CN116033406A

CN116033406A - Communication method and device

Info

Publication number: CN116033406A
Application number: CN202111243807.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 张柔佳; 孙飞
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-10-25
Filing date: 2021-10-25
Publication date: 2023-04-28
Also published as: WO2023071982A1

Abstract

The application provides a communication method and device, relates to the technical field of communication, and is used for solving the problem that the prior art cannot realize the enhancement of network slicing service through a double-connection DC network and has lower communication efficiency. The method comprises the following steps: the method comprises the steps that first network equipment receives a network slice request from terminal equipment, wherein the network slice request comprises an identification of a first network slice, and the first network equipment does not support the first network slice; sending auxiliary node addition request information to the second network device, wherein the auxiliary node addition request information comprises a first indication, and the first indication is used for indicating that the second network device can support a first network slice; sending a second instruction to the core network equipment, wherein the second instruction is used for indicating the supporting condition of the network slice under the double-connection DC network formed by the first network equipment and the second network equipment; a third indication is received from the core network device, the third indication comprising an identification of network slices allowed by the terminal device under the DC network.

Description

Communication method and device

Technical Field

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

Background

A fifth generation (5G) mobile communication Network (abbreviated as 5G Network) proposes a Network Slice (Network Slice) concept to meet the differentiated requirements of various types of services. Network slicing refers to dividing a plurality of virtual networks composed of specific network functions, network topologies and network resources on a physical network, and is used for meeting the service functions and service quality requirements of different network slicing users. Through network slicing, operators can construct a plurality of special, virtualized and mutually isolated logic subnets on a general physical platform, so that different requirements of different services of users on network capacity can be met in a targeted manner.

Each base station supports network slices corresponding to different services, for example, base station 1 supports network slices Slice1 and Slice2, base station 2 supports network slices Slice1 and Slice3, and the terminal supports network slices Slice1, slice2 and Slice3. When a terminal is connected to a base station and then may initiate a Slice service that cannot be supported by the current base station, for example, when the terminal initiates a service request of Slice3 to a core network through the base station 1, according to the existing protocol, the core network may reject the service request of the terminal because the base station 1 does not support Slice3.

In view of the above problems, enhancement of network slicing service can be achieved by a Dual-Connectivity (DC) technology at present, and a DC network, i.e. a terminal in a connected state, supports to simultaneously keep connection with two base stations, for example, the terminal can simultaneously communicate with the base station 1 and the base station 2, wherein one is a primary node and one is a secondary node. Thus, when a terminal initiates a network slice request that is not supported by the base station 1, a DC operation may be triggered, i.e. by adding a secondary node supporting the network slice, such as the base station 2, to form a DC network, the DC network providing the terminal with the requested service of the network slice.

However, the premise of adding auxiliary nodes to the main node to form the DC network is that the terminal initiates a session request of a protocol data unit (ProtocolDataUnit, PDU), and according to the existing protocol, the main node needs to carry a PDU session identifier corresponding to the request in an auxiliary node addition request message initiated by the auxiliary node. However, the core network device directly refuses the PDU session request of the terminal because the master node where the current terminal is located does not support the slice requested by the current terminal, which is low in communication efficiency.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a communication method and device, which solve the problems that the enhancement of network slicing service can not be realized through a DC network in the prior art and the communication efficiency is lower.

In order to achieve the above purpose, the present application adopts the following technical scheme:

in a first aspect, a communication method is provided, applied to a first network device, the method comprising: the method comprises the steps that first network equipment receives a network slice request from terminal equipment, wherein the network slice request comprises an identification of a first network slice, and the first network equipment does not support the first network slice; the method comprises the steps that first network equipment sends auxiliary node adding request information to second network equipment, wherein the auxiliary node adding request information comprises a first indication, and the first indication is used for indicating that the second network equipment can support a first network slice; the first network equipment sends a second instruction to the core network equipment, wherein the second instruction is used for indicating the supporting condition of the network slice under the double-connection DC network formed by the first network equipment and the second network equipment; the first network device receives a third indication from the core network device, the third indication comprising an identification of a network slice allowed by the terminal device under the DC network.

Based on the method of the first aspect, it can be known that, by pre-provisioning (or protocol provisioning) between network devices, before receiving a PDU session resource establishment request corresponding to a network slice that is not supported by the first network device, the first network device can add the auxiliary node to form a DC network by carrying a first indication in the auxiliary node addition request information, so that the service requirement corresponding to the first network slice that is not supported by the first network device by the terminal device can be met through the DC network, the request of rejecting the terminal device by the core network device is avoided, and the communication efficiency is improved.

In a possible implementation manner, the second indication includes indication information of the network slice requested by the DC network support terminal device, or the second indication includes indication information of the network slice requested by the second network support terminal device.

According to the possible implementation manner, through the pre-agreement (or protocol agreement) between the access network device and the core network device, the first network device carries the second instruction in the interaction information through the interaction information with the core network device, so that the core network device can determine the Allowed network slice corresponding to the terminal device, namely the Allowed NSSAI, according to the supporting condition of the network slice under the DC network, thereby being capable of meeting the service requirement corresponding to the first network slice which is not supported by the first network device through the DC network, avoiding the rejection of the request of the terminal device by the core network device, and improving the communication efficiency.

In a possible embodiment, the method further comprises: the first network equipment receives a fourth instruction from the core network equipment, wherein the fourth instruction is used for indicating the network slice allowed by the terminal equipment under the DC network, and the fourth instruction comprises at least one of TAC, base station identification or supporting base station type corresponding to the network equipment supporting the allowed network slice; the first network device sends a fourth indication to the terminal device.

In the above possible implementation manner, the core network device may indicate, to the terminal device, the allowed network slice of the terminal device under the DC network through the transit of the first network device, and simultaneously indicate, to the terminal device, from which network device the allowed network slice corresponds to the provider, thereby improving the communication efficiency.

In one possible implementation, the first indication includes an identification corresponding to the first network slice. The first network device sends the auxiliary node adding request information to the second network device, which may include network slice information that the second network device can support the first network device and is not supported by the first network device, for example, an identifier corresponding to the first network slice, so that the second network device determines that the second network device can support the network slice requested by the terminal device and not supported by the first network device, so as to perform RRC reconfiguration on the terminal device.

In a possible implementation, the first indication further includes an identification of a network slice supported by the second network device in the network slice request. The first network device may send the auxiliary node addition request information to the second network device, where the auxiliary node addition request information may include network slice information that can be supported by the second network device and included in the network slice request. The second network device is enabled to determine a situation in which the network slice requested by the terminal device and not supported by the first network device can be supported, so as to perform RRC reconfiguration on the terminal device.

In a possible implementation manner, before the first network device sends the second indication to the core network device, the method further includes: the first network device sends an RRC reconfiguration message of the second network device to the terminal device, which is used for the terminal device to request the second network device to perform random access, wherein the RRC reconfiguration message comprises an identifier of a network slice supported by the second network device in the network slice request and at least one of a TAC, a base station identifier or a supported base station type of the second network device.

In a possible implementation, the second indication comprises an identification of a network slice supported by the DC network.

In the above possible implementation manner, the second instruction sent by the first network device to the core network device may include information of a network slice supported by the DC network, so that the core network device may determine, according to the second instruction, a network slice Allowed NSSAI Allowed by the terminal device under the DC network, which is equivalent to enhancing a network slice service at the terminal device side by using a DC combination manner, and improves communication efficiency.

In a possible implementation, the second indication comprises a tracking area code TAC or a base station identity of the second network device. The core network device may thus determine the second network device based on the received second indication, i.e. the core network device may determine the provider of the network slice that is not supported by the master node in the Allowed network slice Allowed nsai.

In a possible implementation manner, before the auxiliary node is sent to the second network device to add the request information, the method further includes: the first network equipment determines that the first network slice is not supported according to the comparison between the network slice in the network slice request and the network slice locally supported by the first network equipment; or the first network device determines that the first network slice is not supported according to the target network slice information received from the core network device.

In the above possible implementation manner, the first network device may determine the unsupported network slice information in a self-aware manner, or the first network device may determine the unsupported network slice information of the first network device by using the target network slice information requested to be fed back by the network slice registration request requested by the terminal device to the core network device. Therefore, the flexibility rate of the master node for processing the network slice request is improved, and the communication efficiency is further improved.

In a possible implementation manner, before the first network device sends the auxiliary node adding request information to the second network device, the method further includes: the first network device requests supported network slice information from nearby network devices; and the first network equipment determines that the second network equipment supports the first network slice according to the network slice information reported by the plurality of network equipment.

According to the possible implementation manner, the first network device can determine the adjacent network device capable of supporting the network slice which is not supported by the first network device through interaction of the network slice information respectively supported by the adjacent network device, so that the enhancement processing of the network slice service can be realized through the dual-connection DC network, and the communication efficiency is improved.

In one possible implementation manner, the auxiliary node addition request information is sent before the first network device receives a protocol data unit PDU session resource establishment request corresponding to the first network slice.

In one possible implementation, the identification of the network slice selects the assistance information S-nsai for the single network slice.

In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, applied to a second network device, the method comprising: the second network device receives auxiliary node adding request information from the first network device, wherein the auxiliary node adding request information comprises a first indication, and the first indication is used for indicating that the second network device can support network slices which are not supported by the first network device; the second network equipment sends auxiliary node adding response information to the first network equipment, and the auxiliary node adding response information is used for indicating that the second network equipment and the first network equipment successfully form a double-connection DC network; the second network device sends the RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal device and completes random access with the terminal device.

In a possible implementation manner, the first indication further includes an identifier corresponding to the first network slice.

In a possible implementation, the first indication further includes an identification of a network slice supported by the second network device in the network slice request.

In a possible implementation manner, the RRC reconfiguration message includes an identification of the network slice supported by the second network device in the network slice request, and at least one of a TAC, a base station identification, or a supported base station type of the second network device.

