CN118250676A

CN118250676A - Communication method and device

Info

Publication number: CN118250676A
Application number: CN202211658302.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 姚琦; 宗在峰; 张继东
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-12-22
Filing date: 2022-12-22
Publication date: 2024-06-25

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus for execution, the communication method comprising: LLOF the network element releases the binding relation between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device, selects a second NF network element, and establishes the binding relation between the context of the first terminal device and the second NF network element. In the method, LLOF network elements maintain the binding relation between each NF network element and the context of the terminal device, for example, LLOF network elements can release the binding relation between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device, and can also establish the binding relation between the context of the first terminal device and the second NF network element. So that NF network elements binding the context of the terminal device can provide services for the terminal device. The peripheral network element can select the NF network element binding the context of the terminal equipment to provide service for the terminal equipment, so that the peripheral network element is not required to sense whether the selected NF network element fails.

Description

Communication method and device

Technical Field

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

Background

A Network Function (NF) network element may store (or bind) a context of a terminal device, providing a continuous service for the terminal device. The base station may select NF network elements that serve the terminal device, such as access and mobility control functions (ACCESS AND mobility function, AMF), to serve the terminal device. In addition, peripheral network elements in the network, such as session management functions (Session management function, SMF), policy control functions (Policy and control function, PCF) may also serve the terminal device. The NF network element needs to send the access address of the terminal device context to each peripheral network element, so that the peripheral network element obtains the terminal device context from the NF network element. If the peripheral network element determines that the selected NF network element is faulty, the peripheral network element needs to reselect one NF network element. It can be seen that each peripheral network element needs to sense whether the NF network element is malfunctioning. And after the newly selected NF network element takes over the context of the terminal equipment, the access address is required to be reassigned for the context of the terminal equipment, and the reassigned access address is notified to each peripheral network element, so that the implementation process is complex.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a communication method and a communication device, wherein in the method, peripheral network elements do not need to sense whether NF network elements are faulty or not.

In a first aspect, a communication method is provided that is executable by a first communication device, which may be a communication apparatus or a communication device, such as a chip system, capable of supporting the communication apparatus to perform the functions required for the method. The communication means is illustratively a link load orchestration function (link load orchestration function, LLOF) network element, or a system-on-chip provided in a LLOF network element, or other means for implementing the functions of the LLOF network element. For convenience of description, the communication method provided in the first aspect is described below by taking the first communication device as a LLOF network element itself as an example.

The communication method comprises the following steps: LLOF the network element releases the binding relation between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device, selects a second NF network element, and establishes the binding relation between the context of the first terminal device and the second NF network element. Wherein the first NF network element and the second NF network element belong to the same NF network element set.

In the embodiment of the application, LLOF network elements maintain the binding relation between each NF network element and the context of the terminal equipment. For example, LLOF network elements may release the binding relationship between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device, or may establish the binding relationship between the context of the first terminal device and the second NF network element. Therefore, only NF network elements binding the context of the terminal equipment can provide service for the terminal equipment, the peripheral network elements are not required to sense whether the context of the terminal equipment is bound with which NF network element, and therefore, the peripheral network elements are not required to sense whether the selected NF network elements fail or not. When the binding relation between the context of the first terminal device and the second NF network element is established, the second NF network element is not required to redistribute the access address of the context of the first terminal device, namely the access address of the context of the terminal device is not required to be changed. Compared with the method that the NF network element maintains the binding relation with the context of the terminal equipment, the method does not need a second NF network element to inform each peripheral network element of the access address of the bound context of the first terminal equipment, and has simpler process.

In a possible implementation manner, the LLOF network element unbinds the context of the first NF network element and the first terminal device, including: LLOF the network element receives the first message from the first NF network element, and deletes the binding relationship between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device. The first message is used for notifying LLOF the network element to release the binding relationship between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device.

In the above implementation manner, when the first NF network element determines that the service cannot be provided for the first terminal device, the first NF network element may trigger LLOF the binding relationship between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device, so that the LLOF network element reselects the second NF network element capable of providing the service for the first terminal device, and stores the binding relationship between the second NF network element and the context of the first terminal device. By the scheme, the proper NF network element can be ensured to provide service for the terminal equipment.

In a possible implementation manner, the LLOF network element unbinds the context of the first NF network element and the first terminal device, including: LLOF the network element determines that one or more of the following conditions are satisfied, and deletes the binding relationship between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device: the load of the first NF network element exceeds a first threshold, the first NF network element needs to expand or contract, or a third NF network element is added.

In the above implementation manner, the LLOF network element may determine whether to release the binding relationship between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device. For example, the load of the first NF network element exceeds the first threshold, and the LLOF network element may unbind the first NF network element from the first terminal device in order to balance the load of the first NF network element. For another example, a third NF element is newly added in the system, so that in order to balance the burden of each NF element in the system, LLOF elements can release the binding relationship between the first NF element and the first terminal device, and bind the context of the first terminal device with the third NF element.

In a possible implementation manner, LLOF the network element selects a second NF network element, and establishes a binding relationship between the context of the first terminal device and the second NF network element, including: LLOF the network element receives a second message of the first terminal device, where the second message is used to query/update a context of the first terminal device; LLOF the network element determines that the NF network element is not bound with the first terminal device, selects a second NF network element, and stores the binding relation between the second NF network element and the context of the first terminal device.

If the first terminal device requests to LLOF the network element to query or update the context of the first terminal device, LLOF the network element finds that the context of the first terminal device does not have a binding relationship with a NF network element, then one NF network element may be reselected, for example, the second NF network element binds with the context of the first terminal device. When the subsequent LLOF receives the request message of the first terminal device for inquiring or updating the context again, the request message can be sent to the second NF network element, so as to ensure that the context of the first terminal device stored by the second NF network element is up to date.

In a possible implementation manner, the LLOF network element may migrate the context of all the terminal devices bound to the first NF network element to the second NF network element. For example, the first NF network element fails LLOF may migrate the context of all terminal devices bound to the first NF network element to the second NF network element. Namely, the binding relation between the first NF network element and the contexts of the plurality of terminal devices is released, and the binding relation between the contexts of the plurality of terminal devices and the second NF network element is established.

Optionally, the LLOF network element selects a second NF network element, and establishes a binding relationship between the context of the first terminal device and the second NF network element, including: LLOF the network element selects a second NF network element, stores the binding relation between the context of the first terminal device and the second NF network element, and sends a third message to the first NF network element. The third message is used for indicating the first NF network element to migrate the bound context of the at least one terminal device to the second NF network element, and the third message comprises identification information of the second NF network element. The at least one terminal device comprises a first terminal device.

In the scheme, LLOF network elements inform the first NF network element that the first NF network element needs to migrate the bound context of at least one terminal device to the second NF network element, so that the first NF network element can send the stored context of the terminal device to the second NF network element. It should be noted that, the first terminal device herein just belongs to one terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices bound by the first NF network element.

Optionally, the LLOF network element selects a second NF network element, and establishes a binding relationship between the context of the first terminal device and the second NF network element, including: LLOF the network element selects a second NF network element, stores the binding relation between the context of the first terminal device and the second NF network element, and sends a fourth message to the second NF network element. The fourth message is used for indicating the context of at least one terminal device bound by the first NF network element bound by the second NF network element, and the fourth message includes identification information of the first NF network element. The at least one terminal device comprises a first terminal device.

In the scheme, LLOF network elements inform the second NF network element that the context of at least one terminal device bound by the first NF network element needs to be bound, so that the second NF network element can acquire the context of the terminal device stored by the first NF from the first NF network element. It should be noted that, the first terminal device herein just belongs to one terminal device among the plurality of terminal devices bound by the first NF network element.

In a possible implementation manner, before the LLOF network element establishes the binding relationship between the second NF network element and the context of the first terminal device, the method further includes: LLOF the network element receives and caches a request message of the first terminal device, and sends the request message to the second NF network element, wherein the request message is used for creating a context of the first terminal device; and the LLOF network element determines that the second NF network element successfully processes the request message and deletes the stored request message.

In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: LLOF the network element determines that the second NF network element fails to process the request message, and sends the request message to the first NF network element.

It can be appreciated that if the number of terminal devices bound by the first NF network element is greater, then the time required for the context of at least one terminal device bound by the first NF network element to migrate to the second NF network element is longer. In the process that the first NF network element and the second NF network element migrate the context of at least one terminal device, when there is a request message from a certain terminal device, in order to avoid missing processing the request message as much as possible, LLOF network elements may send the request message to the second NF network element for processing preferentially, and store the request message. If the second NF network element is not successfully processed, LLOF network elements are sent to the first NF network element for processing.

