CN113993094B

CN113993094B - Communication method, first policy control network element and communication system

Info

Publication number: CN113993094B
Application number: CN202010734788.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 丁辉; 陆长奇
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-07-27
Filing date: 2020-07-27
Publication date: 2022-09-16
Anticipated expiration: 2040-07-27
Also published as: WO2022021971A1; CN113993094A

Abstract

The application provides a communication method, a first policy control network element and a communication system. The method comprises the following steps: a first policy control network element acquires a first DNN and a second DNN, wherein the first DNN is a DNN before replacement requested by terminal equipment, and the second DNN is a DNN after replacement corresponding to the first DNN; and the first policy control network element generates a policy and charging control rule according to the first DNN and the second DNN. Based on the scheme, the first policy control network element may obtain the first DNN and the second DNN at the same time, and generate the policy and charging control rule according to the first DNN and the second DNN, so that differential policy control may be performed on the first DNN actually requested by the terminal device.

Description

Communication method, first policy control network element and communication system

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a communication method, a first policy control network element, and a communication system.

Background

A Data Network Name (DNN) replacement (replacement) mechanism is defined in the 3rd generation partnership project (3 GPP) standard, when a terminal device side cannot update configuration in time, an old DNN may be carried in a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session establishment request initiated by a terminal, and since the DNN is abandoned in operator subscription information, a DNN replacement action needs to be performed on a core Network layer to ensure a success rate of PDU session establishment.

In the above scenario, how the policy control network element implements differentiated policy control needs to be solved at present.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a communication method, a first policy control network element and a communication system, which are used for realizing differentiated policy control.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, including: a first policy control network element acquires a first DNN and a second DNN, wherein the first DNN is a DNN before replacement requested by a terminal device, and the second DNN is a DNN after replacement corresponding to the first DNN; and the first policy control network element generates a policy and charging control rule according to the first DNN and the second DNN.

Based on the above scheme, the first policy control network element may obtain the first DNN and the second DNN at the same time, and generate the policy charging control rule according to the first DNN and the second DNN, so that the first DNN based on the actual request of the terminal device may execute differentiated policy control.

In a possible implementation method, the acquiring, by the first policy control network element, the first DNN and the second DNN includes: and the first policy control network element receives a policy association establishment request from a session management network element, wherein the policy association establishment request carries the first DNN and the second DNN.

In a possible implementation method, the acquiring, by the first policy control network element, the first DNN and the second DNN includes: the first policy control network element receives a policy association establishment request from a session management network element, wherein the policy association establishment request carries the second DNN; the first policy control network element sends a request message to a second policy control network element, wherein the request message carries the second DNN, and the request message is used for requesting the DNN before replacement corresponding to the second DNN; the first policy control network element receives the first DNN from the second policy control network element.

Based on the above scheme, the first policy control network element acquires the first DNN from the second policy control network element based on the independent signaling message, which is helpful for reducing the process changes to the mobility management network element and the session management network element in the existing network.

In a possible implementation method, the first policy control network element is a policy control network element for session management, and the second policy control network element is a policy control network element for access and mobility management and/or for providing terminal device policies.

In a possible implementation method, the first policy control network element sends a registration request to a binding support network element, where the registration request carries an identifier of the first policy control network element and session information, the session information includes the first DNN, the second DNN and an address of the terminal device, and the registration request is used to request to establish a mapping relationship between the identifier of the first policy control network element and the session information.

Based on the scheme, the application function network element can search the identifier of the policy control network element for session management, which provides service for the terminal equipment, from the binding support network element based on the first DNN or the second DNN, so that the communication efficiency and the communication quality in a DNN replacement scene are improved.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, including: a first policy control network element acquires a first DNN, wherein the first DNN is a DNN before replacement requested by terminal equipment; and the first policy control network element generates a policy and charging control rule according to the first DNN.

Based on the above scheme, the first policy control network element may obtain the first DNN at the same time, and generate the policy and charging control rule according to the first DNN, thereby implementing that the first DNN based on the actual request of the terminal device executes the differentiated policy control.

In a possible implementation method, the acquiring, by the first policy control network element, the first DNN includes: and the first policy control network element receives a policy association establishment request from a session management network element, wherein the policy association establishment request carries the first DNN.

In a possible implementation method, the acquiring, by the first policy control network element, the first DNN includes: the first policy control network element receives a policy association establishment request from a session management network element, wherein the policy association establishment request carries a second DNN, and the second DNN is a replaced DNN corresponding to the first DNN; the first policy control network element sends a request message to a second policy control network element, wherein the request message carries the second DNN, and the request message is used for requesting the DNN before replacement corresponding to the second DNN; the first policy control network element receives the first DNN from the second policy control network element.

In a possible implementation method, the first policy control network element sends a registration request to a binding support network element, where the registration request carries an identifier of the first policy control network element and session information, the session information includes the first DNN and an address of the terminal device, and the registration request is used to request to establish a mapping relationship between the identifier of the first policy control network element and the session information.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, including: a second policy control network element receives a request message from a first policy control network element, where the request message carries a second DNN, the second DNN is a replaced DNN corresponding to a first DNN, and the first DNN is a DNN requested by a terminal device before replacement; the second policy control network element acquires the first DNN according to the second DNN; and the second policy control network element sends the first DNN to the first policy control network element.

In a possible implementation method, the second policy control network element receives a policy association update request from a mobility management network element, where the policy association update request carries the first DNN; the second policy control network element obtaining the second DNN according to the first DNN, and generating a replacement record, wherein the replacement record comprises a timestamp, and the timestamp is used for indicating time information of obtaining the second DNN according to the first DNN; and the second policy control network element sends a policy association update response to the mobility management network element, wherein the policy association update response carries the second DNN.

In a possible implementation method, the obtaining, by the second policy control network element, the first DNN according to the second DNN includes: and the second policy control network element acquires the first DNN according to the timestamp and the second DNN.

Based on the scheme, the timestamp information is utilized to facilitate the provision of the correct first DNN for the first policy control network element.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, including: a binding support network element receives a registration request from a first policy control network element, wherein the registration request carries an identifier of the first policy control network element and session information, the session information comprises a first DNN and an address of a terminal device, and the first DNN is a DNN requested by the terminal device before replacement; the binding support network element establishes a mapping relation between the identifier of the first policy control network element and the session information; the binding support network element receives an inquiry request from an application function network element, wherein the inquiry request carries the address of the terminal equipment and the first DNN; and the binding support network element sends the identifier of the first policy control network element corresponding to the address of the terminal equipment and the first DNN to the application function network element according to the mapping relation.

Based on the scheme, the application function network element can search the identifier of the policy control network element for session management, which provides service for the terminal equipment, from the binding support network element based on the first DNN, so that the communication efficiency and the communication quality in a DNN replacement scene are improved.

In a possible implementation method, the session information further includes a second DNN, where the second DNN is a replaced DNN corresponding to the first DNN.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, where the apparatus may be a first policy control network element, and may also be a chip for the first policy control network element. The apparatus has the functionality to implement the first aspect, the second aspect, each possible implementation method of the first aspect, or each possible implementation method of the second aspect. The function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, where the apparatus may be a second policy control network element, and may also be a chip for the second policy control network element. The apparatus has the functionality to implement the third aspect or each possible implementation method of the third aspect. The function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, where the apparatus may be a binding support network element, and may also be a chip for binding support network element. The apparatus has the functionality to implement the fourth aspect described above or each possible implementation method of the fourth aspect. The function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, including a processor and a memory; the memory is configured to store computer executable instructions, and when the apparatus is running, the processor executes the computer executable instructions stored by the memory, so as to cause the apparatus to perform any of the methods of the first to fourth aspects and the possible implementation methods of the first to fourth aspects.

In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which includes means or means (means) for performing each step of any of the methods in the first to fourth aspects and possible implementation methods in the first to fourth aspects.

In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes a processor and an interface circuit, where the processor is configured to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit, and perform any of the methods of the first aspect to the fourth aspect and the possible implementation methods of the first aspect to the fourth aspect. The processor includes one or more.