In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, applied to a core network device, and the method includes: receiving a network slice registration request from a terminal device, wherein the network slice registration comprises an identification of a first network slice; receiving a second instruction from the first network device, wherein the second instruction is used for indicating the supporting condition of the network slice under the dual-connection DC network formed by the first network device and the second network device; and sending a fourth indication to the terminal equipment, wherein the fourth indication comprises the identification of the network slice allowed by the terminal equipment under the DC network.

In a possible embodiment, the method further comprises: and sending a third indication to the first network device, wherein the third indication is used for indicating the identification of the network slice allowed by the terminal device under the DC network.

In a possible implementation manner, the fourth indication includes at least one of TAC, base station identifier or supporting base station type corresponding to the network device supporting the allowed network slice.

In a possible implementation, the second indication includes a TAC or base station identity of the second network device.

In a possible embodiment, the fourth indication is determined with reference to the second indication.

In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, applied to a terminal device, and the method includes: the terminal equipment sends a network slicing request to the first network equipment, wherein the network slicing request comprises an identification of the first network slicing; the method comprises the steps that the terminal equipment receives RRC reconfiguration information, wherein the RRC reconfiguration information is used for indicating the terminal equipment to request to a second network equipment for random access, the second network equipment supports a first network slice, the RRC reconfiguration information comprises an identifier of the network slice supported by the second network equipment in the network slice request, and at least one of a TAC (traffic control) of the second network equipment, a base station identifier or a supported base station type; the terminal device completes random access with the second network device.

In a possible embodiment, the method further comprises: the terminal device receives a fourth indication, wherein the fourth indication is used for indicating the network slicing allowed by the terminal device under the dual-connection DC network formed by the first network device and the second network device.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided a communication apparatus comprising: the communication device comprises a receiving module and a sending module, wherein the receiving module is used for receiving a network slice request from a terminal device, the network slice request comprises an identifier of a first network slice, and the communication device does not support the first network slice; the sending module is used for sending auxiliary node adding request information to the second network equipment, wherein the auxiliary node adding request information comprises a first indication, and the first indication is used for indicating that the second network equipment can support the first network slice; the sending module is further configured to send a second instruction to the core network device, where the second instruction is used to instruct a supporting situation of the communication device on the network slice under the dual-connection DC network formed by the communication device and the second network device; the receiving module is further configured to receive a third indication from the core network device, the third indication comprising an identification of a network slice allowed by the terminal device under the DC network.

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving module is further configured to receive a fourth indication from the core network device, where the fourth indication is used to indicate a network slice allowed by the terminal device under the DC network, and the fourth indication includes at least one of a TAC, a base station identifier, or a supporting base station type corresponding to the network device supporting the allowed network slice; the sending module is further configured to send a fourth indication to the terminal device.

In one possible implementation, the first indication includes an identification corresponding to the first network slice.

In a possible implementation manner, the sending module is further configured to send, to the terminal device, an RRC reconfiguration message of the second network device to the terminal device, where the RRC reconfiguration message is used for the terminal device to request random access to the second network device, and the RRC reconfiguration message includes an identifier of a network slice supported by the second network device in the network slice request, and at least one of a TAC, a base station identifier, or a supported base station type of the second network device.

In a possible implementation, the second indication comprises a tracking area code TAC or a base station identity of the second network device.

In a possible implementation manner, before the sending module is configured to send the auxiliary node adding request information to the second network device, the sending module further includes: determining that the first network slice is not supported according to the comparison of the network slice in the network slice request and the network slice locally supported by the first network equipment; or determining that the first network slice is not supported according to the received target network slice information from the core network device.

In a possible implementation manner, the sending module is further used for requesting supported network slice information from a nearby network device; the receiving module is further configured to determine that the second network device supports the first network slice according to network slice information reported by the plurality of network devices.

In a possible implementation manner, the auxiliary node addition request information sent by the sending module is sent before the communication device receives a protocol data unit PDU session resource establishment request corresponding to the first network slice.

Alternatively, the transmitting module and the receiving module may be integrated into one module, such as a transceiver module. Wherein, the transceiver module is used for realizing the sending function and the receiving function of the communication device according to the fifth aspect.

Optionally, the communication device according to the fifth aspect may further include a processing module. The processing module is used for realizing the processing function of the communication device.

Optionally, the apparatus according to the fifth aspect may further include a storage module, where the storage module stores a program or instructions. The program or instructions, when executed by a processing module, enable the apparatus to perform the method of the first aspect.

Note that, the communication apparatus according to the fifth aspect may be a network device, such as the first network device, or may be a chip (system) or other components or assemblies in the network device, or may be an apparatus including the network device, which is not limited in this application.

Further, the technical effects of the apparatus according to the fifth aspect may refer to the technical effects of the method according to the first aspect, which are not described herein.

In a sixth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, where the communication apparatus includes a receiving module and a sending module, where the receiving module is configured to receive auxiliary node addition request information from a first network device, the auxiliary node addition request information includes a first indication, and the first indication is configured to indicate that the communication apparatus is capable of supporting a network slice that is not supported by the first network device; the sending module is used for sending auxiliary node adding response information to the first network equipment and used for indicating that the communication device successfully forms a double-connection DC network with the first network equipment; the sending module is also used for sending the RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal equipment and completing random access with the terminal equipment.

In a possible implementation, the first indication further includes an identification of a network slice supported by the communication device in the network slice request.

In one possible implementation, the RRC reconfiguration message includes an identification of the network slice supported by the communication device in the network slice request, and at least one of a TAC, a base station identification, or a supported base station type of the communication device.

Alternatively, the transmitting module and the receiving module may be integrated into one module, such as a transceiver module. Wherein, the transceiver module is used for realizing the sending function and the receiving function of the communication device according to the sixth aspect.

Optionally, the communication device according to the sixth aspect may further include a processing module. The processing module is used for realizing the processing function of the communication device.

Optionally, the apparatus according to the sixth aspect may further include a storage module, where the storage module stores a program or instructions. The program or instructions, when executed by a processing module, enable the apparatus to perform the method of the second aspect.

Note that the communication apparatus according to the sixth aspect may be a network device, such as the second network device, or may be a chip (system) or other components or assemblies in the network device, or may be an apparatus including the network device, which is not limited in this application.

Further, the technical effects of the apparatus according to the sixth aspect may refer to the technical effects of the method according to the second aspect, which are not described herein.

In a seventh aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, the communication apparatus including a receiving module and a transmitting module, the receiving module being configured to receive a network slice registration request from a terminal device, the network slice registration including an identification of a first network slice; the receiving module is further used for receiving a second instruction from the first network device, wherein the second instruction is used for indicating the supporting condition of the network slice under the dual-connection DC network formed by the first network device and the second network device; the sending module is used for sending a fourth indication to the terminal equipment, wherein the fourth indication comprises the identification of the network slice allowed by the terminal equipment under the DC network.

In a possible implementation manner, the sending module is further configured to send a third indication to the first network device, where the third indication is used to indicate the network slice allowed by the terminal device under the DC network.

Alternatively, the transmitting module and the receiving module may be integrated into one module, such as a transceiver module. Wherein the transceiver module is configured to implement a transmitting function and a receiving function of the communication device according to the seventh aspect.

Optionally, the communication device according to the seventh aspect may further include a processing module. The processing module is used for realizing the processing function of the communication device.

Optionally, the apparatus according to the seventh aspect may further include a storage module, where the storage module stores a program or instructions. The program or instructions, when executed by a processing module, enable the apparatus to perform the method of the third aspect.

The communication apparatus according to the seventh aspect may be a core network device, or may be a chip (system) or other components or assemblies that may be provided in the core network device, or may be an apparatus including the core network device, which is not limited in this application.

Further, the technical effects of the apparatus according to the seventh aspect may refer to the technical effects of the method according to the third aspect, and will not be described herein.

An eighth aspect provides a communication apparatus, the communication apparatus including a receiving module and a transmitting module, the transmitting module configured to transmit a slice request to a first network device, the slice request including an identification of a first network slice; the receiving module is configured to receive an RRC reconfiguration message, where the RRC reconfiguration message is configured to instruct the communication device to request the second network device to perform random access, and the second network device supports the first network slice, and the RRC reconfiguration message includes an identifier of a network slice supported by the second network device in the network slice request, and at least one of a TAC, a base station identifier, or a supported base station type of the second network device; the receiving module and the sending module are also used for interacting with the second network equipment to finish random access; the receiving module is further configured to receive a fourth indication, where the fourth indication is used to indicate a network slice allowed by the communication apparatus under a dual-connectivity DC network formed by the first network device and the second network device.

Alternatively, the transmitting module and the receiving module may be integrated into one module, such as a transceiver module. Wherein the transceiver module is configured to implement a transmitting function and a receiving function of the communication device according to the eighth aspect.

Optionally, the communication device according to the eighth aspect may further include a processing module. The processing module is used for realizing the processing function of the communication device.

Optionally, the apparatus according to the eighth aspect may further include a storage module, where the storage module stores a program or instructions. The program or instructions, when executed by a processing module, enable the apparatus to perform the method of the fourth aspect.

The communication device according to the eighth aspect may be a terminal device, or may be a chip (system) or other components or assemblies that may be provided in the terminal device, or may be a device that includes the terminal device, which is not limited in this application.

Further, the technical effects of the apparatus according to the eighth aspect may refer to the technical effects of the method according to the fourth aspect, which are not described herein.

In a ninth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided. The device comprises: a processor. Wherein the processor is configured to perform the method according to any one of the first to fourth aspects.

In a possible implementation manner, the apparatus according to the ninth aspect may further include a transceiver. The transceiver may be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver may be used for the device to communicate with other devices.

In a possible implementation manner, the apparatus according to the ninth aspect may further include a memory. The memory may be integral with the processor or may be separate. The memory may be used for storing computer programs and/or data related to the method according to any of the first to fourth aspects.

In this application, the apparatus according to the ninth aspect may be the first network device according to the first aspect, or the second network device according to the second aspect, or the core network device according to the third aspect, or the terminal device according to the fourth aspect, or a chip (system) or other part or component that may be provided in the terminal or the network device, or an apparatus that includes the terminal or the network device.

Further, the technical effects of the apparatus according to the ninth aspect may refer to the technical effects of the method according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, and are not described herein.

