CN112969199B

CN112969199B - Data acquisition method and device

Info

Publication number: CN112969199B
Application number: CN202110209253.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 任驰; 马泽芳; 马瑞涛
Original assignee: China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd
Current assignee: China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-02-24
Filing date: 2021-02-24
Publication date: 2023-05-26
Anticipated expiration: 2041-02-24
Also published as: CN112969199A

Abstract

The invention discloses a data acquisition method and equipment, relates to the technical field of communication, and is used for solving the problem that an NWDAF network element in a data acquisition and analysis framework defined by the current standard cannot directly acquire user plane data. The method comprises the following steps: first, the NWDAF network element sends a user plane data subscription request to the UPDCF network element. Then, the NWDAF network element receives the user plane data sent by the UPDCF network element.

Description

Data acquisition method and device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a data acquisition method and apparatus.

Background

In the prior art, a network data analysis function (network data analytics function, NWDAF) network element may obtain control plane data (such as a connection state, a service state, location information, etc. of a user) to be analyzed from other network elements, and then establish a data analysis model to obtain a data analysis result.

In mobile network data analysis, control plane data analysis is important, but user plane data analysis is also indispensable. However, in the data acquisition and analysis framework defined by the current standard, NWDAF only supports data acquisition from the control plane network element of the core network of the fifth generation mobile communication technology (5th generation mobile networks,5G), and cannot directly acquire user plane data of a user, which very affects user experience.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a data acquisition method and equipment, which are used for solving the problem that an NWDAF network element in a data acquisition and analysis framework defined by the current standard cannot directly acquire user plane data. In order to achieve the above purpose, the invention adopts the following technical scheme:

in a first aspect, the present invention provides a data acquisition method, the method comprising: first, the NWDAF network element sends a user plane data subscription request to a user plane data acquisition function (user plane data collection function, upccf) network element. Then, the NWDAF network element receives the user plane data sent by the UPDCF network element.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides a data acquisition method, the method comprising: first, the UPDCF network element receives a user plane data subscription request sent by the NWDAF network element. The UPDCF network element then obtains a network address of the first target interface. The UPDCF network element then sends the network address of the second target interface to the user plane function (user plane function, UPF) network element. And then, the UPDCF network element acquires the first user plane data message and the second user plane data message. And then, the UPDCF network element determines user plane data according to the first user plane data message and the second user plane data message. Finally, the UPDCF network element transmits the user plane data to the NWDAF network element. The user plane data subscription request comprises target area information aimed by analysis. The first target interface is an interface connected with a Data Network (DN) in an interface of the UPF network element. The second target interface is an interface connected with the UPF network element in the interfaces of the UPDCF network element. The first user plane data message is a user plane data message sent by the UPF network element to the DN. The second user plane data message is a user plane data message sent by DN to UPF network element.

According to the first aspect and the second aspect, it can be seen that the data acquisition method provided by the invention enables the UPDCF network element to be inserted between the UPF network element and the DN without changing the data acquisition and analysis framework defined by the current standard. Thereby, the UPF network element and the DN transmitted user plane data are obtained, and the obtained user plane data are transmitted to the NWDAF network element. Therefore, the NWDAF network element can directly acquire the user plane data from the UPD CF network element, and the problem that the NWDAF network element cannot directly acquire the user plane data in the data acquisition and analysis framework defined by the current standard is solved.

In a third aspect, the present invention provides an NWDAF network element, which comprises: a first transmitting unit and a first receiving unit. And the first sending unit is used for sending a user plane data subscription request to the UPDCF network element. And the first receiving unit is used for receiving the user plane data sent by the UPDCF network element.

In a fourth aspect, the present invention provides a upccf network element, comprising: the device comprises a receiving unit, a first acquisition unit, a first transmitting unit, a second acquisition unit, a third acquisition unit, a determining unit and a second transmitting unit. The receiving unit receives a user plane data subscription request sent by the NWDAF network element, wherein the user plane data subscription request comprises target area information aimed by analysis. The first acquisition unit acquires a network address of a first target interface, wherein the first target interface is an interface connected with the DN in interfaces of UPF network elements. The first sending unit sends the network address of the second target interface to the UPF network element, wherein the second target interface is an interface connected with the UPF network element in the interfaces of the UPDCF network element. The second acquisition unit acquires a first user plane data message, wherein the first user plane data message is a user plane data message sent by a UPF network element to a DN. And the third acquisition unit acquires a second user plane data message, wherein the second user plane data message is a user plane data message sent by DN to UPF network element. And the determining unit is used for determining the user plane data according to the first user plane data message and the second user plane data message. And the second sending unit sends the user plane data to the NWDAF network element.