In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, including a processor, configured to connect to a memory, and configured to invoke a program stored in the memory to execute any of the methods of the first aspect to the fourth aspect and the possible implementation methods of the first aspect to the fourth aspect. The memory may be located within the device or external to the device. And the processor includes one or more.

In a twelfth aspect, embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium, where instructions are stored, and when the instructions are executed on a computer, the instructions cause the processor to perform any of the methods of the first aspect to the fourth aspect and the possible implementation methods of the first aspect to the fourth aspect.

In a thirteenth aspect, the present application further provides a computer program product, where the computer program product includes a computer program, and when the computer program runs, the method of the first aspect to the fourth aspect and any of the possible implementation methods of the first aspect to the fourth aspect are enabled.

In a fourteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, including: a processor configured to perform any of the methods of the first to fourth aspects and possible implementations of the first to fourth aspects.

Drawings

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

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture;

fig. 3 is a schematic flowchart of DNN replacement provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4(a) is a schematic flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4(b) is a schematic flowchart of another communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a schematic flowchart of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic flowchart of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more clear, the present application will be further described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The particular methods of operation in the method embodiments may also be applied to apparatus embodiments or system embodiments. In the description of the present application, the term "plurality" means two or more unless otherwise specified.

To solve the problems mentioned in the background, the present application provides a communication system comprising a first policy control network element and a session management network element, as shown in fig. 1. Optionally, the system further includes a second policy control network element and/or a binding support network element. Optionally, the first policy control network element is a policy control network element for session management, and the second policy control network element is a policy control network element for access and mobility management and/or for providing a terminal device policy.

In a first embodiment:

and the session management network element is configured to send a policy association establishment request to the first policy control network element, where the policy association establishment request carries a first data network name DNN and a second DNN, the first DNN is a DNN requested by the terminal device before replacement, and the second DNN is a DNN after replacement corresponding to the first DNN. A first policy control network element for receiving the policy association establishment request from the session management network element; and generating a policy and charging control rule according to the first DNN and the second DNN.

In a possible implementation method, the first policy control network element is further configured to send a registration request to the binding support network element, where the registration request carries an identifier of the first policy control network element and session information, the session information includes the first DNN and an address of the terminal device, and the registration request is used to request to establish a mapping relationship between the identifier of the first policy control network element and the session information. The binding support network element is configured to receive the registration request from the first policy control network element; and establishing a mapping relation between the identifier of the first policy control network element and the session information.

In a possible implementation method, the binding support network element is further configured to receive an inquiry request from an application function network element, where the inquiry request carries an address of the terminal device and the first DNN; and sending the identifier of the first policy control network element corresponding to the address of the terminal equipment and the first DNN to the application function network element according to the mapping relation.

In one possible implementation, the session information further includes the second DNN.

In a second embodiment:

and the session management network element is configured to send a policy association establishment request to the first policy control network element, where the policy association establishment request carries a second data network name DNN, the second DNN is a post-replacement DNN corresponding to the first DNN, and the first DNN is a pre-replacement DNN requested by the terminal device. A first policy control network element for receiving the policy association establishment request from the session management network element; sending a request message to a second policy control network element, where the request message carries the second DNN, and the request message is used to request a DNN before replacement corresponding to the second DNN; receiving the first DNN from the second policy control network element; and generating a policy and charging control rule according to the first DNN and the second DNN.

In a possible implementation method, the second policy control network element is configured to receive a policy association update request from a mobility management network element, where the policy association update request carries the first DNN; obtaining the second DNN according to the first DNN, and generating a replacement record, the replacement record comprising a timestamp indicating time information for obtaining the second DNN according to the first DNN; and sending a policy association update response to the mobility management network element, wherein the policy association update response carries the second DNN.

In a possible implementation method, the second policy control network element is configured to acquire the first DNN according to the second DNN, and specifically includes: for obtaining the first DNN based on the timestamp and the second DNN.

In a third embodiment:

and the session management network element is configured to send a policy association establishment request to the first policy control network element, where the policy association establishment request carries a first data network name DNN, and the first DNN is a DNN requested by the terminal device before replacement. A first policy control network element for receiving the policy association establishment request from the session management network element; and generating a policy and charging control rule according to the first DNN.

In a fourth embodiment:

and the session management network element is configured to send a policy association establishment request to the first policy control network element, where the policy association establishment request carries a second data network name DNN, the second DNN is a post-replacement DNN corresponding to the first DNN, and the first DNN is a pre-replacement DNN requested by the terminal device. A first policy control network element for receiving the policy association establishment request from the session management network element; sending a request message to a second policy control network element, where the request message carries the second DNN, and the request message is used to request a DNN before replacement corresponding to the second DNN; receiving the first DNN from the second policy control network element; and generating a policy and charging control rule according to the first DNN.

In a possible implementation method, the first policy control network element is further configured to send a registration request to the binding support network element, where the registration request carries an identifier of the first policy control network element and session information, the session information includes the first DNN and an address of the terminal device, and the registration request is used to request to establish a mapping relationship between the identifier of the first policy control network element and the session information; the binding support network element is configured to receive the registration request from the first policy control network element; and establishing a mapping relation between the identifier of the first policy control network element and the session information.

Based on any one possible implementation method of the first embodiment to the fourth embodiment, in a possible implementation method, the session management network element is further configured to receive a session context setup request from a mobility management network element, where the session context setup request carries the first DNN and the second DNN.

In a fifth embodiment:

the first policy control network element is configured to send a registration request to a binding support network element, where the registration request carries an identifier of the first policy control network element and session information, the session information includes a first DNN and an address of a terminal device, and the registration request is used to request to establish a mapping relationship between the identifier of the first policy control network element and the session information; the binding support network element is configured to receive the registration request from the first policy control network element; and establishing a mapping relation between the identifier of the first policy control network element and the session information.

The specific implementation of the above scheme will be described in detail in the following method embodiments, and will not be described herein again.

The system shown in fig. 1 may be used in the fifth generation (5th generation, 5G) network architecture shown in fig. 2, and of course, may also be used in a future network architecture, such as a sixth generation (6th generation, 6G) network architecture, and the like, which is not limited in this application.

For example, it is assumed that the communication system shown in fig. 1 is applied to a 5G network architecture, and as shown in fig. 2, the communication system is a schematic diagram of the 5G network architecture. The network element or entity corresponding to the session management network element in fig. 1 may be a Session Management Function (SMF) network element in the 5G network architecture shown in fig. 2, the network element or entity corresponding to the Binding Support network element in fig. 1 may be a Binding Support Function (BSF) network element in the 5G network architecture shown in fig. 2, the network element or entity corresponding to the first Policy Control network element in fig. 1 may be a Policy Control Function (PCF) network element for session management in the 5G network architecture shown in fig. 2, and the network element or entity corresponding to the second Policy Control network element in fig. 1 may be a PCF (PCF for session management, SM PCF) network element for Access and mobility Control in the 5G network architecture shown in fig. 2.

The 5G network architecture shown in fig. 2 may include three parts, which are a terminal device part, a Data Network (DN) and an operator network part. The functions of some of the network elements will be briefly described below.

Wherein the operator network may comprise one or more of the following network elements: PCF network elements, Unified Data Management (UDM), Unified Data Repository (UDR), Application Function (AF) network elements, Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) network elements, SMF network elements, Radio Access Network (RAN) and User Plane Function (UPF) network elements, BSF network elements, and the like. In the operator network described above, the parts other than the radio access network part may be referred to as core network parts.

In a specific implementation, the terminal device in the embodiment of the present application may be a device for implementing a wireless communication function. The terminal device may be a User Equipment (UE), an access terminal, a terminal unit, a terminal station, a mobile station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a wireless communication device, a terminal agent or a terminal apparatus in a 5G network or a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) in the future. An access terminal may be a cellular telephone, a cordless telephone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device having wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle mounted device, or a wearable device, a Virtual Reality (VR) terminal device, an Augmented Reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control), a wireless terminal in self driving (self driving), a wireless terminal in remote medical (remote medical), a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city (smart city), a wireless terminal in smart home (smart home), and the like. The terminal may be mobile or stationary.