In a tenth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device comprises: a processor and a memory. Wherein the memory is for storing computer instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of the first to fourth aspects.

In a possible implementation manner, the apparatus according to the tenth aspect may further include a transceiver. The transceiver may be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver may be used for the device to communicate with other devices.

In this application, the apparatus according to the tenth aspect may be the first network device according to the first aspect, or the second network device according to the second aspect, or the core network device according to the third aspect, or the terminal device according to the fourth aspect, or a chip (system) or other part or component that may be provided in the terminal or the network device, or an apparatus that includes the terminal or the network device.

Further, the technical effects of the apparatus according to the tenth aspect may refer to the technical effects of the method according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, and will not be described herein.

In an eleventh aspect, a communication apparatus is provided. The device comprises: logic circuitry and input-output interfaces. The input/output interface is used for receiving the code instruction and transmitting the code instruction to the logic circuit. Logic circuitry is to execute code instructions to perform the method of any one of the first to fourth aspects.

In a possible implementation manner, the apparatus according to the eleventh aspect may further include a transceiver. The transceiver may be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver may be used for the device to communicate with other devices.

In a possible embodiment, the device according to the eleventh aspect may further comprise a memory. The memory may be integral with the processor or may be separate. The memory may be used for storing computer programs and/or data related to the method according to any of the first to fourth aspects.

In this application, the apparatus according to the eleventh aspect may be the first network device according to the first aspect, or the second network device according to the second aspect, or the core network device according to the third aspect, or the terminal device according to the fourth aspect, or a chip (system) or other part or component that may be provided in the terminal or the network device, or an apparatus that includes the terminal or the network device.

Further, the technical effects of the apparatus according to the eleventh aspect may refer to the technical effects of the method according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, and are not described herein.

In a twelfth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device comprises: a processor and a transceiver. Wherein the transceiver is for information interaction between the communication device and the other device, and the processor executes program instructions for performing the method according to any of the first to fourth aspects.

In a possible embodiment, the device according to the twelfth aspect may further comprise a memory. The memory may be integral with the processor or may be separate. The memory may be used for storing computer programs and/or data related to the method according to any of the first to fourth aspects.

In this application, the apparatus according to the twelfth aspect may be the first network device according to the first aspect, or the second network device according to the second aspect, or the core network device according to the third aspect, or the terminal device according to the fourth aspect, or a chip (system) or other part or component that may be provided in the terminal or the network device, or an apparatus that includes the terminal or the network device.

Further, the technical effects of the apparatus according to the twelfth aspect may refer to the technical effects of the method according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, and are not described herein.

In a thirteenth aspect, a communication system is provided. The communication system comprises a first network device according to the first aspect, a second network device according to the second aspect, a core network device according to the third aspect, and a terminal device according to the fourth aspect.

In a fourteenth aspect, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium comprising: a computer program; the computer program, when run on a computer, causes the method of any one of the first to fourth aspects to be performed.

A fifteenth aspect provides a computer program product comprising a computer program or instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the method of any one of the first to fourth aspects to be performed.

It should be appreciated that any of the above-mentioned communication apparatus, computer-readable storage medium, computer program product and communication system may be implemented by the corresponding method provided above, and thus, the advantages achieved by the above-mentioned communication apparatus, computer-readable storage medium, computer program product and communication system may refer to the advantages of the corresponding method provided above, and are not repeated herein.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a dual link system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

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

Fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of an indication device for network slice according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The terms "first" and "second" are used below for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defining "a first" or "a second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more such feature. In the description of the present embodiment, unless otherwise specified, the meaning of "plurality" is two or more.

In this application, the terms "exemplary" or "such as" are used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "such as" is intended to present related concepts in a concrete fashion.

The following description of the embodiments of the present application will be made clearly and fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which it is evident that the embodiments described are only some, but not all, of the embodiments of the present application. All other embodiments, which can be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without undue burden from the present disclosure, are within the scope of the present disclosure.

First, the related art to which the present application relates will be briefly described.

1. Network slice: the network is a logic sub-network for supporting logic isolation of specific network capability and network characteristics, can comprise the whole network from end to end (E2E), can also share partial network functions in a plurality of network slices, and is a key technology for meeting the requirement of the third generation partnership project (3rd Generation Partnership Project,3GPP) on network differentiation of the 5G mobile communication technology. For example, network slices that meet the enhanced (augmented reality, AR) or Virtual (VR) implementation services require large bandwidth, low latency; network slicing meeting the business of the Internet of things (internet of things, IOT) requires supporting massive terminal access. Wherein different network slices (logical subnets) may be identified and distinguished by single network slice selection support information (Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information, S-NSSAI).

2. Network slice selection assistance information (network slice selection assistance information, nsai): the NSSAI includes one or more single NSSAI (S-NSSAI). The S-NSSAI is composed of a service type (SST) and a slice differentiation symbol (slice differentiator, SD). Wherein SST includes standardized and operator-customized slice-specific features and service types; SD is optional information supplementing SST to distinguish instances of multiple network slices of the same SST. The type and effect of NSSAI includes the following.

(1) Subscription NSSAI (Subscribed NSSAI) belongs to the network slice corresponding to the subscription data of the user.

(2) Default NSSAI (Default NSSAI), i.e., depending on the operator policy, there may be one or more network slices in the user's subscription nsai set to the default nsai. When the default nsai is set, if the terminal does not carry the allowed nsai in the registration request message (Registration Request), the network may use the default nsai to provide services to the terminal.

(3) The NSSAI identification information of the network slice carried in the registration request message (Registration Request) by the terminal is requested NSSAI (Requested NSSAI). Specifically, when the terminal requests a certain service for the first time, the registration request message may carry a Configured nsai, i.e. Configured nsai, and when the terminal requests the service again, the registration request message may carry an Allowed nsai, i.e. Allowed nsai.

(4) The grant NSSAI (Allowed NSSAI) indicates one or more S-nsais allowed by the network device among the nsais requested by the terminal. Specifically, the network device may inform the terminal of the NSSAI permission information by carrying an Allowed NSSAI network element in a registration reception message (Registration Accept).

(5) Reject NSSAI (Rejected NSSAI), represents one or more S-nsais rejected by the network device among the nsais requested by the terminal. Specifically, the network device may inform the terminal of the rejection of nsai information by carrying the reject nsai element in a registration receive message (Registration Accept).

(6) The network configures NSSAI (Configured NSSAI) a usable nsai for the terminal configuration. The terminal receives an indication message from the network device to configure NSSAI to determine NSSAI available under the network. Specifically, the network may inform the terminal of the information of configuring nsai by carrying Configured nsai network elements in the registration receive message (Registration Accept). The terminal can store Configured NSSAI of different network configurations in the nonvolatile memory space, and each PLMN can only configure one Configured NSSAI at most. In addition, if the network changes the configuration nsai of the terminal after registration is completed, the network may inform the terminal of updating the information of the configuration nsai through an update configuration command (Configuration Update Command).

3. DC network: the terminal support in the connection state is simultaneously connected with the two base stations, and the terminal can carry out split transmission between the two base stations, so that the wireless resource utilization rate is improved, the system switching time delay is reduced, and the network system performance is improved.

The DC network comprises a Master Node (MN) and a Secondary Node (SN), wherein the MN and the SN are connected through a network interface, the MN at least provides control plane connection to a core network, and also provides user plane connection, and the SN only provides user plane connection with the core network.

In addition, in the process of DC network construction, the master node can send auxiliary node adding request (SN Addition Request) information to the auxiliary nodes, so that the auxiliary nodes are successfully added to form the DC network.

There are many possible networking architectures for the DC network, and as shown in fig. 1 (1), the core network is a 5G core network (5G Core Network,5GC), the primary node and the secondary node are NR base stations (e.g., the primary base station and the secondary base station are gNB1 and gNB2 respectively), an Xn interface exists between the primary node and the secondary node, at least a control plane connection and also a user plane connection may be provided; an NG interface exists between the NR master node and the 5GC, and at least a control plane connection and a user plane connection are provided; an NG-U interface exists between the NR auxiliary node and the 5GC, i.e. there is only a user plane connection.

The NR primary base station can now provide air interface resources to the terminal through at least one NR cell, which is referred to as a primary cell group (Master Cell Group, MCG). Correspondingly, the NR secondary base station can also provide air interface resources for the terminal through at least one NR cell, where the at least one NR cell is referred to as a secondary cell group (Secondary Cell Group, SCG).

In addition, as shown in fig. 1 (2), the DC network may further include a core network of 5GC, a primary station of LTE base station eNB, a secondary node of NR base station gNB, where an Xn interface exists between the LTE base station and the NR base station, and at least a control plane may be connected, and a user plane may also be connected; an NG interface exists between the LTE base station and the 5GC, and at least a control plane connection and a user plane connection are provided; there is an NG-U interface between the NR base station and the 5GC, i.e. only user plane connections are possible.

As shown in fig. 1 (3), the DC network may further include a core network of 5GC, a primary node of NR base station gNB, a secondary node of LTE base station eNB, where an Xn interface exists between the NR base station and the LTE base station, and at least a control plane connection may also include a user plane connection; an NG interface exists between the NR base station and the 5GC, at least a control plane is connected, and a user plane can be connected; an NG-U interface exists between the LTE base station and the 5GC, i.e. only the user plane is connected.

It should be noted that, the DC network formed by the network devices in the following embodiments of the present application may be any DC network architecture shown in fig. 1, or other DC network architectures not shown, which will not be described in detail below.

In addition, under a DC network, the bearer of data is divided into the following:

MCG bearer: the MCG bearer is routed from the core network to the MN and forwarded by the MN directly to the terminal device, i.e. in a conventional downlink data forwarding manner.

SCG bearer: the SCG bearer is routed from the core network to the SN and forwarded by the SN to the terminal device.

Split (Split) bearer: split bearer is separated at the base station side, and can be forwarded to the terminal equipment by the MN or the SN, or can be used for simultaneously serving the terminal equipment by the MN and the SN according to the separation proportion.

Next, the implementation environment and application scenario of the embodiment of the present application will be briefly described.

