A communication method and device

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus, wherein the method comprises: a control plane device acquires first information of a first terminal device, the first information is used to indicate a terminal device that mutually trusts the first terminal device, the terminal device that mutually trusts the first terminal device comprises a second terminal device; the control plane device sends a first message to a first user plane device, the first message comprises routing configuration information, the routing configuration information is used to configure a first transmission path, the first transmission path is used to forward data to a second terminal device via the first terminal device, and the first user plane device is used to provide a user plane data forwarding service for the first terminal device.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] In the fifth generation (5G) mobile communications, terminal devices can establish two air interface connections with the base station at the same time through dual connections (DC) technology, thereby improving the access rate and the reliability of the air interface segment connection. However, if the terminal device is at the edge of the network or there is signal obstruction, even if the terminal device establishes two air interface connections, the quality of the air interface communication link cannot be guaranteed, and the reliability improvement has no effect.

[0003] In addition, for the dual-connection solution, the terminal equipment needs to use a wireless module that supports dual connections, which will significantly increase the complexity and cost of the terminal equipment. At the same time, the network side also needs to support overlapping coverage of multiple base stations, which will significantly increase the difficulty of network deployment.

[0004] In summary, how to provide a communication solution that is easy to deploy and can ensure communication reliability for terminal devices without increasing the complexity and cost of the terminal devices is an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and device for providing a communication solution that is easy to deploy and can ensure communication reliability.

[0006] In the first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a first terminal device to forward data for other terminal devices. The execution subject of the method is a control plane device or a module in the control plane device, and the control plane device is used as an example for description here. The method includes: the control plane device obtains first information of the first terminal device, the first information is used to indicate a terminal device that trusts each other with the first terminal device, and the terminal device that trusts each other with the first terminal device includes a second terminal device; the control plane device sends a first message to the first user plane device, the first message includes routing configuration information, the routing configuration information is used to configure a first transmission path, the first transmission path is used to transmit uplink or downlink data of the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and the first user plane device is used to provide user plane data forwarding services for the first terminal device.

[0007] By implementing the method described in the first aspect, when the control plane device determines, based on the first information, that the first terminal device and the second terminal device trust each other, it can instruct the first user plane device that provides user plane data forwarding service for the first terminal device to establish a first transmission path for transmitting the uplink or downlink data of the second terminal device, thereby achieving data transmission for the second terminal device through multiple transmission paths, thereby improving the transmission reliability of the data of the second terminal device.

[0008] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the control plane device may also send an authentication request message to the second terminal device through the first terminal device, where the authentication request message includes verification information, and the verification information is used to verify the identity of the second terminal device.

[0009] Through this method, the legitimacy of the identity of the second terminal device can be guaranteed and the security of data transmission can be improved.

[0010] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the control plane device receives an authentication response message from the first terminal device, and the authentication response message includes verification response information; if the control plane device determines that the identity authentication of the second terminal device is passed based on the verification response information, it is determined that the uplink or downlink data of the second terminal device can be transmitted through the first terminal device.

[0011] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, if the first terminal device and the second terminal device are provided with user plane data forwarding services by different user plane devices, the control plane device can receive a first response message from the first user plane device, the first response message including downlink data tunnel information corresponding to the downlink data tunnel, the downlink data tunnel being used to transmit downlink data from the second user plane device to the second terminal device of the first user plane device; the control plane device sends a second message to the second user plane device; the second message includes downlink data tunnel information, the second message is used to request configuration of an uplink data tunnel for the second terminal device, the uplink data tunnel is used to transmit uplink data from the first user plane device to the second terminal device of the second user plane device; the second user plane device is used to provide user plane data forwarding services for the second terminal device; the control plane device receives a second response message from the second user plane device, the second response message includes uplink data tunnel information corresponding to the uplink data tunnel; the control plane device sends a confirmation message to the first user plane device, the confirmation message includes uplink data tunnel information.

[0012] Through this method, a data transmission channel between the first user plane device and the second user plane device is established, ensuring that the data of the second terminal device can be safely and effectively transmitted between the user planes.

[0013] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the downlink data tunnel information includes an Internet Protocol IP address and a tunnel endpoint identifier TEID of the downlink data tunnel; and the uplink data tunnel information includes an IP address and a TEID of the uplink data tunnel.

[0014] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the first message also includes one or more of the following: data billing information; monitoring and service quality policy information, which is used to indicate the rules for billing and monitoring user data of the second terminal device forwarded by the first terminal device, as well as the requirements for ensuring service quality.

[0015] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the control plane device obtains the first information of the first terminal device, including: the control plane device receives the first information from the first terminal device; or, the control plane device obtains the subscription data of the first terminal device, the subscription data includes the first information; or, the control plane device receives the first information from the first user plane device.

[0016] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied by a first terminal device to forward data for other terminal devices. The execution subject of the method is a first user plane device or a module in the first user plane device, and the first user plane device is used as an example for description. The method includes: the first user plane device receives a first message from a control plane device, the first message includes routing configuration information, the routing configuration information is used to configure a first transmission path, and the first transmission path is used to transmit uplink or downlink data of a second terminal device through the first terminal device; the first user plane device configures the first transmission path according to the routing configuration information.

[0017] By implementing the method described in the second aspect, the first user plane device establishes a first transmission path for transmitting the uplink or downlink data of the second terminal device according to the routing configuration information sent by the control plane device, thereby realizing data transmission for the second terminal device through multiple transmission paths, thereby improving the transmission reliability of the data of the second terminal device.

[0018] In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, if the first terminal device and the second terminal device are provided with user plane data forwarding services by different user plane devices, the first user plane device configures the first transmission path according to the routing configuration information, including: the first user plane device establishes a downlink data tunnel, and the downlink data tunnel is used to transmit downlink data from the second user plane device to the second terminal device of the first user plane device; the first user plane device sends a first response message to the control plane device, and the first response message includes downlink data tunnel information corresponding to the downlink data tunnel.

[0019] In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the method also includes: the first user plane device receives a confirmation message from the control plane device, the confirmation message includes uplink data tunnel information corresponding to the uplink data tunnel, the uplink data tunnel is used to transmit uplink data from the first user plane device to the second terminal device of the second user plane device; the second user plane device is used to provide user plane data forwarding service for the second terminal device.

[0020] In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the method also includes: the first user plane device receives a first message from the second user plane device through a downlink data tunnel, the first message including downlink data of the second terminal device; the destination address information in the data tunnel layer header of the first message includes downlink data tunnel information; the first user plane device determines that the next hop of the first message is the first terminal device in the first transmission path based on the downlink data tunnel information in the data tunnel layer header of the first message; the first user plane device sends the first message to the first terminal device.

[0021] In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the method also includes: the first user plane device receives a second message from the first terminal device, and the destination address in the multipath transport layer header in the second message is the address corresponding to the second user plane device; the first user plane device determines that the next hop of the second message is the second user plane device based on the destination address in the multipath transport layer header of the second message; the first user plane device adds the uplink data tunnel information to the second message, and sends the second message to the second user plane device through the uplink data tunnel.

[0022] In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the first user plane device is also used to provide user plane data forwarding service for the second terminal device, and the method also includes: the first user plane device receives downlink data of the second terminal device; the first user plane device encapsulates the downlink data into a third message; the first user plane device sends the third message to the second terminal device via the first transmission path, and / or sends the third message to the second terminal device via the second transmission path; the second transmission path is a data channel between the second terminal device and the first user plane device connected through an access network device.

[0023] In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the first user plane device is also used to provide user plane data forwarding service for the second terminal device, and the method also includes: the first user plane device receives a fourth message from the second terminal device through the second transmission path, and receives a fifth message from the first terminal device through the first transmission path; the multipath transport layer header of the fourth message includes a multipath transport layer sequence number, and the multipath transport layer header of the fifth message includes a multipath transport layer sequence number; the second transmission path is a data channel between the second terminal device and the first user plane device connected through an access network device; if the first user plane device determines that the multipath transport layer sequence number of the fourth message is equal to the multipath transport layer sequence number of the fifth message, it determines that the fourth message and the fifth message are the same duplicate messages; the first user plane device discards one of the fourth message and the fifth message, and forwards the other message.

[0024] In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the method further includes: the first user plane device sends a detection message to the second terminal device through the first terminal device; if the first user plane device receives a confirmation message from the second terminal device, it determines that the first transmission path is valid.

[0025] In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the method also includes: the first user-side device sends a route-reachable broadcast request to the first terminal device; the first user-side device receives a route-reachable broadcast response from the first terminal device, the route-reachable broadcast response includes first information, the first information is used to indicate a terminal device that trusts each other with the first terminal device, and the terminal device that trusts each other with the first terminal device includes a second terminal device.

[0026] In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the method further includes: the first user plane device sending the first information to the control plane device.

[0027] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied by a first terminal device to forward data for other terminal devices. The execution subject of the method is the first terminal device or a module in the first terminal device, and the method is described here by taking the first terminal device as the execution subject as an example. The method includes: the first terminal device obtains first information, the first information includes identification information of a terminal device that trusts each other with the first terminal device, and the terminal device that trusts each other with the first terminal device includes a second terminal device; the first terminal device sends first information to a control plane device, the first information is used to indicate the establishment of a first transmission path, and the first transmission path is used to transmit uplink or downlink data of the second terminal device through the first terminal device.

