CN112217856A

CN112217856A - Address acquisition method, device, equipment and storage medium of application example

Info

Publication number: CN112217856A
Application number: CN201910785831.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 葛翠丽; 杨艳梅; 李岩; 朱方园
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-07-11
Filing date: 2019-08-23
Publication date: 2021-01-12
Also published as: WO2021004528A1

Abstract

The application provides an address acquisition method, device, equipment and storage medium of an application instance, and belongs to the field of internet communication. The method comprises the following steps: acquiring information of an edge network; sending a first request message to a first server, wherein the first request message carries an application identifier and information of the edge network; and receiving a first response message returned by the first server based on the first request message, wherein the first response message carries the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the edge network. The method and the device can meet the scheduling requirement of the third-party application provider.

Description

Address acquisition method, device, equipment and storage medium of application example

The present application claims priority of chinese patent application No. 201910626395.9 entitled "address acquisition method for application example, apparatus, device, and storage medium" filed on 11/07/2019, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of internet communications, and in particular, to an address obtaining method, apparatus, device, and storage medium for an application instance.

Background

Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) is a technology for sinking data processing and data computing to the network edge side, implementing fast computing to the network edge side, and thus implementing fast service response of applications. The MEC provides cloud computing functionality for application developers and content providers, as well as an Information Technology (IT) service environment at the edge of the network. A plurality of application instances of the service are respectively deployed in a distributed manner on a plurality of MEC platforms, for example, in an edge network, and each application instance of the service provides a service for User Equipment (UE) within a certain range.

In the business scenario of MEC, a third party application provider may generate a requirement for the user (which user accesses which application instance) to schedule himself, but the related art cannot provide the corresponding application instance for the user equipment, and cannot meet the requirement scheduled by the third party application provider.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides an address obtaining method, device, equipment and storage medium of an application instance, and can solve the technical problem that the scheduling requirement of a third-party application provider cannot be met in the related technology. The technical scheme is as follows:

in a first aspect, a method for obtaining an address of an application instance is provided, where the method includes: acquiring information of an edge network; sending a first request message to a first server, wherein the first request message carries an application identifier and information of the edge network; receiving a first response message returned by the first server based on the first request message, wherein the first response message carries an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the edge network.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the IP address of the corresponding application instance is obtained from the first server by obtaining the information of the edge network and using the application identifier and the information of the edge network, so that the address of the application instance closest to the current distance can be quickly and accurately obtained, and the scheduling requirement of a third-party application provider is met.

In one possible implementation, the method further includes: and receiving an update indication message of the second server or the third server, wherein the update indication message is used for indicating that the IP address of the application instance of the application is updated.

In one possible implementation, the update indication message further includes information of an updated edge network; the acquiring information of the edge network includes: and receiving the updated information of the edge network.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the IP address of the application instance of the application is acquired after the update indication message is received, so that a trigger condition for updating the IP address of the application instance is provided, and the reliability of the IP address of the application instance can be ensured.

In one possible implementation manner, the receiving the update indication message of the second server or the third server includes: and sending subscription information to the second server or the third server, wherein the subscription information is used for subscribing the change event of the edge network corresponding to the user equipment, and receiving the update indication message when the edge network corresponding to the user equipment changes.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the update indication message returned by the second server or the third server based on subscription can be obtained by subscribing the event to the second server or the third server, and a mode for instantly and accurately obtaining the update indication message is provided.

In one possible implementation manner, the obtaining information of the edge network includes: sending a second request message to a second server, wherein the second request message carries the position information of the user equipment or the identifier of the user equipment; and receiving a second response message returned by the second server based on the second request message, wherein the second response message carries the information of the edge network.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the user equipment acquires the information of the edge network from the second server according to the position information of the user equipment or the identification of the user equipment, and the acquired information of the edge network corresponds to the position information of the user equipment, so that the IP address of the application instance acquired according to the information of the edge network corresponds to the position information of the user equipment and is the application instance closest to the current distance, and the scheduling requirement of a third-party application provider is met.

In a possible implementation manner, the second response message further carries valid area information corresponding to the information of the edge network, where the valid area information is used to indicate an area to which the information of the edge network is applicable.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the information of the edge network and the corresponding effective area information are carried in the response message returned based on the request message, so that the receiving party can know the area where the information of the edge network is applicable, the IP address of the application instance is acquired in the area by using the information of the edge network, and the accuracy of acquiring the IP address of the application instance is improved.

In one possible implementation manner, the location information of the user equipment is at least one of: a cell identity of the user equipment; tracking Area Identity (TAI) of the user equipment; geographical location information or geographical area information of the user equipment; latitude and longitude information of the user equipment; and a Data Network Access Identifier (DNAI) corresponding to the user equipment.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, at least one of the cell identifier, the TAI, the geographical location information, the geographical area information and the DNAI of the user equipment is used as the location information of the user equipment, so that the flexibility and the reliability of the location information of the user equipment are improved, the IP address of the application instance is obtained according to the location information, and the reliability of the IP address of the application instance is improved.

In one possible implementation manner, the obtaining information of the edge network includes: and acquiring the information of the edge network from locally stored edge network configuration information according to the position information of the user equipment, wherein the edge network configuration information comprises the information of at least one edge network.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the information of the edge network corresponding to the position information of the user equipment is obtained from the information of the edge networks according to the position information of the user equipment, and a mode for accurately and quickly obtaining the information of the edge networks is provided.

In one possible implementation, the method is applied to a third server deployed in the edge network, and the obtaining information of the edge network includes: and the third server subscribes the user plane management event of the user equipment from a mobile data network and receives a notification message of the user plane management event returned by the mobile data network based on subscription, wherein the notification message carries the information of the edge network.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the notification message can be received by subscribing the event from the mobile data network, the information of the edge network can be obtained from the notification message, and a mode for instantly and accurately obtaining the information of the edge network is provided.

In a possible implementation manner, the first response message further carries valid area information corresponding to the IP address of the application instance, where the valid area information is used to indicate an area to which the IP address of the application instance is applicable.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the IP address of the application example and the corresponding effective area information are carried in the response message returned based on the request message, so that the receiving party can know the applicable area of the IP address of the application example, the IP address of the application example is used in the area, and the accuracy of the IP address of the application example is ensured.

In one possible implementation, the information of the edge network is at least one of: DNAI corresponding to the edge network; an IP address of the edge network; an IP address of a third server deployed in the edge network.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, at least one of the DNAI corresponding to the edge network, the IP address of the edge network and the IP address of the third server is used as the information of the edge network, so that the flexibility and the reliability of the information of the edge network are improved, and the reliability of the IP address of the application instance obtained according to the position information is high.

In one possible implementation, the IP address of the edge network or the IP address of the third server is an IP address segment.

In one possible implementation, the identification of the user equipment is at least one of: an IP address of the user equipment; a General Public Subscription Identifier (GPSI) of the user equipment; a Mobile Station Integrated Services Digital Network (MSISDN) of the user equipment.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, at least one of the IP address, the GPSI and the MSISDN of the user equipment is used as the identification of the user equipment, so that the flexibility and the reliability of the identification of the user equipment are improved.

In one possible implementation, the identification of the application is at least one of: an identifier of the application; a uniform resource locator of the application; the full domain name of the application; the application name of the application.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, at least one of the application identifier, the uniform resource locator, the full domain name and the application name is used as the application identifier, so that the flexibility and the reliability of the application identifier are improved.

In a second aspect, a method for obtaining an address of an application instance is provided, where the method includes: sending a third request message to a second server, where the third request message carries an application identifier and user equipment information, and the user equipment information is location information of the user equipment or the user equipment identifier; and receiving a third response message returned by the second server based on the third request message, wherein the third response message carries the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the position information of the user equipment.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the IP address of the corresponding application instance is obtained from the second server by using the application identifier and the information of the user equipment, the address of the application instance closest to the current distance can be quickly and accurately obtained, and the scheduling requirement of a third-party application provider is met.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the IP address of the application instance of the application is acquired after the update indication message is received, a trigger condition for updating the IP address of the application instance is provided, and the reliability of the IP address of the application instance can be ensured.

In one possible implementation manner, when the method is applied to the third server, before the sending the third request message to the second server, the method further includes: and the third server subscribes the position information of the user equipment from a mobile data network and receives a notification message returned by the mobile data network based on subscription, wherein the notification message carries the position information of the user equipment.

In one possible implementation manner, the location information of the user equipment is at least one of: a cell identity of the user equipment; a tracking area identity, TAI, of the user equipment; geographical location information or geographical area information of the user equipment; latitude and longitude information of the user equipment; and accessing the data network corresponding to the user equipment to the identification DNAI.

In a possible implementation manner, the location information of the user equipment is DNAI corresponding to the user equipment, and when the method is applied to a third server, before the sending the third request message to the second server, the method further includes: and the third server subscribes the user plane management event of the user equipment from a mobile data network, and receives a notification message of the user plane management event returned by the mobile data network based on subscription, wherein the notification message carries the position information of the user equipment.

In one possible implementation, the third response message further carries at least one of the following: effective area information corresponding to the IP address of the application example, wherein the effective area information is used for indicating an area where the IP address of the application example is applicable; and the IP address of the third server corresponds to the IP address of the application example.

In a third aspect, a method for obtaining an address of an application instance is provided, where the method includes: receiving a second request message from a target device, wherein the second request message carries the position information of the user device or the identifier of the user device; determining information of a corresponding edge network according to the position information of the user equipment or the identification of the user equipment; and sending a second response message to the target device, wherein the second response message carries the information of the edge network.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the request message of the user equipment is received, the corresponding information of the edge network is determined and returned to the user equipment according to the position information of the user equipment or the identification of the user equipment, so that the user equipment can acquire the information of the edge network, the address of the application instance closest to the current distance is quickly and accurately acquired by using the identification of the application and the information of the edge network, and the scheduling requirement of a third-party application provider is met.

In a possible implementation manner, the determining information of a corresponding edge network according to the location information of the user equipment or the identifier of the user equipment includes: determining the position information of the user equipment according to the identification of the user equipment; and determining the information of the corresponding edge network according to the position information of the user equipment.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the request message can carry the position information of the user equipment and also can carry the identification of the user equipment, and after the position information of the user equipment is determined according to the identification of the user equipment, the information of the edge network is determined, so that the flexibility is improved.

In a possible implementation manner, the determining information of the corresponding edge network according to the location information of the user equipment includes: and inquiring the corresponding relation between the position information of the user equipment and the information of the edge network according to the position information of the user equipment to obtain the information of the edge network corresponding to the position information of the user equipment.

In a possible implementation manner, the determining information of the edge network according to the location information of the user equipment is that the information of the edge network is an IP address of a third server, and includes: determining a corresponding data network access identifier DNAI according to the position information of the user equipment; determining an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the third server according to the DNAI.

In a possible implementation manner, the determining the location information of the user equipment according to the identifier of the user equipment includes any one of: according to the identification of the user equipment, requesting location information of the user equipment from an access and mobility management function (serving AMF), and receiving a response message returned by the AMF based on the request, wherein the response message carries the location information of the user equipment; or according to the identifier of the user equipment, subscribing location information of the user equipment to the AMF, a third server or a Session Management Function (SMF), and receiving a notification message returned by the AMF, the third server or the SMF based on the subscription, where the notification message carries the location information of the user equipment.