Fig. 2 is a schematic architecture diagram of a communication system 100 according to an embodiment of the present application. In fig. 2, the communication system 100 includes a network device 101, a network device 102, a terminal 103, and a core network device 104.

The network device 101 is connected to the network device 102, and data transmission is possible between the two. Network device 101 may also provide wireless access services to at least one terminal, such as terminal 103. Specifically, each network device corresponds to a service coverage area, and a terminal entering the service coverage area can communicate with the network device through a Uu port, so as to receive a wireless access service provided by the network device. For example, the terminal 103 may transmit uplink data to the network device 101, and the network device 101 may transmit downlink data to the terminal 103.

The network device 101 establishes a data channel 1 based on the terminal 103 and the core network device 104, and the network device 101 transmits data from the terminal 103 to the core network device 104 or receives data from the core network 104 through the data channel 1.

The network device 101 or the network device 102 may be any device having a wireless transceiving function. Including but not limited to: an evolved base station (NodeB or eNB or e-NodeB, evolutional NodeB) in long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE), a base station (gnob or gNB) or transceiver point (transmission receiving point/transmission reception point, TRP) in New Radio (NR), a base station for a subsequent evolution of the third generation partnership project (3rd generation partnership project,3GPP), an access node in a wireless-fidelity (WiFi) system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, etc. The base station may be: macro base station, micro base station, pico base station, small station, relay station, or balloon station, etc. Multiple base stations may support networks of the same technology as mentioned above, or may support networks of different technologies as mentioned above. A base station may contain one or more co-sited or non-co-sited TRPs. The network devices may also be wireless controllers, centralized Units (CUs), and/or Distributed Units (DUs) in the context of a cloud wireless access network (cloud radio access network, CRAN). The following description will take network device 101 or network device 102 as an example of a base station. Network device 101 or network device 102 may be the same type of base station or may be different types of base stations. The base station may communicate with the terminal or may communicate with the terminal through a relay station. The terminal may communicate with a plurality of base stations of different technologies, for example, the terminal may communicate with a base station supporting an LTE network, may communicate with a base station supporting a 5G network, and may support dual connectivity with the base station of the LTE network and the base station of the 5G network.

In some embodiments, network device 101 and/or network device 102 may be a Centralized-Distributed Unit (CU-DU) split architecture. That is, network device 101 and/or network device 102 may include one CU and one or more DUs. The CU is mainly used for centralized wireless resource and connection management control, and has a wireless high-layer protocol stack function. The DU has a distributed user plane processing function, and mainly has a physical layer function and a layer 2 function with higher real-time requirements.

Terminal 103 is a device with wireless transceiver function that can be deployed on land, including indoor or outdoor, hand-held, wearable or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on the water surface (such as ships, etc.); but may also be deployed in the air (e.g., on aircraft, balloon, satellite, etc.). The terminal may be a mobile phone (mobile phone), a tablet (Pad), a computer with a wireless transceiving function, a Virtual Reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (augmented reality, AR) terminal device, a terminal in industrial control (industrial control), a vehicle-mounted terminal device, a terminal in unmanned driving (self driving), a terminal in assisted driving, a terminal in remote medical (remote medical), a terminal in smart grid (smart grid), a terminal in transportation security (transportation safety), a terminal in smart city (smart city), a terminal in smart home (smart home), and the like. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to application scenarios. A terminal may also be referred to as a terminal device, user Equipment (UE), access terminal device, vehicle-mounted terminal, industrial control terminal, UE unit, UE station, mobile station, remote terminal device, mobile device, UE terminal device, wireless communication device, machine terminal, UE agent, UE apparatus, or the like. The terminal may be fixed or mobile.

The core network device 104 may be an access and mobility management function (Access and Mobility management Function, AMF) network element. The AMF is a main functional unit of the 5G core network, performs access control and mobility management capabilities, and ensures service continuity capability of the terminal in the mobile process. The AMF is mainly responsible for receiving all connection and session related information from the user equipment, handling connection and mobility management tasks, all messages related to session management are forwarded to the session management function (session management function, SMF) network element via the N11 reference interface. The AMF mainly comprises: registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, providing for the implementation of functions such as transmission, access authentication, access authorization, etc. for SM messages between a terminal and an SMF.

It should be noted that the communication system 100 shown in fig. 2 is only for example and is not intended to limit the technical solution of the present application. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that in a particular implementation, the communication system 100 may include other devices, and that the number of network devices, terminals, and core network devices may be determined according to particular needs.

Alternatively, each network element in fig. 2 in the embodiment of the present application, for example, network device 101, network device 102, terminal 103, or core network device 104, may be a functional module in one device. It will be appreciated that the above described functionality may be either a network element in a hardware device, such as a communication chip in a cell phone, or a software function running on dedicated hardware, or a virtualized function instantiated on a platform (e.g. a cloud platform).

For example, each network element in fig. 2 may be implemented by the communication device 300 in fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a hardware configuration of a communication device applicable to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 300 comprises at least one processor 301, communication lines 302, a memory 303 and at least one communication interface 304.

The processor 301 may be a general purpose central processing unit (central processing unit, CPU), microprocessor, application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of the programs of the present application.

Communication line 302 may include a pathway to transfer information between the aforementioned components, such as a bus.

Communication interface 304, using any transceiver-like device for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as an ethernet interface, a RAN interface, a wireless local area network (wireless local area networks, WLAN) interface, etc.

The memory 303 may be, but is not limited to, a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (random access memory, RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (compact disc read-only memory) or other optical disc storage, a compact disc storage (including compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, blu-ray disc, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. The memory may be stand alone and be coupled to the processor via communication line 302. The memory may also be integrated with the processor. The memory provided by embodiments of the present application may generally have non-volatility. The memory 303 is used for storing computer-executable instructions related to executing the embodiments of the present application, and is controlled to be executed by the processor 301. The processor 301 is configured to execute computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 303, thereby implementing the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application.

Alternatively, the computer-executable instructions in the embodiments of the present application may be referred to as application program codes, which are not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

In a particular implementation, as one embodiment, processor 301 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 of FIG. 3.

In a particular implementation, as one embodiment, the communication apparatus 300 may include a plurality of processors, such as the processor 301 and the processor 307 in fig. 3. Each of these processors may be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or may be a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. A processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and/or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication apparatus 300 may further include an output device 305 and an input device 306. The output device 305 communicates with the processor 301 and may display information in a variety of ways. For example, the output device 305 may be a liquid crystal display (liquid crystal display, LCD), a light emitting diode (light emitting diode, LED) display device, a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) display device, or a projector (projector), or the like. The input device 306 is in communication with the processor 301 and may receive user input in a variety of ways. For example, the input device 306 may be a mouse, keyboard, touch screen device, or sensing device, among others.

The communication apparatus 300 may be a general-purpose device or a special-purpose device. In a specific implementation, the communication apparatus 300 may be a portable computer, a network server, a palm top computer (personal digital assistant, PDA), a mobile handset, a tablet computer, a wireless terminal, an embedded device, or a device having a similar structure as in fig. 3. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to the type of communication device 300.

The following specifically describes a communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application.

It should be noted that, in the embodiments described below, the names of the messages between the network elements or the names of the parameters in the messages are only an example, and may be other names in specific implementations, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

It may be understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, the network elements such as the first network device, the second network device, or the core network may perform some or all of the steps in the embodiment of the present application, these steps are merely examples, and the embodiment of the present application may also perform other steps or variations of various steps. Furthermore, the various steps may be performed in a different order presented in embodiments of the present application, and it is possible that not all of the steps in embodiments of the present application may be performed.

As shown in fig. 4, a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application is provided, and the method includes steps 401 to 405.

401: the terminal device sends a network slice request to the first network device.

Wherein the network slice request may include a plurality of network slices. For example, if the network slices corresponding to the network service requested by the terminal device are Slice1 and Slice3, the network Slice request may be used to indicate the Slice1 and Slice3.

In one embodiment, the identification of the network slice may be uniquely identified by S-nsai, which in the examples of the present application may be used to represent the network slice by way of example, but not limitation.

In one embodiment, the network slice request may carry identifiers S-nsai corresponding to a plurality of network slices, for example, the network slice request is a Requested nsai, where the Requested nsai includes one or more S-nsais. The Requested NSSAI Requested by the terminal device includes an S-NSSAI corresponding to Slice1 and an S-NSSAI corresponding to Slice3.

In one embodiment, the terminal device resides in a signal coverage area of the first network device, and the terminal device may initiate a network slice registration request (Registration Request) to the core network device through a Non-Access-Stratum (NAS) layer, for requesting to complete a corresponding network slice registration to the core network. The first network device serves as a transfer device, and forwards a network slice registration request to the core network device for the terminal device. It should be noted that, the network slice registration request also includes the Requested nsai, but the first network device does not parse the encapsulated packet of the network slice registration request during the transit process.

Further, in one embodiment, the terminal device may carry the network slice registration request and the Requested nsai in a Setup Complete (MSG 5) message of radio resource control (Radio Resource Control, RRC) during the random access procedure with the first network device.

For example, in step 401, the terminal device may specifically send MSG5 to the first network device, where the MSG5 carries a network Slice registration request and a Requested NSSAI, and the Requested NSSAI includes an S-NSSAI of Slice1 and an S-NSSAI of Slice 3.

402: the first network device receives a network slice request, wherein the first network device does not support the first network slice.

The Requested NSSAI of the terminal equipment comprises a plurality of network slices, wherein the plurality of network slices comprise a first network slice. For example, the network slices corresponding to the service of the network Slice requested by the terminal device are Slice1 and Slice3, where the first network Slice is Slice1.

The first network device does not support the first network slice, that is, the first network slice is a network slice that the first network device does not support.

In one embodiment, in step 402, the first network device determines that the first network slice requested by the terminal device is not supported, which specifically includes the following two ways.

Mode one: the first network device is self-aware.

In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 5, after step 401, the method may further include:

500: the first network device determines that the first network slice is not supported according to the comparison of the network slice in the network slice request with the network slice locally supported by the first network device.

