A data processing method, network element device and readable storage medium

Abstract

The present application discloses a data processing method, a network element device, and a readable storage medium. The method includes: a session management network element obtains a message processing rule set with a node level, obtains a rule activation condition, and sends the message processing rule set to an edge application server discovery network element; the message processing rule set includes one or more message processing rules; when a protocol data unit session is established, a valid message processing rule is determined in the message processing rule set according to the rule activation condition, a rule identifier corresponding to the valid message processing rule is determined as a valid rule identifier, and the valid rule identifier is sent to the edge application server discovery network element, so that the edge application server discovery network element processes a received domain name system message according to the message processing rule corresponding to the valid rule identifier during the protocol data unit session. The present application can improve the efficiency of domain name system message processing.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the Chinese patent application submitted to the China Patent Office on July 21, 2021, with application number 202110827622.1 and application name "A data processing method, network element equipment and readable storage medium", all of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular to a data processing method, a network element device, and a readable storage medium. Background Art

[0003] With the popularization and rapid development of smart terminals, the amount of data generated at the edge of the network has grown rapidly, further promoting the development of edge computing.

[0004] Currently, in the fifth generation mobile communication technology (5G) that supports edge computing, applications in user equipment (UE) can obtain edge application services (Edge Application Service) through edge application servers (EAS). Before obtaining edge application services, applications in terminal devices must first discover the IP (Internet Protocol) address of a suitable edge application server. The existing EAS discovery method obtains the IP address of the edge application server through a query based on the Domain Name System (DNS) mechanism. In this process, the Session Management Function (SMF) in the 5G core network configures DNS message processing rules on the Edge Application Server Discovery Function (EASDF) to forward and process DNS messages. The rules are sent based on a single Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session of a single terminal device. That is, for different PDU sessions of the same UE, DNS message processing rules will be issued in each PDU session; for PDU sessions of different UEs, DNS message processing rules will also be issued in the PDU session. In addition, during the same PDU session, for each request message or response message, the SMF and EASDF need to interact to update the DNS message processing rules to process the corresponding message. It can be seen from this that in the existing technical solutions, there will be frequent requests and issuances of DNS message processing rules. Whenever a PDU session is established, or when a DNS request or response is received, the request and issuance of DNS message processing rules may be triggered. Therefore, the EASDF has a complex and cumbersome processing process, resulting in low DNS message processing efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present application provide a data processing method, a network element device, and a readable storage medium, which can improve the efficiency of domain name system message processing.

[0006] On the one hand, an embodiment of the present application provides a data processing method, including:

[0007] The session management network element obtains a message processing rule set with a node level, obtains a rule activation condition, and sends the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element; the message processing rule set includes one or more message processing rules;

[0008] When a protocol data unit session is established, a valid message processing rule is determined in a message processing rule set according to a rule activation condition, a rule identifier corresponding to the valid message processing rule is determined as a valid rule identifier, and the valid rule identifier is sent to an edge application server discovery network element, so that the edge application server discovery network element processes the received domain name system message according to the message processing rule corresponding to the valid rule identifier during the protocol data unit session.

[0009] On the one hand, an embodiment of the present application provides a data processing method, including:

[0010] The policy control network element generates a message processing rule set with a node level and generates a rule activation condition; the message processing rule set includes one or more message processing rules;

[0011] Sending the message processing rule set and the rule activation condition to the session management network element, so that the session management network element determines the valid message processing rule in the message processing rule set according to the rule activation condition when subsequently establishing a protocol data unit session, determines the rule identifier corresponding to the valid message processing rule as the valid rule identifier, and sends the valid rule identifier to the edge application server discovery network element;

[0012] The message processing rule set is sent to the edge application server discovery network element, so that the edge application server discovery network element processes the received domain name system message according to the message processing rule corresponding to the valid rule identifier during the protocol data unit session.

[0013] On the one hand, an embodiment of the present application provides a data processing method, including:

[0014] When the session management network element establishes a connection with the edge application server discovery network element, the edge application server discovery network element obtains a message processing rule set with a node level; the message processing rule set includes one or more message processing rules;

[0015] When a protocol data unit session is established, obtaining a valid rule identifier sent by a session management network element; the valid rule identifier is a rule identifier corresponding to a valid message processing rule; the valid message processing rule is determined by the session management network element in a message processing rule set according to a rule activation condition;

[0016] When the edge application server finds that the network element receives a domain name system message, it obtains a target message processing rule from one or more message processing rules included in the message processing rule set according to the valid rule identifier, and processes the domain name system message according to the target message processing rule.

[0017] An embodiment of the present application provides a network element device, including:

[0018] An acquisition module is used for the session management network element to obtain a message processing rule set with a node level, obtain the rule activation conditions, and send the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element; the message processing rule set includes one or more message processing rules;

[0019] An activation module is used to determine a valid message processing rule in a message processing rule set according to a rule activation condition when a protocol data unit session is established, determine a rule identifier corresponding to the valid message processing rule as a valid rule identifier, and send the valid rule identifier to an edge application server discovery network element, so that the edge application server discovery network element processes the received domain name system message according to the message processing rule corresponding to the valid rule identifier during the protocol data unit session.

[0020] The acquisition module includes:

[0021] The first acquisition unit is configured to generate a message processing rule set having a node level by the session management network element and generate a rule activation condition associated with one or more message processing rules in the message processing rule set; and when the session management network element establishes a connection with the edge application server discovery network element, send the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element;

[0022] The second acquisition unit is configured to, when the session management network element establishes a connection with the edge application server discovery network element, send a rule acquisition request from the session management network element to the policy control network element, so that the policy control network element responds to the rule acquisition request, sends a message processing rule set with a node level, and sends a rule activation condition; the message processing rule set and the rule activation condition are generated by the policy control network element; receive the message processing rule set and the rule activation condition sent by the policy control network element, and send the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element;

[0023] The third acquisition unit is used to obtain a message processing rule set with a node level through the unified data storage network element when the session management network element and the edge application server discovery network element establish a connection, obtain the rule activation condition through the unified data storage network element, and send the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element; the message processing rule set and the rule activation condition are generated by the policy control network element and stored in the unified data storage network element.

[0024] Each message processing rule in the above message processing rule set includes a message detection template and a message processing operation.

[0025] Among them, the above-mentioned message detection template includes one or more templates of query request message detection template and query response message detection template; the message processing operation includes one or more operations of content reporting operation, forwarding operation, cache waiting operation, and sending operation; the forwarding operation includes option construction operation or address replacement operation.

[0026] Each message processing rule further includes a rule identifier; the rule identifier refers to an identifier used to distinguish each message processing rule.

[0027] Each message processing rule also includes a rule priority; the rule priority represents the order in which each message processing rule is executed.

[0028] Each message processing rule also includes a lifecycle and a rule level; the lifecycle represents the effective time range of each message processing rule; the rule level refers to the node level.

[0029] Wherein, each message processing rule corresponds to one or more rule activation conditions;

[0030] The activation module mentioned above includes:

[0031] a matching unit, configured to, when a protocol data unit session is established, match the protocol data unit session with one or more rule activation conditions, and determine the message processing rule associated with the matched rule activation condition as a valid message processing rule;

[0032] The determining unit is configured to determine the rule identifier corresponding to the valid message processing rule as the valid rule identifier, and send the valid rule identifier to the edge application server discovery network element.

[0033] The rule activation condition includes single network slice selection auxiliary information; and the matching unit includes:

[0034] The first matching sub-unit is used to obtain the network slice identifier corresponding to the protocol data unit session, match the network slice identifier with the rule activation condition containing the auxiliary information for selecting a single network slice, determine the successfully matched rule activation condition as the target rule activation condition, and determine the message processing rule associated with the target rule activation condition as the valid message processing rule.

[0035] The rule activation condition includes the data network name; and the matching unit includes:

[0036] The second matching sub-unit is used to obtain the target data network name corresponding to the protocol data unit session, match the target data network name with the rule activation conditions containing the data network name, determine the successfully matched rule activation condition as the target rule activation condition, and determine the message processing rule associated with the target rule activation condition as the valid message processing rule.

[0037] The rule activation conditions include session and business continuity modes; and the matching unit includes:

[0038] The third matching sub-unit is used to obtain the target session and business continuity mode corresponding to the protocol data unit session, match the target session and business continuity mode with the rule activation conditions containing the session and business continuity mode respectively, determine the successfully matched rule activation condition as the target rule activation condition, and determine the message processing rule associated with the target rule activation condition as the valid message processing rule.

[0039] The rule activation condition includes user identification information; and the matching unit includes:

[0040] The fourth matching sub-unit is used to obtain the target user identification information corresponding to the protocol data unit session, match the target user identification information with the rule activation conditions containing the user identification information, determine the successfully matched rule activation conditions as the target rule activation conditions, and determine the message processing rules associated with the target rule activation conditions as the valid message processing rules.

[0041] An embodiment of the present application provides a network element device, including:

[0042] A generation module, configured to control a network element to generate a message processing rule set at a node level and generate a rule activation condition; the message processing rule set includes one or more message processing rules;

[0043] a first issuing module, configured to issue the message processing rule set and the rule activation condition to the session management network element, so that the session management network element determines a valid message processing rule in the message processing rule set according to the rule activation condition when subsequently establishing a protocol data unit session, determines a rule identifier corresponding to the valid message processing rule as a valid rule identifier, and sends the valid rule identifier to the edge application server discovery network element;

[0044] The second sending module is used to send the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element, so that the edge application server discovery network element processes the received domain name system message according to the message processing rule corresponding to the valid rule identifier during the protocol data unit session.

[0045] An embodiment of the present application provides a network element device, including:

[0046] A first acquisition module is configured to, when a connection is established between a session management network element and an edge application server discovery network element, cause the edge application server discovery network element to acquire a message processing rule set having a node level; the message processing rule set includes one or more message processing rules;

[0047] A second acquisition module is configured to acquire a valid rule identifier sent by a session management network element when a protocol data unit session is established; the valid rule identifier is a rule identifier corresponding to a valid message processing rule; the valid message processing rule is determined by the session management network element in a message processing rule set according to a rule activation condition;

[0048] The third acquisition module is used to obtain the target message processing rule from one or more message processing rules included in the message processing rule set according to the valid rule identifier when the edge application server finds that the network element has received a domain name system message, and process the domain name system message according to the target message processing rule.

[0049] Each message processing rule in the above message processing rule set includes a rule identifier, a rule priority, a life cycle, a message detection template, and a message processing operation; the rule identifier refers to an identifier that distinguishes each message processing rule;

[0050] The third acquisition module includes:

[0051] a first determining unit, configured to determine, from one or more message processing rules, a message processing rule corresponding to a rule identifier identical to a valid rule identifier as a valid message processing rule;

[0052] a first matching unit, configured to match a domain name system message with a message detection template in a valid message processing rule, and determine a matched valid message processing rule as a candidate message processing rule;

[0053] an acquiring unit, configured to acquire a target message processing rule from the candidate message processing rules according to the rule priorities corresponding to the candidate message processing rules;

[0054] The first processing unit is configured to process the domain name system message according to the message processing operation in the target message processing rule within a life cycle corresponding to the target message processing rule.

[0055] The third acquisition module includes:

[0056] a second determining unit, configured to determine, from one or more message processing rules, a message processing rule corresponding to a rule identifier identical to the valid rule identifier as a valid message processing rule;

[0057] a second matching unit, configured to sequentially match the domain name system message with the message detection templates in the valid message processing rules according to the order of rule priorities corresponding to the valid message processing rules, and determine the first matched valid message processing rule as the target message processing rule;

[0058] The second processing unit is configured to process the domain name system message according to the message processing operation in the target message processing rule within a life cycle corresponding to the target message processing rule.

