A data transmission method, apparatus and device

Abstract

The application provides a data transmission method, device and equipment. The data transmission method comprises the following steps: receiving a protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment request associated with a 5G virtual network (VN) group; determining, according to first information, that session management is performed on the session according to a port; and sending a first message to a user plane function (UPF), wherein the first message indicates that session management is performed on the session according to the port, and / or the first message indicates that the UPF allocates a port for the session. Thus, the session management function (SMF) is decoupled from the uplink and downlink data management rules of the terminal session data and the internet protocol / media access control (IP / MAC) address of the terminal.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a data transmission method, apparatus, and device. Background Technology

[0002] Based on the 5GS (5G System) framework, a group of users who have subscribed to the same slice and the same DNN (Data Network Name) can subscribe to a 5G VN (5G Virtual Network) group. This allows users within the 5G VN group to perform various types of local area network communication, including unicast, multicast, and groupcast. This technical solution is called 5G LAN (5G Local Area Network). 5G LAN supports two session types: IP PDU (Internet Protocol Data Unit) sessions and Ethernet PDU (Protocol Data Unit) sessions. It also supports three data forwarding modes: data forwarding based on the N6 interface, data forwarding based on the N19 interface, and data forwarding via local switching.

[0003] When managing 5G LAN terminal sessions, the SMF (Session Management Function) encounters two problems during the issuance of PDR / FAR (Packet Detection Rule / Forwarding Action Rule) rules:

[0004] (1) The SMF must be aware of the terminal MAC (Media Access Control Address) address. If the number of terminal devices increases, it will cause signaling scalability problems between the SMF and the UPF (User Port Function).

[0005] (2) In the current 5G LAN scheme, the SMF is strongly bound to the terminal IP / MAC (Internet Protocol / Media Access Control Address), which is not conducive to building 5G VN groups across SMFs. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The technical problem to be solved by this invention is to provide a data transmission method, apparatus, and device. This decouples the downlink data management rules of the Session Management Function (SMF) for terminal session data from the terminal's IP / MAC addresses, which is beneficial for building 5G virtual network groups across session management functions.

[0007] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the technical solution of the present invention is as follows:

[0008] A data transmission method, the method comprising:

[0009] Receive a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session establishment request associated with a 5G Virtual Network (VN) group, and determine, based on the first information, to perform session management on the port-based basis for the session;

[0010] Send a first message to the User Plane Function (UPF), the first message indicating that the session is managed by port, and / or, the first message instructing the UPF to allocate a port for the session.

[0011] Optionally, the first message may also include:

[0012] The port number assigned to the session by the SMF; or,

[0013] The UPF is instructed to assign a port number to the session.

[0014] Optionally, when the UPF assigns a port number to the session, a second message carrying the port number assigned to the session by the UPF is received.

[0015] Optionally, the first message indicates that the session is managed according to port, and / or the first message indicates that the UPF allocates a port for the session, including:

[0016] Provide rules for processing data packets received from the terminal based on the port; and / or,

[0017] Provide rules for processing data packets forwarded to the terminal based on the port.

[0018] Optionally, the rules for processing data packets received from the terminal based on the port include:

[0019] The forwarding operation rule (FAR) includes information related to the port; and / or,

[0020] The rules for processing data packets forwarded to the terminal based on the port include:

[0021] The Packet Inspection Rule (PDR) includes information related to the port. Optionally, the first information includes:

[0022] The terminal's subscription information obtained from the Unified Data Management (UDM); or

[0023] Local configuration information; or

[0024] UPF reports capability information.

[0025] Embodiments of the present invention also provide a data transmission method, the method comprising:

[0026] Receive a first message sent by the Session Management Function (SMF), the first message indicating that the session is managed according to the port, and / or, the first message instructing the UPF to allocate a port for the session;

[0027] Based on the first message, allocate a port.

[0028] Optionally, the first message may further include: a port number assigned to the session by the SMF; or, an indication that a port number is assigned to the session by the UPF.

[0029] Optional data transmission methods also include:

[0030] When the UPF assigns a port number to the session, it sends a second message to the SMF carrying the port number assigned to the session by the UPF.