Illustratively, in connection with the communication system shown in fig. 2, the configuration NSSAI of the first network device may be Slice2 and Slice3. The first network device may determine that the first network device does not support the first network Slice1 according to the Requested nsai of the terminal device being Slice1 and Slice3 in combination with the configuration nsai.

Subsequently, the first network device may acquire other access network devices supporting the first network slice, for example, the second network device, according to the nearby network devices, and request to add the second network device as an auxiliary node to establish a DC network, so that the core network device may obtain an Allowed nsai based on the network slice supported by the terminal device under the DC network, and service the network slice request of the terminal device. The detailed process will be described below.

Mode two: the first network device determines that the first network slice is not supported based on the target network slice information received from the core network device.

501: the terminal device and the core network device interact with a registration request message and a registration completion message.

Generally, after the terminal device initiates the network slice registration request (Registration Request), the terminal device forwards the network slice registration request of the terminal device to the core network device through the transfer of the first network device, and implements interaction such as a registration completion (Registration Complete) message, so as to successfully complete the registration process of the network slice. The Registration Request may carry a Requested NSSAI Requested by the terminal device, and Registration Complete may carry an Allowed NSSAI of the terminal device under the current network support.

In one embodiment, the core network device initiates a network slice registration request for the terminal device, and may first complete registration of a portion of network slices supported by the current network in the Requested nsai, and respond to the registration request, and in addition, feedback network slice information that is not supported by the current network as a target network slice to the first network device.

As shown in fig. 5, the registration request (Registration Request) message sent by the foregoing terminal device through the NAS layer may also carry a Requested nsai, after the AMF of the core network receives Registration Request the corresponding Allowed nsai of the terminal device under the first network device may be obtained as Slice3 according to the network Slice information supported by the first network device (e.g., slice2 and Slice3 are obtained through interaction of NG interfaces), unified data management (Unified Data Management, UDM) subscription information, network Slice selection function (Network Slice Selection Function, NSSF) policy, and support conditions of the network Slice by itself. Then, the core network device may first complete the registration request of Slice3, and feed back Registration Complete to the terminal device, where the Allowed nsai carried in Registration Complete is Slice3.

502: the core network device sends target network slice information to the first network device.

In one embodiment, the Target network slice information may be represented by a Target nsai, and the Target network slice information may include information of network slices that are not supported by the terminal device under the first network device.

Based on the foregoing example, among the network slices (Slice 1 and Slice 3) requested by the terminal device, slice1 is a network Slice that is not supported by the first network device, and the core network device may send the Slice1 to the first network device with the Slice1 carried in the Target nsai. That is, the Target NSSAI is at least one S-NSSAI that is not among the Allowed NSSAIs because the current base station does not support the Requested NSSAI initiated by the terminal device.

503: the terminal device sends a registration request of the first network slice to the first network device.

The terminal device may initiate a registration request based on the first network slice to the first network device again, so as to find a suitable access network device to provide the service corresponding to the first network slice for the terminal device.

Subsequently, the first network device may acquire other access network devices supporting the first network slice, for example, the second network device, according to the nearby network devices, and request to add the second network device as an auxiliary node to establish the DC network, so that the core network device may update the Allowed nsai based on the network slice supported by the terminal device under the DC network, and carry the updated Allowed nsai in the context initial establishment request to feed back to the first network device, thereby providing services for the network slice request of the terminal device. The detailed process will be described below.

In both possible ways described above, the first network device may determine, based on the request of the terminal device, a network slice, such as the first network slice, that is not supported by the first network device. Then, the first network device can find other access network devices supporting the first network slice requested by the terminal device through information interaction with the adjacent network devices, so as to provide the enhanced services of the network slice for the terminal device by means of constructing a DC network.

For example, a first network device discovers that a nearby second network device may support a first network slice. Specifically, the following can be adopted.

In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 5, after step 402, the method may further include:

504: the first network device interacts with network slice information supported by nearby network devices.

Specifically, the first network device may send, through the Xn interface, request information about the supported network slice to a plurality of network devices in the vicinity, for use in acquiring the case of the network slice supported by the neighboring network device. Then, after receiving the request information, the plurality of network devices in the vicinity may report the network slice supported by themselves to the first network device through the Xn interface. For example, the second network device reports the network slices supported by itself to the first network device as Slice1 and Slice3.

Thus, the first network device may obtain a nearby cell list/access network device capable of supporting the first network slice.

505: the first network device sends a measurement-related RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal device.

506: the terminal device sends a measurement report to the first network device.

The first network device may send a measurement related RRC reconfiguration message, i.e. a RRC Reconfiguration message, to the terminal device according to the cell list capable of supporting the first network slice acquired in step 504.

And the terminal equipment performs neighbor cell measurement according to the RRC reconfiguration message and reports a measurement report to the first network equipment.

507: the first network device determines a second network device that supports the first network slice.

The first network device selects a suitable cell from a cell list capable of supporting the first network slice through a measurement report reported by the terminal device, and uses an access network device of the cell, such as a second network device, as an auxiliary node for forming the DC network.

In one embodiment, if the first network device determines that the cell list capable of supporting the first network slice includes a plurality of cells or includes a multi-access network device, the first network device may select, as a secondary node of the DC network, a secondary node with the best signal strength or the best signal quality according to a measurement report reported by the terminal device.

403: the first network device sends auxiliary node addition request information to the second network device, the auxiliary node addition request information including a first indication.

In one embodiment, the auxiliary node addition request information may specifically be a SN Addition Request message, which is used to request to add the second network device as the auxiliary node to form a DC network with the first network device. Wherein the first network device acts as a master node of the DC network.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the auxiliary node addition request information is sent before the first network device receives the session resource establishment request of the protocol data unit (Protocol Data Unit, PDU) corresponding to the first network slice. That is, with the embodiment of the present application, the first network device can form the DC network by adding the auxiliary node before receiving the PDU session resource establishment request corresponding to the network slice that is not supported by the first network device, so that the service requirement corresponding to the network slice (first network slice) that is not supported by the terminal device due to the MN (first network device) can be satisfied through the DC network.

Based on this, in the embodiment of the present application, through a pre-agreement (or a protocol agreement) between network devices, the auxiliary node addition request information carries a first indication, which is used to indicate that the second network device can support a network slice that is not supported by the first network device, so that the first network device can complete the auxiliary node addition combination with the second network device to form a DC network before receiving a PDU session resource establishment request corresponding to the first network slice.

That is, the first network device adds the first indication carried in the request information to the auxiliary node sent by the second network device, so as to notify the second network device, and before processing the PDU session resource establishment request corresponding to the first network slice, the second network device is used as the auxiliary node to be combined with the first network device into a DC network, so as to implement the service request of the terminal device for the first network slice.

In one embodiment, the first indication may be indicated by a SN Support Indication field, and, for example, when the value of the SN Support Indication field is true (true) or 1, the first indication is indicated as the first indication, that is, the MN indicates that the SN can support the network slice requested by the terminal device but not supported by the MN, and may directly trigger the SN addition procedure.

In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 5, after step 403, the method may further include:

508: the second network device sends secondary station addition response information to the first network device, wherein the secondary station addition response information is used for indicating that the second network device and the first network device successfully form a DC network.

The auxiliary station adding response information may be SN Addition Request ACK message specifically, which is used for the second network device to feed back the SN adding process successfully completed to the first network device.

By the method, the first network device can directly trigger the SN adding process before receiving the PDU session resource establishment request related to the first network slice, and add the second network device capable of supporting the first network slice as an auxiliary node to form a DC network, so that the terminal device can support related services of the first network slice requested by the terminal device under the DC network, the problem that the core network refuses the service request of the terminal device because the first network device is not supported is avoided, and the communication efficiency is improved.

Then, the terminal device can complete random access with the SN side according to the RRC reconfiguration message issued by the SN side.

509: the second network device sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal device.

The RRC reconfiguration message may be sent to the first network device through the second network device, and then transferred by the first network device, and the RRC reconfiguration message is sent to the terminal device.

510: and the terminal equipment interacts with the second network equipment to finish random access.

The terminal device may request the second network device to perform random access according to the RRC reconfiguration message, and complete an interaction procedure of the random access.

By the above embodiment, after the DC network establishment is completed, the first network device, that is, the master node, needs to update the supported network slice situation to the core network device, which may specifically include the following steps.

404: the first network device sends a second indication to the core network device, where the second indication is used to indicate a supporting condition of network slicing under a DC network formed by the first network device and the second network device.

Since the first network device and the second network device form the DC network, the DC network is equivalent to combining network slices supported by the first network device and the second network device, i.e., the DC network expands network slice services supported by a single network device. That is, the network slices that the DC network can support may be a union of the sets of network slices that the first network device and the second network device each support. Therefore, when the core network device determines the Allowed network slice corresponding to the terminal device, that is, the Allowed nsai, the core network device should consider the case of the network slice that the terminal device can support under the DC network.

Based on this, in the embodiment of the present application, by carrying the second instruction in the interaction information through a pre-agreement (or a protocol agreement) between the access network device and the core network device, the core network device may determine, according to the supporting condition of the network slice under the DC network, an Allowed network slice corresponding to the terminal device, that is, an Allowed nsai.

In one embodiment, the specific indication manner of the second indication may include the following.

(1) The second indication may comprise indication information of a network slice requested by the DC network support terminal device. In particular, the second indication may be used to indicate that the current DC network is capable of supporting all network slices requested by the terminal device.

Illustratively, the second indication may be indicated by a Supported NSSAI Indication field. When the value of the Supported NSSAI Indication field is true (true) or 1, a second indication is indicated, which may be used to indicate that the current DC combination can support the slice service requested by the UE, and the core network device may further determine an Allowed NSSAI.

(2) The second indication may include indication information that the second network device supports network slices requested by the terminal device. In particular, the second indication may be used to indicate that the SN (i.e., the second network device) is capable of supporting network slices requested by the terminal device but not supported by the MN (i.e., the first network device).

Illustratively, the second indication may be indicated by a Supported NSSAI Indication field. When the value of the Supported NSSAI Indication field is true (true) or 1, the second indication is indicated, and may be used to indicate that in a case where the MN cannot support a certain slice service requested by the UE, the SN can support the slice service, and the core network device may further determine an Allowed nsai.

