CN117279117A

CN117279117A - N19 tunnel establishment method, equipment, device and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN117279117A
Application number: CN202210681985.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李芸
Original assignee: Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Current assignee: Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-06-15
Filing date: 2022-06-15
Publication date: 2023-12-22

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides an N19 tunnel establishment method, device, apparatus and storage medium, wherein the method is applied to a first session management function network element, and the method comprises the following steps: determining that the selected first anchor user plane function network element has been allocated N19 tunnel information within the virtual network group; and sending the IP address information of the first terminal to a second session management function network element, wherein the IP address information is used for indicating a second anchor point user plane function network element managed by the second session management function network element to multiplex the existing N19 tunnel information, and updating a packet detection rule PDR and a packet forwarding rule FAR based on the IP address information of the first terminal. Therefore, redundant tunnel information in the process of establishing the N19 tunnel can be reduced, redundant N19 tunnels are reduced, and tunnel resources among PSAs are saved.

Description

N19 tunnel establishment method, equipment, device and storage medium

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of wireless communications technologies, and in particular, to a method, an apparatus, and a device for establishing an N19 tunnel, and a storage medium.

Background

The fifth generation mobile communication (the 5th generation mobile communication,5G) Virtual Network (VN) group consists of a group of terminals (also called User Equipments (UEs)) using dedicated communication for services of the 5G local area Network (Local Area Network, LAN) type.

Currently, in a scenario of communication with VN group terminals across session management functions (Session Management Function, SMFs), when different SMFs select the same protocol data unit session anchor point (Protocol Data Unit Session Anchor, PSA), the SMFs will respectively allocate different tunnel information to the same PSA, and establish multiple different N19 tunnels between different tunnel endpoints inside the PSA and between the PSA and any PSA in other same group, where the redundant N19 tunnels cause waste of tunnel resources between PSAs.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides an N19 tunnel establishment method, equipment, device and storage medium, which are used for reducing redundant tunnel information in an N19 tunnel establishment process crossing SMF and saving tunnel resources among PSAs.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for establishing an N19 tunnel, which is applied to a first session management function network element, including:

determining that the selected first anchor user plane function network element has been allocated N19 tunnel information within the virtual network group;

the method comprises the steps of sending Internet Protocol (IP) address information of a first terminal to a second session management function network element, and indicating a second anchor user plane function network element managed by the second session management function network element to multiplex the existing N19 tunnel information and updating a packet detection rule PDR and a packet forwarding rule FAR based on the IP address information of the first terminal;

The first terminal is a terminal served by the first session management function network element and the first anchor user plane function network element, and the second session management function network element comprises other session management function network elements except the first session management function network element in the virtual network group.

Optionally, after the determining that the selected first anchor user plane function network element has been allocated N19 tunnel information within the virtual network group, the method further includes:

and sending the IP address information of the first terminal to the first anchor point user plane functional network element, wherein the IP address information is used for indicating the first anchor point user plane functional network element to multiplex the existing N19 tunnel information, and updating PDR and FAR based on the IP address information of the first terminal.

Optionally, the determining that the selected first anchor user plane function network element has been allocated N19 tunnel information in the virtual network group includes:

inquiring anchor point user plane function network element information managed by the second session management function network element;

and according to the query result, determining that the selected first anchor user plane function network element is allocated with N19 tunnel information in the virtual network group.

Optionally, the querying the anchor user plane function network element information managed by the second session management function network element includes:

Inquiring the anchor point user plane function network element information managed by the second session management function network element to the second session management function network element or the group session management function network element.

carrying the identification information of the selected first anchor point user plane function network element in a registration message sent to the group session management function network element;

receiving a notification message sent by the group session management function network element according to the identification information of the first anchor user plane function network element, wherein the notification message comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating whether the first anchor user plane function network element is selected by other session management function network elements in the virtual network group;

and determining that the selected first anchor user plane function network element is allocated with N19 tunnel information in the virtual network group according to the first indication information.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides an N19 tunnel establishment method, applied to a second session management function network element, including:

receiving Internet Protocol (IP) address information of a first terminal sent by a network element of a first session management function;

The IP address information of the first terminal is sent to a managed second anchor point user plane function network element, and the IP address information is used for indicating the second anchor point user plane function network element to multiplex the existing N19 tunnel information and updating a packet detection rule PDR and a packet forwarding rule FAR based on the IP address information of the first terminal;

the first terminal is a terminal served by the first session management function network element and the first anchor user plane function network element, and an N19 tunnel is established between the first anchor user plane function network element and the second anchor user plane function network element.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides an N19 tunnel establishment method, applied to an anchor user plane functional network element, including:

receiving Internet Protocol (IP) address information of a first terminal sent by a session management function network element;

based on the IP address information of the first terminal, determining multiplexing existing N19 tunnel information, and updating a packet detection rule PDR and a packet forwarding rule FAR;

the first terminal is a terminal served by a first anchor user plane function network element, and an N19 tunnel is established between the first anchor user plane function network element and a second anchor user plane function network element;

The anchor user plane functional network element is the first anchor user plane functional network element or the second anchor user plane functional network element.

In a fourth aspect, embodiments of the present application further provide a first session management function network element, including a memory, a transceiver, and a processor:

a memory for storing a computer program; a transceiver for transceiving data under control of the processor; a processor for reading the computer program in the memory and performing the following operations:

Optionally, after the determining that the selected first anchor user plane function network element has been allocated N19 tunnel information within the virtual network group, the operations further include:

In a fifth aspect, embodiments of the present application further provide a second session management function network element, including a memory, a transceiver, and a processor:

In a sixth aspect, embodiments of the present application further provide an anchor user plane function network element, including a memory, a transceiver, and a processor:

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides an N19 tunnel establishment apparatus, applied to a first session management function network element, including:

a determining unit, configured to determine that the selected first anchor user plane function network element has been allocated N19 tunnel information in the virtual network group;

a first sending unit, configured to send, to a second session management function network element, IP address information of a first terminal, and instruct a second anchor user plane function network element managed by the second session management function network element to multiplex existing N19 tunnel information, and update a packet detection rule PDR and a packet forwarding rule FAR based on the IP address information of the first terminal;

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides an N19 tunnel establishment apparatus, applied to a second session management function network element, including:

a second receiving unit, configured to receive IP address information of the first terminal sent by the first session management function network element;

A second sending unit, configured to send IP address information of the first terminal to a managed second anchor user plane function network element, and instruct the second anchor user plane function network element to multiplex existing N19 tunnel information, and update a packet detection rule PDR and a packet forwarding rule FAR based on the IP address information of the first terminal;

In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides an N19 tunnel establishment apparatus, applied to an anchor user plane functional network element, including:

a third receiving unit, configured to receive IP address information of the first terminal sent by the session management function network element;

an updating unit, configured to determine to multiplex existing N19 tunnel information based on the IP address information of the first terminal, and update a packet detection rule PDR and a packet forwarding rule FAR;

In a tenth aspect, embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program for causing a computer to perform the N19 tunnel establishment method according to the first aspect described above, or to perform the N19 tunnel establishment method according to the second aspect described above, or to perform the N19 tunnel establishment method according to the third aspect described above.