[0031] Embodiments of the present invention also provide a data transmission apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

[0032] The transceiver module is configured to receive a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session establishment request associated with a 5G Virtual Network (VN) group, determine, based on first information, to perform session management on the session according to port; and send a first message to the User Plane Function (UPF), wherein the first message indicates that the session is managed on the session according to port, and / or, the first message indicates that the UPF allocates a port for the session.

[0033] Embodiments of the present invention also provide a data transmission apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

[0034] The transceiver module is used to receive a first message sent by the Session Management Function (SMF), wherein the first message indicates that the session is managed according to the port, and / or, the first message indicates that the UPF allocates a port for the session;

[0035] The processing module is used to allocate a port based on the first message.

[0036] Embodiments of the present invention also provide an electronic device, including a processor, a memory, and a program or instructions stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the program or instructions, when executed by the processor, implement the steps of the data transmission method as described above.

[0037] Embodiments of the present invention also provide a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the steps of the data transmission method described above.

[0038] The above-described solution of the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0039] By receiving a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session establishment request associated with a 5G Virtual Network (VN) group, and determining, based on first information, to perform session management on a port-by-port basis for the session; sending a first message to the User Plane Function (UPF), the first message instructing that the session be managed on a port-by-port basis, and / or, the first message instructing the UPF to allocate a port for the session; this decouples the downlink data forwarding rules of the Session Management Function (SMF) and the terminal's session from the terminal's IP / MAC, which is beneficial for building 5G Virtual Network groups across SMFs. Attached Figure Description

[0040] Figure 1 This is a flowchart illustrating a data transmission method applied to session management functionality according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0041] Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating the data transmission method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0042] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating the processing logic of SMF in a specific embodiment 1 provided by the present invention;

[0043] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the SMF, terminal, and UPF in specific embodiment 2 provided by the present invention;

[0044] Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating a data transmission method applied to session management functionality according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0045] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating the processing logic of the UPF in a specific embodiment 4 provided by the present invention;

[0046] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the virtual access port in specific embodiment 5 provided by the present invention;

[0047] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of a data transmission device applied to session management functions according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0048] Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. While exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure may be implemented in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.

[0049] like Figure 1 As shown, an embodiment of the present invention provides a data transmission method applied to a session management function, the method comprising:

[0050] Step 11: Receive a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session establishment request associated with a 5G Virtual Network (VN) group. Based on the first information, determine that the session will be managed by port; that is, the session is managed by port, meaning the session is identified through that port. Here, the PDU session establishment request is initiated by the UE and forwarded to the SMF by the AMF. For example, the UE may belong to a certain 5G VN group and be a member of that VN group; therefore, the above session is a request for the network to provide 5G VN group services. Here, the port can be a virtual access port or an access port. The so-called port-based session management can be understood as managing the session at the port granularity.

[0051] Step 12: Send a first message to the User Plane Function (UPF). The first message indicates that the session should be managed according to the port, and / or the first message indicates that the UPF should allocate a port for the session. Here, a possible implementation for allocating a port for the session is to create a port to identify this PDU session, that is, the port will be used to transmit the data of the PDU session later.

[0052] This embodiment of the invention can be applied to SMFs, and of course, it can also be applied to devices with some SMF functions, devices with all SMF functions and other functions, network elements other than SMFs, network elements jointly implemented by SMFs and other network elements, network elements co-located with SMFs, or network elements within SMF network elements, etc.; by receiving a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session establishment request associated with a 5G Virtual Network (VN) group, and determining, based on first information, to perform session management on the port of the session; sending a first message to the User Plane Function (UPF), the first message instructing to perform session management on the port of the session, and / or, the first message instructing the UPF to allocate a port for the session; thus, the downlink data forwarding rules of the session management function (SMF) and the terminal's session are decoupled from the terminal's IP / MAC, which is beneficial for building 5G Virtual Network groups across SMFs.

[0053] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the first message further includes:

[0054] The port number assigned to the session by the SMF; or,

[0055] The UPF is instructed to assign a port number to the session.

