Information processing method, communication device and communication system

Abstract

An information processing method, a communication device and a communication system. Among them, an information processing method includes: a core network control plane network element receives a tunnel establishment request from an application function entity, the tunnel establishment request is used to request to establish a shared tunnel for terminal equipment to transmit data; the core network control plane network element determines a tunnel configuration policy corresponding to the tunnel establishment request; the core network control plane network element selects a session management network element according to the tunnel establishment request; the core network control plane network element sends the tunnel configuration policy to the session management network element, and the tunnel configuration policy is used to instruct the session management network element to trigger the establishment of the shared tunnel between the access network node and the user plane function network element.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications, and in particular, to an information processing method, a communication device, and a communication system. Background Art

[0002] Massive machine type communications (mMTC) is one of the important application scenarios of the fifth generation mobile networks (5G), mainly for various Internet of Things (IoT) business applications based on cellular networks. The main feature of mMTC is the connection demand of large-scale massive IoT terminals, which can reach 1 million connections per square kilometer, bringing huge challenges to the network architecture and protocol design. In addition, mMTC also has the characteristics of low data volume, low power consumption, deep coverage, and low complexity.

[0003] In IoT application scenarios, the amount of data that the terminal needs to transmit is usually very small. For example, data packets such as power meter reading are generally dozens of bytes. The data transmission process of the 5G network for ordinary data services involves signaling interactions such as protocol data unit (PDU) session management and user plane bearer establishment, and establishes a data transmission tunnel for each terminal's data transmission. If the data transmission process of the 5G network is applied to the IoT scenario, the signaling overhead caused by the transmission of small data packets will far exceed the amount of data that needs to be transmitted, and the transmission efficiency will be low.

[0004] In order to connect massive terminals in IoT application scenarios, it is necessary to establish a data transmission tunnel between the radio access network (RAN) and the user plane function (UPF) entity. In the process of establishing the data transmission tunnel, the session management function (SMF) entity in the 5G network can establish the data transmission tunnel based on the following two types of information: shared tunnel policy information sent by the policy control function (PCF) entity and logical network configuration information sent by the network management function entity (such as the network management system). The shared tunnel policy information sent by the above-mentioned PCF entity and the logical network configuration information sent by the network management function entity are both pre-statically configured information, which makes the established data transmission tunnel unable to be applied to terminals of different IoT service types. Summary of the invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present application provide an information processing method, a communication device, and a communication system for establishing a shared tunnel between an access network node and a user plane functional network element, so as to enable a terminal device to transmit data based on the shared tunnel.

[0006] To solve the above technical problems, the present application provides the following technical solutions:

[0007] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an information processing method, including: a core network control plane network element receives a tunnel establishment request from an application function entity, the tunnel establishment request is used to request the establishment of a shared tunnel for terminal equipment to transmit data; the core network control plane network element determines a tunnel configuration policy corresponding to the tunnel establishment request; the core network control plane network element selects a session management network element according to the tunnel establishment request; the core network control plane network element sends the tunnel configuration policy to the session management network element, and the tunnel configuration policy is used to instruct the session management network element to trigger the establishment of the shared tunnel between the access network node and the user plane function network element. In this scheme, the core network control plane network element receives a tunnel establishment request from the application function entity. The core network control plane network element can send a tunnel configuration policy to the session management network element, so that the session management network element can determine the user plane function network element and the access network node. The user plane function network element and the access network node can be a shared tunnel used for terminal devices to transmit data. In an embodiment of the present application, the shared tunnel created by the application function entity's request can be used for data transmission of the terminal device, so that according to the specific business requirements of the terminal device for transmitting data, a shared tunnel can be dynamically established between the access network node and the user plane function network element. The shared tunnel created dynamically on demand can realize the transmission of data of the terminal device.

[0008] In a possible implementation, the core network control plane network element receives a tunnel establishment request from an application function entity, including: the core network control plane network element receives a tunnel establishment request sent by a network open network element, wherein the network open network element receives the tunnel establishment request from the application function entity. In this solution, the network open network element provides a network capability exposure interface, and the application function entity can send a tunnel establishment request to the core network control plane network element through the network open network element, so that the core network control plane network element can obtain the tunnel establishment request, and realize information interaction between the application function entity and the core network control plane network element.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the core network control plane network element determines the tunnel configuration policy corresponding to the tunnel establishment request, including: the core network control plane network element obtains the group configuration policy corresponding to the terminal device; the core network control plane network element generates the tunnel configuration policy according to the tunnel establishment request and the group configuration policy. In this scheme, the group configuration policy corresponding to the terminal device can be the operator's group policy, and the core network control plane function network element can obtain the terminal device's configuration requirements for the shared tunnel (such as QoS information, network area information) from the tunnel establishment request. The core network control plane network element determines the tunnel configuration policy corresponding to the tunnel establishment request based on the shared tunnel configuration information provided by the application function entity and the operator's group policy. For example, the tunnel configuration policy includes: user group information, shared tunnel identifier, QoS information, network area information, etc.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the tunnel establishment request includes at least one of the following: first group information corresponding to the terminal device, service information corresponding to the shared tunnel, service quality information corresponding to the shared tunnel, and network area information corresponding to the shared tunnel. In this scheme, the first user group information is used to identify the user group corresponding to the shared tunnel, and may specifically be a user group identifier. Service information is used to describe the service corresponding to the shared tunnel, such as the IP address and port number of the service. QoS information is used to describe the QoS requirements of the service application for the shared tunnel, such as the data transmission rate (i.e., bandwidth) and end-to-end delay required to be provided by the shared tunnel. Network area information is used by the core network control plane network element to determine the scope of establishing a shared tunnel, and may be specific geographical area information. It is not limited to that the information content carried by the tunnel establishment request can be determined according to the specific scenario, which is not limited here.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the tunnel configuration policy includes at least one of the following: the second group information corresponding to the terminal device, the identifier of the shared tunnel, the service quality information corresponding to the shared tunnel, and the network area information corresponding to the shared tunnel. In this solution, after the core network control plane network element obtains the tunnel establishment request, the core network control plane network element can generate a tunnel configuration policy corresponding to the tunnel establishment request, wherein the tunnel configuration policy can also be called a shared tunnel configuration policy, and the tunnel configuration policy includes the policy information required to create a shared tunnel. For example, the tunnel configuration policy may include at least one of the following: the second user group information of the terminal device, the shared tunnel identifier, QoS information, and network area information.

[0012] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application also provides an information processing method, including: a session management network element receives a tunnel configuration policy sent by a core network control plane network element; the session management network element selects a user plane function network element according to the tunnel configuration policy and user plane function network element capability information, and the session management network element sends first shared tunnel establishment information to the user plane function network element; the session management network element determines an access network node according to the tunnel configuration policy, and the session management network element sends second shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node; wherein the first shared tunnel establishment information and the second shared tunnel establishment information are used to establish the shared tunnel between the access network node and the user plane function network element. In this scheme, the core network control plane network element can send a tunnel configuration policy to the session management network element, so that the session management network element can determine the user plane function network element and the access network node. The user plane function network element and the access network node can be a shared tunnel used for terminal devices to transmit data. In this embodiment of the present application, the shared tunnel created by the application function entity request can be used for data transmission of the terminal device, so that according to the specific business requirements of the terminal device for transmitting data, a shared tunnel can be dynamically established between the access network node and the user plane function network element. The shared tunnel created dynamically on demand can realize the transmission data of the terminal device.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the first shared tunnel establishment information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of the shared tunnel and service quality information corresponding to the shared tunnel. In this solution, the identifier of the shared tunnel and the service quality information corresponding to the shared tunnel can be used by the user plane function network element to create the shared tunnel, so that the user plane function network element can successfully create the shared tunnel.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the second shared tunnel establishment information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of the shared tunnel, quality of service information corresponding to the shared tunnel, and an address of the user plane function network element. In this solution, the access network node determines that a shared tunnel needs to be created with the user plane function network element through the address of the user plane function network element, and the identifier of the shared tunnel and the quality of service information corresponding to the shared tunnel can be used by the access network node to create the shared tunnel, so that the access network node can successfully create the shared tunnel.

[0015] In a possible implementation, after the session management network element sends the second shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node, the method further includes: the session management network element receives a tunnel establishment response sent by the access network node, the tunnel establishment response includes: the address of the access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel. In this solution, after the access network node establishes a shared tunnel between the user plane function network element and the access network node, the access network node may send a tunnel establishment response to the session management network element, the tunnel establishment response includes: the address of the access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel. The session management network element may receive the tunnel establishment response sent by the access network node, the session management network element parses the tunnel establishment response, obtains the address of the access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel, and then sends session configuration information to the user plane function network element, the session configuration information includes at least one of the following: the identifier of the shared tunnel, the address of the access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel, so that the user plane function network element can obtain the address of the access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel according to the received session configuration information, so that the user plane function network element can realize communication with the access network node.

[0016] In a possible implementation, after the session management network element receives the tunnel establishment response sent by the access network node, the method further includes: the session management network element sends session configuration information to the user plane function network element, and the session configuration information includes at least one of the following: the identifier of the shared tunnel, and the address of the access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel. In this solution, after the access network node establishes the shared tunnel between the user plane function network element and the access network node, the access network node may send a tunnel establishment response to the session management network element, and the tunnel establishment response includes: the address of the access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel. The session management network element may receive the tunnel establishment response sent by the access network node, and the session management network element parses the tunnel establishment response to obtain the address of the access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel, and then the session management network element sends the session configuration information to the user plane function network element, and the session configuration information includes at least one of the following: the identifier of the shared tunnel, and the address of the access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel, so that the user plane function network element can obtain the address of the access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel according to the received session configuration information, so that the user plane function network element can realize communication with the access network node.

[0017] In a possible implementation, after the session management network element sends the second shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node, the method further includes: the session management network element receives a session management context establishment request sent by the access and mobility management network element; the session management network element determines the shared tunnel established for the terminal device according to the session management context establishment request; the session management network element sends session establishment information to the user plane function network element, the session establishment information includes: the identifier of the terminal device and the identifier of the shared tunnel; the session management network element sends shared tunnel configuration information to the access and mobility management network element, the shared tunnel configuration information includes: the identifier of the shared tunnel and the address of the user plane function network element. In this solution, after the shared tunnel is established, the session management network element can interact with the access and mobility management network element to successfully establish a session context, so that the terminal device can use the shared tunnel for data transmission.