The method provided by the embodiment of the application can not only request the position information of the user equipment from the AMF, but also subscribe the position information of the user equipment to the AMF, the third server and the SMF, thereby improving the flexibility.

In one possible implementation manner, the location information of the user equipment is at least one of: a cell identity of the user equipment; a tracking area identity, TAI, of the user equipment; geographical location information or geographical area information of the user equipment; latitude and longitude information of the user equipment; DNAI corresponding to the user equipment.

In one possible implementation, the identification of the user equipment is at least one of: an IP address of the user equipment; a general public subscription identifier, GPSI, of the user equipment; the MSISDN of the mobile station integrated services digital network of the user equipment.

In one possible implementation manner, the target device is a user device, and after the sending the second response message to the target device, the method further includes: sending an update indication message to the user equipment, wherein the update indication message is used for indicating the IP address of an application instance of an update application; and re-executing the steps of receiving the second request message, determining the information of the corresponding edge network, and transmitting the second response message.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the updating indication message is sent to the user equipment, so that the user equipment can obtain the IP address of the application instance of the application again when the user equipment needs to access the application, a trigger condition for updating the IP address of the application instance is provided, and the reliability of the IP address of the application instance can be ensured.

In one possible implementation manner, the sending the update indication message to the user equipment includes: and when the situation that the position of the user equipment moves out of the edge network is monitored, sending an updating indication message to the user equipment.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the position information of the user equipment is monitored, and the updating indication message can be sent to the user equipment when the position of the user equipment moves out of the edge network, so that the user equipment can immediately and accurately receive the updating indication message, the IP address of the application instance of the application is obtained again, and the reliability of the IP address of the application instance is ensured.

In one possible implementation manner, the sending the update indication message to the user equipment includes: and sending an updating indication message to the user equipment when the edge network corresponding to the user equipment changes based on the change event of the edge network corresponding to the user equipment subscribed by the user equipment.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the update indication message can be returned based on the subscription when the edge network corresponding to the user equipment changes through the mode of subscribing the event, so that the user equipment can immediately and accurately receive the update indication message, the IP address of the application instance of the application is obtained again, and the reliability of the IP address of the application instance is ensured.

In one possible implementation, the target device is the user device or a second server.

In a fourth aspect, a method for obtaining an address of an application instance is provided, where the method includes:

receiving a third request message from a target device, where the third request message carries an application identifier and user device information, and the user device information is location information of the user device or the user device identifier;

acquiring an Internet Protocol (IP) address of an application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the user equipment according to the application identifier and the information of the user equipment;

and sending a third response message to the target device, wherein the third response message carries the IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the position information of the user device.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the request message of the target device is received, and the IP address of the corresponding application instance is acquired and returned to the target device according to the application identifier and the information of the user device carried in the request message, so that the target device can quickly and accurately acquire the address of the application instance closest to the current distance, and the scheduling requirement of a third-party application provider is met.

In a possible implementation manner, the obtaining, according to the identifier of the application and the information of the user equipment, an IP address of an application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the user equipment includes:

determining the position information of the user equipment according to the identification of the user equipment;

and acquiring the IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the position information of the user equipment according to the application identifier and the position information of the user equipment.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the request message can carry the position information of the user equipment and also can carry the identification of the user equipment, and after the position information of the user equipment is determined according to the identification of the user equipment, the IP address of the application instance is determined, so that the flexibility is improved.

In a possible implementation manner, the obtaining, according to the identifier of the application and the information of the user equipment, an IP address of an application instance of the application corresponding to the location information of the user equipment includes:

and inquiring the corresponding relation among the application identifier, the position information of the user equipment and the IP address of the application instance according to the application identifier and the position information of the user equipment to obtain the IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the position information of the user equipment.

In a possible implementation manner, the obtaining, according to the identifier of the application and the information of the user equipment, an IP address of an application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the user equipment includes: determining information of a corresponding edge network according to the position information of the user equipment; and acquiring the IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the edge network according to the application identifier and the information of the edge network.

In one possible implementation, the information of the edge network is at least one of: accessing a data network corresponding to the edge network with an identifier DNAI; an IP address of the edge network; an IP address of a third server deployed in the edge network.

In a possible implementation manner, the obtaining, according to the identifier of the application and the information of the edge network, an IP address of an application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the edge network includes: sending a first request message to a first server, wherein the first request message carries the identifier of the application and the information of the edge network; and receiving a first response message returned by the first server based on the first request message, wherein the first response message carries the IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the edge network.

In a possible implementation manner, the determining information of the edge network according to the location information of the user equipment is that the information of the edge network is an IP address of a third server, and includes: determining corresponding DNAI according to the position information of the user equipment; determining an IP address of the third server according to the DNAI.

In a possible implementation manner, the determining the location information of the user equipment according to the identifier of the user equipment includes any one of:

according to the identification of the user equipment, requesting the position information of the user equipment from an access and mobility management function (AMF), and receiving a response message returned by the AMF based on the request, wherein the response message carries the position information of the user equipment; or according to the identifier of the user equipment, subscribing the location information of the user equipment to the AMF, a third server or a Session Management Function (SMF), and receiving a notification message returned by the AMF, the third server or the SMF based on subscription, wherein the notification message carries the location information of the user equipment.

In a possible implementation manner, the third response message further carries an IP address of a third server corresponding to an IP address of the application instance of the application, and before the sending of the third response message to the target device, the method further includes: and inquiring the IP address of the third server corresponding to the IP address of the application instance of the application according to the IP address of the application instance of the application.

In one possible implementation manner, the target device is a user device, and after the sending the third response message to the target device, the method further includes: sending an update indication message to the user equipment, wherein the update indication message is used for indicating the IP address of an application instance of an update application; and re-executing the steps of receiving the third request message, acquiring the IP address of the application instance and sending a third response message.

In a fifth aspect, a method for obtaining an address of an application instance is provided, where the method includes:

receiving a first request message from a target device, wherein the first request message carries an application identifier and information of an edge network; determining an Internet Protocol (IP) address of an application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the edge network according to the identifier of the application and the information of the edge network; and sending a first response message to the target device, wherein the first response message carries the IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the edge network.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the request message of the target device is received, and the IP address of the corresponding application instance is determined and returned to the target device according to the application identifier and the information of the edge network carried in the request message, so that the target device can quickly and accurately acquire the address of the application instance closest to the current distance, and the scheduling requirement of a third-party application provider is met.

In a possible implementation manner, the determining, according to the identifier of the application and the information of the edge network, an IP address of an application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the edge network includes: and inquiring the corresponding relation among the application identifier, the edge network information and the IP address of the application instance according to the application identifier and the edge network information to obtain the IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the edge network information.

In one possible implementation, the target device is a user device, a second server, or a third server.

In a sixth aspect, an address obtaining apparatus for an application instance is provided, where the apparatus includes a plurality of functional modules, and the plurality of functional modules are configured to execute the address obtaining method for an application instance provided in any one of the above aspects or any one of the possible implementations of any one of the above aspects.

In a seventh aspect, a computer device is provided, the computer device comprising one or more processors and one or more memories, wherein at least one instruction is stored in the one or more memories, and the instruction is loaded and executed by the one or more processors to implement the address obtaining method for the application instance provided in any one of the above aspects or any one of the possible implementations of any one of the above aspects.

In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, in which at least one instruction is stored, and the instruction is loaded and executed by a processor to implement the address obtaining method of the application instance provided in any one of the above aspects or any one of the possible implementations of any one of the above aspects.

A ninth aspect provides an address obtaining system of an application instance, the system including a plurality of devices in a user equipment, a first server, a second server, or a third server; the user equipment or the third server is configured to execute the address obtaining method of the application instance provided by the first aspect or the second aspect; the second server is configured to execute the address obtaining method of the application instance provided in the third aspect or the fourth aspect; the first server is configured to execute the address obtaining method of the application instance provided by the fifth aspect.

In a tenth aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising: computer program code which, when run by a computer device, causes the computer device to perform the address acquisition method of an application instance as provided in any of the above aspects or any of the possible implementations of any of the aspects.

In an eleventh aspect, a chip is provided, which includes a processor, and is configured to call and execute instructions stored in a memory, so that a terminal in which the chip is installed executes an address obtaining method of an application instance provided in any one of the above aspects or any one of the possible implementations of any one of the above aspects.

In a twelfth aspect, another chip is provided, including: the system comprises an input interface, an output interface, a processor and a memory, wherein the input interface, the output interface, the processor and the memory are connected through an internal connection path, the processor is used for executing codes in the memory, and when the codes are executed, the processor is used for an address obtaining method of an application instance provided in any one of the above aspects or any one of the possible implementation manners of any one of the above aspects.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a system architecture diagram of an address obtaining method of an application example according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a computer device 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 3 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application example according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application example according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application example according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application example according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application example according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application example according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application example according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application example according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application example according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application example according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 13 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application example according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 14 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application example according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 15 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application example according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 16 is a flowchart of an information obtaining method of an EES according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 17 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application example according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 18 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application example according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 19 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application example according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 20 is a schematic structural diagram of an address obtaining apparatus of an application example according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 21 is a schematic structural diagram of an address obtaining apparatus of an application example according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 22 is a schematic structural diagram of an address obtaining apparatus of an application example according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 23 is a schematic structural diagram of an address obtaining apparatus of an application example according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 24 is a schematic structural diagram of an address obtaining apparatus of an application example according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

To make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more clear, embodiments of the present application will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a system architecture diagram of an address obtaining method for an application instance according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, where the system includes a User Equipment (UE), a mobile data network, an edge network, an application instance, a second server, and a third server. The application instance and the third server are deployed in the edge network.

The mobile data network may be a 3rd generation partnership project (3 GPP) network.

The edge network is a peer concept of a central cloud, and may be understood as a local data center, and may be identified by using a Data Network Access Identifier (DNAI), which may also be referred to as an edge computing network (edge computing network). Multiple local data networks (local DNs) may be deployed in an edge network. In one implementation, the edge network may be an Edge Data Network (EDN).

The second server may provide a resolution service of the name of the application to the IP address of the application, may provide configuration information of the edge network (such as the name, the IP address, an IP virtual address (used to indicate the IP address provided by all application instances in the edge network to the UE), a service range (tracking area list or cell list) of the edge network, and the like) to the UE, and may provide information of an EES (EES) (including the name, the IP address, and the like of the EES) to the UE. The second server may be an edge network configuration server, and the edge network configuration server is responsible for configuration of the edge network, such as providing the UE with information of the EES, such as an IP address of the EES. Further, the UE may be directly provided with information of the application instance, and may interact with a first server to obtain information of the application instance, where the first server may be a Domain Name System (DNS) server. DNS servers provide mapping and translation between host names and IP addresses, and a server is authoritative for a host if it always has a DNS record that resolves a host name to an IP address. The DNS is a distributed database for Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)/IP applications that provides translation between host names and IP addresses and routing information about e-mails. Distributed as referred to herein means that a single site on the network (Internet) cannot own all of the information. The DNS server may be operated by an operator, deployed in the operator's network. The second server may also be another functional entity having the functionality of the second server. The designations in this application are for purposes of illustration only and are not limiting.

