WO2022206558A1 - 一种通信方法及装置 - Google Patents

一种通信方法及装置 Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2022206558A1
WO2022206558A1 PCT/CN2022/082820 CN2022082820W WO2022206558A1 WO 2022206558 A1 WO2022206558 A1 WO 2022206558A1 CN 2022082820 W CN2022082820 W CN 2022082820W WO 2022206558 A1 WO2022206558 A1 WO 2022206558A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
network function
function
network
type
requesting
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/CN2022/082820
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English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
戚彩霞
朱奋勤
王毓芳
Original Assignee
华为技术有限公司
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
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Publication date
Application filed by 华为技术有限公司 filed Critical 华为技术有限公司
Priority to EP22778741.3A priority Critical patent/EP4311280A1/en
Priority to JP2023560738A priority patent/JP2024512748A/ja
Publication of WO2022206558A1 publication Critical patent/WO2022206558A1/zh

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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L41/00—Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
    • H04L41/50—Network service management, e.g. ensuring proper service fulfilment according to agreements
    • H04L41/5041—Network service management, e.g. ensuring proper service fulfilment according to agreements characterised by the time relationship between creation and deployment of a service
    • H04L41/5045—Making service definitions prior to deployment
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W4/00—Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
    • H04W4/50—Service provisioning or reconfiguring
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L41/00—Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
    • H04L41/50—Network service management, e.g. ensuring proper service fulfilment according to agreements
    • H04L41/5041—Network service management, e.g. ensuring proper service fulfilment according to agreements characterised by the time relationship between creation and deployment of a service
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L65/00—Network arrangements, protocols or services for supporting real-time applications in data packet communication
    • H04L65/40—Support for services or applications
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W60/00—Affiliation to network, e.g. registration; Terminating affiliation with the network, e.g. de-registration
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W60/00—Affiliation to network, e.g. registration; Terminating affiliation with the network, e.g. de-registration
    • H04W60/005—Multiple registrations, e.g. multihoming

Definitions

  • the present application relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular, to a communication method and device.
  • 4G network elements and 5G network functions can be combined and deployed, such as combined deployment of converged gateway (PDN Gateway, PGW) and session management function (SMF), Alternatively, the network exposure function (NEF) and the service capability exposure function (SCEF) can be combined and deployed.
  • PGW converged gateway
  • SMF session management function
  • NEF network exposure function
  • SCEF service capability exposure function
  • the present application provides a communication method and device for implementing combined deployment and selection of multiple network functions in a 5G architecture, which helps reduce deployment costs and complexity.
  • the present application provides a communication method, comprising: a network warehouse function receiving a first network function type from a requesting network function; and a network warehouse function sending an overview of the first network function corresponding to the first network function type to the requesting network function (profile), the overview of the first network function includes a first indication, the first indication is used to indicate the combined/co-located deployment of the first network function and the second network function, the first network function and the second network
  • the network function type of the function is different.
  • the requesting network function requests an overview of the first network function having the first network function type from the network warehouse function, and the overview of the first network function includes a first indication, and the first indication is used to indicate the first network function. It is deployed in combination with the second network function, so that the requesting network function can determine that the first network function is deployed in combination with other network functions.
  • the requesting network function requests the network function of the network warehouse function to be deployed in combination with other network functions, thereby helping to realize the consolidated deployment of multiple network functions, reducing deployment cost and complexity, and providing a more flexible network function deployment method.
  • the communication delay between the first network function and the second network function deployed in combination is short, which helps to optimize the service experience of the terminal device.
  • the first indication includes an instance identifier of the second network function.
  • the requesting network function can directly determine the existence of the second network function that is deployed in combination with the first network function according to the instance identifier of the second network function in the first instruction, which is helpful for the requesting network function to discover and the first network function.
  • the network function merges the deployed network functions, a summary of the corresponding network function is requested from the network repository function based on the instance identifier of the second network function, so that the requesting network function can select the first network function and the second network function that are merged and deployed.
  • the method further includes: the network warehouse function receives the instance identifier of the second network function from the requesting network function; the network warehouse function sends the second network function corresponding to the instance identifier of the second network function to the requesting network function In summary.
  • the requesting network function when the requesting network function needs to discover the second network function from the network warehouse function, it can request the network warehouse function for the instance of the second network function based on the instance identifier of the second network function in the overview of the first network function. An overview of the corresponding second network function is identified. Further, the requested network function may determine the network function type of the second network function deployed in combination with the first network function according to the overview of the second network function.
  • the first indication further includes a second network function type of the second network function
  • the method further includes: the network repository function receives the second network function type from the requesting network function.
  • the requesting network function may determine, according to the second network function type in the overview of the first network function, that the second network function deployed in combination with the first network function corresponds to the second network function type.
  • the second network function may be discovered from the network warehouse function.
  • the first indication includes a merge attribute.
  • the network warehouse function can determine the combined attributes of other network functions that are combined with the first network function based on the combined attributes in the overview of the first network function.
  • the requesting network function may determine the combined deployment of the first network function and the second network function based on the combined attribute in the overview of the first network function and the combined attribute in the overview of the second network function.
  • the request network function can request multiple network functions to be merged and deployed from the network warehouse function, that is, the request network function can be selected to the first network function and the second network function that are merged and deployed.
  • the overview of the new network function can be set to include the same merged attribute, which has better forward compatibility and extensibility.
  • the method further includes: the network warehouse function sends a summary of the second network function to the requesting network function, where the summary of the second network function includes a merge attribute.
  • the network warehouse function can not only send an overview of the first network function to the requesting network function, but also send a second network function with the same merged attribute to the requesting network function based on the merged attribute in the summary of the first network function.
  • the overview of the network function does not need to request the network warehouse function again to request the overview of the second network function deployed in combination with the first network function, which helps to reduce the interactive signaling between the requesting network function and the network warehouse function, and simplifies the request. Processing of network functions.
  • the method further includes: the network warehouse function receives the merged attribute of the requested network function and the second network function type of the second network function.
  • the requesting network function can request an overview of the second network function from the network warehouse function according to the combined attribute and the second network function type, and correspondingly, the network warehouse function can send and combine the attribute and the second network function to the requesting network function.
  • the method further includes: the network warehouse function receives a first registration request from the first network function, where the first registration request includes an overview of the first network function; the network warehouse function sends the first registration request to the first network function. A registration success response.
  • the method further includes: the network warehouse function receives a second registration request from the second network function, the second registration request includes an overview of the second network function, and the overview of the second network function includes the second registration request.
  • the second indication is used to instruct the second network function to be deployed in combination with the first network function; the network warehouse function sends a second registration success response to the second network function.
  • a summary of the network function is carried in the registration request, and the summary of the network function includes a combined instruction for indicating the combined deployment of the network function and other network functions.
  • a function receives a discovery request from a requesting network function, it can feed back to the requesting network function an overview of other network functions deployed in combination with the network function based on the merge indication in the network function overview, or the requested network function can be based on the network function overview.
  • the merging instructions of again request an overview of other network functions from the network warehouse function, and provide an implementation method for requesting the network function to request the network warehouse function for the combined deployment of multiple network functions when multiple network functions are combined and deployed in the 5G system.
  • the above technical solutions can provide a general method for discovering combined and deployed network functions, and any type of combined deployment of network functions in a 5G network can be discovered by the requested network function through the above technical solutions.
  • the method further includes: the network warehouse function receives the merged network function preference indication from the requesting network function, and the merged network function preference indication is used to instruct: if the merged indication is included in the overview of the network function, to the The network function is requested to send a summary of the network function including the merge instruction; if the summary of the network function does not include the merge instruction, the summary of the network function that does not include the merge instruction is sent to the requesting network function.
  • the requesting network function sends a merged network function preference indication to the network warehouse function, to avoid the situation that the summary of the network function does not include the merge instruction, the network warehouse function does not feed back the summary of the network function to the requesting network function, and As a result, the request for the network function to request the network function from the network warehouse function fails, and the communication of the terminal device is interrupted. It helps to improve the success rate of requesting network function requests to the overview of network functions, and ensures the service experience of terminal devices.
  • the present application provides a communication method, comprising: requesting a network function to send a first network function type to a network warehouse function; requesting the network function to receive an overview of the first network function corresponding to the first network function type from the network warehouse function , the overview of the first network function includes a first indication, where the first indication is used to indicate that the first network function and the second network function are deployed together, and the network function types of the first network function and the second network function are different.
  • the first indication includes an instance identifier of the second network function.
  • the method further includes: requesting the network function to send the instance identifier of the second network function to the network warehouse function; requesting the network function to receive the second network function corresponding to the instance identifier of the second network function from the network warehouse function In summary.
  • the first indication further includes a second network function type of the second network function
  • the method further includes: requesting the network function to determine the combination of the first network function and the second network function according to the second network function type The deployment sends the second network function type to the network warehouse function.
  • the first indication includes a merge attribute.
  • the method further includes: requesting the network function to receive a summary of the second network function from the network warehouse function, where the summary of the second network function includes a merge attribute.
  • the method further includes: requesting the network function to send the combined attribute and the second network function type of the second network function to the network warehouse function.
  • the method further includes: requesting the network function to determine the combination of the first network function and the second network function according to the combination attribute in the summary of the second network function and the combination attribute in the summary of the first network function deploy.
  • the method further includes: requesting the network function to send a merged network function preference indication to the network warehouse function, and the merged network function preference indication is used to indicate that: in the case that the merged indication is included in the overview of the network function, receiving an A summary of the network function of the network repository function including the merge instruction; in the case that the merge instruction is not included in the summary of the network function, a summary of the network function that does not include the merge instruction is received from the network repository function.
  • the present application provides a communication method, comprising: a first registration request sent by a first network function to a network warehouse function, where the first registration request includes an overview of the first network function, and the overview of the first network function includes A first indication, where the first indication is used to indicate that the first network function and the second network function are deployed together, and the network function types of the first network function and the second network function are different; the first network function receives the first registration from the network warehouse function Successful response.
  • the present application provides a communication method, comprising: requesting a network function to send a first network function type to a network warehouse function; the network warehouse function receiving the first network function type from the requesting network function; Send an overview of the first network function corresponding to the first network function type; request the network function to receive an overview of the first network function corresponding to the first network function type from the network warehouse function; wherein, the overview of the first network function includes the first Indication, the first indication is used to instruct that the first network function and the second network function are deployed in combination, and the network function types of the first network function and the second network function are different.
  • the present application provides a communication method, comprising: a network warehouse function receiving a first network function type and a second network function type from a requesting network function;
  • the function overview is an overview of the combined deployment of the first network function corresponding to the first network function type and the second network function corresponding to the second network function type, and the first network function type and the second network function type are different.
  • the requesting network function requests the network warehouse function for an overview of the combined network function having the first network function type and the second network function type, and the overview is the first network function and the second network function corresponding to the first network function type.
  • the communication delay between the combined and deployed first network function and the second network function is short, which helps to optimize the service experience of the terminal device.
  • the method further includes: the network warehouse function receives a third registration request from the merged network function, the third registration request includes a summary of the merged network function, and the summary of the merged network function includes the first network function type and the third registration request. 2.
  • Network function type the network warehouse function sends a third registration success response to the merged network function.
  • the registration request carries a summary of the merged network function, and the summary of the merged network function includes the network function types of the multiple network functions deployed in the merged network function.
  • Requesting a network function When discovering a merged network function from the network warehouse functions, it is possible to discover a merged network function with the multiple network function types based on the multiple network function types in the overview of the merged network function, providing multiple network functions in the 5G system
  • the request network function requests the network warehouse function to request the realization method of the merged network function.
  • the above technical solutions can provide a general method for discovering combined and deployed network functions, and any type of combined deployment of network functions in a 5G network can be discovered by the requested network function through the above technical solutions.
  • the summary of the combined network function further includes an instance identifier corresponding to the first network function and the second network function.
  • the present application provides a communication method, comprising: requesting a network function to send a first network function type and a second network function type to a network warehouse function; requesting the network function to receive a combined network function summary from the network warehouse function, and combining the network
  • the function overview is an overview of the combined deployment of the first network function corresponding to the first network function type and the second network function corresponding to the second network function type, and the first network function type and the second network function type are different.
  • the summary of the combined network function further includes an instance identifier corresponding to the first network function and the second network function.
  • the present application provides a communication method, comprising: the merged network function sends a third registration request to the network warehouse function, where the third registration request includes a summary of the merged network function, and the summary of the merged network function corresponds to the type of the first network function
  • the third registration request includes a summary of the merged network function
  • the summary of the merged network function corresponds to the type of the first network function
  • the present application provides a communication method, comprising: requesting a network function to send a first network function type and a second network function type to a network warehouse function; Two network function types, the network warehouse function sends the combined network function summary to the requesting network function; the requesting network function receives the combined network function summary from the network warehouse function; wherein, the combined network function summary is the first network function corresponding to the first network function type
  • a communication method comprising: requesting a network function to send a first network function type and a second network function type to a network warehouse function; Two network function types, the network warehouse function sends the combined network function summary to the requesting network function; the requesting network function receives the combined network function summary from the network warehouse function; wherein, the combined network function summary is the first network function corresponding to the first network function type
  • An overview of the combined deployment of the second network function corresponding to the second network function type, the first network function type and the second network function type are different.
  • an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, the device having the function of implementing the network warehouse function in the above-mentioned first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, or the above-mentioned second aspect or the second aspect.
  • a function of requesting a network function in any possible implementation manner, or a function of incorporating a network function in any possible implementation manner of the above-mentioned sixth aspect or the sixth aspect, or any of the above-mentioned seventh aspect or the seventh aspect The functionality of the Web Warehouse functionality in one possible implementation.
  • the functions of the above communication device may be implemented by hardware, or by executing corresponding software in hardware, and the hardware or software includes one or more modules or units or means corresponding to the above functions.
  • the structure of the apparatus includes a processing unit and a transceiver unit, wherein the processing unit is configured to support the apparatus to perform the first aspect or the network in any possible implementation manner of the first aspect
  • the function of the warehouse function, or the function of requesting a network function in the second aspect or any possible implementation manner of the second aspect, or the first network function in the third aspect or any possible implementation manner of the third aspect The function of the function, or the function of requesting the network function in any of the possible implementations of the fifth aspect or the fifth aspect, or the combination of the network function in the sixth aspect or any of the possible implementations of the sixth aspect. function, or the function of the network warehouse function in the seventh aspect or any possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect.
  • the transceiver unit is used to support the communication between the device and other communication devices.
  • the device when the device is the network warehouse function in the above-mentioned first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, it can receive the first request from the network function. a network function type, and send a summary of the first network function corresponding to the first network function type to the requesting network function.
  • the communication device may also include a storage module coupled to the processing unit, which stores program instructions and data necessary for the device.
  • the processing unit may be a processor
  • the communication module may be a transceiver
  • the storage module may be a memory
  • the memory may be integrated with the processor, or may be provided separately from the processor.
  • the structure of the apparatus includes a processor, and may also include a memory.
  • the processor is coupled to the memory and can be used to execute computer program instructions stored in the memory to cause the apparatus to perform the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect above, or the second aspect or the second aspect above
  • a method in any possible implementation manner of the aspect or performing the method in any possible implementation manner of the above-mentioned third aspect or the third aspect, or performing any one of the above-mentioned fifth aspect or the fifth aspect.
  • the apparatus further includes a communication interface to which the processor is coupled.
  • the communication interface may be a transceiver or an input/output interface; when the device is a chip included in the device, the communication interface may be an input/output interface of the chip.
  • the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit, and the input/output interface may be an input/output circuit.
  • an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, including: a processor, where the processor is coupled to a memory, and the memory is used to store programs or instructions, and when the programs or instructions are executed by the processor, the chip system enables the above-mentioned first One aspect or a method in any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, or a method for implementing the above-mentioned second aspect or any one possible implementation manner of the second aspect, or implementing the above-mentioned third aspect or the third aspect.
  • the method in any possible implementation of the above-mentioned fifth aspect, or the method in any possible implementation of the fifth aspect or the fifth aspect, or the sixth aspect or the sixth aspect.
  • the chip system further includes an interface circuit, and the interface circuit is used for exchanging the code instructions to the processor.
  • processors in the chip system, and the processors may be implemented by hardware or software.
  • the processor may be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, or the like.
  • the processor may be a general-purpose processor implemented by reading software codes stored in memory.
  • the memory can be integrated with the processor, or can be provided separately from the processor.
  • the memory may be a non-transitory processor, such as a read-only memory ROM, which may be integrated with the processor on the same chip, or may be provided on different chips.
  • an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium on which a computer program or instruction is stored, and when the computer program or instruction is executed, causes the computer to execute the first aspect or any of the first aspect.
  • a method in a possible implementation manner, or performing the method in the above-mentioned second aspect or any one possible implementation manner of the second aspect, or performing the above-mentioned third aspect or any one possible implementation manner of the third aspect The method in the above-mentioned fifth aspect or the method in any possible implementation of the fifth aspect, or the implementation of the sixth aspect or the method in any possible implementation of the sixth aspect, or the implementation of The above seventh aspect or the method in any possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect.
  • an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, when the computer reads and executes the computer program product, the computer is made to execute the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, Or perform the method in the above-mentioned second aspect or any possible implementation manner of the second aspect, or perform the method in the above-mentioned third aspect or any possible implementation manner of the third aspect, or perform the above-mentioned fifth aspect Or the method in any possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, or perform the method in the above-mentioned sixth aspect or any one possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, or perform any of the above-mentioned seventh aspect or the seventh aspect. method in one possible implementation.
  • an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, where the communication system includes a network warehouse function for executing the method in the above first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, and a network warehouse function for executing the above A requesting network function of the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation manner of the second aspect, and a first network for performing the method in the above-mentioned third aspect or any possible implementation manner of the third aspect Function.
  • the communication system includes a request network function for performing the method in the fifth aspect or any possible implementation of the fifth aspect, for performing the sixth aspect or any possible implementation of the sixth aspect
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture provided by the present application.
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of a network function registration provided by the present application.
  • FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a network function discovery exemplarily provided by the present application.
  • FIG. 5 is a schematic flow chart of a network function registration and discovery provided by the present application.
  • FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device exemplarily provided by the present application.
  • FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication apparatus exemplarily provided by the present application.
  • FIG. 1 exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of a mobile communication network architecture, which includes terminal equipment, access network equipment, access and mobility management functions, session management functions, user plane functions, policy control functions, and network slice selection. function, network slice specific authentication and authorization function, network warehouse function, network data analysis function, unified data management function, unified data storage function, authentication service function, network capability opening function, terminal wireless capability management function, binding support function, Application functions, and the data network (DN) connecting the operator's network.
  • DN data network
  • the terminal device accesses the wireless network through the access node at the current location.
  • the terminal equipment can send service data to the data network and receive service data from the data network through the access network equipment and user plane functions.
  • Access and mobility management functions are mainly used for terminal equipment attachment, mobility management, and tracking area update procedures in the mobile network.
  • the access and mobility management function can be the access and mobility management function (AMF).
  • AMF access and mobility management function
  • the access and mobility management function It may still be AMF, or may have other names, which is not limited in this application.
  • the session management function is mainly used for session management in the mobile network, such as session establishment, modification, and release. Specific functions include allocating Internet Protocol addresses to terminal devices and selecting user plane functions that provide packet forwarding functions.
  • the session management function may be a session management function (SMF).
  • SMF session management function
  • the session management function may still be SMF, or may have other names. This application is not limited.
  • the user plane function is mainly used to process user packets, such as forwarding and accounting.
  • the user plane function may be the user plane function (UPF).
  • the user plane function may still be the UPF, or may have other names. This application is not limited.
  • Policy control functions including policy control functions, charging policy control functions, quality of service (QoS) control, etc.
  • the policy control function can be the policy control function (PCF). This application is not limited.
  • the network slice selection function is mainly used to select the appropriate network slice for the service of the terminal device.
  • the network slice selection function may be the network slice selection function (NSSF).
  • the network slice selection function may still be NSSF, or it may be With other names, this application is not limited.
  • the network slice-specific authentication and authorization function (NSSAAF) is mainly used to authenticate and authorize terminal devices to access specific network slices.
  • the network warehouse function is mainly used to provide registration and discovery of network functions or services provided by network functions.
  • the network repository function may be the network repository function (NRF).
  • NRF network repository function
  • the network repository function may still be the NRF, or it may have other names. This application is not limited.
  • the network data analysis function can collect data from various network functions, such as policy control function, session management function, user plane function, access management function, and application function (through the network capability opening function), and perform analysis and prediction.
  • the network data analysis function may be the network data analysis function (NWDAF).
  • NWDAF network data analysis function
  • the network data analysis function may still be NWDAF, or it may be With other names, this application is not limited.
  • the unified data management function is mainly used to manage the contract information of terminal equipment.
  • the unified data management function may be a unified data management (UDM) function.
  • the unified data management function may still be a UDM function, or it may be With other names, this application is not limited.
  • the unified data storage function is mainly used to store structured data information, including contract information, policy information, and network data or business data defined in a standard format.
  • the unified data storage function can be the unified data repository (UDR) function.
  • the unified data storage function can still be the UDR function, or it can be With other names, this application is not limited.
  • the authentication service function is mainly used to perform security authentication on terminal devices.