[0059] On the one hand, an embodiment of the present application provides a network element device, including: a processor, a memory, and a network interface;

[0060] The above-mentioned processor is connected to the above-mentioned memory and the above-mentioned network interface, wherein the above-mentioned network interface is used to provide a data communication network element, the above-mentioned memory is used to store a computer program, and the above-mentioned processor is used to call the above-mentioned computer program so that the network element device executes the method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0061] On one hand, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored. The computer program is suitable for being loaded by a processor and executing the method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0062] On the one hand, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product or a computer program, which includes computer instructions, and the computer instructions are stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The processor of the network element device reads the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium, and the processor executes the computer instructions, so that the network element device executes the method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0063] The embodiment of the present application can support the session management network element to obtain a message processing rule set with a node level, and at the same time obtain the rule activation conditions, and send the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element, so that the session management network element can determine the effective message processing rule according to the rule activation conditions when the protocol data unit session is established, and can send its corresponding effective rule identifier to the edge application server discovery network element. Subsequently, the edge application server discovery network element can process the received domain name system message according to the message processing rule corresponding to the effective rule identifier during the protocol data unit session. It can be seen that in the embodiment of the present application, after the session management network element successfully sends the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element, if no rule update is involved, then no matter how many protocol data unit sessions are established subsequently, there is no need to trigger the request and issuance of the message processing rule, that is, there is no need to frequently issue the message processing rule for each protocol data unit session of each terminal device. In addition, in an embodiment of the present application, each time a protocol data unit session is established, the session management network element is triggered to perform a judgment based on the rule activation condition to select a valid message processing rule applicable to the protocol data unit session from the message processing rule set. Therefore, the activation of the message processing rule is flexible and controllable, thereby improving the efficiency of domain name system message processing. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0064] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative work.

[0065] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a system architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] Figure 2a-2c This is a schematic diagram of a data processing scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] Figure 3 This is a flow chart of a data processing method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a data processing scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a data processing scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of a data processing scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0071] Figure 7 This is a flow chart of a data processing method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0072] Figure 8 This is a flow chart of a data processing method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0073] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of a data processing scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] Figure 10 This is a flow chart of a data processing method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network element device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0076] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network element device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0077] Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network element device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0078] Figure 14 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network element device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0079] Figure 15 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network element device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0080] Figure 16 This is a structural diagram of a network element device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0081] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of this application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of this application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0082] See Figure 1 , is a schematic diagram of a system architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1As shown, this system architecture can be applied to business scenarios that support edge computing. Edge computing refers to a platform that integrates network, computing, storage, and application core capabilities at the edge of the network, close to the source of objects or data. This platform provides edge intelligent services locally, meeting key industry digitalization needs in agile connectivity, real-time services, data optimization, application intelligence, security, and privacy protection. Edge computing enables operators and third-party services to be hosted close to the access point of terminal devices, thereby achieving efficient service delivery by reducing end-to-end latency and load on the transmission network.

[0083] Fifth-generation mobile communication technology (5G) is a new generation of broadband mobile communication technology characterized by high speed, low latency, and massive connectivity. It is the network infrastructure that enables the interconnection of humans, machines, and things. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has defined typical 5G application scenarios, including enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (URLLC), massive machine type communication (mMTC), and vehicle-to-everything (V2X). These eMBB scenarios provide high-volume mobile broadband services such as high-speed downloads, high-definition video, and virtual reality (VR) / augmented reality (AR). These services typically have peak rates exceeding 10 Gbps and bandwidth requirements reaching tens of Gbps, placing significant pressure on wireless midhaul and backhaul mobile networks. Therefore, these services require services to be decentralized to the network edge as much as possible to achieve local offload. On the other hand, URLLC and V2X scenarios can provide ultra-high reliability and ultra-low latency communications, such as autonomous driving, industrial control, and telemedicine, which require end-to-end 99.999% high reliability and end-to-end ultra-low latency of less than 1ms. Therefore, these business needs also require the business to be sunk to the edge of the network to reduce the network latency caused by network transmission and multi-level business forwarding.

[0084] As can be seen from the above, the promotion of 5G has increased the demand for edge computing. In addition, the combination of edge computing and 5G can help networks that encounter sudden and continuous traffic surges solve bandwidth, latency and security issues.

[0085] like Figure 1As shown, the system architecture may include an edge data center 100 and a terminal cluster. The terminal cluster may include: terminal device 200a, terminal device 200b, terminal device 200c, ..., terminal device 200n. The edge data center 100 may include multiple edge application servers (EAS), such as edge application server 100a, edge application server 100b, ..., edge application server 100m. There may be a communication connection between the terminal clusters, for example, there is a communication connection between terminal device 200a and terminal device 200b, and there is a communication connection between terminal device 200a and terminal device 200n. There may be a communication connection between the edge application servers, for example, there is a communication connection between edge application server 100a and edge application server 100b. At the same time, any terminal device in the terminal cluster may have a communication connection with any edge application server in the edge data center 100, for example, there is a communication connection between terminal device 200a and edge application server 100a. The above-mentioned communication connection is not limited to the connection method, and may be through 4G wireless access method, 5G wireless access method, etc., and this application does not impose any restrictions here.

[0086] It should be noted that in mobile communications, Figure 1 The system architecture shown can also include an access network, a bearer network (transmission network) and a core network. Multiple base stations (such as 5G base station gNB (gNodeB)) can be deployed in the access network, which is mainly responsible for the access and management of terminal devices on the wireless side; the bearer network can be composed of a series of operators' switching and routing equipment, mainly used to transmit control signaling and user data between the base station and the core network; the core network can deploy a series of core network network elements ("network elements" can also be called "network functions"), which work together to authenticate, bill and manage the mobility of terminal devices. The access network and bearer network are not described in detail here.

[0087] To facilitate understanding and explanation of the subsequent embodiments, the main core network elements involved in the embodiments of the present application are briefly introduced here, as follows:

[0088] (1) SMF (Session Management Function): Mainly responsible for session establishment and deletion, user plane selection and control, UE IP (User Equipment, i.e., terminal equipment or user equipment; IP, Internet Protocol, i.e., Internet Protocol) address allocation, etc. In the embodiments of the present application, SMF can also be called a session management network element.

[0089] (2) UPF (User Plane Function): Mainly responsible for data routing and forwarding on the user plane of the mobile core network and interconnecting with external data networks (such as operator services, the Internet, or third-party services). UPF is the module that processes data in the 5G core network.

[0090] (3) PCF (Policy Control Function): Mainly responsible for using a unified policy framework to manage network behavior and coordinating user information in the UDR (Unified Data Repository) to execute relevant policies. In the embodiment of the present application, PCF can also be called a policy control network element.

[0091] (4) UDR (Unified Data Repository): Mainly responsible for the storage and retrieval of structured services, supporting UDM (Unified Data Management) to store and retrieve contract data, and supporting PCF to store and retrieve policy data. In the embodiments of this application, UDR can also be referred to as a unified data storage network element.

[0092] (5) EASDF (Edge Application Server Discovery Function): In this embodiment of the present application, EASDF is also called the edge application server discovery network element. Its main functions are as follows:

[0093] (a) Register with NRF (Network Repository Function) for EASDF discovery and selection;

[0094] (b) Processing DNS (Domain Name System) messages according to the instructions of the SMF, including:

[0095] (b1) receiving DNS message processing rules from SMF;

[0096] (b2) exchanging DNS messages from the UE;

[0097] (b3) forwarding the DNS message to a C-DNS server (Central DNS server) or an L-DNS server (Local DNS server) for DNS query;

[0098] (b4) Adding the ECS (EDNS Client Subnet) option to DNS queries for a FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name);

[0099] (b5) Notify SMF of relevant information of EASDF;

[0100] (b6) DNS security is terminated if DoT (DNS over TLS, using the TLS protocol to transport the DNS protocol), DoH (DNS over HTTPS, using the HTTPS protocol to transport the DNS protocol), or DNS over DTLS (using the Datagram Transport Layer Security protocol (DTLS) to transport the DNS protocol) is used.

[0101] It should be noted that the EASDF can be connected to the PSA (PDU Session Anchor) UPF through the data plane interface and can be used to transmit DNS messages exchanged with the UE. In addition, multiple EASDF instances can be deployed within a PLMN (Public Land Mobile Network), and the interaction between the network functions of the 5G core network and the EASDF occurs within a PLMN.

[0102] In the 5G network, assuming that a terminal device (such as any one of terminal device 200a, terminal device 200b, terminal device 200c and terminal device 200n) wants to access a data network (DN) outside the mobile communication network, such as the Internet, WAP, corporate intranet, etc., the terminal device can initiate an access request, and the base station can forward its requested service flow to the core network element UPF in the 5G core network (5G Core, which can be referred to as 5GC), and then forward it through the core network element UPF to the external data network. Other core network elements in the 5G core network are responsible for processing signaling and controlling the entire process.

[0103] Furthermore, in order to achieve more efficient service delivery, edge computing can be used to meet different business needs. It should be noted that in the edge computing scenario, an application service may be provided by multiple edge application servers (such as Figure 1The edge application servers 100a, 100b, and 100m in the edge application server provide services. These multiple edge application servers that carry services may use a single IP address or different IP addresses. Normally, the application server of a certain application may be deployed in a central application server or in an edge application server. In order to route the business flow of the application to the edge application server (Edge Application Server), the terminal device needs to know the IP address of the edge application server that provides services for the application. The terminal device can perform discovery to obtain the IP address of a suitable edge application server (such as the nearest edge application server) so that the traffic can be locally routed to the edge application server, and the service delay, traffic routing path, and user service experience can be optimized. Based on this, edge application server discovery is the process of the terminal device using the domain name system to find the IP address of a suitable edge application server. Among them, the domain name system (DNS) is a service of the Internet. As a distributed database that maps domain names and IP addresses to each other, it enables users to access the Internet more conveniently.

[0104] The 5G core network supports PDU connection services between terminal devices and data networks. PDU connection services are implemented in the form of PDU sessions (i.e., protocol data unit sessions). A PDU session refers to the process of communication between a terminal device and a data network. That is, after the PDU session is established, a data transmission channel between the terminal device and the data network is established. Taking terminal device 200a as an example, assuming that terminal device 200a wants to obtain a certain edge application service, terminal device 200a can initiate a PDU session establishment request to the core network element SMF in the 5G core network. During the PDU session establishment process, the core network element SMF can obtain edge application server deployment information through the PDU session-related policy information provided by the core network element PCF. Then, the core network element SMF can select the core network element EASDF according to relevant rules and provide the address of the core network element EASDF as the DNS server address of the PDU session to the terminal device 200a. Furthermore, the terminal device 200a can send a DNS query request message to the core network element EASDF. It should be noted that the core network element SMF can configure DNS message processing rules on the core network element EASDF so that when the core network element EASDF detects a DNS message, it forwards the DNS message from terminal device 200a to the relevant DNS server and / or reports the detection of the DNS message. It will be understood that the DNS message processing rules include information for DNS message detection and related operations. It should be noted that during the above-mentioned PDU session, the core network element SMF and the core network element EASDF can interact multiple times, allowing the core network element EASDF to correctly process DNS request and DNS response messages, and enable the core network element SMF to correctly establish the diversion path and set the diversion rules, thereby returning the IP address of the edge application server to terminal device 200a. After receiving the IP address, terminal device 200a can use it as the service access address to access the edge application server corresponding to the IP address. Assuming that the edge application server 100a is ultimately found through the above process, the edge application server 100a can provide the corresponding edge application service for terminal device 200a.

