CN114466382A

CN114466382A - Communication method and communication device

Info

Publication number: CN114466382A
Application number: CN202111620139.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 应江威; 杨艳梅; 李濛
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-01-28
Filing date: 2019-01-28
Publication date: 2022-05-10
Also published as: WO2020155940A1; CN111491313A; CN111491313B

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides a communication method and a communication device, which can effectively save network resources. The method of the embodiment of the application comprises the following steps: the first access network equipment acquires a QoS flow set with an incidence relation in a PDU session, the QoS flow set comprises at least two QoS flows, and when the QoS flows meeting the QoS flow rejection condition exist in the QoS flow set, the first access network equipment rejects all the QoS flows in the QoS flow set. By the method, when any QoS flow meets the rejection condition, the application corresponding to the QoS flow cannot normally run, so that all the QoS flows with the association relation are rejected, and network resources are effectively saved.

Description

Communication method and communication device

The application is a divisional application of Chinese patent application with the application number of 201910083056.0 and the title of 'a communication method and a communication device' filed on 28.01.2019.

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to a communication method and a communication apparatus.

Background

In the 5G system, in order to guarantee the end-to-end quality of service of a service, a 5G QoS model based on quality of service (QoS) flows (flow) is proposed. For a User Equipment (UE), one or more Protocol Data Unit (PDU) sessions may be established with the 5G network, one or more QoS flows may be established in each PDU session, each QoS Flow is identified by a QoS Flow Identifier (QFI), and QFI uniquely identifies a QoS Flow in a PDU session.

In a procedure in which a UE requests to activate a certain service, or in a handover and service request procedure due to UE movement, a Radio Access Network (RAN) node may reject some QoS flows in a certain PDU Session due to a lack of available radio resources by a base station, or a Session Management Function (SMF) may reject some QoS flows in a certain PDU Session due to an unavailability of resources on a User Plane Function (UPF) corresponding to the QoS flows in the PDU Session.

There are often some complex applications in the network, which may trigger multiple QoS flows in a PDU session, and these QoS flows have close relation, for example, a remote driving application, and a controller needs to receive a video stream of a vehicle to observe the driving road condition in real time; the second aspect needs to receive a vehicle early warning prompt message; the third aspect requires the transmission of remote driving control commands. These three types of data flows need to be carried in different QoS flows in the same PDU session. However, the RAN node or SMF may reject a part of the QoS flow associated with each other, so that the application cannot operate normally due to the lack of the QoS flow of the part of the bearer application, and the part of the QoS flow that is not rejected has no actual effect but still occupies network resources, resulting in a waste of network resources.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a communication method and a communication device, which can effectively save network resources.

In view of the above, a first aspect of the present application provides a communication method, including: the first access network equipment acquires a QoS flow set with an association relation in a PDU session, the QoS flow set comprises at least two QoS flows, and when QoS flows meeting QoS flow rejection conditions exist in the QoS flow set, the first access network equipment rejects all the QoS flows in the QoS flow set. When any QoS flow in the QoS flow set meets the QoS flow rejection condition, the application corresponding to the any QoS flow can not normally run, so that the QoS flows with the association relation are all rejected, and network resources are effectively saved.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the QoS flows in the QoS flow set having the association relationship respectively correspond to different data services in the same application; or the QoS flows in the QoS flow set with the association relationship respectively correspond to different applications, and a preset association relationship exists between the different applications. It should be noted that the common features between QoS flows having an association relationship may be associated with the same application or associated with different applications having an association relationship, so that the extensibility of the scheme is improved.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the QoS flow that satisfies the QoS flow rejection condition includes: QoS requirements of QoS flows in the set of QoS flows that cannot be supported by the allocated network resources are allowed in the first access network device. The access network equipment can judge whether the QoS flow needs to be rejected according to local network resources, and the realizability of the scheme is improved.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the association identifier is carried in a QoS flow parameter of a QoS flow in a PDU session, and the first access network device determines that QoS flows corresponding to QoS flow parameters having the same association identifier have an association relationship. The first access network equipment acquires the specific implementation mode of the QoS flow set with the association relationship in the PDU session, and adds the association identifier for indicating the association relationship into the QoS parameters, so that the access network equipment can determine which QoS flows are associated.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the first access network device may have multiple manners of obtaining QoS flow parameters, and based on different application scenarios, the first access network device may receive a handover request message from the second access network device, where the handover request message carries the QoS flow parameters, or the first access network device may receive a handover request message from the AMF, where the handover request message also carries the QoS flow parameters, or the first access network device may receive a PDU session resource establishment request message from the SMF, where the PDU session resource establishment request message is used to request the first access network device to allocate air interface resources for a PDU session, and the PDU session resource establishment request message carries the QoS flow parameters.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the first access network device may receive indication information for indicating the QoS flow set, that is, the first access network device may determine the QoS flow set having the association directly according to the indication information.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the indication information may include an association list, where the association list includes QFIs, and the QFIs in the association list are in one-to-one correspondence with QoS flows in a QoS flow set having an association relationship. The indication information carries an association list, the first access network device can determine the QoS flow set with the association relation through the association list, and the implementation mode of determining the QoS flow set through the QoS flow parameters is different from the implementation mode of determining the QoS flow set through the QoS flow parameters, so that the flexibility of the scheme is improved.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the first access network device may have multiple manners of obtaining the indication information, and based on different application scenarios, the first access network device may receive a handover request message from the second access network device, where the handover request message carries the indication information, or the first access network device may receive a handover request message from the AMF, where the handover request message also carries the indication information, or the first access network device may receive a PDU session resource establishment request message from the SMF, where the PDU session resource establishment request message is used to request the first access network device to allocate an air interface resource for a PDU session, and the PDU session resource establishment request message carries the indication information. Based on different application scenarios, various modes for acquiring the indication information by the first access network equipment are provided, and the expansibility of the scheme is improved.

A second aspect of the present application provides a communication method, including: the SMF acquires the QoS flow set with the association relationship in the PDU session, and then the SMF sends indication information to the access network equipment, wherein the indication information can indicate the QoS flow set with the association relationship.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the indication information includes an association list, and the association list includes QFIs, where the QFIs in the association list are in one-to-one correspondence with QoS flows in a QoS flow set having an association relationship.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the SMF receives a notification message from the PCF, where the notification message includes information indicating the PCC rule having the association relationship in the PDU session, and the SMF may determine the QoS flow set according to the notification message.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the notification message includes a PCC rule identification list, where the PCC rule identification list includes a PCC rule identification of a PCC rule having an association relationship.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the SMF may receive a PCC rule from the PCF, where the PCC rule may carry an association identifier, and then the SMF may determine that the PCC rules carrying the same association identifier have an association relationship, so that the SMF may determine that QoS flows corresponding to the PCC rules also have an association relationship.

Optionally, in some possible embodiments, the SMF sends a PDU session resource establishment request message carrying the indication information to the access network device.

Optionally, in some possible embodiments, if the SMF receives a response message from the access network device, the SMF stops initiating the request to establish the QoS flow in the QoS flow set according to the response message, or if the SMF does not receive the response message from the access network device within a preset time, the SMF stops initiating the request to establish the QoS flow in the QoS flow set. In the method, if the SMF receives a message that the QoS flow fed back by the access network device is rejected, or if the SMF does not receive a feedback from the access network device within a preset time, the SMF also defaults that the QoS flow is rejected, in the above case, because the rejected QoS flow already exists in the QoS flow set, other QoS flows in the QoS flow set are also rejected by the access network device, so the SMF does not initiate to establish other QoS flows in the QoS flow set, and the operation process of the SMF is saved.

A third aspect of the present application provides a communication method, including: the SMF acquires a QoS flow set with an association relation in the PDU session, acquires a first association identifier, and then the SMF carries the first association identifier in QoS flow parameters and sends the QoS flow set to the access network equipment. In the method, the SMF can add the first association identifier into the QoS flow parameter and issue the first association identifier to the access network equipment through the QoS flow parameter, and then the access network equipment can determine the QoS flow with the association relation according to the first association identifier, which is different from the implementation mode that the SMF sends the indication information to the access network equipment, thereby improving the flexibility of the scheme.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the SMF receives a notification message from the PCF, where the notification message includes information indicating the PCC rule having the association relationship in the PDU session, and the SMF may determine the QoS flow set according to the notification message.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the SMF determines a QoS flow set according to the notification message, and generates the first association identifier for the QoS flow set.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the SMF receives the PCC rules from the PCF, where the PCC rules may carry the second association identifier, and then the SMF may determine that the PCC rules carrying the second association identifier have an association relationship, so that the SMF may determine that QoS flows corresponding to the PCC rules also have an association relationship.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the SMF generates the first association identifier according to a second association identifier obtained from the PCC rule, where the first association identifier and the second association identifier may be the same or different.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the QoS flow parameter may be carried in a PDU session resource establishment request message.

