User plane IP address allocation method and system, user plane converged network element

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a user plane IP address allocation method and system, a user plane converged network element, and relates to the technical field of communication. The method comprises the following steps: receiving a session establishment request sent by a control plane converged network element, and extracting user-related identification information; based on the user-related identification information, searching for static IP address information of a target user in a static address information configuration table; generating a session establishment response based on the static IP address information; the session establishment response comprises static IP address information of the UE; and sending the session establishment response to the control plane converged network element, so that the UE obtains the static IP address information. The present disclosure can solve the problems of low flexibility and long opening period of user IP address configuration in the prior art.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of communication, and in particular, to a user plane Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation method, a user plane converged network element, a user plane IP address allocation system, a computer readable medium and a computing device. BACKGROUND

[0002] Based on factors such as the current inventory status of the communication network and the future network development trend, 5G (5th-generation) network deployment will be a long-term replacement, upgrade and iteration process of the 4G (4th-generation) system. In the early and middle stages of 5G network deployment, transition needs to be realized through 4G / 5G convergence to ensure the network experience of users. Therefore, 4G / 5G converged networking and interoperation technology has become a key research content for operators.

[0003] In the existing 4G / 5G converged system, the user subscription information in the home subscriber server and unified data management function (HSS / UDM) is mostly used to determine and execute the allocation of static IP addresses by the control plane network element based on the user subscription information. That is, the user must subscribe to services in the service handling system of the operator to use the static IP address, which limits the flexibility of user address configuration and affects the user experience. In addition, allocating IP addresses through the control plane has the problems of complex interface interaction and long opening period.

[0004] It should be noted that the information disclosed in the above background section is only used to strengthen the understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and therefore can include information that does not constitute prior art known to those of ordinary skill in the art. SUMMARY

[0005] The purpose of the embodiments of the present disclosure is to provide a user plane IP address allocation method, a user plane converged network element, a user plane IP address allocation system, a computer readable medium and a computing device, thereby to some extent solving the problem of low flexibility and long opening period of user IP address configuration in the prior art.

[0006] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a user plane IP address allocation method is provided, applied to a user plane converged network element, and the method comprises:

[0007] receiving a session establishment request sent by a control plane converged network element, and extracting user-related identification information in the session establishment request;

[0008] based on the user-related identification information, searching for static IP address information of a target user in a static address information configuration table; the target user is determined based on the user-related identification information; the static address information configuration table comprises a corresponding relationship between the user-related identification information and the static IP address information;

[0009] based on the static IP address information, generating a session establishment response; the session establishment response comprises static IP address information of a user equipment (UE);

[0010] sending the session establishment response to a control plane converged network element, so that the UE obtains the static IP address information.

[0011] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, based on the foregoing scheme, the user-related identification information comprises user identification information and network identification information to which the user belongs.

[0012] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, based on the foregoing scheme, the user plane converged network element has a static IP address configuration interface, and the user-related identification information is obtained by invoking the static IP address configuration interface of a multi-access edge computing (MEC) system.

[0013] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, based on the foregoing scheme, before searching for the static IP address information of the target user in the static address information configuration table, the method comprises:

[0014] searching for address pool and mask information bound to the network identification information, to obtain a candidate address pool;

[0015] screening first IP address information from the candidate address pool; the first IP address information is used to indicate allocable IP address information;

[0016] sending the first IP address information to the MEC system, so that an IP address is selected from the first IP address information as second IP address information by the MEC system;

[0017] determining the second IP address information as the static IP address of the target user.

[0018] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, based on the foregoing scheme, the method further comprises:

[0019] based on a corresponding relationship between the second IP address information and a target user, constructing and storing a static address information configuration table; the target user is determined based on the user identification information and the network identification information to which the user belongs.

[0020] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, based on the foregoing scheme, the forwarding layer of the user plane converged network element has a plurality of virtual forwarding routing tables; one virtual forwarding routing table is used for routing forwarding of one candidate address pool, and one candidate address pool is bound to one network identification information.