The terminal device may establish a connection with the carrier network through an interface (e.g., N1, etc.) provided by the carrier network, and use data and/or voice services provided by the carrier network. The terminal device may also access the DN via an operator network, use operator services deployed on the DN, and/or services provided by a third party. The third party may be a service party other than the operator network and the terminal device, and may provide services such as other data and/or voice for the terminal device. The specific expression form of the third party may be determined according to an actual application scenario, and is not limited herein.

The RAN is a sub-network of the operator network and is an implementation system between the service node and the terminal device in the operator network. The terminal device is to access the operator network, first through the RAN, and then may be connected to a service node of the operator network through the RAN. The RAN device in this application is a device that provides a wireless communication function for a terminal device, and is also referred to as an access network device. RAN equipment in this application includes, but is not limited to: next generation base station (G node B, gNB), evolved node B (eNB), Radio Network Controller (RNC), Node B (NB), Base Station Controller (BSC), Base Transceiver Station (BTS), home base station (e.g., home evolved node B, or home node B, HNB), Base Band Unit (BBU), transmission point (TRP), Transmission Point (TP), mobile switching center, etc. in 5G.

The AMF network element mainly performs functions of mobility management, access authentication/authorization and the like. In addition, the method is also responsible for transferring the user policy between the UE and the PCF.

The SMF network element mainly performs functions such as session management, execution of control strategies issued by the PCF, selection of the UPF, and allocation of an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the UE.

The UPF network element is used as an interface UPF with a data network to complete functions of user plane data forwarding, session/stream level-based charging statistics, bandwidth limitation and the like.

And the UDM network element is mainly responsible for functions of managing subscription data, user access authorization and the like.

And the UDR is mainly responsible for the access function of the type data such as subscription data, strategy data, application data and the like.

The AF network element mainly transfers requirements of an application side on a network side, such as Quality of Service (QoS) requirements or user status event subscriptions. The AF may be a third party functional entity or an application service deployed by an operator, such as an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) voice call service.

The PCF network element is mainly responsible for performing policy control functions such as charging, QoS bandwidth guarantee, mobility management, UE policy decision, etc. for the session and service stream levels. In the framework, PCFs connected to the AMF include AM PCF and PCF (PCF for Access and Mobility Control, UE PCF) for UE policy Control, and the PCF connected to the SMF is SM PCF. In actual deployment, the functions of the AM PCF and the UE PCF are usually provided by the same PCF, which may or may not be the same PCF entity. For convenience of description, the PCF that provides both UE Policy and AM Policy will be referred to as AM PCF later.

A BSF network element, configured to mainly receive a mapping relationship between a PCF ID registered by an SM PCF and session information (e.g., at least one of a Subscription Permanent Identifier (SUPI), a General Public Subscription Identity (GPSI), an address of a UE, a DNN, or a single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI)), and configured to support an AF to query an SM PCF ID (SM ID) providing a service to the UE based on the mapping relationship.

The DN is a network outside the operator network, the operator network can access a plurality of DNs, and the DN can deploy a plurality of services and provide services such as data and/or voice for the terminal device. For example, the DN is a private network of a certain intelligent factory, a sensor installed in a workshop of the intelligent factory can be a terminal device, a control server of the sensor is deployed in the DN, and the control server can provide services for the sensor. The sensor can communicate with the control server, obtain the instruction of the control server, transmit the sensor data gathered to the control server, etc. according to the instruction. For another example, the DN is an internal office network of a company, the mobile phone or computer of the employee of the company may be a terminal device, and the mobile phone or computer of the employee may access information, data resources, and the like on the internal office network of the company.

In the architecture shown in fig. 2, the interface names and functions between the network elements are as follows:

1) n7: and the interface between the PCF and the SMF is used for transmitting the PDU session granularity and the service data flow granularity control strategy.

2) N15: and the interface between the PCF and the AMF is used for issuing the UE strategy and the access control related strategy.

3) N5: and the interface between the AF and the PCF is used for issuing the application service request and reporting the network event.

4) N4: the interface between the SMF and the UPF is used for transmitting information between the control plane and the user plane, and comprises the control of issuing of forwarding rules, QoS control rules, flow statistic rules and the like facing the user plane and the information reporting of the user plane.

5) N11: and the interface between the SMF and the AMF is used for transmitting PDU session tunnel information between the RAN and the UPF, transmitting control information sent to the UE, transmitting radio resource control information sent to the RAN and the like.

6) N2: and the interface between the AMF and the RAN is used for transmitting radio bearer control information from the core network side to the RAN and the like.

7) N1: the interface between the AMF and the UE, access independence, is used to deliver QoS control rules to the UE, etc.

8) N8: and the interface between the AMF and the UDM is used for acquiring the subscription data and the authentication data related to access and mobility management from the UDM by the AMF, registering the current mobility management related information of the UE from the UDM by the AMF and the like.

9) N10: and the interface between the SMF and the UDM is used for acquiring the subscription data related to the session management from the SMF to the UDM, registering the related information of the current session of the UE from the SMF to the UDM, and the like.

10) N35: and the interface between the UDM and the UDR is used for acquiring the user subscription data information from the UDR by the UDM.

11) N36: and the interface between the PCF and the UDR is used for the PCF to acquire the subscription data related to the strategy and the application data related information from the UDR.

It is to be understood that the above network elements or functions may be network elements in a hardware device, or may be software functions running on dedicated hardware, or virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). Optionally, the network element or the function may be implemented by one device, may also be implemented by multiple devices together, and may also be a functional module in one device, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

The session management network element, the first policy control network element, the second policy control network element, the binding support network element, and the application function network element in this application may be the SMF, SM PCF, AM PCF, BSF, and AF in fig. 2, respectively, or may be network elements having the functions of the above-mentioned SMF, SM PCF, AM PCF, BSF, and AF in a future communication network, for example, a 6G network, which is not limited in this application. For convenience of description, the session management network element, the first policy control network element, the second policy control network element, the binding support network element, and the application function network element are respectively described as the SMF, the SM PCF, the AM PCF, the BSF, and the AF. In the following description, a terminal device is taken as an example of a UE.

The general user registration procedure can be described simply as: UE sends register request to AMF through RAN, AMF obtains signing data from specific UDM according to user identification, UDM can obtain actual signing data from UDR after receiving register request. In addition, AMF may also initiate a user policy control establishment request (UEPolicyControl _ Create) and an access management policy control establishment request (AMPolicyControl _ Create) to PCF, which are respectively used to obtain UE policy and access control policy. The PCF returns the access control policy to the AMF in this process and provides the UE policy to the UE via the AMF.

The general session establishment procedure can be described simply as: UE sends session establishment request to AMF through RAN, AMF selects SMF for session to provide service for it, stores corresponding relation between SMF and PDU session, sends session establishment request to selected SMF, SMF selects corresponding UPF for UE and establishes user plane transmission path, and allocates IP address for it. In the process, the SMF also initiates a policy control session establishment request to the PCF, which is used for establishing the policy control session between the SMF and the PCF, and in the process of establishing the policy control session, the SMF stores the corresponding relation between the policy control session and the PDU session. In addition, the AF and PCF can also establish AF conversation, and PCF binds AF conversation and tactics control conversation.

A DNN replacement (relocation) mechanism is defined in the 3GPP standard, when a UE side cannot update configuration in time, an old DNN may be carried in a PDU session establishment request initiated by the UE, and since the DNN is abandoned in the operator subscription information, a DNN replacement action needs to be performed in a core network layer to ensure a success rate of PDU session establishment. As shown in fig. 3, a schematic diagram of a DNN replacement process provided in the embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

at step 300, the DNN replaces the event subscription.

The AM PCF subscribes to the AMF for a DNN replacement event, i.e. subscribes to the AMF: when the AMF receives a particular DNN, it requests the AM PCF to acquire the selected DNN, i.e., the AM PCF replaces the requested DNN (requested DNN) with the selected DNN (selected DNN).

Alternatively, the specific DNN may be provided to the AMF by the AM PCF, e.g., the AM PCF sends a DNN list to the AMF, which includes one or more specific DNNs. And when the DNN carried in the PDU session establishment request received by the AMF from the UE belongs to the DNN list, triggering the AMF to request the AM PCF to acquire the selected DNN corresponding to the DNN.

