PFD management method, network element, and computer-readable storage medium

Abstract

The present invention provides a PFD management method, network element, and computer-readable storage medium. The PFD management method includes: obtaining and saving PFD management request information sent by an AF, wherein the PFD management request information includes APN information, APP ID, and PFD, and the APN information, APP ID, and PFD are associated; forwarding the APN information, APP ID, and PFD in the PFD management request information to a UPF via an SMF, so that the UPF saves the PFD based on the APN information and APP ID. According to the solution provided by an embodiment of the present invention, APN information can be added to the PFD and APP ID, allowing the UPF to distinguish PFDs based on the APN, avoid overlapping between service data volume, application detection, or billing control information, and improve billing accuracy.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to, but is not limited to, the field of 5G communication technology, and in particular to a PFD management method, a network element, and a computer-readable storage medium. Background Art

[0002] In 5G systems, the Network Exposure Function (NEF) deploys a Packet Flow Descriptions Function (PFDF). The PFDF retrieves the Packet Flow Description (PFD) provided by the Application Service Provider (ASP) or Application Function (AF). The Session Management Function (SMF) obtains the PFD and Application ID (APP ID) from the PFDF and sends them to the corresponding User Plane Function (UPF). The UPF detects the application based on the PFD and implements service data flow-level charging based on the instructions in the Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rules. However, with increasing service customization, even for the same APP ID, the service data volume, application detection, or charging control information corresponding to different Access Point Names (APNs) may differ. This can cause overlapping rules and affect billing accuracy. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The following is a summary of the subject matter described in detail herein. This summary is not intended to limit the scope of the claims.

[0004] The embodiments of the present invention provide a PFD management method, a network element, and a computer-readable storage medium, which can distinguish different PFDs according to APNs and improve billing accuracy.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a PFD management method, which is applied to NEF, including:

[0006] Acquire and save PFD management request information sent by the AF, wherein the PFD management request information includes APN information, APP ID, and PFD, and the APN information, the APP ID, and the PFD are associated;

[0007] The APN information, the APP ID and the PFD in the PFD management request information are forwarded to the UPF through the SMF, so that the UPF saves the PFD according to the APN information and the APP ID.

[0008] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a PFD management method, which is applied to SMF, including:

[0009] Obtain the APN information, APP ID, and PFD sent by the NEF, where the APN information, the APP ID, and the PFD are associated parameters in the PFD management request information obtained and saved by the NEF from the AF;

[0010] The APN information, the APP ID and the PFD are sent to the UPF, so that the UPF saves the PFD according to the APN information and the APP ID.

[0011] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a network element, comprising: a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored on the memory and runnable on the processor, wherein when the processor executes the computer program, it implements the PFD management method as described in the first aspect above, or implements the PFD management method as described in the second aspect above.

[0012] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions, wherein the computer-executable instructions are used to execute the PFD management method as described in the first aspect above, or to execute the PFD management method as described in the first aspect above.

[0013] The embodiment of the present invention includes: obtaining and saving PFD management request information sent by the AF, wherein the PFD management request information includes APN information, APP ID, and PFD, and the APN information, the APP ID, and the PFD are associated; forwarding the APN information, the APP ID, and the PFD in the PFD management request information to the UPF via the SMF, so that the UPF saves the PFD based on the APN information and the APP ID. According to the solution provided by the embodiment of the present invention, APN information can be added on the basis of PFD and APP ID, so that the UPF can distinguish PFDs based on APN, avoid overlapping between service data volume, application detection, or billing control information, and improve billing accuracy.

[0014] Other features and advantages of the present invention will be described in the following description, and in part will become apparent from the description, or will be understood by practicing the present invention. The purposes and other advantages of the present invention can be realized and obtained by the structures particularly pointed out in the description, claims and drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] The accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the technical solution of the present invention and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the embodiments of the present invention, they are used to explain the technical solution of the present invention and do not constitute a limitation to the technical solution of the present invention.

