Communication method and device between 5G access network and edge cloud gateway

Abstract

The present invention provides a communication method and device between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway. Through the analysis and processing of the request message sent by the MEC orchestrator by the 5G core network, the UPF corresponding to the request message can be determined, and the UPF is instructed to obtain the traffic statistics of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address. After receiving the traffic statistics, the edge cloud gateway in the MEC system is load balanced to determine the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address. Due to the introduction of load balancing, after the UPF determines the target edge cloud gateway IP address as the access address corresponding to the target user terminal address, the target user terminal can quickly respond to the demand for accessing the edge cloud service, thereby ensuring that the demands of each user terminal involved in the MEC system for accessing the edge cloud service can all be quickly responded to, thereby improving the service quality and service experience when the user accesses the edge cloud service.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and device between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway. Background Art

[0002] As an important part of the new infrastructure, the construction of the fifth generation mobile communication technology (5th generation mobile networks or 5th generation wireless systems, 5th-Generation, 5G) has been further accelerated, and various secondary development and application solutions based on 5G technology are also accelerating. In view of the fact that 5G applications need to sink to the edge of the network, Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) came into being and has been included in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) 5G standard as a key technology.

[0003] Figure 1 The figure is a basic architecture diagram of 5G network and MEC system in the prior art. The 5G core network is separated from the user plane (UP) by the control plane (CP). The user plane function (UPF) can be flexibly deployed to the edge of the network, while the control plane functions such as the policy control function (PCF) and the session management function (SMF) can be centrally deployed. MEC enables operators and third-party services to be hosted near the access point of the user terminal (UE), thereby achieving efficient service delivery by reducing end-to-end delay and load on the transmission network.

[0004] The MEC system includes the system level (System Level) and the distribution host level (Distribution Host Level). The system level can include the MEC orchestrator (MEC Orchestrator, MEO), and the distribution host level can include the MEC platform manager (MEC Platform Manager, MEPM), MEC platform (MEC Platform, MEP), service (Service), LA / DN and UPF. LA / DN includes virtualization infrastructure (VirtualizationInfrastructure) and multiple applications (APP).

[0005] NSSF, NRF, UDM, PCF, NEF, AUSF, AMF and SMF are connected through the Naf interface, AMF, UE and AN are connected in pairs, AN is connected to UPF, SMF and UPF are connected through the N4 interface, and UPF has the N9 interface. The 5G core network selects a user plane close to the UE and performs flow control from UPF to LADN through the N6 interface.

[0006] As the entrance to the local data network, the edge cloud gateway is responsible for directing business traffic to specific applications at the MEC host layer. Considering the diversity of business types and access volume, multiple MEC hosts are usually deployed. However, in this case, a quick response to user needs cannot be guaranteed, resulting in a poor user business experience. Summary of the invention

[0007] The present invention provides a communication method and device between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway, so as to solve the defects existing in the prior art.

[0008] The present invention provides a communication method between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway, which is applied to a 5G core network, including:

[0009] Receive a request message from a multi-access edge computing MEC orchestrator, analyze and process the request message, determine the user plane function UPF corresponding to the request message, and instruct the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address;

[0010] Receive the traffic statistics reported by the UPF, and send the traffic statistics to the MEC orchestrator, so that the MEC orchestrator performs load balancing on the edge cloud gateways in the MEC system based on the traffic statistics, and determines the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address;

[0011] Receive the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address, and send the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the UPF, so that the UPF uses the target edge cloud gateway IP address as the access address corresponding to the target user terminal address.

[0012] According to a communication method between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway provided by the present invention, the request message is analyzed and processed, a user plane function UPF corresponding to the request message is determined, and the UPF is instructed to obtain a traffic statistics value of a specified edge cloud gateway IP address, including:

[0013] The policy control function PCF in the 5G core network updates the policy and charging control PCC rules of the session management function SMF in the 5G core network based on the request message;

[0014] The SMF reconfigures the UPF of the first protocol data unit PDU session corresponding to the PCF based on the updated PCC rule, and instructs the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics;

[0015] The first PDU session is the current PDU session affected by the request message.

[0016] According to a communication method between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway provided by the present invention, the policy control function PCF in the 5G core network updates the policy and charging control PCC rules of the session management function SMF in the 5G core network based on the request message, which includes:

[0017] The PCF receives a request message sent by the MEC orchestrator;

[0018] or,

[0019] The PCF receives storage change information fed back by the unified data repository UDR; the storage change information includes the request message;

[0020] The storage change information is obtained by storing the request message in the UDR based on the network open function NEF in the 5G core network, or by updating or deleting the request message stored in the UDR.

[0021] According to a communication method between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway provided by the present invention, the request message corresponds to a specified user terminal address, and the specified user terminal address corresponds to a PCF in the 5G core network and a second PDU session;

[0022] The analyzing and processing the request message, determining a user plane function UPF corresponding to the request message, and instructing the UPF to obtain a traffic statistics value of a specified edge cloud gateway IP address, includes:

[0023] The PCF updates the PCC rules of the SMF in the 5G core network based on the request message;

[0024] The SMF reconfigures the UPF of the second PDU session based on the PCC rule, and instructs the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics.

[0025] According to a communication method between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway provided by the present invention, the PCF updates the PCC rules of the SMF in the 5G core network based on the request message, which includes:

[0026] The PCF receives a request message sent by the MEC orchestrator;

[0027] or,

[0028] The PCF receives a request message sent by the NEF in the 5G core network.

[0029] According to a communication method between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway provided by the present invention, the PCF updates the PCC rules of the SMF in the 5G core network based on the request message, and also includes:

[0030] The MEC orchestrator or the NEF receives the request message and sends an address acquisition request of the PCF to the binding support function BSF;

[0031] The MEC orchestrator or the NEF receives feedback information determined by the BSF based on the address acquisition request, and sends the request message to the PCF based on the feedback information.

[0032] According to a communication method between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway provided by the present invention, the request message carries the traffic statistics reporting conditions of the UPF, and the traffic statistics reporting conditions include that the traffic statistics value is greater than a given threshold value or is periodically reported every preset time period.

[0033] According to a communication method between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway provided by the present invention, the request message is also used to indicate a notification receiving address.

[0034] The present invention also provides a communication method between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway, which is applied to a multi-access edge computing MEC orchestrator, including:

[0035] Send the request message to the 5G core network so that the 5G core network analyzes and processes the request message, determines the user plane function UPF corresponding to the request message, and instructs the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address;

[0036] Receive the traffic statistics forwarded by the 5G core network, and perform load balancing on the edge cloud gateway in the MEC system based on the traffic statistics, and determine the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address;

[0037] Send the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the 5G core network so that the 5G core network sends the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the UPF.

[0038] According to a communication method between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway provided by the present invention, the request message is sent to the 5G core network, and before that, the method includes:

[0039] Send a request message creation request, a request message update request, or a request message removal request to the NEF in the 5G core network, so that the NEF creates a request message and stores the request message to the UDR based on the request message creation request, the request message update request, or the request message removal request, or updates or deletes the request message stored in the UDR, and feeds back the storage change information of the UDR to the PCF in the 5G core network and the MEC orchestrator respectively;

[0040] The storage change information is received.

