Communication methods and related apparatuses

Abstract

The application discloses a communication method and related device in the technical field of wireless communication. In the technical scheme, an access network device sends a first request message to a core network control plane network element, the first request message comprises a first identifier, the first identifier is used for indicating a user equipment management service, and the first request message is used for requesting to establish a PDU session of the user equipment management service; the core network control plane network element configures an IP address, a QoS flow identifier and first indication information of the user equipment according to the first request message, the first indication information is used for indicating to establish a user equipment management channel; the core network control plane network element sends a second request message to the access network device, the second request message is used for requesting to establish resource information of the PDU session, the second request message comprises the IP address, the QoS flow identifier and the first indication information of the user equipment, and the access network device establishes user equipment management channel information according to the second request message, thereby reducing the management cost of the user equipment.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of wireless communication, and particularly relates to a communication method and related apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the application scenario of the 5th generation (5G) mobile communication, a user equipment (UE) is mostly connected to a new radio (NR) base station of a 5G network through a customer premises equipment (CPE) or a road side unit (RSU), and the CPE or RSU is further connected to the 5G network of an operator through the NR. Therefore, the CPE or RSU is a key network equipment node for guaranteeing the UE service.

[0003] In the prior art, a user equipment management system (UE management system) manages a UE (including a CPE and an RSU and the like, and hereinafter, the UE represents a CPE or an RSU and the like unless otherwise specified) based on a third generation partnership project (3GPP) network data plane path. Specifically, after the UE completes attachment to a 5G network, the 5G network establishes a protocol data unit (PDU) session for the UE, which is specially used for the transmission of UE management data, for the UE. The PDU session is different from a PDU session for normal service data transmission of the UE, for example, the two PDU sessions correspond to different access point names (APNs) or data network name (DNN) identifiers.

[0004] However, the existing management method for the UE relies on end to end (E2E) network resources, and consumes a large amount of network resources, thereby increasing the network construction and maintenance costs. Therefore, how to reduce the management cost of the UE has become a problem to be solved. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and related apparatus, which reduces the management cost of a user equipment.

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method is performed by a core network control plane network element. The method comprises: receiving a first request message, the first request message comprising a first identifier, the first identifier being used to indicate a user equipment management service, the first request message being used to request establishment of a packet data unit (PDU) session of the user equipment management service; configuring an internet protocol (IP) address, a quality of service (QoS) flow identifier, and first indication information of a user equipment according to the first request message, without performing N4 session establishment, the first indication information being used to indicate that an access network device establishes a user equipment management channel; and sending a second request message, the second request message being used to request establishment of resource information of the PDU session, the second request message comprising the IP address, the QoS flow identifier, and the first indication information of the user equipment.

[0007] In the method, after the core network control plane network element identifies, according to the first identifier in the received first request message, that the service type of the user equipment is the user equipment management service, the core network control plane network element configures the IP address, the QoS flow identifier, and the first indication information of the user equipment, the first indication information being used to indicate establishment of the user equipment management channel, and sends the second request message used to request establishment of resource information of the PDU session, without performing N4 session establishment and without establishing a data plane path of a 5G network to transmit management data of the user equipment, thereby reducing the management cost of the user equipment.

[0008] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method is performed by an access network device. The method comprises: sending, to a core network control plane network element, a first request message, the first request message comprising a first identifier, the first identifier being used to indicate a user equipment management service, the first request message being used to request establishment of a packet data unit (PDU) session of the user equipment management service; receiving, from the core network control plane network element, a second request message, the second request message being used to request establishment of resource information of the PDU session, the second request message comprising an internet protocol (IP) address, a quality of service (QoS) flow identifier, and first indication information of a user equipment, the first indication information being used to indicate that the access network device establishes a user equipment management channel; allocating a radio data bearer (DRB) identifier (ID) according to the second request message; and establishing user equipment management channel information according to the first indication information, the user equipment management channel information comprising a correspondence between the IP address and the QoS flow identifier of the user equipment, a correspondence between the QoS identifier and an IP address of a network element management system (EMS), and a correspondence between the QoS flow identifier and an IP address of the DRB.

[0009] In the method, the access network device sends a first request message carrying a first identifier to a core network control plane network element, receives a second request message from the core network control plane network element, and establishes user equipment management channel information according to the second request message, thereby reducing the management cost of the user equipment.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the access network device includes a centralized unit control plane (CU-CP) and a centralized unit user plane (CU-UP). Correspondingly, the method further includes: the CU-CP sends a first request message to the core network control plane network element; the CU-CP receives the second request information from the core network control plane network element; the CU-CP sends a third request message to the CU-UP, the third request message including the IP address of the user equipment, the QoS flow identifier, and the first indication information; the CU-UP configures the DRB ID according to the third request message; and the CU-UP establishes the user equipment management channel information according to the first indication message.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving uplink user equipment management data from the user equipment through the DRB; sending the uplink user equipment management data to the EMS according to the user equipment management channel information; receiving downlink user equipment management data from the EMS; and sending the downlink user equipment management data to the user equipment through the DRB.

[0012] In a third aspect, the application provides a communication method, which is performed by an access network device, and includes: receiving first request information, device identifier information of user equipment, and registration information of the user equipment, the first request information being used to request a registration process of the user equipment; establishing a corresponding relationship between an identifier (ID) of the user equipment and an IP address of a network element management system (EMS) according to the first request information and the device identifier information of the user equipment; and sending the first request information, the registration information of the user equipment, and an IP address of the access network device to the EMS.

[0013] In the method, the access network device establishes a corresponding relationship between an ID of user equipment and an IP address of an EMS according to received first request information and device identifier information of the user equipment, and sends the first request information, registration information of the user equipment, and an IP address of the access network device to the EMS, thereby reducing the management cost of the user equipment.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the registration information of the user equipment includes any one of: encapsulated registration information of the user equipment, information of an information element parameter of the user equipment, or an information element parameter box of the user equipment.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the access network device comprises a centralized unit control plane (CU-CP) and a distributed unit (DU); accordingly, the method further comprises: the DU receiving the first request information, device identification information of the user equipment, and registration information of the user equipment from the user equipment; the DU sending a first transmission message to the CU-CP, the first transmission message comprising the first request information, the device identification information of the user equipment, and the registration information of the user equipment; the CU-CP establishing a correspondence between the ID of the user equipment and the IP address of the EMS according to the first request information and the device identification information of the user equipment; and the CU-CP sending the first request information, the registration information of the user equipment, and the IP address of the CU-CP to the EMS.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the method further comprises: receiving uplink user equipment management data from the user equipment according to a signaling radio bearer (SRB); sending the uplink user equipment management data to the EMS according to the correspondence between the ID of the user equipment and the IP address of the EMS; receiving downlink user equipment management data from the EMS; and sending the downlink user equipment management data to the user equipment through the SRB.

