Session establishment method, device, system, core network element equipment and storage medium

Abstract

The present application relates to a session establishment method, apparatus, system, core network element equipment and storage medium. The method is applied to a user plane functional network element, including: initiating a session reporting request to a second signaling intercommunication gateway when a failure of a first signaling intercommunication gateway is detected; the first signaling intercommunication gateway is used to establish a session connection between a first session management functional network element and a user plane functional network element; the second signaling intercommunication gateway is a backup signaling intercommunication gateway of the first signaling intercommunication gateway; receiving a response message forwarded by the second signaling intercommunication gateway; the response message is triggered after the second signaling intercommunication gateway establishes a session connection with the second session management functional network element based on the address information of the second session management functional network element; the second session management functional network element is a backup session management functional network element of the first session management functional network element. The use of this method can solve the problem of user service interruption when a signaling intercommunication gateway fails.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a session establishment method, apparatus, system, core network element device, and storage medium. Background Art

[0002] The interoperability between private networks and the broader Internet in 5G (5th Generation Mobile Communication Technology) raises a series of issues, including network security and operator control. Therefore, a Customized-Interworking Function (C-IWF) is deployed between private and broader networks to forward signaling, thereby achieving network isolation, topology hiding, and network security.

[0003] Typically, signaling transmission between a private network and a large network is accomplished by the Session Management Function (SMF) network element sending the signaling to the C-IWF through the N4 interface. The C-IWF then forwards the received signaling to the User Plane Function (UPF) network element through the N4 interface.

[0004] However, when a C-IWF fails, user services may be interrupted. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Based on this, it is necessary to provide a session establishment method, device, system, core network element equipment and storage medium that can solve the problem of user service interruption when a signaling intercommunication gateway fails in response to the above technical problems.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a session establishment method, which is applied to a user plane functional network element. The method includes:

[0007] Initiate a session report request to a second signaling interworking gateway when a failure of the first signaling interworking gateway is detected; the first signaling interworking gateway is used to establish a session connection between the first session management function and the user plane function; the second signaling interworking gateway is a backup signaling interworking gateway for the first signaling interworking gateway;

[0008] Receive a response message forwarded by the second signaling intercommunication gateway; the response message is triggered after the second signaling intercommunication gateway establishes a session connection with the second session management function based on the address information of the second session management function; the second session management function is a backup session management function of the first session management function.

[0009] In one embodiment, the initiating a session report request to the second signaling interworking gateway includes:

[0010] receiving a session establishment request sent by the first signaling interworking gateway; the session establishment request including address information of the second signaling interworking gateway;

[0011] Based on the address information of the second signaling interworking gateway, the session reporting request is sent to the second signaling interworking gateway.

[0012] In one embodiment, the address information of the second session management function is determined by the second signaling interworking gateway based on preset configuration information.

[0013] In a second aspect, the present application further provides a session establishment method, which is applied to a second signaling intercommunication gateway. The method includes:

[0014] receiving a session report request sent by a user plane function; the session report request is generated by the user plane function when a failure of a first signaling interworking gateway is detected; the first signaling interworking gateway is used to establish a session connection between a first session management function and the user plane function;

[0015] Sending the session report request to the second session management function based on the address information of the second session management function; the second session management function is a backup session management function of the first session management function;

[0016] Receive a response message sent by the second session management function in response to the session reporting request, and send a reply message to the user plane function based on the response message; the reply message indicates that the second signaling intercommunication gateway, the second session management function, and the user plane function have established a session connection; the second signaling intercommunication gateway is a backup signaling intercommunication gateway for the first signaling intercommunication gateway.

[0017] In one embodiment, the sending a reply message to the user plane function based on the response message includes:

[0018] Updating the address information of the second session management function in the response message to the address information of the second signaling interworking gateway to obtain the reply message;

[0019] The response message is sent to the user plane function.

[0020] In a third aspect, the present application also provides a session establishment method, which is applied to a session management function network element. The method includes:

[0021] receiving a session report request sent by a second signaling interworking gateway; the session report request is forwarded by a user plane function through the second signaling interworking gateway when a failure of the first signaling interworking gateway is detected; the first signaling interworking gateway is used to establish a session connection between the first session management function and the user plane function; the second signaling interworking gateway is a backup signaling interworking gateway of the first signaling interworking gateway;

[0022] generating a response message in response to the session report request;

[0023] The response message is sent to the second signaling intercommunication gateway; the response message is used to instruct the second signaling intercommunication gateway to send a reply message to the user plane function based on the response message; the reply message indicates that the second signaling intercommunication gateway, the second session management function, and the user plane function have established a session connection; the second session management function is a backup session management function of the first session management function.

[0024] In a fourth aspect, the present application further provides a communication system. The communication system includes a user plane function network element, a signaling interworking gateway, and a session management function network element;

[0025] The user plane function is used to perform the steps of the method according to any one of the first aspects above;

[0026] The signaling intercommunication gateway is used to perform the steps of the method according to any one of the second aspects above;

[0027] The session management function is used to execute the steps of the method described in the third aspect above.

[0028] In a fifth aspect, the present application further provides a session establishment device, which is applied to a user plane functional network element. The device includes:

[0029] A first sending module is configured to initiate a session reporting request to a second signaling interworking gateway when a failure of the first signaling interworking gateway is detected; the first signaling interworking gateway is configured to establish a session connection between the first session management function network element and the user plane function network element; the second signaling interworking gateway is a backup signaling interworking gateway for the first signaling interworking gateway;

[0030] The first receiving module is used to receive a response message forwarded by the second signaling intercommunication gateway; the response message is triggered after the second signaling intercommunication gateway establishes a session connection with the second session management function network element based on the address information of the second session management function network element; the second session management function network element is a backup session management function network element of the first session management function network element.

[0031] In a sixth aspect, the present application further provides a session establishment device, which is applied to a second signaling intercommunication gateway. The device includes:

[0032] A first receiving module is configured to receive a session report request sent by a user plane function network element; the session report request is generated by the user plane function network element when a failure of the first signaling interworking gateway is detected; the first signaling interworking gateway is configured to establish a session connection between the first session management function network element and the user plane function network element;

[0033] A first sending module is configured to send the session report request to the second session management function network element based on the address information of the second session management function network element; the second session management function network element is a backup session management function network element of the first session management function network element;

[0034] The second sending module is used to receive a response message sent by the second session management function network element in response to the session reporting request, and send a reply message to the user plane function network element based on the response message; the reply message indicates that the second signaling intercommunication gateway, the second session management function network element, and the user plane function network element have established a session connection; the second signaling intercommunication gateway is a backup signaling intercommunication gateway of the first signaling intercommunication gateway.

[0035] In a seventh aspect, the present application further provides a session establishment device, which is applied to a session management function network element. The device includes:

[0036] A first receiving module is configured to receive a session report request sent by a second signaling interworking gateway; the session report request is forwarded by the user plane function network element through the second signaling interworking gateway when a failure of the first signaling interworking gateway is detected; the first signaling interworking gateway is configured to establish a session connection between the first session management function network element and the user plane function network element; the second signaling interworking gateway is a backup signaling interworking gateway of the first signaling interworking gateway;

[0037] A generating module, configured to generate a response message in response to the session reporting request;

[0038] The first sending module is used to send the response message to the second signaling interworking gateway; the response message is used to instruct the second signaling interworking gateway to send a reply message to the user plane function network element based on the response message; the reply message indicates that the second signaling interworking gateway, the second session management function network element, and the user plane function network element have established a session connection; the second session management function network element is a backup session management function network element of the first session management function network element.

[0039] In an eighth aspect, the present application further provides a 5G core network element device, which is applied to a user plane function network element, including a transmitter, a receiver, a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a computer program;

[0040] The processor executes the computer program to control the transmitter and the receiver;

[0041] The transmitter is configured to, under the control of the processor, initiate a session report request to the second signaling interworking gateway when a failure of the first signaling interworking gateway is detected; the first signaling interworking gateway is configured to establish a session connection between the first session management function network element and the user plane function network element; the second signaling interworking gateway is a backup signaling interworking gateway for the first signaling interworking gateway;

[0042] The receiver is used to receive a response message forwarded by the second signaling intercommunication gateway; the response message is triggered after the second signaling intercommunication gateway establishes a session connection with the second session management function network element based on the address information of the second session management function network element; the second session management function network element is a backup session management function network element of the first session management function network element.