[0018] In the third aspect, the embodiment of the present application also provides an information processing method, including: the access and mobility management network element receives a session establishment request sent by a terminal device; the access and mobility management network element determines the session management network element corresponding to the terminal device according to the session establishment request; the access and mobility management network element sends a session management context establishment request to the session management network element. In this scheme, after a shared tunnel is created between an access network node and a user plane function network element, in order for the terminal device to use the shared tunnel for data transmission and reception, the terminal device first triggers the establishment of a session, and the terminal device sends a session establishment request to the access and mobility management network element. The access and mobility management network element can interact with the session management network element to successfully establish a session context, so that the terminal device can use the shared tunnel for data transmission.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the access and mobility management network element determines the session management network element corresponding to the terminal device according to the session establishment request, including: the access and mobility management network element determines the group information of the terminal device according to the session establishment request; the access and mobility management network element sends the group information of the terminal device to the session selection network element; the access and mobility management network element receives the session management network element information determined by the session selection network element. In this solution, after the access and mobility management network element receives the session establishment request, the access and mobility management network element can obtain the group information of the terminal device according to the session establishment request, for example, the access and mobility management network element obtains the user group information of the terminal device from the user subscription data management entity, for example, the group information may include group identifier, slice identifier, DNN and other information, the session selection network element may be an entity with a network element selection function, the session selection network element is pre-configured with the session management network element corresponding to the user group information of the terminal device, and the session selection network element sends the session management network element information corresponding to the access and mobility management network element according to the group information of the terminal device.

[0020] In a possible implementation, after the access and mobility management network element sends a session management context establishment request to the session management network element, the method further includes: the access and mobility management network element receives shared tunnel establishment information sent by the session management network element, the shared tunnel establishment information includes: the identifier of the shared tunnel and the address of the user plane function network element; the access and mobility management network element sends the shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node. In this solution, if a shared tunnel has been created for the terminal device, the session management network element can also obtain the identifier of the shared tunnel and the address of the user plane function network element, and then send the shared tunnel establishment information to the access and mobility management network element, so that the access and mobility management network element sends the shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node, and the access network node can save the shared tunnel establishment information for subsequent data transmission of the terminal device.

[0021] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an information processing method, including: an application function entity sends a tunnel establishment request to a core network control plane network element, wherein the tunnel establishment request is used to request the establishment of a shared tunnel for terminal equipment to transmit data; after receiving the tunnel establishment request, the core network control plane network element determines a tunnel configuration policy corresponding to the tunnel establishment request; the core network control plane network element selects a session management network element according to the tunnel establishment request; the core network control plane network element sends the tunnel configuration policy to the session management network element, wherein the tunnel configuration policy is used to instruct the session management network element to trigger the establishment of a shared tunnel between the access network node and the user plane function network element. The method comprises: establishing the shared tunnel; after the session management network element receives the tunnel configuration policy, the session management network element selects a user plane function network element according to the tunnel configuration policy and the user plane function network element capability information, and the session management network element sends first shared tunnel establishment information to the user plane function network element; the session management network element determines the access network node according to the tunnel configuration policy, and the session management network element sends second shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node; wherein the first shared tunnel establishment information and the second shared tunnel establishment information are used to establish the shared tunnel between the access network node and the user plane function network element.

[0022] In an embodiment of the present application, the application function entity needs to determine the terminal device that uses the shared tunnel for data transmission. The application function entity can send a tunnel establishment request to the core network control plane network element, and the core network control plane network element can send a tunnel configuration policy to the session management network element, so that the session management network element can determine the user plane function network element and the access network node. The user plane function network element and the access network node can be a shared tunnel used for terminal device data transmission. In an embodiment of the present application, the shared tunnel requested to be created by the application function entity can be used for data transmission of the terminal device, so that according to the specific business requirements of the terminal device for data transmission, a shared tunnel can be dynamically established between the access network node and the user plane function network element. The shared tunnel created dynamically on demand can realize the transmission data of the terminal device.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the application function entity sends a tunnel establishment request to the core network control plane network element, including: the application function entity sends the tunnel establishment request to the network open network element; after the network open network element receives the tunnel establishment request from the application function entity, it sends the tunnel establishment request to the core network control plane network element. In this solution, the network open network element provides a network capability exposure interface, and the application function entity can send the tunnel establishment request to the core network control plane network element through the network open network element, so that the core network control plane network element can obtain the tunnel establishment request, and realize information interaction between the application function entity and the core network control plane network element.

[0024] In a possible implementation, after the session management network element sends the second shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node, the method further includes: the session management network element receives a tunnel establishment response sent by the access network node, the tunnel establishment response includes: the address of the access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel; after the session management network element receives the tunnel establishment response sent by the access network node, the session management network element sends session configuration information to the user plane function network element, the session configuration information includes at least one of the following: the identifier of the shared tunnel, the address of the access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel. In this solution, after the access network node establishes a shared tunnel between the user plane function network element and the access network node, the access network node can send a tunnel establishment response to the session management network element, the tunnel establishment response includes: the address of the access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel. The session management network element can receive a tunnel establishment response sent by the access network node. The session management network element parses the tunnel establishment response and obtains the address of the access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel. Then the session management network element sends session configuration information to the user plane function network element. The session configuration information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of the shared tunnel, and an address of the access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel. Therefore, the user plane function network element can obtain the address of the access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel according to the received session configuration information, so that the user plane function network element can realize communication with the access network node.

[0025] In a possible implementation, after the session management network element sends the second shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node, the method further includes: the access and mobility management network element receives the session establishment request sent by the terminal device; the access and mobility management network element determines the session management network element corresponding to the terminal device according to the session establishment request; the access and mobility management network element sends a session management context establishment request to the session management network element; after the session management network element receives the session management context establishment request, the session management network element determines the shared tunnel established for the terminal device according to the session management context establishment request; the session management network element sends session establishment information to the user plane function network element, the session establishment information includes: the identifier of the terminal device and the identifier of the shared tunnel; the session management network element sends shared tunnel configuration information to the access and mobility management network element, the shared tunnel configuration information includes: the identifier of the shared tunnel and the address of the user plane function network element. In this solution, after the shared tunnel is established, the session management network element can interact with the access and mobility management network element to successfully establish a session context, so that the terminal device can use the shared tunnel for data transmission.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the access and mobility management network element determines the session management network element corresponding to the terminal device according to the session establishment request, including: the access and mobility management network element determines the group information of the terminal device according to the session establishment request; the access and mobility management network element sends the group information of the terminal device to the session selection network element; the access and mobility management network element receives the session management network element information determined by the session selection network element. In this solution, after the access and mobility management network element receives the session establishment request, the access and mobility management network element can obtain the group information of the terminal device according to the session establishment request, for example, the access and mobility management network element obtains the user group information of the terminal device from the user subscription data management entity, for example, the group information may include group identifier, slice identifier, DNN and other information, the session selection network element may be an entity with a network element selection function, the session selection network element is pre-configured with the session management network element corresponding to the user group information of the terminal device, and the session selection network element sends the session management network element information corresponding to the access and mobility management network element according to the group information of the terminal device.

[0027] In a possible implementation, after the access and mobility management network element sends a session management context establishment request to the session management network element, the method further includes: the access and mobility management network element receives shared tunnel establishment information sent by the session management network element, the shared tunnel establishment information includes: the identifier of the shared tunnel and the address of the user plane function network element; the access and mobility management network element sends the shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node. In this solution, if a shared tunnel has been created for the terminal device, the session management network element can also obtain the identifier of the shared tunnel and the address of the user plane function network element, and then send the shared tunnel establishment information to the access and mobility management network element, so that the access and mobility management network element sends the shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node, and the access network node can save the shared tunnel establishment information for subsequent data transmission of the terminal device.

[0028] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which is a core network control plane network element, comprising: a receiving module, used to receive a tunnel establishment request from an application function entity, the tunnel establishment request is used to request to establish a shared tunnel for terminal equipment to transmit data; a processing module, used to determine the tunnel configuration policy corresponding to the tunnel establishment request; the processing module is used to select a session management network element according to the tunnel establishment request; a sending module, used to send the tunnel configuration policy to the session management network element, the tunnel configuration policy is used to instruct the session management network element to trigger the establishment of the shared tunnel between the access network node and the user plane function network element.

[0029] In a possible implementation manner, the receiving module is configured to receive a tunnel establishment request sent by a network open network element, wherein the network open network element receives the tunnel establishment request from the application function entity.

[0030] In a possible implementation, the processing module is used to obtain the group configuration policy corresponding to the terminal device; the core network control plane network element generates the tunnel configuration policy according to the tunnel establishment request and the group configuration policy.

[0031] In a possible implementation, the tunnel establishment request includes at least one of the following: first group information corresponding to the terminal device, service information corresponding to the shared tunnel, quality of service information corresponding to the shared tunnel, and network area information corresponding to the shared tunnel.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the tunnel configuration strategy includes at least one of the following: second group information corresponding to the terminal device, an identifier of the shared tunnel, quality of service information corresponding to the shared tunnel, and network area information corresponding to the shared tunnel.

[0033] In the fifth aspect of the present application, the constituent modules of the communication device may also execute the steps described in the aforementioned first aspect and various possible implementations, see the aforementioned description of the first aspect and various possible implementations for details.

[0034] On the sixth side, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which is a session management network element, including: a receiving module, used to receive a tunnel configuration policy sent by a core network control plane network element; a processing module, used to select a user plane function network element according to the tunnel configuration policy and user plane function network element capability information; a sending module, used to send first shared tunnel establishment information to the user plane function network element; a processing module, used to determine an access network node according to the tunnel configuration policy; a sending module, used to send second shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node; wherein, the first shared tunnel establishment information and the second shared tunnel establishment information are used to establish the shared tunnel between the access network node and the user plane function network element.

[0035] In some embodiments of the present application, the first shared tunnel establishment information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of the shared tunnel, and quality of service information corresponding to the shared tunnel.

[0036] In some embodiments of the present application, the second shared tunnel establishment information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of the shared tunnel, quality of service information corresponding to the shared tunnel, and an address of the user plane function network element.

[0037] In some embodiments of the present application, the receiving module is used to receive a tunnel establishment response sent by the access network node after the sending module sends the second shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node, and the tunnel establishment response includes: the address of the access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel.

[0038] In some embodiments of the present application, the sending module is used to send session configuration information to the user plane functional network element after the receiving module receives the tunnel establishment response sent by the access network node, and the session configuration information includes at least one of the following: the identifier of the shared tunnel, and the address of the access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel.