In a fifth aspect, the present invention provides a computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed by a data acquisition device, cause the data acquisition device to perform the data acquisition method of the first or second aspect.

In a sixth aspect, the present invention provides a computer program product comprising instructions which, when run on a data acquisition device, cause the data acquisition device to perform the data acquisition method according to the first or second aspect.

In a seventh aspect, the present invention provides a data acquisition device comprising: a processor and a memory for storing a program, the processor invoking the program stored in the memory to perform the data acquisition method according to the first or second aspect.

For a detailed description of the third to seventh aspects and various implementations thereof in the present invention, reference may be made to the detailed description of the first and second aspects and various implementations thereof; further, the advantages of the third aspect to the seventh aspect and various implementations thereof may be referred to as the analysis of the advantages of the first aspect and the second aspect and various implementations thereof, and are not described herein.

These and other aspects of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following description.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings required for the description of the embodiments will be briefly described below, and it is apparent that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and other drawings may be obtained according to these drawings without inventive effort for a person skilled in the art.

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

fig. 2 is one of schematic structural diagrams of an NWDAF network element provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic flow chart of a data acquisition method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic flow chart of a data acquisition method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic flow chart of a data acquisition method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic flow chart of a data acquisition method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is one of schematic structural diagrams of an NWDAF network element provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a upccf network element according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The following description of the embodiments of the present invention will be made clearly and completely with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which it is apparent that the embodiments described are only some embodiments of the present invention, but not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without making any inventive effort, are intended to be within the scope of the invention.

The term "and/or" is herein merely an association relationship describing an associated object, meaning that there may be three relationships, e.g., a and/or B, may represent: a exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone.

The terms "first" and "second" and the like in the description and in the drawings are used for distinguishing between different objects or between different processes of the same object and not for describing a particular order of objects.

Furthermore, references to the terms "comprising" and "having" and any variations thereof in the description of the present invention are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or elements is not limited to only those listed but may optionally include other steps or elements not listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.

It should be noted that in the description of embodiments of the present invention, words such as "exemplary" or "such as" are used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" or "e.g." in an embodiment of the present invention is not to be taken as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "such as" is intended to present related concepts in a concrete fashion.

In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise indicated, the meaning of "a plurality" means two or more.

The embodiment of the invention provides a data acquisition method which is used for solving the problem that an NWDAF network element in a data acquisition and analysis framework defined by the current standard cannot directly acquire user plane data. The data acquisition method is applicable to a communication system, one form of which is shown in fig. 1. As shown in fig. 1, the communication system may include: NWDAF network element 100, UPDCF network element 200, SMF network element 300, UPF network element 400, DN500, consumer network element 600 (not shown in fig. 1).

The NWDAF network element 100 may acquire data to be analyzed from other network elements, and then establish a data analysis model to obtain a data analysis result. The data analysis performed by the data analysis network element may be triggered based on a data analysis request or a subscription message sent by a certain consumer network element, or the data analysis network element may be triggered according to other conditions, such as periodic triggering, initial event triggering, etc. After obtaining the data analysis result, the data analysis network element may send the data analysis result to a consumer network element requesting to obtain the data analysis result, or store the data analysis result in a database, or store the data analysis result in the data analysis network element.

The UPDCF network element 200 supports a serviced interface (e.g., nupdcf interface) and serviced protocols for interaction with SMF and NWDAF, while supporting a non-serviced interface (e.g., N6 interface) of the user plane.