In an eleventh aspect, embodiments of the present application further provide a communication device, where a computer program is stored, where the computer program is configured to cause the communication device to perform the N19 tunnel establishment method according to the first aspect, or perform the N19 tunnel establishment method according to the second aspect, or perform the N19 tunnel establishment method according to the third aspect.

In a twelfth aspect, embodiments of the present application further provide a processor-readable storage medium storing a computer program for causing a processor to perform the N19 tunnel establishment method according to the first aspect, or to perform the N19 tunnel establishment method according to the second aspect, or to perform the N19 tunnel establishment method according to the third aspect.

In a thirteenth aspect, embodiments of the present application further provide a chip product, where a computer program is stored, where the computer program is configured to cause the chip product to perform the N19 tunnel establishment method according to the first aspect, or perform the N19 tunnel establishment method according to the second aspect, or perform the N19 tunnel establishment method according to the third aspect.

According to the N19 tunnel establishment method, device and storage medium, after the first session management function network element determines that the selected first anchor user plane function network element is distributed with N19 tunnel information in the VN group, the first session management function network element sends the IP address information of the first terminal but does not send any N19 tunnel information to the second session management function network element, so that the second anchor user plane function network element managed by the second session management function network element does not reassign new N19 tunnel information, but multiplexes the existing N19 tunnel information, PDR and FAR are updated based on the IP address information of the first terminal, redundant tunnel information in the N19 tunnel establishment process can be reduced, redundant N19 tunnels are reduced, and tunnel resources among PSAs are saved.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the related art, the following description will briefly describe the drawings that are required to be used in the embodiments or the related technical descriptions, and it is obvious that, in the following description, the drawings are some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings may be obtained according to these drawings without any inventive effort for a person skilled in the art.

Fig. 1 is one of flow diagrams of an N19 tunnel establishment procedure provided in the related art;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an N19 tunnel provided by the related art;

FIG. 3 is a second flow chart of an N19 tunnel establishment procedure provided in the related art;

FIG. 4 is a third flow chart of an N19 tunnel establishment procedure provided by the related art;

fig. 5 is one of flow diagrams of an N19 tunnel establishment method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a second flowchart of an N19 tunnel establishment method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a third flow chart of an N19 tunnel establishment method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is one of implementation schematic diagrams of an N19 tunnel establishment method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of an N19 tunnel provided in an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 10 is a second schematic implementation diagram of the N19 tunnel establishment method provided in the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 11 is a third embodiment of a method for establishing an N19 tunnel according to the present invention;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a first session management function network element provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a second session management function network element provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of an anchor user plane function network element provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 15 is one of schematic structural diagrams of an N19 tunnel establishment apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 16 is a second schematic structural diagram of an N19 tunnel establishment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 17 is a third schematic structural diagram of an N19 tunnel establishment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

In the embodiment of the application, the term "and/or" describes the association relationship of the association objects, which means that three relationships may exist, for example, a and/or B may be represented: a exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone. The character "/" generally indicates that the context-dependent object is an "or" relationship.

The term "plurality" in the embodiments of the present application means two or more, and other adjectives are similar thereto.

The following description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be made clearly and completely with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present application, but not all embodiments. 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.

In order to facilitate a clearer understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, some technical contents related to the embodiments of the present application will be first described.

Related art 1: the network storage function (Network Repository Function, NRF) is used in the N19 tunnel establishment procedure of the VN group across the SMF, and group information of the SMF service is registered or updated in the NRF in the form of a network function profile (Network Function profile, NF profile).

Fig. 1 is one of the flow diagrams of the N19 tunnel establishment procedure provided in the related art, and as shown in fig. 1, the N19 tunnel establishment procedure in which the same PSA is selected for different SMFs in the same VN group is described as follows. In related art 1, the N19 tunnel establishment procedure is described by taking as an example that SMF1, SMF2, and SMF3 are serving SMFs of UE1, UE2, and UE3, respectively, PSA1 is selected for each of SMF1 to SMF3, and PSA2 is selected for SMF4 (corresponding to UE 4). In the related art 2-3 and the subsequent embodiments of the present application, SMF1, SMF2, and SMF3 may be respectively the service SMFs of UE1, UE2, and UE3, where SMF 1-SMF 3 each select PSA1, and SMF4 (corresponding to UE 4) selects PSA2 for illustration, which will not be described herein.

The main steps in fig. 1 are described as follows:

smf1 receives a protocol data unit (Protocol Data Unit, PDU) session establishment request. From the information in the request, namely the data network name (Data Network Name, DNN) or the single network slice selection assistance information (Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information, S-nsai), SMF1 knows that this PDU session is for the VN group.

Smf1 updates or registers its NF profile with NRF and provides an identifier of the 5G VN group.

SMF1 performs SMF discovery to NRF using a 5G VN group identifier of a service. NRF returns SMF1 only in response.

Smf1 sends an N4 session request to PSA1, configures packet detection rules (Packet Detection Rule, PDR) and packet forwarding rules (Forwarding Action Rule, FAR) for the PDU session.

Wherein the relevant PDR and FAR are specifically:

and (3) uplink:

PDR：source interface＝access side；local F-TEID＝N3/N9 CN Tunnel info；

FAR：apply action＝forward；Destination interface＝5G VN internal；

and (3) downlink:

PDR：source interface＝N19；local F-TEID＝N19 Tunnel info；

FAR：apply action＝forward；Destination interface＝5G VN internal；

5G VN internal：

(1) Unicast scene

PDR：source interface＝5G VN internal；Destination IP＝UE1 IP；

FAR：apply action＝forward；Destination interface＝access side；Outer Header Creation＝UE1 N3/N9 CN tunnel info；

(2) Broadcast replication

PDR: source interface=5g VN interface; UE IP = broadcast address; packet replication skip information = source UE IP;

FAR: apply action = forward; destination interface = access side; outer Header Creation = individual UE N3/N9 CN tunnel info.

Smf4 receives PDU session establishment request. From the information in the request, i.e. DNN/S-NSSAI, SMF4 knows that this PDU session is for the VN group.

Smf4 updates or registers its NF profile with NRF and provides 5G VN group identity.

SMF4 performs SMF discovery to NRF using 5G VN group identifier of service. NRF returns only SMF1 and SMF4 in response.

Smf4 sends an N4 session request to PSA2 to configure PDR/FAR for this PDU session. (non-N19)

Smf4 sends an N4 session request to PSA2 asking PSA2 to allocate N19 tunnel resource information (also called tunnel endpoint information or tunnel information), such as tunnel endpoint identification (Tunnel Endpoint Identifier, TEID). (N19)

SMF4 sends a VN session request (VN Session Request) to SMF1, in which the N19 tunnel information of PSA2 is included (SMF 4 indicates allocated).

Smf1 sends the received N19 tunnel information of PSA2 to PSA1 and requests PSA1 to allocate N19 tunnel information (e.g., TEID) in PSA 1.