A fourth aspect of the present application provides a communication method, including: the SMF acquires a QoS flow set with an association relation in a PDU session, and rejects all QoS flows in the QoS flow set when the QoS flows meeting a QoS flow rejection condition exist in the QoS flow set. In the method, the SMF acquires a QoS flow set with an incidence relation in a PDU session, and when QoS flows meeting QoS flow rejection conditions exist in the QoS flow set, the SMF rejects all QoS flows in the QoS flow set. By the above manner, when any QoS flow meets the rejection condition, the application corresponding to the QoS flow cannot normally run, so that all QoS flows having an association relationship are rejected, thereby effectively saving network resources.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the QoS flows in the QoS flow set having the association relationship respectively correspond to different data services in the same application; or the QoS flows in the QoS flow set with the association relationship respectively correspond to different applications, and a preset association relationship exists between the different applications. The common characteristics among the QoS flows with the association relationship are enumerated, that is, the QoS flows in the QoS set can be associated with the same application or different applications with the association relationship, so that the expansibility of the scheme is improved.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the QoS flow that satisfies the QoS flow rejection condition includes: and the resources on the user plane function UPF corresponding to the QoS flow in the QoS flow set can not be used.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the SMF receives a notification message from the PCF, where the notification message includes information indicating the PCC rule having the association relationship in the PDU session, and the SMF may determine the QoS flow set according to the notification message.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the SMF sends, to the access network device, indication information including an association list, where the indication information is used to indicate QoS flows having an association relationship, and the association list includes QoS flow identifiers QFI of QoS flows in the QoS flow set.

Optionally, in some possible embodiments, the SMF receives a PCC rule from the PCF, where the PCC rule may carry a first association identifier, and then the SMF may determine that the PCC rules carrying the first association identifier have an association relationship, so that the SMF may determine that QoS flows corresponding to the PCC rules also have an association relationship.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the SMF generates a second association identifier according to the first association identifier, and sends the second association identifier to the access network device, where the first association identifier and the second association identifier may be the same or different.

A fifth aspect of the present application provides a communication method, including: and the PCF determines the PCC rules with the incidence relation in the PDU conversation according to the service requirement, and then the PCF sends a notification message to the SMF, wherein the notification message comprises information used for indicating the PCC rules with the incidence relation in the PDU conversation. In the method, PCF can determine PCC rules with incidence relation in PDU conversation according to service requirement, then SMF can determine QoS flows with incidence relation according to notification message sent by PCF, and further when QoS flows meeting QoS flow rejection conditions exist in QoS flow set, SMF or access network equipment can reject all QoS flows in QoS flow set. When any QoS flow meets the rejection condition, the application corresponding to the QoS flow can not normally run, so that the QoS flows with the association relation are all rejected, and network resources are effectively saved.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the ARP in the PCC rules with association relationships is the same. When network resources are limited, the access network device preferentially reserves the QoS flows with high ARP levels and rejects the QoS flows with low ARP levels, and then, since these PCC rules and the corresponding QoS flows are correlated, the correlated QoS flows are either accepted or rejected at the same time, so the ARP settings may be the same.

A sixth aspect of the present application provides a communication method, including: the PCF may determine a PCC rule having an association relationship in the PDU session according to the service requirement, and then the PCF carries the association identifier in the PCC rule having the association relationship and sends the PCC rule carrying the association identifier to the SMF.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the ARP in the PCC rules with association relationships is the same.

A seventh aspect of the present application provides a communication apparatus, comprising: an obtaining unit, configured to obtain a QoS flow set having an association relationship in a protocol data unit PDU session, where the QoS flow set includes at least two QoS flows; and the processing unit is used for rejecting all the QoS flows in the QoS flow set when the QoS flows meeting the QoS flow rejection condition exist in the QoS flow set.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, the QoS flows in the QoS flow set having the association relationship respectively correspond to different data services in the same application; or the QoS flows in the QoS flow set with the association relationship respectively correspond to different applications, and a preset association relationship exists between the different applications.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, the QoS flow that satisfies the QoS flow rejection condition includes: QoS requirements of QoS flows in the set of QoS flows that cannot be supported by the allocated network resources are allowed in the first access network device.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, the obtaining unit is specifically configured to: and determining the QoS flow set according to the associated identification in the QoS flow parameters of the QoS flows in the PDU session, wherein the QoS flow set comprises the QoS flows with the same associated identification in the PDU session.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, the obtaining unit is further configured to: receiving a switching request message from a second access network device, wherein the switching request message comprises the QoS flow parameter; or receiving a switching request message from an access and mobility management function (AMF), wherein the switching request message comprises the QoS flow parameter; or receiving a PDU session resource establishment request message from a session management function SMF, where the PDU session resource establishment request message includes the QoS flow parameter, and the PDU session resource establishment request message is used to request the first access network device to allocate air interface resources for the PDU session.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, the obtaining unit is specifically configured to: receiving indication information, wherein the indication information is used for indicating the QoS flow set.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, the indication information includes an association list, where the association list includes QoS flow identifiers QFI of QoS flows in the QoS flow set; the set of QoS flows comprises: QoS flows corresponding to the QFI in the PDU session.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, the obtaining unit is further configured to: receiving a switching request message from second access network equipment, wherein the switching request message comprises the indication information; or receiving a handover request message from the AMF, wherein the handover request message comprises the indication information; or receiving a PDU session resource establishment request message from the SMF, wherein the PDU session resource establishment request message comprises the indication information.

An eighth aspect of the present application provides a communication apparatus comprising: an obtaining unit, configured to obtain a QoS flow set having an association relationship in a PDU session; a sending unit, configured to send indication information to an access network device, where the indication information is used to indicate the QoS flow set.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the eighth aspect, the association list includes QoS flow identifiers QFI of QoS flows in the QoS flow set, and the QoS flow set includes QoS flows corresponding to the QFI in the PDU session.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the eighth aspect, the obtaining unit is specifically configured to: receiving a notification message from a PCF, wherein the notification message comprises information used for indicating a PCC rule with the association relation in the PDU session; and determining the QoS flow set according to the notification message.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the eighth aspect, the notification message includes a PCC rule identification list, where the PCC rule identification list includes a PCC rule identification of the PCC rule with association.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the eighth aspect, the obtaining unit is specifically configured to: receiving a PCC rule of the PDU session from a PCF, wherein the PCC rule comprises an association identifier; and determining the QoS flow set according to the PCC rule.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the eighth aspect, the sending unit is specifically configured to: and sending a PDU session resource establishment request message to the access network equipment, wherein the PDU session resource establishment request message comprises the indication information.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the eighth aspect, the SMF further includes: a processing unit, configured to, if the SMF receives a response message from the access network device, stop initiating a request to establish a QoS flow in the QoS flow set according to the response message, where the response message indicates that a rejected QoS flow exists in the QoS flow set; or, if the SMF does not receive a response message from the access network device within a preset time, stopping initiating the request to establish the QoS flow in the QoS flow set.

A ninth aspect of the present application provides a communication apparatus comprising: an obtaining unit, configured to obtain a QoS flow set having an association relationship in a PDU session; the processing unit is used for acquiring a first association identifier; a sending unit, configured to send a QoS flow parameter of a QoS flow in the PDU session to an access network device, where the QoS flow parameter includes the first association identifier.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the ninth aspect, the obtaining unit is specifically configured to: receiving a notification message from a PCF, wherein the notification message comprises information used for indicating a PCC rule with the association relation in the PDU session; and determining the QoS flow set according to the notification message.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the ninth aspect, the processing unit is specifically configured to: and generating the first association identifier according to the notification message.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the ninth aspect, the obtaining unit is specifically configured to: receiving a PCC rule of the PDU conversation from the PCF, wherein the PCC rule comprises a second association identifier; and determining the QoS flow set according to the PCC rule.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the ninth aspect, the processing unit is specifically configured to: and generating the first association identifier according to the second association identifier.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the ninth aspect, the QoS flow parameter is carried in a PDU session resource establishment request message.

