Communication method and gateway device

Abstract

An embodiment of the present application provides a communication method and a gateway device, wherein the communication method is applied to the gateway device, and the method includes: in response to obtaining an uplink data packet from a user terminal, determining message attribute information of the uplink data packet; forwarding the uplink data packet to a target network based on the message attribute information, wherein the target network includes a target core network, or a local network or an edge network where the gateway device is located; wherein the gateway device has no association with a 5G network element in the 5G network in which it is located.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and a gateway device. Background Art

[0002] The User Plane Function (UPF) is a crucial component of the 3GPP 5G core network system architecture, primarily responsible for routing and forwarding user-plane data packets within the 5G core network. The UPF plays a crucial role in 5G's low-latency, high-bandwidth edge computing and network slicing technologies. Furthermore, the UPF encompasses the functions of the SGW-U and PGW-U following the CUPS policy, primarily responsible for traffic transmission and receiving forwarding policy control information through the northbound interface (N4).

[0003] With the development of 5G networks, openness and flexibility are being demanded for UPF to expand into vertical industry markets and build a new ecosystem. Operators have begun promoting openUPF N4 decoupling and conducting various N4 decoupling tests. However, due to the current immaturity and insufficient demonstration of N4 openness, openUPF is not yet fully implemented, making the deployment of existing 5G network systems complex and costly. Summary of the Invention

[0004] An embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, applied to a gateway device, the method comprising:

[0005] In response to obtaining an uplink data message from a user terminal, determining message attribute information of the uplink data message;

[0006] forwarding the uplink data message to a target network based on the message attribute information, the target network including a target core network, or a local network or an edge network where the gateway device is located;

[0007] The gateway device has no association with the 5G network element in the 5G network in which it is located.

[0008] As an optional embodiment, forwarding the uplink data packet to the target network at least based on the packet attribute information includes:

[0009] Matching a corresponding diversion strategy based on the message attribute information, and forwarding the uplink data message to the local network, the edge network, or the target core network based on the obtained matching result;

[0010] The diversion strategy includes a pre-configured diversion strategy and / or a diversion strategy formed by self-learning.

[0011] As an optional embodiment, forwarding the uplink data packet to the local network, the edge network, or the target core network based on the obtained matching result includes:

[0012] If the matching result indicates that a diversion strategy for indicating a configured path for the uplink data message exists in the network device, the uplink data message is forwarded to the edge network or the local network according to the configured path; and / or,

[0013] If the matching result indicates that there is no diversion strategy in the network device for indicating the configuration path of the uplink data message, the uplink data message is transparently transmitted to the target core network.

[0014] As an optional embodiment, the process of forming the diversion strategy includes:

[0015] receiving and storing a traffic diversion policy from an application running on the local network or the edge network; or

[0016] The diversion strategy is formed by editing instructions imported through the mobile edge computing platform MEP or command line interface CLI; or

[0017] The diversion strategy is generated by self-learning diversion data.

[0018] As an optional embodiment, the present invention further includes:

[0019] In response to obtaining a downlink data message from a target network, the downlink data message is forwarded to a base station accessed by the user terminal, wherein downlink data messages from different sources correspond to different diversion strategies.

[0020] As an optional embodiment, forwarding the downlink data message to the base station accessed by the user terminal includes:

[0021] In response to obtaining a downlink data message from the UPF of the target core network, querying the session through the identification information of the user terminal;

[0022] If the query result indicates that the gateway device has not learned the downlink tunnel information, the downlink tunnel information is learned into the session, and the downlink data message is transparently transmitted to the base station.

[0023] As an optional embodiment, forwarding the downlink data message to the base station accessed by the user terminal includes:

[0024] In response to obtaining a downlink data packet from the local network or the edge network, querying a session based on a locally created configuration table;

[0025] The downlink data message is encapsulated based on the queried downlink tunnel information, and the encapsulated downlink data message is forwarded to the base station accessed by the user terminal.

[0026] As an optional embodiment, the present invention further includes:

[0027] If the session holding time of the network session between the user terminal and the target network exceeds a first duration, deleting the network session; or

[0028] After completing forwarding of the downlink data message corresponding to the uplink data message, deleting the network session between the user terminal and the target network.

[0029] As an optional embodiment, the present invention further includes:

[0030] Regularly interact with the network elements of the 5G network to keep the network session between the user terminal and the target network alive.