[0017] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is performed by an element management system (EMS), and comprises: receiving first request information, registration information of user equipment, and an Internet Protocol (IP) address of an access network device, the first request information being used to request a registration process of the user equipment; and registering the user equipment according to the first request information.

[0018] In the method, the EMS registers the user equipment according to the received first request information, the registration information of the user equipment, and the IP address of the access network device, thereby avoiding the allocation of resources on the UPF for processing of management data of the user equipment, saving core network resource consumption, and reducing the management cost of the user equipment.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the IP address of the access network device comprises an IP address of a centralized unit control plane (CU-CP).

[0020] In a possible implementation, the method further comprises: receiving uplink user equipment management data from the access network device; recording a correspondence between an identifier (ID) of the user equipment and an ID of the access network device; performing user equipment management services according to the uplink user management data; and sending downlink user equipment management data to the access network device according to the correspondence between the ID of the user equipment and the ID of the access network device.

[0021] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, which can comprise various modules for implementing the method in the first aspect, and these modules can be implemented by means of software and / or hardware.

[0022] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, which can comprise various modules for implementing the method in the second aspect, and these modules can be implemented by means of software and / or hardware.

[0023] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, which can comprise various modules for implementing the method in the third aspect, and these modules can be implemented by means of software and / or hardware.

[0024] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, which can comprise various modules for implementing the method in the fourth aspect, and these modules can be implemented by means of software and / or hardware.

[0025] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus. The apparatus can comprise a processor coupled with a memory. The memory is configured to store program codes, and the processor is configured to execute the program codes in the memory to implement the method in the first aspect or the second aspect or the third aspect or the fourth aspect or any possible implementation manner thereof.

[0026] Optionally, the apparatus can further comprise the memory.

[0027] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a chip comprising at least one processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface and the at least one processor are interconnected by a line, and the at least one processor is configured to run computer programs or instructions to execute the method in the first aspect or the second aspect or the third aspect or the fourth aspect or any possible implementation manner thereof.

[0028] In an eleventh aspect, the present application provides a computer readable medium storing program codes for execution by an apparatus, and the program codes comprise codes for executing the method in the first aspect or the second aspect or the third aspect or the fourth aspect or any possible implementation manner thereof.

[0029] In a twelfth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions which, when the computer program product is executed on a computer, cause the computer to execute the method in the first aspect or the second aspect or the third aspect or the fourth aspect or any possible implementation manner thereof.

[0030] In a thirteenth aspect, the present application provides a computing device comprising at least one processor and a communication interface, the communication interface and the at least one processor being interconnected by a line, the communication interface being configured to communicate with a target system, and the at least one processor being configured to execute computer programs or instructions to perform the method according to the first aspect or the second aspect or the third aspect or the fourth aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0031] In a fourteenth aspect, the present application provides a computing system comprising at least one processor and a communication interface, the communication interface and the at least one processor being interconnected by a line, the communication interface being configured to communicate with a target system, and the at least one processor being configured to execute computer programs or instructions to perform the method according to the first aspect or the second aspect or the third aspect or the fourth aspect or any possible implementation thereof. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0032] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a system architecture for an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Figure 2 A flowchart of a communication method for an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] Figure 3 A flowchart of another communication method for an embodiment of the present application;

[0035] Figure 4 A flowchart of yet another communication method for an embodiment of the present application;

[0036] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of another system architecture for an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] Figure 6 A flowchart of yet another communication method for an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] Figure 7 A flowchart of yet another communication method for an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] Figure 8 A flowchart of yet another communication method for an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] Figure 9 A schematic structural diagram of a communication device for an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] Figure 10 A schematic structural diagram of a communication device for another embodiment of the present application;

[0042] Figure 11 A schematic structural diagram of a communication device for yet another embodiment of the present application;

[0043] Figure 12 A schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0044] Figure 13 A schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to another embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. 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.

[0046] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a system architecture according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 1 The system architecture of the embodiment of the present application includes a network management system (NMS), an element management system (EMS), a UE, a 5G base station (generation NodeB, gNB), and a 5G core network control plane element.

[0047] The UE can be any user device capable of providing wireless network access functions for other ordinary user devices. For example, the UE includes a CPE or an RSU.

[0048] The gNB is a wireless access network base station of the 5G NR network, mainly used to provide wireless network access functions. For example, the wireless network access functions provided by the gNB include radio resource connection (RRC) connection management, security management, user data forwarding, data packet reassembly / slicing, retransmission, and other functions.

[0049] 5G core network control plane network element is used to indicate all control plane network elements of the 5G core network. For example, the 5G core network control plane network element includes an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, a session management function (SMF) network element, a network exposure function (NEF) network element, and a network data analytics function (NWDAF) network element, etc. Different 5G core network control plane network elements are responsible for different network functions respectively. For example, the AMF is mainly responsible for functions such as authentication and location tracking of the UE; the SMF mainly provides session management functions such as IP address allocation and QoS management of the UE; the NEF mainly provides the function of opening the 3GPP network to external service entities; and the NWDAF mainly provides the data analysis function of the 5G core network.

[0050] It should be noted that the 5G core network control plane network element can contain more network element types and functions, and specific reference can be made to the description in section 6.2 of 3GPP standard protocol TS 23.501, which will not be described here.

[0051] The EMS is used to perform management on the radio access network device. For example, the management of the radio access network device by the EMS includes parameter configuration, performance management, and fault alarm of the network element, etc. Among them, the EMS includes a UE management module, and the main functions of the module include registration, parameter configuration, software upgrade, fault diagnosis, state and performance monitoring of user equipment such as CPE or RSU, etc.

[0052] The NMS is a management system that provides network device management across domains (such as across the radio access network and the core network) or across device vendors in the operator network. The specific functions of the NMS include parameter configuration, performance monitoring, and fault alarm of the network device, etc.

[0053] Figure 2 A flowchart of a communication method for an embodiment of the present application is shown. As shown in Figure 2 , the method at least includes S201 to S211.

[0054] S201, the UE sends an RRC setup request message to the gNB.

[0055] S202, the gNB sends an RRC setup message to the UE.

[0056] S203, the UE sends an RRC setup complete message to the gNB.

[0057] S201 to S203 are the connection establishment procedure of RRC. After the UE is powered on, the UE selects a cell to camp on based on the cell selection strategy by searching for the wireless signal of the wireless network base station, and establishes an RRC connection with the wireless network base station corresponding to the cell.

[0058] It should be noted that the RRC connection establishment procedure is performed according to the 3GPP standard protocol procedure, and the detailed procedure can be referred to the chapter 5.3.3 of 3GPP TS 38.331, which will not be described here.

[0059] When the UE completes the RRC connection establishment, the UE can carry a non access stratum (NAS) request in an RRC setup complete message to implement specific service processing.

[0060] In one possible implementation, the UE carries a UE registration NAS request in the RRC setup complete message, and requests the network to establish a PDU session for UE device management in the UE registration process.