[0056] In this embodiment of the present invention, the content of the first message can be combined according to actual needs, realizing session management by port, which is beneficial for building 5G virtual network groups across session management functions.

[0057] In the above embodiments of the present invention, the first message instructs the session to be managed according to the port, and / or the first message instructs the UPF to allocate a port for the session, including:

[0058] Rules are provided for processing data packets received from the terminal based on the port; specifically, the forwarding operation rule (FAR) includes relevant information about the port; and / or,

[0059] Rules are provided for processing data packets forwarded to the terminal based on the port. Specifically, the relevant information of the port is included in the Packet Detection Rule (PDR).

[0060] In one feasible implementation of the above embodiments of the present invention, the first message is a PDU session establishment request, which provides rules for processing data packets received from the terminal based on the port and / or for processing data packets forwarded to the terminal based on the port. Specifically, relevant port information can be included in the FAR and / or PDR of the PDU session establishment request.

[0061] It should be noted that the port-related information here can be a specific port number, that is, the port number is assigned by the SMF; or it can be a port flag, indicating that the port number is assigned by the UPF, or indicating that the SMF should manage it by port.

[0062] It should also be noted that the first message can be more than just a PDU session establishment request, and similarly, the second message can be more than just a PDU session establishment response. It can also be a session revision request and response, which can carry FAR and PDR information. Similarly, port-related information can also be carried in the FAR and PDR at this time.

[0063] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the first information may include:

[0064] The terminal's subscription information obtained from the Unified Data Management (UDM); or local configuration information; or capability information reported by the UPF.

[0065] In existing solutions, the processing rules for receiving data packets from the terminal and forwarding data packets to the terminal must carry the terminal's IP or MAC address to enable uplink and downlink data packet forwarding. For example, during downlink, when a data packet is forwarded from the 5G VNinternal interface, the UPF needs to detect the terminal's IP or MAC address in the data packet to identify which session the data packet should be forwarded to the correct terminal. Therefore, the SMF must obtain the IP and MAC addresses of all terminals to correctly send the forwarding rules to the UPF, enabling the UPF to match the session based on the terminal's IP or MAC address carried in the data packet and send it to the terminal.

[0066] In this embodiment, session management is performed at the port level, and the SMF can issue rules at the port level. Taking a downlink rule as an example, the detection rule issued by the SMF is 5G VN internal + port. The SMF does not need to know the terminal's IP or MAC address. For the UPF, the data packets forwarded from the 5G VN internal interface do not only originate from the 5G VN internal interface, but the UPF can also determine which port of the 5G VN internal interface it originated from. Through the session associated with that port, the UPF can forward the data packets to the correct terminal associated with that session.

[0067] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the UPF may be the target user plane function UPF selected by the SMF for the terminal in the session management function.

[0068] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the above embodiments of the present invention are applied to the SMF, where the UE (User Equipment, i.e., the terminal) sends a PDU (Protocol Data Unit) session establishment request to the AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function), and the AMF forwards the PDU session establishment request to the SMF;

[0069] When the SMF receives a PDU session establishment request, it retrieves the first information from the subscription information stored on the UDM (Unified Data Management). Based on this first information, the SMF allocates a UPF (User Plane Function) to the UE and updates the packet forwarding rules, such as PDR / FAR rules (Packet Detection Rules / Forwarding Operation Rules). The SMF then sends a PDU session establishment request to the allocated UPF according to the packet forwarding rules, receives the PDU session establishment response from the UPF based on the packet forwarding rules, and forwards the PDU session establishment response to the UE. This approach can resolve the issue of strong IP / MAC address binding between the SMF and the terminal, and is more conducive to building 5G virtual network groups across SMFs.

[0070] The SMF allocates a target UPF to the UE based on the subscription information. The target UPF is the target user plane function UPF selected by the Session Management Function (SMF) for the terminal. The selection rule for the target UPF is as follows: when there are at least one UPF that the SMF has recently used and another that the SMF has not used, the most recently used UPF of the SMF is preferred as the allocation UPF. For example, if the most recently used UPF of the SMF is UPF1, and the UPFs that meet the allocation conditions are UPF1, UPF3, UPF5, and UPF9, then the optimal UPF for the SMF to allocate is UPF1.