[0028] By implementing the method described in the third aspect, the first terminal device sends the first information to the control plane device, so that when the control plane device determines that the first terminal device and the second terminal device trust each other based on the first information, it can instruct the first user plane device that provides user plane data forwarding service for the first terminal device to establish a first transmission path for transmitting the uplink or downlink data of the second terminal device, thereby realizing data transmission for the second terminal device through multiple transmission paths, thereby improving the transmission reliability of the data of the second terminal device.

[0029] In a possible implementation of the third aspect, the method also includes: the first terminal device receives an authentication request message from a control plane device, the authentication request message includes verification information, and the verification information is used to verify the identity of the second terminal device; the first terminal device sends an authentication request message to the second terminal device; the first terminal device receives an authentication response message from the second terminal device, the authentication response message includes verification response information; the first terminal device sends an authentication response message to the control plane device.

[0030] In a possible implementation of the third aspect, the method also includes: the first terminal device receives a route-reachable broadcast request sent from the first user-side device; the route-reachable broadcast request is used to request the first information; the first terminal device sends a route-reachable broadcast response to the first user-side device based on the route-reachable broadcast request, and the route-reachable broadcast response includes the first information.

[0031] In a possible implementation of the third aspect, the method also includes: the first terminal device receives a first message from a first user plane device; the first message includes downlink data of the second terminal device; the destination address in the multipath transport layer header of the first message is the address corresponding to the second terminal device; the first terminal device sends the first message to the second terminal device.

[0032] In a possible implementation of the third aspect, the method also includes: the first terminal device receives a second message from the second terminal device; the second message includes uplink data of the second terminal device, and the destination address in the multipath transport layer header of the second message is the address corresponding to the second user plane device; the first terminal device determines that the next hop of the second message is the first user plane device based on the destination address in the multipath transport layer header of the second message; the first terminal device sends the second message to the first user plane device.

[0033] In a possible implementation of the third aspect, the first terminal device obtains the first information, including: the first terminal device obtains the first information from the contract data of the first terminal; or, the first terminal device detects terminal devices around the first terminal device, and determines the first information based on the detected terminal devices that can trust each other.

[0034] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a first terminal device to forward data for other terminal devices. The execution subject of the method is a second user plane device or a module in the second user plane device, and the second user plane device is used as an example for description. The method includes: the second user plane device receives a second message from the control plane device; the second message includes downlink data tunnel information, the second message is used to request to configure an uplink data tunnel for the second terminal device, and the uplink data tunnel is used to transmit uplink data of the second terminal device from the first user plane device to the second user plane device; the downlink data tunnel corresponding to the downlink data tunnel information is used to transmit downlink data of the second terminal device from the second user plane device to the first user plane device; the second user plane device sends a second response message to the control plane device, and the second response message includes uplink data tunnel information corresponding to the uplink data tunnel.

[0035] In a possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the method also includes: the second user plane device receives downlink data of the second terminal device; the second user plane device encapsulates the downlink data into a first message, the first message includes a multipath transport layer header and downlink data tunnel information, the multipath transport layer header includes a multipath transport layer sequence number corresponding to the downlink data, and the destination address in the multipath transport layer header is the address corresponding to the second terminal device; the second user plane device sends the first message to the second terminal device, and / or sends the first message to the first user plane device through the downlink data tunnel, the first user plane device is a user plane device serving the first terminal device, and the first terminal device and the second terminal device trust each other.

[0036] In a possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the method also includes: the second user plane device receives a sixth message from the second terminal device, and receives a second message from the first user plane device through an uplink data tunnel; the multipath transport layer header of the sixth message includes a multipath transport layer sequence number, and the multipath transport layer header of the second message includes a multipath transport layer sequence number; if the second user plane device determines that the multipath transport layer sequence number of the second message is equal to the multipath transport layer sequence number of the sixth message, it determines that the second message and the sixth message are the same duplicate messages; the second user plane device discards one of the second message and the sixth message, and forwards the other message.

[0037] In a fifth aspect, the present application further provides a communication device, which can implement any of the methods provided in any of the first to fourth aspects above. The communication device can be implemented by hardware, or can be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0038] In a possible implementation, the communication device includes: a processor, the processor is configured to support the communication device to perform the corresponding functions of the method shown above. The communication device may also include a memory, which may be coupled to the processor and stores the necessary program instructions and data of the communication device. Optionally, the communication device also includes a communication interface, which is used to support communication between the communication device and other devices.

[0039] In a possible implementation, the communication device includes corresponding functional units, which are respectively used to implement the steps in the above method. The functions can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units corresponding to the above functions.

[0040] In a possible implementation, the structure of the communication device includes a processing unit and a communication unit, which can perform the corresponding functions in the above method example. For details, please refer to the description of the method provided in any one of the first to fourth aspects, which will not be repeated here.

[0041] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a chip, comprising a processor, wherein the processor is coupled to a memory and is used to execute a computer program or instructions stored in the memory. When the processor executes the computer program or instructions, the method in any possible implementation manner in any one of the first to fourth aspects is implemented.

[0042] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor, and when the processor executes a computer program or instruction in a memory, it implements a method in any possible implementation manner in any one of the first to fourth aspects.

[0043] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor, a memory, and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is used to receive a signal or send a signal; the memory is used to store a computer program or instruction; the processor is used to call the computer program or instruction from the memory to execute a method in any possible implementation manner of any aspect of the first to fourth aspects; or, the processor is used to call the computer program or instruction from the memory to execute a method in any possible implementation manner of any aspect of the first to fourth aspects.

[0044] In a ninth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided for storing a computer program, wherein the computer program comprises instructions for executing a method in any possible implementation of any one of the first to fourth aspects.

[0045] In a tenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product comprising: a computer program code, when the computer program code is run on a computer, enables the computer to implement a method in any possible implementation manner in any one of the first to fourth aspects.

[0046] In an eleventh aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a functional module for implementing the method in the aforementioned first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.

[0047] In a twelfth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a functional module for implementing the method in the aforementioned second aspect or any possible implementation manner of the second aspect.

[0048] In a thirteenth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a functional module for implementing the method in the aforementioned first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.

[0049] In a fourteenth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a functional module for implementing the method in the aforementioned second aspect or any possible implementation manner of the second aspect.

[0050] In the fifteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, wherein the system includes the apparatus described in the eleventh aspect, the apparatus described in the twelfth aspect, and the apparatus described in the thirteenth aspect; or the system includes the apparatus described in the eleventh aspect, the apparatus described in the twelfth aspect, the apparatus described in the thirteenth aspect, and the apparatus described in the fourteenth aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0051] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a mobile communication system architecture applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a user plane protocol stack provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] Figure 3 A flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a process of actively detecting a terminal device that trusts each other with a first terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a process flow for verifying path reachability provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a process for establishing a forwarding channel provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] Figure 7A schematic diagram of a user plane protocol stack provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a user plane protocol stack provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of a downlink data transmission process provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of an uplink data transmission process provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] Fig.11 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] Fig.12 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0063] The embodiments of the present application will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0064] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various mobile communication systems, such as 4G mobile communication systems, 5G mobile communication systems, and future mobile communication systems, etc. Among them, 5G mobile communication systems include but are not limited to new radio (NR) systems; 4G mobile communication systems include but are not limited to long term evolution (LTE) systems, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, LTE time division duplex (TDD) systems, etc., which are not limited here.

[0065] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a mobile communication system architecture applicable to an embodiment of the present application is exemplarily shown. Figure 1As shown in the figure, in the 5G system architecture, the terminal device can communicate with the core network via the access network device. The terminal device can refer to user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, wireless local loop (WLL) station, personal digital assistant (PDA), handheld device with wireless communication function, computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, vehicle-mounted device, wearable device, terminal device in the future 5G network, etc. Figure 1 For the convenience of description, only one terminal device is illustrated. In an actual network, there may be multiple terminal devices coexisting, which will not be described here.

[0066] Access network (AN) equipment, which can also be called radio access network (RAN) equipment, is hereinafter referred to as access network equipment. It is mainly responsible for providing wireless connection for terminal equipment and ensuring reliable transmission of uplink and downlink data of terminal equipment. Access network equipment can be a next generation base station (gNB), an evolved Node B (eNB), etc. When the access network equipment is a gNB, it can be composed of a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU).

[0067] A session management function (SMF) network element can select an appropriate user plane function (UPF) network element for the terminal device according to the location information of the terminal device.

[0068] UPF network element, main functions include packet routing and forwarding, user plane data quality of service (QoS) processing, etc.

[0069] Access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, whose main functions include access management functions, etc.

[0070] The policy control function (PCF) network element is mainly responsible for managing users, sessions, QoS flow processing policies and other functions.

[0071] The authentication server function (AUSF) network element has the following main functions: user authentication, etc.

[0072] The user data management (UDM) network element is mainly responsible for managing user contract data, etc.

[0073] The data network (DN) can provide network services for terminal devices.

[0074] Figure 1 This is just an example, and other network elements may also be included, such as application function (AF) network elements, etc., which will not be explained one by one here.

[0075] Figure 1 The interface between each network element is also shown, such as the N2 interface between the access network equipment and the AMF network element, the N3 interface between the access network equipment and the UPF network element, etc., which will not be repeated here one by one.