A tenth aspect of the present application provides a communication apparatus comprising: an obtaining unit, configured to obtain a QoS flow set having an association relationship in a PDU session; and the processing unit is used for rejecting all the QoS flows in the QoS flow set when the QoS flows meeting the QoS flow rejection condition exist in the QoS flow set.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the tenth aspect, the QoS flows in the QoS flow sets with association respectively correspond to different data services in the same application; or the QoS flows in the QoS flow set with the association relationship respectively correspond to different applications, and a preset association relationship exists between the different applications.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the tenth aspect, the QoS flow that satisfies the QoS flow rejection condition includes: and the resources on the user plane function UPF corresponding to the QoS flow in the QoS flow set cannot be used.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the tenth aspect, the obtaining unit is specifically configured to:

receiving a notification message from a PCF, wherein the notification message comprises information used for indicating a PCC rule with the association relation in the PDU session; and determining the QoS flow set according to the notification message.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the tenth aspect, the communication device further includes: and a sending unit, configured to send indication information including an association list to the access network device, where the indication information is used to indicate QoS flows having an association relationship, and the association list includes QoS flow identifiers QFI of QoS flows in the QoS flow set.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the tenth aspect, the obtaining unit is specifically configured to: receiving a PCC rule of the PDU session from a PCF, wherein the PCC rule comprises a first association identifier; and determining the QoS flow set according to the PCC rule.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the tenth aspect, the sending unit is further configured to send a second association identifier generated according to the first association identifier to the access network device, where the first association identifier and the second association identifier may be the same or different.

An eleventh aspect of the present application provides a communication apparatus comprising: the determining unit is used for determining a PCC rule with an association relation in the PDU session according to the service requirement; a sending unit, configured to send a notification message to an SMF, where the notification message includes information used to indicate the PCC rule having the association relationship in the PDU session.

Optionally, in some possible embodiments, the ARP in the PCC rules with association relationship is the same.

A twelfth aspect of the present application provides a communication apparatus comprising: the determining unit is used for determining a PCC rule with an association relation in the PDU session according to the service requirement; a processing unit, configured to carry the association identifier in the PCC rule with the association relationship; and a sending unit, configured to send the PCC rule carrying the association identifier to an SMF.

A thirteenth aspect of the present application provides a communication apparatus comprising: a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores program codes, and the processor executes the method according to any one of the optional embodiments of the first to sixth aspects when calling the program codes in the memory.

A fourteenth aspect of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method as described in any one of the alternative embodiments of the first to sixth aspects of the present application.

A fifteenth aspect of the present application provides a computer program product which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method as described in any one of the alternative embodiments of the first to sixth aspects of the present application.

A sixteenth aspect of the present application provides a communication system comprising an access network device, a session management function and a policy control function, wherein the access network device is configured to perform the method described in any optional implementation of the first aspect of the present application, the session management function is configured to perform the method described in any optional implementation of the second aspect to the fourth aspect of the present application, and the policy control function is configured to perform the method described in any optional implementation of the fifth aspect and the sixth aspect of the present application.

According to the technical scheme, the embodiment of the application has the following advantages:

in the embodiment of the application, the first access network equipment acquires the QoS flow set with the association relation in the PDU session, and when any QoS flow in the QoS flow set meets the QoS flow rejection condition, the first access network equipment rejects all QoS flows in the QoS flow set. By the above mode, when any QoS flow meets the rejection condition, the application corresponding to the QoS flow cannot normally run, so that all the QoS flows with the association relation are rejected, and network resources are effectively saved.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a system architecture diagram of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a QoS flow model in a 5G network;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a communication method based on an access network device in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of an SMF-based communication method in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the SMF-based communication method in the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of a PCF-based communication method in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic flowchart of an access network device and a SMF acquiring a QoS flow set according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic flowchart of an application scenario of the communication method in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic flowchart of another application scenario of the communication method in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic flowchart of another application scenario of the communication method in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a communication device in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of a communication device in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of a communication device in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 14 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the communication device in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 16 is a schematic diagram of a communication system in an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

The terms "first," "second," "third," "fourth," and the like in the description and in the claims of the present application and in the drawings described above, if any, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the data so used is interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the application described herein are, for example, capable of operation in sequences other than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprises," "comprising," and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or elements is not necessarily limited to those steps or elements expressly listed, but may include other steps or elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.

The updating of mobile communication technology will bring many innovative applications to various industries, and mobile broadband, multimedia, Machine Type Communication (MTC), industrial control, and Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) will become the main use cases in the 5G era. In order to meet widely varying service requirements, a 5G Network is constructed in a flexible manner, and therefore, a Network slicing (Network Slice) technology is introduced into 5G, the Network slicing technology is to cut a physical Network into a plurality of virtual end-to-end networks, and devices, access technologies, transmission paths and core networks in the networks are logically independent among each virtual Network. Each network slice is formed by instantiating an independent network function or a function combination, has different functional characteristics and is oriented to different requirements and services. The separation of the network slices enables different users and user groups to flexibly and dynamically define and customize network capabilities according to different application scenes and requirements of the users and the user groups without influencing each other.

A system architecture or scenario mainly applied in the present application is shown in fig. 1, and functions of main network elements in the system architecture are as follows:

access network equipment: and the functions of physical layer function, resource scheduling management, access control and mobility management are realized. The access network equipment is connected with the UPF through a user interface N3 and is used for transmitting the data of the terminal equipment; the access network device establishes a control plane signaling connection with an access and mobility management function (AMF) through the control plane interface N2, so as to implement functions such as access bearer control.

It should be noted that the access network device in this application may be an evolved Node B (eNB or e-NodeB) in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system or an authorized assisted access long-term evolution (LAA-LTE) system, a macro base station, a micro base station (also referred to as a "small base station"), a pico base station, an Access Point (AP), a Transmission Point (TP), or a base station in a New Radio (NR) system, for example, a new generation base station (new generation Node B, gNodeB).

AMF: the method is mainly responsible for authentication of User Equipment (UE), UE mobility management, network slice selection, Session Management Function (SMF) selection and other functions, and the AMF serves as an anchor point of signaling connection between N1 and N2 to provide a session management message route for the SMF and maintain and manage state information of the UE.

SMF: all control plane functions mainly responsible for UE session management include PF selection, Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation, QoS management of a session, Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rule acquisition from a Policy Control Function (PCF), and the like.

UPF: the serving as an anchor point of a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session connection is responsible for filtering data packets, transmitting/forwarding data, controlling a rate, generating charging information, and the like of a user equipment.

Referring to fig. 2, in the 5G system, in order to guarantee the end-to-end quality of service of a service, a 5G quality of service (QoS) model based on QoS flows (flow) is proposed. For a User Equipment (UE), one or more Protocol Data Unit (PDU) sessions may be established with the 5G network, one or more QoS flows may be established in each PDU session, each QoS Flow is identified by a QoS Flow Identifier (QFI), and QFI uniquely identifies a QoS Flow in a PDU session.

The 5G QoS model supports guaranteed bit rate QoS flows and non-guaranteed bit rate QoS flows. One QoS flow may be a guaranteed bit rate QoS flow or a non-guaranteed bit rate QoS flow.

For guaranteed bit rate QoS flows, the following QoS parameters may be included: QoS identification of 5G (5G QoS Identifier, 5QI), Allocation and Retention Priority (ARP), Guaranteed Flow Bit Rate (GFBR), and Maximum Flow Bit Rate (MFBR), optionally including notification control (notification control).

For QoS flows that do not guarantee bit rate, the following QoS parameters may be included: 5QI, ARP; an optional may contain a Reverse QoS Attribute (RQA).

The above QoS parameters have the following meanings:

5 QI: is a scalar for indexing to the corresponding 5G QoS profile, and the 5 QIs are classified into standardized 5 QIs, preconfigured 5 QIs, and dynamically assigned 5 QIs. For a standardized 5QI, there is a one-to-one correspondence with a set of standardized 5G QoS characteristics; for a preconfigured 5QI, a corresponding 5G QoS feature value is preconfigured at AN access network node (AN); for dynamically allocated 5 QIs, the corresponding 5G QoS characteristics are included in the QoS profile sent to the AN.

ARP: including priority level, preemption capability, and preempted capability.