[0071] It should be noted that the 5G Virtual Network Group (5G VN Group) here refers to the internal interface of the UPF, and can also refer to the 5G LAN interface, or other interfaces of the UPF that can realize 5G LAN data forwarding.

[0072] In this embodiment, the subscription information preferably includes information about a 5G virtual network group. This 5G virtual network group information includes characteristic parameters of the 5G local area network interface, including first identification information indicating that the terminal's session can be managed according to the virtual access port. The first information is used to indicate that the terminal can manage the session according to the virtual access port or to instruct the UPF to allocate a port for the session. The characteristic parameters of the 5G local area network interface are used to identify and inform other control network elements (such as SMF) that the terminal session corresponding to the 5G local area network interface can be managed according to the virtual access port.

[0073] The first information includes: terminal subscription information obtained from the Unified Data Management (UDM); or local configuration information; or capability information reported by the UPF, which is not limited to this application;

[0074] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, when the SMF is in the process of creating or revising a session, it can configure or revise the virtual access port number corresponding to the session based on the current PFCP (Packet Forwarding Control Protocol) session management message or other management messages, such as configuring the port ACL (Access Control List).

[0075] When the SMF releases a session, if it carries the virtual access port number (port id) corresponding to the session, it controls the UPF to release the virtual access port corresponding to the session; that is, it controls the UPF to no longer allocate a virtual access port identifier for the session, and releases the virtual access port provided by the SMF.

[0076] like Figure 3 As shown, in a specific embodiment 1, after the SMF receives a PDU session establishment request from the terminal and obtains the first identification information of the terminal's 5G LAN interface from the UDM, the SMF's processing logic is as follows:

[0077] Step a1: The SMF receives the PDU session establishment request and obtains the first identifier information in the subscription information corresponding to the terminal's 5G LAN interface. Based on the first identifier information in the subscription information and the characteristic parameters of the 5G LAN, the SMF identifies that the terminal session corresponding to the 5G LAN can be managed by virtual access port.

[0078] Step a2: SMF assigns the optimal PSA UPF (PDU Session Anchor User PlaneFunction) to the terminal;

[0079] Step a3: Determine whether the SMF assigns a virtual access port identifier to the terminal;

[0080] If so, in step a31, the SMF will assign a virtual access port number to the session and fill it into the corresponding PDR / FAR rule;

[0081] Specifically, in the uplink direction of the session data, it refers to the receiving terminal session data:

[0082] PDR{Source Interface:access side;

[0083] CN Tunnel Information:N3 / N9 tunnel header(ieN3 / N9 GTP-U F-TEID)}

[0084] FAR{Destination interface:5G VN internal;Network instance:5G VN GroupID;port identity:port ID);};

[0085] In the downlink direction of session data, to forward data to the terminal:

[0086] PDR{Source Interface:5G VN internal;Network instance:5G VN Group ID;port identity:port ID;}

[0087] FAR{Destination interface:access side;};

[0088] If not, in step a32, the SMF will set the virtual access port number to the identification selection symbol CHOOSE in the PDR / FAR rule;

[0089] Specifically, in the uplink direction of the session data, it refers to the receiving terminal session data:

[0090] PDR{Source Interface:access side;

[0091] CN Tunnel Information:N3 / N9 tunnel header(ieN3 / N9 GTP-U F-TEID)}

[0092] FAR{Destination interface:5G VN internal;Network instance:5G VN GroupID;port identity:CHOOSE);};

[0093] In the downlink direction of session data, to forward data to the terminal:

[0094] PDR{Source Interface:5G VN internal;Network instance:5G VN Group ID;port identity:CHOOSE;}

[0095] FAR{Destination interface:access side;};

[0096] In step a4, the SMF sends the PDR / FAR rules and PDU session establishment request to the UPF.