[0016] Figure 1 is a flow chart of a PFD management method applied to NEF provided by one embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the contextual organization relationship between APN and PFD in a UDR provided by another embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 3 is a flowchart of storing PFD management request information in a PFD management method applied to NEF provided by another embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 4 This is a flowchart of sending PFD creation confirmation information to AF in a PFD management method applied to NEF provided by another embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 5 This is a flowchart of responding to a PFD acquisition request message sent by an SMF in a PFD management method applied to an NEF provided by another embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 6 is a flowchart of a PFD management method applied to SMF provided by another embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 7 is a flow chart of SMF storage parameters in a PFD management method applied to SMF provided by another embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 8 is a flowchart of responding to PCC rules in a PFD management method applied to SMF provided by another embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 9 is a flowchart of obtaining PFD management result information in a PFD management method applied to SMF provided by another embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 10 is an example diagram of a PFD management method provided in another embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 11 is an example diagram of a PFD management method provided in another embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 12 2 is a schematic diagram of a network element for executing a PFD management method provided in another embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0029] It should be noted that although the network element diagrams illustrate functional module divisions and the flowcharts illustrate a logical sequence, in some cases, the steps shown or described may be performed in a different order than the module divisions in the device or the order in the flowcharts. Terms such as "first," "second," and the like in the specification, claims, or drawings are used to distinguish similar items and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or precedence.

[0030] The present invention provides a Packet Flow Description (PFD) management method, a network element, and a computer-readable storage medium. The PFD management method includes: obtaining and saving PFD management request information sent by an Application Function (AF), wherein the PFD management request information includes Access Point Name (APN) information, an Application ID (APP ID), and a PFD, and the APN information, APP ID, and PFD are associated; and forwarding the APN information, APP ID, and PFD in the PFD management request information to a User Plane Function (UPF) via a Session Management Function (SMF), so that the UPF saves the PFD based on the APN information and APP ID. According to the solution provided by an embodiment of the present invention, APN information can be added to the PFD and APP ID, enabling the UPF to distinguish PFDs based on the APN, avoiding overlap between service data volume, application detection, or billing control information, and improving billing accuracy.

[0031] The embodiments of the present invention are further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0032] like Figure 1 As shown, Figure 11 is a flow chart of a PFD management method provided by an embodiment of the present invention. The PFD management method includes but is not limited to step S110 and step S120.

[0033] Step S110: Acquire and save the PFD management request information sent by the AF, wherein the PFD management request information includes APN information, APP ID and PFD, and the APN information, APP ID and PFD are associated.

[0034] In one embodiment, the PFD management request information may include any information related to PFD creation, such as APN information, a requester identifier (RI), a service node reference identifier (SP ReferenceID), an external application identifier (EAI), several sets of PFDs, operation information and delay information corresponding to the PFDs. The parameter types may also be adjusted according to actual needs, and this embodiment does not impose any restrictions. It should be noted that this embodiment does not limit the method of adding APN information to the AF's PFD management request information. For example, the AF may obtain the APN information of the data flow when receiving the data flow, and the APN information can be included in the PFD management request information. This will not be further described here.

[0035] It is worth noting that the number of PFDs is not limited in this embodiment. For example, the PFD management request information may include one set of PFDs or multiple sets of PFDs. The PFDs can be distinguished according to the APN information and APP ID. For the convenience of description, in the subsequent embodiments, one set of PFD is taken as an example, and multiple sets of PFDs can execute the technical solution of the present invention as a whole, and will not be repeated later.

[0036] In one embodiment, APN information can be added to all network element interfaces involved in data interaction, so that data flows between network elements can be distinguished by APN information to avoid overlapping of service data flows, application detection or billing control information with the same APP ID but different APN information.

[0037] In one embodiment, after receiving the PFD management request information sent by the AF, the authorization status of the AF can also be determined according to a preset policy. For example, according to the policy formulated by the operator, it is determined that the AF has been authorized. Then, the NEF receives the PFD management request information sent by the AF and further processes the PFD management request information. The specific preset policy can be specified according to actual needs, and this embodiment does not limit it.