[0031] Another embodiment of the present application also provides a gateway device, including:

[0032] a response module, configured to determine message attribute information of the uplink data message in response to obtaining the uplink data message from the user terminal;

[0033] A forwarding module, configured to forward the uplink data message to a target network according to the message attribute information, wherein the target network includes a target core network, or a local network or an edge network where the gateway device is located;

[0034] The gateway device has no association with the 5G network element in the 5G network in which it is located.

[0035] Another embodiment of the present application further provides an electronic device, comprising:

[0036] one or more processors;

[0037] a memory configured to store one or more programs;

[0038] When the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors are enabled to implement the above-mentioned processing method.

[0039] Based on the disclosure of the above embodiments, it can be known that the embodiments of the present application have the following beneficial effects, including responding to uplink data packets from user terminals through a gateway device that has no association with the 5G network elements in the 5G network in which it is located, and determining the message attribute information of the uplink data packets, and then the gateway device can forward the uplink data packets to the target network based on the message attribute information. The target network includes the target core network, or the local network or edge network where the gateway device is located. The method of the embodiment of the present application can make it possible for traffic packets to no longer need to be uniformly processed and forwarded by the UPF, reducing the transmission time of traffic packets, enabling traffic packets to be quickly transmitted to the target network for processing, improving the transmission efficiency of traffic packets, reducing the waiting time of user terminals, and improving the user's experience of using the network.

[0040] Other features and advantages of the present invention will be described in the following description, and in part will become apparent from the description, or will be understood by practicing the present invention. The purposes and other advantages of the present invention can be realized and obtained by the structures particularly pointed out in the written description, claims, and drawings.

[0041] The technical solution of the present invention is further described in detail below through the accompanying drawings and embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0042] The accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the present invention and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the embodiments of the present invention, they are used to explain the present invention and do not constitute a limitation of the present invention. In the accompanying drawings:

[0043] Figure 1 This is a flow chart of the communication method in an embodiment of the present application.

[0044] Figure 2 This is a flowchart of the actual application of the communication method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0045] Figure 3 This is a flow chart of a communication method in another embodiment of the present application.

[0046] Figure 4 This is a flow chart of a communication method in another embodiment of the present application.

[0047] Figure 5 This is a structural block diagram of the gateway device in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0048] Below, specific embodiments of the present application are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, but are not intended to limit the present application.

[0049] It should be understood that various modifications may be made to the embodiments disclosed herein. Therefore, the following description should not be considered as limiting, but merely as an example of an embodiment. Other modifications within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure will occur to those skilled in the art.

[0050] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the general description of the present disclosure given above and the detailed description of the embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.

[0051] These and other characteristics of the present application will become apparent from the following description of a preferred form of embodiment given as a non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0052] It should also be understood that although the present application has been described with reference to certain specific examples, those skilled in the art will be able to implement many other equivalent forms of the present application that have the features described in the claims and are therefore within the scope of protection defined thereby.

[0053] The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0054] Specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings; however, it should be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely examples of the present disclosure, which may be implemented in a variety of ways. Well-known and / or repetitive functions and structures are not described in detail to avoid obscuring the present disclosure with unnecessary or redundant detail. Therefore, the specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not intended to be limiting, but rather serve merely as a basis and representative basis for the claims to teach those skilled in the art to variously employ the present disclosure with substantially any suitable detailed structure.

[0055] This description may use the phrases "in one embodiment," "in another embodiment," "in a further embodiment," or "in other embodiments," each of which may refer to one or more of the same or different embodiments according to the present disclosure.

[0056] Below, the embodiments of the present application are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0057] like Figure 1 As shown, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method applied to a gateway device, the method comprising:

[0058] S100: In response to obtaining an uplink data message from a user terminal, determining message attribute information of the uplink data message;

[0059] S200: forwarding the uplink data message to a target network based on message attribute information, where the target network includes a target core network, or a local network or edge network where the gateway device is located;

[0060] Among them, the gateway device has no association with the 5G network elements in the 5G network in which it is located.