[0043] In a ninth aspect, the present application further provides a signaling interworking gateway, applied to a second signaling interworking gateway, comprising: a transmitter, a receiver, a processor, and a memory, wherein the memory stores a computer program;

[0044] The processor executes the computer program to control the transmitter and the receiver;

[0045] The receiver is configured to receive, under the control of the processor, a session report request sent by a user plane function network element; the session report request is generated by the user plane function network element when a failure of the first signaling interworking gateway is detected; the first signaling interworking gateway is configured to establish a session connection between a first session management function network element and the user plane function network element;

[0046] The transmitter is configured to, under the control of the processor, send the session report request to the second session management function network element based on the address information of the second session management function network element; the second session management function network element is a backup session management function network element of the first session management function network element;

[0047] The receiver is further used to receive a response message sent by the second session management function network element in response to the session reporting request under the control of the processor, and the transmitter is further used to send a reply message to the user plane function network element based on the response message under the control of the processor; the reply message indicates that the second signaling intercommunication gateway, the second session management function network element, and the user plane function network element have established a session connection; the second signaling intercommunication gateway is a backup signaling intercommunication gateway for the first signaling intercommunication gateway.

[0048] In a tenth aspect, the present application further provides a 5G core network element device, which is applied to a session management function network element, including: a transmitter, a receiver, a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a computer program;

[0049] The receiver is configured to receive a session report request sent by a second signaling interworking gateway; the session report request is forwarded by the user plane function network element through the second signaling interworking gateway when a failure of the first signaling interworking gateway is detected; the first signaling interworking gateway is configured to establish a session connection between the first session management function network element and the user plane function network element; the second signaling interworking gateway is a backup signaling interworking gateway of the first signaling interworking gateway;

[0050] The processor executes the computer program to generate a response message in response to the session report request;

[0051] The transmitter is used to send the response message to the second signaling interworking gateway; the response message is used to instruct the second signaling interworking gateway to send a reply message to the user plane function network element based on the response message; the reply message indicates that the second signaling interworking gateway, the second session management function network element, and the user plane function network element have established a session connection; the second session management function network element is a backup session management function network element of the first session management function network element.

[0052] In an eleventh aspect, the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the method described in the first, second, and third aspects.

[0053] In a twelfth aspect, the present application further provides a computer program product, comprising a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the method described in the first, second, and third aspects.

[0054] The above-mentioned session establishment method, device, system, core network network element device and storage medium, when the user plane function network element establishes a session connection with the first session management function through the first signaling intercommunication gateway, sends the address information of the second session management function, which is a backup session management function of the first session management function, to the first signaling intercommunication gateway through the first session management function. The first signaling intercommunication gateway can receive the address information of the second session management function sent by the first session management function, and update the address information of the second session management function to the address information of the second signaling intercommunication gateway, which is the backup signaling intercommunication gateway of the first signaling intercommunication gateway, and send the address information of the second signaling intercommunication gateway to the user plane function network element, so that when the user plane function network element detects a failure of the first signaling intercommunication gateway In this case, the user plane function network element initiates a session report request to the second signaling intercommunication gateway, so that the second signaling intercommunication gateway can determine the address information of the second session management function corresponding to the second signaling intercommunication gateway based on the preset configuration information, establish a session connection with the second session management function according to the address information of the second session management function, and forward the response message triggered after the session connection with the second session management function is established to the user plane function network element, so that the user plane function network element can establish a session connection with the second session management function through the second signaling intercommunication gateway, and migrate the user service from the first signaling intercommunication gateway to the second signaling intercommunication gateway, thereby avoiding the problem of user service interruption between the session management function and the user plane function network element due to the failure of the first signaling intercommunication gateway. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0055] Figure 1 A diagram illustrating an application environment of a session establishment method according to an embodiment;

[0056] Figure 2 A first flow chart of a method for establishing a session in one embodiment;

[0057] Figure 3 A second flow chart of a method for establishing a session in one embodiment;

[0058] Figure 4 FIG3 is a third flow chart of a session establishment method according to an embodiment;

[0059] Figure 5 This is a fourth flow chart of a session establishment method according to an embodiment;

[0060] Figure 6 This is a fifth flow chart of a session establishment method according to an embodiment;

[0061] Figure 7 A first structural block diagram of a session establishing apparatus according to an embodiment;

[0062] Figure 8A second structural block diagram of a session establishing apparatus according to an embodiment;

[0063] Figure 9 A third structural block diagram of a session establishing apparatus according to an embodiment;

[0064] Figure 10 A fourth structural block diagram of a session establishing apparatus according to an embodiment;

[0065] Figure 11 A fifth structural block diagram of a session establishing apparatus according to an embodiment;

[0066] Figure 12 This is a first internal structure diagram of a 5G core network element device in one embodiment;

[0067] Figure 13 This is a diagram of the internal structure of a signaling intercommunication gateway in one embodiment;

[0068] Figure 14 This is a second internal structure diagram of a 5G core network element device in one embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0069] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of this application more clear, the following further describes this application in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain this application and are not intended to limit this application.

[0070] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an application scenario for establishing a session provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown in the figure, this scenario includes a Session Management Function (SMF) network element group 100, a Customized-InterWorking Function (C-IWF) group 200, and a User Plane Function (UPF) network element group 300. The SMF network element group 100 includes SMF 1, SMF 2...SMF n, the C-IWF group 200 includes C-IWF1 and C-IWF2, and the UPF network element group 300 includes UPF 1, UPF 2...UPF n. It should be noted that, generally, an SMF can only establish a session connection with one C-IWF, and a C-IWF can establish connections with multiple UPFs. Figure 1In the example, SMF 1 can establish session connections with UPF 1, UPF 2...UPF n respectively through C-IWF 1, and SMF 2 can establish session connections with UPF 1, UPF 2...UPFn respectively through C-IWF 2. Among them, SMF is a functional network element based on service architecture in the 5G core network. The SMF in the embodiment of the present application can be a functional network element in the 5G private network. UPF is also a functional network element based on service architecture in the 5G core network. The UPF in the embodiment of the present application can be a functional network element in the 5G large network. SMF can send a session establishment request message to C-IWF through the N4 interface, and C-IWF forwards the session establishment request to UPF to instruct UPF to establish or release a protocol data unit (PDU) session, thereby realizing signaling intercommunication between SMF and UPF, as well as network isolation, topology hiding, network security and other functions, which not only ensures the security of the large network and the private network, but also simplifies the complexity of network docking. It should be noted that, Figure 1 The networking structure shown in is only an example and is not limited thereto.

[0071] Currently, the disaster recovery measure implemented in communication networks to meet service continuity requirements is to place multiple network elements (NEs) in the same "pool domain." In the session connection established between the SMF and the UPF via the N4 interface, if one SMF fails, another SMF can be connected to avoid user service interruption. Similarly, in scenarios where signaling forwarding between the SMF and UPF is implemented through the C-IWF, the C-IWF can also fail. However, when a C-IWF fails, both the SMP and UPF consider it a failure of the peer NE and delete the N4 session, resulting in user service interruption. Therefore, conventional technologies have the problem of user service interruption when the C-IWF fails.

[0072] Based on the above-mentioned traditional technology, the embodiment of the present application provides a session establishment method. When the user plane function UPF network element establishes a session connection with the first session management function SMF through the first signaling intercommunication gateway C-IWF, the address information of the second SMF of the backup SMF of the first SMF is sent to the first C-IWF through the first SMF. The first C-IWF can receive the address information of the second SMF sent by the first SMF, and update the address information of the second SMF to the address information of the second C-IWF of the backup C-IWF of the first C-IWF, and send the address information of the second C-IWF to the UPF, so that when the UPF detects the second SMF, the second SMF of the backup C-IWF of the first C-IWF is received. In the event of a C-IWF failure, the UPF initiates a session reporting request to the second C-IWF, so that the second C-IWF can determine the address information of the second SMF corresponding to the second C-IWF based on the preset configuration information, establish a session connection with the second SMF according to the address information of the second SMF, and forward the response message triggered after the session connection with the second SMF is established to the UPF, so that the UPF can establish a session connection with the second SMF through the second C-IWF, and migrate the user service from the first C-IWF to the second C-IWF, avoiding the problem of user service interruption between the SMF and the UPF due to the failure of the first C-IWF.

