information; the processing unit is used to send a seventh message to the second SMF network element according to the fourth message, and the seventh message is used to request the establishment of an SM context.

In one possible design, the terminal information includes the following information: the terminal's identity, the terminal's location information, the data network information and/or network slice information requested by the terminal.

In one possible design, the QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element is determined based on the measured QoS parameters of data packets of different priorities transmitted through the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element.

In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising: a processor, a communication interface and a memory; the communication interface is used to communicate with other devices, the memory is used to store one or more programs, the one or more programs include computer execution instructions, and when the communication device is running, the processor executes the computer execution instructions stored in the memory, so that the communication device executes the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect and any design thereof.

In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which includes computer execution instructions. When the computer execution instructions are run on a computer, the computer executes the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect and any design thereof.

In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program. When the computer program product runs on a computer, the computer executes the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect and any design thereof.

It should be noted that the technical effects brought about by any design in the above-mentioned second to seventh aspects can refer to the technical effects brought about by the corresponding design in the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1a is a schematic diagram of a system architecture of an existing 5G network;

FIG1b is a schematic diagram of another existing 5G network system architecture;

FIG2 is a schematic diagram of an existing networking architecture;

FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG4 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG5 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG6 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG7 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG8 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed ways

In the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, "/" means "or", for example, A/B can mean A or B. "And/or" in this article is only a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and/or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, "at least one" means one or more, and "plurality" means two or more. The words "first", "second", etc. do not limit the quantity and execution order, and the words "first", "second", etc. do not limit them to be different.

It should be noted that, in this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in this application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a specific way.

The technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: a new radio (NR) communication system using 5G communication technology, a future evolution system, or a multi-communication fusion system, etc.

Exemplarily, Figure 1a is a service-oriented architecture diagram of an existing 5G network. The 5G network includes access network (radio access network, RAN) equipment, user plane function (user plane function, UPF), access and mobility management function (core access and mobility management function, AMF), session management function (session management function, SMF), authentication server function (authentication server function, AUSF), network slice selection function (network slice selection function, NSSF), network exposure function (network exposure function Repository Function, NRF), policy control function (policy control function, PCF), unified data management (unified data management, UDM), application function (application function, AF), service communication proxy (service communication proxy, SCP), etc.

As shown in Figure 1a, the terminal accesses the 5G network through the RAN device, and the terminal communicates with the AMF through the N1 interface; the RAN device communicates with the AMF through the N2 interface; the RAN device communicates with the UPF through the N3 interface; the SMF communicates with the UPF through the N4 interface, and the UPF accesses the data network (DN) through the N6 interface. In addition, the control plane functions such as AUSF, AMF, SMF, NSSF, NEF, NRF, PCF, UDM, SCP, and AF shown in Figure 1a use service-based interfaces for interaction. For example, the service-based interface provided by AUSF to the outside is Nausf; the service-based interface provided by AMF to the outside is Namf, etc., which will not be introduced one by one here.

Figure 1b is a 5G network architecture diagram based on the reference point corresponding to Figure 1a. As shown in Figure 1b, the terminal accesses the 5G network through the RAN device, and the terminal communicates with the AMF through the N1 interface; the RAN device communicates with the AMF through the N2 interface; the RAN device communicates with the UPF through the N3 interface; different UPFs communicate through the N9 interface; and the UPF accesses the DN through the N6 interface. Other network elements can also communicate through the corresponding interfaces, which will not be introduced here one by one.

Considering the functions, performance, load conditions in actual use of each network element, etc., there may be a situation where one AMF/PCF may be connected to multiple SMFs, each SMF may be connected to multiple UPFs, and each UPF may be connected to multiple gNBs. In addition, in the same area, UPFs and gNBs are basically fully interconnected. As shown in Figure 2, between UPF and SMF, there may be a situation where one UPF is connected to multiple SMFs at the same time (UPF3 as shown in Figure 2), or there may be a situation where one UPF is only connected to one SMF (UPF1 as shown in Figure 2). In addition, core network elements that support service-oriented functions (for example, all network elements except gNB in Figure 2) can be discovered through NRF so that one network element can obtain information about other network elements and find the network element.

FIG3 shows an architecture diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application, and the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application can be applied to the communication system. The communication system includes a terminal, an access network device gNB, a user plane network element: a UPF network element, a control plane network element: an AMF network element, an SMF network element, a PCF network element, an NRF network element, a routing policy control network element, etc. Among them, the terminal accesses the 5G network through the gNB, and each device and each network element can communicate through the corresponding interface. As shown in FIG1a and FIG1b, the terminal communicates with the AMF through the N1 interface; the gNB communicates with the AMF through the N2 interface, etc., which will not be introduced one by one.

It should be understood that FIG3 is only a simplified schematic diagram for ease of understanding, and the communication system may also include other devices or network elements, which are not drawn in FIG3 .

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal may include various handheld devices with wireless communication functions, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, user equipment (UE), terminal devices, etc. For the convenience of description, in the present application, the above-mentioned devices are collectively referred to as terminals.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the access network device may be a base station with wireless communication function, such as a micro base station, a macro base station, etc. The base station may be an evolutionary base station (evolutional node B, eNB or e-NodeB) in long term evolution (LTE), a base station (next generation nodeB, gNB) in a 5G mobile communication network, etc., and the embodiment of the present application does not impose any limitation on this.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the routing policy control network element can be configured separately or in combination with other network elements. The routing policy control network element and other network elements can communicate directly or be forwarded by an intermediate network element.

Optionally, the network element in the embodiment of the present application may also be referred to as a network device, a network node, a functional entity, a communication device or a communication device, etc. The function of each network element may be implemented by one device, or by multiple devices together, or may be a functional module in a device, and the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this. It is understandable that the above functions may be network elements in hardware devices, software functions running on dedicated hardware, or virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform).

The 5G era defines the following three application scenarios, including: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), used for high-traffic mobile broadband services; uRLLC, such as unmanned driving and other services; massive machine type communication (mMTC). The technical solution provided by this application can be applied to scenarios with high requirements for QoS, such as uRLLC scenarios.

It should be noted that the network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

To facilitate understanding, the technical terms and related concepts that may be involved in the embodiments of the present application are first introduced below.

1. Protocol Data Unit (PDU) Session

The 5G core network (5GC) supports the PDU connection service, which is the service for exchanging PDU data packets between UE and DN. The PDU connection service is implemented by the UE initiating the establishment of a PDU session. After a PDU session is established, a data transmission channel between UE and DN is established.