(3) The second indication may include at least one of a tracking area code (Tracking Area Code, TAC) of the second network device, or a base station identity, such as a global RAN node identity (i.e., global RAN NodeID), or other base station identity. That is, the first network device may agree with the core network, and the MN may be configured to notify the core network device of any of the foregoing information, that is, to indicate that the current DC combination can support all network slice services requested by the UE, or may be configured to indicate that the current SN can support services requested by the UE but not supported by the MN, by sending the TAC/Global RAN NodeID corresponding to the SN to the core network device.

In addition, the MN may also be configured to determine the provider of the Allowed nsai by sending the TAC/Global RAN Node ID corresponding to the SN to the core network device (i.e., the network device supporting the Allowed nsai is MN/SN/DC). The detailed process of determining the Allowed nsai and the Allowed nsai provider at the core network side will be described below, and will not be repeated here.

(4) The second indication may include the foregoing (1) and (3), that is, the second indication is used to indicate that the current DC network can support all network slices requested by the terminal device, and the second indication further includes TAC/Global RAN NodeID corresponding to SN.

(5) The second indication may include the foregoing (2) and (3), that is, the second indication is used to indicate that the SN can support the network slice requested by the terminal device but not supported by the MN, and the second indication further includes the TAC/Global RAN NodeID to which the SN corresponds.

In one embodiment, the second indication sent by the first network device (MN) to the core network device may be carried in RAN configuration update (RAN Configuration Update) information. Specifically, the second indication may be that after the SN is added, the MN sends RAN Configuration Update information carrying the second indication to the core network device for the core network device to determine the Allowed nsai before the terminal device has not initiated the PDU session request about the first network slice.

In another embodiment, the second indication sent by the first network device (MN) to the core network device may be carried in PDU session resource modification indication (PDU Session Resource Modify Indication) information. Specifically, after the terminal device initiates the PDU session request, the MN sends PDUSession Resource Modify Indication information carrying the second indication to the core network device, and the information is sent to the core network device for the core network device to determine AllowedNSSAI and perform service transmission. By sending the second indication in this way, the overhead of signaling interactions between the MN and the core network device can be reduced.

405: the core network device sends the identification of the network slice allowed by the terminal device under the DC network.

In one embodiment, the core network device sends a context initial setup request (Initial Context Setup Request), wherein the context initial setup request carries a third indication sent to the first network device and also carries a fourth indication sent to the terminal device. The fourth indication may specifically be a registration complete (Registration Complete) message, where the fourth indication includes an identifier of a network slice Allowed by the terminal device under the DC network, that is, an Allowed NSSAI. Wherein the Allowed NSSAI is determined with reference to the second indication, and thus the fourth indication is determined with reference to the second indication.

The core network device sends a third indication to the first network device, the third indication comprising an identification of the network slices allowed by the terminal device under the DC network. The third indication is determined by the core network device with reference to the second indication. The third indication is the network slice Allowed by the terminal device under the DC network, i.e. Allowed nsai.

In one embodiment, the core network device may determine the Allowed nsai according to the second indication in combination with the Requested nsai, the UDM subscription information, the NSSF policy, and the AMF support capability in the network slice registration request message of the terminal device.

Further, in the Allowed nsai is a Requested nsai, subscription information can be queried in UDM, and network slices can be supported by both the base station (currently DC network) and the core network device. That is, the core network device may determine the Allowed NSSAI according to the second indication by taking an intersection of the Requested NSSAI (which may be one or more S-NSSAIs), the UDM subscription information, the NSSF policy, and the AMF-supported network slice set in combination with the network slice registration request message of the terminal device.

It should be noted that, in connection with the foregoing embodiment, in step 402, the first network device determines that the first network slice in the Requested NSSAI is an unsupported network slice, and the specific procedure may be in a first mode and a second mode, so, based on the first mode that the first network device perceives itself, the third indication sent by the core network device to the first network device in step 405 is that the core network device sends the determined Allowed NSSAI to the first network device for the first time based on the network slice request of the terminal device. Based on the foregoing second mode, the core network device already sends the determined Allowed NSSAI (including Slice 3) to the first network device, at this time, the third indication in step 405 is that the core network device sends the updated Allowed NSSAI (including Slice1 and Slice 3) to the first network device again based on the request of the terminal device.

In combination with the foregoing step 404, the first network device sends the (1) - (5) different indication manners of the second indication to the core network device, and the core network device may determine the Allowed NSSAI.

When the second indication is the foregoing mode (1), that is, the second indication is used to indicate that the current DC network can support all network slices Requested by the terminal device, the core network device may determine the Allowed nsapi according to the intersection of the Requested nsai of the terminal device, the UDM subscription information, the NSSF policy, and the network slice set supported by the AMF. For example, the Requested NSSAI of the terminal device includes { Slice1, slice3}, where the UDM subscription information, NSSF policy, and network Slice set supported by AMF include Slice1 and Slice3 at the same time, and the core network device may obtain that the Allowed NSSAI includes { Slice1, slice3}.

When the second indication is the foregoing manner (2), that is, the second indication is used to indicate that the SN can support the network slice Requested by the terminal device but not supported by the MN, the core network device may determine the Allowed nsai according to the Requested nsai of the terminal device, the network slice information supported by the MN, the UDM subscription information, the NSSF policy, and the network slice set supported by the AMF. Illustratively, the Requested NSSAI of the terminal device includes { Slice1, slice3}, and it is known from the second indication that the SN can support network slices Requested by the terminal device but not supported by the MN, that is, the DC network can support all network slices Requested by the terminal device. In addition, the UDM subscription information, NSSF policy, and network Slice set supported by AMF both include Slice1 and Slice3, and the core network device may obtain that the Allowed NSSAI includes { Slice1, slice3}.

Optionally, when the second indication is the mode (3), (4) or (5), the core network device may further determine a provider corresponding to each S-nsai in the Allowed nsai, that is, TAC/Global RAN Node ID supporting the S-nsai. Illustratively, the second indication includes a base station identifier of the second network device, and the core network device may further determine that the provider of the first network Slice, slice1, in the Allowed NSSAI is the second network device.

Thus, the first network device receives a third indication from the core network device to obtain an Allowed NSSAI.

In one embodiment, the core network device sends a fourth indication to the terminal device, the fourth indication indicating the network slices allowed by the terminal device under the DC network. The core network device, e.g., AMF, may send an Allowed NSSAI to the terminal device via a NAS layer message. The first network device is configured to relay the first indication, and the first network device does not parse the fourth indication message.

In an embodiment, the fourth indication may further include at least one of TAC, global RAN Node ID or supporting base station type corresponding to the network device supporting the allowed network slice. The base station Type (Type) may include MN, SN, or DC, among others. For example, the base station Type corresponding to a certain network Slice (Slice 2) is MN, that is, the network device supporting the network Slice (Slice 2) is the master node (first network device). The base station Type corresponding to a certain network Slice (Slice 1) is SN, that is, the network device supporting the network Slice (Slice 1) is a secondary node (second network device). The base station Type corresponding to a certain network Slice (Slice 3) is DC, that is, the network devices supporting the network Slice (Slice 3) are a main node and an auxiliary node (a first network device and a second network device).

That is, the fourth indication binds the S-nsai of the Allowed nsais with the TAC/Global RAN Node ID/Type of the base station capable of supporting the S-nsai so that the terminal device obtains the provider of each of the Allowed nsais.

Specifically, in one embodiment, the specific manner of binding the S-nsai with the base station information supporting the S-nsai in the fourth indication may be one-to-one binding between each S-nsai and the base station TAC/GlobalRANNode ID/Type supporting the S-nsai. The network slices supported by the MN or the SN separately must be bound, and the network slices supported by both the MN and the SN may or may not be bound to the base station information.

Illustratively, the Allowed NSSAI may be represented as Allowed NSSAI= { Slice1: sn_tac; slice3: mn_tac, sn_tac, wherein each S-nsai is bound to a supported base station TAC. Alternatively, allowed nssai= { Slice1: SN; slice3: DC, wherein each S-nsai is bound to a supported base station type. Alternatively, allowednssai= { Slice1: sn_tac; slice3, where Slice3 is a network Slice supported by both MN and SN, base station information may not be bound.

Alternatively, the Allowed NSSAI may be expressed as a list of S-NSSAIs supported by the MN and a list of S-NSSAIs supported by the SN, respectively, and then binding the two lists with provider information (TAC/Global RAN Node ID/Type), respectively. The network slices supported by the MN or the SN separately must be bound, and the network slices supported by both the MN and the SN may or may not be bound to the base station information.

Illustratively, the Allowed NSSAI may also be expressed as follows: sn_tac/Global RAN Node ID/SN; { Slice3,..}: mn_tac/Global RAN Node ID/MN, sn_tac/Global RAN Node ID/SN. Alternatively, allowed nssai= { { Slice1,..: sn_tac/Global RAN Node ID/SN; { Slice3,..degree} }.

By the above embodiment, when the first network device receives the slice service (the first network slice) of the terminal device that the first network device does not support but the second network device can support, before receiving the PDU session resource establishment request related to the first network slice, the first network device directly triggers the SN adding process to add the second network device as an auxiliary node, so as to form a DC network to provide the slice service for the terminal device, thereby avoiding the problem that the core network refuses the service request of the terminal device due to the fact that the first network device does not support, and improving the communication efficiency. In addition, the first network device determines an Allowed NSSAI and a corresponding provider of the UE in the current DC combination area by updating the network slice situation supported under the DC combination.

In another embodiment, in step 403, the first indication may include an identifier corresponding to the first network slice.

That is, the sending, by the first network device, the auxiliary node addition request information to the second network device may include network slice information that the second network device is capable of supporting the network slice that the first network device does not support, for example, identification information of the first network slice, which is used to indicate that the second network device is capable of supporting the network slice that the first network device does not support. For example, the first indication may be indicated by a SNSupport Indication field, where SN Support Indication field may include an S-nsai corresponding to the first network Slice 1.