The PDR and FAR configured at this step are as follows:

and (3) uplink:

PDR：source interface＝access side；local F-TEID＝N3/N9 CN Tunnel info；

FAR：apply action＝forward；Destination interface＝5G VN internal；

5G VN internal：

(1) Unicast scene

PDR：source interface＝5G VN Internal；destination IP＝UE4 IP；

FAR：apply action＝forward；Destination interface＝core side；Outer Header Creation＝PSA4 N19 CN tunnel info；

(2) Broadcast scene

PDR: source interface=5g VN international; destination ip=broadcast address;

FAR：apply action＝forward；Destination interface＝core side；Outer Header Creation＝PSAN19 CN tunnel info；

and (3) downlink:

(1) Unicast scene

PDR：source interface＝core side；local F-TEID＝N19 CN Tunnel info；

FAR：apply action＝forward；Destination interface＝5G VN internal；

5G VN internal：

PDR：source interface＝5G VN Internal；destination＝UE1 IP；

(2) Broadcast scene

PDR：source interface＝core side；local F-TEID＝N19 CN Tunnel info；

FAR：apply action＝forward；Destination interface＝5G VN internal；

5G VN internal：

PDR: source interface=5g VN international; destination = broadcast address;

SMF1 sends a VN session response (VN Session Response) to SMF4 in which N19 tunnel information for PSA1 is included.

Smf4 sends an N4 session request to PSA2 informing PSA1 of N19 tunnel information.

After step 12, an N19 tunnel between PSA1 and PSA2 is established.

The SMF2 receives the same PDU session establishment request, and performs the same steps 1 to 4 as the SMF 1.

SMF2 registers/updates its NF profile with NRF and obtains other same group of SMF information, namely SMF1, SMF2 and SMF4.

15.1SMF2 indicates that PSA1 distributes N19 tunnel information.

SMF2 sends a VN session establishment request to SMF1, carrying N19 tunnel information for PSA1 (SMF 2 indicates allocation).

Smf1 sends the received N19 tunnel information of PSA1 to PSA1 and requests PSA1 to allocate new N19 tunnel information at PSA1.

SMF1 sends a VN session response to SMF2 in which SMF1 indicates that the new N19 tunnel information for the assigned PSA1 is included.

Smf2 sends the received N19 tunnel information of PSA1 to PSA1.

To this end, the N19 tunnel establishment between PSA1 to PSA1 is completed, and the two sets of tunnel information for this tunnel are indicated by SMF1 and SMF2, respectively.

Psa1 and PSA2 establish a new N19 tunnel, the tunnel information at both ends of which is indicated by SMF2 and SMF4, respectively.

24. Two new N19 tunnel setups of PSA1 to PSA1 are completed (SMF 3 and SMF1 indicate N19 tunnel information of PSA1 allocated respectively, SMF3 and SMF2 indicate N19 tunnel information of PSA1 allocated respectively) and new N19 tunnel setups between PSA1 and PSA 2.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of an N19 tunnel provided in the related art, and as shown in fig. 2, a plurality of PSA1 to PSA1 and N19 tunnels between PSA1 and PSA2 are established by the related art 1 described above.

Related art 2: the group session management function (Group Session Management Function, GSMF) is used in the process of establishing the N19 tunnel of the VN group crossing the SMF, the network element stores the information of each SMF, the SMF information of each VN group can be registered in the network element GSMF, and the information of other network elements can be acquired from the GSMF, and the SMFs can be directly or indirectly communicated through the GSMF.

Fig. 3 is a second schematic flow chart of an N19 tunnel establishment procedure provided in the related art, and as shown in fig. 3, the N19 tunnel establishment procedure in which the same PSA is selected for different SMFs in the same VN group is described as follows.

The main steps in fig. 3 are illustrated as follows:

ue1 establishes a PDU session to gain access to a 5G VN group. In this figure, UE1 is served by SMF1 and PSA 1.

SMF1 reports/registers the 5G VN group identity (identifiable by DNN and S-NSSAI) and SMF1 identity of UE1 to GSMF. If the address of UE1 is further registered with GSMF in this step, this step will be performed for each new PDU session to 5G VN in SMF 1.

3. To enable communication between group members serviced by different SMFs, SMF1 may subscribe to a 5G VN group change event with the GSMF (e.g. when another SMF is servicing the same 5G VN group or another SMF is ceasing to service the 5G VN group).

Ue4 establishes a PDU session to gain access to the 5G VN group. In this figure, UE4 is served by SMF4 and PSA 2.

SMF4 reports/registers the 5G VN group identity (identifiable by DNN and S-NSSAI) and SMF4 identity of UE4 to GSMF.

SMF4 may subscribe to a GSMF for a 5G VN group change event (e.g. when another SMF is servicing the same 5G VN group or another SMF is out of servicing the 5G VN group).

SMF1 retrieves other SMF(s) information and obtains SMF4 information.

SMF1 instructs PSA1 to allocate N19 tunnel information to establish an N19 tunnel with PSA2 of SMF 4.

A session is established between SMF1 and SMF4, transmitting N19 tunnel information for PSA1 (SMF 1 indicates allocation).

After receiving the N19 tunnel information of PSA1, smf4 informs PSA2 of the N19 tunnel information of PSA1 and instructs PSA2 to allocate the N19 tunnel information.

SMF4 returns N19 tunnel information for PSA2 to SMF 1.

Smf1 informs PSA1 of the received N19 tunnel information for PSA 2. To this end, the N19 tunnel establishment between PSA1 and PSA2 is completed.

Ue2 establishes a PDU session to gain access to the 5G VN group. In this figure, UE2 is served by SMF2 and PSA1.

SMF2 reports/registers the 5G VN group identity (identifiable by DNN and S-NSSAI) of UE2 and SMF2 identity to GSMF and subscribes to 5G VN group change events to GSMF. SMF2 retrieves other SMF(s) information, and obtains the information of SMF1 and SMF 4.

Smf2 instructs PSA1 to allocate N19 tunnel information.

A session is established between SMF2 and SMF4, transmitting N19 tunnel information for PSA1 (SMF 2 indicates allocation).

After receiving the N19 tunnel information of PSA1, smf4 informs PSA2 of the N19 tunnel information of PSA1 and instructs PSA2 to allocate new N19 tunnel information.

SMF4 returns new N19 tunnel information for PSA2 to SMF 2.

Smf2 informs PSA1 of the new N19 tunnel information of PSA2 received. To this end, a new N19 tunnel is established between PSA1 and PSA 2.

SMF2 and SMF1 instruct PSA1 to allocate new N19 tunnel information and establish an N19 tunnel for PSA1 (SMF 1) -PSA1 (SMF 2), respectively.

Ue3 establishes a PDU session to gain access to the 5G VN group. In this figure, UE3 is served by SMF3 and PSA1. By performing the same steps as those of SMF2, N19 tunnel establishment of PSA1 (SMF 1) -PSA1 (SMF 3), PSA1 (SMF 2) -PSA1 (SMF 3), and PSA1 (SMF 3) -PSA2 (SMF 4) is completed.

The plurality of N19 tunnels established through the above-described related art 2 are the same as those of related art 1, as shown in fig. 2.

Related art 3: GSMF is used in the process of establishing N19 tunnels of VN groups crossing the SMFs, the network elements store the information of each SMF, the SMF information of each VN group can be registered in the network element GSMF, and the information of other network elements can be acquired from the GSMF, and the SMFs can be directly or indirectly communicated through the GSMF.

Fig. 4 is a third schematic flow chart of an N19 tunnel establishment procedure provided in the related art, and as shown in fig. 4, the N19 tunnel establishment procedure in which the same PSA is selected for different SMFs in the same VN group is described as follows.