Each PDU session has a user plane path, which includes an anchor UPF and may include one or more intermediate UPFs (I-UPFs).

2. QoS

QoS is a network security mechanism that can be used to solve a series of problems such as network delay and congestion. QoS can provide network services of different qualities for different business needs. Generally, QoS provides the following three service models: best-effort service model, integrated service (Int-Serv) model, and differentiated service (Diff-Serv) model.

In the 5G system, in order to ensure the end-to-end service quality of the service, a 5G QoS model based on QoS flow is proposed. For a terminal, one or more PDU sessions can be established with the 5G network. One or more QoS flows can be established in each PDU session. A QoS flow is identified by a QoS flow identifier (QFI), that is, QFI uniquely identifies a QoS flow in a session. Among them, a PDU session corresponds one-to-one to a general packet radio service (GPRS) tunneling protocol user plane (GTP-U) tunnel between the RAN device and the UPF.

A QoS flow may contain parameters such as 5G QoS identifier (5QI), allocation and retention priority (ARP), etc., where 5QI is a scalar used to index the corresponding 5G QoS characteristics (for example, priority, latency, packet loss rate, etc.).

3. Differentiated services code point (DSCP)

In the QoS classification standard of the Diff-Serv model, it is stipulated that a transmission message will be classified into different categories in the network. The classification information is contained in the first 6 bits of the type of service (TOS) in the Internet Protocol (IP) message header, also known as the DSCP value, to distinguish the priority of the transmission message. In a network that follows the Diff-Serv system, each network device (such as routers, switches, etc.) provides different transmission priorities for messages according to the DSCP value carried in the message.

Among them, 5QI, as a 5G network QoS identifier, can be recognized by 5G network equipment (for example: core network elements, gNB, etc.), but it cannot be recognized by devices at other levels, such as routers, switches, etc. Therefore, in order to ensure consistent QoS control, it is necessary to map 5QI to the corresponding QoS parameters of devices at different levels, such as DSCP, etc. For the specific mapping relationship between DSCP and 5QI, please refer to the prior art, and this application will not go into details.

4. QoS Monitoring

In the uRLLC application scenario, since the uRLLC service has high latency requirements, the 3GPP standard defines QoS monitoring technology, which can be used to measure the latency of data packets. It is understandable that data packets can also be called messages. Currently, the QoS monitoring methods defined by 3GPP mainly include the following two:

(1) QoS monitoring of a single UE and a single QoS flow

During the PDU session establishment process or PDU session modification process, SMF can activate the end-to-end uplink/downlink data packet delay measurement for the QoS flow between the UE and the anchor UPF. For example: SMF sends a QoS monitoring request to the next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) and the anchor UPF respectively, and the QoS monitoring request can include QoS monitoring policy and monitoring parameters. NG-RAN initiates the delay measurement of the uplink/downlink data packet on the Uu interface (i.e., the interface between the UE and NG-RAN) based on the QoS monitoring request.

Among them, when NG-RAN and anchor UPF are time synchronized, the delay measurement of unidirectional data packets between NG-RAN and anchor UPF is supported. When NG-RAN sends an uplink data packet, or the anchor UPF sends a downlink data packet, a timestamp and QoS monitoring packet (QMP) indication information are added to the GTP-U header of the data packet. The QMP indication information can be used to indicate that the data packet is a data packet for QoS measurement. The anchor UPF calculates the delay of the uplink data packet between the anchor UPF and NG-RAN based on the timestamp carried in the GTP-U header of the received data packet and the local time; similarly, the NG-RAN calculates the delay of the downlink data packet between the anchor UPF and NG-RAN based on the timestamp carried in the GTP-U header of the received data packet and the local time. NG-RAN encapsulates the delay result of the downlink data packet and the delay result of the uplink/downlink data packet of the Uu interface in the GTP-U header of the uplink data packet and sends it to the anchor UPF. In the absence of uplink service data packets, NG-RAN can encapsulate the delay results of the downlink data packets and the delay results of the Uu interface uplink/downlink data packets in a dummy packet and send it to the anchor UPF.

When the NG-RAN and the anchor UPF are not synchronized in time, it is assumed that the delay of the uplink data packet between the NG-RAN and the anchor UPF is the same as the delay of the downlink data packet. The anchor UPF generates a data packet for QoS measurement (also known as a monitoring message) and sends it to the NG-RAN. Among them, the anchor UPF encapsulates the QFI, tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID), QMP indication and the local time T1 of sending the data packet in the GTP-U header of the data packet. The NG-RAN records the T1 carried in the GTP-U header of the received data packet and the local time T2 when the data packet is received, and then initiates the Uu interface uplink/downlink data packet delay measurement. When the NG-RAN feeds back the monitoring results to the anchor UPF (i.e., the monitoring response message) through the uplink data packet received from the UE or through the generated dummy packet, the NG-RAN encapsulates the QMP indication, the delay results of the Uu interface uplink/downlink data packet, T1, T2, and the local time T3 of the NG-RAN feedback monitoring results in the GTP-U header and sends it to the anchor UPF. The anchor UPF records the time T4 when the monitoring result is received, and then calculates the round-trip delay between NG-RAN and anchor UPF and the delay of uplink/downlink data packets between NG-RAN and anchor UPF based on T4 and the time information carried in the GTP-U header. The anchor UPF calculates the total delay of uplink/downlink data packets between UE and anchor UPF based on the delay results of uplink/downlink data packets received on the Uu interface and the delay results of uplink/downlink data packets between NG-RAN and anchor UPF. Subsequently, the anchor UPF can report the QoS monitoring results to the SMF based on conditions such as the SMF reporting threshold.

In addition, if N3/N9 redundant transmission is activated, UPF and NG-RAN will monitor the QoS of the two user plane paths at the same time, and UPF will report the packet delay of the two user plane paths to SMF separately.

(2) QoS Monitoring of GTP-U Path

SMF can activate QoS monitoring of all UPFs connected to the SMF and all NG-RANs connected to all UPFs according to the configured policies, and send QoS monitoring policies to each UPF and each NG-RAN through the N4 interface and the N2 interface respectively. For example, after SMF receives the QoS monitoring policy from the policy and charging control (PCC) rule, if the QoS monitoring corresponding to the 5QI (that is, the QoS monitoring corresponding to the DSCP mapped to the 5QI) is not activated, SMF will activate QoS monitoring for all UPFs and NG-RANs in the PDU session, and then send QoS monitoring requests to each UPF and NG-RAN through the N4 interface and the N2 interface respectively.

