Fault processing method, control plane network element, handover decision network element and related devices

Abstract

The embodiment of the application discloses a kind of fault processing method, control surface network element, switching decision network element and related equipment, belong to broadband network technical field.The method comprises: in the process that terminal equipment accesses network, if control surface network element determines that switching decision network element appears fault, at this time, to ensure that terminal equipment can continue to access network, control surface network element can skip the decision of switching decision unit and directly control terminal equipment to be used based on first user surface network element of online request Data message is sent.By the embodiment of the application, escape path under the single network element fault scene can be realized, so that terminal equipment can still be normally online.In addition, in the process that terminal equipment is migrating, if switching decision network element appears fault, it will cause the message interaction between control surface network element and switching decision network to fail, at this time, control surface network element supports the fallback of the user table item that has been issued, to avoid terminal equipment offline.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of broadband network technology, and in particular to a fault handling method, control plane network element, handover decision network element, and related equipment. Background Technology

[0002] A broadband network gateway (BNG) acts as a bridge for terminal devices to access a broadband network. The BNG primarily manages sessions initiated by terminal devices and forwards their traffic. With the development of Software-Designed Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) technologies, it is necessary to decouple the forwarding and control functions of the BNG to improve its performance. A decoupled BNG consists of a control plane (CP) element and multiple user plane (MPF) elements. The CP element manages the MPF elements, and each MPF element forwards traffic from the terminal devices. In this scenario, a steering function (SF) element needs to be deployed between the terminal devices and the MPF elements. This SF element redirects traffic from the terminal devices to a specific MPF element based on a dynamic migration strategy defined by the USF element. If the SF (Small Front-end) or USF (Upper Front-end) network element malfunctions during the process of the aforementioned terminal device sending traffic, the terminal device will be unable to successfully access the broadband network. Therefore, how to handle malfunctions occurring on the SF and USF network elements is an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This application provides a fault handling method, a control plane network element, a handover decision network element, and related equipment. These methods can prevent terminal devices from losing network access or disconnecting during BNG communication if a network element malfunctions. The technical solution is as follows:

[0004] Firstly, a fault handling method is provided. This method is executed by control plane network elements within a broadband network gateway (BNG) in the network. The BNG also includes multiple user plane network elements, a handover decision network element, and terminal devices. The handover decision network element is used to redirect traffic from the terminal devices to one of the multiple user plane network elements. In this method, the control plane network element receives an online request from the terminal device. The terminal device sends the online request to the control plane network element through a first user plane network element, which is one of the multiple user plane network elements. If the control plane network element determines that the handover decision network element is faulty, it controls the terminal device to send data packets based on the first user plane network element.

[0005] In this embodiment, during the process of a terminal device accessing the network, if the control plane network element determines that the handover decision network element has failed, in order to ensure that the terminal device can continue to access the network, the control plane network element can skip the decision of the handover decision unit and directly control the terminal device to send data packets based on the first user plane network element used by the online request. That is, this embodiment provides a way for a terminal device to continue accessing the network when the handover decision network element fails. In other words, this embodiment provides an escape path in a single network element failure scenario, allowing the terminal device to still go online normally.

[0006] Based on the method provided in the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the process of the control terminal device sending data packets based on the first user plane network element can be as follows: the control plane network element sends a user entry to the first user plane network element, the user entry carries the user information of the terminal device, and the first user plane network element forwards the data packets from the terminal device based on the user entry.

[0007] Since the handover decision network has failed, the control plane network element can skip the handover decision unit's decision and directly perform the relevant configuration on the first user plane network element, thereby enabling the terminal device to continue to access the network even if the handover decision network element fails.

[0008] Based on the method provided in the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the handover decision network element includes one or more of the following: a handover function (SF) network element, a user handover function (USF) network element, and a software-defined networking (SDN) control network element. In this scenario, a handover decision network element failure includes at least one of the following situations:

[0009] After a control plane network element sends a fault detection request to a USF network element, it does not receive a detection result message from the USF network element within the first reference time period; or, after sending a fault detection request to the USF network element, the control plane network element receives a detection result message from the USF network element indicating that the USF network element, the SF network element, or the SDN control network element has failed; or...

[0010] After the control plane network element sends a fault detection request to the SDN control network element, it does not receive a detection result message from the SDN control network element within the second reference time period; or, after the control plane network element sends a fault detection request to the SDN control network element, it receives a detection result message from the SDN control network element indicating that either the SF network element or the SDN control element has failed; or...

[0011] After the control plane network element sends a migration policy request to the USF network element based on the online request, it does not receive the user migration result returned by the USF network element within the third reference time period, or it receives a probe result message returned by the USF network element, indicating that the USF network element, or the SF network element, or the SDN control network element has failed.

[0012] In this embodiment, after receiving an online request from a terminal device, the control plane network element can proactively detect whether the handover decision unit has malfunctioned, or it can directly send a user migration policy request to the USF network element. The handover decision unit's malfunction is determined based on the USF network element's response to the user migration policy request. This improves the flexibility of the control plane network element in detecting whether the handover decision unit has malfunctioned.

[0013] Based on the method provided in the first aspect, in one possible implementation, after the control terminal device sends a data packet based on the first user plane network element, the control plane network element can also receive a user migration result sent by the handover decision network element after the fault is cleared. The user migration result carries the identifier of the second user plane network element, which is another user plane network element besides the first user plane network element. The control plane network element sends a user entry to the second user plane network element, which carries the user information of the terminal device. The second user plane network element forwards the data packet from the terminal device based on the user entry. After receiving the entry configuration success message returned by the second user plane network element, the control plane network element sends an entry configuration success message to the handover decision network element, so that the handover decision network element establishes a mapping relationship between the terminal device and the second user plane network element, and forwards the data packet of the terminal device to the second user plane network element based on the mapping relationship between the terminal device and the second user plane network element.

[0014] In the event of a failure in the handover decision-making network element, the control plane network element controls the terminal device to send data packets based on the initial user plane network element. This ensures that the terminal device can continue to access the network even if the handover decision-making network element fails. However, if data packets are forwarded in this manner indefinitely, scheduling among the various user plane network elements in the network will be impossible, potentially leading to load imbalance among them. Therefore, once the control plane network element detects that the handover decision-making network element has recovered from the failure, it triggers the handover decision-making network element to migrate the terminal device, thereby achieving reasonable scheduling among the various user plane network elements.

[0015] Based on the method provided in the first aspect, in one possible implementation, when the terminal device sends an online request for the first time, the first user plane network element is a pre-configured user plane network element; when the terminal device sends an online request for the second time, the first user plane network element is the user plane network element used by the terminal device to send data packets before the last time it went offline.

[0016] The above method for determining the first user plane network element can improve the success rate of terminal accessing the network in the event of a failure of the handover decision network element.

[0017] Secondly, a fault handling method is provided. This method is executed by the control plane network elements of a Broadband Network Gateway (BNG) in the network. The BNG also includes multiple user plane network elements, a handover decision network element, and terminal devices. The handover decision network element is used to redirect the traffic of the terminal devices to one of the multiple user plane network elements. In this method, the control plane network element receives a first migration configuration instruction sent by the handover decision unit. The first migration configuration instruction carries the identifier of the first user plane network element and the identifier of the terminal device. The first migration configuration instruction instructs the first user plane network element to forward the data packets of the terminal devices. After the control plane network element successfully sends a user entry to the first user plane network element based on the identifier of the first user plane network element, if the control plane network element determines that the handover decision network element has failed, it sends a user entry rollback instruction to the first user plane network element. The user entry rollback instruction instructs the first user plane network element to delete the user entry that has been added. The user entry carries the user information of the terminal device, and the first user plane network element forwards the data packets of the terminal device based on the user entry.

[0018] In this embodiment of the application, through the above-described fault handling process, if a fault occurs in the handover decision network element (such as one or more of the USF network element, SDN control network element, or SF network element) during the migration of the terminal device, the message interaction between the control plane network element and the handover decision network will fail. At this time, the control plane network element supports the rollback of the user entries that have already been issued, thereby preventing the terminal device from going offline.

[0019] Based on the method provided in the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the handover decision network element includes any one or more of the following: a handover function (SF) network element, a user handover function (USF) network element, and a software-defined networking (SDN) control network element. In this scenario, a handover decision network element failure includes at least one of the following situations:

[0020] After a control plane network element sends a fault detection request to a USF network element, it does not receive a detection result message from the USF network element within the first reference time period; or, after sending a fault detection request to the USF network element, the control plane network element receives a detection result message from the USF network element indicating that the USF network element, the SF network element, or the SDN control network element has failed; or...

[0021] After the control plane network element sends a fault detection request to the SDN control network element, it does not receive a detection result message from the SDN control network element within the second reference time period; or, after the control plane network element sends a fault detection request to the SDN control network element, it receives a detection result message from the SDN control network element indicating that either the SF network element or the SDN control element has failed; or...

[0022] After the control plane network element successfully sends a user entry to the first user plane network element based on the identifier of the first user plane network element, the control plane network element sends an entry configuration success message to the USF network element. If the control plane network element does not receive a message from the USF network element within the third reference time after sending the entry configuration success message to the USF, or if the control plane network element receives a migration failure message from the USF network element after sending the entry configuration success message to the USF, the migration failure message indicates that the USF network element, the SDN control network element, or the SF network element has failed.

[0023] In this embodiment, the control plane network element can actively detect whether the handover decision unit has failed, or it can directly send a table entry configuration success message to the USF network element and determine whether the handover decision unit has failed based on the USF network element's response to the table entry configuration success message. This improves the flexibility of the control plane network element in detecting whether the handover decision unit has failed.

[0024] Based on the method provided in the second aspect, in one possible implementation, in the event of a failure of the SDN control network element or the SF network element, the USF network element is used to control the SF network element to bind the terminal device to the user plane network element used in the last data packet transmission, so that the terminal device can continue to transmit data packets based on the user plane network element used in the last data packet transmission.

[0025] After the USF network element notifies the SDN control network element to perform a handover operation, if the SF network element completes the binding between the terminal device and the first user plane network element under the command of the SDN control network element, but fails to delete the binding relationship between the terminal device and other previously used user plane network elements due to a fault, or if the SF network element deletes the binding relationship between the terminal device and other previously used user plane network elements, but fails to complete the binding between the terminal device and the first user plane network element due to a fault, then in this scenario, if the USF network element receives a migration failure message returned by the SDN control network element, the USF network element will also control the SF network element to bind the terminal device to the user plane network element used for the last data packet transmission, so that the terminal device can continue to send data packets based on the user plane network element used for the last data packet transmission.

[0026] Based on the method provided in the second aspect, in one possible implementation, before the control plane network element receives the first migration configuration instruction sent by the handover decision unit, the control plane network element receives a User Service Level Agreement (SLA) change message, which indicates that the user information of the terminal device has been updated; the control plane network element forwards the user SLA change message to the handover decision network element, so that the handover decision network element configures the first user plane network element for the terminal device based on the updated user information, and sends the first migration configuration instruction to the control plane network element.

[0027] Based on the method provided in the second aspect, in one possible implementation, after the control plane network element receives the user's SLA change message, in this method, when the control plane network element determines that the handover decision network element has failed, the current state is maintained.

[0028] After the control plane network element receives the user SLA change message, if the control plane has determined that the switching decision network element has failed, it will maintain the current state and will not need to perform any operation to avoid unnecessary user migration.

[0029] Based on the method provided in the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the handover decision network element includes any one or more of the following: a handover function (SF) network element, a user handover function (USF) network element, and a software-defined networking (SDN) control network element. In this scenario, a handover decision network element failure includes at least one of the following situations:

[0030] After a control plane network element sends a fault detection request to a USF network element, it does not receive a detection result message from the USF network element within the fifth reference time period; or, after sending a fault detection request to the USF network element, the control plane network element receives a detection result message from the USF network element indicating that the USF network element, the SF network element, or the SDN control network element has failed; or...

[0031] After a control plane network element sends a fault detection request to an SDN control network element, it does not receive a detection result message from the SDN control network element within the sixth reference time period; or, after sending a fault detection request to the SDN control network element, the control plane network element receives a detection result message from the SDN control network element indicating that either the SF network element or the SDN control element has failed; or...

[0032] After the control plane network element forwards the user SLA change message to the USF network element, if no message is received from the USF network element within the fourth reference time period, or if the control plane network element receives a probe result message from the USF network element after forwarding the user SLA change message to the USF network element, and the probe result message indicates that the USF network element, SDN control network element or SF network element has failed.

[0033] In this embodiment, after receiving a user SLA change message, the control plane network element can proactively detect whether the handover decision unit has malfunctioned, or it can directly send the user SLA change message to the USF network element and determine whether the handover decision unit has malfunctioned based on the USF network element's response to the user SLA change message. This improves the flexibility of the control plane network element in detecting whether the handover decision unit has malfunctioned.