The SMF network element 300 is a control plane network element provided by the operator network and is responsible for managing protocol data unit (protocol data unit, PDU) sessions of the terminal device. A PDU session is a channel for transmitting PDUs, and the terminal device needs to transmit PDUs to each other through the PDU session and DN. The PDU session is responsible for establishment, maintenance, deletion, etc. by the SMF network element. The SMF network element includes session management (e.g., session establishment, modification, and release, including tunnel maintenance between UPF and Access Network (AN)), selection and control of UPF network elements, traffic and session continuity (service and session continuity, SSC) mode selection, roaming, and other session related functions.

It should be noted that, the SMF and NWDAF are serving network elements, and may externally provide services supported by the SMF and NWDAF through respective serving interfaces (for example, nsmf interface, nnwdaf interface) or non-serving interfaces (for example, N4 interface), and the serving architecture, serving interfaces and serving protocols are defined in detail in specifications corresponding to the third generation partnership project (3rd generation partnership project,3GPP), which is not described herein.

The UPF network element 400 is a gateway provided by an operator, and is a gateway for the operator network to communicate with the DN. The UPF network element comprises functions related to user planes such as data packet routing and transmission, packet detection, traffic reporting, quality of service (quality of service, qoS) processing, lawful interception, uplink packet detection, downlink data packet storage and the like.

DN500, which may also be referred to as a packet data network (packet data network, PDN), is a network located outside the carrier network, where the carrier network may access multiple DNs, where multiple services may be deployed, and may provide data and/or voice services to terminal devices. For example, the DN is a private network of an intelligent plant, the sensors installed in the plant of the intelligent plant may be terminal devices, a control server of the sensors is disposed in the DN, and the control server may serve the sensors. The sensor may communicate with the control server, obtain instructions from the control server, transmit collected sensor data to the control server, etc., according to the instructions. For another example, DN is an internal office network of a company, where a mobile phone or a computer of an employee of the company may be a terminal device, and the mobile phone or the computer of the employee may access information, data resources, etc. on the internal office network of the company.

Consumer network elements 600 include, but are not limited to, network Function (NF), network management network elements, application servers, terminals.

Fig. 2 shows a hardware structure of the NWDAF network element 100 described above. As shown in fig. 2, NWDAF network element 100 may include a processor 101, a communication line 102, a memory 103, and a communication interface 104.

The structure illustrated in the embodiments of the present invention does not constitute a limitation on NWDAF network element 100. More or fewer components than shown may be included, or certain components may be combined, or certain components may be split, or different arrangements of components. The illustrated components may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

The processor 101 may include one or more processing units, such as: the processor 101 may include an application 0 processor (application processor, AP), a modem processor, a graphics processor (graphics processing unit, GPU), an image signal processor (image signal processor, ISP), a controller, a memory, a video codec, a digital signal processor (digital signal processor, DSP), a baseband processor, and/or a Neural network processor (Neural-network Processing Unit, NPU), etc. Wherein the different processing units may be separate devices or may be integrated in one or more processors.

The controller may be a decision maker directing the various components of NWDAF network element 100 to work in concert as instructed. Is the neural and command center of NWDAF network element 100. The controller generates an operation control signal according to the instruction operation code and the time sequence signal to finish the control of instruction fetching and instruction execution.

A memory may also be provided in the processor 101 for storing instructions and data. In some embodiments, the memory in the processor is a cache memory that holds instructions or data that the processor has just used or recycled. If the processor needs to reuse the instruction or data, it can be called directly from memory. Repeated access is avoided, and the waiting time of the processor is reduced, so that the efficiency of the system is improved.

In some embodiments, the processor 101 may include an interface. The interfaces may include an integrated circuit (inter-integrated circuit, I2C) interface, an integrated circuit built-in audio (inter-integrated circuit sound, I2S) interface, a pulse code modulation (pulse code modulation, PCM) interface, a universal asynchronous receiver transmitter (universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter, UART) interface, a mobile industry processor interface (mobile industry processor interface, MIPI), a general-purpose input/output (GPIO) interface, a subscriber identity module (subscriber identity module, SIM) interface, and/or a universal serial bus (universal serial bus, USB) interface, among others.

A communication line 102 for transmitting information between the processor 101 and the memory 103.

The memory 103 is used for storing and executing computer execution instructions, and is controlled to be executed by the processor 101.