[0038] Step S120: forward the APN information, APP ID, and PFD in the PFD management request information to the UPF through the SMF, so that the UPF saves the PFD according to the APN information and APP ID.

[0039] In one embodiment, the sending of the APN information, APP ID, and PFD in the PFD management request information can be triggered by any method, for example, through the common PUSH mode of SMF, that is, the NEF sends it to the SMF in the form of a notification message, or through the common PULL mode of SMF, the SMF sends a get request to the NEF, so that the NEF responds to the get request and sends data. The specific method can be selected according to actual needs. It should be noted that since the APN information, APP ID, and PFD of the NEF need to be sent to the Unified Data Repository (UDR) for further operation, the parameters are not established before the operation is completed. Therefore, the APN information, APP ID, and PFD in the PFD management request information can be forwarded to the UPF through the SMF after the operation is completed in the UDR.

[0040] In one embodiment, storing the PFD management request information in the NEF will occupy a certain amount of the NEF's resources. Therefore, a cache time can be set for each PFD management request information. During the set cache time, the PFD management request information is stored in the NEF. After the cache time is exceeded, the NEF discards the corresponding PFD management request information to save resources.

[0041] In one embodiment, the SMF may directly forward the received APN information, APP ID, and PFD to the UPF, or may first store them locally and then forward them to the UPF after receiving the acquisition request from the UPF. The specific method can be adjusted according to actual needs and is not limited in this embodiment. It should be noted that after the UPF receives the APN information, APP ID, and PFD, it may be stored locally. Therefore, the UPF can locally store multiple APN information and corresponding PFDs. When the UPF performs application detection, it matches the APN information in the detection request, thereby distinguishing the PFD according to the APN information and avoiding overlapping of data with different rules.

[0042] In addition, refer to Figure 3 In one embodiment, Figure 1 Step S110 in the illustrated embodiment further includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0043] Step S310: Send the APN information, APP ID, and PFD of the PFD management request information to the UDR, so that the UDR determines the mapping relationship corresponding to the APN information and updates the mapping relationship according to the APP ID and PFD, where the mapping relationship is the mapping relationship between the APP ID and the PFD;

[0044] Step S320: When the update confirmation information sent by the UDR is received, the PFD management request information is saved.

[0045] Reference Figure 2 As shown, Figure 2 The context organization relationship diagram of APN and PFD in UDR is shown in FIG. It should be noted that the context organization relationship is only an example in UDR, and other interfaces involved in the present invention can also meet the requirements. Figure 2 The context organization relationship shown in or similar to that in will not be repeated here. Figure 2 As shown in , the same APP ID can correspond to several APN information, where each APN information can correspond to any number of PFDs. PFDs can be distinguished by PFD id, thus obtaining Figure 2 In the example shown in , the same APP ID corresponds to APN1 and APN2, APN1 corresponds to PFD1 and PFD2, and APN2 corresponds to PFD3 and PFD4.

[0046] In one embodiment, since the UDR can be used for storage, backups can be saved for all data in PFD management request information, and the data can be distinguished through mapping relationships. The mapping relationship can take any form, such as setting a PFD list in the UDR, where the PFDs in the PFD list each have corresponding APN information and APP ID, as long as they can achieve unique correspondence. It is understandable that since the cache in the NEF is time-sensitive, the mapping relationship and PFD storage in the UDR can ensure that when the cache expires and a request to obtain data from the SMF is received, the backup APN information, APP ID, and PFD can be obtained from the UDR to ensure data integrity.

[0047] In one embodiment, NEF can transfer data by calling the update function of UDR. For example, the parameters required for the update function of UDR are set to APN information, APP ID, PFD, PFD operation information and delay information, etc. When NEF calls the update function, it obtains the corresponding parameters from the PFD management request information and transmits them to UDR. Of course, other data sending and receiving methods can also be used, and this embodiment does not limit them.