In a possible implementation manner, before the LLOF network element unbinds the context of the first NF network element and the first terminal device, the method further includes: LLOF the network element receives a request message from the first terminal device, where the request message is used to create a context of the first terminal device; LLOF the network element selects a first NF network element, and establishes a binding relationship between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device.

In a second aspect, a communication method is provided that is executable by a second communication device, which may be a communication apparatus or a communication device, such as a chip system, capable of supporting the communication apparatus to perform the functions required for the method. The communication means is illustratively an NF network element, or a system-on-chip provided in an NF network element, or other means for implementing the functionality of the NF network element. For convenience of description, the communication method provided in the second aspect is described below by taking the second communication device as the first NF network element itself as an example.

The communication method comprises the following steps: the first NF network element determines to release the binding relation between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device, and sends a first message to LLOF network elements. The first message is used for notifying LLOF the network element to release the binding relationship between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device.

In a possible implementation manner, the first NF network element determines to unbind the context of the first NF network element and the first terminal device, including: the first NF network element determines that one or more of the following conditions are met, and determines to release the binding relationship between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device: the load of the first NF network element is larger than or equal to a first threshold value, the first NF network element fails, or the first terminal equipment enters an idle state.

In a possible implementation manner, after the first NF network element determines to unbind the context of the first NF network element and the first terminal device, the method further includes: the first NF network element deletes the stored context of the first terminal device.

In a possible implementation manner, before the first NF network element determines to unbind the context of the first NF network element and the first terminal device, the method further includes: the first NF network element sends a request message to LLOF network elements, the request message being used to create a context for the first terminal device.

Regarding the advantages of the second aspect and the possible implementations, reference may be made to the advantages of the foregoing first aspect and the respective possible implementations, which are not repeated here.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, where the communication device has a function of implementing the functions of any embodiment of the method in the first aspect or the second aspect, and specifically may refer to the related description of the first aspect or the second aspect, which is not repeated herein.

In one possible design, the communication device comprises corresponding means (means) or modules for performing the method of the first or second aspect. For example, the communication device: including a processing unit (sometimes also referred to as a processing module or processor) and/or a transceiver unit (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver module or transceiver). The transceiver unit may comprise a transmitting unit and a receiving unit, and it is also understood that the transmitting unit and the receiving unit are the same functional module. Or the transceiver unit is also understood as a generic term for a transmitting unit and a receiving unit, which may be different functional modules.

For example, the communication device may be a LLOF network element in the first aspect, or the communication device may be a device, such as a chip or a chip system, capable of implementing the method provided in the first aspect. For example, the communication device includes a processing module and a transceiver module, where the processing module is configured to unbind a binding relationship between a first network function NF network element and a context of a first terminal device, select a second NF network element, and establish a binding relationship between the context of the first terminal device and the second NF network element; the transceiver module may be used to communicate with other communication devices. These modules may perform the corresponding functions in the method examples of the first aspect, which are specifically referred to in the detailed description of the method examples and are not described herein.

As another example, the communication device may be the first NF network element in the second aspect, or the communication device may be a device, such as a chip or a system-on-chip, capable of implementing the method provided in the second aspect. For example, the communication device includes a processing module and a transceiver module, where the processing module is configured to determine to unbind a context of the communication device from the first terminal device; the transceiver module is configured to send a first message to the LLOF network element, where the first message is configured to notify LLOF network element to unbind the context of the communication device and the first terminal device. These modules may perform the corresponding functions in the method examples of the second aspect, which are specifically referred to in the method examples and are not described herein.

In a fourth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication device, which may be the communication device of the third aspect described above, or a chip system provided in the communication device of the third aspect. The communication means may be a terminal device or a network device. The communication device comprises a communication interface and a processor, and optionally a memory. The memory is used for storing a computer program, and the processor is coupled with the memory and the communication interface, when the processor reads the computer program or the instructions, the communication device executes the method executed by the LLOF network element or the first NF network element in the method.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device including an input-output interface and a logic circuit. The input-output interface is used for inputting and/or outputting information. The logic circuitry is to perform the method as described in any one of the first or second aspects.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, where the chip system includes a processor and may further include a communication interface, to implement the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect. In a possible implementation, the chip system further includes a memory for storing a computer program. The chip system may be formed of a chip or may include a chip and other discrete devices.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, where the communication system includes LLOF network elements for implementing the related functions of the first aspect, and at least one NF network element for implementing the related functions of the second aspect. Of course, the communication system may comprise terminal devices or other functional network elements, such as data management network elements.

In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer readable storage medium storing a computer program which, when executed, implements the method of the first or second aspects described above.

In a ninth aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising: computer program code which, when run, causes the method of the first or second aspect described above to be performed.

Advantageous effects of the above third to ninth aspects and implementations thereof reference may be made to the description of the advantageous effects of the first or second aspects and implementations thereof.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a service architecture according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of load sharing and fault handling in NF sets according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of one possible network architecture to which embodiments of the present application are applicable;

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

Fig. 5 is a schematic flow chart of a second communication party according to an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

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

Detailed Description

In the fifth generation (5th generation,5G) network architecture, a legacy network element can be split into multiple NFs, building the network in a software, modular and server manner. NF refers to a single communication network function after the functions of the traditional network elements in the communication network are split, and each network function is independent.

Please refer to fig. 1, which is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a service architecture. The 5G network architecture shown in fig. 1 may include three parts, namely a terminal device part, a Data Network (DN) part, and an operator network part. The following provides a brief description of the functionality of some of the network elements.

The operator network may include, among other things, a network slice selection function (network sliceSelection function, NSSF) network element, a network opening function (network exposure function, NEF) network element, a network storage function (network function repository function, NRF) network element, a policy control function (policy control function, PCF) network element, a unified data management (unified DATA MANAGEMENT, UDM) network element, a network data analysis function (network DATA ANALYSIS function, NWDAF) network element, AN application function (application function, AF) network element, AN authentication service function (authentication server function, AUSF) network element, AN access and mobility management function (ACCESS AND mobility management function, AMF) network element, a session management function (session management function, SMF) network element, a service communication proxy (service communication proxy, SCP) network element, a user plane function (user plane function, UPF), a Data Network (DN) network element, a radio) access network (R) network element, and the like. In the above-described operator network, the parts other than the (radio) access network part may be referred to as core network parts. For convenience of explanation, the (R) AN will be hereinafter referred to as RAN as AN example.

A terminal device, which may also be referred to as a terminal apparatus, is a device having a wireless transmitting/receiving function, and may transmit signals to or receive signals from a network device. The terminal devices may include User Equipment (UE), sometimes referred to as terminals, access stations, UE stations, remote stations, wireless communication devices, or user equipment, among others. The terminal device is used for connecting people, objects, machines and the like, and can be widely used in various scenes, including but not limited to the following scenes: cellular communication, device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (vehicle to everything, V2X), machine-to-machine/machine-type communication (M2M/MTC), ioT, virtual Reality (VR), augmented reality (augmented reality, AR), industrial control (industrial control), unmanned (SELF DRIVING), remote medical (remote medical), smart grid (SMART GRID), smart furniture, smart office, smart wear, smart transportation, smart city (SMART CITY), drone, robot, and the like. The terminal equipment can be a mobile phone, a tablet personal computer, a computer with a wireless receiving and transmitting function, a wearable device, a vehicle, an urban air vehicle (such as an unmanned aerial vehicle, a helicopter and the like), a ship, a robot, a mechanical arm, intelligent household equipment and the like.

By way of example, and not limitation, in embodiments of the application, the terminal device may also be a wearable device. The wearable device can also be called as a wearable intelligent device or an intelligent wearable device, and is a generic name for intelligently designing daily wear and developing wearable devices, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothes, shoes, and the like, by applying wearable technology. The terminal device may also include a relay (relay), for example, the terminal device may be a customer terminal device (customer premise equipment, CPE) that may receive signals from the network device and forward the signals to other terminal devices. Or it is understood that all that is capable of data communication with a base station can be seen as a terminal device.

The various terminal devices described above, if located on a vehicle (e.g. placed in or mounted in the vehicle), may be considered as in-vehicle terminal devices, such as also known as in-vehicle units (OBUs) or telecommunication modules (i.e. (TELEMATICS BOX, T-boxes). The terminal devices may be in-vehicle modules, in-vehicle components, in-vehicle chips or in-vehicle units built into the vehicle as one or more components or units by which the vehicle may implement the methods of the present application.