In one embodiment, the first indication may include at least one network slice supported by the second network device in the network slice request. That is, the first network device may include all network slice information that can be supported by the second network device in the network slice request in sending the auxiliary node addition request information to the second network device. For example, the first indication may be indicated by a SN Support Indication field, where the SN Support Indication field may include an S-nsai corresponding to Slice1, an S-nsai corresponding to Slice3, and so on.

Based on this, before step 404 in the foregoing embodiment, i.e. before the first network device sends the second indication to the core network device, i.e. in step 509, the second network device sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal device, where the RRC reconfiguration message includes an identification of the network slices supported by the second network device in the network slice request, and at least one of TAC, global RAN Node ID or supporting base station type of the second network device.

That is, when the SN forwards the RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal device through the MN, the SN may send the network slice information that the SN can support to the terminal device in association with its TAC/Global RAN Node ID/Type, so that the terminal device may obtain the access network device information that supports the network slice.

Illustratively, the second network device may carry SN Supported NSSAI fields when sending the RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal device in connection with the support of the network slices of the first network device. Wherein the base station type of the network slice supported by the second network device alone in SN Supported NSSAI is set to SN and the base station type of the network slice supported by both the first network device and the second network device is set to DC. This field can be expressed as: SNSupported NSSAI = { Slice1: sn_tac/Global RAN Node ID/SN; slice3: sn_tac/Global RAN Node ID/DC }.

The terminal device may then complete random access based on the interaction between the RRC reconfiguration message and the second network device.

Based on this, in step 404 in the foregoing embodiment, the first network device sends a second instruction to the core network device, the second instruction being information for indicating a network slice supported under the DC network composed of the first network device and the second network device. That is, the second indication may include an identification of a network slice supported under the DC network.

In one embodiment, the second indication may be indicated by a Supported NSSAI Indication field.

For example, the configuration nsai of the first network device may be { Slice2, slice3}, and the configuration nsai of the second network device may be { Slice1, slice3}, then the union of the network slices supported under the DC network may be { Slice1, slice2, slice3}, based on the second indication. The Supported NSSAI Indication field can be expressed as: supported NSSAI Indication = { Slice1, slice2, slice3}, that is, MN indicates that Slice information that can be supported by the AMF under the current DC combination is = { Slice1, slice2, slice3}, to notify the AMF to further determine the Allowed NSSAI according to the second indication.

Based on this, in step 404 in the foregoing embodiment, the core network device sends a third indication to the first network device, the third indication comprising an identification of the network slices allowed by the terminal device under the DC network. In one embodiment, the process of the core network device determining the Allowed NSSAI according to the second indication may include the following process.

AMF combines Requested NSSAI in NAS message, slice information supported under DC combination, UDM subscription information, NSSF policy, and AMF support capability to determine Allowed NSSAI. Illustratively, the Slice information that can be supported under the current DC combination indicated by MN is SupportedNSSAI Indication = { Slice1, slice2, slice3}, AMF determines Allowed nssai= { Slice1, slice3} in combination with the RequestedNSSAI (i.e., { Slice1, slice3 }) in the NAS message, the Slice information supported under the DC combination is { Slice1, slice2, slice3}, UDM subscription information, NSSF policy, and AMF support capability.

In addition, in a possible implementation manner, the core network device may further send indication information according to the Allowed nsai to the terminal device, so that the terminal device may determine TAC, global RAN Node ID or Type of the network device corresponding to each network slice supported by the terminal device in the DC network according to the Allowed nsai and in combination with the SN Supported NSSAI indication in the RRC reconfiguration message in the foregoing step, that is, the terminal device may obtain the provider of each network slice.

Illustratively, allowed nssai= { Slice1, slice3}, SN Supported NSSAI = { Slice1: sn_tac/Global RAN Node ID/SN; slice3: sn_tac/Global RAN Node ID/DC }, so that the terminal device can determine that the provider of each S-nsai in the Allowed nsai, i.e., the provider of Slice1 is SN and the provider of Slice3 is SN and MN.

By the embodiment, the addition of the SN can be finished in advance before the terminal equipment initiates the PDU session request which is not supported by the MN, so that the enhancement of the network slice is realized based on the DC network, and the communication efficiency of the network slice service is improved by updating the condition of the network slice supported by the terminal equipment under the DC network, thereby determining the Allowed NSSAI and the corresponding provider of the terminal equipment under the current DC network.

The communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail above with reference to fig. 4 and 5. A communication apparatus for performing the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below with reference to fig. 6.

Fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 6, the communication apparatus 600 includes: a receiving module 601 and a transmitting module 602. For ease of illustration, fig. 6 shows only the main components of the communication device.

In some embodiments, the communication apparatus 600 may be adapted to perform the functions of the first network device in the method shown in fig. 4 or fig. 5 in the network architecture shown in fig. 2.

The receiving module 601 is configured to receive a network slice request from a terminal device, where the network slice request includes an identifier of a first network slice, and the communication apparatus does not support the first network slice.

The sending module 602 is configured to send, to the second network device, auxiliary node addition request information, where the auxiliary node addition request information includes a first indication, where the first indication is used to indicate that the second network device is capable of supporting the first network slice.

The sending module 602 is further configured to send a second indication to the core network device, where the second indication is used to indicate a supporting situation of the network slice under the dual-connection DC network formed by the communication apparatus and the second network device.

The receiving module 601 is further configured to receive a third indication from the core network device, the third indication comprising an identification of a network slice allowed by the terminal device under the DC network.

In a possible implementation, the first indication further includes at least one network slice supported by the second network device in the network slice request.

In a possible implementation manner, the sending module 602 is further configured to send, to the terminal device, an RRC reconfiguration message of the second network device to the terminal device, where the RRC reconfiguration message is used for the terminal device to request random access to the second network device, and the RRC reconfiguration message includes an identifier of a network slice supported by the second network device in the network slice request, and at least one of a TAC, a base station identifier, or a supported base station type of the second network device.

In one possible implementation, the second indication is included in a network slice request for a network slice supported by the DC network.

In a possible implementation manner, before the sending module 602 sends the auxiliary node addition request information to the second network device, the sending module further includes: determining that the first network slice is not supported according to the comparison of the network slice in the network slice request and the network slice locally supported by the first network equipment; or determining that the first network slice is not supported according to the received target network slice information from the core network device.

In a possible implementation, the sending module 602 is further configured to request supported network slice information from a nearby network device. The receiving module 601 is configured to determine that the second network device supports the first network slice according to network slice information reported by the plurality of network devices.

In a possible implementation manner, the auxiliary node addition request information sent by the sending module 602 is sent before the communication device 600 receives the protocol data unit PDU session resource establishment request corresponding to the first network slice.

Alternatively, the transmitting module 602 and the receiving module 601 may be integrated into one module, such as a transceiver module (shown in fig. 6). The transceiver module is configured to implement a transmitting function and a receiving function of the communication device 600.

Optionally, the communication device 600 may further include a processing module (shown in fig. 6). Wherein the processing module is configured to implement the processing functions of the communication device 600.

Optionally, the communication device 600 may further include a storage module (shown in fig. 6) storing a program or instructions. The processing module, when executing the program or instructions, causes the communication apparatus 600 to perform the functions of the first network device of fig. 4 and 5.

The communication apparatus 600 may be a network device, such as a first network device, a chip (system) or other parts or components in the network device may be provided, or an apparatus including the network device, which is not limited in this application.

It is to be appreciated that the processing modules involved in communication device 600 may be implemented by a processor or processor-related circuit components, which may be a processor or processing unit; the transceiver module may be implemented by a transceiver or transceiver related circuit components, and may be a transceiver or a transceiver unit.

In addition, the technical effects of the communication apparatus 600 may refer to the corresponding technical effects in the methods shown in fig. 4 and 5, and will not be described herein.

In other embodiments, the communication apparatus 600 may be adapted to perform the functions of the second network device in the method shown in fig. 4 or fig. 5 in the network architecture shown in fig. 2.

The receiving module 601 is configured to receive auxiliary node addition request information from a first network device, where the auxiliary node addition request information includes a first indication, and the first indication is used to indicate that the communication apparatus can support a first network slice.

The sending module 602 is configured to send auxiliary node addition response information to the first network device, where the auxiliary node addition response information is used to indicate that the communication apparatus 600 successfully forms a dual-connection DC network with the first network device.

The sending module 602 is further configured to send an RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal device, and complete random access with the terminal device.

In a possible implementation, the first indication further includes an identification of the network slice supported by the communication device 600 in the network slice request.

In a possible implementation, the RRC reconfiguration message includes an identification of at least one network slice supported by the communication device 600, and at least one of a TAC, a base station identification, or a supported base station type of the communication device 600.

Optionally, the communication device 600 may further include a storage module (shown in fig. 6) storing a program or instructions. The processing module, when executing the program or instructions, causes the communication apparatus 600 to perform the functions of the second network device of fig. 4 and 5.

The communication apparatus 600 may be a network device, such as a second network device, a chip (system) or other parts or components in the network device may be provided, or an apparatus including the network device, which is not limited in this application.

In other embodiments, the communication apparatus 600 may be adapted to perform the functions of the core network device in the method shown in fig. 4 or fig. 5 in the network architecture shown in fig. 2.

The receiving module 601 is configured to receive a network slice registration request from a terminal device, where the network slice registration includes an identification of a first network slice.

The receiving module 601 is further configured to receive a second instruction from the first network device, where the second instruction is used to indicate a supporting situation of the network slice under the dual-connection DC network formed by the first network device and the second network device.

The sending module 602 is configured to send a fourth indication to the terminal device, where the fourth indication includes an identification of a network slice allowed by the terminal device under the DC network.

In a possible implementation manner, the sending module 602 is further configured to send a third indication to the first network device, where the third indication is used to indicate the network slice allowed by the terminal device under the DC network.

Optionally, the communication device 600 may further include a storage module (shown in fig. 6) storing a program or instructions. The program or instructions, when executed by the processing module, enable the communications apparatus 600 to perform the functions of the core network device of fig. 4 and 5.