[0073] It should be noted that the beneficial effects or technical problems solved by the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this one, but may also include other implicit or related problems. For details, please refer to the description of the following embodiments.

[0074] The following specific embodiments describe in detail the technical solution of the present application and how the technical solution of the present application solves the above-mentioned technical problems. The following specific embodiments can be combined with each other, and the same or similar concepts or processes may not be repeated in some embodiments. The embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0075] In one embodiment, Figure 2 As shown, a session establishment method is provided, which is applied to Figure 1 The UPF network element in the example is used to illustrate, including the following steps:

[0076] S201, when a failure of the first signaling interworking gateway C-IWF is detected, a session reporting request is initiated to the second C-IWF; the first C-IWF is used to establish a session connection between the first session management function SMF and the UPF; the second C-IWF is the backup C-IWF of the first C-IWF.

[0077] Among them, the first C-IWF is used to forward signaling messages between the first SMF and the UPF. In this embodiment, the failure of the first C-IWF refers to the inability of the first C-IWF to forward signaling messages normally. The reason for the failure of the first C-IWF may be a failure in the connection line of the first C-IWF, or the number of requests connected to the first C-IWF has reached an upper limit, etc. This embodiment does not limit this. The second C-IWF in this embodiment is a backup C-IWF of the first C-IWF and can be used to replace the first C-IWF to forward signaling when the first C-IWF fails. In this embodiment, the session report request initiated by the UPF to the second C-IWF is used to enable the UPF to establish a session connection with the second SMF through the second C-IWF.

[0078] Typically, in order to establish a session connection between the first SMF and the UPF, the first SMF needs to send a PFCP coupling establishment request to the first C-IWF. The request message may include the source information of the first SMF: Full Qualified Session Endpoint Identifier 1 (F-SEID 1) and Node Address 1 (Node Identifier 1, Node ID 1), as well as the address information of the second SMF as the backup SMF of the first SMF. After receiving the coupling establishment request, the first C-IWF will send the F-SEID 1 and Node ID 1 of the first SMF to the UPF. 1 is updated to the address information of the first C-IWF to avoid exposing the address information of the first SMF in the session establishment request forwarded by the first C-IWF to the UPF, and the address information of the second SMF of the backup SMF of the first SMF is updated to the address information of the second C-IWF of the backup C-IWF of the first C-IWF, thereby sending the session establishment request containing the address information of the second C-IWF to the UPF, and the UPF can obtain the address information of the second C-IWF according to the received request message.

[0079] In this embodiment, when the UPF cannot normally receive the signaling message forwarded by the first C-IWF, the UPF can determine that the first C-IWF has a fault, and can send a session reporting request to the second C-IWF through the N4 interface based on the obtained address information of the second C-IWF.

[0080] S202, receiving a response message forwarded by the second C-IWF; the response message is triggered after the second C-IWF establishes a session connection with the second SMF based on the address information of the second SMF; the second SMF is a backup SMF of the first SMF.

[0081] It should be noted that when configuring the networking information between SMF, C-IWF and UPF, one SMF can only establish a session connection with one C-IWF, and store the connection relationship between the SMF and C-IWF in the C-IWF. Therefore, the C-IWF can determine the address information of the SMF with which it establishes a session connection based on the preset configuration information, and send a signaling message to the corresponding SMF based on the determined address information.

[0082] In this embodiment, after receiving the session reporting request sent by the UPF, the second C-IWF can determine the address information of the second SMF that establishes a connection with the C-IWF according to the preset configuration information, thereby sending the session reporting request to the second SMF. After receiving the session reporting request forwarded by the second C-IWF, the second SMF can establish a session connection between the second C-IWF and the second SMF. The second SMF responds to the received session report and generates a response message, and sends the response message to the second C-IWF. After receiving the response message sent by the second SMF, the second C-IWF can generate a reply message based on the response message. In this embodiment, it can be understood that when the UPF receives the reply message sent by the second C-IWF, it indicates that a session connection has been established between the UPF, the second C-IWF, and the second SMF.

[0083] It should be noted that the response message sent by the second SMF may include the source information of the second SMF: F-SEID2 and Node ID 2. Optionally, after receiving the response message, the second C-IWF may update F-SEID 2 and Node ID 2 to the address information of the second C-IWF in order to avoid exposing the address information of the second SMF, thereby generating a reply message.

[0084] In the above-mentioned session establishment method, when the user plane function network element establishes a session connection with the first session management function through the first signaling intercommunication gateway, the address information of the second session management function, a backup session management function of the first session management function, is sent to the first signaling intercommunication gateway through the first session management function. The first signaling intercommunication gateway is capable of receiving the address information of the second session management function sent by the first session management function, and updating the address information of the second session management function to the address information of the second signaling intercommunication gateway, which is the backup signaling intercommunication gateway of the first signaling intercommunication gateway, and sending the address information of the second signaling intercommunication gateway to the user plane function network element. In this way, when the user plane function network element detects a failure of the first signaling intercommunication gateway, the user plane By initiating a session report request to the second signaling intercommunication gateway, the functional network element can enable the second signaling intercommunication gateway to determine the address information of the second session management function corresponding to the second signaling intercommunication gateway based on preset configuration information, establish a session connection with the second session management function according to the address information of the second session management function, and forward a response message triggered after the session connection with the second session management function is established to the user plane functional network element, so that the user plane functional network element can establish a session connection with the second session management function through the second signaling intercommunication gateway, and migrate user services from the first signaling intercommunication gateway to the second signaling intercommunication gateway, thereby avoiding the problem of user service interruption between the session management function and the user plane functional network element due to a failure of the first signaling intercommunication gateway.

[0085] In the scenario where the UPF sends a session report request to the second C-IWF, the UPF needs to first determine the address information of the second C-IWF and send the session report request to the second C-IWF based on the address information of the second C-IWF. This embodiment will describe the detailed process of the UPF determining the address information of the second C-IWF and sending the session report request to the second C-IWF. In one embodiment, Figure 3 As shown, the above S201 includes:

[0086] S301: Receive a session establishment request sent by a first C-IWF; the session establishment request includes address information of a second C-IWF.

[0087] Among them, the first C-IWF is used to establish a session connection between the UPF and the first SMF in the communication network. When establishing the session connection between the first SMF and the UPF, the first SMF can send a session establishment request to the first C-IWF. The session establishment request can include the F-SEID 1 and Node ID 1 of the first SMF, as well as the address information of the second SMF, the backup SMF of the first SMF. After receiving the initial session establishment request sent by the first SMF, the first C-IWF can replace the F-SEID 1 and Node ID 1 of the first SMF in the received session establishment request with the address information of the first C-IWF in order not to expose the source information of the first SMF, and update the address information of the second SMF, the backup SMF of the first SMF, to the address information of the second C-IWF, the backup C-IWF of the first C-IWF, to generate a session establishment request containing the address information of the second C-IWF. That is to say, in this embodiment, the address information of the second C-IWF included in the session establishment request sent by the first C-IWF and received by the UPF is obtained after the first C-IWF updates the address information according to the address information of the second SMF, the backup SMF of the first SMF.

[0088] In this embodiment, the session establishment request sent by the first C-IWF received by the UPF can be generated by updating the address information of the second SMF, the backup SMF of the first SMF, according to the address information of the second SMF in the session establishment request sent by the first SMF received by the first C-IWF.

[0089] S302: Send a session report request to the second C-IWF based on the address information of the second C-IWF.

[0090] Among them, the address information of the second C-IWF is the information contained in the session establishment request sent by the first C-IWF to the UPF. After the UPF obtains the address information of the second C-IWF, if it is determined that the first C-IWF has failed, it can send the above-mentioned session reporting request to the second C-IWF based on the obtained address information of the second C-IWF, and establish a session connection between the UPF, the second SMF and the second C-IWF through the session reporting request.