[0041] According to a communication method between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway provided by the present invention, the receiving of the traffic statistics forwarded by the 5G core network comprises:

[0042] Sending a request for obtaining an address of the PCF in the 5G core network corresponding to a specified user terminal address to the BSF in the 5G core network;

[0043] Receive feedback information corresponding to the address acquisition request returned by the BSF.

[0044] According to a communication method between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway provided by the present invention, sending the request message to the 5G core network includes:

[0045] Send the request message to the PCF corresponding to the current PDU session in the 5G core network;

[0046] or,

[0047] The request message is sent to the NEF in the 5G core network, and forwarded by the NEF to the PCF.

[0048] The present invention also provides a communication device between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway, which is applied to a 5G core network, including:

[0049] A message determination module is used to receive a request message from a multi-access edge computing MEC orchestrator, analyze and process the request message, determine the user plane function UPF corresponding to the request message, and instruct the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address;

[0050] A traffic statistics receiving module, configured to receive the traffic statistics reported by the UPF, and send the traffic statistics to the MEC orchestrator, so that the MEC orchestrator performs load balancing on the edge cloud gateways in the MEC system based on the traffic statistics, and determines the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address;

[0051] The address receiving module is used to receive the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address, and send the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the UPF, so that the UPF uses the target edge cloud gateway IP address as the access address corresponding to the target user terminal address.

[0052] The present invention also provides a communication device between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway, which is applied to a multi-access edge computing MEC orchestrator, including:

[0053] A message sending module, used to send a request message to the 5G core network, so that the 5G core network analyzes and processes the request message, determines the user plane function UPF corresponding to the request message, and instructs the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address;

[0054] An address determination module is used to receive the traffic statistics forwarded by the 5G core network, and load balance the edge cloud gateway in the MEC system based on the traffic statistics to determine the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address;

[0055] An address sending module is used to send the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the 5G core network, so that the 5G core network sends the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the UPF.

[0056] The present invention also provides an electronic device, comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein when the processor executes the program, a communication method between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway as described in any one of the above is implemented.

[0057] The present invention also provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements a communication method between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway as described in any one of the above.

[0058] The present invention also provides a computer program product, including a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the communication method between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway as described in any one of the above.

[0059] The communication method and device between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided by the present invention can determine the UPF corresponding to the request message through the 5G core network's analysis and processing of the request message sent by the MEC orchestrator, and instruct the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address, and after receiving the traffic statistics, load balance the edge cloud gateway in the MEC system to determine the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address. Due to the introduction of load balancing, after the UPF determines the target edge cloud gateway IP address as the access address corresponding to the target user terminal address, the target user terminal's demand for accessing the edge cloud service can be quickly responded to, thereby ensuring that the demands of each user terminal involved in the MEC system for accessing the edge cloud service can be quickly responded to, thereby improving the service quality and service experience when users access the edge cloud service. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0060] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the present invention or the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, for ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on the drawings in the following description without paying any creative work.

[0061] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the basic architecture of 5G network and MEC system in the existing technology;

[0062] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the communication architecture structure of the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided by the present invention;

[0063] Figure 3 It is one of the flow diagrams of the communication method between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided by the present invention;

[0064] Figure 4 This is the second flow chart of the communication method between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided by the present invention;

[0065] Figure 5 A routing flow chart of a 5G core network processing a request message of an MEC orchestrator to affect a session not identified by a UE address, provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0066] Figure 6 is a flow chart of a process for delivering a request message for a specified UE address to a PCF provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0067] Figure 7 This is one of the structural schematic diagrams of the communication device between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0068] Figure 8This is a second structural diagram of a communication device between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0069] Fig. 9 It is a structural schematic diagram of the electronic device provided by the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0070] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present invention clearer, the technical solution of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0071] First, the English terms involved in the embodiments of the present invention are uniformly explained:

[0072] AAU (active antenna unit);

[0073] AF (Application Function);

[0074] AN (Access Network);

[0075] AUSF (Authentication Server Function);

[0076] AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function);

[0077] CP (control plane);

[0078] CU (Centralized Unit);

[0079] DU (Distributed Unit);

[0080] DN (Data Network);

[0081] gNB: 5G base station;

[0082] MEC (Multi-Access Edge Computing);

[0083] NEF (Network Exposure Function);

[0084] NSSF (Network Slice Selection Function);

[0085] NRF (NF Repository Function, network storage function);

[0086] NG-RAN (Next Generation-Radio Access Network);

[0087] NFs (Network Functions);

[0088] PCF (Policy Control Function);

[0089] SMF (Session Management Function);

[0090] UPF (User Plane Function);

[0091] UDM (Unified Data Management);

[0092] UP (User plane);

[0093] UE (User Equipment);

[0094] 5G (5th generation mobile networks or 5th generation wireless systems, 5th-Generation, the fifth generation of mobile communication technology);

[0095] 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project);

[0096] UDR (Unified Data Repository);

[0097] PDU (Protocol Data Unit);

[0098] BSF (Binding Support Function);

[0099] LADN (Local Area Data Network).

[0100] Since the existing MEC technology cannot guarantee a quick response to user needs, there is a problem of poor user service experience. To this end, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communication method between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway to solve the problems existing in the prior art, ensure a quick response to user needs, and improve the user's service experience.

[0101] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the communication architecture structure of a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway provided in an embodiment of the present invention, and a communication method between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway provided in an embodiment of the present invention can be implemented in the following manner: Figure 2 The communication architecture between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway is shown.

[0102] Figure 2 In the 5G core network, the 5G core network includes network elements such as UDR, SMF, PCF and NEF. The 5G core network is connected to the UPF through the N4 interface and to the MEC system level through the Naf interface. The MEC system level includes the MEC orchestrator. The MEC system level is connected to multiple MEC distribution host levels. Figure 2 Only two MEC distribution host levels are shown. The two MEC distribution host levels are connected in series, and one of them is connected to the UPF through the N6 interface. Each MEC distribution host level includes an edge cloud gateway, LADN and MEC platform, and the edge cloud gateway is connected to the LADN. The LADN includes a virtualized infrastructure and multiple APPs. Figure 2 Only the case where LADN includes three APPs is shown. UPF, 5G CU, and 5G DU are sequentially connected to the AAU on the ground, and the AAU is connected to the UE for communication.

[0103] Figure 3 A flow chart of a communication method between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway provided in an embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. Figure 3 As shown, the method is applied to a 5G core network, including:

[0104] S31, receiving a request message from a multi-access edge computing MEC orchestrator, analyzing and processing the request message, determining a user plane function UPF corresponding to the request message, and instructing the UPF to obtain traffic statistics of a specified edge cloud gateway IP address;

[0105] S32, receiving the traffic statistics reported by the UPF, and sending the traffic statistics to the MEC orchestrator, so that the MEC orchestrator performs load balancing on the edge cloud gateways in the MEC system based on the traffic statistics, and determines the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address;

[0106] S33, receiving the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address, and sending the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the UPF, so that the UPF uses the target edge cloud gateway IP address as the access address corresponding to the target user terminal address.

[0107] Specifically, the communication method between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided in the embodiment of the present invention is performed by the 5G core network. The 5G network includes a 5G access network, a 5G core network and a 5G bearer network. The user terminal can access the 5G access network through a base station, and the 5G access network can transmit the signal to the 5G core network. Among them, the network elements inside the 5G core network are carried by the IP bearer network.