The main steps in fig. 4 are illustrated as follows:

SMF1 retrieves other SMF(s) information and obtains SMF4 information.

SMF1 instructs PSA1 to allocate N19 tunnel information to establish an N19 tunnel with PSA2 of SMF4.

SMF1 sends an N19 tunnel establishment request (carrying 5G VN group identity, N19 tunnel information of PSA1, IP address information of UE 1) to SMF4 via GSMF. The GSMF stores this information upon receipt of the request of SMF1 and forwards the request to SMF4.

SMF4 initiates an N4 session modification to each PSA of the same 5G VN group controlled by SMF4. In this step, PSA2 is exemplified in the figure, comprising:

(1) SMF4 installs N4 rules (e.g., PDR and FAR associated with UE1 described above) on PSA 2.

(2) PSA2 provides tunnel information to SMF4.

SMF4 sends response information to SMF1 via GSMF, the response information including PSA tunnel information (list) and IP address (es) of the corresponding UE provided by PSA 2.

SMF1 initiates N4 session modification for each PSA of the same 5G VN group controlled by SMF1 and installs N4 rules (e.g. PDR and FAR related to UE 4) on the PSA. PSA1 is shown as an example.

Ue2 establishes a PDU session to gain access to the 5G VN group. In this figure, UE2 is served by SMF2 and PSA 1.

SMF2 reports/registers the 5G VN group identity (identifiable by DNN and S-NSSAI) of UE2 and SMF2 identity to GSMF and subscribes to 5G VN group change events to GSMF. SMF2 retrieves other SMF(s) information, and obtains the information of SMF1 and SMF4.

Smf2 instructs PSA1 to allocate N19 tunnel information.

SMF2 sends an N19 tunnel setup request (carrying 5G VN group identity, N19 tunnel information for PSA1, IP address information for UE 2) to SMF4 via GSMF. The GSMF stores this information upon receiving the request of SMF2 and forwards the request to SMF4.

(1) SMF4 installs N4 rules (e.g., PDR and FAR associated with UE2 described above) on PSA 2.

(2) PSA2 provides tunnel information to SMF4.

SMF4 sends response information to SMF2 via GSMF, the response information including PSA tunnel information (list) and IP address (es) of the corresponding UE provided by PSA 2.

SMF2 initiates N4 session modification for each PSA of the same 5G VN group controlled by SMF2 and installs N4 rules (e.g. PDR and FAR related to UE 4) on the PSA. PSA1 is shown as an example.

Smf2 instructs PSA1 to assign new N19 tunnel information.

SMF2 sends an N19 tunnel setup request (carrying 5G VN group identity, N19 tunnel information for new PSA1, IP address information for UE 2) to SMF1 via GSMF. The GSMF stores this information upon receipt of the SMF2 request and forwards the request to SMF1.

SMF1 initiates an N4 session modification to each PSA of the same 5G VN group controlled by SMF1. In this step, PSA1 is exemplified in the figure, comprising:

(1) SMF1 installs N4 rules (e.g., PDR and FAR associated with UE2 described above) on PSA 1.

(2) PSA1 provides tunnel information to SMF1.

SMF1 sends response information to SMF2 via GSMF, the response information including PSA tunnel information (list) and IP address (es) of the corresponding UE provided by PSA 1.

SMF2 initiates N4 session modification for each PSA of the same 5G VN group controlled by SMF2 and installs N4 rules (e.g. PDR and FAR related to UE 1) on the PSA. PSA1 is shown as an example.

Ue3 establishes a PDU session to gain access to the 5G VN group. In this figure, UE3 is served by SMF3 and PSA 1. By performing the same steps as those of SMF2, N19 tunnel establishment of PSA1 (SMF 1) -PSA1 (SMF 3), PSA1 (SMF 2) -PSA1 (SMF 3), and PSA1 (SMF 3) -PSA2 (SMF 4) is completed.

The plurality of N19 tunnels established through the above-described related art 3 are the same as those of related art 1, as shown in fig. 2.

As can be seen, in the above related art 1-3, in the scenario of communicating with VN sets of terminals across SMFs, when different SMFs select the same PSA, the SMFs may respectively allocate different tunnel information to the same PSA, and establish multiple different N19 tunnels between different tunnel endpoints inside the PSA and between the PSA and any PSA in other same set, and these redundant N19 tunnels may cause waste of tunnel resources between PSAs.

Aiming at the problems, the embodiments of the present application provide a solution, and the main idea is that in the terminal communication process of the same VN group, if different SMFs select the same PSA, the SMFs share N19 tunnel information on the PSA side, that is, only one N19 tunnel between any two PSAs in the same VN group is reserved, so that redundant tunnel information in the N19 tunnel establishment process can be reduced, tunnel resources between PSAs are saved, and signaling interaction steps are reduced.

For example, although a 5G VN group scene is described herein as an example, other VN groups existing or appearing later that can implement the 5G VN group scene function may also be applied thereto, which is not limited thereto.

Fig. 5 is a schematic flow chart of an N19 tunnel establishment method according to an embodiment of the present application, where the method is applied to a first session management function network element, as shown in fig. 5, and the method includes the following steps:

step 500, determining that the selected first anchor user plane function network element has been allocated N19 tunnel information within the virtual network group.

Step 501, sending internet protocol IP address information of a first terminal to a second session management function network element, for indicating a second anchor user plane function network element managed by the second session management function network element to multiplex existing N19 tunnel information, and updating a packet detection rule PDR and a packet forwarding rule FAR based on the IP address information of the first terminal;

the first terminal is a terminal served by a first session management function network element and a first anchor user plane function network element, and the second session management function network element comprises other session management function network elements except the first session management function network element in the virtual network group.

Specifically, in embodiments of the present application, the session management function network element may be an SMF or other network elements having similar session management functions, and for convenience of discussion, in embodiments of the present application, an SMF is taken as an example.

In the embodiments of the present application, the anchor user plane function network element may be a PSA or other network elements having a session anchor function similar to a PDU, and for convenience of discussion, PSA is taken as an example in the embodiments of the present application.

The first session management function network element may be any session management function network element serving terminals within the VN group, for example, the first session management function network element may be SMF2, SMF3 in fig. 1-4.

Taking the SMF2 in fig. 1 to 4 as an example for illustration, it should be understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, the technical solution is different from the above-mentioned related technologies 1 to 3, and in this embodiment of the present application, it is assumed that, for a PDU session of a terminal UE2 in a VN group, the SMF2 selects PSA1 (which may be understood as a first anchor user plane function network element), the SMF2 determines that the selected PSA1 has been allocated N19 tunnel information in the VN group, for example, the SMF1 has selected PSA1, and has allocated or indicated that the PSA1 has been allocated N19 tunnel information for the PSA 1.

After SMF2 determines that the selected PSA1 has been allocated N19 tunnel information within the VN group, to avoid wasting inter-PSA tunnel resources, it may choose to multiplex the established N19 tunnel between PSA1 and the other PSA, rather than establishing a new N19 tunnel between PSA1 and the other PSA.