[0061] For example, the NAS request carried in the RRC setup complete message by the UE is UE registration with PDU session established, that is, the UE initiates an attachment registration request, requests the network to authenticate and authorize the UE, and registers the location of the UE, and simultaneously requests to establish a PDU session with a requested data network name (DNN) identifier.

[0062] In another possible implementation, after the UE completes the attachment registration procedure, the UE initiates a separate PDU session establishment procedure to trigger the establishment of a PDU session for device management data transmission.

[0063] The device management data includes operation instructions such as parameter configuration, factory reset, restart, software upgrade of the user equipment, and performance data files uploaded by the user equipment.

[0064] For example, after the UE completes the attachment registration process, the UE sends a UE requested PDU session establishment NAS carrying a requested DNN identifier to a 5G core network control plane network element to trigger establishment of a PDU session for user equipment management data transmission.

[0065] The DNN identifier is an identifier of a service type requested by the UE. In this embodiment, the requested DNN is an identifier of a user equipment management service requested by the UE, and the network side establishes a corresponding PDU session for the UE through the requested DNN identifier after receiving the request of the UE.

[0066] In S204, the gNB sends a first request message to the 5G core network control plane network element.

[0067] After receiving the NAS request of the UE, the gNB sends the NAS request of the UE to the 5G core network control plane network element through the first request message. The first request message includes a first identifier, and the first identifier is used to indicate a user equipment management service. The first request message is used to request establishment of a PDU session for the user equipment management service.

[0068] For example, after receiving the NAS request of the UE, the gNB sends the NAS request of the UE to the 5G core network control plane network element through an uplink NAS transmission message (Uplink NAS transfer) carrying a requested DNN identifier. The 5G core network control plane network element includes an AMF and an SMF. After the AMF performs authentication and location registration on the UE, the AMF initiates a PDU session establishment process and sends a PDU session establishment request to the SMF.

[0069] In S205, the 5G core network control plane network element configures an IP address, a QoS flow identifier, and first indication information of the UE according to the first request message. The first indication information is used to instruct the access network device to establish a user equipment management channel.

[0070] As an example, the SMF receives the PDU session establishment request sent by the AMF, identifies that the PDU session requested by the UE is for the transmission of user equipment management data of the UE according to the requested DNN identification sent by the UE, and performs the operation of allocating an internet protocol (IP) address (UE IP) for the UE and configuring a QoS flow ID (QFI), but does not perform the session establishment of the N4 interface between the SMF and a user plane function (UPF) network element, that is, does not trigger the UPF to allocate resources and parameter configurations for the PDU session, at the same time, the SMF generates first indication information based on the first identification (for example, the requested DNN identification) in the first request message, and the first indication information is used to instruct the access network device to establish a user equipment management channel. For example, the first indication information can be QFI mapping to OM indication, which is used to instruct the gNB to establish a corresponding relationship between the QFI and operation and management (OM) OM IP when establishing the uplink and downlink routing table of the user equipment management data forwarding, and at the same time, the corresponding relationship between the UE IP and the QFI and the QFI and a date radio bearer (DRB) ID is established.

[0071] The implementation of S205 changes the functional processing logic of the SMF for the PDU session establishment request. Only when the service type of the requested DNN identification is the user equipment management service, the N4 session and UPF resource allocation operation is not performed. The establishment of the PDU session of other service types needs to perform the N4 session and UPF resource allocation.

[0072] In S206, the 5G core network control plane network element sends a second request message to the gNB, the second request message is used to request the resource information of the PDU session, and the second request message includes the IP address of the UE, the QoS flow identification and the first indication information.

[0073] In a possible implementation manner, after the SMF completes S205, the SMF replies to the AMF with a PDU session establishment response message, and sends the IP address, QFI and other information allocated for the UE to the AMF. The AMF sends a second request message to the gNB through an interface between the AMF and the gNB.

[0074] Exemplarily, if the UE triggers the establishment of the PDU session for the user equipment management data transmission through a separate PDU session establishment process after completing the attachment registration, the second request message can be a PDU session resource request message, which is used to request the resource information of the PDU session, and carries the IP address (UE IP) allocated by the SMF for the UE, the QFI and the first indication information.

[0075] In S207, the gNB allocates the PDU session resource information according to the second request message.

[0076] As an example, the gNB allocates the identification information (DRB ID) of the DRB according to the second request message, and establishes the correspondence between the QFI and the DRB ID.

[0077] In S208, the gNB establishes the user equipment management channel information according to the first indication information.

[0078] In a possible implementation, the gNB establishes the user equipment management data forwarding route according to the first indication information, that is, establishes the correspondence between the QFI and the OM IP, and at the same time, establishes the correspondence between the UE IP and the QFI and the correspondence between the QFI and the DRB ID. The OM IP identifies the IP address of the wireless network management system for managing the gNB, that is, the EMS IP.

[0079] In the subsequent forwarding process of the user equipment management data, for the forwarding of the uplink (UE to EMS) management data packet, after receiving the uplink data packet sent by the UE, the gNB parses the QFI in the packet header, and determines that the data packet containing the QFI needs to be forwarded to the receiving end corresponding to the OM IP address based on the above-established routing table, and then directly forwards it. For the forwarding of the downlink (EMS to UE) management data packet, after receiving the downlink data packet from the EMS, the gNB parses the UE IP in the packet header, and determines the corresponding QFI based on the above-established routing table, and further determines the corresponding DRB ID based on the QFI query, and forwards the downlink data packet through the wireless data bearer identified by the DRB ID.

[0080] In S209, the gNB sends an RRC connection reconfiguration (RRC reconfiguration) message to the UE, and the RRC connection reconfiguration message includes the user equipment management channel information.

[0081] In a possible implementation, after the gNB completes the resource allocation and parameter configuration of the radio network element, the gNB sends an RRC connection reconfiguration (RRC reconfiguration) message to the UE and forwards the processing result NAS accept message (NAS accept message) sent by the AMF for the UE request (NAS in S203), which carries the related configuration of the UE by the 5G core network control plane network element, for example, UE IP and QFI, etc.

[0082] As an example, if the UE carries a UE registration NAS request in the RRC setup complete message in S203, the NAS accept message in this step is a registration accept NAS (registration accept NAS).

[0083] As another example, if the UE sends a UE requested PDU session establishment NAS (UE requested PDU session establishment NAS) carrying a requested DNN (requested DNN) identifier to the 5G core network control plane network element to trigger the establishment of a PDU session for user equipment management data transmission after completing the attachment registration process in S203, the NAS accept message in this step is a PDU session establishment accept NAS (PDU session establishment accept NAS).

[0084] S210, the UE is configured according to the RRC connection reconfiguration (RRC reconfiguration) message.

[0085] S211, the UE sends an RRC connection reconfiguration complete (RRC reconfiguration complete) message to the gNB.

[0086] So far, the establishment of the management data transmission channel for the UE user equipment is completed.