[0061] For example, the gateway device in this embodiment can be referred to as MECDP for short. It serves as a diversion gateway device behind the base station. The gateway device can be set between the base station and the UPF. The connection between them is not physical, but refers to a virtual connection relationship between the three. The gateway device in this embodiment can be understood as a black box, which has nothing to do with the 5G network elements, such as the signaling plane UPF, etc. The network element devices in this embodiment have nothing to do with them. For example, for the received messages, the gateway device of this embodiment can directly process and forward them, and the 5G network elements such as UPF may not participate in the forwarding processing of the messages. That is, the gateway device described in this embodiment has no association with the 5G network elements in the 5G network in which it is located, which means that the gateway device does not require the participation of the 5G network elements to process the messages. The gateway device can process traffic messages independently, and when the 5G network element interacts with the base station, such as processing the closing of the network session and releasing the tunnel information (which will be explained in detail below), it does not negotiate with or notify the gateway device. The gateway device in this embodiment is a device independent of the base station and the 5G network element. It has its own set of message processing and forwarding processes and is not associated with the 5G network element. Furthermore, when the gateway device in this embodiment receives an uplink data packet from a user terminal (the uplink data packet is forwarded to the gateway device by the terminal user via a base station), the gateway device determines the message attribute information of the uplink data packet in response to receiving the uplink data packet. This information may include, for example, application identification information, application network performance requirement information, user identification information, user terminal identification information, target address information, target request content, VLAN tag, message priority, or Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP), or domain name (DNS) information. For example, this information may include user name information, application name information, source IP address, destination IP address, etc. After determining the message attribute information, the gateway device may determine the target network based on the message attribute information, that is, the network that the user terminal wants to access. The target network in this embodiment includes the target core network, or the local network where the gateway device is located, an edge network, etc. For example, each region will establish an edge network related to the 5G core network, or a network with a fixed IP address within the region, etc. After the target network is determined, the gateway device can directly forward the uplink data message to the target network.

[0062] Based on the disclosure of the above embodiment, it can be known that this embodiment has the following beneficial effects, including responding to uplink data packets from user terminals through a gateway device that has no association with the 5G network elements in the 5G network, and determining the message attribute information of the uplink data packets, and then the gateway device can forward the uplink data packets to the target network based on the message attribute information, which target network includes the target core network, or the local network or edge network where the gateway device is located. Therefore, the gateway device in this embodiment is intended to provide a matching service message diversion function, and the 5G network element does not need to be aware of its existence at all, and the entire diversion process can be independently executed by the gateway device. Moreover, the gateway device is flexible in deployment, and can achieve hardware and software decoupling. It supports independent deployment and can also be deployed together with the base station software, providing strong guarantees for opening up vertical industry markets and building a new ecosystem. In addition, the method of the embodiment of the present application can make it possible for traffic messages to no longer require UPF to interact with the base station for processing and forwarding, thereby reducing the complexity of the message transmission process and the transmission time of the traffic message, so that the edge traffic message can be quickly transmitted to the target network for processing, thereby improving the traffic message transmission efficiency, reducing the waiting time of the user terminal, and improving the user's experience of the network.

[0063] Furthermore, when forwarding the uplink data message to the target network based at least on the message attribute information, the method includes:

[0064] S201: Matching a corresponding diversion strategy based on message attribute information, and forwarding the uplink data message to a local network, an edge network, or a target core network based on the obtained matching result;

[0065] The diversion strategy includes a pre-configured diversion strategy and / or a diversion strategy formed by self-learning.

[0066] For example, the message attribute information includes message header information, such as one or more of the source IP address, transmission protocol, and destination IP address, and of course, it can also include other information, such as the interface information of the other end, the name of the network end corresponding to the application, etc., which is not unique. Based on the determined message attribute information, the gateway device can match multiple diversion strategies stored locally. For example, the gateway device stores a list that records multiple diversion strategies. The diversion strategy is used to indicate that the traffic message containing the first type of message attribute information matches the first target network, that is, the first target network is used to process and respond to the message containing the first type of message attribute information. The first type of message attribute information can contain multiple different attribute information. As long as the rated number is met, or as long as the traffic message with target attribute information is met, it can be considered as a message with the first type of message attribute information. For example, a message containing one or more of the information such as the first transmission protocol, the network end name of the first application, the first destination IP address, etc. can be considered as a message containing the first type of message attribute information. Different diversion strategies have different corresponding message attribute information categories and target networks, that is, different diversion strategies are used to transmit different types of messages to different target networks. After determining the diversion strategy that matches the current uplink data message, the gateway device can forward the uplink data message to the target network according to the diversion strategy, which can be a local network, an edge network, or a target core network. In addition, the diversion strategy in this embodiment can be pre-set, for example, the operation and maintenance personnel can prepare the diversion strategy in advance and input it into the gateway device, or the gateway device can create it by itself through autonomous learning, such as learning historical diversion information.