[0108] First, execute step S31 to receive a request message from the multi-access edge computing MEC orchestrator. The MEC orchestrator acts as the AF of MEC, connects to the 5G core network, and sends a request message to the 5G core network. The request message can be used to instruct the UPF controlled by the 5G core network to obtain the traffic statistics of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address. Therefore, the request message can carry a specified edge cloud gateway IP address, and the number of edge cloud gateway IP addresses can be one or more. In addition, the request message may also carry parameters such as AF transaction identifier and service type, which are not specifically limited here.

[0109] The MEC orchestrator can create a request message by calling the Nnef_TrafficInfluence_Create service operation, and can add an AF transaction identifier during the creation process. The MEC orchestrator can also update an existing request message by calling the Nnef_TrafficInfluence_Update service operation, or remove an existing request message by calling the Nnef_TrafficInfluence_Delete service operation. The corresponding AF transaction identifier is also provided during the update or removal process.

[0110] After that, the 5G core network can analyze and process the received request message, that is, determine the UPF corresponding to the request message, and convert the request message to obtain a new request message, so that when the 5G core network sends the new request message to the UPF, the UPF can successfully identify the new request message. It can be understood that the request message and the new request message carry the same information, and the difference between the two is only the adaptive changes made to adapt to different subjects.

[0111] Therefore, after analyzing and processing the received request message, the 5G core network can send a new request message to the corresponding UPF to instruct the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address.

[0112] After receiving the new request message, UPF can perform traffic statistics on the specified edge cloud gateway IP address through the new request message to obtain the traffic statistics value, and can report the traffic statistics value to the 5G core network.

[0113] Then execute step S32, the 5G core network receives the traffic statistics reported by the UPF, and sends the traffic statistics to the MEC orchestrator. After receiving the traffic statistics, the MEC orchestrator can load balance the edge cloud gateways in the MEC system according to the traffic statistics, that is, redistribute the loads (i.e., user terminals) of each edge cloud gateway in the MEC system so that the entire MEC system can achieve rapid response to each user terminal. After load balancing processing, the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address can be determined. The target user terminal address refers to the address of the target user terminal that needs to modify the original edge cloud gateway IP address it accesses, and the target edge cloud gateway IP address refers to the new edge cloud gateway IP address that the target user terminal can access.

[0114] The number of target user terminal addresses can be one or more, and the target edge cloud gateway IP address corresponds one-to-one to the target user terminal address.

[0115] After determining the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address, the MEC orchestrator can send the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the 5G core network by sending a request message to the 5G core network. Here, the request message sent by the MEC orchestrator to the 5G core network carries the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address. In order to distinguish the request message here from the above-mentioned request message, the request message used to instruct the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address can be recorded as the first request message, and the request message carrying the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address can be recorded as the second request message.

[0116] Finally, step S33 is executed, and the 5G core network receives the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address determined by the MEC orchestrator. Here, the 5G core network can receive the second request message sent by the MEC orchestrator, and parse the second request message to obtain the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address.

[0117] After that, the 5G core network sends the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the UPF. It is understandable that since the MEC system and the 5G core network may have differences in the name, format, meaning, etc. of the message parameters, conversion is required so that both parties can accurately identify and process the received messages. Therefore, before the 5G core network sends the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the UPF, it needs to first send the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the UPF to convert them into messages that the UPF can recognize and send them.

[0118] After receiving the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address, UPF can use the target edge cloud gateway IP address as the access address corresponding to the target user terminal address, that is, the subsequent target user terminal accesses the target edge cloud gateway IP address instead of the original edge cloud gateway IP address.

[0119] The communication method between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided in the embodiment of the present invention can determine the UPF corresponding to the request message through the 5G core network's analysis and processing of the request message sent by the MEC orchestrator, and instruct the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address, and after receiving the traffic statistics, load balance the edge cloud gateway in the MEC system to determine the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address. Due to the introduction of load balancing, after the UPF determines the target edge cloud gateway IP address as the access address corresponding to the target user terminal address, the target user terminal's demand for accessing the edge cloud service can be quickly responded to, thereby ensuring that the needs of each user terminal involved in the MEC system to access the edge cloud service can be quickly responded to, improving the service quality and service experience when users access edge cloud services.

[0120] On the basis of the above embodiment, the communication method between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided in the embodiment of the present invention, the request message is analyzed and processed, the user plane function UPF corresponding to the request message is determined, and the UPF is instructed to obtain the traffic statistics of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address, including:

[0121] The first policy control function PCF in the 5G core network updates the policy and charging control PCC rules of the session management function SMF in the 5G core network based on the request message;

[0122] The SMF reconfigures the UPF of the first protocol data unit PDU session corresponding to the PCF based on the updated PCC rule, so that the UPF obtains the traffic statistics;

[0123] The first PDU session is the current PDU session affected by the request message.

[0124] Specifically, in an embodiment of the present invention, when the 5G core network analyzes and processes the request message, determines the user plane function UPF corresponding to the request message, and instructs the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address, the PCF selected for the current PDU session in the 5G core network will receive the request message, and through the request message, determine whether the current PDU session is affected by the request message. It can be understood that the current PDU session can be one or more. The PCF selected for the current PDU session is the PCF corresponding to the current PDU session.

[0125] If the current PDU session is affected by the request message, the current PDU session is the first PDU session, and the method used by the PCF to determine whether the current PDU session is affected by the request message can be set as needed, and is not specifically limited here. It is understandable that the first PDU session can also be one or more.

[0126] For each first PDU session, the PCF can update the PCC rules of the SMF in the 5G core network according to the request message. Here, the PCF can update the PCC rules of the SMF by calling the Npcf_SMPolicyControl_UpdateNotify service operation.

[0127] Thereafter, the PCF may send the updated PCC rules to the SMF, and the SMF may reconfigure the user plane of the first PDU session by taking appropriate measures based on the updated PCC rules. The appropriate measures may include operations such as modifying the data path and adjusting the bandwidth.

[0128] In an embodiment of the present invention, within the 5G core network, the first PDU session affected by the request message is determined, and then the UPF of the first PDU session is reconfigured by updating the PCC rules, and the UPF is instructed to obtain the traffic statistics.

[0129] On the basis of the above embodiment, the communication method between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided in the embodiment of the present invention, the policy control function PCF in the 5G core network updates the policy and charging control PCC rules of the session management function SMF in the 5G core network based on the request message, and previously includes:

[0130] The PCF receives a request message sent by the MEC orchestrator;

[0131] or,

[0132] The PCF receives storage change information fed back by the unified data repository UDR; the storage change information includes the request message;

[0133] The storage change information is obtained by storing the request message in the UDR based on the network open function NEF in the 5G core network, or by updating or deleting the request message stored in the UDR.

[0134] Specifically, in an embodiment of the present invention, before the PCF in the 5G core network updates the PCC rules of the SMF according to the request message, the PCF needs to receive the request message. It is understandable that the PCFs corresponding to all current PDU sessions in the 5G core network need to receive the request message, and the request message is sent in the same manner.