[0097] like Figure 4 As shown, in a specific embodiment 2, to make data transmission between the SMF and the terminal more intelligent, port information port1 and port2 are added to the existing UPF's built-in 5G virtual network. When terminal 1 initiates a session with the SMF on the signaling plane, the SMF can add port information port1 according to rule 1, thus realizing user plane session 1 between the SMF and terminal 1. Rule 1 is as follows:

[0098] The SMF assigns a virtual access port number, i.e., the port1 identifier, to terminal 1, and the UPF creates port1 based on the port1 identifier;

[0099] When terminal 2 initiates a session with SMF on the signaling plane, SMF can add port information port2 according to rule 2, thus realizing user plane session 2 between SMF and terminal 2. Rule 2 is as follows:

[0100] Since the SMF did not assign a virtual access port number, i.e., the port2 identifier, to terminal 2, the UPF added the port information port2 identifier to the corresponding built-in 5G virtual network for session 1 and created port2.

[0101] like Figure 2 As shown in a specific embodiment 3, when terminal 1 initiates a PDU session establishment request to SMF, terminal 1 sends the PDU session establishment request to SMF through AMF. SMF obtains the terminal subscription information of UDM, where the subscription information includes 5G virtual network group information, and the 5G virtual network group information also includes the first identification information of the virtual network group. The session management identification is performed by port. According to the subscription information, SMF selects the optimal UPF1 as PSA UPF and sends the PDU session establishment request to PSA UPF. The sending rule is specifically the packet detection rule / forwarding operation rule.

[0102] When uplink data is being transmitted:

[0103] PDR{Source Interface:access side;CN Tunnel Information:N3 / N9 tunnelheader(ieN3 / N9 GTP-U F-TEID)}

[0104] FAR{Destination interface:5G VN internal;Network instance:5G VN GroupID;port identity:port ID);};

[0105] When transmitting data downlink:

[0106] PDR{Source Interface:5G VN internal;Network instance:5G VN Group ID;port identity:port ID;}

[0107] FAR{Destination interface:access side;};

[0108] The PSA UPF sends a PDU session establishment response to the SMF. If the UPF has allocated a virtual access port identifier during the PDU session establishment process, the PDU session establishment response carries the specific port information of the virtual port. The preferred port information is the virtual access port number, port identity: port ID. The PDU session response is then returned to terminal 1.

[0109] The above embodiments of the present invention decouple the downlink data management rules of the session management function (SMF) for terminal session data from the terminal's IP / MAC, which is beneficial for building 5G virtual network groups across session management functions.

[0110] Embodiments of the present invention also provide a data transmission method applied to a User Plane Function (UPF) entity, such as... Figure 5 As shown, the method includes:

[0111] Step 51: Receive a first message sent by the Session Management Function (SMF), the first message indicating that the session is managed according to the port, and / or, the first message instructing the UPF to allocate a port for the session;

[0112] Step 52: Allocate a port according to the first message;

[0113] It may also include step 53, which involves transmitting data through the port.

[0114] This embodiment applies to the User Plane Function Entity (UPF). The UPF receives packet forwarding rules and PDU session establishment requests from the SMF. Based on the packet forwarding rules, it creates a virtual access port in the built-in virtual network and sends the PDU session establishment response to the SMF, which then sends the response to the terminal. This decouples the downlink data management rules of the SMF from the terminal's IP / MAC, facilitating the formation of 5G virtual network groups across session management functions. Here, the port can be a virtual access port or an access port. Session management by port can be understood as managing sessions at the port granularity.

[0115] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the first message further includes:

[0116] The port number assigned to the session by the SMF; or,

[0117] The UPF is instructed to assign a port number to the session.

[0118] Furthermore, in this method, step 52 may also include:

[0119] When the UPF assigns a port number to the session, it sends a second message to the SMF carrying the port number assigned to the session by the UPF.

[0120] Specifically, when the UPF assigns a virtual access port number to the terminal's session, the PDU session establishment response also carries the virtual access port number assigned by the UPF to the terminal's session.