[0067] Specifically, forwarding the uplink data message to the local network, edge network, or target core network based on the obtained matching result includes:

[0068] S202: If the matching result indicates that a diversion policy for indicating a configured path for the uplink data message exists in the network device, the uplink data message is forwarded to the edge network or the local network according to the configured path; and / or,

[0069] If the matching result indicates that there is no diversion policy in the network device for indicating the configured path of the uplink data message, the uplink data message is transparently transmitted to the target core network.

[0070] In this embodiment, when matching the diversion strategy based on the message attribute information, if the matching result indicates that there is a diversion strategy in the network device that indicates the configuration path of the uplink data message, that is, there is a matching diversion strategy, the gateway device will forward the uplink data message to the edge network or local network according to the path configured in the diversion strategy based on the matching diversion strategy. For example, if the edge network or local network contains a network server with multiple different applications, the uplink data message is forwarded to the edge network or local network containing a certain network server based on the diversion strategy, thereby enabling the data message to be transmitted to the network server. For example, if user B wants to access user A's network disk, user B can send the uplink data message to the gateway device. After the gateway device determines the diversion strategy based on the message attribute information, it can transmit the message to the local network or edge network containing the network disk program used by user A based on the configuration path in the diversion strategy, and then transmit the message to the corresponding network disk server based on the network.

[0071] If the match fails, that is, if the gateway device does not have a traffic diversion policy that matches the uplink data packet, the gateway device will directly send the uplink data packet to the target core network, such as to the UPF, which will process and forward the packet. In other words, the gateway device will directly transparently transmit the received uplink data packet to the target core network for processing.

[0072] Furthermore, as mentioned above, the diversion strategy can be obtained in a preset form or can be obtained by autonomous learning of the gateway device. The process of forming the diversion strategy in this embodiment specifically includes:

[0073] S203: Receive and store a traffic diversion policy from an application running on a local network or an edge network; or

[0074] Create a traffic diversion strategy by editing commands imported through the mobile edge computing platform MEP or command line interface CLI; or

[0075] Self-learning diversion data generates diversion strategies.

[0076] For example, in accordance with the first benefit, an application running on a local network or edge network, such as the application network terminal described above, can generate a diversion strategy on its own and forward it to a gateway device. The diversion strategy can be input into the application by the operation and maintenance personnel of the application and forwarded to the gateway device by the application.

[0077] Alternatively, an application can be generated and calculated based on the mobile edge computing platform and forwarded to the gateway device. For example, the gateway device in this embodiment is connected to the mobile edge computing platform, which provides an environment for various edge computing business applications. In this embodiment, it provides a computing environment for multiple different application network terminals. As shown in the figure, the MEC Application (MEC APP) in the figure refers to various edge computing applications that can directly or through the MP1 interface call the edge computing capabilities provided by the MEP (such as DNS proxy / service, etc.) to provide edge computing services / businesses (MEC services) to users. The MEP itself can also provide edge computing services / businesses to users. Therefore, applications running on the local network or edge network can call the MEP to perform calculations based on their own data processing characteristics, and then generate a diversion strategy that matches the corresponding application. For example, the application's functions, IP address, supported transmission protocols, data processing protocols, and attribute information of the packets it can process, etc., can be used by the MEP to perform calculations based on one or more of the above information, ultimately generating a diversion strategy that matches its own characteristics. Each different application can use the method of this embodiment to calculate the diversion strategy by itself, and use MEP to directly transmit the diversion strategy to the gateway device, which stores and records it for subsequent matching of different uplink messages.

[0078] In this second embodiment, a user can collect characteristic information of different applications and packets, calculate and generate various traffic diversion policies based on the MEP, and transmit these policies to the gateway device based on the MEP. Alternatively, the gateway device in this embodiment has a command line interface (CLI), and the user can directly write the traffic diversion policy information to the gateway device using the CLI, thereby enabling the gateway device to obtain and store the various traffic diversion policies.