Alternatively, the specific DNN may also be pre-configured on the AMF. And when DNN carried in the PDU session establishment request received by the AMF from the UE is contained in the pre-configured DNN, triggering the AMF to request the AM PCF to acquire the selected DNN corresponding to the DNN.

Or, the AMF determines that the currently requested DNN does not appear in the subscription DNN list according to the DNN list in the UE subscription data, and then triggers a request to the AM PCF for obtaining the selected DNN corresponding to the DNN.

In step 301, the UE sends a PDU session setup request to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF may receive the PDU session setup request.

The PDU session setup request carries the requested dnn (requested dnn).

The AMF determines that the requested DNN belongs to a specific DNN (for example, a DNN that may be preconfigured or a DNN in a DNN list), or determines that the UE does not subscribe to the DNN according to subscription data, that is, determines that the requested DNN is an invalid DNN, thereby triggering the AMF to request the AM PCF to acquire a selected DNN corresponding to the requested DNN.

Step 302, the AMF sends an AM policy association update request to the AM PCF. Accordingly, the AM PCF may receive the AM policy association update request.

The AM policy association update request carries the requested DNN, and is used to request to acquire a selected DNN (selected DNN) corresponding to the requested DNN.

Optionally, the AM policy association update request is further used to request to acquire an AM policy and/or a UE policy.

In step 303, the AM PCF sends an AM policy association update response to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF may receive the AM policy association update response.

The AM policy association update response carries the selected DNN. Optionally, the AM policy and/or the UE policy are also carried.

At step 304, the AMF sends a PDU session context setup request to the SMF. Accordingly, the SMF may receive the PDU session context setup request.

The PDU session context setup request carries the requested DNN and the selected DNN.

The reason why the PDU session context setup request carries the requested DNN is that the SMF needs to carry the requested DNN in the PDU session setup response of step 305, so as to inform the UE network side of successfully establishing the PDU session between the UE and the requested DNN.

After acquiring the selected DNN, the SMF may acquire subscription data of the UE under the selected DNN from the UDM based on the selected DNN.

In step 305, the SMF sends a PDU session setup response to the UE. Accordingly, the UE may receive the PDU session setup response.

The PDU session establishment response carries the requested DNN to inform the UE network side of successfully establishing the PDU session between the UE and the requested DNN.

Based on the embodiment, the PDU session from the UE to the DNN is established for the UE. The DNN requested by the UE belongs to an expired or invalid DNN, the network side actually establishes a PDU session between the UE and the selected DNN (i.e., an upgraded DNN) for the UE, and for the DNN which the UE does not perceive the selection, the network side only notifies the UE of successfully establishing the PDU session between the UE and the requested DNN. The scheme ensures that the UE which cannot update the DNN configuration information in time normally establishes the PDU session.

The embodiment corresponding to fig. 3 described above has some problems, including:

problem 1, in the flow of the above-described embodiment of fig. 3, the SMF will also select an SM PCF for the UE for providing a session management policy (SM policy). After the SMF selects the SM PCF, the SMF provides session information to the SM PCF, and then the SM PCF registers binding information containing a correspondence between the SM PCF identification (i.e., SM PCF ID) and the session information with the BSF. Wherein the session information includes the selected DNN and an address of the UE (which may be an IP address or a Media Access Control (MAC) address of the UE), and optionally at least one of SUPI, GPSI, or S-NSSAI. Subsequently, when the AF judges that a policy authorization request needs to be initiated to the SM PCF, the AF sends an inquiry request to the BSF, where the inquiry request carries the address of the UE and the DNN, and then the BSF obtains a corresponding SM PCF identifier based on the address of the UE and the DNN. The DNN in the AF may be pre-configured or received from the UE through a user plane message, and may be the requested DNN or the selected DNN. When the query request sent by the AF to the BSF carries the address of the UE and the requested DNN, the BSF cannot provide the SM PCF identifier, because the SM PCF registers the binding information with the BSF, and the registered session information is the selected DNN. And further results in that the AF cannot acquire the SM PCF identity from the BSF for serving the UE.

Problem 2, how the SM PCF performs differentiated policy control based on the Requested DNN actually Requested by the UE: in some operator deployment scenarios, to implement differentiated policy control of service granularity, an operator may configure a special DNN based on application granularity, and a core network performs differentiated policy control based on the configured DNN. But this mechanism requires the operator to open an account in the UDM for this DNN and configure subscription data so that the SMF can retrieve the subscription data from the UDM based on this DNN. A simplified scheme is to extend based on the existing DNN Replacement mechanism, that is, only a Selected DNN needs to be opened in the UDM, and multiple pre-mapped Requested DNNs are configured to one or more UEs through a User Routing Selection Policy (URSP), and the multiple Requested DNNs can be mapped to the same Selected DNN. When receiving a PDU session establishment request carrying a special DNN, the AMF may initiate a DNN replacement request to the AM PCF based on the event subscription or local configuration information delivered by the AM PCF, and receive a replaced Selected DNN from the AM PCF. Because the SM PCF in the existing mechanism is responsible for executing the session management policy decision, and the SM PCF in the dnnlplacement mechanism does not receive the Requested DNN actually Requested by the UE, it is not possible to execute a differentiated policy decision based on the actually Requested DNN.

Based on the network architecture shown in fig. 2, as shown in fig. 4(a), the present application provides a communication method for solving the above-mentioned problems. It should be noted that, in this method, the first PCF may also be referred to as an SM PCF, the second PCF may also be referred to as an AM PCF, the first DNN may also be referred to as a requested DNN, a DNN before replacement, or a DNN before upgrade, and the second DNN may also be referred to as a selected DNN, a DNN after replacement, or a DNN after upgrade.

The method comprises the following steps:

in step 401a, the first PCF obtains a first DNN and a second DNN.

The first DNN is a pre-replacement DNN requested by the UE, and the second DNN is a post-replacement DNN corresponding to the first DNN.

In step 402a, the first PCF generates Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rules according to the first DNN and the second DNN.

Based on the above scheme, the first PCF may obtain the first DNN and the second DNN at the same time, and generate the PCC rule according to the first DNN and the second DNN, thereby implementing that the first DNN based on the actual request of the UE executes the differentiated policy control. The above-mentioned problem 2 can be solved.

As an implementation method, the first PCF generates the PCC rule according to the first DNN and the second DNN, which may be: the first PCF generates the PCC rule according to subscription data (e.g., one or more of session aggregation Maximum Bit Rate (session AMBR), subscription (subscribed)5G QoS identifier (5G QoS identifier, 5QI), or Allocation and preemption Priority (ARP)) corresponding to the first DNN and the second DNN.

In step 401a, the method for the first PCF to acquire the first DNN and the second DNN includes, but is not limited to:

in the method 1, a first PCF receives a policy association establishment request from an SMF, where the policy association establishment request carries a first DNN and a second DNN.

Method 2, the first PCF receives the request for establishing the policy association from the SMF, the request for establishing the policy association carries the second DNN, the first PCF determines that the DNN after replacement is carried in the request for establishing the policy association, then sends a request message to the second PCF, the request message carries the second DNN, the request message is used for requesting the DNN before replacement corresponding to the second DNN, then the second PCF obtains the first DNN corresponding to the second DNN, and sends the first DNN to the first PCF. That is, the first PCF acquires the second DNN from the SMF, and acquires the first DNN from the second PCF.

The method for the first PCF to determine that the policy association establishment request carries the replaced DNN may be, for example: the second PCF determines, based on the name or string of the second DNN, that the second DNN is the replaced DNN. Based on the method, the action of acquiring the DNN before replacement is triggered by determining that the received DNN is the DNN after replacement, so that differentiated policy control can be realized.

The method for the second PCF to acquire the first DNN corresponding to the second DNN may be, for example: before the first PCF sends a request message to the second PCF, the second PCF receives a policy associated update request from the AMF, the policy associated update request carries a first DNN, the mapping relation between the first DNN and a second DNN locally configured by the second PCF is obtained, the second DNN corresponding to the first DNN is obtained and carried in a policy associated update response to be sent to the AMF, and meanwhile, a replacement record is generated and comprises a timestamp, and the timestamp is used for indicating time information for obtaining the second DNN according to the first DNN. And subsequently, when the second PCF receives the request message from the first PCF, acquiring the first DNN according to the timestamp and the second DNN.