The GTP-U sender estimates the round trip delay (i.e., the time from sending a request message to receiving a response message) between the GTP-U sender and the GTP-U receiver by sending an echo message. The GTP-U sender is the gNB and the GTP-U receiver is the UPF; or the GTP-U sender is the UPF and the GTP-U receiver is the gNB. The GTP-U sender calculates the cumulative packet delay by adding half of the round trip delay, the processing time, and the cumulative packet delay that may come from the upstream GTP-U sender (e.g., I-UPF, etc.).

The GTP-U transmitter periodically determines the round-trip delay to detect changes in the transmission delay. QoS monitoring can be performed by a GTP-U endpoint that stores QoS information, wherein the QoS information includes the delay budget of the data packets in the QoS flow. The GTP-U endpoint can compare the measured cumulative packet delay with the stored delay budget of the data packets. Optionally, the GTP-U endpoint may also consider the processing delay of the GTP-U path to the next-hop GTP-U endpoint. If the GTP-U endpoint determines that the cumulative packet delay exceeds the stored delay budget of the data packets, it will send a QoS monitoring alarm message to the SMF or operations, administration maintenance (OAM).

QoS monitoring can be used to measure the latency of packets along the transmission path to map QoS flows to appropriate network devices and DSCP values, as follows:

(1) Perform QoS monitoring of the GTP-U path in the corresponding user plane path, for example, by sending an echo message (Echo) to measure the delay of data packets in a specific URLLC service. It should be noted that QoS monitoring of the GTP-U path can also be performed when there is no actual service flow transmitted in the user plane path. Therefore, the delay measurement performed in this case has nothing to do with the QoS flow, PDU session, and 5QI corresponding to the actual service.

(2) RAN can perform latency measurement of uplink/downlink data packets within RAN (e.g., F1-U interface, Xn-U interface, Uu interface, etc. in new radio (NR)), as well as uplink data packets of N3 interface, and send the measurement results to SMF.

(3) The anchor UPF can measure the latency of uplink/downlink data packets on the N3/N9 interface, where the N9 interface is suitable for scenarios where an I-UPF exists.

(4) UPF and RAN can report QoS monitoring results to SMF periodically or under specific conditions such as event triggering. When the reporting threshold is reached, it is reported to SMF via the N4 interface.

(5) UPF can measure the delay of each transmission path. The delay of each transmission path can be determined by half of the round-trip delay between sending the echo request message and receiving the echo reply message in the transmission path.

(6) UPF can map network devices (such as UPF, etc.) and DSCP values to transmission paths and measure the delay of each destination IP address and port. For each destination IP address, a delay based on the transmission path and DSCP value can be determined.

(7) The UPF that performs QoS monitoring provides the SMF with the corresponding network equipment, DSCP value, and the delay of the data packet on the transmission path.

The SMF can determine the mapping of a given QoS flow to the appropriate network device and DSCP value based on the 5QI, QoS characteristics, ARP, etc. of the QoS flow.

The above is an introduction to the technical terms and related concepts that may be involved in the embodiments of the present application, which will not be repeated below.

At present, the existing QoS monitoring solutions can only realize the monitoring function, and the monitoring results are mostly used for manual analysis of network performance, and the network and service paths cannot be adjusted according to the monitoring results.

In addition, the standard states that when the results of QoS monitoring do not meet the expected requirements, SMF can send alarm information to PCF. PCF determines whether to issue new QoS rules based on the QoS monitoring results to reduce the requirements for latency. However, for services such as URLLC services that have high latency requirements, once the latency requirements in QoS are reduced, the service may not be able to proceed normally. This method of sending alarm information to PCF to request a new QoS policy may not guarantee the QoS requirements of the service.

To solve the above technical problems, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which includes: a routing policy control network element receives a first message for requesting to select a UPF network element corresponding to a terminal from a first SMF network element, the first message includes terminal information, and the terminal corresponds to the terminal information. The routing policy control network element obtains the QoS index of the terminal, and then determines the first UPF network element according to the terminal information, the QoS index of the terminal, the preset network topology, and the QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element. Among them, the preset network topology is the connection relationship between one or more devices in the terminal, access network equipment, and core network element. The first UPF network element is a UPF network element that can provide services for the terminal in the preset network topology, and the QoS monitoring result of the corresponding GTP-U channel can meet the QoS index of the terminal. Finally, the routing policy control network element can send a second message carrying the identifier of the first UPF network element to the first SMF network element, and the second message is used to indicate the selected UPF network element. It can select a suitable UPF for the terminal, that is, determine a suitable user plane path for the terminal, and the user plane path corresponding to the determined UPF can ensure the QoS requirements of the terminal service, realize the adjustment of the network and its service path, and ensure the QoS requirements of the service.

As shown in FIG4 , a communication method is provided in an embodiment of the present application, and the method includes the following steps:

S401, a first SMF network element sends a first message to a routing policy control network element. Correspondingly, the routing policy control network element receives the first message from the first SMF network element.

The first message includes terminal information, and is used to request selection of a UPF corresponding to a terminal, and the terminal corresponds to the terminal information.

Optionally, the terminal information includes the following information: terminal identity, terminal location information, data network information requested by the terminal, and/or network slice information.

Exemplarily, in a 5G network, the terminal's identity may be a subscription permanent identifier (SUPI), the data network information requested by the terminal may be the data network name (DNN) of the data network providing the PDU connection service, and the network slice information may be a single network slice association auxiliary system information (S-NSSAI) used to uniquely identify a slice of a network. In other networks, the above terminal information may also have other representations, which are not limited in this application. Optionally, the terminal information may also include other more information, such as a PDU session identifier, etc., which is not limited in this application.

It should be noted that the names of the network elements mentioned in the embodiments of the present application do not constitute a limitation on their functions and they may also have other names. The present application does not limit this and they are uniformly described here.

S402: The routing policy control network element obtains the QoS indicator of the terminal.

The QoS indicator of the terminal indicates the QoS requirement of the terminal. Optionally, the QoS indicator can be indexed by 5QI to indicate the QoS requirement of the QoS flow of the terminal.

Optionally, the QoS indicator of the terminal may include a delay requirement. Exemplarily, the delay requirement may be a packet delay budget (PDB), which indicates an upper limit of the delay of data packet transmission between the terminal and the anchor UPF. Optionally, the QoS indicator may also include other parameters such as priority level and packet error rate.