[0076] Figure 1 The user plane protocol stack corresponding to the network shown can be as follows Figure 2 shown. Figure 2 The figure shows the application layer, protocol data unit (PDU) layer, general packet radio service (GPRS) tunneling protocol user plane (GPRS Tunnelling Protocol User Plane, GTP-U) layer, user datagram protocol (UDP) layer / internet protocol (IP) layer, L2 layer and L1 layer and other protocol layers. The specific meanings can be referred to the description in the prior art and will not be repeated here.

[0077] Before the terminal device performs data services, it first creates a PDU session, that is, establishes a connection for sending and receiving data. According to the service requirements, it can be an IP connection, with an IP address assigned by the UPF network element, or other non-IP connections, such as binding a media access control (MAC) address. The data connection is located in the PDU layer shown in the above figure, which is an end-to-end protocol layer from the terminal device to the core network UPF, and below it is composed of several different protocol stacks from the terminal device to the AN and the AN to the UPF. When the terminal device successfully establishes a PDU session, the application connected to the terminal device can send and receive data through the established connection, and exchange data with the communication counterpart.

[0078] At present, in addition to the ability to access mobile networks, terminal devices can also have other wireless short-range communication capabilities, such as Bluetooth, wireless fidelity (WiFi), device-to-device (D2D), etc. Through these short-range communication technologies, adjacent terminal devices within a certain range can form a local area network and communicate with each other.

[0079] Based on this, in an embodiment of the present application, when there is a relationship of mutual trust between terminal devices, the terminal device can not only communicate data through the data connection established between itself and the network, but also communicate data through the data connection between other adjacent terminal devices and the network. In short, through the short-range communication technology between terminal devices, it is equivalent to establishing multiple data paths or connections between the terminal device and the mobile network. At the same time, a new protocol layer is added between the terminal device and the UPF network element to realize multi-path data transmission, including sorting, deduplication, diversion aggregation, etc. of data packets, so that multi-path redundant transmission of data can be realized to improve communication reliability, or diversion aggregation to improve rate bandwidth. The protocol layer can be called a multi-path transmission layer, or it can have other names, which are not limited here.

[0080] The solution provided by this application does not require the terminal device to have multi-connection capabilities, and can solve the problem of being unable to achieve reliable communication when the terminal device is located in an area with poor network signal quality. It should be noted that the above short-range communication technology is one of the optional ways to provide communication between terminal devices. This application does not limit its specific technology. For example, it can also be achieved through other wired connections, wireless relays, etc., which will be described in detail below.

[0081] The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. A person of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate that with the evolution of the network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0082] Combined with the previous description, such as Figure 3 FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 3 , the method comprising:

[0083] Optionally, step 301: the first terminal device sends first information to the control plane device.

[0084] The first information includes identification information of a terminal device mutually trusted by the first terminal device, or the first information is used to indicate a terminal device mutually trusted by the first terminal device. Or when the first terminal device sends the first information to the control plane device, the first information is used to indicate the establishment of a first transmission path.

[0085] In a possible implementation, when the first user plane device provides user plane data forwarding services for the first terminal device and the second terminal device, the first transmission path may include the first user plane device, the first terminal device, the first access network device, and the second terminal device. The first access network device is a device that establishes a wireless connection with the first terminal device and provides access services for the first terminal device.

[0086] In this implementation, when downlink data is transmitted to the second terminal device, in the first transmission path, the nodes through which the downlink data passes during the transmission process are, in sequence, the first user plane device, the first terminal device, the first access network device, and the second terminal device; when the second terminal device transmits uplink data, in the first transmission path, the nodes through which the uplink data passes during the transmission process are, in sequence, the second terminal device, the first terminal device, the first access network device, and the first user plane device.

[0087] In another possible implementation, when the first user plane device provides user plane data forwarding service for the first terminal device and the second user plane device provides user plane data forwarding service for the second terminal device, the first transmission path may include the second user plane device, the first user plane device, the first terminal device, the first access network device and the second terminal device.

[0088] In this implementation, when downlink data is transmitted to the second terminal device, in the first transmission path, the nodes through which the downlink data passes during the transmission process are, in sequence, the second user plane device, the first user plane device, the first terminal device, the first access network device, and the second terminal device; when the second terminal device transmits uplink data, in the first transmission path, the nodes through which the uplink data passes during the transmission process are, in sequence, the second terminal device, the first terminal device, the first access network device, the first user plane device, and the second user plane device.

[0089] The first information may include identification information of a terminal device that mutually trusts the first terminal device. When the terminal device that mutually trusts the first terminal device includes a second terminal device, the identification information of the terminal device that mutually trusts the first terminal device includes the identification information of the second terminal device. It should be noted that the "mutual trust" here means that the first terminal device can establish a connection relationship with other terminal devices (such as the second terminal device) and transmit uplink or downlink data to other terminal devices through the connection between the first terminal device and the network. The first information can also be called "path reachability information" or "trust mutual assistance information", etc. This application does not limit the specific name of the first information.

[0090] The control plane device may refer to devices such as AMF network elements or SMF network elements. It should be noted that the first terminal device may not communicate directly with the control plane device. The data transmitted between the first terminal device and the control plane device needs to be forwarded through devices such as RAN.

[0091] Optionally, the first information may be used to indicate establishment of a first transmission path, where the first transmission path is used to transmit uplink or downlink data of the second terminal device through the first terminal device.

[0092] In a possible implementation, the first information may directly indicate the establishment of the first transmission path. For example, the first information may include at least one bit. When the value of the at least one bit is a preset value, it indicates the establishment of the first transmission path.

[0093] In another possible implementation manner, the first information may indirectly indicate that the first transmission path needs to be established. For example, after the control plane device acquires the first information, it may determine that the first transmission path needs to be established.

[0094] Step 302: The control plane device obtains first information of the first terminal device.

[0095] Step 303: The control plane device sends a first message to the first user plane device, where the first message includes routing configuration information.

[0096] The routing configuration information is used to configure a first transmission path, which is used to transmit uplink or downlink data of a second terminal device through a first terminal device. The first user plane device is used to provide user plane data forwarding services for the first terminal device. For example, the first user plane device may refer to a UPF network element or other device that provides user plane data forwarding services for the first terminal device.

[0097] It should be noted that the second terminal device also has a corresponding second transmission path, and the second transmission path is a direct data transmission path between the network and the second terminal device. Assuming that the second user plane device provides user plane data forwarding service for the second terminal device, then the second transmission path can be a data channel between the second terminal device and the second user plane device connected through an access network device. In the second transmission path, the second user plane device can transmit downlink data to the second terminal device through the access network device connected to the second terminal device; and can receive uplink data transmitted by the second terminal device through the access network device.

[0098] Of course, the above is only an example. Assuming that the first user plane device provides a user plane data forwarding service for the second terminal device, the second transmission path may be a data channel between the second terminal device and the first user plane device connected via an access network device.

[0099] The routing configuration information may include information such as routing forwarding rules. The routing forwarding rules may instruct the first user plane device to forward the downlink data of the second terminal device to the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and to forward the uplink data of the second terminal device sent by the first terminal device to the network side.

[0100] The routing configuration information may also include other information, which will not be described in detail here.

[0101] Step 304: The first user plane device receives a first message from the control plane device.

[0102] Step 305: The first user plane device configures a first transmission path according to the routing configuration information.

[0103] Through the above process, the configuration of the first transmission path including the first user plane device, the first terminal device and the second terminal device can be completed, and the network side can transmit the uplink data and downlink data of the second terminal device through the first transmission path.

[0104] In step 301, the first terminal device may obtain the first information in a variety of ways.

[0105] In a first possible implementation, the first terminal device may obtain the first information according to the contract data of the first terminal device. For example, when the first terminal device signs a contract with an operator, the operator configures a list or a list including the first terminal device through the contract data, and the terminal devices in the list or the list trust each other with the first terminal device, which are described as a list below, and the first terminal device may use the list as the first information.

[0106] The terminal devices in the list belong to the same trust and mutual assistance group. For example, the list can be {UE1, UE2, UE3…UEn}. In specific implementation, the list can be a list containing the identities of relevant terminal devices, such as international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI), or international mobile equipment identity (IMEI), or one or more combinations of IP addresses. Terminal devices in the same list can use the network connections of other terminal devices to send and receive data; correspondingly, terminal devices in the same list can share data traffic, or count and charge the traffic of the source terminal device sending data. This type of configuration usually requires ensuring that these terminal devices are in the same geographical area and can establish connections with each other through short-range communication or other communication methods.

[0107] In a second possible implementation, the first terminal device may detect terminal devices around the first terminal device, and determine a list based on the detected terminal devices that can trust each other, where the list may include identification information of terminal devices that trust each other with the first terminal device, and the first terminal device uses the list as the first information.

[0108] For example, the first terminal device can detect surrounding terminal devices through short-range communication technologies, such as Bluetooth, WiFi, D2D, or other wired connections and wireless relay technologies, to obtain surrounding terminal devices that can trust each other. The first terminal device detects surrounding terminal devices, which can be directly reachable in one hop or reachable after multiple hops. This application does not limit the specific technology used by the first terminal device to detect and discover the network topology. Each time the first terminal device detects a terminal device that can trust each other, it can store the identity of the terminal device in a list, and the first terminal device can use the list as the first information.

[0109] After the first terminal device determines the first information, it can send the first information to the control plane device in a variety of ways.

[0110] Specifically, the first terminal device may carry the first information through a registration request message in a registration process. The first terminal device may also carry the first information through a location update request message in a location update process. The first terminal device may also carry the first information through a PDU session establishment request message in a PDU session establishment process.