The third server may be an edge-enabled server. The EES may provide some enabling capabilities for the application instances deployed in the edge network, and may better support the deployment situation of the application in the MEC. The method can support registration of edge application, authentication and authorization of User Equipment (UE), and provide Internet Protocol (IP) address information of an application instance for the UE. The third server may also be another functional entity having the functions of the third server. The designations in this application are for purposes of illustration only and are not limiting.

The application instance is an application deployed in an edge network, and may also be referred to as an edge application (edge application) or a Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) application. One application can be deployed in the cloud and one or more edge networks at the same time, and one application can correspond to multiple application instances.

The UE may be a device such as a mobile phone and a computer, and an application client (application client) and an Edge Enable Client (EEC) may be installed on the UE. An application client is a peer entity of an edge application on the UE side. The EEC is a peer entity of the EES at the UE side.

An application client in the UE and an application instance in the edge network may perform application data transmission (application data traffic), a connection may be established between the EEC and the EES through reference point 1(edge-1), a connection may be established between the 3GPP network and the EES through reference point 2(edge-2), a connection may be established between the application instance and the EES through reference point 3(edge-3), and a connection may be established between the EEC and the edge network configuration server through reference point 4 (edge-4).

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a computer device 200 provided in an embodiment of the present application, where the computer device may be a user device or a server. The computer device 200 includes a relatively large difference due to different configurations or performances, and may include one or more processors (CPUs) 201 and one or more memories 202, wherein the memory 202 stores at least one instruction, and the at least one instruction is loaded and executed by the processor 201 to implement the methods provided by the method embodiments described below. Certainly, the computer device 200 may further have components such as a wired or wireless network interface, a keyboard, and an input/output interface, so as to perform input and output, and the computer device 200 may further include other components for implementing device functions, which are not described herein again.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application instance provided in an embodiment of the present application, where the method may be applied to a user equipment or a third server, that is, an execution subject of the method may be the user equipment or the third server, and as shown in fig. 3, the method includes the following steps:

and 301, acquiring information of the edge network.

Step 302, sending a first request message to the first server, where the first request message carries the identifier of the application and the information of the edge network.

Step 303, receiving a first response message returned by the first server based on the first request message, where the first response message carries an internet protocol IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the edge network.

Optionally, the method further comprises: and receiving an update indication message of the second server or the third server, wherein the update indication message is used for indicating that the IP address of the application instance of the application is updated.

The update indication information may be sent after step 301 or received before step 301.

Optionally, the update indication message may be used to indicate that the location of the user equipment is changed, or to indicate that the edge network where the user equipment is located is changed, or to indicate that the receiving party obtains the updated IP address by sending a request message.

In one possible implementation, the update indication message further includes information of the updated edge network; the acquiring information of the edge network includes: information of the updated edge network is received. In this case, the step of receiving the update indication message may be performed before step 302, for example, the user equipment may perform steps 302 to 303 to obtain the updated IP address after receiving the update indication message, that is, after receiving the updated information of the edge network. The step of receiving the update indication message may also be performed after step 303, for example, after the user equipment obtains the IP address of the application instance of the application by performing steps 301 to 303, if the update indication message, that is, the information of the updated edge network is received, steps 302 to 303 may be performed again to obtain the updated IP address, which corresponds to the information of the updated edge network.

Optionally, the update indication message may not include information of the edge network, in this case, the step of receiving the update indication message may be performed before step 301, for example, after the user equipment receives the update indication message, the user equipment may perform steps 301 to 303 to obtain an updated IP address, where the IP address corresponds to the information of the updated edge network. The step of receiving the update indication message may also be performed after step 303, for example, after the user equipment obtains the IP address of the application instance of the application by performing steps 301 to 303, if the update indication message is received, steps 301 to 303 may be performed again to obtain an updated IP address, where the IP address corresponds to the information of the updated edge network.

In one possible implementation, the obtaining information of the edge network includes: sending a second request message to a second server, wherein the second request message carries the position information of the user equipment or the identifier of the user equipment; and receiving a second response message returned by the second server based on the second request message, wherein the second response message carries the information of the edge network.

It should be noted that, when the second request message may be a request message for subscription, it may be understood that the second request message is used for subscribing to information of an edge network corresponding to the user equipment. When the second server learns that the location information of the user equipment changes, the second server determines that, if the edge network corresponding to the location of the user equipment changes, the second server may determine information of the edge network corresponding to the current location of the user equipment, and send a notification message based on the subscription request to the user equipment, where the notification message carries information of the edge network, and specifically, the notification message may also carry an IP address of a third server. This notification message may be sent multiple times.

In one possible implementation, the location information of the ue is at least one of: a cell identity of the user equipment; a Tracking Area Identity (TAI) of the user equipment; geographical location information or geographical area information of the user equipment; latitude and longitude information of the user equipment; and accessing the data network corresponding to the user equipment to the identifier DNAI.

In one possible implementation, the obtaining information of the edge network includes: and acquiring the information of the edge network from the edge network configuration information stored locally according to the position information of the user equipment, wherein the edge network configuration information comprises the information of at least one edge network.

In one possible implementation, the method is applied to a third server deployed in the edge network, and the obtaining information of the edge network includes: the third server subscribes to the user plane management event of the user equipment from the mobile data network, and receives a notification message of the user plane management event returned by the mobile data network based on subscription, wherein the notification message carries the information of the edge network.

In one possible implementation, the information of the edge network is at least one of the following: DNAI corresponding to the edge network; the IP address of the edge network; an IP address of a third server deployed in the edge network.

All the above-mentioned optional technical solutions can be combined arbitrarily to form the optional embodiments of the present invention, and are not described herein again.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application instance according to an embodiment of the present application, where the method may be applied to a user equipment or a third server, as shown in fig. 4, where the method includes the following steps:

step 401, sending a third request message to a second server, where the third request message carries an application identifier and information of a user equipment, and the information of the user equipment is location information of the user equipment or an identifier of the user equipment;

step 402, receiving a third response message returned by the second server based on the third request message, where the third response message carries an internet protocol IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the location information of the user equipment.

The step of receiving the update indication message may be performed before step 401, for example, after the user equipment receives the update indication message, the user equipment may perform steps 401 to 402 to obtain an updated IP address, where the IP address corresponds to the updated information of the edge network. The step of receiving the update indication message may also be performed after step 402, for example, after the user equipment obtains the IP address of the application instance of the application by performing steps 401 to 402, if the update indication message is received, steps 401 to 402 may be performed again to obtain an updated IP address, where the IP address corresponds to the updated information of the edge network.

In one possible implementation, when the method is applied to the third server, before the sending the third request message to the second server, the method further includes: the third server subscribes the position information of the user equipment from the mobile data network, and receives a notification message returned by the mobile data network based on subscription, wherein the notification message carries the position information of the user equipment.

In a possible implementation manner, the location information of the user equipment identifies DNAI for data network access corresponding to the user equipment, and when the method is applied to the third server, before the sending the third request message to the second server, the method further includes: the third server subscribes to the user plane management event of the user equipment from the mobile data network, and receives a notification message of the user plane management event returned by the mobile data network based on subscription, wherein the notification message carries the position information of the user equipment.

In one possible implementation, the third response message further carries at least one of: effective area information corresponding to the IP address of the application instance of the application, wherein the effective area information is used for indicating an area where the IP address of the application instance of the application is applicable; and the IP address of the third server corresponds to the IP address of the application instance of the application. The third server corresponding to the IP address of the application instance of the application may be understood as a third server serving the application instance of the application, and the third server may provide edge-enabled services for the application instance of the application, where the edge-enabled services may be from the third server itself or from a 3GPP network.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application instance, which may be applied to a second server, according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 5, the method includes the following steps:

step 501, receiving a second request message from a target device, where the second request message carries location information of the user device or an identifier of the user device;

step 502, determining information of a corresponding edge network according to the location information of the user equipment or the identifier of the user equipment;

step 503, sending a second response message to the target device, where the second response message carries information of the edge network.

It should be noted that, when the second request message is a subscribed request message, it can be understood that the second request message is used for subscribing the information of the edge network corresponding to the user equipment. When the second server learns that the location information of the user equipment changes, the second server determines that, if the edge network corresponding to the location of the user equipment changes, the second server may determine information of the edge network corresponding to the current location of the user equipment, and send a notification message based on the subscription request to the user equipment, where the notification message carries information of the edge network, and specifically, the notification message may also carry an IP address of a third server. This notification message may be sent multiple times.

In a possible implementation manner, the determining information of the corresponding edge network according to the location information of the ue or the identifier of the ue includes: determining the position information of the user equipment according to the identification of the user equipment; and determining the information of the corresponding edge network according to the position information of the user equipment.

In a possible implementation manner, the determining information of the edge network according to the location information of the user equipment, where the information of the edge network is an IP address of a third server, includes: determining a corresponding data network access identifier DNAI according to the position information of the user equipment; determining an internet protocol IP address of the third server based on the DNAI.

In one possible implementation, the determining the location information of the user equipment according to the identity of the user equipment includes any one of the following: according to the identification of the user equipment, requesting the position information of the user equipment from an access and mobility management function (AMF), and receiving a response message returned by the AMF based on the request, wherein the response message carries the position information of the user equipment; or according to the identifier of the user equipment, subscribing the location information of the user equipment to the AMF, the third server or the session management function SMF, and receiving a notification message returned by the AMF, the third server or the SMF based on the subscription, wherein the notification message carries the location information of the user equipment.

In one possible implementation, the location information of the ue is at least one of: a cell identity of the user equipment; a Tracking Area Identity (TAI) of the user equipment; geographical location information or geographical area information of the user equipment; latitude and longitude information of the user equipment; DNAI corresponding to the user equipment.

In one possible implementation, the information of the edge network is at least one of: DNAI corresponding to the edge network; the IP address of the edge network; an IP address of a third server deployed in the edge network.

In one possible implementation manner, the target device is a user device, and after the sending the second response message to the target device, the method further includes: sending an update indication message to the user equipment, wherein the update indication message is used for indicating the IP address of the application instance of the update application;

further, optionally, the steps of receiving the second request message, determining information of the corresponding edge network, and transmitting the second response message may be re-performed.

In one possible implementation, the sending the update indication message to the user equipment includes: and when the situation that the position of the user equipment moves out of the edge network is monitored, sending an updating indication message to the user equipment.

In one possible implementation, the sending the update indication message to the user equipment includes: and sending an update indication message to the user equipment when the edge network corresponding to the user equipment changes based on the change event of the edge network corresponding to the user equipment subscribed by the user equipment.

In one possible implementation, the target device is a user device or a second server.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application instance, which may be applied to a second server, according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 6, the method includes the following steps:

step 601, receiving a third request message from the target device, where the third request message carries an application identifier and information of the user device, and the information of the user device is location information of the user device or an identifier of the user device.

Step 602, obtaining the internet protocol IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the user equipment according to the identifier of the application and the information of the user equipment.

Step 603, sending a third response message to the target device, where the third response message carries the IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the location information of the user device.

In a possible implementation manner, the obtaining, according to the identifier of the application and the information of the user equipment, an IP address of an application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the user equipment includes: determining the position information of the user equipment according to the identification of the user equipment; and acquiring the IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the position information of the user equipment according to the identifier of the application and the position information of the user equipment.

