CN111586642B

CN111586642B - Communication method and device

Info

Publication number: CN111586642B
Application number: CN201910123281.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 于游洋
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-02-19
Filing date: 2019-02-19
Publication date: 2021-12-14
Anticipated expiration: 2039-02-19
Also published as: CN111586642A; WO2020168789A1

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides a communication method and device, and relates to the technical field of communication. The method in the embodiment of the application is used for providing service quality guarantee for the service flow of the terminal. The method comprises the following steps: and the session management network element in the first network acquires the terminal type of the second terminal. And the session management network element determines the service quality parameters of the service flow of the second terminal in the first network according to the terminal type, wherein the service flow is the service flow of the second terminal which is communicated with the second network through the first terminal in the first network. The session management network element determines the service quality parameters of the service flow of the second terminal in the first network according to the terminal type, so that the first terminal in the first network and the user plane network element can implement QoS control on the service flow of the second terminal in the first network according to the service quality parameters determined by the session management network element. Thereby enabling reliable transmission of the traffic flow of the second terminal in the first network.

Description

Communication method and device

Technical Field

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

Background

To address the challenges of wireless broadband technology, the leading advantages of third Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) networks are maintained. The 3GPP standards group has established a Next Generation mobile communication network architecture (Next Generation System). It may also be referred to as a fifth Generation (5G) network architecture. The 5G Network architecture not only supports the terminal to Access the 5G Core Network side (Core Network, CN) through the wireless technology (such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) and the like) defined by the 3GPP standard group, but also supports the non- (non) -3GPP Access technology to Access the Core Network side through the non-3GPP conversion Function (Interworking Function, N3IWF) or the next Generation Access Gateway (ngPDG).

In addition, the 5GC may support fixed network/wired network access in addition to RAN access (e.g., the 5GC supports home Gateway (RG) access over a wired network). In this scenario, a terminal supporting 5GC (hereinafter referred to as a 5GC terminal) may access the 5GC through the home gateway, and after the 5GC terminal accesses the 5GC through the home gateway, network elements in the 5GC that provide services for the home gateway constitute a first network and network elements that provide services for the 5GC terminal constitute a second network.

However, the 5GC terminal accesses the 5GC through the home gateway. In this scenario, the terminal is registered in the second network (e.g., 5GC) and the home gateway is registered in the first network, and the prior art does not provide a scheme how to perform Quality of service (QoS) control on the terminal.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a communication method and a communication device, which are used for providing service quality guarantee for service flows of a terminal.

In order to solve the above technical problem, an embodiment of the present application provides the following technical solutions:

in a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, where the method includes: a session management network element in the first network obtains any one or more of the following information: the terminal type of the second terminal, the service flow information of the second terminal, or the identifier of the second terminal. And the session management network element determines the service quality parameters in the first network according to any one or more of the terminal type of the second terminal, the service flow information of the second terminal or the identifier of the second terminal, wherein the service flow is the service flow of the second terminal communicating with the second network through the first terminal in the first network. The second terminal is a terminal which communicates with the second network through the first network.

In the present invention, because in the prior art, when a service flow during communication between a second terminal and a second network is transferred in a first network, a session management network element does not determine a quality of service parameter for transmitting the service flow of the second terminal in the first network. In the method, the session management network element determines the service quality parameters of the service flow of the second terminal in the first network according to the terminal type, so that the first terminal in the first network and the user plane network element can implement QoS control on the service flow of the second terminal in the first network according to the service quality parameters determined by the session management network element. Thereby enabling reliable transmission of the traffic flow of the second terminal in the first network.

In a possible implementation manner, the determining, by the session management network element, the quality of service parameter of the service flow of the second terminal according to any one or more of the terminal type of the second terminal, the service flow information of the second terminal, or the identifier of the second terminal includes: and the session management network element acquires the signed service quality parameters corresponding to any one or more of the terminal type, the service flow information of the second terminal or the identifier of the second terminal from the data management network element. And the session management network element determines the service quality parameters of the service flow of the second terminal according to the signed service quality parameters. This allows the traffic flow of the second terminal to be transmitted in the first network with the subscription quality of service parameters at terminal granularity.

In a possible implementation manner, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: and the session management network element acquires the service quality parameters requested by the first terminal. The session management network element determines a quality of service parameter of a service flow of the second terminal according to the subscription quality of service parameter, and specifically includes: and the session management network element determines the service quality parameters of the service flow of the second terminal according to the signed service quality parameters and the service quality parameters requested by the first terminal. The service quality parameters of the service flow of the second terminal can be determined by combining the signed service quality parameters and the service quality parameters requested by the first terminal.

In a possible implementation manner, the acquiring, by a session management network element in a first network, a terminal type of a second terminal includes: and the session management network element acquires the port number information of the service flow from the user plane network element in the first network. And the session management network element acquires the terminal type of the second terminal or the identifier of the second terminal according to the port number information of the service flow.

In a possible implementation manner, before the session management network element obtains the port number information of the service flow from the user plane network element in the first network, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: and the session management network element sends the first request message to the user plane network element to indicate the user plane network element to report the port number information of the service flow. Illustratively, the first request message may carry an identification of the traffic flow.

In one possible implementation manner, the information for determining the terminal type of the second terminal may be: the acquiring, by a session management network element in a first network, the terminal type of a second terminal according to the identifier of the terminal corresponding to each terminal type includes: and the session management network element determines the terminal type of the second terminal according to the identifier of the second terminal and the identifier of the terminal corresponding to each terminal type.

In a possible implementation manner, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: the session management network element receives a session management request message from the first terminal. Wherein the session management request message includes any one or more of the following information: and the information is used for determining the terminal type of the second terminal and the service flow information corresponding to the terminal type. It should be understood that the session management request message may also generally carry an identifier of the managed session. Therefore, the session management network element can determine the terminal type of the second terminal according to the information for determining the terminal type of the second terminal in the session management process.

In one possible implementation manner, the session management request message further includes: trusted gateway identification, untrusted gateway identification. The trusted gateway or the untrusted gateway which the managed session can reach can be determined through the trusted gateway identification and the untrusted gateway identification.

In one possible implementation, the traffic flow information includes: port number information of the traffic flow or at least one of a terminal media access control, MAC, address or a virtual local area network, VLAN, tag.

In a possible implementation manner, the information for determining the terminal type of the second terminal is: the method for acquiring the terminal type of the second terminal by the session management network element according to the port number information of the service flow includes: and the session management network element determines that the port number information of the service flow is consistent with the port number information in the session management request message. And the session management network element determines the terminal type corresponding to the port number information in the session management request message as the terminal type of the second terminal. It should be understood that, if the port number information corresponding to each of the one or more terminal types is used to replace the terminal type of the second terminal in the session management request message, the session management network element may determine the terminal type of the second terminal according to the port number information of the traffic flow and the port number information corresponding to each terminal type.

In a possible implementation manner, the information for determining the terminal type of the second terminal is: a terminal type of the second terminal. The acquiring, by a session management network element in a first network, a terminal type of a second terminal includes: and the session management network element acquires the terminal type of the second terminal according to the terminal type carried in the session management request message and the identifier of the second terminal.

In a possible implementation manner, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: and the session management network element sends the service quality parameters to a user plane network element or a first terminal in the first network. And the user plane network element or the first terminal can conveniently realize the service quality control on the service flow of the second terminal transmitted in the first network according to the service quality parameters.

In a possible implementation manner, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: the session management network element also sends the description information of the service flow to the user plane network element, wherein the description information comprises QFI or DSCP value. So that the user plane network element determines the service flow according to the description information.

In a possible implementation manner, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: the session management network element sends a first indication to the user plane network element. The first indication is used for indicating the user plane network element to set the QFI or DSCP value carried in the inner layer data header of the service flow as the QFI in the outer layer data header of the service flow.

In one possible implementation, the terminal type includes any one or more of the following types: the system comprises a terminal supporting 5G core network access, an interactive network television device, a home user device, a signed user device, a visitor user device, a non-signed user device or a third-party device.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, including: a first terminal in a first network determines a terminal type of a second terminal accessing the first terminal. The second terminal is a terminal that communicates with the second network through the first terminal in the first network. The first terminal sends a session management request message to a session management network element in the first network. The session management request message includes information for determining a terminal type of the second terminal and service flow information corresponding to the terminal type.

Illustratively, the information for determining the terminal type of the second terminal may be: the terminal type of the second terminal or the port number information corresponding to each of the one or more terminal types. Or the information for determining the terminal type of the second terminal may be: and the identifier of the terminal corresponding to each terminal type.

In one possible implementation manner, the session management request message further includes: the identifier of the second terminal, or the trusted gateway identifier and the untrusted gateway identifier.

In one possible implementation, the traffic flow information includes: at least one of port number information of the traffic flow or a terminal media access control MAC address.

In a possible implementation manner, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: the first terminal allocates port number information to the terminal type.

In one possible implementation, a method for a first terminal in a first network to determine a terminal type of a second terminal accessing the first terminal includes: and the first terminal determines the terminal type of the second terminal through the service set identifier accessed by the second terminal. Or the first terminal determines the terminal type of the second terminal according to the flow supported by the second terminal.

In one possible implementation, the session management request message further includes any one or more of the following information: and the identifier of the second terminal, the identifier of the trusted gateway and the identifier of the untrusted gateway.

In one possible implementation, the terminal type includes any one or more of the following: the system comprises a terminal supporting 5G core network access, an interactive network television device, a home user device, a signed user device, a visitor user device, a non-signed user device or a third-party device.

In a possible implementation manner, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: and the first terminal sends the service quality parameters requested by the first terminal to a session management network element.

In a possible implementation manner, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: and the first terminal receives the service quality parameters of the service flow of the second terminal from the session management network element, wherein the service flow is the service flow of the second terminal communicating with the second network through the first terminal in the first network.

In a possible implementation manner, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: and the first terminal transmits the service according to the service quality parameter.

In a possible implementation manner, a first terminal transmits a service flow according to a quality of service parameter, including: and the first terminal controls the air interface service quality between the second terminal and the first terminal according to the service quality parameters. That is, the first terminal transmits the service flow to the second terminal according to the service quality parameter.

In a third aspect, a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application includes: a user plane network element in the first network receives quality of service parameters of a traffic flow from a second terminal of a session management network element in the first network. The traffic flow is a traffic flow in which the second terminal communicates with the second network through the first terminal in the first network. And the user plane network element transmits the service flow by adopting the service quality parameter.

In a possible implementation manner, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: the user plane network element receives the description information of the service flow from the session management network element. The description information includes QFI, or DSCP value.

In a possible implementation manner, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: the user plane network element receives a first indication from the session management network element. The first indication is used for indicating the user plane network element to set the QFI or DSCP value carried in the inner layer data header of the service flow as the QFI in the outer layer data header of the service flow.

In a possible implementation manner, a user plane network element transmits a service flow by using a quality of service parameter, including: and the user plane network element maps the QFI or DSCP value carried in the inner layer data header of the service flow determined by the description information into the QFI in the outer layer data header of the service flow. And the user plane network element transmits the mapped service flow by adopting the service quality parameters.

In a possible implementation manner, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: the user plane network element receives a first request message from the session management network element, wherein the first request message is used for indicating the user plane network element to report the port number information of the service flow. And the user plane network element sends the port number information of the service flow to the session management network element, wherein the port number information of the service flow is used for determining the terminal type of the second terminal. Illustratively, the first request message may carry an identification of the traffic flow.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, where the method includes: a session management network element in the first network sends a first indication to a user plane network element in the first network. The first indication is used for indicating the user plane network element to send the association relationship between the security parameter index SPI and the QoS flow identification QFI. The SPI is used to determine the traffic flow. The traffic flow is a traffic flow in which the second terminal communicates with the second network through the first terminal in the first network. And the session management network element receives the association relation from the user plane network element. And the session management network element determines the service quality parameters corresponding to the SPI according to the association relation.

In a possible implementation manner, determining, by the session management network element, the quality of service parameter corresponding to the SPI according to the association relationship includes: and the session management network element determines the service quality parameters of the service flow indicated by the QFI according to the QFI. And the session management network element generates a service quality parameter corresponding to the SPI according to the service quality parameter of the service flow indicated by the QFI.