[0039] In some embodiments of the present application, a receiving module is used to receive a session management context establishment request sent by an access and mobility management network element after a sending module sends second shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node; a processing module is used to determine a shared tunnel established for the terminal device based on the session management context establishment request; a sending module is used to send session establishment information to the user plane function network element, the session establishment information including: an identifier of the terminal device and an identifier of the shared tunnel; a sending module is used to send shared tunnel configuration information to the access and mobility management network element, the shared tunnel configuration information including: an identifier of the shared tunnel and an address of the user plane function network element.

[0040] In the sixth aspect of the present application, the constituent modules of the communication device may also execute the steps described in the aforementioned second aspect and various possible implementations. For details, please refer to the aforementioned description of the second aspect and various possible implementations.

[0041] In the seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which is an access and mobility management network element, including: a receiving module for receiving a session establishment request sent by a terminal device; a processing module for determining a session management network element corresponding to the terminal device based on the session establishment request; and a sending module for sending a session management context establishment request to the session management network element.

[0042] In some embodiments of the present application, a processing module is used to determine the group information of the terminal device according to the session establishment request; a sending module is used to send the group information of the terminal device to a session selection network element; and a receiving module is used to receive the session management network element information determined by the session selection network element.

[0043] In some embodiments of the present application, a receiving module is used to receive shared tunnel establishment information sent by the session management network element after sending a session management context establishment request to the session management network element, and the shared tunnel establishment information includes: an identifier of the shared tunnel and an address of the user plane function network element; and a sending module is used to send the shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node.

[0044] In the seventh aspect of the present application, the constituent modules of the communication device may also execute the steps described in the aforementioned third aspect and various possible implementations. For details, see the aforementioned description of the third aspect and various possible implementations.

[0045] In the eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may include entities such as a core network control plane network element, a session management network element, and an access and mobility management network element, and the communication device includes: a processor, and optionally, the communication device also includes a memory; the memory is used to store instructions; the processor is used to execute the instructions in the memory, so that the communication device performs a method as described in any one of the first aspect, the second aspect, or the third aspect.

[0046] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a chip system, which includes a processor for supporting a core network control plane network element, a session management network element, and an access and mobility management network element to implement the functions involved in the above aspects, for example, sending or processing the data and / or information involved in the above methods. In one possible design, the chip system also includes a memory, which is used to store the necessary program instructions and data for the core network control plane network element, the session management network element, and the access and mobility management network element. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0047] In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, the communication system comprising: a core network control plane network element, a session management network element, and an access and mobility management network element, wherein:

[0048] The core network control plane network element is used to perform the method as described in any one of the first aspects above;

[0049] The session management network element is used to perform the method as described in any one of the second aspects;

[0050] The access and mobility management network element is used to execute the method as described in any one of the third aspects above.

[0051] Specifically, the application function entity sends a tunnel establishment request to the core network control plane network element, where the tunnel establishment request is used to request the establishment of a shared tunnel for the terminal device to transmit data; after receiving the tunnel establishment request, the core network control plane network element determines the tunnel configuration policy corresponding to the tunnel establishment request; the core network control plane network element selects a session management network element according to the tunnel establishment request; the core network control plane network element sends a tunnel configuration policy to the session management network element, where the tunnel configuration policy is used to instruct the session management network element to trigger the establishment of a shared tunnel between the access network node and the user plane function network element; after receiving the tunnel configuration policy, the session management network element selects the user plane function network element according to the tunnel configuration policy and the user plane function network element capability information, and the session management network element sends first shared tunnel establishment information to the user plane function network element; the session management network element determines the access network node according to the tunnel configuration policy, and the session management network element sends second shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node; wherein the first shared tunnel establishment information and the second shared tunnel establishment information are used to establish a shared tunnel between the access network node and the user plane function network element.

[0052] In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores instructions. When the computer-readable storage medium is run on a computer, it enables the computer to execute any method in the first aspect, the second aspect, or the third aspect.

[0053] In the twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute any of the methods in the first, second or third aspects above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0054] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a system architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the system architecture of another communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the system architecture of another communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the system architecture of another communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of establishing a shared tunnel between the RAN and the UPF in an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of an interactive flow block of an information processing method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of an interactive flow block of another information processing method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of an interactive process block for establishing a shared tunnel in a 5G network provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] Fig. 9 A schematic block diagram of another interactive process for establishing a shared tunnel in a 5G network provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of the structure of a core network control plane network element provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] Fig.11 A schematic diagram of the composition structure of a session management network element provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] Fig.12 A schematic diagram of the composition structure of an access and mobility management network element provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] Fig.13 A schematic diagram of the composition structure of another core network control plane network element provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] Fig.14 A schematic diagram of the composition structure of another session management network element provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] Fig.15 A schematic diagram of the composition structure of another access and mobility management network element provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0069] The embodiments of the present application provide an information processing method, a communication device, and a communication system for establishing a shared tunnel between an access network node and a user plane functional network element, so as to enable a terminal device to transmit data based on the shared tunnel.

[0070] The embodiments of the present application are described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0071] The terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and claims of the present application and the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and need not be used to describe a specific order or sequential order. It should be understood that the terms used in this way can be interchangeable under appropriate circumstances, which is only to describe the distinction mode adopted by the objects of the same attributes when describing in the embodiments of the present application. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any of their variations are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions, so that the process, method, system, product or equipment comprising a series of units need not be limited to those units, but may include other units that are not clearly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products or equipment.

[0072] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various data processing communication systems, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA), single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) and other systems. The term "system" can be interchangeable with "network". The CDMA system can implement wireless technologies such as universal terrestrial radio access (UTRA) and CDMA2000. UTRA can include wideband CDMA (WCDMA) technology and other CDMA variant technologies. CDMA2000 can cover interim standard (IS) 2000 (IS-2000), IS-95 and IS-856 standards. The TDMA system can implement wireless technologies such as global system for mobile communication (GSM). The OFDMA system can implement wireless technologies such as evolved universal radio terrestrial access (evolved UTRA, E-UTRA), ultra mobile broadband (ultra mobile broadband, UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash OFDMA, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are UMTS and UMTS evolution versions. 3GPP's long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) and various versions based on LTE evolution are new versions of UMTS using E-UTRA. The fifth generation (5 Generation, referred to as "5G") communication system and the new radio (New Radio, referred to as "NR") are the next generation communication systems under study. In addition, the communication system can also be applied to future-oriented communication technologies, and are all applicable to the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application.The system architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. A person of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate that with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0073] In the embodiments of this application, please refer to Figure 1 As shown, a communication system 100 provided in an embodiment of the present application includes: a core network control plane network element 101 and a session management network element 102, wherein:

[0074] The core network control plane network element 101 is used to receive a tunnel establishment request sent by an application function entity, where the tunnel establishment request is used to request to establish a shared tunnel for terminal equipment to transmit data;

[0075] The core network control plane network element 101 is used to determine the tunnel configuration policy corresponding to the tunnel establishment request after receiving the tunnel establishment request;

[0076] The core network control plane network element 101 is used to select a session management network element according to the tunnel establishment request;

[0077] The core network control plane network element 101 is used to send a tunnel configuration policy to the session management network element 101, where the tunnel configuration policy is used to instruct the session management network element to trigger the establishment of a shared tunnel between the access network node and the user plane function network element;

[0078] The session management network element 102 is used to select a user plane function network element according to the tunnel configuration policy and the user plane function network element capability information after receiving the tunnel configuration policy, and send first shared tunnel establishment information to the user plane function network element;

[0079] The session management network element 102 is used to determine the access network node according to the tunnel configuration policy, and send the second shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node; wherein the first shared tunnel establishment information and the second shared tunnel establishment information are used to establish a shared tunnel between the access network node and the user plane function network element.

[0080] Among them, the communication system 100 may include multiple session management network elements 102, and the core network control plane network element 101 can select a session management network element 102 from the multiple session management network elements 102 according to the tunnel establishment request sent by the application function entity, and the core network control plane network element 101 then sends the tunnel configuration policy to the selected session management network element 102.

[0081] The core network control plane network element 101 refers to a control entity with a policy decision-making function. For example, the core network control plane network element 101 can be a policy control function entity (PCF) in the core network of a 5G network. The main function of PCF is a policy decision point, providing rules based on business data flow and application detection, data transmission threshold control, quality of service (QoS) and flow-based charging control. Specifically, the core network control plane network element 101 can select a session management network element 102 from multiple session management network elements 102, and send a tunnel configuration policy to the session management network element 102, so that the session management network element 102 can trigger the establishment of a shared tunnel. It is not limited that the core network control plane network element 101 can also be other entities with control decision-making functions in other networks (such as 6G networks), which is not limited here.

[0082] The session management network element 102 refers to various entities with session management functions. For example, the session management network element 102 may be a session management function (SMF) in a 5G network. The main function of the SMF is to control the establishment, modification and deletion of sessions, the selection of user plane nodes, etc. Specifically, the session management network element 102 may receive a tunnel configuration policy, and the session management network element 102 may trigger the establishment of a shared tunnel. It is not limited that the session management network element 102 may also be other entities with session management functions in other networks (such as a 6G network), which is not limited here.

[0083] In some embodiments of this application, please refer to Figure 2 As shown, a communication system 100 provided in an embodiment of the present application includes, in addition to a core network control plane network element 101 and a session management network element 102, the communication system 100 may also include: an access and mobility management network element 103, wherein:

[0084] The access and mobility management network element 103 is used to receive a session establishment request sent by a terminal device;

[0085] The access and mobility management network element 103 is used to determine the session management network element 102 corresponding to the terminal device according to the session establishment request;

[0086] The access and mobility management network element 103 is used to send a session management context establishment request to the session management network element 102;

[0087] The session management network element 102 is used to determine the shared tunnel established for the terminal device according to the session management context establishment request after receiving the session management context establishment request;

[0088] The session management network element 102 is used to send session establishment information to the user plane function network element, where the session establishment information includes: an identifier of the terminal device and an identifier of the shared tunnel;

[0089] The session management network element 102 is used to send shared tunnel establishment information to the access and mobility management network element 103, where the shared tunnel establishment information includes: an identifier of the shared tunnel and an address of the user plane function network element.