[0048] In one embodiment, after the UDR completes the update of the mapping relationship, it can also send an update confirmation message to the NEF so that the NEF can confirm that the data in the PFD management request information has been backed up and can be used for subsequent further operations, such as accepting the SMF's acquisition request, or starting to maintain the cache timeliness.

[0049] In addition, refer to Figure 4 In one embodiment, Figure 3 Step S320 in the illustrated embodiment further includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0050] Step S410: Send PFD creation confirmation information to the AF, so that the AF confirms that the sent PFD management request information has completed the response.

[0051] In one embodiment, since the PFD management request information is sent by the AF and triggers the creation, after the AF sends the PFD management request information, it can be in a state of waiting for a response to ensure that the PFD management request information has been processed in the NEF and UDR. Based on this, the NEF can send a PFD creation confirmation message to the AF after receiving the update confirmation message sent by the UDR, thereby completing the closed loop of the creation process.

[0052] In addition, refer to Figure 5 In one embodiment, Figure 1 Step S120 in the illustrated embodiment further includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0053] Step S510: receiving PFD acquisition request information sent by SMF;

[0054] Step S520, when the APN information in the PFD acquisition request information matches the APN information in the PFD management request information, and when the APP ID in the PFD acquisition request information matches the APP ID in the PFD management request information, the APN information, APP ID and PFD in the PFD management request information are forwarded to the UPF through the SMF.

[0055] In one embodiment, when the SMF obtains data via PULL mode, the SMF generates a PFD acquisition request based on the APN information and APP ID to be obtained, and sends the PFD acquisition request to the NEF. It should be noted that since the data in the NEF is cached, it may be impossible to obtain the PFD from the NEF based on the APN information and APP ID. Therefore, when the NEF receives the PFD acquisition request, it matches the APN information and APP ID in the PFD acquisition request and the PFD management request, respectively. If a match is successful, the corresponding PFD is stored in the NEF's cache, and the PFD can be obtained and forwarded.

[0056] Based on the above embodiment, when the APN information and APP ID in the PFD acquisition request information and the PFD management request information fail to match, that is, there is no corresponding PFD in the NEF cache, the PFD can be obtained by querying the backup in the UDR. For example, according to the mapping relationship in the UDR, the NEF obtains the PFD corresponding to the APN information and APP ID from the backup of the NDR, and sends the PFD to the SMF.

[0057] Reference Figure 6 Another embodiment of the present invention further provides a PFD management method, which is applied to SMF and includes but is not limited to step S610 and step S620.

[0058] Step S610: Acquire the APN information, APP ID, and PFD sent by the NEF. The APN information, APP ID, and PFD are parameters associated with the PFD management request information acquired and saved by the NEF from the AF.

[0059] In one embodiment, the SMF can operate in a PULL mode, actively obtaining data from the NEF through a request, or in a PUSH mode, receiving messages carrying parameters from the NEF. The specific mode can be selected based on actual needs and is not limited in this embodiment. It is understood that in addition to APN information, APP ID, and PFD, other parameters can also be obtained from the NEF. Specific parameters can be added based on actual needs, and will not be detailed here.

[0060] In one embodiment, the acquisition of APN information, APP ID and PFD can refer to Figure 1 The description of the illustrated embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0061] Step S620: Send the APN information, APP ID, and PFD to the UPF, so that the UPF saves the PFD according to the APN information and APP ID.

[0062] In one embodiment, after the SMF receives the APN information, APP ID and PFD, it can save the above parameters locally in the form of a cache, wait for the UPF that needs to obtain data to establish a connection with the SMF, and then further send the parameters in the SMF to the UPF. It can also be directly forwarded to the determined UPF. For example, after the SMF receives the APN information, APP ID and PFD, it sends a management request to the determined UPF. The management request includes the specific content of the APN information, APP ID and PFD. After receiving the management request, the UPF obtains the parameters contained in the management request and saves them locally to the UPF for subsequent operations.