[0087] For uplink user equipment management data, the UE performs data modeling encapsulation (encapsulated into a TR-069 message) according to the TR-069 protocol, and further performs protocol processing based on a data plane protocol stack of a wireless air interface (the processed uplink management data packet format includes QFI, UE IP, and payload), and then sends the user equipment management data to the gNB through a DRB between the UE and the gNB. After receiving the data packet, the gNB determines the forwarding destination IP (that is, the EMS IP) according to the QFI in the packet header by querying a local routing table (the routing table constructed in step S208). After receiving the user equipment management data packet sent by the gNB through the wireless network element management channel, the EMS records the correspondence between the UE IP and the gNB IP (or gNB ID), which is used for downlink user equipment management data routing, that is, for enabling the EMS to know that the UE corresponding to the UE IP should send through the management channel of which wireless network element. The EMS analyzes the user equipment management data sent by the UE based on the TR-069 protocol, and performs corresponding service processing.

[0088] For downlink user equipment management data, the EMS performs data modeling encapsulation (encapsulated into a TR-069 message) according to the TR-069 protocol, and sends the downlink user equipment management data packet to the corresponding gNB through the wireless network element management channel of the gNB IP (or gNB ID) corresponding to the UE IP. The gNB determines the corresponding QFI by querying the local routing table (the routing table constructed in step S208) according to the UE IP in the packet header, further determines the corresponding DRB ID according to the QFI, and sends the downlink user equipment management data to the UE through the DRB identified by the DRB ID. The UE analyzes the received downlink user equipment management data based on the TR-069 protocol, and performs corresponding service processing.

[0089] In the technical solution provided in the present application, the management data transmission of the user equipment is realized by reusing the management channel of the wireless network element management, which avoids allocating resources on the UPF for processing the user equipment management data, and saves the consumption of core network resources. In addition, since the management channel of the wireless network element needs to be constructed as long as the network element is deployed, reusing this part of the resources to realize the management of the user equipment does not increase additional resource consumption.

[0090] Figure 3 A flowchart of another communication method of an embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. 7. As shown in FIG. 7, the method at least includes steps S301 to S307. Figure 3

[0091] S301, the UE sends an RRC setup request message to the gNB.

[0092] ​S302, the gNB sends an RRC setup message to the UE.

[0093] The RRC setup request and the RRC setup of the RRC connection establishment procedure are described in detail in the 5.3.3 section of 3GPP TS 38.331, and the present application will not be described again.

[0094] S303, the UE models and encapsulates the registration information of the user equipment to obtain encapsulated registration information of the user equipment.

[0095] After the UE completes the RRC connection configuration, the plug and play (PnP) device registration procedure is initiated, and the registration information of the UE is modeled and encapsulated based on the TR-069 protocol. Table 1 shows the UE user equipment registration information, and the UE registration information includes but is not limited to the parameter information shown in Table 1.

[0096] Table 1 UE user equipment registration information

[0097]

[0098]

[0099] S304, the UE sends an RRC setup complete message to the gNB, and the RRC setup complete message includes first request information, a UE ID, and encapsulated registration information of the user equipment. The first request information is used to request the registration procedure of the user equipment.

[0100] For example, the first request information can be PnP requested registration indication information.

[0101] S305, the gNB establishes a corresponding relationship between the UE ID and the IP address of the EMS according to the first request information and the IP address of the UE.

[0102] In one possible implementation, the gNB determines that the UE requests user equipment registration according to the PnP requested registration indication information, triggers the gNB to complete the user equipment management channel routing configuration for the UE to the OM, that is, establishes a corresponding relationship between the UE ID and the OM channel (such as the channel of the OM IP identifier), and sends the device registration information of the UE to the wireless network element management system. The UE ID is the identification of the user equipment that initiates the user equipment registration, and is used for subsequent signaling message routing, and can be a service set identifier (SSID) or the like. The encapsulated registration information of the user equipment is a parameter set modeled and encapsulated according to the TR-069 protocol, and the gNB cannot parse or perceive the specific information content.

[0103] S306, the gNB sends the encapsulated registration information of the user equipment to the EMS according to the first request information.

[0104] The gNB sends the encapsulated registration information of the user equipment through a management channel with the radio network element management system, for example, through an OM notification (OM notification) message. This step can be implemented based on a private scheme of the gNB device manufacturer or can be implemented by referring to a VES-based scheme, an operation administration and maintenance (OAM) notification or a stream data report method of the 3GPP standard protocol. The private scheme of the gNB device manufacturer is a private scheme designed by each gNB manufacturer and is not publicly disclosed. This application does not discuss it. The VES-based scheme, the OAM notification or the StreamData Report scheme for implementing this step according to the design of the 3GPP standard protocol will be described in detail below.

[0105] (1) VES-based scheme

[0106] The VES event is a common means for the gNB to report information to the EMS, which includes two parts, namely, a common event header and a technology domain.

[0107] In one possible implementation, in order to implement the transmission of the registration information of the user equipment based on the VES event, the VES event needs to be enhanced, that is, the common event header is extended to carry the gNB IP, the technology domain of the VES event is extended, and a new UE PnP field domain data type is added. Table 2 is a list of UE PnP field domain data type parameters, and Table 3 is a list of UE PnP information parameters.

[0108] Table 2 UE PnP field domain data type parameter list

[0109] Field Explanation UE ID Identifier of the user equipment UE PnP information table UE registration information based on TR069 modeling encapsulation

[0110] Table 3 UE PnP information parameter list

[0111]

[0112] In another possible implementation, a UE PnP field domain data type (UE PnP fields domain datatype) is not added in the Technology domain of the VES event, but a physical network function (PNF) registration field domain data type (PNF registration fields domain datatype) already existing in the VES event is reused. The parameter attributes contained in the PNF registration field domain data type (PNF registration fields domain datatype) are extended to support the registration information of the user equipment. The parameter information shown in Table 3 can be contained by extending the attribute additional fields of the PNF registration fields (PNF registration fields).

[0113] (2) OAM notification

[0114] After the gNB receives the device information of the user equipment, the reporting needs to define a UE management (or UE PnP) type of notification message based on the traditional OAM management notification mechanism (for reference, 3GPP standard protocol TS 28.532). The UE management notification (UE management notificaiton) message contains the information shown in Table 4.

[0115] Table 4: UE management notification parameter list

[0116] Parameter name Explanation Object classification UE management object Object instance Object instance identification Notification identifier Identifier identifying the notification Notification type "UE management" Event time Time of notification sending System identification name System object instance identification Associated notification Identifier of the associated notification Attribute list UE attribute information

[0117] As an example, the object class in Table 4 takes the value of a UE managed object (MO); the object instance takes the value of the distinguished name (DN) of the UE MO; and the notification type takes the value of “UE management”. Therefore, the UE MO and its attributes need to be defined. Table 5 shows the attribute parameters of the UE MO.