[0105] It is understandable that for ultra-large bandwidth services, mobile edge computing (such as Figure 1 The local deployment of edge application servers (as shown) enables local processing of ultra-large bandwidth traffic, which can greatly reduce the impact of large bandwidth on the backbone network. Typical scenarios include live broadcasts of stadium games, live broadcasts of concerts, and mobile content distribution.

[0106] It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present application, the core network element SMF can obtain a message processing rule set with a node level and a rule activation condition, and can send the message processing rule set to the core network element EASDF, wherein the message processing rule set can include one or more DNS message processing rules. Further, when a PDU session is established, the core network element SMF can determine the valid message processing rule in the above message processing rule set according to the rule activation condition, and then the core network element EASDF can process the received DNS message according to the valid message processing rule during the PDU session. It should be noted that the sending condition of the message processing rule set with a node level does not depend on the creation of the PDU session. That is, after the core network element EASDF receives the message processing rule set, if it does not involve rule updates, it can process the received DNS message according to the message processing rule set in all subsequent PDU sessions. That is, the message processing rule set can be applied to the processing of all DNS messages sent to the core network element EASDF, without the need for the core network element SMF to frequently send rules. At the same time, the usage conditions of the rule activation conditions depend on the creation of the PDU session, that is, the rule activation conditions apply to all PDU sessions. In other words, each time a PDU session is established, the core network element SMF can select the valid message processing rules applicable to the PDU session from the message processing rule set based on the rule activation conditions, and notify the core network element EASDF of the corresponding valid rule identifier, without the need to re-issue new DNS message processing rules.

[0107] It is understandable that the terminal devices that can be used for edge computing can include terminal application products in the fields of civil, commercial, industrial, military, etc., such as smart phones, tablet computers, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MID), wearable devices (such as smart watches, smart bracelets, etc.), smart computers, smart cars, smart homes, drones, ATMs, cameras, traffic lights, generators or various types of sensors. The edge application server can be an independent physical server, or a server cluster or distributed system composed of multiple physical servers, or a cloud server that provides basic cloud computing services such as cloud databases, cloud services, cloud computing, cloud functions, cloud storage, network services, cloud communications, middleware services, domain name services, security services, CDN, and big data and artificial intelligence platforms. Among them, the terminal device and the edge application server can be directly or indirectly connected by wired or wireless means, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited here.

[0108] Please also see Figure 2a-2c, is a schematic diagram of a data processing scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application. The implementation process of this data processing scenario is mainly carried out within the 5G core network. Figure 2a As shown, in the core network 300, the session management network element 300a (i.e., SMF) can obtain a message processing rule set 300b and a rule activation condition 300c. The message processing rule set 300b and the rule activation condition 300c can be generated by the session management network element 300a or by other core network elements in the core network 300 (e.g., a policy control network element), and this embodiment of the present application does not limit this. The message processing rule set 300b can include one or more message processing rules, and the rule activation condition 300c can include one or more rule activation conditions. One message processing rule corresponds to one or more rule activation conditions. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific number of message processing rules and rule activation conditions. When the session management network element 300a and the edge application server discovery network element 300d (i.e., EASDF) establish a connection, the two parties can exchange data, such as requesting and issuing rules. In an optional embodiment, the session management network element 300a can issue the message processing rule set 300b to the edge application server discovery network element 300d.

[0109] It should be noted that other methods can also be used to generate and issue message processing rules, and the embodiments of this application do not limit this. Some optional methods (such as policy control network elements generating and issuing message processing rules) can be found in subsequent embodiments. Of course, this application can also be extended to other related or similar scenarios.

[0110] Furthermore, after the edge application server discovers that the network element 300d receives the message processing rule set 300b, it can use the message processing rule set 300b to process the domain name system message (i.e., DNS message) received subsequently, and the message processing rule set 300b is applicable to any protocol data unit session of any terminal device. As mentioned above, in the embodiment of the present application, the session management network element 300a sets corresponding rule activation conditions for each message processing rule. That is to say, for a protocol data unit session, the edge application server discovers which message processing rules in the message processing rule set 300b the network element 300d will use. The session management network element 300a needs to make a judgment first. Please refer to the details. Figure 2b , the embodiment of the present application takes a terminal device initiating a protocol data unit session as an example for explanation. Figure 2bAs shown, it is assumed that the terminal device 400 initiates a protocol data unit session establishment request to the core network 300, such as protocol data unit session A. When the protocol data unit session A is established, the session management network element 300a can determine the valid message processing rule in the message processing rule set 300b according to the rule activation condition 300c. Specifically, it is assumed that the message processing rule set 300b includes M message processing rules, namely message processing rule B1, message processing rule B2,..., message processing rule BM, where M is an integer greater than 1. Accordingly, the rule activation condition 300c may include N rule activation conditions (N is an integer greater than 1), namely rule activation condition C1, rule activation condition C2,..., rule activation condition CN, and the message processing rule can correspond to one or more rule activation conditions, or one rule activation condition can correspond to one or more message processing rules. If message processing rule B1 corresponds to rule activation condition C1, message processing rule B2 corresponds to rule activation condition C2 or message processing rule C3, ..., message processing rule B4 and message processing rule BM both correspond to rule activation condition CN, then the session management network element 300a can match the protocol data unit session A with the above-mentioned rule activation condition C1, rule activation condition C2, ..., rule activation condition CN respectively, and then determine the message processing rules associated with the matched one or more rule activation conditions as valid message processing rules 301b. Subsequently, the session management network element 300a can determine the rule identifier corresponding to the valid message processing rule 301b as the valid rule identifier 302b, and can send the valid rule identifier 302b to the edge application server discovery network element 300d.

[0111] Further, after the edge application server finds that the network element 300d receives the valid rule identifier 302b, it can process the received domain name system message according to the message processing rule corresponding to the valid rule identifier 302b during the protocol data unit session A. Figure 2c ,like Figure 2cAs shown, the edge application server discovers that network element 300d can determine the message processing rule corresponding to the rule identifier identical to valid rule identifier 302b in message processing rule set 300b as valid message processing rule 303b. It is understood that valid message processing rule 303b is applicable to all domain name system messages in protocol data unit session A, and valid message processing rule 303b is the same as the above-mentioned valid message processing rule 301b. For ease of explanation, it is assumed that valid message processing rule 303b includes multiple valid message processing rules. It is understood that during the process of protocol data unit session A, multiple domain name system messages are generated, such as domain name system message A1, domain name system message A2, ..., domain name system message AS (S is an integer greater than 1). These domain name system messages can include query request message types and query response message types. For example, domain name system message A1 can be a domain name system query request message sent by terminal device 400. Furthermore, the edge application server discovers that the network element 300d can obtain the target message processing rules applicable to each domain name system message from the multiple valid message processing rules in the valid message processing rules 303b, and then the edge application server discovers that the network element 300d can process each domain name system message according to the corresponding target message processing rules.

[0112] Taking the domain name system message A1 as an example, it is assumed that the valid message processing rules 303b include T valid message processing rules, namely message processing rule X1, message processing rule X2, ..., message processing rule X T , where T is an integer greater than 1. When the edge application server discovers that the network element 300d receives the domain name system message A1, it can match the domain name system message A1 with the T message processing rules in the valid message processing rules 303b and determine the matched message processing rule as the candidate message processing rule corresponding to the domain name system message A1. If there is only one candidate message processing rule at this time, the candidate message processing rule can be directly determined as the target message processing rule corresponding to the domain name system message A1. If there are multiple candidate message processing rules at this time, the target message processing rule corresponding to the domain name system message A1 can be obtained from the candidate message processing rules. For example, assuming that the candidate message processing rules include message processing rule X1 and message processing rule X2, the edge application server discovers that the network element 300d can sort the message processing rules X1 and X2 according to their corresponding rule priorities and select the message processing rule with the highest rule priority from the two message processing rules as the target message processing rule corresponding to the domain name system message A1. It should be noted that other methods can also be used to determine the target message processing rule from multiple candidate message processing rules, and this embodiment of the application is not limited to this.

[0113] Optionally, when the edge application server discovers that the network element 300d receives the domain name system message A1, it can match the domain name system message A1 with the T message processing rules in the valid message processing rules 303b in order of priority, that is, starting from the message processing rules with high priority, and matching them in sequence. When a suitable message processing rule is matched, the message processing rule is determined as the target message processing rule, and the matching process ends.

[0114] Assuming that the target message processing rule determined through the above steps is message processing rule X1, the edge application server discovery network element 300d can process the DNS message A1 according to the message processing operation in message processing rule X1. It will be appreciated that the processing process of the edge application server discovery network element 300d for other received DNS messages (such as DNS message A2 and DNS message AN) is consistent with the processing process for DNS message A1, and will not be further described here.

[0115] like Figure 2c As shown, the edge application server ultimately discovers that network element 300d can send a domain name system query response message to terminal device 400. In one embodiment, the domain name system query response message can include the IP addresses of one or more edge application servers. It will be appreciated that the processing process for other protocol data unit sessions established by terminal device 400, or protocol data unit sessions established by other terminal devices, is consistent with the processing process for protocol data unit session A described above and will not be further described here.

[0116] It should be noted that Figure 2a-2c The data processing scenario shown only reflects the core network elements (including SMF and EASDF) that are closely related to the embodiment of the present application. The actual business scenario will also involve other core network elements, such as AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function), base stations, UDM, etc., which are not expanded in the embodiment of the present application.

[0117] As can be seen from the above, the embodiment of the present application provides a method for configuring and using message processing rules, wherein the message processing rule set has a node level, and the sending conditions of the message processing rule set do not depend on the creation of the protocol data unit session. That is, after the session management network element successfully sends the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element, if there is no update of the rules, then no matter how many protocol data unit sessions are established subsequently, there is no need to trigger the request and issuance of message processing rules, that is, there is no need to frequently issue message processing rules for each protocol data unit session of each terminal device. In addition, the use conditions of the rule activation conditions provided in the embodiment of the present application depend on the creation of the protocol data unit session. That is, each time a protocol data unit session is established, the session management network element will be triggered to perform a judgment based on the rule activation conditions to select a valid message processing rule applicable to the protocol data unit session from the message processing rule set. Therefore, the activation of the message processing rules is flexible and controllable, thereby improving the efficiency of domain name system message processing.

[0118] See Figure 3 , is a flow chart of a data processing method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The data processing method can be executed by a session management network element (SMF). Figure 3 As shown, the data processing method may at least include the following steps S101-S102:

[0119] Step S101: The session management network element obtains a message processing rule set with a node level, obtains a rule activation condition, and sends the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element; the message processing rule set includes one or more message processing rules;

[0120] Specifically, the session management network element can first obtain a message processing rule set with a node level, and at the same time obtain a rule activation condition, and then send the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element, wherein the message processing rule set includes one or more message processing rules with priority (DNS message handling rule), and the sending condition of the message processing rule set with a node level does not depend on the creation of the protocol data unit session, and can be sent when the network element is enabled. In addition, the rule activation condition applies to all protocol data unit sessions.