[0079] Example three: The gateway device in this embodiment has an autonomous learning function. It can learn based on historical message processing data, such as historical message processing data obtained from 5G network elements, including UPF. It can also learn based on message diversion data input by the user. It can also be that the network element device learns based on a small amount of stored diversion strategies. At the same time, it can learn in combination with the interaction between different edge networks and applications in the local network about processable message features, and then generate more diversion strategies corresponding to different applications.

[0080] Further, continue to combine Figure 2As shown, in actual applications, the gateway device, that is, MECDP, has a learning flow table. After receiving the uplink message, such as data flow 1 in the figure, the gateway device will match the diversion strategy corresponding to the message based on the learning flow table. If the match is successful, the session between the network ends realized through the uplink data message is learned and matched. The content of the session includes which tunnel in the base station the message is transmitted through, that is, the tunnel information, and the flow identifier qfi of the corresponding uplink message, session object information, network protocol header information, message header information, etc., such as source IP, destination IP, transmission protocol information, peer receiving port information, etc. In addition, the session content also includes the determined diversion strategy information. Because in the 5G network, the message header will carry network protocol header information, which is mainly used for processing in the UPF, specifically including but not limited to the GTPU header. In this application, since the message is not processed by the UPF, the learning flow table will strip off the GTPU header before forwarding the message based on the diversion strategy, and then forward the uplink data message through the data flow 2 in the figure to the local network through the diversion interface to complete the diversion forwarding of the message. If the learning flow table does not match successfully, that is, if the diversion strategy corresponding to the uplink data message is not matched, the session will not be learned, and the message will not be processed directly. The message will be directly transmitted to the UPF (such as data flow 3 in the figure) through the data processing routing unit (DP) for processing by the UPF. That is, the gateway device can be regarded as non-existent at this time, and the uplink message continues to be processed based on the original method. For other uplink messages received subsequently, the UPF continues to process according to the above scheme based on the learning flow table. When receiving a downlink message corresponding to the transparently transmitted uplink message, the gateway device can query the learning flow table. If there is no corresponding session content, the downlink message can be directly transmitted to the user terminal, as shown in data flow 5 in the figure.

[0081] Furthermore, the method in this embodiment also includes:

[0082] S300: In response to obtaining a downlink data packet from a target network, forwarding the downlink data packet to a base station accessed by the user terminal, wherein downlink data packets from different sources correspond to different diversion strategies.

[0083] As described above, the gateway device in this embodiment, upon receiving an uplink data packet and matching the corresponding traffic diversion policy, will learn and record the session content corresponding to this uplink data packet based on the learning flow table. When the gateway device receives a downlink data packet corresponding to the uplink data packet, it will determine how to process and transmit the downlink data packet based on the recorded session content. If no relevant session content is found, the downlink data packet will be processed and transmitted based on the preset policy.

[0084] Specifically, the implementation of benefit one, such as Figure 3As shown, forwarding the downlink data message to the base station accessed by the user terminal includes:

[0085] S301: In response to obtaining a downlink data message from the UPF of the target core network, query the session through the identification information of the user terminal;

[0086] S302: If the query result indicates that the gateway device has not learned the downlink tunnel information, the downlink tunnel information is learned into the session, and the downlink data message is transparently transmitted to the base station.

[0087] In this embodiment, the downlink data message is sent from the UPF of the target core network to the gateway device. The downlink data message corresponds to the uplink data message that was previously transmitted to the UPF because the gateway device could not match the diversion strategy. As mentioned above, the gateway device does not record the network session information corresponding to the message, that is, the network session between the user terminal and the target network. Therefore, when the gateway device searches the learning flow table based on the identification information of the user terminal of the downlink data message, such as the message attribute information of the downlink data message, including the source IP, destination IP, etc., it cannot find a matching record. Therefore, based on the query result, it can be determined that the gateway device has not learned and recorded the downlink tunnel information (the downlink tunnel information and the uplink tunnel information can be the same, that is, the two tunnels can be the same tunnel, which supports bidirectional data transmission, or they can be different tunnels, that is, the tunnel only supports unidirectional data transmission, and the tunnel information contains uplink tunnel information and downlink tunnel information). Therefore, at this point, the gateway device will directly determine the corresponding downlink tunnel information based on the information carried in the downlink data packet, and query based on the information carried in the downlink data packet to determine the corresponding application and its related information. It can then learn the session based on the obtained information, including learning message attribute information, tunnel information, and application information, to be used for subsequent learning and generating diversion strategies. After that, the gateway device can transparently transmit the downlink data packet based on the determined downlink tunnel information to the base station, and the base station forwards the packet to the user terminal.