[0090] Among them, the access and mobility management network element 103 refers to an entity used for terminal device access and mobility management. For example, the access and mobility management network element 103 can be an access and mobility management function (AMF) in the core network of the 5G network. The main functions of AMF include managing user registration, reachability detection, SMF selection, mobile state transition management, etc. Specifically, the access and mobility management network element 103 can select the session management network element 102 according to the session establishment request of the terminal device, and send a session management context establishment request to the session management network element 102. It is not limited that the access and mobility management network element 103 can also be an entity with terminal device access and mobility management functions in other networks (such as 6G networks), which is not limited here.

[0091] In some embodiments of this application, please refer to Figure 3 As shown, a communication system 100 provided in an embodiment of the present application includes, in addition to a core network control plane network element 101 and a session management network element 102, the communication system 100 may also include: an application function entity 104, wherein:

[0092] The application function entity 104 is used to send a tunnel establishment request to the core network control plane network element 101, and the tunnel establishment request is used to request to establish a shared tunnel for terminal equipment to transmit data.

[0093] Among them, the application function entity 104 refers to an entity that provides policy support to the core network. For example, the application function entity 104 can be an application function entity (AF) of the 5G network. The main function of AF is to interact with the 3GPP core network to provide services to affect service flow routing, access network capability opening, policy control, etc. Specifically, the application function entity 104 can obtain user group information, service information, QoS information, and network area information of the terminal device, and then the application function entity 104 can request to establish a shared tunnel for the terminal device to transmit data. It is not limited that the application function entity 104 can also be an entity with application functions in other networks (such as 6G networks), which is not limited here.

[0094] In some embodiments of this application, please refer to Figure 4 As shown, a communication system 100 provided in an embodiment of the present application includes, in addition to a core network control plane network element 101 and a session management network element 102, the communication system 100 may also include: an application function entity 104 and a network open network element 105, wherein:

[0095] The application function entity 104 is used to send a tunnel establishment request to the network open network element 105;

[0096] The network open network element 105 is used to send a tunnel establishment request to the core network control plane network element 101 after receiving the tunnel establishment request from the application function entity 104 .

[0097] The network exposure network element 105 refers to an entity with a network capability exposure function, for example, the network exposure network element 105 may be a network capability exposure function entity (NEF) of a 5G network, and the NEF has the function of securely exposing services and capabilities provided by 3GPP network functions, such as third parties, edge computing, AF connections, etc. For example, the network exposure network element 105 provides a network capability exposure interface, so that the application function entity 104 can send a tunnel establishment request to the core network control plane network element 101 through the network exposure network element 105.

[0098] In the embodiment of the present application, the session management network element may send first shared tunnel establishment information to the user plane function network element; the session management network element may also send second shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node; wherein the first shared tunnel establishment information and the second shared tunnel establishment information are used to establish a shared tunnel between the access network node and the user plane function network element. Figure 5 As shown, it is a schematic diagram of establishing a shared tunnel between RAN and UPF in an embodiment of the present application. For example, multiple IoT UEs can share the same data transmission tunnel, thereby avoiding the signaling overhead caused by establishing a separate data transmission tunnel for each IoT UE. For example, UE1, UE2 and UE3 can all use the shared tunnel between RAN and UPF when transmitting data. These IoTUEs can be of the same device type (for example, water meter devices belonging to the same building), or IoT devices with the same business requirements, for example, meter reading devices that only require low data volume and have no strict requirements on transmission delay, including water meters, electricity meters, gas meters and other IoT devices.

[0099] Based on the above Figures 1 to 4The communication system shown in the figure can be used to simplify the network architecture for accessing a large number of IoT terminals in the 5G network. In the communication system, a shared tunnel dedicated to a large number of IoT terminals can be established for the terminal, and the IoT service application can be supported to dynamically create a shared tunnel on demand, so that the 5G network can provide IoT services more flexibly and effectively. The embodiment of the present application also provides an information processing method, such as Figure 6 As shown, it mainly includes the following steps:

[0100] 601. The application function entity sends a tunnel establishment request to a core network control plane network element. The tunnel establishment request is used to request the establishment of a shared tunnel for terminal equipment to transmit data.

[0101] Among them, the application function entity can obtain the information required by the terminal device when transmitting data, for example, the application function entity can obtain at least one of the following information: user group information, service information, QoS information, network area information, etc. of the terminal device. When the terminal device needs to use a shared tunnel, the application function entity can generate a tunnel establishment request, which is used to request the establishment of a shared tunnel for the terminal device to transmit data. Then the application function entity can send a tunnel establishment request to the core network control plane network element to achieve on-demand establishment and update of the shared tunnel.

[0102] In some embodiments of the present application, the tunnel establishment request includes at least one of the following: first group information corresponding to the terminal device, service information corresponding to the shared tunnel, service quality information corresponding to the shared tunnel, and network area information corresponding to the shared tunnel.

[0103] Among them, the first user group information is used to identify the user group corresponding to the shared tunnel, which can specifically be a user group identifier (group ID). The service information is used to describe the service corresponding to the shared tunnel, such as the Internet Protocol (IP) address, port number and other information of the service. The QoS information is used to describe the QoS requirements of the service application for the shared tunnel, such as the data transmission rate (i.e., bandwidth) and end-to-end latency required to be provided by the shared tunnel. The network area information is used by the core network control plane network element to determine the scope of establishing a shared tunnel, which can be specific geographical area information. It is not limited that the information content carried by the tunnel establishment request can be determined according to the specific scenario, which is not limited here.

[0104] In some embodiments of the present application, step 601, the application function entity sends a tunnel establishment request to the core network control plane network element, including:

[0105] The application function entity sends a tunnel establishment request to the network open network element;

[0106] After receiving the tunnel establishment request from the application function entity, the network open network element sends the tunnel establishment request to the core network control plane network element.

[0107] Among them, the network open network element provides a network capability open interface, and the application function entity can send a tunnel establishment request to the core network control plane network element through the network open network element, so that the core network control plane network element can obtain the tunnel establishment request and realize information interaction between the application function entity and the core network control plane network element.

[0108] In some embodiments of the present application, the core network control plane network element is determined by the network open network element according to the tunnel establishment request or the configuration information of the network open network element.

[0109] The communication system may include multiple core network control plane network elements, and the network open network element may select a core network control plane network element from the multiple core network control plane network elements, and then send a tunnel establishment request to the core network control plane network element. The configuration information of the network open network element refers to the local configuration of the network development network element, and the core network control plane network element corresponding to the tunnel establishment request can be determined through the local configuration.

[0110] 602. After receiving the tunnel establishment request, the core network control plane network element determines the tunnel configuration policy corresponding to the tunnel establishment request.

[0111] In an embodiment of the present application, the core network control plane network element can obtain the received tunnel establishment request from the application function entity, and the core network control plane network element can parse the tunnel establishment request to obtain the need to create a shared tunnel for the terminal device. For example, the tunnel establishment request includes at least one of the following information: user group information, service information, QoS information, and network area information of the terminal device. Therefore, the core network control plane function network element can obtain the group information of the terminal device through the user group information, and the core network control plane function network element can obtain the service type that needs to be transmitted in the shared tunnel through the service information. The core network control plane function network element can obtain the QoS requirements of the service application for the shared tunnel through the QoS information. The core network control plane function network element can obtain the scope of establishing a shared tunnel through the network area information.

[0112] In some embodiments of the present application, the tunnel configuration strategy includes at least one of the following: second group information corresponding to the terminal device, an identifier of the shared tunnel, quality of service information corresponding to the shared tunnel, and network area information corresponding to the shared tunnel.

[0113] Specifically, after the core network control plane network element obtains the tunnel establishment request, the core network control plane network element may generate a tunnel configuration policy corresponding to the tunnel establishment request, wherein the tunnel configuration policy may also be referred to as a shared tunnel configuration policy, and the tunnel configuration policy includes policy information required to create a shared tunnel. For example, the tunnel configuration policy may include at least one of the following: second user group information of the terminal device, a shared tunnel identifier, QoS information, and network area information.

[0114] Among them, the second group information corresponding to the terminal device includes at least one of the following: the group identifier, data network name, and network slice identifier corresponding to the terminal device.

[0115] Among them, the user group information may be a user group identifier, or the core network control plane network element maps the user group identifier to a corresponding unique identifier based on local configuration. For example, the unique identifier mapped by the user group identifier may include: data network name (data network name, DNN) or network slice identifier (single network slice selection assistance information, S-NSSAI), etc.

[0116] In some embodiments of the present application, the core network control plane network element determines the tunnel configuration policy corresponding to the tunnel establishment request, including:

[0117] The core network control plane network element obtains the group configuration policy corresponding to the terminal device;

[0118] The core network control plane network element generates the tunnel configuration policy according to the tunnel establishment request and the group configuration policy.

[0119] Among them, the group configuration policy corresponding to the terminal device can be the operator's group policy. The core network control plane functional network element can obtain the terminal device's configuration requirements for the shared tunnel (such as QoS information, network area information) from the tunnel establishment request. The core network control plane network element determines the tunnel configuration policy corresponding to the tunnel establishment request based on the shared tunnel configuration information provided by the application function entity and the operator's group policy. For example, the tunnel configuration policy includes: user group information, shared tunnel identifier, QoS information, network area information, etc.

[0120] 603. The core network control plane network element selects a session management network element according to the tunnel establishment request.

[0121] The communication system may include multiple session management network elements, and the core network control plane network element may select a session management network element from the multiple session management network elements according to the tunnel establishment request sent by the application function entity. For example, the tunnel establishment request may include network area information, and the core network control plane network element selects a session management network element that matches the network area information from the multiple session management network elements according to the network area information.

[0122] It should be noted that there is no order of precedence between the aforementioned step 603 and step 604. Step 603 may be performed first and then step 604, or step 604 may be performed first and then step 603, or both steps may be performed simultaneously, which is not limited here.

[0123] 604. The core network control plane network element sends a tunnel configuration policy to the session management network element. The tunnel configuration policy is used to instruct the session management network element to trigger the establishment of a shared tunnel between the access network node and the user plane function network element.

[0124] In an embodiment of the present application, after the core network control plane network element selects a session management network element according to a tunnel establishment request, the core network control plane network element may send a tunnel configuration policy to the selected session management network element, so that the session management network element may obtain the tunnel configuration policy.

[0125] Among them, the tunnel configuration policy is used to instruct the session management network element to trigger the establishment of a shared tunnel between the access network node and the user plane function network element. For example, the tunnel configuration policy may include at least one of the following: user group information of the terminal device, shared tunnel identifier, QoS information and network area information. Therefore, the session management network element can obtain the group information of the terminal device through the user group information, and the session management network element can obtain the service type that needs to be transmitted in the shared tunnel through the service information. The session management network element can obtain the QoS requirements of the service application for the shared tunnel through the QoS information. The session management network element can obtain the scope of establishing the shared tunnel through the network area information.