Taking the PCF generating the QoS indicator of the terminal as an example, the PCF can generate the QoS indicator of the terminal based on the contract information of the terminal. In one possible implementation, the first SMF network element can first obtain the QoS indicator of the terminal from the PCF, and then send the obtained QoS indicator of the terminal to the routing policy control network element. Optionally, the first SMF network element can send the QoS indicator of the terminal to the routing policy control network element through the above-mentioned first message, or send it to the routing policy control network element through other messages, and this application does not limit this.

In another possible implementation, the routing policy control network element may directly obtain the QoS indicator of the terminal from the PCF.

Optionally, in the above implementation, the first SMF network element or the routing policy control network element may provide the identity of the terminal (eg, the SUPI of the terminal) to the PCF so as to obtain the QoS indicator of the terminal.

S403. The routing policy control network element determines the first UPF according to the terminal information, the QoS identifier of the terminal, the preset network topology structure, and the QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element.

The preset network topology structure is a connection relationship between one or more devices in the terminal, access network device, and core network element, for example, a connection relationship between the terminal and the access network device, a connection relationship between the access network device and the core network element, a connection relationship between the core network elements, a connection relationship between the terminal, the access network device, and the core network element, etc. Exemplarily, the core network element includes but is not limited to: UPF, SMF, etc.

Optionally, the preset network topology structure may be stored by the routing policy control network element itself, or may be obtained by the routing policy control network element from other devices. The present application does not limit the manner in which the routing policy control network element obtains the preset network topology structure.

Among them, the GTP-U channel is the channel between gNB and UPF. For each UPF, combined with Figure 2, it can be seen that the UPF can be connected to one or more gNBs, and the GTP-U channels corresponding to different gNBs and the UPF are different.

It should be noted that, in the case of the presence of I-UPF, the GTP-U channel is a channel between the gNB, I-UPF, and anchor UPF, and there may be one or more I-UPFs. In the embodiment of the present application, in the case where there is no I-UPF in the UPF network element corresponding to a GTP-U channel, the first UPF network element includes one UPF network element; in the case where there are one or more I-UPFs in the UPF network element corresponding to a GTP-U channel, the first UPF network element includes multiple UPF network elements, which are uniformly described here.

Optionally, the QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element is determined based on the measured QoS parameters of the data packets of different priorities transmitted through the GTP-U channel corresponding to the at least one UPF network element. Optionally, the QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF may be generated by the routing policy control network element itself, that is, the routing policy control network element performs QoS monitoring on the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF, or it may be obtained from other network elements. Optionally, the QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to the at least one UPF network element may also be updated periodically, that is, QoS monitoring is periodically performed on the GTP-U channel corresponding to the at least one UPF network element to obtain the QoS monitoring result.

Exemplarily, the QoS parameter may include latency, and may also include other parameters, such as jitter, packet loss rate, etc. Data packets of different priorities are transmitted through each GTP-U channel, and the data packets of different priorities have different requirements for QoS when transmitted through the GTP-U channel, that is, for a GTP-U channel, it may correspond to at least one QoS monitoring result.

Exemplarily, taking the scenario where the QoS monitoring result only includes latency and does not include I-UPF as an example, the QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF can be expressed in the form of Table 1.

Table 1

Among them, in Table 1, the first column represents different UPF network elements, the second column represents the GTP-U channel corresponding to each UPF network element, and the third column represents the priority of the data packet transmitted through the GTP-U channel. Optionally, the priority of the data packet can be identified by a DSCP value or in other forms. The fourth column represents the delay of the data packet in the GTP-U channel. It should be pointed out that the numerical values shown in Table 1 are only exemplary illustrations made to facilitate understanding of the QoS monitoring results of the GTP-U channel corresponding to the UPF in this application, and have no practical significance.

The first UPF network element is a UPF network element that can provide services to the terminal in a preset network topology structure, and the QoS monitoring result of the corresponding GTP-U channel can meet the QoS index of the terminal.

Optionally, this step may specifically include the following possible implementation methods:

In a possible implementation, the routing policy control network element determines at least one second UPF network element based on the terminal information (e.g., the location information of the terminal, the data network information and/or network slice information requested by the terminal, etc.) and the preset network topology structure, and the second UPF network element is a UPF network element that can provide services to the terminal. Then the routing policy control network element determines the first UPF network element based on the QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to the at least one second network element and the QoS indicator of the terminal.

It can be understood that the QoS monitoring results of the GTP-U channel corresponding to the first UPF network element can meet the QoS indicators of the terminal, but the QoS monitoring results of the GTP-U channel corresponding to the second UPF network element may not necessarily meet the QoS indicators of the terminal.

In another possible implementation, the routing policy control network element determines at least one second UPF network element based on the terminal information and the preset network topology structure. The second UPF network element is a UPF network element that can provide services to the terminal. The routing policy control network element determines at least one fourth UPF network element based on the QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to the at least one UPF network element and the QoS index of the terminal. The QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to the fourth UPF network element can meet the QoS index of the terminal. Then the routing policy control network element determines the first UPF based on the at least one second UPF and the at least one fourth UPF, that is, matches at least one second UPF and at least one fourth UPF. When the two are the same, the corresponding UPF is the first UPF.

A specific example of determining the fourth UPF network element is given below.

The routing policy control network element can determine the QoS requirements of the terminal based on the QoS indicators of the terminal. The QoS indicators of the terminal can be identified by 5QI. Optionally, the QoS indicators of the terminal can be included in the PCC rules. Assuming that in the QoS monitoring results of the GTP-U channel corresponding to the UPF, the priority of the data packet is identified by the DSCP value, the routing policy control network element maps the 5QI corresponding to the QoS indicator of the terminal to the corresponding DSCP value, that is, maps it to the same priority, and then searches for the GTP-U channel that can meet the QoS indicator under the priority. The UPF corresponding to the GTP-U channel is the fourth UPF. It should be noted that the DSCP value mapped to the 5QI can be specified by the protocol, or it can be determined by the routing policy control network element according to other methods. This application does not limit this.

For example, as shown in Table 1, assuming that the priority of the data packet mapped to the 5QI used to identify the QoS indicator of the terminal is 2, and the QoS indicator requires a delay of less than or equal to 40ms, it can be seen from Table 1 that the GTP-U channels with a priority of 2 and a delay of less than or equal to 40ms are GTP-U1 and GTP-U3, and the corresponding UPFs are UPF1 and UPF3. All UPFs corresponding to a delay of less than or equal to 40ms, namely UPF1 and UPF3, can be used as the fourth UPF network element, or the UPF corresponding to a delay of less than or equal to 40ms and closest to 40ms, namely UPF1, can be used as the fourth network element, and this application does not make specific restrictions on this.