[0088] Alternatively, the gateway device may record the session content corresponding to the uplink data message that cannot be matched to the diversion strategy based on the learning flow table. The session content may only record the session object, and the tunnel information and the diversion strategy may not be recorded. When the corresponding downlink data message is received, if it is determined through query that the corresponding downlink tunnel information is not recorded in the locally recorded session content, the downlink tunnel information can be determined based on the information carried by the downlink data message, and the downlink tunnel information can be learned into the session, and then the downlink data message is transparently transmitted to the base station. Alternatively, the gateway device may determine whether there is downlink tunnel information based on the session record of the corresponding downlink data message recorded in the UEIP (address allocation management unit). If not, the information carried by the message can be analyzed to determine the downlink tunnel information, and the downlink tunnel information can be filled into the session record.

[0089] Example 2, as Figure 4 As shown, forwarding the downlink data message to the base station accessed by the user terminal includes:

[0090] S303: In response to obtaining a downlink data packet from the local network or edge network, querying a session based on a locally created configuration table;

[0091] S304: Encapsulate a downlink data message based on the retrieved downlink tunnel information, and forward the encapsulated downlink data message to the base station accessed by the user terminal.

[0092] Specifically, when the gateway device receives a downlink data packet from the local network or edge network, it will analyze and process the attribute information of the downlink data packet, such as the packet header information, and query the session information in the locally created configuration table based on the packet header information, that is, query whether the learning flow table mentioned above records relevant session content. If a matching session record is found, since the session record records the network protocol header information, the corresponding base station tunnel information, etc., the gateway device will re-encapsulate the downlink data packet according to the recorded network protocol header information, including adding the network protocol header information to the downlink data packet, and then transmit the encapsulated downlink data packet to the corresponding tunnel based on the tunnel information, access the base station, and finally the base station forwards the downlink data packet to the user terminal.

[0093] In addition, the message described in this embodiment can be a GTPU message or other types of messages, but for messages such as echo messages and err indication messages, the gateway device in this embodiment needs to transparently transmit them between the base station and the UPF, that is, only transmit them and do nothing else.

[0094] Optionally, to prevent the flow table from aging, the method in this embodiment further includes:

[0095] If the session duration of the network session between the user terminal and the target network exceeds the first duration, deleting the network session; or

[0096] After completing forwarding of the downlink data message corresponding to the uplink data message, the network session between the user terminal and the target network is deleted.

[0097] In this embodiment, the UPF, base station, and gateway device do not interact with each other except for transparently transmitted messages, meaning they have no connection. Furthermore, since each network session is time-limited, to avoid wasting network resources, in this embodiment, the network session between the user terminal and the target network is also time-limited. Consequently, if, after uplink messages are transmitted to the corresponding target network, downlink data packets are not received, the UPF will interact with the base station to release the session, freeing up network resources for other users. However, since neither the UPF nor the base station notifies the gateway device when the session is released, the relevant session record will remain stored in the gateway device's configuration table, i.e., the learning flow table, which also consumes gateway device resources. To this end, in this embodiment, a session hold time, i.e., a first duration, is set. This first duration can be equal to the duration from network session establishment to session release. Alternatively, when downlink messages for the corresponding session have been forwarded, signaling the end of the session, the gateway device will clear the session record to free up local resources and prevent flow table aging. In addition, the first duration may also be the duration during which the corresponding network session can continue after the uplink data message is forwarded.

[0098] Optionally, in order to keep the session alive, the method in this embodiment further includes:

[0099] Regularly interact with network elements of the 5G network to keep the network session link between the user terminal and the target network alive.

[0100] As described in the previous embodiment, each session has a limited duration, meaning each session has a keepalive period. If the UPF does not receive any data within this period, it will interact with the base station to request the base station to release tunnel resources. This will cause the network session link between the corresponding user terminal and the target network to become disconnected. Even if the gateway device receives downlink data packets, transmission will be unavailable. Therefore, to ensure the successful transmission of all downlink data, the gateway device in this embodiment interacts with the UPF during the session keepalive period. For example, this interaction occurs while the network session is not deleted and before the network session and tunnel are released. The specific duration of this interaction can be determined based on the actual session keepalive period. This interaction allows the UPF to determine that the tunnel is still being used for data transmission, and therefore does not notify the base station to release tunnel resources. This interaction can include sending an error code or randomly transparently transmitting an uplink data packet to the UPF within this period or while the session is not deleted for processing. This prevents the UPF from receiving any data during the session keepalive period, which could ultimately lead to tunnel failure.