RQA: for indicating that traffic transmitted using the corresponding QoS stream uses the reverse QoS.

notification control: for indicating whether the access network device informs the network when the GFBR cannot be met during the lifetime of the QoS flow.

GFBR: representing the bit rate desired to be provided to the guaranteed bit rate QoS stream.

MFBR: the bit rate of the QoS stream provided to the guaranteed bit rate, i.e. the maximum bit rate of the QoS stream provided to the guaranteed bit rate, is limited, e.g. the data packet may be dropped if the bit rate is exceeded.

In the process of establishing a QoS flow, the SMF determines to establish the QoS flow according to a local policy or a PCC rule sent by the PCF, and specifically, on the first aspect, the SMF sends Service Data Flow (SDF) information to the UPF, where the SDF information includes QoS control information; the SMF sends QoS configuration files of QoS flow to the AN through the AMF; in the third aspect, the SMF sends the QoS rule to the UE through the AMF and the AN. Then, the UE, the AN, and the UPF may establish a QoS stream connection for the QoS stream, and specifically, the AN establishes a Data Radio Bearer (DRB) of AN air interface according to the QoS configuration file, and stores a binding relationship between the QoS stream and the DBR. For downlink transmission, when a UPF receives a downlink data packet, QoS control is executed according to SDF information sent by AN SMF, the SDF information is contained in the data packet and carries QFI, and when AN AN receives the downlink data packet, the data packet is placed on a corresponding DRB for transmission according to the QFI in the packet header and the binding relation between the corresponding QoS flow and the DRB; for uplink transmission, when the UE determines to send AN uplink data packet, the UE determines QoS flow according to QoS rules, a packet header carries QFI, the data packet is placed on a corresponding DRB to be transmitted according to the binding relationship between the QoS flow and a DBR, when the AN receives the uplink data packet, the AN enables the data packet header between the AN and the UPF to contain the QFI according to the QFI in the packet header, and when the UPF receives the data packet sent by the AN, the UPF verifies whether the data packet is transmitted by using correct QoS flow.

In a procedure in which the UE requests to activate a certain service, or in a handover and service request procedure due to UE movement, the access network device may reject some QoS flows in a certain PDU session due to lack of available radio resources by the base station, or the SMF may reject some QoS flows in a certain PDU session due to unavailable resources on the UPF corresponding to the QoS flows in the PDU session. However, there are often more complex applications in the network, which may trigger multiple QoS streams in one PDU session, and there is a close relationship between these QoS streams, for example, a remote driving application, and a controller needs to receive a video stream of a vehicle to observe driving conditions in real time; the second aspect needs to receive a vehicle early warning prompt message; the third aspect requires the transmission of remote driving control commands. These three types of data flows need to be carried in different QoS flows in the same PDU session. However, the access network device or SMF may reject a part of the QoS flows associated with each other, so that the application cannot operate normally due to the lack of the QoS flow of a part of the bearer application, and the part of the QoS flow that is not rejected has no actual effect but still occupies network resources or makes the network resources unavailable for other services, thereby resulting in a waste of network resources.

In order to solve the above problem, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, which is described below.

Referring to fig. 3, an embodiment of a communication method in the present application includes:

301. the access network equipment acquires a QoS flow set with an association relation in the PDU session.

In this embodiment, the access network device may obtain a QoS flow set having an association relationship in an established PDU session, and it may be understood that the QoS flow set includes at least two QoS flows.

The QoS flows in the QoS flow set with the association relationship may respectively correspond to different data services in the same application, or the QoS flows in the QoS flow set with the association relationship may respectively correspond to different applications, and a preset association relationship exists between the different applications.

It should be noted that the PCF may receive a service request from an Application Function (AF), where the service request may correspond to multiple types of Service Data Flows (SDFs), and since successful operation of a service requires that all types of SDFs corresponding to the service can be successfully operated, the SDFs corresponding to the same service have an association relationship, and each other type of SDF has a Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rule corresponding to the SDF, the PCF may determine that the PCC rules also have an association relationship, and the SMF may determine that QoS flows established according to the PCC rules having an association relationship also have an association relationship. For example, for a remote driving service, a controller needs to receive a video stream of a vehicle to observe a driving road condition in real time on the first hand, needs to receive a vehicle warning prompt message on the second hand, and needs to send a remote driving control instruction on the third hand, it can be seen that the three types of SDFs correspond to the same service, that is, the three types of SDFs have an association relationship therebetween, and the three types of SDFs need to be carried in different QoS streams in the same PDU session, so that QoS streams respectively used for carrying the three types of SDFs have an association relationship therebetween.

Optionally, there are multiple implementation manners for the access network device to obtain the QoS flow set having the association relationship, which are introduced below:

in the first mode, the access network equipment determines a QoS flow set according to the associated identifier in the QoS flow parameter of the QoS flow in the PDU session.

Illustratively, the access network device receives a handover request message from another access network device, where the handover request message includes the QoS flow parameter; or, the access network equipment receives a switching request message from the AMF, wherein the switching request message comprises the QoS flow parameter; or, the access network device receives a PDU session resource establishment request message from the SMF, where the PDU session resource establishment request message includes the QoS flow parameter, and the PDU session resource establishment request message may be used to request the first access network device to allocate air interface resources for the PDU session.

Further, the access network equipment takes the QoS flows with the same association identifier in the QoS flow parameters as the QoS flow set with the association relationship.

It is to be understood that each QoS flow in a PDU session has QoS flow parameters corresponding to it.

For example, the QoS flow parameters corresponding to the QoS flow 1, the QoS flow 2, and the QoS flow 3 each include the association identifier 1, and the QoS flow parameters corresponding to the QoS flow 4, the QoS flow 5, and the QoS flow 6 each include the association identifier 2, so that it can be known that the QoS flow 1, the QoS flow 2, and the QoS flow 3 have an association relationship, and the QoS flow 4, the QoS flow 5, and the QoS flow 6 have an association relationship.

It should be noted that other information such as a QoS configuration file may also be included in the QoS flow parameter, and in addition, the message name mentioned in this application is only an exemplary illustration, and is not limited herein.

And secondly, the access network equipment can determine the QoS flow set according to the indication information used for indicating the QoS flows with the association relationship in the PDU session. Specifically, the indication information may include an association list, and the association list may include QFIs having an association relationship.

Since each QoS flow has a QFI uniquely corresponding thereto, the QoS flows respectively corresponding to the QFIs in the association list have an association relationship therebetween, for example, the association list includes QFI1, QFI2, and QFI3, so the access network device can determine that QoS flow 1, QoS flow 2, and QoS flow 3 respectively corresponding to QFI1, QFI2, and QFI3 have an association relationship therebetween.

Illustratively, the access network device receives a handover request message from another access network device, where the handover request message includes the indication information; or, the access network equipment receives a handover request message from the AMF, where the handover request message includes the indication information; or, the access network equipment receives a PDU session resource establishment request message from the SMF, where the PDU session resource establishment request message includes the indication information.

302. When there is a QoS flow in the QoS flow set which meets the QoS flow rejection condition, the access network equipment rejects all the QoS flows in the QoS flow set.

In step 302, the access network may determine that there is a QoS flow in the QoS flow set that satisfies the QoS flow rejection condition, that is, there is an unacceptable QoS flow in the QoS flow set, or that any QoS flow in the QoS flow set satisfies the QoS flow rejection condition, and the access network device rejects all QoS flows in the QoS flow set together.

For example, the access network device may determine, according to local network resources, that there is a QoS flow in the QoS flow set that satisfies the QoS flow rejection condition, that is, if the network resources allowed to be allocated in the access network device cannot support part or all of the QoS flows in the QoS flow set, the access network device determines that there is a QoS flow in the QoS flow set that satisfies the QoS flow rejection condition.

For the rejected QoS flow, the access network equipment sends a rejected QoS flow list to a corresponding SMF to trigger the SMF to initiate a flow of deleting the rejected QoS flow; or to trigger the SMF to initiate deletion or deactivation of the QoS parameter information of the rejected QoS flow on the corresponding UPF, but the SMF retains the parameter information of the QoS flow. It should be noted that the access network device stores the parameter information (for example, QFI, ARP, 5QI, and the like) of the QoS flow, and in addition, the access network device also establishes a mapping relationship with the DRB for the QoS flow; for an unacceptable QoS flow, the access network device will not store the parameter information of the QoS flow, and will not establish a mapping relationship with the DRB for the QoS flow. It will be appreciated that for an accepted QoS flow, the access network device will also send a list of accepted QoS flows to the corresponding SMF.