In another possible implementation, the routing policy control network element determines at least one fourth UPF network element according to the QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element and the QoS index of the terminal, and the QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to the fourth UPF can meet the QoS index of the terminal. Then the routing policy control network element determines the first UPF network element according to the terminal information, the at least one fourth UPF network element and the preset network topology structure.

It is understandable that the first UPF network element can provide services to the terminal, while the fourth UPF network element may not be able to provide services to the terminal.

Optionally, there may be multiple UPF network elements in the preset network topology structure that can provide services for the terminal and whose corresponding GTP-U channel QoS monitoring results can meet the QoS indicators of the terminal; therefore, this step can also be specifically implemented as the following steps S403a, S403b (not shown in the figure):

S403a. The routing policy control network element determines a plurality of third UPF network elements according to the terminal information, the QoS indicator of the terminal, the preset network topology structure, and the QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element.

Among them, the third network element is a UPF network element that can provide services to the terminal in a preset network topology structure, and the QoS monitoring result of the corresponding GTP-U channel can meet the QoS indicators of the terminal.

S403b. The routing policy control network element determines the first UPF network element according to the loads of multiple third UPF network elements.

Optionally, the routing policy control network element may also determine the first UPF network element from multiple third network elements by polling, and this application does not make any specific limitation on this.

Optionally, the routing policy control network element may also store these multiple third UPF network elements for subsequent use.

S404: The routing policy control network element sends a second message to the first SMF network element. Correspondingly, the first SMF network element receives the second message from the routing policy control network element.

The second message is used to indicate the selected UPF, and the second message includes the identifier of the first UPF network element. That is, the second message indicates that the selected UPF is the first UPF.

Optionally, when the routing policy control network element determines that the first UPF does not exist, it can also request other network elements (such as PCF network element) to reduce the QoS requirement of the terminal so as to select a UPF for the terminal. Alternatively, it can also interrupt the PDU session of the terminal.

Based on the above technical solution, a suitable user plane path can be determined for the terminal, and the determined user plane path can ensure the QoS requirements of the terminal service, realize the adjustment of the network and its service path, and ensure the QoS requirements of the service.

Optionally, after the routing policy control network element determines the first UPF network element, it can also determine other control plane network elements, such as SMF.

Exemplarily, the routing policy control network element can determine the SMF connected to the first UPF according to the preset network topology. It should be noted that, as shown in Figure 2, there may be a situation where one UPF is connected to multiple SMFs. Therefore, when determining the corresponding SMF according to the UPF, the topological relationship between the UPF and the SMF needs to be considered. Optionally, if there is a situation where a UPF is connected to multiple SMFs, the SMF corresponding to the UPF can be determined by polling, or the SMF corresponding to the UPF can be determined according to the load condition of the SMF, for example: select an SMF with a lighter load, and this application does not make specific limitations on this.

Optionally, as shown in FIG5 , after step S403 shown in FIG4 , the method shown in FIG4 may further include the following steps:

S405: If the routing policy control network element determines that the second SMF network element connected to the first UPF network element is different from the first SMF network element according to the preset network topology structure, the routing policy control network element sends a fourth message to the AMF network element. Correspondingly, the AMF network element receives the fourth message from the routing policy control network element.

Among them, the fourth message is used to indicate the selection of the second SMF network element, and the fourth message includes the identifier of the second SMF network element.

S406, the SMF network element sends a fifth message to the routing policy control network element. Correspondingly, the routing policy control network element receives the fifth message from the SMF network element.

Among them, the fifth message is used to request the selection of the UPF network element corresponding to the terminal.

S407, the routing policy control network element sends a sixth message to the second SMF network element. Correspondingly, the second SMF network element receives the sixth message from the routing policy control network element.

Among them, the sixth message is used to indicate the selected UPF network element, and the sixth message includes the identifier of the first UPF network element.

Optionally, to simplify the complexity of the operation of the routing policy control network element in this step, after the routing policy control network element determines the first UPF network element, the routing policy control network element can directly mark the first UPF network element and the second SMF network element, or store the first UPF network element and the second SMF network element in association, so that when the second SMF network element subsequently requests the routing policy control network element to select the UPF network element corresponding to the terminal, the routing policy control network element can directly indicate the previously selected first UPF network element to the second SMF network element. Exemplarily, the routing policy control network element can directly determine the first UPF network element based on the identifier of the second SMF network element.

Optionally, the routing policy control network element may also determine the first UPF network element according to the method described in step S403 above, and this application does not make any specific limitation on this.

Optionally, the method shown in FIG. 5 may not execute step S404.

Optionally, after S405, the method shown in FIG5 further includes the following steps (not shown in the figure):

S408, the AMF network element sends the seventh message to the second SMF network element according to the fourth message. Correspondingly, the second SMF network element receives the seventh message from the AMF.

The seventh message is used to request to establish a session management (SM) context.

It should be noted that the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied during the PDU session establishment process, and can also be applied after the PDU session is established.

Taking the combined configuration of the routing policy control network element and the NRF network element as an example, FIG6 shows another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application, the method comprising the following steps:

S601. The terminal sends a PDU session establishment request message to the AMF network element.

Among them, the PDU session establishment request message may include terminal information. For a detailed introduction of the terminal information, please refer to the above description, which will not be repeated here. Exemplarily, the PDU session establishment request message may be forwarded by the gNB, and when the terminal initiates a session, the gNB may be determined based on the terminal's location information and signal strength.

S602. The AMF network element sends an SMF query request message to the NRF network element.

Among them, the SMF query request message is used to select the SMF network element corresponding to the terminal, and the above-mentioned terminal information can also be carried in the request message.

S603. The NRF network element selects the first SMF network element.

Among them, the NRF network element can match the information of the stored SMF network element according to the above terminal information to determine the first SMF network element. The information of the SMF network element stored in the NRF network element can be generated by itself or obtained from other network elements.

S604. The NRF network element sends an SMF query response message to the AMF network element.

Among them, the SMF network element query response message carries the identifier of the first SMF network element.

S605. The AMF network element sends a session management (SM) context establishment request message to the first SMF network element.

Among them, the AMF network element can send a PDU session establishment request message to the first SMF network element and request to establish an SM context at the same time.

S606. The first SMF network element creates an SM context.

