A service offloading architecture, method and apparatus

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application provide a service distribution architecture, method and device, wherein the service distribution architecture comprises a first type of UPF, a second type of UPF and a third type of UPF, wherein the first type of UPF is arranged at a core network layer and is used to carry user public data services, the second type of UPF is arranged at a convergence node layer and is used to carry user hotspot services, and the third type of UPF is arranged at an access network layer and is used to carry user special services and low-latency services. Network slices are distinguished according to user subscription service attribute identification, and the target type of UPF that the user can access is determined by the network slice identification; the access UPF when the user does the service is determined by user location information; and the target UPF is determined by the service attribute requested by the user and the data access network identification. The present application realizes service distribution.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, in particular to a service distribution architecture, method and device. BACKGROUND

[0002] At present, with the rapid development of mobile Internet and Internet of Things, more and more users have requirements for transmission bandwidth and latency. At this time, the concept of mobile edge computing (MEC) is proposed and widely concerned. MEC technology mainly refers to deploying general servers on the wireless access side to provide IT and cloud computing capabilities for the wireless access network, so that the traditional wireless access network has the conditions of service localization and close-range deployment, and has the transmission capability of low latency and high bandwidth, which can effectively alleviate the requirements of future mobile networks for transmission bandwidth and latency. At the same time, the sinking and local deployment of service can effectively reduce the network load and the demand for network backhaul bandwidth, thereby achieving the purpose of reducing network operation cost. MEC is considered to be one of the key pillars to meet the key performance indicators of 5G requirements, especially in terms of low latency and bandwidth efficiency. Among them, the user plane function (UPF) can be sunk to the user side on demand with the MEC platform, thereby realizing the true integration and sinking to the edge of "network + cloud".

[0003] However, how to distribute data to a local application server, there is no related solution at present, and the high bearing pressure of the existing core network still cannot be solved.

[0004] SUMMARY

[0005] The embodiments of the present application provide a service distribution architecture, method and device to solve the distribution problem of the bearer network.

[0006] The embodiments of the present application provide a service distribution architecture, which comprises:

[0007] The first type of user plane function UPF, the second type of UPF and the third type of UPF;

[0008] The first type of UPF is arranged in the core network layer and is used to bear user public data services; the second type of UPF is arranged in the convergence node layer and is used to bear user hotspot services, and the third type of UPF is arranged in the access network layer and is used to bear user special services and low-latency services.

[0009] Optionally, at least one of the following is further included:

[0010] The second type of UPF and the third type of UPF are both provided with a local data network;

[0011] The base station cells served by the second type of UPF and the third type of UPF are contiguously covered.

[0012] The embodiment also provides a service distribution method applied to a service distribution architecture, comprising:

[0013] Obtaining service attributes of a service subscribed by a user, wherein the service attributes of the service subscribed by the user include: a user public data service, a user hotspot service, a user special service, or a low-latency service;

[0014] Based on a preset correspondence between the service attributes and slice identifiers of network slices, determining a target network slice corresponding to the service attributes of the service subscribed by the user, and determining a target type of UPF to which the service subscribed by the user is to be accessed through the slice identifier of the target network slice;

[0015] The user public data service has a corresponding relationship with the first type of UPF, the user hotspot service has a corresponding relationship with the second type of UPF, and the user special service and the low-latency service both have a corresponding relationship with the third type of UPF.

[0016] Optionally, after the target type of UPF to which the service subscribed by the user is to be accessed is determined through the slice identifier of the target network slice, the method further comprises:

[0017] Based on the target type of UPF, selecting a highest-priority data network identifier as a default data network of the user in a priority order from high to low in an access network layer, a convergence node layer, and a core network layer, or in a priority order of latency from small to large, and determining a corresponding type of UPF to be accessed from the target type of UPF; if the user leaves a service area of the highest-priority target type of UPF, selecting a next-highest-priority target type of UPF as the type of UPF to be accessed;

[0018] Based on user location information when a user terminal requests a service, obtaining a nearest UPF from the type of UPF to be accessed and taking the nearest UPF as the UPF to be accessed by the user terminal.