[0121] This embodiment determines whether a virtual access port number exists in the packet forwarding rules. If a virtual access port number exists in the packet forwarding rules, it means that the SMF has already allocated a virtual access port number for the PDU session, and the UPF no longer needs to allocate one for the PDU session. In this case, the virtual access port is directly created on the built-in virtual network to which the corresponding terminal belongs based on the first virtual access port number.

[0122] If the virtual access port number is not present in the packet forwarding rules, but the target identifier is used in the virtual access port number position, it means that the SMF has not allocated a virtual access port number for the PDU session. The UPF needs to allocate a virtual access port number for the PDU session and create a virtual access port on the built-in virtual network to which the corresponding terminal belongs.

[0123] Additionally, it should be noted that when the UPF is in the process of establishing or revising a session, it can configure and revise the corresponding port information according to the SMF's virtual access port configuration and information revision instructions, such as configuring ACLs for the port; when the UPF is in the process of releasing a session, it can also release the virtual access port corresponding to the session in response to the SMF's session release request; that is, it will no longer assign a virtual access port identifier to the session, but release the virtual access port provided by the SMF.

[0124] like Figure 6 As shown in a specific embodiment 4, after the UPF receives a PDU session establishment request from the SMF, the UPF's processing logic is as follows:

[0125] Step b1: Receive a PDU session establishment request from SMF and obtain the second identification information carried in the PDR / FAR rules of SMF;

[0126] Step b2: Determine whether the SMF has assigned an identifier to the virtual access port;

[0127] Step b21, if yes, then obtain the virtual access port number corresponding to the session allocated by SMF;

[0128] Step b22: If not, assign a virtual access port number to the session on the corresponding built-in virtual network;

[0129] Step b3: The UPF creates a virtual access port on the built-in 5G virtual network corresponding to the 5G local area network where the terminal is located, and distinguishes them by the virtual access port number.

[0130] In step b4, the UPF returns a session establishment response to the SMF, which carries the virtual access port number assigned by the UPF for the session.

[0131] like Figure 7As shown in a specific embodiment 5, a built-in 5G virtual network is set up in the PSA UPF. When terminal 1 sends a PDU session establishment request to the SMF, the UPF can allocate port ID_1 on the built-in 5G virtual network corresponding to terminal 1 according to the virtual access port number allocated by the SMF or the UPF; when terminal 2 sends a PDU session establishment request to the SMF, the UPF can allocate port ID_2 on the built-in 5G virtual network corresponding to terminal 2 according to the virtual access port number allocated by the SMF or the UPF; when terminal 3 sends a PDU session establishment request to the SMF, the UPF can allocate port ID_3 on the built-in 5G virtual network corresponding to terminal 3 according to the virtual access port number allocated by the SMF or the UPF; when terminal 4 sends a PDU session establishment request to the SMF, the UPF can allocate port ID_4 on the built-in 5G virtual network corresponding to terminal 4 according to the virtual access port number allocated by the SMF or the UPF.

[0132] The ports of the aforementioned terminals 1, 2, 3, and 4 are distinguished by their respective identifiers.

[0133] In the above embodiments of the present invention, by receiving a first message sent by the Session Management Function (SMF), the first message instructs the session to be managed according to the port, and / or the first message instructs the UPF to allocate a port for the session, and the port is allocated according to the first message; this decouples the downlink data management rules of the Session Management Function (SMF) for terminal session data from the IP / MAC of the terminal, which is beneficial for building 5G virtual network groups across session management functions.

[0134] It should be noted that this method embodiment is the method applied to the user plane functional entity, which corresponds to the method applied to the session management function described above. All implementation methods in the above method embodiments are applicable to this embodiment and can achieve the same technical effect.

[0135] like Figure 8 As shown, embodiments of the present invention also provide a data transmission device 80, applied to session management functions, the device 80 comprising:

[0136] The transceiver module 81 is configured to receive a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session establishment request associated with a 5G Virtual Network (VN) group, determine, based on first information, to perform session management on the port of the session; and send a first message to the User Plane Function (UPF), wherein the first message indicates that the session is managed on the port of the session, and / or, the first message indicates that the UPF allocates a port for the session.