[0021] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a user plane converged network element is provided, comprising:

[0022] a receiving module configured to receive a session establishment request sent by a control plane converged network element, and extract user related identification information in the session establishment request;

[0023] a searching module configured to search for static IP address information of a target user in a static address information configuration table based on the user related identification information; the target user is determined based on the user related identification information; and the static address information configuration table comprises a corresponding relationship between user related identification information and static IP address information;

[0024] a responding module configured to generate a session establishment response based on the static IP address information; the session establishment response comprises static IP address information of a user equipment (UE);

[0025] a sending module configured to send the session establishment response to the control plane converged network element, so that the UE obtains the static IP address information.

[0026] According to the second aspect of the present disclosure, a user plane IP address allocation system is provided, comprising a control plane converged network element and a user plane converged network element; the control plane converged network element is configured to send a session establishment request initiated by a user equipment (UE) to the user plane converged network element; the user plane converged network element is configured to extract user related identification information in the received session establishment request; the user plane converged network element is further configured to search for static IP address information of a target user in a static address information configuration table based on the user related identification information; the target user is determined based on the user related identification information; the static address information configuration table comprises a corresponding relationship between user related identification information and static IP address information; the user plane converged network element is further configured to generate a session establishment response based on the static IP address information, and send the session establishment response to the control plane converged network element; the session establishment response comprises static IP address information of the UE; and the control plane converged network element is further configured to send the session establishment response to the UE, so that the UE obtains the static IP address information.

[0027] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a computer readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program; when the computer program is executed by a processor, the method described in any one of the preceding aspects is implemented.

[0028] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a computing device is provided, comprising: a processor; and a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to perform the method of any one of the above via executing the executable instructions.

[0029] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure can have the following partial or all beneficial effects:

[0030] In the user plane IP address allocation method provided in the disclosed exemplary embodiments, on one hand, the correspondence between the user-related identification information and the static IP address information can be configured in the user plane converged network element in advance to form a static address information configuration table; so that in the process of establishing a session, the user plane converged network element receives a session establishment request sent by the control plane converged network element, and extracts the user-related identification information in the request; and by searching for the static IP address information of the target user in the static address information configuration table, the static IP address allocation of the user plane to the user equipment is realized, the flexibility of user configuration IP address is improved, and the user experience is improved. On the other hand, the configuration of the user static IP address can be performed in the user plane converged network element, without the need of the control plane network element of the core network, so that the interface interaction process is simplified, the IP address allocation period is shortened, and the address allocation efficiency is improved.

[0031] It should be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are only exemplary and explanatory, and are not limiting to the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0032] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present disclosure and serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure. It is apparent that the accompanying drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present disclosure, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor on the basis of these drawings.

[0033] Figure 1 An exemplary scenario architecture diagram of the prior user plane IP address allocation method is shown.

[0034] Figure 2 A flowchart of the user plane IP address allocation method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown.

[0035] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the static address information configuration table in one embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown.

[0036] Figure 4 A flowchart of the configuration process of the static address information configuration table in one embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown.

[0037] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a user plane IP address allocation procedure according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0038] Figure 6 A structural block diagram of a user plane converged network element according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0039] Figure 7 A structural block diagram of a user plane IP address allocation system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0040] Figure 8 A block diagram of an electronic device suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] Example implementations will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Example implementations may, however, be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the implementations set forth herein; rather, these implementations are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the example implementations to those skilled in the art. The described features, structures, or characteristics can be combined in one or more implementations. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided, such as examples of programming, software modules, user selections, etc., to provide a thorough understanding of implementations of the present disclosure. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the

[0042] Moreover, the figures can not be to scale and some features can be exaggerated to show details of particular implementations. The same reference numerals can be used in different illustrations to denote the same or similar elements. Descriptions of well-known methods, devices, and materials can be omitted so as to not obscure the disclosure with details that are well known to those skilled in the art. The examples set forth herein are by way of illustration only and should not be construed as limiting of such skilled in the art. Such skilled in the art will understand that the examples described herein can be manifested in many different forms and that the specific examples provided herein are provided by way of example.