For example, SMF2 may send a session message to other SMFs (i.e. the second session management function network element) in the VN group, where the session message carries the IP address information of UE2 but does not carry any N19 tunnel information, after receiving the session message sent by SMF2 and containing the IP address information of UE2, the other SMFs trigger the other SMFs to send an N4 session modification request to the PSA managed by the SMF2, where the N4 session modification request carries the IP address information of UE2 but does not carry any N19 tunnel information, so as to indicate that the PSA managed by the N4 session modification request does not reassign new N19 tunnel information, but multiplexes the existing N19 tunnel information, and updates the PDR and FAR based on the received IP address information of UE2, that is, supplements the matching forwarding rule related to UE2, for example, may set an N19 tunnel forwarded to PSA1 when the PSA receives data forwarded to UE 2.

Alternatively, the SMF2 may send the session message to other SMFs in the VN group, which may be directly sent to other SMFs (for example, may be a VN session request or a PDU session creation request, etc.), or may send the session message to other SMFs indirectly through a third party network element (for example, GSMF) (for example, may be an N19 tunnel establishment request).

Alternatively, if one or some SMFs do not manage other intra-VN group PSAs other than the PSA1 selected by the SMF2, the SMF2 may not send the session message to these SMFs.

According to the N19 tunnel establishment method provided by the embodiment of the application, after the first session management function network element determines that the selected first anchor point user plane function network element is distributed with the N19 tunnel information in the VN group, the first session management function network element sends the IP address information of the first terminal but does not send any N19 tunnel information to the second session management function network element, so that the second anchor point user plane function network element managed by the second session management function network element is instructed not to redistribute new N19 tunnel information, but to multiplex the existing N19 tunnel information, and PDR and FAR are updated based on the IP address information of the first terminal, redundant tunnel information in the N19 tunnel establishment process can be reduced, redundant N19 tunnels are reduced, and tunnel resources among PSAs are saved.

Optionally, after determining that the selected first anchor user plane function network element has been allocated N19 tunnel information within the virtual network group, the method further comprises:

and sending the IP address information of the first terminal to the first anchor point user plane functional network element, wherein the IP address information is used for indicating the first anchor point user plane functional network element to multiplex the existing N19 tunnel information, and updating the PDR and the FAR based on the IP address information of the first terminal.

Specifically, taking the foregoing SMF2 as an example, in this embodiment of the present application, after determining that the selected PSA1 has been allocated with N19 tunnel information in the VN group, the SMF2 may not instruct the PSA1 to allocate the N19 tunnel information any more, but send an N4 session request to the PSA1, where the N4 session request carries the IP address information of the UE2, so as to instruct the PSA1 to multiplex the existing N19 tunnel information, and update the PDR and FAR based on the received IP address information of the UE2, that is, supplement the matching forwarding rule related to the UE 2.

Optionally, determining that the selected first anchor user plane function network element has been allocated N19 tunnel information within the virtual network group includes:

Specifically, taking the above SMF2 as an example, in the embodiment of the present application, the SMF2 may determine whether other SMFs have selected PSA1 by querying PSA information managed by other SMFs, and may also determine whether the selected PSA1 has been allocated N19 tunnel information in the VN group.

For example, SMF2 may query what PSAs are managed by other SMFs, and determine whether other SMFs have selected PSA1 by querying whether PSA1 is present in the PSA list.

For example, SMF2 may query by sending an identification of PSA1 to a query object (e.g., SMF1, SMF4, etc.), which may indicate whether PSA1 has been selected by returning identification information of "Yes" or "No".

Optionally, querying anchor user plane function network element information managed by the second session management function network element includes:

Specifically, taking the above SMF2 as an example, in the embodiment of the present application, the SMF2 may query other SMFs for PSA information managed by each of the SMFs, for example, query SMF1 for PSA information managed by SMF1, query SMF4 for PSA information managed by SMF4, and so on.

Since GSMF may store PSA information managed by SMF, SMF2 may also query GSMF for PSA information managed by other SMFs.

Alternatively, SMF2 may carry the identity of its selected PSA1 when querying other SMFs or GSMF.

receiving a notification message sent by a group session management function network element according to the identification information of the first anchor user plane function network element, wherein the notification message comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating whether the first anchor user plane function network element is selected by other session management function network elements in the virtual network group;

Specifically, taking the above SMF2 as an example, in the embodiment of the present application, SMF2 may determine whether the selected PSA1 has been allocated N19 tunnel information in the VN group through GSMF.

The SMF2 may first carry the identification information of the selected PSA1 in a registration message sent to the GSMF, and then subscribe to the VN group change event with the GSMF, so that when sending a VN group change event notification message to the SMF2, the GSMF may carry first indication information in the notification message, where the first indication information is used to indicate whether the PSA1 has been selected by other SMFs in the VN group.

For example, the GSMF may search whether other SMFs select the PSA1 according to the PSA1 identifier carried in the SMF2 registration information, if other SMFs select the PSA1, the GSMF returns "yes" identifier information in the VN group change event notification message, which indicates that the PSA1 selected by the SMF2 has been selected by other SMFs in the VN group, so that the SMF2 may determine that the selected PSA1 has been allocated N19 tunnel information in the VN group.

Fig. 6 is a second flowchart of an N19 tunnel establishment method according to an embodiment of the present application, where the method is applied to a second session management function network element, as shown in fig. 6, and the method includes the following steps:

Step 600, receiving internet protocol IP address information of a first terminal sent by a first session management function network element.

Step 601, sending IP address information of a first terminal to a managed second anchor user plane function network element, for instructing the second anchor user plane function network element to multiplex existing N19 tunnel information, and updating a packet detection rule PDR and a packet forwarding rule FAR based on the IP address information of the first terminal;

The second session management function network element may comprise other session management function network elements within the VN group than the first session management function network element.

According to the N19 tunnel establishment method provided by the embodiment of the application, after the second session management function network element receives the IP address information of the first terminal sent by the first session management function network element, the second anchor user plane function network element managed by the second session management function network element can be instructed to multiplex the existing N19 tunnel information, the new N19 tunnel information is not redistributed, PDR and FAR are updated based on the IP address information of the first terminal, so that redundant tunnel information in the N19 tunnel establishment process can be reduced, redundant N19 tunnels are reduced, and tunnel resources among PSA (pressure swing adsorption) are saved.

Fig. 7 is a third flowchart of an N19 tunnel establishment method according to an embodiment of the present application, where the method is applied to an anchor user plane function network element, as shown in fig. 7, and the method includes the following steps:

and 700, receiving the Internet Protocol (IP) address information of the first terminal sent by the session management function network element.

Step 701, determining multiplexing existing N19 tunnel information based on the IP address information of the first terminal, and updating a packet detection rule PDR and a packet forwarding rule FAR;

the first terminal is a terminal served by a first anchor user plane functional network element, and an N19 tunnel is established between the first anchor user plane functional network element and a second anchor user plane functional network element;

the anchor user plane function network element is a first anchor user plane function network element or a second anchor user plane function network element.

In this embodiment of the present application, the anchor user plane function network element may be a first anchor user plane function network element or a second anchor user plane function network element, where the first anchor user plane function network element is an anchor user plane function network element selected by the first session management function network element, and the second session management function network element is an anchor user plane function network element managed by the second session management function network element.

The first session management function network element or the second session management function network element may send an N4 session request to the anchor user plane function network element corresponding to each other, where the N4 session request carries IP address information of the first terminal and does not carry any N19 tunnel information.