[0091] Optionally, in this embodiment, in order to ensure the security of the sent session reporting request, the UPF may encrypt the above session reporting request and send the encrypted session reporting request to the second C-IWF based on the address information of the second C-IWF.

[0092] In this embodiment, when the UPF establishes a communication connection with the first SMF through the first C-IWF, the first SMF can send the address information of its own backup SMF, the second SMF, to the first C-IWF, and the first C-IWF can update the address information of the second SMF to the address information of the backup C-IWF, the second C-IWF of the first C-IWF, generate a session establishment request and send it to the UPF, so that the UPF can parse the received session establishment request and obtain the address information of the second C-IWF in the session establishment request, so that the UPF can send a session reporting request to the second C-IWF according to the obtained address information of the second C-IWF in the event of a failure of the first C-IWF.

[0093] In one embodiment, Figure 4 As shown, a session establishment method is provided, which is applied to Figure 1 The second signaling interworking gateway C-IWF in the example is used to illustrate, including the following steps:

[0094] S401, receiving a session reporting request sent by a user plane function UPF; the session reporting request is generated by the UPF when a failure of the first C-IWF is detected; the first C-IWF is used to establish a session connection between the first session management function SMF and the UPF.

[0095] The second C-IWF is a backup C-IWF for the first C-IWF and can be used to replace the first C-IWF for signaling forwarding when the first C-IWF fails. The UPF is a functional network element in the 5G core network that can receive signaling messages sent by the SMF forwarded by the C-IWF and establish or release a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session based on the received signaling messages. In this embodiment, the failure of the first C-IWF refers to the inability of the first C-IWF to forward signaling messages normally. The reason for the failure of the first C-IWF may be a failure in the connection line of the first C-IWF, or the number of requests connected to the first C-IWF has reached an upper limit, etc. This embodiment does not limit this. In this embodiment, if the UPF cannot normally receive the signaling message forwarded by the first C-IWF, the UPF can determine that the first C-IWF has failed.

[0096] Generally, in order to establish a session connection between the first SMF and the UPF, the first SMF needs to send a PFCP coupling establishment request to the first C-IWF. The request message may include the source information of the first SMF: Full Qualified Session Endpoint Identifier 1 (F-SEID 1) and Node Identifier 1 (Node ID 1), as well as the address information of the second SMF that is the backup SMF of the first SMF. After receiving the coupling establishment request, the first C-IWF will update the F-SEID 1 and Node ID 1 of the first SMF to the address information of the first C-IWF to avoid exposing the address information of the first SMF in the session establishment request forwarded by the first C-IWF to the UPF, and update the address information of the second C-IWF of the backup C-IWF of the first C-IWF with the address information of the second SMF of the backup SMF of the first SMF, thereby sending the session establishment request containing the address information of the second C-IWF to the UPF. The UPF can obtain the address information of the second C-IWF according to the received request message.

[0097] It should be noted that when configuring the networking information between SMF, C-IWF, and UPF, one C-IWF can send and receive signaling with multiple UPFs. Therefore, in the event of a failure of the first C-IWF, the second C-IWF can receive the session reporting request generated and sent by the UPF based on the acquired address information of the second C-IWF, and establish a session connection between the UPF and the second C-IWF based on the received session reporting request.

[0098] S402: Send a session report request to the second SMF based on the address information of the second SMF.

[0099] In this embodiment, when the second C-IWF receives the session reporting request sent by the UPF, it can obtain the address information of the second SMF corresponding to the second C-IWF according to the preset configuration information, so that the second C-IWF can send the session reporting request to the second SMF based on the address information of the second SMF.

[0100] S403, receive the response message sent by the second SMF in response to the session reporting request, and send a reply message to the UPF based on the response message; the reply message indicates that the second C-IWF, the second SMF, and the UPF have established a session connection; the second C-IWF is the backup C-IWF of the first C-IWF.

[0101] In this embodiment, when the second SMF receives the session reporting request forwarded by the second C-IWF, it can establish a session connection between the second C-IWF and the second SMF. The second SMF responds to the received session reporting request to generate a response message and sends the response message to the second C-IWF, wherein the response message may include the source information of the second SMF: F-SEID 2 and Node ID 2. In this embodiment, after receiving the response message sent by the second SMF, the second C-IWF can respond to the response message and generate a reply message. It should be noted that, in order to avoid exposing the address information of the second SMF, the second C-IWF can update F-SEID 2 and Node ID 2 to the address information of the second C-IWF.

[0102] It should be noted that if the second C-IWF receives a response message sent by the second SMF, it means that the second SMF has successfully received the session reporting request. Then, after receiving the response message, the second C-IWF forwards the response message to the UPF, and a session connection can be established between the second C-IWF, the second SMF and the UPF.

[0103] In this embodiment, when the second SMF receives the session reporting request, the second C-IWF can receive a response message generated and sent by the second SMF according to the session reporting request, so that the second C-IWF can generate a reply message based on the response message and send the reply message to the UPF.

[0104] In this embodiment, when a session connection is established between the first session management function SMF and the first user plane function UPF through the first signaling intercommunication gateway C-IWF, the first SMF sends the address information of the second SMF, the backup SMF of the first SMF, to the first C-IWF. The first C-IWF is able to receive the address information of the second SMF sent by the first SMF, and can update the address information of the second SMF to the address information of the second C-IWF, the backup C-IWF of the first C-IWF, and send it to the UPF, so that the second C-IWF can receive the address information generated by the UPF and based on the second C-IWF when the UPF detects a failure of the first C-IWF. The session reporting request sent is used to establish a session connection between the second C-IWF, the second SMF and the UPF, thereby avoiding the problem of user service interruption caused by the failure of the first C-IWF, realizing the migration of user services from the first C-IWF to the second C-IWF, and ensuring the continuity of user services.

[0105] In the scenario where the second C-IWF sends a reply message to the UPF based on the response message, the second C-IWF may perform address information update processing on the received response message to obtain a reply message, and then send the reply message to the UPF. Figure 5 As shown, the above S403 includes:

[0106] S501: Update the address information of the second SMF in the response message to the address information of the second C-IWF to obtain a reply message.

[0107] Among them, the address information of the second SMF refers to the source information of the second SMF: F-SEID 2 and Node ID 2. In this embodiment, the second SMF can generate a response message in response to the session reporting request when receiving the session reporting request sent by the second C-IWF, and send a response message including the address information of the second SMF to the second C-IWF.

[0108] In this embodiment, after receiving the response message, the second C-IWF can generate a reply message in response to the response message. Optionally, in this embodiment, in order not to expose the address information of the second SMF, the second C-IWF can update the address information of the second SMF in the received response message to the address information of the second C-IWF. Therefore, the reply message generated by the second C-IWF can include the address information of the second C-IWF.

[0109] S502: Send a response message to the UPF.

[0110] In this embodiment, the second C-IWF may forward the reply message generated in response to the response message to the UPF.

[0111] In this embodiment, since the second C-IWF can update the address information of the second SMF in the response message to the address information of the second C-IWF, thereby obtaining a reply message and sending the reply message to the UPF, a session connection can be established between the second C-IWF, the second SMF and the UPF, and the user service can be migrated from the first C-IWF to the second C-IWF, thereby avoiding the problem of user service interruption due to the failure of the first C-IWF.

[0112] In one embodiment, Figure 6 As shown, a session establishment method is provided, which is applied to Figure 1 The second session management function SMF network element in the example is used to illustrate, including the following steps:

[0113] S601, receive a session reporting request sent by the second signaling intercommunication gateway C-IWF; the session reporting request is forwarded by the user plane function UPF through the second C-IWF when a failure of the first C-IWF is detected; the first C-IWF is used to establish a session connection between the first SMF and the user plane function UPF; the second C-IWF is a backup C-IWF of the first C-IWF.

[0114] Among them, the session reporting request is sent by the UPF to the second C-IWF when a failure of the first C-IWF is detected, and the second C-IWF forwards it to the second SMF, and is used to establish a session connection between the second C-IWF and the second SMF.