In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may refer to a device for implementing a function of the terminal device, or may be a device capable of supporting the terminal device to implement the function, for example, a chip system, and the device may be installed in the terminal device. For example, the terminal device may also be a vehicle detector. In the embodiment of the application, the chip system can be composed of chips, and can also comprise chips and other discrete devices. In the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, the device for implementing the function of the terminal device is described by taking the terminal device itself as an example.

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

The RAN is a sub-network of the operator network, and is an implementation system between a service node and a terminal device in the operator network. The terminal equipment is to access the operator network, firstly through the RAN, and then can be connected with the service node of the operator network through the RAN. The RAN device in the present application is a device that provides a wireless communication function for a terminal device, and the RAN device is also called an access network device. RAN equipment in the present application includes, but is not limited to: a next generation base station (G nodeB, gNB), evolved node B (eNB), radio network controller (radio network controller, RNC), node B (NB), base station controller (base station controller, BSC), base transceiver station (base transceiver station, BTS), home base station (e.g., home evolved nodeB, or home node B, HNB), baseband unit (baseBand unit, BBU), transmission point (TRANSMITTING AND RECEIVING point, TRP), transmission point (TRANSMITTING POINT, TP), mobile switching center, and the like in 5G. For ease of description, the following description will be given with the RAN as one example of an access network device, and the RAN appearing anywhere in the following may be replaced by other examples of an access network device or a base station.

The mobility management network element is a control plane network element provided by the operator network and is responsible for access control and mobility management of the terminal equipment accessing the operator network, for example, the mobility management comprises the functions of mobility state management, user temporary identity identification allocation, user authentication, user authorization and the like. In 5G, the mobility management element may be an AMF element, and in future communications such as the sixth generation (the 6th generation,6G), the mobility management element may still be an AMF element, or have other names, which the present application is not limited to.

The session management network element is a control plane network element provided by the operator network and is responsible for managing protocol data unit (protocol data unit, PDU) sessions of the terminal device. In 5G, the session management network element may be an SMF network element, and in future communications such as 6G, the session management network element may still be an SMF network element, or have other names, which is not limited by the present application.

The user plane network element is a gateway provided by an operator and is mainly responsible for forwarding and receiving user data, and can receive the user data from a data network and transmit the user data to the UE through access network equipment; user data may also be received from the UE through the access network device and forwarded to the data network. In 5G, the user plane element may be a UPF element, and in future communications such as 6G, the user plane element may still be a UPF element, or have other names, which is not limited by the present application.

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

The user data management network element is a control plane network element provided by an operator and is responsible for storing information such as a user permanent identifier (SUPI) of an signing user, a credentials (security context), subscription data and the like in an operator network. The data management network element is the authentication and authorization that this stored information can be used for the terminal device to access the operator network. In 5G, the data management network element may be a UDM network element, and in future communications such as 6G, the data management network element may still be a UDM network element, or have other names, which is not limited by the present application.

The network opening network element is an external interface for the third party to open the operator network in a safe way by providing a control plane network element by the operator. When the SMF network element needs to communicate with the network element of the third party, the NEF network element may act as a relay for the SMF network element to communicate with the network element of the third party. When the NEF network element is used as a relay, the NEF network element can be used as translation of identification information of a subscriber and translation of identification information of a network element of a third party. In 5G, the network opening network element may be a NEF network element, and in future communications such as 6G, the network opening network element may still be a NEF network element, or have other names, which is not limited by the present application.

The authentication service function network element is a control plane network element provided by an operator and is typically used for primary authentication, i.e. authentication between a terminal device (subscriber) and an operator network. In 5G, the authentication service function element may be AUSF network elements, and in future communications such as 6G, the authentication service function element may still be AUSF network elements, or may have other names, which are not limited by the present application.

The policy control network element is a control plane function provided by the operator for providing the SMF network element with policies for PDU sessions. Policies may include charging related policies, qoS related policies, and authorization related policies, among others. In 5G, the policy control network element may be a PCF network element, and in future communications, such as 6G, the policy control network element may still be a PCF network element, or have other names, which is not limited by the present application.

The network storage function network element may be configured to provide a network element discovery function, and provide network element information corresponding to a network element type, such as address information and/or identification information, based on a request of another network element. Network storage function the network element also provides network element management services such as network element registration, updating, deregistration, network element state subscription and push, etc. In 5G, the network storage function element may be an NRF element, and in future communications such as 6G, the network storage function element may still be an NRF element, or have other names, which is not limited by the present application.

The application function network element mainly provides application layer services, and also supports interaction with the 5G core network to provide services, such as influencing data routing decisions, policy control functions or providing some services of a third party to the network side. In a specific application, the application function network element generally refers to a third party server or an application server. In 5G, the application function element may be an AF element, and in future communications such as 6G, the application function element may still be an AF element, or have other names, which is not limited by the present application.

The network slice selection function network element is mainly responsible for selecting network slice instances and/or network slice subnet instances for a UE and determining AMF groups and/or AMFs serving the UE. In 5G, the network slice selection function element may be NSSF network elements, and in future communications such as 6G, the network slice selection function element may still be NSSF network elements, or have other names, which are not limited by the present application.

The network data analysis function network element is mainly responsible for collecting network operation data from some network elements included in the communication system and analyzing the collected network operation data. In 5G, the network data analysis function element may be NWDAF network elements, and in future communications such as 6G, the network data analysis function element may still be NWDAF network elements, or have other names, which are not limited by the present application.

Wherein, the AF network element, the UDM network element, the UDR network element, the PCF network element, the SMF network element, the AMF network element, the NRF network element, the AUSF network element, the NEF network element and the UPF network element can also be respectively abbreviated as AF, UDM, UDR, PCF, SMF, AMF, NRF, AUSF, NEF, UPF.

Nnssf, nausf, nnef, nnrf, namf, npcf, nsmf, nudm, nnwdaf, naf in fig. 1 are service interfaces provided for NSSF, AUSF, NEF, NRF, AMF, PCF, SMF, UDM, NWDAF, AF, respectively, for invoking corresponding service operations. N1, N2, N3, N4, and N6 are interface serial numbers, and the meaning of these interface serial numbers is as follows:

1) N1: the interface between the AMF and the UE may be used to communicate non-access stratum (non access stratum, NAS) signaling (e.g., including QoS rules from the AMF) to the UE, etc.

2) N2: the interface between the AMF and the access network device may be used to transfer radio bearer control information from the core network side to the access network device, etc.

3) N3: the interface between the access network equipment and the UPF is mainly used for transferring uplink and downlink user plane data between the access network equipment and the UPF.

4) N4: the interface between SMF and UPF can be used to transfer information between control plane and user plane, including control plane-oriented forwarding rule, qoS rule, flow statistics rule, etc. issuing and user plane information reporting.

5) N6: and the interface of the UPF and the DN is used for transmitting uplink and downlink user data streams between the UPF and the DN.

It will be appreciated that the network elements or functions described above may be either network elements in a hardware device, software functions running on dedicated hardware, or virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). As a possible implementation method, the network element or the function may be implemented by one device, or may be implemented by a plurality of devices together, or may be a functional module in one device, which is not specifically limited by the embodiment of the present application.

The base station may select an AMF network element serving the terminal device, responsible for mobility management of the UE, the AMF may select an SMF for session management, and the AMF or the SMF may select a PCF for policy and charging control. From the AMF point of view, the functional network elements SMF and PCF may be referred to as peripheral network elements, serving the same UE. Similarly, from the perspective of the SMF, the AMF and PCF may also become peripheral network elements. Each AMF, SMF, PCF may be deployed in the manner of NF Set, and one NF Set may be composed of multiple NF instances, and deployed in the same or different regions. Each NF instance in the same NF Set shares a database, and any NF instance in the NF Set can be selected to provide service for the UE. In order to reduce the reading operation, after one NF instance is selected to serve the UE, the identification information of the selected NF instance needs to be sent to the peripheral network element, and subsequently, the peripheral network element sends a related service request message to the NF instance under the condition that the NF instance does not fail. If the NF instance fails, the peripheral network element needs to reselect an NF instance from the NF Set.

The load sharing and fault handling flow within the NF aggregate is described below in conjunction with the structure shown in fig. 1, with reference to fig. 2. Fig. 2 exemplifies NF network element 1 (or instance), NF network element 2, and NF network element 3 as belonging to the same NF set. Wherein, NF network element 1 has a fault, NF network element 2 and NF network element 3 have no fault. Initially, any NF network element sends the context of the end device that can be served to a data management network element, such as a UDM network element or an unstructured data storage function (unstructured data storage function, UDSF) network element. When the peripheral network element needs to acquire the context of the terminal equipment, one NF network element can be selected from the NF set, and a request message is sent to the NF network element to request the NF network element to serve the terminal equipment. The NF network element receives the request message from the peripheral network element, and acquires the context of the terminal equipment from the data management network element to serve the terminal equipment. If the NF network element selected by the peripheral network element fails, for example, NF network element 1 is selected by the peripheral network element. In this case, the peripheral network element reselects one NF network element, such as NF network element 2, from the NF set. And the NF network element 2 acquires the context of the terminal equipment from the data management network element to serve the terminal equipment. The NF network element needs to store the context of the terminal device in the data management network element, and then the NF network element acquires the context of the terminal device from the data management network element according to the requirement of the peripheral network element, and then the context is sent to the peripheral network element, so that more context accesses are involved, and the efficiency is lower.