After the first anchor user plane functional network element or the second anchor user plane functional network element receives the N4 session request including the IP address information of the first terminal sent by the corresponding session management functional network element, it can be determined that new N19 tunnel information does not need to be allocated, the existing N19 tunnel information is multiplexed, and the PDR and FAR are updated based on the IP address information of the first terminal, that is, the matching forwarding rule related to the first terminal is supplemented.

According to the N19 tunnel establishment method provided by the embodiment of the application, after receiving the IP address information of the first terminal sent by the session management function network element, the anchor user plane function network element does not reassign new N19 tunnel information, multiplexes the existing N19 tunnel information, and updates PDR and FAR based on the IP address information of the first terminal, so that redundant tunnel information in the N19 tunnel establishment process can be reduced, redundant N19 tunnels are reduced, and tunnel resources between PSAs are saved.

The methods provided in the embodiments of the present application are based on the same application conception, so that the implementation of each method may be referred to each other, and the repetition is not repeated.

The following illustrates the method provided in each of the foregoing embodiments of the present application by an embodiment of a specific application scenario.

Example 1: fig. 8 is one of implementation schematic diagrams of the method for establishing an N19 tunnel according to the embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 8, the main process is as follows:

smf1 receives a PDU session establishment request. From the information in the request, i.e. DNN/S-NSSAI, SMF1 knows that this PDU session is for the VN group.

SMF1 performs SMF discovery to NRF using a 5G VN group identifier of a service. NRF returns only SMF1 in response.

Smf1 sends an N4 session request to PSA1, configuring PDR and FAR for the PDU session. The details of the PDR and FAR related to step 4 in related art 1 are not described herein.

SMF4 sends a VN session request to SMF1 in which N19 tunnel information including PSA2 (SMF 4 indicates allocated).

Smf1 sends the received N19 tunnel information of PSA2 to PSA1 and requests PSA1 to allocate N19 tunnel information (e.g., TEID) in PSA 1. Step 10 in the related art 1 of PDR and FAR configured in this step is not described here again.

SMF1 sends a VN session response to SMF4 in which N19 tunnel information for PSA1 is included.

After step 12, an N19 tunnel between PSA1 and PSA2 is established.

SMF2 requests PSA information of a query service to SMF1 and SMF4, respectively, or SMF2 carries PSA1 information, and queries whether the PSA1 information exists in SMF1 and SMF 4. Here, it was found that SMF1 also selected PSA1.

Note that: the difference from the related art 1 is that in the related art 1, the SMF2 only inquires the NRF about the SMF information of other services and VN groups, and then indicates the establishment of each N19 tunnel through the interaction between the SMFs, where the N19 tunnels are of the granularity of the SMF; in this embodiment, when a UE session with a new SMF is established, the new SMF first queries the NRF for the SMF information of other same groups, and then queries the SMFs of other same groups to determine whether the PSA selected by the SMF is selected by the SMFs of other same VN groups.

SMF2 informs SMF4 of the IP address information of the new UE (i.e., UE 2) through a VN session request, SMF4 updates only PDR and FAR to PSA2 (i.e., updates the IP address information of UE2 and sets an N19 tunnel that is forwarded to PSA1 when PSA2 receives data forwarded to UE 2), SMF4 returns a VN session response to SMF 2.

Smf2 informs PSA1 of the IP address information of the new UE (i.e., UE 2) through an N4 session request, and updates PDR and FAR to PSA1.

Note 1: PDR and FAR related to UE2 PDR and FAR related to UE1 in technology 1.

And (2) injection: the difference from the related art 1 is that the new SMF in steps 19 to 21 in the related art 1 instructs each SMF to allocate N19 tunnel information by interacting with other SMFs of the same VN group; in this embodiment, the SMF2 determines that the PSA1 selected by the SMF2 has been selected by the SMF1 through step 18, so that the PDR and FAR on the PSA1 and the PSA2 are directly updated, that is, the matching forwarding rule related to the UE2 that supplements the SMF 2.

And (3) injection: in this embodiment, steps 19 to 21 and step 22 are not separated from each other.

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of an N19 tunnel provided in the embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 9, by the above embodiment 1, only one N19 tunnel between PSA1 and PSA2 is established.

Example 2: fig. 10 is a second implementation schematic diagram of the N19 tunnel establishment method according to the embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 10, the main process is as follows:

SMF1 reports/registers the 5G VN group identity (identifiable by DNN and S-NSSAI) of UE1 and SMF1 identity to GSMF and carries the identity of its selected PSA 1. If the address of UE1 is further registered with GSMF in this step, this step will be performed for each new PDU session to 5G VN in SMF 1.

SMF4 reports/registers to the GSMF the 5G VN group identity (identifiable by DNN and S-NSSAI) of UE4 and the SMF4 identity, and carries the identity of its selected PSA 2.

And 7a, searching whether other SMFs select the PSA1 according to the PSA1 identification carried in the SMF1 registration information, and returning the identification of whether the SMF is present in the VN group change event notification message. In this embodiment, no is returned in step 7a, indicating that no other SMF has selected PSA1.

SMF1 retrieves other SMF(s) information, and obtains SMF4 information.

SMF4 returns N19 tunnel information for PSA2 to SMF 1.

SMF2 reports/registers to GSMF the 5G VN group identity of UE2 (identifiable by DNN and S-NSSAI) and SMF2 identity, and carries the identity of its selected PSA 1. Subscribing to 5G VN group change events with GSMF. The GSMF searches whether other SMFs select the PSA1 according to the PSA1 identification carried in the SMF2 registration information, and returns yes in the VN group change event notification message to indicate that the PSA1 selected by the SMF2 has been selected by other SMFs in the same group. SMF2 retrieves other SMF(s) information, and obtains the information of SMF1 and SMF 4.

SMF2 sends a session establishment request to SMF4, carrying IP address information of the VN group related UE (e.g. IP address information of UE 2) served by SMF 2.

Note that: unlike the related art 2, in the related art 2, tunnel information allocated by PSA1 to SMF2 (UE 2) is carried and the SMF4 is instructed to configure the PDR and FAR related to UE2 on PSA2, in this embodiment, only the SMF4 is instructed to configure the PDR and FAR related to UE2 on PSA 2.

SMF4 updates to PSA2 the IP address information (update PDR/FAR) associated with VN group UE of SMF2, such as UE 2.

SMF4 returns a session response to SMF 2.

Smf2 updates UE (e.g., UE 2) related PDR/FAR to PSA 1.

Note that: the difference from the related art 2 is that this step in the related art 2 carries N19 tunnel information of PSA2 and instructs PSA1 to configure PDR and FAR of UE 2; in this embodiment, only PSA1 is instructed to configure PDR and FAR of UE 2.

19-20. If SMF1 selects other PSAs in addition to PSA1, PDR/FAR on the PSA associated with the SMF2 new UE (e.g., UE 2) is updated in its entirety.

Ue3 establishes a PDU session to gain access to the 5G VN group. In this figure, UE3 is served by SMF3 and PSA 1. By performing the same steps as SMF2, the PDR/FAR associated with the new UE (e.g., UE 3) of SMF3 is updated on each PSA.