The memory 103 may be stand alone and be coupled to the processor via communication line 102. The memory 103 may be volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. The nonvolatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a Programmable ROM (PROM), an Erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically Erasable EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be random access memory (random access memory, RAM) which acts as an external cache. By way of example, and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as Static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and devices described herein is intended to comprise, without being limited to, these and any other suitable traffic type memories.

A communication interface 104 for communicating with other devices or communication networks. The communication network may be an ethernet, a radio access network (radio access network, RAN), or a wireless local area network (wireless local area networks, WLAN), bluetooth (BT), global navigation satellite system (global navigation satellite system, GNSS), frequency modulation (frequency modulation, FM), short range wireless communication technology (near field communication, NFC), infrared technology (IR), or the like.

The hardware structure of the UPDCF network element 200 may refer to fig. 2, and will not be described herein.

The data acquisition method provided by the embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to the communication system shown in fig. 1 and NWDAF network element 100 shown in fig. 2.

As shown in fig. 3, the data acquisition method provided by the embodiment of the invention includes:

s301, NWDAF network element 100 sends a user plane data subscription request to UPDCF network element 200.

Correspondingly, the UPDCF network element 200 receives the user plane data subscription request sent by the NWDAF network element 100.

The user plane data subscription request comprises target area information aimed by analysis.

Optionally, the user plane data subscription request may further include information of the target time period to be analyzed, the target service type (e.g., an internetworking protocol (internet protocol, IP) triplet) to be analyzed, the target user or user group, and so on.

S302, the NWDAF network element 100 receives the user plane data sent by the UPDCF network element 200.

As shown in fig. 4, in one possible implementation, S301 further includes:

s303, NWDAF network element 100 receives the target analysis result subscription request sent by consumer network element 600.

The target analysis result subscription request (analysis information subscription request) is used for requesting to acquire a target analysis result, where the target analysis result is an analysis result obtained by analyzing user plane data, that is, the target analysis result should be obtained by analyzing based on the user plane data.

As shown in fig. 4, in one possible implementation, S302 further includes:

s304, NWDAF network element 100 determines a target analysis result according to the user plane data.

Specifically, the NWDAF network element 100 performs data analysis on the user plane data sent by the UPDCF network element 200 based on a locally or externally provided data analysis model, so as to determine a target analysis result.

S305, NWDAF network element 100 sends the target analysis result to consumer network element 600.

As shown in fig. 5, the data acquisition method provided by the embodiment of the present invention includes:

s501, the UPDCF network element 200 receives a user plane data subscription request sent by the NWDAF network element 100.

S502, the UPDCF network element 200 obtains the network address of the first target interface.

The first target interface is an interface connected to DN500 in the interfaces of the UPF network element 400.

Specifically, the UPDCF network element 200 determines the target SMF network element 300 according to the target area information in the user plane data subscription request. Then, the PDCF network element 200 sends a user plane data acquisition request to the target SMF network element. The user plane data acquisition request is used for indicating the target SMF network element to send an insertion indication to the UPF network element.

Accordingly, the target SMF network element 300 receives the user plane data acquisition request, and sends an insertion indication (upccf insertion indication) to the corresponding upcf network element 400 after receiving the user plane data acquisition request. Upon receiving the insert indication, the UPF network element 400 replies to the target SMF network element 300 with an insert response (UPDCF insert response) containing the network address of the first target interface (e.g., the IP address of the N6 interface between the UPF network element and the DN). After receiving the insert response (UPDCF insert response), the target SMF network element 300 replies to the UPDCF network element 200 with a user plane data acquisition response containing the network address of the first target interface.

Correspondingly, the UPDCF network element 200 receives the user plane data acquisition response, and acquires the network address of the first target interface from the user plane data acquisition response.

It should be noted that, according to the target area in the target area information, the UPDCF network element may determine multiple target SMF network elements, that is, the UPDCF network element may send the user plane data acquisition request to multiple SMF network elements at the same time.

In addition, the target SMF network element may send the insert indication to multiple UPF network elements simultaneously. Accordingly, each UPF network element receiving the insert indication replies an insert response including the network address of the first target interface to the target SMF network element sending the insert indication. After all the UPF network elements receiving the insertion indication sent by the target SMF network element have replied to the insertion response, the target SMF network element sends a data acquisition response containing network addresses of all the first target interfaces received by the target SMF network element to the UPDCF network element 200.