  • the authentication service function may be the authentication server function (AUSF).
  • the authentication service function may still be AUSF, or may have other names. , this application is not limited.
  • the network capability exposure function can expose some functions of the network to applications in a controlled manner.
  • the network capability exposure function may be NEF.
  • future communication systems such as 6G communication systems
  • the network capability exposure function may still be NEF, or may have other names, which are not limited in this application.
  • the terminal wireless capability management function is used to store and manage the wireless capabilities of terminal devices in the network.
  • the terminal radio capability management function may be the terminal radio capability management function (UCMF).
  • the terminal radio capability management function may still be UCMF. , or may have other names, which are not limited in this application.
  • the binding support function is used to maintain the correspondence between the Internet Protocol (IP) address and the service function of the interconnection between user networks.
  • the binding support function may be the binding support function (BSF).
  • BSF binding support function
  • the binding support function may still be the BSF, or it may have Other names are not limited in this application.
  • the application function can provide service data of various applications to the control plane function of the operator's communication network, or obtain network data information and control information from the control plane function of the communication network.
  • the application function may be an application function (AF).
  • AF application function
  • the application function may still be an AF, or may have other names. This application does not limited.
  • the data network is mainly used to provide data transmission services for terminal equipment.
  • the data network can be a private network, such as a local area network, or a public data network (PDN), such as the Internet (Internet), or a proprietary network deployed by operators, such as a configured IP multimedia network subsystem (IP multimedia core network subsystem, IMS) service.
  • PDN public data network
  • Internet Internet
  • IMS IP multimedia core network subsystem
  • the functions in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as network elements, network functions or functional entities, devices, etc.
  • the access and mobility management functions may also be referred to as access and mobility management network elements, or access and mobility management and mobility management network functions, or access and mobility management function entities, etc.
  • the names of each function are not limited in this application, and those skilled in the art can replace the names of the above functions with other names to perform the same functions, which all belong to the protection scope of this application.
  • the access and mobility management network elements can be abbreviated as AMF, SMF, NSSF, NSSAAF, NRF, BSF.
  • the present application provides a combined deployment scenario.
  • multiple network functions can be combined and deployed (combined deployment can also be called unified deployment, which can be expressed as combined/co-located deployment in English), for example, network function 1 and network function 2 are combined and deployed.
  • network function 1 deployed in combination as a client needs to call network function 2 as a service provided by the server
  • network function 1 can preferentially select network function 2 deployed in combination, thereby helping to reduce communication complexity and communication delay.
  • network function 1 and network function 2 that are deployed in combination may also be selected.
  • network function 1 exemplary, the combined deployment of network function 1 and network function 2 can be understood as:
  • the network function 1 and the network function 2 are deployed in a combined network function (or referred to as an entity, a device, etc.), for example, the combined network function can realize the functions of the network function 1 and the network function 2 at the same time.
  • Network Function 1 and Network Function 2 share a single processor.
  • the network function 1 and the network function 2 respectively implement their respective functions through different processors in one network element.
  • the network function 1 and the network function 2 are deployed together in physical locations, but the network function 1 and the network function 2 belong to different network elements respectively.
  • network function 1 and network function 2 may be two different network elements, but these two network elements are deployed in the same equipment room.
  • network function 1 is SMF
  • network function 2 is BSF
  • network function 3 is AMF.
  • SMF1 and BSF1 are deployed together, and BSF2 is deployed separately (that is, not deployed together with SMF1).
  • BSF1 can be preferred over BSF2.
  • SMF1 and BSF1 are deployed together, SMF1 calls BSF1, which can effectively reduce communication complexity and communication delay compared to SMF1 calling BSF2.
  • AMF needs to choose SMF, it can choose SMF1 that is deployed in combination, and then when AMF needs to choose BSF, it can also choose BSF1 that is deployed in conjunction with SMF1.
  • network function 1 is NSSF
  • network function 2 is NSSAAF
  • network function 3 is AMF.
  • NSSF1 and NSSAAF1 are deployed together, and NSSAAF2 is deployed separately (that is, it is not deployed together with NSSF1).
  • NSSAAF1 can be preferred over NSSAAF2.
  • NSSF1 and NSSAAF1 are deployed together, NSSF1 calls NSSAAF1, which can effectively reduce communication complexity and communication delay compared to NSSF1 calling NSSAAF2.
  • AMF needs to select NSSF, it can choose NSSF1 that is deployed in combination, and then when AMF needs to choose NSSAAF, it can also choose NSSAAF1 that is deployed in combination with NSSF1.
  • the present application provides a communication method, which is applicable to the above-mentioned combined deployment scenario.
  • the combined deployment scenario includes multiple network functions that are combined and deployed, and a network between any two network functions among the multiple network functions that are combined and deployed.
  • the function types are different.
  • multiple network functions deployed in combination may include a first network function and one or more other network functions.
  • other network functions deployed in combination with the first network function may be referred to as other network functions for short.
  • one or more other network functions may include the second network function, or include the second network function and the third network function, or include the second network function, the third network function, ..., the Nth network function , N is greater than or equal to 4.
  • This application may specifically include a registration process and a discovery process.
  • a registration flow chart exemplarily shown in FIG. 2
  • an implementation manner of registering a network function profile (profile) of the merged deployed network function to the NRF will be explained.
  • the first network function deployed in combination is taken as an example for description.
  • Step 201 the first network function sends a first registration request to the NRF.
  • the first registration request includes an overview of the first network function, and the overview of the first network function includes a merge indication (which may be referred to as a first indication), where the first indication can be used to indicate that there is a merged deployment with the first network function. one or more other network functions.
  • the first indication may be used to indicate that there is a second network function deployed in combination with the first network function.
  • the first indication may be used to indicate that there are the second network function and the third network function deployed in combination with the first network function.
  • the first indication may include instance identifiers (network function Instance identity, NF Instance ID) of one or more other network functions deployed in combination with the first network function, and the one or more instance identifiers are used to indicate There are one or more other network functions deployed in conjunction with the first network function.
  • instance identifiers network function Instance identity, NF Instance ID
  • the first indication may further include a network function type corresponding to the instance identifier of one or more other network functions deployed in combination with the first network function.
  • the first indication when the first network function registers with the NRF, the first indication only carries the instance identifiers of other network functions that are deployed in combination with the first network function, and the instance identifiers of the other network functions do not indicate their corresponding instance identifiers.
  • Network function type Requesting a network function After requesting an overview of the first network function, it can only be determined that there are other network functions deployed in combination with the first network function, but the network function type of the other network function cannot be determined. In this way, the first indication may further carry the network function type corresponding to the instance identifier of other network functions.
  • the first indication may include the instance identifier of the second network function and the network function type corresponding to the instance identifier of the second network function ( may be referred to as the second network function type), which is used to indicate that there is a network function that is deployed in combination with the first network function and corresponds to the second network function type and the instance identifier of the second network function.
  • the first indication may also include the instance identifier of the third network function and the network function type corresponding to the instance identifier of the third network function. (may be referred to as the third network function type), used to indicate that there is a network function that is deployed in combination with the first network function and corresponds to the third network function type and the instance identifier of the third network function.
  • the first indication may include a merge attribute
  • the merge attribute may be used to indicate that there are one or more other network functions that are deployed in combination with the first network function.
  • the combined attributes in the overview of the combined deployment of multiple network functions are the same.
  • the combined attribute in the overview of the first network function is the same as the combined attribute in the overview of the second network function.
  • the merged attribute in the summary of the first network function, the merged attribute in the summary of the second network function, and the merged attribute in the summary of the third network function properties are the same.
  • one merged attribute can be used to identify multiple merged deployed network functions. If the merged attributes in the overviews of two or more network functions are the same, it indicates that the two or more network functions are merged deployed.
  • the merged attribute may be a globally unique string, through which multiple network functions that are merged and deployed may be represented.
  • the corresponding merged attribute can be smfbsf123456; if SMF2 and BSF2 are merged and deployed, the corresponding merged attribute can be smfbsf345678.
  • the merged attribute may be a plurality of character strings distinguished by dotted format, and the character string may include but not limited to network function name, deployment location information, data center (data center) information, and the like.
  • the corresponding combined property can be smfbsf32.pudong.shanghai; or if SMF2 and BSF2 are combined and deployed, the corresponding combined property can be dc56.beijing.
  • the overview of the first network function may include not only the first indication, but also network element information and service information of the first network function.
  • the network element information of the first network function includes an instance identifier of the first network function, a network function type (may be referred to as a first network function type), a slice identifier, a network data name, IP address, priority, capacity, load and Location information of the service, etc.
  • the service information of the first network function includes service name, version information, service instance identifier, service priority, service capacity, service load, and the like.
  • the overview of the first network function is used to provide information when the client selects and accesses the first network function, such as an IP address when accessing the first network function.
  • Step 202 the NRF sends a first registration success response to the first network function.
  • the NRF may send a first registration success response to the first network function, where the first registration success response is used to indicate that the overview of the first network function has been successfully registered.
  • any other network function registers the overview of the network function with the NRF, for example, the second network function registers the overview of the second network function with the NRF.
  • the overview of registering the third network function with the NRF by the third network function can be used in the implementation of the overview of the first network function registering the first network function with the NRF in the above embodiment, and details are not repeated here.
  • the network function may carry the merge instruction in the overview of the network function, and register the overview of the network function with the NRF, where the merge instruction is used to indicate the network function deployed in combination with the network function. Furthermore, in the discovery process, the requesting network function may discover the first network function and/or the second network function from the NRF based on the combined indication in the overview of the network function.
  • the network function is requested to discover the first network from the NRF, as exemplarily provided in this application.
  • Step 301 request the network function to send the first network function type to the NRF.
  • the first network function type is used to request the network function to request an overview of the first network function corresponding to the first network function type to the NRF.
  • the requesting network function may also send a first parameter to the NRF, where the first parameter is a parameter other than the first network function type for requesting an overview of the first network function.
  • the first parameter is, for example, the location information of the terminal device, a slice identifier corresponding to a protocol data unit (protocol data unit, PDU) session, a network data name, and the like.
  • the network function is requested to send a first discovery request to the NRF, where the first discovery request includes a first network function type and a first parameter, and the first discovery request is used to request the network function to request the NRF An overview of the first network function.
  • the requesting network function may further carry the first network function type and the first parameter in multiple different requests, where the multiple different requests are used to request the network function to request the NRF for an overview of the first network function.
  • Step 302 the NRF sends a summary of the first network function corresponding to the first network function type to the requesting network function.
  • the overview of the first network function includes a first indication, and the first indication includes instance identifiers of one or more other network functions deployed in combination with the first network function.
  • each network function overview may include an instance identifier of the network function, a network function type, network element information, and service information.
  • the overview of the network function may further include a combination indication corresponding to the network function.
  • the merge instruction corresponding to the network function may specifically include the instance identifiers of other network functions deployed together with the network function, or the instance identifiers of other network functions deployed together with the network function and the network functions corresponding to the instance identifiers type.
  • the NRF may determine the first network function type from an overview of multiple network functions according to the first network function type An overview of the corresponding network function, that is, an overview of the first network function. It should be noted that there may be a plurality of network function overviews on the NRF, and the network function type thereof is the first network function type.
  • the NRF may also receive the first parameter sent from the requesting network function, and determine the first network function from an overview of multiple network functions based on the first network function type and the first parameter.
  • the summary of the network function corresponding to the type and the first parameter that is, the summary of the first network function.
  • there may be multiple network function overviews on the NRF and the network function type is the first network function type and supports the first parameter.
  • the NRF may receive a first discovery request from the requesting network function, where the first discovery request includes the first network function type and the first parameter, and then the NRF determines the connection with the first network function type and the first parameter.
  • the NRF may receive multiple requests from the requesting network function, obtain the first network function type and the first parameter from the multiple requests, and then the NRF may determine an overview of the first network function corresponding to the multiple requests.
  • the NRF may determine the summary of one or more first network functions, and send the summary of the one or more first network functions to the requesting network function. Further, the NRF may carry the summaries of the one or more first network functions in respective messages and send them to the requesting network function, or combine them into one message and send them to the requesting network function. In an optional implementation manner, the NRF may carry an overview of one or more first network functions in a first discovery response corresponding to the first discovery request, and send the first discovery response to the requesting network function .
  • the requesting network function may select a summary of the first network function from the summary, and based on the summary of the one first network function, match the summary of the first network function with the first network function. network function to communicate.
  • the requesting network function determines, according to the pre-configuration information, whether to select an overview of the network function to be deployed in combination with other network functions from the overviews of the one or more first network functions. For example, if the requesting network function is preconfigured to select the first network function to be deployed in combination, the requesting network function may select the first network function that includes the combination indication (ie, the first indication) from the overview of one or more first network functions.
  • An overview of network capabilities is provided.
  • the requesting network function acquires an overview of the second network function corresponding to the second network function type from the NRF based on the first indication in the overview of the first network function.
  • Case A the overview of the first network function includes instance identifiers of one or more other network functions deployed in combination with the first network function, but does not include the network function type corresponding to the instance identifiers of one or more other network functions .
  • the requesting network function may request the NRF for a network function corresponding to the instance identification of the network function according to the instance identification of one or more other network functions deployed in combination with the first network function in the overview of the first network function
  • the requesting network function may request the NRF for a network function corresponding to the instance identification of the network function according to the instance identification of one or more other network functions deployed in combination with the first network function in the overview of the first network function
  • the requesting network function may request the NRF for a network function corresponding to the instance identification of the network function according to the instance identification of one or more other network functions deployed in combination with the first network function in the overview of the first network function
  • step 303A to step 305A in FIG. 3 for details.
  • Step 303A requesting the network function to send the instance identifiers of one or more network functions to the NRF.
  • the requesting network function receives an overview of the first network function from the NRF, and the overview of the first network function includes an instance identifier of one or more other network functions deployed in combination with the first network function,
  • the requesting network function does not determine what type of network function the instance identifiers of the one or more other network functions correspond to respectively (for details, please refer to the description in step 201 above), so the instance of the one or more network functions is sent to the NRF.
  • the identification ie the instance identification of one or more other network functions in the first indication
  • the requesting network function may send a first data request to the NRF, where the first data request includes instance identifiers of one or more network functions, and the first data request is used to request the network function to request one or more network functions from the NRF. Instances of a plurality of network functions identify the overview of the respectively corresponding network functions.
  • the requesting network function may send multiple first data requests to the NRF, and for any first data request, the first data request may include an instance of the network function corresponding to the first data request identifier, the first data request is used to request the network function to request the NRF for an overview of the network function corresponding to the instance identifier of the network function in the first data request.
  • Step 304A the NRF sends a summary of the network functions corresponding to the instance identifiers of one or more network functions to the requesting network function.
  • the NRF may determine, according to the instance identifiers of one or more network functions (that is, the instance identifiers of one or more other network functions in the first indication), an overview of the network functions corresponding to the instance identifiers of one or more network functions, respectively,
  • the summary of the one or more network functions is then sent to the requesting network function.
  • the summary of network functions may also include a merge indication.
  • the overview of the second network function may also include a combined indication (which may be referred to as a second indication), where the second indication may specifically include the first network.
  • the second indication in the overview of the second network function may specifically include an instance identifier of the first network function and an instance of the third network function.
  • the identifier or includes the instance identifier of the first network function and the first network function type, and the instance identifier of the third network function and the instance identifier of the third network function.
  • the corresponding network function type may be referred to as the third network function type).
  • the overview of the third network function may also include a merge indication (which may be referred to as a third indication), and the third indication may specifically include an instance identifier of the first network function and an instance identifier of the second network function, or the first network function
  • the instance identifier of the first network function type, the instance identifier of the second network function, and the instance identifier of the second network function correspond to the network function type (may be referred to as the second network function type).
  • the overview of the second network function may further include network element information, service information, and the like of the second network function.
  • the overview of the third network function may further include network element information, service information, and the like of the third network function.
  • the NRF receives a first data request from a requesting network function, the first data request includes instance identifiers of one or more network functions, and the NRF sends a first data request corresponding to the first data request to the requesting network function.
  • a data response, the first data response includes a summary of the corresponding network function with one or more instance identifiers of the network function.
  • the NRF receives a plurality of first data requests from requesting network functions, wherein any one of the first data requests may include an instance identifier of the network function corresponding to the first data request, and the NRF sends the requesting network The function sends a first data response corresponding to the first data request, where the first data response includes an overview of the network function corresponding to the instance identifier of the network function in the first data request.
  • Step 305A requesting the network function to determine the summary of the second network function corresponding to the second network function type from the summary of the network function corresponding to the one or more network function instance identifiers.
  • the requesting network function can determine the network function type of the one or more network functions deployed in combination with the first network function, and then the requesting network function can be based on the second network function.
  • Function type from the summary of one or more network functions, the network function type is selected as the summary of the network function of the second network function type (ie, the summary of the second network function).
  • the requesting network function may obtain a summary 1 of the first network function from the NRF, wherein the summary 1 includes an instance identifier 2 of the second network function and an instance identifier 3 of the third network function.
  • the summary 1 includes an instance identifier 2 of the second network function and an instance identifier 3 of the third network function.
  • the requesting network function can send the instance identifier 2 and the instance identifier 3 to the NRF, and the NRF sends the overview 2 and the overview 3 corresponding to the instance identifier 2 and the instance identifier 3 respectively to the requesting network function, and further, the overview 2 includes the second network function
  • the instance identifier 2 and network function type 2 of the third network function are included in the overview 3.
  • the instance identifier 3 and the network function type 3 of the third network function are included.
  • the requesting network function can determine that the type of the network function in the summary 2 is the network function type 2, that is, the summary 2 is selected.
  • the overview of the first network function includes instance identifiers of one or more other network functions, and the type of network function corresponding to the instance identifiers of one or more other network functions.
  • the first network function may request the NRF for the first network function corresponding to the second network function type according to the instance identifiers of one or more other network functions and the network function type corresponding to the instance identifiers of one or more other network functions.
  • the two network functions refer to step 303B and step 304B in FIG. 3 for details.
  • Step 303B requesting the network function to send the instance identifier of the second network function and the type of the second network function to the NRF.
  • the first network function determines the instance identifier of the second network function corresponding to the second network function type according to the instance identifier of one or more other network functions and the network function type corresponding to the instance identifier of the one or more other network functions, and reports to the NRF.
  • the instance identification of the second network function and the type of the second network function are sent.
  • the first network function may send a second discovery request to the NRF, where the second discovery request includes the instance identifier of the second network function and the second network function type, and the second discovery request is used for
  • the requesting network function requests a summary of the second network function corresponding to the instance identification of the second network function to the NRF.
  • the requested network function type is not included in the network function types of one or more other network functions in the overview of the first network function, the requested network function may not be
  • the NRF query is performed based on the instance identifier and the network function type in the overview of the first network function, thus helping to reduce unnecessary signaling interaction between the requesting network function and the network repository function.
  • Step 304B the NRF sends a summary of the second network function to the first network function.
  • the NRF may perform authentication on the requesting network function according to the type of the second network function, and after the authentication is passed, determine an overview of the second network function corresponding to the instance identifier of the second network function, and send the requesting network function to the requesting network function. Send an overview of the second network function.
  • the NRF is authorized to allow the requesting network function whose network function type is AMF to discover the second network function whose network function type is SMF, but does not allow the requesting network function of other network function types to discover SMF.
  • the type of the second network function determines whether the requesting network function is allowed to discover the second network function.
  • the NRF may send a second discovery response corresponding to the second discovery request to the first network function, where the second discovery response includes the instance identifier of the second network function in the second discovery request An overview of the corresponding second network function.
  • the first network function, the second network function and the third network function are deployed in combination, and the first network function, the second network function and the third network function correspond to overview 1, overview 2 and overview respectively 3.
  • the requesting network function can obtain the overview 1 of the first network function from the NRF, wherein the overview 1 includes the instance identifier 2 of the second network function, the network function type 2, and the instance identifier 3 of the third network function, and the network function type 3 .
  • the requesting network function may send instance identification 2 and network function type 2 to the NRF. Accordingly, the NRF sends a summary 2 of the network function type 2 corresponding to the instance identifier 2 to the requesting network function.
  • the signaling interaction between the requested network function and the NRF can be reduced, and the rate at which the requested network function determines the second network function can be improved.
  • the first network function is SMF
  • the second network function is BSF
  • SMF and BSF are combined and deployed
  • the requested network function is AMF.
  • the SMF sends a registration request of the SMF to the NRF.
  • the registration request of the SMF includes the overview of the SMF, and the overview of the SMF includes the instance identifier of the BSF (for example, NF Instance ID1).
  • NF Instance ID1 can be used to indicate the presence of network functions deployed in combination with SMF.
  • the SMF overview also includes the network element information of the SMF, such as the instance identifier of the SMF (such as NF Instance ID2), the network function type of the SMF (such as the SMF type), the location information of the service, the data network name list, Slice list information, etc.
  • the overview of the SMF also includes service information of the SMF, such as service name, version information, service instance identifier, service priority, service capacity, and service load.
  • service information of the SMF such as service name, version information, service instance identifier, service priority, service capacity, and service load.
  • the NRF stores an overview of the SMF and sends a registration success response to the SMF.
  • the BSF sends a registration request of the BSF to the NRF, and the registration request of the BSF includes an overview of the BSF.