[0019] Optionally, after the target type of UPF to which the service subscribed by the user is to be accessed is determined through the slice identifier of the target network slice, the method further comprises:

[0020] Based on the service attributes requested by the user, determining a target UPF and a target data network identifier.

[0021] Optionally, if the access UPF of the user terminal is consistent with the target UPF, the service is directly processed through the access UPF;

[0022] If the access UPF of the user terminal is inconsistent with the target UPF, the access UPF is connected to the target UPF through an N9 interface as a UL CL UPF or a BP UPF for service.

[0023] The application further provides a service distribution device, comprising:

[0024] The application further provides a service distribution device, comprising:

[0025] The application further provides a service distribution device, comprising:

[0026] The application further provides a service distribution device, comprising:

[0027] The application further provides a service distribution device, comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor implements the steps of the above method when executing the computer program.

[0028] The application further provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein the computer program is executable by a processor to implement the steps of the method.

[0029] The application provides a service distribution architecture, method and device, wherein the first type of UPF is arranged at a core network layer and used to bear user public data services, the second type of UPF is arranged at a convergence node layer and used to bear user hotspot services, and the third type of UPF is arranged at an access network layer and used to bear user special services and low-latency services, so that the UPF is layered and the functions of the UPF are clear, the network pressure of an operator is avoided, and the problem of high deployment cost of the UPF is also avoided. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0030] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings needed in the embodiments or the prior art description. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present application, and those skilled in the art can also obtain other drawings according to these drawings without creative labor.

[0031] Figure 1 Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a service shunting architecture in an embodiment of the present application;

[0032] Figure 2 Figure 2 is a flowchart of a service shunting method in an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Figure 3 Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of core network shunting in an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] Figure 4 Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of user access in a dedicated service area in an embodiment of the present application;

[0035] Figure 5 Figure 5 is a module block diagram of a service shunting apparatus in an embodiment of the present application;

[0036] Figure 6 Figure 6 is a structural block diagram of a service shunting apparatus in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] To make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in connection with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are some but not all of the embodiments of the present application. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative work fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0038] Currently, in a protocol data unit (PDU) session in a 5G standard, there are two UPFs, one UPF is close to a radio access network (RAN) to realize shunting of low-latency services, and the other UPF is at a core network position to realize transmission of other services with relaxed latency. The UPF (MEC) is sunk to a base station side to reduce access latency, save bandwidth, and improve throughput. However, how to design the architecture of the UPF, there is currently no reasonable solution. If other services (such as hotspot services) are sunk to the base station side to reduce the pressure on the bearer network, it will inevitably cause high cost, repeated construction, and resource waste. The existing shunting process needs the UPF device to shunt according to the IP address of the data packet, and the processing pressure of the UPF device is large, which has a certain influence on the data packet processing speed, resulting in low network processing efficiency.

[0039] To solve the problem of bearer network shunting, the embodiments of the present application provide a service shunting architecture, method and apparatus.

[0040] As Figure 1As shown, a schematic diagram of a service shunting architecture in the embodiment of the present application is shown, and the service shunting architecture comprises:

[0041] a first type of UPF, a second type of UPF, and a third type of UPF;

[0042] The first type of UPF is arranged at a core network layer and is used to carry user public data services; the second type of UPF is arranged at a convergence node layer and is used to carry user hotspot services; and the third type of UPF is arranged at an access network layer and is used to carry user special services and low-latency services.

[0043] The first type of UPF can be directly connected to the Internet, and all services carried out by a user pass through the first type of UPF. When actually deploying the UPF, a reasonable position needs to be selected, and the first type of UPF is deployed at the core network layer, that is, in a core room, in combination with a Slicing Packet Network (SPN) network structure. The second type of UPF is mainly used to shunt the pressure of a bearer network. If it is completely lowered to the access network side, on the one hand, the cost is huge, and on the other hand, the pressure of the access network is increased. Therefore, the second type of UPF is arranged in a convergence node room or multiple convergence node rooms in combination. The third type of UPF is mainly used to guarantee the requirement of low-latency services. Therefore, the third type of UPF is placed at the access network side as much as possible, that is, in an access network node room or multiple access points in combination.