After step 401a, the first PCF may further send a registration request to the BSF, where the registration request carries an identifier of the first PCF and session information, the session information includes the first DNN, the second DNN and an address of the UE, and the registration request is used to request to establish a mapping relationship between the identifier of the first PCF and the session information. The BSF establishes a mapping relationship between the identity of the first PCF and the session information. Subsequently, when the BSF receives an inquiry request from the AF, where the inquiry request carries the address of the UE and the first DNN, the BSF sends the identifier of the first PCF corresponding to the address of the UE and the first DNN to the AF according to the mapping relationship. Based on this scheme, when the AF requests the BSF to acquire PCF information based on the first DNN and the address of the UE, the BSF may determine corresponding PCF information based on the mapping relationship, thereby solving the above-mentioned problem 1.

Based on the network architecture shown in fig. 2, as shown in fig. 4(b), the present application provides a communication method for solving the above-mentioned problems. It should be noted that the first PCF in this method may also be referred to as an SM PCF, the second PCF may also be referred to as an AM PCF, the first DNN may also be referred to as a requested DNN, a DNN before replacement, or a DNN before upgrade, and the second DNN may also be referred to as a selected DNN, a DNN after replacement, or a DNN after upgrade.

The method comprises the following steps:

in step 401b, the first PCF obtains the first DNN.

The first DNN is a pre-replacement DNN requested by the UE.

In step 402b, the first PCF generates PCC rules based on the first DNN.

Based on the above scheme, the first PCF may obtain the first DNN, and generate the PCC rule according to the first DNN, thereby implementing differentiated policy control executed by the first DNN based on the actual request of the UE. And thus the above-mentioned problem 2 can be solved.

In step 401b, the method for the first PCF to acquire the first DNN includes, but is not limited to:

in the method 1, a first PCF receives a policy association establishment request from an SMF, wherein the policy association establishment request carries a first DNN.

Method 2, the first PCF receives a policy association establishment request from the SMF, the policy association establishment request carries a second DNN, the second DNN is a DNN after replacement corresponding to the first DNN, the first PCF determines that the DNN after replacement is carried in the policy association establishment request, then sends a request message to the second PCF, the request message carries the second DNN, the request message is used for requesting a DNN before replacement corresponding to the second DNN, then the second PCF acquires the first DNN corresponding to the second DNN, and sends the first DNN to the first PCF. That is, the first PCF acquires the first DNN from the second PCF.

The method for the first PCF to determine that the policy association establishment request carries the replaced DNN may be, for example: the second PCF determines that the second DNN is the replaced DNN based on the name or character string of the second DNN. Based on the method, the action of acquiring the DNN before replacement is triggered by determining that the received DNN is the DNN after replacement, so that differentiated policy control can be realized.

After step 401b, the first PCF may further send a registration request to the BSF, where the registration request carries an identifier of the first PCF and session information, the session information includes the first DNN and an address of the UE, and the registration request is used to request to establish a mapping relationship between the identifier of the first PCF and the session information. The BSF establishes a mapping relationship between the identity of the first PCF and the session information. Subsequently, when the BSF receives an inquiry request from the AF, where the inquiry request carries the address of the UE and the first DNN, the BSF sends the identifier of the first PCF corresponding to the address of the UE and the first DNN to the AF according to the mapping relationship. Based on this scheme, when the AF requests the BSF to acquire PCF information based on the first DNN and the address of the UE, the BSF may determine corresponding PCF information based on the mapping relationship, thereby solving the above-mentioned problem 1.

The following describes an embodiment corresponding to fig. 4(a) and 4(b) in detail with reference to fig. 5 to 6.

In the following embodiments, the requested DNN may also be referred to as a first DNN, a DNN before replacement, or a DNN before upgrade, and the selected DNN may also be referred to as a second DNN, a DNN after replacement, or a DNN after upgrade.

As shown in fig. 5, a further communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

step 500, URSP policy configuration and DNN replace event subscription.

The AM PCF subscribes to the AMF for a DNN replacement event, i.e. subscribes to the AMF: when the AMF receives a particular DNN, it requests the AM PCF to acquire the selected DNN.

Or, the AMF determines that the DNN currently requested does not appear in the subscription DNN list according to the DNN list in the UE subscription data, and then triggers a request to the AM PCF to acquire the selected DNN corresponding to the DNN.

If the process is also used in the scenario of differentiated policy control, the AM PCF may also configure a corresponding URSP policy to the UE via the AMF in the registration process, so that the UE initiates the corresponding service using the specific DNN according to the URSP policy.

In step 501, the UE sends a PDU session setup request to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF may receive the PDU session setup request.

The UE initiates a PDU session establishment request corresponding to the requested DNN (requested DNN) based on local configuration or URSP strategy, wherein the PDU session establishment request carries the requested DNN.

In step 502, the AMF sends an AM policy association update request to the AM PCF. Accordingly, the AM PCF may receive the AM policy association update request.

In step 503, the AM PCF sends an AM policy association update response to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF may receive the AM policy association update response.

In step 504, the AMF sends a PDU session context setup request to the SMF. Accordingly, the SMF may receive the PDU session context setup request.

Optionally, the PDU session context setup request may also carry a user identity (e.g., SUPI, GPSI).

In step 505, the SMF sends an SM policy association establishment request to the SM PCF. Accordingly, the SM PCF may receive the SM policy association establishment request.

The SMF executes the SM PCF selection process, selects the SM PCF supporting the service provision for the PDU session, and sends an SM policy association establishment request to the selected SM PCF for requesting to acquire a session management policy (SM policy).

The SM policy association establishment request carries the Requested DNN (i.e., the Requested DNN actually Requested by the UE) and the Selected DNN (i.e., the replaced Selected DNN). Optionally, the SM policy association establishment request may further carry one or more of a user identity (e.g., SUPI, GPSI), an address of the UE (e.g., IP address or MAC address), or S-NSSAI. Wherein, the address of the UE may be allocated to the UE by the SMF.

In step 506, the SM PCF performs policy decisions.

The SM PCF performs policy decision, which may be, for example: and the SMF generates a PCC rule according to the requested DNN and the selected DNN, or generates the PCC rule according to the requested DNN. And sending the generated PCC rule to the SMF for execution. Based on the generation mode of the PCC rule, the above-mentioned problem 2 can be solved, that is, the SM PCF may execute differentiated policy control based on the Requested DNN actually Requested by the UE.

As an example, for a Video service, an operator configures the Video on the network side for providing basic service provisioning. In addition, the operator also allows the user to subscribe to the accelerated services corresponding to the special applications in a pay mode, for example, QoS parameters of different acceleration levels are configured for the applications such as the ericsson art, the Tencent, the Youkou video and the like, and the accelerated services of the three applications are respectively represented by video-1, video-2 and video-3. Video here can be regarded as Selected DNN, video-1, video-2, video-3 described above as Requested DNN. And configuring a mapping relation between the video and the video-1, the video-2 and the video-3 on the AM PCF, providing the video-1, the video-2 and the video-3 to the UE, and sending a PDU session establishment request by the subsequent UE based on the video-1, the video-2 or the video-3. For example, if the PDU session setup request in step 501 carries video-1, the SM PCF in step 506 may receive video-1 and video, so that the SMPCF generates a PCC rule based on video-1 or based on video-1 and video, and the policy rule may provide QoS guarantee of an acceleration level.

In step 507, the SM PCF sends an SM policy association establishment response to the SMF. Accordingly, the SMF may receive the SM policy association setup response.

The SM policy association establishment response carries the PCC rules.

In step 508, the SMF sends a PDU session setup response to the UE. Accordingly, the UE may receive the PDU session setup response.

The SMF also performs subsequent user plane link establishment and resource reservation procedures, which may refer to the prior art and are not described in detail herein.

In step 509, the SM PCF sends a binding information registration request to the BSF. Accordingly, the BSF may receive the binding information registration request.

The binding information registration request carries the SM PCF identifier and session information, the session information includes the selected DNN, the requested DNN and the address of the UE (which may be the IP address or MAC address of the UE), and optionally, the session information further includes at least one of SUPI, GPSI or S-NSSAI.