In a possible implementation manner, the determining, by the session management network element, the quality of service parameter of the service flow indicated by the QFI according to the QFI includes: and the session management network element determines the 5G service quality parameter identifier according to the QFI. And the session management network element acquires the service quality parameters corresponding to the 5G service quality parameter identification according to the 5G service quality parameter identification. And the session management network element determines the service quality parameters of the service flow indicated by the QFI according to the service quality parameters corresponding to the 5G service quality parameter identification.

In a possible implementation manner, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: and the session management network element sends the service quality parameters corresponding to the SPI to the user plane network element.

In a possible implementation manner, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: and the session management network element sends the QFI in the outer layer data header of the service flow determined by the SPI to the user plane network element.

In a possible implementation manner, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: the session management network element sends a session management message to a first terminal in the first network. The session management message includes an SPI, and a quality of service parameter corresponding to the SPI.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, including: a user plane network element in a first network receives a first indication from a session management network element in the first network. The first indication is used for indicating the user plane network element to send the association relationship between the security parameter index SPI and the quality of service flow identifier QFI. The SPI is used to determine the traffic flow. And the user plane network element sends the association relation to the session management network element.

In a possible implementation manner, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: and the user plane network element receives the session management message from the session management network element. The session management message includes the SPI, the quality of service parameters corresponding to the SPI, and the QFI in the outer header.

In a possible implementation manner, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: and the user plane network element processes the service flow determined by the SPI by adopting the QFI in the outer layer data header. And the user plane network element transmits the service flow determined by the SPI by adopting the QFI service quality parameter in the outer layer data header or the service quality parameter corresponding to the SPI.

In any one of the first to fifth aspects and any one implementation manner, the first terminal may be a terminal registered in the first network. The second terminal may be a terminal registered in the second network. The second terminal may transmit the traffic stream to the second network via the first terminal, a data transmission channel between the first terminal and the first network, and a data transmission channel between the first network and the second network. Of course, the second network may also send the traffic flow for the second terminal to the first network by using a data transmission channel between the second network and the first network, so that the traffic flow for the second terminal is transmitted to the second terminal by the first network by using the data transmission channel of the first network. The first network may be a network to which the first terminal is registered. The first network may comprise a core network element serving the first terminal in a network in which the first terminal is registered. The second network may be a network with which the second terminal is registered. The second network may comprise a core network element of the network in which the second terminal is registered that provides services for the second terminal.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, where the communication apparatus may be a session management network element, and may also be a chip or a system-on-chip in the session management network element. The communication device may include a processing unit and a communication unit. When the communication device is a session management network element, the processing unit may be a processor and the communication unit may be a communication interface or interface circuit. The communication device may further comprise a storage unit, which may be a memory. The storage unit is configured to store instructions, and the processing unit executes the instructions stored by the storage unit to enable the session management network element to implement the first aspect or one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect.

Illustratively, when the communication device may be a session management network element, the communication unit is configured to obtain any one or more of the following information: the terminal type of the second terminal, the service flow information of the second terminal, or the identifier of the second terminal. A processing unit, configured to determine, according to any one or more of a terminal type of the second terminal, service flow information of the second terminal, or an identifier of the second terminal, a quality of service parameter of a service flow in the first network, where the service flow is a service flow in which the second terminal communicates with the second network through the first terminal in the first network.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit is further configured to acquire, from the data management network element, a subscription quality of service parameter corresponding to any one or more of the terminal type, the service flow information of the second terminal, or the identifier of the second terminal. And the processing unit is specifically configured to determine a quality of service parameter of the service flow of the second terminal according to the subscription quality of service parameter.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit is further configured to obtain a quality of service parameter requested by the first terminal. And the processing unit is specifically configured to determine a quality of service parameter of the service flow of the second terminal according to the subscription quality of service parameter and the quality of service parameter requested by the first terminal.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit is specifically configured to obtain port number information of the traffic flow from a user plane network element in the first network. And the processing unit is specifically configured to acquire the terminal type of the second terminal according to the port number information of the service flow.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit is further configured to receive a session management request message from the first terminal, where the session management request message includes any one or more of the following information: the terminal type of the second terminal, the identifier of the second terminal, and the service flow information corresponding to the terminal type.

In one possible implementation manner, the session management request message further includes: trusted gateway identification, untrusted gateway identification.

In one possible implementation, the traffic flow information includes: and at least one of port number information of the service flow or a terminal Media Access Control (MAC) address or a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) tag.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is specifically configured to determine that port number information of the service flow is consistent with port number information in the session management request message; and the terminal type corresponding to the port number information in the session management request message is determined as the terminal type of the second terminal.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit is further configured to send the quality of service parameter to a user plane network element in the first network or the first terminal.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit is further configured to send description information of the service flow to the user plane network element, where the description information includes a QFI or a DSCP value.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit is further configured to send a first indication to the user plane network element, where the first indication is used to instruct the user plane network element to set a QFI or a DSCP value carried in an inner-layer data header of the service flow as a QFI in an outer-layer data header of the service flow.

Illustratively, when the communication device is a chip or a system of chips within a session management network element, the processing unit may be a processor and the communication unit may be a communication interface. For example, the communication interface may be an input/output interface, a pin or a circuit, etc. The processing unit executes the instructions stored by the storage unit to cause the session management network element to implement the first aspect or one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect. The memory unit may be a memory unit (e.g. register, cache, etc.) within the chip, or a memory unit (e.g. read only memory, random access memory, etc.) located outside the chip within the session management network element.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, where the communication apparatus may be a first terminal, and may also be a chip or a chip system in the first terminal. The communication device may include a processing unit and a communication unit. When the communication device is a first terminal, the processing unit may be a processor and the communication unit may be a communication interface or interface circuit. The communication device may further comprise a storage unit, which may be a memory. The storage unit is configured to store instructions, and the processing unit executes the instructions stored in the storage unit to enable the first terminal to implement the communication method described in the second aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the second aspect.

Illustratively, when the communication device may be a first terminal, the communication device is applied in a first network, and the processing unit is configured to determine a terminal type of a second terminal accessing the first terminal. The second terminal is a terminal that communicates with the second network through the communication device in the first network. A communication unit, configured to send a session management request message to a session management network element in the first network. The session management request message includes information for determining a terminal type of the second terminal and service flow information corresponding to the terminal type.

The information for determining the terminal type of the second terminal and the specific content of the terminal type may refer to the description of the relevant places in the second aspect, and are not described herein again.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is further configured to assign port number information to the terminal type.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is specifically configured to determine the terminal type of the second terminal through a service set identifier accessed by the second terminal. Or, the processing unit is specifically configured to determine the terminal type of the second terminal according to the flow supported by the second terminal.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit is further configured to send the quality of service parameter requested by the first terminal to a session management network element.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit is further configured to receive a quality of service parameter of a service flow from a second terminal of the session management network element, where the service flow is a service flow in which the second terminal communicates with a second network through a first terminal in the first network.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is further configured to transmit the traffic according to the quality of service parameter.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is further specifically configured to control an air interface service quality between the second terminal and the first terminal according to the service quality parameter. I.e. the processing unit, further transmits the service flow to the second terminal specifically according to the quality of service parameter.

Illustratively, when the communication device is a chip or a system of chips within the first terminal, the processing unit may be a processor, and the communication unit may be a communication interface, such as an input/output interface, a pin or a circuit, etc. The processing unit executes instructions stored by a storage unit, which may be a storage unit (e.g., register, cache, etc.) within the chip or a storage unit (e.g., read-only memory, random access memory, etc.) external to the chip, to cause the first terminal to implement a communication method described in the second aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, where the communication apparatus may be a user plane network element, or may be a chip or a chip system in the user plane network element. The communication device may include a processing unit and a communication unit. When the communication device is a user plane network element, the processing unit may be a processor and the communication unit may be a communication interface or interface circuit or a transceiver. The communication device may further comprise a storage unit, which may be a memory. The storage unit is configured to store instructions, and the processing unit executes the instructions stored by the storage unit to enable the user plane network element to implement a communication method described in the third aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the third aspect.

Illustratively, when the communication device may be a user plane network element, the communication device is applied in the first network, and the communication unit is specifically configured to receive the quality of service parameter of the traffic flow from the second terminal of the session management network element in the first network. The traffic flow is a traffic flow in which the second terminal communicates with the second network through the first terminal in the first network. And the processing unit is used for transmitting the service flow by adopting the service quality parameter.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit is further configured to receive description information of the service flow from the session management network element. The description information includes QFI, or DSCP value.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit is further configured to receive a first indication from the session management network element. The first indication is used for indicating the user plane network element to set the QFI or DSCP value carried in the inner layer data header of the service flow as the QFI in the outer layer data header of the service flow.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is specifically configured to map the QFI or DSCP value carried in the inner-layer data header of the service flow determined by the description information to the QFI in the outer-layer data header of the service flow. And the user plane network element transmits the mapped service flow by adopting the service quality parameters.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit is further configured to receive a first request message from the session management network element, where the first request message is used to indicate the user plane network element to report port number information of the service flow. And the user plane network element sends the port number information of the service flow to the session management network element, wherein the port number information of the service flow is used for determining the terminal type of the second terminal. Illustratively, the first request message may carry an identification of the traffic flow.

Illustratively, when the communication device is a chip within a user plane network element, the processing unit may be a processor, and the communication unit may be a communication interface, such as an input/output interface, a pin or a circuit, etc. The processing unit executes the instructions stored in the storage unit, which may be a storage unit (e.g., a register, a cache, etc.) in the chip or a storage unit (e.g., a read-only memory, a random access memory, etc.) in the user plane network element, and is located outside the chip, so as to enable the user plane network element to implement a communication method described in any one of the possible implementations of the third aspect or the third aspect.

In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, where the communication apparatus may be a session management network element, and may also be a chip or a system-on-chip in the session management network element. The communication device may include a processing unit and a communication unit. When the communication device is a session management network element, the processing unit may be a processor and the communication unit may be a communication interface or interface circuit. The communication device may further comprise a storage unit, which may be a memory. The storage unit is configured to store instructions, and the processing unit executes the instructions stored by the storage unit to enable the session management network element to implement a communication method described in the fourth aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the fourth aspect.

Illustratively, when the communication device is a session management network element, the communication device is applied in the first network, and the communication unit is configured to send the first indication to a user plane network element in the first network. The first indication is used for indicating the user plane network element to send the association relationship between the security parameter index SPI and the QoS flow identification QFI. The SPI is used to determine the traffic flow. The traffic flow is a traffic flow in which the second terminal communicates with the second network through the first terminal in the first network. And the communication unit is also used for receiving the association relation from the user plane network element. And the processing unit is used for determining the service quality parameters corresponding to the SPI according to the association relation.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is specifically configured to determine, according to the QFI, a quality of service parameter of the traffic flow indicated by the QFI. And the processing unit is specifically configured to generate a quality of service parameter corresponding to the SPI according to the quality of service parameter of the service flow indicated by the QFI.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is specifically configured to determine a 5G qos parameter identifier according to the QFI, and is specifically configured to obtain a qos parameter corresponding to the 5G qos parameter identifier according to the 5G qos parameter identifier. And the processing unit is specifically configured to determine the service quality parameter of the service flow indicated by the QFI according to the service quality parameter corresponding to the 5G service quality parameter identifier.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit is further configured to send a quality of service parameter corresponding to the SPI to the user plane network element.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit is further configured to send the QFI in the outer header of the traffic flow determined by the SPI to the user plane network element.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit is further configured to send a session management message to the first terminal in the first network. The session management message includes an SPI, and a quality of service parameter corresponding to the SPI.

Illustratively, when the communication device is a chip or a system of chips within a session management network element, the processing unit may be a processor and the communication unit may be a communication interface. For example, the communication interface may be an input/output interface, a pin or a circuit, etc. The processing unit executes the instructions stored by the storage unit to cause the session management network element to implement a communication method as described in the fourth aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the fourth aspect. The memory unit may be a memory unit (e.g. register, cache, etc.) within the chip, or a memory unit (e.g. read only memory, random access memory, etc.) located outside the chip within the session management network element.

In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, where the communication apparatus may be a user plane network element, or may be a chip or a chip system in the user plane network element. The communication device may include a processing unit and a communication unit. When the communication device is a user plane network element, the processing unit may be a processor and the communication unit may be a communication interface or interface circuit or a transceiver. The communication device may further comprise a storage unit, which may be a memory. The storage unit is configured to store instructions, and the processing unit executes the instructions stored by the storage unit to enable the user plane network element to implement a communication method described in the fifth aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the fifth aspect.