  • the overview of the BSF includes the instance identifier of the SMF (for example, NF Instance ID2).
  • NF Instance ID2 can be used to indicate that there is a network function deployed in combination with BSF, and the identifier of this network function is NF Instance ID2.
  • the overview of the BSF also includes the network element information of the BSF, such as the instance identifier of the BSF (such as NF Instance ID1), the network function type of the BSF (such as the BSF type), the list of supported IP addresses, and the list of supported slices. Wait.
  • the overview of the SMF also includes service information of the SMF, such as service name, version information, service instance identifier, service priority, service capacity, and service load.
  • service information of the SMF such as service name, version information, service instance identifier, service priority, service capacity, and service load.
  • the NRF stores the overview of the BSF and sends a registration success response to the BSF.
  • the AMF sends the SMF type (that is, the first network function type) to the NRF, and the SMF type is used for the AMF to request the NRF for an overview of the SMF corresponding to the SMF type (that is, the first network function corresponding to the first network function type). function overview).
  • the AMF may also send the first parameter for selecting the SMF to the NRF, the first parameter such as the current location information of the terminal device, the slice instance identifier corresponding to the PDU session, the network data name, and the like.
  • the NRF Based on the SMF type and the first parameter from the AMF, the NRF sends the AMF a summary of the SMF corresponding to the SMF type and the first parameter.
  • the AMF may establish a PDU session for the end device based on the SMF's summary from the NRF.
  • the AMF can further base on the overview of the SMF from the NRF , send the NF Instance ID1 to the NRF, and the NF Instance ID1 is used by the AMF to request the NRF for the corresponding overview of the NF Instance ID1.
  • the NRF sends the summary corresponding to the NF Instance ID1 to the AMF.
  • the AMF After receiving the overview of the BSF, the AMF determines that the SMF and the BSF are deployed in combination according to the NF Instance ID1 and the network function type as BSF in the overview of the BSF. The AMF selects the BSF to maintain the correspondence between the user IP address and the function of the serving network element.
  • the overview of the SMF may further include the network function type (ie, BSF type) corresponding to the instance identifier (ie, NF Instance ID1) of the BSF.
  • the overview of the BSF may also include the network function type (ie, the SMF type) corresponding to the instance identifier (ie, NF Instance ID2) of the SMF.
  • the AMF may send the SMF type to the NRF, and the SMF type is used for the AMF to request the NRF for an overview of the SMF corresponding to the SMF type.
  • the AMF may also send a first parameter for selecting an SMF to the NRF, and the NRF may send an overview of the SMF corresponding to the SMF type and the first parameter to the AMF based on the SMF type and the first parameter from the AMF.
  • the AMF may establish a PDU session for the end device based on the SMF's summary from the NRF.
  • the AMF can further follow the NF Instance in the overview of the SMF.
  • ID1 and BSF type determine that the SMF and BSF are deployed together, and send the NF Instance ID1 and BSF type to the NRF, so that the AMF requests the NRF for an overview of the BSF corresponding to the NF Instance ID1.
  • the NRF sends an overview of the BSF corresponding to NF Instance ID1 to the AMF.
  • the AMF selects the BSF to maintain the correspondence between the user IP address and the function of the serving network element.
  • the network function type corresponding to the instance identifier that is, NF Instance ID1
  • the BSF type the network function type included in the SMF overview
  • AMF will not trigger the NRF query based on the instance identifier and network function type, which helps to reduce AMF. Unnecessary signaling interaction with NRF.
  • FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of requesting the network function to discover the first network function and the second network function from the NRF in the case where the first indication includes a merge attribute, which is exemplarily provided by the present application.
  • the first indication includes a merge attribute
  • Step 401 request the network function to send the first network function type to the NRF.
  • the first network function type is used to request the network function to request an overview of the first network function corresponding to the first network function type to the NRF.
  • the requesting network function may also send a first parameter to the NRF, where the first parameter is a parameter other than the first network function type used for requesting the first network function.
  • request a first discovery request sent by the network function to the NRF the first discovery request includes a first network function type and a first parameter
  • the first discovery request is used to request the network function to send to the NRF Request an overview of the first network function
  • the requesting network function may further carry the first network function type and the first parameter in multiple different requests, where the multiple different requests are used to request the network function to request the NRF for an overview of the first network function.
  • step 401 For the implementation manners that are not described in detail in the foregoing step 401 , refer to the description in the step 301 .
  • a plurality of network function overviews are registered in the NRF, and the network element information and service information of the network function may be included in the overview of each network function. Further, when a certain network function is deployed in combination with other network functions, the overview of the network function may further include a combination indication corresponding to the network function. In this scenario, the merge instruction corresponding to the network function may specifically include the merge attribute corresponding to the network function. The network functions corresponding to the profiles with the same merged attributes are deployed together.
  • the NRF After the NRF receives the first network function type from the requesting network function, the NRF sends an overview of the first network function corresponding to the first network function type to the requesting network function, which can be implemented in two ways:
  • the NRF may send a summary of the first network function corresponding to the first network function type to the requesting network function, but not send the summary of one or more other network functions to the requesting network function. For details, refer to steps 402a to 405a in FIG. 4 .
  • Step 402a the NRF sends an overview of the first network function corresponding to the first network function type to the requesting network function.
  • the overview of the first network function includes a first indication, and the first indication includes a merge attribute.
  • the NRF Based on the first network function type, or based on the first network function type and the first parameter, the NRF sends an overview of the first network function corresponding to the first network function type to the requesting network function. Repeat.
  • Step 403a requesting the network function to send the combined attribute of the second network function type and the summary of the first network function to the NRF.
  • the requesting network function may send the second network function type and the summary of the first network function to the NRF when it is necessary to select the second network function to be deployed in combination with the first network function
  • the merged attribute in the second network function type and the merged attribute are used to request the network function to request the NRF for the summary of the second network function corresponding to the second network function type that also includes the same merged attribute.
  • the requesting network function may send a third discovery request to the NRF, where the third discovery request includes the second network function type and the combined attribute.
  • the requesting network function may also send the second network function type and the combined attribute to the NRF through two requests, which are not limited in this application.
  • Step 404a the NRF sends a summary of the second network function corresponding to the second network function type with the same merged attribute to the requesting network function.
  • the NRF may determine that the overview of the currently registered network function includes an overview with the same merged attributes as the overview of the first network function, and then determines from the overview that the second network function is included An overview of the type, ie an overview of the second network function.
  • the NRF may also determine that the overviews of the currently registered network functions include the overviews of the second network function type, and then determine from these overviews the overviews that include the same merged attributes as those of the first network function overview.
  • the NRF may send a third discovery response corresponding to the third discovery request to the first network function, where the third discovery response includes a An overview of the second network function corresponding to the two network function types.
  • Step 405a requesting the network function to determine the combined deployment of the first network function and the second network function according to the combined attribute in the overview of the first network function and the combined attribute in the overview of the second network function.
  • the NRF may determine the summary of one or more first network functions based on the type of the first network function requesting the network function.
  • the NRF may send a summary of the one or more first network functions to the requesting network function.
  • the requesting network function may request the NRF for the summary of the second network function corresponding to each first network function according to the combined attribute in the summary of each first network function.
  • the requesting network function further determines the network functions corresponding to the overviews with the same merged attribute as merged deployments according to the merged attributes in the summaries of the first network functions and the merged attributes in the summaries of the second network functions corresponding to the first network functions of.
  • the requesting network function determines the summary of the first network function and the summary of the second network function for network communication from the summary of the plurality of first network functions and the summary of the second network function corresponding to each of the first network functions Overview.
  • the requesting network function may first determine a first network function overview from the multiple first network function overviews, and then send the request to the NRF according to the combined attribute in the first network function overviews. A summary of the second network function corresponding to the first network function is requested.
  • the first network function, the second network function and the third network function are deployed in combination, and the first network function, the second network function and the third network function correspond to overview 1, overview 2 and overview respectively 3.
  • summary 1, summary 2 and summary 3 all include the same merge attribute 1.
  • the requesting network function can obtain the merged attribute 1 from the overview 1 after obtaining the overview 1 from the NRF. Further, for example, requesting a network function needs to obtain an overview of the network function corresponding to the network function type 2 (that is, the second network function overview 2).
  • the requesting network function can send the combined attribute 1 and the network function type 2 to the NRF.
  • the NRF can determine that the summary also includes the combined attribute 1 and the summary 2 corresponding to the network function type 2 according to the combined attribute 1 and the network function type 2. , which sends summary 2 to the requesting network function.
  • the requesting network function receives the summary 2 from the NRF, and determines both the second network function and the first network function based on the combined attribute 1 in the summary 2 of the second network function and the combined attribute 1 in the summary 1 of the first network function are merged deployments.
  • the network repository function may send the summary of the first network function corresponding to the first network function type to the requesting network function, and send the summary of one or more other network functions to the requesting network function. For details, refer to steps 402b to 405b in FIG. 4 .
  • Step 402b the NRF sends the summary of the first network function corresponding to the first network function type and the summary of one or more other network functions corresponding to the first network function to the requesting network function.
  • the merged attribute in the summary of one or more network functions corresponding to the first network function is the same as the merged attribute in the summary of the first network function.
  • the NRF may determine the summary of one or more other network functions that also include the merged attribute based on the merged attribute in the summary of the first network function, and combine the summary of the first network function, A summary of one or more other network functions is sent to the requesting network function.
  • the NRF may send a first discovery response to the requesting network function, where the first discovery response includes an overview of the first network function and an overview of one or more other network functions.
  • the overview of the first network function and the overview of one or more other network functions are respectively carried in corresponding messages and sent to the requesting network function.
  • Step 403b requesting the network function to determine the combined deployment of the first network function and one or more other network functions.
  • the requesting network function receives the summary of the first network function, and after receiving the summary of the one or more other network functions, determines the combined attribute in the summary of the first network function and one or more The aggregated properties of the summaries of the other network functions are the same, thereby determining that the first network function and the one or more other network functions are deployed in combination.
  • Step 404b requesting the network function to determine the summary of the second network function corresponding to the second network function type from the summary of one or more other network functions.
  • the NRF may determine the summaries of multiple first network functions based on the type of the first network function requesting the network function.
  • the NRF may, for any one of the plurality of first network functions, send to the requesting network function an overview of the first network function, one or more other networks corresponding to the first network function An overview of the functionality.
  • the requesting network function may determine, according to the merged attribute in the received summaries of each network function, the network functions corresponding to the summaries with the same merged attribute as being merged and deployed.
  • the requesting network function further determines, from the summaries of the plurality of first network functions and the summaries of one or more other network functions corresponding to each of the first network functions, a summary of the first network function and a first network function for network communication.
  • a combined deployment of network functions there is a combined deployment of a first network function and a second network function, the first network function is represented as network function 0, and network function 0 corresponds to overview 0;
  • the two network functions are denoted as network function 1, corresponding to profile 1, wherein the same merge attribute 1 is included in profile 0 and profile 1.
  • a combined deployment of network functions there is a combined deployment of a first network function and a second network function, the first network function denoted as network function 2, network function 2 corresponding to overview 2; the second network function denoted as network function 3 , corresponding to overview 3, wherein the same merge attribute 2 is included in both overview 2 and overview 3.
  • the network function type of the network function 0 is the same as the network function type of the network function 2, for example, the network function type 0.
  • the requesting network function sends a network function type 0 to the NRF, and the NRF sends a summary 0, a summary 1, a summary 2, and a summary 3 to the requesting network function according to the network function type 0.
  • the requested network function can determine that the network function 0 corresponding to the overview 0 and the network function 1 corresponding to the overview 1 are combined and deployed according to the merged attribute 1 in the overview 0 and the merged attribute 1 in the overview 1; the requested network function can be deployed according to the The merged attribute 2 in the overview 2 and the merged attribute 2 in the overview 3 determine that the network function 2 corresponding to the overview 2 and the network function 3 corresponding to the overview 3 are deployed in a merged manner.
  • the requesting network function can select the network function 0 corresponding to the overview 0 and the network function 1 corresponding to the overview 1, or can select the network function 2 corresponding to the overview 2 and the network function 3 corresponding to the overview 3.
  • the first network function is SMF
  • the second network function is BSF
  • SMF and BSF are combined and deployed
  • the requested network function is AMF.
  • the SMF sends a registration request of the SMF to the NRF, and the registration request of the SMF includes an overview of the SMF.
  • the overview of the SMF includes the merge attribute a, which is used to indicate that there is a network function that is deployed merged with the SMF. Further, the SMF overview also includes the network element information of the SMF, such as the instance identifier of the SMF (such as NF Instance ID2), the network function type of the SMF (such as the SMF type), the location information of the service, the data network name list, Slice list information, etc.
  • the overview of the SMF also includes service information of the SMF, such as service name, version information, service instance identifier, service priority, service capacity, and service load.
  • the NRF stores an overview of the SMF and sends a registration success response to the SMF.
  • the BSF sends a registration request of the BSF to the NRF, and the registration request of the BSF includes an overview of the BSF.
  • the overview of the BSF includes a merge attribute a, which is used to indicate that there is a network function deployed in combination with the BSF.
  • the overview of the BSF also includes the network element information of the BSF, such as the instance identifier of the BSF (such as NF Instance ID1), the network function type of the BSF (such as the BSF type), the location information of the service, the data network name list, Slice list information, etc.
  • the overview of the BSF also includes service information of the BSF, such as service name, version information, service instance identifier, service priority, service capacity, and service load.
  • the NRF stores the overview of the BSF and sends a registration success response to the BSF.
  • the AMF can send the SMF type (that is, the first network function type) to the NRF, and the SMF type is used for the AMF to request the NRF for an overview of the SMF corresponding to the SMF type (that is, the first network function type corresponding to the first network function type). overview of network capabilities).
  • the AMF may also send the first parameter for selecting the SMF to the NRF, the first parameter such as the current location information of the terminal device, the slice instance identifier corresponding to the PDU session, the network data name, and the like.
  • the NRF Based on the SMF type from the AMF and the first parameter, the NRF sends the AMF an overview of the SMF corresponding to the SMF type.
  • the AMF may establish a PDU session for the end device based on the SMF's summary from the NRF.
  • the AMF can, based on the overview of the SMF from the NRF, report to the The NRF sends the merged attribute a and the BSF type, and the merged attribute a and the BSF type are used by the AMF to request the NRF for a summary corresponding to the BSF type including the merged attribute a.
  • the NRF sends to the AMF a summary corresponding to the BSF type including the merge attribute a, that is, the summary of the BSF.
  • the AMF determines that the SMF and the BSF are deployed in a merged manner according to the merged attribute a in the overview of the SMF and the merged attribute a of the overview of the BSF.
  • the AMF selects the BSF to maintain the correspondence between the user's IP address and the function of the serving network element.
  • the NRF can send not only the summary of the SMF to the AMF, but also the summary of the BSF with the same merged attribute a as the summary of the SMF to the AMF.
  • the AMF may determine that the SMF and the BSF are deployed in a merged manner according to the merged attribute a in the overview of the SMF and the merged attribute a of the overview of the BSF. Select AMF and BSF in this Merge Deployment feature.
  • the requesting network function may also send a merged network function preference indication to the NRF, and the merged network function preference indication is used to instruct the NRF to preferentially select an overview of the network function with the merged indication for the requesting network function.
  • the network function preference indication can be used to indicate: if the network function summary includes a merge instruction, request the network function to receive the network function summary including the merge instruction from the NRF; if the network function summary does not include the merge instruction , the requesting network function receives a summary of the network function from the NRF that does not include a merge indication.
  • the NRF may also receive a combined network function preference indication sent from the requesting network function, where the combined network function preference indication is used to instruct the NRF to preferentially select an overview of the network function with the combined indication for the requesting network function.
  • the network function preference indication can be used to indicate: in the case that the summary of the network function includes a merge instruction, send the summary of the network function including the merge instruction to the requesting network function; when the summary of the network function does not include the merge instruction Next, send the requesting network function a summary of the network function that does not include the merge indication.
  • the interpretation is that the network function is requested to send the first network function type and the combined network function preference indication to the NRF, and the NRF first determines whether there is a corresponding first network function type in the current network function overview, including a combined indication (that is, the first indication). ), if it exists, the NRF may feed back the summary of the network function corresponding to the first network function type and including the merge indication to the requesting network function. In this example, if the NRF determines that there is only an overview of the network function corresponding to the first network function type and does not include the merge indication, the NRF can feed back the network function corresponding to the first network function type and does not include the merge indication to the requesting network function.
  • An overview of the functionality is that there is only an overview of the network function corresponding to the first network function type and does not include the merge indication.
  • the network function is requested to send the second network function type, the merge indication and the merged network function preference indication to the NRF, and the NRF first determines whether there is a second network function type and a summary of the network function indicated by the merge indication in the current network function summary. If it exists, the NRF may feed back the summary of the network function corresponding to the second network function type and the combined indication to the requesting network function. In this example, if the NRF determines that there is only an overview of the network function corresponding to the second network function type but not including the merge indication, the NRF may feed back the network function corresponding to the second network function type but not including the merge indication to the requesting network function An overview of network capabilities.
  • requesting the network function to send a merged network function preference indication to the NRF can be used to instruct the NRF to preferentially select a summary of the network function that includes the merge instruction, and helps to avoid the occurrence of a summary of the network function that does not include the merge instruction
  • the NRF does not feed back the summary of the network function to the requesting network function, which causes the communication of the terminal device to be interrupted, which helps to improve the success rate of requesting the summary of the network function from the requesting network function.
  • the requesting network function requests an overview of the first network function having the first network function type from the network warehouse function, and the overview of the first network function includes a first indication, and the first indication is used to indicate the first network function. It is deployed in combination with the second network function, so that the requesting network function can determine that the first network function is deployed in combination with other network functions.
  • the requesting network function requests the network function of the network warehouse function to be deployed in combination with other network functions, thereby helping to realize the consolidated deployment of multiple network functions, reducing deployment cost and complexity, and providing a more flexible network function deployment method.
  • the communication delay between the combined and deployed first network function and the second network function is short, which helps to optimize the service experience of the terminal device.
  • the above technical solutions can provide a general method for discovering combined and deployed network functions, and any type of combined deployment of network functions in a 5G network can be discovered by the requested network function through the above technical solutions.
  • the present application also provides another registration process, which is different from the overview of the first network function registering the first network function with the NRF in FIG.
  • FIG. 5 exemplarily shows a registration flow chart.
  • Step 501 the merged network function sends a third registration request to the NRF.
  • the third registration request includes a summary of the combined network function, and the summary of the combined network function may include a network function type of multiple network functions in the combined network function.
  • the network function types of the multiple network functions are used to indicate that multiple network functions are combined and deployed in the combined network function. For example, if the summary of the combined network function includes the first network function type and one or more other network function types, then the network functions corresponding to the first network function type and one or more other network function types are combined and deployed on the combined network. function.
  • Step 502 the NRF sends a third registration success response to the merged network function.
  • the NRF may send a third registration success response to the merged network function, where the third registration success response is used to indicate that the summary of the merged network function has been successfully registered.
  • the network function types of multiple network functions in the overview of merging network functions can also be understood as a merging indication, where the merging indication is used to indicate that multiple network functions are deployed in the merging network function.
  • the requesting network function may discover the first network function and the second network function from the NRF based on the network function type of the plurality of network functions in the summary of the combined network function.
  • Step 503 requesting the network function to send the first network function type and the second network function type to the NRF.
  • the first network function type and the second network function type are used to request the network function to request the NRF for an overview of the combined network function corresponding to the first network function type and the second network function type, and among the multiple network function types in the overview It includes a first network function type and a second network function type.
  • the requesting network function may also send a second parameter to the NRF, where the second parameter is a parameter other than the first network function type and the second network function type for determining the summary of the combined network function.
  • the second parameter is, for example, the location information of the terminal device, the network identifier of the service, the slice identifier corresponding to the PDU session, the name of the network data, and the like.
  • a fourth discovery request sent by the network function to the NRF is requested, the fourth discovery request includes the first network function type, the second network function type and the second parameter, and the fourth discovery request uses An overview of the combined network function corresponding to the first network function type and the second network function type is requested from the NRF for the requesting network function.
  • the requesting network function may also send the first network function type and the second network function type to the NRF first, and then send the second parameter to the NRF, or other methods.
  • Step 504 the NRF sends the summary of the combined network function corresponding to the first network function type and the second network function type to the requesting network function.
  • each merged network function may include network function types of multiple network functions deployed in the merged network function, network element information of the merged network function, service information corresponding to the multiple network functions, and the like.
  • the NRF may determine, according to the first network function type and the second network function type requested by the requesting network function, an overview of the combined network function that includes both the first network function type and the second network function type , and send the summary of the merged network function including both the first network function type and the second network function type to the requesting network function.
  • the NRF may also receive a second parameter sent from the requesting network function, and determine the first network function type and the first network function type based on the first network function type, the second network function type, and the second parameter. An overview of the merged network functions corresponding to the two network function types.
  • the NRF may receive a fourth discovery request from the requesting network function, and determine the corresponding merged network according to the first network function type, the second network function type and the second parameter in the fourth discovery request An overview of the functionality.