[0044] That is, in a bearer network, the first type of UPF is deployed at the core network layer, the second type of UPF is deployed at the convergence node layer, and the third type of UPF is deployed at the access network layer, so as to realize hierarchical deployment of the UPF. In addition, the first type of UPF is responsible for user public data services, the second type of UPF is responsible for user hotspot services, and the third type of UPF is responsible for user special services and low-latency services. Therefore, the shunting processing of the user hotspot services and the user special services and low-latency services is realized, the shunting problem of the bearer network is solved, the implementation problem of the low-latency services is solved, and the perceived quality of user differentiated services is improved.

[0045] In addition, optionally, the service shunting architecture further comprises at least one of the following:

[0046] The second type of UPF and the third type of UPF are both provided with a local data network.

[0047] The base station cells served by the second type of UPF and the third type of UPF are continuously covered.

[0048] Specifically, according to the edge computing requirement, the second type of UPF and the third type of UPF are both provided with a local data network, responsible for processing local services, such as enterprise network data to ensure that it does not go out of the park, to realize local access; low-latency services realize local service processing; hotspot services realize local access, and other services access the Internet through the nearest access UPF, thereby realizing the local distribution of the services responsible for the second type of UPF and the services responsible for the third type of UPF.

[0049] The second type of UPF can be a plurality of aggregation node machine rooms combined, at which time the base stations under the UPF are required to be contiguous, that is, the base station cells served by the second type of UPF are contiguously covered, thereby reducing the handover across the UPF; the third type of UPF can be a plurality of access points combined, at which time the base stations under the plurality of access points are required to be contiguous, that is, the base station cells served by the third type of UPF are contiguously covered, thereby reducing the handover across the UPF; the first type of UPF is set in the core machine room as before, and the splitting of the UPF is determined according to the capacity.

[0050] The second type of UPF and the third type of UPF both have edge computing functions, thereby enabling the effective alleviation of the requirements of the mobile network for transmission bandwidth and latency through the edge computing function.

[0051] In addition, the second type of UPF and / or the third UPF can serve as an uplink classifier (UL CL) UPF or a branch point (BP) UPF, thereby enabling the connection to other UPFs through the second type of UPF or the third type of UPF, and realizing the distribution operation of services between different UPFs.

[0052] The first type of UPF, the second type of UPF, and the third type of UPF will be described below.

[0053] If a city-level UPF hierarchical architecture is used, one first type of UPF (which can gradually increase to several as the capacity increases) can be set for each city as the anchor point UPF of the user, directly connected to the Internet, and all services carried out by the user are through this first type of UPF. In addition, when the first type of UPF is actually deployed, a reasonable location needs to be selected, combined with the SPN structure, and the first type of UPF is deployed in the core machine room. If a plurality of first type of UPFs jointly bear the user services under the base stations of the local city, each first type of UPF bears the base station coverage of the nearest contiguous area.

[0054] The second type of UPF is used for local splitting of user hotspot services, reducing the bearing pressure of the bearing network, shortening the time delay, and calculating the TOPx (such as TOP3 video download service, TOP3 application download, and TOP3 web browsing) of user hotspot services by periodic or non-periodic calculation, and downloading to the local data center. When the user performs these hotspot services, it can be directly downloaded from the local data center, which not only shares the original backbone network service flow, but also reduces the time delay of part of the backbone network. The second type of UPF (MPC) is deployed at the aggregation node layer, that is, deployed in the aggregation node room. Of course, one aggregation node or multiple aggregation nodes can be used to set up a second type of UPF, and the base station clusters under multiple aggregation nodes are continuously covered, and the number of continuously covered base stations is hundreds to thousands, which are realized by shared base stations and dedicated slices.