[0126] In some embodiments of the present application, after the core network control plane network element sends the tunnel configuration policy to the session management network element in step 604, the information processing method provided by the embodiment of the present application further includes:

[0127] The core network control plane network element receives the tunnel configuration result sent by the session management network element;

[0128] The core network control plane network element sends the tunnel configuration result to the application function entity.

[0129] Among them, after the shared tunnel is established between the access network node and the user plane function network element, the session management network element sends the tunnel configuration result, so that the core network control plane network element receives the tunnel configuration result sent by the session management network element, and the core network control plane network element sends the tunnel configuration result to the application function entity, so that the application function entity obtains the tunnel configuration result, and the application function entity determines that the shared tunnel between the access network node and the user plane function network element has been established based on the tunnel configuration result.

[0130] 605. After receiving the tunnel configuration policy, the session management network element selects a user plane function network element according to the tunnel configuration policy and the user plane function network element capability information, and the session management network element sends first shared tunnel establishment information to the user plane function network element.

[0131] In an embodiment of the present application, a session management network element may receive a tunnel configuration policy from a core network control plane network element, and the session management network element stores user plane function network element capability information. The session management network element matches the capability information of multiple user plane function network elements according to the tunnel configuration policy to determine the available user plane function network elements. For example, the user plane function network element capability information may include whether the user plane function network element supports shared tunnels, and the session management network element may select a user plane function network element from multiple user plane function network elements that support shared tunnels. For example, the tunnel configuration policy includes network area information, and the session management network element may also select a user plane function network element according to the network area information and the user plane function network element capability information, for example, requiring the selected user plane function network element to match the network area information.

[0132] In an embodiment of the present application, the session management network element sends first shared tunnel establishment information to the user plane function network element. The first shared tunnel establishment information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of the shared tunnel, and service quality information corresponding to the shared tunnel. The identifier of the shared tunnel and the service quality information corresponding to the shared tunnel can be used by the user plane function network element to create a shared tunnel, so that the user plane function network element can successfully create a shared tunnel.

[0133] 606. The session management network element determines the access network node according to the tunnel configuration policy, and the session management network element sends second shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node; wherein the first shared tunnel establishment information and the second shared tunnel establishment information are used to establish a shared tunnel between the access network node and the user plane function network element.

[0134] In an embodiment of the present application, the session management network element may receive a tunnel configuration policy from the core network control plane network element, and the session management network element determines the access network node according to the tunnel configuration policy. For example, the tunnel configuration policy includes network area information, and the session management network element may also determine the access network node according to the network area information, for example, the access network node matches the network area information.

[0135] In the embodiment of the present application, the session management network element sends the second shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node. The first shared tunnel establishment information and the second shared tunnel establishment information are used to establish a shared tunnel between the access network node and the user plane function network element. Specifically, the first shared tunnel establishment information is used by the user plane function network element to create a shared tunnel, and the second shared tunnel establishment information is used by the access network node to create a shared tunnel. The establishment process of the shared tunnel is not described in detail here.

[0136] In some embodiments of the present application, the second shared tunnel establishment information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of the shared tunnel, service quality information corresponding to the shared tunnel, and an address of a user plane function network element. The access network node determines that a shared tunnel needs to be created with the user plane function network element through the address of the user plane function network element, and the identifier of the shared tunnel and the service quality information corresponding to the shared tunnel can be used by the access network node to create the shared tunnel, so that the access network node can successfully create the shared tunnel.

[0137] In some embodiments of the present application, after the session management network element sends the second shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node in step 606, the information processing method provided by the embodiment of the present application further includes:

[0138] The session management network element receives a tunnel establishment response sent by the access network node, where the tunnel establishment response includes: an address of the access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel;

[0139] After the session management network element receives the tunnel establishment response sent by the access network node, the session management network element sends session configuration information to the user plane function network element, where the session configuration information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of the shared tunnel and an address of the access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel.

[0140] After the access network node establishes a shared tunnel between the user plane function network element and the access network node, the access network node may send a tunnel establishment response to the session management network element, and the tunnel establishment response includes: the address of the access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel. The session management network element may receive the tunnel establishment response sent by the access network node, and the session management network element parses the tunnel establishment response to obtain the address of the access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel, and then the session management network element sends session configuration information to the user plane function network element, and the session configuration information includes at least one of the following: the identifier of the shared tunnel, the address of the access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel, so that the user plane function network element can obtain the address of the access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel according to the received session configuration information, so that the user plane function network element can realize communication with the access network node.

[0141] In some embodiments of the present application, after the session management network element sends the session configuration information to the user plane function network element, the method provided by the embodiment of the present application further includes:

[0142] The session management network element sends the tunnel configuration result to the core network control plane network element.

[0143] Among them, after the shared tunnel is established between the access network node and the user plane function network element, the session management network element sends the tunnel configuration result, so that the core network control plane network element receives the tunnel configuration result sent by the session management network element, and the core network control plane network element sends the tunnel configuration result to the application function entity, so that the application function entity obtains the tunnel configuration result, and the application function entity determines that the shared tunnel between the access network node and the user plane function network element has been established based on the tunnel configuration result.

[0144] It can be seen from the examples of the aforementioned embodiments that the application function entity needs to determine the terminal device that uses the shared tunnel for data transmission. The application function entity can send a tunnel establishment request to the core network control plane network element, and the core network control plane network element can send a tunnel configuration policy to the session management network element, so that the session management network element can determine the user plane function network element and the access network node. The user plane function network element and the access network node can be the shared tunnel used for the terminal device to transmit data. In the embodiments of the present application, the shared tunnel requested to be created by the application function entity can be used for data transmission of the terminal device, so that according to the specific business requirements of the terminal device for transmitting data, a shared tunnel can be dynamically established between the access network node and the user plane function network element. The shared tunnel created dynamically on demand can realize the transmission data of the terminal device.

[0145] In some embodiments of the present application, the aforementioned Figure 6 In the embodiment shown, it is explained that the tunnel establishment request creates a shared tunnel between the access network node and the user plane function network element. After the shared tunnel is established, it is explained how the terminal device sends and receives data based on the shared tunnel, such as Figure 7 As shown, an information processing method provided by an embodiment of the present application, after the session management network element sends the second shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node in step 606, the information processing method provided by the embodiment of the present application further includes the following steps:

[0146] 701. The access and mobility management network element receives a session establishment request sent by a terminal device.

[0147] Among them, after creating a shared tunnel between the access network node and the user plane function network element, in order to be able to use the shared tunnel to send and receive data, the terminal device first triggers the establishment of a session, and the terminal device sends a session establishment request to the access and mobility management network element.

[0148] In some embodiments of the present application, a session establishment request may include: user group information and a slice identifier of a terminal device, wherein the user group information of the terminal device may be the data network name DNN where the terminal device is located, and the slice identifier refers to the identifier of the network slice used for data transmission.

[0149] 702. The access and mobility management network element determines the session management network element corresponding to the terminal device according to the session establishment request.

[0150] The communication system may include multiple session management network elements, and the access and mobility management network element may select a session management network element from the multiple session management network elements according to the session establishment request. For example, the session establishment request may include a DNN, and the access and mobility management network element determines a session management network element matching the DNN according to the DNN.

[0151] In some embodiments of the present application, step 702, the access and mobility management network element determines the session management network element corresponding to the terminal device according to the session establishment request, including:

[0152] The access and mobility management network element determines the group information of the terminal device according to the session establishment request;

[0153] The access and mobility management network element sends the group information of the terminal device to the session selection network element;

[0154] The access and mobility management network element receives the session management network element information determined by the session selection network element.

[0155] Among them, after the access and mobility management network element receives the session establishment request, the access and mobility management network element can obtain the group information of the terminal device according to the session establishment request, for example, the access and mobility management network element obtains the user group information (referred to as group information) of the terminal device from the user subscription data management entity (unified data management, UDM), for example, the group information may include group identifier, slice identifier, DNN and other information, the session selection network element may be an entity with a network element selection function, the session selection network element is pre-configured with the session management network element corresponding to the user group information of the terminal device, and the session selection network element sends the session management network element information corresponding to the access and mobility management network element according to the group information of the terminal device. The session selection network element may be a network slice selection function entity (network slice selection function, NSSF), and / or a network repository function entity (network repository function, NRF).

[0156] 703. The access and mobility management network element sends a session management context establishment request to the session management network element.

[0157] In an embodiment of the present application, after the access and mobility management network element determines the session management network element, the access and mobility management network element may send a session management context establishment request to the session management network element, wherein the session management context establishment request is used to trigger the establishment of a session management (SM) context. The session management context establishment request may carry user group information of the terminal device.

[0158] In some embodiments of the present application, after the access and mobility management network element sends a session management context establishment request to the session management network element in step 703, the information processing method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes the following steps:

[0159] The access and mobility management network element receives the shared tunnel establishment information sent by the session management network element, where the shared tunnel establishment information includes: an identifier of the shared tunnel and an address of the user plane function network element;

[0160] The access and mobility management network element sends shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node.

[0161] Among them, if a shared tunnel has been created for the terminal device, the session management network element can also obtain the shared tunnel identifier and the address of the user plane function network element, and then send shared tunnel establishment information to the access and mobility management network element, so that the access and mobility management network element sends the shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node. The access network node can save the shared tunnel establishment information for subsequent terminal device data transmission.

[0162] 704. After receiving the session management context establishment request, the session management network element determines a shared tunnel to be established for the terminal device according to the session management context establishment request.

[0163] In the embodiment of the present application, after the session management network element receives the session management context establishment request, the session management network element can determine whether a shared tunnel has been established for the terminal device in advance according to the session management context establishment request. If it is determined that a shared tunnel is established for the terminal device, the subsequent step 705 is executed. If a shared tunnel is not established for the terminal device, the subsequent step 706 is executed again. Figure 6 The process of creating a shared tunnel is shown in FIG.

[0164] In some embodiments of the present application, the session management context establishment request includes: group information of the terminal device. For example, the session management context establishment request may carry user group information of the terminal device, and the session management network element queries the tunnel configuration policy stored in the session management network element according to the user group information to determine whether a shared tunnel has been established for the terminal device.