[0043] 4G / 5G converged networking involves the integration and evolution of network, data, service and other aspects. Based on this, 3GPP defines 4G / 5G converged network elements dedicated to cross-system interoperation, which separates the control plane and user plane of each network element of the core network to form a control plane converged network element and a user plane converged network element. For example, the control plane converged network element is: control plane packet data network gateway / session management function PGW-C / SMF (PGW (PDN (packet data network, packet data network) Gate Way) / SMF (session management function, session management function)), the user plane converged network element is: user plane packet data network gateway PGW-U / user plane function (User Plane Function, UPF), home subscriber server / unified data management function HSS / UDM, etc.

[0044] Please refer to Figure 1 An exemplary system diagram of the user plane IP address allocation method and device is provided for the present application, as shown in Figure 1As shown, the system 100 shown in the embodiment of the present application can include a user equipment 101, a base station 102, a user plane converged network element 103, a control plane converged network element 104, and a mobile edge computing (MEC) system 105. Among them, the user equipment 101 can be a computer device, a mobile terminal device, for example, the mobile terminal includes but is not limited to a tablet computer, a POS (point of sales), a vehicle-mounted computer, etc.; the user equipment can also be a mobile station, a user station, a wireless device, etc., and the present example does not limit this. The base station 102 can include an evolved NodeB (eNB) and a gNB (5G base station). The user plane converged network element 103 can be used for forwarding of data messages; the control plane converged network element 104 can be used for signaling connection with other network elements, processing of user mobility management and session management requests, managing user contexts and establishing data transmission channels, etc. The user plane converged network element and the control plane converged network element can also have other functions in addition to the above functions, and the present example does not limit this. In practice, the user plane converged network element 103 can have the user plane function of a PGW; the control plane converged network element 104 can have the control plane function of a PGW. In addition, here, the "user plane converged network element" and the "control plane converged network element" are only functional modules and do not constitute a limitation on specific devices. The MEC system 105 can be used for managing the MEC platform, managing the life cycle of MEC applications, managing the flow rules and DNS rules of MEC applications, managing the virtualization resources required by MEC applications, etc., and in the present example, the IP address configuration of the user plane converged network element can be performed by using the management page of the MEC system 105. The MEC system 105 can also be used for service registration, service discovery, etc., and the present example does not limit this.

[0045] In the existing 4G / 5G converged network, most of the user addresses are allocated based on the user subscription data of the HSS / UDM, that is, the user needs to perform service subscription in the management system of the operator to realize address allocation, which makes the user address allocation flexibility poor, especially for enterprise users, and the self-determined and flexible IP address allocation in the enterprise cannot be realized, which affects the user experience.

[0046] Based on the above problems, the present disclosure designs a user plane IP address allocation method.

[0047] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail as follows:

[0048] Reference Figure 2 As shown, the user plane IP address allocation method of an example embodiment provided by the present disclosure can be applied to the user plane network element of a 4G / 5G converged network system, that is, the user plane converged network element, and can include the following steps:

[0049] Step S210, receiving the session establishment request sent by the control plane converged network element, and extracting the user-related identification information in the session establishment request.

[0050] In the present example embodiment, the control plane converged network element PGW-C / SMF can be used, the session establishment request can be a standard Packet Forwarding Control Protocol (PFCP) session establishment request (Session Establishment Request), which can include a User ID information element, and can also contain other characteristic information and attribute information of the user, which is not limited in the present example.

[0051] In the present example embodiment, the User ID information element can include user-related identification information, such as user identification information, and / or network identification information to which the user belongs. The user identification information can include any one of a mobile user number (Mobile Subscriber International ISDN number, MSISDN, where ISDN: Integrated Services Digital Network), an International Mobile Subscriber Identification Number (IMSI) in a 4G network, a SUPI in a 5G network, or an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI). The network identification information to which the user belongs can be an Access Point Name (APN) or a Data Network Name (DNN).