[0118] Table 5: Attribute parameters of the UE MO

[0119]

[0120] (3) Data stream report

[0121] According to the 3GPP standard protocol, between the gNB and the EMS, the gNB can report information to the EMS through streaming. In order to realize the gNB reporting the registration information of the user equipment to the EMS, a streaming dedicated to the UE management data information reporting needs to be added in the streaming connection between the gNB and the EMS.

[0122] When the UE completes the attachment registration to the 5G network, the gNB initiates the UE management data information reporting process, that is, a new streaming is created between the gNB and the EMS through the add stream operation of the streaming data report service. The input parameters of the add stream operation request are shown in Table 6.

[0123] Table 6 Parameters of the add stream operation

[0124]

[0125] According to the above steps, after the streaming for transmitting the user equipment management data reporting is created, the gNB can complete the reporting of the registration information of the user equipment through the report streamdate operation. The parameters included in the report streamdate operation are shown in Table 7.

[0126] Table 7 Parameter list of the report streamdate operation

[0127]

[0128] S307, the EMS registers the user equipment according to the received first request information.

[0129] The EMS determines that the reporting information is the PnP registration request sent by the UE according to the PnP requested registration indication in the first request information, and then performs the device registration management of the user equipment by the UE mgt, and maintains the correspondence between the UE ID and the gNB IP, which is used for the downlink user equipment management data routing, that is, for making the EMS know which management channel of the wireless network element the UE corresponding to the UE ID should send through.

[0130] The EMS (UE mgt) parses the PnP device registration information sent by the UE based on the TR-069 protocol, and performs registration and registration of the UE terminal device information.

[0131] Up to now, the management data forwarding channel for UE terminal management is established.

[0132] For the uplink user equipment management data, the UE performs data modeling encapsulation (encapsulated into a TR-069 message) according to the TR-069 protocol, and further performs protocol processing based on the control plane protocol stack of the wireless air interface, and then sends the user equipment management data to the gNB through the signaling radio bearer (SRB) of the wireless air interface between the gNB. After receiving the management data, the gNB determines the forwarding destination IP (i.e. EMS IP) according to the UE ID in the SRB signaling message and queries the local routing table (the routing table constructed in step S205). After receiving the user equipment management data packet sent by the gNB through the wireless network element management channel, the EMS records the corresponding relationship between the UE ID and the gNB ID. The EMS parses the management data sent by the UE based on the TR-069 protocol, and performs corresponding business processing.

[0133] For the downlink user equipment management data, the EMS performs data modeling encapsulation (encapsulated into a TR-069 message) according to the TR-069 protocol, and sends the downlink user equipment management data packet to the corresponding gNB through the wireless network element management channel of the gNB ID corresponding to the UE ID. The gNB determines the corresponding SRB according to the UE ID and queries the local routing table (the routing table constructed in step S205), and sends the downlink user equipment management data to the UE through the SRB. The UE parses the received downlink user equipment management data based on the TR-069 protocol, and performs corresponding business processing.

[0134] The technical scheme provided by the present application realizes the transmission of user equipment management data by multiplexing the management channel of the wireless network element, avoids allocating resources on the UPF for the processing of user equipment management data, and saves the consumption of core network resources. On the other hand, the terminal equipment management data is transmitted by multiplexing the wireless signaling bearer resources of the UE, and there is no need to allocate wireless resources for the UE to establish a wireless data bearer for transmitting terminal equipment management data, thereby further saving the resources of the wireless air interface.

[0135] Figure 4 A flowchart of another communication method of an embodiment of the present application is shown. As shown in Figure 4 the method at least includes S401 to S406.

[0136] S401, the UE sends an RRC setup request message to the gNB.

[0137] S402, the gNB sends an RRC setup message to the UE.

[0138] The detailed procedures of S401 to S402 can refer to the chapter 5.3.3 of 3GPP TS 38.331, which will not be described here.

[0139] S403, the UE sends an RRC setup complete message to the gNB, the RRC setup complete message including first request information (PnP requested registration indication information), UE ID and UE device registration information. The first request information is used to request the registration process of the user equipment.

[0140] In a possible implementation, the first request information is PnP requested registration indication information. After the UE completes the RRC connection configuration, the PnP device registration process is initiated through the PnP requested registration indication information, and the RRC setup complete message is replied to the gNB. Each attribute parameter of the UE device registration information (see Table 1) is directly transmitted to the gNB as a separate information element parameter of the RRC setup complete message. In addition, the UE device registration information can also be transmitted to the gNB as a whole in the form of an RRC message container, that is, all attribute parameters in Table 1 are as an information element container.

[0141] S404, the gNB establishes the correspondence between the UE ID and the IP address of the EMS according to the first request information and the IP address of the UE.

[0142] S405, the gNB sends the registration information of the user equipment to the EMS according to the first request information.

[0143] S406, the EMS registers the user equipment according to the received first request information, the registration information of the user equipment and the IP address of the gNB.

[0144] Up to now, the management data forwarding channel for UE user equipment management is established, and then.

[0145] For the uplink user equipment management data, the UE user equipment performs protocol processing based on the control plane protocol stack of the wireless air interface, and then sends the user equipment management data to the gNB through the SRB between the UE and the gNB. After receiving the management data, the gNB queries the local routing table according to the UE ID in the SRB signaling message to determine the forwarding destination IP (i.e. EMS IP). After receiving the user equipment management data packet sent by the gNB through the wireless network element management channel, the EMS records the correspondence between the UE ID and the gNB ID. The EMS receives the management data sent by the UE and performs corresponding business processing.

[0146] For the downlink user equipment management data, the EMS sends the downlink user equipment management data packet to the corresponding gNB through the wireless network element management channel of the gNB ID corresponding to the UE ID. The gNB queries the local routing table according to the UE ID to determine the corresponding SRB, and sends the downlink user equipment management data to the UE through the SRB. The UE receives the downlink user equipment management data and performs corresponding business processing.

[0147] In the technical solution provided by the present application, the management channel of the wireless network element management and the wireless signaling bearing resource are multiplexed to realize the transmission of the user equipment management data, which avoids allocating resources on the UPF for terminal management data processing and saves network resource consumption. On the other hand, the processing function of the TR-069 protocol is removed, which can reduce the complexity of the user equipment and the EMS management system.

[0148] Figure 5 Another system architecture of the embodiment of the present application is shown in the schematic diagram. As shown in the figure, the system architecture of the embodiment of the present application includes an NMS, an EMS, a UE, a gNB and a 5G core network control plane network element, wherein the gNB includes a centralized unit control plane (CU-CP), a centralized unit user plane (CU-UP) and a distribution unit (DU). Figure 5

[0149] The CU-CP mainly provides functions such as wireless connection management (i.e. RRC connection management) and security management.

[0150] The CU-UP mainly provides functions such as user data packet encryption and decryption, and integrity protection.

[0151] The DU mainly provides functions such as data packet recombination / slicing, retransmission and channel management.