For example, the target SMF network element sends an insert indication to 3 UPF network elements simultaneously. After receiving the insertion responses sent by the 3 UPF network elements, the target SMF network element sends a data acquisition response to the UPDCF network element, where the data acquisition response includes network addresses of the first target interfaces sent by the 3 UPF network elements, that is, the data acquisition response includes network addresses of the 3 first target interfaces.

S503, the UPDCF network element 200 sends the network address of the second target interface to the UPF network element 400.

The second target interface is an interface connected with the UPF network element in the interfaces of the UPDCF network element. The UPF network element sends a data message (e.g., a user plane data message) to the UPDCF network element 200 via the network address of the second interface.

Specifically, the UPDCF network element 200 sends a user plane data acquisition update message to the target SMF network element 300. The user plane data acquisition update message is used for indicating the target SMF network element to send an insertion update message to the UPF network element.

Accordingly, the target SMF network element 300 receives the user plane data acquisition update message and sends an insert update message containing the network address of the second target interface to the UPF network element 400 after receiving. The UPF network element 400, upon receiving the insert update message, replies to the target SMF network element 300 with an insert update response that characterizes the insert update message has been received. After receiving the insert update response, the target SMF network element 300 replies a user plane data acquisition update response to the UPDCF network element 200 that characterizes the insert update response that the UPF network element 400 has received the insert update message.

It should be noted that, the UPDCF network element 200 may collect update messages from the user plane data of the multiple target SMF network elements 300 and add, in the messages, a network address of the second target interface corresponding to each UPF network element under the target SMF network element, a network address of the first interface of each UPF network element under the target SMF network element, and a mapping table of the network address of the first interface and the network address of the second interface.

S504, the UPDCF network element 200 acquires the first user plane data message.

The first user plane data message is a user plane data message sent by the UPF network element to the DN.

Specifically, the UPF network element 400 sends the first user plane data packet originally sent to the DN to the UPDCF network element 200 through the network address of the second target interface. Correspondingly, the UPDCF network element 200 receives the first user plane data packet sent by the UPF network element 400.

S505, the UPDCF network element 200 acquires the second user plane data message.

The second user plane data message is a user plane data message sent by DN to UPF network element.

Specifically, the UPDCF network element 200 generates a third user plane data packet according to the first user plane data packet. Then, a third user plane data message is sent to DN 500. The source address of the third user plane data message is the network address of a third target interface, and the third target interface is an interface connected with the DN in the interfaces of the UPDCF network element.

Illustratively, the UPDCF network element 200 copies the first user plane data packet, stores one of them in the local area of the UPDCF network element 200, replaces the source address (source IP address) of another first user plane data packet with the network address of the third target interface to generate a third user plane data packet, and then sends the generated third user plane data packet to the DN.

After receiving the third user plane data message, DN500 replies to the second user plane data message with the source address of the third user plane data message (i.e., the network address of the third target interface). Correspondingly, the UPDCF network element 200 receives and acquires the second user plane data packet through the third target interface.

In one possible implementation, S505 further includes: the upccf network element 200 generates a fourth user plane data message according to the second user plane data message. The destination address of the fourth user plane data message is the network address of the first target interface. And sends the generated fourth user plane data message to the corresponding UPF network element 400.

Illustratively, after receiving the third user plane data packet, DN500 replicates the third user plane data packet, stores one of them locally in the upccf network element 200, and replaces the destination address (destination IP) of the other third user plane data packet with the network address of the first destination interface to generate the fourth user plane data packet. And then sends the generated fourth user plane data message to the corresponding UPF network element 400.

S506, the UPDCF network element 200 determines the user plane data according to the first user plane data message and the second user plane data message.

S507, the UPDCF network element 200 sends user plane data to the NWDAF network element 100.

Specifically, the UPDCF network element 200 sends the determined user plane data to the NWDAF network element 100 based on a local policy (e.g., per-day specific time feedback, per-specific time interval feedback, per-specific data amount feedback, etc.).