[0034] Based on the method provided in the second aspect, in one possible implementation, when the control plane network element determines that the fault of the handover decision network element has been eliminated, the control plane network element forwards a user SLA change message to the handover decision network element. The user SLA change message indicates that the user information of the terminal device has been updated, so that the handover decision network element configures a second user plane network element for the terminal device based on the updated user information, and sends a second migration configuration instruction carrying the identifier of the second user plane network element to the control plane network element.

[0035] Since the time when the fault is cleared is not the same as the time when the fault occurred, the control plane network element must re-trigger the entire user migration process regardless of the fault condition. That is, the control plane network element needs to forward the user SLA change message to the handover decision network element so that the USF network element in the handover decision network element can determine the latest user plane network element based on the current network state and the user SLA change message.

[0036] Thirdly, a fault handling method is provided, which is executed by a handover decision network element in the network. The network also includes a broadband network gateway (BNG) and terminal equipment. The BNG includes control plane network elements and multiple user plane network elements. The handover decision network element is used to divert the traffic of the terminal equipment to one of the multiple user plane network elements.

[0037] In this method, when it is determined that the traffic of the terminal device needs to be diverted to the first user plane network element, a migration configuration instruction is generated. The migration configuration instruction carries the identifier of the first user plane network element and the identifier of the terminal device. The migration configuration instruction instructs the data packets of the terminal device to be forwarded through the first user plane network element. If the handover decision network element determines that it has a fault, it does not send a migration configuration instruction to the control plane network element. If the handover decision network element determines that its fault has been eliminated, it resends the migration configuration instruction to the control plane network element.

[0038] In scenarios where the handover decision network element actively triggers the migration of terminal devices, if the handover decision network element can detect that it has a fault, it will not trigger the subsequent migration operations. Instead, it will re-trigger the subsequent migration operations after the fault is eliminated, thus avoiding unnecessary migration triggered in scenarios where the handover decision network element is faulty.

[0039] Based on the method provided in the third aspect, in one possible implementation, the handover decision network element includes any one or more of the following: a handover function (SF) network element, a user handover function (USF) network element, and a software-defined networking (SDN) control network element. In this scenario, a handover decision network element failure includes at least one of the following situations: the USF network element determines that it has failed; or, after sending a fault detection request to the SDN network element, the USF network element does not receive a detection result message returned by the SDN network element within a first reference time period; or, after sending a fault detection request to the SDN network element, the USF network element receives a detection result message returned by the SDN network element, and the detection result message indicates that the SF network element or the SDN control network element has failed.

[0040] In this embodiment, the USF network element can not only detect its own faults, but also actively detect whether the SDN control network element and the SF network element are faulty. This improves the flexibility of the fault handling method provided in this embodiment.

[0041] Based on the method provided in the third aspect, in one possible implementation, when a selection operation of the migration control displayed on the display interface for the handover decision network element is detected, it is determined that the traffic of the terminal device needs to be diverted to the first user plane network element, wherein both the terminal device and the first user plane network element are specified by the user through the migration control; or, when a first user plane network element other than multiple user plane network elements is detected in the network, it is determined that the traffic of the terminal device needs to be diverted to the first user plane network element.

[0042] In this application embodiment, the USF network element actively triggers the migration of terminal devices in the above two scenarios, thereby improving the application flexibility of this application embodiment.

[0043] Fourthly, a control plane network element is provided, which has the function of implementing the fault handling method described in the first aspect. The control plane network element includes at least one module, which is used to implement the fault handling method provided in the first aspect.

[0044] Fifthly, a control plane network element is provided, which has the function of implementing the fault handling method described in the second aspect above. The control plane network element includes at least one module for implementing the fault handling method provided in the second aspect above.

[0045] Sixthly, a switching decision network element is provided, which has the function of implementing the fault handling method described in the third aspect above. The switching decision network element includes at least one module, which is used to implement the fault handling method provided in the third aspect above.

[0046] A seventh aspect provides a network device comprising a processor and a memory. The memory stores a program that supports the network device in executing the fault handling methods provided in the first, second, or third aspect, and stores data related to implementing the fault handling methods provided in the first, second, or third aspect. The processor is configured to execute the program stored in the memory. The operating means of the memory device may further include a communication bus for establishing a connection between the processor and the memory.

[0047] Eighthly, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein instructions are stored therein, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the fault handling method described in the first, second, or third aspect above.

[0048] Ninthly, a computer program product containing instructions is provided, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the fault handling method described in the first, second, or third aspect above.

[0049] The technical effects achieved by the fourth to ninth aspects mentioned above are similar to those achieved by the corresponding technical means in the first, second or third aspects, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0050] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the existence of control plane network elements and user plane network elements in a vBNG according to an embodiment of this application;

[0051] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a network architecture provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0052] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the process of a terminal device accessing the network provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0053] Figure 4 This is a flowchart of a fault handling method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0054] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a switching decision network element fault provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0055] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the process of a terminal device accessing the network when a switching decision network element fails, as provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0056] Figure 7 This is a flowchart of another fault handling method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0057] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of a fault handling process during user migration provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0058] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of another fault handling process provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0059] Figure 10 This is a flowchart of another fault handling method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0060] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a control plane network element provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0061] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of another control plane network element provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0062] Figure 13This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a handover decision network element provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0063] Figure 14 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0064] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of this application clearer, the implementation methods of this application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0065] It should be understood that "multiple" as mentioned herein refers to two or more. In the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, " / " signifies "or," for example, A / B can mean A or B; "and / or" in this document is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, and B existing alone. Furthermore, to facilitate a clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the terms "first," "second," etc., are used in the embodiments of this application to distinguish identical or similar items with substantially the same function and effect. Those skilled in the art will understand that the terms "first," "second," etc., do not limit the quantity or execution order, and that "first," "second," etc., do not necessarily imply differences.

[0066] Before providing a detailed explanation of the embodiments of this application, the application scenarios of the embodiments of this application will be explained first.

[0067] With the development of SDN and NFV technologies, the network architecture of metropolitan area networks (MANs) is evolving from a traditional network-centric architecture to a data center-centric architecture. During this evolution, traditional network elements and other equipment are also evolving from specialized to general-purpose. This evolution of traditional network elements primarily addresses two decoupling issues: the decoupling of control functions from forwarding functions, and the decoupling of software from hardware.

[0068] As a traditional gateway device for broadband network access, the Gateway Generation Device (BNG) plays a crucial role in user broadband network access scenarios. Its functions include user authentication, access control, and traffic scheduling. With the proliferation of various internet services, the demands on the number of user sessions supported by the BNG, the bandwidth required for user access networks, and especially the BNG's ability to provide service openness and programmability are constantly increasing. Based on these factors, the SDN / NFV-based architecture of the BNG needs to achieve the two decouplings mentioned earlier.

[0069] In this design, after the forwarding and control functions of the BNG are decoupled, the BNG comprises one control plane (CP) network element and multiple user plane network elements. The control plane network element can manage multiple user plane network elements and schedule users, traffic, and resources among them. Compared to a standalone BNG without decoupling, the utilization and reliability of the BNG after decoupling the forwarding and control functions are significantly improved.

[0070] Traditional BNGs need to simultaneously provide user management, authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) services, address management, RADIUS service (RADIUS is a document protocol used to authenticate, authorize, and record information between network access servers and shared authentication servers that require authentication of their connections), routing control, Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE) service, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) service, forwarding engine, and other functions. These functions that a BNG needs to support must be deployed on the same hardware device, such as a switch.

[0071] For a BNG where forwarding and control functions are decoupled, it can also be called a vBNG. A vBNG includes control plane (CP) network elements and multiple user plane (UP) network elements. The control plane network elements provide the user management, AAA service, address management, RADIUS service, PPPoE service, DHCP service, and other functions required by the BNG. In addition, the control plane network elements also need to provide the user plane network element management (UP management) functions required by the BNG. Any user plane network element provides the routing, multicast service, quality of service (QoS), forwarding service, access control lists (ACL) service, and multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) / label distribution protocol (LDP) service functions required by the BNG. This application embodiment does not provide detailed descriptions of these functions; relevant content can be found in standard documents.

[0072] When a BNG includes one control plane network element and multiple user plane network elements, the control plane network element and the user plane network elements can be connected through three types of interfaces. These three interfaces are as follows.

[0073] (1) Primary Rate Interface (PRi). PRi, also known as the service interface, can specifically employ a Virtual Extensible Local Area Network-Generic Protocol Encapsulation (VXLAN-GPE) interface. When a user plane network element receives a user access protocol message, it encapsulates the message through this interface and then sends the encapsulated message to the control plane network element for processing. This user access protocol message is also known as a connection request.

[0074] (2) Media Independent Interface (MI). MI is also known as the management interface, and can specifically take the form of a network configuration (netconf) interface. Control plane network elements use this interface to send configurations to user plane network elements. User plane network elements use this interface to report operational status, etc.

[0075] (3) Serial Communication Interface (SCi). SCi, also known as the control interface, has an interface that can use a control plane and user plane separated protocol (CUSP). The control plane network element processes user access protocol messages and completes the user's protocol interaction. After a user goes online, the control plane network element sends user entries to the corresponding user plane network element through this interface. The user entries are used to carry user information of the terminal device, so that the user plane network element can forward the traffic of the terminal device based on the user entries. The detailed functions of the user entries will be described in subsequent embodiments.

[0076] The control plane network elements and user plane network elements mentioned above can have different forms. Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the existence of control plane network elements and user plane network elements in a vBNG according to an embodiment of this application. For example... Figure 1 As shown, the control plane network element in a vBNG, acting as a virtual network function (VNF), can run on an x86 server, thus achieving virtualization. The user plane network element in a vBNG can exist in two forms. One is as a VNF running on an x86 server; in this case, the user plane network element can also be called a vUP. The other is as a physical network function (PNF) running on a traditional hardware network device; in this case, the user plane network element can also be called a pUP. A vBNG control plane network element can manage one or more pUPs and one or more vUPs; this embodiment does not limit this.

[0077] Since control plane network elements can manage many user plane network elements, and all users are managed uniformly on the control plane network element, flexible scheduling of users between different user plane network elements can be performed based on the number of user sessions and traffic load. For example, when a user plane network element is detected to have a high load, the traffic of the terminal device can be diverted to another user plane network element for forwarding. This process can also be called user migration, which will be described in detail in subsequent embodiments.

[0078] The fault handling method provided in this application embodiment is applied to the scenario where the forwarding function and control function of BNG are decoupled as described above, with the aim of providing a network element fault handling method in this scenario.

[0079] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a network architecture provided in an embodiment of this application. For example... Figure 2As shown, the network includes terminal equipment, steering function (SF) network elements, SDN control network elements, user steering function (USF) network elements, and a BNG. The BNG includes control plane network elements (…). Figure 2 The control plane network element is marked as CP) and multiple user plane network elements ( Figure 2 The user plane network element is marked as UP, where, Figure 2 It includes three user plane network elements, namely UP1, UP2 and UP3.

[0080] like Figure 2 As shown, the terminal device and the SF network element are connected for communication. The SF network element and any user plane network element communicate via a two-layer tunnel. The SF network element is configured with different physical sub-interfaces, each matching a different Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) / QinQ (QinQ is a representation of two-way VLANs). Different physical sub-interfaces correspond to different Layer 2 tunnels; that is, different physical sub-interfaces are used to access different user plane network elements. In this way, the terminal device can send traffic to a specific user plane network element through a physical sub-interface on the SF network element.

[0081] Among them, SF network elements and various user plane network elements are deployed at the edge of the metropolitan area network to forward the traffic of terminal devices to the core network.

[0082] In addition, such as Figure 2 As shown, the SDN control network element is connected to the SF network element and each user plane network element for communication. The USF network element is connected to the SDN control network element for communication. The control plane network element is connected to the USF network element, the SDN control network element, and each user plane network element for communication. Furthermore, as... Figure 2 As shown, the control plane network element also connects to the Radius server for communication, so that the terminal device can be authenticated through the Radius server in the future.

[0083] The following is about Figure 2 The functions of each network element shown are explained.

[0084] Control plane network elements: Control plane network elements are the service control plane of vBNG, used to process online requests from terminal devices and interact with the AAA server for user authentication, accounting, and authorization. Control plane network elements can identify the user's service level agreement (SLA) based on the terminal device's user account. Using the access line information carried in the online request, they notify the USF network element that the terminal device is online and waits for the USF network element to guide the user migration, thus mapping the terminal device to the port accessed by the corresponding user plane network element. Simultaneously, the control plane network element distributes the terminal device's user table entry to the corresponding user plane network element, which then generates a forwarding table entry for the terminal device and advertises the route externally.

[0085] USF (User Plane) network element: A policy control component for migrating user plane network elements of terminal equipment. It generates migration policies based on the user SLA and load of the terminal equipment, and notifies the control plane network element and SF (Small Formation) network element to migrate the terminal equipment, thereby achieving network load balancing and meeting SLA requirements.