[0135] The request message may be a request message sent directly by the MEC orchestrator. At this time, the MEC orchestrator is credible to the 5G core network.

[0136] In addition, the request message may also be included in the storage change information fed back by the UDR received by the PCF. At this point, the MEC orchestrator is not credible to the 5G core network.

[0137] The storage change information can be obtained by storing the request message in the UDR through the NEF in the 5G core network, or by updating or deleting the request message stored in the UDR. It is understandable that after creating the request message, the MEC orchestrator can send the request message to the UDR for storage, and storage change information will be generated at this time. The MEC orchestrator can also update or delete the request message stored in the UDR, and corresponding storage change information will also be generated at this time.

[0138] In the embodiment of the present invention, different sending modes are selected for the request message based on whether the MEC orchestrator is trustworthy, so as to ensure that each PCF in the 5G core network can successfully receive the request message.

[0139] The above embodiment describes the communication method when the request message does not correspond to a certain user terminal address. The following embodiment describes the communication method when the request message corresponds to a specified user terminal address.

[0140] On the basis of the above embodiment, in the communication method between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided in the embodiment of the present invention, the request message corresponds to the specified user terminal address, and the specified user terminal address corresponds to the PCF in the 5G core network and the second PDU session;

[0141] The analyzing and processing the request message, determining a user plane function UPF corresponding to the request message, and instructing the UPF to obtain a traffic statistics value of a specified edge cloud gateway IP address, includes:

[0142] The PCF updates the PCC rules of the SMF in the 5G core network based on the request message;

[0143] The SMF reconfigures the UPF of the second PDU session based on the PCC rule, and instructs the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics.

[0144] Specifically, in an embodiment of the present invention, the request message corresponds to a specified user terminal address, and the specified user terminal address corresponds to a PCF in the 5G core network and a second PDU session.

[0145] Furthermore, when sending the request message to UPF, PCF first receives the request message, and updates the PCC rules of SMF according to the request message, so that SMF reconfigures the user plane of the PDU session through PCC rules. The method for PCF to update PCC rules here is consistent with the method for PCF to update PCC rules in the above embodiment, and the method for SMF to reconfigure the user plane of the second PDU session is also consistent with the method for SMF to reconfigure the user plane of the first PDU session in the above embodiment. Please refer to the above embodiment for details, which is not specifically limited here.

[0146] In an embodiment of the present invention, when the request message corresponds to a specified user terminal address, the user plane of the second PDU session corresponding to the specified user terminal address can be reconfigured directly by updating the PCC rules, thereby avoiding the request message from affecting the user plane of the second PDU session.

[0147] On the basis of the above embodiment, the communication method between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided in the embodiment of the present invention, the PCF updates the PCC rules of the SMF in the 5G core network based on the request message, and previously includes:

[0148] The PCF receives a request message sent by the MEC orchestrator; or,

[0149] The PCF receives a request message sent by the NEF in the 5G core network.

[0150] Specifically, in an embodiment of the present invention, when the request message corresponds to a specified user terminal address, before the PCF in the 5G core network updates the PCC rules of the SMF according to the request message, the PCF needs to receive the request message.

[0151] The request message may be a request message sent directly by the MEC orchestrator. At this time, the MEC orchestrator is credible to the 5G core network. The MEC orchestrator uses the Nbsf_Management_Discovery service operation to determine the address of the PCF.

[0152] In addition, the request message can also be a request message sent by the MEC orchestrator to the NEF in the 5G core network and forwarded by the NEF. At this time, the MEC orchestrator is not credible to the 5G core network. The NEF also uses the Nbsf_Management_Discovery service operation to determine the address of the PCF.

[0153] In an embodiment of the present invention, when the request message corresponds to a specified user terminal address, different sending methods are selected for the request message based on whether the MEC orchestrator is trustworthy, thereby ensuring that each PCF in the 5G core network can successfully receive the request message.

[0154] On the basis of the above embodiment, the communication method between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided in the embodiment of the present invention, the PCF updates the PCC rules of the SMF in the 5G core network based on the request message, and also includes:

[0155] The MEC orchestrator or the NEF receives the request message and sends an address acquisition request of the PCF to the binding support function BSF;

[0156] The MEC orchestrator or the NEF receives feedback information determined by the BSF based on the address acquisition request, and sends the request message to the PCF based on the feedback information.

[0157] Specifically, in an embodiment of the present invention, when the request message received by the PCF is a request message sent by the MEC orchestrator or the NEF in the 5G core network, the request message can send the PCF address acquisition request to the BSF through the MEC orchestrator, or the MEC orchestrator sends the request message to the NEF, and after the NEF receives the request message, it sends the PCF address acquisition request to the BSF. The PCF address acquisition request can be Nbsf_Management_Discovery Request. It can be understood that the MEC orchestrator or the NEF can determine the BSF through local configuration or NRF.

[0158] Thereafter, the BSF may determine the PCF address according to the address acquisition request, and return feedback information including the PCF address to the MEC orchestrator or NEF. The feedback information may be Nbsf_Management_Discovery Response.

[0159] Afterwards, the MEC orchestrator or NEF receives feedback information determined by the BSF based on the address acquisition request. Since the feedback information includes the address of the PCF, a request message can be sent to the PCF through the feedback information.

[0160] If the MEC orchestrator receives the feedback information, the MEC orchestrator may send a request message to the PCF by calling the Npcf_PolicyAuthorization service operation. Thereafter, the PCF sends a response signal to the MEC orchestrator.

[0161] If NEF receives feedback information, NEF may also send a request message to PCF by calling the Npcf_PolicyAuthorization service operation.

[0162] In an embodiment of the present invention, the request message received by the PCF, whether sent by the MEC orchestrator or the NEF, needs to determine and feedback the address of the PCF through the BSF so that the MEC orchestrator or the NEF can smoothly send the request message.

[0163] On the basis of the above embodiments, the communication method between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided in the embodiments of the present invention, the request message carries the traffic statistics reporting conditions of the UPF, and the traffic statistics reporting conditions include that the traffic statistics value is greater than a given threshold value or is periodically reported every preset time period.

[0164] Specifically, in the embodiment of the present invention, when the UPF reports the traffic statistics, it can be real-time reporting, or it can be reported when the traffic statistics reporting condition is met. When the UPF needs to report when the traffic statistics meet the traffic statistics reporting condition, the traffic statistics reporting condition is carried by a request message (i.e., the first request message).

[0165] The traffic statistics reporting condition may include that the traffic statistics value is greater than a given threshold value or is periodically reported every preset time period. The given threshold value and the preset time period may be set by the MEC scheduler and are not specifically limited here.

[0166] In the embodiment of the present invention, by limiting the reporting conditions of traffic statistics, the reporting action of UPF can be made more reasonable and meet user needs.

[0167] Based on the above embodiments, in the communication method between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided in the embodiments of the present invention, the request message is also used to indicate the notification receiving address.

[0168] Specifically, in an embodiment of the present invention, if the MEC orchestrator subscribes to event notifications related to the PDU session, the request message (i.e., the first request message) is also used to indicate the notification receiving address, that is, the request message may include a request for a notification report of a user plane path change and carry a notification receiving address. At this time, the PCF includes the information required to add a reporting event in the PCC rule, including a notification receiving address pointing to the NEF or MEC orchestrator, and a notification association identifier including an internal identifier of the AF transaction.