It should be noted that the UPDCF network element 200 may filter the user plane data according to the conditions provided by the NWDAF network element 200 (for example, only feedback the conditions of the user plane data for a specific user, a specific service, etc.), and then send the filtered user plane data to the NWDAF network element 100.

For easy understanding, the data acquisition method provided by the embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to the communication system shown in fig. 1, where the data acquisition method provided by the embodiment of the present invention in fig. 6 includes:

s601, the consumer network element 600 sends a target analysis result subscription request to the NWDAF network element 100.

Accordingly, NWDAF network element 100 receives the target analysis result subscription request sent by consumer network element 600.

S602, the NWDAF network element 100 sends a user plane data subscription request to the UPDCF network element 200.

S603, the UPDCF network element 200 determines the target SMF network element 300.

S604, the UPDCF network element 200 sends a user plane data acquisition request to the target SMF network element 300.

Accordingly, the target SMF network element 300 receives the user plane data acquisition request sent by the UPDCF network element 200.

S605, the target SMF network element 300 sends an insert indication to the UPF network element 400.

Accordingly, the UPF network element 400 receives the insertion indication sent by the target SMF network element 300.

S606, the UPF network element 400 replies an insert response to the target SMF network element 300.

Accordingly, the target SMF network element 300 receives the insert response sent by the UPF network element 400.

S607, the target SMF network element 300 sends a data acquisition response to the UPDCF network element 200.

Correspondingly, the UPDCF network element 200 receives the data acquisition response sent by the target SMF network element.

S608, the UPDCF network element 200 sends a user plane data acquisition update message to the target SMF network element 300.

Accordingly, the target SMF network element 300 receives the user plane data acquisition update message sent by the UPDCF network element 200.

S609, the target SMF network element 300 sends an insert update message to the UPF network element 400.

Accordingly, the UPF network element 400 receives the insert update message sent by the target SMF network element 300.

S610, the UPF network element 400 replies to the target SMF network element 300 with an insert update response.

Accordingly, the target SMF network element 300 receives the insert update response sent by the UPF network element 400.

S611, the target SMF network element 300 sends a user plane data acquisition update response to the UPDCF network element 200.

Correspondingly, the UPDCF network element 200 receives the user plane data acquisition update response sent by the target SMF network element 300.

S612, the UPF network element 400 sends a first user plane data packet to the UPDCF network element 200.

Correspondingly, the UPDCF network element 200 receives the first user plane data packet sent by the UPF network element 400.

S613, the UPDCF network element 200 generates a third user plane data packet according to the first user plane data packet.

S614, the UPDCF network element 200 sends a third user plane data packet to the DN 500.

Correspondingly, DN500 receives a third user plane data message sent by an UPDCF network element.

S615, DN500 sends a second user plane data message to the UPDCF network element 200.

Correspondingly, the UPDCF network element 200 receives the second user plane data packet sent by the DN 500. The UPDCF network element 200 generates a fourth user plane data packet according to the second user plane data packet and sends the generated fourth user plane data packet to the UPF network element 400. The UPF network element 400 receives the fourth user plane data packet sent by the UPDCF network element 200.

S616, the up dcf network element 200 determines the user plane data according to the first user plane data packet and the second user plane data packet.

S617, the UPDCF network element 200 sends the NWDAF network element 100 user plane data.

Correspondingly, NWDAF network element 100 receives user plane data sent by UPDCF network element 200.

S618, NWDAF network element 100 determines a target analysis result according to the user plane data.

S619, NWDAF network element 100 sends the target analysis result to consumer network element 600.

Accordingly, consumer network element 600 receives the target analysis result sent by NWDAF network element 100.

As can be seen from S601-S619, the data acquisition method provided by the embodiment of the present invention makes the UPDCF network element interposed between the UPF network element and the DN without changing the data acquisition and analysis framework defined by the current standard. Thereby, the UPF network element and the DN transmitted user plane data are obtained, and the obtained user plane data are transmitted to the NWDAF network element. Therefore, the NWDAF network element can directly acquire the user plane data from the UPDCF network element, and the problem that the NWDAF network element cannot directly acquire the user plane data in the data acquisition and analysis framework defined by the current standard is solved.