For this purpose, a binding mechanism is introduced, i.e. the NF network element can store (or bind) the context of the terminal device. The binding mechanism, the binding of the NF network element and the context of the terminal device is maintained by the NF network element, and for one session, one NF network element may need to establish an association with multiple peripheral network elements. The NF network element may send a uniform resource identifier (uniform resource identifier, URI) to each of the plurality of peripheral network elements for indicating the context of the terminal device stored by the NF network element. The peripheral network element needs to acquire the context of the terminal equipment, and can select a matched NF network element according to the URI, and request the context of the terminal equipment from the FN network element. The binding mechanism reduces interaction between the initially selected NF network element and the data management network element, thereby improving efficiency. In addition, the NF network element also sends a binding indication to the peripheral network element (Binding indication) in order for the peripheral network element to select NF network elements that are not faulty, considering that some NF network elements may be faulty. Thus, when the NF network element initially selected by the peripheral network element fails, the peripheral network element may reselect one NF network element according to Binding indication. It can be appreciated that the reselected NF network element needs to update the URI of the context of the terminal device, and notify other peripheral network elements of the updated URI, so that the peripheral network element can select the NF network element. However, how the reselected NF network element notifies other surrounding network elements of the updated URI has not yet had a corresponding solution. In addition, the binding mechanism needs the peripheral network element to sense whether the NF network element is faulty or not, and has higher requirement on the processing capacity of the peripheral network element and more complex implementation process.

In order to solve the technical problems, the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application is provided. In the embodiment of the application, through LLOF, the binding relationship between the context of the terminal equipment and the NF network element is maintained, and whether the NF network element fails or not is not required to be perceived by the peripheral network element.

The technical scheme of the embodiment of the application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: a New Radio (NR) system, a long term evolution (advanced long term evolution, LTE) system, a long term evolution advanced (advanced long term evolution, LTE-a) system, a cellular system related to the third generation partnership project (the 3rd generation partnership project,3GPP), a next generation mobile communication system, etc., as long as the communication system involves a contextual access of the terminal device.

In addition, the communication system may be also suitable for future communication technologies, and the system described in the embodiment of the present application is for more clearly describing the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, and as a person of ordinary skill in the art can know that, with the evolution of the network architecture, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is also suitable for similar technical problems.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a network system architecture to which the embodiment of the present application is applicable. Fig. 3 incorporates LLOF network elements as compared to the architecture shown in fig. 2. The LLOF network element can be used for supporting a served interface and a non-served interface at the same time, and can communicate with non-served functions such as RAN, UPF, mobility MANAGEMENT ENTITY (MME) and the like, and communicate information with control plane functions such as AMF, SMF and the like, so that the control plane functions such as AMF, SMF and the like can transmit a message required to be sent to the non-served functions to the LLOF network element through the served interface. Illustratively, the service-based service interface provided by LLOF network elements is Nllof, and LLOF network elements can communicate with other functions, such as AMF, SMF, etc., through service interface Nllof. The N2 interface is a reference point between LLOF network elements and the RAN, N4 is a reference point between LLOF and UPF, and in addition, although not shown, the N26 interface is a reference point between LLOF network elements and the MME. Since AMF, SMF, AUSF, PCF control plane functions can communicate with LLOF network elements through the servitization interface Nllof, LLOF network elements perform control plane message routing, and AMF, SMF and other control plane functions can eliminate the need for non-servitization interfaces. For example, the AMF may not need to support the non-serviced interface N2 and the SMF may not need to support the non-serviced interface N4.

In the embodiment of the application, the binding relation between the NF network element and the context of the terminal equipment is maintained by LLOF network elements. That is, LLOF network elements may establish (or store) a binding relationship between each NF network element and a context of the terminal device, or may release a binding relationship between a certain NF network element and a context of the terminal device. LLOF the network element establishes (or stores) a binding relationship between a certain NF network element and a context of the terminal device, including LLOF the network element stores the context of the terminal device, and the stored context of the terminal device includes information of the NF network element to which the context of the terminal device is bound. LLOF the network element releasing the binding relationship between the NF network element and the context of the terminal device refers to LLOF the network element deleting the stored binding relationship between a certain NF network element and the context of the terminal device. When a certain NF network element fails, LLOF network elements can release the binding relationship between the NF network element and the context of the terminal device, and bind the context of the terminal device with the NF network element without failure again. The binding relation between the NF network element and the context of the terminal equipment is maintained through LLOF network elements, so that the NF network element which binds the context of the terminal equipment can provide service for the terminal equipment without the peripheral network element sensing the context of the terminal equipment and which NF network element is bound, and thus, whether the selected NF network element fails or not is sensed by the peripheral network element. In addition, when the binding relation between the context of the terminal equipment and the reselected NF network element is established, the reselected NF network element is not required to reassign the access address of the context of the terminal equipment, i.e. the access address of the context of the terminal equipment is not required to be changed. Compared with the NF network element maintaining the binding relation with the context of the terminal equipment, the NF network element which does not need to be reselected informs the access address of the bound context of the terminal equipment to each peripheral network element, and the process is simpler.

The LLOF network element releases the binding relationship between a certain NF network element and the context of the terminal device, and may be triggered by the NF network element or may be triggered by the LLOF network element itself. The following describes, in connection with the architecture shown in fig. 3, the processes of NF network element triggering and LLOF network element self triggering LLOF network element to release the binding relationship between the NF network element and the context of the terminal device. The following first communication method takes NF network element triggering LLOF as an example, where the NF network element releases the binding relationship between the NF network element and the context of the terminal device. The second communication method takes LLOF network element triggering LLOF network element as an example to release the binding relationship between the NF network element and the context of the terminal device.

Referring to fig. 4, a flowchart of a first communication method provided by the present application is shown, where the flowchart is implemented by using a first terminal device, a first NF network element, and LLOF network elements as an example. It should be understood that any one terminal device may perform steps similar to the first terminal device, and any NF network element may perform steps similar to the first NF network element.

S401, the first terminal device sends a request message to LLOF network elements, and the LLOF network elements correspondingly receive the request message from the first terminal device.

When the first terminal device needs LLOF network elements to create the context of the first terminal device, a request message may be sent to LLOF network elements, where the request message may be used to create the context of the first terminal device. For example, the first terminal device may send the request message to LLOF network elements when a session needs to be established. For another example, the request message may be sent to LLOF network elements when the first terminal device needs to register.

LLOF the network element receives the request message, and selects an NF instance or NF network element (hereinafter described as NF network element) from the NF set to provide services for the first terminal device, for example, the first NF network element. The NF network elements are of different types depending on the request message. For example, the request message is a registration request of the first terminal device, the first NF network element may be an AMF network element, and LLOF may select, according to the registration request of the first terminal device, one AMF network element from the plurality of AMF network elements to serve the first terminal device. For another example, the request message is a session establishment request, the first NF network element may be an SMF network element, and the LLOF network element may select one SMF network element from the plurality of SMF network elements to provide a service for the session of the first terminal device according to the session establishment request of the first terminal device.

LLOF after selecting the first NF network element, establishing a binding relationship between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device, and storing the binding relationship. LLOF the network element stores a binding relationship between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device, which is equivalent to LLOF the network element stores the context of the first terminal device, and the context of the first terminal device includes the binding relationship between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device. Similarly, other terminal devices, such as the second terminal device, may also send a request message to LLOF for creating a context for the second terminal device. LLOF the network element receives the request message, selects an NF network element to serve the second terminal equipment, and establishes and stores the binding relation between the NF network element and the context of the second terminal equipment. The NF network element may be the first NF network element or other NF network elements. Similarly, one NF network element may bind the context of multiple terminal devices. LLOF the network element may store a binding relationship between each NF network element of the plurality of NF network elements and a context of the terminal device.

S402, the first NF network element caches the context of the first terminal device.

And LLOF after selecting the first NF network element, the network element also transmits the related information of the first terminal equipment to the first NF network element. The first NF network element receives LLOF the related information of the first terminal device sent by the network element, and stores the context of the first terminal device.