[0169] In the embodiment of the present invention, the notification receiving address is indicated by a request message to implement personalized settings, so that the notification receiving address can timely grasp the changes occurring during the communication process.

[0170] like Figure 4 As shown, based on the above embodiment, a communication method between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway is also provided in an embodiment of the present invention, which is applied to a multi-access edge computing MEC orchestrator, including:

[0171] S41, sending a request message to the 5G core network, so that the 5G core network analyzes and processes the request message, determines the user plane function UPF corresponding to the request message, and instructs the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address;

[0172] S42, receiving the traffic statistics forwarded by the 5G core network, and load balancing the edge cloud gateway in the MEC system based on the traffic statistics, and determining the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address;

[0173] S43, sending the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the 5G core network, so that the 5G core network sends the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the UPF.

[0174] Specifically, the communication method between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided in the embodiment of the present invention is executed by the MEC orchestrator.

[0175] First, step S41 is performed, and the MEC orchestrator can send a request message instructing the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics value of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address to the 5G core network. The MEC orchestrator can create a request message by calling the Nnef_TrafficInfluence_Create service operation, and can also update an existing request message by calling the Nnef_TrafficInfluence_Update service operation, or remove an existing request message by calling the Nnef_TrafficInfluence_Delete service operation.

[0176] After determining the request message, the 5G core network can analyze and process the request message, determine the UPF corresponding to the request message, and then instruct the UPF corresponding to the request message to obtain the traffic statistics of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address, that is, convert the request message to obtain a new request message, and send the new request message to the UPF, so that the UPF obtains the traffic statistics of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address according to the received request message. After obtaining the traffic statistics, the UPF reports the traffic statistics to the 5G core network, so that the 5G core network forwards the traffic statistics to the MEC orchestrator.

[0177] Then execute step S42, and the MEC orchestrator receives the traffic statistics forwarded by the 5G core network. Then, the edge cloud gateways in the MEC system are load balanced by the traffic statistics, that is, the loads of the edge cloud gateways in the MEC system (i.e., user terminals) are redistributed so that the entire MEC system can achieve rapid response to each user terminal. After load balancing, the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address can be determined. The target user terminal address refers to the address of the target user terminal that needs to modify the original edge cloud gateway IP address it accesses, and the target edge cloud gateway IP address refers to the new edge cloud gateway IP address that the target user terminal can access.

[0178] Finally, step S43 is executed to send the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address obtained by load balancing to the 5G core network in the form of a request message (i.e., the second request message), so that the 5G core network sends the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the UPF. After that, after receiving the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address, the UPF can use the target edge cloud gateway IP address as the access address corresponding to the target user terminal address, that is, the subsequent target user terminal accesses the target edge cloud gateway IP address instead of the original edge cloud gateway IP address.

[0179] In the communication method between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided in the embodiment of the present invention, the MEC orchestrator instructs the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address, and after the 5G core network forwards the traffic statistics reported by the UPF, the edge cloud gateway in the MEC system is load balanced to determine the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address. Due to the introduction of load balancing, after the UPF determines the target edge cloud gateway IP address as the access address corresponding to the target user terminal address, the target user terminal's demand for accessing the edge cloud service can be quickly responded to, thereby ensuring that the needs of each user terminal involved in the MEC system to access the edge cloud service can be quickly responded to, thereby improving the service quality and service experience when users access the edge cloud service.

[0180] On the basis of the above embodiment, the communication method between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided in the embodiment of the present invention, wherein the request message is sent to the 5G core network, comprises:

[0181] Send a request message creation request, a request message update request, or a request message removal request to the NEF in the 5G core network, so that the NEF creates a request message and stores the request message to the UDR based on the request message creation request, the request message update request, or the request message removal request, or updates or deletes the request message stored in the UDR, and feeds back the storage change information of the UDR to the PCF in the 5G core network and the MEC orchestrator respectively;

[0182] The storage change information is received.

[0183] Specifically, in an embodiment of the present invention, before sending the request message to the 5G core network, the MEC orchestrator sends a request message creation request, a request message update request, or a request message removal request to the NEF in the 5G core network. The request message creation request may be Nnef_TrafficInfluence_Create Request, the request message update request may be Nnef_TrafficInfluence_Update Request, and the request message removal request may be Nnef_TrafficInfluence_delete Request.

[0184] If NEF receives a request message creation request, NEF allows the MEC orchestrator to call the Nnef_TrafficInfluence_Create service operation to create a request message and store the request message in the UDR. If NEF receives a request message update request, NEF allows the MEC orchestrator to call the Nnef_TrafficInfluence_Update service operation to update the request message stored in the UDR. If NEF receives a request message removal request, NEF allows the MEC orchestrator to call the Nnef_TrafficInfluence_delete service operation to delete the request message stored in the UDR.

[0185] The storage, update, and delete operations in the UDR will trigger storage change information, so the storage change information can be fed back to the PCF and MEC orchestrator in the 5G core network.

[0186] Afterwards, the MEC orchestrator can receive the storage change information.

[0187] In an embodiment of the present invention, the MEC orchestrator can call the corresponding service operation and then process the request message by sending a request message creation request, a request message update request, or a request message removal request to the NEF.

[0188] On the basis of the above embodiment, the communication method between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided in the embodiment of the present invention, the receiving of the traffic statistics forwarded by the 5G core network, before comprising:

[0189] Sending a request for obtaining an address of the PCF in the 5G core network corresponding to a specified user terminal address to the BSF in the 5G core network;

[0190] Receive feedback information corresponding to the address acquisition request returned by the BSF.

[0191] Specifically, in an embodiment of the present invention, before the MEC orchestrator receives the traffic statistics forwarded by the 5G core network, the MEC orchestrator sends an address acquisition request for the PCF corresponding to the address of the specified user terminal to the BSF. The BSF determines the address of the PCF according to the address acquisition request. Then, the MEC orchestrator receives the feedback information corresponding to the address acquisition request returned by the BSF, that is, the address of the PCF determined above.

[0192] In the embodiment of the present invention, the MEC orchestrator can determine the address of the PCF through the BSF under a trustworthy condition, and then directly send a request message to the PCF to avoid the delay caused by forwarding through the NEF.

[0193] On the basis of the above embodiment, the communication method between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided in the embodiment of the present invention, wherein the request message is sent to the 5G core network, comprises:

[0194] Send the request message to the PCF in the 5G core network; or,

[0195] The request message is sent to the NEF in the 5G core network, and forwarded by the NEF to the PCF.

[0196] Specifically, in an embodiment of the present invention, when the MEC orchestrator sends a request message to the 5G core network, if the MEC orchestrator is credible, the request message can be directly sent to the PCF corresponding to the current PDU session in the 5G core network. When the MEC orchestrator is not credible, the request message needs to be sent to the NEF first, and then forwarded to the PCF through the NEF.

[0197] In the embodiment of the present invention, different sending modes are selected for the request message based on whether the MEC orchestrator is trustworthy, so as to ensure that each PCF in the 5G core network can successfully receive the request message.