[0115] In this embodiment, the first C-IWF is used to forward signaling messages between the first SMF and the UPF. The failure of the first C-IWF refers to the inability of the first C-IWF to forward signaling messages normally. The reason for the failure of the first C-IWF may be a failure in the connection line of the first C-IWF, or the number of requests connected to the first C-IWF has reached an upper limit, etc. This embodiment does not impose any restrictions on this. The second C-IWF in this embodiment is a backup C-IWF for the first C-IWF and can be used to replace the first C-IWF to forward signaling when the first C-IWF fails. In this embodiment, the session report request initiated by the UPF to the second C-IWF is used to enable the UPF to establish a session connection with the second SMF through the second C-IWF.

[0116] Typically, in order to establish a session connection between the first SMF and the UPF, the first SMF needs to send a PFCP coupling establishment request to the first C-IWF. The request message may include the source information of the first SMF: Full Qualified Session Endpoint Identifier 1 (F-SEID 1) and Node Address 1 (Node Identifier 1, Node ID 1), as well as the address information of the second SMF that serves as the backup SMF of the first SMF. After receiving the coupling establishment request, the first C-IWF will send the F-SEID 1 and Node ID 1 of the first SMF to the UPF. 1 is updated to the address information of the first C-IWF to avoid exposing the address information of the first SMF in the session establishment request forwarded by the first C-IWF to the UPF, and the address information of the second SMF of the backup SMF of the first SMF is updated to the address information of the second C-IWF of the backup C-IWF of the first C-IWF, thereby sending the session establishment request containing the address information of the second C-IWF to the UPF, and the UPF can obtain the address information of the second C-IWF according to the received request message.

[0117] When the UPF detects a failure in the first C-IWF, the UPF may send a session report request to the second C-IWF based on the address information of the second C-IWF. After receiving the session report request, the second C-IWF may determine the address information of the second SMF based on preset configuration information, and thus may send the session report request to the second SMF.

[0118] In this embodiment, when the first C-IWF fails, the second SMF can receive a session reporting request sent by the first C-IWF after receiving the session reporting request sent by the UPF, and determine the address information of the second SMF according to the preset configuration information.

[0119] S602: Generate a response message in response to the session report request.

[0120] In this embodiment, after receiving the session reporting request forwarded by the second C-IWF, the second SMF can establish a session connection between the second C-IWF and the second SMF, and the second SMF responds to the received session reporting request to generate a response message, wherein the response message may include the source information of the second SMF: F-SEID 2 and Node ID 2.

[0121] S603, send a response message to the second C-IWF; the response message is used to instruct the second C-IWF to send a response message to the UPF based on the response message; the response message indicates that the second C-IWF, the second SMF, and the UPF have established a session connection; the second SMF is the backup SMF of the first SMF.

[0122] In this embodiment, the second SMF may send the generated response message to the second C-IWF to instruct the second C-IWF to generate a reply message based on the response message and send the reply message to the UPF.

[0123] It should be noted that in this embodiment, after receiving the response message sent by the second SMF, the second C-IWF updates the address information of the source information of the second SMF in the response message, modifies F-SEID 2 and Node ID 2 to the address information of the second C-IWF, and obtains a response message containing the address information of the second C-IWF. The second C-IWF can send the response message to the UPF to indicate that the second C-IWF, the second SMF, and the UPF have established a session connection.

[0124] In this embodiment, when a session connection is established between the first session management function SMF and the first user plane function UPF through the first signaling interworking gateway C-IWF, the first SMF sends the address information of the second SMF, the backup SMF of the first SMF, to the first C-IWF. The first C-IWF can receive the address information of the second SMF sent by the first SMF, update the address information of the second SMF to the address information of the second C-IWF, the backup C-IWF of the first C-IWF, and send it to the UPF, so that the second SMF can receive the session report request forwarded by the UPF through the second C-IWF when the first C-IWF failure is detected, and generate a response message in response to the session report request, and send the response message to the second C-IWF to instruct the second C-IWF to send a reply message to the UPF based on the response message, thereby establishing a session connection between the second C-IWF, the second SMF, and the UPF, and migrating the user service from the first C-IWF to the second C-IWF, thereby avoiding the problem of user service interruption due to the failure of the first C-IWF.

[0125] To facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art, the session establishment method provided by this application is described in detail below. The method may include:

[0126] S1, the first SMF sends a PFCP coupling session establishment request to the first C-IWF. The session establishment request includes the F-SEID 1 and Node ID 1 of the first SMF, and the address information of the second SMF of the backup SMF of the first SMF.

[0127] S2, the first C-IWF receives the PFCP coupling session establishment request sent by the first SMF, obtains the F-SEID 1 and Node ID 1 of the first SMF, and the address information of the second SMF according to the session establishment request, and updates the F-SEID 1 and Node ID 1 to the address information of the first C-IWF, and updates the address information of the second SMF to the address information of the second C-IWF.

[0128] S3: The first C-IWF forwards the PFCP coupling session establishment request after the address information update process to the UPF. The request message includes the address information of the second C-IWF.

[0129] S4. The UPF receives the session establishment request sent by the first C-IWF, and obtains the address information of the second C-IWF according to the session establishment request.

[0130] S4: When the first C-IWF fails, the UPF sends a session reporting request to the second C-IWF according to the address information of the second C-IWF. The session reporting request includes the SEID set to 0.

[0131] S5. After receiving the session report request, the second C-IWF determines the address information of the second SMF corresponding to the second C-IWF according to the preset configuration information, and forwards the session report request to the second SMF according to the determined address information of the second SMF.

[0132] S6. After receiving the session reporting request, the second SMF generates a response message in response to the session reporting request. The response message includes the F-SEID 2 and Node ID 2 of the second SMF.

[0133] S7: The second SMF returns a response message to the second C-IWF.

[0134] S8. The second C-IWF receives the response message, obtains the F-SEID 2 and Node ID 2 of the second SMF according to the response message, updates the F-SEID 2 and Node ID 2 to the address information of the second C-IWF, and generates a reply message, which includes the address information of the second C-IWF.

[0135] S9: The second C-IWF sends the generated response message to the UPF.

[0136] S10, the UPF receives a response message sent by the second C-IWF and establishes a session connection between the UPF, the second C-IWF and the second SMF.

[0137] It should be noted that for the descriptions in S1-S10 above, reference can be made to the relevant descriptions in the above embodiments, and the effects are similar, so this embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0138] It should be understood that, although the various steps in the flowcharts involved in the above-connected embodiments are shown in sequence as indicated by the arrows, these steps are not necessarily performed in sequence in the order indicated by the arrows. Unless otherwise specified herein, there is no strict order restriction on the execution of these steps, and these steps can be performed in other orders. Moreover, at least a portion of the steps in the flowcharts involved in the above-connected embodiments may include multiple steps or multiple stages, and these steps or stages are not necessarily performed at the same time, but can be performed at different times, and the execution order of these steps or stages is not necessarily performed in sequence, but can be performed in turn or alternately with other steps or at least a portion of steps or stages in other steps.

[0139] Based on the same inventive concept, embodiments of the present application also provide a session establishment device for implementing the aforementioned session establishment method. The solution provided by this device is similar to the solution described in the aforementioned method. Therefore, the specific limitations in one or more of the following session establishment device embodiments can be found in the aforementioned limitations on the session establishment method and will not be further elaborated here.

[0140] In one embodiment, Figure 7 As shown, a session establishment device is provided for use in a user plane function UPF network element, including: a first sending module 10 and a first receiving module 11, wherein:

[0141] The first sending module 10 is used to initiate a session reporting request to the second C-IWF when a failure of the first signaling intercommunication gateway C-IWF is detected; the first C-IWF is used to establish a session connection between the first session management function SMF and the UPF; the second C-IWF is a backup C-IWF of the first C-IWF; the address information of the second SMF is determined by the second C-IWF based on preset configuration information.

[0142] The first receiving module 11 is used to receive the response message forwarded by the second C-IWF; the response message is triggered after the second C-IWF establishes a session connection with the second SMF based on the address information of the second SMF; the second SMF is the backup SMF of the first SMF.