Illustratively, when the communication device may be a user plane network element, the communication device is applied in a first network, and the communication unit is configured to receive a first indication from a session management network element in the first network. The first indication is used for indicating the user plane network element to send the association relationship between the security parameter index SPI and the quality of service flow identifier QFI. The SPI is used to determine the traffic flow. And the communication unit is further used for sending the association relation to the session management network element.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit is configured to receive a session management message from the session management network element. The session management message includes the SPI, the quality of service parameters corresponding to the SPI, and the QFI in the outer header.

In one possible implementation, the communication apparatus may further include: and the processing unit is used for processing the service flow determined by the SPI by adopting the QFI in the outer-layer data header. And the processing unit is further configured to transmit the service quality parameter of the QFI in the outer-layer data header or the service quality parameter corresponding to the SPI to the service flow determined by the SPI.

Illustratively, when the communication device is a chip within a user plane network element, the processing unit may be a processor, and the communication unit may be a communication interface, such as an input/output interface, a pin or a circuit, etc. The processing unit executes the instructions stored in the storage unit, which may be a storage unit (e.g., a register, a cache, etc.) inside the chip or a storage unit (e.g., a read-only memory, a random access memory, etc.) outside the chip, so as to enable the user plane network element to implement a communication method described in any possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect or the fifth aspect.

In an eleventh aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program or an instruction is stored, and when the computer program or the instruction runs on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the communication method described in any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect to the first aspect.

In a twelfth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program or an instruction is stored, and when the computer program or the instruction runs on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the communication method described in any one of the possible implementation manners of the second aspect to the second aspect.

In a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program or an instruction is stored, and when the computer program or the instruction runs on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the communication method described in any one of the possible implementation manners of the third aspect to the third aspect.

In a fourteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program or instructions are stored, and when the computer program or instructions are run on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the communication method described in any one of the possible implementation manners of the fourth aspect to the fourth aspect.

In a fifteenth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program or instructions are stored, and when the computer program or instructions are run on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the communication method described in any one of the possible implementation manners of the fifth aspect to the fifth aspect.

In a sixteenth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer program product comprising instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the first aspect or one of the communication methods described in the various possible implementations of the first aspect.

In a seventeenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the second aspect or one of the communication methods described in the various possible implementations of the second aspect.

In an eighteenth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer program product comprising instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform a method of communication as described in the third aspect or in various possible implementations of the third aspect.

In a nineteenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform a method of communication as described in the fourth aspect or in various possible implementations of the fourth aspect.

In a twentieth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer program product comprising instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform a method of communication as described in the fifth aspect or in various possible implementations of the fifth aspect.

In a twenty-first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, where the communication system includes any one or more of the following: a session management network element as described in the ninth aspect and in various possible implementations, and a user plane network element as described in the tenth aspect and in various possible implementations of the tenth aspect.

In a twenty-second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, including any one or more of the following: a session management network element as described in the sixth aspect and in various possible implementations, a first terminal as described in the seventh aspect and in various possible implementations, and a user plane network element as described in the eighth aspect and in various possible implementations.

In a twenty-third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which includes a processor and a storage medium, where the storage medium stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, implement the communication method as described in the first aspect or various possible implementation manners of the first aspect.

In a twenty-fourth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication apparatus, which includes a processor and a storage medium, where the storage medium stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, implement the communication method as described in the second aspect or various possible implementation manners of the second aspect.

In a twenty-fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which includes a processor and a storage medium, where the storage medium stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, implement the communication method as described in the third aspect or various possible implementation manners of the third aspect.

In a twenty-sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which includes a processor and a storage medium, where the storage medium stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, implement the communication method as described in the fourth aspect or various possible implementation manners of the fourth aspect.

In a twenty-seventh aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication apparatus, which includes a processor and a storage medium, where the storage medium stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, implement the communication method as described in the fifth aspect or various possible implementation manners of the fifth aspect.

In a twenty-eighth aspect, the present application provides a chip or a chip system, where the chip or the chip system includes at least one processor and a communication interface, the communication interface and the at least one processor are interconnected by a line, and the at least one processor is configured to execute a computer program or instructions to perform the communication method described in any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect to the first aspect.

In a twenty-ninth aspect, the present application provides a chip or a chip system, where the chip or the chip system includes at least one processor and a communication interface, the communication interface and the at least one processor are interconnected by a line, and the at least one processor is configured to execute a computer program or instructions to perform the communication method described in any one of the second aspect to the second aspect.

In a thirtieth aspect, the present application provides a chip or a chip system, where the chip or the chip system includes at least one processor and a communication interface, the communication interface and the at least one processor are interconnected by a line, and the at least one processor is configured to execute a computer program or instructions to perform the communication method described in any one of any possible implementation manners of the third aspect to the third aspect.

In a thirty-first aspect, the present application provides a chip or a chip system, where the chip or the chip system includes at least one processor and a communication interface, the communication interface and the at least one processor are interconnected by a line, and the at least one processor is configured to execute a computer program or instructions to perform the communication method described in any one of any possible implementation manners of the fourth aspect to the fourth aspect.

In a thirty-second aspect, the present application provides a chip or a chip system, where the chip or the chip system includes at least one processor and a communication interface, the communication interface and the at least one processor are interconnected by a line, and the at least one processor is configured to execute a computer program or instructions to perform the communication method described in any one of the possible implementation manners of the fifth aspect to the fifth aspect.

The communication interface in the chip may be an input/output interface, a pin, a circuit, or the like.

In one possible implementation, the chip or chip system described above in this application further comprises at least one memory having instructions stored therein. The memory may be a storage unit inside the chip, such as a register, a cache, etc., or may be a storage unit of the chip (e.g., a read-only memory, a random access memory, etc.).

For the beneficial effects of the second aspect to the thirty second aspect and various implementation manners thereof in the present application, reference may be made to beneficial effect analysis in the first aspect and various implementation manners thereof, and details are not described here.

Drawings

Fig. 1-3 are schematic structural diagrams of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4-11 are schematic flow charts of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a first schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

In the embodiments of the present application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish the same or similar items having substantially the same function and action. For example, the first network and the second network are only for distinguishing different networks, and the order of the first network and the second network is not limited. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the terms "first," "second," etc. do not denote any order or quantity, nor do the terms "first," "second," etc. denote any order or importance.

It is noted that, in the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to mean exemplary, illustrative, or descriptive. Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" or "e.g.," is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, use of the word "exemplary" or "such as" is intended to present concepts related in a concrete fashion.

In the present application, "at least one" means one or more, "a plurality" means two or more. "and/or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, meaning that there may be three relationships, e.g., a and/or B, which may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, wherein A and B can be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "at least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of the singular or plural items. For example, at least one (one) of a, b, or c, may represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, wherein a, b, c may be single or multiple.

As shown in fig. 1, fig. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application, where the communication system includes: a terminal 10, a first network 20, a second network 30. The terminal 10 accesses the second network 30 through the first network 20.

The first network 20 includes a session management network element 201, a user plane network element 203, and a terminal 202. Wherein, the user plane network element 203 is used for transmitting the traffic flow of the terminal 202.

Illustratively, the first network 20 includes a network element serving the terminal 202 in a core network in which the terminal 202 is registered. The second network 30 includes a network element that serves the terminal 10 in a core network in which the terminal 10 is registered through the first network. I.e. the first network comprises core network elements of the core network that serve 202. I.e. the second network comprises core network elements of the core network that serve the terminal 10.

It should be understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal 10 and the terminal 202 may be registered in the same core network. Or may be a different core network. The core network elements constituting the first network 20 and the core network elements constituting the second network 30 may be the same or different. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

For example, the first Network and the second Network may be respectively formed by the same or different Network elements of the same Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), or may be formed by different Network elements of different PLMNs.

An example is given by the Core network in which the terminal 202 is registered being a 4G Core network (e.g., Evolved Packet Core (EPC)) as an example, the first network 20 includes Core network elements in the 4G Core network that serve the terminal 202, the Core network in which the terminal 10 is registered is a 5G Core network (5G Core, 5GC) as an example, and the second network 30 includes Core network elements in the 5G Core network that serve the terminal 10.

As another example, the core networks registered by the terminal 202 and the terminal 10 are both 5 GCs. The first network 20 comprises core network elements of a 5G core network that serve the terminal 202. The second network 30 comprises a core network element of a 5G core network that serves the terminal 10.

As another example, the core networks registered by the terminal 202 and the terminal 10 are both 4G core networks. The first network 20 comprises a core network element of a 4G core network that serves the terminal 202. The second network 30 comprises a core network element of a 4G core network that serves the terminal 10.

For example, the first network in the embodiment of the present application may further include a mobility management network element and a policy network element. Wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the mobility management network element is mainly responsible for user registration authentication, mobility management, and issuing a data packet forwarding policy, a QoS control policy and the like to a User Plane (UPF).

Taking the 4G core network as an example, the Mobility Management element may be a Mobility Management Entity (MME). The Policy network element may be a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF).

Taking a 5G core network as an example, the session management network element may be: a Session Management Function (SMF) network element. The Mobility Management network element may be an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) network element. The Policy network element may be a Policy Control Function (PCF) network element. The User plane network element 203 may be a User Plane Function (UPF) network element.

As shown in fig. 2, taking the application of the communication system shown in fig. 1 to a 5G network architecture as an example, the network structure shown in fig. 2 may be referred to as: and (5) fixing and moving a converged network architecture. In the network architecture shown in fig. 2, the session management network element 201 may be: a first SMF network element. The first network may include: the system comprises a first SMF network element, a first AMF network element, a first PCF network element and a first UPF network element. The second network may be: a second SMF network element, a second AMF network element, a second PCF network element, and a UPF network element 302.

In addition, as shown in fig. 2, the 5G network architecture may further include: an Interworking Function (IWF) Network element 303 and a Data Network (DN) 304. Wherein the UPF network element 302 and the IWF network element 303 belong to the second network 30.

The UPF network element is a user plane gateway and is mainly responsible for forwarding of packet data packets, QoS control, accounting information statistics and the like. For example, the traffic flows are transmitted through UPF network element 302 to DN 304. The DN304 is used to provide services to the terminal 10, such as providing mobile operator services, Internet services or third party services.

Illustratively, the Access device 204 is an Access Network device, which may be a Radio Access Network (e.g., Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG RAN)), a wired Access Network/fixed Access Network (W-5 GAN), such as an Access Gateway Function (AGF) or a Network Gateway control device (BNG).

In the system architecture shown in fig. 1 or fig. 2, the terminal 10 accesses the second network 30 through the terminal 202. The terminal 10 transmits a traffic stream to the second network 30 using a data transmission channel between the terminal 202 and the first network 20 and the second network 30. Or the second network 30 transmits the traffic flow for the terminal 10 to the first network 20 using a data transmission channel between the second network 30 and the first network 30. The first network 20 sends a traffic flow for the terminal 10 to the terminal 10 through a first user plane network element in the first network 20 and the terminal 202.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 2, the traffic of the terminal 10 is transmitted to the first UPF network element through the user plane of the terminal 202. The traffic stream of the terminal 10 is transmitted by the first UPF network element to the IWF network element 303 of the second network 30. The specific implementation is that the terminal 10 and the IWF network element 303 establish an IPSEC tunnel to transmit the service flow of the terminal 10. The traffic flow of the terminal 10 may be transmitted in the first network as the traffic flow of the terminal 202. The first UPF network element in the first network 10 then transmits the service flow of the terminal 10 to the IWF network element 303, the IWF network element 303 transmits the received service flow of the terminal 10 to the UPF network element 302, and then the UPF network element 302 transmits the service flow of the terminal 10 to the DN 304.

Furthermore, under the 5G architecture, in addition to the session management network element 201 and the user plane network element 203, other network elements may also exist in the first network 20. Taking as an example that the first network 20 is under the 5G architecture, other network elements that may also exist under the 5G architecture, the description of the second network 30 that may exist under the 5G architecture may refer to the description of the first network 20 under the 5G architecture.

As shown in fig. 3, fig. 3 shows that the 5G network architecture may further include: a Unified Data Management (UDM) network element, a Data Network (DN), an authentication server function (AUSF) network element, a Unified Database (UDR), or a Binding Support Function (BSF). A network capability opening function (NEF) network element, a Network Repository Function (NRF) network element, an Application Function (AF), and the like, which are not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

It should be noted that, in the 5G network architecture, the IWF network element 303 functions as an access device.