[0055] The third type of UPF is used for 5G service in a specific area (such as a park or a stadium), including regional dedicated services (third-party applications), low-latency services (vehicle networking services), hotspot services, and ordinary services, such as live MEC scenarios, which generally face large enterprises, enterprise network application specific services, and can guarantee that key business data does not leave the park, and can more easily provide a low-delay bearing solution. Vehicle networking low-latency services and hotspot services can provide local offloading. The third type of UPF can be deployed at the access network layer, that is, deployed in the access point room, which can be one access node or multiple access nodes to set up a third type of UPF, and requires that the base station clusters under multiple access nodes are continuously covered, and the number of continuously covered base stations is 1 to hundreds, which are realized by shared base stations, dedicated slices, and dedicated resource pools.

[0056] It should be noted that the service range of the third type of UPF is the smallest, the service range of the second type of UPF is greater than that of the third type of UPF and smaller than that of the first type of UPF, and the service range of the first type of UPF is the largest. In addition, according to the SPN network structure and the UPF setting position, the service area of each UPF can be set in the session management function (SMF) or dynamically allocated by the policy control function (PCF) after establishing the PDU session.

[0057] In this way, the first type of UPF in the embodiment is set at the core network layer, bearing user public data services, the second type of UPF is set at the aggregation node layer, bearing user hotspot services, and the third type of UPF is set at the access network layer, bearing user dedicated services and low-latency services. The UPF hierarchical function is clear, the UPF service splitting function is realized, the defects of high cost, repeated construction, and resource waste caused by the continuous sinking of the UPF in the prior art are avoided, and the problem of high bearing network pressure is solved.

[0058] In addition, the application also provides a service splitting method, such asFigure 2 As shown, the service offloading method comprises the following steps:

[0059] Step 201: Obtain the service attribute of the service subscribed by the user.

[0060] Specifically, the service attribute of the service subscribed by the user can also be obtained, and the user subscription information is updated to send the URSP (UE route selection policy, URSP).

[0061] Specifically, the service attribute of the service subscribed by the user includes: user public data service, user hotspot service, user dedicated service or low latency service.

[0062] Step 202: Based on the preset correspondence between the service attribute and the slice identifier of the network slice, determine the target network slice corresponding to the service attribute of the service subscribed by the user, and determine the target UPF to be accessed by the user by the slice identifier of the target network slice. Subscribed service.

[0063] Among them, the target UPF is the UPF class corresponding to the service attribute of the service subscribed by the user. That is, the target UPF can include one or more of the first UPF, the second UPF and the third UPF.

[0064] Of course, it needs to be explained that if there are other UPFs and the service subscribed by the user corresponds to the other UPFs, the target UPF can also include the other UPFs, that is, the target UPF is the UPF class corresponding to all services subscribed by the terminal.

[0065] In addition, the target UPF corresponding to the service attribute of the user subscription is different, and each user can correspond to multiple UPFs. For example, the service subscribed by A user only corresponds to the first UPF and the second UPF, and the service subscribed by B user corresponds to the first UPF, the second UPF and the third UPF.

[0066] Among them, the user public data service has a corresponding relationship with the first UPF, the user hotspot service has a corresponding relationship with the second UPF, and the user dedicated service and the low latency service both have a corresponding relationship with the third UPF. At this time, if the service subscribed by the user is the user public data service, it is determined that the target UPF is the first UPF; if the service subscribed by the user is the user hotspot service, it is determined that the target UPF is the second UPF; if the service subscribed by the user is the user dedicated service or the low latency service, it is determined that the target UPF is the third UPF, so that the user terminal can be accessed into the target UPF class bearing the service based on the service attribute, the service subscribed by the user with different attributes can be accessed into the corresponding UPF class, and then the service offloading is realized.

[0067] Specifically, the network slices can be distinguished based on the service attribute, and the target network slice corresponding to the service attribute of the service subscribed by the user can be determined based on a preset correspondence relationship between the service attribute and the slice identifier of the network slice, and the target UPF to be accessed by the service subscribed by the user can be determined through the slice identifier of the target network slice, so that the user terminal can access the corresponding target UPF, thereby realizing the offloading of the service and avoiding the pressure on the operator network.