[0198] Figure 5 A routing flow chart of a 5G core network processing a request message of an MEC orchestrator to affect a session not identified by a UE address is provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0199] Step 1: Request message creation

[0200] To create a new request message, the MEC orchestrator calls the Nnef_TrafficInfluence_Create service operation. The request message includes an AF transaction identifier. If the MEC orchestrator subscribes to event notifications related to the PDU session, the MEC orchestrator's request message also indicates the notification recipient address. To update or remove an existing request message, the MEC orchestrator calls the Nnef_TrafficInfluence_Update service operation or the Nnef_TrafficInfluence_Delete service operation and provides the corresponding AF transaction identifier.

[0201] The request message may include a parameter combination of the service type and the specified edge cloud gateway IP address. The request message may also be used to instruct the UPF to count the traffic of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address. The request message also includes subscription information, that is, when the traffic statistics reporting conditions are met, the UPF reports the traffic statistics of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address. The reporting conditions may be that the traffic statistics reach a given threshold value, or that they are reported periodically.

[0202] Step 2: Service operation call

[0203] The MEC orchestrator calls the Nnef_TrafficInfluence_Creat / Update / Delete service operation to create / update / delete the request message. During this process, NEF ensures the necessary authorization control, including flow control of the MEC orchestrator's request message, and maps the MEC orchestrator's request message to the information required by the 5G core network.

[0204] Step 3a: Request message processing and feedback

[0205] NEF sends a request of a store / update / delete request message to UDR to instruct UDR to perform a store / update / delete action; and, after performing the store / update / delete action, UDR replies a response to NEF;

[0206] Step 3b: Service Operation Response

[0207] NEF sends the Nnef_TrafficInfluence_Creat / Update / Delete service operation response, namely Nnef_TrafficInfluence_Creat / Update / Delete Response, to the MEC orchestrator.

[0208] Step 4: Notification

[0209] The MEC orchestrator subscribes to the PCF's data change notification Nudr_DM_Notifynotification from the UDR. When the UDR generates storage change information, it needs to inform the PCF in the form of a notification.

[0210] Step 5: Update PCC rules and provide feedback

[0211] The PCF determines whether the current PDU session may be affected by the request message of the MEC orchestrator. For each first PDU session affected, the PCF updates the PCC rules of the SMF by calling the Npcf_SMPolicyControl_UpdateNotify service operation.

[0212] If the request message contains a request for a notification report of a user plane path change, the PCF includes the information required to report the event in the PCC rule, including the notification receiving address pointing to the NEF or MEC orchestrator, and the notification association identifier containing the AF transaction internal identifier.

[0213] Step 6: Update the configuration and provide feedback to the user plane

[0214] When SMF receives the updated PCC rules from PCF, SMF can take appropriate measures to reconfigure the user plane of the first PDU session, and UPF sends a response to SMF after the configuration is completed.

[0215] Figure 6 A flow chart of the process of delivering a request message for a specified UE address to a PCF provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0216] Step 1: Request message creation

[0217] If the MEC orchestrator sends a request message through NEF, the MEC orchestrator sends a Nnef_TrafficInfluenceCreate / Update / Delete request to NEF for the specified UE address. This request corresponds to an AF request to influence the traffic routing with the specified UE address as the target.

[0218] When NEF receives the request sent by the MEC orchestrator, NEF ensures the necessary authorization control and maps the request message that the MEC orchestrator wants to send to the information required by the 5G core network. NEF sends a response to the MEC orchestrator.

[0219] The request message contains the target edge cloud gateway IP address for the specified UE address to achieve load balancing. The MEC orchestrator decides whether to enable the load balancing strategy based on the traffic statistics reported by the UPF.

[0220] Step 2: Obtain PCF address

[0221] If the NEF does not know the address of the PCF, the AF / NEF uses the Nbsf_Management_Discovery service operation (at least the specified UE address needs to be provided) to discover the address of the PCF. If the NEF knows the address of the PCF, this step and step 3 are skipped.

[0222] Note: AF / NEF can also find BSF through local configuration or NRF.

[0223] Step 3: PCF address feedback

[0224] The BSF provides the address of the PCF in the feedback information corresponding to the Nbsf_Management_Discovery service operation replied to the AF / NEF.

[0225] Step 4: Send request message

[0226] If step 1 has been executed, it means that the MEC orchestrator is not trustworthy and needs to rely on NEF to forward the request message to PCF. NEF calls the Npcf_PolicyAuthorization service operation and sends the request message to PCF.

[0227] If step 1 is not executed, it means that the MEC orchestrator is trustworthy and can directly send a request message to PCF. At this time, the MEC orchestrator calls the Npcf_PolicyAuthorization service operation and PCF sends a response to the MEC orchestrator.

[0228] Step 5: PCF initiated SM Policy Association Modification

[0229] PCF updates the PCC rules of SMF. When SMF receives the updated PCC rules from PCF, SMF can take appropriate measures to reconfigure the user plane of the second PDU session.

[0230] like Figure 7As shown, based on the above embodiments, a communication device between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway is provided in an embodiment of the present invention, which is applied to a 5G core network, including:

[0231] The message determination module 71 is used to receive a request message from a multi-access edge computing MEC orchestrator, analyze and process the request message, determine the user plane function UPF corresponding to the request message, and instruct the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address;

[0232] A traffic statistics receiving module 72 is used to receive the traffic statistics reported by the UPF and send the traffic statistics to the MEC orchestrator, so that the MEC orchestrator performs load balancing on the edge cloud gateways in the MEC system based on the traffic statistics and determines the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address;

[0233] The address receiving module 73 is used to receive the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address, and send the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the UPF, so that the UPF uses the target edge cloud gateway IP address as the access address corresponding to the target user terminal address.

[0234] On the basis of the above embodiment, in the communication device between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided in the embodiment of the present invention, the message determination module is used to:

[0235] The policy control function PCF in the 5G core network updates the policy and charging control PCC rules of the session management function SMF in the 5G core network based on the request message;

[0236] The SMF reconfigures the UPF of the first protocol data unit PDU session corresponding to the PCF based on the updated PCC rule, and instructs the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics;

[0237] The first PDU session is the current PDU session affected by the request message.

[0238] On the basis of the above embodiment, the communication device between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided in the embodiment of the present invention further includes a message receiving module for:

[0239] The PCF receives a request message sent by the MEC orchestrator; or,

[0240] The PCF receives storage change information fed back by the unified data repository UDR; the storage change information includes the request message;

[0241] The storage change information is obtained by storing the request message in the UDR based on the network open function NEF in the 5G core network, or by updating or deleting the request message stored in the UDR.

[0242] On the basis of the above embodiment, in the communication device between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided in the embodiment of the present invention, the request message corresponds to the specified user terminal address, and the specified user terminal address corresponds to the PCF in the 5G core network and the second PDU session;

[0243] The message determination module is further used for:

[0244] The PCF updates the PCC rules of the SMF in the 5G core network based on the request message;

[0245] The SMF reconfigures the UPF of the second PDU session based on the PCC rule, and instructs the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics.

[0246] On the basis of the above embodiment, the communication device between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided in the embodiment of the present invention, the PCF updates the PCC rules of the SMF in the 5G core network based on the request message, and previously includes:

[0247] The PCF receives a request message sent by the MEC orchestrator; or,

[0248] The PCF receives a request message sent by the NEF in the 5G core network.