[0052] Step S220, based on the user-related identification information, searching for the static IP address information of the target user in the static address information configuration table.

[0053] In the example embodiment, the static address information configuration table can include the correspondence between the user-related identification information and the static IP address information. The static address information configuration table can be generated in advance by a self-defined configuration and stored in the user plane converged network element; or the static address information configuration table can be generated by other systems by allocating IP addresses to each user in advance, and the example does not limit this. The target user in the example can be determined based on the user-related identification information. For example, the target user can be determined based on the user identification information, or the target user can be determined based on the user identification information and the network identification information to which the user belongs, and the example does not limit this.

[0054] In step S230, a session establishment response is generated based on the static IP address information; the session establishment response includes the static IP address information of the user equipment UE.

[0055] In the example embodiment, the user plane converged network element can generate a standard PFCP session establishment response, which carries a user equipment IP address element, and the value of the element is the static IP address and mask of the user.

[0056] In step S240, the session establishment response is sent to the control plane converged network element, so that the UE obtains the static IP address information.

[0057] In the example embodiment, the control plane converged network element can return the session establishment response to the UE according to the standard process specified by 3GPP.

[0058] In the user plane IP address allocation method provided by the example embodiment, on the one hand, the correspondence between the user-related identification information and the static IP address information can be configured in the user plane converged network element in advance to form a static address information configuration table; so that in the process of establishing a session, the user plane converged network element receives the session establishment request sent by the control plane converged network element, and extracts the user-related identification information in the request; by searching for the static IP address information of the target user in the static address information configuration table, the static IP address allocation to the user equipment in the user plane is realized, the flexibility of user configuration IP address is improved, and the user experience is improved. On the other hand, the user static IP address configuration can be performed in the user plane converged network element, without the need for the control plane network element of the core network, simplifying the interface interaction process, shortening the IP address allocation period, and improving the address allocation efficiency.

[0059] In another embodiment, the above steps are described in more detail.

[0060] In some embodiments, the user-related identification information includes user identification information and network identification information to which the user belongs.

[0061] In the example embodiment, a target user is determined by the user identification information and the network identification information to which the user belongs, and a static IP address is allocated to the target user. In this case, the static address information configuration table is as shown in Figure 3 Figure 3 In the table, the corresponding static IP address and mask can be found by taking the user identification information (MSISDN, IMSI / SUPI or IMEI) and the network identification information (APN / DNN) to which the user belongs as two keys. In the example embodiment, the same static IP address can be allocated to users belonging to different network identification information, i.e., users in different APN / DNNs, so as to realize the reuse of static IP addresses among users in different APN / DNNs.

[0062] However, in the example, the reuse of IP addresses will inevitably cause congestion in the information transmission process. To solve the problem, in some embodiments, the forwarding layer of the user plane convergence network element has multiple virtual forwarding routing tables; one virtual forwarding routing table is used for routing forwarding of one candidate address pool, and one candidate address pool is bound to one network identification information.

[0063] In the example embodiment, the candidate address pools corresponding to different APN / DNNs are isolated by the virtual routing forwarding (VRF) of the forwarding layer of the user plane convergence network element. That is, one virtual routing forwarding table corresponds to the routing forwarding of one candidate address pool, so as to avoid network congestion in the information transmission process.

[0064] In some embodiments, the user plane convergence network element has a static IP address configuration interface, and the user-related identification information is obtained by calling the static IP address configuration interface through the multi-access edge computing (MEC) system.

[0065] In the example embodiment, in the application scenario where the MEC system and the user plane convergence network element are co-located, the static IP address configuration interface can be configured in the user plane convergence network element, and the static IP address configuration interface is called by the MEC system to obtain the user-related identification information input by the network management, so as to prepare for the establishment of the static address information configuration table, and enable the user (such as an enterprise) to independently and flexibly initiate a business application and configuration of the user static IP address to the MEC system.