In a possible implementation manner, the obtaining, according to the identifier of the application and the information of the user equipment, an IP address of an application instance of the application corresponding to the location information of the user equipment includes: and inquiring the corresponding relation among the application identifier, the position information of the user equipment and the IP address of the application instance according to the application identifier and the position information of the user equipment to obtain the IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the position information of the user equipment.

In a possible implementation manner, the obtaining, according to the identifier of the application and the information of the user equipment, an IP address of an application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the user equipment includes: determining the information of the corresponding edge network according to the position information of the user equipment; and acquiring the IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the edge network according to the identifier of the application and the information of the edge network.

In one possible implementation, the information of the edge network is at least one of: the data network corresponding to the edge network is accessed with the identifier DNAI; the IP address of the edge network; an IP address of a third server deployed in the edge network.

In a possible implementation manner, the determining information of the edge network according to the location information of the user equipment, where the information of the edge network is an IP address of a third server, includes: determining corresponding DNAI according to the position information of the user equipment; determining an IP address of the third server according to the DNAI.

In a possible implementation manner, the third response message further carries an IP address of a third server corresponding to the IP address of the application instance of the application, and before the third response message is sent to the target device, the method further includes: and inquiring the IP address of the third server corresponding to the IP address of the application instance of the application according to the IP address of the application instance of the application.

In one possible implementation manner, the target device is a user device, and after the third response message is sent to the target device, the method further includes: sending an update indication message to the user equipment, wherein the update indication message is used for indicating the IP address of the application instance of the update application;

further, optionally, the steps of receiving the third request message, obtaining the IP address of the application instance, and sending the third response message may be re-performed.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application instance according to an embodiment of the present application, where the method may be applied to a first server, as shown in fig. 7, where the method includes the following steps:

step 701, receiving a first request message from a target device, where the first request message carries an application identifier and information of an edge network.

Step 702, determining the internet protocol IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the edge network according to the identifier of the application and the information of the edge network.

Step 703, sending a first response message to the target device, where the first response message carries an IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the edge network.

Taking the first server as a DNS server and the second server as an edge network configuration server as an example, for a case that the UE first obtains information of the edge network from the edge network configuration server, and then the UE obtains an IP address of the application instance from the DNS server, referring to fig. 8, based on interaction between the UE and the edge network configuration server and interaction between the UE and the DNS server, the address obtaining method of the application instance may be briefly described as follows: the UE sends a second request message to an edge network configuration server, wherein the second request message carries the position information of the UE; the UE receives a second response message returned by the edge network configuration server based on the second request message, wherein the second response message carries the information of the edge network; UE sends a first request message to a DNS server, wherein the first request message carries an application identifier and information of the edge network; and the UE receives a first response message returned by the DNS server based on the first request message, wherein the first response message carries the Internet protocol IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the edge network.

The embodiment corresponding to fig. 8 is a brief description of an address obtaining method of an application example, and the following describes in detail the steps of the address obtaining method of the application example in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 9. Fig. 9 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application instance according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 9, the method includes the following steps:

step 901, the UE sends a second request message to the edge network configuration server, where the second request message carries the location information of the UE.

The second request message is used for requesting information of an edge network corresponding to the location information of the UE. The location information of the UE is used for indicating the location of the UE, and the location information of the UE may be at least one of the following: cell identification (Cell ID), Tracking Area Identification (TAI), geographical location (or area) information, longitude and latitude information, and DNAI corresponding to the UE. The second request message may be a location request message, or an edge network location request message, and the like, and the specific message name is not limited in the present application.

In one possible implementation, the UE may perform this step 901 when receiving an access request for an application.

By taking at least one of the cell identifier, the TAI, the geographical location information, the geographical area information and the DNAI of the user equipment as the location information of the user equipment, the flexibility and the reliability of the location information of the user equipment are improved, so that the IP address of the application instance is obtained according to the location information, and the reliability of the IP address of the application instance is improved.

Optionally, the second request message may further carry an application identifier, where the application identifier may be at least one of the following: an application identifier (application ID), a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), a full-size domain name (FQDN), and an application name (application name). By using at least one of the application identifier, the uniform resource locator, the full domain name and the application name as the application identifier, the flexibility and the reliability of the application identifier are improved.

Step 902, after receiving the second request message, the edge network configuration server determines, according to the location information of the UE, information of the edge network corresponding to the location information of the UE.

The information of the edge network corresponding to the location information of the UE may be understood as information of the edge network closest to the UE, which may be a distance in a physical location or a distance in a network topology. The information of the edge network may be used to indicate a location of the edge network, which may be understood as another location information of the UE. The information of the DN may be an identification of the edge network, or location information of the edge network, or attribute information of the edge network. The information of the edge network may be at least one of: DNAI corresponding to the edge network, IP address of the edge network and IP address of the EES. The IP address of the edge network or the IP address of the EES may be an IP address segment (address range). The IP address of the edge network may be a virtual IP address, which may be used to indicate one or more application instances deployed in the edge network, and may be referred to as a virtual IP address because it is not a real IP address of an application instance. By taking at least one of the DNAI corresponding to the edge network, the IP address of the edge network and the IP address of the third server as the information of the edge network, the flexibility and the reliability of the information of the edge network are improved, so that the reliability of the IP address of the application instance obtained according to the position information is high.

In this embodiment of the application, the edge network configuration server may store a corresponding relationship between the location information of the UE and the information of the edge network, so that the edge network configuration server may query the corresponding relationship according to the location information of the UE carried in the second request message to obtain the information of the edge network, that is, the information of the edge network corresponding to the location information of the UE. For example, the edge network configuration server may maintain a local database, in which the corresponding relationship between the location information of the UE and the information of the edge network is stored, so that the edge network configuration server may use the location information of the UE as a filtering condition for querying in the local database to query the information of the edge network meeting the filtering condition.

Taking the information of the edge network as the IP address of the EES as an example, the edge network configuration server may determine the IP address of the EES according to the location information of the UE, and specifically, the edge network configuration server may determine the corresponding DNAI according to the location information of the UE, for example, the edge network configuration server may query the correspondence between the location information of the UE and the DNAI according to the location information of the UE to obtain the DNAI, and then determine the IP address of the EES according to the DNAI. In some embodiments, the edge network configuration server may also subscribe to a user plane management event (UE UP management event) of the UE from the EES or a Session Management Function (SMF), receive notification information of the event returned by the EES or the SMF based on the subscription, and the notification information carries the DNAI.

For the case that the second request message also carries the identifier of the application, the edge network configuration server may determine, according to the location information of the UE and the identifier of the application, information of the edge network that supports the application.

Optionally, the edge network configuration server may further determine valid area information corresponding to the information of the edge network, where the valid area information is used to indicate an area to which the information of the edge network is applicable, that is, the information of the edge network is valid (valid) in the area indicated by the valid area information, and may also be understood as a service scope of the edge network. When the UE moves out of the area indicated by the effective area information, the information of the edge network is no longer effective, and the UE needs to initiate the second request message again to reacquire the information of the edge network corresponding to the moved location information.

It should be noted that, step 901 and step 902 are described by taking an example that the UE acquires information of an edge network from an edge network configuration server, and in some embodiments, the UE may acquire the information of the edge network from locally stored edge network configuration information according to the location information of the UE, where the edge network configuration information includes information of at least one edge network, and the edge networks include the edge network. The method for accurately and quickly acquiring the information of the edge network is provided by acquiring the information of the edge network corresponding to the position information of the user equipment from the information of the plurality of edge networks according to the position information of the user equipment.

Step 903, the edge network configuration server sends a second response message to the UE, where the second response message carries information of the edge network.

After determining the information of the edge network corresponding to the location information of the UE, the edge network configuration server may carry the information of the edge network in the second response message and return the second response message to the UE. For the case that the edge network configuration server may further determine the effective area information corresponding to the information of the edge network, the second response message may further carry the effective area information corresponding to the information of the edge network.

By simultaneously carrying the information of the edge network and the corresponding effective area information in the response message returned based on the request message, the UE can know the area to which the information of the edge network is applicable, so that the IP address of the application instance is acquired by using the information of the edge network in the area, and the accuracy of acquiring the IP address of the application instance is improved.

Step 904, the UE receives a second response message returned by the edge network configuration server based on the second request message, and sends a first request message to the DNS server, where the first request message carries the identifier of the application and the information of the edge network.

After obtaining the information of the edge network, the UE may carry the identifier of the application and the information of the edge network in a first request message and send the first request message to the DNS server, where the first request message is used to request an IP address of an application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the edge network.

Step 905, after receiving the first request message, the DNS server sends a first response message to the UE, where the first response message carries an IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the edge network.

In this embodiment of the application, the DNS server may determine the IP address of the corresponding (matched) application instance according to the identifier of the application and the information of the edge network, which are carried in the first request message. Specifically, the DNS server may store a corresponding relationship between the application identifier, the information of the edge network, and the IP address of the application instance, so that the DNS server may query the corresponding relationship according to the application identifier and the information of the edge network carried in the first request message to obtain the IP address of the application instance, that is, the IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the edge network.

For example, the edge network configuration server may maintain a local database in which the correspondence between the application identifier, the information of the edge network, and the IP address of the application instance is stored, so that the DNS server may query the local database for the IP address of the application instance that meets the filtering condition, using the application identifier and the information of the edge network as the filtering condition of the query. Then, the edge network configuration server may carry the IP address of the application instance in a first response message and return the first response message to the UE.

It should be noted that, if the application is deployed in the edge network, the UE acquires the IP address of the application instance of the application in the edge network, and if the application is not deployed in the edge network, the UE may acquire the IP address of the application on the cloud (central cloud).

Optionally, the DNS server may further determine valid area information corresponding to the IP address of the application instance, where the valid area information is used to indicate an area to which the IP address of the application instance is applicable, that is, the IP address of the application instance is valid in the area indicated by the valid area information, and when the UE moves out of the area indicated by the valid area information, the IP address of the application instance is no longer valid. Correspondingly, the first response message may also carry valid area information corresponding to the IP address.

Step 906, the UE receives a first response message returned by the DNS server based on the first request message.

After receiving the first response message, the UE may obtain the IP address of the application instance of the application from the first response message, where the IP address of the application instance is the IP address of the application instance corresponding to the current location of the UE.

Steps 901 to 903 are processes in which the UE acquires information of the edge network, and steps 904 to 906 are processes in which the UE acquires an IP address of an application instance of the application by sending a first request message and receiving a first response message.

Alternatively, the UE may receive an update indication message of the edge network server or the EES, the update indication message being used to indicate that the IP address of the application instance of the application is updated.

In one possible implementation manner, the update indication message further includes updated information of the edge network, in which case, the process of acquiring the information of the edge network by the UE may include: information of the updated edge network is received. The step of the UE receiving the update indication message may be performed before step 904, for example, after receiving the update indication message, that is, receiving the updated information of the edge network, the UE may obtain an updated IP address through steps 904 to 906, where the IP address corresponds to the updated information of the edge network. The step of receiving the update indication message may also be performed after step 906, for example, after the UE obtains the IP address of the application instance of the application through steps 301 to 303, if the update indication message, that is, the information of the updated edge network is received, the UE may obtain the updated IP address corresponding to the information of the updated edge network through steps 904 to 906 again.