Among them, the first SMF network element queries whether the contract information of the terminal is stored internally. If not, it can request the contract information from the UDM network element to create an SM context.

S607. The first SMF network element sends an SM context establishment response message to AMF.

S608. The first SMF network element selects a PCF network element.

Among them, the first SMF network element can select the PCF network element through the NRF network element. For detailed introduction, please refer to the existing technology, and this article will not go into details.

S609. The first SMF network element sends a policy request message to the PCF network element.

The policy request message may carry the SUPI of the terminal.

S610. The PCF network element sends a policy response message to the first SMF network element.

The policy response message carries the QoS policy corresponding to the terminal, including whether QoS monitoring is required and the QoS indicators of the QoS flow to be monitored. Optionally, the QoS indicators may include latency requirements. For a detailed introduction to the QoS indicators here, please refer to the above.

S611. The first SMF network element sends a first message to the NRF network element.

Among them, please refer to the above for the first message here.

Exemplarily, in an embodiment of the present application, the first message may be implemented as a UPF query request message in step S611 shown in FIG. 6 .

S612. The NRF network element determines the first UPF network element.

Among them, in the embodiment of the present application, this step can be specifically implemented as step S403 shown in Figure 4.

S613. The NRF network element queries whether the SMF network element connected to the first UPF network element is the first SMF network element.

If yes, execute step S614 and skip the subsequent steps S615 to S625. If no, execute step S615 and the subsequent steps of step S615.

S614. The NRF network element sends a second message to the first SMF network element.

Among them, please refer to the above description for the second message here.

Exemplarily, in an embodiment of the present application, the second message can be specifically implemented as a UPF query response message in step S614 shown in Figure 6.

S615. The NRF network element determines the second SMF network element connected to the first UPF network element.

Among them, in the embodiment of the present application, step S613 and step S615 can be specifically implemented as step S405 shown in Figure 5.

S616. The NRF network element sends the fourth message to the AMF network element.

Please refer to the above for the fourth message here.

Exemplarily, in an embodiment of the present application, the fourth message can be specifically implemented as the SMF query response message in step S616 shown in Figure 6.

S617. The AMF network element sends an SM context establishment request message to the second SMF network element.

Among them, the AMF network element can send a PDU session establishment request message to the second SMF network element, and request to establish an SM context at the same time. The identifier of the second SMF network element can be carried in the request message.

S618. The second SMF network element creates an SM context.

Among them, the second SMF network element can re-acquire the contract information of the terminal from the UDM network element to facilitate the creation of the SM context.

S619. The second SMF network element sends an SM context establishment response message to AMF.

S620. The second SMF network element performs PCF selection.

Among them, the second SMF network element can select the PCF network element through the NRF network element. For detailed introduction, please refer to the existing technology, and this article will not go into details.

S621. The second SMF network element sends a policy request message to the PCF network element.

The policy request message may carry the SUPI of the terminal.

S622. The PCF network element sends a policy response message to the second SMF network element.

The policy response message carries the QoS policy corresponding to the terminal, including whether QoS monitoring is required and the QoS indicators of the QoS flow to be monitored. Optionally, the QoS indicators may include latency requirements. For a detailed introduction to the QoS indicators here, please refer to the above.

S623. The second SMF network element sends a fifth message to the NRF network element.

Among them, please refer to the above description for the fifth message here.

Exemplarily, in an embodiment of the present application, the first message may be implemented as a UPF query request message in step S623 shown in FIG. 6 .

S624. The NRF network element selects the first UPF network element.

Optionally, to simplify the complexity of selecting the UPF network element in this step, after determining the first UPF network element in step S612, the first UPF network element and the second SMF network element can be directly marked, or the first UPF network element and the second SMF network element can be associated and stored, and then in this step, the previously selected first UPF network element can be directly indicated to the second SMF network element. Exemplarily, the first UPF network element can be directly determined according to the identifier of the second SMF network element.

Optionally, the NRF network element may also determine the first UPF network element using the method described in step S403 shown in FIG. 4 .

S625. The NRF network element sends the sixth message to the second SMF network element.

Among them, please refer to the above description for the sixth message here.

Exemplarily, in an embodiment of the present application, the sixth message can be specifically implemented as a UPF query response message in step S625.

S626: Subsequent session establishment process.

Among them, the first UPF establishes an N4 session with the first SMF network element (the second SMF network element) to complete the subsequent session establishment process. For the specific process, please refer to the existing technology, and this application will not go into details.

Optionally, the method shown in FIG6 further includes the following steps:

S627. The first UPF performs QoS monitoring.

Exemplarily, the first UPF may periodically perform QoS monitoring on the QoS flow in the PDU session according to the QoS policy obtained in step S610 or step S622. At this time, the QoS monitoring performed by the first UPF may be the QoS monitoring of a single UE and a single QoS flow as described above.

S628. The first UPF reports the QoS monitoring results to the first SMF network element (or the second SMF network element).

S629. The first SMF network element (or the second SMF network element) makes a decision based on the local policy.

Among them, the first SMF network element (or the second SMF network element) determines whether the QoS indicators of the terminal are met based on the comparison of the received QoS monitoring results with the QoS indicators of the terminal. If not met, the PCF network element can be reported to update the QoS indicators of the terminal according to the local policy (for example: reduce the requirement of latency); or, the NRF network element can be reported to reselect the corresponding UPF network element, that is, re-execute step S611 (or S623 and subsequent related steps) and subsequent related steps. After selecting the appropriate UPF network element, the PDU session can be terminated and a new session can be re-established.

Optionally, to simplify the complexity of reselecting the UPF network element, since the QoS indicator of the terminal has not changed, the NRF network element can also directly select a UPF network element from the multiple third UPF network elements stored in the above step S403b. Exemplarily, a UPF network element can be selected by polling, or a UPF network element can be selected according to the load of the third UPF network element, which is not specifically limited in this application.

Based on this solution, after the PDU session is established, that is, during the terminal service transmission process, if the current service path cannot meet the terminal's QoS requirements, the terminal's service path can be updated and a service path that can meet the terminal's QoS requirements can be reselected to achieve dynamic adjustment of the network and its service path to ensure the QoS requirements of the service.

The above mainly introduces the solution provided by the embodiment of the present invention from the perspective of the method. In order to achieve the above functions, it includes hardware structures and/or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiment disclosed in this article, the embodiment of the present invention can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of the present invention.

The embodiment of the present invention can divide the functional modules of the communication device according to the above method example. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated module can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. Optionally, the division of modules in the embodiment of the present invention is schematic and is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation.