[0137] Optionally, the first message may also include:

[0138] The port number assigned to the session by the SMF; or,

[0139] The UPF is instructed to assign a port number to the session.

[0140] Optionally, when the UPF assigns a port number to the session, a second message carrying the port number assigned to the session by the UPF is received.

[0141] Optionally, the first message indicates that the session is managed according to port, and / or the first message indicates that the UPF allocates a port for the session, including:

[0142] Provide rules for processing data packets received from the terminal based on the port; and / or,

[0143] Provide rules for processing data packets forwarded to the terminal based on the port.

[0144] Optionally, the rules for processing data packets received from the terminal based on the port include:

[0145] The forwarding operation rule (FAR) includes information related to the port; and / or,

[0146] The rules for processing data packets forwarded to the terminal based on the port include:

[0147] The relevant information for the port is included in the Packet Detection Rule (PDR).

[0148] Optionally, the first information includes:

[0149] The terminal's subscription information obtained from the Unified Data Management (UDM); or local configuration information; or capability information reported by the UPF.

[0150] It should be noted that this device corresponds to the method described above for use in session management. All implementations of the above method are applicable to embodiments of this device and can achieve the same technical effect. The device also includes a processing module 82 for processing the data sent and received by the transceiver module 81.

[0151] Embodiments of the present invention also provide a data transmission apparatus applied to a User Plane Function (UPF), the apparatus comprising:

[0152] The transceiver module is used to receive a first message sent by the Session Management Function (SMF), wherein the first message indicates that the session is managed according to the port, and / or, the first message indicates that the UPF allocates a port for the session;

[0153] The processing module is used to allocate a port based on the first message.

[0154] The first message also includes:

[0155] The port number assigned to the session by the SMF; or,

[0156] The UPF is instructed to assign a port number to the session.

[0157] Optionally, the transceiver module is further configured to send a second message carrying the port number allocated by the UPF to the session to the SMF when the UPF allocates a port number to the session.

[0158] It should be noted that this device is the same as the method described above for application to user plane functional entities. All implementations of the above method are applicable to the embodiments of this device and can achieve the same technical effect.

[0159] Embodiments of the present invention also provide an electronic device, including a processor, a memory, and a program or instructions stored in the memory and executable on the processor. When executed by the processor, the program or instructions implement the steps of the data transmission method described above. All implementations in the above method embodiments are applicable to this embodiment and can achieve the same technical effects.

[0160] Embodiments of the present invention also provide a computer-readable storage medium including instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method described above. All implementations in the above method embodiments are applicable to this embodiment and can achieve the same technical effects.

[0161] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementations should not be considered beyond the scope of this invention.

[0162] Those skilled in the art will understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0163] In the embodiments provided by this invention, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between devices or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0164] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0165] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present invention can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0166] If the aforementioned functions are implemented as software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this invention, essentially, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or a portion of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this invention. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, ROM, RAM, magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0167] Furthermore, it should be noted that in the apparatus and method of the present invention, it is obvious that the components or steps can be decomposed and / or recombined. These decompositions and / or recombinations should be considered equivalent solutions of the present invention. Moreover, the steps performing the above-described series of processes can naturally be executed in the order described, but are not necessarily required to be executed in chronological order; some steps can be executed in parallel or independently of each other. Those skilled in the art will understand that all or any step or component of the method and apparatus of the present invention can be implemented in any computing device (including processors, storage media, etc.) or network of computing devices, in hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. This is something that those skilled in the art can achieve by using their basic programming skills after reading the description of the present invention.

[0168] Therefore, the object of the present invention can also be achieved by running a program or a set of programs on any computing device. The computing device can be a known general-purpose device. Therefore, the object of the present invention can also be achieved simply by providing a program product containing program code implementing the method or apparatus. That is, such a program product also constitutes the present invention, and the storage medium storing such a program product also constitutes the present invention. Obviously, the storage medium can be any known storage medium or any storage medium developed in the future. It should also be noted that in the apparatus and method of the present invention, it is obvious that the components or steps can be decomposed and / or recombined. These decompositions and / or recombinations should be considered equivalent to the present invention. Furthermore, the steps performing the above series of processes can naturally be performed in the order described, but are not necessarily required to be performed in chronological order. Some steps can be performed in parallel or independently of each other.