The terminal communicates with the AMF network element through a Next generation network (N1) interface (N1 for short). The access equipment communicates with the AMF network element through an N2 interface (abbreviated as N2). The access equipment communicates with the UPF network element through an N3 interface (abbreviated as N3). The UPF network elements communicate with the DN over an N6 interface (abbreviated N6). Any two UPF network elements communicate with each other through an N9 interface (N9 for short). The UPF network element communicates with the SMF network element over an N4 interface (abbreviated N4). The AMF network element communicates with the SMF network element via an N11 interface (abbreviated as N11). The AMF network element communicates with the UDM network element via an N8 interface (N8 for short). The SMF network element communicates with the PCF network element via an N7 interface (abbreviated N7). The SMF network element communicates with the UDM network element over an N10 interface (abbreviated N10). The AMF network element communicates with the AUSF network element through an N12 interface (abbreviated as N12). The AMF network element communicates with the NSSF network element through an N22 interface (abbreviated as N22). The AUSF network element communicates with the UDM network element via an N13 interface (abbreviated N13). The UDM network element communicates with the UDR network element. The PCF network element is communicated with the UDR network element, and the BSF network element is communicated with the PCF network element and the SMF network element.

It should be understood that, in the network architecture shown in fig. 3, the control plane network elements may also interact using a service interface. For example, the AMF network element, the AUSF network element, the SMF network element, the UDM network element, the UDR network element, the NRF network element, the NEF network element, the NSSF network element, or the PCF network element use a service interface for interaction. For example, the service interface provided by the AMF network element to the outside may be Namf. The service interface externally provided by the SMF network element may be Nsmf. The external serving interface provided by the UDM network element may be Nudm. The serving interface externally provided by the UDR network element may be nurr. The service interface externally provided by the PCF network element may be Npcf. The service interface externally provided by the BSF network element may be Nbsf. The service interface provided by the NEF network element to the outside may be Nnef. The service interface provided by the NRF network element to the outside may be nrrf. The external service interface provided by the NSSF network element may be NSSF. The service interface provided by the NWDAF network element to the outside may be NWDAF. It should be understood that the related descriptions of the names of the various service interfaces in fig. 3 can refer to the 5G system architecture (5G system architecture) diagram in the 23501 standard, which is not repeated herein.

It should be noted that fig. 3 is only an exemplary illustration of a UPF network element and an SMF network element. Of course, the UPF network element and the SMF network element may include multiple UPF network elements and multiple SMF network elements, for example, the SMF network element 1 and the SMF network element 2 are included, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application. The connection manner between the network elements may refer to the network architecture shown in fig. 3, and is not described in detail here. The interface name between each network element in fig. 4 is only an example, and the interface name may be other names in a specific implementation, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

It should be noted that the access device, the AF network element, the AMF network element, the SMF network element, the AUSF network element, the UDM network element, the UPF network element, the PCF network element, and the like in fig. 3 are only names, and the names do not limit the device itself. In the 5G network and other future networks, the network elements corresponding to the access device, the AF network element, the AMF network element, the SMF network element, the AUSF network element, the UDM network element, the UPF network element, and the PCF network element may also be other names, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application. For example, the UDM network element may also be replaced by a user home server (HSS) or a User Subscription Database (USD) or a database entity, and the like, which are described herein in a unified manner and will not be described in detail later.

It should be noted that the network architecture of the embodiment of the present application is not limited to the 5G fixed-mobile convergence network architecture, but any architecture in which the terminal accesses the second network through the first network is applicable to the embodiment of the present application. The first network or the second network may be a private network, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, a MulteFire network or a home base station network, or a mobile network accessed by a non-3GPP, such as WIFI, or a future 6G network. The Access Network (AN) in the first Network may be AN NG RAN, AN Access Gateway Function (AGF) or a Network Gateway control device (BNG) for fixed Network Access, a wired Access Network/fixed Network Access Network (wired AN), a private Network Access Network, a multi-fire Network Access, AN untrusted Access Gateway (Non-3GPP Interworking Function, N3IWF), or a trusted Access Gateway.

In one example, a first terminal or a second terminal (terminal) referred to in the embodiments of the present application may include various devices having a wireless communication function and capable of connecting to a mobile network. For example, a handheld device, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a computing device, or other processing device connected to a wireless modem; subscriber units (subscriber units), cellular phones (cellular phones), smart phones (smart phones), wireless data cards, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), tablet computers, wireless modems (modems), handheld devices (dhhandles), laptop computers (laptop computers), cordless phones (cordless phones) or Wireless Local Loop (WLL) stations, Machine Type Communication (MTC) terminals, User Equipment (UE), Mobile Stations (MS), terminal devices (terminal devices), relay user equipment (rs) may also be included. For example, the relay user equipment may be, for example, a 5G home gateway (RG).

One terminal may act as both a first terminal and a second terminal.

The functions of the various network elements referred to in the above-mentioned figures 2-3 are as follows:

the AMF network element has the main functions of: connection management, mobility management, registration management, access authentication and authorization, reachability management, or security context management, among other access and mobility related functions.

The SMF network element has the main functions of: session management (e.g., Session setup, modification, and release, including tunnel maintenance between the UPF and the AN), selection and control of UPF network elements, Service and Session Continuity (SSC) mode selection, or Session related functions such as roaming.

PCF network elements, the main functions include: unified policy making, providing policy control, and obtaining subscription information related to policy decision from the UDR.

The NSSF network element mainly has the functions of: a set of network slice instances is selected for the terminal. Or, determining allowed NSSAI, determining AMF network element set that can serve the terminal, etc.

The NRF network element mainly comprises the following functions: a service discovery Function that maintains NF text of available Network Function (NF) instances and services supported by NF instances.

The AF network element interacts with the 3GPP core network to provide services or services, including interacting with NEF, or interacting with policy framework, etc.

The NEF network element mainly comprises the following functions: the services and capabilities provided by the safe open 3GPP network function are internally open or open to third parties, etc. And converting or translating Information interacted with the AF and internal Network function interaction German Information, such as AF service identification and internal 5G core Network Information such as Data Network Name (DNN), Single Network Slice Selection support Information (S-NSSAI) identification and the like.

And the UDM supports authentication credential processing, user identity processing, access authorization, registration and mobility management, subscription management, short message management and the like in a 3GPP authentication and key negotiation mechanism.

And the AUSF network element interacts with the UDM to acquire user information and executes authentication related functions, such as generating an intermediate key and the like.

UDR for storing subscription Data (Subscribed Data), Policy information (Policy Data), Application Data (Application Data), etc.

An execution main body of a sending end of a communication method in the embodiment of the present application may be a session management network element, and may also be a device applied to the session management network element. For example, to a chip or system of chips in a session management network element. An executing body of a receiving end of a communication method may be a user plane network element and/or a first terminal, and may also be a device applied to the user plane network element and/or the first terminal, for example, a chip or a chip system applied to the user plane network element and/or the first terminal. The following embodiments will be described taking as examples a session management network element, and a user plane network element and/or a first terminal, respectively.

As shown in fig. 4, fig. 4 illustrates a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application, which may be applied to the communication system shown in fig. 1. It should be noted that the communication system shown in fig. 1 is for more clearly explaining the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and does not limit the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. The method comprises the following steps:

step 101, a session management network element in a first network obtains any one or more of the following information: the terminal type of the second terminal, the service flow information of the second terminal, or the identifier of the second terminal.

The second terminal is a terminal which accesses the second network through the first terminal in the first network. I.e. there is a connection between the first terminal and the second terminal. The second terminal may send the traffic stream to the first terminal for transmission by the first terminal through the first network to the second network. Specifically, the first terminal may transmit the traffic flow from the second terminal as the traffic flow of the first terminal in the first network. The traffic flow information of the second terminal is used to determine the traffic flow of the second terminal. The identity of the second terminal is used to determine the second terminal.

For example, the first network may be the first network 20 shown in fig. 1. The session management network element may be the session management network element 201 as shown in fig. 1. The second terminal may be the terminal 10 as shown in fig. 1. The first terminal may be the terminal 202 as shown in fig. 1.

For example, the types of terminals involved in the embodiments of the present application may include any one or more of the following types: a terminal supporting access to a 5G core network (e.g., a 5GC Capable UE), an interactive network Television device (IPTV), a home user equipment (host UE), a subscriber device, a guest user equipment (guest UE), a non-subscriber device, or a third-party device. The description is unified here and will not be repeated later.

Step 102, the session management network element determines a Quality of Service (QoS) parameter of the Service flow in the first network according to any one or more of the terminal type of the second terminal, the Service flow information of the second terminal, or the identifier of the second terminal. The traffic flow is a traffic flow in which the second terminal communicates with the second network through the first terminal in the first network.

Illustratively, the user plane element may be the user plane element 203 shown in fig. 1. The first terminal may be the terminal 202 as shown in fig. 1. The second terminal may be the terminal 10 as shown in fig. 1.

It should be understood that the traffic flow may include a downlink traffic flow and may also include an uplink traffic flow. The uplink traffic flow refers to a traffic flow that the second terminal sends to the second network through the first terminal in the first network. The downlink traffic flow refers to a traffic flow transmitted from the second network to the second terminal through the first terminal in the first network.

The content of the service quality parameter related in the embodiment of the present application may include: any one or more of priority, delay, bandwidth, packet loss Rate, Guaranteed Flow Bit Rate (GFBR). Different traffic flows have different requirements on quality of service parameters. For example, a traffic flow with guaranteed bandwidth needs to guarantee enough bandwidth, and a traffic flow with guaranteed delay is sensitive to delay and needs to guarantee short delay. In the embodiment of the present application, the qos parameter is used to determine a network resource that is required to be provided for the service flow to meet the transmission quality requirement to ensure reliable transmission of the service flow.

The network resource is a resource that can be used to meet the QoS parameter requirement of a service flow when the first terminal and/or a user plane network element transmits the service flow in the first network. For example, taking the qos parameter as an example of the bandwidth, the first terminal and the user plane network element may reserve sufficient bandwidth resources for the traffic flow in order to enable transmission of the traffic flow to reach the bandwidth value indicated by the qos parameter.

In the present invention, because in the prior art, when a service flow of a second terminal is transferred between the second terminal and a second network in a first network during communication, a session management network element does not determine a quality of service parameter for transmitting the service flow of the second terminal in the first network. In the method, a session management network element determines a service quality parameter of a service flow in a first network according to any one or more of a terminal type of a second terminal accessed to a first terminal, service flow information of the second terminal or an identifier of the second terminal, so that the first terminal in the first network and a user plane network element can implement QoS control on the service flow of the second terminal in the first network according to the service quality parameter determined by the session management network element. Thereby enabling reliable transmission of the traffic flow of the second terminal in the first network.

In an alternative embodiment, as shown in fig. 5, before step 101 in the embodiment of the present application, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes:

step 103, the first terminal in the first network determines a terminal type (the terminal type may also be referred to as a terminal category) of a second terminal accessing the first terminal, service flow information of the second terminal, or an identifier of the second terminal, where the second terminal is a terminal communicating with the second network through the first terminal in the first network. I.e. the second terminal accesses the first terminal.

In one possible implementation, step 103 may be implemented as follows: and the first terminal determines the terminal type of the second terminal through the service set identifier accessed by the second terminal.

For example, the first terminal has service set identifiers assigned to different terminal types. If a second terminal accesses a first terminal through a Service Set (Service Set), the first terminal may determine that the terminal type of the second terminal identifies an associated terminal type for the Service Set.

For example, the first terminal has a correspondence relationship between a service set identifier 1 and a terminal type 1, and a correspondence relationship between a service set identifier 2 and a terminal type 2. And if the second terminal accesses the first terminal through the service set 1 indicated by the service set identifier 1, the terminal type of the second terminal is the terminal type 1.

In yet another possible implementation manner, step 103 may be implemented by: the first terminal determines the terminal type of a second terminal according to a physical port of the second terminal accessed to the first terminal. Alternatively, in yet another possible implementation manner, step 103 may be implemented by: the first terminal determines the terminal type of a second terminal accessed to the first terminal according to local implementation.

In another possible implementation manner, step 103 may be implemented by: and the first terminal determines the terminal type of the second terminal according to the flow supported by the second terminal. For example, if the first terminal determines that the second terminal supports an Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) -5G procedure, it determines that the terminal type of the second terminal is a terminal supporting access to a 5G core network.