The foregoing description of the solution provided by the embodiments of the present invention has been mainly presented in terms of a method. To achieve the above functions, it includes corresponding hardware structures and/or software modules that perform the respective functions. Those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware or combinations of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is implemented as hardware or computer software driven hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention.

The embodiment of the present invention may divide the functional modules of the NWDAF network element 100 and the UPDCF network element 200 according to the above method example, for example, each functional module may be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions may be integrated into one processing module. The integrated modules may be implemented in hardware or in software functional modules. It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present invention, the division of the modules is schematic, which is merely a logic function division, and other division manners may be implemented in actual implementation.

An embodiment of the present invention provides an NWDAF network element 100, configured to execute the above data acquisition method, as shown in fig. 7, where the NWDAF network element 100 includes: a first transmitting unit 701 and a first receiving unit 702.

A first sending unit 701, configured to send a user plane data subscription request to the UPDCF network element 200. For example, in connection with fig. 3, the first transmitting unit 701 may be used to perform S301.

A first receiving unit 702, configured to receive user plane data sent by the UPDCF network element 200. For example, in connection with fig. 3, the first receiving unit 702 may be used to perform S302.

As shown in fig. 7, NWDAF network element 100 may further include: a second receiving unit 703, a determining unit 704, and a second transmitting unit 705.

A second receiving unit 703, configured to receive a target analysis result subscription request sent by the consumer network element 600. For example, in connection with fig. 4, the second receiving unit 703 may be used to perform S303.

A determining unit 704, configured to determine a target analysis result according to the user plane data. For example, in connection with fig. 4, the determining unit 704 may be used to perform S304.

A second sending unit 705, configured to send the target analysis result to the consumer network element 600. For example, in connection with fig. 4, the second transmission unit 705 may be used to perform S305.

In particular, as shown in fig. 2 and 7. The first transmitting unit 701, the first receiving unit 702, the second receiving unit 703, the determining unit 704, and the second transmitting unit 705 in fig. 7 call the program in the memory 103 via the communication line 102 by the processor 101 in fig. 2 to execute the above-described data acquisition method.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a upccf network element 200, configured to perform the above data acquisition method, as shown in fig. 8, where the upccf network element 200 includes: a receiving unit 801, a first acquiring unit 802, a first transmitting unit 803, a second acquiring unit 804, a third acquiring unit 805, a determining unit 806, and a second transmitting unit 807.

A receiving unit 801, configured to receive a user plane data subscription request sent by the NWDAF network element 100. For example, in connection with fig. 5, the receiving unit 801 may be used to perform S501.

A first obtaining unit 802, configured to obtain a network address of the first target interface. For example, in connection with fig. 5, the first acquisition unit 802 may be used to perform S502.

A first sending unit 803, configured to send the network address of the second target interface to the UPF network element 400. For example, in connection with fig. 5, the first transmission unit 803 may be used to perform S503.

A second obtaining unit 804, configured to obtain the first user plane data packet. For example, in connection with fig. 5, the second acquisition unit 804 may be used to perform S504.

A third obtaining unit 805, configured to obtain the second user plane data packet. For example, in connection with fig. 5, the third obtaining unit 805 may be configured to perform S505.

A determining unit 806, configured to determine the user plane data according to the first user plane data packet and the second user plane data packet. For example, in connection with fig. 5, the determining unit 806 may be used to perform S506.

A second sending unit 807, configured to send user plane data to NWDAF network element 100. For example, in connection with fig. 5, the second transmitting unit 807 may be used to perform S507.

In particular, as shown in fig. 2 and 8. The receiving unit 801, the first acquiring unit 802, the first transmitting unit 803, the second acquiring unit 804, the third acquiring unit 805, the determining unit 806, and the second transmitting unit 807 in fig. 8 call up the program in the memory 103 via the communication line 102 by the processor 101 in fig. 2 to execute the above-described data acquisition method.

It should be understood that, in various embodiments of the present invention, the sequence numbers of the foregoing processes do not mean the order of execution, and the order of execution of the processes should be determined by the functions and internal logic thereof, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present invention.