[0249] On the basis of the above embodiment, in the communication device between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided in the embodiment of the present invention, the message receiving module is further used for:

[0250] The MEC orchestrator or the NEF receives the request message and sends an address acquisition request of the PCF to the binding support function BSF;

[0251] The MEC orchestrator or the NEF receives feedback information determined by the BSF based on the address acquisition request, and sends the request message to the PCF based on the feedback information.

[0252] On the basis of the above embodiments, in the communication device between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided in the embodiments of the present invention, the request message carries the traffic statistics reporting conditions of the UPF, and the traffic statistics reporting conditions include that the traffic statistics value is greater than a given threshold value or is periodically reported every preset time period.

[0253] On the basis of the above-mentioned embodiments, in the communication device between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided in the embodiments of the present invention, the request message is also used to indicate the notification receiving address.

[0254] Specifically, the functions of each module in the communication device between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided in the embodiment of the present invention correspond one-to-one to the operating procedures of each step in the above-mentioned method embodiment with the 5G core network as the execution subject, and the effects achieved are also consistent. Please refer to the above-mentioned embodiment for details, and no further description will be given in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0255] like Figure 8 As shown, based on the above embodiment, a communication device between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway is also provided in an embodiment of the present invention, which is applied to a multi-access edge computing MEC orchestrator, including:

[0256] A message sending module 81 is used to send a request message to the 5G core network, so that the 5G core network analyzes and processes the request message, determines the user plane function UPF corresponding to the request message, and instructs the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address;

[0257] An address determination module 82 is used to receive the traffic statistics forwarded by the 5G core network, and load balance the edge cloud gateway in the MEC system based on the traffic statistics to determine the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address;

[0258] The address sending module 83 is used to send the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the 5G core network, so that the 5G core network sends the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the UPF.

[0259] On the basis of the above embodiment, the communication device between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided in the embodiment of the present invention includes a storage change information determination module, which is used to:

[0260] Send a request message creation request, a request message update request, or a request message removal request to the NEF in the 5G core network, so that the NEF creates a request message and stores the request message to the UDR based on the request message creation request, the request message update request, or the request message removal request, or updates or deletes the request message stored in the UDR, and feeds back the storage change information of the UDR to the PCF in the 5G core network and the MEC orchestrator respectively;

[0261] The storage change information is received.

[0262] On the basis of the above embodiment, the communication device between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided in the embodiment of the present invention further includes an address acquisition module for:

[0263] Sending a request for obtaining an address of the PCF in the 5G core network corresponding to a specified user terminal address to the BSF in the 5G core network;

[0264] Receive feedback information corresponding to the address acquisition request returned by the BSF.

[0265] On the basis of the above embodiments, the communication device between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided in the embodiments of the present invention, the message sending module is specifically used for:

[0266] Send the request message to the PCF corresponding to the current PDU session in the 5G core network; or,

[0267] The request message is sent to the NEF in the 5G core network, and forwarded by the NEF to the PCF.

[0268] Fig. 9 An example of a physical structure diagram of an electronic device is shown in FIG. Fig. 9As shown, the electronic device may include: a processor (Processor) 910, a communication interface (Communications Interface) 920, a memory (Memory) 930 and a communication bus 940, wherein the processor 910, the communication interface 920, and the memory 930 communicate with each other through the communication bus 940. The processor 910 can call the logic instructions in the memory 930 to execute the communication method between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided in the above embodiments, the method including: receiving a request message from a multi-access edge computing MEC orchestrator, analyzing and processing the request message, determining the user plane function UPF corresponding to the request message, and instructing the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address; receiving the traffic statistics reported by the UPF, and sending the traffic statistics to the MEC orchestrator, so that the MEC orchestrator performs load balancing on the edge cloud gateways in the MEC system based on the traffic statistics, and determines the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address; receiving the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address, and sending the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the UPF, so that the UPF uses the target edge cloud gateway IP address as the access address corresponding to the target user terminal address. Alternatively, it includes: sending a request message to the 5G core network so that the 5G core network analyzes and processes the request message, determines the user plane function UPF corresponding to the request message, and instructs the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address; receiving the traffic statistics forwarded by the 5G core network, and load balancing the edge cloud gateways in the MEC system based on the traffic statistics, and determining the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address; sending the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the 5G core network, so that the 5G core network sends the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the UPF.

[0269] In addition, the logic instructions in the above-mentioned memory 930 can be implemented in the form of a software functional unit and can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium when it is sold or used as an independent product. Based on such an understanding, the technical solution of the present invention can be essentially or partly embodied in the form of a software product that contributes to the prior art. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including several instructions for a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present invention. The aforementioned storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), disk or optical disk, etc., various media that can store program codes.

[0270] On the other hand, the present invention also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program, which can be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the computer can execute the communication method between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided in the above embodiments, the method comprising: receiving a request message from a multi-access edge computing MEC orchestrator, analyzing and processing the request message, determining the user plane function UPF corresponding to the request message, and instructing the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address; receiving the traffic statistics reported by the UPF, and sending the traffic statistics to the MEC orchestrator, so that the MEC orchestrator performs load balancing on the edge cloud gateways in the MEC system based on the traffic statistics, and determines the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address; receiving the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address, and sending the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the UPF, so that the UPF uses the target edge cloud gateway IP address as the access address corresponding to the target user terminal address. Alternatively, it includes: sending a request message to the 5G core network so that the 5G core network analyzes and processes the request message, determines the user plane function UPF corresponding to the request message, and instructs the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address; receiving the traffic statistics forwarded by the 5G core network, and load balancing the edge cloud gateways in the MEC system based on the traffic statistics, and determining the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address; sending the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the 5G core network, so that the 5G core network sends the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the UPF.

[0271] On the other hand, the present invention also provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, is implemented to execute the communication method between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway provided in the above-mentioned embodiments, the method comprising: receiving a request message from a multi-access edge computing MEC orchestrator, analyzing and processing the request message, determining the user plane function UPF corresponding to the request message, and instructing the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address; receiving the traffic statistics reported by the UPF, and sending the traffic statistics to the MEC orchestrator, so that the MEC orchestrator load balances the edge cloud gateways in the MEC system based on the traffic statistics, and determines the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address; receiving the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address, and sending the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the UPF, so that the UPF uses the target edge cloud gateway IP address as the access address corresponding to the target user terminal address. Alternatively, it includes: sending a request message to the 5G core network so that the 5G core network analyzes and processes the request message, determines the user plane function UPF corresponding to the request message, and instructs the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address; receiving the traffic statistics forwarded by the 5G core network, and load balancing the edge cloud gateways in the MEC system based on the traffic statistics, and determining the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address; sending the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the 5G core network, so that the 5G core network sends the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the UPF.

[0272] The device embodiments described above are merely illustrative, wherein the units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place, or they may be distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the modules may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the scheme of this embodiment. Ordinary technicians in this field can understand and implement it without paying creative labor.

[0273] Through the description of the above implementation methods, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that each implementation method can be implemented by means of software plus a necessary general hardware platform, and of course, it can also be implemented by hardware. Based on this understanding, the above technical solution is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as ROM / RAM, a disk, an optical disk, etc., including a number of instructions for a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in each embodiment or some parts of the embodiments.