[0068] The network slice is a logical network characterized by end-to-end, on-demand customization and isolation, and can provide differentiated network services for different services or user groups through flexible design of functions, performance, connection relationship, operation and maintenance, etc. The present application mainly slices the core network, adopts control plane sharing and user plane slice special, the public control part includes network slice selection function (NSSF), unified data management (UDM), authentication server function (AUSF), access and mobility management function (AMF), and PCF can be deployed in the public control part or the slice special part (such as the session management policy of the terminal) according to the actual network strategy or service needs. The SMF can also be shared by multiple slices.

[0069] The present application can identify the network slice according to the service attribute, different network slices represent different service groups, so as to obtain the correspondence relationship between the service attribute identifier and the network slice, so that the target network slice corresponding to the service subscribed by the user can be determined based on the correspondence relationship.

[0070] S-NSSAI (Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information) uniquely identifies a network slice. The hierarchical structure of the corresponding UPF can be represented by NSSAI, for example, NSSAI1 represents user public data service, NSSAI2 represents user hotspot service, and NSSAI3 represents user dedicated service or low latency service; according to user demand, one UPF or multiple UPFs can be set in each network slice, and if the user terminal accesses multiple slices, the AMF needs to be shared between slices, and the SMF can be shared or not. At this time, if the user's subscribed service is user public data service, the target network slice is determined to be NSSAI1; if the user's subscribed service is user hotspot service, the target network slice is determined to be NSSAI2; and if the user's subscribed service is user dedicated service or low latency service, the target network slice is determined to be NSSAI3.

[0071] In addition, the terminal establishes a protocol data unit (PDU) session in the slice mainly includes the following steps: 1) the terminal selects a slice according to the network slice selection policy (NSSP) in the terminal route selection policy (URSP); 2) according to the slice information, query / select related NFs in the corresponding level network repository function (NRF) to complete the PDU session establishment, and the specific core network distribution process is as shown in Figure 3

[0072] Optionally, in the embodiment, after determining the target class UPF to which the user's subscribed service is to be accessed through the slice identifier of the target network slice, the following steps can be included:

[0073] Based on the target class UPF, according to the priority order from high to low of the access network layer, the aggregation node layer and the core network layer, or the priority order from small to large of the delay, the highest priority data network identifier is selected as the default data network of the user, and the corresponding to-be-accessed class UPF is determined from the target class UPF; wherein, if the user leaves the service area of the highest priority target class UPF, the next highest priority target class UPF is selected as the to-be-accessed class UPF;

[0074] Based on the user location information when the user terminal requests a service, the nearest UPF is obtained from the to-be-accessed class UPF and used as the UPF to be accessed by the user terminal.

[0075] ​Wherein the target UPF class includes multiple UPFs and multiple data access network identifiers, at this time, the highest priority data network identifier can be selected as the user default data network in the order of high to low priority of the access network layer, the convergence node layer and the core network layer, or the order of small to large priority of the time delay, and the corresponding UPF class is the access class UPF; then the nearest UPF is obtained from the to-be-accessed UPF based on the user location information when the user terminal requests a service, and is used as the user terminal access UPF.

[0076] Specifically, in the same network slice, multiple UPFs can be set according to user and service requirements, and are distinguished by data network access identifier (DNN for short) and terminal location (such as base station ID or cell ID), each UPF serves a service type, which can be the same or different under the premise of meeting the network slice UPF service group. For example, network slice 2 (NSSAI2) is divided into multiple UPFs (such as second class UPF) by different services, each second class UPF is defined as the same hotspot service and is distinguished by DNN, indicating users in different areas; network slice 3 (NSSAI3) is divided into multiple UPFs (such as third class UPF) by service area and service type, and is distinguished by DNN, indicating users in different areas and area-specific services (third-party application different). The nearest UPF access can be selected by NSSAI+DNN, and different sessions are established to realize flow splitting.

[0077] In this way, according to the network slicing technology, the network is sliced according to the service attribute identifier, which is distinguished by S-NSSAI, and the UPF in the same network slice is distinguished by data network access identifier and user location information, so as to determine the nearest access UPF to serve, and different network services are provided for different services or user groups.

[0078] In addition, optionally, in the embodiment, after the target UPF to be accessed by the user subscribed service is determined by the slice identifier of the target network slice, the target UPF and the target data network identifier can be determined based on the service attribute requested by the user.