Step 510, the BSF sends a binding information registration response to the SM PCF. Accordingly, the SM PCF may receive the binding information registration response.

The binding information registration response is used to indicate success or failure of the binding information registration.

In step 511, the AF sends a query request to the BSF. Accordingly, the BSF may receive the query request.

Before initiating an initial policy authorization request to the SM PCF, the AF also needs to find, via the PCF discovery process, the SM PCF related information that serves the PDU session of the UE. Specifically, the AF may carry a DNN, which may be the requested DNN or a selected DNN, and the address of the UE in a lookup request sent to the BSF. The query request is used for requesting to acquire the SM PCF identification corresponding to the DNN and the address of the UE.

The DNN of the request on the AF may be pre-configured on the AF or acquired from the UE side via a user plane channel. The selected DNN on the AF may be pre-configured on the AF. The address of the UE on the AF may be carried by the UE when sending a request to the AF. For example, before step 511, the UE initiates a service request to the AF via the established PDU session, where the service request may carry the address of the UE, and optionally the service request may also carry the DNN of the request, so as to trigger the AF to search for an SM PCF that provides service for the PDU session.

In step 512, the BSF sends PCF information to the AF. Accordingly, the AF may receive the PCF information.

And the BSF determines a corresponding SM PCF identifier based on the parameters carried by the query request and the locally stored binding information. That is, the BSF determines the corresponding SM PCF identifier according to the DNN and the address of the UE in the query request and the mapping relationship between the SM PCF identifier and the session information. The SM PCF identification may be SM PCF address information (e.g. IP address, domain name address) or a unique identification.

In step 513, the AF sends a policy authorization request to the SM PCF. Accordingly, the SM PCF may receive the policy authorization request.

Based on the received SM PCF identification, the AF sends a policy authorization request to the SM PCF, wherein the policy authorization request carries information such as the address of the UE, DNN of the request and the like. After receiving the information, the SM PCF executes session binding according to the local context record, namely, the strategy authorization request is associated with the PDU session, and strategy rules are issued to the AF for the session based on the strategy authorization request.

The policy authorization request is to trigger the SM PCF to provide a corresponding QoS guarantee for a specific service flow, such as to provide a scheduling priority, a packet loss rate, a delay and bandwidth allocation corresponding to a QoS Class Identifier (QCI) for an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) voice service flow, so as to guarantee user experience. Specifically, the AF may also carry one or more of service flow description information, maximum Requested Bandwidth (Max-Requested-Bandwidth), and AF Application identifier (AF Application ID) in the policy authorization request, in addition to the address of the UE and the DNN of the request, and is used by the SM PCF to generate a corresponding policy rule for the service flow.

It should be noted that the execution sequence between the above steps 506 to 508 and 509 to 513 is strictly limited.

Based on the above steps 509 to 513, the SM PCF includes the DNN (Requested DNN) of the received request and the Selected DNN (Selected DNN) in the binding information sent to the BSF, so that the AF can find the SM PCF identifier providing service for the UE based on the Requested DNN or Selected DNN, and further can request the SMPCF for acquiring a policy, that is, solve the above problem 1.

Based on the above embodiments, on one hand, it is achieved that the SM PCF can execute differentiated policy control based on the requested DNN, or based on the requested DNN and the selected DNN, and on the other hand, the AF can find the SM PCF identifier providing service for the UE based on the requested DNN or the selected DNN, thereby improving communication efficiency and communication quality in a DNN replacement scenario.

As shown in fig. 6, for another communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the main difference between the embodiment corresponding to fig. 6 and the embodiment corresponding to fig. 5 is that: in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 6, the SM PCF acquires the Requested DNN from the AMPCF based on an independent signaling message, which helps to reduce the flow changes to the AMF and the SMF in the existing network.

The method comprises the following steps:

steps 600 to 602, like steps 500 to 502 in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 5, can refer to the foregoing description.

In step 603, the AM PCF sends an AM policy association update response to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF may receive the AM policy association update response.

The AM PCF performs the requested DNN to selected DNN mapping action based on the operator configuration information and locally saves the replacement record. The replacement record may contain time stamp information. And then the AM PCF sends an AM strategy association update response to the AMF, wherein the AM strategy association update response carries the selected DNN. Optionally, the AM policy and/or the UE policy are also carried.

Step 604, like step 504 in the corresponding embodiment of fig. 5, can refer to the above description.

In step 605, the SMF sends an SM policy association establishment request to the SM PCF. Accordingly, the SM PCF may receive the SM policy association setup request.

The SM policy association establishment request carries the Selected DNN (i.e., the replaced Selected DNN). Optionally, the SM policy association establishment request may further carry one or more of a user identity (e.g., SUPI, GPSI), an address of the UE (e.g., IP address or MAC address), or S-NSSAI. Wherein, the address of the UE may be allocated to the UE by the SMF.

In step 606, the SM PCF sends a request message to the AM PCF. Accordingly, the AM PCF may receive the request message.

And the SM PCF judges that the DNN received from the SMF is the selected DNN based on local configuration, and initiates a DNN mapping query request to the AM PCF, namely sends a request message to the AM PCF, wherein the request message carries the selected DNN.

In step 607, the AM PCF sends the requested DNN to the SM PCF. Accordingly, the SM PCF may receive the requested DNN.

After receiving the request message, the AM PCF may send the DNN of the newly replaced request to the SM PCF according to the DNN replacement record saved so far, for the SM PCF to perform the subsequent action.

For example, in step 602, the AM PCF may receive an AM policy association update request corresponding to different PDU sessions of the same UE or an AM policy association update request corresponding to different UEs, so that the AM PCF may perform a plurality of DNN replacement operations, for example, DNN operations performed by the AM PCF are as follows:

DNN-1 is replaced by DNN-5, and a timestamp of 1 is added;

DNN-2 is replaced by DNN-5, and a timestamp of 2 is added;

DNN-3 is replaced by DNN-5, and a timestamp of 3 is added;

DNN-4 is replaced with DNN-6, adding timestamp 4.

It can be seen that when the AM PCF performs DNN replacement, it is possible to replace multiple different requested DNNs with the same DNN, such as DNN-1, DNN-2, DNN-3 with DNN-5.

Then in step 607, after the AM PCF receives the request message from the SM PCF, it finds the requested DNN in the last DNN replacement operation based on the timestamp, based on the received DNN. For example, the AM PCF receives DNN-5 and is closest to timestamp 3, returns DNN-3 to the SM PCF, and deletes the replacement record.

Optionally, the AM PCF may also find the requested DNN corresponding to the earliest DNN replacement operation within the validity period based on the timestamp. For example, the AM PCF receives DNN-5, and if it determines that the replacement record corresponding to timestamp 1 is still valid, it returns DNN-1 and deletes the replacement record. If the replacement record corresponding to the timestamp 1 is determined to be invalid and the replacement record corresponding to the timestamp 2 is determined to be valid, DNN-2 may be returned and the replacement record may be deleted.

In steps 608 to 615, similar to steps 506 to 513 in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 5, reference is made to the above description.

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

It is to be understood that, in the foregoing embodiments of the methods, the steps or operations implemented by the first policy control network element may also be implemented by a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit) configured in the first policy control network element, the steps or operations implemented by the second policy control network element may also be implemented by a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit) configured in the second policy control network element, the steps or operations implemented by the binding support network element may also be implemented by a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit) configured in the binding support network element, the steps or operations implemented by the application function network element may also be implemented by a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit) configured in the application function network element.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The apparatus is configured to implement the steps performed by the first policy control network element, the second policy control network element, the binding support network element, or the application function network element in the foregoing embodiments, as shown in fig. 7, the apparatus 700 includes a transceiver unit 710 and a processing unit 720.

In a first embodiment, the communication device is a first policy control network element or a chip for the first policy control network element:

a transceiving unit 710, configured to obtain a first data network name DNN and a second DNN, where the first DNN is a DNN before replacement requested by a terminal device, and the second DNN is a DNN after replacement corresponding to the first DNN. A processing unit 720, configured to generate a policy and charging control rule according to the first DNN and the second DNN.