[0086] User plane network elements: User plane network elements are the vBNG service forwarding plane. After the control plane network element processes the user's online status, it issues user entries. The user plane network element receives the user entries issued by the control plane network element, generates forwarding table entries for the terminal device locally, performs relevant service policy execution and traffic forwarding, and publishes routes externally.

[0087] SF network element: When a user access gateway and a terminal device comes online, the network element sends the online request sent by the terminal device to the control plane network element for processing through the service channel. At the same time, it aggregates the traffic of home terminals and aggregates the traffic of the terminal devices to the user plane network element for Layer 2 packet forwarding. It also isolates different terminal devices using VLAN / QINQ (two-layer VLAN), with each terminal device having its own dedicated VLAN / QINQ.

[0088] A residential gateway (RGW) is used to connect computers and mobile phones within the home. It typically performs Network Address Translation (NAT) to assign private network (IP) addresses to these devices. It enables network access via PPPoE or IPoE protocols, obtaining IP addresses from the vBNG.

[0089] SDN control network element: Receives access line information for the corresponding user from the control plane network element. This access line information includes the identifier of the access switch / optical line terminal (SW / OLT), access port information, virtual local area network (VLAN) information, etc., and issues a migration policy to the corresponding SW / OLT, mapping the terminal device's port + VLAN / QINQ to a Layer 2 tunnel connected to the corresponding user plane network element (this Layer 2 tunnel can be a virtual extended local area network (VXLAN), a virtual leased line (VLL), or an Ethernet virtual private network (EVPN).

[0090] Based on the interconnections and functions of the various network elements, the process of a terminal device accessing services in the backbone network typically includes two basic procedures: a user access procedure and a user migration procedure. The user access procedure instructs the terminal device to access the network, while the user migration procedure instructs the transfer of the terminal device's traffic from one user plane network element to another.

[0091] For ease of explanation later, the two basic processes mentioned above will be explained in detail here.

[0092] (1) User access process

[0093] like Figure 2 As shown, during the network access process of the terminal device, it defaults to going online through UP1. At this time, the terminal device sends control messages such as the online request to the CP through UP1 connected to the SF network element. After receiving the online request, the CP communicates the migration policy of the terminal device with the USF network element. The USF network element determines that the terminal device should access through UP2 based on the user service level agreement (SLA) of the terminal device, and then notifies the CP to send the user table entry of the terminal device to UP2. At the same time, the USF notifies the SDN control network element so that the SDN control network element can configure the SF network element to bind the VLAN / QinQ corresponding to the terminal device to the physical sub-interface of UP2 on the SF network element, that is, to establish the binding relationship between the terminal device and UP2. Subsequent forwarding messages of the terminal device can then be directly forwarded to UP2.

[0094] The above user access process can be specifically accessed through... Figure 3The flowchart shown is used to represent this. For example... Figure 3 As shown, the process of a terminal device accessing the network can be broken down into the following steps.

[0095] 1. After each network element in the network is initialized, the terminal device sends a dial-up request based on PPPoE or DHCP to the SF network element.

[0096] 2. After receiving the online request, the SF network element sends the online request to the control plane network element (CP) through the default UP1.

[0097] 3. Upon receiving the online request, the control plane network element sends a user migration policy request to the USF network element. This user migration policy request requests which user plane network element the terminal device should use to forward traffic. The user migration policy request may carry the terminal device's user SLA. The terminal device's user SLA indicates the user's priority, etc.

[0098] 4. After receiving the user migration policy request, the USF network element determines that the terminal device should forward traffic from UP2 based on the user SLA of the terminal device. Therefore, the USF network element returns the user migration result to the control plane network element. The user migration result indicates that the target UP of the terminal device is UP2.

[0099] 5. After receiving the user migration result, the control plane network element can allocate an Internet Protocol (IP) address to the terminal device from the address pool of UP2, and send the allocated IP address to the terminal device so that the terminal device can use the IP address as the source IP address in the traffic.

[0100] 6. The control plane network element also sends the user entry for the terminal device to UP2. This user entry carries the user information of the terminal device, including its IP address, MAC address, interface, etc. The purpose of the control plane network element sending the user entry to UP2 is that UP2 will subsequently perform legality verification on the received data packets based on this user entry. For example, it verifies whether the source media access control (MAC) address and source IP address in the data packet are the MAC address and IP address in the locally configured user entry. If they are, the data packet is forwarded; otherwise, it is discarded.

[0101] 7. After executing steps 5 and 6 above, the control plane network element can notify the USF network element of the successful configuration of the table entry.

[0102] 8. After receiving the configuration success message for this entry, the USF network element can notify the SDN control network element to perform a handover operation. This handover operation instructs the SDN control network element to configure the binding relationship between the terminal device and UP2 on the SF network element, so that the SF network element can subsequently redirect the terminal device traffic to UP2.

[0103] 9. After completing steps 1-8, it indicates that the terminal device is now connected to the network. Subsequent data packets sent by the terminal device can then be forwarded to the backbone network via UP2.

[0104] (2) User migration process

[0105] The user migration process refers to the process after a terminal device has accessed the network. If the user SLA of the terminal device changes, the USF network element needs to re-determine which user plane network element the terminal device should forward traffic from after the change in the user SLA. This process can be referred to steps 3-8 in the user access process described above, and will not be repeated here.

[0106] Based on the above user access and migration processes, it is clear that the USF network element is the policy point for dynamic migration. The control plane network element must query the USF network element to determine whether to migrate, and the USF network element then notifies the control plane network element and the SDN control network element how to perform the migration. Therefore, if Figure 2 When the SF network element, USF network element, and SDN control network element shown in the diagram malfunction, it will directly lead to the failure of terminal equipment access or migration. The fault handling method provided in this application embodiment is applied to this scenario. For ease of explanation later, the SF network element, USF network element, and SDN control network element will be collectively referred to as the handover decision network element.

[0107] It should be noted that, Figure 2 The USF network element shown can be integrated into the control plane network element, or it can be integrated into the SDN control network element, or it can be a separate network element. This application does not limit this.

[0108] based on Figure 2 The system architecture shown below will be used to describe the fault handling method provided in the embodiments of this application. Since terminal device access to the network mainly includes two processes: user access process and user migration process, faults basically occur in these two processes. Therefore, the fault handling in these two processes will be described in detail below through two embodiments.

[0109] It should be noted that the terms "first," "second," and "third," etc., in the various embodiments below have no specific meaning, and the "first," "second," and "third," etc., in each embodiment are independent of each other. For example, Figure 4 The first and in the embodiments Figure 7 The first one in the embodiment is not related. Figure 4The second and in the embodiments Figure 7 The second one in the embodiment is not related in any way. Figure 4 The third and in the embodiments Figure 7 The third one in the embodiment is not related in any way, etc.

[0110] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating a fault handling method provided in an embodiment of this application. This method is used to provide a detailed explanation of fault handling during the user access process. Figure 4 As shown, the fault handling method includes the following steps.

[0111] Step 401: The control plane network element receives an online request from the terminal device. The terminal device sends the online request to the control plane network element through the first user plane network element, which is one of multiple user plane network elements.

[0112] In step 401, when the terminal device sends an online request for the first time, the first user plane network element is a pre-configured user plane network element. That is, if the terminal device has not accessed the network before the current time, and if the SF network element receives the online request from the terminal device, it forwards the online request based on the configured default user plane network element. The default user plane network element is pre-configured during system initialization, and this embodiment does not limit the specific operation of configuring this default user plane network element.

[0113] For example, for Figure 2 In the system shown, UP1 is assumed to be the default user plane network element. When the SF network element receives the first online request from any terminal device, it can send the online request to the control plane network element through UP1.

[0114] When a terminal device is not sending a network access request for the first time, the first user plane network element is the user plane network element used by the terminal device to send data packets before its last offline. In this case, if the user SLA of the terminal device has not changed, after the terminal device accesses the network once, it can continue to use the user plane network element used for the last online access to send network access requests, and user migration can be avoided, thus reducing the frequency of user migration.

[0115] In other words, after a terminal device goes offline, if it goes back online, it needs to send a new online request to the SF network element. After sending the online request, the SF network element can forward the online request based on the user plane network element used by the terminal device before it went offline last time.

[0116] For example, for Figure 2In the system shown, assuming UP1 is the default user plane network element, when the SF network element receives a non-first online request from any terminal device, if the UP used by that terminal device before its last offline was UP2, then the SF network element will continue to send the online request to the control plane network element through UP2.

[0117] based on Figure 2 As shown in the system diagram, the SF network element, SDN control network element, and USF network element are several network elements used to schedule the user migration process of terminal devices, and these network elements can be integrated into one network element. For ease of explanation later, these network elements are collectively referred to as handover decision network elements. That is, in the embodiments of this application, the handover decision network element includes the SF network element, the USF network element, and the SDN control network element.

[0118] In this embodiment, if any of the handover decision network elements fails after the control plane network element receives an online request from the terminal device, the access will fail. To ensure the normal network access of the terminal device, the control plane network element can achieve normal access of the terminal device through the following step 202 when it detects a failure in the handover decision network element. Here, a failure in the handover decision network element refers to a failure of any one or more of the SF network element, SDN control network element, and USF network element.

[0119] In this embodiment, the control plane network element can actively detect whether the handover decision network element has failed, so as to ensure that the terminal device can access the network in step 402. Actively detecting whether the handover decision network element has failed means that the control plane network element can actively send probe messages to detect whether the handover decision network element has failed. Therefore, in one possible implementation, the failure of the handover decision network element includes at least one of the following situations.

[0120] (1) After the control plane network element sends a fault detection request to the USF network element, it does not receive a detection result message from the USF network element within the first reference time.

[0121] After the control plane network element sends a fault detection request to the USF network element, if the USF network element itself experiences a hardware failure, such as a power outage or disconnection from the network, the USF network element will not respond to the control plane network element. Therefore, a first reference duration can be pre-configured on the control plane network element. If no detection result message is received from the USF network element within the first reference duration after sending the fault detection request, the control plane network element can determine that the USF network element has failed.

[0122] (2) After the control plane network element sends a fault detection request to the USF network element, it receives a detection result message returned by the USF network element. The detection result message indicates that the USF network element, the SF network element, or the SDN control network element has a fault.

[0123] If the USF network element itself is not faulty, but the USF network element detects a fault in the SF network element, the SDN control network element, or a fault in a software function module on the USF network element, the USF network element can send a detection result message back to the control plane network element. This detection result message indicates that the USF network element, the SF network element, or the SDN control network element has failed. In this scenario, when the control plane network element receives this detection result message, it can determine whether the USF network element, the SDN control network element, or the SF network element in the handover decision network element has failed.

[0124] The above-mentioned method of USF network element detection of SF network element failure or SDN control network element failure can also be achieved by USF network element actively sending probe messages, which will not be described in detail here.

[0125] (3) After the control plane network element sends a fault detection request to the SDN control network element, it does not receive a detection result message from the SDN control network element within the second reference time.

[0126] based on Figure 2 As shown in the system diagram, the control plane network element can also communicate directly with the SDN control network element. Therefore, the control plane network element can directly send a fault detection request to the SDN control network element to detect whether the SDN network element has failed. After the control plane network element sends the fault detection request, if the SDN control network element itself experiences a hardware failure, such as a power outage or disconnection from the network, the SDN control network element will not respond to the control plane network element. Therefore, a second reference time can be pre-configured on the control plane network element. If no detection result message is received from the SDN control network element within the second reference time after sending the fault detection request, the control plane network element can determine that the SDN control network element has failed.

[0127] The second reference duration and the aforementioned first reference duration are merely used to distinguish between the two durations and have no particular meaning. When applying the embodiments of this application, the first reference duration and the second reference duration can be the same or different.

[0128] (4) After the control plane network element sends a fault detection request to the SDN control network element, it receives a detection result message returned by the SDN control network element. The detection result message indicates that the SF network element or the SDN control network element has failed.

[0129] If the SDN control element itself has no hardware faults, but the SDN control detects a fault in the SF network element, or a fault in a software functional module on the SDN control element, the SDN control element can send a detection result message back to the control plane network element. This detection result message indicates that either the SDN control element or the SF network element has failed. In this scenario, upon receiving this detection result message, the control plane network element can determine whether the SDN control element or the SF network element in the handover decision network element has failed.

[0130] The above-mentioned method of SDN control network element detecting faults in SF network element can also be achieved by SDN control network element actively sending probe messages, which will not be described in detail here.

[0131] Furthermore, based on Figure 3 As shown in the user access process, after receiving the online request from the terminal device, the control plane network element sends a user migration policy request to the USF network element to request the USF network element to configure the user plane network element of the terminal device. The fault detection requests for the aforementioned fault scenarios can occur before the control plane network element sends the user migration policy request to the USF network element. That is, after receiving the online request from the terminal device, the control plane network element first actively detects whether the handover decision unit has failed. If a fault occurs, there is no need to send a user migration policy request to the USF network element; the terminal device can directly ensure normal network access through step 402 below. If no fault occurs, then the control plane network element sends a user migration policy request to the USF network element to... Figure 3 The process shown is to ensure that the terminal device can successfully access the network.