[0066] In some embodiments, referring to Figure 4 The static address information configuration table can be set by steps S410-S440, including:

[0067] In step S410, the address pool and mask information bound to the network identification information are searched to obtain a candidate address pool.​

[0068] In the example embodiment, one network identification information (APN / DNN) binds one IP address pool and mask information. The user plane convergence network element can find the corresponding address pool and mask information based on one network identification information, and obtain a candidate address pool.

[0069] Step S420, filtering out first IP address information from the candidate address pool; the first IP address information is used to indicate allocable IP address information.

[0070] In the example embodiment, the user plane convergence network element filters out allocable IP address information from the candidate address pool as the first IP address information.

[0071] Step S430, sending the first IP address information to the MEC system, so that an IP address is selected from the first IP address information by the MEC system as second IP address information.

[0072] In the example embodiment, the user plane convergence network element sends allocable first IP address information to the MEC system, and an address can be selected from the first IP address information as the second IP address by the MEC system.

[0073] Step S440, determining the second IP address information as a static IP address of the target user.

[0074] In the example embodiment, the second IP address information is determined as the static IP address of the target user, and the target user is the user corresponding to the input user-related identification information.

[0075] In some embodiments, a static address information configuration table can be established and stored based on the correspondence between the second IP address information and the target user, and the target user is determined based on the user identification information and the network identification information to which the user belongs.

[0076] For example, referring to Figure 5 For an example embodiment of the present disclosure, the allocation of user plane IP address is implemented by the following steps.

[0077] Step S501, the MEC system calls a static address configuration interface of the user plane convergence network element (PGW-U+UPF), and inputs user identification and network identification information to which the user belongs.

[0078] In the present example, a static address configuration interface can be set in advance in the user plane convergence network element. User identity and network identity information to which the user belongs can be input through the interface, for example, input by the network management personnel of the operator. The user identity can be MSISDN, IMSI / SUPI or IMEI. The network identity information to which the user belongs can be APN / DNN.

[0079] Step S502, the user plane convergence network element finds the address pool and mask bound by the network identity information to which the user belongs as a candidate address pool.

[0080] Step S503, the user plane convergence network element filters out an allocable address from the candidate address pool as first IP address information.

[0081] Step S504, the user plane convergence network element sends the first IP address information to the MEC system.

[0082] Step S505, the MEC system selects an address in the first IP address information as second IP address information.

[0083] In the present example, an IP address in the first IP address information can be selected as the second IP address in the MEC system by the network administrator.

[0084] Step S506, the MEC system sends the second IP address information to the user plane convergence network element.

[0085] Step S507, the user plane convergence network element generates a static address information configuration table.

[0086] In the present example, in the static address information configuration table, the user identity information and the network identity information to which the user belongs jointly determine the static IP address information. The corresponding relationship is stored in the user plane convergence network element, facilitating subsequent calling.

[0087] Step S508, the user equipment UE forwards a PDU session establishment request to the control panel convergence network element through a base station (eNB / gNB) and a mobility management entity / access and mobility management function (MME / AMF).

[0088] In the present example, the user equipment can normally initiate a PDU session establishment request according to the process specified in the 3GPP standard.

[0089] Step S509, the control panel convergence network element sends the PDU session establishment request to the user plane convergence network element.

[0090] Step S510, the user plane converged network element extracts the user identification information and the network identification information to which the user belongs in the received session establishment request.

[0091] Step S511, the user plane converged network element finds the static IP address information of the target user in the static address information configuration table based on the user identification information and the network identification information to which the user belongs.

[0092] Step S512, the user plane converged network element generates a PDU session establishment response carrying the user IP address information element in response to the PDU session establishment request.

[0093] In this example, the value of the user IP address information element is the static IP address information and the mask of the user.

[0094] Step S513, the user plane converged network element sends the PDU session establishment response to the control plane converged network element.

[0095] Step S514, the control plane converged network element returns the PDU session establishment response to the UE through the MME / AMF and the base station, and the UE obtains the static IP address.