In a possible implementation method, the transceiver unit 710 is configured to acquire a first DNN and a second DNN, and specifically includes: the method comprises the step of receiving a policy association establishment request from a session management network element, wherein the policy association establishment request carries the first DNN and the second DNN.

In a possible implementation method, the transceiver unit 710 is configured to acquire a first DNN and a second DNN, and specifically includes: the system comprises a first DNN and a second DNN, and is used for receiving a policy association establishment request from a session management network element, wherein the policy association establishment request carries the second DNN; the request message is used for sending a request message to a second policy control network element, the request message carries the second DNN, and the request message is used for requesting the DNN before replacement corresponding to the second DNN; for receiving the first DNN from the second policy control network element.

In a possible implementation method, the transceiver unit 710 is further configured to send a registration request to a binding support network element, where the registration request carries an identifier of the first policy control network element and session information, where the session information includes the first DNN, the second DNN, and an address of the terminal device, and the registration request is used to request to establish a mapping relationship between the identifier of the first policy control network element and the session information.

In a second embodiment, the communication device is a first policy control network element or a chip for the first policy control network element:

a transceiving unit 710, configured to obtain a first data network name DNN, where the first DNN is a DNN requested by a terminal device before replacement; and a processing unit 720, configured to generate a policy and charging control rule according to the first DNN.

In a possible implementation method, the transceiver unit 710 is configured to acquire the first DNN, and specifically includes: and the policy association establishment module is configured to receive a policy association establishment request from a session management network element, where the policy association establishment request carries the first DNN.

In a possible implementation method, the transceiver unit 710 is configured to acquire the first DNN, and specifically includes: the device comprises a first DNN, a second DNN and a policy association establishing request, wherein the first DNN is a replaced DNN corresponding to the first DNN; the request message is used for sending a request message to a second policy control network element, the request message carries the second DNN, and the request message is used for requesting the DNN before replacement corresponding to the second DNN; for receiving the first DNN from the second policy control network element.

In a possible implementation method, the transceiver unit 710 is further configured to send a registration request to a binding support network element, where the registration request carries an identifier of the first policy control network element and session information, the session information includes the first DNN and an address of the terminal device, and the registration request is used to request to establish a mapping relationship between the identifier of the first policy control network element and the session information.

In a third embodiment, the communication device is a second policy control network element or a chip for the second policy control network element:

a transceiving unit 710, configured to receive a request message from a first policy control network element, where the request message carries a second data network name DNN, where the second DNN is a post-replacement DNN corresponding to a first DNN, and the first DNN is a pre-replacement DNN requested by a terminal device; sending the first DNN to the first policy control network element; a processing unit 720, configured to obtain the first DNN according to the second DNN.

In a possible implementation method, the transceiver unit 710 is further configured to receive a policy association update request from a mobility management network element, where the policy association update request carries the first DNN; the processing unit 720 is further configured to acquire the second DNN according to the first DNN, and generate a replacement record, where the replacement record includes a timestamp indicating time information for acquiring the second DNN according to the first DNN; the transceiver unit 710 is further configured to send a policy association update response to the mobility management network element, where the policy association update response carries the second DNN.

In a possible implementation method, the processing unit 720 is configured to obtain the first DNN according to the second DNN, and specifically includes: and acquiring the first DNN according to the timestamp and the second DNN.

In a fourth embodiment, the communication device is a binding support network element or a chip for a binding support network element:

a transceiver unit 710, configured to receive a registration request from a first policy control network element, where the registration request carries an identifier of the first policy control network element and session information, where the session information includes a first data network name DNN and an address of a terminal device, and the first DNN is a DNN requested by the terminal device before replacement; receiving a query request from an application function network element, wherein the query request carries the address of the terminal equipment and the first DNN; sending the identifier of the first policy control network element corresponding to the address of the terminal device and the first DNN to the application function network element according to the mapping relation between the identifier of the first policy control network element and the session information; a processing unit 720, configured to establish a mapping relationship between the identifier of the first policy control network element and the session information.

Optionally, the communication device 700 may further include a storage unit, which is used for storing data or instructions (also referred to as codes or programs), and the above units may interact with or be coupled to the storage unit to implement corresponding methods or functions. For example, the processing unit 720 may read data or instructions in the storage unit, so that the communication device implements the method in the above-described embodiments.

It should be understood that the division of the units in the above apparatus is only a division of logical functions, and the actual implementation may be wholly or partially integrated into one physical entity or may be physically separated. And the units in the device can be realized in the form of software called by the processing element; or may be implemented entirely in hardware; part of the units can also be implemented in the form of software invoked by a processing element and part of the units can be implemented in the form of hardware. For example, each unit may be a processing element separately set up, or may be implemented by being integrated into a chip of the apparatus, or may be stored in a memory in the form of a program, and a function of the unit may be called and executed by a processing element of the apparatus. In addition, all or part of the units can be integrated together or can be independently realized. The processing element described herein may in turn be a processor, which may be an integrated circuit having signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, the steps of the method or the units above may be implemented by integrated logic circuits of hardware in a processor element or in a form called by software through the processor element.

In one example, the units in any of the above apparatuses may be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods, such as: one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), or one or more microprocessors (DSPs), or one or more Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), or a combination of at least two of these Integrated Circuit formats. As another example, when a Unit in a device may be implemented in the form of a Processing element scheduler, the Processing element may be a general-purpose processor, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU) or other processor capable of invoking programs. As another example, these units may be integrated together and implemented in the form of a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

The above transceiving unit 710 is an interface circuit of the apparatus for transmitting and receiving signals to and from other apparatuses. For example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the transceiver unit 710 is an interface circuit used by the chip to transmit signals to or receive signals from other chips or devices.

Referring to fig. 8, a schematic diagram of a communication apparatus provided in this embodiment is a diagram, configured to implement the operations of the first policy control network element, the second policy control network element, the binding support network element, or the application function network element in the above embodiments. As shown in fig. 8, the communication apparatus includes: a processor 810 and an interface 830. optionally, the communication device also includes a memory 820. The interface 830 is used to enable communication with other devices.

The method executed by the first policy control network element, the second policy control network element, the binding support network element or the application function network element in the above embodiments may be implemented by the processor 810 calling a program stored in a memory (which may be the memory 820 in the first policy control network element, the second policy control network element, the binding support network element or the application function network element, or may be an external memory). That is, the first policy control network element, the second policy control network element, the binding support network element or the application function network element may include the processor 810, and the processor 810 executes the method executed by the first policy control network element, the second policy control network element, the binding support network element or the application function network element in the above method embodiment by calling a program in a memory. The processor here may be an integrated circuit with signal processing capabilities, such as a CPU. The first policy control network element, the second policy control network element, the binding support network element or the application function network element may be implemented by one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above method. For example: one or more ASICs, or one or more microprocessors DSP, or one or more FPGAs, etc., or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. Alternatively, the above implementations may be combined.

In particular, the functions/implementation processes of the transceiving unit 710 and the processing unit 720 in fig. 7 may be implemented by the processor 810 in the communication device 800 shown in fig. 8 calling the computer executable instructions stored in the memory 820. Alternatively, the function/implementation procedure of the processing unit 720 in fig. 7 may be implemented by the processor 810 in the communication apparatus 800 shown in fig. 8 calling a computer executing instruction stored in the memory 820, and the function/implementation procedure of the transceiving unit 710 in fig. 7 may be implemented by the interface 830 in the communication apparatus 800 shown in fig. 8.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that: the various numbers of the first, second, etc. mentioned in this application are only used for the convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application, but also to indicate the sequence. "and/or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, meaning that there may be three relationships, e.g., a and/or B, which may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. The character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "at least one" means one or more. At least two means two or more. "at least one," "any," or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of singular or plural items. For example, at least one (one ) of a, b, or c, may represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, wherein a, b, c may be single or multiple. "plurality" means two or more, and other terms are analogous.

It should be understood that, in the various embodiments of the present application, the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes do not mean the execution sequence, and the execution sequence of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation to the implementation process of the embodiments of the present invention.