In this embodiment, the access network device obtains a QoS flow set having an association relationship in a PDU session, and when a QoS flow satisfying a QoS flow rejection condition exists in the QoS flow set, the access network device rejects all QoS flows in the QoS flow set. By the above mode, when any QoS flow meets the rejection condition, the application corresponding to the QoS flow cannot normally run, so that all the QoS flows with the association relation are rejected, and network resources are effectively saved.

Referring to fig. 4, the present application provides another communication method, including:

401. the SMF acquires a QoS flow set with an association relation in the PDU session.

In this embodiment, the SMF may determine the QoS flow set having the association relationship according to the indication from the PCF, and specific implementation manners may be various, which are described below.

In a first mode, the SMF receives a notification message from the PCF, where the notification message includes information for indicating a PCC rule having an association relationship in a PDU session, and after receiving the notification message, the SMF can obtain the PCC rule having the association relationship.

For example, the notification message indicating the information of the PCC rules having an association relationship in the PDU session may be a PCC rule identification list, where the PCC rule identification list includes PCC rule ID1, PCC rule ID2, and PCC rule ID3, and then the SMF may determine that QoS flow 1, QoS flow 2, and QoS flow 3 respectively correspond to PCC rule ID1, PCC rule ID2, and PCC rule ID3 have an association relationship therebetween. Or, the PCC rule ID1 and the PCC rule ID2 correspond to QoS flow 1, and the PCC rule ID3 corresponds to QoS flow 2, so that the QoS flow 1 and the QoS flow 2 have an association relationship.

And secondly, receiving the PCC rules carrying the association identifiers from the PCF by the SMF, wherein the PCC rules carrying the same association identifiers have association relations, and then the SMF can determine the QoS flow set having the association relations according to the PCC rules having the association relations.

For example, if PCC rule 1, PCC rule 2, and PCC rule 3 all carry association identifier 1, SMF may determine that there is an association relationship between PCC rule 1, PCC rule 2, and PCC rule 3, and further, there is an association relationship between QoS flow 1, QoS flow 2, and QoS flow 3 corresponding to PCC rule 1, PCC rule 2, and PCC rule 3, respectively.

It should be noted that the description of the QoS set having the association relationship is similar to the description of step 301 in the embodiment shown in fig. 3, and details are not repeated here.

402. The SMF sends indication information and/or QoS flow parameters to the access network equipment.

In this embodiment, after the SMF acquires the QoS flow set having the association relationship, the SMF sends the indication information to the access network device, or sends the QoS flow parameter to the access network device,

specifically, step 402 may correspond to 2 implementations of the access network device acquiring the QoS flow set with association as described in step 301 in the embodiment shown in fig. 3.

Illustratively, the SMF receives the notification message from the PCF, may generate indication information containing the association list, and sends the indication information to the access network device; or, the SMF receives the PCC rule carrying the association identifier from the PCF, may obtain the QoS flow having the association relationship, then generates the indication information including the association list, and sends the indication information to the access network device; or, the SMF receives the PCC rule carrying the association identifier from the PCF, and then the SMF may directly use the association identifier of the PCC rule as the association identifier of the QoS flow, and then add the association identifier to the QoS flow parameter, and send the QoS flow parameter carrying the association identifier to the access network device; or, the SMF receives the notification message from the PCF, and then the SMF may generate the association identifier of the QoS flow according to the notification message, add the association identifier of the QoS flow to the QoS flow parameter, and send the QoS flow parameter carrying the association identifier of the QoS flow to the access network device.

It should be noted that the association identifier carried in the PCC rule may be the same as or different from the association identifier carried in the QoS flow parameter, that is, the SMF may directly add the second association identifier issued by the PCF to the QoS flow parameter, or allocate a new first association identifier to the QoS flow set having the association relationship, and add the new first association identifier to the QoS flow parameter.

Optionally, the SMF carries the indication information and/or the QoS flow parameter in a PDU session resource establishment request message, and sends the PDU session resource establishment request message to the access network device.

Optionally, the method further includes: if the SMF receives a response message from the access network device, where the response message indicates that there is a rejected QoS flow in the QoS flow set, the SMF may stop initiating the request to establish the QoS flow in the QoS flow set according to the response message, or if the SMF does not receive the response message from the access network device within a preset time, the SMF may stop initiating the request to establish the QoS flow in the QoS flow set.

The above describes a case where all QoS flows in the QoS flow set are rejected by the access network device when there is a QoS flow in the QoS flow set that satisfies the QoS flow rejection condition, and further, the SMF may reject the QoS flow, which is described below.

Referring to fig. 5, the present application provides another communication method, including:

501. the SMF acquires a QoS flow set with an association relation in the PDU session.

In this embodiment, step 501 is similar to step 401 in the embodiment shown in fig. 4, and details thereof are not repeated here.

502. When there is a QoS flow satisfying the QoS flow rejection condition in the QoS flow set, the SMF rejects all the QoS flows in the QoS flow set.

Specifically, the SMF may determine that there is a QoS flow in the QoS flow set that satisfies the QoS flow rejection condition, and then the SMF may reject all the QoS flows in the QoS flow set.

For example, if resources on the UPF corresponding to some or all QoS flows in the QoS flow set cannot be used, that is, the some or all QoS flows satisfy the QoS flow rejection condition, and then the SMF rejects all QoS flows in the QoS flow set.

Specifically, for example, the PCF may initiate a request for establishing a QoS flow to the SMF, and if a certain QoS flow is rejected by the SMF, that is, the establishment of the QoS flow fails, the SMF may not store the context of the QoS flow, and further, the SMF may not initiate a request for establishing the QoS flow to the access network device.

For another example, in the UE handover process, the SMF may receive a list of QoS flows requested to be handed over from the access network device, and for the QoS flows rejected by the SMF and the QoS flows accepted, the SMF may return a list of rejected QoS flows and/or a list of accepted QoS flows to the access network device; further optionally, the SMF initiates a procedure of deleting the rejected QoS flow, or the SMF initiates a procedure of deleting or deactivating the QoS parameter information of the rejected QoS flow on the corresponding UPF, but the SMF retains the parameter information of the QoS flow.

For example, if the SMF receives a request from the AMF to activate a PDU session, which includes a set of QoS flows, and thus triggers the establishment of a QoS flow, the SMF will not initiate a request to establish a QoS flow to the access network device if the QoS flow is rejected by the SMF.

In this embodiment, the SMF acquires a QoS flow set having an association relationship in the PDU session, and when a QoS flow satisfying a QoS flow rejection condition exists in the QoS flow set, the SMF rejects all QoS flows in the QoS flow set. By the above manner, when any QoS flow meets the rejection condition, the application corresponding to the QoS flow cannot normally run, so that all QoS flows having an association relationship are rejected, thereby effectively saving network resources.

As can be seen from the above description, the association relationship between QoS flows is derived from the association relationship between PCC rules, and the association relationship between PCC rules is generated by PCF, and the application is further described from PCF side as follows:

referring to fig. 6, the present application provides another communication method, including:

601. and the PCF determines the PCC rules with the association relation in the PDU conversation according to the service requirement.

In this step 601, the PCF may receive a service request from the AF, where the service request may correspond to multiple types of SDFs, and since the successful operation of the service requires that all types of SDFs corresponding to the service can be successfully operated, the SDFs corresponding to the same service have an association relationship therebetween, and each type of SDF has a PCC rule corresponding thereto, the PCF may determine that the PCC rules also have an association relationship therebetween, that is, the PCF may determine, according to the service requirement, the PCC rule having an association relationship in the PDU session.

602. The PCF sends a notification message and/or PCC rules to the SMF.

The PCF may send a notification message to the SMF, or send a PCC rule to the SMF, where the notification message may be used to indicate a PCC rule having an association relationship in the PDU session, and the PCC rule may carry an association identifier.

Specifically, the SMF may directly determine the PCC rules having the association relationship according to the indication of the notification message, or the SMF may search for which PCC rules include the same association identifier in the received PCC rules, and then the SMF may determine that the PCC rules including the same association identifier have the association relationship.

It should be noted that the PCF may send the SMF by adding each PCC rule to a different message, and in addition, the PCF may also send the SMF by adding multiple PCC rules to the same message, which is not limited herein.