S403, the first NF network element sends the context of the first terminal device to the data management network element.

The first NF network element may store the context of the first terminal device in addition to the context of the first terminal device in a data management network element, such as a UDM network element or UDSF network element. By storing the context of the first terminal device in the data management network element, even if the first NF network element fails, the context of the first terminal device can be obtained from the data management network element through other NF network elements without failure, thereby ensuring that the first terminal device can be provided with service as much as possible.

S404, the first NF network element determines to release the binding relation between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device.

In a possible scenario, the first NF network element may no longer provide service to the first terminal device, e.g., the first NF network element fails, or the first NF network element is insufficient to provide service to the first terminal device due to its own resources, etc. In this case, the first NF network element may determine to unbind the context of the first NF network element and the first terminal device, so that the context of the first terminal device binds other NF network elements, for example, the second NF network element, and the second NF network element subsequently provides services for the first terminal device. In the embodiment of the application, when the first NF network element determines to release the binding relation between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal equipment, the stored context of the first terminal equipment can be deleted, so that the storage space of the first NF network element is saved.

The situations where the first NF network element no longer provides service for the first terminal device include, but are not limited to, the following: the load of the first NF network element is larger than or equal to a first threshold value, the first NF network element fails, the first NF network element needs to be expanded or contracted, or the first terminal equipment enters an idle state. Correspondingly, the first NF network element determines that one or more of the following conditions are met, and the binding relation between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device is released.

And under the condition 1, the load of the first NF network element is larger than or equal to a first threshold value. Wherein the first threshold value may be (pre) configured or predefined. When the load of the first NF network element is greater than or equal to the first threshold, it may be considered that the load of the first NF network element is heavy or the resources of the first NF network element are insufficient to continue to provide services for the first terminal device. In this case, the first NF network element may determine to unbind the context with the first terminal device.

And 2, the first NF network element fails. The first NF network element fails and is naturally unable to continue to provide service for the first terminal device. In this case, the first NF network element may determine to unbind the context with the first terminal device.

And 3, the first NF network element needs to be expanded or contracted. The first NF element needs to expand its capacity, which can be considered as requiring the first NF element to reserve more storage space. In this case, the first NF network element may determine to unbind the context with the first terminal device. The first NF element needs to shrink, which may be considered to require the reduction of the storage space that the first NF element has used. In this case, the first NF network element may determine to unbind the context with the first terminal device. Whether the first NF network element needs to be expanded or contracted may be indicated by operation and maintenance management (operation administration AND MAINTENANCE, OAM). For example, the OAM sends first information to the first NF network element, where the first information indicates that the first NF network element needs to perform capacity expansion or capacity contraction.

And 4, the first terminal equipment enters an idle state. The first terminal device enters an idle state, which indicates that the first terminal device has no service. If the first terminal device has no service for a long time, the NF network element serving the first terminal device, e.g., the AMF network element or the SMF network element, may be switched, and thus the first NF network element is not suitable to continue to provide service for the first terminal device. In this case, the first NF network element may determine to unbind the context with the first terminal device.

And S405, the first NF network element sends a first message to the LLOF network element, and correspondingly, the LLOF network element receives the first message from the first NF network element.

The first message may be used to notify LLOF the network element to unbind the first NF network element from the context of the first terminal device. That is, after the first NF network element determines that the binding relationship between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device needs to be contacted, a first message is sent to LLOF to trigger LLOF the network element to release the binding relationship between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device. The embodiment of the application does not limit the specific name of the first message, for example, the first message may be called an unbinding request message.

Illustratively, the first NF network element sending the first message to the LLOF network element may be implemented by invoking LLOF service. For example, LLOF network elements may define a unbinding service for unbinding the NF network elements from the context of the terminal device. The first NF network element invokes LLOF a service for unbinding the context of the network element, the service including identification information of the first terminal device, LLOF the network element unbinding the context of the first NF network element and the first terminal device.

S406, LLOF the network element releases the binding relationship between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device.

LLOF the network element receives the first message, and releases (i.e. deletes) the binding relationship between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device according to the first message.

S407, LLOF network element selects second NF network element, and establishes binding relation between context of first terminal device and second NF network element.

After LLOF the network element contacts the binding relationship between the context of the first terminal device and the first NF network element, if relevant information of the first terminal device is received, the LLOF network element may query the context of the first terminal device. LLOF the network element discovers that the NF network element is not bound to the first terminal device, selects one NF network element, for example, a second NF network element, from the NF network element set where the first NF network element is located, and establishes (i.e., stores) a binding relationship between the second NF network element and the context of the first terminal device. For example, the first terminal device sends a second message to LLOF network elements, which is used to query or update the context of the first terminal device. LLOF the network element receives the second message, determines that the NF network element is not bound with the first terminal device, selects a second NF network element from the NF network element set where the first NF network element is located, and stores the binding relation between the second NF network element and the context of the first terminal device. The specific name of the second message is not limited in the embodiment of the present application, for example, the second message may be a request message, for example, a registration request message or a session establishment request message. LLOF the network element may send the context of the first terminal device to a second NF network element, which saves the context of the first terminal device.

In the embodiment of the application, through LLOF network elements, the binding relation between each NF network element and the context of the terminal equipment is maintained, so that the NF network elements binding the context of the terminal equipment can provide service for the terminal equipment. The peripheral network element does not need to perceive which NF network element the context of the terminal equipment is bound with, so that the peripheral network element does not need to perceive whether the selected NF network element has a fault or not, and the burden of the peripheral network element can be reduced. When the binding relation between the context of the first terminal device and the second NF network element is established, the second NF network element is not required to redistribute the access address of the context of the terminal device, namely the access address of the context of the terminal device is not required to be changed. Compared with the method that the NF network element maintains the binding relation with the context of the terminal equipment, the method does not need a second NF network element to inform each peripheral network element of the access address of the bound context of the terminal equipment, and has simpler process.

Referring to fig. 5, a flow chart of a second communication method provided by the present application is shown, where the flow chart is implemented by using a first terminal device, a first NF network element, a second NF network element, and LLOF network elements as an example. It should be understood that any one of the terminal devices may perform steps like those performed by the first terminal device. The first NF network element is an NF network element for releasing the binding relation with the context of the first terminal equipment, and the second NF network element is an NF network element for binding the context of the first terminal equipment.

S501, the first terminal equipment sends a request message to LLOF network elements, and the LLOF network elements correspondingly receive the request message from the first terminal equipment.

S502, the first NF network element caches the context of the first terminal device.

S503, the first NF network element sends the context of the first terminal device to the data management network element.

For implementation of S501-S503, reference may be made to the foregoing descriptions of S401-S403, and details are not repeated here. It will be appreciated that, similar to the first NF network element, it is also possible to save the context of a certain terminal device (e.g. the second terminal device) and send the saved context of the terminal device to the data management network element. It is understood that LLOF network elements maintain the context of a plurality of terminal devices bound to the first NF network element, including the first terminal device. LLOF the network element also stores a binding relationship of contexts of a plurality of terminal devices bound to the second NF network element, the plurality of terminal devices including the second terminal device.

And S504, LLOF, determining to release the binding relationship between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal equipment.

Unlike S404, whether to unbind the context of the first NF network element and the first terminal device may be determined by the LLOF network element. LLOF the network element determines that one or more of the following conditions are satisfied, and may release the binding relationship between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device.

The load of the first NF network element exceeds the second threshold under condition 1. It is to be understood that the second threshold value may be (pre) configured or predefined. When the load of the second NF network element is greater than or equal to the second threshold, it may be considered that the load of the first NF network element is heavy or the resources of the first NF network element are insufficient to continue to provide services for the first terminal device. LLOF the network element may detect the load of the first NF network element itself, or the first NF network element may notify LLOF the network element of its own load.

And 2, the first NF network element needs to be expanded or contracted. For example, the first network element receives first information of OAM, where the first information is used to instruct the first network element to perform capacity expansion or capacity contraction. The first NF network element sends second information to LLOF network elements, the second information is used for indicating the first network element to expand or contract, LLOF network elements receive the second information, and the binding relationship between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device is determined to be released.

And 3, newly adding an NF network element. For example, a third NF network element is newly added. If there is a newly added NF network element, the first NF network element can offload its own load to the newly added NF network element to achieve the purpose of load balancing. In this case, LLOF network element may determine to unbind the context of the first NF network element and the first terminal device.

S505, LLOF network element migrates the context of the terminal equipment bound by the first NF network element to the second NF network element.