[0143] The session establishment device provided in this embodiment can execute the above method embodiment. Its implementation principles and technical effects are similar and will not be described in detail here.

[0144] In one embodiment, Figure 8 As shown, the first sending module 10 includes: a first receiving unit 101 and a first sending unit 102, wherein:

[0145] The first receiving unit 101 is configured to receive a session establishment request sent by a first C-IWF; the session establishment request includes address information of a second C-IWF.

[0146] The first sending unit 102 is configured to send a session reporting request to the second C-IWF based on the address information of the second C-IWF.

[0147] The session establishment device provided in this embodiment can execute the above method embodiment. Its implementation principles and technical effects are similar and will not be described in detail here.

[0148] In one embodiment, Figure 9 As shown, a session establishment device is also provided for use in a second signaling interworking gateway C-IWF, including: a first receiving module 12, a first sending module 13 and a second sending module 14, wherein:

[0149] The first receiving module 12 is used to receive a session reporting request sent by the user plane function UPF; the session reporting request is generated by the UPF when a failure of the first C-IWF is detected; the first C-IWF is used to establish a session connection between the first session management function SMF and the UPF.

[0150] The first sending module 13 is configured to send a session reporting request to the second SMF based on the address information of the second SMF; the second SMF is a backup SMF of the first SMF.

[0151] The second sending module 14 is used to receive a response message sent by the second SMF in response to the session reporting request, and send a reply message to the UPF based on the response message; the reply message indicates that the second C-IWF, the second SMF, and the UPF have established a session connection; the second C-IWF is the backup C-IWF of the first C-IWF.

[0152] The session establishment device provided in this embodiment can execute the above method embodiment. Its implementation principles and technical effects are similar and will not be described in detail here.

[0153] In one embodiment, Figure 10 As shown, the second sending module 14 includes: an updating unit 141 and a first sending unit 142, wherein:

[0154] The updating unit 141 is configured to update the address information of the second SMF in the response message to the address information of the second C-IWF, and obtain a reply message.

[0155] The first sending unit 142 is configured to send a response message to the UPF.

[0156] The session establishment device provided in this embodiment can execute the above method embodiment. Its implementation principles and technical effects are similar and will not be described in detail here.

[0157] In one embodiment, Figure 11 As shown, a session establishment device is provided for use in a session management function SMF network element, comprising: a first receiving module 15, a generating module 16 and a first sending module 17, wherein:

[0158] The first receiving module 15 is used to receive a session reporting request sent by the second signaling intercommunication gateway C-IWF; the session reporting request is forwarded by the user plane function UPF through the second C-IWF when a failure of the first C-IWF is detected; the first C-IWF is used to establish a session connection between the first SMF and the user plane function UPF; the second C-IWF is a backup C-IWF of the first C-IWF.

[0159] The generating module 16 is configured to generate a response message in response to the session reporting request.

[0160] The first sending module 17 is used to send a response message to the second C-IWF; the response message is used to instruct the second C-IWF to send a response message to the UPF based on the response message; the response message indicates that the second C-IWF, the second SMF, and the UPF have established a session connection; the second SMF is the backup SMF of the first SMF.

[0161] The session establishment device provided in this embodiment can execute the above method embodiment. Its implementation principles and technical effects are similar and will not be described in detail here.

[0162] Each module in the above-mentioned session establishment device can be implemented in whole or in part through software, hardware, or a combination thereof. Each module can be embedded in or independent of a processor in a computer device in the form of hardware, or can be stored in a memory in the computer device in the form of software, so that the processor can call and execute the corresponding operations of each module.

[0163] Figure 12It is a structural diagram of a 5G core network element device provided by an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 12 The 5G core network element device 700 shown includes: at least one processor 701, a memory 702, at least one network interface 704 and a user interface 703. The various components in the 5G core network element device 700 are coupled together through a bus system 705. It can be understood that the bus system 705 is used to realize the connection and communication between these components. In addition to the data bus, the bus system 705 also includes a power bus, a control bus and a status signal bus. However, for the sake of clarity, Figure 12 Various buses are labeled as bus system 705. In addition, the embodiment of the present invention further includes a transceiver 706. The transceiver can be multiple components, that is, including a transmitter and a receiver, providing a unit for communicating with various other devices on a transmission medium.

[0164] The user interface 703 may include a display, a keyboard, or a pointing device (eg, a mouse, a trackball, a touchpad, or a touch screen).

[0165] It is understood that the memory 702 in the embodiment of the present invention can be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or can include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDRSDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct RAM bus random access memory (DRRAM). The memory 702 of the systems and methods described in the embodiments of the present invention is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0166] In some embodiments, the memory 702 stores the following elements, executable modules or data structures, or a subset thereof, or an extended set thereof: an operating system 7021 and application programs 7022 .

[0167] The operating system 7021 includes various system programs, such as a framework layer, a core library layer, and a driver layer, for implementing various basic services and handling hardware-based tasks. Application programs 7022 include various application programs, such as a media player (MediaPlayer) and a browser (Browser), for implementing various application services. Programs implementing the methods of the embodiments of the present invention may be included in application programs 7022.

[0168] In an embodiment of the present invention, by calling the program or instructions stored in the memory 702, specifically, the program or instructions stored in the application 7022, the transceiver 706 is used to initiate a session reporting request to the second C-IWF when a failure of the first signaling intercommunication gateway C-IWF is detected; the first C-IWF is used to establish a session connection between the first session management function SMF network element and the UPF; the second C-IWF is a backup C-IWF of the first C-IWF; the transceiver 706 is also used to receive a response message forwarded by the second C-IWF; the response message is triggered after the second C-IWF establishes a session connection with the second SMF based on the address information of the second SMF; the second SMF is a backup SMF of the first SMF.

[0169] It is understood that the embodiments described in the embodiments of the present invention can be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, or a combination thereof. For hardware implementation, the processing unit can be implemented in one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSP devices, DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), general-purpose processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, other electronic units for performing the functions described in this application, or a combination thereof.

[0170] For software implementation, the techniques described in the embodiments of the present invention can be implemented through modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the functions described in the embodiments of the present invention. The software code can be stored in a memory and executed by the processor 701. The memory can be implemented in the processor 701 or external to the processor 701.

[0171] In one embodiment, the transceiver 706 is specifically configured to receive a session establishment request sent by the first C-IWF; the session establishment request includes address information of the second C-IWF; and send a session reporting request to the second C-IWF based on the address information of the second C-IWF.

[0172] Figure 13 A structural diagram of a signaling intercommunication gateway provided in an embodiment of the present application. The signaling intercommunication gateway may include a receiver 31, a memory 32, a processor 33, at least one communication bus 34 and a transmitter 35. The communication bus 34 is used to implement communication between components. The memory 32 may include a high-speed RAM memory, and may also include a non-volatile storage NVM, such as at least one disk memory. Various programs may be stored in the memory 32 to complete various processing functions and implement the method steps of this embodiment. In this embodiment, the transmitter 35 may be a radio frequency processing module or a baseband processing module in the signaling intercommunication gateway, and the receiver 31 may also be a radio frequency processing module or a baseband processing module in the signaling intercommunication gateway. The transmitter 35 and the receiver 31 may be integrated together to form a transceiver. Both the transmitter 35 and the receiver 31 may be coupled to the processor 33, and they may perform receiving or transmitting actions under the instruction or control of the processor 33.

[0173] In this embodiment, the receiver 31 is used to receive a session reporting request sent by the user plane function UPF; the session reporting request is generated by the UPF when a failure of the first C-IWF is detected; the first C-IWF is used to establish a session connection between the first SMF and the UPF.

[0174] The transmitter 35 is configured to send the session report request to the second SMF based on the address information of the second SMF; the second SMF is a backup SMF of the first SMF.

[0175] The transmitter 35 is also used to receive a response message sent by the second SMF in response to the session reporting request, and send a reply message to the UPF based on the response message; the reply message indicates that the second C-IWF, the second SMF, and the UPF have established a session connection; the second C-IWF is the backup C-IWF of the first C-IWF.