[0132] Optionally, after receiving the online request from the terminal device, the control plane network element directly sends a user migration policy request to the USF network element. This user migration policy request also has the function of the aforementioned fault detection request. If the USF network element itself experiences a hardware failure, resulting in no response from the USF network element to the user migration policy request, the control plane network element determines that the USF network element has failed if it does not receive a user migration result for the user migration policy request within the first reference reference time. Alternatively, after receiving the user migration policy request, the USF network element first actively probes to determine whether its own software system, SDN control network element, or SF network element has failed. If a failure is found, it returns a probe result message to the control plane network element; if no failure is found, it then... Figure 3 The process shown is to ensure that the terminal device can successfully access the network.

[0133] In other words, in the scenario where terminal devices access the network, the control plane network element's determination of a network failure during the handover decision can also include the following situations: after the control plane network element sends a migration policy request to the USF network element based on the online request, it does not receive the user migration result returned by the USF network element within the third reference time period, or it receives a probe result message returned by the USF network element, which indicates that the USF network element, or the SF network element, or the SDN control network element has failed.

[0134] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram illustrating a fault in a switching decision network element provided in an embodiment of this application. For example... Figure 5 As shown, a failure in the switching decision network element can refer to a failure in one or more of the USF network element, SDN network element, and SF network element. Figure 5 This explanation uses the example of a fault occurring in the USF network element, SDN network element, and SF network element. Figure 5 As shown, the control plane network element supports detecting whether the USF network element or SDN control network element is faulty, that is, it detects whether the USF network element or SDN control network element is faulty by sending fault detection requests as described above. Furthermore, the USF network element supports detecting whether the SF network element is faulty and notifies the control plane network element of the detection result. This enables the control plane network element to determine whether a fault decision network element has failed through active detection.

[0135] The above content explains how the control plane network element determines that the handover decision network element has failed. It should be noted that the above implementation methods are merely optional implementations provided in the embodiments of this application, and the embodiments of this application do not limit the specific implementation method by which the control plane network element determines that the handover decision network element has failed. For example, a passive notification method can also be used to determine that the handover decision network element has failed; that is, if other devices can detect that the handover decision network element has failed, these other devices can notify the control plane network element that the handover decision network element has failed. These other devices include, but are not limited to, the device itself that has failed, or other devices besides the device that has failed.

[0136] Step 402: If the control plane network element determines that the handover decision network element is faulty, the control terminal device sends a data packet based on the first user plane network element.

[0137] During the process of a terminal device accessing the network, if the control plane network element determines that the handover decision network element has failed, in order to ensure that the terminal device can continue to access the network, in this embodiment of the application, the control plane network element can skip the decision of the handover decision unit and directly control the terminal device to send data packets based on the first user plane network element.

[0138] At this time, the specific process of the control plane network element controlling the terminal device to send data packets based on the first user plane network element can be as follows: the control plane network element sends a user entry to the first user plane network element, the user entry carries the user information of the terminal device, and the first user plane network element forwards the data packets from the terminal device based on the user entry.

[0139] In addition, the control plane network element can also send a first IP configuration instruction to the terminal device. The first IP configuration instruction carries a first IP address so that the terminal device can use the first IP address as the source IP address to send data packets. The first IP address is an IP address in the address pool corresponding to the first user plane network element.

[0140] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the process of a terminal device accessing the network when a switching decision network element fails, as provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 6 As shown, the process of a terminal device accessing the network can be broken down into the following steps.

[0141] 1. After each network element in the network is initialized, the terminal device sends a dial-up request based on PPPoE or DHCP to the SF network element.

[0142] 2. After receiving the online request, the SF network element sends the online request to the control plane network element (CP) through the default UP1.

[0143] 3. After receiving the online request, if the control plane network element detects a fault in the switching decision network, it will allocate an Internet Protocol (IP) address to the terminal device from the address pool of UP1 and send the allocated IP address to the terminal device so that the terminal device can use the IP address as the source IP address in the traffic.

[0144] 4. The control plane network element also sends the user table entry of the terminal device to UP1. The user table entry carries the user information of the terminal device, including the IP address, MAC address, interface and other information of the terminal device.

[0145] 5. After completing steps 1-4, it indicates that the terminal device has now connected to the network. Subsequent data packets sent by the terminal device can then be forwarded to the backbone network via UP1.

[0146] and Figure 3 Compared to the user access process shown, in the event of a failure of the switching decision network element, the control plane network element only needs to perform two steps—configuring the IP address and issuing user entries—to ensure that the terminal device can successfully access the network, without the need for switching decision network elements to perform related configurations.

[0147] In other words, when the handover decision-making network element fails, the control plane network element controls the terminal device to send data packets based on the initial user plane network element. This initial user plane network element can be the default user plane network element or the user plane network element used before the last shutdown. This ensures that the terminal device can continue to access the network even when the handover decision-making network element fails. However, if data packets are forwarded in this way indefinitely, scheduling among the various user plane network elements in the network will not be possible, which can easily lead to an imbalance in the load among user plane network elements. Therefore, after the handover decision-making network element fails, once the control plane network element detects that the handover decision-making network element failure has been resolved, it triggers the handover decision-making network element to migrate the terminal device, thereby achieving reasonable scheduling among the various user plane network elements.

[0148] Based on the above approach, in one possible implementation, when the control plane network element detects that the handover decision network element's fault has been cleared, the control plane network element sends a migration policy request to the handover decision network element. This request instructs the handover decision network element to determine whether to switch the user plane network element forwarding data packets from the first user plane network element to another user plane network element. The control plane network element receives the user migration result sent by the handover decision network element, which carries the identifier of a second user plane network element (other than the first user plane network element). The control plane network element sends user entries to the second user plane network element, which carry the user information of the terminal device. The second user plane network element forwards data packets from the terminal device based on these user entries. After receiving a successful entry configuration message from the second user plane network element, the control plane network element sends a successful entry configuration message to the handover decision network element. This allows the handover decision network element to establish a mapping relationship between the terminal device and the second user plane network element, and based on this mapping relationship, forwards the terminal device's data packets to the second user plane network element.

[0149] After the control plane network element receives the table entry configuration success message returned by the second user plane network element, it sends the table entry configuration success message to the handover decision network element. The interaction operations between the various network elements can be referenced here. Figure 3 .like Figure 3 As shown, after receiving the table entry configuration success message returned by the second user plane network element, the control plane network element sends a table entry configuration success message to the USF network element. After receiving the table entry configuration success message, the USF network element notifies the SDN control network element to perform a handover operation. This handover operation instructs the SDN control network element to configure the binding relationship between the terminal device and the second user plane network element on the SF network element, so that the SF network element can subsequently divert the terminal device traffic to the second user plane network element.

[0150] The aforementioned implementation method for control plane network elements to detect and eliminate faults in handover decision network elements can also be achieved by actively sending fault detection requests or by announcing the handover decision network element after the fault has been eliminated. This application does not limit how control plane network elements detect and eliminate faults in the handover decision network.

[0151] Furthermore, it should be noted that the fault elimination in the aforementioned handover decision network refers to the absence of faults in all network elements within the handover decision network, not the elimination of the fault in a single faulty network element while other network elements still exhibit faults. This ensures the successful implementation of the process where the control plane network elements control the terminal equipment to send data packets based on the second user plane network elements after the fault elimination.

[0152] In summary, in this embodiment, during the process of a terminal device accessing the network, if the control plane network element determines that the handover decision network element has failed, in order to ensure that the terminal device can continue to access the network, the control plane network element can skip the decision of the handover decision unit and directly control the terminal device to send data packets based on the first user plane network element used by the online request. That is, this embodiment provides a way for a terminal device to continue accessing the network when the handover decision network element fails. In other words, this embodiment provides an escape path in a single network element failure scenario, allowing the terminal device to still go online normally.

[0153] Figure 7 This is a flowchart of another fault handling method provided in an embodiment of this application. This method is used to provide a detailed description of fault handling during the user migration process after the user has accessed the network. Figure 7 As shown, the fault handling method includes the following steps.

[0154] Step 701: The control plane network element receives the first migration configuration instruction sent by the handover decision unit. The first migration configuration instruction carries the identifier of the first user plane network element and the identifier of the terminal device. The first migration configuration instruction instructs the data packets of the terminal device to be forwarded by the first user plane network element.

[0155] Step 701 can be applied in a scenario where a terminal device has successfully connected to and accessed the network. In this scenario, if the user SLA of the terminal device changes, since the user SLA includes user information such as the terminal device's priority, and terminal devices with different priorities need to be forwarded through different user plane network elements, thus achieving load balancing among various user plane network elements, it is necessary to migrate the terminal device when its user SLA changes. That is, the terminal device's traffic needs to be diverted to other user plane network elements.

[0156] Based on the above configuration, in one possible implementation, the scenario in which the control plane network element receives the first migration configuration instruction sent by the handover decision unit can be as follows: the control plane network element receives a user SLA change message, which indicates that the user information of the terminal device has been updated. The control plane network element forwards the user SLA change message to the handover decision network element so that the handover decision network element configures the first user plane network element for the terminal device based on the updated user information and sends the first migration configuration instruction to the control plane network element.

[0157] For example, for Figure 2 In the system shown, after receiving a user SLA change message, the control plane network element forwards the user SLA change message to the USF network element. The USF network element determines whether the terminal device needs to be migrated to the new user plane network element based on the SLA change message. If so, the new user plane network element is designated as the first user plane network element, and a first migration configuration instruction is returned to the control plane network element. The first migration configuration instruction instructs the data packets of the terminal device to be diverted to the first user plane network element.

[0158] It should be noted that if the USF network element determines that it does not need to migrate the terminal equipment to the new user plane network element based on the SLA change message, the USF network element can send a notification message to the control plane network element indicating that migration is not required. After receiving the notification message, the control plane network element does not need to perform any other operations and can maintain the current state.

[0159] Step 702: After the control plane network element successfully sends a user entry to the first user plane network element based on the identifier of the first user plane network element, if the control plane network element determines that the handover decision network element has failed, it sends a user entry rollback instruction to the first user plane network element. The user entry rollback instruction instructs the first user plane network element to delete the user entry that has been added.

[0160] After receiving the first migration configuration instruction from the handover decision network element, the control plane network element determines that the terminal device needs to be migrated to the first user plane network element. Therefore, the control plane network element can issue user entries to the first user plane network element based on the identifier of the first user plane network element, so that the first user plane network element can configure the user entries of the terminal device locally. After configuration, the first user plane network element returns a table entry configuration success message to the control plane network element. When the control plane network element receives the table entry configuration success message from the first user plane network element, it can determine that it has successfully issued user entries to the first user plane network element.

[0161] The user entry carries user information of the terminal device, and the first user plane network element forwards data packets from the terminal device based on the user entry. The function of the user entry has been described above. Figure 2 The system architecture shown is described in detail and will not be repeated here.

[0162] based on Figure 3 As shown in the process, after the control plane network element successfully sends the user entry to the first user plane network element based on the identifier of the first user plane network element, the control plane network element notifies the handover decision network element to perform relevant configurations so that the configured handover decision network element can redirect the traffic of the terminal device to the first user plane network element. Therefore, if the handover decision network fails after the control plane network element successfully sends the user entry to the first user plane network element based on the identifier of the first user plane network element, the relevant configuration performed by the handover decision network element will fail, and the migration process of the terminal device will fail. However, since the user entry for the terminal device has already been configured on the first user plane network element, the user entry configured by the first user plane network element will be invalid in this case, which can easily lead to the terminal device going offline. Therefore, in this embodiment, to avoid the terminal device going offline due to invalid user entries configured on the first user plane network element, after the control plane network element successfully sends the user entry to the first user plane network element based on the identifier of the first user plane network element, if the control plane network element determines that the handover decision network element has failed, it sends a user entry rollback instruction to the first user plane network element. This user entry rollback instruction instructs the first user plane network element to delete the user entry that has been added. This avoids the terminal device going offline due to a failure of the handover decision unit during user migration.

[0163] That is, in this embodiment of the application, through the above steps 701 to 702, if the handover decision network element fails during the migration of the terminal device (such as one or more of the USF network element, SDN control network element or SF network element), the message interaction between the control plane network element and the handover decision network will fail. At this time, the control plane network element supports the rollback of the user entries that have been issued, thereby preventing the terminal device from going offline.

[0164] The following explains the fault conditions of the switching decision network element in step 702.

[0165] Since the control plane network element only notifies the handover decision network element to perform relevant configurations after successfully sending user entries to the first user plane network element based on the identifier of the first user plane network element, in one possible implementation, the handover decision network element failure in step 702 includes at least one of the following situations.