Optionally, the update indication message may not include information of the edge network, in this case, the step of receiving the update indication message may be performed before step 901, for example, after receiving the update indication message, the UE may obtain an updated IP address through steps 901 to 906, where the IP address corresponds to the information of the updated edge network. The step of receiving the update indication message may also be performed after step 906, for example, after the UE obtains the IP address of the application instance of the application through steps 901 to 906, if the update indication message is received, the updated IP address may be obtained again through steps 901 to 906, and the IP address corresponds to the updated information of the edge network.

In one possible implementation, the edge network server or the EES may monitor the location information of the UE, and when it is monitored that the location of the UE moves out of the edge network determined in step 902, the edge network configuration server or the EES may send an update indication message to the UE. In another possible implementation manner, the UE may send subscription information to the second server or the third server, where the subscription information is used to subscribe to a change event of an edge network corresponding to the UE, and the edge network configuration server or the EES may send an update indication message to the UE when the edge network corresponding to the UE changes based on the change event subscribed by the UE, so that the UE receives the update indication message.

By sending the update indication message to the UE, the UE can reacquire the IP address of the application instance of the application when the application needs to be accessed, a trigger condition for updating the IP address of the application instance is provided, and the reliability of the IP address of the application instance can be ensured.

It should be noted that, step 901 to step 906 are described by taking a request-response (request-response) mechanism as an example, that is, sending a request message and receiving a response message, in some embodiments, step 901 to step 906 may also be a subscription-notification (subscribe-notification) mechanism, that is, sending a subscription message and receiving a plurality of notification messages.

In the embodiment of the application, the UE interacts with the edge network configuration server first, the position information of the UE is used for acquiring the information of the edge network from the edge network configuration server, then the UE interacts with the DNS server, the application identifier and the information of the edge network are used for acquiring the IP address of the corresponding application instance from the DNS server, and the IP address of the application instance is determined according to the position information of the UE and is the IP address of the application instance closest to the UE, so that the requirement of scheduling of a third-party application provider can be met.

In addition, if the DNS server does not deploy an application instance (edge application), the UE acquires the IP address of the application on the central cloud, which improves the acquisition efficiency, saves signaling interacting with different EES, and improves the accuracy of acquiring the IP address of the application instance.

In the embodiment corresponding to fig. 9, the second request message sent by the UE to the edge network configuration server carries the location information of the UE. Optionally, the second request message may also carry an identifier of the UE instead of the location information of the UE. In the following, for this case, in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 10, the steps of the address obtaining method of the application example will be described. It should be noted that the embodiment corresponding to fig. 10 focuses on differences from the embodiment corresponding to fig. 9, and steps of the embodiment that is the same as the embodiment corresponding to fig. 9 are also referred to in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 9, which are not repeated in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 10.

Fig. 10 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application example according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 10, the method includes the following steps:

step 1001, the UE sends a second request message to the edge network configuration server, where the second request message carries an identifier of the UE.

The UE identifier may be used to determine location information of the UE, and the second request message is used to request information of an edge network corresponding to the location information of the UE.

Wherein, the UE identity may be at least one of: an IP address of the UE, a General Public Subscription Identifier (GPSI), and a Mobile Station Integrated Services Digital Network (MSISDN). By using at least one of the IP address, GPSI and MSISDN of the user equipment as the identification of the user equipment, the flexibility and reliability of the identification of the user equipment are improved.

Optionally, as with step 901, the second request message may also carry an identifier of the application.

Step 1002, after receiving the second request message, the edge network configuration server obtains the location information of the UE according to the UE identifier, and determines the information of the corresponding edge network according to the location information of the UE.

In this embodiment, the edge network configuration server may obtain the location information of the UE according to the identifier of the UE by using the following two methods:

method 1, an edge network configuration server requests a serving access and mobility management function (serving AMF) for location information of the UE according to an identifier of the UE, and receives a response message returned by the AMF based on the request, where the response message carries the location information of the UE.

Method 2, the edge network configuration server subscribes the location information of the UE to the AMF, the third server or a Session Management Function (SMF) according to the identifier of the UE, and receives a notification message returned by the AMF, the third server or the SMF based on the subscription, where the notification message carries the location information of the UE. For example, subscribing to "UE UP change management event" of the UE and obtaining notification information, where the notification information carries location information of the UE, such as DNAI of the UE.

The edge network configuration server may subscribe the location information of the UE to the AMF, EES, or SMF, and receive a notification message returned by the AMF, EES, or SMF based on the subscription, where the notification message carries the location information of the UE.

It should be noted that, when the second request message is a subscribed request message, it can be understood that the second request message is used for subscribing to information of an edge network corresponding to the UE. When the edge network configuration server learns that the location information of the UE changes, the edge network configuration server determines that the edge network corresponding to the current location of the UE changes, and sends a notification message based on the subscription request to the UE, where the notification message carries information of the edge network, and specifically carries an IP address of the EES. This notification message may be sent multiple times.

In step 1002, the edge network configuration server determines, according to the location information of the UE, the corresponding information of the edge network in the same manner as that in step 902, which is not described again.

Step 1003, the edge network configuration server sends a second response message to the UE, where the second response message carries information of the edge network.

Step 1004, the UE receives a second response message returned by the edge network configuration server based on the second request message, and sends a first request message to the DNS server, where the first request message carries the identifier of the application and the information of the edge network.

Step 1005, after receiving the first request message, the DNS server sends a first response message to the UE, where the first response message carries an IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the edge network.

Steps 1003 to 1005 are the same as steps 903 to 905, and are not described again.

Step 1006, the UE receives a first response message returned by the DNS server based on the first request message.

In the embodiment of the application, the UE interacts with the edge network configuration server first, the identifier of the UE is used for obtaining information of the edge network from the edge network configuration server, then the UE interacts with the DNS server, and the identifier of the application and the information of the edge network are used for obtaining the IP address of the corresponding application instance from the DNS server, wherein the edge network configuration server can determine the position information of the UE according to the identifier of the UE and then determine the information of the edge network according to the position information of the UE.

In the embodiment corresponding to fig. 9, the UE first requests the edge network configuration server for information of the edge network according to the location information of the UE, and then requests the DNS server for an IP address of an application instance according to the application identifier and the information of the edge network. In some embodiments, the UE may obtain the IP address of the application instance from the edge network configuration server without interaction with the DNS server, which will be described in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 11 for this case. Referring to fig. 11, the address obtaining method of the application example can be briefly described as follows: the UE sends a third request message to the edge network configuration server, wherein the third request message carries the application identifier and the position information of the UE; and the UE receives a third response message returned by the edge network configuration server based on the third request message, wherein the third response message carries the IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the position information of the UE. Optionally, the edge network configuration server sends a first request message to the DNS server, where the first request message carries an application identifier and information of the edge network; and the edge network configuration server receives a first response message returned by the DNS server based on the first request message, wherein the first response message carries the IP address of the application instance.

As shown by a solid line in fig. 11, the address obtaining method of the application instance may be implemented based on interaction between the UE and the edge network configuration server, and if the edge network configuration server stores correspondence between location information of the UE or information of the edge network, an identifier of the application, and an IP address of the application instance, the UE may directly request the IP address of the application instance from the edge network configuration server. As shown by the solid line and the dotted line in fig. 11, the address obtaining method of the application instance may be implemented based on the interaction between the UE and the edge network configuration server and the interaction between the edge network configuration server and the DNS server, and if the edge network configuration server only stores the correspondence between the location information of the UE and the information of the edge network, and does not have the correspondence between the location information of the UE or the information of the edge network, the identifier of the application, and the IP address of the application instance, the edge network configuration server may further send a request message to the DNS server to obtain the IP address of the application instance and return the IP address to the UE.

In the following, for these two cases, in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 12, an address acquisition method of an application example is explained. It should be noted that the embodiment corresponding to fig. 12 focuses on differences from the embodiment corresponding to fig. 9, and steps of the embodiment that is the same as the embodiment corresponding to fig. 9 are also referred to in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 9, which are not repeated in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 12.

Fig. 12 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application instance according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 12, the method includes the following steps:

step 1201, the UE sends a third request message to the edge network configuration server, where the third request message carries the identifier of the application and the location information of the UE.

The third request message is used for requesting an IP address of an application instance of the application corresponding to the location information of the UE.

The application identifier and the UE location information are the same as those in step 901, and are not described again.

Step 1202, after receiving the third request message, the edge network configuration server determines information of a corresponding edge network according to the location information of the UE.

In this step 1202, the information of the corresponding edge network is determined according to the location information of the UE, and the same principle as that of determining the information of the corresponding edge network according to the location information of the UE in step 902 is used, which is not described again.

Step 1203, the edge network configuration server sends a first request message to the DNS server, where the first request message carries the identifier of the application and the information of the edge network.

Step 1204, after receiving the first request message, the DNS server determines, according to the identifier of the application and the information of the edge network, an IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the edge network.

The same principle as that in step 1204 and step 905, the DNS server determines the IP address of the application instance according to the application identifier and the information of the edge network, and is not described again.

Step 1205, the DNS server sends a first response message to the edge network configuration server, where the first response message carries an IP address of the application instance.

Steps 1202 to 1205 are optional steps.

Similarly to step 905, the DNS server may further determine valid area information corresponding to the IP address of the application instance, and accordingly, the DNS server may carry the valid area information in the first response message and return the first response message to the edge network configuration server.

Step 1206, the edge network configuration server obtains the IP address of the application instance.

In one possible implementation, the edge network configuration server may obtain the IP address of the application instance from a DNS server. For example, through steps 1202 to 1205, the edge network configuration server may receive a first response message returned by the DNS server, and the edge network configuration server may obtain the IP address of the application instance from the first response message returned by the DNS server.

In another possible implementation, the edge network configuration server may itself resolve the IP address of the application instance. For example, in step 1201, the edge network configuration server may receive the third request message, and obtain the IP address of the application instance according to the application identifier and the location information of the UE carried in the third request message. For example, the edge network configuration server may store a correspondence between the location information of the UE, the identifier of the application, and the IP address of the application instance, and the edge network configuration server may query the correspondence according to the identifier of the application and the location information of the UE to obtain the IP address of the application instance. Optionally, the edge network configuration server may further determine valid area information corresponding to the IP address of the application instance.

Optionally, after acquiring the IP address of the application instance, the edge network configuration server may also search the IP address of the EES corresponding to the IP address of the application instance according to the acquired IP address of the application instance, for example, the edge network configuration server may query a corresponding relationship between the IP address of the application instance and the IP address of the EES according to the acquired IP address of the application instance, so as to obtain the IP address of the EES corresponding to the IP address of the application instance.

Step 1207, the edge network configuration server sends a third response message to the UE, where the third response message carries the IP address of the application instance.

Optionally, the edge network configuration server may also carry effective area information corresponding to the IP address of the application instance in the third response message and return the effective area information to the UE. By simultaneously carrying the IP address of the application example and the corresponding effective area information in the response message returned based on the request message, the receiver can know the applicable area of the IP address of the application example, so that the IP address of the application example is used in the area, and the accuracy of the IP address of the application example is ensured.