[0121] It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application provide several methods for obtaining a message processing rule set and rule activation conditions, as follows:

[0122] Optionally, the session management network element can obtain rule generation information, and then generate one or more message processing rules with priorities based on the rule generation information, and can determine the one or more message processing rules as a message processing rule set with a node level, and at the same time, can generate rule activation conditions associated with one or more message processing rules in the message processing rule set. Further, when the session management network element and the edge application server discovery network element establish a connection, the session management network element can send the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element. Please refer to Figure 4 , is a schematic diagram of a data processing scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 4 As shown, the message processing rule set with node level and the rule activation conditions with session level are both generated by the session management network element. When the session management network element and the edge application server discovery network element establish a connection, the session management network element will send the generated message processing rule set with node level to the edge application server discovery network element. After the edge application server discovery network element receives the message processing rule set, it can send a response message confirming receipt to the session management network element. It should be noted that the process of issuing rules can be defined as a service of the edge application server discovery network element, or it can be defined as a service of the session management network element. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific service definition for implementing this function. It can be understood that the session management network element can also store the generated message processing rule set in a unified data storage network element (UDR).

[0123] Optionally, when the session management network element establishes a connection with the edge application server discovery network element, the session management network element may send a rule acquisition request to the policy control network element, so that the policy control network element responds to the rule acquisition request and sends the message processing rule set and rule activation conditions, wherein the message processing rule set and rule activation conditions are generated by the policy control network element. Further, the session management network element may receive the message processing rule set and rule activation conditions sent by the policy control network element, and then send the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element. Please refer to Figure 5 , is a schematic diagram of a data processing scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 5As shown, the policy control network element can obtain rule generation information, and then generate one or more message processing rules with priorities based on the rule generation information, and can determine these one or more message processing rules as a message processing rule set. At the same time, rule activation conditions associated with one or more message processing rules in the message processing rule set can be generated. When the session management network element and the edge application server discovery network element establish a connection, the session management network element can request a message processing rule set with a node level and request rule activation conditions from the policy control network element. The policy control network element can respond to the rule acquisition request and send the message processing rule set and rule activation conditions to the session management network element in a related response message. After receiving the message processing rule set and rule activation conditions, the session management network element can send a response message confirming receipt to the policy control network element. Further, the session management network element can send the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element. After receiving the message processing rule set and rule activation conditions, the edge application server discovery network element can send a response message confirming receipt to the session management network element.

[0124] Optionally, when the session management network element establishes a connection with the edge application server discovery network element, the session management network element can obtain the message processing rule set and rule activation conditions through the unified data storage network element, and then send the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element, wherein the message processing rule set and rule activation conditions are generated by the policy control network element and stored in the unified data storage network element. Please refer to Figure 6 , is a schematic diagram of a data processing scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 6 As shown, a message processing rule set with a node level and a rule activation condition with a session level are generated by a policy control network element. The policy control network element can first store the message processing rule set and the rule activation condition in a unified data storage network element. When the session management network element and the edge application server discovery network element establish a connection, the unified data storage network element can send the above-mentioned message processing rule set and rule activation condition to the session management network element. After the session management network element receives the message processing rule set and the rule activation condition, it can send a response message confirming receipt to the unified data storage network element. Further, the session management network element can send the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element. After the edge application server discovery network element receives the message processing rule set, it can send a response message confirming receipt to the session management network element.

[0125] The rule generation information may specifically include application function (AF) request information or operator configuration information.

[0126] Among them, each message processing rule in the message processing rule set includes a message detection template and a message processing operation. Among them, the message detection template can specifically include one or more templates of the query request message detection template and the query response message detection template; the message processing operation includes but is not limited to one or more operations of the content reporting operation, forwarding operation, cache waiting operation, and sending operation; the forwarding operation can further include an option construction operation or an address replacement operation. In addition, each message processing rule can also include a rule identifier, a rule priority, and can further include at least one of the following: a rule level and a life cycle. Among them, the rule identifier refers to an identifier that distinguishes each message processing rule; the rule level refers to the node level; the rule priority represents the order in which each message processing rule is executed; and the life cycle represents the effective time range of each message processing rule.

[0127] More specifically, each message processing rule may include the following:

[0128] (1) Rule identifier (rule ID);

[0129] (2) Rule level: Node level, that is, the message processing rule is valid for all domain name system messages (i.e., DNS messages) on the node;

[0130] (3) Rule priority (Precedence of the DNS message handling rule);

[0131] (4) A DNS message detection template, including at least one of the following:

[0132] (a) If the message type of the domain name system message is a query request message type (i.e., DNSmessage type = DNSQuery):

[0133] An array representing a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) range may include one or more fully qualified domain names, wherein the one or more fully qualified domain names in the array may be used to match a domain name system message, i.e., as a query request message detection template;

[0134] (b) If the message type of the domain name system message is a query response message type (i.e., DNSmessage type = DNSResponse):

[0135] The array may include at least one of the following: an array representing a range of fully qualified domain names and an array representing a range of edge application server addresses (EAS IP addresses, i.e., IP addresses of edge application servers) (which may include one or more edge application server addresses), wherein the one or more fully qualified domain names or the one or more edge application server addresses in the array may be used to match domain name system messages, i.e., serve as a query response message detection template;

[0136] (5) Perform at least one possible message processing operation, which may include:

[0137] (a) Content reporting operation: reporting the content of the domain name system message to the session management network element, which may include at least one of the following: the edge application server IP address and FQDN resolved from the domain name system message;

[0138] (b) Forwarding operation: Sends the Domain Name System message to a pre-configured DNS server / resolver or a designated DNS server. It may also include the following operations (the designated DNS server is included in the message processing rules):

[0139] (b1) Option construction operation: including information on constructing an optional ECS option in the domain name system message (the information on the ECS option constructed by the edge application server when it discovers the network element is included in the message processing rules);

[0140] (b2) Address Replacement: Replaces the destination address of the Domain Name System message with the specified DNS server address (DNS ServerAddress); and replaces the source address of the Domain Name System message with a specific IP address. If the session management network element does not provide the DNS server address, the edge application server discovery network element will forward the Domain Name System message to the locally pre-configured DNS server / resolver;

[0141] (c) Cache waiting operation: caching the domain name system message, reporting the content of the domain name system message to the session management network element and waiting for instructions from the session management network element;

[0142] (d) Send operation: Send the specified domain name system response message to the UE.

[0143] (6) Lifecycle, also known as Time Window: defines the effective period of the message processing rule. Outside the time window, the message processing rule is invalid.

[0144] As can be seen from the above, the query request message detection template provided in the embodiment of the present application does not include the source IP address (Source IP address, such as the IP address of the terminal device), because the solution provided in the present application does not involve session-level rule configuration, but is applicable to all sessions.

[0145] It is understandable that the specific content of the message processing rules can be adjusted according to actual needs, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0146] Step S102: When a protocol data unit session is established, a valid message processing rule is determined in a message processing rule set according to a rule activation condition, a rule identifier corresponding to the valid message processing rule is determined as a valid rule identifier, and the valid rule identifier is sent to an edge application server discovery network element, so that the edge application server discovery network element processes the received domain name system message according to the message processing rule corresponding to the valid rule identifier during the protocol data unit session.

[0147] In an embodiment of the present application, the session management network element sets a session-level rule activation condition for each message processing rule, that is, the corresponding message processing rule will be activated only when the protocol data unit session established by the terminal device meets these rule activation conditions. For ease of understanding and explanation, it is assumed that the message processing rule set includes one or more message processing rules, and one message processing rule corresponds to one or more rule activation conditions. Specifically, when a protocol data unit session is established, the session management network element can determine the valid message processing rule from one or more message processing rules in the message processing rule set based on the rule activation condition, and then determine the rule identifier corresponding to the valid message processing rule as the valid rule identifier, and send the valid rule identifier to the edge application server discovery network element. Furthermore, after the edge application server discovery network element receives the valid rule identifier, it can process the received domain name system message according to the message processing rule corresponding to the valid rule identifier during the protocol data unit session. In other words, the session management NE can determine the current PDU session based on the rule activation conditions and interact with the edge application server discovery NE to notify the edge application server discovery NE of which message processing rules (or rules) are activated, that is, which message processing rules (or rules) are valid for the PDU session. If all rule activation conditions in the session management NE are not met, no message processing rules will be activated. In this case, the edge application server discovery NE processes DNS messages according to the default message processing rules.

[0148] Please also see Figure 7, is a flow chart of a data processing method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The data processing method may at least include steps S1021-S1022, and steps S1021-S1022 are a specific implementation of step S102. Figure 7 As shown, the data processing method may include:

[0149] Step S1021: When a protocol data unit session is established, the protocol data unit session is matched with one or more rule activation conditions, and the message processing rules associated with the matched rule activation conditions are determined as valid message processing rules;

[0150] Specifically, the session management network element can set different rule activation conditions for different message processing rules. Optionally, if the rule activation condition includes single network slice selection assistance information (Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information, S-NSSAI), then when the protocol data unit session is established, the session management network element can obtain the network slice identifier corresponding to the protocol data unit session, and then the network slice identifier can be matched with the rule activation condition containing the single network slice selection assistance information, and the rule activation condition that is successfully matched can be determined as the target rule activation condition, and then the message processing rule associated with the target rule activation condition can be determined as the valid message processing rule. Among them, the network slice identifier in the embodiment of the present application is the S-NSSAI that the terminal device needs to carry when requesting to establish a protocol data unit session. Among them, each network slice is uniquely identified by S-NSSAI, and an S-NSSAI consists of SST (Slice / Serive Type, slice / service type) and SD (Slice Differentiator, slice component). For 5G wireless networks, network slicing is mainly reflected in access control, network selection and resource separation.

[0151] Optionally, if the rule activation condition includes a data network name (Data Network Name, DNN), when a protocol data unit session is established, the session management network element can obtain the target data network name corresponding to the protocol data unit session, and then match the target data network name with the rule activation condition containing the data network name, and can determine the successfully matched rule activation condition (for example, the rule activation condition corresponding to the data network name that is the same as the target data network name) as the target rule activation condition, and then determine the message processing rule associated with the target rule activation condition as the valid message processing rule.

[0152] Optionally, if the rule activation condition includes a session and service continuity mode (Session and Service Continuity Mode, SSC Mode), then when a protocol data unit session is established, the session management network element can obtain the target session and service continuity mode corresponding to the protocol data unit session, and then can match the target session and service continuity mode with the rule activation condition containing the session and service continuity mode, respectively, and can determine the successfully matched rule activation condition (for example, the rule activation condition corresponding to the same session and service continuity mode as the target session and service continuity mode) as the target rule activation condition, and then can determine the message processing rule associated with the target rule activation condition as the valid message processing rule. Among them, 5GS (5G System) supports three different SSC modes, and the SSC mode of a protocol data unit session will not change throughout the life cycle of the protocol data unit session.

[0153] Optionally, if the rule activation condition includes user identification information, such as a Subscription Permanent Identifier (SUPI), an Internal Group ID-list, a SUPI interval, a Generic Public Subscription Identifier (GPSI), or a GPSI list, then when a protocol data unit session is established, the session management network element may obtain the target user identification information corresponding to the protocol data unit session, and then may match the target user identification information with the rule activation conditions containing the user identification information, and may determine the successfully matched rule activation condition (e.g., a rule activation condition containing the same user identification information as the target user identification information) as the target rule activation condition, and then may determine the message processing rule associated with the target rule activation condition as the valid message processing rule. The number of user identification information included in a rule activation condition may be one or more.

[0154] Optionally, it can be understood that each rule activation condition may also include any one or more of single network slice selection auxiliary information, data network name, session and business continuity mode, and user identification information. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific content of the rule activation condition.

[0155] Step S1022: Determine the rule identifier corresponding to the valid message processing rule as the valid rule identifier, and send the valid rule identifier to the edge application server to discover the network element.

[0156] Specifically, the session management network element may determine the rule identifier corresponding to the above-mentioned valid message processing rule as the valid rule identifier, and then may send the valid rule identifier to the edge application server discovery network element. It is understood that the number of valid message processing rules may be one or more.