[0111] In step 302, the control plane device may receive the first information from the first terminal device; the control plane device may also obtain the subscription data of the first terminal device including the first information, and obtain the first information through the subscription data; the control plane device may also receive the first information from the first user plane device. The above is only an example, and the control plane device may also obtain the first information in other ways, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0112] When the control plane device receives the first information from the first terminal device, the control plane device can verify whether the first information reported by the first terminal device is consistent with the corresponding information in the contract data stored on the network side. If the control plane device obtains the first information through the registration / location update process, and the contract data of the first terminal device has not been stored yet, the contract data of the first terminal device can be obtained from the UDM network element, and then the first information can be verified to be consistent with the corresponding information in the obtained contract data; if the control plane device obtains the first information through the PDU session establishment process, and the control plane device has already stored the contract data of the first terminal device, then the first information can be directly verified to be consistent with the corresponding information in the obtained contract data.

[0113] If the control plane device determines that the first information is inconsistent with the corresponding information in the subscription data stored on the network side, the first information is considered invalid and the subsequent process may not be executed.

[0114] It should be noted that the corresponding information included in the signing data may be a list of terminal devices that trust each other with the first terminal device. For example, the specific list may be: {UE1, UE2, UE3…UEn}, which may be a list containing the identity identifications of the relevant terminal devices.

[0115] Optionally, the control plane device may also determine whether the first terminal device is allowed to forward data for other terminal devices and whether the first terminal device is allowed to send and receive data through the network connection of other terminal devices by querying the contract data of the first terminal device. If it is determined that the first terminal device is not allowed to forward data for other terminal devices, or it is determined that the first terminal device is not allowed to send and receive data through the network connection of other terminal devices, the subsequent process may not be executed.

[0116] The control plane device may also check the contract data of each terminal device among the terminal devices mutually trusted by the first terminal device to determine whether each terminal device is allowed to send and receive data through the network connection of other terminal devices. If there is a terminal device, assuming it is called a third terminal device, and the control plane device determines that the third terminal device is not allowed to send and receive data through the network connection of other terminal devices, then the control plane device will no longer establish a transmission path for the third terminal device to transmit data through the first terminal device.

[0117] It should be noted that the control plane device can obtain the contract data of other terminal devices through the UDM network element, and the specific process will not be repeated here.

[0118] Optionally, if the control plane device obtains the first information through the PDU session establishment process, when the control plane device selects a UPF network element for the first terminal device, it can also allocate the UPF network element corresponding to the terminal device that mutually trusts the first terminal device to the first terminal device.

[0119] For example, the second terminal device and the first terminal device trust each other. Then, to ensure that the mutually trusted terminal devices are connected to the same UPF network element, when the control plane device selects the UPF network element, it can determine the UPF network element serving the second terminal device according to the identity of the second terminal device, and thus allocate the UPF network element to the first terminal device; or the control plane device can allocate the UPF network element corresponding to the UPF network element information to the first terminal device according to the UPF network element information contained in the subscription data of the second terminal device; or the control plane device can allocate the UPF network element responsible for serving the IP address segment of the IP address of the second terminal device to the first terminal device according to the IP address of the second terminal device.

[0120] In the embodiment of the present application, the first information obtained by the control plane device may also come from the first user plane device. When the first information comes from the first user plane device, the first user plane device may actively detect and obtain a terminal device that trusts the first terminal device, thereby obtaining the first information. Figure 4 As shown, the following processes may be included:

[0121] Step 401: A first user plane device sends a reachable route broadcast request to a first terminal device.

[0122] The routable broadcast request may be used to request the first information; or the routable broadcast request may be used to request to detect mutually trustworthy terminal devices with the first terminal device, and forward the detection result to the first user plane device.

[0123] The routable broadcast request may carry the data network name (DNN) of the PDU session of the first terminal device and one or more of the operator network identifiers, where the operator network identifier may be a public land mobile network (PLMN), etc. The routable broadcast request may also carry other information, which is not limited here.

[0124] Step 402: The first terminal device sends a broadcast message according to the routable broadcast request.

[0125] The broadcast message may also have other names, such as a routable broadcast message, etc. The broadcast message may be used to indicate that the first terminal device has the ability to forward downlink data to other terminal devices through the mobile communication network, and the ability to forward uplink data for other terminal devices.

[0126] The first terminal device can detect mutually trustworthy terminal devices according to the route-reachable broadcast request. Specifically, the first terminal device can send broadcast messages through any communication technology it supports, for example, it can send broadcast messages through Bluetooth, WiFi, D2D, etc., and it can also send broadcast messages through wireless relay, or wired connection, etc. The broadcast message can include one or more of the DNN and PLMN, and can also include the user identity of the first terminal device, such as the IMSI of the first terminal device, and the IP address corresponding to the PDU session, etc.

[0127] Step 403: The first terminal device receives at least one announcement message.

[0128] The advertisement message may also have other names, such as reachable route advertisement message.

[0129] Taking the other terminal device being the second terminal device as an example, when the second terminal device receives the broadcast message, if it is determined that the uplink data and downlink data of the second terminal device are forwarded through the first terminal device, an announcement message can be sent to the first terminal device.

[0130] The announcement message may include the identity of the terminal device that sends the announcement message, such as IMSI, IMEI, or IP address.

[0131] Optionally, the announcement message may also include a token, which is used to provide to the network to verify the identity authenticity of the terminal device. For example, the token may be a signature generated by a private key of the terminal device that sends the announcement message.

[0132] Step 404: The first terminal device sends a route reachable broadcast response to the first user plane device.

[0133] When the routable broadcast request is used to request the first information, the routable broadcast response may include the first information;

[0134] Or when the routable broadcast request is used to request the detection result, the routable broadcast response may include the detection result, and specifically may include at least one announcement message received by the first terminal device.

[0135] The first user plane device may send the first information to the control plane device.

[0136] The first user plane device may determine the first information according to the at least one announcement message. Specifically, the first user plane device may determine a terminal device that mutually trusts the first terminal device according to the identity identifier included in each announcement message in the at least one announcement message, thereby determining the first information.

[0137] Optionally, for any of the at least one announcement message, if the announcement message contains a token, the first user plane device can also verify the identity authenticity of the corresponding terminal device through the token, and the specific verification process is not repeated. If the announcement message does not contain a token, the first user plane device can also verify the identity authenticity of the terminal device that sends the announcement message in other ways, and the details are not repeated.

[0138] Optionally, in order to prevent terminal device deception, etc., after the control plane device obtains the first information, the network side can also verify whether the path reachability between the first terminal device and the terminal device that it trusts is valid, that is, verify whether the path from the first terminal device to the terminal device that trusts the first terminal device is valid. For example, taking the second terminal device as an example, Figure 5 As shown, the network side can initiate an authentication process to verify the path reachability between the second terminal device and the first terminal device. Figure 5 As shown, the following steps may be included:

[0139] Step 501: The network device sends an authentication request message to the first terminal device.

[0140] The network device can be a control plane device, such as an AMF network element or an SMF network element; the network device can also be a user plane device, such as a UPF network element; the network device can also be other network elements, such as an AUSF network element, etc.

[0141] The authentication request message carries the identity of the second terminal device, which is used to indicate that the authentication target object is the second terminal device. The authentication request message may also carry a challenge question. The specific content of the challenge question is not limited in this application. The authentication request message may also carry other information requiring the second terminal device to prove its identity. This application uses the challenge question as an example for illustration.

[0142] Step 502: The first terminal device determines information such as the communication interface and port for communicating with the second terminal device corresponding to the identity identifier according to the received authentication request message, and forwards the authentication request message to the second terminal device.

[0143] Step 503: The second terminal device generates a challenge response according to its own security key and the challenge question in the authentication request message, and sends an authentication response message including the challenge response to the first terminal device.

[0144] Step 504: The first terminal device forwards the authentication response message to the network device according to the received authentication response message.

[0145] The network device checks the challenge response carried in the authentication response message to determine whether the authentication is successful. If the challenge response is correct, it means that the challenge response is indeed from the second terminal device. Therefore, through the network connection of the first terminal device, the network can communicate with the second terminal device, that is, the path reachability of the second terminal device through the first terminal device is valid. Relative to the PDU data connection between the network and the second terminal device, that is, the directly reachable path of the second terminal device, the above path to the second terminal device through the first terminal device can be marked by the network as an indirect reachable path to the second terminal device.

[0146] It should be noted that the above process can be completed by the control plane of the core network through control plane signaling and the first terminal device. Alternatively, when a PDU session has been established between the core network and the first terminal device, the above authentication interaction process can be completed through the user plane. The above authentication process is used to describe the process of authenticating the user identity, and a symmetric key or asymmetric public-private key method can be used.

[0147] In order to verify whether the path reachability between the first terminal device and its mutually trusted terminal device is valid, not limited to the above method, the network side can also directly send a special detection message to the second terminal device through the user plane to determine whether the second terminal device is reachable, for example, through an Internet packet detector (packet internet groper, ping) operation.

[0148] For example, taking the case where the first terminal device and the second terminal device trust each other, the ping operation may include the following process:

[0149] Step 1: The first user plane device sends a detection message to the second terminal device through the first terminal device.