[0096] In this example, the core network can normally respond to the PDU session establishment request of the UE according to the standard process.

[0097] In one aspect of the present disclosure, in a system in which MEC and converged user plane network element (PGW-U+UPF) are combined, the MEC can directly configure the user static address for the user plane network element without the need to pass through the core network HSS / UDM network element, thereby simplifying the interface interaction process. In another aspect, the present disclosure can allocate static IP addresses for user terminals according to user identification, such as MSISDN number and IMSI / SUPI number, or terminal identification, such as IMEI number. The address pools corresponding to different APNs / DNNs are isolated by the VRF (virtual routing forwarding) of the forwarding layer of the converged user plane network element, so that different users in different APNs / DNNs can be allocated the same static IP address, and IP address reuse can be realized for users in different APNs / DNNs.

[0098] The user plane IP address allocation method of the present disclosure can realize IP address allocation for the user plane, so that the user does not need to subscribe to a static IP address service in the operator's HSS / UDM. In addition, as an enterprise user, the present disclosure can realize independent and flexible application and configuration of user static IP services to the MEC system. The present disclosure can be applied to enterprise 5G customized networks.

[0099] The implementation of the method of the present disclosure only needs to set a static IP address configuration interface in a user plane converged network element, is simple to implement, slightly modifies the original device, does not need to involve large modification of the user plane converged network element and the MEC system, can realize the allocation of the user plane static IP address, and has low implementation cost. For example, the service capability provided by the present disclosure can be used to implement differentiated charging for enterprises by the MEC system.

[0100] Further, in the example embodiment, a user plane converged network element 600 is also provided. The user plane converged network element 600 can be applied to a communication device. As shown in Figure 6 The user plane converged network element 600 can include:

[0101] The receiving module 610 can be configured to receive a session establishment request sent by a control plane converged network element, and extract user-related identification information in the session establishment request.

[0102] The searching module 620 can be configured to search for static IP address information of a target user in a static address information configuration table based on the user-related identification information, wherein the target user is determined based on the user-related identification information, and the static address information configuration table includes a corresponding relationship between user-related identification information and static IP address information.

[0103] The responding module 630 can be configured to generate a session establishment response based on the static IP address information, wherein the session establishment response includes static IP address information of a user equipment (UE).

[0104] The sending module 640 can be configured to send the session establishment response to the control plane converged network element, so that the UE obtains the static IP address information.

[0105] In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, the user-related identification information includes user identification information and network identification information to which the user belongs.

[0106] In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, the user plane converged network element has a static IP address configuration interface, and the user-related identification information is obtained by calling the static IP address configuration interface through a multi-access edge computing (MEC) system.

[0107] In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, the user plane converged network element 600 further includes:

[0108] The searching sub-module can be configured to search for address pool and mask information bound to the network identification information, to obtain a candidate address pool.

[0109] The screening module can be configured to screen out first IP address information from the candidate address pool, wherein the first IP address information is used to indicate allocable IP address information.

[0110] The sending sub-module can be configured to send the first IP address information to the MEC system, so that an IP address is selected from the first IP address information as second IP address information by the MEC system.

[0111] The determining sub-module can be configured to determine that the second IP address information is a static IP address of the target user.

[0112] In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, the user plane convergence element 600 further includes:

[0113] The constructing sub-module can be configured to construct and store a static address information configuration table based on a correspondence between the second IP address information and a target user, the target user being determined based on the user identifier information and network identifier information to which the user belongs.

[0114] In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, the forwarding layer of the user plane convergence element 600 has a plurality of virtual forwarding routing tables; one virtual forwarding routing table is used for routing forwarding of one candidate address pool, and one candidate address pool is bound to one network identifier information.

[0115] The specific details of the modules or units in the above user plane convergence element have been described in detail in the corresponding user plane IP address allocation method, and thus will not be described here again.

[0116] The present disclosure also provides a user plane IP address allocation system 700, including a control plane convergence element 710 and a user plane convergence element 720.