[0157] For example, assuming that the message processing rule "rule ID #1" (i.e., the rule identifier is "1") is configured with the rule activation condition "DNN = DNN #1," the session management network element will activate the message processing rule "rule ID #1" upon each PDU session establishment for "DNN #1." Similarly, if the message processing rule "rule ID #2" (i.e., the rule identifier is "2") is configured with the rule activation condition "SUPI = 123456789," the session management network element will only activate the message processing rule "rule ID #2" upon establishing a PDU session with the terminal device with SUPI = 123456789. Furthermore, when the rule activation condition is met, the session management network element will send the valid rule ID (i.e., the valid rule identifier) that meets the rule activation condition to the edge application server discovery network element, which will then execute the message processing rule with the valid rule ID for the PDU session.

[0158] It should be noted that embodiments of the present application also support updating message processing rule sets or rule activation conditions. Optionally, the session management network element can obtain rule update information and, based on the rule update information, update the message processing rule set and send the updated message processing rule set to the unified data storage network element and the edge application server discovery network element. Similarly, the session management network element can also update the rule activation conditions. The rule update information can be obtained based on an application function request or operator configuration. Optionally, the policy control network element can update the message processing rule set or rule activation conditions and proactively push the updated message processing rule set or updated rule activation conditions to the session management network element and the unified data storage network element. When the session management network element or the unified data storage network element receives the updated message processing rule set sent by the policy control network element, it will also proactively send the updated message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element. It is understood that the edge application server discovery network element can process subsequently received domain name system messages based on the updated message processing rule set, and the session management network element can also make relevant judgments based on the updated rule activation conditions. Rule updates can be done through a full update, which sends the entire message processing rule set, including updated rules and unchanged rules; or through an incremental update, which sends only updated content without re-issuing any unupdated content. Updates can include modifying or deleting one or more specific message processing rules, adding one or more new message processing rules to the message processing rule set, or deleting one or more existing message processing rules.

[0159] The embodiment of the present application can support the session management network element to obtain a message processing rule set with a node level, obtain the rule activation conditions, and send the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element. Then, the session management network element can determine the effective message processing rule according to the rule activation conditions when the protocol data unit session is established, and can send the corresponding effective rule identifier to the edge application server discovery network element. Subsequently, the edge application server discovery network element can process the received domain name system message according to the message processing rule corresponding to the effective rule identifier during the protocol data unit session. It can be seen that in the embodiment of the present application, after the session management network element successfully sends the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element, if no rule update is involved, then no matter how many protocol data unit sessions are established subsequently, there is no need to trigger the request and issuance of the message processing rule, that is, there is no need to frequently issue the message processing rule for each protocol data unit session of each terminal device, thereby greatly reducing the amount of interaction between the session management network element and the edge application server discovery network element. In addition, in an embodiment of the present application, each time a protocol data unit session is established, the session management network element is triggered to perform a judgment based on the rule activation condition to select a valid message processing rule applicable to the protocol data unit session from the message processing rule set. Therefore, the activation of the message processing rule is flexible and controllable, thereby improving the efficiency of domain name system message processing.

[0160] See Figure 8 , is a flow chart of a data processing method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The data processing method can be executed by a policy control network element (PCF). Figure 8 As shown, the data processing method may at least include the following steps S201 to S203:

[0161] Step S201: The policy control network element generates a message processing rule set with a node level and generates a rule activation condition; the message processing rule set includes one or more message processing rules;

[0162] Specifically, the policy control network element can obtain rule generation information, and then generate one or more message processing rules with priorities based on the rule generation information, and can determine the one or more message processing rules as a message processing rule set. At the same time, it can generate rule activation conditions associated with one or more message processing rules in the message processing rule set. Among them, the rule generation information can specifically include request information of the application function or configuration information of the operator. It should be noted that the message processing rule set in the embodiment of the present application has a node level, that is, the sending conditions of the message processing rule set do not depend on the creation of the protocol data unit session, while the use conditions of the rule activation conditions depend on the creation of the protocol data unit session.

[0163] Among them, each message processing rule in the message processing rule set includes a message detection template and a message processing operation. Among them, the message detection template can specifically include one or more templates of the query request message detection template and the query response message detection template; the message processing operation includes but is not limited to one or more operations of the content reporting operation, forwarding operation, cache waiting operation, and sending operation; the forwarding operation may include an option construction operation or an address replacement operation. In addition, each message processing rule may also include a rule identifier, a rule priority, and may further include at least one of the following: rule level and life cycle. Among them, the rule identifier refers to an identifier that distinguishes each message processing rule; the rule priority can represent the order in which each message processing rule is executed; the rule level refers to the node level; and the life cycle can represent the effective time range of each message processing rule. For more specific rule content, please refer to the above Figure 3 The description of step S101 in the corresponding embodiment will not be repeated here. Each rule activation condition may include any one or more of single network slice selection auxiliary information, data network name, session and business continuity mode, and user identification information. The embodiment of this application does not limit the specific content of the rule activation condition.

[0164] It is understandable that the specific content of the message processing rules or rule activation conditions can be adjusted according to actual needs, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0165] Step S202: Send the message processing rule set and the rule activation condition to the session management network element, so that when the session management network element subsequently establishes a protocol data unit session, it determines a valid message processing rule in the message processing rule set according to the rule activation condition, determines a rule identifier corresponding to the valid message processing rule as a valid rule identifier, and sends the valid rule identifier to the edge application server discovery network element;

[0166] Specifically, the policy control network element can send the message processing rule set and rule activation conditions to the session management network element. Please refer to Figure 9 , is a schematic diagram of a data processing scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 9 As shown, the message processing rule set and the rule activation condition are generated by the policy control network element. When the session management network element and the edge application server discover that the network element has established a connection, the session management network element can request a message processing rule set with a node level from the policy control network element. The policy control network element can respond to the rule acquisition request and send the message processing rule set and the rule activation condition to the session management network element in a related response message. After receiving the message processing rule set and the rule activation condition, the session management network element can send a response message to the policy control network element to confirm receipt.

[0167] Furthermore, when the session management network element subsequently establishes a protocol data unit session, it can determine the valid message processing rule in the message processing rule set according to the rule activation condition, and can determine the rule identifier corresponding to the valid message processing rule as the valid rule identifier, and then can send the valid rule identifier to the edge application server discovery network element. The specific process can be seen in the above Figure 3 Step S102 in the corresponding embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0168] Step S203: Send the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element, so that the edge application server discovery network element processes the received domain name system message according to the message processing rule corresponding to the valid rule identifier during the protocol data unit session.

[0169] Specifically, the policy control network element can respond to the rule acquisition request sent by the edge application server discovery network element and send the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element. Figure 9 ,like Figure 9 As shown, when the edge application server discovery network element is enabled, it can actively request a message processing rule set with a node level from the policy control network element. The policy control network element can respond to the rule acquisition request and send the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element in the relevant response message. After the edge application server discovery network element receives the message processing rule set, it can send a response message to the policy control network element to confirm receipt.

[0170] It is understood that the policy control network element can also update the message processing rule set or rule activation conditions. After the message processing rule set is updated in the policy control network element, the policy control network element can proactively send the updated message processing rule set to the session management network element and the edge application server discovery network element, so that the edge application server discovery network element can process subsequently received domain name system messages based on the updated message processing rule set. Rule updates can be performed through a full update, i.e., sending the entire message processing rule set, including updated rules and unchanged rules, or through an incremental update, i.e., sending only the updated content without re-issuing the content that has not been updated. The updated content can include modifying or deleting the content of one or more specific message processing rules, adding one or more new message processing rules to the message processing rule set, or deleting one or more existing message processing rules. After the rule activation conditions are updated in the policy control network element, the policy control network element can proactively send the updated rule activation conditions to the session management network element, so that the session management network element can make relevant decisions based on the updated rule activation conditions.

[0171] The embodiment of the present application can support the policy control network element to generate a message processing rule set with a node level, and can also generate rule activation conditions, and then can send the message processing rule set and the rule activation conditions to the session management network element, and can send the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element, so that the session management network element can determine the effective message processing rule according to the rule activation conditions when the protocol data unit session is established, and can send its corresponding effective rule identifier to the edge application server discovery network element, and the subsequent edge application server discovery network element can process the received domain name system message according to the message processing rule corresponding to the effective rule identifier during the protocol data unit session. It can be seen that in the embodiment of the present application, after the policy control network element successfully sends the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element, if no rule update is involved, then no matter how many protocol data unit sessions are established subsequently, there is no need to trigger the request and issuance of the message processing rule, that is, there is no need to frequently issue message processing rules for each protocol data unit session of each terminal device. In addition, in an embodiment of the present application, each time a protocol data unit session is established, the session management network element is triggered to perform a judgment based on the rule activation condition to select a valid message processing rule applicable to the protocol data unit session from the message processing rule set. Therefore, the activation of the message processing rule is flexible and controllable, thereby improving the efficiency of domain name system message processing.

[0172] See Figure 10 , is a flow chart of a data processing method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The data processing method can be executed by the edge application server discovery network element (EASDF). Figure 10 As shown, the data processing method may at least include the following steps S301 to S303:

[0173] Step S301: When a session management network element establishes a connection with an edge application server discovery network element, the edge application server discovery network element obtains a message processing rule set having a node level; the message processing rule set includes one or more message processing rules;

[0174] Specifically, when the session management network element and the edge application server discovery network element establish a connection, the edge application server discovery network element can obtain a message processing rule set with a node level, wherein the sending condition of the message processing rule set with the node level does not depend on the creation of the protocol data unit session, and the message processing rule set may include one or more message processing rules. Figure 3 and Figure 8In the corresponding embodiment, the message processing rule set can be generated by a session management network element or a policy control network element, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0175] Step S302: When a protocol data unit session is established, obtaining a valid rule identifier sent by a session management network element; the valid rule identifier is a rule identifier corresponding to a valid message processing rule; the valid message processing rule is determined by the session management network element in a message processing rule set according to a rule activation condition;

[0176] Specifically, when the protocol data unit session is established, the edge application server discovers that the network element can obtain the valid rule identifier sent by the session management network element, wherein the valid rule identifier refers to the rule identifier corresponding to the valid message processing rule, and the valid message processing rule is determined by the session management network element in the message processing rule set according to the rule activation condition. The specific process can be seen in the above Figure 3 Step S102 in the corresponding embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0177] Step S303: When the edge application server finds that the network element receives a domain name system message, it obtains a target message processing rule from one or more message processing rules included in the message processing rule set according to the valid rule identifier, and processes the domain name system message according to the target message processing rule.

[0178] It should be noted that each message processing rule in the message processing rule set includes a message detection template and a message processing operation. Among them, the message detection template can specifically include one or more templates of the query request message detection template and the query response message detection template; the message processing operation includes but is not limited to one or more operations of the content reporting operation, forwarding operation, cache waiting operation, and sending operation; the forwarding operation may include an option construction operation or an address replacement operation. In addition, each message processing rule may also include a rule identifier, a rule priority, and may further include at least one of the following: a rule level and a life cycle. Among them, the rule identifier refers to an identifier that distinguishes each message processing rule; the rule priority can represent the order in which each message processing rule is executed; the rule level refers to the node level; and the life cycle can represent the effective time range of each message processing rule. For more specific rule content, please refer to the above Figure 3 The description of step S101 in the corresponding embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0179] In an optional embodiment, it is assumed that each message processing rule in the message processing rule set includes a rule identifier, a rule priority, a life cycle, a message detection template, and a message processing operation. When the edge application server discovers that the network element receives a domain name system message, it can obtain the target message processing rule from one or more message processing rules included in the message processing rule set, and then process the received domain name system message according to the target message processing rule. The specific process may be: the edge application server discovers that the network element can determine the message processing rule corresponding to the rule identifier identical to the valid rule identifier as a valid message processing rule in one or more message processing rules included in the message processing rule set, wherein the number of valid message processing rules may be one or more.