[0150] Specifically, the first user plane device sends a detection message to the first terminal device, and the destination address of the detection message is the address of the second terminal device. After receiving the detection message, the first terminal device can forward the detection message to the second terminal device.

[0151] Step 2: If the first user plane device receives a confirmation message from the second terminal device, it determines whether the path reachability between the first terminal device and the second terminal device is valid.

[0152] If the first terminal device can forward the detection message to the second terminal device, then after receiving the detection message, the second terminal device will send a confirmation message to the first terminal device to indicate that the detection message has been successfully received. The first terminal device forwards the confirmation message to the first user plane device. The first user plane device receives the confirmation message, thereby determining that the path reachability is valid.

[0153] If the first terminal device cannot forward the detection message to the second terminal device, the first user plane device cannot receive the confirmation message, so it can be determined that the path reachability is invalid.

[0154] Assuming that there are multiple terminal devices that mutually trust the first terminal device, the network side repeats the above process for each terminal device that mutually trusts the first terminal device to verify the path reachability between each terminal device and the first terminal device.

[0155] Figure 3 In the process, if the first user plane device serving the first terminal device and the second user plane device serving the second terminal device are not the same device, then it is also necessary to configure a data transmission channel of an indirect reachable path between the first user plane device and the second user plane device, where the data transmission channel includes an uplink data tunnel and a downlink data tunnel. For specific implementation steps, please refer to Figure 6 It should be noted that the establishment of the data transmission channel is initiated through step 303. For the convenience of description, the description starts from step 303.

[0156] Step 303: The control plane device sends a first message to the first user plane device, where the first message includes routing configuration information.

[0157] The first message may include information such as the IP address of the second terminal device.

[0158] Optionally, the first message further includes one or more of the following:

[0159] Data billing information; monitoring and service quality policy information, used to indicate the rules for billing and monitoring the user data of the second terminal device forwarded by the first terminal device, as well as the requirements for ensuring the quality of service.

[0160] Step 306: The first user plane device sends a first response message to the control plane device.

[0161] The first user plane device may allocate tunnel resources for a downlink data tunnel between the first user plane device and the second user plane device. The downlink data tunnel is used to transmit downlink data from the second user plane device to the second terminal device of the first user plane device.

[0162] Correspondingly, the first response message may include downlink data tunnel information corresponding to the downlink data tunnel. If the downlink data tunnel adopts a GTP tunnel, the downlink data tunnel information may include information such as an IP address and a tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) of the downlink data tunnel.

[0163] Step 307: The control plane device sends a second message to the second user plane device.

[0164] The second message includes the downlink data tunnel information, and the second message is used to request configuration of an uplink data tunnel for the second terminal device, and the uplink data tunnel is used to transmit uplink data of the second terminal device from the first user plane device to the second user plane device.

[0165] Step 308: The second user plane device sends a second response message to the control plane device.

[0166] The second user plane device may allocate tunnel resources for the uplink data tunnel between the second user plane device and the first user plane device. Accordingly, the second response message may include uplink data tunnel information corresponding to the uplink data tunnel. If the uplink data tunnel adopts a GTP tunnel, the uplink data tunnel information includes information such as an IP address and TEID of the uplink data tunnel.

[0167] Step 309: The control plane device sends a confirmation message to the first user plane device, where the confirmation message includes the uplink data tunnel information.

[0168] Through the above process, a data transmission channel for forwarding the second terminal device is established between the first user plane device and the second user plane device.

[0169] It should be noted that in the above process, when the control plane device cannot communicate directly with the second user plane device, for example, the communication is unreachable or the network configuration does not allow it, then the message interaction between the above control plane device and the second user plane device needs to be forwarded by other devices, and the specific process will not be repeated here.

[0170] It should be noted that if the first user plane device serving the first terminal device and the second user plane device serving the second terminal device are the same device, then the above data channel establishment process is not required.

[0171] Combined with the above description, it can be known that when the downlink data of the second terminal device arrives at the second user plane device, the second user plane device can send data to the second terminal device through the first transmission path, that is, through the indirect reachable path of the second terminal device according to the routing configuration information. Specifically, the downlink data of the second terminal device reaches the first user plane device through the second user plane device, and then is forwarded from the first user plane device to the first terminal device, and then forwarded to the second terminal device through the first terminal device. In terms of uplink, the second terminal device can send uplink data to the first terminal device through the first transmission path, that is, through the indirect reachable path of the second terminal device. Specifically, the uplink data of the second terminal device is forwarded to the first user plane device through the first terminal device, and the first user plane device then forwards the uplink data to the second user plane device, and finally the second user plane device sends the uplink data to the target end.

[0172] In addition, when the downlink data of the second terminal device arrives at the second user plane device, the second user plane device can also send data to the second terminal device through the second transmission path, that is, through the directly reachable path of the second terminal device. Specifically, the downlink data of the second terminal device directly passes through the data connection of the second terminal device, from the second user plane device to the second terminal device through RAN. In terms of uplink, the second terminal device can send data through the second transmission path, that is, through the directly reachable path of the second terminal device, and send the uplink data to the second user plane device through the air interface and RAN, and finally the second user plane device sends the uplink data to the target end.

[0173] In order to support high reliability, redundant multi-path transmission is required. In the embodiment of the present application, the user plane protocol stack can add a multi-path transmission (MPT) layer between the terminal device and the UPF network element. For details, please refer to Figure 7 and Figure 8 shown. Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a user plane protocol stack between a second terminal device and a user plane device is described; Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a user plane protocol stack between a second terminal device and a user plane device is described. The multipath transport layer may also have other names, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0174] It should be noted that Figure 7 and Figure 8 For the specific content and function of each protocol layer, please refer to the description in the prior art and will not be repeated here.

[0175] In the embodiment of the present application, the MPT packet header contains a message sequence number field for recording the sending sequence number of the MTP message. The MPT layer at the sending end copies the message that the upper protocol layer (such as IP or MAC) needs to forward, fills in the same message sending sequence number in the MTP packet header, and sends it separately through multiple reachable paths to the target terminal device. The MTP layer at the receiving end removes duplicate messages according to the sequence number of the received MTP message. After the redundant transmission of the above-mentioned multiple paths, the risk of packet loss caused by the instability of a single path can be resisted, and the transmission reliability can be improved.

[0176] Specifically, Fig. 9 As shown, it is a schematic diagram of transmitting downlink messages through two paths simultaneously in a multi-UPF scenario.

[0177] It should be noted that Fig. 9 In the process, when a message including downlink data of the second terminal device arrives at the second user plane device, if the message requires high reliability and is not allowed to be lost, such as important business signaling, the second user plane device can transmit the message on the first transmission path and the second transmission path at the same time, that is, send the message on the directly accessible path of the second terminal device and the indirectly accessible path through the first terminal device at the same time. The second user plane device encapsulates the message at the MTP layer, fills in the destination address as the MTP layer address of the second terminal device, records the number of MTP layer messages previously sent by the business flow, marks the MTP layer sequence number, and then copies the message and sends it through the above two paths at the same time. Of course, the second user plane device can also choose one of the paths to send the message and not send it on the other path.

[0178] Step 901: The second user plane device receives downlink data from the second terminal device, and encapsulates the downlink data into a first message.

[0179] The first message includes a multipath transport layer header and the downlink data tunnel information, the multipath transport layer header includes the multipath transport layer sequence number corresponding to the downlink data, and the destination address in the multipath transport layer header is the address corresponding to the second terminal device; the first message includes the downlink data of the second terminal device.

[0180] Step 902: The second user plane device sends a first message.

[0181] Specifically, the second user plane device may perform one or more of the following:

[0182] Sending the first message to the second terminal device through a second transmission path;

[0183] The first message is sent to the first user plane device through a downlink data tunnel between the first user plane device and the first user plane device.

[0184] Step 903: The first user plane device determines that the next hop of the first message is the first terminal device in the first transmission path based on the downlink data tunnel information in the data tunnel layer header of the first message or the destination address in the multipath transmission layer header of the first message, and sends the first message to the first terminal device.

[0185] Step 904: The first terminal device receives a first message from the first user plane device, and sends the first message to the second terminal device.

[0186] Among them, the process of transmitting the first message through the second transmission path, that is, the directly reachable path of the second terminal device, can refer to the description in the prior art, and this application will not repeat it again.

[0187] Finally, the second terminal device receives the first message from the first transmission path. If the second terminal device also receives another message from the second transmission path, if the MTP layer sequence number of the message is the same as the MTP layer sequence number of the first message, the second terminal device can determine that the two received messages are duplicates and can discard one of the messages. If the MTP layer sequence number of the message is different from the MTP layer sequence number of the first message, the second terminal device can determine that the two received messages are not duplicates and can process the two messages separately.

[0188] The above-described downlink data transmission situation, the present application is also applicable to uplink data transmission. Fig.10 , which is a schematic diagram of multi-path transmission of uplink data.

[0189] Step 1001: The second terminal device sends a second message to the first terminal device, and sends a second message to the second user plane device.

[0190] The second message may include uplink data of the second terminal device, and the destination address in the multipath transport layer header in the second message is an address corresponding to the second user plane device.

[0191] In this step, the second terminal device transmits the second message through the first transmission path (i.e., the indirectly reachable path) and the second transmission path (i.e., the directly reachable path) at the same time. Of course, the second terminal device can also transmit the second message through only one transmission path according to actual conditions, which will not be repeated here.