[0166] (1) After the control plane network element successfully sends the user table entry to the first user plane network element based on the identifier of the first user plane network element, the control plane network element sends a table entry configuration success message to the USF network element. After the control plane network element sends the table entry configuration success message to the USF, it does not receive a message returned by the USF network element within the third reference time period.

[0167] After the control plane network element sends a table entry configuration success message to the USF network element, if the USF network element itself experiences a hardware failure, such as a power outage or disconnection from the network, the USF network element will not respond to the control plane network element. Therefore, a first reference duration can be pre-configured on the control plane network element. If no message is received from the USF network element within the first reference duration after sending the table entry configuration success message, the control plane network element can determine that the USF network element has failed.

[0168] (2) After the control plane network element sends a table entry configuration success message to the USF network element, it receives a migration failure message sent by the USF network element. The migration failure message indicates that the USF network element, SDN control network element or SF network element has failed.

[0169] If the USF network element itself is not faulty, but the USF network element detects a fault in a software functional module on the USF, or if the USF network element discovers a fault in the SF network element or SDN control network element while configuring the SDN control network element and SF network element, the USF network element can send a migration failure message to the control plane network element. This migration failure message indicates a fault in the USF network element, SDN control network element, or SF network element. In this scenario, upon receiving the migration failure message, the control plane network element can determine that a fault occurred in the USF network element, SDN control network element, or SF network element within the handover decision network element, thus causing the user migration process to fail.

[0170] When configuring the SDN control network element and the SF network element, the USF network element may find that the SF network element or the SDN control network element is malfunctioning. Specifically, after the USF network element notifies the SDN control network element to perform a handover operation, it does not receive any response from the SDN control network element, or it receives a handover failure instruction returned by the SDN control network element.

[0171] Furthermore, after the USF network element notifies the SDN control network element to perform a handover operation, if the SF network element completes the binding between the terminal device and the first user plane network element under the command of the SDN control network element, but fails to delete the binding relationship between the terminal device and other previously used user plane network elements due to a fault, or if the SF network element deletes the binding relationship between the terminal device and other previously used user plane network elements, but fails to complete the binding between the terminal device and the first user plane network element due to a fault, then in this scenario, if the USF network element receives a migration failure message returned by the SDN control network element, the USF network element will also control the SF network element to bind the terminal device to the user plane network element used in the last data packet transmission, so that the terminal device can continue to send data packets based on the user plane network element used in the last data packet transmission.

[0172] In other words, the USF network element sends a user rollback command to the SDN control network element. Upon receiving the command, the SDN control network element forwards it to the SF network element. After receiving the command, the SF network element checks the user plane network elements bound to the terminal device in its local configuration. If it stores bindings between the terminal device and the first user plane network element, as well as other user plane network elements, it deletes the binding between the terminal device and the first user plane network element. If it only stores the binding between the terminal device and the first user plane network element, it deletes the binding between them and adds bindings between the terminal device and other user plane network elements. If it only stores bindings between the terminal device and other user plane network elements, no action is required.

[0173] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of a fault handling process during user migration provided in an embodiment of this application. For the sake of subsequent explanation, the user plane network element after terminal migration is referred to as the target user plane network element, and the user plane network element before terminal migration is referred to as the original user plane network element. Figure 8 The process shown includes the following steps.

[0174] 1. The control plane network element receives the user SLA change message sent by the AAA server. The user SLA change message indicates that the user information of the terminal device has been updated.

[0175] 2. The control plane network element forwards the user's SLA change message to the USF network element so that the USF network element can configure the target user plane network element for the terminal device based on the updated user information.

[0176] 3. The USF network element sends a first migration configuration instruction to the control plane network element, which carries the identifier of the target user plane network element.

[0177] 4. After receiving the first migration configuration instruction, the control plane network element sends the user table entries of the terminal device to the target user plane network element.

[0178] 5. After confirming that the user table entry for the terminal device has been configured locally, the target user plane network element returns a table entry configuration success message to the control plane network element.

[0179] 6. The control plane network element forwards the configuration success message of this entry to the USF network element to notify the USF network element that the target user plane network element has completed the relevant configuration.

[0180] 7. After receiving the configuration success message for this entry, the USF network element sends a handover command to the SDN control network element. This handover command instructs the SDN control network element to perform a handover operation. The purpose of this handover operation is to migrate the terminal device to the target user plane network element.

[0181] 8. After receiving the handover instruction from the USF network element, the SDN control network element sends configuration information to the SF network element. This configuration information instructs the SF network element to establish a binding relationship between the terminal device and the target user plane network element locally, and to delete the binding relationship between the terminal device and the original user plane network element.

[0182] 9. After receiving the configuration information, if the SF fails to successfully establish the binding relationship between the terminal device and the target user plane network element locally and delete the binding relationship between the terminal device and the original user plane network element, it will return a configuration failure message to the SDN control network element.

[0183] 10. After receiving the configuration failure message, the SDN control network element returns a migration failure message to the USF network element.

[0184] 11. After receiving the migration failure message, the USF network element notifies the control plane network element of the migration failure message.

[0185] 12. After receiving the migration failure message, the control plane network element sends a user entry rollback instruction to the target user plane network element. The user entry rollback instruction instructs the target user plane network element to delete the user entry that has been added to the terminal device.

[0186] 13. After the target user plane network element confirms the deletion of the user table entry for the terminal device that has already been added, it returns a rollback success message to the control plane network element.

[0187] 14. After notifying the control plane network element of the migration failure message, the USF network element also sends a rollback instruction to the SDN control network element. The rollback instruction instructs the SF network element to bind the terminal device and the original user plane network element.

[0188] 15. After receiving the rollback instruction, the SDN control network element sends a configuration rollback instruction to the SF network element. The configuration rollback instruction instructs the SF network element to bind the terminal device and the original user plane network element.

[0189] 16. After receiving the configuration rollback command, the SF network element checks the user plane network element bound to the terminal device in the local storage. After ensuring that the terminal device is only bound to the original user plane network element, it returns a configuration rollback success message to the SDN control network element.

[0190] 17. After receiving the configuration rollback success message, the SDN control network element returns a rollback success message to the USF network element to notify the USF network element and the SF network element that the terminal device has been bound to the original user plane network element.

[0191] It should be noted that, Figure 8 The process shown is only one scenario in which the control plane network element determines the switching decision network element as having failed. Other scenarios in which the control plane network element determines the switching decision network element as having failed will not be illustrated in this embodiment.

[0192] Furthermore, the above methods determine whether the handover decision network element has failed by observing its response to the entry configuration success message sent by the control plane network element. Optionally, after the control plane network element successfully sends the user entry to the first user plane network element based on the identifier of the first user plane network element, the control plane network element can also actively probe to determine whether the handover decision network element has failed. This allows for preventing the terminal equipment from going offline through step 702 if a failure is detected in the handover decision network element.

[0193] Therefore, the switching decision network element failure in step 702 may also include at least one of the following situations.

[0194] (1) After the control plane network element sends a fault detection request to the USF network element, it does not receive a detection result message from the USF network element within the first reference time.

[0195] (2) After the control plane network element sends a fault detection request to the USF network element, it receives a detection result message returned by the USF network element. The detection result message indicates that the USF network element, the SF network element, or the SDN control network element has a fault.

[0196] (3) After the control plane network element sends a fault detection request to the SDN control network element, it does not receive a detection result message from the SDN control network element within the second reference time.

[0197] (4) After the control plane network element sends a fault detection request to the SDN control network element, it receives a detection result message returned by the SDN control network element. The detection result message indicates that the SF network element or the SDN control network element has failed.

[0198] For details on the four fault detection scenarios mentioned above, please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 4 The embodiments shown will not be described in detail here.

[0199] In other words, after the control plane network element successfully sends the user entry to the first user plane network element based on the identifier of the first user plane network element, it first actively probes whether the handover decision unit has failed. If a failure occurs, there is no need to send the entry configuration success message to the USF network element; the terminal device can be prevented from going offline directly through the above step 702. If no failure occurs, the entry configuration success message is then sent to the USF network element to achieve successful migration of the terminal device through the interaction between the USF network element, the SDN control network element, and the SF network element.

[0200] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the aforementioned active detection of whether the handover decision network has failed by the control plane network element can also occur after the control plane network element receives a user SLA change message. In this scenario, if the control plane network element has already actively detected the handover decision network failure, it will maintain its current state and will not need to perform any operation. For example, it can forward the user SLA change message to the USF network element.

[0201] Optionally, after the control plane network element receives the user SLA change message, if the USF network element does not return any migration configuration instructions to the control plane network element within a specified time after the control plane network element sends the user SLA change message to the USF network element, the control plane network element can also determine that the USF network element has failed, and then maintain the current state without performing any operation.

[0202] Optionally, after the control plane network element receives a user SLA change message, if the USF network element first determines through active probing that the SDN control network element or SF network element has failed after sending the user SLA change message to the USF network element, then the USF network element returns a probe result message to the control plane network element, indicating that the USF network element, SDN control network element, or SF network element has failed. Upon receiving this probe result message, the control plane network element maintains its current state and does not need to perform any operation.

[0203] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of another fault handling process provided in an embodiment of this application. For example... Figure 9As shown, the control plane network element receives the user SLA change message sent by the AAA server and notifies the USF network element that the user SLA of the terminal device has changed. At this time, if the control plane network element receives the migration failure message returned by the USF network element, no operation needs to be performed.

[0204] In addition, in any of the above-mentioned fault scenarios, when the control plane network element determines that the fault of the handover decision network element has been eliminated, the control plane network element forwards a user SLA change message to the handover decision network element. The user SLA change message indicates that the user information of the terminal device has been updated, so that the handover decision network element configures a second user plane network element for the terminal device based on the updated user information, and sends a second migration configuration instruction carrying the identifier of the second user plane network element to the control plane network element.

[0205] Since the time when the fault is cleared is not the same as the time when the fault occurred, the control plane network element must re-trigger the entire user migration process regardless of the fault condition. That is, the control plane network element needs to forward the user SLA change message to the handover decision network element so that the USF network element in the handover decision network element can determine the latest user plane network element based on the current network state and the user SLA change message.

[0206] In summary, in this embodiment, to prevent terminal device disconnection due to user migration failure, after the control plane network element successfully sends user entries to the first user plane network element based on the identifier of the first user plane network element, if the control plane network element determines that the handover decision network element has failed, it sends a user entry rollback instruction to the first user plane network element. This instruction instructs the first user plane network element to delete the added user entries. This avoids terminal device disconnection due to handover decision unit failure during user migration. If the handover decision network element failure is determined before sending user entries to the first user plane network element based on the identifier of the first user plane network element, no operation is required to avoid terminal device disconnection.

[0207] The above Figure 7 The illustrated embodiment applies to a scenario where terminal device migration is triggered by a control plane network element. Optionally, in this embodiment, the handover decision network element can also actively trigger terminal device migration. In this scenario, if the handover decision network element determines that it is faulty, it will not trigger terminal device migration initially, but will re-trigger terminal device migration after the fault is cleared. The following describes... Figure 10 The illustrated embodiment provides a detailed explanation of the fault handling process in this scenario.

[0208] Figure 10 This is a flowchart of another fault handling method provided in an embodiment of this application. For example... Figure 10As shown, the method includes the following steps.

[0209] Step 1001: If it is determined that the traffic of the terminal device needs to be diverted to the first user plane network element, the switching decision network element generates a migration configuration instruction. The migration configuration instruction carries the identifier of the first user plane network element and the identifier of the terminal device. The migration configuration instruction instructs the data packets of the terminal device to be forwarded through the first user plane network element.

[0210] When the handover decision network element determines that the traffic of the terminal device needs to be diverted to the first user plane network element, the handover decision network element will generate a migration configuration instruction accordingly. This migration configuration instruction will instruct the control plane network element to send user entries to the first user plane network element, thereby triggering the migration of the terminal device.

[0211] In this embodiment, the handover decision-making network element can actively migrate terminal devices in the following two scenarios. That is, the handover decision-making network element can determine the need to redirect the traffic of the terminal device to the first user plane network element in the following two ways.

[0212] In one possible implementation, when the handover decision network element detects a selection operation of the migration control displayed on the display interface for the handover decision network element, it determines that the traffic of the terminal device needs to be diverted to the first user plane network element, both of which are specified by the user through the migration control.

[0213] Specifically, a migration control is displayed on the USF network element's interface, allowing users to trigger the USF network element to actively migrate terminal devices. For example, when the USF network element detects a selection operation on the migration control, it obtains the terminal device identifier and user plane network element identifier input by the user through a preset operation. This determines that the terminal device indicated by the terminal device identifier needs to be migrated, and the traffic of that terminal device needs to be redirected to the user plane network element indicated by the user plane network element identifier. The user plane network element indicated by the user plane network element identifier input by the user through the preset operation is the first user plane network element.