[0063] In addition, refer to Figure 7 In one embodiment, Figure 6 Step S610 in the illustrated embodiment further includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0064] Step S710: Save the acquired APN information, APP ID and PFD locally.

[0065] In one embodiment, the SMF stores the APN information, APP ID, and PFD locally, and can quickly obtain the corresponding PFD when the Policy Control Function (PCF) issues or activates a Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rule based on the APP ID under an APN, thereby improving the response speed.

[0066] In one embodiment, the PFD can be stored locally in the SMF in the form of groups, for example, grouped according to APN information and APP ID, so that the PFD can be distinguished based on the APN information. It is understood that the SMF can also maintain the cache duration of the locally stored PFD groups to control the effective duration of the PFD. For example, when the cache time of the PFD exceeds the effective duration, the PFD group is discarded to save SMF resources. The specific effective duration maintenance method can be adjusted according to actual needs and is not limited in this embodiment.

[0067] In addition, refer to Figure 8 In one embodiment, Figure 6 Step S610 in the illustrated embodiment further includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0068] Step S810: Receive the PCC rule sent by the PCF, and obtain the target APN information and target APP ID from the PCC rule;

[0069] Step S820: When the target PFD cannot be matched locally according to the target APN information and the target APP ID, a PFD acquisition request message is generated according to the target APN information and the target APP ID, and the PFD acquisition request message is sent to the NEF, so that the NEF sends the APN information, APP ID and PFD according to the PFD acquisition request message.

[0070] Based on the above embodiment, after receiving the PCC rule, the SMF can first match the target APN information and the target APP ID to prevent the corresponding PFD from being discarded by the SMF due to exceeding the validity period or the SMF not yet obtaining the associated parameters from the NEF. It is understandable that if the PFD can be matched locally from the SMF, it can be directly obtained for subsequent application, which will not be further described here.

[0071] In one embodiment, the PCC rule can be initiated in any manner. For example, the operator needs to perform billing operations on the APP ID under a certain APN information. The PCF sends or activates the PCC rule including the APN information and APP ID to the SMF, so that the SMF responds to the PCC rule to obtain the PFD. The specific PCC rule generation method is not within the scope of discussion in this embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0072] In addition, refer to Figure 9 In one embodiment, Figure 6 Step S620 in the illustrated embodiment further includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0073] Step S910: Obtain the PFD management result information sent by the UPF. The PFD management result information is generated and sent by the UPF after saving the PFD based on the APN information and APP ID.

[0074] In one embodiment, the PFD management result information may be information indicating the result of the UPF operation, such as the result information after successful processing or the result information after failed processing. A response may be generated based on the actual operation result of the UPF. The SMF may determine whether the UPF has successfully obtained the PFD corresponding to the APN information and APP ID based on the PFD management result information, thereby determining whether to close the session or create a new session.

[0075] In order to better describe the technical solution of the present invention, the PFD management method is illustrated below with two specific examples.

[0076] Example 1: Reference Figure 10 , Figure 10 This is the interaction process for SMF to query PFD from NEF in PULL mode. The interaction process includes the following steps:

[0077] Step S1001: NEF receives PFD management request information sent by AF;

[0078] Step S1002: The NEF obtains the APN information, APP ID, and PFD in the PFD management request information, and checks whether the AF is authorized according to the operator's policy.

[0079] Step S1003: NEF sends the APN information, APP ID and PFD of the PFD management request information to the UDR;

[0080] Step S1004: The UDR determines the corresponding PFD list according to the APN information and the APP ID, and updates the PFD list according to the PFD.

[0081] Step S1005, UDR sends update confirmation information to NEF;

[0082] Step S1006: NEF sends PFD creation confirmation information to AF;

[0083] Step S1007: The SMF receives or activates a PCC rule including APN information and APP ID from the PCF, and matches the PFD locally.