[0169] The above description represents the preferred embodiments of the present invention. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various improvements and modifications without departing from the principles of the present invention, and these improvements and modifications should also be considered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A data transmission method, characterized in that, The method includes: Receive a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session establishment request associated with a 5G Virtual Network (VN) group, and determine, based on first information, to manage the session according to port; wherein, managing the session according to port is characterized as managing the session at the port granularity. Send a first message to the User Plane Function (UPF), the first message indicating that the session is managed according to the port, and / or, the first message instructing the UPF to allocate a port for the session; The first message indicates that the session is managed according to port, and / or, the first message indicates that the UPF allocates a port for the session, including: Provide rules for processing data packets received from the terminal based on the port; and / or, Provide rules for processing data packets forwarded to the terminal based on the port.

2. The data transmission method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first message also includes: The port number assigned to the session by the SMF; or, The UPF is instructed to assign a port number to the session.

3. The data transmission method according to claim 2, characterized in that, When the UPF assigns a port number to the session, a second message carrying the port number assigned to the session by the UPF is received.

4. The data transmission method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The rules for processing data packets received from the terminal based on the port include: The forwarding operation rule (FAR) contains information related to the port. And / or, The rules for processing data packets forwarded to the terminal based on the port include: The relevant information for the port is included in the Packet Detection Rule (PDR).

5. The data transmission method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first information includes: The terminal's subscription information obtained from the Unified Data Management (UDM); or Local configuration information; or UPF reports capability information.

6. A data transmission method, characterized in that, The method includes: The system receives a first message from the Session Management Function (SMF), which indicates that the session is managed by port, and / or the first message indicates that the UPF allocates a port to the session; the session management by port is characterized as managing the session at the port granularity. Based on the first message, allocate a port; Wherein, the first message indicates that the session is managed according to the port, and / or, the first message indicates that the UPF allocates a port for the session, including: Provide rules for processing data packets received from the terminal based on the port; and / or, Provide rules for processing data packets forwarded to the terminal based on the port.

7. The data transmission method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The first message also includes: The port number assigned to the session by the SMF; or, The UPF is instructed to assign a port number to the session.

8. The data transmission method according to claim 7, characterized in that, Also includes: When the UPF assigns a port number to the session, it sends a second message to the SMF carrying the port number assigned to the session by the UPF.

9. A data transmission device, characterized in that, The device includes: The transceiver module is configured to receive a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session establishment request associated with a 5G Virtual Network (VN) group, determine, based on first information, to perform session management on a port-by-port basis; and send a first message to the User Plane Function (UPF), wherein the first message indicates that the session is managed on a port-by-port basis, and / or, the first message indicates that the UPF allocates a port for the session; wherein the port-by-port session management is characterized as managing the session at a port-level granularity. The first message indicates that the session is managed according to port, and / or, the first message indicates that the UPF allocates a port for the session, including: Provide rules for processing data packets received from the terminal based on the port; and / or, Provide rules for processing data packets forwarded to the terminal based on the port.

10. A data transmission device, characterized in that, The device includes: The transceiver module is used to receive a first message sent by the Session Management Function (SMF), wherein the first message indicates that the session is managed according to the port, and / or, the first message indicates that the UPF allocates a port for the session; the session management according to the port is characterized as managing the session at the port granularity. The processing module is used to allocate a port based on the first message; The first message indicates that the session is managed according to port, and / or, the first message indicates that the UPF allocates a port for the session, including: Provide rules for processing data packets received from the terminal based on the port; and / or, Provide rules for processing data packets forwarded to the terminal based on the port.

11. An electronic device, characterized in that, It includes a processor, a memory, and a program or instructions stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the program or instructions, when executed by the processor, implement the steps of the data transmission method as described in any one of claims 1-5 or any one of claims 6-8.

12. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, A storage instruction, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the steps of the data transmission method as described in any one of claims 1-5 or any one of claims 6-8.

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