[0079] At this time, if the access UPF of the user terminal is consistent with the target UPF, the service processing is directly performed through the access UPF; if the access UPF of the user terminal is inconsistent with the target UPF, the access UPF is connected to the target UPF through N9 interface as UL CL UPF or BP UPF for service.

[0080] Specifically, whether the accessed UPF is consistent with the target UPF is identified according to the service attribute of the service subscribed by the user, and if consistent, the service processing is directly performed through the accessed UPF; wherein if the accessed UPF is the first type UPF or the second type UPF, the service processing is performed through the local data network of the first type UPF or the second type UPF. For example, when the user performs hotspot service and the accessed UPF is the second type UPF, the hotspot service is distributed by the local data network of the second type UPF, and when the service requested by the terminal is user-specific service or low-latency service and the accessed UPF is the third type UPF, the service is distributed by the local data network of the third type UPF.

[0081] If the accessed UPF of the terminal is inconsistent with the target UPF, the accessed UPF is connected to the target UPF through the N9 interface as the UL CL UPF or the BP UPF; for example, when the user under the second type UPF performs public service, the second type UPF is selected as the UL CL UPF or the BP UPF, the corresponding first type UPF is connected through the N9 interface, and data service is performed; if the user under the third type UPF performs hotspot service, the third type UPF is selected as the UL CL UPF or the BP UPF, the corresponding second type UPF is connected as the target UPF through the N9 interface, and local data service distribution service is performed; if the user under the third type UPF performs public service, the third type UPF is selected as the UL CL UPF or the BP UPF, the corresponding first type UPF is connected as the target UPF through the N9 interface, and data service is performed, thereby realizing service distribution, as shown in Figure 4 .

[0082] In this way, the application determines the target type UPF to be accessed by the service subscribed by the user by acquiring the service attribute of the service subscribed by the user and based on the service attribute of the service subscribed by the user, realizes providing differentiated network services for different services or user groups, and thereby realizes service distribution.

[0083] As shown in Figure 5 , a module block diagram of a service distribution device in the embodiment of the application is shown, and the device comprises:

[0084] The acquisition module 501 is configured to acquire the service attribute of the service subscribed by the user, wherein the service attribute of the service subscribed by the user comprises: user public data service, user hotspot service, user-specific service or low-latency service;

[0085] The determination module 502 is configured to determine the target network slice corresponding to the service attribute of the service subscribed by the user based on the preset corresponding relationship between the service attribute and the slice identifier of the network slice, and determine the target type UPF to be accessed by the service subscribed by the user through the slice identifier of the target network slice.

[0086] The user public data service has a corresponding relationship with the first type of UPF, the user hotspot service has a corresponding relationship with the second type of UPF, and the user special service and the low-latency service have a corresponding relationship with the third type of UPF.

[0087] Optionally, after determining the target type of UPF to be accessed by the user for the subscribed service through the slice identifier of the target network slice, the method further includes:

[0088] Based on the target type of UPF, a highest priority data network identifier is selected as the default data network of the user in a priority order from high to low in the access network layer, the aggregation node layer and the core network layer, or in a priority order of latency from small to large, and a corresponding type of UPF to be accessed is determined from the target type of UPF; if the user leaves the service area of the highest priority target type of UPF, a next highest priority target type of UPF is selected as the type of UPF to be accessed.

[0089] Based on the user location information when the user terminal requests a service, the nearest UPF is obtained from the type of UPF to be accessed and is used as the UPF to be accessed by the user terminal.

[0090] Optionally, after determining the target type of UPF to be accessed by the user for the subscribed service through the slice identifier of the target network slice, the method further includes: determining the target UPF and the target data network identifier based on the service attribute requested by the user.

[0091] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0092] If the accessed UPF of the user terminal is consistent with the target UPF, the service is processed directly through the accessed UPF; if the accessed UPF of the user terminal is inconsistent with the target UPF, the accessed UPF is connected to the target UPF through an N9 interface as a UL CL UPF or a BP UPF for service.