For example, the first terminal is an RG, the second terminal is a 5GC cable UE, and an IPTV device are taken as examples. The RG has an SSID1 allocated to the 5GC cable UE and an SSID2 allocated to the IPTV device, and the RG can determine that the type of the terminal accessing the RG through the SSID1 is the 5GC cable UE. The terminal type accessing the RG through the SSID2 is an IPTV device.

In a possible implementation manner, when the second terminal establishes a connection with the first terminal, the first terminal obtains an identifier of the second terminal. For example, when the second terminal establishes an L2 connection with the first terminal, the second terminal may also send the identity of the second terminal to the first terminal. In the embodiment of the present application, the identifier of the second terminal is used to identify the second terminal. For example, the identity of the second terminal may be any one or more of a user Permanent Identifier (SUPI), or a user Concealed Identifier (SUCI), or a telephone number. For example, the second terminal may send the identifier of the second terminal to the first terminal through a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) message, a hypertext transfer Protocol (HTTP) message, or an Access Network Query Protocol (ANQP) message.

In this embodiment of the application, a manner in which a first terminal determines a terminal type of a second terminal accessing the first terminal to be an IPTV device, a home user equipment, a subscribed user equipment, a visitor user equipment, a non-subscribed user equipment, or a third party device (device) may refer to a process in which the first terminal determines the terminal type of the second terminal accessing the first terminal to be a 5GC cable UE, which is not described herein again.

It should be understood that, before step 104, the present application may further include: a first terminal selects a session in a first network for a second terminal accessing the first terminal. I.e. the first terminal may perform step 104 after selecting a session in the first network for the second terminal accessing the first terminal. Specifically, if the first terminal determines that a session that can be serviced by the second terminal exists in the first network, a session update procedure may be performed. The session establishment procedure may be performed if the first terminal determines that there is no session in the first network that can be serviced by the second terminal. The session involved in the embodiment of the present application may be a Packet Data Unit (PDU) in a 5G Network, or a Public Data Network (PDN) connection in a 4G Network.

Step 104, the first terminal sends a session management request message to a session management network element in the first network. Wherein, the session management request message includes: the information used for determining the terminal type of the second terminal, the identifier of the second terminal and the service flow information corresponding to the terminal type.

For example, the information for determining the terminal type of the second terminal may be the terminal type of the second terminal. Or the information for determining the terminal type of the second terminal may be port number information corresponding to each of one or more terminal types. Or the information for determining the terminal type of the second terminal may be a terminal identifier corresponding to each of one or more terminal types. It is to be understood that the one or more terminal types are terminal types to which the first terminal belongs for accessing the first terminal.

In one possible implementation, the first terminal may send the session management request message to the session management element through a mobility management element in the first network.

The service flow information corresponding to the terminal type is used for determining the service flow corresponding to the terminal type.

In one example, the traffic flow information includes: at least one of port number information of the traffic flow, a Media Access Control (MAC) address of the terminal, or a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) tag.

The port number information may be used to determine a port number or a port number segment. The port number information of the traffic flow may be carried in the header of the traffic flow. The port number or port number end may be assigned by the first terminal for different terminal types. That is, one terminal type corresponds to one port number or one port number segment. The port number information is different for different terminal types. For example, the RG allocates different port numbers or port number segments for different terminal types. For example, the RG is 10 for the port number allocated to the 5GC capable UE, or the port number segment allocated to the 5GC capable UE is 10-50. The number of the port allocated to the host UE is 60, or 60-70. The number of the port allocated to Guest UE is 80, or 80-90. The QoS parameter requested by the RG may be a QoS guarantee that the RG can provide for the service flow of the terminal type, such as at least one of a guaranteed bandwidth, a maximum bandwidth, a time delay, and a packet loss rate.

When the uplink service flow or the downlink service flow is transmitted by the user plane network element, the user plane network element can obtain the port number information of the uplink service flow or the downlink service flow through the data header of the uplink service flow or the downlink service flow.

In a possible implementation, the session management request message also carries an identifier of a managed session. The identification of the managed session is used to identify the managed session.

It should be understood that the session management request message is used to instruct the session management network element to perform the session management procedure. The session management process involved in the embodiment of the present application may be a session establishment process or a session update process.

Further, in one possible implementation, the session management request message includes: an identifier of a trusted non-3GPP access Gateway function (TNGF) or an untrusted Gateway (non-3GPP interworking function, N3IWF) is used to indicate that a managed session can reach the trusted Gateway or the untrusted Gateway. The identity of the trusted gateway may be an IP address of the trusted gateway. The untrusted gateway identification may be an IP address of the untrusted gateway.

Step 105, the session management network element receives a session management request message from the first terminal.

In an optional implementation manner, the session management request message further includes: trusted gateway identification, untrusted gateway identification. And the trusted gateway identification and the non-trusted gateway identification are used for indicating that the managed session can reach the trusted gateway or the non-trusted gateway.

Accordingly, step 101 in the embodiment of the present application may be implemented by: and the session management network element determines the terminal type of the second terminal according to the terminal type carried in the session management request message. For example, if the session management request message carries the terminal type 1 and the identifier of the second terminal, the session management network element determines that the terminal type of the second terminal is terminal type 1. Or, if the session management request message carries the identifier of the second terminal and the association relationship between the identifier of each terminal and the terminal type, the session management network element determines the terminal type of the second terminal from the association relationship between the identifier of each terminal and the terminal type according to the identifier of the second terminal.

In an optional embodiment, before step 103, the method provided in this embodiment further includes a registration process.

Wherein, the registration process includes: a procedure in which a first terminal registers to a core network (for example, the core network may be 5GC), and a procedure in which a second terminal establishes an L2 connection with the first terminal. For example, a first terminal initiates a registration procedure with a first AMF network element in the 5GC to register with the 5 GC. Specifically, the related implementation of the registration process may refer to the prior art, and is not described herein again.

In another possible embodiment, as shown in fig. 6, step 101 in the embodiment of the present application may be implemented by steps 1011 and 1012 as follows:

step 1011, the session management network element obtains the port number information of the service flow from the user plane network element in the first network.

Specifically, step 1011 can be implemented as follows: the session management network element sends an N4 interface message to the user plane network element. Wherein the N4 interface message includes the first indication information. The first indication information is used for indicating the user plane network element to report the port number information of the service flow of the second terminal or the identifier or the service flow information of the second terminal. And the user plane network element responds to the first indication information and sends the port number information of the service flow or the identifier of the second terminal or the service flow information to the session management network element. Specifically, after the session management network element receives the session management request message from the first terminal, step 1011 may be executed.

Step 1012, the session management network element obtains the terminal type of the second terminal or the identifier of the second terminal according to the port number information of the service flow.

In one possible implementation, step 1012 may be implemented by: and the session management network element acquires the terminal type of the second terminal according to the port number information of the service stream and the acquired port number information corresponding to each terminal type. Or, the session management network element obtains the identifier of the second terminal according to the port number information of the service stream and the obtained port number information corresponding to the identifier of each terminal. Or, the session management network element may obtain, from the user plane network element, the identifier of the second terminal corresponding to the service flow. And the session management network element determines the terminal type of the second terminal according to the identifier of the second terminal corresponding to the service flow and the terminal identifier corresponding to each terminal type. For example, the terminal identifier of the second terminal carried in the service flow is terminal 1, and the terminal type 1 and the terminal 1 have a mapping relationship, the session management network element determines that the terminal type of the second terminal is terminal type 1.

Specifically, the session management network element may obtain, from the first terminal, port number information that the first terminal allocates to each terminal type or each terminal in the session management process. That is, there is an association between the identifier of each terminal and the port number information allocated to the terminal. Therefore, the session management network element determines that the port number information of the traffic flow coincides with the port number information in the session management request message. And the session management network element determines the terminal type corresponding to the port number information in the session management request message as the terminal type of the second terminal. It should be understood that, in the embodiment shown in fig. 6, steps 103 to 105 are further included, where the port number information corresponding to each terminal type, or the identifier of each terminal and the port number information associated with the identifier of each terminal and the identifier of the managed session are carried in the session management request message at this time. Of course, the session management network element may also obtain the identifier of the second terminal to which the service flow belongs from the user plane network element, so that the session management network element may determine the terminal type of the second terminal according to the identifier of the second terminal to which the service flow belongs and the terminal type associated with the identifier of each terminal. Or, if the session management network element obtains the identifier and the terminal type of the second terminal carried in the service flow information of the service flow from the user plane network element, the session management network element may also determine the terminal type of the second terminal according to the identifier and the terminal type of the second terminal carried in the service flow information of the service flow.

For example, if the port number information of the service flow indicates port number 1, the port number information corresponding to terminal type 1 indicates port number 1, and the port number information corresponding to terminal type 2 indicates port number 2, so that the session management network element determines that the terminal type of the second terminal is terminal type 1.

In one possible implementation manner, please continue to refer to fig. 5, step 102 in the embodiment of the present application may be implemented by:

step 1021, the session management network element obtains the subscription service quality parameters corresponding to any one or more of the terminal type, the service flow information of the second terminal, or the identifier of the second terminal from the data management network element.

It should be understood that the data management network element is a data management network element in the first network. The data management network element has subscription data of the first terminal. The subscription data of the first terminal may include a subscription quality of service parameter corresponding to each of a plurality of terminal types. Therefore, after obtaining the terminal type of the second terminal, the session management network element may send a request message for requesting the subscription data of the first terminal to the data management network element, so as to obtain the subscription data of the first terminal from the data management network element. And then the session management network element acquires the signed service quality parameter corresponding to the terminal type from the signed data of the first terminal according to the terminal type of the second terminal. For example, the data management network element may be a UDM network element or a UDR network element or a HSS network element. Or, the session management network element obtains the subscription service quality parameter corresponding to the second terminal from the data management network element according to the identifier of the second terminal. Or the session management network element acquires the signed service quality parameter corresponding to the service flow of the second terminal from the data management network element according to the service flow information of the second terminal.

For example, the subscribed quality of service parameters may generally include a lowest parameter value and a highest parameter value of at least one parameter for guaranteeing a reliable transmission of a traffic flow of a certain terminal type or a certain terminal. For example, the at least one parameter may be: any one or more of priority, latency, bandwidth, packet loss rate, GFBR. That is, when the service flow is transmitted with the lowest parameter value of the subscribed QoS parameters, the QoS requirement of the service flow can be satisfied.

Step 1022, the session management network element determines the service quality parameter of the service flow of the second terminal according to the signed service quality parameter.

In a possible implementation manner, the session management network element may determine the subscribed qos parameter as a qos parameter of the service flow of the second terminal. That is, the service quality parameter of the service flow of the second terminal is the subscription service quality parameter.

In an actual process, the quality of service parameters that the first terminal may provide for the service flow may be different from the subscription quality of service parameters. For example, the quality of service parameters provided by the first terminal for the service flow may not reach the subscription quality of service parameters. Or the quality of service parameters that the first terminal may provide for the service flow exceed the subscribed quality of service parameters. Therefore, in this embodiment of the present application, the session management network element may further determine the qos parameter of the service flow of the second terminal in combination with the qos parameter and the subscribed qos parameter that the first terminal may provide for the service flow. The specific process is shown in fig. 7.

In another alternative embodiment, with continuing reference to fig. 5, as shown in fig. 7, before step 1021 provided in this embodiment of the present application, the method provided in this embodiment of the present application further includes:

step 106, the first terminal sends the service quality parameter requested by the first terminal to the session management network element.

It should be understood that, in this embodiment of the application, the quality of service parameter requested by the first terminal may be a QoS guarantee that the first terminal may provide for the service flow, such as at least one of guaranteed bandwidth, maximum bandwidth, delay, and packet loss rate.

In an alternative implementation, the first terminal may send the quality of service parameter requested by the first terminal to the session management network element during the session management process. The quality of service parameters requested by the first terminal may be carried in the session management request message in step 104. Of course, the quality of service parameter requested by the first terminal may also be sent by the first terminal after being requested by the session management network element to the first terminal. The embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

Step 107, the session management network element obtains the service quality parameter requested by the first terminal.

Specifically, the session management network element may obtain the quality of service parameter requested by the first terminal from the first terminal.

Accordingly, step 1022 may also be implemented in the following manner: and the session management network element determines the service quality parameters of the service flow of the second terminal according to the signed service quality parameters and the service quality parameters requested by the first terminal.