[0165] 705. The session management network element sends session establishment information to the user plane function network element. The session establishment information includes: an identifier of the terminal device and an identifier of the shared tunnel.

[0166] In an embodiment of the present application, if a shared tunnel has been created for a terminal device, the session management network element obtains the identifier of the terminal device and the identifier of the shared tunnel, and then sends session establishment information to the user plane function network element, so that the user plane function network element can obtain the identifier of the terminal device and the identifier of the shared tunnel, so that the user plane function network element can use the shared tunnel to send and receive data.

[0167] 706. The session management network element sends shared tunnel configuration information to the access and mobility management network element. The shared tunnel configuration information includes: an identifier of the shared tunnel and an address of the user plane function network element.

[0168] In some embodiments of the present application, if a shared tunnel has been created for a terminal device, the session management network element can also obtain the identifier of the shared tunnel and the address of the user plane function network element, and then send shared tunnel establishment information to the access and mobility management network element, so that the access and mobility management network element sends the shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node, and the access network node can save the shared tunnel establishment information for subsequent data transmission of the terminal device.

[0169] It can be seen from the examples of the aforementioned embodiments that after a shared tunnel is created between an access network node and a user plane function network element, in order for a terminal device to use the shared tunnel for data transmission and reception, the terminal device first triggers the establishment of a session, and the terminal device sends a session establishment request to the access and mobility management network element. The access and mobility management network element can interact with the session management network element to successfully establish a session context, so that the terminal device can use the shared tunnel for data transmission.

[0170] In order to better understand and implement the above-mentioned solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the following examples are given for specific explanation by using corresponding application scenarios.

[0171] like Figure 8 As shown, the embodiment of the present application describes a schematic diagram of an interaction process between AF, NEF, PCF, SMF, UPF and RAN. PCF can create a shared tunnel based on the tunnel establishment request sent by AF, which mainly includes the following processes:

[0172] S01. AF sends a tunnel establishment request to NEF.

[0173] S02. NEF sends a tunnel establishment request to PCF.

[0174] Specifically, AF provides NEF with a tunnel establishment request, which includes: user group information, service information, QoS information (such as bandwidth and latency), network area information, etc. Among them, user group information is used to identify the user group corresponding to the shared tunnel, which can be a user group identifier (group ID); service information is used to describe the service corresponding to the shared tunnel, such as the IP address and port number of the service; network area information is used to determine the scope of establishing a shared tunnel, which can be specific geographical area information. QoS information is used to describe the QoS requirements of the service application for the shared tunnel, such as the data transmission rate and end-to-end latency required to be provided by the shared tunnel.

[0175] NEF selects PCF according to network area information or local configuration information, and forwards the tunnel establishment request obtained from AF. In actual network deployment, there may be multiple PCFs, and different PCFs may serve different network areas, that is, NEF selects PCF according to network area information. Alternatively, the operator may pre-deploy some specific PCFs specifically for processing shared tunnel establishment, and NEF may pre-configure and determine the address information of such specific PCFs.

[0176] S03. PCF generates a tunnel configuration policy.

[0177] Specifically, the PCF determines the shared tunnel configuration policy corresponding to the tunnel establishment request of the AF based on the tunnel establishment request provided by the AF and the group policy of the operator, and the shared tunnel configuration policy includes: user group information, shared tunnel identifier, QoS parameters, and network area information. Among them, the user group information can be a user group identifier, or the PCF maps the user group identifier to the corresponding data network name or network slice identifier based on the local configuration of the PCF.

[0178] S04. PCF sends the tunnel configuration policy to SMF.

[0179] Among them, the PCF selects the corresponding SMF based on the network area information, sends the shared tunnel configuration policy to the corresponding one or more SMFs, and triggers the SMF to establish a shared tunnel.

[0180] S05a. SMF sends the first shared tunnel establishment information to UPF.

[0181] S05b. UPF sends a first response message to SMF.

[0182] Specifically, SMF saves the shared tunnel configuration policy, selects the corresponding UPF based on the network area information and UPF capability information (such as whether shared tunnels are supported), and sends the first shared tunnel establishment information, which may include a shared tunnel identifier and QoS parameters. UPF returns confirmation (ACK) information to SMF and saves the shared tunnel information for subsequent data transmission.

[0183] S06a. SMF sends second shared tunnel establishment information to RAN.

[0184] S06b. RAN sends a second response message to SMF.

[0185] Among them, the SMF determines the relevant RAN node based on the network area information, and sends the second shared tunnel establishment information to the RAN node, and the second shared tunnel establishment information may include a shared tunnel identifier, QoS parameters, and a UPF address. For example, the SMF first sends the second shared tunnel establishment information to the AMF, which is then forwarded to the RAN by the AMF. The RAN saves the second shared tunnel establishment information and returns the RAN address corresponding to the shared tunnel to the SMF.

[0186] S07. SMF sends a tunnel establishment response to UPF.

[0187] Among them, SMF sends the RAN address corresponding to the shared tunnel to UPF.

[0188] S08. SMF sends the tunnel configuration result to PCF.

[0189] S09. PCF sends the tunnel configuration result to NEF.

[0190] S10. NEE sends the tunnel configuration result to AF.

[0191] After the shared tunnel is established, the SMF sends the tunnel configuration result to the PCF, and the PCF returns the tunnel configuration result to the AF through the NEF, so that the AF obtains the tunnel configuration result.

[0192] In the embodiment of the present application, the shared tunnel can be established by providing the shared tunnel configuration information to the network on demand through the AF, that is, in actual application, the AF can update the configuration information of the shared tunnel to the network according to business needs, for example, the SMF can determine whether to re-establish a new shared tunnel or modify the previously established shared tunnel. The PCF can obtain the user group information, business information, QoS information, and network area information of the terminal device, so that the PCF can update the shared tunnel configuration policy accordingly, and update the establishment of the shared tunnel.

[0193] In an embodiment of the present application, PCF can dynamically create and update shared tunnels on demand based on business needs. For example, business needs may include user group information, business information, QoS information, network area information, etc., so that the shared tunnel can be suitable for terminal devices of various business types.

[0194] like Fig. 9 As shown, after completing Figure 8 After the shared tunnel establishment process shown, the UE can send and receive data based on the created shared tunnel, which mainly includes the following processes:

[0195] S11. UE sends a session establishment request to AMF.

[0196] Among them, the UE initiates a PDU session establishment request message to the AMF, and the request message carries the requested DNN and slice identification information.

[0197] S12. AMF selects SMF according to the user group information of UE.

[0198] Among them, AMF can obtain the user group information of UE from the user contract data management entity, such as the user group identifier corresponding to the UE, the slice identifier subscribed by the UE and other information. AMF selects the corresponding SMF according to the user group information of the UE, specifically including: AMF sends the user group information of the UE to the session selection network element, the user group information includes group identifier, slice identifier, DNN and other information, the session selection network element pre-configures the SMF corresponding to the UE group information, and returns the corresponding SMF information to AMF according to the user group information of the UE provided by AMF. Among them, the session selection network element can be NSSF and / or NRF.

[0199] S13. AMF sends a session management context establishment request to SMF.

[0200] Specifically, the AMF sends a PDU session SM context establishment request message to the selected SMF, which carries the user group information of the UE.

[0201] S14. SMF determines that a shared tunnel has been established for the UE based on the user group information of the UE.

[0202] According to the user group information of the UE, the SMF queries whether a shared tunnel has been established for the UE in the shared tunnel configuration policy stored in the SMF.

[0203] S15. SMF sends session establishment information to UPF.

[0204] SMF sends a session establishment message to the corresponding UPF, which includes the UE ID and the corresponding shared tunnel ID. UPF returns ACK information to SMF, and UPF and SMF save the shared tunnel information for subsequent data transmission of the UE.

[0205] S16. UPF sends tunnel establishment information to RAN.

[0206] The SMF sends tunnel establishment information to the RAN, where the tunnel establishment information includes: a shared tunnel identifier and a UPF address.

[0207] S17. RAN sends shared tunnel information to UE.

[0208] The RAN sends the shared tunnel information to the UE for subsequent data transmission of the UE.

[0209] S18. UE sends uplink data to RAN.

[0210] The UE sends uplink data to the RAN, which carries the corresponding shared tunnel identifier.

[0211] S19. RAN determines the UPF address according to the shared tunnel identifier and forwards the uplink data.

[0212] The RAN determines the corresponding UPF address based on the shared tunnel identifier and forwards the uplink data accordingly.

[0213] S20. RAN sends uplink data to UPF.

[0214] The RAN forwards the uplink data to the corresponding UPF, carrying the shared tunnel identifier.

[0215] It should be noted that the process of downlink data transmission is similar to that of uplink data transmission, and will not be described in detail here.

[0216] In an embodiment of the present application, AMF selects SMF according to the user group information of the UE, and the SMF determines whether a shared tunnel available for the UE has been pre-established according to the user group information of the UE, so that the UE can be assigned to the corresponding shared tunnel for subsequent data transmission.

[0217] In an embodiment of the present application, SMF can be selected according to the user group information of the UE, and the SMF can allocate shared tunnels according to the group information of the UE. In practical applications, flexible configuration of shared tunnels can be achieved, and operators can flexibly configure which UE information is used to configure and allocate shared tunnels.

[0218] It should be noted that, for the aforementioned method embodiments, for the sake of simplicity, they are all expressed as a series of action combinations, but those skilled in the art should be aware that the present application is not limited by the described order of actions, because according to the present application, certain steps can be performed in other orders or simultaneously. Secondly, those skilled in the art should also be aware that the embodiments described in the specification are all preferred embodiments, and the actions and modules involved are not necessarily required by the present application.

[0219] In order to better implement the above-mentioned solution of the embodiment of the present application, relevant devices for implementing the above-mentioned solution are also provided below.

[0220] See also Fig.10 As shown, a core network control plane network element 1000 provided in an embodiment of the present application may include: a sending module 1001, a receiving module 1002 and a processing module 1003, wherein:

[0221] A receiving module, used to receive a tunnel establishment request from an application function entity, wherein the tunnel establishment request is used to request to establish a shared tunnel for transmitting data of a terminal device;

[0222] A processing module, used to determine a tunnel configuration policy corresponding to the tunnel establishment request;

[0223] A processing module, configured to select a session management network element according to the tunnel establishment request;

[0224] The sending module is used to send the tunnel configuration policy to the session management network element, where the tunnel configuration policy is used to instruct the session management network element to trigger the establishment of the shared tunnel between the access network node and the user plane function network element.