In order to ensure that normal service of each terminal device bound with the first NF network element is not affected, LLOF network elements determine to release the binding relationship between the first NF network element and the context of the bound at least one terminal device, other NF network elements, such as a second NF network element, may be selected from NF set where the first NF network element is located, and the binding relationship between the second NF network element and the context of the at least one terminal device is established and stored. In addition, LLOF network elements migrate the context of the at least one terminal device to a second NF network element, so that the second NF network element can save the bound context of the at least one terminal device. LLOF the network element further deletes the stored binding relationship between the first NF network element and the context of the at least one terminal device. Or LLOF the network element deletes the context of the at least one terminal device, where the context includes a binding relationship between the first NF network element and the at least one terminal device.

In the embodiment of the present application, the LLOF network element migrates the context of at least one terminal device bound to the first NF network element to the second NF network element, including but not limited to the following two ways.

In one mode, LLOF network elements notify the first NF network element to migrate the bound context of the at least one terminal device to the second NF network element. For example, the S505a, LLOF network element sends a third message to the first NF network element, where the third message may instruct the first NF network element to migrate the bound context of the at least one terminal device to the second NF network element, and the third message includes identification information of the second NF network element. The first NF network element receives the third message, acquires the identification information of the second NF network element, and sends the bound context of at least one terminal device to the second NF network element. The embodiment of the application does not limit the specific name of the third message, so long as the first NF network element is triggered to migrate the bound context of at least one terminal device to the second NF network element. It is understood that S505 may be S505a, that is, S505a is performed after S504 is performed.

In a second mode, LLOF network elements notify the second NF network elements to bind the context of at least one terminal device bound by the first NF network elements. For example, the S505b, LLOF network element sends a fourth message to the second NF network element, where the fourth message is used to indicate that the second NF network element binds the context of at least one terminal device bound by the first NF network element, and the fourth message includes identification information of the first NF network element. The second NF network element receives the fourth message, and the context of at least one terminal device bound by the first NF network element is stored according to the fourth message. The embodiment of the application does not limit the specific name of the fourth message, and the specific name is as long as the context of at least one terminal device bound by the first NF network element is triggered to be bound by the second NF network element. It is understood that S505 may be S505b, that is, S50ba is performed after S504 is performed.

The number of terminal devices bound by the first NF network element is greater, so that the time required for the context of at least one terminal device bound by the first NF network element to migrate to the second NF network element is longer. If there is a request message, such as a registration request message or a session establishment request message, from a certain terminal device in the context migration process of at least one terminal device bound by the first NF network element, in order to avoid missing processing the request message as much as possible, LLOF network elements may send the request message to the second NF network element for processing preferentially, and if the processing is unsuccessful, send the request message to the first NF network element for processing.

For example, LLOF network elements receive a request message, such as a registration request message or a session establishment request message, from a first terminal device, send the request message to a second NF network element, and cache the request message. If the second NF network element successfully processes the request message, sending first indication information to LLOF network elements, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the second NF network element successfully processes the request message. LLOF the network element receives the first indication information and deletes the cached request message. If the second NF network element fails to process the request message, sending second indication information to LLOF network elements, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the second NF network element fails to process the request message. LLOF the network element receives the second indication information and sends the cached request message to the first NF network element. Or if the second NF network element fails to process the request message, sending the request message to LLOF network elements. LLOF the network element receives the request message and sends the request message to the first NF network element.

After the first NF network element or the second NF network element completes the migration of the context of the at least one terminal device bound to the first NF, migration completion instruction information is sent to the LLOF network element to instruct that the migration of the context of the at least one terminal device bound to the first NF is completed. LLOF the network element receives the migration completion indication information, and LLOF the network element updates the binding relationship between the at least one terminal device and the first NF network element to the binding relationship between the at least one terminal device and the second NF network element.

In the embodiment of the application, LLOF network elements can sense the states of a plurality of NF network elements, and the context of at least one terminal device is migrated from one NF network element to another NF network element through LLOF network elements, so that the binding relationship between the NF network elements and the context of the terminal device is maintained, and the NF network elements binding the context of the terminal device can provide service for the terminal device. The peripheral network element does not need to perceive which NF network element the context of the terminal equipment is bound with, so that the peripheral network element does not need to perceive whether the selected NF network element has a fault or not, and the burden of the peripheral network element can be reduced. After the second NF network element binds the context of at least one terminal device bound by the first NF network element, the second NF network element does not need to reassign the access address of the context of each terminal device, i.e., the access address of the context of each terminal device does not need to be changed. Compared with the method that the NF network element maintains the binding relation with the context of the terminal equipment, the method does not need a second NF network element to inform each peripheral network element of the access address of the bound context of the terminal equipment, and has simpler process.

In the embodiment provided by the application, the method provided by the embodiment of the application is introduced from the interaction angle between the NF network element and the LLOF network element. In order to implement the functions in the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, the network device and the terminal device may include hardware structures and/or software modules, and implement the functions in the form of hardware structures, software modules, or a combination of hardware structures and software modules. Some of the functions described above are performed in a hardware configuration, a software module, or a combination of hardware and software modules, depending on the specific application of the solution and design constraints.

Communication devices for implementing the above method in the embodiments of the present application are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Therefore, the above contents can be used in the following embodiments, and repeated contents are not repeated.

Fig. 6 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 600 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 600 may include a processing module 610 and a transceiver module 620. Optionally, a storage unit may be included, which may be used to store instructions (code or programs) and/or data. The processing module 610 and the transceiver module 620 may be coupled to the storage unit, for example, the processing module 610 may read instructions (codes or programs) and/or data in the storage unit to implement the corresponding methods. The above modules may be independently provided, or may be partially or fully integrated.

In some possible embodiments, the communications apparatus 600 can correspondingly implement the actions and functions of the LLOF network element in the above method embodiment, where the communications apparatus 600 may be a LLOF network element, a component (such as a chip or a circuit) applied in a LLOF network element, or a chip or a chipset in a LLOF network element or a part of a chip for performing the related method functions.

For example, the processing module 610 may be configured to unbind the context of the first NF network element and the first terminal device, select the second NF network element, and establish a binding relationship between the context of the first terminal device and the second NF network element. Wherein the first NF network element and the second NF network element belong to the same NF network element set. The transceiver module 620 may be used to communicate with other communication devices.

As an optional implementation manner, the transceiver module 620 is specifically configured to receive a first message from the first NF network element, where the first message is used to notify the communication apparatus 600 to unbind the context of the first NF network element and the first terminal device. The processing module 610 is configured to unbind a context of the first NF network element and the first terminal device, and specifically includes: the processing module deletes the binding relation between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device.

As an optional implementation manner, the processing module 610 is configured to unbind a context of the first network function NF network element and the first terminal device, and specifically includes: determining that one or more of the following conditions are met, and deleting the binding relation between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device: the load of the first NF network element exceeds a first threshold, the first NF network element needs to expand or contract, or a third NF network element is added.

As an alternative implementation, the transceiver module 620 is specifically configured to receive a second message of the first terminal device, where the second message is used to query/update a context of the first terminal device. The processing module 610 is specifically configured to determine an NF network element that is not bound to the first terminal device, select a second NF network element, and store a binding relationship between the second NF network element and a context of the first terminal device.

As an optional implementation manner, the processing module 610 is specifically configured to select a second NF network element, and store a binding relationship between the context of the first terminal device and the second NF network element; the transceiver module 620 is specifically configured to send a third message to the first NF network element, where the third message is used to instruct the first NF network element to migrate the bound context of the at least one terminal device to the second NF network element. The third message includes identification information of the second NF network element, and the at least one terminal device includes the first terminal device;

As an optional implementation manner, the processing module 610 is specifically configured to select the second NF network element, and store a binding relationship between the context of the first terminal device and the second NF network element. The transceiver module 620 is specifically configured to send a fourth message to the second NF network element, where the fourth message is used to instruct the second NF network element to bind a context of at least one terminal device bound by the first NF network element, the fourth message includes identification information of the first NF network element, and the at least one terminal device includes the first terminal device.

As an alternative implementation manner, before the processing module 610 establishes the binding relationship between the second NF network element and the context of the first terminal device, the transceiver module 620 is further configured to receive a request message of the first terminal device, and send the request message to the second NF network element, where the request message is used to create the context of the first terminal device. The processing module 610 is further configured to cache the request message, and delete the stored request message when it is determined that the second NF network element successfully processes the request message.

As an optional implementation manner, the processing module 610 is further configured to determine that the second NF network element fails to process the request message; the transceiver module 620 is further configured to send the request message to the first NF network element.

As an alternative implementation manner, before the processing module 610 unbundles the binding relationship between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device, the transceiver module 620 is further configured to receive a request message from the first terminal device, where the request message is used to create the context of the first terminal device; the processing module 610 is further configured to select a first NF network element, and establish a binding relationship between the first NF network element and a context of the first terminal device.