For example, if the session management network element determines that the parameter value of the quality of service parameter requested by the first terminal is within the range of the lowest parameter value and the highest parameter value in the subscribed quality of service parameters, the session management network element determines that the quality of service parameter of the service flow of the second terminal is the quality of service parameter requested by the first terminal.

For example, if the guaranteed bandwidth in the subscribed qos parameters is 10Mbps, the maximum bandwidth is 20Mbps, and the bandwidth in the qos parameters requested by the first terminal is 15Mbps, the session management network element determines that the bandwidth in the qos parameters of the service stream of the second terminal is 15 Mbps.

For example, if the session management network element determines that the parameter value of the quality of service parameter requested by the first terminal is lower than the lowest parameter value in the subscribed quality of service parameters, the session management network element determines that the quality of service parameter of the service flow of the second terminal is the quality of service parameter requested by the first terminal.

For example, if the session management network element determines that the parameter value of the quality of service parameter requested by the first terminal is higher than the highest parameter value in the subscribed quality of service parameters, the session management network element determines that the quality of service parameter of the service flow of the second terminal is the subscribed quality of service parameter. At this time, the value of the service quality parameter of the service flow of the second terminal is the highest parameter value in the subscription service quality parameters.

When the parameter value of the qos parameter requested by the first terminal is compared with the lowest parameter value or the highest parameter value of the subscribed qos parameters, the same parameter is used as a comparison reference. For example, the bandwidth value in the quality of service parameter requested by the first terminal is compared with the lowest value of the bandwidth in the subscribed quality of service parameter.

It should be noted that, if the session management network element further has an identifier of the second terminal, after acquiring the subscription data of the first terminal, the session management network element may acquire the subscription quality of service parameter of the second terminal from the subscription data of the first terminal according to the identifier of the second terminal. And the session management network element determines the signed service quality parameter of the second terminal as the service quality parameter of the service flow of the second terminal.

In still another alternative implementation, with continuing reference to fig. 5, as shown in fig. 8, before step 1021 provided by the embodiment of the present application, the method provided by the embodiment of the present application further includes:

step 108, the session management network element obtains the QoS parameter of the first terminal.

Wherein the QoS parameter of the first terminal represents a total QoS parameter of all traffic flows passing through the first terminal. That is, the QoS parameter of the first terminal satisfies the sum of QoS parameter requirements of all traffic flows transmitted through the first terminal.

In one possible implementation, step 108 in the embodiment of the present application may be implemented by: the session management network element obtains the QoS parameter of the first terminal from the data management network element. It is to be understood that at the data managing network element there are at least the QoS parameters of the first terminal.

In a possible implementation manner, step 1022 may also be implemented by the following steps: and the session management network element determines the service quality parameters of the service flow of the second terminal according to the signed service quality parameters and the QoS parameters of the first terminal.

For example, the total guaranteed bandwidth in the QoS parameters of the first terminal is 100 Mbps. The guaranteed bandwidth of the 5GC capable UE with the terminal type 1 is 10Mbps, and the guaranteed bandwidth of the 5GC capable UE with the terminal type 2 is 20 Mbps. And the session management network element determines the guaranteed bandwidth value of the current 5GC capable UE according to the guaranteed bandwidth of the first terminal and the guaranteed bandwidths corresponding to the terminal type 1 and the terminal type 2 respectively.

In a possible embodiment, as shown in fig. 6, before step 104, the method provided in this embodiment further includes: and step 109, the first terminal allocates port number information for the terminal type.

It should be understood that the first terminal may assign different port number information for different terminal types. It should be understood that in the embodiment shown in fig. 5, step 109 may also be performed prior to step 104.

In an alternative embodiment, as shown in fig. 9, the method provided in this embodiment further includes:

step 110, the session management network element sends the service quality parameter of the service flow of the second terminal to the user plane network element in the first network or the first terminal.

Illustratively, the session management network element may send the quality of service parameters of the traffic flow of the second terminal to the first terminal through the session management message. For example, the session management message may be a session establishment success message or a session update success message. The session management network element may send the quality of service parameters of the traffic flow of the second terminal to the user plane network element via an N4 interface message.

Step 111, the first terminal/user plane network element receives the service quality parameter of the service flow of the second terminal from the session management network element.

And step 112, the first terminal/user plane network element transmits the service flow by adopting the service quality parameter.

For example, for the first terminal, after receiving the quality of service parameter of the service flow of the second terminal, the quality of service parameter of the service flow of the second terminal may be adopted for the uplink service flow from the second terminal to be transmitted to the user plane network element. And the user plane network element transmits the service quality parameters of the service flow of the uplink service flow adopting the second terminal to the second network. For the downlink service flow, the user plane network element transmits the service quality parameter of the service flow of the second terminal adopted by the downlink service flow to the first terminal. And the first terminal transmits the downlink service flow to the second terminal by adopting the service quality parameter of the service flow of the second terminal.

In a possible implementation, the session management network element may further send the traffic flow information to the first terminal or the user plane network element. So that the first terminal or user plane network element receives the traffic flow information from the session management network element. And the first terminal or the user plane network element can conveniently identify the service flow of the second terminal according to the service flow information. And the first terminal or the user plane network element transmits the service flow identified by the service flow information by adopting the service quality parameters.

For example, taking the service flow information as the port number information as an example, the user plane network element compares, according to the service flow from the second terminal, the port number information in the packet header of the service flow of the second terminal with the port number information from the session management network element. And if the port number information in the packet header of the service flow of the second terminal is the same as or consistent with the port number information from the session management network element, transmitting the service flow identified by the service flow information by adopting the service quality parameters.

For example, the QoS parameter of the second terminal is QoS parameter 1, and the service flow of the second terminal includes service flow 1 and service flow 2, where the port number information in the packet header of service flow 1 is the same as the port number information from the session management network element, and then QoS parameter 1 is adopted for transmission of service flow 1.

step 113, the session management network element further sends the description information of the service flow to the user plane network element or the first terminal. The description information includes a QoS Flow Identifier (QFI) value or a Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) value. The specific value of DSCP may indicate a specific priority. When the second terminal is an important terminal or the second terminal requesting the service flow is an important user (e.g., a paying user), the DSCP information of the service flow is used to indicate a higher priority DSCP, and the DSCP is allocated to the service flow.

The DSCP value may be a DSCP value in an inner layer data header (e.g., an IP packet header) of the service flow. The QFI may be a QFI in an inner header of a traffic flow (e.g., a Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) header).

Step 114, the user plane network element receives description information of the service flow from the session management network element, where the description information includes QFI or DSCP value.

It should be appreciated that through steps 113 and 114, the user plane network element may determine to parse the GRE packet header in the service flow 1 data packet header with the QFI in the GRE packet header and match the QFI from the session management network element using the QFI in the GRE packet header. And if the QFI in the GRE packet header in the service flow 1 data packet header is consistent with the QFI from the session management network element, controlling the service flow 1 by using the QoS parameter of the service flow of the second terminal. Similarly, the DSCP value in the data packet header (e.g., IP packet header) from the session management network element is used to instruct the user plane network element to parse the DSCP value in the traffic flow 2 data packet header and match the DSCP value in the GRE packet header from the session management network element. And if the DSCP value in the data packet header of the service flow 2 is consistent with the DSCP value in the data packet header from the session management network element, controlling the service flow 2 by using the QoS parameter of the service flow of the second terminal.

In an optional embodiment, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: the session management network element sends a first indication to the user plane network element. The first indication is used for indicating the user plane network element to set the QFI or DSCP value carried in the inner layer data header of the service flow as the QFI in the outer layer data header of the service flow. The user plane network element receives the first indication from the session management network element, and sets the QFI or the DSCP value carried in the inner-layer data header of the service flow as the QFI in the outer-layer data header (e.g., GTP-U header) of the service flow. Therefore, step 112 in the embodiment of the present application may be implemented in the following manner: and the user plane network element sets the QFI or DSCP value carried in the inner layer data head of the service flow as the outer layer data head of the service flow to obtain the target service flow. And the user plane network element transmits the target service flow by adopting the service quality parameter of the service flow of the second terminal.

The process of obtaining the qos parameter of the service flow of the second terminal based on the terminal type may be referred to as: terminal granularity. In addition, the session management network element may further obtain the quality of service parameter of the service flow of the second terminal with the SPI as the granularity. Therefore, in one possible embodiment, as shown in fig. 10, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application includes:

step 201, a session management network element in a first network sends a first indication to a user plane network element in the first network. The first indication is used for indicating the user plane network element to send the association relationship between the security parameter index SPI and the QoS flow identification QFI. The SPI is used for determining the service flow; the service flow is a service flow of the second terminal communicating with the second network through the first terminal in the first network.

In particular, the first indication is used to instruct the user plane network element to forward an IKEv2 message to the session management network element. The IKEv2 message carries an association relationship between the SPI and the qos flow identifier QFI.

In a possible implementation manner, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: and the session management network element sends the IP address information of the trusted access gateway or the N3IWF to the user plane network element.

It should be noted that, before step 201, the embodiment of the present application may further include: the registration procedure and the session management procedure in the above embodiments. The session management process may refer to the contents described in step 103 and step 104, which are not described herein again.

Step 202, a user plane network element in the first network receives a first indication from a session management network element in the first network.

Step 203, the user plane network element sends the association relation to the session management network element.

Specifically, the user plane network element detects the traffic discovery IKEv2 message. The IKEv2 message is then sent to the session management network element so that the session management network element obtains the association from the IKEv2 message.

In addition, if the user plane network element also acquires the IP address information of the trusted access gateway or N3IWF from the session management network element, the user plane network element encapsulates the IKEv2 message with the IP address information of the trusted access gateway or N3 IWF. The encapsulated IKEv2 message is then sent to a session management network element.

Step 204, the session management network element receives the association relationship from the user plane network element.

It should be understood that the association may be used to indicate the QFI traffic flow contained in the SPI traffic flow.

Step 205, the session management network element determines the service quality parameter corresponding to the SPI according to the association relationship.

In a possible implementation manner, step 205 in the embodiment of the present application may be specifically implemented by: and the session management network element determines the service quality parameters of the service flow indicated by the QFI according to the QFI. And the session management network element generates a service quality parameter corresponding to the SPI according to the service quality parameter of the service flow indicated by the QFI.

Specifically, the generating, by the session management network element, the service quality parameter corresponding to the SPI according to the service quality parameter of the service flow indicated by the QFI includes: and the session management network element determines the service quality parameters of the service flows indicated by all the QFIs corresponding to the SPI as the service quality parameters corresponding to the SPI.

In a possible implementation manner, determining, by a session management network element, a quality of service parameter of a service flow indicated by the QFI according to the QFI includes: and the session management network element determines the 5G service quality parameter identifier according to the QFI. And the session management network element determines the service quality parameters of the service flow indicated by the QFI according to the service quality parameters corresponding to the 5G service quality parameter identification.

For example, the session management network element is configured to perform a 5QI according to the QFI. Such as QFI equal to 5QI value, or session management network element storing a correspondence between QFI and 5 QI. In addition, the session management network element obtains QoS parameters corresponding to 5 QI. It should be understood that in one aspect, the session management network element has pre-stored therein 5QI corresponding QoS parameters. Or, the session management network element stores the relevant QoS parameters of the terminal type and 5QI in advance. The manner in which the session management network element obtains the terminal type may refer to the description in the foregoing embodiment, and is not described herein again.

In an alternative embodiment, as shown in fig. 11, the method provided in this embodiment further includes:

step 206, the session management network element sends a session management message to the first terminal in the first network. The session management message includes an SPI and a quality of service parameter corresponding to the SPI.

It is to be understood that prior to step 201, the session management network element may also receive a session management request message from the first terminal. The content of the specific session management request message may refer to the description at step 104 above. That is, before step 201, the above-mentioned step 103 and step 104 may be combined. Illustratively, the session management message may be a session establishment success message or a session update success message.

Step 207, the first terminal receives the session management message from the session management network element.