[0225] In some embodiments of the present application, the receiving module is used to receive a tunnel establishment request sent by a network open network element, wherein the network open network element receives the tunnel establishment request from the application function entity.

[0226] In some embodiments of the present application, the processing module is used to obtain the group configuration policy corresponding to the terminal device; and generate the tunnel configuration policy according to the tunnel establishment request and the group configuration policy.

[0227] In some embodiments of the present application, the tunnel establishment request includes at least one of the following: first group information corresponding to the terminal device, service information corresponding to the shared tunnel, service quality information corresponding to the shared tunnel, and network area information corresponding to the shared tunnel.

[0228] In some embodiments of the present application, the tunnel configuration strategy includes at least one of the following: second group information corresponding to the terminal device, an identifier of the shared tunnel, quality of service information corresponding to the shared tunnel, and network area information corresponding to the shared tunnel.

[0229] See also Fig.11 As shown, a session management network element 1100 provided in an embodiment of the present application may include: a sending module 1101, a receiving module 1102 and a processing module 1103, wherein:

[0230] A receiving module, used to receive a tunnel configuration policy sent by a core network control plane network element;

[0231] A processing module, configured to select a user plane function network element according to the tunnel configuration strategy and the user plane function network element capability information;

[0232] A sending module, configured to send first shared tunnel establishment information to the user plane function network element;

[0233] A processing module, configured to determine an access network node according to the tunnel configuration strategy;

[0234] A sending module, used to send second shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node;

[0235] The first shared tunnel establishment information and the second shared tunnel establishment information are used to establish the shared tunnel between the access network node and the user plane function network element.

[0236] In some embodiments of the present application, the first shared tunnel establishment information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of the shared tunnel, and quality of service information corresponding to the shared tunnel.

[0237] In some embodiments of the present application, the second shared tunnel establishment information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of the shared tunnel, quality of service information corresponding to the shared tunnel, and an address of the user plane function network element.

[0238] In some embodiments of the present application, the receiving module is used to receive a tunnel establishment response sent by the access network node after the sending module sends the second shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node, and the tunnel establishment response includes: the address of the access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel.

[0239] In some embodiments of the present application, the sending module is used to send session configuration information to the user plane functional network element after the receiving module receives the tunnel establishment response sent by the access network node, and the session configuration information includes at least one of the following: the identifier of the shared tunnel, and the address of the access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel.

[0240] In some embodiments of the present application, the receiving module is configured to receive a session management context establishment request sent by the access and mobility management network element after the sending module sends the second shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node;

[0241] A processing module, configured to determine a shared tunnel established for the terminal device according to the session management context establishment request;

[0242] A sending module, configured to send session establishment information to the user plane function network element, wherein the session establishment information includes: an identifier of the terminal device and an identifier of the shared tunnel;

[0243] The sending module is used to send shared tunnel configuration information to the access and mobility management network element, where the shared tunnel configuration information includes: an identifier of the shared tunnel and an address of the user plane function network element.

[0244] See also Fig.12 As shown, an access and mobility management network element 1200 provided in an embodiment of the present application may include: a sending module 1201, a receiving module 1202 and a processing module 1203, wherein:

[0245] A receiving module, used for receiving a session establishment request sent by a terminal device;

[0246] A processing module, configured to determine a session management network element corresponding to the terminal device according to the session establishment request;

[0247] The sending module is used to send a session management context establishment request to the session management network element.

[0248] In some embodiments of the present application, the processing module is used to determine the group information of the terminal device according to the session establishment request;

[0249] A sending module, used for sending the group information of the terminal device to the session selection network element;

[0250] The receiving module is used to receive the session management network element information determined by the session selection network element.

[0251] In some embodiments of the present application, the receiving module is configured to receive shared tunnel establishment information sent by the session management network element after sending a session management context establishment request to the session management network element, wherein the shared tunnel establishment information includes: an identifier of the shared tunnel and an address of a user plane function network element;

[0252] The sending module is used to send shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node.

[0253] It can be seen from the examples of the aforementioned embodiments that the application function entity needs to determine the terminal device that uses the shared tunnel for data transmission. The application function entity can send a tunnel establishment request to the core network control plane network element, and the core network control plane network element can send a tunnel configuration policy to the session management network element, so that the session management network element can determine the user plane function network element and the access network node. The user plane function network element and the access network node can be the shared tunnel used for the terminal device to transmit data. In the embodiments of the present application, the shared tunnel requested to be created by the application function entity can be used for data transmission of the terminal device, so that according to the specific business requirements of the terminal device for transmitting data, a shared tunnel can be dynamically established between the access network node and the user plane function network element. The shared tunnel created dynamically on demand can realize the transmission data of the terminal device.

[0254] It should be noted that the information interaction, execution process, etc. between the modules / units of the above-mentioned device are based on the same concept as the method embodiment of the present application, and the technical effects they bring are the same as those of the method embodiment of the present application. For specific contents, please refer to the description in the method embodiment shown above in the present application, and will not be repeated here.

[0255] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer storage medium, wherein the computer storage medium stores a program, and the program executes some or all of the steps recorded in the above method embodiment.

[0256] Next, another core network control plane network element provided by the embodiment of the present application is introduced. Fig.13 As shown, the core network control plane network element 1300 includes:

[0257] Receiver 1301, transmitter 1302, processor 1303 and memory 1304 (wherein the number of processors 1303 in the core network control plane network element 1300 may be one or more, Fig.13 In some embodiments of the present application, the receiver 1301, the transmitter 1302, the processor 1303 and the memory 1304 may be connected via a bus or other means, wherein: Fig.13 The example of connecting through bus is taken in the following.

[0258] The memory 1304 may include a read-only memory and a random access memory, and provides instructions and data to the processor 1303. A portion of the memory 1304 may also include a non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM). The memory 1304 stores an operating system and operating instructions, executable modules or data structures, or a subset thereof, or an extended set thereof, wherein the operating instructions may include various operating instructions for implementing various operations. The operating system may include various system programs for implementing various basic services and processing hardware-based tasks.

[0259] The processor 1303 controls the operation of the core network control plane network element, and the processor 1303 can also be called a central processing unit (CPU). In a specific application, the various components of the core network control plane network element are coupled together through a bus system, wherein the bus system includes not only a data bus, but also a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus. However, for the sake of clarity, various buses are referred to as bus systems in the figure.

[0260] The method disclosed in the above embodiment of the present application can be applied to the processor 1303, or implemented by the processor 1303. The processor 1303 can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the above method can be completed by the hardware integrated logic circuit or software instructions in the processor 1303. The above processor 1303 can be a general processor, a digital signal processor (digital signal processing, DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (application specific integrated circuit, ASIC), a field programmable gate array (field-programmable gate array, FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components. The methods, steps and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiment of the present application can be directly embodied as a hardware decoding processor to execute, or the hardware and software modules in the decoding processor can be executed. The software module can be located in a mature storage medium in the field such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory 1304, and the processor 1303 reads the information in the memory 1304 and completes the steps of the above method in combination with its hardware.

[0261] Receiver 1301 can be used to receive input digital or character information, and generate signal input related to the relevant settings and function control of the core network control plane network elements. Transmitter 1302 may include display devices such as display screens. Transmitter 1302 can be used to output digital or character information through an external interface.

[0262] In the embodiment of the present application, the processor 1303 is used to execute the information processing method executed by the aforementioned core network control plane network element.

[0263] Next, another session management network element provided by the embodiment of the present application is introduced. Fig.14 As shown, the session management network element 1400 includes:

[0264] The receiver 1401, the transmitter 1402, the processor 1403 and the memory 1404 (the number of the processor 1403 in the session management network element 1400 can be one or more, Fig.14 In some embodiments of the present application, the receiver 1401, the transmitter 1402, the processor 1403 and the memory 1404 may be connected via a bus or other means, wherein: Fig.14 The example of connecting through bus is taken in the following.

[0265] The memory 1404 may include a read-only memory and a random access memory, and provides instructions and data to the processor 1403. A portion of the memory 1404 may also include an NVRAM. The memory 1404 stores an operating system and operating instructions, executable modules or data structures, or a subset thereof, or an extended set thereof, wherein the operating instructions may include various operating instructions for implementing various operations. The operating system may include various system programs for implementing various basic services and processing hardware-based tasks.

[0266] The processor 1403 controls the operation of the session management network element, and the processor 1403 may also be referred to as a CPU. In a specific application, the various components of the session management network element are coupled together through a bus system, wherein the bus system may include a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus in addition to a data bus. However, for the sake of clarity, various buses are referred to as bus systems in the figure.

[0267] The method disclosed in the above embodiment of the present application can be applied to the processor 1403, or implemented by the processor 1403. The processor 1403 can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the above method can be completed by the hardware integrated logic circuit in the processor 1403 or the instruction in the form of software. The above processor 1403 can be a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component. The methods, steps and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiment of the present application can be directly embodied as a hardware decoding processor to execute, or the hardware and software modules in the decoding processor are combined to execute. The software module can be located in a mature storage medium in the field such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory 1404, and the processor 1403 reads the information in the memory 1404 and completes the steps of the above method in combination with its hardware.

[0268] In the embodiment of the present application, the processor 1403 is used to execute the request processing method executed by the session management network element.

[0269] Next, another access and mobility management network element provided by the embodiment of the present application is introduced. Fig.15 As shown, the access and mobility management network element 1500 includes:

[0270] Receiver 1501, transmitter 1502, processor 1503 and memory 1504 (wherein the number of processors 1503 in the access and mobility management network element 1500 may be one or more, Fig.15 In some embodiments of the present application, the receiver 1501, the transmitter 1502, the processor 1503 and the memory 1504 may be connected via a bus or other means, wherein: Fig.15 The example of connecting through bus is taken in the following.

[0271] The memory 1504 may include a read-only memory and a random access memory, and provides instructions and data to the processor 1503. A portion of the memory 1504 may also include an NVRAM. The memory 1504 stores an operating system and operating instructions, executable modules or data structures, or a subset thereof, or an extended set thereof, wherein the operating instructions may include various operating instructions for implementing various operations. The operating system may include various system programs for implementing various basic services and processing hardware-based tasks.

[0272] The processor 1503 controls the operation of the access and mobility management network element, and the processor 1503 can also be called a CPU. In a specific application, the various components of the access and mobility management network element are coupled together through a bus system, wherein the bus system includes not only a data bus but also a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus, etc. However, for the sake of clarity, various buses are referred to as bus systems in the figure.