In some possible embodiments, the communications device 600 may correspondingly implement the behavior and functions of the first NF network element in the foregoing method embodiment, where the communications device 600 may be the first NF network element, a component (such as a chip or a circuit) applied in the first NF network element, or a chip or a chipset in the first NF network element or a part of the chip that is used to perform the related method functions.

For example, the processing module 610 is configured to determine to unbind the context of the communication apparatus 600 from the first terminal device, and the transceiver module 620 is configured to send a first message to the LLOF network element, where the first message is configured to notify LLOF the network element to unbind the context of the communication apparatus 600 from the first terminal device.

As an optional implementation manner, the processing module 610 is specifically configured to determine that one or more of the following conditions are satisfied, and determine that the binding relationship between the communication apparatus 600 and the context of the first terminal device is released: the load of the communication device 600 is greater than or equal to the first threshold, the communication device 600 fails, or the first terminal apparatus enters an idle state.

As an alternative implementation, after the processing module 610 determines to unbind the communication device 600 from the context of the first terminal device, the processing module 610 is further configured to delete the stored context of the first terminal device.

As an alternative implementation, before the processing module 610 determines to unbind the communication apparatus 600 from the context of the first terminal device, the transceiver module 620 is further configured to send a request message to the LLOF network element, where the request message is used to create the context of the first terminal device.

It should be appreciated that the processing module 610 in embodiments of the present application may be implemented by a processor or processor-related circuit component, and the transceiver module 620 may be implemented by a transceiver or transceiver-related circuit component or a communication interface.

Fig. 7 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 700 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 700 may be LLOF network elements, which can implement the function of LLOF network elements in the method provided by the embodiment of the present application. The communication device 700 may also be a device capable of supporting LLOF network elements to implement the corresponding functions in the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, where the communication device 700 may be a system-on-chip. In the embodiment of the application, the chip system can be formed by a chip, and can also comprise the chip and other discrete devices. Specific functions can be seen from the description of the method embodiments described above. The communication device 700 may also be an NF network element, which can implement the function of the first NF network element in the method provided by the embodiment of the present application. The communication device 700 may also be a device capable of supporting NF network elements to implement the corresponding functions in the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, where the communication device 700 may be a system-on-chip. In the embodiment of the application, the chip system can be formed by a chip, and can also comprise the chip and other discrete devices. Specific functions can be seen from the description of the method embodiments described above. The communications apparatus described herein can be implemented as a stand-alone device (e.g., a stand-alone integrated circuit, a cell phone, etc.), or can be part of a larger device (e.g., a module that can be embedded within other devices).

The communication device 700 includes one or more processors 720 operable to implement or support the communication device 700 to implement the functions of LLOF network elements in the methods provided by embodiments of the present application. Reference is made specifically to the detailed description in the method examples, and details are not described here. The one or more processors 720 may also be configured to implement or support the communications device 700 to implement the functions of the first NF network element in the method provided by the embodiment of the present application. Reference is made specifically to the detailed description in the method examples, and details are not described here. Processor 720 may also be referred to as a processing unit or module and may implement certain control functions. Processor 720 may be a general purpose processor or a special purpose processor, or the like. For example, it includes: a central processor, an application processor, a modem processor, a graphics processor, an image signal processor, a digital signal processor, a video codec processor, a controller, a memory, and/or a neural network processor, etc. The central processor may be used to control the communication device 700, execute software programs, and/or process data. The different processors may be separate devices or may be integrated in one or more processors, e.g., integrated on one or more application specific integrated circuits.

Optionally, the communication device 700 includes one or more memories 730 for storing instructions that can be executed on the processor 720 to cause the communication device 700 to perform the methods described in the method embodiments above. Memory 730 and processor 720 may be provided separately or may be integrated together, or memory 730 and processor 720 may be considered coupled. The coupling in the embodiments of the present application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, which may be in electrical, mechanical, or other forms for information interaction between the devices, units, or modules. Processor 720 may operate in conjunction with memory 730. At least one of the at least one memory may be included in the processor. The memory 730 is not necessarily shown in fig. 7 by a broken line.

Optionally, the memory 730 may also store data. The processor and the memory may be provided separately or may be integrated. In an embodiment of the present application, the memory 730 may be a nonvolatile memory, such as a hard disk (HARD DISK DRIVE, HDD) or a Solid State Disk (SSD), or may be a volatile memory (RAM). The memory is 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, but is not limited to such. The memory in embodiments of the present application may also be circuitry or any other device capable of performing memory functions for storing program instructions and/or data.

The memory 730 is used for storing computer-executable instructions for performing the aspects of the present application, and is controlled by the processor 720 for execution. The processor 720 is configured to execute computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 730, thereby implementing the first communication method or the second communication method provided in the above embodiment of the present application.

The communication apparatus 700 may also include a communication interface 710 for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as a radio access network (radio access network, RAN), a wireless local area network (wireless local area networks, WLAN), a wired access network, etc., using any transceiver or the like. The communication interface 710 is for communicating with other apparatus over a transmission medium so that the apparatus for use in the communication apparatus 700 may communicate with other apparatus. Illustratively, when the communications apparatus 700 is a LLOF network element, the other device is an NF network element; or when the communication device is an NF network element, the other device is a LLOF network element. Processor 720 may transmit and receive data using communication interface 710. The communication interface 710 may be a transceiver in particular.

The specific connection medium between the communication interface 710, the processor 720, and the memory 730 is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. In the embodiment of the present application, the memory 730, the processor 720 and the communication interface 710 are connected through the bus 740 in fig. 7, and the bus is shown by a thick line in fig. 7, and the connection manner between other components is only schematically illustrated, but not limited thereto. The buses may be classified as address buses, data buses, control buses, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in fig. 7, but not only one bus or one type of bus.

The communication device in the above embodiment may be a control plane network element (or a network function storage network element) or a circuit, or may be a chip applied in the control plane network element (or a network function storage network element) or other combination devices, components, etc. with the control plane network element (or the network function storage network element). The processing module may be a processor, for example: a central processing module (central processing unit, CPU). When the communication device is a component having the function of LLOF network elements or NF network elements, the transceiver module may be a radio frequency unit, and the processing module may be a processor. When the communication device is a system-on-chip, the communication device may be a field programmable gate array (field programmable GATE ARRAY, FPGA), an ASIC, a system-on-chip (SoC), a CPU, a network processor (network processor, NP), a digital signal processing circuit (DIGITAL SIGNAL processor, DSP), a microcontroller (micro controller unit, MCU), a programmable controller (programmable logic device, PLD) or other integrated chip. The processing module may be a processor of a system-on-chip. The transceiver module or communication interface may be an input-output interface or interface circuit of a system-on-chip. For example, the interface circuit may be a code/data read-write interface circuit. The interface circuit may be configured to receive code instructions (the code instructions being stored in the memory, being readable directly from the memory, or being readable from the memory via other means) and to transmit to the processor; the processor may be configured to execute the code instructions to perform the methods of the method embodiments described above. For another example, the interface circuit may also be a signal transmission interface circuit between the communication processor and the transceiver.

When the communication device is a chip-like device or circuit, the device may comprise a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The receiving and transmitting unit can be an input and output circuit and/or a communication interface; the processing unit is an integrated processor or microprocessor or integrated circuit.

The embodiment of the application also provides a communication system, in particular to the communication system which comprises at least one LLOF network element, at least one NF network element, at least one terminal device and a data management network element. Illustratively, the communication system includes LLOF network elements and NF network elements, as well as data management network elements and terminal devices for implementing the above-described related functions of fig. 4 and/or fig. 5. Please refer to the related description in the above method embodiment, and the description is omitted here.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method performed by the LLOF network elements of fig. 4 and/or 5. Or when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method performed by the first NF network element of fig. 4 and/or fig. 5.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method performed by the LLOF network elements of fig. 4 and/or 5. Or when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method performed by the first NF network element of fig. 4 and/or fig. 5.

The embodiment of the application provides a chip system, which comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is used for realizing the function of LLOF network elements in the method; or to implement the functionality of the first NF network element in the foregoing method. The chip system may be formed of a chip or may include a chip and other discrete devices.

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 logical blocks (illustrative logical block) and steps (steps) described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can 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 by the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods may be implemented in other manners. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative, e.g., the division of the units is merely a logical function division, and there may be additional divisions when actually implemented, e.g., 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 an indirect coupling or communication connection via some interfaces, devices or units, which may be in 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.