[0117] The control plane convergence element 710 is configured to send a session establishment request initiated by a user equipment (UE) to the user plane convergence element.

[0118] The user plane convergence element 720 is configured to extract user-related identifier information in the received session establishment request.

[0119] The user plane convergence element 720 is further configured to search for static IP address information of a target user in a static address information configuration table based on the user-related identifier information, the target user being determined based on the user-related identifier information, and the static address information configuration table including a correspondence between user-related identifier information and static IP address information.

[0120] The user plane convergence element 720 is further configured to generate a session establishment response based on the static IP address information, and send the session establishment response to the control plane convergence element, the session establishment response including the static IP address information of the UE.

[0121] The control plane converged network element 710 is further configured to send the session establishment response to the UE, so that the UE obtains the static IP address information.

[0122] The specific details of the modules or units in the user plane IP address allocation system have been described in detail in the corresponding user plane IP address allocation method, and thus will not be described here.

[0123] As another aspect, the present disclosure also provides a computer readable medium, which can be included in the electronic device described in the above embodiments, or can exist independently without being assembled into the electronic device. The computer readable medium carries one or more programs, which, when executed by the electronic device, cause the electronic device to implement the method described in the above embodiments. For example, the electronic device can implement the steps shown in the above embodiments, etc. Figures 2 to 5 The specific details of the modules or units in the user plane IP address allocation system have been described in detail in the corresponding user plane IP address allocation method, and thus will not be described here.

[0124] It should be noted that the computer readable medium shown in the present disclosure can be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium, or any combination of the two. The computer readable storage medium may, for example, but is not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, device or component, or any combination of the above. More specific examples of computer readable storage media can include, but are not limited to, an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the above. In the present disclosure, the computer readable storage medium can be any tangible medium containing or storing a program that can be used by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, device or component. In the present disclosure, the computer readable signal medium can include a data signal carried in a baseband or as a part of a carrier wave, which carries computer readable program code. Such a propagated data signal can take various forms, including but not limited to an electromagnetic signal, an optical signal or any suitable combination of the above. The computer readable signal medium can also be any computer readable medium other than the computer readable storage medium, which can send, propagate or transmit a program for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, device or component. The program code contained in the computer readable medium can be transmitted by any suitable medium, including but not limited to wireless, wire, optical cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the above.

[0125] Furthermore, in the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, an electronic device capable of implementing the above-described method is also provided. Those skilled in the art can understand that various aspects of the present disclosure can be implemented as a system, a method or a program product. Therefore, various aspects of the present disclosure can be embodied as a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment (including firmware, microcode, etc.), or an embodiment combining hardware and software aspects, which can be collectively referred to as "circuitry", "module" or "system" herein.

[0126] The electronic device 800 according to this embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to Figure 8 Figure 8 The display electronic device 800 is merely an example and should not impose any limitation on the functions and use range of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0127] As Figure 8 shown, the electronic device 800 is in the form of a general computing device. The components of the electronic device 800 can include, but are not limited to, the above-mentioned at least one processing unit 810, the above-mentioned at least one storage unit 820, a bus 830 connecting different system components (including the storage unit 820 and the processing unit 810), and a display unit 840.

[0128] The storage unit stores program codes which can be executed by the processing unit 810, so that the processing unit 810 performs the steps described in the above "Exemplary Method" section according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0129] The storage unit 820 can include a readable medium in the form of a volatile storage unit, such as a random access memory (RAM) 8201 and / or a cache memory unit 8202, and can further include a read-only memory (ROM) 8203.

[0130] The storage unit 820 can further include program / utility 8204 having a set of (at least one) program modules 8205, including but not limited to, an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data, each of which or some combination thereof can include implementation of a network environment.

[0131] The bus 830 can represent one or more of several types of bus structures, including a storage unit bus or storage unit controller, a peripheral bus, a graphics acceleration port, a processing unit, or a local bus using any of a variety of bus structures.