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

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 instructions. When loaded and executed on a computer, cause the processes or functions described in accordance with the embodiments of the application to occur, in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a network of computers, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another, for example, from one website site, computer, server, or data center to another website site, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device including one or more available media integrated servers, data centers, and the like. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., Solid State Disk (SSD)), among others.

The various illustrative logical units and circuits described in this application may be implemented or operated upon by design of a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a digital signal processor core, or any other similar configuration.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in the embodiments herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software element executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software cells may be stored in Random Access Memory (RAM), flash Memory, Read-Only Memory (ROM), EPROM Memory, EEPROM Memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. For example, a storage medium may be coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

In one or more exemplary designs, the functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination of the three. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media that facilitate transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. For example, such computer-readable media can include, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to carry or store program code in the form of instructions or data structures and which can be read by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Additionally, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium, and, thus, is included if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source over a coaxial cable, fiber optic computer, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), or wirelessly, e.g., infrared, radio, and microwave. The disk (disk) and Disc (Disc) include compact Disc, laser Disc, optical Disc, Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray Disc, where the disk usually reproduces data magnetically, and the Disc usually reproduces data optically with laser. Combinations of the above may also be included in the computer-readable medium.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that in one or more of the examples described above, the functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.

The above-mentioned embodiments, objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application are further described in detail, it should be understood that the above-mentioned embodiments are only examples of the present application, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application, and any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements and the like made on the basis of the technical solutions of the present application should be included in the scope of the present application. The foregoing description of the specification may enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the teachings of the present application, and any modifications based on the disclosed teachings should be considered as obvious in the art, and the general principles described herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of the present application. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments and designs described, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Although the present application has been described in conjunction with specific features and embodiments thereof, it will be evident that various modifications and combinations can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Accordingly, the specification and figures are merely exemplary of the present application as defined in the appended claims and are intended to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents within the scope of the present application. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the present application without departing from the scope of the application. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is also intended to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

a first policy control network element acquires a first data network name DNN and a second DNN, wherein the first DNN is a DNN before replacement requested by terminal equipment, and the second DNN is a DNN after replacement corresponding to the first DNN;

and the first policy control network element generates a policy and charging control rule according to the first DNN and the second DNN.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first policy control network element obtaining the first DNN and the second DNN comprises:

and the first policy control network element receives a policy association establishment request from a session management network element, wherein the policy association establishment request carries the first DNN and the second DNN.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first policy control network element obtaining the first DNN and the second DNN comprises:

the first policy control network element receives a policy association establishment request from a session management network element, wherein the policy association establishment request carries the second DNN;

the first policy control network element sends a request message to a second policy control network element, wherein the request message carries the second DNN, and the request message is used for requesting the DNN before replacement corresponding to the second DNN;

the first policy control network element receives the first DNN from the second policy control network element.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first policy control network element is a policy control network element for session management and the second policy control network element is a policy control network element for access and mobility management and/or for providing terminal device policies.

5. The method of any of claims 1-4, further comprising:

the first policy control network element sends a registration request to a binding support network element, where the registration request carries an identifier of the first policy control network element and session information, the session information includes the first DNN, the second DNN and an address of the terminal device, and the registration request is used to request to establish a mapping relationship between the identifier of the first policy control network element and the session information.

6. A method of communication, comprising:

a first policy control network element acquires a first data network name DNN, wherein the first DNN is a DNN before replacement requested by a terminal device;

and the first policy control network element generates a policy and charging control rule according to the first DNN.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first policy controlling network element obtaining the first DNN comprises:

and the first policy control network element receives a policy association establishment request from a session management network element, wherein the policy association establishment request carries the first DNN.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the first policy controlling network element obtaining the first DNN comprises:

the first policy control network element receives a policy association establishment request from a session management network element, wherein the policy association establishment request carries a second DNN, and the second DNN is a replaced DNN corresponding to the first DNN;

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first policy control network element is a policy control network element for session management and the second policy control network element is a policy control network element for access and mobility management and/or for providing terminal device policies.

10. The method of any of claims 6-9, further comprising:

the first policy control network element sends a registration request to a binding support network element, where the registration request carries an identifier of the first policy control network element and session information, the session information includes the first DNN and an address of the terminal device, and the registration request is used to request to establish a mapping relationship between the identifier of the first policy control network element and the session information.

11. A first policy control network element, comprising:

a transceiving unit, configured to acquire a first data network name DNN and a second DNN, where the first DNN is a DNN before replacement requested by a terminal device, and the second DNN is a DNN after replacement corresponding to the first DNN;

and the processing unit is used for generating a policy and charging control rule according to the first DNN and the second DNN.

12. The first policy control network element of claim 11, wherein the transceiver unit is configured to acquire the first DNN and the second DNN, and specifically includes:

the method comprises the step of receiving a policy association establishment request from a session management network element, wherein the policy association establishment request carries the first DNN and the second DNN.

13. The first policy control network element of claim 11, wherein the transceiver unit is configured to acquire the first DNN and the second DNN, and specifically includes:

the system comprises a first DNN and a second DNN, and is used for receiving a policy association establishment request from a session management network element, wherein the policy association establishment request carries the second DNN;

the request message is used for sending a request message to a second policy control network element, the request message carries the second DNN, and the request message is used for requesting the DNN before replacement corresponding to the second DNN;

for receiving the first DNN from the second policy control network element.

14. The first policy control network element according to claim 13, wherein the first policy control network element is a policy control network element for session management, and the second policy control network element is a policy control network element for access and mobility management and/or for providing terminal device policies.

15. The first policy control network element according to any one of claims 11 to 14, wherein the transceiver unit is further configured to send a registration request to a binding support network element, where the registration request carries an identifier of the first policy control network element and session information, the session information includes the first DNN, the second DNN and an address of the terminal device, and the registration request is used to request to establish a mapping relationship between the identifier of the first policy control network element and the session information.

16. A first policy control network element, comprising:

a transceiving unit, configured to acquire a first data network name DNN, where the first DNN is a DNN requested by a terminal device before replacement;

and the processing unit is used for generating a policy and charging control rule according to the first DNN.

17. The first policy control network element of claim 16, wherein the transceiver unit is configured to acquire the first DNN, and specifically includes:

and the policy association establishment module is configured to receive a policy association establishment request from a session management network element, where the policy association establishment request carries the first DNN.

18. The first policy control network element of claim 16, wherein the transceiver unit, configured to acquire the first DNN, specifically includes:

the device comprises a first DNN, a second DNN and a policy association establishing request, wherein the first DNN is a replaced DNN corresponding to the first DNN;

for receiving the first DNN from the second policy control network element.

19. The first policy control network element according to claim 18, wherein the first policy control network element is a policy control network element for session management and the second policy control network element is a policy control network element for access and mobility management and/or for providing terminal equipment policies.

20. The first policy control network element according to any one of claims 16 to 19, wherein the transceiver unit is further configured to send a registration request to a binding support network element, where the registration request carries an identifier of the first policy control network element and session information, the session information includes the first DNN and an address of the terminal device, and the registration request is used to request to establish a mapping relationship between the identifier of the first policy control network element and the session information.

21. A communication system comprising a session management network element and a first policy control network element;

the session management network element is configured to send a policy association establishment request to the first policy control network element, where the policy association establishment request carries a first data network name DNN and a second DNN, the first DNN is a DNN requested by a terminal device before replacement, and the second DNN is a DNN after replacement corresponding to the first DNN;

the first policy control network element is configured to receive the policy association establishment request from the session management network element; and generating a policy and charging control rule according to the first DNN and the second DNN.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the system further comprises a binding support network element;

the first policy control network element is further configured to send a registration request to the binding support network element, where the registration request carries an identifier of the first policy control network element and session information, the session information includes the first DNN and an address of the terminal device, and the registration request is used to request to establish a mapping relationship between the identifier of the first policy control network element and the session information;

the binding support network element is configured to receive the registration request from the first policy control network element; and establishing a mapping relation between the identifier of the first policy control network element and the session information.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the binding support network element is further configured to:

receiving a query request from an application function network element, wherein the query request carries the address of the terminal equipment and the first DNN;

and sending the identifier of the first policy control network element corresponding to the address of the terminal equipment and the first DNN to the application function network element according to the mapping relation.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the session information further comprises the second DNN.