  • the NRF may receive multiple requests from the requesting network function, and determine a corresponding summary of the combined network function according to the first network function type, the second network function type and the second parameter obtained from the multiple requests.
  • the NRF may carry the determined summary of the combined network function in a fourth discovery response corresponding to the fourth discovery request, and send the fourth discovery response to the requesting network function .
  • the NRF may also send the first network function corresponding to the first network function type to the requesting network function and send the summary of the second network function corresponding to the second network function type to the requesting network function.
  • the above example only takes the request of the network function to send two function types to the NRF (namely the first network function type and the second network function type) as an example, and this application is also applicable to the scenario of requesting the network function to send multiple network function types to the NRF.
  • multiple merged network functions are deployed in the NRF, including merged network function 1 and merged network function 2.
  • the overview of the merged network function 1 includes the network function type a, the network function type b, and the network function type c corresponding to the network function 11 , the network function 12 , and the network function 13 respectively.
  • the overview of the merged network function 2 includes the network function type a and the network function type b corresponding to the network function 21 and the network function 22 respectively.
  • the AMF sends the network function type a, the network function type b, and the network function type c to the NRF, and the NRF can send the summary of the combined network function 1 to the AMF.
  • the NRF may send the summary of the combined network function 1 and/or the combined network function 2 to the AMF.
  • the first network function is NSSF
  • the second network function is NSSAAF
  • NSSF and NSSAAF are combined and deployed in combined network function B
  • the requested network function is AMF.
  • the merged network function B sends a registration request of the merged network function B to the NRF.
  • the registration request of the merged network function B includes the summary of the merged network function B, and the summary of the merged network function B includes the NSSF type, NSSAAF type, NSSF type, NSSAAF type It is used to indicate that NSSF and NSSAAF are merged and deployed in the merged network function B.
  • the overview of the merged network function B further includes the network element information of the merged network function B, the service information of the NSSF, and the service information of the NSSAAF.
  • the network element information of the merged network function B includes the instance identifier (for example, NF Instance ID3) corresponding to the first network function and the second network function, the service location information, the list of supported slices, the network identifier of the service, etc. .
  • the service information of the NSSF includes the name of the service supported by the NSSF, the version of the service, the IP address of the service, the instance identifier of the service, and the like.
  • the service information of NSSAAF includes service name, service version, service IP address, service instance identifier, etc. supported by NSSAAF.
  • the NRF stores the summary of the merged network function B, and sends a registration success response to the merged network function B.
  • the AMF sends the NSSF type and the NSSAAF type to the NRF, so that the AMF requests the NRF for an overview of the merged network function B corresponding to the NSSF type and the NSSAAF type.
  • the AMF may also send a second parameter to the NRF for selecting the merged network function, where the second parameter may be the location information of the terminal device, the slice identifier, the network identifier, and the like.
  • the NRF sends the AMF a summary of the combined network function B based on the NSSF type, the NSSAAF type and the second parameter from the AMF.
  • the AMF may select NSSF and NSSAAF based on the summary of this merged network function B from the NRF.
  • the requesting network function requests the network warehouse function for an overview of the combined network function having the first network function type and the second network function type, and the overview is the first network function and the second network function corresponding to the first network function type.
  • the communication delay between the combined and deployed first network function and the second network function is short, which helps to optimize the service experience of the terminal device.
  • the above technical solutions can provide a general method for discovering combined and deployed network functions, and any type of combined deployment of network functions in a 5G network can be discovered by the requested network function through the above technical solutions.
  • FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are schematic structural diagrams of possible communication apparatuses provided by the present application. These communication apparatuses can be used to implement the network warehouse function or the function of requesting the network function or the first network function or the function of combining the network functions in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments.
  • the communication device 600 includes a processing unit 601 and a transceiver unit 602 .
  • the processing unit 601 is configured to control the transceiver unit 602 to receive the first network function type from the requesting network function;
  • the processing unit 601 is configured to control the transceiver unit 602 to send an overview of the first network function corresponding to the first network function type to the requesting network function, the overview of the first network function includes a first indication, and the first indication is used to indicate the first network function
  • the function is deployed in combination with the second network function, and the network function types of the first network function and the second network function are different.
  • the first indication includes an instance identifier of the second network function.
  • the processing unit 601 is further configured to control the transceiver unit 602 to receive the instance identifier of the second network function from the requesting network function; send the second network corresponding to the instance identifier of the second network function to the requesting network function.
  • the first indication further includes the second network function type of the second network function
  • the processing unit 601 is further configured to control the transceiver unit 602 to receive the second network function type from the requesting network function.
  • the first indication includes a merge attribute.
  • the processing unit 601 is further configured to control the transceiver unit 602 to send a summary of the second network function to the requesting network function, where the summary of the second network function includes the merge attribute.
  • the processing unit 601 is further configured to control the transceiver unit 602 to receive the combined attribute of the requested network function and the second network function type of the second network function.
  • the processing unit 601 is further configured to control the transceiver unit 602 to receive a first registration request from the first network function, where the first registration request includes an overview of the first network function; The first registration success response.
  • the processing unit 601 is further configured to control the transceiver unit 602 to receive the combined network function preference indication from the requesting network function, and the combined network function preference indication is used to indicate: the summary of the network function includes the combined indication
  • the transceiver unit 602 sends a summary of the network function including the merge instruction to the requesting network function; if the summary of the network function does not include the merge instruction, the transceiver unit 602 sends to the requesting network function a summary of the network function that does not include the merge instruction. Overview.
  • the processing unit 601 is configured to control the transceiver unit 602 to send the first network function type to the network warehouse function;
  • the processing unit 601 is further configured to control the transceiver unit 602 to receive an overview of the first network function corresponding to the first network function type from the network warehouse function.
  • the overview of the first network function includes a first indication, and the first indication is used to indicate the first network function.
  • a network function and a second network function are deployed together, and the network function types of the first network function and the second network function are different.
  • the first indication includes an instance identifier of the second network function.
  • the processing unit 601 is further configured to control the transceiver unit 602 to send the instance identifier of the second network function to the network warehouse function; receive the second network function corresponding to the instance identifier of the second network function from the network warehouse function
  • the first indication further includes a second network function type of the second network function
  • the processing unit 601 is further configured to determine the combined deployment of the first network function and the second network function according to the second network function type
  • the transceiver unit 602 is controlled to send the second network function type to the network warehouse function.
  • the first indication includes a merge attribute.
  • the processing unit 601 is further configured to control the transceiving unit 602 to receive a summary of the second network function from the network warehouse function, where the summary of the second network function includes a merge attribute.
  • the processing unit 601 is further configured to control the transceiver unit 602 to send the combined attribute and the second network function type of the second network function to the network warehouse function.
  • the processing unit 601 is further configured to determine the combination of the first network function and the second network function according to the combination attribute in the summary of the second network function and the combination attribute in the summary of the first network function deploy.
  • the processing unit 601 is further configured to control the transceiving unit 602 to send a merged network function preference indication to the network warehouse function, where the merged network function preference indication is used to indicate: the case where the merged indication is included in the network function overview
  • the transceiver unit 602 receives the summary of the network function including the merge instruction from the network warehouse function; if the summary of the network function does not include the merge instruction, the transceiver unit 602 receives the network function from the network warehouse function that does not include the merge instruction. In summary.
  • the processing unit 601 is configured to control the first registration request sent by the transceiver unit 602 to the network warehouse function, where the first registration request includes an overview of the first network function, and the overview of the first network function includes a first indication, and the first indication is used for Indicates that the first network function and the second network function are deployed in combination, and the network function types of the first network function and the second network function are different; and a first registration success response from the network warehouse function is received.
  • the processing unit 601 is configured to control the transceiver unit 602 to receive the first network function type and the second network function type from the requesting network function; send the combined network function summary to the requesting network function, where the combined network function summary is the first network function type corresponding to the first network function type.