[0180] Optionally, the above-mentioned domain name system message can be matched with the message detection template in the valid message processing rule, and the valid message processing rule that is matched (i.e., meets the matching condition) is determined as the candidate message processing rule. It can be understood that the number of candidate message processing rules may be one or more. Further, based on the rule priority corresponding to the candidate message processing rule, the edge application server discovers that the network element can obtain the target message processing rule from the candidate message processing rule. In one embodiment, when the number of candidate message processing rules is one, the candidate message processing rule can be determined as the target message processing rule. In one embodiment, when the number of candidate message processing rules is multiple, the candidate message processing rule with the highest rule priority among the multiple candidate message processing rules can be determined as the target message processing rule. Optionally, when the number of candidate message processing rules is multiple, the multiple candidate message processing rules can be sorted and ordered according to the rule priorities and life cycles corresponding to the multiple candidate message processing rules. That is, the rule priority and life cycle can be comprehensively considered to obtain the target message processing rule with the highest rule priority within the target time period.

[0181] Optionally, the domain name system message can be matched with the message detection template in the valid message processing rules in sequence according to the order of the rule priorities corresponding to the valid message processing rules, and the first matched valid message processing rule can be determined as the target message processing rule, that is, starting from the valid message processing rules with high priority, the matching can be carried out in sequence. When a suitable valid message processing rule is matched, the valid message processing rule is determined as the target message processing rule.

[0182] Among them, according to the definition of the message detection template, the specific process of matching the domain name system message with the message detection template in the valid message processing rule can be: first, the edge application server finds that the network element can obtain the message type of the domain name system message. If its message type is a query request message type, the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) in the domain name system message can be obtained, and then the fully qualified domain name can be matched with the query request message detection template in the valid message processing rule, and then the valid message processing rule that meets the matching conditions (such as matching the fully qualified domain name) can be determined as a candidate message processing rule; optionally, if the message type of the above-mentioned domain name system message is a query response message type, the fully qualified domain name in the domain name system message can be obtained, and then the fully qualified domain name can be matched with the query response message detection template in the valid message processing rule, and then the valid message processing rule that meets the matching conditions (such as matching the fully qualified domain name) can be determined as a candidate message processing rule; or, if the message type is a query response message type, the edge application server address (EAS IP address) in the domain name system message can be obtained. address), and then the edge application server address can be matched with the query response message detection template in the valid message processing rule, and then the valid message processing rule that meets the matching conditions (such as matching the edge application server address) can be determined as the candidate message processing rule.

[0183] Finally, within the life cycle corresponding to the target message processing rule, the edge application server discovers that the network element can process the above-mentioned domain name system message according to the message processing operation in the target message processing rule. It should be noted that when there are multiple message processing operations in the target message processing rule, the edge application server discovers that the network element can execute these multiple message processing operations in a set order. It can be understood that the life cycle actually involves the scheduling problem of edge computing. For example, when the edge computing platform is very heavily loaded, some beneficial changes can be produced by setting the life cycle of certain message processing rules, so that subsequent edge application services will not all be routed to the edge computing platform within this time period. The relevant scenarios of the embodiments of this application can be found in the above Figure 2a-2c Description in the corresponding embodiment.

[0184] In addition, when the message processing rule set is updated, the edge application server discovers that the network element can obtain the updated message processing rule set, and then can process subsequently received domain name system messages according to the updated message processing rule set.

[0185] The embodiment of the present application can support the edge application server discovery network element to obtain a message processing rule set with a node level when the session management network element and the edge application server discovery network element establish a connection, and then can obtain the valid rule identifier sent by the session management network element when the protocol data unit session is established, and then can obtain the target message processing rule from one or more message processing rules contained in the message processing rule set according to the valid rule identifier when receiving a domain name system message, and process the domain name system message according to the target message processing rule. It can be seen that in the embodiment of the present application, after the edge application server discovery network element successfully obtains the message processing rule set, if no rule update is involved, then no matter how many protocol data unit sessions are established subsequently, there is no need to trigger the request and issuance of the message processing rule, that is, there is no need to frequently request the message processing rule for each protocol data unit session of each terminal device. In addition, in an embodiment of the present application, each time a protocol data unit session is established, the session management network element is triggered to make a judgment based on the rule activation condition. Therefore, when the edge application server finds that the network element has received a domain name system message, it can select a suitable message processing rule from the message processing rule set according to the instruction of the session management network element to perform relevant processing on the domain name system message. Therefore, the activation of the message processing rules is flexible and controllable, thereby improving the efficiency of domain name system message processing.

[0186] See Figure 11 , is a structural diagram of a network element device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The network element device can be a computer program (including program code) running on the network element device, for example, the network element device is an application software; the device can be used to execute the corresponding steps in the data processing method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 11 As shown, the data processing 1 may include: an acquisition module 11, an activation module 12;

[0187] An acquisition module 11 is configured for the session management network element to acquire a message processing rule set having a node level, obtain a rule activation condition, and send the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element; the message processing rule set includes one or more message processing rules;

[0188] In one embodiment, each message processing rule in the above message processing rule set is a message detection template and a message processing operation;

[0189] In one embodiment, the message detection template includes one or more of a query request message detection template and a query response message detection template; the message processing operation includes one or more of a content report operation, a forwarding operation, a cache wait operation, and a sending operation; the forwarding operation includes an option construction operation or an address replacement operation;

[0190] In one embodiment, each message processing rule further includes a rule identifier; the rule identifier refers to an identifier for distinguishing each message processing rule;

[0191] In one embodiment, each message processing rule further includes a rule priority; the rule priority represents the order in which each message processing rule is executed;

[0192] In one embodiment, each message processing rule further includes a life cycle and a rule level; the life cycle represents the effective time range of each message processing rule; the rule level refers to the node level;

[0193] The activation module 12 is used to determine the valid message processing rule in the message processing rule set according to the rule activation condition when the protocol data unit session is established, determine the rule identifier corresponding to the valid message processing rule as the valid rule identifier, and send the valid rule identifier to the edge application server discovery network element, so that the edge application server discovery network element processes the received domain name system message according to the message processing rule corresponding to the valid rule identifier during the protocol data unit session.

[0194] The specific function implementation of the acquisition module 11 can be found in the above Figure 3 The specific functional implementation of the activation module 12 in step S101 of the corresponding embodiment can be found in the above Figure 3 Step S102 in the corresponding embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0195] Please also see Figure 11 The acquisition module 11 may include: a first acquisition unit 111, a second acquisition unit 112, and a third acquisition unit 113;

[0196] The first acquisition unit 111 is configured to generate a message processing rule set having a node level at the session management network element and generate a rule activation condition associated with one or more message processing rules in the message processing rule set; when the session management network element establishes a connection with the edge application server discovery network element, the message processing rule set is sent to the edge application server discovery network element;

[0197] The second acquisition unit 112 is configured to, when the session management network element establishes a connection with the edge application server discovery network element, send a rule acquisition request to the policy control network element, so that the policy control network element responds to the rule acquisition request, sends a message processing rule set with a node level, and sends a rule activation condition; the message processing rule set and the rule activation condition are generated by the policy control network element; receive the message processing rule set and the rule activation condition sent by the policy control network element, and send the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element;

[0198] The third acquisition unit 113 is used to obtain a message processing rule set with a node level through the unified data storage network element when the session management network element and the edge application server discovery network element establish a connection, obtain the rule activation condition through the unified data storage network element, and send the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element; the message processing rule set and the rule activation condition are generated by the policy control network element and stored in the unified data storage network element.

[0199] The specific functional implementation of the first acquisition unit 111, the second acquisition unit 112, and the third acquisition unit 113 can be found in the above Figure 3 Step S101 in the corresponding embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0200] In one embodiment, each message processing rule corresponds to one or more rule activation conditions;

[0201] Please also see Figure 11 , the activation module 12 may include: a matching unit 121, a determining unit 122;

[0202] a matching unit 121 configured to, when a protocol data unit session is established, match the protocol data unit session with one or more rule activation conditions, and determine the message processing rule associated with the matched rule activation condition as a valid message processing rule;

[0203] The determining unit 122 is configured to determine the rule identifier corresponding to the valid message processing rule as the valid rule identifier, and send the valid rule identifier to the edge application server discovery network element.

[0204] The specific functional implementation of the matching unit 121 can be found in the above Figure 7 The specific functional implementation of step S1021 and the determination unit 122 in the corresponding embodiment can be found in the above Figure 7 Step S1022 in the corresponding embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0205] In one embodiment, the rule activation condition includes single network slice selection auxiliary information;

[0206] Please also see Figure 11 , the matching unit 121 may include: a first matching sub-unit 1211;

[0207] The first matching subunit 1211 is used to obtain the network slice identifier corresponding to the protocol data unit session, match the network slice identifier with the rule activation condition containing the auxiliary information for selecting a single network slice, determine the successfully matched rule activation condition as the target rule activation condition, and determine the message processing rule associated with the target rule activation condition as the valid message processing rule.

[0208] The specific functional implementation of the first matching subunit 1211 can be found in the above Figure 7 Step S1021 in the corresponding embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0209] In one embodiment, the rule activation condition includes the data network name;

[0210] Please also see Figure 11 , the matching unit 121 may include: a second matching sub-unit 1212;

[0211] The second matching sub-unit 1212 is used to obtain the target data network name corresponding to the protocol data unit session, match the target data network name with the rule activation conditions containing the data network name, determine the successfully matched rule activation condition as the target rule activation condition, and determine the message processing rule associated with the target rule activation condition as the valid message processing rule.

[0212] The specific functional implementation of the second matching subunit 1212 can be found in the above Figure 7 Step S1021 in the corresponding embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0213] In one embodiment, the rule activation conditions include session and business continuity modes;

[0214] Please also see Figure 11 , the matching unit 121 may include: a third matching sub-unit 1213;

[0215] The third matching sub-unit 1213 is used to obtain the target session and business continuity mode corresponding to the protocol data unit session, match the target session and business continuity mode with the rule activation conditions containing the session and business continuity mode respectively, determine the successfully matched rule activation condition as the target rule activation condition, and determine the message processing rule associated with the target rule activation condition as the valid message processing rule.

[0216] The specific functional implementation of the third matching subunit 1213 can be found in the above Figure 7 Step S1021 in the corresponding embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0217] In one embodiment, the rule activation condition includes user identification information;

[0218] Please also see Figure 11 , the matching unit 121 may include: a fourth matching sub-unit 1214;

[0219] The fourth matching sub-unit 1214 is used to obtain the target user identification information corresponding to the protocol data unit session, match the target user identification information with the rule activation conditions containing the user identification information, determine the successfully matched rule activation conditions as the target rule activation conditions, and determine the message processing rules associated with the target rule activation conditions as the valid message processing rules.