Optionally, the method further includes: the PCF sets the ARP in the PCC rules with association to the same. For example, when network resources are limited, the access network device preferentially retains QoS flows with high ARP levels and rejects QoS flows with low ARP levels, and then, since these PCC rules and corresponding QoS flows are correlated, the correlated QoS flows are either accepted or rejected at the same time, and thus, the ARP settings may be the same.

In this embodiment, the PCF may determine, according to the service requirement, a PCC rule having an association relationship in the PDU session, and then the SMF may determine, according to the notification message sent by the PCF or the PCC rule, a QoS flow having an association relationship, and further, when a QoS flow satisfying a QoS flow rejection condition exists in the QoS flow set, the SMF or the access network device may reject all QoS flows in the QoS flow set. When any QoS flow meets the rejection condition, the application corresponding to the QoS flow can not normally run, so that the QoS flows with the association relation are all rejected, and network resources are effectively saved.

The following description is made with reference to a specific scenario, which corresponds to the method for acquiring a QoS flow set having an association relationship in a PDU session by an SMF and an access network device in the present application.

Referring to fig. 7, the present application provides another communication method, including:

701. the PCF sends a notification message and/or PCC rules to the SMF.

Wherein, when the UE initiates a certain service, the PCF may be triggered to initiate a QoS flow establishment procedure, in which the PCF may send a notification message and/or a PCC rule to the SMF, and the detailed description is similar to step 602 in the embodiment shown in fig. 6, and is not described here again.

702. The SMF acquires a QoS flow set with an association relation in the PDU session.

Step 702 may be similar to step 401 in the embodiment shown in fig. 4, and is not described here again.

703. The SMF sends N1 and N2 interface information transfer messages to the AMF.

The N1 and N2 interface information transmission messages may carry indication information and/or QoS flow parameters including association identifiers. For example, the SMF may request the AMF to send the indication information and/or the QoS flow parameters including the association identifier to the access network device through the N1 and N2 interface information transfer message.

The description of the indication information and the QoS flow parameters including the association identifier is similar to step 301 in the embodiment shown in fig. 3, and is not repeated here.

704. The AMF sends an N2 interface PDU session request to the access network device.

The AMF may send an N2 interface PDU Session Request (N2 PDU Session Request) to the access network device, where the N2 interface PDU Session Request may carry indication information and/or a QoS flow parameter including an association identifier.

705. The access network equipment acquires a QoS flow set with an association relation in the PDU session.

Step 705 may be similar to step 301 in the embodiment shown in fig. 3, and is not described here again.

The embodiment shown in fig. 7 specifically describes an implementation manner in which the SMF and the access network device acquire a QoS flow set having an association relationship in a PDU session, and is further introduced with reference to various application scenarios corresponding to the flow of rejecting QoS flows in this application on the basis of the embodiment shown in fig. 7.

Scenario 1, a scenario in which a base station switches based on an Xn interface.

Referring to fig. 8, the present application provides another communication method, which is described below by taking the example that the UE is handed over from the second access network device (which may be referred to as a source base station) to the first access network device (which may be referred to as a target base station) based on the scenario 1, and is described in detail as follows.

801. And the second access network equipment sends a switching request message to the first access network equipment.

Illustratively, in a handover scenario generated due to UE movement, the second access network device triggers the Xn interface-based handover, and the second access network device sends a handover request message to the first access network device.

The handover request message may carry indication information and/or QoS flow parameters including an association identifier.

802. When the QoS flow meeting the QoS flow rejection condition exists in the QoS flow set, the first access network equipment rejects all the QoS flows in the QoS flow set.

Step 802 may be similar to step 302 in the embodiment shown in fig. 3, and is not described here again.

803. And the first access network equipment sends a switching response message to the second access network equipment.

804. The first access network device sends a path switch request to the AMF.

Wherein the path switch request may be for requesting establishment of a signaling connection over an N2 interface between the first access network device and the AMF. The path switching request may carry access network tunnel information of the PDU session, a list of accepted QoS flows and/or a list of rejected QoS flows.

805. The AMF sends an update session management context request to the SMF for the PDU session.

Wherein the update session management context request may be for updating PDU session context information of the UE.

806. When there is a QoS flow satisfying the QoS flow rejection condition in the QoS flow set, the SMF rejects all the QoS flows in the QoS flow set.

It should be noted that, both step 806 and step 802 may be optional steps, and may select to execute 802, or may select to execute 806, or both execute 802 and execute 806, and the specific details are not limited herein. For example, if the first access network device performs step 802, the SMF may perform step 806, or may not perform step 806. If the SMF performs step 806, the final decision on rejecting the QoS flow shall be based on the following step 806, and if the first access network does not perform step 802, that is, it means that the SMF does not send the indication information or the QoS flow parameters containing the association identifier to the second access network device, and therefore the first access network device cannot acquire the QoS flow set having the association relationship, in this case, only the SMF performs the operation of all acceptance or all rejection on the QoS flow set.

807. The SMF initiates an N4 interface session modification flow to the UPF for the PDU session.

808. The SMF sends an update session management context response to the AMF.

The update session management context response may carry core network tunnel information of the PDU session, a list of accepted QoS flows and/or a list of rejected QoS flows.

809. The AMF sends a path switching response to the first access network device.

The path switching response may carry core network tunnel information of the PDU session, a list of accepted QoS flows and/or a list of rejected QoS flows.

810. The first access network device sends a resource releasing message to the second access network device.

The resource release message may be used to indicate that the handover is successful, and trigger the second access network device to release the network resources prepared for the UE.

Scenario 2, a scenario in which a base station performs handover based on an N2 interface.

Referring to fig. 9, another embodiment of a communication method according to the present application includes:

901. the second access network device sends a handover request message to the AMF.

In this embodiment, the second access network device (source base station) triggers handover based on the N2 interface, and specifically, the second access network device sends a handover request message to the AMF, where the handover request message includes a PDU session identifier for western medicine handover. It can be understood that, for the first access network device, the QoS flow is already successfully established, and the second access network device is currently required to start establishing the QoS flow, so that the handover request message carries the indication information and/or the QoS flow parameters including the association identifier, where descriptions about the indication information and the QoS flow parameters including the association identifier are similar to step 301 in the embodiment shown in fig. 3, and are not repeated here.

902. And the AMF sends a session management context updating request to the SMF according to the PDU session identification, wherein the session management context updating request is used for requesting to update the PDU session context information of the UE.

903. When there is a QoS flow satisfying the QoS flow rejection condition in the QoS flow set, the SMF rejects all the QoS flows in the QoS flow set.

In this embodiment, step 903 is similar to step 502 in the embodiment shown in fig. 5, and details thereof are not repeated here.

904. The SMF sends a session management context updating response to the AMF, wherein the session management context updating response carries the core network tunnel information of the PDU session, the list of accepted QoS flows and/or the list of rejected QoS flows.

905. The AMF sends a switching request message to the first access network equipment, wherein the switching request message carries core network tunnel information of the PDU session, a list of accepted QoS flows and/or a list of rejected QoS flows. It can be understood that the handover request message may also carry indication information and/or QoS flow parameters containing association identifier,

906. when the QoS flow meeting the QoS flow rejection condition exists in the QoS flow set, the first access network equipment rejects all the QoS flows in the QoS flow set.

In this embodiment, step 906 is similar to step 302 in the embodiment shown in fig. 3, and is not described here again. In addition, both step 906 and step 903 may be optional steps, and may select to execute 903, or may select to execute 906, or may execute both 903 and 906, which is not limited herein. If both 903 and 906 are performed, the final decision to reject the QoS flow is subject to a subsequent step 906.

907. And the first access network equipment replies a switching response message to the AMF, wherein the switching response message comprises a PDU session identification, access network tunnel information of the PDU session, a list of accepted QoS flows and/or a list of rejected QoS flows.

908. The AMF sends an update session management context request to the SMF for the PDU session.

909. The SMF initiates an N4 interface session modification flow to the UPF for the PDU session.

910. The SMF replies an update session management context response to the AMF.

Scenario 3, UE initiates a scenario requesting activation of a PDU session.

Referring to fig. 10, another embodiment of a communication method according to the present application includes:

1001. and the UE sends a service request message to the AMF through the access network equipment, wherein the service request message carries PDU session indication information and is used for requesting the network to activate the PDU session.