  • the processing unit 601 is further configured to control the transceiver unit 602 to receive a third registration request from the merged network function, where the third registration request includes a summary of the merged network function, and the summary of the merged network function includes the first network The function type and the second network function type; send a second registration success response to the merged network function.
  • the summary of the combined network function further includes an instance identifier corresponding to the first network function and the second network function.
  • the processing unit 601 is configured to control the transceiver unit 602 to send the first network function type and the second network function type to the network warehouse function; receive the combined network function summary from the network warehouse function, where the combined network function summary is the first network function type corresponding to the first network function type.
  • the summary of the combined network function further includes an instance identifier corresponding to the first network function and the second network function.
  • the processing unit 601 is configured to control the transceiver unit 602 to send a third registration request to the network warehouse function, where the third registration request includes a combined network function summary, and the combined network function summary is the first network function and the second network function corresponding to the first network function type.
  • the third registration request includes a combined network function summary
  • the combined network function summary is the first network function and the second network function corresponding to the first network function type.
  • FIG. 7 shows an apparatus 700 provided by an embodiment of the present application, and the apparatus shown in FIG. 7 may be an implementation manner of a hardware circuit of the apparatus shown in FIG. 6 .
  • the apparatus can be applied to the flow chart shown above to perform the functions in the above method embodiments.
  • FIG. 7 shows only the main components of the device.
  • the apparatus 700 shown in FIG. 7 includes a communication interface 710, a processor 720, and a memory 730, wherein the memory 730 is used to store program instructions and/or data.
  • Processor 720 may cooperate with memory 730 .
  • Processor 720 may execute program instructions stored in memory 730 .
  • the processor 720 is configured to perform the operations performed by the processing unit 601 in the above embodiments
  • the communication interface 710 is configured to perform operations performed by the transceiver unit 602 in the above embodiments.
  • Memory 730 is coupled to processor 720 .
  • 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, and is used for information exchange between devices, units or modules.
  • At least one of the memories 730 may be included in the processor 720 .
  • the communication interface may be a transceiver, a circuit, a bus, a module, or other types of communication interfaces.
  • the transceiver when the communication interface is a transceiver, the transceiver may include an independent receiver and an independent transmitter; it may also be a transceiver integrating a transceiver function, or a communication interface.
  • the apparatus 700 may also include a communication line 740 .
  • the communication interface 710, the processor 720 and the memory 730 may be connected to each other through a communication line 740; the communication line 740 may be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI for short) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (extended industry standard architecture). , referred to as EISA) bus and so on.
  • PCI peripheral component interconnect
  • EISA extended industry standard architecture
  • the communication line 740 can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like. For ease of presentation, only one thick line is used in FIG. 7, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.
  • the present application provides a communication device including a processor and a communication interface for receiving signals from other communication devices other than the communication device and transmitting to the processor or a communication interface.
  • Send the signal from the processor to other communication devices other than the communication device, and the processor is used to implement the network warehouse in the method embodiment related to FIG. 2 to FIG. 4 through a logic circuit or executing code instructions function, or a function of requesting a network function, or a function of the first network function; or a function used to implement the network warehouse function, or the function of requesting a network function, or a function of combining network functions in the above-mentioned method embodiment related to FIG. 5 .
  • the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program or instruction is stored, and when the computer program or instruction is executed by a communication device, the above-mentioned FIG. 2 is realized.
  • a computer program or instruction is stored, and when the computer program or instruction is executed by a communication device, the above-mentioned FIG. 2 is realized.
  • the network warehouse function in the method embodiment related to FIG. 4 or the function of requesting the network function, or the function of the first network function; or used to realize the network warehouse function in the above-mentioned method embodiment related to FIG. 5, or requesting the network function, Or incorporate the functionality of network functions.
  • the present application provides a communication system, including the network warehouse function, the request network function and the first network function in the method embodiments related to FIG. 2 to FIG. 4 , or the method related to FIG. 5 above Web Repository Functions, Request Web Functions, and Merge Web Functions in Embodiments.
  • At least one means one or more, and “plurality” means two or more.
  • At least one item(s) below” or similar expressions thereof refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single item(s) or plural items(s).
  • at least one (a) of a, b or c can mean: a, b, c, "a and b", “a and c", “b and c", or "a and b and c" ", where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

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Abstract

一种通信方法及装置，用于在5G架构中，实现多个网络功能的合并部署和选择，有助于降低部署成本和复杂度。在本申请中，请求网络功能向网络仓库功能发送第一网络功能类型，网络仓库功能接收来自请求网络功能的第一网络功能类型，网络仓库功能向请求网络功能发送第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能的概述，请求网络功能接收来自网络仓库功能的第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能的概述，其中，第一网络功能的概述中包括第一指示，第一指示用于指示第一网络功能与第二网络功能合并部署，第一网络功能和第二网络功能的网络功能类型不同。

Description

一种通信方法及装置
相关申请的交叉引用
本申请要求在2021年04月02日提交中国专利局、申请号为202110363280.2、申请名称为“一种通信方法及装置”的中国专利申请的优先权，其全部内容通过引用结合在本申请中。
技术领域
本申请涉及通信技术领域，尤其涉及一种通信方法及装置。
背景技术
在4G和5G融合场景中，可以将4G网元和5G网络功能(network function，NF)合并部署，比如将融合网关(PDN Gateway，PGW)和会话管理功能(session management function，SMF)合并部署，或者将网络开放功能(network exposure function，NEF)和服务能力开放功能(service capability exposure function，SCEF)合并部署。以PGW和SMF合并部署为例，SMF向网络仓库功能(network repository function，NRF)注册时，同时注册合并部署的PGW的域名(fully qualified domain name，FQDN)，其他功能到NRF发现SMF时，通过提供FQDN，就可以发现和此PGW合并部署的SMF。通过将4G网元和5G网络功能合并部署，避免终端设备在不同制式的小区中切换时，出现业务中断的问题。
现有的合并部署，只应用于4G和5G融合的特定场景中，如上述PGW和SMF合并部署、NEF和SCEF合并部署等。而目前的5G架构中，为了降低部署成本和复杂度，出现将多个5G网络功能合并部署的需求。
如此，需要提供一种用于在5G架构中，实现多个5G网络功能合并部署和选择的方法。
发明内容
本申请提供一种通信方法及装置，用于在5G架构中，实现多个网络功能的合并部署和选择，有助于降低部署成本和复杂度。
第一方面，本申请提供一种通信方法，包括：网络仓库功能接收来自请求网络功能的第一网络功能类型；网络仓库功能向请求网络功能发送第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能的概述(profile)，第一网络功能的概述中包括第一指示，第一指示用于指示第一网络功能与第二网络功能合并部署(combined/co-located deployment)，第一网络功能和第二网络功能的网络功能类型不同。
上述技术方案中，请求网络功能向网络仓库功能请求具有第一网络功能类型的第一网络功能的概述，第一网络功能的概述中包括有第一指示，第一指示用于指示第一网络功能与第二网络功能合并部署，从而请求网络功能可以确定出第一网络功能是与其他网络功能合并部署的。该方式中，请求网络功能向网络仓库功能请求与其他网络功能合并部署的网络功能，从而有助于实现多个网络功能的合并部署，有助于降低部署成本和复杂度，提供更灵活的网络功能部署方式。而且，合并部署的第一网络功能和第二网络功能之间的通信 时延较短，有助于优化终端设备的业务体验。
在一种可能的实现方式中，第一指示包括第二网络功能的实例标识。
上述技术方案中，请求网络功能可以直接根据第一指示中第二网络功能的实例标识，确定存在与第一网络功能合并部署的第二网络功能，有助于请求网络功能在需要发现和第一网络功能合并部署的网络功能时，基于第二网络功能的实例标识向网络仓库功能请求对应的网络功能的概述，以便请求网络功能能够选择到合并部署的第一网络功能和第二网络功能。
在一种可能的实现方式中，还包括：网络仓库功能接收来自请求网络功能的第二网络功能的实例标识；网络仓库功能向请求网络功能发送第二网络功能的实例标识对应的第二网络功能的概述。
上述技术方案中，请求网络功能在需要从网络仓库功能中发现第二网络功能时，可以基于第一网络功能的概述中第二网络功能的实例标识，向网络仓库功能请求第二网络功能的实例标识对应的第二网络功能的概述。进而请求网络功能可以根据第二网络功能的概述，确定与第一网络功能合并部署的第二网络功能的网络功能类型。
在一种可能的实现方式中，第一指示还包括第二网络功能的第二网络功能类型，方法还包括：网络仓库功能接收来自请求网络功能的第二网络功能类型。
上述技术方案中，请求网络功能可以根据第一网络功能概述中的第二网络功能类型，确定出与第一网络功能合并部署的第二网络功能对应于第二网络功能类型，在请求网络功能需要选择与第一网络功能合并部署的、对应于第二网络功能类型的网络功能时，可以从网络仓库功能中发现第二网络功能。
在一种可能的实现方式中，第一指示包括合并属性。
上述技术方案中，合并部署的多个网络功能的概述中的合并属性相同，网络仓库功能可以基于第一网络功能的概述中的合并属性，确定出与第一网络功能合并部署的其他网络功能的概述。相应的，请求网络功能可以基于第一网络功能的概述中的合并属性和第二网络功能的概述中的合并属性，确定出第一网络功能和第二网络功能合并部署。通过该合并属性，可以实现请求网络功能向网络仓库功能请求合并部署的多个网络功能，也即可以实现请求网络功能能够选择到合并部署的第一网络功能和第二网络功能。而且与第一网络功能合并部署其他新的网络功能时，可以设置该新的网络功能的概述中包括相同的合并属性，具有更好的前向兼容性和扩展性。
在一种可能的实现方式中，还包括：网络仓库功能向请求网络功能发送第二网络功能的概述，第二网络功能的概述中包括合并属性。
上述技术方案中，网络仓库功能不仅可以向请求网络功能发送第一网络功能的概述，还可以基于第一网络功能的概述中的合并属性，向请求网络功能发送具有相同合并属性的第二网络功能的概述，无需请求网络功能再次向网络仓库功能请求与第一网络功能合并部署的第二网络功能的概述，有助于减少请求网络功能与网络仓库功能二者之间的交互信令，简化请求网络功能上的处理。
在一种可能的实现方式中，还包括：网络仓库功能接收来自请求网络功能的合并属性和第二网络功能的第二网络功能类型。
上述技术方案中，请求网络功能可以根据合并属性和第二网络功能类型，向网络仓库功能请求第二网络功能的概述，相应的，网络仓库功能可以向请求网络功能发送与合并属 性和第二网络功能类型对应的第二网络功能的概述。在请求网络功能需要选择与第一网络功能合并部署的、对应于第二网络功能类型的网络功能时，可以从网络仓库功能中发现第二网络功能，有助于减少请求网络功能与网络仓库功能之间不必要的信令交互。
在一种可能的实现方式中，还包括：网络仓库功能接收来自第一网络功能的第一注册请求，第一注册请求中包括第一网络功能的概述；网络仓库功能向第一网络功能发送第一注册成功响应。
在一种可能的实现方式中，还包括：网络仓库功能接收来自第二网络功能的第二注册请求，第二注册请求中包括第二网络功能的概述，第二网络功能的概述中包括第二指示，第二指示用于指示第二网络功能与第一网络功能合并部署；网络仓库功能向第二网络功能发送第二注册成功响应。
上述技术方案中，网络功能向网络仓库功能注册时，在注册请求中携带网络功能的概述，该网络功能的概述中包括有用于指示网络功能与其他网络功能合并部署的合并指示，从而在网络仓库功能接收到来自请求网络功能的发现请求时，可以基于网络功能概述中的合并指示，向请求网络功能反馈与该网络功能合并部署的其他网络功能的概述，或者请求网络功能可以基于网络功能概述中的合并指示，再次向网络仓库功能请求其他网络功能的概述，提供在5G***中多个网络功能合并部署时，请求网络功能向网络仓库功能请求合并部署的多个网络功能的实现方法。
上述技术方案可提供通用的发现合并部署的网络功能的方法，5G网络中任何类型的网络功能合并部署，都可以通过上述技术方案被请求网络功能发现。
在一种可能的实现方式中，还包括：网络仓库功能接收来自请求网络功能的合并网络功能优选指示，合并网络功能优选指示用于指示：在网络功能的概述中包括合并指示的情况下，向请求网络功能发送包括合并指示的网络功能的概述；在网络功能的概述中不包括合并指示的情况下，向请求网络功能发送不包括合并指示的网络功能的概述。
上述技术方案中，请求网络功能向网络仓库功能发送合并网络功能优选指示，避免出现在网络功能的概述中不包括合并指示的情况下，网络仓库功能不向请求网络功能反馈网络功能的概述，而导致请求网络功能向网络仓库功能请求网络功能失败，使得终端设备的通信中断。有助于提高请求网络功能请求到网络功能的概述的成功率，确保终端设备的业务体验。
第二方面，本申请提供一种通信方法，包括：请求网络功能向网络仓库功能发送第一网络功能类型；请求网络功能接收来自网络仓库功能的第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能的概述，第一网络功能的概述中包括第一指示，第一指示用于指示第一网络功能与第二网络功能合并部署，第一网络功能和第二网络功能的网络功能类型不同。
在一种可能的实现方式中，第一指示包括第二网络功能的实例标识。
在一种可能的实现方式中，还包括：请求网络功能向网络仓库功能发送第二网络功能的实例标识；请求网络功能接收来自网络仓库功能的第二网络功能的实例标识对应的第二网络功能的概述。
在一种可能的实现方式中，第一指示还包括第二网络功能的第二网络功能类型，方法还包括：请求网络功能根据第二网络功能类型，确定第一网络功能和第二网络功能合并部署，向网络仓库功能发送第二网络功能类型。
在一种可能的实现方式中，第一指示包括合并属性。
在一种可能的实现方式中，还包括：请求网络功能接收来自网络仓库功能的第二网络功能的概述，第二网络功能的概述中包括合并属性。
在一种可能的实现方式中，还包括：请求网络功能向网络仓库功能发送合并属性和第二网络功能的第二网络功能类型。
在一种可能的实现方式中，还包括：请求网络功能根据第二网络功能的概述中的合并属性，和第一网络功能的概述中的合并属性，确定第一网络功能和第二网络功能合并部署。
在一种可能的实现方式中，还包括：请求网络功能向网络仓库功能发送合并网络功能优选指示，合并网络功能优选指示用于指示：在网络功能的概述中包括合并指示的情况下，接收来自网络仓库功能的包括合并指示的网络功能的概述；在网络功能的概述中不包括合并指示的情况下，接收来自网络仓库功能的不包括合并指示的网络功能的概述。
第三方面，本申请提供一种通信方法，包括：第一网络功能向网络仓库功能发送的第一注册请求，第一注册请求中包括第一网络功能的概述，第一网络功能的概述中包括第一指示，第一指示用于指示第一网络功能与第二网络功能合并部署，第一网络功能和第二网络功能的网络功能类型不同；第一网络功能接收来自网络仓库功能的第一注册成功响应。
第四方面，本申请提供一种通信方法，包括：请求网络功能向网络仓库功能发送第一网络功能类型；网络仓库功能接收来自请求网络功能的第一网络功能类型；网络仓库功能向请求网络功能发送第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能的概述；请求网络功能接收来自网络仓库功能的第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能的概述；其中，第一网络功能的概述中包括第一指示，第一指示用于指示第一网络功能与第二网络功能合并部署，第一网络功能和第二网络功能的网络功能类型不同。
上述第二方面至第四方面中任一方面可以达到的技术效果可以参照上述第一方面中有益效果的描述，此处不再重复赘述。
第五方面，本申请提供一种通信方法，包括：网络仓库功能接收来自请求网络功能的第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型；网络仓库功能向请求网络功能发送合并网络功能概述，合并网络功能概述是第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能和第二网络功能类型对应的第二网络功能合并部署的概述，第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型不同。
上述技术方案中，请求网络功能向网络仓库功能请求具有第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型的合并网络功能的概述，该概述是第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能和第二网络功能类型对应的第二网络功能合并部署的概述，实现多个网络功能合并部署，且请求网络功能可以请求到合并网络功能的概述，从而有助于降低部署成本和复杂度，提供更灵活的网络功能部署方式。而且，合并部署的第一网络功能和第二网络功能之间的通信时延较短，有助于优化终端设备的业务体验。
在一种可能的实现方式中，还包括：网络仓库功能接收来自合并网络功能的第三注册请求，第三注册请求中包括合并网络功能概述，合并网络功能概述中包括第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型；网络仓库功能向合并网络功能发送第三注册成功响应。
上述技术方案中，合并网络功能向网络仓库功能注册时，在注册请求中携带合并网络功能的概述，该合并网络功能的概述中包括合并网络功能中部署的多个网络功能的网络功能类型。请求网络功能在从网络仓库功能中发现合并网络功能时，可以基于合并网络功能的概述中多个网络功能类型，发现具有该多个网络功能类型的合并网络功能，提供在5G ***中多个网络功能合并部署时，请求网络功能向网络仓库功能请求合并网络功能的实现方法。上述技术方案可提供通用的发现合并部署的网络功能的方法，5G网络中任何类型的网络功能合并部署，都可以通过上述技术方案被请求网络功能发现。
在一种可能的实现方式中，合并网络功能概述中还包括第一网络功能和第二网络功能共同对应的实例标识。
第六方面，本申请提供一种通信方法，包括：请求网络功能向网络仓库功能发送第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型；请求网络功能接收来自网络仓库功能的合并网络功能概述，合并网络功能概述是第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能和第二网络功能类型对应的第二网络功能合并部署的概述，第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型不同。