[0220] The specific functional implementation of the fourth matching subunit 1214 can be found in the above Figure 7 Step S1021 in the corresponding embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0221] The embodiment of the present application can support the session management network element to obtain a message processing rule set with a node level and obtain the rule activation conditions, and send the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element. Then, the session management network element can determine the effective message processing rule according to the rule activation conditions when the protocol data unit session is established, and can send the corresponding effective rule identifier to the edge application server discovery network element. Subsequently, the edge application server discovery network element can process the received domain name system message according to the message processing rule corresponding to the effective rule identifier during the protocol data unit session. It can be seen that in the embodiment of the present application, after the session management network element successfully sends the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element, if no rule update is involved, then no matter how many protocol data unit sessions are established subsequently, there is no need to trigger the request and issuance of the message processing rule, that is, there is no need to frequently issue the message processing rule for each protocol data unit session of each terminal device, thereby greatly reducing the amount of interaction between the session management network element and the edge application server discovery network element. In addition, in an embodiment of the present application, each time a protocol data unit session is established, the session management network element is triggered to perform a judgment based on the rule activation condition to select a valid message processing rule applicable to the protocol data unit session from the message processing rule set. Therefore, the activation of the message processing rule is flexible and controllable, thereby improving the efficiency of domain name system message processing.

[0222] See Figure 12 , is a structural diagram of a network element device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The network element device can be a computer program (including program code) running on the network element device, for example, the network element device is an application software; the device can be used to execute the corresponding steps in the data processing method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 12 As shown, the data processing 2 may include: a generating module 21, a first sending module 22, and a second sending module 23;

[0223] A generating module 21 is used for the policy control network element to generate a message processing rule set with a node level and generate a rule activation condition; the message processing rule set includes one or more message processing rules;

[0224] The first issuing module 22 is configured to issue the message processing rule set and the rule activation condition to the session management network element, so that when the session management network element subsequently establishes a protocol data unit session, it determines a valid message processing rule in the message processing rule set according to the rule activation condition, determines a rule identifier corresponding to the valid message processing rule as a valid rule identifier, and sends the valid rule identifier to the edge application server discovery network element;

[0225] The second sending module 23 is used to send the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element, so that the edge application server discovery network element processes the received domain name system message according to the message processing rule corresponding to the valid rule identifier during the protocol data unit session.

[0226] The specific function implementation of the generation module 21 can be found in the above Figure 8 The specific functional implementation of the first sending module 22 in the corresponding embodiment of step S201 can be found in the above Figure 8 The specific functional implementation of the second sending module 23 in step S202 of the corresponding embodiment can be found in the above Figure 8 Step S203 in the corresponding embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0227] The embodiment of the present application can support the policy control network element to generate a message processing rule set with a node level and generate rule activation conditions, and then the message processing rule set and the rule activation conditions can be sent to the session management network element, and the message processing rule set can be sent to the edge application server discovery network element, so that the session management network element can determine the effective message processing rule according to the rule activation condition when the protocol data unit session is established, and can send its corresponding effective rule identifier to the edge application server discovery network element, and the subsequent edge application server discovery network element can process the received domain name system message according to the message processing rule corresponding to the effective rule identifier during the protocol data unit session. It can be seen that in the embodiment of the present application, after the policy control network element successfully sends the message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element, if no rule update is involved, then no matter how many protocol data unit sessions are established subsequently, there is no need to trigger the request and issuance of the message processing rule, that is, there is no need to frequently issue message processing rules for each protocol data unit session of each terminal device. In addition, in an embodiment of the present application, each time a protocol data unit session is established, the session management network element is triggered to perform a judgment based on the rule activation condition to select a valid message processing rule applicable to the protocol data unit session from the message processing rule set. Therefore, the activation of the message processing rule is flexible and controllable, thereby improving the efficiency of domain name system message processing.

[0228] See Figure 13 , is a structural diagram of a network element device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The network element device can be a computer program (including program code) running on the network element device, for example, the network element device is an application software; the device can be used to execute the corresponding steps in the data processing method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 13 As shown, the data processing 3 may include: a first acquisition module 31, a second acquisition module 32, and a third acquisition module 33;

[0229] A first acquisition module 31 is configured to, when a connection is established between a session management network element and an edge application server discovery network element, cause the edge application server discovery network element to acquire a message processing rule set having a node level; the message processing rule set includes one or more message processing rules;

[0230] A second acquisition module 32 is configured to acquire a valid rule identifier sent by a session management network element when a protocol data unit session is established; the valid rule identifier is a rule identifier corresponding to a valid message processing rule; the valid message processing rule is determined by the session management network element in a message processing rule set according to a rule activation condition;

[0231] The third acquisition module 33 is used to obtain the target message processing rule from one or more message processing rules included in the message processing rule set according to the valid rule identifier when the edge application server finds that the network element has received a domain name system message, and process the domain name system message according to the target message processing rule.

[0232] The specific function implementation of the first acquisition module 31 can be found in the above Figure 10 The specific functional implementation of the second acquisition module 32 in the corresponding embodiment of step S301 can be found in the above Figure 10 The specific functional implementation of the third acquisition module 33 in the corresponding embodiment of step S302 can be found in the above Figure 10 Step S303 in the corresponding embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0233] In one embodiment, each message processing rule in the above message processing rule set includes a rule identifier, a rule priority, a life cycle, a message detection template, and a message processing operation; the rule identifier refers to an identifier that distinguishes each message processing rule;

[0234] Please also see Figure 13 The third acquisition module 33 may include: a first determination unit 331, a first matching unit 332, an acquisition unit 333, and a first processing unit 334;

[0235] A determining unit 331 is configured to determine, from one or more message processing rules, a message processing rule corresponding to a rule identifier identical to a valid rule identifier as a valid message processing rule;

[0236] a matching unit 332 configured to match the domain name system message with a message detection template in a valid message processing rule, and determine the matched valid message processing rule as a candidate message processing rule;

[0237] An acquiring unit 333 is configured to acquire a target message processing rule from the candidate message processing rules according to the rule priorities corresponding to the candidate message processing rules;

[0238] The processing unit 334 is configured to process the domain name system message according to the message processing operation in the target message processing rule within a life cycle corresponding to the target message processing rule.

[0239] The specific functional implementation of the determination unit 331, the matching unit 332, the acquisition unit 333, and the processing unit 334 can be found in the above Figure 10 Step S303 in the corresponding embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0240] In one embodiment, each message processing rule in the above message processing rule set includes a rule identifier, a rule priority, a life cycle, a message detection template, and a message processing operation; the rule identifier refers to an identifier that distinguishes each message processing rule;

[0241] Please also see Figure 13 The third acquisition module 33 may include: a second determination unit 335, a second matching unit 336, and a second processing unit 337;

[0242] The second determining unit 335 is configured to determine, from one or more message processing rules, a message processing rule corresponding to a rule identifier identical to the valid rule identifier as a valid message processing rule;

[0243] a second matching unit 336 configured to sequentially match the DNS message with the message detection templates in the valid message processing rules according to the order of priority of the valid message processing rules, and determine the first matching valid message processing rule as the target message processing rule;

[0244] The second processing unit 337 is configured to process the domain name system message according to the message processing operation in the target message processing rule within a life cycle corresponding to the target message processing rule.

[0245] The specific functional implementation of the second determining unit 335, the second matching unit 336, and the second processing unit 337 can be found in the above Figure 10 The corresponding step S303 in the embodiment, the first determining unit 331 and the second determining unit 335 can be combined into one determining unit, which will not be described in detail here.

[0246] The embodiment of the present application can support the edge application server discovery network element to obtain a message processing rule set with a node level when the session management network element and the edge application server discovery network element establish a connection, and then can obtain the valid rule identifier sent by the session management network element when the protocol data unit session is established, and then can obtain the target message processing rule from one or more message processing rules contained in the message processing rule set according to the valid rule identifier when receiving a domain name system message, and process the domain name system message according to the target message processing rule. It can be seen that in the embodiment of the present application, after the edge application server discovery network element successfully obtains the message processing rule set, if no rule update is involved, then no matter how many protocol data unit sessions are established subsequently, there is no need to trigger the request and issuance of the message processing rule, that is, there is no need to frequently request the message processing rule for each protocol data unit session of each terminal device. In addition, in an embodiment of the present application, each time a protocol data unit session is established, the session management network element is triggered to make a judgment based on the rule activation condition. Therefore, when the edge application server finds that the network element has received a domain name system message, it can select a suitable message processing rule from the message processing rule set according to the instruction of the session management network element to perform relevant processing on the domain name system message. Therefore, the activation of the message processing rules is flexible and controllable, thereby improving the efficiency of domain name system message processing.

[0247] See Figure 14 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network element device provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 14 As shown, the network element device 1000 may include: a processor 1001, a network interface 1003 and a memory 1004. In addition, the above-mentioned network element device 1000 may also include: at least one communication bus 1002. The communication bus 1002 is used to realize the connection and communication between these components. The network interface 1003 may optionally include a standard wired interface, a wireless interface (such as a WI-FI interface). The memory 1004 may be a high-speed RAM memory, or a non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory), such as at least one disk memory. The memory 1004 may optionally also be at least one storage device located away from the aforementioned processor 1001. As Figure 14 As shown, the memory 1004 as a computer-readable storage medium may include an operating system, a network communication module, and a device control application. In the embodiment of the present application, the network element device 1000 may be a session management network element.

[0248] In such Figure 14 In the network element device 1000 shown, the network interface 1003 can provide a network communication network element; and the processor 1001 can be used to call the device control application stored in the memory 1004 to enable the network element device 1000 to execute:

[0249] Obtaining a message processing rule set with a node level, obtaining a rule activation condition, and sending the message processing rule set to an edge application server to discover a network element; the message processing rule set includes one or more message processing rules;

[0250] When a protocol data unit session is established, a valid message processing rule is determined in a message processing rule set according to a rule activation condition, a rule identifier corresponding to the valid message processing rule is determined as a valid rule identifier, and the valid rule identifier is sent to an edge application server discovery network element, so that the edge application server discovery network element processes the received domain name system message according to the message processing rule corresponding to the valid rule identifier during the protocol data unit session.

[0251] It should be understood that the network element device 1000 described in the embodiment of the present application can execute the above Figure 3 、 Figure 7 The description of the data processing method in any corresponding embodiment will not be repeated here. In addition, the description of the beneficial effects of adopting the same method will not be repeated here either.

[0252] See Figure 15 , is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network element device provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 15 As shown, the network element device 2000 may include: a processor 2001, a network interface 2003 and a memory 2004. In addition, the above-mentioned network element device 2000 may also include: at least one communication bus 2002. The communication bus 2002 is used to realize the connection and communication between these components. The network interface 2003 may optionally include a standard wired interface, a wireless interface (such as a WI-FI interface). The memory 2004 may be a high-speed RAM memory, or a non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory), such as at least one disk memory. The memory 2004 may optionally also be at least one storage device located away from the aforementioned processor 2001. As Figure 15 As shown, the memory 2004 as a computer-readable storage medium may include an operating system, a network communication module, and a device control application program. In the embodiment of the present application, the network element device 2000 may be a policy control network element.

[0253] In such Figure 15 In the network element device 2000 shown, the network interface 2003 can provide a network communication network element; and the processor 2001 can be used to call the device control application stored in the memory 2004 to enable the network element device 2000 to execute:

[0254] Generate a message processing rule set with a node level and generate a rule activation condition; the message processing rule set includes one or more message processing rules;

[0255] Sending the message processing rule set and the rule activation condition to the session management network element, so that the session management network element determines the valid message processing rule in the message processing rule set according to the rule activation condition when subsequently establishing a protocol data unit session, determines the rule identifier corresponding to the valid message processing rule as the valid rule identifier, and sends the valid rule identifier to the edge application server discovery network element;

[0256] The message processing rule set is sent to the edge application server discovery network element, so that the edge application server discovery network element processes the received domain name system message according to the message processing rule corresponding to the valid rule identifier during the protocol data unit session.

[0257] It should be understood that the network element device 2000 described in the embodiment of the present application can execute the above Figure 8 The description of the data processing method in the corresponding embodiment will not be repeated here. In addition, the description of the beneficial effects of adopting the same method will not be repeated here either.