[0192] Step 1002: The first terminal device determines that the next hop of the second message is the first user plane device according to the destination address in the multipath transport layer header of the second message, and sends the second message to the first user plane device.

[0193] Step 1003: The first user plane device determines that the next hop of the second message is the second user plane device based on the destination address in the multipath transport layer header of the second message, then adds the uplink data tunnel information to the second message, and sends the second message to the second user plane device through the uplink data tunnel.

[0194] The process of transmitting the second message through the second transmission path can refer to the existing technology and will not be described in detail here.

[0195] Finally, the second user plane device may receive the second message from the first user plane device through the uplink data tunnel, and receive the second message from the second terminal device.

[0196] If the second user plane device also receives another message from the second transmission path, assuming that the message is called the sixth message. If the MTP layer sequence number of the sixth message is the same as the MTP layer sequence number of the second message, the second user plane device can determine that the two received messages are duplicates, and can discard one of the messages and forward the other message.

[0197] From the above description, it can be seen that the method provided by the present application can resist the service loss caused by packet loss on a single path, and significantly improve the transmission reliability. If the second user plane device and the first user plane device are the same device, the second user plane device and the first user plane device are the same in the above example, and the forwarding process between the user plane devices is no longer required, which is described separately below.

[0198] If the first user plane device can provide a user plane data forwarding service for the first terminal device and the second terminal device, the transmission process of the downlink data of the second terminal device is as follows:

[0199] Step 1: The first user plane device receives downlink data of the second terminal device;

[0200] Step 2: The first user plane device encapsulates the downlink data into a third message.

[0201] The third message includes a multipath transport layer header, the multipath transport layer header includes a multipath transport layer sequence number corresponding to the downlink data, and the destination address in the multipath transport layer header is an address corresponding to the second terminal device;

[0202] Step three: The first user plane device sends the third message to the first terminal device, and sends the third message to the second terminal device.

[0203] Among them, the first user plane device may also only send the third message to the first terminal device or only send the third message to the second terminal device. The specific method can be determined according to actual conditions, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0204] Step 4: The first terminal device receives the third message, and forwards the third message to the second terminal device.

[0205] If the second terminal device receives the third message from the first terminal device and also receives the third message from the first user plane device, one of the third messages may be discarded and only one of the third messages may be processed.

[0206] If the first user plane device can provide a user plane data forwarding service for the first terminal device and the second terminal device, the uplink data transmission process of the second terminal device is as follows:

[0207] Step 1: The second terminal device sends a fourth message to the first terminal device, and sends a fourth message to the first user plane device.

[0208] The fourth message includes uplink data of the second terminal device, and the destination address in the multipath transport layer header in the fourth message is the address corresponding to the first user plane device.

[0209] In this step, the second terminal device may also send the fourth message only to the first terminal device, or send the fourth message only to the first user plane device according to actual conditions.

[0210] Step 2: The first terminal device receives the fourth message and forwards the fourth message to the first user plane device.

[0211] Step three: the first user plane device receives a fourth message from the second terminal device through the second transmission path, and receives a fourth message from the first terminal device through the first transmission path.

[0212] The first user plane device discards one of the two fourth messages and forwards the other message.

[0213] Obviously, the above method can not only significantly improve transmission reliability, but also reduce forwarding delay. For example, when the connection between the terminal device and the network is in an idle state, if there is no other indirect reachable path, the data sent by the network to the terminal device will trigger paging of the terminal device. The downlink data will be cached, and after the paging is successful, the connection between the terminal device and the network will be converted to an activated state again, and the data can be sent to the terminal device. When there are other indirect reachable paths for the terminal device, only if there is a connection between the transit terminal device and the network in these indirect reachable paths that is in a connected state, the data sent through the indirect reachable path may be directly delivered to the target terminal device, thereby significantly reducing the delay.

[0214] In addition, to obtain higher bandwidth, the MPT layer at the sending end chooses to send messages on different reachable paths according to the status of multiple reachable paths to the target, such as delay, packet loss rate, available bandwidth, and configured diversion strategy. The MTP layer at the receiving end collects the MTP messages arriving from different paths, sorts them according to the sequence number (if the upper layer requires that the transmission is not disordered), and submits them to the upper protocol layer. For example, when a terminal device needs to perform high-bandwidth data services, the network can share the transmission data in proportion to the bandwidth capabilities of multiple direct or indirect reachable paths of the terminal device, thereby obtaining a larger aggregate bandwidth.

[0215] To support the above path selection, the MTP layer can further provide data communication quality detection and monitoring functions, including the measurement of latency, bandwidth, packet loss rate, latency jitter, etc., to facilitate the most efficient and reasonable use of multi-path forwarding capabilities.

[0216] To protect data security, the MTP layer between the terminal device and UPF provides encryption and integrity protection for messages. For example, when the second terminal device sends and receives data between the first terminal device and UPF, the data sent and received between the second terminal device and UPF are encrypted and integrity protected at the MTP layer, so that the data forwarded by the first terminal device will not be tampered with by the first terminal device, and the second terminal device does not have to worry about data privacy being exposed to the first terminal device. It should be noted that unless the terminal devices are in a completely trusted scenario, the MTP layer is required to provide data security protection.

[0217] The various embodiments described herein may be independent solutions or may be combined according to internal logic, and all of these solutions fall within the protection scope of this application.

[0218] In the embodiments provided by the present application above, the methods provided by the embodiments of the present application are introduced from the perspective of interaction between various devices. In order to implement the various functions in the methods provided by the embodiments of the present application above, devices such as the control plane device, the first terminal device, and the first user plane device may include hardware structures and / or software modules, and implement the above functions in the form of hardware structures, software modules, or hardware structures plus software modules. Whether one of the above functions is executed in the form of hardware structures, software modules, or hardware structures plus software modules depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0219] The division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is schematic and is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation. In addition, each functional module in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into a processor, or may exist physically separately, or two or more modules may be integrated into one module. The above-mentioned integrated modules may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules.

[0220] Same as above idea, Fig.11 As shown, the embodiment of the present application also provides a device 1100 for implementing the functions of the control plane device or the first terminal device or the first user plane device or the second user plane device in the above method. For example, the device can be a software module or a chip system. In the embodiment of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices. The device 1100 may include: a processing unit 1101 and a communication unit 1102.

[0221] In the embodiment of the present application, the communication unit may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, and may include a sending unit and / or a receiving unit, which are respectively used to execute the sending and receiving steps of the terminal device or network device in the above method embodiment.

[0222] The following, combined Figure 11 to Figure 12 The communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail. It should be understood that the description of the device embodiment corresponds to the description of the method embodiment, so the contents not described in detail can be referred to the method embodiment above, and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0223] In one possible design, the device 1100 can implement the steps or processes executed by the terminal device or network device in the above method embodiment, which are described below respectively.

[0224] Exemplarily, when the apparatus 1100 implements the function of the control plane device:

[0225] a processing unit, configured to obtain first information of a first terminal device through a communication unit, wherein the first information is used to indicate a terminal device mutually trusted by the first terminal device, and the terminal device mutually trusted by the first terminal device includes a second terminal device;

[0226] The processing unit is used to send a first message to the first user plane device through the communication unit, the first message includes routing configuration information, the routing configuration information is used to configure a first transmission path, the first transmission path is used to transmit the uplink or downlink data of the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and the first user plane device is used to provide user plane data forwarding service for the first terminal device.

[0227] Exemplarily, when the apparatus 1100 implements the function of the first user plane device:

[0228] A communication unit, configured to receive a first message from a control plane device, wherein the first message includes routing configuration information, the routing configuration information is used to configure a first transmission path, and the first transmission path is used to transmit uplink or downlink data of a second terminal device through a first terminal device;

[0229] A processing unit is used to configure the first transmission path according to the routing configuration information.

[0230] Exemplarily, when the apparatus 1100 implements the function of the first terminal device:

[0231] a processing unit, configured to obtain first information through a communication unit, wherein the first information includes identification information of a terminal device mutually trusted by the first terminal device, and the terminal device mutually trusted by the first terminal device includes a second terminal device;

[0232] The processing unit is used to send the first information to the control plane device through the communication unit, where the first information is used to indicate the establishment of a first transmission path, and the first transmission path is used to transmit the uplink or downlink data of the second terminal device through the first terminal device.

[0233] Exemplarily, when the apparatus 1100 implements the function of the second user plane device:

[0234] a processing unit, configured to receive a second message from a control plane device through a communication unit; the second message includes downlink data tunnel information, the second message is used to request configuration of an uplink data tunnel for the second terminal device, the uplink data tunnel is used to transmit uplink data of the second terminal device from the first user plane device to the second user plane device; and the downlink data tunnel corresponding to the downlink data tunnel information is used to transmit downlink data of the second terminal device from the second user plane device to the first user plane device;

[0235] The processing unit is used to send a second response message to the control plane device through the communication unit, where the second response message includes uplink data tunnel information corresponding to the uplink data tunnel.

[0236] like Fig.12 The device 1200 provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown. Fig.12 The device shown can be Fig.11 A hardware circuit implementation of the device shown in FIG. Figure 2 In the flowchart shown, the functions of the terminal device or network device in the above method embodiment are executed. For the convenience of explanation, Fig.12 Only the main components of the communication device are shown.

[0237] Fig.12 The device 1200 shown includes at least one processor 1220, which is used to implement the embodiment of the present application. Figure 2 Any of the methods.