[0176] In one embodiment, the transmitter 35 is specifically configured to update the address information of the second SMF in the response message to the address information of the second C-IWF to obtain a reply message; and send the reply message to the UPF.

[0177] Figure 14A structural diagram of a 5G core network element device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The signaling intercommunication gateway may include a receiver 41, a memory 42, a processor 43, at least one communication bus 44, and a transmitter 45. The communication bus 44 is used to implement communication between components. The memory 42 may include a high-speed RAM memory, and may also include a non-volatile storage NVM, such as at least one disk memory. Various programs may be stored in the memory 42 to complete various processing functions and implement the method steps of this embodiment. In this embodiment, the transmitter 45 may be a radio frequency processing module or a baseband processing module in the signaling intercommunication gateway, and the receiver 41 may also be a radio frequency processing module or a baseband processing module in the signaling intercommunication gateway. The transmitter 45 and the receiver 41 may be integrated together to form a transceiver. Both the transmitter 45 and the receiver 41 may be coupled to the processor 43, and they may perform receiving or transmitting actions under the instruction or control of the processor 43.

[0178] In this embodiment, receiver 41 is configured to receive a session report request sent by a second C-IWF. The session report request is forwarded by the UPF through the second C-IWF upon detecting a failure in the first C-IWF. The first C-IWF is configured to establish a session connection between the first SMF and the user plane function (UPF). The second C-IWF is a backup C-IWF for the first C-IWF. Processor 43 is configured to generate a response message in response to the session report request. Transmitter 45 is configured to send the response message to the second C-IWF. The response message instructs the second C-IWF to send a reply message to the UPF based on the response message. The reply message indicates that a session connection has been established between the second C-IWF, the second SMF, and the UPF. The second SMF is a backup SMF for the first SMF.

[0179] In one embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the following steps are implemented:

[0180] In the event that a failure of the first signaling interworking gateway C-IWF is detected, a session reporting request is initiated to the second C-IWF; the first C-IWF is used to establish a session connection between the first session management function SMF and the UPF; the second C-IWF is a backup C-IWF of the first C-IWF; the address information of the second SMF is sent by the first SMF to the first C-IWF; the address information of the second SMF is determined by the second C-IWF based on preset configuration information;

[0181] Receive a response message forwarded by the second C-IWF; the response message is triggered after the second C-IWF establishes a session connection with the second SMF based on the address information of the second SMF; the second SMF is a backup SMF of the first SMF.

[0182] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by a processor, the following steps are further implemented:

[0183] receiving a session establishment request sent by the first C-IWF; the session establishment request including address information of the second C-IWF;

[0184] Based on the address information of the second C-IWF, a session report request is sent to the second C-IWF.

[0185] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by a processor, the following steps are further implemented:

[0186] receiving a session report request sent by a user plane function UPF; the session report request is generated by the UPF when a failure of the first C-IWF is detected; the first C-IWF is used to establish a session connection between the first session management function SMF and the UPF;

[0187] Sending a session report request to the second SMF based on the address information of the second SMF; the second SMF is a backup SMF of the first SMF;

[0188] Receive a response message sent by the second SMF in response to the session reporting request, and send a reply message to the UPF based on the response message; the reply message indicates that the second C-IWF, the second SMF, and the UPF have established a session connection; the second C-IWF is the backup C-IWF of the first C-IWF.

[0189] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by a processor, the following steps are further implemented:

[0190] Update the address information of the second SMF in the response message to the address information of the second C-IWF to obtain a reply message;

[0191] Send the reply message to UPF.

[0192] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by a processor, the following steps are further implemented:

[0193] Receive a session report request sent by the second signaling interworking gateway C-IWF; the session report request is forwarded by the user plane function UPF through the second C-IWF when a failure of the first C-IWF is detected; the first C-IWF is used to establish a session connection between the first SMF and the user plane function UPF; the second C-IWF is a backup C-IWF of the first C-IWF;

[0194] generating a response message in response to the session report request;

[0195] The response message is sent to the second C-IWF; the response message is used to instruct the second C-IWF to send a response message to the UPF based on the response message; the response message indicates that the second C-IWF, the second SMF, and the UPF have established a session connection; the second SMF is the backup SMF of the first SMF.

[0196] In one embodiment, a computer program product is provided, comprising a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the following steps:

[0197] In the event that a failure of the first signaling interworking gateway C-IWF is detected, a session reporting request is initiated to the second C-IWF; the first C-IWF is used to establish a session connection between the first session management function SMF and the UPF; the address information of the second SMF is sent by the first SMF to the first C-IWF; the address information of the second SMF is determined by the second C-IWF based on preset configuration information;

[0198] Receive a response message forwarded by the second C-IWF; the response message is triggered after the second C-IWF establishes a session connection with the second SMF based on the address information of the second SMF; the second SMF is a backup SMF of the first SMF.

[0199] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by a processor, the following steps are further implemented:

[0200] Receive a session establishment request sent by the first C-IWF; the session establishment request includes address information of the second C-IWF and address information of the second SMF;

[0201] Based on the address information of the second C-IWF, a session report request is sent to the second C-IWF.

[0202] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by a processor, the following steps are further implemented:

[0203] receiving a session report request sent by a user plane function UPF; the session report request is generated by the UPF when a failure of the first C-IWF is detected; the first C-IWF is used to establish a session connection between the first session management function SMF and the UPF;

[0204] Sending a session report request to the second SMF based on the address information of the second SMF; the second SMF is a backup SMF of the first SMF;

[0205] Receive a response message sent by the second SMF in response to the session reporting request, and send a reply message to the UPF based on the response message; the reply message indicates that the second C-IWF, the second SMF, and the UPF have established a session connection; the second C-IWF is the backup C-IWF of the first C-IWF.

[0206] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by a processor, the following steps are further implemented:

[0207] Update the address information of the second SMF in the response message to the address information of the second C-IWF to obtain a reply message;

[0208] Send the reply message to UPF.

[0209] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by a processor, the following steps are further implemented:

[0210] Receive a session report request sent by the second signaling interworking gateway C-IWF; the session report request is forwarded by the user plane function UPF through the second C-IWF when a failure of the first C-IWF is detected; the first C-IWF is used to establish a session connection between the first SMF and the user plane function UPF; the second C-IWF is a backup C-IWF of the first C-IWF;

[0211] generating a response message in response to the session report request;

[0212] The response message is sent to the second C-IWF; the response message is used to instruct the second C-IWF to send a response message to the UPF based on the response message; the response message indicates that the second C-IWF, the second SMF, and the UPF have established a session connection; the second SMF is the backup SMF of the first SMF.

[0213] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that all or part of the processes in the above-mentioned embodiments can be implemented by instructing the relevant hardware through a computer program. The computer program can be stored in a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium. When the computer program is executed, it can include the processes of the above-mentioned embodiments. In particular, any reference to memory, database, or other media used in the embodiments provided in this application can include at least one of non-volatile and volatile memory. Non-volatile memory can include read-only memory (ROM), magnetic tape, floppy disk, flash memory, optical memory, high-density embedded non-volatile memory, resistive random access memory (ReRAM), magnetic random access memory (MRAM), ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM), phase change memory (PCM), graphene memory, etc. Volatile memory can include random access memory (RAM) or external cache memory, etc. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM can take various forms, such as static random access memory (SRAM) or dynamic random access memory (DRAM). The databases involved in the various embodiments provided herein may include at least one of a relational database and a non-relational database. Non-relational databases may include, but are not limited to, distributed databases based on blockchains. The processors involved in the various embodiments provided herein may be, but are not limited to, general-purpose processors, central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), digital signal processors (DSPs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), data processing logic devices based on quantum computing, and the like.