Optionally, the edge network configuration server may further carry the IP address of the EES corresponding to the IP address of the application instance in a third response message and send the third response message to the UE.

And step 1208, the UE receives a third response message returned by the edge network configuration server based on the third request message.

After receiving the third response message, the UE may obtain the IP address of the application instance from the third response message, where the IP address of the application instance is the IP address of the application instance corresponding to the current location of the UE.

Optionally, the UE may receive an update indication message of the edge configuration network server or the EES, where the update indication message is used to indicate that the IP address of the application instance of the application is updated, and optionally, the update indication message may be used to indicate that the location of the user equipment is changed, or indicate that the edge network where the user equipment is located is changed, or indicate that the receiver obtains the updated IP address by sending a request message. The step of receiving the update indication message by the UE may be performed before 1201, for example, after receiving the update indication message, the UE may obtain an updated IP address corresponding to the updated information of the edge network through steps 1201 to 1208. The step of receiving the update indication message may also be performed after step 1208, for example, after the UE obtains the IP address of the application instance of the application by performing steps 1201 to 1208, if the update indication message is received, the updated IP address corresponding to the updated information of the edge network may be obtained again by steps 1201 to 1208. Two implementation manners of sending the update indication message to the UE by the edge network configuration server or the EES are already described in step 906, and are not described herein again. By sending the update indication message to the UE, the UE can reacquire the IP address of the application instance of the application when the application needs to be accessed, a trigger condition for updating the IP address of the application instance is provided, and the reliability of the IP address of the application instance can be ensured.

It should be noted that steps 1201 to 1208 may be a request-response (request-response) mechanism or a subscription-notification (subscription-notification) mechanism. If the UE is a subscription-notification mechanism, the UE may send a subscription message to the edge network configuration server in step 1201, and if the IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the location information of the UE or the valid area information thereof is updated, the edge network configuration server may send a notification message to the UE in step 1207, and the UE may receive the notification message in step 1208.

In the embodiment of the application, the UE interacts with the edge network configuration server, and the IP address of the corresponding application instance is acquired from the edge network configuration server by using the position information of the UE and the application identifier, wherein the edge network configuration server can analyze the IP address of the application instance by itself, and also can acquire the IP address of the application instance from the DNS server by interacting with the DNS server.

In the embodiment corresponding to fig. 12, the first request message sent by the UE to the edge network configuration server carries the location information of the UE. Optionally, the first request message may also carry an identifier of the UE instead of the location information of the UE, and accordingly, the edge network configuration server may obtain the location information of the UE according to the identifier of the UE. In the following, regarding this case, in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 13, an address acquisition method of an application example is explained. It should be noted that the embodiment corresponding to fig. 13 focuses on differences from the embodiment corresponding to fig. 12, and steps of the embodiment that is the same as the embodiment corresponding to fig. 12 are also referred to in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 12, which are not repeated in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 13.

Fig. 13 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application instance according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 13, the method includes the following steps:

step 1301, the UE sends a third request message to the edge network configuration server, where the third request message carries the identifier of the application and the identifier of the UE.

The identity of the application is the same as the identity of the application in step 1201, and the identity of the UE is the same as the identity of the application in step 1001, which is not described again.

Step 1302, after receiving the third request message, the edge network configuration server obtains the location information of the UE according to the UE identifier.

In step 1302, the edge network configuration server obtains the location information of the UE according to the identifier of the UE, and in step 1002, the edge network configuration server obtains the location information of the UE according to the identifier of the UE, which is the same as that obtained by the edge network configuration server, and is not repeated here.

Step 1303, the edge network configuration server determines the information of the corresponding edge network according to the location information of the UE.

In step 1304, the edge network configuration server sends a first request message to the DNS server, where the first request message carries the identifier of the application and the information of the edge network.

Step 1305, after receiving the first request message, the DNS server determines, according to the identifier of the application and the information of the edge network, an IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the edge network.

Step 1306, the DNS server sends a first response message to the edge network configuration server, where the first response message carries the IP address of the application instance.

Step 1303 to step 1306 are optional steps, and are the same as step 1202 to step 1205, which are not described again.

Step 1307, the edge network configuration server obtains the IP address of the application instance.

Step 1308, the edge network configuration server sends a third response message to the UE, where the third response message carries the IP address of the application instance.

Step 1309, the UE receives a third response message returned by the edge network configuration server based on the third request message.

Steps 1307 to 1309 are the same as steps 1206 to 1208, and are not described again.

In the embodiment of the application, the UE interacts with the edge network configuration server, and the IP address of the application instance is acquired from the edge network configuration server by using the identifier of the UE and the identifier of the application, wherein the edge network configuration server can determine the position information of the UE according to the identifier of the UE and then self-resolves the IP address of the application instance according to the position information of the UE, and also can acquire the IP address of the application instance from the DNS server by interacting with the DNS server.

In the embodiment corresponding to fig. 12, the UE sends the third request message to the edge network configuration server, and after the edge network configuration server requests the DNS server for the IP address of the application instance, the IP address of the application instance is returned to the UE. Alternatively, the method shown in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 12 may also be applied to a third server, and the third server is taken as an EES as an example, and in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 14, an address obtaining method of an application example is described. It should be noted that the embodiment corresponding to fig. 14 focuses on differences from the embodiment corresponding to fig. 12, and steps of the embodiment that is the same as the embodiment corresponding to fig. 12 are also referred to in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 12, which is not repeated in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 14.

Fig. 14 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application instance according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 14, the method includes the following steps:

step 1401, the EES sends a third request message to the edge network configuration server, where the third request message carries the identifier of the application and the location information of the UE.

For the location information of the UE, the EES subscribes the location information of the UE from the 3GPP network, and receives a notification message returned by the 3GPP network based on the subscription, where the notification message carries the location information of the UE. The location information of the UE may be DNAI in addition to the Cell ID/TAI.

Step 1402, after receiving the third request message, the edge network configuration server determines information of a corresponding edge network according to the location information of the UE.

Step 1403, the edge network configuration server sends a first request message to the DNS server, where the first request message carries the identifier of the application and the information of the edge network.

Step 1404, after receiving the first request message, the DNS server determines, according to the identifier of the application and the information of the edge network, an IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the edge network.

Step 1405, the DNS server sends a first response message to the edge network configuration server, where the first response message carries an IP address of the application instance.

Steps 1402 to 1405 are optional steps, and are the same as steps 1202 to 1205, and are not described again.

Step 1406, the edge network configuration server obtains the IP address of the application instance.

Step 1407, the edge network configuration server sends a third response message to the EES, where the third response message carries the IP address of the application instance.

Steps 1406 to 1407 are the same as steps 1206 to 1207, and are not described again.

Step 1408, the EES receives a third response message returned by the edge network configuration server based on the third request message.

In the embodiment of the application, the EES interacts with the edge network configuration server, and the IP address of the application instance is acquired from the edge network configuration server by using the position information of the UE and the application identifier, wherein the edge network configuration server can analyze the IP address of the application instance by itself, and also can acquire the IP address of the application instance from the DNS server by interacting with the DNS server.

In the embodiment corresponding to fig. 14, the EES sends the third request message to the edge network configuration server, and after the edge network configuration server requests the DNS server for the IP address of the application instance, the IP address of the application instance is returned to the EES. Alternatively, the EES may directly request the DNS server for the IP address of the application instance, as will be described in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 15.

Fig. 15 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application instance according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 15, the method includes the following steps:

step 1501, the EES sends a first request message to the DNS server, where the first request message carries the identifier of the application and the information of the edge network.

For the information of the edge network, in a possible implementation manner, the EES is deployed in the edge network, and the EES may obtain the information of the edge network from the configuration information of the edge network. In another possible implementation manner, the EES subscribes to a user plane management event of the UE from the 3GPP network, and receives a notification message of the event returned by the 3GPP network based on the subscription, where the notification message carries information of the edge network. By subscribing events from the mobile data network, the notification message can be received, and the information of the edge network can be obtained from the notification message, thereby providing a way of instantly and accurately obtaining the information of the edge network.

Step 1502, after receiving the first request message, the DNS server determines, according to the identifier of the application and the information of the edge network, an IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the edge network.

Step 1502 is the same as step 1404, and will not be described again.

Step 1503, the DNS server sends a first response message to the EES, where the first response message carries the IP address of the application instance.

Step 1504, the EES receives a first response message returned by the DNS server based on the first request message.

In the embodiment of the application, the EES interacts with the DNS server, and the IP address of the application instance is acquired from the DNS server by using the information of the edge network and the application identifier, so that the EES can quickly and accurately acquire the address of the application instance closest to the current distance, and the scheduling requirement of a third-party application provider can be met.

The above embodiments describe the process of acquiring the IP address of the application instance of the application by the UE or the EES, and after acquiring the IP address of the application instance, the UE or the EES may further acquire information of the EES corresponding to the IP address of the application instance, such as the IP address of the EES, from the edge network configuration server, which will be described in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 16.

Fig. 16 is a flowchart of an information obtaining method of an EES according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 16, the method includes the following steps:

step 1600, the target device obtains the IP address of the application instance of the application.

The target device may be UE or EES, and the process of the target device acquiring the IP address of the application instance of the application is already described in each embodiment shown in fig. 8 to fig. 15, and is not described here again.

Step 1601, the target device sends a query request message to the edge network configuration server, where the query request message carries an IP address of the application instance of the application.

The query request message is used for requesting to acquire the IP address of the EES corresponding to the IP address of the application instance of the application.

Optionally, the query request message may further carry a DNAI, and accordingly, the query request message is used to request to acquire the IP address of the application instance of the application and the IP address of the EES corresponding to the DNAI. By carrying the DNAI in the query request message, in the application migration process, even if the application instances of the application with the same IP address are deployed in different edge networks, the corresponding edge network can be accurately determined, so that the IP address of the corresponding EES can be obtained.

Step 1602, after receiving the query request message, the edge network configuration server queries the IP address of the EES corresponding to the IP address of the application instance of the application.

For the condition that the query request message carries the IP address of the application instance of the application, the edge network configuration server may query the correspondence between the IP address of the application instance and the IP address of the EES according to the IP address of the application instance of the application, so as to obtain the IP address of the corresponding EES.

For the case that the query request message carries the IP address of the application instance and the DNAI of the application, the edge network configuration server may query the corresponding relationship between the IP address of the application instance, the DNAI, and the IP address of the EES according to the IP address of the application instance of the application and the DNAI, and obtain the IP address of the EES.

Step 1603, the edge network configuration server sends a query response message to the target device, wherein the query response message carries the IP address of the EES corresponding to the IP address of the application instance.

For the condition that the query request message carries the IP address of the application instance of the application, after querying the IP address of the EES corresponding to the IP address of the application instance of the application, the edge network configuration server may carry the queried IP address of the EES in a query response message and return the query response message to the target device.

Aiming at the condition that the query request message carries the IP address of the application instance of the application and the DNAI, the edge network configuration server can carry the IP address of the inquired EES in the query response message and return the inquired EES to the target device after inquiring the IP address of the application instance of the application and the IP address of the EES corresponding to the DNAI.

Step 1604, the target device receives a query response message returned by the edge network configuration server based on the query request message.