The N19 tunnel established through the above-described embodiment 2 is the same as that of embodiment 1, as shown in fig. 9.

Example 3: fig. 11 is a third implementation schematic diagram of the N19 tunnel establishment method according to the embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 11, the main process is as follows:

SMF1 retrieves other SMF(s) information, obtains SMF4 information, and knows that no other SMF has selected PSA1.

The SMF1 sends an N19 tunnel establishment request (carrying 5G VN group identity, N19 tunnel information of PSA1, IP address information of UE 1) to the SMF4 via GSMF. The GSMF stores the information when receiving the request of the SMF1, and inquires that no other PSA in the GSMF distributes N19 tunnel information for the VN, the information is informed to the SMF4, the SMF4 instructs the PSA2 to distribute the N19 tunnel information, and sends the N19 tunnel information distributed by the PSA2 to the GSMF, and the GSMF informs the SMF1.

Smf1 sends N4 session modifications to PSA1, carrying N19 tunnel information for PSA 2.

SMF2 reports/registers the 5G VN group identity (identifiable by DNN and S-NSSAI) and SMF2 identity of UE2 to GSMF. Subscribing to 5G VN group change events with GSMF. SMF2 retrieves other SMF(s) information, obtains SMF1 and SMF4 information, and knows that SMF1 has selected PSA1.

The SMF2 sends an N19 tunnel establishment request (carrying a 5G VN group identifier, IP address information of the UE 2) to the SMF4 through GSMF. The GSMF stores these information when it receives the request of the SMF2 and inquires that there are other PSAs in the GSMF that have allocated N19 tunnel information for the VN group, and informs the SMF4 of these information, and the SMF4 updates the IP address information of the UE2 to the PSA2 (updates PDR/FAR). SMF4 returns an N19 tunnel setup response to SMF2 through GSMF.

Smf2 updates UE2 related PDR/FAR to PSA1.

Note that: in steps 15-16, since PSA2 has already been assigned N19 tunnel information by SMF4, PSA2 is no longer instructed to assign new N19 tunnel information in step 16, but N19 tunnel information of PSA2 of tunnel 1 is reused, so only the PDR/FAR associated with UE2 on PSA2 is modified.

Note that: the difference from the related art 3 is that the allocation of N19 tunnel information by the same PSA as the VN group already existing is no longer instructed in the present embodiment.

The N19 tunnel established through the above-described embodiment 3 is the same as that of embodiment 1, as shown in fig. 9.

The method and the device provided in the embodiments of the present application are based on the same application conception, and since the principles of solving the problems by the method and the device are similar, the implementation of the device and the method can be referred to each other, and the repetition is not repeated.

Fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a first session management function network element provided in the embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 12, where the first session management function network element includes a memory 1220, a transceiver 1210 and a processor 1200; wherein processor 1200 and memory 1220 may also be physically separate.

A memory 1220 for storing a computer program; a transceiver 1210 for transceiving data under the control of the processor 1200.

In particular, the transceiver 1210 is configured to receive and transmit data under the control of the processor 1200.

Wherein in fig. 12, a bus architecture may comprise any number of interconnected buses and bridges, and in particular, one or more processors represented by processor 1200 and various circuits of memory represented by memory 1220, linked together. The bus architecture may also link together various other circuits such as peripheral devices, voltage regulators, power management circuits, etc., which are well known in the art and, therefore, will not be described further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 1210 may be a number of elements, including a transmitter and a receiver, providing a means for communicating with various other apparatus over transmission media, including wireless channels, wired channels, optical cables, and the like.

The processor 1200 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 1220 may store data used by the processor 1200 in performing operations.

The processor 1200 may be a central processing unit (Central Processing Unit, CPU), an application specific integrated circuit (Application Specific Integrated Circuit, ASIC), a Field programmable gate array (Field-Programmable Gate Array, FPGA), or a complex programmable logic device (Complex Programmable Logic Device, CPLD), or may employ a multi-core architecture.

Processor 1200 is configured to execute any of the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application according to the obtained executable instructions by calling a computer program stored in memory 1220, for example: determining that the selected first anchor user plane function network element has been allocated N19 tunnel information within the virtual network group; the method comprises the steps of sending Internet Protocol (IP) address information of a first terminal to a second session management function network element, and indicating the second anchor user plane function network element managed by the second session management function network element to multiplex the existing N19 tunnel information and updating packet detection rules PDR and packet forwarding rules FAR based on the IP address information of the first terminal; the first terminal is a terminal served by a first session management function network element and a first anchor user plane function network element, and the second session management function network element comprises other session management function network elements except the first session management function network element in the virtual network group.

Fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a second session management function network element provided in the embodiment of the present application, where, as shown in fig. 13, the second session management function network element includes a memory 1320, a transceiver 1310 and a processor 1300; wherein the processor 1300 and the memory 1320 may also be physically separate.

A memory 1320 for storing a computer program; a transceiver 1310 for transceiving data under the control of the processor 1300.

In particular, the transceiver 1310 is configured to receive and transmit data under the control of the processor 1300.

Where in FIG. 13, a bus architecture may comprise any number of interconnected buses and bridges, with various circuits of the one or more processors, specifically represented by processor 1300, and the memory, represented by memory 1320, being linked together. The bus architecture may also link together various other circuits such as peripheral devices, voltage regulators, power management circuits, etc., which are well known in the art and, therefore, will not be described further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 1310 may be a number of elements, including a transmitter and a receiver, providing a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium, including wireless channels, wired channels, optical cables, etc.

The processor 1300 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 1320 may store data used by the processor 1300 in performing operations.

Processor 1300 may be CPU, ASIC, FPGA or a CPLD, and the processor may also employ a multi-core architecture.

Processor 1300 is operable to perform any of the methods provided by the embodiments of the present application in accordance with the obtained executable instructions by invoking a computer program stored in memory 1320, for example: receiving Internet Protocol (IP) address information of a first terminal sent by a network element of a first session management function; the IP address information of the first terminal is sent to the managed second anchor point user plane functional network element, and is used for indicating the second anchor point user plane functional network element to multiplex the existing N19 tunnel information, and updating the packet detection rule PDR and the packet forwarding rule FAR based on the IP address information of the first terminal; the first terminal is a terminal served by the first session management function network element and the first anchor user plane function network element, and an N19 tunnel is established between the first anchor user plane function network element and the second anchor user plane function network element.

Fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of an anchor user plane function network element provided in the embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 14, where the anchor user plane function network element includes a memory 1420, a transceiver 1410 and a processor 1400; wherein the processor 1400 and the memory 1420 may also be physically separate.

A memory 1420 for storing a computer program; a transceiver 1410 for transceiving data under the control of the processor 1400.

In particular, the transceiver 1410 is configured to receive and transmit data under the control of the processor 1400.

Wherein in fig. 14, a bus architecture may comprise any number of interconnected buses and bridges, and in particular one or more processors represented by the processor 1400 and various circuits of the memory represented by the memory 1420, linked together. The bus architecture may also link together various other circuits such as peripheral devices, voltage regulators, power management circuits, etc., which are well known in the art and, therefore, will not be described further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 1410 may be a number of elements, i.e., including a transmitter and a receiver, providing a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium, including wireless channels, wired channels, optical cables, etc.

The processor 1400 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 1420 may store data used by the processor 1400 in performing operations.