Specifically, the first terminal may obtain the SPI and the quality of service parameter corresponding to the SPI according to the session management message. Thus, if the SPI in the packet header of the service flow from the second terminal is the same as the SPI indicated by the session management network element, the first terminal transmits the service flow of the second terminal using the QoS parameter corresponding to the SPI. It should be understood that the first terminal may control the air interface service quality between the second terminal and the first terminal by using the QoS parameter corresponding to the SPI. In addition, the first terminal sets an air interface service quality parameter according to the service quality parameter corresponding to the SPI. The air interface service quality parameter comprises at least one of a bandwidth value, a preemption waiting time length, a resource occupation time length, a service priority and a terminal priority. For example, the air interface bandwidth value is consistent with the quality of service bandwidth value. Or allocating longer resource occupation duration to the high-priority service or the high-priority terminal, or/and allocating shorter preemption waiting duration. Or refuse access to low priority services or low priority terminals when the air interface resources are insufficient.

and step 208, the session management network element sends the service quality parameters corresponding to the SPI to the user plane network element.

Step 209, the user plane network element receives the service quality parameter corresponding to the SPI from the session management network element.

Through step 208 and step 209, the user plane network element may transmit the service quality parameter corresponding to the SPI to the service flow indicated by the SPI. For example, for an uplink traffic flow of a second terminal, the user plane network element receives the uplink traffic flow of the second terminal from the first terminal. And transmitting the service flow indicated by the SPI in the uplink service flow of the second terminal to a second network by adopting the service quality parameter corresponding to the SPI. For the downlink traffic flow of the second terminal, the user plane network element receives the downlink traffic flow of the second terminal from the second network. And transmitting the service flow indicated by the SPI in the downlink service flow of the second terminal to the first terminal by adopting the service quality parameter corresponding to the SPI. And the first terminal transmits the service flow indicated by the SPI in the downlink service flow of the second terminal to the second terminal by adopting the service quality parameter corresponding to the SPI.

In a possible embodiment, as shown in fig. 11, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes:

step 210, the session management network element sends the QFI in the outer layer data header of the service flow determined by the SPI to the user plane network element. And the QFI in the skin data header is used for representing the skin QFI corresponding to the service flow indicated by the SPI. For example, the outer header may be an outer GPRS tunneling Protocol user plane (GTP-U) header.

In one possible implementation, the qos parameters corresponding to the QFI and the SPI in the outer header may be sent to the user plane network element through an N4 interface message.

And step 211, the user plane network element processes the service flow determined according to the SPI by using the QFI in the outer data header.

Specifically, step 211 may be implemented by: the user plane network element sets the QFI in the inner layer data header (e.g., GRE header) of the service flow determined according to the SPI as the QFI in the outer layer data header.

Accordingly, step 209 may be implemented by: and the user plane network element transmits the service flow determined by the SPI by adopting the QFI service quality parameter in the outer layer data header or the service quality parameter corresponding to the SPI.

The above-mentioned scheme of the embodiment of the present application is introduced mainly from the perspective of interaction between network elements. It is to be understood that each network element, for example, the first terminal, the session management network element, the user plane network element, etc., includes a corresponding hardware structure and/or software module for performing each function in order to implement the above functions. Those of skill in the art would readily appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware or combinations of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is performed as hardware or computer software drives hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

In the embodiment of the present application, the first terminal, the session management network element, and the user plane network element may be divided according to the above method, for example, each functional unit may be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions may be integrated into one processing unit. The integrated unit can be realized in a form of hardware, and can also be realized in a form of a software functional unit. It should be noted that the division of the unit in the embodiment of the present application is schematic, and is only a logic function division, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation.

The method of the embodiment of the present application is described above with reference to fig. 4 to 11, and a communication apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present application for performing the method is described below. Those skilled in the art will understand that the method and apparatus may be combined and referred to each other, and a communication apparatus provided in the embodiments of the present application may perform the method performed by the sending end in the above communication method, that is, the steps performed by the session management network element. Another communication device may execute the method executed by the receiving end in the communication method in the foregoing embodiment, that is, the steps executed by the user plane network element. Still another communication apparatus may perform the method performed by the receiving end in the communication method in the foregoing embodiment, that is, the steps performed by the first terminal.

The following description will be given by taking the division of each function module corresponding to each function as an example:

as shown in fig. 12, fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in this embodiment, where the communication device may be a user plane network element, a session management network element, and a first terminal in this embodiment, and may also be a chip or a chip system applied to the user plane network element, the session management network element, and the first terminal. The communication device includes: a processing unit 101 and a communication unit 102. The communication unit 102 is used to support the communication device to perform the steps of information transmission or reception. The processing unit 101 is used to support the communication device to perform the steps of information processing.

Taking the communication device as a session management network element or a chip or chip system applied in the session management network element as an example, the communication unit 102 is configured to support the communication device to perform step 101 in the foregoing embodiments. The processing unit 101 is adapted to enable the communication device to perform step 102 in the above embodiments.

In a possible embodiment, the communication unit 102 is further configured to support the communication device to perform step 105, step 1011, step 1021, step 107, step 108, step 110, and step 113 in the above embodiments. Illustratively, the processing unit 101 is configured to support the communication device to perform steps 1012 and 1022 in the foregoing embodiments.

For another example, taking the communication device as a first terminal or a chip system applied in the first terminal as an example, the processing unit 101 is configured to support the communication device to execute step 103 in the foregoing embodiment. The communication unit 102 is used to support the communication device to execute step 104 in the above embodiments.

In a possible embodiment, the communication unit 102 is further configured to support the communication device to perform step 106 and step 111 in the above embodiments. The processing unit 101 is configured to support the communication device to execute step 109 and step 112 in the above embodiments.

As another example, taking the communication apparatus as a user plane network element or a chip or chip system applied in the user plane network element as an example, the communication unit 102 is configured to support the communication apparatus to perform step 111 in the foregoing embodiment. The processing unit 101 is adapted to enable the communication device to perform step 112 in the above described embodiments.

In an alternative embodiment, the communication unit 102 is further configured to support the communication device to perform step 114 in the above-mentioned embodiment.

In another example, taking the communication apparatus as a user plane network element or a chip or chip system applied in the user plane network element as an example, the communication unit 102 is configured to support the communication apparatus to perform step 202 and step 203 in the foregoing embodiments.

In an alternative embodiment, the communication unit 102 is further configured to support the communication device to perform step 209 in the foregoing embodiment.

In an optional embodiment, the user plane web element may further include: a processing unit 101 for enabling the communication device to perform step 211 in the above embodiments. It should be understood that the processing unit 101 is optional if the communication device shown in fig. 12 is a user plane network element or a chip or chip system applied in a user plane network element, i.e. the communication device shown in fig. 12 is used for performing the steps performed by the user plane network element in fig. 10 or fig. 11.

As another example, taking the communication apparatus as a session management network element or a chip system applied in the session management network element as an example, the communication unit 102 is configured to support the communication apparatus to perform step 201 and step 204 in the foregoing embodiments. The processing unit 101 is configured to enable the communication device to perform step 205 in the above embodiments.

In a possible embodiment, the communication unit 102 is further configured to support the communication device to perform steps 206, 208, and 210 in the above embodiments.

In one possible embodiment, the communication apparatus shown in fig. 12 may further include: a memory cell 103. The processing unit 101, the communication unit 102, and the storage unit 103 are connected via a communication bus.

The storage unit 103 may include one or more memories, which may be devices in one or more devices or circuits for storing programs or data.

The storage unit 103 may be independent and connected to the processing unit 101 provided in the communication apparatus via a communication bus. The memory unit 103 may also be integrated with the processing unit.

The communication means may be used in a communication device, circuit, hardware component or chip.

Taking as an example that the communication device may be a session management network element, a user plane network element, a chip of the first terminal, or a chip system in this embodiment, the communication unit 102 may be an input or output interface, a pin, a circuit, or the like. Illustratively, the storage unit 103 may store computer-executable instructions of the session management network element, the user plane network element, and the method of the first terminal side, so as to cause the processing unit 101 to execute the methods of the session management network element, the user plane network element, and the first terminal side in the foregoing embodiments. The storage unit 103 may be a register, a cache, a RAM, or the like, and the storage unit 103 may be integrated with the processing unit 101. The memory unit 103 may be a ROM or other type of static storage device that may store static information and instructions, and the memory unit 103 may be separate from the processing unit 101.

The embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which includes one or more modules, configured to implement the method in steps 101 to 114 or steps 201 to 211, where the one or more modules may correspond to the steps of the method in steps 101 to 114 or steps 201 to 211. Specifically, in each step of the method executed by the session management network element in the embodiment of the present application, a unit or a module for executing each step of the method exists in the session management network element. Each step in the method is performed by a user plane network element in which there are units or modules performing each step in the method. Each step of the method is performed by a first terminal in which there are units or modules performing each step of the method.

Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a hardware structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The hardware structures of the session management network element and the user plane network element in the embodiment of the present application may refer to the schematic hardware structure diagram of the communication device shown in fig. 13. The communication device comprises a processor 41, a communication line 44 and at least one communication interface (illustrated exemplarily by the communication interface 43 in fig. 13).

Processor 41 may be a general-purpose Central Processing Unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more ics for controlling the execution of programs in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure.

The communication link 44 may include a path for transmitting information between the aforementioned components.

The communication interface 43 may be any device, such as a transceiver, for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as an ethernet, a Radio Access Network (RAN), a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), etc.

Possibly, the communication device may further comprise a memory 42.

The memory 42 may be, but is not limited to, a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that may store static information and instructions, a Random Access Memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that may store information and instructions, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage, optical disk storage (including compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, blu-ray disc, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. The memory may be separate and coupled to the processor via a communication line 44. The memory may also be integral to the processor.

The memory 42 is used for storing computer-executable instructions for executing the present application, and is controlled by the processor 41 to execute. The processor 41 is configured to execute computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 42, so as to implement the policy control method provided by the following embodiments of the present application.

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

In particular implementations, processor 41 may include one or more CPUs such as CPU0 and CPU1 in fig. 13, for example, as one embodiment.

In particular implementations, the communication device may include multiple processors, such as processor 41 and processor 45 in fig. 13, as one embodiment. Each of these processors may be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. A processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and/or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

Illustratively, taking the communication apparatus as a session management network element or a chip applied in the session management network element as an example, the communication interface 43 is used to support the communication apparatus to execute step 101 in the foregoing embodiment. Processor 41 and/or processor 45 are configured to enable the communication device to perform step 102 in the above-described embodiments.

In a possible embodiment, the communication interface 43 is further configured to support the communication device to perform step 105, step 1011, step 1021, step 107, step 108, step 110, and step 113 in the above embodiments. Illustratively, processor 41 and/or processor 45 are configured to enable the communication device to perform steps 1012, 1022 in the above-described embodiments.

In another example, taking the communication apparatus as a user plane network element or a chip or chip system applied in the user plane network element as an example, the communication interface 43 is used to support the communication apparatus to perform step 111 in the above embodiment. Processor 41 and/or processor 45 are configured to enable the communication device to perform step 112 in the above-described embodiments.

In a possible embodiment, the communication interface 43 is further configured to enable the communication device to perform step 114 in the above-described embodiment.

In another example, taking the communication apparatus as a user plane network element or a chip or chip system applied in the user plane network element as an example, the communication interface 43 is configured to support the communication apparatus to perform step 202 and step 203 in the foregoing embodiments.

In an alternative embodiment, the communication interface 43 is further configured to support the communication device to perform step 209 in the above-mentioned embodiment.

In an optional embodiment, the user plane web element may further include: processor 41 and/or processor 45 to enable the communication device to perform step 211 in the above embodiments. It should be understood that processor 41 and/or processor 45 are optional if the communication apparatus shown in fig. 13 is a user plane network element or a chip or chip system applied in a user plane network element, i.e. the communication apparatus shown in fig. 13 is used to perform the steps performed by the user plane network element in fig. 10 or fig. 11.

As another example, taking the communication apparatus as a session management network element or a chip or chip system applied in the session management network element as an example, the communication interface 43 is used to support the communication apparatus to perform step 201 and step 204 in the above embodiments. Processor 41 and/or processor 45 are configured to enable the communication device to perform step 205 in the above-described embodiments.

In a possible embodiment, the communication interface 43 is further configured to support the communication device to perform steps 206, 208, and 210 in the above-described embodiments.

Fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present application. The structure of the first terminal or the second terminal may refer to the structure shown in fig. 14.

The terminal includes at least one processor 1211, at least one transceiver 1212. In one possible example, the terminal can also include and at least one memory 1213, an output device 1214, an input device 1215, and one or more antennas 1216. The processor 1211, the memory 1213 and the transceiver 1212 are coupled. An antenna 1216 is coupled to the transceiver 1212, and an output device 1214 and an input device 1215 are coupled to the processor 1211.