[0274] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein. However, these modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A communication method between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway, characterized in that: Applied to 5G core network, including: Receive a request message from a multi-access edge computing MEC orchestrator, analyze and process the request message, determine the user plane function UPF corresponding to the request message, and instruct the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address; Receive the traffic statistics reported by the UPF, and send the traffic statistics to the MEC orchestrator, so that the MEC orchestrator performs load balancing on the edge cloud gateways in the MEC system based on the traffic statistics, and determines the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address; Receive the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address, and send the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the UPF, so that the UPF uses the target edge cloud gateway IP address as the access address corresponding to the target user terminal address; The traffic statistics are determined based on the following steps: Determine a first protocol data unit (PDU) session affected by the request message; The UPF of the first PDU session is reconfigured by updating the policy and charging control PCC rules, and the UPF is instructed to obtain the traffic statistics.

2. The communication method between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway according to claim 1, characterized in that: The analyzing and processing the request message, determining a user plane function UPF corresponding to the request message, and instructing the UPF to obtain a traffic statistics value of a specified edge cloud gateway IP address, includes: The policy control function PCF in the 5G core network updates the policy and charging control PCC rules of the session management function SMF in the 5G core network based on the request message; The SMF reconfigures the UPF of the first protocol data unit PDU session corresponding to the PCF based on the updated PCC rule, and instructs the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics.

3. The communication method between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway according to claim 2, characterized in that: The policy control function PCF in the 5G core network updates the policy and charging control PCC rules of the session management function SMF in the 5G core network based on the request message, which includes: The PCF receives a request message sent by the MEC orchestrator; or, The PCF receives storage change information fed back by the unified data repository UDR; the storage change information includes the request message; The storage change information is obtained by storing the request message in the UDR based on the network open function NEF in the 5G core network, or by updating or deleting the request message stored in the UDR.

4. The communication method between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway according to claim 1, characterized in that: The request message corresponds to a specified user terminal address, and the specified user terminal address corresponds to a PCF and a second PDU session in the 5G core network; The analyzing and processing the request message, determining a user plane function UPF corresponding to the request message, and instructing the UPF to obtain a traffic statistics value of a specified edge cloud gateway IP address, includes: The PCF updates the PCC rules of the SMF in the 5G core network based on the request message; The SMF reconfigures the UPF of the second PDU session based on the PCC rule, and instructs the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics.

5. The communication method between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway according to claim 4, characterized in that: The PCF updates the PCC rules of the SMF in the 5G core network based on the request message, previously comprising: The PCF receives a request message sent by the MEC orchestrator; or, The PCF receives a request message sent by the NEF in the 5G core network.

6. The communication method between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway according to claim 5, characterized in that: The PCF updates the PCC rules of the SMF in the 5G core network based on the request message, and also includes: The MEC orchestrator or the NEF receives the request message and sends an address acquisition request of the PCF to the binding support function BSF; The MEC orchestrator or the NEF receives feedback information determined by the BSF based on the address acquisition request, and sends the request message to the PCF based on the feedback information.

7. The communication method between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The request message carries the traffic statistics reporting condition of the UPF, where the traffic statistics reporting condition includes that the traffic statistics is greater than a given threshold value or is periodically reported every preset time period.

8. The communication method between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The request message is also used to indicate a notification receiving address.

9. A communication method between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway, characterized in that: Applied to multi-access edge computing MEC orchestrator, including: Send the request message to the 5G core network so that the 5G core network analyzes and processes the request message, determines the user plane function UPF corresponding to the request message, and instructs the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address; Receive the traffic statistics forwarded by the 5G core network, and perform load balancing on the edge cloud gateway in the MEC system based on the traffic statistics, and determine the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address; Send the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the 5G core network, so that the 5G core network sends the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the UPF; The traffic statistics are determined based on the following steps: Determine a first protocol data unit (PDU) session affected by the request message; The UPF of the first PDU session is reconfigured by updating the policy and charging control PCC rules, and the UPF is instructed to obtain the traffic statistics.

10. The communication method between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway according to claim 9, characterized in that: The sending of the request message to the 5G core network comprises: Send a request message creation request, a request message update request, or a request message removal request to the NEF in the 5G core network, so that the NEF creates a request message and stores the request message to the UDR based on the request message creation request, the request message update request, or the request message removal request, or updates or deletes the request message stored in the UDR, and feeds back the storage change information of the UDR to the PCF in the 5G core network and the MEC orchestrator respectively; The storage change information is received.

11. The communication method between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway according to claim 9, characterized in that: The receiving the traffic statistics forwarded by the 5G core network comprises: Sending a request for obtaining an address of the PCF in the 5G core network corresponding to a specified user terminal address to the BSF in the 5G core network; Receive feedback information corresponding to the address acquisition request returned by the BSF.

12. The communication method between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that: The sending the request message to the 5G core network includes: Send the request message to the PCF corresponding to the current PDU session in the 5G core network; or, The request message is sent to the NEF in the 5G core network, and forwarded by the NEF to the PCF.

13. A communication device between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway, characterized in that: Applied to 5G core network, including: A message determination module is used to receive a request message from a multi-access edge computing MEC orchestrator, analyze and process the request message, determine the user plane function UPF corresponding to the request message, and instruct the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address; A traffic statistics receiving module, configured to receive the traffic statistics reported by the UPF, and send the traffic statistics to the MEC orchestrator, so that the MEC orchestrator performs load balancing on the edge cloud gateways in the MEC system based on the traffic statistics, and determines the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address; An address receiving module, configured to receive the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address, and send the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the UPF, so that the UPF uses the target edge cloud gateway IP address as the access address corresponding to the target user terminal address; The traffic statistics are determined based on the following steps: Determine a first protocol data unit (PDU) session affected by the request message; The UPF of the first PDU session is reconfigured by updating the policy and charging control PCC rules, and the UPF is instructed to obtain the traffic statistics.

14. A communication device between a 5G access network and an edge cloud gateway, characterized in that: Applied to multi-access edge computing MEC orchestrator, including: A message sending module, used to send a request message to the 5G core network, so that the 5G core network analyzes and processes the request message, determines the user plane function UPF corresponding to the request message, and instructs the UPF to obtain the traffic statistics of the specified edge cloud gateway IP address; An address determination module is used to receive the traffic statistics forwarded by the 5G core network, and load balance the edge cloud gateway in the MEC system based on the traffic statistics to determine the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address; An address sending module, used to send the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the 5G core network, so that the 5G core network sends the target user terminal address and the target edge cloud gateway IP address to the UPF; The traffic statistics are determined based on the following steps: Determine a first protocol data unit (PDU) session affected by the request message; The UPF of the first PDU session is reconfigured by updating the policy and charging control PCC rules, and the UPF is instructed to obtain the traffic statistics.

15. An electronic device comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein: When the processor executes the program, the communication method between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway is implemented as described in any one of claims 1 to 12.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer program is executed by the processor, the communication method between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway as described in any one of claims 1 to 12 is implemented.

17. A computer program product comprising a computer program, characterized in that When the computer program is executed by the processor, the communication method between the 5G access network and the edge cloud gateway as described in any one of claims 1 to 12 is implemented.

Images