Processor 1400 may be CPU, ASIC, FPGA or a CPLD, and the processor may also employ a multi-core architecture.

Processor 1400 is operable to perform any of the methods provided by the embodiments of the present application, for example, by invoking a computer program stored in memory 1420, in accordance with the obtained executable instructions: receiving Internet Protocol (IP) address information of a first terminal sent by a session management function network element; based on the IP address information of the first terminal, determining multiplexing existing N19 tunnel information, and updating a packet detection rule PDR and a packet forwarding rule FAR; the first terminal is a terminal served by a first anchor user plane functional network element, and an N19 tunnel is established between the first anchor user plane functional network element and a second anchor user plane functional network element; the anchor user plane function network element is a first anchor user plane function network element or a second anchor user plane function network element.

It should be noted that, the first session management function network element, the second session management function network element, and the anchor user plane function network element provided in the embodiments of the present application can implement all the method steps implemented in the embodiments of the present application, and can achieve the same technical effects, and detailed descriptions of the same parts and beneficial effects as those of the embodiments of the present application are omitted herein.

Fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of an N19 tunnel establishment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application, where the apparatus is applied to a first session management function network element, as shown in fig. 15, and the apparatus includes:

A determining unit 1500, configured to determine that the selected first anchor user plane function network element has been allocated N19 tunnel information in the virtual network group;

a first sending unit 1510, configured to send, to a second session management function network element, IP address information of a first terminal, and instruct a second anchor user plane function network element managed by the second session management function network element to multiplex existing N19 tunnel information, and update a packet detection rule PDR and a packet forwarding rule FAR based on the IP address information of the first terminal;

Optionally, the first sending unit 1510 is further configured to:

Fig. 16 is a second schematic structural diagram of an N19 tunnel establishment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application, where the apparatus is applied to a second session management function network element, as shown in fig. 16, and the apparatus includes:

a second receiving unit 1600, configured to receive IP address information of the first terminal sent by the first session management function network element;

a second sending unit 1610, configured to send, to the managed second anchor user plane function network element, IP address information of the first terminal, and instruct the second anchor user plane function network element to multiplex existing N19 tunnel information, and update a packet detection rule PDR and a packet forwarding rule FAR based on the IP address information of the first terminal;

Fig. 17 is a third schematic structural diagram of an N19 tunnel establishment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application, where the apparatus is applied to an anchor user plane function network element, as shown in fig. 17, and the apparatus includes:

a third receiving unit 1700, configured to receive IP address information of the first terminal sent by the session management function network element;

An updating unit 1710, configured to determine to multiplex existing N19 tunnel information based on the IP address information of the first terminal, and update a packet detection rule PDR and a packet forwarding rule FAR;

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the division of the units is schematic, which is merely a logic function division, and other division manners may be implemented in actual practice. 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. The integrated units may be implemented in hardware or in software functional units.

The integrated units, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as stand-alone products, may be stored in a processor-readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application may be embodied in essence or a part contributing to the prior art or all or part of the technical solution, in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium, including several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) or a processor (processor) to perform all or part of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: a U-disk, a removable hard disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a random access Memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk, or other various media capable of storing program codes.

It should be noted that, the above device provided in this embodiment of the present application can implement all the method steps implemented in the method embodiment and achieve the same technical effects, and detailed descriptions of the same parts and beneficial effects as those of the method embodiment in this embodiment are omitted.

On the other hand, the embodiment of the application also provides a computer readable storage medium, where a computer program is stored, and the computer program is used to make a computer execute the N19 tunnel establishment method provided in each embodiment.

It should be noted that, the computer readable storage medium provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement all the method steps implemented by the method embodiment and achieve the same technical effects, and detailed descriptions of the same parts and beneficial effects as those of the method embodiment in the embodiment are omitted herein.

The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium or data storage device that can be accessed by a computer, including, but not limited to, magnetic storage (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tape, magneto-optical disks (MOs), etc.), optical storage (e.g., CD, DVD, BD, HVD, etc.), and semiconductor storage (e.g., ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, nonvolatile storage (NAND FLASH), solid State Disk (SSD)), etc.

The technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application can be suitable for various systems, in particular to a 5G system. For example, suitable systems may be global system for mobile communications (global system of mobile communication, GSM), code division multiple access (code division multiple access, CDMA), wideband code division multiple access (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access, WCDMA) universal packet Radio service (general packet Radio service, GPRS), long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE), LTE frequency division duplex (frequency division duplex, FDD), LTE time division duplex (time division duplex, TDD), long term evolution-advanced (long term evolution advanced, LTE-a), universal mobile system (universal mobile telecommunication system, UMTS), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (worldwide interoperability for microwave access, wiMAX), 5G New air interface (New Radio, NR), and the like. Terminal devices and network devices are included in these various systems. Core network parts such as evolved packet system (Evloved Packet System, EPS), 5G system (5 GS) etc. may also be included in the system.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that embodiments of the present application may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present application may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present application may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, magnetic disk storage, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

The present application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the application. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer-executable instructions. These computer-executable instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These processor-executable instructions may also be stored in a processor-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the processor-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

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

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present application without departing from the spirit or scope of the application. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims and the equivalents thereof, the present application is intended to cover such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. An N19 tunnel establishment method, applied to a first session management function network element, comprising:

2. The N19 tunnel establishment method of claim 1, wherein said determining that the selected first anchor user plane functional network element has been assigned N19 tunnel information within the virtual network group, the method further comprises:

3. The method for establishing an N19 tunnel according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said determining that the selected first anchor user plane function network element has been allocated N19 tunnel information within the virtual network group comprises:

4. A method for establishing an N19 tunnel according to claim 3, wherein said querying the anchor user plane function element information managed by the second session management function element comprises:

5. The method for establishing an N19 tunnel according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said determining that the selected first anchor user plane function network element has been allocated N19 tunnel information within the virtual network group comprises:

6. An N19 tunnel establishment method, applied to a second session management function network element, comprising:

7. An N19 tunnel establishment method, which is applied to an anchor user plane functional network element, includes:

8. A first session management function network element comprising a memory, a transceiver, and a processor:

9. The first session management function network element of claim 8, wherein the determining that the selected first anchor user plane function network element has been assigned N19 tunnel information within a virtual network group, the operations further comprise:

10. The first session management function network element according to claim 8 or 9, wherein said determining that the selected first anchor user plane function network element has been allocated N19 tunnel information within the virtual network group comprises:

11. The first session management function network element of claim 10, wherein the querying for anchor user plane function network element information managed by the second session management function network element comprises:

12. The first session management function network element according to claim 8 or 9, wherein said determining that the selected first anchor user plane function network element has been allocated N19 tunnel information within the virtual network group comprises:

13. A second session management function network element, comprising a memory, a transceiver, and a processor:

14. An anchor user plane functional network element, comprising a memory, a transceiver, and a processor:

15. An N19 tunnel establishment apparatus, applied to a first session management function network element, comprising:

16. An N19 tunnel establishment apparatus, applied to a second session management function network element, comprising:

17. An N19 tunnel establishment device, which is applied to an anchor user plane functional network element, comprising:

18. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program for causing a computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 5, or to perform the method of claim 6, or to perform the method of claim 7.