1002. For the PDU session indicated in the service request, the AMF sends an update session management context request to the SMF for requesting activation of the PDU session.

1003. The SMF acquires a QoS flow set with an association relation in the PDU session.

In this embodiment, step 1003 is similar to step 401 in the embodiment shown in fig. 4, and is not described here again.

1004. The SMF sends a PDU session resource establishment request message to the access network device through the AMF, where the PDU session resource establishment request message may carry indication information and/or a QoS flow parameter including an association identifier, and the description of the indication information and the QoS flow parameter including the association identifier is similar to step 301 in the embodiment shown in fig. 3, and is not repeated here.

1005. When there is a QoS flow in the QoS flow set which meets the QoS flow rejection condition, the access network equipment rejects all the QoS flows in the QoS flow set.

In this embodiment, step 1005 is similar to step 302 in the embodiment shown in fig. 3, and is not described here again.

1006. The access network equipment replies a PDU session resource establishment response message to the AMF, wherein the PDU session resource establishment response message can comprise access network tunnel information, a list of accepted QoS flows and/or a list of rejected QoS flows.

1007. The AMF sends a request for updating the session management context to the SMF for the PDU session.

1008. When there is a QoS flow satisfying the QoS flow rejection condition in the QoS flow set, the SMF rejects all the QoS flows in the QoS flow set.

In this embodiment, both step 1008 and step 1005 may be optional steps, and 1008, 1005, or both 1005 and 1008 may be selectively performed, which is not limited herein. If both 1005 and 1008 are performed, the final decision to reject the QoS flow is subject to a subsequent step 1008. It can be understood that, if the PDU session resource establishment request message sent by the SMF to the access network does not include the indication information and/or the QoS flow parameters including the association identifier, the access network device cannot acquire the QoS flow set having the association relationship, in this case, only the SMF performs the operation of all acceptance or all rejection on the QoS flow set.

1009. The SMF initiates an N4 interface session modification flow to the UPF for the PDU session.

1010. The SMF replies an update session management context response to the AMF.

The above describes the communication method in the embodiment of the present application, and the following describes the relevant apparatuses in the embodiment of the present application:

referring to fig. 11, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, where the apparatus may be an access network device, or may be a chip or a system on a chip located on the access network device, and the communication apparatus may include: an acquisition unit 1101 and a processing unit 1102.

An obtaining unit 1101, configured to obtain a QoS flow set having an association relationship in a protocol data unit PDU session, where the QoS flow set includes at least two QoS flows;

a processing unit 1102, configured to reject all QoS flows in the QoS flow set when there is a QoS flow satisfying the QoS flow rejection condition in the QoS flow set.

Optionally, QoS flows in the QoS flow set having the association relationship respectively correspond to different data services in the same application; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the QoS flows in the QoS flow set with the incidence relation respectively correspond to different applications, and preset incidence relations exist among the different applications.

Optionally, the obtaining unit 1101 is specifically configured to:

and determining a QoS flow set according to the correlation identification in the QoS flow parameters of the QoS flows in the PDU session, wherein the QoS flow set comprises the QoS flows with the same correlation identification in the PDU session.

Optionally, the obtaining unit 1101 is further configured to:

receiving a switching request message from second access network equipment, wherein the switching request message comprises a QoS flow parameter; alternatively, the first and second liquid crystal display panels may be,

receiving a switching request message from the AMF, wherein the switching request message comprises a QoS flow parameter; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

receiving a PDU session resource establishment request message from the SMF, wherein the PDU session resource establishment request message comprises a QoS flow parameter and is used for requesting the first access network equipment to allocate the empty port resource for the PDU session.

Optionally, the obtaining unit 1101 is specifically configured to:

and receiving indication information, wherein the indication information is used for indicating the QoS flow set.

Optionally, the indication information includes an association list, where the association list includes QoS flow identifiers QFI of QoS flows in the QoS flow set;

the set of QoS flows includes: QoS flows corresponding to QFI in PDU session.

Optionally, the obtaining unit 1101 is further configured to:

receiving a switching request message from second access network equipment, wherein the switching request message comprises indication information; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

receiving a switching request message from the AMF, wherein the switching request message comprises indication information; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

receiving a PDU session resource establishment request message from the SMF, wherein the PDU session resource establishment request message comprises indication information.

In this embodiment of the application, each unit module in the communication apparatus may be configured to execute all or part of actions performed by the first access network device or the access network device in the embodiments shown in fig. 3 and fig. 7 to fig. 10, which is not described herein again in detail.

In this embodiment, the obtaining unit 1101 obtains a QoS flow set having an association relationship in a PDU session, and when a QoS flow satisfying a QoS flow rejection condition exists in the QoS flow set, the processing unit 1102 rejects all QoS flows in the QoS flow set. By the above mode, when any QoS flow meets the rejection condition, the application corresponding to the QoS flow cannot normally run, so that all the QoS flows with the association relation are rejected, and network resources are effectively saved.

Referring to fig. 12, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, where the apparatus may be an SMF, or may be a chip or a system on a chip on an SMF, and the communication apparatus may include: an acquisition unit 1201, a transmission unit 1202, and a processing unit 1203.

An obtaining unit 1201, configured to obtain a QoS flow set having an association relationship in a PDU session;

a sending unit 1202, configured to send indication information to the access network device, where the indication information is used to indicate the QoS flow set.

Optionally, the association list includes QoS flow identifiers QFI of QoS flows in the QoS flow set.

Optionally, the obtaining unit 1201 is specifically configured to:

receiving a notification message from the PCF, wherein the notification message comprises information used for indicating a PCC rule with an incidence relation in the PDU session;

and determining the QoS flow set according to the notification message.

Optionally, the obtaining unit 1201 is specifically configured to:

receiving a PCC rule of a PDU conversation from a PCF, wherein the PCC rule comprises an association identifier;

according to the PCC rules, a QoS flow set is determined.

Optionally, the sending unit 1202 is specifically configured to:

and sending a PDU session resource establishment request message to the access network equipment, wherein the PDU session resource establishment request message comprises indication information.

Optionally, the SMF further includes:

a processing unit 1203, configured to, if the SMF receives a response message from the access network device, stop initiating a request to establish a QoS flow in the QoS flow set according to the response message, where the response message indicates that a rejected QoS flow exists in the QoS flow set; alternatively, the first and second liquid crystal display panels may be,

if the SMF does not receive the response message from the access network equipment within the preset time, the SMF stops initiating the request to establish the QoS flow in the QoS flow set.

Another embodiment in which the communication apparatus is an SMF in the present application includes:

a processing unit 1203, configured to obtain a first association identifier;

a sending unit 1202, configured to send a QoS flow parameter of a QoS flow in the PDU session to an access network device, where the QoS flow parameter includes the first association identifier.

Optionally, the obtaining unit 1201 is specifically configured to:

receiving a notification message from a PCF, wherein the notification message comprises information used for indicating a PCC rule with the incidence relation in the PDU conversation;

and determining the QoS flow set according to the notification message.

Optionally, the processing unit 1203 is specifically configured to:

and generating the first association identifier according to the notification message.

Optionally, the obtaining unit 1201 is specifically configured to:

receiving a PCC rule of the PDU conversation from the PCF, wherein the PCC rule comprises a second association identifier;

and determining the QoS flow set according to the PCC rule.

Optionally, the processing unit 1203 is specifically configured to:

and generating the first association identifier according to the second association identifier.

Optionally, the QoS flow parameter is carried in a PDU session resource establishment request message.

Another embodiment in which the communication device in the embodiment of the present application is an SMF includes:

a processing unit 1203, configured to reject all QoS flows in the QoS flow set when there is a QoS flow in the QoS flow set that satisfies the QoS flow rejection condition.

Optionally, the QoS flow that satisfies the QoS flow rejection condition includes: the resources on the UPF corresponding to the QoS flows in the QoS flow set cannot be used.

Optionally, the obtaining unit 1201 is specifically configured to:

and determining the QoS flow set according to the notification message.

Optionally, the obtaining unit 1201 is specifically configured to:

receiving a PCC rule of the PDU conversation from the PCF, wherein the PCC rule comprises an association identifier;

according to the PCC rules, a QoS flow set is determined.

In the embodiment where the communication device is an SMF, each unit module in the SMF may specifically execute all or part of the actions executed by the SMF in the embodiments shown in fig. 4, fig. 5, and fig. 7 to fig. 10, and details thereof are not repeated here.