[0214] The above uses a USF network element as an example to illustrate how a handover decision network element can proactively trigger the migration of terminal devices. Optionally, the migration of terminal devices can also be proactively triggered through an SDN control network element or an SF network element. For specific implementation methods, please refer to the implementation process of the USF network element; examples will not be provided here.

[0215] In another possible implementation, when the switching decision network element detects the addition of a first user plane network element in addition to multiple user plane network elements in the network, it determines that the terminal device traffic needs to be diverted to the first user plane network element.

[0216] Specifically, the USF network element monitors the configuration of user plane network elements throughout the network. If a new user plane network element is detected in the network, in order to achieve load balancing, the terminal device can be migrated to the first user plane network element. That is, the data packets of the terminal device are forwarded by the first user plane network element, thereby diverting the traffic of the terminal device to the first user plane network element.

[0217] It should be noted that the above two scenarios are merely two examples of scenarios in which the switching decision network element actively triggers the terminal device to migrate. This application embodiment does not limit the scenarios in which the switching decision network element actively triggers the terminal device.

[0218] Step 1002: If the switching decision network element determines that it has failed, it will not send a migration configuration command to the control plane network element.

[0219] After generating a migration configuration command, if the handover decision-making network element determines that it has experienced a fault, sending the migration configuration command to the control plane network element would cause the terminal device migration to fail, resulting in the terminal device going offline. Therefore, to avoid terminal device offline due to migration failure, the handover decision-making network element does not send the migration configuration command to the control plane network element when it determines that it has experienced a fault; instead, it caches the migration configuration command first.

[0220] Specifically, after generating the migration configuration instruction, if the USF network element determines that the switching decision network element has failed, it will not send the migration configuration instruction to the control plane network element, but will instead cache the migration configuration instruction.

[0221] The failure of the aforementioned switching decision network element may include at least one of the following situations.

[0222] (1) The USF network element determines that it has a fault.

[0223] For example, if some software modules in a USF network element malfunction, causing the USF network element to determine that it cannot complete the subsequent migration work, then the USF network element will determine that it has malfunctioned.

[0224] (2) After the USF network element sends a fault detection request to the SDN network element, it does not receive a detection result message returned by the SDN network element within the first reference time period. Alternatively, after the USF network element sends a fault detection request to the SDN network element, it receives a detection result message returned by the SDN network element. The detection result message indicates that the SF network element or the SDN control network element has a fault.

[0225] In this embodiment, the USF network element has the function of actively detecting whether the SDN control network element is faulty.

[0226] For example, after the USF network element sends a fault detection request to the SDN network element, if the SDN control network element itself experiences a hardware failure, such as a power outage or disconnection from the network, the SDN control network element will not respond to the USF network element. Therefore, a first reference duration can be pre-configured on the USF network element. If no detection result message is received from the SDN control network element within the first reference duration after sending the fault detection request, the USF network element can determine that the SDN control network element in the handover decision network element has failed.

[0227] For example, if the SDN control element itself has no hardware faults, but the SDN control element detects a fault in the SF network element, or a fault in a software functional module on the SDN control element, the SDN control element can send a detection result message to the USF network element. This detection result message indicates that either the SDN control element or the SF network element has failed. In this scenario, upon receiving this detection result message, the USF network element can determine whether the SDN control element or the SF network element in the handover decision network element has failed.

[0228] For the first user-triggered active migration scenario in step 1001, if the switching decision network element determines that it has failed, in addition to not sending migration configuration instructions to the control plane network element, the switching decision network element can also report an error to indicate to the user that the active migration triggered at this time has failed. For example, when the USF network element determines that a certain network element in the switching decision network element has failed, it displays an alarm message indicating that the migration of the terminal device cannot be completed at this time.

[0229] Step 1003: If the switching decision network element determines that its own fault has been eliminated, it resends the migration configuration command to the control plane network element.

[0230] Once the switching decision network element confirms that its fault has been eliminated, it can resend the migration configuration command to the control plane network element to trigger subsequent migration operations. For example, if the USF network element determines that all network elements in the switching decision network element are working normally, it will resend the migration configuration command to the control plane network element. The relevant operations of the control plane network element after receiving the migration configuration command can be referred to the aforementioned procedures. Figure 3 The operations performed by the control plane network element after receiving the user migration results sent by the USF network element will not be described in detail here.

[0231] In summary, in scenarios where the handover decision network element actively triggers the migration of terminal devices, if the handover decision network element can detect its own fault, it will not trigger subsequent migration operations. Instead, it will re-trigger subsequent migration operations once the fault is eliminated. This avoids the terminal devices going offline due to failed migration triggered by a faulty handover decision network element.

[0232] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a control plane network element provided in an embodiment of this application. The control plane network element is the control plane network element included in the Broadband Network Gateway (BNG) in the network. The BNG also includes multiple user plane network elements. The network also includes a handover decision network element and terminal equipment. The handover decision network element is used to divert the traffic of the terminal equipment to one of the multiple user plane network elements.

[0233] like Figure 11 As shown, the control plane network element 1100 includes:

[0234] The transceiver module 1101 is used to receive online requests from terminal devices. The terminal devices send the online request to the control plane network element through a first user plane network element, which is one of multiple user plane network elements. For specific implementation details, please refer to [reference needed]. Figure 4 Step 401 in the embodiment.

[0235] Control module 1102 is used to control the terminal device to send data packets based on the first user plane network element when a fault is determined in the handover decision network element. For specific implementation details, please refer to [reference needed]. Figure 4 Step 402 in the embodiment.

[0236] Optionally, the control module is used for:

[0237] The control plane network element sends a user entry to the first user plane network element. The user entry carries the user information of the terminal device. The first user plane network element forwards data packets from the terminal device based on the user entry.

[0238] Optionally, the handover decision network element includes any one or more of the following: handover function SF network element, user handover function USF network element, and software-defined networking SDN control network element;

[0239] The failure of the switching decision network element includes at least one of the following situations:

[0240] After the transceiver module sends a fault detection request to the USF network element, if it does not receive a detection result message from the USF network element within the first reference time period, or if it receives a detection result message from the USF network element after sending the fault detection request, and the detection result message indicates that the USF network element, the SF network element, or the SDN control network element has failed; or...

[0241] After the transceiver module sends a fault detection request to the SDN control network element, if the transceiver module does not receive a detection result message from the SDN control network element within the second reference time period, or if the transceiver module receives a detection result message from the SDN control network element after sending the fault detection request, and the detection result message indicates that either the SF network element or the SDN control network element has failed; or...

[0242] After the transceiver module sends a migration strategy request to the USF network element based on the online request, it does not receive the user migration result returned by the USF network element within the third reference time period. Alternatively, the transceiver module receives a probe result message returned by the USF network element, which indicates that the USF network element, the SF network element, or the SDN control network element has failed.

[0243] Optionally, after the control module controls the terminal device to send data packets based on the first user plane network element, the transceiver module is further configured to:

[0244] The user migration result sent by the handover decision network element after the fault is cleared is received. The user migration result carries the identifier of the second user plane network element, which is another user plane network element other than the first user plane network element.

[0245] The user entry is sent to the second user plane network element. The user entry carries the user information of the terminal device. The second user plane network element forwards the data packets from the terminal device based on the user entry.

[0246] After receiving the table entry configuration success message returned by the second user plane network element, the table entry configuration success message is sent to the handover decision network element so that the handover decision network element can establish a mapping relationship between the terminal device and the second user plane network element, and forward the data packets of the terminal device to the second user plane network element based on the mapping relationship between the terminal device and the second user plane network element.

[0247] Optionally, when the terminal device sends an online request for the first time, the first user plane network element is a pre-configured user plane network element;

[0248] When the terminal device is not sending an online request for the first time, the first user plane network element is the user plane network element used by the terminal device to send data packets before the last time it went offline.

[0249] In summary, in the embodiments of this application, during the process of a terminal device accessing the network, if the control plane network element determines that the handover decision network element has failed, in order to ensure that the terminal device can continue to access the network, the control plane network element can skip the decision of the handover decision unit and directly control the terminal device to send data packets based on the first user plane network element used by the online request. That is, the embodiments of this application provide a way for a terminal device to continue accessing the network when the handover decision network element fails. In other words, the embodiments of this application can realize an escape path in a single network element failure scenario, allowing the terminal device to still go online normally.

[0250] It should be noted that the control plane network element provided in the above embodiments is only illustrated by the division of the above functional modules when performing fault handling. In practical applications, the above functions can be assigned to different functional modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the device can be divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above. In addition, the control plane network element provided in the above embodiments and Figure 4 The fault handling method embodiments shown belong to the same concept, and the specific implementation process can be found in the method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0251] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a control plane network element provided in an embodiment of this application. The control plane network element is the control plane network element included in the Broadband Network Gateway (BNG) in the network. The BNG also includes multiple user plane network elements. The network also includes a handover decision network element and terminal equipment. The handover decision network element is used to divert the traffic of the terminal equipment to one of the multiple user plane network elements.

[0252] like Figure 12 As shown, the control plane network element 1200 includes:

[0253] The transceiver module 1201 is used to receive a first migration configuration instruction sent by the handover decision unit. The first migration configuration instruction carries the identifier of the first user plane network element and the identifier of the terminal device. The first migration configuration instruction instructs the first user plane network element to forward the data packets of the terminal device. For specific implementation details, please refer to [reference needed]. Figure 7 Step 701 in the embodiment.

[0254] The transceiver module 1201 is also used to send a user entry rollback instruction to the first user plane network element after successfully sending a user entry to the first user plane network element based on the identifier of the first user plane network element. If it is determined that the handover decision network element has failed, the instruction instructs the first user plane network element to delete the added user entry. For specific implementation details, please refer to [reference needed]. Figure 7 Step 702 in the embodiment.

[0255] The user entry carries the user information of the terminal device, and the first user plane network element forwards the data packets of the terminal device based on the user entry.

[0256] Optionally, the handover decision network element includes any one or more of the following: handover function SF network element, user handover function USF network element, and software-defined networking SDN control network element;

[0257] The failure of the switching decision network element includes at least one of the following situations:

[0258] After the transceiver module sends a fault detection request to the USF network element, it does not receive a detection result message from the USF network element within the first reference time period; or, after sending the fault detection request to the USF network element, the transceiver module receives a detection result message from the USF network element indicating that the USF network element, the SF network element, or the SDN control network element has failed; or...

[0259] After the transceiver module sends a fault detection request to the SDN control network element, it does not receive a detection result message from the SDN control network element within the second reference time period; or, after sending the fault detection request to the SDN control network element, the transceiver module receives a detection result message from the SDN control network element indicating that either the SF network element or the SDN control network element has failed; or...

[0260] After the transceiver module successfully sends a user entry to the first user plane network element based on the identifier of the first user plane network element, the transceiver module sends an entry configuration success message to the USF network element. If the transceiver module does not receive a message from the USF network element within the third reference time after sending the entry configuration success message to the USF, or if the transceiver module receives a migration failure message from the USF network element after sending the entry configuration success message to the USF, the migration failure message indicates that the USF network element, SDN control network element, or SF network element has failed.

[0261] Optionally, in the event of a failure of the SDN control network element or the SF network element, the USF network element is used to control the SF network element to bind the terminal device to the user plane network element used in the last data packet transmission, so that the terminal device can continue to transmit data packets based on the user plane network element used in the last data packet transmission.

[0262] Optionally, before receiving the first migration configuration instruction sent by the handover decision unit, the transceiver module is further configured to:

[0263] Receive User Service Level Agreement (SLA) change message. The SLA change message indicates that the user information of the terminal device has been updated.

[0264] The user SLA change message is forwarded to the handover decision network element so that the handover decision network element can configure the first user plane network element for the terminal equipment based on the updated user information, and send the first migration configuration instruction to the control plane network element.

[0265] Optionally, the control plane network element also includes a control module 1202, used for:

[0266] After the transceiver module receives the user's SLA change message, it maintains the current state if it determines that the switching decision network element has failed.

[0267] Optionally, the handover decision network element includes any one or more of the following: handover function SF network element, user handover function USF network element, and software-defined networking SDN control network element;

[0268] The failure of the switching decision network element includes at least one of the following situations:

[0269] After the transceiver module sends a fault detection request to the USF network element, it does not receive a detection result message from the USF network element within the fifth reference time period; or, after sending the fault detection request to the USF network element, the transceiver module receives a detection result message from the USF network element indicating that the USF network element, the SF network element, or the SDN control network element has failed; or...

[0270] After the transceiver module sends a fault detection request to the SDN control network element, it does not receive a detection result message from the SDN control network element within the sixth reference time period; or, after sending the fault detection request to the SDN control network element, the transceiver module receives a detection result message from the SDN control network element indicating that either the SF network element or the SDN control network element has failed; or...