[0093] It should be noted that the apparatus provided in this embodiment can realize all the method steps and beneficial effects that can be realized by the method embodiments described above, and the same method steps and beneficial effects will not be described here.

[0094] In addition, as Figure 6As shown, an entity structure diagram of a service distribution device provided by an embodiment of the present application is shown, which can include a processor 610, a communications interface 620, a memory 630, and a communications bus 640, wherein the processor 610, the communications interface 620, and the memory 630 complete communications with each other through the communications bus 640. The processor 610 can invoke a computer program stored on the memory 630 and executable on the processor 610 to execute the method provided by each embodiment described above, for example, including:

[0095] obtaining a service attribute of a service subscribed by a user, wherein the service attribute of the service subscribed by the user includes a user public data service, a user hotspot service, a user special service, or a low-latency service;

[0096] determining a target network slice corresponding to the service attribute of the service subscribed by the user based on a preset correspondence between the service attribute and a slice identifier of the network slice, and determining a target UPF to be accessed by the service subscribed by the user through the slice identifier of the target network slice;

[0097] wherein the user public data service has a corresponding relationship with a first type of UPF, the user hotspot service has a corresponding relationship with a second type of UPF, and the user special service and the low-latency service each have a corresponding relationship with a third type of UPF.

[0098] Optionally, after determining the target UPF to be accessed by the service subscribed by the user through the slice identifier of the target network slice, the method further includes:

[0099] based on the target UPF, selecting a highest-priority data network identifier as a default data network of the user in a priority order from high to low according to an access network layer, a convergence node layer, and a core network layer, or a priority order from small to large according to a latency, and determining a corresponding UPF to be accessed from the target UPF; wherein if the user leaves a service area of the highest-priority target UPF, a next-highest-priority target UPF is selected as the UPF to be accessed;

[0100] based on user location information when the user terminal requests a service, obtaining a nearest UPF from the UPF to be accessed and taking the nearest UPF as the UPF to be accessed by the user terminal.

[0101] Optionally, after determining the target UPF to be accessed by the service subscribed by the user through the slice identifier of the target network slice, the method further includes determining the target UPF and a target data network identifier based on a service attribute requested by the user.

[0102] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0103] If the accessed UPF of the user terminal is consistent with the target UPF, the service processing is directly performed through the accessed UPF; if the accessed UPF of the user terminal is inconsistent with the target UPF, the accessed UPF is connected to the target UPF through an N9 interface as a UL CL UPF or a BP UPF for service.

[0104] In addition, the logic instructions in the memory 430 described above can be implemented in the form of a software function unit and sold or used as an independent product, and can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the present application essentially or the parts that make contributions to the prior art or parts of the technical solutions can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM, Read-Only Memory), a random access memory (RAM, Random Access Memory), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and various media that can store program codes.

[0105] The embodiments of the present application also provide a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, which stores a computer program. The computer program is executed by a processor to implement the method provided by the above-mentioned embodiments.

[0106] The device embodiments described above are only schematic, wherein the units described as separate components can or can not be physically separate, and the components displayed as units can or can not be physical units, i.e., they can be located in one place, or distributed on multiple network units. Part or all of the modules can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiments. Those skilled in the art can understand and implement without creative labor.

[0107] From the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the embodiments can be implemented by means of software plus necessary universal hardware platforms, and of course, can also be implemented by hardware. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions described above essentially or the parts that make contributions to the prior art can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product can be stored in a computer readable storage medium, such as a ROM / RAM, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, etc., and includes several instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in the various embodiments or some parts of the embodiments.