The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application may be essentially contributing or part of the technical solution may be embodied in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium, comprising several instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: a U-disk, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk, etc., which can store program codes.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the present application without departing from the scope of the application. Thus, it is intended that the present application also include such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

The link load arranging function LLOF network element releases the binding relationship between the first network function NF network element and the context of the first terminal device;

and the LLOF network element selects a second NF network element, and establishes a binding relationship between the context of the first terminal device and the second NF network element, wherein the first NF network element and the second NF network element belong to the same NF network element set.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the LLOF network element unbinds the context of the first NF network element with the first terminal device, comprising:

The LLOF network element receives a first message from the first NF network element, where the first message is used to inform the LLOF network element to release the binding relationship between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device;

And deleting the binding relation between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal equipment by the LLOF network element.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the LLOF network element unbinds the context of the first NF network element with the first terminal device, comprising:

The LLOF network element determines that one or more of the following conditions are satisfied, and deletes the binding relationship between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device: the load of the first NF network element exceeds a first threshold, the first NF network element needs to be expanded or contracted, or a third NF network element is newly added.

4. A method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the LLOF network element selects a second NF network element and establishes a binding relationship between the context of the first terminal device and the second NF network element, comprising:

the LLOF network element receives a second message of the first terminal device, where the second message is used to query/update a context of the first terminal device;

and the LLOF network element determines that the NF network element which is not bound with the first terminal equipment, selects the second NF network element and stores the binding relation of the second NF network element and the context of the first terminal equipment.

5. A method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the LLOF network element selects a second NF network element and establishes a binding relationship between the context of the first terminal device and the second NF network element, comprising:

The LLOF network element selects the second NF network element, stores a binding relationship between the context of the first terminal device and the second NF network element, and sends a third message to the first NF network element, where the third message is used to instruct the first NF network element to migrate the bound context of at least one terminal device to the second NF network element, the third message includes identification information of the second NF network element, and the at least one terminal device includes the first terminal device; or alternatively

The LLOF network element selects the second NF network element, stores a binding relationship between the context of the first terminal device and the second NF network element, and sends a fourth message to the second NF network element, where the fourth message is used to instruct the second NF network element to bind the context of at least one terminal device bound by the first NF network element, the fourth message includes identification information of the first NF network element, and the at least one terminal device includes the first terminal device.

6. The method of claim 4 or 5, wherein before the LLOF network element establishes a binding relationship of the second NF network element with the context of the first terminal device, the method further comprises:

The LLOF network element receives a request message of the first terminal device, wherein the request message is used for creating a context of the first terminal device;

The LLOF network element caches the request message and sends the request message to the second NF network element;

and the LLOF network element determines that the second NF network element successfully processes the request message and deletes the stored request message.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the method further comprises:

and the LLOF network element determines that the second NF network element fails to process the request message and sends the request message to the first NF network element.

8. The method according to any of claims 1-7, wherein before the LLOF network element unbinds the first NF network element from the context of the first terminal device, the method further comprises:

The LLOF network element receives a request message from a first terminal device, wherein the request message is used for creating a context of the first terminal device;

And the LLOF network element selects the first NF network element and establishes a binding relationship between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device.

9. A method of communication, comprising:

The method comprises the steps that a first network function NF network element determines to release the binding relation between the first NF network element and the context of first terminal equipment;

The first NF network element sends a first message to the link load orchestration function LLOF network element, where the first message is used to inform the LLOF network element to unbind the context of the first NF network element and the first terminal device.

10. The communication method of claim 9, wherein the first NF network element determining to unbind the context of the first NF network element and the first terminal device comprises:

the first NF network element determines that one or more of the following conditions are met, and determines to release the binding relationship between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device:

The load of the first NF network element is greater than or equal to a first threshold;

The first NF network element fails; or alternatively

The first terminal device enters an idle state.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein after the first NF network element determines to unbind the first NF network element from the context of the first terminal device, the method further comprises:

and the first NF network element deletes the stored context of the first terminal device.

12. The method according to any of claims 9-11, wherein before the first NF network element determines to unbind the first NF network element from the context of the first terminal device, the method further comprises:

the first NF network element sends a request message to the LLOF network element, where the request message is used to create a context for the first terminal device.

13. A communication device, comprising a processing module and a transceiver module;

The processing module is configured to remove a binding relationship between a first network function NF network element and a context of a first terminal device, select a second NF network element, and establish a binding relationship between the context of the first terminal device and the second NF network element, where the first NF network element and the second NF network element belong to the same NF network element set;

the transceiver module is used for communicating with other communication devices.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the transceiver module is specifically configured to receive a first message from the first NF network element, the first message being configured to notify the communication apparatus to unbind a context of the first NF network element and the first terminal device;

the processing module is configured to release a binding relationship between a first network function NF network element and a context of a first terminal device, and specifically includes: and the processing module deletes the binding relation between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processing module is configured to unbind a context of the first network function NF network element and the first terminal device, specifically comprising: determining that one or more of the following conditions are met, and deleting the binding relation between the first NF network element and the context of the first terminal device: the load of the first NF network element exceeds a first threshold, the first NF network element needs to be expanded or contracted, or a third NF network element is newly added.

16. The apparatus of any one of claim 13 to 15,

The transceiver module is specifically configured to receive a second message of the first terminal device, where the second message is used to query/update a context of the first terminal device;

The processing module is specifically configured to determine an NF network element that is not bound to the first terminal device, select the second NF network element, and store a binding relationship between the second NF network element and a context of the first terminal device.

17. The apparatus of any one of claim 13 to 15,

The processing module is specifically configured to select the second NF network element, and store a binding relationship between the context of the first terminal device and the second NF network element; the transceiver module is specifically configured to send a third message to the first NF network element, where the third message is used to instruct the first NF network element to migrate a bound context of at least one terminal device to the second NF network element, the third message includes identification information of the second NF network element, and the at least one terminal device includes the first terminal device;

Or alternatively

The processing module is specifically configured to select the second NF network element, and store a binding relationship between the context of the first terminal device and the second NF network element; the transceiver module is specifically configured to send a fourth message to the second NF network element, where the fourth message is used to instruct the second NF network element to bind a context of at least one terminal device bound by the first NF network element, the fourth message includes identification information of the first NF network element, and the at least one terminal device includes the first terminal device.

18. The apparatus of claim 16 or 17, wherein the transceiver module is further configured to receive a request message of the first terminal device and send the request message to the second NF network element before the processing module establishes the binding relationship between the second NF network element and the context of the first terminal device, the request message being used to create the context of the first terminal device;

The processing module is further configured to cache the request message, and delete the stored request message when it is determined that the second NF network element successfully processes the request message.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the device comprises a plurality of sensors,

The processing module is further configured to determine that the second NF network element fails to process the request message;

the transceiver module is further configured to send the request message to the first NF network element.

20. The apparatus according to any of claims 13-19, wherein the transceiver module is further configured to receive a request message from a first terminal device before the processing module unbinds the first network function NF network element from the context of the first terminal device, the request message being used to create the context of the first terminal device;

the processing module is further configured to select the first NF network element, and establish a binding relationship between the first NF network element and a context of the first terminal device.

21. A communication device, comprising a processing module and a transceiver module;

the processing module is used for determining to release the binding relation between the communication device and the context of the first terminal equipment;

The transceiver module is configured to send a first message to a link load orchestration function LLOF network element, where the first message is configured to notify the LLOF network element to unbind a context of the communication device and the first terminal device.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the processing module is specifically configured to: determining that one or more of the following conditions are satisfied, determining that the binding relationship between the communication device and the context of the first terminal device is released:

The load of the communication device is greater than or equal to a first threshold;

the communication device fails; or alternatively

The first terminal device enters an idle state.

23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the processing module is further configured to delete the stored context of the first terminal device after the processing module determines to unbind the communication apparatus from the context of the first terminal device.

24. The apparatus of any of claims 21-23, wherein the transceiver module is further configured to send a request message to the LLOF network element for creating the context of the first terminal device before the processing module determines to unbind the communication apparatus from the context of the first terminal device.

25. A communication device comprising a processor and interface circuitry for receiving signals from other communication devices than the communication device and transmitting to the processor or sending signals from the processor to other communication devices than the communication device, wherein the processor is configured to implement the method of any of claims 1-8 by logic circuitry or executing code instructions or the processor is configured to implement the method of any of claims 9-12 by logic circuitry or executing code instructions.

26. A communication system comprising a link load orchestration function LLOF network element and at least one network function NF network element, the at least one NF network element comprising a first NF network element, the LLOF network element configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 1-8, the first NF network element configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 9-12.

27. A computer readable storage medium storing computer instructions which, when executed, cause the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1-8 or cause the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 9-12.