[0101] like Figure 5 As shown, another embodiment of the present application also provides a gateway device, including:

[0102] A response module 1 is configured to determine message attribute information of the uplink data message in response to obtaining the uplink data message from the user terminal;

[0103] Forwarding module 2, configured to forward the uplink data message to a target network according to the message attribute information, wherein the target network includes a target core network, or a local network or an edge network where the gateway device is located;

[0104] The gateway device has no association with the 5G network element in the 5G network in which it is located.

[0105] As an optional embodiment, forwarding the uplink data packet to the target network at least based on the packet attribute information includes:

[0106] Matching a corresponding diversion strategy based on the message attribute information, and forwarding the uplink data message to the local network, the edge network, or the target core network based on the obtained matching result;

[0107] The diversion strategy includes a pre-configured diversion strategy and / or a diversion strategy formed by self-learning.

[0108] As an optional embodiment, forwarding the uplink data packet to the local network, the edge network, or the target core network based on the obtained matching result includes:

[0109] If the matching result indicates that a diversion strategy for indicating a configured path for the uplink data message exists in the network device, the uplink data message is forwarded to the edge network or the local network according to the configured path; and / or,

[0110] If the matching result indicates that there is no diversion strategy in the network device for indicating the configuration path of the uplink data message, the uplink data message is transparently transmitted to the target core network.

[0111] As an optional embodiment, the process of forming the diversion strategy includes:

[0112] receiving and storing a traffic diversion policy from an application running on the local network or the edge network; or

[0113] The diversion strategy is formed by editing instructions imported through the mobile edge computing platform MEP or command line interface CLI; or

[0114] The diversion strategy is generated by self-learning diversion data.

[0115] As an optional embodiment, the response module 1 is further configured to:

[0116] In response to obtaining a downlink data message from a target network, the downlink data message is forwarded to a base station accessed by the user terminal, wherein downlink data messages from different sources correspond to different diversion strategies.

[0117] As an optional embodiment, forwarding the downlink data message to the base station accessed by the user terminal includes:

[0118] In response to obtaining a downlink data message from the UPF of the target core network, querying the session through the identification information of the user terminal;

[0119] If the query result indicates that the gateway device has not learned the downlink tunnel information, the downlink tunnel information is learned into the session, and the downlink data message is transparently transmitted to the base station.

[0120] As an optional embodiment, forwarding the downlink data message to the base station accessed by the user terminal includes:

[0121] In response to obtaining a downlink data packet from the local network or the edge network, querying a session based on a locally created configuration table;

[0122] The downlink data message is encapsulated based on the queried downlink tunnel information, and the encapsulated downlink data message is forwarded to the base station accessed by the user terminal.

[0123] As an optional embodiment, the present invention further includes a processing module:

[0124] If the session duration of the network session between the user terminal and the target network exceeds the first duration, deleting the network session; or

[0125] After completing forwarding of the downlink data message corresponding to the uplink data message, the network session between the user terminal and the target network is deleted.

[0126] As an optional embodiment, the forwarding module 2 is further configured to:

[0127] Regularly interact with network elements of the 5G network to keep the network session link between the user terminal and the target network alive.

[0128] Another embodiment of the present application further provides an electronic device, comprising:

[0129] one or more processors;

[0130] a memory configured to store one or more programs;

[0131] When the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors are enabled to implement the above-mentioned communication method.

[0132] An embodiment of the present application further provides a storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements the communication method described above. It should be understood that each solution in this embodiment has the corresponding technical effects in the above method embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0133] The present application also provides a computer program product tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium and comprising computer-readable instructions. When executed, the computer-executable instructions cause at least one processor to perform a communication method such as that described in the above embodiments. It should be understood that each solution in this embodiment has the corresponding technical effects of the above-described method embodiments and will not be further elaborated here.