在一种可能的实现方式中，合并网络功能概述中还包括第一网络功能和第二网络功能共同对应的实例标识。
第七方面，本申请提供一种通信方法，包括：合并网络功能向网络仓库功能发送第三注册请求，第三注册请求中包括合并网络功能概述，合并网络功能概述是第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能和第二网络功能类型对应的第二网络功能合并部署的概述，第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型不同；合并网络功能接收来自网络仓库功能的第三注册成功响应。
第八方面，本申请提供一种通信方法，包括：请求网络功能向网络仓库功能发送第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型；网络仓库功能接收来自请求网络功能的第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型，网络仓库功能向请求网络功能发送合并网络功能概述；请求网络功能接收来自网络仓库功能的合并网络功能概述；其中，合并网络功能概述是第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能和第二网络功能类型对应的第二网络功能合并部署的概述，第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型不同。
上述第六方面至第八方面中任一方面可以达到的技术效果可以参照上述第五方面中有益效果的描述，此处不再重复赘述。
第九方面，本申请实施例提供一种通信装置，该装置具有实现上述第一方面或第一方面的任一种可能的实现方式中网络仓库功能的功能，或上述第二方面或第二方面的任一种可能的实现方式中请求网络功能的功能，或上述第三方面或第三方面的任一种可能的实现方式中第一网络功能的功能，或上述第五方面或第五方面的任一种可能的实现方式中请求网络功能的功能，或上述第六方面或第六方面的任一种可能的实现方式中合并网络功能的功能，或上述第七方面或第七方面的任一种可能的实现方式中网络仓库功能的功能。
上述通信装置的功能可以通过硬件实现，也可以通过硬件执行相应的软件实现，硬件或软件包括一个或多个与上述功能相对应的模块或单元或手段(means)。
在一种可能的实现方式中，该装置的结构中包括处理单元和收发单元，其中，处理单元被配置为支持该装置执行上述第一方面或第一方面的任一种可能的实现方式中网络仓库功能的功能，或上述第二方面或第二方面的任一种可能的实现方式中请求网络功能的功能，或上述第三方面或第三方面的任一种可能的实现方式中第一网络功能的功能，或上述第五方面或第五方面的任一种可能的实现方式中请求网络功能的功能，或上述第六方面或第六方面的任一种可能的实现方式中合并网络功能的功能，或上述第七方面或第七方面的任一种可能的实现方式中网络仓库功能的功能。收发单元用于支持该装置与其他通信设备 之间的通信，例如该装置为上述第一方面或第一方面的任一种可能的实现方式中网络仓库功能时，可接收来自请求网络功能的第一网络功能类型，并向请求网络功能发送第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能的概述。该通信装置还可以包括存储模块，存储模块与处理单元耦合，其保存有装置必要的程序指令和数据。作为一种示例，处理单元可以为处理器，通信模块可以为收发器，存储模块可以为存储器，存储器可以和处理器集成在一起，也可以和处理器分离设置。
在另一种可能的实现方式中，该装置的结构中包括处理器，还可以包括存储器。处理器与存储器耦合，可用于执行存储器中存储的计算机程序指令，以使装置执行上述第一方面或第一方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法，或执行上述第二方面或第二方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法，或执行上述第三方面或第三方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法，或执行上述第五方面或第五方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法，或执行上述第六方面或第六方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法，或执行上述第七方面或第七方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法。可选地，该装置还包括通信接口，处理器与通信接口耦合。当装置为设备时，该通信接口可以是收发器或输入/输出接口；当该装置为设备中包含的芯片时，该通信接口可以是芯片的输入/输出接口。可选地，收发器可以为收发电路，输入/输出接口可以是输入/输出电路。
第十方面，本申请实施例提供一种芯片***，包括：处理器，处理器与存储器耦合，存储器用于存储程序或指令，当程序或指令被处理器执行时，使得该芯片***实现上述第一方面或第一方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法，或实现上述第二方面或第二方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法，或实现上述第三方面或第三方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法，或实现上述第五方面或第五方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法，或实现上述第六方面或第六方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法，或实现上述第七方面或第七方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法。
可选地，该芯片***还包括接口电路，该接口电路用于交互代码指令至处理器。
可选地，该芯片***中的处理器可以为一个或多个，该处理器可以通过硬件实现也可以通过软件实现。当通过硬件实现时，该处理器可以是逻辑电路、集成电路等。当通过软件实现时，该处理器可以是一个通用处理器，通过读取存储器中存储的软件代码来实现。
可选地，该芯片***中的存储器也可以为一个或多个。该存储器可以与处理器集成在一起，也可以和处理器分离设置。示例性的，存储器可以是非瞬时性处理器，例如只读存储器ROM，其可以与处理器集成在同一块芯片上，也可以分别设置在不同的芯片上。
第十一方面，本申请实施例提供一种计算机可读存储介质，其上存储有计算机程序或指令，当该计算机程序或指令被执行时，使得计算机执行上述第一方面或第一方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法，或执行上述第二方面或第二方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法，或执行上述第三方面或第三方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法，或执行上述第五方面或第五方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法，或执行上述第六方面或第六方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法，或执行上述第七方面或第七方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法。
第十二方面，本申请实施例提供一种计算机程序产品，当计算机读取并执行计算机程序产品时，使得计算机执行上述第一方面或第一方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法， 或执行上述第二方面或第二方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法，或执行上述第三方面或第三方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法，或执行上述第五方面或第五方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法，或执行上述第六方面或第六方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法，或执行上述第七方面或第七方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法。
第十三方面，本申请实施例提供一种通信***，该通信***包括用于执行上述第一方面或第一方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法的网络仓库功能、用于执行上述第二方面或第二方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法的请求网络功能、以及用于执行上述第三方面或第三方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法的第一网络功能。或者该通信***包括用于执行上述第五方面或第五方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法的请求网络功能、用于执行上述第六方面或第六方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法的合并网络功能、以及用于执行上述第七方面或第七方面的任一种可能的实现方式中的方法的网络仓库功能。
上述第九方面至第十三方面中任一方面可以达到的技术效果可以参照上述第一方面或第五方面中有益效果的描述，此处不再重复赘述。
附图说明
图1为本申请提供的一种通信***架构示意图；
图2为本申请示例性提供的一种网络功能注册的流程示意图；
图3为本申请示例性提供的一种网络功能发现的流程示意图；
图4为本申请示例性提供的又一种网络功能发现的流程示意图；
图5为本申请示例性提供的一种网络功能注册和发现的流程示意图；
图6为本申请示例性提供的一种通信装置的结构示意图；
图7为本申请示例性提供的另一种通信装置的结构示意图。
具体实施方式
下面将结合附图，对本申请实施例进行详细描述。
图1示例性示出一种移动通信网络架构的示意图，该网络架构中包括终端设备、接入网设备、接入和移动管理功能、会话管理功能、用户面功能、策略控制功能、网络切片选择功能、网络切片特定身份验证和授权功能、网络仓库功能、网络数据分析功能、统一数据管理功能、统一数据存储功能、认证服务功能、网络能力开放功能、终端无线能力管理功能、绑定支撑功能、应用功能，以及连接运营商网络的数据网络(data network，DN)。
示例性的，终端设备通过当前位置的接入节点来接入无线网络。终端设备可通过接入网设备、用户面功能向数据网络发送业务数据，以及从数据网络接收业务数据。
接入和移动管理功能，主要用于移动网络中的终端设备的附着、移动性管理、跟踪区更新流程等。在5G通信***中，接入和移动管理功能可以是接入与移动性管理功能(access and mobility management function，AMF)，在未来的通信***(如6G通信***)中，接入和移动管理功能可以仍是AMF，或者也可以具有其它名称，本申请并不限定。
会话管理功能，主要用于移动网络中的会话管理，如会话建立、修改、释放。具体功能如为终端设备分配互联网协议地址、选择提供报文转发功能的用户面功能等。在5G通信***中，会话管理功能可以是会话管理功能(session management function，SMF)，在未 来的通信***(如6G通信***)中，会话管理功能可以仍是SMF，或者也可以具有其它名称，本申请并不限定。
用户面功能，主要用于对用户报文进行处理，如转发和计费等。在5G通信***中，用户面功能可以是用户面功能(user plane function，UPF)，在未来的通信***(如6G通信***)中，用户面功能可以仍是UPF，或者也可以具有其它名称，本申请并不限定。
策略控制功能，包含策略控制功能、计费策略控制功能、服务质量(quality of service，QoS)控制等。在5G通信***中，策略控制功能可以是策略控制功能(policy control function，PCF)，在未来的通信***(如6G通信***)中，策略控制功能可以仍是PCF，或者也可以具有其它名称，本申请并不限定。
网络切片选择功能，主要用于为终端设备的业务选择合适的网络切片。在5G通信***中，网络切片选择功能可以是网络切片选择功能(network slice selection function，NSSF)，在未来的通信***(如6G通信***)中，网络切片选择功能可以仍是NSSF，或者也可以具有其它名称，本申请并不限定。
网络切片特定身份验证和授权功能(network slice-specific authentication and authorization function，NSSAAF)主要用于针对终端设备接入特定网络切片的验证和授权。
网络仓库功能，主要用于提供网络功能或网络功能所提供服务的注册和发现。在5G通信***中，网络仓库功能可以是网络仓库功能(network repository function，NRF)，在未来的通信***(如6G通信***)中，网络仓库功能可以仍是NRF，或者也可以具有其它名称，本申请并不限定。
网络数据分析功能，可以从各个网络功能，例如策略控制功能、会话管理功能、用户面功能、接入管理功能、应用功能(通过网络能力开放功能)收集数据，并进行分析和预测。在5G通信***中，网络数据分析功能可以是网络数据分析功能(network data analytics function，NWDAF)，在未来的通信***(如6G通信***)中，网络数据分析功能可以仍是NWDAF，或者也可以具有其它名称，本申请并不限定。
统一数据管理功能，主要用于管理终端设备的签约信息。在5G通信***中，统一数据管理功能可以是统一数据管理(unified data management，UDM)功能，在未来的通信***(如6G通信***)中，统一数据管理功能可以仍是UDM功能，或者也可以具有其它名称，本申请并不限定。
统一数据存储功能，主要用于存储结构化的数据信息，其中包括签约信息、策略信息，以及有标准格式定义的网络数据或业务数据。在5G通信***中，统一数据存储功能可以是统一数据存储(unified data repository，UDR)功能，在未来的通信***(如6G通信***)中，统一数据存储功能可以仍是UDR功能，或者也可以具有其它名称，本申请并不限定。
认证服务功能，主要用于对终端设备进行安全认证。在5G通信***中，认证服务功能可以是认证服务端功能(authentication server function，AUSF)，在未来的通信***(如6G通信***)中，认证服务功能可以仍是AUSF，或者也可以具有其它名称，本申请并不限定。
网络能力开放功能，可以将网络的部分功能有控制地暴露给应用。在5G通信***中，网络能力开放功能可以是NEF，在未来的通信***(如6G通信***)中，网络能力开放功能可以仍是NEF，或者也可以具有其它名称，本申请并不限定。
终端无线能力管理功能，用于存储和管理网络内终端设备的无线能力。在5G通信***中，终端无线能力管理功能可以是终端无线能力管理功能(UE radio capability management function，UCMF)，在未来的通信***(如6G通信***)中，终端无线能力管理功能可以仍是UCMF，或者也可以具有其它名称，本申请并不限定。
绑定支撑功能，用于维护用户网络之间互连的协议(Internet Protocol，IP)地址和服务功能的对应关系。在5G通信***中，绑定支撑功能可以是绑定支撑功能(binding support function，BSF)，在未来的通信***(如6G通信***)中，绑定支撑功能可以仍是BSF，或者也可以具有其它名称，本申请并不限定。
应用功能，可以向运营商的通信网络的控制面功能提供各类应用的服务数据，或者从通信网络的控制面功能获得网络的数据信息和控制信息。在5G通信***中，应用功能可以是应用功能(application function，AF)，在未来的通信***(如6G通信***)中，应用功能可以仍是AF，或者也可以具有其它名称，本申请并不限定。
数据网络，主要用于为终端设备提供数据传输服务。数据网络可以是私有网络，如局域网，也可以是公用数据网(public data network，PDN)，如因特网(Internet)，还可以是运营商合并部署的专有网络，如配置的IP多媒体网络子***(IP multimedia core network subsystem，IMS)服务。
需要说明的是，本申请实施例中功能还可以称为网元、网络功能或功能实体、设备等，例如，接入和移动管理功能还可以称为接入和移动管理网元、或接入和移动管理网络功能、或接入和移动管理功能实体等。各个功能的名称在本申请中不做限定，本领域技术人员可以将上述功能的名称更换为其它名称而执行相同的功能，均属于本申请保护的范围。
为方便描述，如下可以将接入和移动管理网元、会话管理功能、网络切片选择功能、网络切片特定身份验证和授权功能、网络仓库功能、绑定支撑功能分别简称为AMF、SMF、NSSF、NSSAAF、NRF、BSF。
结合图1示例性示出的移动通信网络架构，本申请提供一种合并部署场景。在该合并部署场景中，可以将多个网络功能合并部署(合并部署还可以称为合一部署，英文可以表示为combined/co-located deployment)，比如将网络功能1、网络功能2合并部署。当合并部署的网络功能1作为客户端，需要调用网络功能2作为服务端提供的服务时，网络功能1可以优先选择合并部署的网络功能2，从而有助于降低通信复杂度和通信时延。而对于请求网络功能，比如网络功能3在选择网络功能1和网络功能2时，也可以选择合并部署的网络功能1和网络功能2。
示例性的，关于网络功能1和网络功能2的合并部署可以理解为：
a.网络功能1和网络功能2部署于一个合并网络功能(或称为实体、设备等)中，如该合并网络功能可以同时实现网络功能1和网络功能2的功能。例如，网络功能1和网络功能2共用一个处理器。又例如，该网络功能1与该网络功能2分别通过一个网元中的不同处理器实现各自的功能。
b.网络功能1和网络功能2在物理位置上是合并部署，但是该网络功能1与该网络功能2分别属于不同的网元。例如，网络功能1和网络功能2可以为两个不同的网元，但是，这两个网元部署在同一个机房。
结合具体应用示例性提供如下两种场景：
比如，在场景一中，网络功能1是SMF、网络功能2是BSF，网络功能3是AMF。SMF1和BSF1合并部署，BSF2单独部署(即并未与SMF1合并部署)，当SMF1需要调用BSF的服务时，可以优先选择BSF1，而不选择BSF2。由于SMF1与BSF1二者合并部署，SMF1调用BSF1，相比于SMF1调用BSF2，可以有效降低通信复杂度和通信时延。在AMF需要选择SMF时，可以选择合并部署的SMF1，随后在AMF需要选择BSF时，同样可以选择和SMF1合并部署的BSF1。
再比如，在场景二中，网络功能1是NSSF、网络功能2是NSSAAF，网络功能3是AMF。NSSF1和NSSAAF1合并部署，NSSAAF2单独部署(即并未与NSSF1合并部署)，当NSSF1需要调用NSSAAF的服务时，可以优先选择NSSAAF1，而不选择NSSAAF2。由于NSSF1与NSSAAF1二者合并部署，NSSF1调用NSSAAF1，相比于NSSF1调用NSSAAF2，可以有效降低通信复杂度和通信时延。在AMF需要选择NSSF时，可以选择合并部署的NSSF1，随后在AMF需要选择NSSAAF时，同样可以选择和NSSF1合并部署的NSSAAF1。
本申请提供一种通信方法，该通信方法适用于上述合并部署场景中，合并部署场景中包括有合并部署的多个网络功能，合并部署的多个网络功能中任两个网络功能之间的网络功能类型不同。进一步的，合并部署的多个网络功能可以包括第一网络功能和一个或多个其他网络功能，本申请中，可以将与第一网络功能合并部署的其他网络功能简称为其他网络个功能。示例性的，一个或多个其他网络个功能可以包括第二网络功能，或者包括第二网络功能和第三网络功能，或者包括第二网络功能、第三网络功能、……、第N网络功能，N大于或等于4。
本申请具体可以包括注册流程和发现流程。如下，先参照图2示例性示出的一种注册流程图，解释说明合并部署的网络功能向NRF中注册网络功能的概述(profile)的实现方式。为方便描述，以合并部署的第一网络功能为例说明。
步骤201，第一网络功能向NRF发送第一注册请求。
第一注册请求中包括第一网络功能的概述，第一网络功能的概述中包括有合并指示(可以称为是第一指示)，其中第一指示可用于指示存在与第一网络功能合并部署的一个或多个其他网络功能。示例性的，当第一网络功能和第二网络功能合并部署时，第一指示可用于指示存在与第一网络功能合并部署的第二网络功能。再示例性的，当第一网络功能、第二网络功能和第三网络功能合并部署时，第一指示可用于指示存在与第一网络功能合并部署的第二网络功能和第三网络功能。
基于第一指示的内容不同，可以分如下两种实现方式。
实现方式一，第一指示中可以包括与第一网络功能合并部署的一个或多个其他网络功能的实例标识(network function Instance identity，NF Instance ID)，该一个或多个实例标识即用于指示存在与第一网络功能合并部署的一个或多个其他网络功能。
在实现方式一中，第一指示中还可以包括有与第一网络功能合并部署的一个或多个其他网络功能的实例标识对应的网络功能类型。
解释为，在第一网络功能向NRF注册时，仅在第一指示中携带有与第一网络功能合并部署的其他网络功能的实例标识，该其他网络功能的实例标识并未指示出其对应的网络功能类型。请求网络功能在请求第一网络功能的概述之后，只能确定出存在有与第一网络功 能合并部署的其他网络功能，但并不能确定出该其他网络功能的网络功能类型。如此，可以在第一指示中进一步携带其他网络功能的实例标识对应的网络功能类型。
示例性的，在存在有第二网络功能与第一网络功能合并部署的情况下，第一指示中可以包括有第二网络功能的实例标识、第二网络功能的实例标识对应的网络功能类型(可称为第二网络功能类型)，用于指示存在与第一网络功能合并部署的、对应于第二网络功能类型和第二网络功能的实例标识的网络功能。进一步的，在还存在有第三网络功能与第一网络功能合并部署的情况下，第一指示中还可以包括有第三网络功能的实例标识、第三网络功能的实例标识对应的网络功能类型(可称为第三网络功能类型)，用于指示存在与第一网络功能合并部署的、对应于第三网络功能类型和第三网络功能的实例标识的网络功能。
实现方式二，第一指示中可以包括合并属性，合并属性可用于指示存在与第一网络功能合并部署的一个或多个其他网络功能。
本申请中，合并部署的多个网络功能的概述中的合并属性相同。示例性的，当第一网络功能和第二网络功能合并部署时，第一网络功能的概述中的合并属性与第二网络功能的概述中的合并属性相同。当第一网络功能、第二网络功能和第三网络功能合并部署时，第一网络功能的概述中的合并属性、第二网络功能的概述中的合并属性以及第三网络功能的概述中的合并属性相同。
换言之，一个合并属性可用于标识多个合并部署的网络功能，若两个或者两个以上网络功能的概述中的合并属性相同，则表征该两个或两个以上网络功能是合并部署的。
示例性的，合并属性可以为全局唯一的字符串，通过该字符串可以表征合并部署的多个网络功能。例如，SMF1和BSF1合并部署，对应的合并属性可以为smfbsf123456；SMF2和BSF2合并部署，对应的合并属性可以为smfbsf345678。
示例性的，合并属性可以为多个点分格式区分的字符串，字符串中可以包含但不限于网络功能名称，部署位置信息，数据中心(data center)信息等。例如，SMF1和BSF1合并部署，对应的合并属性可以为smfbsf32.pudong.shanghai；或者SMF2和BSF2合并部署，对应的合并属性可以为dc56.beijing。
需要补充的是，在上述实现方式一和实现方式二中，第一网络功能的概述中不仅可以包括第一指示，还可以包括第一网络功能的网元信息和服务信息。其中，第一网络功能的网元信息包括第一网络功能的实例标识、网络功能类型(可称为第一网络功能类型)、切片标识、网络数据名称、IP地址、优先级、容量、负载和服务的位置信息等，第一网络功能的服务信息包括服务名称、版本信息、服务实例标识、服务的优先级、服务的容量和服务的负载等。第一网络功能的概述用于提供客户端选择和访问第一网络功能时的信息，如访问第一网络功能时的IP地址。
步骤202，NRF向第一网络功能发送第一注册成功响应。
示例性的，NRF在存储第一网络功能的概述之后，可以向第一网络功能发送第一注册成功响应，该第一注册成功响应即用于指示第一网络功能的概述已经注册成功。
需要说明的是，在与第一网络功能合并部署的一个或多个其他网络功能中，任一个其他网络功能向NRF注册网络功能的概述，比如第二网络功能向NRF注册第二网络功能的 概述，或者第三网络功能向NRF注册第三网络功能的概述，均可参加上述实施例中第一网络功能向NRF注册第一网络功能的概述的实现方式，不再赘述。
上述注册流程中，网络功能可以将合并指示携带于网络功能的概述中，并将网络功能的概述注册至NRF，其中合并指示用于指示与网络功能合并部署的网络功能。进而在发现流程中，请求网络功能可以基于网络功能的概述中的合并指示，从NRF中发现第一网络功能和/或第二网络功能。
进一步的，基于注册流程中第一指示包括的不同字段，如下分两种情况解释说明。
如图3为本申请示例性提供的一种在第一指示中包括与第一网络功能合并部署的一个或多个其他网络功能的实例标识的情况下，请求网络功能从NRF中发现第一网络功能和第二网络功能的流程示意图。
在图3的流程中：
步骤301，请求网络功能向NRF发送第一网络功能类型。
其中，第一网络功能类型用于请求网络功能向NRF请求第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能的概述。在一种可选实现方式中，请求网络功能还可以向NRF发送第一参数，该第一参数为除第一网络功能类型以外的其他用于请求第一网络功能的概述的参数。示例性的，第一参数比如终端设备的位置信息、协议数据单元(protocol data unit，PDU)会话对应的切片标识、网络数据名称等。
在一种可选实现方式中，请求网络功能向NRF发送第一发现请求，该第一发现请求中包括第一网络功能类型和第一参数，该第一发现请求用于请求网络功能向NRF请求第一网络功能的概述。此外，请求网络功能还可以将第一网络功能类型和第一参数分别携带于多个不同的请求中，该多个不同的请求用于请求网络功能向NRF请求第一网络功能的概述。
步骤302，NRF向请求网络功能发送第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能的概述。其中第一网络功能的概述中包括第一指示，第一指示中包括与第一网络功能合并部署的一个或多个其他网络功能的实例标识。
本申请中，NRF中注册有多个网络功能的概述，每个网络功能的概述中可以包括有网络功能的实例标识、网络功能类型、网元信息和服务信息等。进一步的，在某个网络功能与其他网络功能合并部署的情况下，该网络功能的概述中还可以包括该网络功能对应的合并指示。在该场景中，网络功能对应的合并指示具体可以包括与该网络功能合并部署的其他网络功能的实例标识，或者，与该网络功能合并部署的其他网络功能的实例标识和实例标识对应的网络功能类型。
在一种可选实现方式中，NRF在接收到来自请求网络功能发送的第一网络功能类型之后，可以根据第一网络功能类型，从多个网络功能的概述中，确定出第一网络功能类型对应的网络功能的概述，即第一网络功能的概述。需要说明的，NRF上可能有多个网络功能的概述，其网络功能类型为第一网络功能类型。
在一种可选实现方式中，NRF还可以接收到来自请求网络功能发送第一参数，并基于第一网络功能类型和第一参数，从多个网络功能的概述中，确定出第一网络功能类型和第一参数共同对应的网络功能的概述，即第一网络功能的概述。相同的，NRF上可能有多个网络功能的概述，其网络功能类型为第一网络功能类型，并且支持第一参数。
在一种可选实现方式中，NRF可以从请求网络功能处接收第一发现请求，第一发现请 求中包括有第一网络功能类型和第一参数，进而NRF确定与第一网络功能类型和第一参数相对应的第一网络功能的概述。或者，NRF可以从请求网络功能处接收到多个请求，并从该多个请求中得到第一网络功能类型和第一参数，进而NRF确定与多个请求相对应的第一网络功能的概述。
本申请中，NRF可能确定出一个或多个第一网络功能的概述，并将该一个或多个第一网络功能的概述发送至请求网络功能中。进一步的，NRF可以将该一个或多个第一网络功能的概述分别携带于各自对应的消息中发送至请求网络功能，或者合并为一条消息发送至请求网络功能中。在一种可选实现方式中，NRF可以将一个或多个第一网络功能的概述携带于与第一发现请求相对应的第一发现响应中，并将该第一发现响应发送至请求网络功能。
相应的，请求网络功能在接收到来自NRF的一个或多个第一网络功能的概述之后，可以从中选择出一个第一网络功能的概述，并基于该一个第一网络功能的概述，与第一网络功能进行通信。在一种可选实现方式中，请求网络功能根据预配置信息确定是否从该一个或多个第一网络功能的概述中选择与其他网络功能合并部署的网络功能的概述。比如说，请求网络功能预配置为选择合并部署的第一网络功能，则请求网络功能可以从一个或多个第一网络功能的概述中，选择包括有合并指示(即第一指示)的第一网络功能的概述。