Referring to fig. 13, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, where the apparatus may be a PCF, or a chip or a system on chip located on the PCF, and the communication apparatus may include: a determining unit 1301 and a transmitting unit 1302.

A determining unit 1301, configured to determine, according to a service requirement, a PCC rule having an association relationship in a PDU session;

a sending unit 1302, configured to send a notification message to the SMF, where the notification message includes information indicating a PCC rule having an association relationship in a PDU session.

Optionally, the ARP in the PCC rules with association is the same.

In this embodiment of the application, each unit module in the PCF may specifically execute all or part of the actions executed by the PCF in the embodiment shown in fig. 6 and fig. 7, and details thereof are not repeated herein.

Referring to fig. 14, another embodiment of the communication device in the embodiment of the present application is a PCF, including:

a determining unit 1401, configured to determine, according to a service requirement, a PCC rule having an association relationship in a PDU session;

a processing unit 1402, configured to carry the association identifier in the PCC rule having the association relationship;

a sending unit 1403, configured to send the PCC rule carrying the association identifier to the SMF.

Optionally, the ARP in the PCC rules with association is the same.

The above describes the case where the communication devices in the embodiment of the present application are the access network device, the SMF, and the PCF, respectively, from the perspective of the modular function, and the following describes the communication device in the embodiment of the present application from the perspective of hardware processing:

referring to fig. 15, the communication device of the present application includes one or more central processing units 1501, a memory 1502 and a communication interface 1503, wherein the central processing units 1501, the memory 1502 and the communication interface 1503 are connected to each other through a bus.

Memory 1502 may be a transitory store or a persistent store for storing associated instructions and data and communication interface 1503 for receiving and transmitting data. Still further, the central processor 1501 may be configured to communicate with the memory 1502 and perform a series of instruction operations in the memory 1502.

The communication devices in the above embodiments may be based on the structure shown in fig. 15.

Referring to fig. 16, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, where the communication system includes a communication device, and specifically, the communication device may include an access network device as shown in fig. 11, an SMF as shown in fig. 12, and a PCF as shown in fig. 13 and 14, where the access network device may be configured to perform all or part of the actions performed by the first access network device or the access network device in the embodiments shown in fig. 3 and fig. 7 to 10, the SMF may perform all or part of the actions performed by the SMF in the embodiments shown in fig. 4, fig. 5, and fig. 7 to 10, and the PCF may perform all or part of the actions performed in the embodiments shown in fig. 6 and fig. 7.

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 several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus and method may be implemented in other manners. For example, the above-described apparatus embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the units is only one logical division, and other divisions may be realized in practice, for example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not executed. In addition, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be in an electrical, mechanical or other form.

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

In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit. The integrated unit may be implemented in the form of hardware, or may also be implemented in the form of a software functional unit.

The integrated unit, if implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application may be substantially implemented or contributed to by the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution may be embodied in a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: a U-disk, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and the like.

The above embodiments are only used for illustrating the technical solutions of the present application, and not for limiting the same; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be modified, or some technical features may be equivalently replaced; and such modifications or substitutions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the corresponding technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

the method comprises the steps that first access network equipment obtains a QoS flow set with an incidence relation in a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session, wherein the QoS flow set comprises at least two QoS flows;

when there is a QoS flow in the QoS flow set which meets a QoS flow rejection condition, the first access network equipment rejects all the QoS flows in the QoS flow set.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the QoS flows in the QoS flow set having the association relationship respectively correspond to different data services in the same application; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the obtaining, by the first access network device, a set of quality of service (QoS) flows having an association relationship in a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session comprises:

and the first access network equipment determines the QoS flow set according to the association identifier in the QoS flow parameter of the QoS flow in the PDU session, wherein the QoS flow set comprises the QoS flows with the same association identifier in the PDU session.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

the first access network equipment receives a switching request message from second access network equipment, wherein the switching request message comprises the QoS flow parameter; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the first access network equipment receives a switching request message from an access and mobility management function, wherein the switching request message comprises the QoS flow parameter; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the first access network equipment receives a PDU session resource establishment request message from a session management function, wherein the PDU session resource establishment request message comprises the QoS flow parameter, and is used for requesting the first access network equipment to allocate air interface resources for the PDU session.

5. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the obtaining, by the first access network device, a set of quality of service (QoS) flows having an association relationship in a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session comprises:

the first access network equipment receives indication information, and the indication information is used for indicating the QoS flow set.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the indication information comprises an association list, the association list comprising QoS flow identifiers QFI of QoS flows in the QoS flow set;

the set of QoS flows comprises: QoS flows corresponding to the QFI in the PDU session.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

the first access network equipment receives a switching request message from second access network equipment, wherein the switching request message comprises the indication information; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the first access network equipment receives a switching request message from a mobility management function, wherein the switching request message comprises the indication information; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

and the first access network equipment receives a PDU session resource establishment request message from a session management function, wherein the PDU session resource establishment request message comprises the indication information.

8. A method of communication, comprising:

a session management function acquires a service quality QoS flow set with an incidence relation in a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session;

and the session management function sends indication information to access network equipment, wherein the indication information is used for indicating the QoS flow set.

9. The method of claim 8, the indication information comprising an association list comprising QoS flow identifications QFIs for QoS flows in the set of QoS flows, the set of QoS flows comprising QoS flows in the PDU session corresponding to the QFIs.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the session management function obtains a set of QoS flows having an association relationship in a PDU session, comprising:

the session management function receives a notification message from a policy control function, wherein the notification message comprises information used for indicating a Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rule having the association relation in the PDU session;

and the session management function determines the QoS flow set according to the notification message.

11. The method of claim 10, the notification message comprising a PCC rule identification list comprising PCC rule identifications for the PCC rules with associations.

12. The method of claim 8, the session management function obtaining a set of QoS flows having an association comprising:

the session management function receives a PCC rule of the PDU session from a policy control function, wherein the PCC rule comprises an association identifier;

and the session management function determines the QoS flow set according to the PCC rule.

13. The method of any of claims 8 to 12, the session management function sending indication information to an access network device comprising:

and the session management function sends a PDU session resource establishment request message to the access network equipment, wherein the PDU session resource establishment request message comprises the indication information.

14. The method of any of claims 8 to 12, further comprising:

if the session management function receives a response message from the access network device, the session management function stops initiating a request to establish the QoS flow in the QoS flow set according to the response message, and the response message indicates that the rejected QoS flow exists in the QoS flow set; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

and if the session management function does not receive the response message from the access network equipment within the preset time, the session management function stops initiating a request for establishing the QoS flow in the QoS flow set.

15. A method of communication, comprising:

a session management function acquires a QoS flow set with an association relation in a PDU session;

the session management function acquires a first association identifier;

and the session management function sends QoS flow parameters of the QoS flow in the PDU session to access network equipment, wherein the QoS flow parameters comprise the first association identification.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the session management function obtaining the set of QoS flows having an association relationship in the PDU session comprises:

the session management function receives a notification message from a policy control function, wherein the notification message comprises information used for indicating a PCC rule with the incidence relation in the PDU session;

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the obtaining, by the session management function, the first association identifier comprises:

and the session management function generates the first association identifier according to the notification message.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the session management function obtaining the set of QoS flows having an association relationship in the PDU session comprises:

the session management function receives a PCC rule of a PDU session from a policy control function, wherein the PCC rule comprises a second association identifier;

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the session management function obtaining the first association identifier comprises:

and the session management function generates the first associated identifier according to the second associated identifier.

20. The method according to any of claims 15 to 19, wherein said QoS flow parameters are carried in a PDU session resource setup request message.

21. A method of communication, comprising:

the policy control function determines a PCC rule with an association relation in the PDU session according to the service requirement;

the policy control function sends a notification message to a session management function, where the notification message includes information indicating a PCC rule having the association in the PDU session.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein the ARP in the PCC rules with associations is the same.

23. A communications device comprising a processor and a memory, the memory having program code stored therein, the processor when calling the program code in the memory performing the steps of any of claims 1 to 22.

24. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that when executed on a computer cause the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 22.

25. A computer program product comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 22.

26. A communication system, comprising: an access network device for performing the method of any of claims 1 to 7, a session management function for performing the method of any of claims 8-20, and a policy control function for performing the method of any of claims 21-22.