[0214] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0215] The above-described embodiments merely represent several implementation methods of the present application. While the descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present application. It should be noted that a person of ordinary skill in the art may make various modifications and improvements without departing from the spirit of the present application, and these modifications and improvements fall within the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application shall be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A session establishment method, characterized in that: Applied to a user plane functional network element, the method includes: Initiate a session report request to a second signaling interworking gateway when a failure of the first signaling interworking gateway is detected; the first signaling interworking gateway is used to establish a session connection between the first session management function network element and the user plane function network element; the second signaling interworking gateway is a backup signaling interworking gateway for the first signaling interworking gateway; Receive a response message forwarded by the second signaling interworking gateway; the response message is sent by the second signaling interworking gateway based on the address information of the second session management function network element, sending the session reporting request to the second session management function network element, receiving the response message sent by the second session management function network element in response to the session reporting request, and sending based on the response message; the second session management function network element is a backup session management function network element of the first session management function network element.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The initiating a session report request to the second signaling interworking gateway includes: receiving a session establishment request sent by the first signaling interworking gateway; the session establishment request including address information of the second signaling interworking gateway; Based on the address information of the second signaling interworking gateway, the session reporting request is sent to the second signaling interworking gateway.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The address information of the second session management function network element is determined by the second signaling interworking gateway based on preset configuration information.

4. A session establishment method, characterized in that: Applied to a second signaling interworking gateway, the method includes: receiving a session report request sent by a user plane function network element; the session report request is generated by the user plane function network element when a failure of the first signaling interworking gateway is detected; the first signaling interworking gateway is used to establish a session connection between the first session management function network element and the user plane function network element; Sending the session report request to the second session management function network element based on the address information of the second session management function network element; the second session management function network element is a backup session management function network element of the first session management function network element; Receive a response message sent by the second session management function network element in response to the session reporting request, and send a reply message to the user plane function network element based on the response message; the reply message indicates that the second signaling intercommunication gateway, the second session management function network element, and the user plane function network element have established a session connection; the second signaling intercommunication gateway is a backup signaling intercommunication gateway of the first signaling intercommunication gateway.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The sending a response message to the user plane function network element based on the response message includes: Updating the address information of the second session management function network element in the response message to the address information of the second signaling interworking gateway to obtain the reply message; Send the response message to the user plane function network element.

6. A session establishment method, characterized in that: Applied to a second session management function network element, the method includes: receiving a session report request sent by a second signaling interworking gateway; the session report request is forwarded by the user plane function network element through the second signaling interworking gateway when a failure of the first signaling interworking gateway is detected; the first signaling interworking gateway is used to establish a session connection between the first session management function network element and the user plane function network element; the second signaling interworking gateway is a backup signaling interworking gateway of the first signaling interworking gateway; generating a response message in response to the session report request; The response message is sent to the second signaling interworking gateway; the response message is used to instruct the second signaling interworking gateway to send a reply message to the user plane function network element based on the response message; the reply message indicates that the second signaling interworking gateway, the second session management function network element, and the user plane function network element have established a session connection; the second session management function network element is a backup session management function network element of the first session management function network element.

7. A communication system, characterized in that: The communication system includes a user plane function network element, a signaling interworking gateway and a session management function network element; The user plane function network element is used to perform the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 3; The signaling intercommunication gateway is used to perform the steps of the method according to any one of claims 4-5; The session management function network element is used to execute the steps of the method according to claim 6.

8. A session establishing device, characterized in that: Applied to a user plane functional network element, the device includes: A first sending module is configured to initiate a session reporting request to a second signaling interworking gateway when a failure of the first signaling interworking gateway is detected; the first signaling interworking gateway is configured to establish a session connection between the first session management function network element and the user plane function network element; the second signaling interworking gateway is a backup signaling interworking gateway for the first signaling interworking gateway; The first receiving module is used to receive a response message forwarded by the second signaling intercommunication gateway; the response message is sent by the second signaling intercommunication gateway to the second session management function network element based on the address information of the second session management function network element, receive the response message sent by the second session management function network element in response to the session reporting request, and send it based on the response message; the second session management function network element is a backup session management function network element of the first session management function network element.

9. A session establishing device, characterized in that: Applied to a second signaling interworking gateway, the device includes: A first receiving module is configured to receive a session report request sent by a user plane function network element; the session report request is generated by the user plane function network element when a failure of the first signaling interworking gateway is detected; the first signaling interworking gateway is configured to establish a session connection between the first session management function network element and the user plane function network element; A first sending module is configured to send the session report request to the second session management function network element based on the address information of the second session management function network element; the second session management function network element is a backup session management function network element of the first session management function network element; The second sending module is used to receive a response message sent by the second session management function network element in response to the session reporting request, and send a reply message to the user plane function network element based on the response message; the reply message indicates that the second signaling intercommunication gateway, the second session management function network element, and the user plane function network element have established a session connection; the second signaling intercommunication gateway is a backup signaling intercommunication gateway of the first signaling intercommunication gateway.

10. A session establishing device, characterized in that: Applied to a second session management function network element, the device includes: A first receiving module is configured to receive a session report request sent by a second signaling interworking gateway; the session report request is forwarded by the user plane function network element through the second signaling interworking gateway when a failure of the first signaling interworking gateway is detected; the first signaling interworking gateway is configured to establish a session connection between the first session management function network element and the user plane function network element; the second signaling interworking gateway is a backup signaling interworking gateway of the first signaling interworking gateway; A generating module, configured to generate a response message in response to the session reporting request; The first sending module is used to send the response message to the second signaling interworking gateway; the response message is used to instruct the second signaling interworking gateway to send a reply message to the user plane function network element based on the response message; the reply message indicates that the second signaling interworking gateway, the second session management function network element, and the user plane function network element have established a session connection; the second session management function network element is a backup session management function network element of the first session management function network element.

11. A 5G core network element device, applied to a user plane functional network element, including a transmitter, a receiver, a processor and a memory, characterized in that: The memory stores a computer program; The processor executes the computer program to control the transmitter and the receiver; The transmitter is configured to, under the control of the processor, initiate a session report request to the second signaling interworking gateway when a failure of the first signaling interworking gateway is detected; the first signaling interworking gateway is configured to establish a session connection between the first session management function network element and the user plane function network element; the second signaling interworking gateway is a backup signaling interworking gateway for the first signaling interworking gateway; The receiver is configured to receive a response message forwarded by the second signaling interworking gateway; The response message is sent by the second signaling interworking gateway based on the address information of the second session management function network element, sending the session report request to the second session management function network element, receiving a response message sent by the second session management function network element in response to the session report request, and based on the response message; The second session management function network element is a backup session management function network element of the first session management function network element.

12. A signaling interworking gateway, applied to a second signaling interworking gateway, comprising: A transmitter, a receiver, a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a computer program; The processor executes the computer program to control the transmitter and the receiver; The receiver is configured to receive, under the control of the processor, a session report request sent by a user plane function network element; the session report request is generated by the user plane function network element when a failure of the first signaling interworking gateway is detected; the first signaling interworking gateway is configured to establish a session connection between a first session management function network element and the user plane function network element; The transmitter is configured to, under the control of the processor, send the session report request to the second session management function network element based on the address information of the second session management function network element; the second session management function network element is a backup session management function network element of the first session management function network element; The receiver is further used to receive a response message sent by the second session management function network element in response to the session reporting request under the control of the processor, and the transmitter is further used to send a reply message to the user plane function network element based on the response message under the control of the processor; the reply message indicates that the second signaling intercommunication gateway, the second session management function network element, and the user plane function network element have established a session connection; the second signaling intercommunication gateway is a backup signaling intercommunication gateway for the first signaling intercommunication gateway.

13. A 5G core network element device, applied to a second session management function network element, comprising: A transmitter, a receiver, a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a computer program; The receiver is configured to receive a session report request sent by a second signaling interworking gateway; the session report request is forwarded by the user plane function network element through the second signaling interworking gateway when a failure of the first signaling interworking gateway is detected; the first signaling interworking gateway is configured to establish a session connection between the first session management function network element and the user plane function network element; the second signaling interworking gateway is a backup signaling interworking gateway of the first signaling interworking gateway; The processor executes the computer program to generate a response message in response to the session report request; The transmitter is used to send the response message to the second signaling interworking gateway; the response message is used to instruct the second signaling interworking gateway to send a reply message to the user plane function network element based on the response message; the reply message indicates that the second signaling interworking gateway, the second session management function network element, and the user plane function network element have established a session connection; the second session management function network element is a backup session management function network element of the first session management function network element.

14. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 are implemented.

15. A computer program product comprising a computer program, characterized in that When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 are implemented.

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