请求网络功能在选择第一网络功能之后，还可能需要选择第二网络功能。在一种可选实现方式中，请求网络功能基于第一网络功能的概述中的第一指示，从NRF中获取第二网络功能类型对应的第二网络功能的概述。
基于第一网络功能的概述中第一指示所包含的信息不同，可以有如下两种情况：
情况A，第一网络功能的概述中包括有与第一网络功能合并部署的一个或多个其他网络功能的实例标识，但未包含有一个或多个其他网络功能的实例标识对应的网络功能类型。
在情况A中，请求网络功能可以根据第一网络功能的概述中与第一网络功能合并部署的一个或多个其他网络功能的实例标识，向NRF请求与网络功能的实例标识相对应的网络功能的概述，具体可以参见如图3中的步骤303A至步骤305A。
步骤303A，请求网络功能向NRF发送一个或多个网络功能的实例标识。
此处需要说明的是，请求网络功能接收来自NRF的第一网络功能的概述，该第一网络功能的概述中包括有与第一网络功能合并部署的一个或多个其他网络功能的实例标识，但请求网络功能并不确定该一个或多个其他网络功能的实例标识分别对应的网络功能类型是什么(具体可参见上述步骤201中描述)，于是向NRF发送该一个或多个网络功能的实例标识(即第一指示中的一个或多个其他网络功能的实例标识)，以用于请求一个或多个网络功能的实例标识对应的概述。
一种示例中，请求网络功能可以向NRF发送第一数据请求，该第一数据请求中包括有一个或多个网络功能的实例标识，该第一数据请求用于请求网络功能向NRF请求一个或多个网络功能的实例标识分别对应的网络功能的概述。在另一种示例中，请求网络功能可以向NRF发送多个第一数据请求，对于任一个第一数据请求，第一数据请求中可以包括有与该第一数据请求相对应的网络功能的实例标识，该第一数据请求用于请求网络功能向NRF请求与第一数据请求中网络功能的实例标识对应的网络功能的概述。
步骤304A，NRF向请求网络功能发送一个或多个网络功能的实例标识分别对应的网络功能的概述。
NRF可以根据一个或多个网络功能的实例标识(即第一指示中的一个或多个其他网络功能的实例标识)，确定出一个或多个网络功能的实例标识分别对应的网络功能的概述，进而将该一个或多个网络功能的概述发送至请求网络功能。示例性的，网络功能的概述中同样可以包括有合并指示。
示例性的，当第一网络功能和第二网络功能合并部署时，第二网络功能的概述中同样可以包括有合并指示(可称为第二指示)，其中第二指示具体可以包括第一网络功能的实例标识，或者包括第一网络功能的实例标识和第一网络功能类型。
示例性的，当第一网络功能、第二网络功能和第三网络功能合并部署时，第二网络功能的概述中第二指示具体可以包括第一网络功能的实例标识、第三网络功能的实例标识，或者包括第一网络功能的实例标识和第一网络功能类型，以及第三网络功能的实例标识和第三网络功能的实例标识对应的网络功能类型(可称为第三网络功能类型)。第三网络功能的概述中同样可以包括有合并指示(可称为第三指示)，第三指示具体可以包括第一网络功能的实例标识和第二网络功能的实例标识，或者包括第一网络功能的实例标识和第一网络功能类型、第二网络功能的实例标识以及第二网络功能的实例标识对应的网络功能类型(可称为第二网络功能类型)。
此外，第二网络功能的概述中还可以包括该第二网络功能的网元信息、服务信息等。第三网络功能的概述中还可以包括该第三网络功能的网元信息、服务信息等。
一种示例中，NRF接收来自请求网络功能的第一数据请求，该第一数据请求中包括有一个或多个网络功能的实例标识，NRF向请求网络功能发送与第一数据请求相对应的第一数据响应，第一数据响应中包括有一个或多个网络功能的实例标识分别对应的网络功能的概述。又一种示例中，NRF接收来自请求网络功能的多个第一数据请求，其中任一个第一数据请求中可以包括有与该第一数据请求相对应的网络功能的实例标识，NRF向请求网络功能发送与该第一数据请求相对应的第一数据响应，第一数据响应中包括有第一数据请求中、网络功能的实例标识对应的网络功能的概述。
步骤305A，请求网络功能从一个或多个网络功能的实例标识对应的网络功能的概述中，确定出第二网络功能类型对应的第二网络功能的概述。
请求网络功能在接收到来自NRF的一个或多个网络功能的概述之后，可以确定出与第一网络功能合并部署的一个或多个网络功能的网络功能类型，进而请求网络功能可以根据第二网络功能类型，从一个或多个网络功能的概述中选择网络功能类型为第二网络功能类型的网络功能的概述(即第二网络功能的概述)。
基于上述步骤303A至步骤305A举例，第一网络功能、第二网络功能和第三网络功能合并部署，第一网络功能、第二网络功能和第三网络功能分别对应于概述1、概述2和概述3。请求网络功能可以从NRF中获取第一网络功能的概述1，其中概述1中包括有第二网络功能的实例标识2和第三网络功能的实例标识3。比如请求网络功能需要获取网络功能类型2对应的网络功能的概述(即第二网络功能的概述2)。请求网络功能可以向NRF发送实例标识2和实例标识3，NRF向请求网络功能发送分别与实例标识2和实例标识3对应的概述2和概述3，进一步的，概述2中包括有第二网络功能的实例标识2和网络功能类型2，概述3中包括有第三网络功能的实例标识3和网络功能类型3。请求网络功能在接收到来自NRF的概述2和概述3之后，可以确定出概述2中的网络功能类型为网络功能类型2，即选择概述2。
情况B，第一网络功能的概述中包含有一个或多个其他网络功能的实例标识，以及一个或多个其他网络功能的实例标识对应的网络功能类型。
在情况B中，第一网络功能可以根据一个或多个其他网络功能的实例标识、一个或多个其他网络功能的实例标识对应的网络功能类型，向NRF请求的第二网络功能类型对应的第二网络功能的概述，具体可以参见如图3中的步骤303B和步骤304B。
步骤303B，请求网络功能向NRF发送第二网络功能的实例标识和第二网络功能类型。
第一网络功能根据一个或多个其他网络功能的实例标识、一个或多个其他网络功能的实例标识对应的网络功能类型，确定第二网络功能类型对应的第二网络功能的实例标识，向NRF发送第二网络功能的实例标识和第二网络功能类型。
在一种可选实现方式中，第一网络功能可以向NRF发送第二发现请求，第二发现请求中包括有第二网络功能的实例标识和第二网络功能类型，该第二发现请求用于请求网络功能向NRF请求第二网络功能的实例标识对应的第二网络功能的概述。
应理解，在该步骤303B中，若请求网络功能需要请求的网络功能类型未包含于第一网络功能的概述中的一个或多个其他网络功能的网络功能类型中，则请求网络功能可以不再基于该第一网络功能的概述中的实例标识和网络功能类型进行NRF查询，如此，有助于减少请求网络功能与网络仓库功能之间不必要的信令交互。
步骤304B，NRF向第一网络功能发送第二网络功能的概述。
示例性的，NRF可以根据第二网络功能的类型，对请求网络功能进行身份验证，并在身份验证通过之后，确定第二网络功能的实例标识对应的第二网络功能的概述，向请求网络功能发送第二网络功能的概述。比如NRF上授权允许网络功能类型为AMF的请求网络功能发现网络功能类型为SMF的第二网络功能，但是不允许其他网络功能类型的请求网络功能发现SMF，NRF根据请求网络功能的网络功能类型和第二网络功能的类型确定是否允许该请求网络功能发现第二网络功能。
在一种可选实现方式中，NRF可以向第一网络功能发送与第二发现请求相对应的第二发现响应，第二发现响应中包括有与第二发现请求中第二网络功能的实例标识对应的第二网络功能的概述。
基于上述步骤303B和步骤304B举例，第一网络功能、第二网络功能和第三网络功能合并部署，第一网络功能、第二网络功能和第三网络功能分别对应于概述1、概述2和概述3。请求网络功能可以从NRF中获取第一网络功能的概述1，其中概述1中包括有第二网络功能的实例标识2、网络功能类型2，以及第三网络功能的实例标识3、网络功能类型3。比如请求网络功能需要获取网络功能类型2对应的网络功能的概述(即第二网络功能的概述2)。请求网络功能可以向NRF发送实例标识2和网络功能类型2。相应的，NRF向请求网络功能发送与实例标识2对应的网络功能类型2的概述2。
通过该方式，可以减少请求网络功能与NRF之间的信令交互，提高请求网络功能确定出第二网络功能的速率。
为了更好的解释本申请实施例，如下结合具体场景举例。其中第一网络功能为SMF，第二网络功能为BSF，SMF和BSF合并部署，请求网络功能是AMF。
在一种网元注册过程中：
SMF向NRF发送SMF的注册请求，SMF的注册请求中包括SMF的概述，SMF的概述中包括BSF的实例标识(比如为NF Instance ID1)。NF Instance ID1可用于指示存在与SMF合并部署的网络功能。进一步的，SMF的概述中还包括有SMF的网元信息，比如SMF的实例标识(比如为NF Instance ID2)、SMF的网络功能类型(比如SMF类型)、服务的位置信息、数据网络名称列表、切片列表信息等。SMF的概述中还包括有SMF的服务信息，比如服务名称、版本信息、服务实例标识、服务的优先级、服务的容量和服务的负载等。相应的，NRF存储SMF的概述，向SMF发送注册成功响应。
BSF向NRF发送BSF的注册请求，BSF的注册请求中包括BSF的概述。BSF的概述中包括SMF的实例标识(比如为NF Instance ID2)。NF Instance ID2可用于指示存在与BSF合并部署的网络功能，该网络功能的标识为NF Instance ID2。进一步的，BSF的概述中还包括有BSF的网元信息，比如BSF的实例标识(比如为NF Instance ID1)、BSF的网络功能类型(比如BSF类型)、支持的IP地址列表，支持的切片列表等。SMF的概述中还包括有SMF的服务信息，比如服务名称、版本信息、服务实例标识、服务的优先级、服务的容量和服务的负载等。相应的，NRF存储BSF的概述，向BSF发送注册成功响应。
在一种网元发现过程中：
AMF在PDU会话建立流程中，AMF向NRF发送SMF类型(即第一网络功能类型)，SMF类型用于AMF向NRF请求SMF类型对应的SMF的概述(即第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能的概述)。此外，AMF还可以向NRF发送用于选择SMF的第一参数，第一参数比如终端设备当前的位置信息、PDU会话对应的切片实例标识、网络数据名称等。NRF基于来自AMF的SMF类型和第一参数，向AMF发送与SMF类型和第一参数对应的SMF的概述。AMF可以基于来自NRF的该SMF的概述，为终端设备建立PDU会话。
随后，当AMF还需要选择用于维护用户IP地址和服务网元功能的对应关系的BSF，并且AMF上的预配置策略要求选择和SMF合并的BSF时，AMF可以进一步基于来自NRF的SMF的概述，向NRF发送NF Instance ID1，NF Instance ID1用于AMF向NRF请求NF Instance ID1对应的概述。NRF向AMF发送NF Instance ID1对应的概述。AMF在接收到BSF的概述之后，根据BSF的概述中NF Instance ID1、网络功能类型为BSF，确定SMF和BSF为合并部署的。AMF选择该BSF，用于维护用户IP地址和服务网元功能的对应关系。
此外，在另一种网络注册过程中：SMF的概述中还可以包括BSF的实例标识(即NF Instance ID1)对应的网络功能类型(即BSF类型)。BSF的概述中还可以包括SMF的实例标识(即NF Instance ID2)对应的网络功能类型(即SMF类型)。
相应的，在另一种网元发现过程中：
AMF在PDU会话建立流程中，AMF可以向NRF发送SMF类型，SMF类型用于AMF向NRF请求SMF类型对应的SMF的概述。此外，AMF还可以向NRF发送用于选择SMF的第一参数，NRF可以基于来自AMF的SMF类型和第一参数，向AMF发送与SMF类型和第一参数对应的SMF的概述。AMF可以基于来自NRF的该SMF的概述，为终端设备建立PDU会话。
随后，当AMF还需要选择用于维护用户IP地址和服务网元功能的对应关系的BSF，并且AMF上的预配置策略要求选择和SMF合并的BSF时，AMF可以进一步根据SMF的 概述中NF Instance ID1和BSF类型，确定SMF和BSF为合并部署的，向NRF发送NF Instance ID1和BSF类型，以用于AMF向NRF请求NF Instance ID1对应的BSF的概述。NRF向AMF发送NF Instance ID1对应的BSF的概述。AMF选择该BSF，用于维护用户IP地址和服务网元功能的对应关系。
可以理解，如果SMF的概述中包括的实例标识(即NF Instance ID1)对应的网络功能类型不包括BSF类型，AMF不会触发基于该实例标识和网络功能类型的NRF的查询，有助于减少AMF与NRF之间不必要的信令交互。
如图4为本申请示例性提供的一种在第一指示中包括合并属性的情况下，请求网络功能从NRF中发现第一网络功能和第二网络功能的流程示意图。在图4的流程中：
步骤401，请求网络功能向NRF发送第一网络功能类型。
其中，第一网络功能类型用于请求网络功能向NRF请求第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能的概述。在一种可选实现方式中，请求网络功能还可以向NRF发送第一参数，该第一参数为除第一网络功能类型以外的其他用于请求第一网络功能的参数。
在一种可选实现方式中，请求网络功能向NRF发送的第一发现请求，该第一发现请求中包括第一网络功能类型和第一参数，该第一发现请求用于请求网络功能向NRF请求第一网络功能的概述。此外，请求网络功能还可以将第一网络功能类型和第一参数分别携带于多个不同的请求中，该多个不同的请求用于请求网络功能向NRF请求第一网络功能的概述。
上述步骤401中未详尽描述的实现方式，均可参见步骤301中的描述。
NRF中注册有多个网络功能的概述，每个网络功能的概述中可以包括有该网络功能的网元信息和服务信息等。进一步的，在某个网络功能与其他网络功能合并部署的情况下，该网络功能的概述中还可以包括该网络功能对应的合并指示。在该场景中，网络功能对应的合并指示具体可以包括有该网络功能对应的合并属性。其中具有相同合并属性的概述所对应的网络功能合并部署。
NRF接收到来自请求网络功能的第一网络功能类型之后，NRF向请求网络功能发送第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能的概述，可以有两种实现方式：
情况一，NRF可以向请求网络功能发送第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能的概述，而不向请求网络功能发送一个或多个其他网络功能的概述。具体可参见图4中的步骤402a至步骤405a。
步骤402a，NRF向请求网络功能发送第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能的概述。其中第一网络功能的概述中包括第一指示，第一指示中包括合并属性。
NRF基于第一网络功能类型，或者基于第一网络功能类型和第一参数，向请求网络功能发送第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能的概述，确定方式可具体参见步骤302中描述，不再赘述。
步骤403a，请求网络功能向NRF发送第二网络功能类型和第一网络功能的概述中的合并属性。
请求网络功能在接收到来自NRF的第一网络功能的概述之后，在需要选择与第一网络功能合并部署的第二网络功能时，可以向NRF发送第二网络功能类型和第一网络功能的概述中的合并属性，该第二网络功能类型和合并属性用于请求网络功能向NRF请求同样包括有该相同合并属性的、第二网络功能类型对应的第二网络功能的概述。
在一种可选实现方式中，请求网络功能可以向NRF发送第三发现请求，第三发现请求中包括有第二网络功能类型和该合并属性。此外，请求网络功能也可以通过两个请求分别向NRF发送第二网络功能类型和合并属性，本申请不限定。
步骤404a，NRF向请求网络功能发送具有相同合并属性的、第二网络功能类型对应的第二网络功能的概述。
在一种可选实现方式中，NRF可以确定当前注册的网络功能的概述中，包括有与第一网络功能的概述中相同合并属性的概述，进而从这些概述中确定出包括有第二网络功能类型的概述，即第二网络功能的概述。NRF也可以确定当前注册的网络功能的概述中，包括有第二网络功能类型的概述，进而从这些概述中确定出包括有与第一网络功能的概述中相同合并属性的概述。
在一种可选实现方式中，NRF可以向第一网络功能发送与第三发现请求相对应的第三发现响应，第三发现响应中包括有具有与第三发现请求中合并属性相同的、第二网络功能类型对应的第二网络功能的概述。
步骤405a，请求网络功能根据第一网络功能的概述中的合并属性，和第二网络功能的概述中的合并属性，确定第一网络功能和第二网络功能合并部署。
需要说明的是，NRF可能基于请求网络功能的第一网络功能类型，确定出一个或多个第一网络功能的概述。NRF可以向请求网络功能发送一个或多个第一网络功能的概述。
相应的，在一种示例中，请求网络功能可以根据各第一网络功能的概述中的合并属性，向NRF请求与各第一网络功能对应的第二网络功能的概述。请求网络功能进而根据各第一网络功能的概述中的合并属性、各第一网络功能对应的第二网络功能的概述中的合并属性，将具有相同合并属性的概述对应的网络功能确定为合并部署的。请求网络功能从多个第一网络功能的概述，以及该每个第一网络功能对应的第二网络功能的概述中，确定出用于网络通信的第一网络功能的概述和第二网络功能的概述。
在另一种示例中，请求网络功能还可以先从多个第一网络功能的概述中确定出一个第一网络功能的概述，然后再根据该第一网络功能的概述中的合并属性，向NRF请求与该第一网络功能对应的第二网络功能的概述。
基于上述步骤402a至步骤405a举例，第一网络功能、第二网络功能和第三网络功能合并部署，第一网络功能、第二网络功能和第三网络功能分别对应于概述1、概述2和概述3。其中，概述1、概述2和概述3中均包括有相同的合并属性1。请求网络功能在从NRF中获取概述1之后，可以从概述1中得到合并属性1。进一步的，比如请求网络功能需要获取网络功能类型2对应的网络功能的概述(即第二网络功能的概述2)。请求网络功能可以向NRF发送合并属性1和网络功能类型2，相应的，NRF可以根据合并属性1和网络功能类型2，确定概述中同样包括有合并属性1、对应于网络功能类型2的概述2，将概述2发送至请求网络功能。请求网络功能接收到来自NRF的概述2，根据第二网络功能的概述2中的合并属性1、第一网络功能的概述1中的合并属性1，确定第二网络功能与第一网络功能二者是合并部署的。
情况二，网络仓库功可以向请求网络功能发送第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能的概述，以及向请求网络功能发送一个或多个其他网络功能的概述。具体可参见图4中的步骤402b至步骤405b。
步骤402b，NRF向请求网络功能发送第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能的概述、与第一网络功能对应的一个或多个其他网络功能的概述。
其中，与第一网络功能对应的一个或多个网络功能的概述中的合并属性与第一网络功能的概述中的合并属性相同。一种具体实现方式中，NRF可以基于第一网络功能的概述中的合并属性，确定出同样包括有该合并属性的一个或多个其他网络功能的概述，并将该第一网络功能的概述、一个或多个其他网络功能的概述发送至请求网络功能。
一个示例中，NRF可以向请求网络功能发送第一发现响应，第一发现响应中包括第一网络功能的概述、一个或多个其他网络功能的概述。再一个示例中，将第一网络功能的概述、一个或多个其他网络功能的概述分别承载于各自对应的消息中发送至请求网络功能。
步骤403b，请求网络功能确定第一网络功能和一个或多个其他网络功能合并部署。
一种具体实现方式中，请求网络功能接收到该第一网络功能的概述，以及接收到该一个或多个其他网络功能的概述之后，确定第一网络功能的概述中的合并属性与一个或多个其他网络功能的概述的合并属性是相同的，进而确定第一网络功能和该一个或多个其他网络功能是合并部署的。
步骤404b，请求网络功能从一个或多个其他网络功能的概述中，确定出第二网络功能类型对应的第二网络功能的概述。
需要说明的是，在上述步骤中，NRF可能基于请求网络功能的第一网络功能类型，确定出多个第一网络功能的概述。在该情况下，NRF可以针对于多个第一网络功能中的任一个第一网络功能，向请求网络功能发送第一网络功能的概述、与该第一网络功能对应的一个或多个其他网络功能的概述。请求网络功能可以根据接收到的各网络功能的概述中的合并属性，将具有相同合并属性的概述对应的网络功能确定为合并部署的。请求网络功能进而从多个第一网络功能的概述，以及该每个第一网络功能对应的一个或多个其他网络功能的概述中，确定出用于网络通信的第一网络功能的概述和第二网络功能的概述。
基于上述步骤402b至步骤404b举例，在一个网络功能合并部署中，存在第一网络功能与第二网络功能合并部署，该第一网络功能表示为网络功能0，网络功能0对应于概述0；第二网络功能表示为网络功能1，对应于概述1，其中，概述0和概述1中均包括有相同的合并属性1。在另一个网络功能合并部署中，存在第一网络功能与第二网络功能合并部署，该第一网络功能表示为网络功能2，网络功能2对应于概述2；第二网络功能表示为网络功能3，对应于概述3，其中，概述2和概述3中均包括有相同的合并属性2。其中网络功能0的网络功能类型与网络功能2的网络功能类型相同，比如为网络功能类型0。请求网络功能向NRF发送网络功能类型0，NRF根据网络功能类型0，向请求网络功能发送概述0、概述1、概述2和概述3。相应的，请求网络功能可以根据概述0中的合并属性1和概述1中的合并属性1，确定概述0对应的网络功能0和概述1对应的网络功能1是合并部署的；请求网络功能可以根据概述2中的合并属性2和概述3中的合并属性2，确定概述2对应的网络功能2和概述3对应的网络功能3是合并部署的。请求网络功能可以选择概述0对应的网络功能0和概述1对应的网络功能1，也可以选择概述2对应的网络功能2和概述3对应的网络功能3。
为了更好的解释本申请实施例，如下结合具体场景举例。其中第一网络功能为SMF，第二网络功能为BSF，SMF和BSF合并部署，请求网络功能是AMF。在网元注册过程中：
SMF向NRF发送SMF的注册请求，SMF的注册请求中包括SMF的概述。SMF的概述中包括合并属性a，合并属性a用于指示存在与SMF合并部署的网络功能。进一步的，SMF的概述中还包括有SMF的网元信息，比如SMF的实例标识(比如为NF Instance ID2)、SMF的网络功能类型(比如SMF类型)、服务的位置信息、数据网络名称列表、切片列表信息等。SMF的概述中还包括有SMF的服务信息，比如服务名称、版本信息、服务实例标识、服务的优先级、服务的容量和服务的负载等。相应的，NRF存储SMF的概述，向SMF发送注册成功响应。
BSF向NRF发送BSF的注册请求，BSF的注册请求中包括BSF的概述。BSF的概述中包括合并属性a，合并属性a用于指示存在与BSF合并部署的网络功能。进一步的，BSF的概述中还包括有BSF的网元信息，比如BSF的实例标识(比如为NF Instance ID1)、BSF的网络功能类型(比如BSF类型)、服务的位置信息、数据网络名称列表、切片列表信息等。BSF的概述中还包括有BSF的服务信息，比如服务名称、版本信息、服务实例标识、服务的优先级、服务的容量和服务的负载等。相应的，NRF存储BSF的概述，向BSF发送注册成功响应。
上述方案中，如果后续SMF，BSF和新的NF合并部署，只需要新的NF通过上述方法到NRF注册相同的合并属性，即合并属性a，而不需要修改SMF和BSF在NRF上注册的概述，具有更好的前向兼容性和扩展性。
相应的，在一种网元发现过程中：
AMF在PDU会话建立流程中，AMF可以向NRF发送SMF类型(即第一网络功能类型)，SMF类型用于AMF向NRF请求SMF类型对应的SMF的概述(即第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能的概述)。此外，AMF还可以向NRF发送用于选择SMF的第一参数，第一参数比如终端设备当前的位置信息、PDU会话对应的切片实例标识、网络数据名称等。NRF基于来自AMF的SMF类型以及第一参数，向AMF发送SMF类型对应的SMF的概述。AMF可以基于来自NRF的该SMF的概述，为终端设备建立PDU会话。
随后，当AMF还需要选择用于维护用户IP地址和服务网元功能的对应关系的BSF，并且预先配置的策略要求选择和SMF合并部署的BSF时，AMF可以基于来自NRF的SMF的概述，向NRF发送合并属性a和BSF类型，合并属性a和BSF类型用于AMF向NRF请求包括有合并属性a的、对应于BSF类型的概述。相应的，NRF向AMF发送包括有合并属性a的、对应于BSF类型的概述，即BSF的概述。AMF根据SMF的概述中的合并属性a、BSF的概述中的合并属性a，确定SMF和BSF是合并部署的。AMF选择该BSF以用于维护用户IP地址和服务网元功能的对应关系。
此外，NRF不仅可以向AMF发送SMF的概述，还可以向AMF发送与SMF的概述具有相同合并属性a的BSF的概述。相应的，AMF可以根据SMF的概述中的合并属性a、BSF的概述中的合并属性a，确定SMF和BSF是合并部署的。选择该合并部署功能中的AMF和BSF。
需要指出的是，请求网络功能还可以向NRF发送合并网络功能优选指示，合并网络功能优选指示用于指示NRF为请求网络功能优先选择具有合并指示的网络功能的概述。具体的，网络功能优选指示可用于指示：在网络功能的概述中包括合并指示的情况下，请求网络功能接收来自NRF的包括合并指示的网络功能的概述；在网络功能的概述中不包括合并 指示的情况下，请求网络功能接收来自NRF的不包括合并指示的网络功能的概述。相应的，NRF还可以接收到来自请求网络功能发送的合并网络功能优选指示，合并网络功能优选指示用于指示NRF为请求网络功能优先选择具有合并指示的网络功能的概述。具体的，网络功能优选指示可用于指示：在网络功能的概述中包括合并指示的情况下，向请求网络功能发送包括合并指示的网络功能的概述；在网络功能的概述中不包括合并指示的情况下，向请求网络功能发送不包括合并指示的网络功能的概述。
解释为，请求网络功能向NRF发送第一网络功能类型和合并网络功能优选指示，NRF首先确定当前的网络功能概述中是否存在有第一网络功能类型对应的、包括有合并指示(即第一指示)的网络功能的概述，若存在，则NRF可以向请求网络功能反馈该第一网络功能类型对应的、包括有合并指示的网络功能的概述。本例子中，若NRF确定仅存在第一网络功能类型对应的、不包括合并指示的网络功能的概述，则NRF可以向请求网络功能反馈该第一网络功能类型对应的、不包括合并指示的网络功能的概述。
另外，请求网络功能向NRF发送第二网络功能类型、合并指示和合并网络功能优选指示，NRF首先确定当前的网络功能概述中是否存在有第二网络功能类型和合并指示的网络功能的概述，若存在，则NRF可以向请求网络功能反馈该第二网络功能类型和合并指示对应的网络功能的概述。本例子中，若NRF确定仅存在第二网络功能类型对应的、不包括该合并指示的网络功能的概述，则NRF可以向请求网络功能反馈该第二网络功能类型对应的、不包括该合并指示的网络功能的概述。
在本申请中，请求网络功能向NRF发送合并网络功能优选指示，可用于指示NRF优先选择包括有合并指示的网络功能的概述，并且有助于避免出现在网络功能的概述中不包括合并指示的情况下，NRF不向请求网络功能反馈网络功能的概述而导致终端设备的通信中断的问题，有助于提高请求网络功能请求到网络功能的概述的成功率。
上述技术方案中，请求网络功能向网络仓库功能请求具有第一网络功能类型的第一网络功能的概述，第一网络功能的概述中包括有第一指示，第一指示用于指示第一网络功能与第二网络功能合并部署，从而请求网络功能可以确定出第一网络功能是与其他网络功能合并部署的。该方式中，请求网络功能向网络仓库功能请求与其他网络功能合并部署的网络功能，从而有助于实现多个网络功能的合并部署，有助于降低部署成本和复杂度，提供更灵活的网络功能部署方式。而且，合并部署的第一网络功能和第二网络功能之间的通信时延较短，有助于优化终端设备的业务体验。上述技术方案可提供通用的发现合并部署的网络功能的方法，5G网络中任何类型的网络功能合并部署，都可以通过上述技术方案被请求网络功能发现。
本申请还提供另一种注册流程，区别于图2的第一网络功能向NRF注册第一网络功能的概述，本申请中，可以是合并网络功能向NRF注册合并网络功能的概述，具体可参见图5示例性示出的一种注册流程图。
步骤501，合并网络功能向NRF发送第三注册请求。
第三注册请求中包括有合并网络功能的概述，合并网络功能的概述中可以包括有合并网络功能中多个网络功能的网络功能类型。该多个网络功能的网络功能类型即用于指示有多个网络功能合并部署于该合并网络功能中。比如，合并网络功能的概述中包括第一网络 功能类型、一个或多个其他网络功能类型，则表征第一网络功能类型、一个或多个其他网络功能类型分别对应的网络功能合并部署于合并网络功能中。
步骤502，NRF向合并网络功能发送第三注册成功响应。示例性的，NRF在存储合并网络功能的概述之后，可以向合并网络功能发送第三注册成功响应，该第三注册成功响应即用于指示合并网络功能的概述已经注册成功。
本申请中，也可以将合并网络功能的概述中多个网络功能的网络功能类型理解为合并指示，此处的合并指示即用于指示合并网络功能中部署有多个网络功能。
在发现流程中，请求网络功能可以基于合并网络功能的概述中多个网络功能的网络功能类型，从NRF中发现第一网络功能和第二网络功能。