The communication apparatus 600 may be a network device, such as a core network device, a chip (system) or other parts or components in the network device, or an apparatus including the network device, which is not limited in this application.

In other embodiments, the communication apparatus 600 may be adapted to perform the functions of the terminal device in the method shown in fig. 4 or fig. 5 in the network architecture shown in fig. 2.

Wherein the sending module 602 is configured to send a network slice request to the first network device, where the network slice request includes an identification of the first network slice.

The receiving module 601 is configured to receive an RRC reconfiguration message, where the RRC reconfiguration message is configured to instruct the communication apparatus 600 to request a random access from a second network device, and the second network device supports a first network slice, and the RRC reconfiguration message includes an identifier of a network slice supported by the second network device in the network slice request, and at least one of a TAC, a base station identifier, or a supported base station type of the second network device.

The receiving module 601 and the sending module 602 are further configured to interact with a second network device to complete random access.

The receiving module 601 is further configured to receive a fourth instruction, where the fourth instruction is used to instruct the communication apparatus 600 to allow network slicing under a dual-connection DC network formed by the first network device and the second network device.

Optionally, the communication device 600 may further include a storage module (shown in fig. 6) storing a program or instructions. The processing module, when executing the program or instructions, enables the communications apparatus 600 to perform the functions of the terminal devices of fig. 4 and 5.

The communication device 600 may be a terminal device, a chip (system) or other components or assemblies in the terminal device, or a device including the terminal device, which is not limited in this application.

It should be noted that, the specific execution process and embodiment in the above communication apparatus may refer to the steps and related descriptions executed by the network device or the terminal device in the above method embodiment, and the solved technical problems and the technical effects brought by the solved technical problems may also refer to the descriptions in the foregoing embodiment, which are not repeated herein.

In this embodiment, the communication device may be presented in the form of dividing the respective functional modules in an integrated manner. A "module" herein may refer to a particular circuit, a processor and memory executing one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and/or other devices that may provide the functionality described above. In a simple embodiment, the person skilled in the art will appreciate that the communication means may take the form as shown in fig. 3 in the foregoing.

Illustratively, the functions/implementations of the receiving module 601 or the sending module 602 in fig. 6 may be implemented by the processor 301 in fig. 3 invoking computer program instructions stored in the memory 303. For example, the functions/implementation of the transmitting module 602 and the receiving module 601 in fig. 6 may be implemented through the communication interface 304 in fig. 3.

In some embodiments, the processor 301 in fig. 3 may implement the above-possible implementation methods of the present application by invoking computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 303, so that the apparatus 300 may perform operations performed by the network device or the terminal device in the above-described method embodiments.

The communication group device in the above-described respective device embodiments may correspond exactly to the network apparatus or the terminal apparatus in the method embodiments, and the respective steps are performed by respective modules or units, for example, when the device is implemented in a chip, the communication unit may be an interface circuit of the chip for receiving signals from other chips or devices. The above communication unit for transmitting or receiving is an interface circuit of the apparatus for transmitting signals to other apparatuses, and for example, when the apparatus is implemented in a chip form, the communication unit may be an interface circuit for transmitting signals to other chips or apparatuses.

In an exemplary embodiment, a computer readable storage medium or a computer program product comprising instructions executable by the processor 301 of the communication device 300 to perform the method of the above-described embodiments is also provided. Therefore, reference may be made to the above method embodiments for the technical effects, which are not described herein.

The present application also provides a computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed, cause the computer to perform operations performed by a network device or a terminal device, respectively, corresponding to the above method.

The embodiment of the application also provides a system chip, which comprises: a processing unit, which may be, for example, a processor, and a communication unit, which may be, for example, an input/output interface, pins or circuitry, etc. The processing unit may execute the computer instructions, so that the communication device applied by the chip performs the operations performed by the network device or the terminal device in the method provided in the embodiment of the present application.

Alternatively, any one of the communication devices provided in the embodiments of the present application may include the system chip.

Optionally, the computer instructions are stored in a storage unit.

The embodiment of the application also provides a communication system, which may include: any of the above embodiments, and at least one terminal device.

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

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

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

In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described apparatus embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division, and there may be additional divisions when actually implemented, for example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted or not performed. Alternatively, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed with each other may be through some interface, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, electrical, mechanical, or other form.

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

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

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

As used in this application, the terms "component," "module," "system," and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, or software in execution. For example, the components may be, but are not limited to: a process running on a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way of example, both an application running on a computing device and the computing device can be a component. One or more components may reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component may be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. Furthermore, these components can execute from various computer readable media having various data structures thereon. The components may communicate by way of local and/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., data from one component interacting with another component in a local system, distributed system, and/or across a network such as the internet with other systems by way of the signal).

The present application presents various aspects, embodiments, or features about systems that may include multiple devices, components, modules, etc. It is to be understood and appreciated that the various systems may include additional devices, components, modules, etc. and/or may not include all of the devices, components, modules etc. discussed in connection with the figures. Furthermore, combinations of these schemes may also be used.

In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the term "exemplary" is used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the term use of an example is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion.

In the embodiment of the present application, information, signals, messages, channels may be mixed in some cases, and it should be noted that, when the distinction is not emphasized, the meaning to be expressed is consistent. "of", "corresponding" and "corresponding" are sometimes used in combination, and it should be noted that the meaning of the expression is consistent when the distinction is not emphasized. "System" and "network" are sometimes used interchangeably, and are intended to be synonymous when de-emphasizing their distinction, e.g., "communication system" refers to "communication network".

The network architecture and the service scenario described in the embodiments of the present application are for more clearly describing the technical solution of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application, and those skilled in the art can know that, with the evolution of the network architecture and the appearance of the new service scenario, the technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems.

The foregoing is merely specific embodiments of the present application, but the scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily think about changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present application, and the changes and substitutions are intended to be covered by the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of communication, the method comprising:

the method comprises the steps that first network equipment receives a network slice request from terminal equipment, wherein the network slice request comprises an identification of a first network slice, and the first network equipment does not support the first network slice;

the first network device sends auxiliary node addition request information to second network device, wherein the auxiliary node addition request information comprises a first indication, and the first indication is used for indicating that the second network device can support the first network slice;

The first network equipment sends a second instruction to the core network equipment, wherein the second instruction is used for indicating the supporting condition of network slicing under a double-connection DC network formed by the first network equipment and the second network equipment;

the first network device receives a third indication from the core network device, the third indication comprising an identification of network slices allowed by the terminal device under the DC network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second indication comprises an indication that the DC network supports the network slice requested by the terminal device or the second indication comprises an indication that the second network device supports the network slice requested by the terminal device.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first indication comprises an identification corresponding to the first network slice.

4. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first indication further comprises an identification of a network slice supported by the second network device in the network slice request.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein before the first network device sends the second indication to the core network device, the method further comprises:

The first network device sends an RRC reconfiguration message of the second network device to the terminal device, which is used for the terminal device to request random access to the second network device, wherein the RRC reconfiguration message comprises an identifier of a network slice supported by the second network device in the network slice request, and at least one of a TAC, a base station identifier or a supported base station type of the second network device.

6. The method of claim 4 or 5, wherein the second indication comprises an identification of a network slice supported by the DC network.

7. The method according to any of claims 1-6, wherein the second indication comprises a tracking area code, TAC, or a base station identity of the second network device.

8. The method according to any of claims 1-7, wherein before the sending of the secondary node addition request information to the second network device, the method further comprises:

the first network equipment determines that the first network slice is not supported according to the comparison of the network slice in the network slice request and the network slice locally supported by the first network equipment;

Or the first network device determines that the first network slice is not supported according to the target network slice information received from the core network device.

9. The method according to any of claims 1-8, wherein the secondary node addition request information is sent before the first network device receives a protocol data unit PDU session resource establishment request corresponding to the first network slice.

10. The method according to any of claims 1-9, wherein the identification of the network slice selects assistance information S-nsai for a single network slice.

11. A communication device, comprising a receiving module and a transmitting module:

the receiving module is configured to receive a network slice request from a terminal device, where the network slice request includes an identifier of a first network slice, and the communication device does not support the first network slice;

the sending module is configured to send auxiliary node addition request information to a second network device, where the auxiliary node addition request information includes a first indication, where the first indication is used to indicate that the second network device can support the first network slice;

The sending module is further configured to send a second instruction to a core network device, where the second instruction is used to instruct a supporting situation of the communication device on a network slice under a dual-connection DC network formed by the communication device and the second network device;

the receiving module is further configured to receive a third indication from the core network device, where the third indication includes an identification of a network slice allowed by the terminal device under the DC network.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the second indication comprises an indication that the DC network supports the network slice requested by the terminal device or the second indication comprises an indication that the second network device supports the network slice requested by the terminal device.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the first indication comprises an identification corresponding to the first network slice.

14. The apparatus of claim 12 or 13, wherein the first indication further comprises an identification of a network slice supported by the second network device in the network slice request.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the sending module is further configured to send, to the terminal device, an RRC reconfiguration message of the terminal device by the second network device for the terminal device to request random access from the second network device, where the RRC reconfiguration message includes an identification of a network slice supported by the second network device in the network slice request, and at least one of a TAC, a base station identification, or a supported base station type of the second network device.

16. The apparatus of claim 14 or 15, wherein the second indication comprises an identification of a network slice supported by the DC network.

17. The apparatus according to any of claims 11-16, wherein the second indication comprises a tracking area code, TAC, or a base station identity of the second network device.

18. The apparatus of any of claims 11-17, wherein the receiving module is further configured to determine that the first network slice is not supported based on a comparison of a network slice in the network slice request with a network slice supported locally by the first network device;

or the receiving module is further configured to determine that the first network slice is not supported according to the target network slice information received from the core network device.

19. The apparatus according to any of claims 11-18, wherein the secondary node addition request information is sent before the first network device receives a protocol data unit, PDU, session resource establishment request corresponding to the first network slice.

20. The apparatus of any of claims 11-19, wherein the identification of the network slice selects assistance information S-nsai for a single network slice.

21. A computer program product, the computer program product comprising: computer program which, when run on a computer, causes the method according to any one of claims 1-10 to be performed.