[0152] The EMS and the CU-CP, the CU-UP and the DU are connected and interact information through independent interfaces respectively. ​

[0153] It should be noted that the NMS, the EMS, the UE and the 5G core network control plane network element can refer to the system architecture diagram shown in Figure 1 and will not be described here in detail.

[0154] Figure 6 A flowchart of another communication method for an embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 6, the method includes at least S601-S615. Figure 6

[0155] S601, the UE sends an RRC setup request message to the CU-CP.

[0156] S602, the CU-CP sends an RRC setup message to the UE.

[0157] S603, the UE sends an RRC setup complete message to the CU-CP.

[0158] S604, the CU-CP sends a first request message to the 5G core network control plane network element.

[0159] S605, the 5G core network control plane network element configures the IP address, the QoS flow identifier and the first indication information of the UE according to the first request message, and the first indication information is used to instruct the access network device to establish a user equipment management channel.

[0160] S606, the 5G core network control plane network element sends a second request message to the CU-CP, the second request message is used to request the resource information of the PDU session, and the second request message includes the IP address, the QoS flow identifier and the first indication information of the UE.

[0161] It should be noted that S601-S606 can refer to S201-S206, which will not be described here in detail.

[0162] S607, the CU-CP sends a first establishment request message to the CU-UP, and the first establishment request message includes the IP address, the QoS flow identifier and the first indication information of the UE.

[0163] In a possible implementation, the first establishment request message is a bearer context setup request message, and the bearer context setup request message carries the IP address, the QoS flow identifier and the first indication information of the UE.

[0164] S608, the CU-UP allocates PDU session resource information according to the first establishment request message.​

[0165] S609, the CU-UP establishes the user equipment management channel information according to the first indication information.

[0166] It should be noted that S608 to S609 can refer to S207 to S208, which will not be repeated here.

[0167] S610, the CU-UP sends a first establishment response message to the CU-CP.

[0168] In a possible implementation, the first establishment response message is a bearer context setup response message.

[0169] S611, the DU sends a UE context setup request message to the CU-CP.

[0170] S612, the CU-CP sends a UE context setup response message to the DU.

[0171] S613, the DU sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE, and the RRC reconfiguration message includes the user equipment management channel information.

[0172] S614, the UE is configured according to the RRC reconfiguration message.

[0173] S615, the UE sends an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the DU.

[0174] It should be noted that S611 to S615 can refer to section 8.9 of 3GPP protocol 38.401, which will not be repeated here.

[0175] In the technical scheme provided in the present application, the management channel of the radio network element management is reused to realize the management data transmission of the user equipment, which avoids allocating resources on the UPF for the processing of the user equipment management data, and saves the consumption of core network resources. In addition, since the management channel of the radio network element needs to be constructed as long as the network element is deployed, reusing this part of the resources to realize the management of the user equipment does not increase the additional resource consumption.

[0176] Figure 7 Another flowchart of another communication method of an embodiment of the present application is shown. As shown in the figure, the method at least includes S701 to S708. Figure 7

[0177] ​S701, the UE sends an RRC setup request message to the CU-CP.

[0178] S702, the CU-CP sends an RRC setup message to the UE.

[0179] S703, the UE encapsulates the registration information of the user equipment to obtain encapsulated registration information of the user equipment.

[0180] S704, the UE sends an RRC setup complete message to the DU, the RRC setup complete message including the first request information, the UE ID and the encapsulated registration information of the user equipment. The first request information is used to request the registration process of the user equipment.

[0181] It should be noted that S701 to S704 can refer to S301 to S304, which will not be repeated here.

[0182] S705, the DU sends a first transmission message to the CU-CP, the first transmission message including the first request information, the UE ID and the encapsulated registration information of the user equipment.

[0183] In a possible implementation, the first transmission message is an uplink RRC message transfer (UL RRC massage transfer) message, the uplink RRC message transfer (UL RRC massage transfer) message including the first request information, the UE ID and the encapsulated registration information of the user equipment, wherein the first request information can be PnP requested registration indication information, and the DU sends the uplink RRC message transfer (UL RRC massage transfer) message to the CU-CP through an F1-C interface.

[0184] S706, the CU-CP establishes a corresponding relationship between the UE ID and the IP address of the EMS according to the first transmission message and the IP address of the UE.

[0185] S707, the CU-CP sends the registration information of the user equipment to the EMS according to the first request information.

[0186] S708, the EMS registers the user equipment according to the first request message.

[0187] It should be noted that S706 to S708 can refer to S305 to S307, which will not be repeated here.

[0188] In the technical solution provided in the present application, on one hand, the management data transmission of the user equipment is implemented by multiplexing the management channel of the wireless network element management, so as to avoid allocating resources on the UPF for user equipment management data processing, thereby saving the consumption of core network resources. On the other hand, the user equipment management data is transmitted by multiplexing the wireless signaling bearer resource of the UE, so that the wireless data bearer for transmitting the user equipment management data does not need to be established by allocating wireless resources for the UE, thereby further saving the resources of the wireless air interface.

[0189] Figure 8 A flowchart of another communication method of an embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. 8. As shown in FIG. 8, the method at least includes S801 to S807. Figure 8

[0190] S801, the UE sends an RRC setup request message to the CU-CP.

[0191] S802, the CU-CP sends an RRC setup message to the UE.

[0192] S803, the UE sends an RRC setup complete message to the DU, and the RRC setup complete message includes first request information, a UE ID and registration information of the user equipment. The first request information is used to request the registration process of the user equipment.

[0193] It should be noted that S801 to S806 can refer to S401 to S403, which will not be described here.

[0194] S804, the DU sends a first transmission message to the CU-CP, and the first transmission message includes the first request information, the UE ID and the registration information of the user equipment.

[0195] In a possible implementation, the first transmission message is an uplink RRC message transfer (UL RRC massage transfer) message, the uplink RRC message transfer (UL RRC massage transfer) message includes the first request information (PnP requested registration indication information), the UE ID and the registration information of the user equipment, wherein the first request information can be PnP requested registration indication information, and the DU sends the uplink RRC message transfer (UL RRC massage transfer) message to the CU-CP through an F1-C interface.

[0196] S805, the CU-CP establishes a corresponding relationship between the UE ID and the IP address of the EMS according to the first transmission message and the IP address of the UE.​

[0197] S806, CU-CP sends the user equipment registration information to EMS based on the first request information.

[0198] S807, EMS registers the user equipment based on the first request information.

[0199] It should be noted that S805 to S807 can be referenced from S404 to S406, and will not be elaborated here.

[0200] The technical solution provided in this application achieves terminal device management data transmission by reusing the management channel and wireless signaling bearer resources of the wireless network element management, thus avoiding the allocation of resources on the UPF for terminal management data processing and saving network resource consumption. On the other hand, removing the processing function of the TR-069 protocol can reduce the complexity of the terminal device and the EMS management system.

[0201] Figure 9 This is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 9 As shown, the device 900 may include a receiving module 901, a configuration module 902, and a transmitting module 903. The device 900 can be used to implement... Figure 2 or Figure 6 The operation shown in the embodiment is implemented by the 5G core network control plane network element.