[0084] Step S1008: When the SMF fails to match a PFD locally according to the PCC rules, or the cache time of the PFD corresponding to an APP ID in the SMF expires, the SMF sends a PFD acquisition request message to the NEF. The PFD acquisition request message includes the APN information and the APP ID.

[0085] Step S1009: NEF retrieves PFD from UDR based on the APN information and APP ID in the PFD acquisition request message.

[0086] Step S1010: UDR feeds back the retrieved PFD to NEF;

[0087] Step S1011: NEF sends the PFD obtained according to the APN information and APP ID in the PFD acquisition request information to SMF;

[0088] Step S1012: The SMF stores the acquired PFD locally according to the APN information and maintains the cache duration of the PFD to control its validity period.

[0089] Step S1013: SMF sends APN information, APP ID, and PFD to UPF.

[0090] Step S1014: The UPF saves the PFD locally according to the APN.

[0091] Step S1015, UPF sends PFD management result information to SMF.

[0092] Example 2: Reference Figure 11 , Figure 11 This is the interaction process for SMF to query PFD from NEF in PUSH mode. The interaction process includes the following steps:

[0093] Step S1101: NEF receives PFD management request information sent by AF;

[0094] Step S1102: The NEF obtains the APN information, APP ID, and PFD in the PFD management request information, and checks whether the AF is authorized according to the operator's policy.

[0095] Step S1103: NEF sends the APN information, APP ID and PFD of the PFD management request information to the UDR;

[0096] Step S1104: The UDR determines the corresponding PFD list according to the APN information and the APP ID, and updates the PFD list according to the PFD.

[0097] Step S1105, UDR sends update confirmation information to NEF;

[0098] Step S1106: NEF sends PFD creation confirmation information to AF;

[0099] Step S1107: NEF sends APN information, APP ID, and PFD to SMF.

[0100] Step S1108: The SMF stores the acquired PFD locally according to the APN information and maintains the cache duration of the PFD to control its validity period.

[0101] Step S1109: SMF sends APN information, APP ID and PFD to UPF;

[0102] Step S1110: The UPF saves the PFD locally according to the APN.

[0103] Step S1111, UPF sends PFD management result information to SMF.

[0104] In addition, refer to Figure 12 An embodiment of the present invention further provides a network element 1200, which includes: a memory 1210, a processor 1220, and a computer program stored in the memory 1210 and executable on the processor 1220.

[0105] The processor 1220 and the memory 1210 may be connected via a bus or other means.

[0106] The non-transient software program and instructions required to implement the PFD management method of the above embodiment are stored in the memory 1210. When executed by the processor 1220, the PFD management method applied to the network element 1200 in the above embodiment is executed, for example, the above-described Figure 1 Method steps S110 to S120, Figure 3 In the method steps S310 to S320, Figure 4 In method step S410, Figure 5 In the method steps S510 to S520, Figure 6 In the method steps S610 to S620, Figure 7 In method step S710, Figure 8 In the method steps S810 to S820, Figure 9 Method step S910 in .

[0107] The device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, i.e., they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the modules may be selected based on actual needs to achieve the objectives of this embodiment.

[0108] In addition, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores computer-executable instructions. The computer-executable instructions are executed by a processor or controller, for example, by a processor in the above-mentioned network element embodiment, so that the above-mentioned processor can execute the PFD management method applied to the network element in the above-mentioned embodiment, for example, executing the above-mentioned Figure 1 Method steps S110 to S120, Figure 3 In the method steps S310 to S320, Figure 4 In method step S410, Figure 5 In the method steps S510 to S520, Figure 6 In the method steps S610 to S620, Figure 7 In method step S710, Figure 8 In the method steps S810 to S820, Figure 9Method step S910 in. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that all or some of the steps and systems in the method disclosed above can be implemented as software, firmware, hardware, and appropriate combinations thereof. Some physical components or all physical components can be implemented as software executed by a processor, such as a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, or a microprocessor, or implemented as hardware, or implemented as an integrated circuit, such as an application-specific integrated circuit. Such software can be distributed on a computer-readable medium, which can include computer storage media (or non-transitory media) and communication media (or temporary media). As known to those skilled in the art, the term computer storage media includes volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storing information (such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data). Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tapes, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired information and can be accessed by a computer. Furthermore, as is well known to those skilled in the art, communication media typically embodies computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and may include any information delivery media.