[0108] Finally, it should be noted that the above examples are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, and are not intended to limit the same; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing examples, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing examples, or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A business traffic splitting method, applied to a business traffic splitting architecture, characterized in that, include: Obtain the business attributes of the services subscribed to by the user, wherein the business attributes of the services subscribed to by the user include: user public data services, user hotspot services, user dedicated services or low latency services; Based on the preset correspondence between service attributes and network slice identifiers, the target network slice corresponding to the service attributes of the user's subscribed service is determined, and the target class UPF to be accessed by the user's subscribed service is determined by the slice identifier of the target network slice. Among them, user public data services correspond to the first type of UPF, user hotspot services correspond to the second type of UPF, and user dedicated services and low latency services both correspond to the third type of UPF. The service offloading architecture includes: Type I User Plane Network Function (UPF), Type II UPF, and Type III UPF; The first type of UPF is set at the core network layer to carry user public data services; the second type of UPF is set at the aggregation node layer to carry user hotspot services; and the third type of UPF is set at the access network layer to carry user dedicated services and low-latency services. According to network slicing technology, network slices are performed based on service attribute identifiers and distinguished by S-NSSAI. Within the same network slice, multiple UPFs are set up according to user and service needs. They are distinguished by data network access identifiers and user location information to determine the nearest UPF to provide services. If the UPF that has been connected is a Type 1 UPF or a Type 2 UPF, then the business processing is carried out through the local data network of the Type 1 UPF or the Type 2 UPF. When users under a Type II UPF conduct public services, they select the Type II UPF as the UL CL UPF or BP UPF and connect to the corresponding Type I UPF via the N9 interface to conduct data services. When users under a Type III UPF conduct hotspot services, they select the Type III UPF as the UL CL UPF or BP UPF and connect to the corresponding Type II UPF as the target UPF via the N9 interface to conduct local data service offloading.

2. The service diversion method according to claim 1, characterized in that, After determining the target class UPF for the user's subscribed service to be accessed through the slice identifier of the target network slice, the method further includes: Based on the target class UPF, the highest priority data network identifier is selected as the user's default data network according to the priority order of access network layer, aggregation node layer and core network layer from high to low, or the priority order of latency from low to high. The corresponding UPF to be accessed is determined from the target class UPF. If the user leaves the service area of ​​the highest priority target class UPF, the second highest priority target class UPF is selected as the UPF to be accessed. Based on the user's location information when the user terminal requests a service, the nearest UPF is obtained from the UPFs to be accessed and used as the UPF to be accessed by the user terminal.

3. The service diversion method according to claim 2, characterized in that, After determining the target class UPF for the user's subscribed service to be accessed through the slice identifier of the target network slice, the method further includes: Based on the service attributes requested by the user, determine the target UPF and the target data network identifier.

4. The service diversion method according to claim 3, characterized in that, Also includes: If the user terminal's access UPF is consistent with the target UPF, then the service is processed directly through the access UPF. If the access UPF of the user terminal is inconsistent with the target UPF, the access UPF will be connected to the target UPF as a UL CL UPF or BP UPF through the N9 interface to perform services.

5. A service diversion device, characterized in that, include: The acquisition module is used to acquire the service attributes of the services subscribed to by the user, wherein the service attributes of the services subscribed to by the user include: user public data services, user hotspot services, user dedicated services or low latency services; The determination module is used to determine the target network slice corresponding to the service attribute of the user's subscribed service based on the preset correspondence between the service attribute and the slice identifier of the network slice, and to determine the target class UPF to be accessed by the user's subscribed service through the slice identifier of the target network slice; Among them, user public data services correspond to the first type of UPF, user hotspot services correspond to the second type of UPF, and user dedicated services and low latency services both correspond to the third type of UPF. According to network slicing technology, network slices are performed based on service attribute identifiers and distinguished by S-NSSAI. Within the same network slice, multiple UPFs are set up according to user and service needs. They are distinguished by data network access identifiers and user location information to determine the nearest UPF to provide services. If the UPF that has been connected is a Type 1 UPF or a Type 2 UPF, then the business processing is carried out through the local data network of the Type 1 UPF or the Type 2 UPF. When users under a Type II UPF conduct public services, they select the Type II UPF as the UL CL UPF or BP UPF and connect to the corresponding Type I UPF via the N9 interface to conduct data services. When users under a Type III UPF conduct hotspot services, they select the Type III UPF as the UL CL UPF or BP UPF and connect to the corresponding Type II UPF as the target UPF via the N9 interface to conduct local data service offloading.

6. A service offloading device, comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, characterized in that, When the processor executes the computer program, it implements the steps of the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 4.

7. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that, When the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the steps of the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 4.

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