[0134] It should be noted that the computer storage medium of the present application can be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium, or any combination of the two. Computer-readable media can be, for example, but not limited to, electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, devices, or devices, or any combination of the above. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media can include, but are not limited to: an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage medium, a magnetic storage medium, or any suitable combination of the above. In the present application, a computer-readable storage medium can be any tangible medium containing or storing a program that can be used by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, device, or device. In the present application, a computer-readable signal medium can include a data signal propagated in baseband or as part of a carrier wave, which carries computer-readable program code. This propagated data signal can take a variety of forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination of the above. A computer-readable signal medium may also be any computer-readable medium other than a computer-readable storage medium that can transmit, propagate, or transport a program configured for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. Program code embodied on a computer-readable medium may be transmitted using any suitable medium, including but not limited to wireless, antenna, optical cable, RF, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0135] It should be understood that although the present application is described according to various embodiments, not every embodiment contains only one independent technical solution. This narrative method of the specification is only for the sake of clarity. Those skilled in the art should regard the specification as a whole. The technical solutions in each embodiment can also be appropriately combined to form other implementation methods that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

[0136] The above embodiments are merely exemplary embodiments of the present application and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application. The scope of protection of the present application is defined by the claims. Those skilled in the art may make various modifications or equivalent substitutions to the present application within the essence and scope of protection of the present application, and such modifications or equivalent substitutions shall also be deemed to fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A communication method, applied to a gateway device, comprising: In response to obtaining an uplink data message from a user terminal, determining message attribute information of the uplink data message; forwarding the uplink data message to a target network based on the message attribute information, the target network including a target core network, or a local network or an edge network where the gateway device is located; The gateway device has no association with the 5G network element in the 5G network system in which it is located; The forwarding the uplink data message to the target network based on the message attribute information includes: Matching a corresponding diversion strategy based on the message attribute information, and forwarding the uplink data message to at least one of the local network, the edge network, or the target core network based on the obtained matching result; The diversion strategy includes a pre-configured diversion strategy and / or a diversion strategy formed by self-learning.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein Forwarding the uplink data message to the local network, the edge network, or the target core network based on the obtained matching result, including: If the matching result indicates that a diversion strategy for indicating a configured path for the uplink data message exists in the gateway device, the uplink data message is forwarded to the edge network or the local network according to the configured path; and / or, If the matching result indicates that there is no diversion strategy in the gateway device for indicating the configuration path of the uplink data message, the uplink data message is transparently transmitted to the target core network.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein The process of forming the diversion strategy includes: receiving and storing a traffic diversion policy from an application running on the local network or the edge network; or The diversion strategy is formed by editing instructions imported through the mobile edge computing platform MEP or command line interface CLI; or The diversion strategy is generated by self-learning diversion data.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: Also includes: In response to obtaining a downlink data message from a target network, the downlink data message is forwarded to a base station accessed by the user terminal, wherein downlink data messages from different sources correspond to different diversion strategies.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein forwarding the downlink data message to the base station accessed by the user terminal comprises: In response to obtaining a downlink data message from the UPF of the target core network, querying the session through the identification information of the user terminal; If the query result indicates that the gateway device has not learned the downlink tunnel information, the downlink tunnel information is learned into the session, and the downlink data message is transparently transmitted to the base station.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein: The forwarding the downlink data message to the base station accessed by the user terminal includes: In response to obtaining a downlink data packet from the local network or the edge network, querying a session based on a locally created configuration table; The downlink data message is encapsulated based on the queried downlink tunnel information, and the encapsulated downlink data message is forwarded to the base station accessed by the user terminal.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein Also includes: If the session holding time of the network session between the user terminal and the target network exceeds a first duration, deleting the network session; or, After completing forwarding of the downlink data message corresponding to the uplink data message, deleting the network session between the user terminal and the target network.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein Also includes: Regularly interact with the network elements of the 5G network to keep the network session link between the user terminal and the target network alive.

9. A gateway device, comprising: a response module, configured to determine message attribute information of the uplink data message in response to obtaining the uplink data message from the user terminal; A forwarding module, configured to forward the uplink data message to a target network based on the message attribute information, wherein the target network includes a target core network, or a local network or an edge network where the gateway device is located; The gateway device has no association with the 5G network element in the 5G network in which it is located; The forwarding the uplink data message to the target network based on the message attribute information includes: Matching a corresponding diversion strategy based on the message attribute information, and forwarding the uplink data message to at least one of the local network, the edge network, or the target core network based on the obtained matching result; The diversion strategy includes a pre-configured diversion strategy and / or a diversion strategy formed by self-learning.

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