For the condition that the query request message carries the IP address of the application instance of the application, the target device may obtain, from the query response message, the IP address of the EES corresponding to the IP address of the application instance of the application.

For the case that the query request message carries the IP address of the application instance of the application and the DNAI, the target device may obtain the IP address of the application instance of the application and the IP address of the EES corresponding to the DNAI from the query response message.

In the embodiment of the application, after the UE or the EES acquires the IP address of the application instance of the application, the IP address of the application instance is carried in the query request message and sent to the edge network configuration server, and the edge network configuration server queries and returns the IP address of the corresponding EES according to the IP address of the application instance, so that the UE or the EES can acquire the IP address of the EES corresponding to the IP address of the application instance.

In addition, the query request message sent by the UE or the EES to the edge network configuration server may also carry DNAI in addition to the IP address of the application instance, so that the edge network configuration server queries and returns the IP address of the corresponding EES according to the IP address of the application instance and the DNAI, and the UE or the EES may obtain the IP address of the application instance and the IP address of the EES corresponding to the DNAI.

In some embodiments, the user equipment may request, from the second server, IP addresses of all application instances to which the location information of the user equipment corresponds. Referring to fig. 17, fig. 17 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application instance according to an embodiment of the present application, where the method may be applied to a user equipment or a third server, as shown in fig. 17, and the method includes the following steps:

step 1701, a fourth request message is sent to the second server, where the fourth request message carries the location information of the user equipment or the identifier of the user equipment.

Step 1702, receiving a fourth response message returned by the second server based on the fourth request message, where the fourth response message carries the IP addresses of all application instances corresponding to the location information of the user equipment.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the IP address of the corresponding application instance is obtained from the second server by using the position information of the user equipment or the identification of the user equipment, the address of the application instance closest to the current distance can be quickly and accurately obtained, and the scheduling requirement of a third-party application provider is met.

In one possible implementation, the identification of the user equipment is at least one of: the IP address of the user equipment; a general public subscription identifier, GPSI, of the user equipment; the mobile station integrated services digital network MSISDN of the user equipment.

In a possible implementation manner, the fourth response message further carries valid area information of the IP address of each application instance, where the valid area information is used to indicate an area where the IP address of the application instance is applicable.

All the above optional technical solutions may be combined arbitrarily to form optional embodiments of the present application, and are not described herein again.

Referring to fig. 18, fig. 18 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application instance according to an embodiment of the present application, where the method may be applied to a second server, as shown in fig. 18, and the method includes the following steps:

step 1801, a fourth request message is received from the target device, where the fourth request message carries location information of the user device or an identifier of the user device.

Step 1802, according to the location information of the user equipment or the identifier of the user equipment, acquiring the IP addresses of all application instances corresponding to the location information of the user equipment.

Step 1803, a fourth response message is sent to the target device, where the fourth response message carries the IP addresses of all application instances corresponding to the location information of the user device.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the request message of the target device is received, and the address of the corresponding application instance is determined and returned to the target device according to the position information of the user device or the identification of the user device carried in the request message, so that the target device can quickly and accurately acquire the address of the application instance closest to the current distance, and the scheduling requirement of a third-party application provider is met.

In a possible implementation manner, the obtaining, according to the location information of the user equipment or the identifier of the user equipment, IP addresses of all application instances corresponding to the location information of the user equipment includes: determining the position information of the user equipment according to the identification of the user equipment; and acquiring IP addresses of all application instances corresponding to the position information of the user equipment according to the position information of the user equipment.

In a possible implementation manner, the obtaining, according to the location information of the user equipment, IP addresses of all application instances corresponding to the location information of the user equipment includes: and inquiring the corresponding relation between the position information of the user equipment and the IP addresses of the application examples according to the position information of the user equipment to obtain the IP addresses of all the application examples corresponding to the position information of the user equipment.

In a possible implementation manner, the obtaining, according to the location information of the user equipment, IP addresses of all application instances corresponding to the location information of the user equipment includes: determining the information of the edge network according to the position information of the user equipment; and acquiring IP addresses of all application instances corresponding to the position information of the user equipment according to the information of the edge network.

In one possible implementation, the determining the location information of the user equipment according to the identity of the user equipment includes any one of the following: requesting the location information of the user equipment from an access and mobility management function (AMF), and receiving a response message returned by the AMF based on the request, wherein the response message carries the location information of the user equipment; or subscribing the location information of the user equipment to the AMF, the third server or the session management function SMF, and receiving a notification message returned by the AMF, the third server or the SMF based on the subscription, where the notification message carries the location information of the user equipment.

Taking the second server as an edge network configuration server and the target device as UE as an example, based on the interaction between the UE and the edge network configuration server, the UE may request the IP addresses of all application instances corresponding to the location information of the UE from the edge network configuration server, which will be described in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 19 below.

Referring to fig. 19, fig. 19 is a flowchart of an address obtaining method of an application instance according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 19, the method includes the following steps:

step 1901, the UE sends a fourth request message to the edge network configuration server, where the fourth request message carries the location information of the UE or the identifier of the UE.

The location information of the UE in step 1901 is the same as the location information of the UE in step 901, and the identity of the UE in step 1901 is the same as the identity of the UE in step 1001, which is not described again.

Step 1902, after receiving the fourth request message, the edge network configuration server obtains the IP addresses of all application instances corresponding to the location information of the UE according to the location information of the UE or the identity of the UE.

For the situation that the edge network configuration server acquires the IP addresses of all application instances corresponding to the location information of the UE according to the identifier of the UE, the edge network configuration server may acquire the location information of the UE according to the identifier of the UE, and then acquire the IP addresses of all application instances corresponding to the location information of the UE according to the location information of the UE.

The edge network configuration server obtains the location information of the UE according to the identifier of the UE, and the same principle as obtaining the location information of the UE according to the identifier of the UE in step 1502 is used, which is not repeated.

In a possible implementation manner, the obtaining, by the edge network configuration server, the IP addresses of all application instances corresponding to the location information of the UE according to the location information of the UE includes: and the edge network configuration server inquires the corresponding relation between the position information of the UE and the IP addresses of the application instances according to the position information of the UE to obtain the IP addresses of all the application instances corresponding to the position information of the UE. For example, the edge network configuration server may store a correspondence between the location information of the UE and the IP address of the application instance in a local database.

In another possible implementation manner, the obtaining, by the edge network configuration server, the IP addresses of all application instances corresponding to the location information of the UE according to the location information of the UE includes: determining the information of the edge network according to the position information of the UE; and acquiring IP addresses of all application instances corresponding to the position information of the UE according to the information of the edge network.

The process of determining the information of the corresponding edge network by the edge network configuration server according to the location information of the UE is the same as that in step 902, and is not described again.

The edge network configuration server obtaining the IP addresses of all application instances corresponding to the location information of the UE according to the information of the edge network includes: the edge network configuration server may send a fifth request message to the DNS server, where the fifth request message carries information of the edge network; after receiving the fifth request message, the DNS server determines IP addresses of all application instances corresponding to the information of the edge network according to the information of the edge network; and the DNS server sends a fifth response message to the edge network configuration server, wherein the fifth response message carries the IP addresses of all application instances corresponding to the information of the edge network.

The DNS server may store a correspondence between the information of the edge network and the IP addresses of the application instances, so that the DNS server may query the correspondence according to the information of the edge network carried in the fifth request message, to obtain the IP addresses of all the application instances corresponding to the information of the edge network. Similarly to step 905, the DNS server may also determine valid area information corresponding to the IP address of the application instance.

Similarly to step 1206, the edge network configuration server may also determine valid area information corresponding to the IP address of the application instance.

Step 1903, the edge network configuration server sends a fourth response message to the UE, where the fourth response message carries the IP addresses of all application instances corresponding to the location information of the UE.

Step 1904, the UE receives a fourth response message returned by the edge network configuration server based on the fourth request message.

In the embodiment of the application, the UE interacts with the edge network configuration server, and the IP addresses of all application instances corresponding to the position information of the UE are acquired from the edge network configuration server by using the position information of the UE, wherein the edge network configuration server can analyze the IP addresses of all application instances by itself, or can request the IP addresses of the application instances from the DNS server by interacting with the DNS server, so that the UE can rapidly and accurately provide the corresponding (nearest) application instances, and the scheduling requirement of a third-party application provider is met.

Fig. 20 is a schematic structural diagram of an address obtaining apparatus of an application example according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 20, the apparatus includes:

an obtaining module 2001, configured to obtain information of an edge network;

a sending module 2002, configured to send a first request message to a first server, where the first request message carries an identifier of an application and information of the edge network;

a receiving module 2003, configured to receive a first response message returned by the first server based on the first request message, where the first response message carries an internet protocol IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the edge network.

In a possible implementation manner, the obtaining module 2001 is configured to perform the processes of sending the second request message in step 901 and step 1001, and receiving the second response message in step 904 and step 1004.

In one possible implementation, the obtaining module 2001 is configured to perform the process of obtaining the information of the edge network from the locally stored edge network configuration information in step 902.

In a possible implementation manner, the method is applied to a third server, and the obtaining module 2001 is configured to perform the process of subscribing to the user plane management event from the mobile data network and obtaining the information of the edge network in step 1501.

Fig. 21 is a schematic structural diagram of an address obtaining apparatus of an application example according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 21, the apparatus includes:

a sending module 2101, configured to send a third request message to the second server, where the third request message carries an application identifier and user equipment information, and the user equipment information is location information of the user equipment or an identifier of the user equipment;

a receiving module 2102, configured to receive a third response message returned by the second server based on the third request message, where the third response message carries an internet protocol IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the location information of the user equipment.

In one possible implementation manner, when the method is applied to the third server, the apparatus further includes:

a subscription module, configured to perform a process of subscribing to location information of the UE in 1401;

the receiving module 2102 is further configured to perform the process of receiving the notification message in 1401.

In a possible implementation manner, the third response message further carries valid area information corresponding to the IP address of the application instance, where the valid area information is used to indicate an area to which the IP address of the application instance is applicable.

Fig. 22 is a schematic structural diagram of an address obtaining apparatus of an application example according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 22, the apparatus includes:

a receiving module 2201, configured to receive a second request message from a target device, where the second request message carries location information of the user equipment or an identifier of the user equipment;

a determining module 2202, configured to determine information of a corresponding edge network according to the location information of the ue or the identifier of the ue;

a sending module 2203, configured to send a second response message to the target device, where the second response message carries information of the edge network.

In a possible implementation manner, the determining module 2202 is configured to perform a process of determining information of a corresponding edge network in steps 902, 1002, 1202, 1303, and 1402.

In one possible implementation, the determining module 2202 is configured to perform the procedures of determining the location information of the user equipment according to the identity of the user equipment in steps 1002 and 1302.

Fig. 23 is a schematic structural diagram of an address obtaining apparatus of an application example according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 23, the apparatus includes:

a receiving module 2301, configured to receive a third request message from a target device, where the third request message carries an application identifier and information of a user equipment, and the information of the user equipment is location information of the user equipment or an identifier of the user equipment;

an obtaining module 2302, configured to obtain, according to the identifier of the application and the information of the user equipment, an internet protocol IP address of an application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the user equipment;

a sending module 2303, configured to send a third response message to the target device, where the third response message carries an IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the location information of the user equipment.