[0273] The method disclosed in the above embodiment of the present application can be applied to the processor 1503, or implemented by the processor 1503. The processor 1503 can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the above method can be completed by the hardware integrated logic circuit or software instructions in the processor 1503. The above processor 1503 can be a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component. The methods, steps and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiment of the present application can be directly embodied as a hardware decoding processor to be executed, or the hardware and software modules in the decoding processor are combined and executed. The software module can be located in a mature storage medium in the field such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory 1504, and the processor 1503 reads the information in the memory 1504 and completes the steps of the above method in combination with its hardware.

[0274] In the embodiment of the present application, the processor 1503 is used to execute the request processing method executed by the access and mobility management network element.

[0275] In another possible design, when the core network control plane network element, the session management network element, and the access and mobility management network element are chips, the chip includes: a processing unit and a communication unit, the processing unit may be, for example, a processor, and the communication unit may be, for example, an input / output interface, a pin or a circuit, etc. The processing unit may execute computer-executable instructions stored in the storage unit so that the chip in the terminal executes the wireless communication method of any one of the above-mentioned first aspects. Optionally, the storage unit is a storage unit in the chip, such as a register, a cache, etc., and the storage unit may also be a storage unit in the terminal located outside the chip, such as a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM), etc.

[0276] The processor mentioned in any of the above places may be a general-purpose central processing unit, a microprocessor, an ASIC, or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of the program of the above method.

[0277] It should also be noted that the device embodiments described above are merely schematic, 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 over 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. In addition, in the drawings of the device embodiments provided by the present application, the connection relationship between the modules indicates that there is a communication connection between them, which may be specifically implemented as one or more communication buses or signal lines.

[0278] Through the description of the above implementation mode, the technicians in the field can clearly understand that the present application can be implemented by means of software plus necessary general hardware, and of course, it can also be implemented by special hardware including application-specific integrated circuits, special CPUs, special memories, special components, etc. In general, all functions completed by computer programs can be easily implemented with corresponding hardware, and the specific hardware structure used to implement the same function can also be various, such as analog circuits, digital circuits or special circuits. However, for the present application, software program implementation is a better implementation mode in more cases. Based on such an understanding, the technical solution of the present application is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a readable storage medium, such as a computer floppy disk, a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk or an optical disk, etc., including a number of instructions to enable a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in each embodiment of the present application.

[0279] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product.

[0280] The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from a website site, a computer, a server, or a data center by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode to another website site, computer, server, or data center. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can store or a data storage device such as a server or a data center that includes one or more available media integrations. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid-state drive (SSD)), etc.

Claims

1. An information processing method, characterized in that: include: The core network control plane network element receives a tunnel establishment request from the application function entity, where the tunnel establishment request is used to request establishment of a shared tunnel for data transmission by a terminal device; The tunnel establishment request includes: first group information corresponding to the terminal device, service information corresponding to the shared tunnel, service quality information corresponding to the shared tunnel, and network area information corresponding to the shared tunnel, wherein the service information is used to determine the service type that needs to be transmitted in the shared tunnel, the service quality information is used to determine the service quality requirement of the service application for the shared tunnel, and the network area information is used to determine the scope of establishing the shared tunnel; The core network control plane network element determines the tunnel configuration policy corresponding to the tunnel establishment request; The core network control plane network element selects a session management network element according to the tunnel establishment request; The core network control plane network element sends the tunnel configuration policy to the session management network element, where the tunnel configuration policy is used to instruct the session management network element to trigger the establishment of the shared tunnel between the access network node and the user plane function network element.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The core network control plane network element receives a tunnel establishment request from an application function entity, including: The core network control plane network element receives a tunnel establishment request sent by a network open network element, wherein the network open network element receives the tunnel establishment request from the application function entity.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The core network control plane network element determines the tunnel configuration policy corresponding to the tunnel establishment request, including: The core network control plane network element obtains the group configuration policy corresponding to the terminal device; The core network control plane network element generates the tunnel configuration policy according to the tunnel establishment request and the group configuration policy.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that The tunnel configuration strategy includes at least one of the following: second group information corresponding to the terminal device, an identifier of the shared tunnel, quality of service information corresponding to the shared tunnel, and network area information corresponding to the shared tunnel.

5. An information processing method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The session management network element receives a tunnel configuration policy sent by a core network control plane network element, where the tunnel configuration policy is determined according to a tunnel establishment request, where the tunnel establishment request includes: first group information corresponding to a terminal device, service information corresponding to a shared tunnel, quality of service information corresponding to the shared tunnel, and network area information corresponding to the shared tunnel, where the service information is used to determine a service type that needs to be transmitted in the shared tunnel, the quality of service information is used to determine a service quality requirement of a service application for the shared tunnel, and the network area information is used to determine a scope for establishing the shared tunnel; The session management network element selects a user plane function network element according to the tunnel configuration policy and the user plane function network element capability information, and the session management network element sends first shared tunnel establishment information to the user plane function network element; The session management network element determines an access network node according to the tunnel configuration policy, and the session management network element sends second shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node; The first shared tunnel establishment information and the second shared tunnel establishment information are used to establish the shared tunnel between the access network node and the user plane function network element.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The first shared tunnel establishment information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of the shared tunnel and quality of service information corresponding to the shared tunnel.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that: The second shared tunnel establishment information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of the shared tunnel, quality of service information corresponding to the shared tunnel, and an address of the user plane function network element.

8. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 6, characterized in that After the session management network element sends the second shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node, the method further includes: The session management network element receives a tunnel establishment response sent by the access network node, where the tunnel establishment response includes: an address of the access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that After the session management network element receives the tunnel establishment response sent by the access network node, the method further includes: The session management network element sends session configuration information to the user plane function network element, where the session configuration information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of the shared tunnel and an address of an access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel.

10. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 6, characterized in that After the session management network element sends the second shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node, the method further includes: The session management network element receives a session management context establishment request sent by the access and mobility management network element; The session management network element determines a shared tunnel to be established for the terminal device according to the session management context establishment request; The session management network element sends session establishment information to the user plane function network element, where the session establishment information includes: an identifier of the terminal device and an identifier of the shared tunnel; The session management network element sends shared tunnel configuration information to the access and mobility management network element, where the shared tunnel configuration information includes: an identifier of the shared tunnel and an address of the user plane function network element.

11. An information processing method, characterized in that: include: The application function entity sends a tunnel establishment request to the core network control plane network element, the tunnel establishment request is used to request the establishment of a shared tunnel for terminal equipment to transmit data, the tunnel establishment request includes: first group information corresponding to the terminal equipment, service information corresponding to the shared tunnel, service quality information corresponding to the shared tunnel, and network area information corresponding to the shared tunnel, the service information is used to determine the service type that needs to be transmitted in the shared tunnel, the service quality information is used to determine the service quality requirements of the service application for the shared tunnel, and the network area information is used to determine the scope of establishing the shared tunnel; After receiving the tunnel establishment request, the core network control plane network element determines the tunnel configuration policy corresponding to the tunnel establishment request; The core network control plane network element selects a session management network element according to the tunnel establishment request; The core network control plane network element sends the tunnel configuration policy to the session management network element, where the tunnel configuration policy is used to instruct the session management network element to trigger the establishment of the shared tunnel between the access network node and the user plane function network element; After the session management network element receives the tunnel configuration policy, the session management network element selects a user plane function network element according to the tunnel configuration policy and user plane function network element capability information, and the session management network element sends first shared tunnel establishment information to the user plane function network element; The session management network element determines the access network node according to the tunnel configuration policy, and the session management network element sends second shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node; wherein the first shared tunnel establishment information and the second shared tunnel establishment information are used to establish the shared tunnel between the access network node and the user plane function network element.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The application function entity sends a tunnel establishment request to a core network control plane network element, including: The application function entity sends a tunnel establishment request to the network open network element; After receiving the tunnel establishment request from the application function entity, the network open network element sends the tunnel establishment request to the core network control plane network element.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that: After the session management network element sends the second shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node, the method further includes: The session management network element receives a tunnel establishment response sent by the access network node, where the tunnel establishment response includes: an address of the access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel; After the session management network element receives the tunnel establishment response sent by the access network node, the session management network element sends session configuration information to the user plane function network element, and the session configuration information includes at least one of the following: the identifier of the shared tunnel and the address of the access network node corresponding to the shared tunnel.

14. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 12, characterized in that After the session management network element sends the second shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node, the method further includes: The access and mobility management network element receives a session establishment request sent by the terminal device; The access and mobility management network element determines the session management network element corresponding to the terminal device according to the session establishment request; The access and mobility management network element sends a session management context establishment request to the session management network element; After the session management network element receives the session management context establishment request, the session management network element determines a shared tunnel to be established for the terminal device according to the session management context establishment request; The session management network element sends session establishment information to the user plane function network element, where the session establishment information includes: an identifier of the terminal device and an identifier of the shared tunnel; The session management network element sends shared tunnel configuration information to the access and mobility management network element, where the shared tunnel configuration information includes: an identifier of the shared tunnel and an address of the user plane function network element.

15. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 12, characterized in that The access and mobility management network element determines, according to the session establishment request, a session management network element corresponding to the terminal device, including: The access and mobility management network element determines the group information of the terminal device according to the session establishment request; The access and mobility management network element sends the group information of the terminal device to the session selection network element; The access and mobility management network element receives the session management network element information determined by the session selection network element.

16. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that After the access and mobility management network element sends a session management context establishment request to the session management network element, the method further includes: The access and mobility management network element receives the shared tunnel establishment information sent by the session management network element, where the shared tunnel establishment information includes: an identifier of the shared tunnel and an address of a user plane function network element; The access and mobility management network element sends shared tunnel establishment information to the access network node.

17. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device is a core network control plane network element, including at least one processor, and the at least one processor is used to couple with a memory, read and execute instructions in the memory to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 4.

18. The communication device according to claim 17, characterized in that: The communication device further includes: the memory.

19. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device is a session management network element, comprising at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to be coupled to a memory, read and execute instructions in the memory, so as to implement the method according to any one of claims 5 to 10.

20. The communication device according to claim 19, characterized in that The communication device further includes: the memory.

21. A communication system, characterized in that: The communication system comprises: a core network control plane network element, a session management network element, and an access and mobility management network element, wherein: The core network control plane network element is used to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4; The session management network element is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 5 to 10.

22. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, or 5 to 10, or 11 to 16.

23. A computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, or 5 to 10, or 11 to 16.

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