[0202] In one possible implementation, device 900 can be used to achieve the above. Figure 2 The method is shown. For example, receiving module 901 is used to implement S204, configuration module 902 is used to implement S205, and sending module 903 is used to implement S206.

[0203] In another possible implementation, device 900 can be used to implement the above. Figure 6 The method is shown. For example, receiving module 901 implements S604, configuration module 902 implements S605, and sending module 903 implements S606.

[0204] Figure 10 This is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to another embodiment of this application. Figure 10 As shown, the device 1000 may include a transmitting module 1001, a receiving module 1002, an allocation module 1003, and a processing module 1004. The device 1000 can be used to implement... Figure 2 or Figure 6 The operations shown in the embodiments are implemented by gNB (including DU, CU-UP and CU-CP).

[0205] In one possible implementation, device 1000 can be used to implement the above.Figure 2 For example, the sending module 1001 is configured to implement S202, S204 and S209, the receiving module 1002 is configured to implement S201, S203, S206 and S211, the allocating module 1003 is configured to implement S207, and the processing module is configured to implement S208.

[0206] In another possible implementation, the apparatus 1000 can be configured to implement the method in the above Figure 6 For example, the sending module 1001 is configured to implement S602, S604 and S613, the receiving module 1002 is configured to implement S601, S603, S606 and S615, the allocating module 1003 is configured to implement S608, and the processing module is configured to implement S609.

[0207] Figure 11 FIG. 11 shows a schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus according to yet another embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 11, the apparatus 1100 can include a receiving module 1101, a processing module 1102 and a sending module 1103. The apparatus 1100 can be configured to implement operations performed by a gNB (including a DU, a CU-UP and a CU-CP) in the embodiments shown in Figure 11 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 7 Figure 8

[0208] In a possible implementation, the apparatus 1100 can be configured to implement the method in the above Figure 3 For example, the receiving module 1101 is configured to implement S301 and S304, the processing module 1102 is configured to implement S305, and the sending module 1103 is configured to implement S302 and S306.

[0209] In another possible implementation, the apparatus 1100 can be configured to implement the method in the above Figure 4 For example, the receiving module 1101 is configured to implement S401 and S403, the processing module 1102 is configured to implement S404, and the sending module 1103 is configured to implement S402 and S405.

[0210] In yet another possible implementation, the apparatus 1100 can be configured to implement the method in the above Figure 7 For example, the receiving module 1101 is configured to implement S701 and S704, the processing module 1102 is configured to implement S706, and the sending module 1103 is configured to implement S702 and S707.

[0211] In yet another possible implementation, the apparatus 1100 can be configured to implement the method in the above Figure 8 ​​​​​The method is shown. For example, receiving module 1101 is used to implement S801 and S804, processing module 1102 is used to implement S805, and transmitting module 1103 is used to implement S802 and S806.

[0212] Figure 12 This is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to another embodiment of this application. Figure 12 As shown, the device 1200 may include a receiving module 1201 and a registration module 1202. The device 1200 can be used to implement... Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 7 or Figure 8 The operation is implemented by EMS in the illustrated embodiment.

[0213] In one possible implementation, device 1200 can be used to implement the above. Figure 3 The method is shown. For example, receiving module 1201 is used to implement S306, and registration module 1202 is used to implement S307.

[0214] In another possible implementation, device 1200 can be used to implement the above. Figure 4 The method is shown. For example, receiving module 1201 is used to implement S405, and registration module 1202 is used to implement S406.

[0215] In yet another possible implementation, device 1200 can be used to implement the above. Figure 7 The method is shown. For example, receiving module 1201 is used to implement S707, and registration module 1202 is used to implement S708.

[0216] In yet another possible implementation, device 1200 can be used to implement the above. Figure 8 The method is shown. For example, receiving module 1201 is used to implement S806, and registration module 1202 is used to implement S807.

[0217] Figure 13 This is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to another embodiment of this application. Figure 13 The device 1300 shown can be used to perform Figure 2 or Figure 6 The method implemented by the 5G core network control plane network element in the illustrated embodiment may be used to execute Figure 2 or Figure 6 The method implemented by gNB (including DU, CU-UP, and CU-CP) in the illustrated embodiments may be used to perform Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 7 or Figure 8The method implemented by the gNB (including the DU, the CU-UP, and the CU-CP) in the illustrated embodiment or can be used to perform Figure 3 、 Figure 4 、 Figure 7 or Figure 8 The method implemented by the EMS in the illustrated embodiment.

[0218] As Figure 13 illustrated, the apparatus 1300 of the embodiment includes a memory 1301, a processor 1302, a communication interface 1303, and a bus 1304. The memory 1301, the processor 1302, and the communication interface 1303 are communicatively connected to each other through the bus 1304.

[0219] The memory 1301 can be a read only memory (ROM), a static storage device, a dynamic storage device, or a random access memory (RAM). The memory 1301 can store a program, and when the program stored in the memory 1301 is executed by the processor 1302, the processor 1302 can be used to perform Figures 2 to 4 and Figures 6 to 8 the steps of the method illustrated.

[0220] The processor 1302 can be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits, for executing programs related to the communication method of the method embodiments of the present application.

[0221] The processor 1302 can also be an integrated circuit chip with a processing capability of signals. In the implementation process, the steps of the method of each embodiment of the present application can be completed by the integrated logic circuit of hardware or the instructions in the form of software in the processor 1302.

[0222] The above-mentioned processor 1302 can also be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component. The disclosed methods, steps, and logic block diagrams in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor.

[0223] The steps of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of this application can be directly manifested as being executed by a hardware decoding processor, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software modules can reside in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, or other mature storage media in the art. This storage medium is located in memory 1301. Processor 1302 reads information from memory 1301 and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the functions required by the various methods in the embodiments of this application. For example, it can execute... Figures 2 to 4 and Figures 6 to 8 The various steps / functions of the illustrated embodiment.

[0224] The communication interface 1303 can use, but is not limited to, transceivers to enable communication between the device 1300 and other devices or communication networks.

[0225] Bus 1304 may include a pathway for transmitting information between various components of device 1300 (e.g., memory 1301, processor 1302, communication interface 1303).

[0226] It should be understood that the device 1100 shown in the embodiments of this application may be an electronic device, or it may be a chip configured in an electronic device.

[0227] It should be understood that the processor in the embodiments of this application can be a central processing unit (CPU), but it can also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0228] It should also be understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application can be a volatile memory or a nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. Among them, the nonvolatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (RAM) used as an external cache. By way of example, and not limitation, many forms of random access memory (RAM) are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0229] The above-described embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, the above-described embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions or computer programs. When the computer instructions or computer programs are loaded or executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are wholly or partially generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another, for example, the computer instructions can be transferred from one website, computer, server or data center to another via wired (for example, infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. containing one or more available medium collections. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (for example, floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (for example, DVD), or a semiconductor medium. The semiconductor medium can be a solid-state disk.