[0238] The device 1200 may also include at least one memory 1230 for storing program instructions and / or data. The memory 1230 is coupled to the processor 1220. The coupling in the embodiment of the present application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units or modules, which may be electrical, mechanical or other forms, and is used for information exchange between devices, units or modules. The processor 1220 may operate in conjunction with the memory 1230. The processor 1220 may execute program instructions stored in the memory 1230. At least one of the at least one memory may be included in the processor.

[0239] The processor 1220 in the communication device 1200 is used to implement the functions of the processing unit 1100 , and the communication interface 1210 is used to implement the functions of the communication unit 1102 .

[0240] In the implementation process, each step of the above method can be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in a processor or an instruction in the form of software. The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the embodiment of the present application can be embodied as being executed by a hardware processor, or being executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in a processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium mature in the art such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. The storage medium is located in a memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and completes the steps of the above method in conjunction with its hardware. To avoid repetition, it is not described in detail here.

[0241] It should be noted that the processor in the embodiment of the present application may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capability. In the implementation process, each step of the above method embodiment may be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor or by instructions in software form.

[0242] It is understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include but is not limited to these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0243] In the embodiment of the present application, the communication interface may be a transceiver, a circuit, a bus, a module or other types of communication interfaces. In the embodiment of the present application, when the communication interface is a transceiver, the transceiver may include an independent receiver, an independent transmitter, or a transceiver with integrated transceiver functions, or an interface circuit.

[0244] The device 1200 may further include a communication line 1240. The communication interface 1210, the processor 1220, and the memory 1230 may be interconnected via the communication line 1240; the communication line 1240 may be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus. The communication line 1240 may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, Fig.12 Only one thick line is used in the diagram, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0245] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of the present application may be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present application may adopt the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment in combination with software and hardware. Moreover, the present application may adopt the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, optical storage, etc.) that contain computer-usable program code.

[0246] The present application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the present application. It should be understood that each process and / or box in the flowchart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of the processes and / or boxes in the flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions.

[0247] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The control plane device acquires first information of a first terminal device, where the first information is used to indicate a terminal device that mutually trusts the first terminal device, and the terminal device that mutually trusts the first terminal device includes a second terminal device; The control plane device sends a first message to the first user plane device, the first message includes routing configuration information, the routing configuration information is used to configure a first transmission path, the first transmission path is used to transmit the uplink or downlink data of the second terminal device through the first terminal device, the first user plane device is used to provide user plane data forwarding service for the first terminal device; the first transmission path includes the first user plane device, the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The control plane device sends an authentication request message to the second terminal device through the first terminal device, where the authentication request message includes verification information, and the verification information is used to verify the identity of the second terminal device.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The control plane device receives an authentication response message from the first terminal device, where the authentication response message includes verification response information; If the control plane device determines, based on the verification response information, that the identity authentication of the second terminal device is successful, it determines that the uplink or downlink data of the second terminal device can be transmitted through the first terminal device.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that If the first terminal device and the second terminal device are provided with user plane data forwarding services by different user plane devices, the method further includes: The control plane device receives a first response message from the first user plane device, where the first response message includes downlink data tunnel information corresponding to a downlink data tunnel, where the downlink data tunnel is used to transmit downlink data from the second user plane device to the second terminal device of the first user plane device; The control plane device sends a second message to the second user plane device; the second message includes the downlink data tunnel information, the second message is used to request to configure an uplink data tunnel for the second terminal device, the uplink data tunnel is used to transmit uplink data of the second terminal device from the first user plane device to the second user plane device; the second user plane device is used to provide a user plane data forwarding service for the second terminal device; The control plane device receives a second response message from the second user plane device, where the second response message includes uplink data tunnel information corresponding to the uplink data tunnel; The control plane device sends a confirmation message to the first user plane device, where the confirmation message includes the uplink data tunnel information.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The downlink data tunnel information includes an Internet Protocol IP address of the downlink data tunnel and a tunnel endpoint identifier TEID; The uplink data tunnel information includes the IP address and TEID of the uplink data tunnel.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The first message also includes one or more of the following: Data billing information; monitoring and service quality policy information, used to indicate the rules for billing and monitoring the user data of the second terminal device forwarded by the first terminal device, as well as the requirements for ensuring the quality of service.

7. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The first user plane device receives a first message from the control plane device, where the first message includes routing configuration information, where the routing configuration information is used to configure a first transmission path, where the first transmission path is used to transmit uplink or downlink data of the second terminal device through the first terminal device; The first user plane device configures the first transmission path according to the routing configuration information; the first transmission path includes the first user plane device, the first terminal device and the second terminal device; The first user plane device is used to provide a user plane data forwarding service for the first terminal device.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that If the first terminal device and the second terminal device are provided with user plane data forwarding services by different user plane devices, the first user plane device configuring the first transmission path according to the routing configuration information includes: The first user plane device establishes a downlink data tunnel, where the downlink data tunnel is used to transmit downlink data from the second user plane device to the second terminal device of the first user plane device; The first user plane device sends a first response message to the control plane device, where the first response message includes downlink data tunnel information corresponding to the downlink data tunnel.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first user plane device receives a confirmation message from the control plane device, the confirmation message including uplink data tunnel information corresponding to an uplink data tunnel, the uplink data tunnel being used to transmit uplink data of the second terminal device from the first user plane device to the second user plane device; the second user plane device being used to provide user plane data forwarding service for the second terminal device.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first user plane device receives a first message from the second user plane device through the downlink data tunnel, where the first message includes downlink data of the second terminal device; the destination address information in the data tunnel layer header of the first message includes the downlink data tunnel information; The first user plane device determines, according to the downlink data tunnel information in the data tunnel layer header of the first message, that the next hop of the first message is the first terminal device in the first transmission path; The first user plane device sends the first message to the first terminal device.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The first user plane device receives a second message from the first terminal device, where the destination address in the multipath transport layer header in the second message is an address corresponding to the second user plane device; The first user plane device determines, according to the destination address in the multipath transport layer header of the second message, that the next hop of the second message is the second user plane device; The first user plane device adds the uplink data tunnel information to the second message, and sends the second message to the second user plane device through the uplink data tunnel.

12. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The first user plane device is further used to provide a user plane data forwarding service for the second terminal device, and the method further includes: The first user plane device receives downlink data of the second terminal device; The first user plane device encapsulates the downlink data into a third message; The first user plane device sends the third message to the second terminal device via the first transmission path, and / or sends the third message to the second terminal device via the second transmission path; the second transmission path is a data channel between the second terminal device and the first user plane device connected via an access network device.

13. The method according to claim 7 or 12, characterized in that: The first user plane device is further used to provide a user plane data forwarding service for the second terminal device, and the method further includes: The first user plane device receives a fourth message from the second terminal device through a second transmission path, and receives a fifth message from the first terminal device through the first transmission path; the multipath transport layer header of the fourth message includes a multipath transport layer sequence number, and the multipath transport layer header of the fifth message includes a multipath transport layer sequence number; the second transmission path is a data channel between the second terminal device and the first user plane device connected through an access network device; If the first user plane device determines that the multipath transmission layer sequence number of the fourth message is equal to the multipath transmission layer sequence number of the fifth message, it determines that the fourth message and the fifth message are the same duplicate messages; The first user plane device discards one of the fourth message and the fifth message, and forwards the other message.

14. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The first user plane device sends a detection message to the second terminal device through the first terminal device; If the first user plane device receives a confirmation message from the second terminal device, it determines that the first transmission path is valid.

15. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The first user plane device sends a route reachable broadcast request to the first terminal device; The first user plane device receives a route-reachable broadcast response from the first terminal device, wherein the route-reachable broadcast response includes first information, and the first information is used to indicate a terminal device that mutually trusts the first terminal device, and the terminal device that mutually trusts the first terminal device includes a second terminal device.

16. A communication method, characterized in that: include: A first terminal device acquires first information, where the first information includes identification information of a terminal device that mutually trusts the first terminal device, and the terminal device that mutually trusts the first terminal device includes a second terminal device; The first terminal device sends the first information to the control plane device, where the first information is used to indicate the establishment of a first transmission path, where the first transmission path is used to transmit the uplink or downlink data of the second terminal device through the first terminal device; the first transmission path includes a first user plane device, the first terminal device, and the second terminal device; the first user plane device is used to provide a user plane data forwarding service for the first terminal device.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first terminal device receives an authentication request message from the control plane device, where the authentication request message includes verification information, and the verification information is used to verify the identity of the second terminal device; The first terminal device sends the authentication request message to the second terminal device; The first terminal device receives an authentication response message from the second terminal device, wherein the authentication response message includes verification response information; The first terminal device sends the authentication response message to the control plane device.

18. The method according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first terminal device receives a route-reachable broadcast request sent from a first user plane device; the route-reachable broadcast request is used to request the first information; The first terminal device sends a route-reachable broadcast response to the first user plane device according to the route-reachable broadcast request, and the route-reachable broadcast response includes the first information.

19. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 17, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The first terminal device receives a first message from a first user plane device; the first message includes downlink data of the second terminal device; the destination address in the multipath transport layer header of the first message is an address corresponding to the second terminal device; The first terminal device sends the first message to the second terminal device.

20. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 17, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The first terminal device receives a second message from the second terminal device; the second message includes uplink data of the second terminal device, and the destination address in the multipath transport layer header in the second message is an address corresponding to the second user plane device; The first terminal device determines, according to the destination address in the multipath transport layer header of the second message, that the next hop of the second message is the first user plane device; The first terminal device sends the second message to the first user plane device.

21. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 17, characterized in that: The first terminal device acquires first information, including: The first terminal device obtains the first information from the subscription data of the first terminal; Alternatively, the first terminal device detects terminal devices around the first terminal device, and determines the first information based on the detected terminal devices that can trust each other.

22. A communication device, characterized in that: include: a processing unit, configured to obtain first information of a first terminal device through a communication unit, wherein the first information is used to indicate a terminal device mutually trusted by the first terminal device, and the terminal device mutually trusted by the first terminal device includes a second terminal device; The processing unit is used to send a first message to the first user plane device through the communication unit, the first message includes routing configuration information, the routing configuration information is used to configure a first transmission path, the first transmission path is used to transmit the uplink or downlink data of the second terminal device through the first terminal device, and the first user plane device is used to provide user plane data forwarding service for the first terminal device; the first transmission path includes the first user plane device, the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

23. The device according to claim 22, characterized in that The communication unit is also used for: An authentication request message is sent to the second terminal device through the first terminal device, where the authentication request message includes verification information, and the verification information is used to verify the identity of the second terminal device.

24. The device according to claim 23, characterized in that The communication unit is also used for: Receiving an authentication response message from the first terminal device, the authentication response message including verification response information; If it is determined according to the verification response information that the identity authentication of the second terminal device is passed, it is determined that the uplink or downlink data of the second terminal device can be transmitted through the first terminal device.

25. The device according to claim 22, characterized in that If the first terminal device and the second terminal device are provided with user plane data forwarding services by different user plane devices, the communication unit is further used for: receiving a first response message from the first user plane device, the first response message including downlink data tunnel information corresponding to a downlink data tunnel, the downlink data tunnel being used to transmit downlink data from the second user plane device to the second terminal device of the first user plane device; Sending a second message to a second user plane device; the second message includes the downlink data tunnel information, the second message is used to request configuration of an uplink data tunnel for the second terminal device, the uplink data tunnel is used to transmit uplink data of the second terminal device from the first user plane device to the second user plane device; The second user plane device is used to provide a user plane data forwarding service for the second terminal device; receiving a second response message from the second user plane device, where the second response message includes uplink data tunnel information corresponding to the uplink data tunnel; A confirmation message is sent to the first user plane device, where the confirmation message includes the uplink data tunnel information.

26. The device according to claim 25, characterized in that The downlink data tunnel information includes an Internet Protocol IP address of the downlink data tunnel and a tunnel endpoint identifier TEID; The uplink data tunnel information includes the IP address and TEID of the uplink data tunnel.

27. The device according to any one of claims 22 to 26, characterized in that The first message also includes one or more of the following: Data billing information; monitoring and service quality policy information, used to indicate the rules for billing and monitoring the user data of the second terminal device forwarded by the first terminal device, as well as the requirements for ensuring the quality of service.

28. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A communication unit, configured to receive a first message from a control plane device, wherein the first message includes routing configuration information, the routing configuration information is used to configure a first transmission path, and the first transmission path is used to transmit uplink or downlink data of a second terminal device through a first terminal device; A processing unit, configured to configure the first transmission path according to the routing configuration information; the first transmission path includes a first user plane device, the first terminal device, and the second terminal device; The first user plane device is used to provide a user plane data forwarding service for the first terminal device.

29. The device according to claim 28, characterized in that If the first terminal device and the second terminal device are provided with user plane data forwarding services by different user plane devices, the processing unit is specifically configured to: Establishing a downlink data tunnel, where the downlink data tunnel is used to transmit downlink data of the second terminal device from the second user plane device to the first user plane device; The communication unit is specifically configured to send a first response message to the control plane device, where the first response message includes downlink data tunnel information corresponding to the downlink data tunnel.

30. The device according to claim 29, characterized in that The communication unit is also used for: receiving a confirmation message from the control plane device, the confirmation message including uplink data tunnel information corresponding to an uplink data tunnel, the uplink data tunnel being used to transmit uplink data of the second terminal device from the first user plane device to the second user plane device; The second user plane device is used to provide a user plane data forwarding service for the second terminal device.

31. The device according to claim 30, characterized in that The communication unit is also used for: receiving a first message from the second user plane device through the downlink data tunnel, wherein the first message includes downlink data of the second terminal device; and the destination address information in the data tunnel layer header of the first message includes the downlink data tunnel information; The processing unit is further configured to determine, according to the downlink data tunnel information in the data tunnel layer header of the first message, that the next hop of the first message is the first terminal device in the first transmission path; The communication unit is further used to send the first message to the first terminal device.

32. The device according to claim 30 or 31, characterized in that The communication unit is also used for: receiving a second message from the first terminal device, wherein the destination address in the multipath transport layer header in the second message is an address corresponding to the second user plane device; The processing unit is further configured to determine, according to a destination address in a multipath transport layer header of the second message, that the next hop of the second message is a second user plane device; The communication unit is further configured to add the uplink data tunnel information to the second message, and send the second message to the second user plane device through the uplink data tunnel.

33. The device according to claim 28, characterized in that The first user plane device is also used to provide a user plane data forwarding service for the second terminal device, and the communication unit is also used to Receiving downlink data of the second terminal device; The processing unit is further configured to encapsulate the downlink data into a third message; The communication unit is also used to send the third message to the second terminal device through the first transmission path, and / or send the third message to the second terminal device through the second transmission path; the second transmission path is a data channel between the second terminal device and the first user plane device connected through an access network device.

34. The device according to claim 28 or 33, characterized in that The first user plane device is further used to provide a user plane data forwarding service for the second terminal device, and the communication unit is further used to receive a fourth message from the second terminal device through a second transmission path, and receive a fifth message from the first terminal device through the first transmission path; the multipath transport layer header of the fourth message includes a multipath transport layer sequence number, and the multipath transport layer header of the fifth message includes a multipath transport layer sequence number; the second transmission path is a data channel between the second terminal device and the first user plane device connected through an access network device; The processing unit is further configured to determine that the fourth message and the fifth message are identical duplicate messages if it is determined that the multipath transmission layer sequence number of the fourth message is equal to the multipath transmission layer sequence number of the fifth message; The communication unit is further configured to discard one of the fourth message and the fifth message and forward the other message.

35. The device according to any one of claims 28 to 31, characterized in that The communication unit is also used for: Sending a detection message to the second terminal device through the first terminal device; If a confirmation message is received from the second terminal device, it is determined that the first transmission path is valid.

36. The device according to any one of claims 28 to 31, characterized in that The communication unit is also used for: Sending a route reachable broadcast request to the first terminal device; A route-reachable broadcast response is received from the first terminal device, wherein the route-reachable broadcast response includes first information, wherein the first information is used to indicate a terminal device that mutually trusts the first terminal device, and the terminal device that mutually trusts the first terminal device includes a second terminal device.

37. A communication device, characterized in that: include: a processing unit, configured to obtain first information through a communication unit, wherein the first information includes identification information of a terminal device mutually trusted by the first terminal device, and the terminal device mutually trusted by the first terminal device includes a second terminal device; The processing unit is used to send the first information to the control plane device through the communication unit, the first information is used to indicate the establishment of a first transmission path, and the first transmission path is used to transmit the uplink or downlink data of the second terminal device through the first terminal device; the first transmission path includes a first user plane device, the first terminal device, a first access network device and the second terminal device; the first user plane device is used to provide a user plane data forwarding service for the first terminal device.

38. The device according to claim 37, characterized in that The communication unit is also used for: receiving an authentication request message from the control plane device, wherein the authentication request message includes verification information, and the verification information is used to verify the identity of the second terminal device; Sending the authentication request message to the second terminal device; receiving an authentication response message from the second terminal device, wherein the authentication response message includes verification response information; Sending the authentication response message to the control plane device.

39. The device according to claim 37 or 38, characterized in that The communication unit is also used for: receiving a route-reachable broadcast request from a first user plane device; the route-reachable broadcast request is used to request the first information; According to the routable broadcast request, a routable broadcast response is sent to the first user plane device, where the routable broadcast response includes the first information.

40. The device according to any one of claims 37 to 38, characterized in that The communication unit is also used for: receiving a first message from a first user plane device; the first message includes downlink data of the second terminal device; the destination address in the multipath transport layer header of the first message is an address corresponding to the second terminal device; Send the first message to the second terminal device.

41. The device according to any one of claims 37 to 38, characterized in that The communication unit is further used to receive a second message from the second terminal device; the second message includes uplink data of the second terminal device, and the destination address in the multipath transport layer header in the second message is an address corresponding to the second user plane device; The processing unit is further configured to determine, according to a destination address in a multipath transport layer header of the second message, that the next hop of the second message is the first user plane device; The communication unit is further configured to send the second message to the first user plane device.

42. The device according to any one of claims 37 to 38, characterized in that The communication unit is specifically used for: Acquire the first information from the contract data of the first terminal; Alternatively, terminal devices around the first terminal device are detected, and the first information is determined based on the detected terminal devices that can trust each other.

43. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The method comprises computer-readable instructions, and when the communication device reads and executes the computer-readable instructions, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 21 is implemented.

44. A communication system, characterized in that: Comprising the communication device as described in any one of claims 22 to 27 and the communication device as described in any one of claims 28 to 36.

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