The memory in the embodiment of the present application, for example, the memory 1213, may include at least one of the following types: read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static memory devices that may store static information and instructions, Random Access Memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic memory devices that may store information and instructions, and Electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). In some scenarios, the memory may also be, but is not limited to, a compact disk-read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage, optical disk storage (including compact disk, laser disk, optical disk, digital versatile disk, blu-ray disk, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer.

The memory 1213 may be separate and coupled to the processor 1211. In another example, the memory 1213 may also be integrated with the processor 1211, such as within a single chip. The memory 1213 can store program codes for executing the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and is controlled by the processor 1211 to execute, and various executed computer program codes can also be regarded as drivers of the processor 1211. For example, the processor 1211 is configured to execute the computer program code stored in the memory 1213, so as to implement the technical solution in the embodiment of the present application.

The transceiver 1212 may be used to support the reception or transmission of radio frequency signals between the terminal and the terminal or between the terminal and the access device, and the transceiver 1212 may be connected to the antenna 1216. The transceiver 1212 includes a transmitter Tx and a receiver Rx. Specifically, one or more antennas 1216 may receive a radio frequency signal, and a receiver Rx of the transceiver 1212 is configured to receive the radio frequency signal from the antennas, convert the radio frequency signal into a digital baseband signal or a digital intermediate frequency signal, and provide the digital baseband signal or the digital intermediate frequency signal to the processor 1211, so that the processor 1211 performs further processing on the digital baseband signal or the digital intermediate frequency signal, such as demodulation processing and decoding processing. In addition, the transmitter Tx in the transceiver 1212 is also used to receive a modulated digital baseband signal or a digital intermediate frequency signal from the processor 1211, convert the modulated digital baseband signal or the digital intermediate frequency signal into a radio frequency signal, and transmit the radio frequency signal through the one or more antennas 1216. Specifically, the receiver Rx may selectively perform one or more stages of down-mixing and analog-to-digital conversion processes on the rf signal to obtain a digital baseband signal or a digital intermediate frequency signal, wherein the order of the down-mixing and analog-to-digital conversion processes is adjustable. The transmitter Tx may selectively perform one or more stages of up-mixing and digital-to-analog conversion processes on the modulated digital baseband signal or the modulated digital intermediate frequency signal to obtain the rf signal, where the order of the up-mixing and the digital-to-analog conversion processes is adjustable. The digital baseband signal and the digital intermediate frequency signal may be collectively referred to as a digital signal.

The processor 1211 may be a baseband processor or a CPU, and the baseband processor and the CPU may be integrated together or separated.

The processor 1211 may be used to implement various functions for the terminal, such as processing a communication protocol and communication data, or controlling the entire terminal device, executing a software program, processing data of the software program; or to assist in completing computational processing tasks, such as processing of graphical images or audio, etc.; or processor 1211 may be used to perform one or more of the functions described above.

The output device 1214 is in communication with the processor 1211 and may display information in a variety of ways. For example, the output device 1214 may be a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), a Light Emitting Diode (LED) Display device, a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Display device, a projector (projector), or the like. The input device 1215 is in communication with the processor 1211 and may accept user input in a variety of ways. For example, the input device 1215 can be a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen device, or a sensing device, among others.

In particular, at least one processor 1211 is configured to perform step 104. At least one transceiver 1212 is used to perform step 103. In an alternative example, the transceiver 1212 is further configured to perform steps 106 and 111. The at least one processor 1211 is further configured to perform step 109 and step 112 of the above embodiments.

Fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip 150 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Chip 150 includes one or more (including two) processors 1510 and a communication interface 1530.

Optionally, the chip 150 further includes a memory 1540, which may include both read-only memory and random access memory, and provides operating instructions and data to the processor 1510. A portion of memory 1540 may also include non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM).

In some embodiments, memory 1540 stores the following elements, executable modules or data structures, or a subset thereof, or an expanded set thereof:

in the embodiment of the present invention, by calling an operation instruction stored in the memory 1540 (the operation instruction may be stored in an operating system), a corresponding operation is performed.

One possible implementation is: the session management network element, the user plane network element, and the first terminal use chips with similar structures, and different devices may use different chips to implement their respective functions.

The processor 1510 controls operations of the session management network element, the user plane network element, and the first terminal, and the processor 1510 may also be referred to as a Central Processing Unit (CPU). Memory 1540 can include both read-only memory and random-access memory, and provides instructions and data to processor 1510. A portion of memory 1540 may also include non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM). For example, in an application where memory 1540, communications interface 1530 and memory 1540 are coupled together by bus system 1520, where bus system 1520 may include a power bus, control bus, status signal bus, etc. in addition to a data bus. For clarity of illustration, however, the various buses are labeled in fig. 15 as bus system 1520.

The above communication unit may be an interface circuit or a communication interface of the apparatus for receiving signals from other apparatuses. For example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the communication unit is an interface circuit or a communication interface for the chip to receive signals from or transmit signals to other chips or devices.

The method disclosed in the above embodiments of the present invention may be applied to the processor 1510 or implemented by the processor 1510. The processor 1510 may be an integrated circuit chip having signal processing capabilities. In implementation, the steps of the above method may be performed by instructions in the form of hardware, integrated logic circuits, or software in the processor 1510. The processor 1510 may be a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an off-the-shelf programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, or discrete hardware components. The various methods, steps and logic blocks disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention may be implemented or performed. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like. The steps of the method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present invention may be directly implemented by a hardware decoding processor, or implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module may be located in ram, flash memory, rom, prom, or eprom, registers, etc. storage media as is well known in the art. The storage medium is located in the memory 1540, and the processor 1510 reads the information in the memory 1540, and performs the steps of the above method in combination with the hardware thereof.

In a possible implementation, the communication interface 1530 is configured to perform the steps of receiving and sending of the session management network element, the user plane network element, the first terminal in the embodiments shown in fig. 4-13. The processor 1510 is configured to perform the steps of the processing of the session management network element, the user plane network element, the first terminal in the embodiments shown in fig. 4-13.

In the above embodiments, the instructions stored by the memory for execution by the processor may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product may be written in the memory in advance or may be downloaded in the form of software and installed in the memory.

The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. The procedures or functions according to the embodiments of the present application are all or partially generated when the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a network of computers, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another, e.g., the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. A computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can store or a data storage device including one or more available media integrated servers, data centers, and the like. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., Solid State Disk (SSD)), among others.

The embodiment of the application also provides a computer readable storage medium. The methods described in the above embodiments may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media may include computer storage media and communication media, and may include any medium that can communicate a computer program from one place to another. A storage medium may be any target medium that can be accessed by a computer.

As an alternative design, a computer-readable medium may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that is targeted for carriage or stores desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that is accessible by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes Compact Disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

The embodiment of the application also provides a computer program product. The methods described in the above embodiments may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. The procedures or functions described in the above method embodiments are generated in whole or in part when the above computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, a base station, a terminal, or other programmable device.

The above-mentioned embodiments, objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention are further described in detail, it should be understood that the above-mentioned embodiments are only exemplary embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements and the like made on the basis of the technical solutions of the present invention should be included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

a session management network element in the first network obtains any one or more of the following information: the terminal type of a second terminal, the service flow information of the second terminal or the identifier of the second terminal;

the session management network element determines a service quality parameter of a service flow in the first network according to any one or more of a terminal type of the second terminal, service flow information of the second terminal, or an identifier of the second terminal; the service flow is a service flow in which the second terminal communicates with a second network through a first terminal in the first network, and the first network and the second network are different networks.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining, by the session management network element, the quality of service parameter of the traffic flow of the second terminal according to any one or more of the terminal type of the second terminal, the traffic flow information of the second terminal, or the identifier of the second terminal comprises:

the session management network element acquires a subscription service quality parameter corresponding to any one or more of the terminal type, the service flow information of the second terminal or the identifier of the second terminal from a data management network element;

and the session management network element determines the service quality parameters of the service flow of the second terminal according to the signed service quality parameters.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

the session management network element acquires the service quality parameter requested by the first terminal;

the determining, by the session management network element, the service quality parameter of the service flow of the second terminal according to the subscription service quality parameter specifically includes:

and the session management network element determines the service quality parameters of the service flow of the second terminal according to the signed service quality parameters and the service quality parameters requested by the first terminal.

4. The method according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the obtaining, by the session management network element in the first network, the terminal type of the second terminal comprises:

the session management network element acquires the port number information of the service flow from a user plane network element in the first network;

and the session management network element acquires the terminal type of the second terminal or the identifier of the second terminal according to the port number information of the service flow.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, further comprising:

the session management network element receives a session management request message from the first terminal, where the session management request message includes any one or more of the following information:

the terminal type of the second terminal, the identifier of the second terminal, and the service flow information corresponding to the terminal type.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the session management request message further comprises: trusted gateway identification, untrusted gateway identification.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the traffic flow information comprises: and at least one of port number information of the service flow or a terminal Media Access Control (MAC) address or a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) tag.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the obtaining, by the session management network element, the terminal type of the second terminal according to the port number information of the service flow comprises:

the session management network element determines that the port number information of the service flow is consistent with the port number information in the session management request message;

and the session management network element determines the terminal type corresponding to the port number information in the session management request message as the terminal type of the second terminal.

9. The method of any one of claims 1-3, 6-8, further comprising:

and the session management network element sends the service quality parameter to a user plane network element in the first network or the first terminal.

10. The method of any one of claims 1-3, 6-8, further comprising:

and the session management network element also sends description information of the service flow to a user plane network element, wherein the description information comprises QFI or DSCP value.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

and the session management network element sends a first instruction to the user plane network element, where the first instruction is used to instruct the user plane network element to set the QFI or DSCP value carried in the inner-layer data header of the service flow as the QFI in the outer-layer data header of the service flow.

12. A communications apparatus, the apparatus being used in a first network, the apparatus comprising:

a communication unit for acquiring any one or more of the following information: the terminal type of a second terminal, the service flow information of the second terminal or the identifier of the second terminal;

a processing unit, configured to determine, according to any one or more of a terminal type of the second terminal, service flow information of the second terminal, or an identifier of the second terminal, a quality of service parameter of a service flow in the first network; the service flow is a service flow in which the second terminal communicates with a second network through a first terminal in the first network, and the first network and the second network are different networks.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the communication unit is further configured to obtain, from a data management network element, a subscription quality of service parameter corresponding to any one or more of the terminal type, the traffic flow information of the second terminal, or the identifier of the second terminal;

the processing unit is specifically configured to determine a quality of service parameter of a service flow of the second terminal according to the subscription quality of service parameter.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the communication unit is further configured to obtain a quality of service parameter requested by the first terminal;

the processing unit is specifically configured to determine a qos parameter of a service flow of the second terminal according to the subscribed qos parameter and the qos parameter requested by the first terminal.

15. The apparatus according to any of claims 12 to 14, wherein the communication unit is specifically configured to obtain port number information of the traffic flow from a user plane network element in the first network; the processing unit is specifically configured to acquire the terminal type of the second terminal according to the port number information of the service flow.

16. The apparatus according to any of claims 12-14, wherein the communication unit is further configured to receive a session management request message from the first terminal, where the session management request message includes any one or more of the following information:

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the session management request message further comprises: trusted gateway identification, untrusted gateway identification.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the traffic flow information comprises: and at least one of port number information of the service flow or a terminal Media Access Control (MAC) address or a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) tag.

19. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the processing unit is specifically configured to determine that port number information of the traffic flow is consistent with port number information in the session management request message; and the terminal type corresponding to the port number information in the session management request message is determined as the terminal type of the second terminal.

20. The apparatus according to any of claims 12-14 and 17-19, wherein the communication unit is further configured to send the quality of service parameter to a user plane network element in the first network or the first terminal.

21. The apparatus of any of claims 12-14 and 17-19, wherein the communication unit is further configured to send description information of the traffic flow to a user plane network element, and the description information includes QFI or DSCP value.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the communication unit is further configured to send a first indication to the user plane network element, and wherein the first indication is used to instruct the user plane network element to set a QFI or a DSCP value carried in an inner-layer data header of the traffic flow to a QFI in an outer-layer data header of the traffic flow.

23. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions which, when executed, implement the communication method of any of claims 1-11.