步骤503，请求网络功能向NRF发送第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型。
其中，第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型用于请求网络功能向NRF请求第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型对应的合并网络功能的概述，该概述中的多个网络功能类型中包括有第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型。
本申请中，请求网络功能还可以向NRF发送第二参数，该第二参数为除第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型以外的其他用于确定合并网络功能的概述的参数。示例性的，第二参数比如终端设备的位置信息、服务的网络标识、PDU会话对应的切片标识、网络数据名称等。
在一种可选实现方式中，请求网络功能向NRF发送的第四发现请求，该第四发现请求中包括第一网络功能类型、第二网络功能类型和第二参数，该第四发现请求用于请求网络功能向NRF请求第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型对应的合并网络功能的概述。此外，请求网络功能还可以先向NRF发送第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型，再向NRF发送第二参数，或者其他方式。
步骤504，NRF向请求网络功能发送第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型对应的合并网络功能的概述。
本申请中，NRF中不仅可以注册有单一网络功能的概述，还可以注册有多个合并网络功能的概述。其中每个合并网络功能的概述中可以包括有合并网络功能中部署的多个网络功能的网络功能类型、合并网络功能的网元信息和多个网络功能分别对应的服务信息等。
在一种可选实现方式中，NRF可以根据请求网络功能请求的第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型，确定同时包括有第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型的合并网络功能的概述，并向请求网络功能发送该同时包括有第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型的合并网络功能的概述。在一种可选实现方式中，NRF还可以接收到来自请求网络功能发送第二参数，并基于第一网络功能类型、第二网络功能类型和第二参数，确定出第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型对应的合并网络功能的概述。
在一种可选实现方式中，NRF可以从请求网络功能处接收第四发现请求，根据第四发现请求中的第一网络功能类型、第二网络功能类型和第二参数，确定对应的合并网络功能的概述。或者，NRF可以从请求网络功能处接收到多个请求，并根据从该多个请求中得到第一网络功能类型、第二网络功能类型和第二参数，确定对应的合并网络功能的概述。
在一种可选实现方式中，NRF可以将该确定出的合并网络功能的概述，携带于与第四发现请求相对应的第四发现响应中，并将该第四发现响应发送至请求网络功能。
本申请中，若NRF未能确定出同时包括有第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型的合并网络功能的概述，NRF还可以向请求网络功能发送第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能的概述，以及向请求网络功能发送第二网络功能类型对应的第二网络功能的概述。
上述例子仅以请求网络功能向NRF发送两个功能类型(即第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型)为例，本申请同样适用于请求网络功能向NRF发送多个网络功能类型的场景中。比如，NRF中部署有多个合并网络功能，其中包括有合并网络功能1和合并网络功能2。合并网络功能1的概述中包括有网络功能11、网络功能12、网络功能13分别对应的网络功能类型a、网络功能类型b、网络功能类型c。合并网络功能2的概述中包括有网络功能21、网络功能22分别对应的网络功能类型a、网络功能类型b。比如AMF向NRF发送网络功能类型a、网络功能类型b和网络功能类型c，NRF可以向AMF发送合并网络功能1的概述。在比如，AMF向NRF发送网络功能类型a、网络功能类型b，则NRF可以向AMF发送合并网络功能1和/或合并网络功能2的概述。
为了更好的解释本申请实施例，如下结合具体场景解释说明本申请中的方法。其中第一网络功能为NSSF，第二网络功能为NSSAAF，NSSF和NSSAAF合并部署于合并网络功能B中，请求网络功能是AMF。
在一种网元注册过程中：
合并网络功能B向NRF发送合并网络功能B的注册请求，合并网络功能B的注册请求中包括合并网络功能B的概述，合并网络功能B的概述中包括NSSF类型、NSSAAF类型，NSSF类型、NSSAAF类型用于指示该合并网络功能B中合并部署有NSSF和NSSAAF。进一步的，合并网络功能B的概述中还包括有合并网络功能B的网元信息、NSSF的服务信息、NSSAAF的服务信息。示例性的，合并网络功能B的网元信息中包括第一网络功能和第二网络功能共同对应的实例标识(比如为NF Instance ID3)、服务位置信息、支持的切片列表、服务的网络标识等。NSSF的服务信息包括有NSSF支持的服务名称、服务版本、服务的IP地址、服务的实例标识等。NSSAAF的服务信息包括有NSSAAF支持的服务名称、服务版本、服务的IP地址、服务的实例标识等。相应的，NRF存储合并网络功能B的概述，向合并网络功能B发送注册成功响应。
在一种网元发现过程中：
AMF向NRF发送NSSF类型、NSSAAF类型，用于AMF向NRF请求NSSF类型、NSSAAF类型对应的合并网络功能B的概述。此外，AMF还可以向NRF发送用于选择合并网络功能的第二参数，第二参数可以为终端设备的位置信息，切片标识、网络标识等。NRF基于来自AMF的NSSF类型、NSSAAF类型以及第二参数，向AMF发送合并网络功能B的概述。AMF可以基于来自NRF的该合并网络功能B的概述，选择NSSF和NSSAAF。
上述技术方案中，请求网络功能向网络仓库功能请求具有第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型的合并网络功能的概述，该概述是第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能和第二网络功能类型对应的第二网络功能合并部署的概述，实现多个网络功能合并部署，且请求网络功能可以请求到合并网络功能的概述，从而有助于降低部署成本和复杂度，提供更灵活的网络功能部署方式。而且，合并部署的第一网络功能和第二网络功能之间的通信时延较短，有助于优化终端设备的业务体验。上述技术方案可提供通用的发现合并部署的网络功能的方法，5G网络中任何类型的网络功能合并部署，都可以通过上述技术方案被请求网络功能发现。
基于上述内容和相同构思，图6和图7为本申请的提供的可能的通信装置的结构示意图。这些通信装置可以用于实现上述方法实施例中网络仓库功能或请求网络功能或第一网络功能或合并网络功能的功能，因此也能实现上述方法实施例所具备的有益效果。
如图6所示，该通信装置600包括处理单元601和收发单元602。
当通信装置600用于实现图2至图4相关的方法实施例的网络仓库功能的功能时：
处理单元601，用于控制收发单元602接收来自请求网络功能的第一网络功能类型；
处理单元601，用于控制收发单元602向请求网络功能发送第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能的概述，第一网络功能的概述中包括第一指示，第一指示用于指示第一网络功能与第二网络功能合并部署，第一网络功能和第二网络功能的网络功能类型不同。
在一种可能的实现方式中，第一指示包括第二网络功能的实例标识。
在一种可能的实现方式中，处理单元601还用于控制收发单元602接收来自请求网络功能的第二网络功能的实例标识；向请求网络功能发送第二网络功能的实例标识对应的第二网络功能的概述。
在一种可能的实现方式中，第一指示还包括第二网络功能的第二网络功能类型，处理单元601还用于控制收发单元602接收来自请求网络功能的第二网络功能类型。
在一种可能的实现方式中，第一指示包括合并属性。
在一种可能的实现方式中，处理单元601还用于控制收发单元602向请求网络功能发送第二网络功能的概述，第二网络功能的概述中包括合并属性。
在一种可能的实现方式中，处理单元601还用于控制收发单元602接收来自请求网络功能的合并属性和第二网络功能的第二网络功能类型。
在一种可能的实现方式中，处理单元601还用于控制收发单元602接收来自第一网络功能的第一注册请求，第一注册请求中包括第一网络功能的概述；向第一网络功能发送第一注册成功响应。
在一种可能的实现方式中，处理单元601还用于控制收发单元602接收来自请求网络功能的合并网络功能优选指示，合并网络功能优选指示用于指示：在网络功能的概述中包括合并指示的情况下，收发单元602向请求网络功能发送包括合并指示的网络功能的概述；在网络功能的概述中不包括合并指示的情况下，收发单元602向请求网络功能发送不包括合并指示的网络功能的概述。
当通信装置600用于实现图2至图4相关的方法实施例的请求网络功能的功能时：
处理单元601，用于控制收发单元602向网络仓库功能发送第一网络功能类型；
处理单元601，还用于控制收发单元602接收来自网络仓库功能的第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能的概述，第一网络功能的概述中包括第一指示，第一指示用于指示第一网络功能与第二网络功能合并部署，第一网络功能和第二网络功能的网络功能类型不同。
在一种可能的实现方式中，第一指示包括第二网络功能的实例标识。
在一种可能的实现方式中，处理单元601还用于控制收发单元602向网络仓库功能发送第二网络功能的实例标识；接收来自网络仓库功能的第二网络功能的实例标识对应的第二网络功能的概述。
在一种可能的实现方式中，第一指示还包括第二网络功能的第二网络功能类型，处理 单元601还用于根据第二网络功能类型，确定第一网络功能和第二网络功能合并部署，控制收发单元602向网络仓库功能发送第二网络功能类型。
在一种可能的实现方式中，第一指示包括合并属性。
在一种可能的实现方式中，处理单元601还用于控制收发单元602接收来自网络仓库功能的第二网络功能的概述，第二网络功能的概述中包括合并属性。
在一种可能的实现方式中，处理单元601还用于控制收发单元602向网络仓库功能发送合并属性和第二网络功能的第二网络功能类型。
在一种可能的实现方式中，处理单元601还用于根据第二网络功能的概述中的合并属性，和第一网络功能的概述中的合并属性，确定第一网络功能和第二网络功能合并部署。
在一种可能的实现方式中，处理单元601还用于控制收发单元602向网络仓库功能发送合并网络功能优选指示，合并网络功能优选指示用于指示：在网络功能的概述中包括合并指示的情况下，收发单元602接收来自网络仓库功能的包括合并指示的网络功能的概述；在网络功能的概述中不包括合并指示的情况下，收发单元602接收来自网络仓库功能的不包括合并指示的网络功能的概述。
当通信装置600用于实现图2至图4相关的方法实施例的第一网络功能的功能时：
处理单元601用于控制收发单元602向网络仓库功能发送的第一注册请求，第一注册请求中包括第一网络功能的概述，第一网络功能的概述中包括第一指示，第一指示用于指示第一网络功能与第二网络功能合并部署，第一网络功能和第二网络功能的网络功能类型不同；接收来自网络仓库功能的第一注册成功响应。
当通信装置600用于实现图5相关的方法实施例的网络仓库功能的功能时：
处理单元601用于控制收发单元602接收来自请求网络功能的第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型；向请求网络功能发送合并网络功能概述，合并网络功能概述是第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能和第二网络功能类型对应的第二网络功能合并部署的概述，第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型不同。
在一种可能的实现方式中，处理单元601还用于控制收发单元602接收来自合并网络功能的第三注册请求，第三注册请求中包括合并网络功能概述，合并网络功能概述中包括第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型；向合并网络功能发送第二注册成功响应。
在一种可能的实现方式中，合并网络功能概述中还包括第一网络功能和第二网络功能共同对应的实例标识。
当通信装置600用于实现图5相关的方法实施例的请求网络功能的功能时：
处理单元601用于控制收发单元602向网络仓库功能发送第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型；接收来自网络仓库功能的合并网络功能概述，合并网络功能概述是第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能和第二网络功能类型对应的第二网络功能合并部署的概述，第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型不同。
在一种可能的实现方式中，合并网络功能概述中还包括第一网络功能和第二网络功能共同对应的实例标识。
当通信装置600用于实现图5相关的方法实施例的合并网络功能的功能时：
处理单元601用于控制收发单元602向网络仓库功能发送第三注册请求，第三注册请 求中包括合并网络功能概述，合并网络功能概述是第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能和第二网络功能类型对应的第二网络功能合并部署的概述，第一网络功能类型和第二网络功能类型不同；接收来自网络仓库功能的第三注册成功响应。
如图7所示为本申请实施例提供的装置700，图7所示的装置可以为图6所示的装置的一种硬件电路的实现方式。该装置可适用于前面所示出的流程图中，执行上述方法实施例中的功能。为了便于说明，图7仅示出了该装置的主要部件。
图7所示的装置700包括通信接口710、处理器720和存储器730，其中存储器730用于存储程序指令和/或数据。处理器720可能和存储器730协同操作。处理器720可能执行存储器730中存储的程序指令。存储器730中存储的指令或程序被执行时，该处理器720用于执行上述实施例中处理单元601执行的操作，通信接口710用于执行上述实施例中收发单元602执行的操作。
存储器730和处理器720耦合。本申请实施例中的耦合是装置、单元或模块之间的间接耦合或通信连接，可以是电性，机械或其它的形式，用于装置、单元或模块之间的信息交互。所述存储器730中的至少一个可以包括于处理器720中。
在本申请实施例中，通信接口可以是收发器、电路、总线、模块或其它类型的通信接口。在本申请实施例中，通信接口为收发器时，收发器可以包括独立的接收器、独立的发射器；也可以集成收发功能的收发器、或者是通信接口。
装置700还可以包括通信线路740。其中，通信接口710、处理器720以及存储器730可以通过通信线路740相互连接；通信线路740可以是外设部件互连标准(peripheral component interconnect，简称PCI)总线或扩展工业标准结构(extended industry standard architecture，简称EISA)总线等。所述通信线路740可以分为地址总线、数据总线、控制总线等。为便于表示，图7中仅用一条粗线表示，但并不表示仅有一根总线或一种类型的总线。
基于上述内容和相同构思，本申请提供一种通信装置，包括处理器和通信接口，所述通信接口用于接收来自所述通信装置之外的其它通信装置的信号并传输至所述处理器或将来自所述处理器的信号发送给所述通信装置之外的其它通信装置，所述处理器通过逻辑电路或执行代码指令用于实现上述图2至图4相关的方法实施例中的网络仓库功能、或请求网络功能、或第一网络功能的功能；或者用于实现上述图5相关的方法实施例中的网络仓库功能、或请求网络功能、或合并网络功能的功能。
基于上述内容和相同构思，本申请提供一种计算机可读存储介质，所述计算机可读存储介质中存储有计算机程序或指令，当所述计算机程序或指令被通信装置执行时，实现上述图2至图4相关的方法实施例中的网络仓库功能、或请求网络功能、或第一网络功能的功能；或者用于实现上述图5相关的方法实施例中的网络仓库功能、或请求网络功能、或合并网络功能的功能。
基于上述内容和相同构思，本申请提供一种通信***，包括上述图2至图4相关的方法实施例中的网络仓库功能、请求网络功能和第一网络功能，或者包括上述图5相关的方法实施例中的网络仓库功能、请求网络功能和合并网络功能。
本申请中，“至少一个”是指一个或者多个，“多个”是指两个或两个以上。“以下至少一项(个)”或其类似表达，是指这些项中的任意组合，包括单项(个)或复数项(个)的任意 组合。例如，a，b或c中的至少一项(个)，可以表示：a，b，c，“a和b”，“a和c”，“b和c”，或“a和b和c”，其中a，b，c可以是单个，也可以是多个。“和/或”，描述关联对象的关联关系，表示可以存在三种关系，例如，A和/或B，可以表示：单独存在A，同时存在A和B，单独存在B的情况，其中A，B可以是单数或者复数。在本申请的文字描述中，字符“/”，一般表示前后关联对象是一种“或”的关系；在本申请的公式中，字符“/”，表示前后关联对象是一种“相除”的关系。
可以理解的是，在本申请的实施例中涉及的各种数字编号仅为描述方便进行的区分，并不用来限制本申请的实施例的范围。上述各过程的序号的大小并不意味着执行顺序的先后，各过程的执行顺序应以其功能和内在逻辑确定。
显然，本领域的技术人员可以对本申请进行各种改动和变型而不脱离本申请的保护范围。这样，倘若本申请的这些修改和变型属于本申请权利要求及其等同技术的范围之内，则本申请也意图包含这些改动和变型在内。

Claims (41)

  1. 一种通信方法，其特征在于，包括：
    网络仓库功能接收来自请求网络功能的第一网络功能类型；
    所述网络仓库功能向所述请求网络功能发送所述第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能的概述，所述第一网络功能的概述中包括第一指示，所述第一指示用于指示所述第一网络功能与第二网络功能合并部署，所述第一网络功能和所述第二网络功能的网络功能类型不同。
  2. 如权利要求1所述的方法，其特征在于，所述第一指示包括所述第二网络功能的实例标识。
  3. 如权利要求1所述的方法，其特征在于，还包括：
    所述网络仓库功能接收来自所述请求网络功能的第二网络功能的实例标识；
    所述网络仓库功能向所述请求网络功能发送所述第二网络功能的实例标识对应的第二网络功能的概述。
  4. 如权利要求3所述的方法，其特征在于，所述第一指示还包括所述第二网络功能的第二网络功能类型，所述方法还包括：
    所述网络仓库功能接收来自所述请求网络功能的所述第二网络功能类型。
  5. 如权利要求1所述的方法，其特征在于，所述第一指示包括合并属性。
  6. 如权利要求1或5所述的方法，其特征在于，还包括：
    所述网络仓库功能向所述请求网络功能发送所述第二网络功能的概述，所述第二网络功能的概述中包括所述合并属性。
  7. 如权利要求6所述的方法，其特征在于，还包括：
    所述网络仓库功能接收来自所述请求网络功能的所述合并属性和所述第二网络功能的第二网络功能类型。
  8. 如权利要求1至7任一项所述的方法，其特征在于，还包括：
    所述网络仓库功能接收来自所述第一网络功能的第一注册请求，所述第一注册请求中包括所述第一网络功能的概述；
    所述网络仓库功能向所述第一网络功能发送第一注册成功响应。
  9. 如权利要求1至8任一项所述的方法，其特征在于，还包括：
    所述网络仓库功能接收来自所述请求网络功能的合并网络功能优选指示，所述合并网络功能优选指示用于指示所述网络仓库功能优先选择具有合并指示的网络功能的概述。
  10. 一种通信方法，其特征在于，包括：
    请求网络功能向网络仓库功能发送第一网络功能类型；
    所述请求网络功能接收来自所述网络仓库功能的所述第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能的概述，所述第一网络功能的概述中包括第一指示，所述第一指示用于指示所述第一网络功能与第二网络功能合并部署，所述第一网络功能和所述第二网络功能的网络功能类型不同。
  11. 如权利要求10所述的方法，其特征在于，所述第一指示包括所述第二网络功能的实例标识。
  12. 如权利要求10所述的方法，其特征在于，还包括：
    所述请求网络功能向所述网络仓库功能发送第二网络功能的实例标识；
    所述请求网络功能接收来自所述网络仓库功能的所述第二网络功能的实例标识对应的第二网络功能的概述。
  13. 如权利要求12所述的方法，其特征在于，所述第一指示还包括所述第二网络功能的第二网络功能类型，所述方法还包括：
    所述请求网络功能根据所述第二网络功能类型，确定所述第一网络功能和所述第二网络功能合并部署，向所述网络仓库功能发送所述第二网络功能类型。
  14. 如权利要求10所述的方法，其特征在于，所述第一指示包括合并属性。
  15. 如权利要求10或14所述的方法，其特征在于，还包括：
    所述请求网络功能接收来自所述网络仓库功能的所述第二网络功能的概述，所述第二网络功能的概述中包括所述合并属性。
  16. 如权利要求15所述的方法，其特征在于，还包括：
    所述请求网络功能向所述网络仓库功能发送所述合并属性和所述第二网络功能的第二网络功能类型。
  17. 如权利要求14至16任一项所述的方法，其特征在于，还包括：
    所述请求网络功能根据所述第二网络功能的概述中的合并属性，和所述第一网络功能的概述中的合并属性，确定所述第一网络功能和所述第二网络功能合并部署。
  18. 如权利要求10至17任一项所述的方法，其特征在于，还包括：
    所述请求网络功能向所述网络仓库功能发送合并网络功能优选指示，所述合并网络功能优选指示用于指示所述网络仓库功能优先选择具有合并指示的网络功能的概述。
  19. 一种通信方法，其特征在于，包括：
    请求网络功能向网络仓库功能发送第一网络功能类型；
    所述网络仓库功能接收来自所述请求网络功能的所述第一网络功能类型；
    所述网络仓库功能向所述请求网络功能发送所述第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能的概述；
    所述请求网络功能接收来自所述网络仓库功能的所述第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能的概述；其中，
    所述第一网络功能的概述中包括第一指示，所述第一指示用于指示所述第一网络功能与第二网络功能合并部署，所述第一网络功能和所述第二网络功能的网络功能类型不同。
  20. 一种通信装置，其特征在于，包括：
    处理单元，用于控制收发单元接收来自请求网络功能的第一网络功能类型；
    所述处理单元，用于控制所述收发单元向所述请求网络功能发送所述第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能的概述，所述第一网络功能的概述中包括第一指示，所述第一指示用于指示所述第一网络功能与第二网络功能合并部署，所述第一网络功能和所述第二网络功能的网络功能类型不同。
  21. 如权利要求20所述的装置，其特征在于，所述第一指示包括所述第二网络功能的实例标识。
  22. 如权利要求20所述的装置，其特征在于，所述处理单元还用于控制所述收发单元接收来自所述请求网络功能的第二网络功能的实例标识；向所述请求网络功能发送所述第二网络功能的实例标识对应的第二网络功能的概述。
  23. 如权利要求22所述的装置，其特征在于，所述第一指示还包括所述第二网络功能的第二网络功能类型，所述处理单元还用于控制所述收发单元接收来自所述请求网络功能的所述第二网络功能类型。
  24. 如权利要求20所述的装置，其特征在于，所述第一指示包括合并属性。
  25. 如权利要求20或24所述的装置，其特征在于，所述处理单元还用于控制所述收发单元向所述请求网络功能发送所述第二网络功能的概述，所述第二网络功能的概述中包括所述合并属性。
  26. 如权利要求25所述的装置，其特征在于，所述处理单元还用于控制所述收发单元接收来自所述请求网络功能的所述合并属性和所述第二网络功能的第二网络功能类型。
  27. 如权利要求20至26任一项所述的装置，其特征在于，所述处理单元还用于控制所述收发单元接收来自所述第一网络功能的第一注册请求，所述第一注册请求中包括所述第一网络功能的概述；向所述第一网络功能发送第一注册成功响应。
  28. 如权利要求20至27任一项所述的装置，其特征在于，所述处理单元还用于控制所述收发单元接收来自所述请求网络功能的合并网络功能优选指示，所述合并网络功能优选指示用于指示所述装置优先选择具有合并指示的网络功能的概述。
  29. 一种通信装置，其特征在于，包括：
    处理单元，用于控制收发单元向网络仓库功能发送第一网络功能类型；
    所述处理单元，还用于控制所述收发单元接收来自所述网络仓库功能的所述第一网络功能类型对应的第一网络功能的概述，所述第一网络功能的概述中包括第一指示，所述第一指示用于指示所述第一网络功能与第二网络功能合并部署，所述第一网络功能和所述第二网络功能的网络功能类型不同。
  30. 如权利要求29所述的装置，其特征在于，所述第一指示包括所述第二网络功能的实例标识。
  31. 如权利要求29所述的装置，其特征在于，所述处理单元还用于控制所述收发单元向所述网络仓库功能发送第二网络功能的实例标识；接收来自所述网络仓库功能的所述第二网络功能的实例标识对应的第二网络功能的概述。
  32. 如权利要求31所述的装置，其特征在于，所述第一指示还包括所述第二网络功能的第二网络功能类型，所述处理单元还用于根据所述第二网络功能类型，确定所述第一网络功能和所述第二网络功能合并部署，控制所述收发单元向所述网络仓库功能发送所述第二网络功能类型。
  33. 如权利要求29所述的装置，其特征在于，所述第一指示包括合并属性。
  34. 如权利要求29或33所述的装置，其特征在于，所述处理单元还用于控制所述收发单元接收来自所述网络仓库功能的所述第二网络功能的概述，所述第二网络功能的概述中包括所述合并属性。
  35. 如权利要求34所述的装置，其特征在于，所述处理单元还用于控制所述收发单元向所述网络仓库功能发送所述合并属性和所述第二网络功能的第二网络功能类型。
  36. 如权利要求33至35任一项所述的装置，其特征在于，所述处理单元还用于根据所述第二网络功能的概述中的合并属性，和所述第一网络功能的概述中的合并属性，确定所述第一网络功能和所述第二网络功能合并部署。
  37. 如权利要求29至36任一项所述的装置，其特征在于，所述处理单元还用于控制所述收发单元向所述网络仓库功能发送合并网络功能优选指示，所述合并网络功能优选指示用于指示所述网络仓库功能优先选择具有合并指示的网络功能的概述。
  38. 一种通信装置，其特征在于，包括处理器和通信接口，所述通信接口用于接收来自所述通信装置之外的其它通信装置的信号并传输至所述处理器或将来自所述处理器的信号发送给所述通信装置之外的其它通信装置，所述处理器通过逻辑电路或执行代码指令用于实现如权利要求1至9中任一项所述的方法，或实现如权利要求10至18中任一项所述的方法。
  39. 一种计算机可读存储介质，其特征在于，所述计算机可读存储介质中存储有计算机程序或指令，当所述计算机程序或指令被通信装置执行时，实现如权利要求1至9中任一项所述的方法，或实现如权利要求10至18中任一项所述的方法。
  40. 一种计算机程序产品，其特征在于，所述计算机程序产品包括计算机程序或指令，当所述计算机程序或指令被通信装置执行时，实现如权利要求1至9中任一项所述的方法，或实现如权利要求10至18中任一项所述的方法。
  41. 一种通信***，其特征在于，包括权利要求20至28中任一项的通信装置，以及权利要求29至37中任一项的通信装置。
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CN107295049A (zh) * 2016-04-01 2017-10-24 中兴通讯股份有限公司 实现网络功能通信的架构、方法及装置
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CN107295049A (zh) * 2016-04-01 2017-10-24 中兴通讯股份有限公司 实现网络功能通信的架构、方法及装置
CN111201765A (zh) * 2017-10-17 2020-05-26 瑞典爱立信有限公司 通信网络中的服务注册和发现
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