[0230] It should be understood that the term "and / or" herein merely describes an association relationship of associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent the following three cases: A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In addition, the character " / " herein generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after it, but it can also represent an "and / or" relationship. The specific meaning can be understood according to the context before and after it.

[0231] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions means any combination of these items, including any combination of single or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0232] It should be understood that in various embodiments of the present application, the size of the sequence number of the above-described processes does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of the processes should be determined according to their functions and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0233] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in combination with the embodiments disclosed herein can be realized by electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0234] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of the description, the specific working processes of the above-described system, device and unit can refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0235] In several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, device and method can be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described device embodiments are merely schematic, for example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and actual implementation can have another division manner, for example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between the units shown or discussed can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0236] The units described as separate components can or can not be physically separated, and the components shown as units can or can not be physical units, that is, they can be located in one place, or can be distributed on multiple network units. According to actual needs, part or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of the embodiment.

[0237] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated into a processing unit, or each unit can exist physically independently, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0238] If the functions are implemented in the form of software function units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the present application or the parts of the present application that essentially contribute to the prior art or the 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 a plurality of 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 various media that can store program codes, such as a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory, a random access memory, a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0239] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be covered within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, the method being performed by a core network control plane network element, characterized in that, The method comprises: receiving a first request message, the first request message comprising a first identifier, the first identifier being used to indicate a user equipment management service, the user equipment management service comprising transmission of user equipment management data, the first request message being used to request establishment of a packet data unit (PDU) session of the user equipment management service; configuring an internet protocol (IP) address, a quality of service (QoS) flow identifier and first indication information of a user equipment according to the first request message, not performing N4 session establishment, the first indication information being used to instruct an access network device to establish a user equipment management channel; sending a second request message, the second request message being used to request establishment of resource information of the PDU session, the second request message comprising the IP address, the QoS flow identifier and the first indication information of the user equipment.

2. A communication method, the method being performed by an access network device, the method comprising: The method comprises: sending a first request message to a core network control plane network element, the first request message comprising a first identifier, the first identifier being used to indicate a user equipment management service, the user equipment management service comprising transmission of user equipment management data, the first request message being used to request establishment of a packet data unit (PDU) session of the user equipment management service; receiving a second request message from the core network control plane network element, the second request message being used to request establishment of resource information of the PDU session, the second request message comprising an internet protocol (IP) address, a quality of service (QoS) flow identifier and first indication information of a user equipment, the first indication information being used to instruct an access network device to establish a user equipment management channel; allocating a data radio bearer (DRB) identifier (ID) according to the second request message; establishing user equipment management channel information according to the first indication information, the user equipment management channel information comprising a correspondence between the IP address and the QoS flow identifier of the user equipment, a correspondence between the QoS flow identifier and an IP address of a network element management system (EMS), and a correspondence between the QoS flow identifier and an IP address of the DRB.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, The access network device comprises a centralized unit control plane (CU-CP) and a centralized unit user plane (CU-UP). Correspondingly, the method further comprises: the CU-CP sending a first request message to the core network control plane network element; the CU-CP receiving the second request message from the core network control plane network element; the CU-CP sending a third request message to the CU-UP, the third request message comprising the IP address, the QoS flow identifier and the first indication information of the user equipment; the CU-UP configuring the DRB ID according to the third request message; the CU-UP establishing the user equipment management channel information according to the first indication message.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, The method further comprises: receiving uplink user equipment management data from the user equipment through the DRB; sending the uplink user equipment management data to the EMS according to the user equipment management channel information; receiving downlink user equipment management data from the EMS; transmitting the downlink user equipment management data to the user equipment through the DRB.

5. A communication device, characterized by The apparatus comprises: a receiving module configured to receive a first request message, the first request message comprising a first identifier, the first identifier being used to indicate a user equipment management service, the user equipment management service comprising transmission of user equipment management data, the first request message being used to request establishment of a packet data unit (PDU) session of the user equipment management service; a configuring module configured to configure, according to the first request message, an internet protocol (IP) address of a user equipment, a quality of service (QoS) flow identifier, and first indication information, without performing N4 session establishment, the first indication information being used to instruct an access network device to establish a user equipment management channel; a sending module configured to send a second request message, the second request message being used to request establishment of resource information of the PDU session, the second request message comprising the IP address of the user equipment, the QoS flow identifier, and the first indication information.

6. A communication device, characterized by The apparatus comprises: a sending module configured to send, to a core network control plane network element, a first request message, the first request message comprising a first identifier, the first identifier being used to indicate a user equipment management service, the user equipment management service comprising transmission of user equipment management data, the first request message being used to request establishment of a packet data unit (PDU) session of the user equipment management service; a receiving module configured to receive, from the core network control plane network element, a second request message, the second request message being used to request establishment of resource information of the PDU session, the second request message comprising an internet protocol (IP) address of a user equipment, a quality of service (QoS) flow identifier, and first indication information, the first indication information being used to instruct an access network device to establish a user equipment management channel; an allocating module configured to allocate, according to the second request message, a radio data bearer (DRB) identifier (ID); a processing module configured to establish, according to the first indication information, user equipment management channel information, the user equipment management channel information comprising a correspondence between the IP address of the user equipment and the QoS flow identifier, a correspondence between the QoS flow identifier and an IP address of a network element management system (EMS), and a correspondence between the QoS flow identifier and an IP address of the DRB.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein, The apparatus further comprises a centralized unit control plane (CU-CP) and a centralized unit user plane (CU-UP); the CU-CP is configured to send, to the core network control plane network element, the first request message; the CU-CP is further configured to receive, from the core network control plane network element, the second request message; the CU-CP is further configured to send, to the CU-UP, a third request message, the third request message comprising the IP address of the user equipment, the QoS flow identifier, and the first indication information; the CU-UP is configured to configure, according to the third request message, the DRB ID; the CU-UP is further configured to establish, according to the first indication information, the user equipment management channel information.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 or 7, wherein, The receiving module is further configured to receive uplink user equipment management data from the user equipment through the DRB; The sending module is further configured to send the uplink user equipment management data to the EMS according to the user equipment management channel information; The receiving module is further configured to receive downlink user equipment management data from the EMS; The sending module is further configured to send the downlink user equipment management data to the user equipment through the DRB.

9. A communication device, characterized by comprising: a memory and a processor; the memory is configured to store program instructions; the processor is configured to invoke the program instructions in the memory to perform the method in any one of claims 1 to 4.

10. A chip, characterized by comprising at least one processor and a communication interface, the communication interface and the at least one processor are interconnected through a line, the at least one processor is configured to run computer programs or instructions to perform the method in any one of claims 1 to 4.

11. A computer readable medium characterized by The computer readable medium stores program codes for computer execution, and the program codes comprise instructions for performing the method in any one of claims 1 to 4.

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