As shown in FIG7 , it is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 700 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 700 includes a communication unit 701 and a processing unit 702 .

In a possible example, the communication device may be used to execute the communication method executed by the above-mentioned routing policy control network element.

The communication unit 701 is used to receive a first message from a first SMF network element, the first message includes terminal information, and the first message is used to request selection of a UPF network element corresponding to the terminal; the terminal corresponds to the terminal information.

The communication unit 701 is also used to obtain the QoS indicator of the terminal.

Processing unit 702 is used to determine the first UPF network element based on terminal information, QoS indicators of the terminal, a preset network topology structure, and QoS monitoring results of a GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element; wherein the preset network topology structure is a connection relationship between one or more devices in the terminal, access network equipment, and core network elements, and the first UPF network element is a UPF network element in the preset network topology structure that can provide services to the terminal, and the QoS monitoring results of the corresponding GTP-U channel can meet the QoS indicators of the terminal.

The communication unit 701 is also used to send a second message to the first SMF network element, where the second message is used to indicate the selected UPF network element, and the second message includes an identifier of the first UPF network element.

In one possible design, the processing unit 702 is specifically used to determine at least one second UPF network element based on the terminal information and the preset network topology structure, where the second UPF network element is a UPF network element that can provide services to the terminal; the processing unit 702 is specifically used to determine the first UPF network element based on the QoS monitoring results of the GTP-U channel corresponding to the at least one second UPF network element and the QoS indicators of the terminal.

In one possible design, the terminal information includes the following information: the terminal's identity, the terminal's location information, the data network information and/or network slice information requested by the terminal.

In one possible design, the QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element is determined based on the measured QoS parameters of data packets of different priorities transmitted through the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element.

In one possible design, if the routing policy control network element determines, based on a preset network topology, that the second SMF network element connected to the first UPF network element is different from the first SMF network element, the communication unit 701 is also used to send a fourth message to the authentication management function AMF network element, where the fourth message is used to indicate the selection of the second SMF network element, and the fourth message includes an identifier of the second SMF network element.

In one possible design, the communication unit 701 is also used to receive a fifth message from the second SMF network element, where the fifth message is used to request selection of a UPF network element corresponding to the terminal; the communication unit 701 is also used to send a sixth message to the second SMF network element, where the sixth message is used to indicate the selected UPF network element, and the sixth message includes an identifier of the first UPF network element.

In one possible design, the processing unit 702 is specifically used to determine multiple third UPF network elements based on terminal information, QoS indicators of the terminal, a preset network topology structure, and QoS monitoring results of GTP-U channels corresponding to at least one UPF network element. The third UPF network element is a UPF network element that can provide services to the terminal in the preset network topology structure, and the QoS monitoring results of the corresponding GTP-U channel can meet the QoS indicators of the terminal; the processing unit 702 is specifically used to determine the first UPF network element based on the load of multiple third UPF network elements.

In another possible example, the communication device can be used to execute the communication method performed by the above-mentioned AMF network element.

Communication unit 701 is used to receive a fourth message from a routing policy control network element, where the fourth message is used to indicate the selection of a second SMF network element. The fourth message includes an identifier of the second SMF network element, and the second SMF network element is determined based on the first UPF network element; wherein the first UPF network element is a UPF network element that can provide services to the terminal in a preset network topology structure, and the QoS monitoring result of the corresponding GTP-U channel can meet the QoS index of the terminal. The preset network topology structure is a connection relationship between one or more devices in the terminal, access network equipment, and core network elements, and the terminal corresponds to the terminal information.

The processing unit 702 is used to send a seventh message to the second SMF network element according to the fourth message, where the seventh message is used to request to establish an SM context.

In one possible design, the terminal information includes the following information: the terminal's identity, the terminal's location information, the data network information and/or network slice information requested by the terminal.

In one possible design, the QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element is determined based on the measured QoS parameters of data packets of different priorities transmitted through the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element.

In the case of implementing the functions of the above integrated modules in the form of hardware, the embodiment of the present invention provides another possible structural diagram of the communication device involved in the above embodiment. As shown in Figure 8, the communication device 800 may include: a processor 801, a communication interface 802, a memory 803 and a bus 804.

The processor 801 may be a processor that implements or executes various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the disclosure of the present application. The processor 801 may be a central processing unit, a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. It may implement or execute various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the disclosure of the present application. The processor 801 may also be a combination that implements computing functions, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, and the like.

The communication interface 802 is used to connect with other devices via a communication network, such as Ethernet, wireless access network, wireless local area network (WLAN), etc.

The memory 803 is used to store one or more programs, which include computer-executable instructions. The memory 803 can be a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto.

The bus 804 may be an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus 804 may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, FIG8 only uses one thick line, but does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

Through the description of the above implementation methods, technical personnel in the relevant field can clearly understand that for the convenience and simplicity of description, only the division of the above-mentioned functional modules is used as an example. In actual applications, the above-mentioned functions can be assigned to different functional modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the service routing device is divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above.

The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium. All or part of the processes in the above method embodiments can be completed by computer instructions to instruct the relevant hardware, and the program can be stored in the above computer-readable storage medium. When the program is executed, it may include the processes of the above method embodiments. The computer-readable storage medium can be any of the above embodiments or memory. The above computer-readable storage medium can also be an external storage device of the above communication device, such as a plug-in hard disk, a smart memory card (smart media card, SMC), a secure digital (secure digital, SD) card, a flash card (flash card), etc. equipped on the above communication device. Further, the above computer-readable storage medium can also include both an internal storage unit of the above communication device and an external storage device. The above computer-readable storage medium is used to store the above computer program and other programs and data required by the above communication device. The above computer-readable storage medium can also be used to temporarily store data that has been output or is to be output.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program. When the computer program product is run on a computer, the computer is enabled to execute any one of the methods provided in the above embodiments.