[0271] After the transceiver module forwards the user SLA change message to the USF network element, it does not receive a message back from the USF network element within the fourth reference time period. Alternatively, after forwarding the user SLA change message to the USF network element, the transceiver module receives a probe result message sent by the USF network element, indicating that the USF network element, SDN control network element, or SF network element has failed.

[0272] Optionally, the transceiver module is also used for:

[0273] If the fault of the handover decision network element is determined to be eliminated, a user SLA change message is forwarded to the handover decision network element. The user SLA change message indicates that the user information of the terminal device has been updated, so that the handover decision network element can configure the second user plane network element for the terminal device based on the updated user information, and send a second migration configuration instruction carrying the identifier of the second user plane network element to the control plane network element.

[0274] In summary, in this embodiment, to prevent terminal device disconnection due to user migration failure, after the control plane network element successfully sends user entries to the first user plane network element based on the identifier of the first user plane network element, if the control plane network element determines that the handover decision network element has failed, it sends a user entry rollback instruction to the first user plane network element. This instruction instructs the first user plane network element to delete the added user entries. This avoids terminal device disconnection due to handover decision unit failure during user migration. If the handover decision network element failure is determined before sending user entries to the first user plane network element based on the identifier of the first user plane network element, no operation needs to be performed to avoid terminal device disconnection.

[0275] It should be noted that the control plane network element provided in the above embodiments is only illustrated by the division of the above functional modules when performing fault handling. In practical applications, the above functions can be assigned to different functional modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the device can be divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above. In addition, the control plane network element provided in the above embodiments and Figure 7 The fault handling method embodiments shown belong to the same concept, and the specific implementation process can be found in the method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0276] Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a handover decision network element provided in an embodiment of this application. The network also includes a BNG and terminal devices. The BNG includes control plane network elements and multiple user plane network elements. The handover decision network element is used to divert the traffic of the terminal devices to one of the multiple user plane network elements.

[0277] like Figure 13 As shown, the handover decision network element 1300 includes:

[0278] The generation module 1301 is used to generate a migration configuration instruction when it is determined that the traffic of the terminal device needs to be diverted to the first user plane network element. The migration configuration instruction carries the identifier of the first user plane network element and the identifier of the terminal device, and instructs the data packets of the terminal device to be forwarded through the first user plane network element. For specific implementation details, please refer to [reference needed]. Figure 10 Step 1001 in the embodiment.

[0279] The sending module 1302 is configured to not send migration configuration commands to the control plane network element if the switching decision network element determines that it has experienced a fault; and to resend migration configuration commands to the control plane network element if the switching decision network element determines that its fault has been eliminated. For specific implementation details, please refer to [reference needed]. Figure 10 Steps 1002 and 1003 in the embodiment.

[0280] Optionally, the handover decision network element includes any one or more of the following: handover function SF network element, user handover function USF network element, and software-defined networking SDN control network element;

[0281] The failure of the switching decision network element includes at least one of the following situations:

[0282] The USF network element has determined that it is malfunctioning; or...

[0283] After the USF network element sends a fault detection request to the SDN network element, it does not receive a detection result message from the SDN network element within the first reference time period. Alternatively, after the USF network element sends a fault detection request to the SDN network element, it receives a detection result message from the SDN network element, and the detection result message indicates that the SF network element or the SDN control network element has failed.

[0284] Optionally, the switching decision network element also includes a determination module, used for:

[0285] If a selection operation of the migration control displayed on the interface for the handover decision network element is detected, it is determined that the traffic of the terminal device needs to be diverted to the first user plane network element. Both the terminal device and the first user plane network element are specified by the user through the migration control; or,

[0286] If a first user plane network element other than multiple user plane network elements is detected in the network, it is determined that the terminal device traffic needs to be diverted to the first user plane network element.

[0287] In summary, in scenarios where the handover decision network element actively triggers the migration of terminal devices, if the handover decision network element can detect its own fault, it will not trigger subsequent migration operations. Instead, it will re-trigger subsequent migration operations once the fault is eliminated. This avoids the terminal devices going offline due to failed migration triggered by a faulty handover decision network element.

[0288] It should be noted that the handover decision network element provided in the above embodiments is only illustrated by the division of the above functional modules when performing fault handling. In actual applications, the above functions can be assigned to different functional modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the device can be divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above. In addition, the handover decision and... Figure 10 The fault handling method embodiments shown belong to the same concept, and the specific implementation process can be found in the method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0289] Figure 14 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided in this application embodiment. Any network element in the above embodiments can... Figure 14 This is implemented using the network device shown. See also Figure 14The network device includes at least one processor 1401, a communication bus 1402, a memory 1403, and at least one communication interface 1404.

[0290] The processor 1401 may be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits used to control the execution of the program of the present application.

[0291] The communication bus 1402 may include a path for transmitting information between the aforementioned components.

[0292] Memory 1403 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device capable of storing static information and instructions, random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device capable of storing information and instructions, or electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compressed optical discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile optical discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disks or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and accessible by a computer, but not limited thereto. Memory 1403 may exist independently and be connected to processor 1401 via communication bus 1402. Memory 1403 may also be integrated with processor 1401.

[0293] The memory 1403 stores program code for executing the scheme of this application, and its execution is controlled by the processor 1401. The processor 1401 executes the program code stored in the memory 1403. The program code may include one or more software modules. The control plane network element in the BNG described above can determine the data used for application development through the processor 1401 and one or more software modules in the program code in the memory 1403.

[0294] Communication interface 1404 uses any transceiver-like device for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as Ethernet, radio access network (RAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), etc.

[0295] In a specific implementation, as one example, a network device may include multiple processors, for example... Figure 14 The processors 1401 and 1405 are shown. Each of these processors can be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. Here, "processor" can refer to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores used to process data (e.g., computer program instructions).

[0296] The network device mentioned above can be a general-purpose network device or a dedicated network device. In specific implementations, the network device can be a switch, router, etc.

[0297] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved, in whole or in part, through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, it can be implemented, in whole or in part, as a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible to a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available media can be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., digital versatile discs (DVDs)), or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state disks (SSDs)).

[0298] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the steps of the above embodiments can be implemented by hardware or by a program instructing related hardware. The program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as a read-only memory, a disk, or an optical disk.

[0299] The above descriptions are embodiments provided in this application and are not intended to limit the embodiments of this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the embodiments of this application should be included within the protection scope of the embodiments of this application.

Claims

1. A fault handling method, characterized in that, The method is executed by the control plane network elements of the broadband network gateway (BNG) in the network. The BNG also includes multiple user plane network elements. The network also includes a handover decision network element and terminal equipment. The handover decision network element is used to divert the traffic of the terminal equipment to one of the multiple user plane network elements. The method includes: The control plane network element receives an online request from the terminal device. The terminal device sends the online request to the control plane network element through a first user plane network element, where the first user plane network element is one of the plurality of user plane network elements. When the control plane network element determines that the handover decision network element is faulty, it controls the terminal device to send data packets based on the first user plane network element.

2. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The step of controlling the terminal device to send data packets based on the first user plane network element includes: The control plane network element sends a user entry to the first user plane network element. The user entry carries the user information of the terminal device. The first user plane network element forwards data packets from the terminal device based on the user entry.

3. The method as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The handover decision network element includes one or more of the following: handover function SF network element, user handover function USF network element, and software-defined networking (SDN) control network element. The failure of the switching decision network element includes at least one of the following situations: After the control plane network element sends a fault detection request to the USF network element, it does not receive a detection result message returned by the USF network element within the first reference time period; or, after the control plane network element sends a fault detection request to the USF network element, it receives a detection result message returned by the USF network element, and the detection result message indicates that the USF network element, or the SF network element, or the SDN control network element has failed. or, After the control plane network element sends a fault detection request to the SDN control network element, it does not receive a detection result message returned by the SDN control network element within the second reference time period; or, after the control plane network element sends a fault detection request to the SDN control network element, it receives a detection result message returned by the SDN control network element, and the detection result message indicates that the SF network element or the SDN control network element has failed. or, After the control plane network element sends a migration strategy request to the USF network element based on the online request, it does not receive a user migration result returned by the USF network element within a third reference time period, or it receives a probe result message returned by the USF network element, the probe result message indicating that the USF network element, or the SF network element, or the SDN control network element has failed.

4. The method as described in any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that, After controlling the terminal device to send data packets based on the first user plane network element, the method further includes: The control plane network element receives the user migration result sent by the handover decision network element after the fault is cleared. The user migration result carries the identifier of the second user plane network element, which is another user plane network element other than the first user plane network element. The control plane network element sends a user entry to the second user plane network element. The user entry carries the user information of the terminal device. The second user plane network element forwards data packets from the terminal device based on the user entry. After receiving the table entry configuration success message returned by the second user plane network element, the control plane network element sends the table entry configuration success message to the handover decision network element, so that the handover decision network element establishes a mapping relationship between the terminal device and the second user plane network element, and forwards the data packets of the terminal device to the second user plane network element based on the mapping relationship between the terminal device and the second user plane network element.

5. The method as described in any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that, When the terminal device sends the online request for the first time, the first user plane network element is a pre-configured user plane network element. If the terminal device is not sending the online request for the first time, the first user plane network element is the user plane network element used by the terminal device to send data packets before the last time it went offline.

6. A fault handling method, characterized in that, The method is executed by the control plane network elements of the broadband network gateway (BNG) in the network. The BNG also includes multiple user plane network elements. The network also includes a handover decision network element and terminal equipment. The handover decision network element is used to divert the traffic of the terminal equipment to one of the multiple user plane network elements. The method includes: The control plane network element receives a first migration configuration instruction sent by the handover decision network element. The first migration configuration instruction carries the identifier of the first user plane network element and the identifier of the terminal device. The first migration configuration instruction instructs that the data packets of the terminal device be forwarded through the first user plane network element. After the control plane network element successfully sends a user entry to the first user plane network element based on the identifier of the first user plane network element, if the control plane network element determines that the handover decision network element has failed, it sends a user entry rollback instruction to the first user plane network element. The user entry rollback instruction instructs the first user plane network element to delete the user entry that has been added. The user entry carries the user information of the terminal device, and the first user plane network element forwards the data packets of the terminal device based on the user entry.

7. The method as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The handover decision network element includes one or more of the following: handover function SF network element, user handover function USF network element, and software-defined networking (SDN) control network element. The failure of the switching decision network element includes at least one of the following situations: After the control plane network element sends a fault detection request to the USF network element, it does not receive a detection result message returned by the USF network element within the first reference time period; or, after the control plane network element sends a fault detection request to the USF network element, it receives a detection result message returned by the USF network element, and the detection result message indicates that the USF network element, or the SF network element, or the SDN control network element has failed. or, After the control plane network element sends a fault detection request to the SDN control network element, it does not receive a detection result message returned by the SDN control network element within the second reference time period; or, after the control plane network element sends a fault detection request to the SDN control network element, it receives a detection result message returned by the SDN control network element, and the detection result message indicates that the SF network element or the SDN control network element has failed. or, After the control plane network element successfully sends a user entry to the first user plane network element based on the identifier of the first user plane network element, the control plane network element sends an entry configuration success message to the USF network element. If the control plane network element does not receive a message returned by the USF network element within a third reference time after sending the entry configuration success message to the USF, or if the control plane network element receives a migration failure message sent by the USF network element after sending the entry configuration success message to the USF, the migration failure message indicates that the USF network element, the SDN control network element, or the SF network element has failed.

8. The method as described in claim 7, characterized in that, In the event of a failure of the SDN control network element or the SF network element, the USF network element is used to control the SF network element to bind the terminal device to the user plane network element used in the last data packet transmission, so that the terminal device can continue to transmit data packets based on the user plane network element used in the last data packet transmission.

9. The method as described in claim 6, characterized in that, Before the control plane network element receives the first migration configuration instruction sent by the handover decision network element, the method further includes: The control plane network element receives a User Service Level Agreement (SLA) change message, which indicates that the user information of the terminal device has been updated. The control plane network element forwards the user SLA change message to the handover decision network element, so that the handover decision network element configures the first user plane network element for the terminal device based on the updated user information, and sends the first migration configuration instruction to the control plane network element.

10. The method as described in claim 9, characterized in that, After the control plane network element receives the user SLA change message, the method further includes: When the control plane network element determines that the switching decision network element has failed, the current state is maintained.

11. The method as described in claim 10, characterized in that, The handover decision network element includes one or more of the following: handover function SF network element, user handover function USF network element, and software-defined networking (SDN) control network element. The failure of the switching decision network element includes at least one of the following situations: After the control plane network element sends a fault detection request to the USF network element, it does not receive a detection result message returned by the USF network element within the fourth reference time period; or, after the control plane network element sends a fault detection request to the USF network element, it receives a detection result message returned by the USF network element, and the detection result message indicates that the USF network element, the SF network element, or the SDN control network element has failed. or, After the control plane network element sends a fault detection request to the SDN control network element, it does not receive a detection result message returned by the SDN control network element within the fifth reference time period; or, after the control plane network element sends a fault detection request to the SDN control network element, it receives a detection result message returned by the SDN control network element, and the detection result message indicates that the SF network element or the SDN control network element has failed. or, After the control plane network element forwards the user SLA change message to the USF network element, if no message is received from the USF network element within the sixth reference time period, or if the control plane network element receives a probe result message sent by the USF network element after forwarding the user SLA change message to the USF network element, and the probe result message indicates that the USF network element, the SDN control network element, or the SF network element has failed.