[0258] See Figure 16 , is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network element device provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 16 As shown, the network element device 3000 may include: a processor 3001, a network interface 3003 and a memory 3004. In addition, the above-mentioned network element device 3000 may also include: at least one communication bus 3002. The communication bus 3002 is used to realize the connection and communication between these components. The network interface 3003 may optionally include a standard wired interface, a wireless interface (such as a WI-FI interface). The memory 3004 may be a high-speed RAM memory, or a non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory), such as at least one disk memory. The memory 3004 may optionally also be at least one storage device located away from the aforementioned processor 3001. As Figure 16 As shown, the memory 3004 as a computer-readable storage medium may include an operating system, a network communication module, and a device control application. In the embodiment of the present application, the network element device 3000 may be a network element discovered by an edge application server.

[0259] In such Figure 16 In the network element device 3000 shown, the network interface 3003 can provide a network communication network element; and the processor 3001 can be used to call the device control application stored in the memory 3004 to enable the network element device 3000 to execute:

[0260] When establishing a connection with a session management network element, obtaining a message processing rule set having a node level; the message processing rule set includes one or more message processing rules;

[0261] When a protocol data unit session is established, obtaining a valid rule identifier sent by a session management network element; the valid rule identifier is a rule identifier corresponding to a valid message processing rule; the valid message processing rule is determined by the session management network element in a message processing rule set according to a rule activation condition;

[0262] When a domain name system message is received, a target message processing rule is obtained from one or more message processing rules included in a message processing rule set according to a valid rule identifier, and the domain name system message is processed according to the target message processing rule.

[0263] It should be understood that the network element device 3000 described in the embodiment of the present application can execute the above Figure 10 The description of the data processing method in the corresponding embodiment will not be repeated here. In addition, the description of the beneficial effects of adopting the same method will not be repeated here either.

[0264] In addition, it should be noted that: the embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, and the computer-readable storage medium stores the computer program executed by the network element device 1, the network element device 2 and the network element device 3 mentioned above, and the computer program includes program instructions. When the processor executes the program instructions, the computer program can execute the above-mentioned Figure 3 、 Figure 7 、 Figure 8 、 Figure 10 The description of the above-mentioned data processing method in any corresponding embodiment will not be repeated here. In addition, the description of the beneficial effects of adopting the same method will not be repeated here. For technical details not disclosed in the computer-readable storage medium embodiment involved in this application, please refer to the description of the method embodiment of this application.

[0265] The computer-readable storage medium may be the internal storage unit of the network element device or the network element equipment provided in any of the aforementioned embodiments, such as a hard disk or memory of the network element equipment. The computer-readable storage medium may also be an external storage device of the network element equipment, such as a plug-in hard disk, a smart media card (SMC), a secure digital (SD) card, a flash card, etc. equipped on the network element equipment. Furthermore, the computer-readable storage medium may also include both the internal storage unit of the network element equipment and an external storage device. The computer-readable storage medium is used to store the computer program and other programs and data required by the network element equipment. The computer-readable storage medium may also be used to temporarily store data that has been output or is to be output.

[0266] In addition, it should be noted that the embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product or computer program, which includes computer instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The processor of the network element device reads the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium, and the processor executes the computer instructions, so that the network element device performs the above Figure 3 、 Figure 7 、 Figure 8 、 Figure 10 The method provided by any corresponding embodiment.

[0267] The terms "first", "second", etc. in the description, claims, and drawings of the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish different objects, rather than to describe a specific order. In addition, the terms "comprising" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, apparatus, product, or device comprising a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or modules, but may optionally include steps or modules not listed, or may optionally include other step units inherent to these processes, methods, apparatuses, products, or devices.

[0268] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of the two. To clearly illustrate the interchangeability of hardware and software, the above description has generally described the components and steps of each example in terms of network elements. Whether these network elements are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel may use different methods to implement the described network elements for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0269] The above disclosure is only a preferred embodiment of the present application, and certainly cannot be used to limit the scope of rights of the present application. Therefore, equivalent changes made according to the claims of the present application are still within the scope covered by the present application.

Claims

1. A data processing method, characterized in that: include: When the session management network element obtains the updated message processing rule set and the updated rule activation condition, the session management network element sends the updated message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element; the updated message processing rule set is obtained by updating the message processing rule set at the node level; the updated message processing rule set includes one or more message processing rules; When a protocol data unit session is established, a valid message processing rule is determined in the updated message processing rule set according to the updated rule activation condition, a rule identifier corresponding to the valid message processing rule is determined as a valid rule identifier, and the valid rule identifier is sent to the edge application server discovery network element, so that the edge application server discovery network element processes the received domain name system message according to the message processing rule corresponding to the valid rule identifier during the protocol data unit session.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that When the session management network element obtains the updated message processing rule set and the updated rule activation condition, sending the updated message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element includes: The session management network element obtains rule update information, and updates the message processing rule set at the node level according to the obtained rule update information to obtain an updated message processing rule set; Updating rule activation conditions associated with one or more message processing rules in the message processing rule set to obtain updated rule activation conditions; The updated message processing rule set is sent to the edge application server discovery network element.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that When the session management network element obtains the updated message processing rule set and the updated rule activation condition, sending the updated message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element includes: When the policy control network element updates the message processing rule set with node level and updates the rule activation conditions, it receives the updated message processing rule set and the updated rule activation conditions sent by the policy control network element, and sends the updated message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein When the session management network element obtains the updated message processing rule set and the updated rule activation condition, sending the updated message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element includes: When the unified data storage network element obtains the updated message processing rule set and the updated rule activation conditions sent by the policy control network element, it receives the updated message processing rule set and the updated rule activation conditions sent by the unified data storage network element, and sends the updated message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element; the updated message processing rule set is obtained by the policy control network element after updating the message processing rule set with a node level; the updated rule activation conditions are obtained by the policy control network element after updating the rule activation conditions.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein Updating a message processing rule set with a node level refers to modifying or deleting the content of one or more message processing rules in the message processing rule set, or adding one or more new message processing rules to the message processing rule set, or deleting one or more message processing rules in the message processing rule set.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The sending of the updated message processing rule set to the edge application server discovery network element includes: The updated message processing rule set is sent to the edge application server discovery network element through a full update method or an incremental update method.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Also includes: When the session management network element obtains rule generation information, it generates one or more message processing rules based on the rule generation information, determines the generated one or more message processing rules as a message processing rule set with a node level, and generates rule activation conditions associated with one or more message processing rules in the message processing rule set.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Also includes: When the session management network element and the edge application server discover that the network element has established a connection, the session management network element sends a rule acquisition request to the policy control network element, so that the policy control network element responds to the rule acquisition request and sends a message processing rule set at the node level and a rule activation condition through a response message; the message processing rule set and the rule activation condition are generated by the policy control network element; Upon receiving the message processing rule set and the rule activation conditions sent by the policy control network element, a response message confirming receipt is sent to the policy control network element, and the message processing rule set is sent to the edge application server discovery network element; the edge application server discovery network element is used to send a response message confirming receipt to the session management network element upon receiving the message processing rule set.

9. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Each message processing rule in the message processing rule set corresponds to one or more rule activation conditions; each rule activation condition includes any one or more of single network slice selection auxiliary information, data network name, session and business continuity mode, and user identification information.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The user identification information includes one or more of a user permanent identifier, an internal user group identifier, a user permanent identifier interval, a universal public user identifier, and a universal public user identifier list.

11. A data processing method, characterized in that: include: When the policy control network element updates the message processing rule set with the node level and updates the rule activation condition, the updated message processing rule set and the updated rule activation condition are sent to the session management network element, so that the session management network element determines the valid message processing rule in the updated message processing rule set according to the updated rule activation condition when subsequently establishing a protocol data unit session, determines the rule identifier corresponding to the valid message processing rule as the valid rule identifier, and sends the valid rule identifier to the edge application server discovery network element; the updated message processing rule set includes one or more message processing rules; The updated message processing rule set is sent to the edge application server discovery network element, so that the edge application server discovery network element processes the received domain name system message according to the message processing rule corresponding to the valid rule identifier during the protocol data unit session.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that Also includes: When the edge application server discovers that the network element is enabled, obtaining a rule acquisition request sent by the edge application server discovers that the network element is enabled; In response to the rule acquisition request, a message processing rule set with a node level is sent to the edge application server discovery network element; the edge application server discovery network element is used to send a response message confirming receipt to the policy control network element when receiving the message processing rule set.

13. A data processing method, characterized in that: include: When the session management network element establishes a connection with the edge application server discovery network element, the edge application server discovery network element obtains the updated message processing rule set; The updated message processing rule set is obtained by updating the message processing rule set at the node level; the updated message processing rule set includes one or more message processing rules; When a protocol data unit session is established, obtaining a valid rule identifier sent by the session management network element; the valid rule identifier is a rule identifier corresponding to a valid message processing rule; the valid message processing rule is determined by the session management network element in the updated message processing rule set according to the updated rule activation condition; When the edge application server finds that the network element receives a domain name system message, it obtains a target message processing rule from one or more message processing rules included in the updated message processing rule set according to the valid rule identifier, and processes the domain name system message according to the target message processing rule.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that Each message processing rule in the updated message processing rule set includes a rule identifier, a rule priority, a life cycle, a message detection template, and a message processing operation; the rule identifier refers to an identifier for distinguishing each message processing rule; The step of obtaining a target message processing rule from one or more message processing rules included in the updated message processing rule set according to the valid rule identifier, and processing the domain name system message according to the target message processing rule includes: Determining, from the one or more message processing rules included in the updated message processing rule set, a message processing rule corresponding to a rule identifier identical to the valid rule identifier as the valid message processing rule; Matching the domain name system message with the message detection template in the valid message processing rule, and determining the matched valid message processing rule as a candidate message processing rule; Obtaining a target message processing rule from the candidate message processing rules according to the rule priority corresponding to the candidate message processing rule; During the life cycle corresponding to the target message processing rule, the domain name system message is processed according to the message processing operation in the target message processing rule.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The message detection template includes one or more templates of a query request message detection template and a query response message detection template; The matching of the domain name system message with the message detection template in the valid message processing rule and determining the matched valid message processing rule as a candidate message processing rule includes: Obtaining a message type of the domain name system message; If the message type is a query request message type, obtaining a fully qualified domain name in the domain name system message, matching the fully qualified domain name with a query request message detection template in the valid message processing rule, and determining a valid message processing rule that meets the matching condition as a candidate message processing rule; If the message type is a query response message type, obtaining the fully qualified domain name in the domain name system message, matching the fully qualified domain name with a query response message detection template in the valid message processing rule, and determining the valid message processing rule that meets the matching condition as a candidate message processing rule; or If the message type is a query response message type, obtain the edge application server address in the domain name system message, match the edge application server address with the query response message detection template in the valid message processing rule, and determine the valid message processing rule that meets the matching conditions as the candidate message processing rule.

16. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The acquiring the target message processing rule from the candidate message processing rules according to the rule priorities corresponding to the candidate message processing rules includes: If the number of the candidate message processing rule is one, the candidate message processing rule is used as the target message processing rule; If there are multiple candidate message processing rules, the candidate message processing rule with the highest rule priority among the multiple candidate message processing rules is used as the target message processing rule.

17. A network element device, characterized in that: include: processor, memory, and network interface; The processor is connected to the memory and the network interface, wherein the network interface is used to provide a data communication network element, the memory is used to store program code, and the processor is used to call the program code so that the network element device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

18. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and the computer program is suitable for being loaded by a processor and executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

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