The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims (13)

1. A communication method, characterized in that the method comprises: The routing policy control network element receives a first message from a first session management function SMF network element, wherein the first message includes terminal information, and the first message is used to request selection of a user plane function UPF network element corresponding to the terminal; the terminal corresponds to the terminal information; The routing policy control network element obtains the QoS indicator of the terminal; The routing policy control network element determines the first UPF network element according to the terminal information, the QoS indicator of the terminal, the preset network topology structure and the service quality QoS monitoring result of the general packet radio service tunneling protocol user plane GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element; The preset network topology structure is a connection relationship between one or more devices among the terminal, the access network device, and the core network element. The first UPF network element is a UPF network element in the preset network topology structure that can provide services for the terminal, and the QoS monitoring result of the corresponding GTP-U channel can meet the QoS indicator of the terminal; If the routing policy control network element determines, according to the preset network topology, that the second SMF network element connected to the first UPF network element is different from the first SMF network element, the routing policy control network element sends a fourth message to the authentication management function AMF network element, where the fourth message is used to indicate the selection of the second SMF network element, and the fourth message includes an identifier of the second SMF network element; The routing policy control network element sends a second message to the first SMF network element, where the second message is used to indicate the selected UPF network element, and the second message includes the identifier of the first UPF network element. 2. The method according to claim 1 is characterized in that the routing policy control network element determines the first UPF network element according to the terminal information, the QoS indicator of the terminal, the preset network topology structure and the QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element, including: The routing policy control network element determines at least one second UPF network element according to the terminal information and the preset network topology structure, where the second UPF network element is a UPF network element that can provide services for the terminal; The routing policy control network element determines the first UPF network element based on the QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to the at least one second UPF network element and the QoS indicator of the terminal. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2 is characterized in that the terminal information includes the following information: the identity of the terminal, the location information of the terminal, the data network information and/or network slice information requested by the terminal. 4. The method according to claim 1 or 2 is characterized in that the QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to the at least one UPF network element is determined based on the measured QoS parameters of data packets of different priorities transmitted through the GTP-U channel corresponding to the at least one UPF network element. 5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that after the routing policy control network element sends the fourth message to the AMF network element, the method further comprises: The routing policy control network element receives a fifth message from the second SMF network element, where the fifth message is used to request selection of a UPF network element corresponding to the terminal; The routing policy control network element sends a sixth message to the second SMF network element, where the sixth message is used to indicate the selected UPF network element, and the sixth message includes the identifier of the first UPF network element. 6. The method according to claim 1 or 2 is characterized in that the routing policy control network element determines the first UPF network element according to the terminal information, the QoS indicator of the terminal, the preset network topology structure and the QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element, including: The routing policy control network element determines a plurality of third UPF network elements according to the terminal information, the QoS index of the terminal, the preset network topology structure, and the QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element, wherein the third UPF network element is a UPF network element that can provide services for the terminal in the preset network topology structure, and the QoS monitoring result of the corresponding GTP-U channel can meet the QoS index of the terminal; The routing policy control network element determines the first UPF network element based on the loads of the multiple third UPF network elements. 7. A communication method, characterized in that the method comprises: The AMF network element receives a fourth message from the routing policy control network element, where the fourth message is used to indicate the selection of a second SMF network element, where the fourth message includes an identifier of the second SMF network element, and the second SMF network element is determined according to the first UPF network element; Among them, the first UPF network element is a UPF network element that can provide services for the terminal in a preset network topology structure, and the QoS monitoring result of the corresponding GTP-U channel can meet the QoS index of the terminal. The preset network topology structure is a connection relationship between one or more devices in the terminal, access network equipment, and core network elements, and the terminal corresponds to the terminal information; the routing policy control network element is used to determine the first UPF network element according to the terminal information, the QoS index of the terminal, the preset network topology structure, and the service quality QoS monitoring result of the general packet radio service tunnel protocol user plane GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element; The AMF network element sends a seventh message to the second SMF network element based on the fourth message, and the seventh message is used to request the establishment of a session management SM context. 8. The method according to claim 7 is characterized in that the terminal information includes the following information: the identity of the terminal, the location information of the terminal, the data network information and/or network slice information requested by the terminal. 9. The method according to claim 7 or 8 is characterized in that the QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to the at least one UPF network element is determined based on the measured QoS parameters of data packets of different priorities transmitted through the GTP-U channel corresponding to the at least one UPF network element. 10. A communication device, comprising: a communication unit and a processing unit; The communication unit is used to receive a first message from a first SMF network element, the first message including terminal information, and the first message is used to request selection of a UPF network element corresponding to the terminal; the terminal corresponds to the terminal information; The communication unit is further used to obtain the QoS indicator of the terminal; The processing unit is used to determine the first UPF network element according to the terminal information, the QoS indicator of the terminal, the preset network topology structure and the QoS monitoring result of the GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element; The preset network topology structure is a connection relationship between one or more devices among the terminal, the access network device, and the core network element. The first UPF network element is a UPF network element in the preset network topology structure that can provide services for the terminal, and the QoS monitoring result of the corresponding GTP-U channel can meet the QoS indicator of the terminal; The processing unit is used for, if the routing policy control network element determines according to the preset network topology that the second SMF network element connected to the first UPF network element is different from the first SMF network element, the routing policy control network element sends a fourth message to the authentication management function AMF network element, the fourth message is used to indicate the selection of the second SMF network element, and the fourth message includes the identifier of the second SMF network element; The communication unit is also used to send a second message to the first SMF network element, where the second message is used to indicate the selected UPF network element, and the second message includes an identifier of the first UPF network element. 11. A communication device, comprising a communication unit and a processing unit; The communication unit is used to receive a fourth message from the routing policy control network element, the fourth message is used to indicate the selection of a second SMF network element, the fourth message includes an identifier of the second SMF network element, and the second SMF network element is determined according to the first UPF network element; Among them, the first UPF network element is a UPF network element that can provide services for the terminal in a preset network topology structure, and the QoS monitoring result of the corresponding GTP-U channel can meet the QoS index of the terminal. The preset network topology structure is a connection relationship between one or more devices in the terminal, access network equipment, and core network elements, and the terminal corresponds to the terminal information; the routing policy control network element is used to determine the first UPF network element according to the terminal information, the QoS index of the terminal, the preset network topology structure, and the service quality QoS monitoring result of the general packet radio service tunnel protocol user plane GTP-U channel corresponding to at least one UPF network element; The processing unit is used to send a seventh message to the second SMF network element according to the fourth message, and the seventh message is used to request to establish an SM context. 12. A communication device, characterized in that it comprises: a processor, a communication interface and a memory; the communication interface is used to communicate with other devices, the memory is used to store one or more programs, the one or more programs include computer execution instructions, and when the communication device is running, the processor executes the computer execution instructions stored in the memory, so that the communication device executes the method as described in any one of claims 1-6, or, so that the communication device executes the method as described in any one of claims 7-9. 13. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that the computer-readable storage medium includes computer-executable instructions, and when the computer-executable instructions are run on a computer, the computer executes the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, or the computer executes the method as described in any one of claims 7 to 9.