In the above embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, it may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer-executable instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions in accordance with embodiments of the present invention are fully or partially produced. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a network of computers, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions may be stored in or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another, for example, a website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (digital subscriber line, DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. Computer readable storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer or data storage devices including one or more servers, data centers, etc. that can be integrated with the media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a Solid State Disk (SSD)), or the like.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention.

It will be clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, specific working procedures of the above-described systems, apparatuses and units may refer to corresponding procedures in the foregoing method embodiments, which are not described in detail herein.

In the several embodiments provided in the present invention, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus and method may be implemented in other manners. For example, the above-described device embodiments are merely illustrative, e.g., the partitioning of elements is merely a logical functional partitioning, and there may be additional partitioning in actual implementation, e.g., multiple elements or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not implemented. Alternatively, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed with each other may be an indirect coupling or communication connection via some interfaces, devices or units, which may be in electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

The units described as separate units may or may not be physically separate, and units shown as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed over a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

In addition, each functional unit in the embodiments of the present invention may be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integrated in one unit.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and any changes or substitutions that can be easily understood by those skilled in the art within the technical scope of the present invention are intended to be included in the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the invention is subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of data acquisition, comprising:

the UPDCF network element receives a user plane data subscription request sent by the NWDAF network element, wherein the user plane data subscription request comprises target area information aimed at by analysis;

the UPDCF network element obtains a network address of a first target interface, wherein the first target interface is an interface connected with a data network DN in interfaces of the user plane function UPF network element;

the UPDCF network element sends a network address of a second target interface to the UPF network element, wherein the second target interface is an interface connected with the UPF network element in the interfaces of the UPDCF network element;

the UPDCF network element acquires a first user plane data message, wherein the first user plane data message is a user plane data message sent to the DN by the UPF network element;

the UPDCF network element acquires a second user plane data message, wherein the second user plane data message is a user plane data message sent by the DN to the UPF network element;

the UPDCF network element determines user plane data according to the first user plane data message and the second user plane data message;

and the UPDCF network element sends the user plane data to an NWDAF network element.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the UPDCF network element obtaining the network address of the first target interface comprises:

the UPDCF network element determines a target session management function SMF network element according to the target area information;

the UPDCF network element sends a user plane data acquisition request to the target SMF network element, wherein the user plane data acquisition request is used for indicating the target SMF network element to send an insertion indication to the UPF network element;

and the UPDCF network element receives a user plane data acquisition response sent by the target SMF network element, wherein the user plane data acquisition response comprises the network address of the first target interface.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the UPDCF network element sending the network address of the second target interface to the UPF network element comprises:

the UPDCF network element sends a user plane data acquisition update message to the target SMF network element, wherein the user plane data acquisition update message is used for indicating the target SMF network element to send an insertion update message to the UPF network element, the insertion update message is used for indicating the UPF network element to send a first user plane data message to the UPDCF network element, and the insertion update message comprises a network address of the second target interface;

the UPDCF network element receives a user plane data acquisition update response sent by the target SMF network element, wherein the user plane data acquisition update response is used for representing that the target SMF network element has received an insertion update response sent by the UPF network element, and the insertion update response is used for representing that the UPF network element has received an insertion update message sent by the target SMF network element.

4. A data acquisition method according to claim 3, wherein the UPDCF network element acquires a second user plane data packet, including:

the UPDCF network element generates a third user plane data message according to the first user plane data message, wherein a source address of the third user plane data message is a network address of a third target interface, and the third target interface is an interface connected with the DN in interfaces of the UPDCF network element;

the UPDCF network element sends the third user plane data message to the DN;

and the UPDCF network element receives the second user plane data message.

5. The data acquisition method of claim 4, further comprising:

the UPDCF network element generates a fourth user plane data message according to the second user plane data message, wherein the destination address of the fourth user plane data message is the network address of the first target interface;

and the UPDCF network element sends the fourth user plane data message to the UPF network element.

6. A data acquisition device, the data acquisition device comprising: one or more processors, and memory;

the memory is coupled with the one or more processors; the memory is for storing computer program code comprising instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the data acquisition device to perform the data acquisition method of any one of claims 1-5.

7. A computer readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when run on a data acquisition device, cause the data acquisition device to perform the data acquisition method of any one of claims 1-5.