In one possible implementation manner, the obtaining module 2302 is configured to perform the processes of obtaining the IP address of the application instance in steps 1206, 1307, 1406, and the like.

In one possible implementation manner, the obtaining module 2302 is configured to perform a process of determining location information of the user equipment according to the identity of the user equipment in step 1302.

Fig. 24 is a schematic structural diagram of an address obtaining apparatus of an application example according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 24, the apparatus includes:

a receiving module 2401, configured to receive a first request message from a target device, where the first request message carries an identifier of an application and information of an edge network;

a determining module 2402, configured to determine, according to the identifier of the application and the information of the edge network, an internet protocol IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the edge network;

a sending module 2403, configured to send a first response message to the target device, where the first response message carries an IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the edge network.

In one possible implementation, the determining module 2402 is configured to perform the process of determining the IP address of the application instance in step 1005, step 1204, step 1305, step 1404, and step 1502.

It should be noted that, when the address obtaining apparatus of the application instance provided in the foregoing embodiment obtains the address of the application instance, only the division of the functional modules is used for illustration, and in practical applications, the function distribution may be completed by different functional modules according to needs, that is, the internal structure of the device may be divided into different functional modules, so as to complete all or part of the functions described above. In addition, the address obtaining apparatus of the application example and the address obtaining method of the application example provided in the above embodiments belong to the same concept, and specific implementation processes thereof are detailed in the method embodiments and are not described herein again.

In an exemplary embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium, such as a memory, including instructions executable by a processor to perform the address retrieval method of the application instance in the above embodiments is also provided. For example, the computer-readable storage medium may be a read-only memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a compact disc-read-only memory (CD-ROM), a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, an optical data storage device, and the like.

In one exemplary embodiment, there is also provided a computer program product comprising: computer program code which, when run by a computer device, causes the computer device to execute the address obtaining method of the application instance described above.

In an exemplary embodiment, the present application further provides a chip, where the chip includes at least one instruction, and when the chip runs the instruction, the address obtaining method of the application instance in the foregoing embodiment is implemented.

In an exemplary embodiment, the present application further provides a chip, where the chip includes a program instruction, and when the chip runs the program instruction, the address obtaining method of the application example shown in the above embodiment is implemented.

In the above embodiments, the implementation may be wholly or partially realized by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When 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 program instructions. The procedures or functions according to the embodiments of the present application are wholly 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 program instructions may be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer program instructions may be transmitted from one website site, computer, server, or data center to another website site, computer, server, or data center by wire or wirelessly. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device, such as a server, a data center, etc., that includes one or more of the available media. The available media may be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, tapes), optical media (e.g., Digital Video Disks (DVDs), or semiconductor media (e.g., solid state disks), among others.

The term "and/or" in this application is only one kind of association relationship describing the associated object, and means that there may be three kinds of relationships, for example, a and/or B, which may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. In addition, the character "/" in the present application generally indicates that the former and latter related objects are in an "or" relationship.

The term "plurality" in this application means two or more, e.g., a plurality of packets means two or more packets.

The terms "first," "second," and the like, in the present application, are used for distinguishing between similar items and items that have substantially the same function or similar items, and those skilled in the art will understand that the terms "first," "second," and the like do not denote any order or importance, but rather the terms "first," "second," and the like.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that all or part of the steps for implementing the above embodiments may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by a program instructing relevant hardware, and the program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and the above-mentioned storage medium may be a read-only memory, a magnetic disk or an optical disk, etc.

The above description is only exemplary of the present application and should not be taken as limiting, as any modification, equivalent replacement, or improvement made within the spirit and principle of the present application should be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. An address acquisition method for an application instance, the method comprising:

acquiring information of an edge network;

sending a first request message to a first server, wherein the first request message carries an application identifier and information of the edge network;

and receiving a first response message returned by the first server based on the first request message, wherein the first response message carries the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the edge network.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

and receiving an update indication message of the second server or the third server, wherein the update indication message is used for indicating that the IP address of the application instance of the application is updated.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the update indication message further comprises updated information of the edge network;

the acquiring information of the edge network includes: and receiving the updated information of the edge network.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein receiving the update indication message of the second server or the third server comprises:

and sending subscription information to the second server or the third server, wherein the subscription information is used for subscribing the change event of the edge network corresponding to the user equipment, and receiving the update indication message when the edge network corresponding to the user equipment changes.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining information of the edge network comprises:

sending a second request message to a second server, wherein the second request message carries the position information of the user equipment or the identifier of the user equipment;

and receiving a second response message returned by the second server based on the second request message, wherein the second response message carries the information of the edge network.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the second response message further carries valid area information corresponding to the information of the edge network, and the valid area information is used to indicate an area to which the information of the edge network is applicable.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the location information of the UE is at least one of:

a cell identity of the user equipment;

a tracking area identity, TAI, of the user equipment;

geographical location information or geographical area information of the user equipment;

latitude and longitude information of the user equipment;

and accessing the data network corresponding to the user equipment to the identification DNAI.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method is applied to a third server deployed in the edge network, and the obtaining information of the edge network comprises:

and the third server subscribes a user plane management event of user equipment from a mobile data network, and receives a notification message of the user plane management event returned by the mobile data network based on subscription, wherein the notification message carries the information of the edge network.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first response message further carries valid area information corresponding to the IP address of the application instance, and the valid area information is used to indicate an area to which the IP address of the application instance is applicable.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the information of the edge network is at least one of:

DNAI corresponding to the edge network;

an IP address of the edge network;

an IP address of a third server deployed in the edge network.

11. An address acquisition method for an application instance, the method comprising:

sending a third request message to a second server, where the third request message carries an application identifier and user equipment information, and the user equipment information is location information of the user equipment or the user equipment identifier;

and receiving a third response message returned by the second server based on the third request message, wherein the third response message carries the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the position information of the user equipment.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

13. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving the update indication message of the second server or the third server comprises:

14. The method of claim 11, wherein when the method is applied to a third server, before the sending the third request message to the second server, the method further comprises:

and the third server subscribes the position information of the user equipment from a mobile data network and receives a notification message returned by the mobile data network based on subscription, wherein the notification message carries the position information of the user equipment.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the location information of the ue is at least one of:

a cell identity of the user equipment;

a tracking area identity, TAI, of the user equipment;

latitude and longitude information of the user equipment;

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the third response message further carries at least one of:

effective area information corresponding to the IP address of the application example, wherein the effective area information is used for indicating an area where the IP address of the application example is applicable;

and the IP address of the third server corresponds to the IP address of the application example.

17. An address acquisition method for an application instance, the method comprising:

receiving a second request message from a target device, wherein the second request message carries the position information of the user device or the identifier of the user device;

determining information of a corresponding edge network according to the position information of the user equipment or the identification of the user equipment;

and sending a second response message to the target device, wherein the second response message carries the information of the edge network.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the location information of the ue is at least one of:

a cell identity of the user equipment;

a tracking area identity, TAI, of the user equipment;

latitude and longitude information of the user equipment;

DNAI corresponding to the user equipment.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the information of the edge network is at least one of:

DNAI corresponding to the edge network;

an IP address of the edge network;

an IP address of a third server deployed in the edge network.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the target device is a user equipment, and wherein after sending the second response message to the target device, the method further comprises:

and when it is monitored that the position of the user equipment moves out of the edge network, sending an updating indication message to the user equipment, wherein the updating indication message is used for indicating the IP address of the application instance of the updated application.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the sending an update indication message to the ue comprises:

and sending the update indication message to the user equipment when the edge network corresponding to the user equipment changes based on the change event of the edge network corresponding to the user equipment subscribed by the user equipment.

22. An address acquisition method for an application instance, the method comprising:

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the obtaining, according to the identifier of the application and the information of the user equipment, an IP address of an application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the user equipment comprises:

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein the determining the location information of the user equipment according to the identity of the user equipment comprises any one of:

according to the identification of the user equipment, requesting the position information of the user equipment from an access and mobility management function (AMF), and receiving a response message returned by the AMF based on the request, wherein the response message carries the position information of the user equipment; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

according to the identifier of the user equipment, subscribing the location information of the user equipment to the AMF, a third server or a Session Management Function (SMF), and receiving a notification message returned by the AMF, the third server or the SMF based on subscription, wherein the notification message carries the location information of the user equipment.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein the location information of the ue is at least one of:

a cell identity of the user equipment;

a tracking area identity, TAI, of the user equipment;

latitude and longitude information of the user equipment;

DNAI corresponding to the user equipment.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein the third response message further carries an IP address of a third server corresponding to the IP address of the application instance of the application,

before the sending the third response message to the target device, the method further includes:

and inquiring the IP address of the third server corresponding to the IP address of the application instance of the application according to the IP address of the application instance of the application.

27. The method of claim 22, wherein the target device is a user equipment, and wherein after sending the third response message to the target device, the method further comprises:

and when it is monitored that the position of the user equipment moves out of the edge network, sending an updating indication message to the user equipment, wherein the updating indication message is used for indicating to update the IP address of the application instance of the application.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the sending an update indication message to the ue comprises:

and sending an updating indication message to the user equipment when the edge network corresponding to the user equipment changes based on the change event of the edge network corresponding to the user equipment subscribed by the user equipment.

29. An address acquisition method for an application instance, the method comprising:

receiving a first request message from a target device, wherein the first request message carries an application identifier and information of an edge network;

determining an Internet Protocol (IP) address of an application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the edge network according to the identifier of the application and the information of the edge network;

and sending a first response message to the target device, wherein the first response message carries the IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the edge network.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the determining, according to the identifier of the application and the information of the edge network, the IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the information of the edge network comprises:

and inquiring the corresponding relation among the application identifier, the edge network information and the IP address of the application instance according to the application identifier and the edge network information to obtain the IP address of the application instance of the application corresponding to the edge network information.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein the information of the edge network is at least one of:

accessing a data network corresponding to the edge network with an identifier DNAI;

an IP address of the edge network;

an IP address of a third server deployed in the edge network.

32. An address acquisition apparatus of an application instance, the apparatus comprising a plurality of functional modules for executing the address acquisition method of the application instance according to any one of claims 1 to 10, or any one of claims 11 to 16, or any one of claims 17 to 21, or any one of claims 22 to 28, or any one of claims 29 to 31.

33. A computer device comprising one or more processors and one or more memories having stored therein at least one instruction that is loaded and executed by the one or more processors to implement an address retrieval method for an application instance of any of claims 1 to 10, or any of claims 11 to 16, or any of claims 17 to 21, or any of claims 22 to 28, or any of claims 29 to 31.

34. A computer-readable storage medium having stored therein at least one instruction which is loaded and executed by a processor to implement the address retrieval method for an application instance of any one of claims 1 to 10, or any one of claims 11 to 16, or any one of claims 17 to 21, or any one of claims 22 to 28, or any one of claims 29 to 31.

35. An address acquisition system for an application instance, the system comprising a first server and a second server:

the second server is configured to execute the address obtaining method of the application instance according to any one of claims 17 to 21 or any one of claims 22 to 28;

the first server is configured to execute the address obtaining method of the application instance according to any one of claims 29 to 31.