12. The method as described in any one of claims 6 to 11, characterized in that, The method further includes: When the control plane network element determines that the fault of the handover decision network element has been eliminated, the control plane network element forwards a user SLA change message to the handover decision network element. The user SLA change message indicates that the user information of the terminal device has been updated, so that the handover decision network element configures a second user plane network element for the terminal device based on the updated user information, and sends a second migration configuration instruction carrying the identifier of the second user plane network element to the control plane network element.

13. A fault handling method, characterized in that, The method is executed by a handover decision network element in the network, which also includes a broadband network gateway (BNG) and terminal equipment. The BNG includes a control plane network element and multiple user plane network elements. The handover decision network element is used to divert the traffic of the terminal equipment to one of the multiple user plane network elements. The method includes: When it is determined that the traffic of the terminal device needs to be diverted to the first user plane network element, the switching decision network element generates a migration configuration instruction. The migration configuration instruction carries the identifier of the first user plane network element and the identifier of the terminal device. The migration configuration instruction instructs the data packets of the terminal device to be forwarded through the first user plane network element. If the switching decision network element determines that it has failed, it will not send the migration configuration command to the control plane network element. If the switching decision network element determines that its own fault has been eliminated, it resends the migration configuration command to the control plane network element.

14. The method as described in claim 13, characterized in that, The handover decision network element includes one or more of the following: handover function SF network element, user handover function USF network element, and software-defined networking (SDN) control network element. The failure of the switching decision network element includes at least one of the following situations: The USF network element determines that it has malfunctioned; or... After the USF network element sends a fault detection request to the SDN control network element, it does not receive a detection result message returned by the SDN control network element within a first reference time period; or, after the USF network element sends a fault detection request to the SDN control network element, it receives a detection result message returned by the SDN control network element, and the detection result message indicates that the USF network element or the SDN control network element has failed.

15. The method as described in claim 13 or 14, characterized in that, The method further includes: If a selection operation of the migration control displayed on the interface for the handover decision network element is detected, it is determined that the traffic of the terminal device needs to be diverted to the first user plane network element, where both the terminal device and the first user plane network element are specified by the user through the migration control; or... If a new user plane network element is detected in the network, the new user plane network element is designated as the first user plane network element, and it is determined that the terminal device traffic needs to be diverted to the first user plane network element.

16. A control plane network element, characterized in that, The control plane network element is the control plane network element included in the broadband network gateway (BNG) in the network. The BNG also includes multiple user plane network elements. The network also includes a handover decision network element and terminal equipment. The handover decision network element is used to divert the traffic of the terminal equipment to one of the multiple user plane network elements. The control plane network element includes: The transceiver module is used to receive an online request from the terminal device. The terminal device sends the online request to the control plane network element through a first user plane network element, where the first user plane network element is one of the plurality of user plane network elements. The control module is used to control the terminal device to send data packets based on the first user plane network element when it is determined that the handover decision network element is faulty.

17. The control plane network element as described in claim 16, characterized in that, The control module is used for: The control plane network element sends a user entry to the first user plane network element. The user entry carries the user information of the terminal device. The first user plane network element forwards data packets from the terminal device based on the user entry.

18. The control plane network element as described in claim 16 or 17, characterized in that, The handover decision network element includes one or more of the following: handover function SF network element, user handover function USF network element, and software-defined networking (SDN) control network element. The failure of the switching decision network element includes at least one of the following situations: After the transceiver module sends a fault detection request to the USF network element, if the transceiver module does not receive a detection result message returned by the USF network element within the first reference time period, or if the transceiver module receives a detection result message returned by the USF network element after sending the fault detection request to the USF network element, and the detection result message indicates that the USF network element, or the SF network element, or the SDN control network element has failed; or, After the transceiver module sends a fault detection request to the SDN control network element, if the transceiver module does not receive a detection result message returned by the SDN control network element within the second reference time period, or if the transceiver module receives a detection result message returned by the SDN control network element after sending a fault detection request to the SDN control network element, and the detection result message indicates that the SDN network element or the SDN control network element has failed; or, After the transceiver module sends a migration policy request to the USF network element based on the online request, it does not receive a user migration result from the USF network element within the third reference time period. Alternatively, the transceiver module receives a probe result message from the USF network element, which indicates that the USF network element, the SF network element, or the SDN control network element has failed.

19. The control plane network element as described in any one of claims 16 to 17, characterized in that, After the control module controls the terminal device to send data packets based on the first user plane network element, the transceiver module is further configured to: The system receives the user migration result sent by the handover decision network element after the fault is cleared. The user migration result carries the identifier of the second user plane network element, which is another user plane network element other than the first user plane network element. The second user plane network element sends a user entry to the second user plane network element. The user entry carries the user information of the terminal device. The second user plane network element forwards data packets from the terminal device based on the user entry. After receiving the table entry configuration success message returned by the second user plane network element, the table entry configuration success message is sent to the handover decision network element so that the handover decision network element establishes a mapping relationship between the terminal device and the second user plane network element, and forwards the data packets of the terminal device to the second user plane network element based on the mapping relationship between the terminal device and the second user plane network element.

20. The control plane network element as described in any one of claims 16 to 17, characterized in that, When the terminal device sends the online request for the first time, the first user plane network element is a pre-configured user plane network element. If the terminal device is not sending the online request for the first time, the first user plane network element is the user plane network element used by the terminal device to send data packets before the last time it went offline.

21. A control plane network element, characterized in that, The control plane network element is the control plane network element included in the broadband network gateway (BNG) in the network. The BNG also includes multiple user plane network elements. The network also includes a handover decision network element and terminal equipment. The handover decision network element is used to divert the traffic of the terminal equipment to one of the multiple user plane network elements. The control plane network element includes: The transceiver module is used to receive a first migration configuration instruction sent by the handover decision network element. The first migration configuration instruction carries the identifier of the first user plane network element and the identifier of the terminal device. The first migration configuration instruction instructs the data packets of the terminal device to be forwarded through the first user plane network element. The transceiver module is further configured to, after successfully sending a user entry to the first user plane network element based on the identifier of the first user plane network element, if it is determined that the handover decision network element has failed, send a user entry rollback instruction to the first user plane network element, wherein the user entry rollback instruction instructs the first user plane network element to delete the user entry that has been added. The user entry carries the user information of the terminal device, and the first user plane network element forwards the data packets of the terminal device based on the user entry.

22. The control plane network element as described in claim 21, characterized in that, The handover decision network element includes one or more of the following: handover function SF network element, user handover function USF network element, and software-defined networking (SDN) control network element. The failure of the switching decision network element includes at least one of the following situations: After the transceiver module sends a fault detection request to the USF network element, it does not receive a detection result message returned by the USF network element within the first reference time period; or, after the transceiver module sends a fault detection request to the USF network element, it receives a detection result message returned by the USF network element, and the detection result message indicates that the USF network element, or the SF network element, or the SDN control network element has failed. or, After the transceiver module sends a fault detection request to the SDN control network element, it does not receive a detection result message returned by the SDN control network element within the second reference time period; or, after the transceiver module sends a fault detection request to the SDN control network element, it receives a detection result message returned by the SDN control network element, and the detection result message indicates that the SDN network element or the SDN control network element has failed. or, After the transceiver module successfully sends a user entry to the first user plane network element based on the identifier of the first user plane network element, the transceiver module sends an entry configuration success message to the USF network element. If the transceiver module does not receive a message returned by the USF network element within a third reference time after sending the entry configuration success message to the USF, or if the transceiver module receives a migration failure message from the USF network element after sending the entry configuration success message to the USF, the migration failure message indicates that the USF network element, the SDN control network element, or the SF network element has failed.

23. The control plane network element as described in claim 22, characterized in that, In the event of a failure of the SDN control network element or the SF network element, the USF network element is used to control the SF network element to bind the terminal device to the user plane network element used in the last data packet transmission, so that the terminal device can continue to transmit data packets based on the user plane network element used in the last data packet transmission.

24. The control plane network element as described in claim 21, characterized in that, Before receiving the first migration configuration instruction sent by the handover decision network element, the transceiver module is further configured to: Receive a User Service Level Agreement (SLA) change message, wherein the SLA change message indicates that the user information of the terminal device has been updated; The user SLA change message is forwarded to the handover decision network element so that the handover decision network element configures the first user plane network element for the terminal device based on the updated user information, and sends the first migration configuration instruction to the control plane network element.

25. The control plane network element as described in claim 24, characterized in that, The control plane network element further includes a control module for: After the transceiver module receives the user's SLA change message, it maintains the current state if it determines that the switching decision network element has failed.

26. The control plane network element as described in claim 25, characterized in that, The handover decision network element includes one or more of the following: handover function SF network element, user handover function USF network element, and software-defined networking (SDN) control network element. The failure of the switching decision network element includes at least one of the following situations: After the transceiver module sends a fault detection request to the USF network element, it does not receive a detection result message returned by the USF network element within the fourth reference time period; or, after the transceiver module sends a fault detection request to the USF network element, it receives a detection result message returned by the USF network element, and the detection result message indicates that the USF network element, or the SF network element, or the SDN control network element has failed. or, After the transceiver module sends a fault detection request to the SDN control network element, it does not receive a detection result message returned by the SDN control network element within the fifth reference time period; or, after the transceiver module sends a fault detection request to the SDN control network element, it receives a detection result message returned by the SDN control network element, and the detection result message indicates that the SDN network element or the SDN control network element has failed. or, After the transceiver module forwards the user SLA change message to the USF network element, if it does not receive a message back from the USF network element within the sixth reference time period, or if the transceiver module receives a probe result message sent by the USF network element after forwarding the user SLA change message to the USF network element, and the probe result message indicates that the USF network element, the SDN control network element, or the SF network element has failed.

27. The control plane network element as described in any one of claims 21 to 26, characterized in that, The transceiver module is also used for: If the fault of the handover decision network element is determined to be eliminated, a user SLA change message is forwarded to the handover decision network element. The user SLA change message indicates that the user information of the terminal device has been updated, so that the handover decision network element configures a second user plane network element for the terminal device based on the updated user information, and sends a second migration configuration instruction carrying the identifier of the second user plane network element to the control plane network element.

28. A switching decision network element, characterized in that, The network also includes a broadband network gateway (BNG) and terminal equipment. The BNG includes control plane network elements and multiple user plane network elements. The handover decision network element is used to divert the traffic of the terminal equipment to one of the multiple user plane network elements. The handover decision-making network element includes: The generation module is used to generate a migration configuration instruction when it is determined that the traffic of the terminal device needs to be diverted to the first user plane network element. The migration configuration instruction carries the identifier of the first user plane network element and the identifier of the terminal device. The migration configuration instruction instructs the data packets of the terminal device to be forwarded through the first user plane network element. The sending module is configured to, if the handover decision network element determines that it has experienced a fault, not send the migration configuration command to the control plane network element; and if the handover decision network element determines that its fault has been eliminated, resend the migration configuration command to the control plane network element.

29. The handover decision network element as described in claim 28, characterized in that, The handover decision network element includes one or more of the following: handover function SF network element, user handover function USF network element, and software-defined networking (SDN) control network element. The failure of the switching decision network element includes at least one of the following situations: The USF network element determines that it has malfunctioned; or... After the USF network element sends a fault detection request to the SDN control network element, it does not receive a detection result message returned by the SDN control network element within a first reference time period; or, after the USF network element sends a fault detection request to the SDN control network element, it receives a detection result message returned by the SDN control network element, and the detection result message indicates that the USF network element or the SDN control network element has failed.

30. The handover decision network element as described in claim 28 or 29, characterized in that, The handover decision network element further includes a determination module, used for: If a selection operation of the migration control displayed on the display interface for the switching decision network element is detected, it is determined that the traffic of the terminal device needs to be diverted to the first user plane network element. Both the terminal device and the first user plane network element are specified by the user through the migration control. or, If a new user plane network element is detected in the network, the new user plane network element is designated as the first user plane network element, and it is determined that the terminal device traffic needs to be diverted to the first user plane network element.

31. A network device, characterized in that, The network device includes a memory and a processor; The memory is used to store programs that enable the network device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-5, 6-12, or 13-15, and to store data related to implementing the method according to any one of claims 1-5, 6-12; The processor is configured to execute programs stored in the memory.

32. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method described in any one of claims 1-5, 6-12, or 13-15.

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