[0109] The above is a specific description of the preferred implementation of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the above implementation. Those skilled in the art can make various equivalent modifications or substitutions without violating the spirit of the present invention. These equivalent modifications or substitutions are all included in the scope defined by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for managing a message flow description (PFD), applied to a network capability exposure network element (NEF), comprising: Acquire and save PFD management request information sent by the application function AF, wherein the PFD management request information includes access point name APN information, application identifier APP ID and PFD, and the APN information, the APP ID and the PFD are associated; The APN information, the APP ID and the PFD in the PFD management request information are forwarded to the user plane function UPF through the session management unit SMF, so that the UPF saves the PFD according to the APN information and the APP ID.

2. A PFD management method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The obtaining and storing of the PFD management request information sent by the AF further includes: Sending the APN information, the APP ID, and the PFD in the PFD management request information to a unified data storage UDR, so that the UDR determines a mapping relationship corresponding to the APN information and updates the mapping relationship according to the APP ID and the PFD, where the mapping relationship is a mapping relationship between the APP ID and the PFD; When the update confirmation information sent by the UDR is received, the PFD management request information is saved.

3. A PFD management method according to claim 2, characterized in that: After saving the PFD management request information, the method further includes: Sending a PFD creation confirmation message to the AF so that the AF confirms that the sent PFD management request message completes the response.

4. A PFD management method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The forwarding the APN information, the APP ID, and the PFD in the PFD management request information to the UPF through the SMF includes: Receive the PFD acquisition request information sent by the SMF; When the APN information in the PFD acquisition request information matches the APN information in the PFD management request information, and when the APP ID in the PFD acquisition request information matches the APP ID in the PFD management request information, the APN information, the APP ID and the PFD in the PFD management request information are forwarded to the UPF via SMF.

5. A PFD management method, applied to SMF, comprising: Obtain the APN information, APP ID, and PFD sent by the NEF, where the APN information, the APP ID, and the PFD are associated parameters in the PFD management request information obtained and saved by the NEF from the AF; The APN information, the APP ID and the PFD are sent to the UPF, so that the UPF saves the PFD according to the APN information and the APP ID.

6. A PFD management method according to claim 5, characterized in that: After obtaining the APN information, APP ID and PFD sent by NEF, it also includes: The obtained APN information, APP ID and PFD are saved locally.

7. A PFD management method according to claim 6, characterized in that: The acquisition of the APN information, APP ID and PFD sent by the NEF includes: Receive the policy and charging control PCC rules sent by the policy control function PCF, and obtain the target APN information and target APP ID from the PCC rules; When the target PFD cannot be matched locally according to the target APN information and the target APP ID, a PFD acquisition request message is generated according to the target APN information and the target APP ID, and the PFD acquisition request message is sent to the NEF, so that the NEF sends the APN information, APP ID and PFD according to the PFD acquisition request message.

8. A PFD management method according to claim 7, characterized in that: After sending the APN information, the APPID, and the PFD to the UPF, the method further includes: Obtain the PFD management result information sent by the UPF, where the PFD management result information is generated and sent by the UPF after saving the PFD based on the APN information and the APP ID.

9. A network element, comprising: A memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein when the processor executes the computer program, the method for managing a PFD as described in any one of claims 1 to 4 is implemented, or the method for managing a PFD as described in any one of claims 5 to 8 is implemented.

10. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions, wherein the computer-executable instructions are used to execute the PFD management method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, or the PFD management method according to any one of claims 5 to 8.

Images