[0132] ​The electronic device 800 can also communicate with one or more external devices 900 such as a keyboard or pointing device, a Bluetooth device, or a database via I / O interface 850. Additionally, the electronic device 800 can communicate with one or more devices that enable a user to interact with the electronic device 800, such as a display, a sound card, speakers, a mouse, a joystick, a game pad, a camera, a microphone, a scanner, or a touch screen. The electronic device 800 can also include one or more interaction devices 850, such as a Braille display or a screen reader, to assist in improving accessibility. Further, the electronic device 800 can communicate with one or more devices that enable the electronic device 800 to perform a function, such as an input device or a printer. In some embodiments, the electronic device 800 can include one or more devices that enable the electronic device 800 to communicate with one or more other electronic devices. For example, the electronic device 800 can include a modem or other device to enable the electronic device 800 to communicate with a wireless network or a wired network such as the Internet. The network interface 860 can enable the electronic device 800 to communicate with one or more other electronic devices using the network 850. In some embodiments, the electronic device 800 can include one or more training devices to enable the electronic device 800 to perform a function, such as a training device to enable the electronic device 800 to perform a function.

[0133] From the above description of the embodiments, it is easy for those skilled in the art to understand that the example embodiments described herein can be implemented by software, or by software in combination with necessary hardware. Therefore, the technical solutions according to the embodiments of the disclosure can be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a non-volatile storage medium (which can be a CD-ROM, a U disk, a mobile hard disk, or the like) or a network, and includes a number of instructions to enable a computing device (which can be a personal computer, a server, a terminal device, or a network device, etc.) to perform the methods according to the embodiments of the disclosure.

[0134] In addition, the above-described figures are only schematic illustrations of the processes included in the methods according to the example embodiments of the disclosure, and are not intended to be limiting. It is easy to understand that the processes shown in the above-described figures do not indicate or limit the time sequence of the processes. In addition, it is also easy to understand that the processes can be executed synchronously or asynchronously, for example, in multiple modules.

[0135] It should be noted that although the steps of the methods in the disclosure are described in a specific order in the figures, this does not require or imply that the steps must be performed in that specific order, or that all of the steps shown must be performed to achieve the desired result. In addition or alternatively, some steps can be omitted, multiple steps can be combined into one step, and / or one step can be divided into multiple steps, etc., all of which should be considered as part of the disclosure.

[0136] It is to be understood that the disclosure disclosed and defined in this specification extends to all alternative combinations of two or more of the individual features mentioned or evident from the text or drawings. All of these different combinations constitute various alternative aspects of the disclosure. The embodiments of the specification illustrate the best ways known to the inventors of carrying out the disclosure and the application thereof.

Claims

1. A user plane IP address allocation method, applied to a user plane converged network element of a 4G / 5G converged network system, characterized in that, The method comprises: receiving a session establishment request sent by a control plane converged network element, and extracting user-related identification information in the session establishment request; the user plane converged network element has a static IP address configuration interface, and the user-related identification information is obtained by calling the static IP address configuration interface through a multi-access edge computing (MEC) system; finding address pool and mask information bound by network identification information to obtain a candidate address pool; filtering first IP address information in the candidate address pool; the first IP address information is used to indicate allocable IP address information; sending the first IP address information to the MEC system, so that an IP address is selected from the first IP address information as second IP address information through the MEC system; determining the second IP address information as a static IP address of a target user; finding the static IP address information of the target user in a static address information configuration table based on the user-related identification information; the target user is determined based on the user-related identification information; the static address information configuration table comprises a corresponding relationship between the user-related identification information and the static IP address information; generating a session establishment response based on the static IP address information; the session establishment response comprises static IP address information of a user equipment (UE); sending the session establishment response to the control plane converged network element, so that the UE obtains the static IP address information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The user-related identification information comprises user identification information and network identification information to which the user belongs.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The method further comprises: based on the corresponding relationship between the second IP address information and the target user, constructing and storing a static address information configuration table; the target user is determined based on the user identification information and the network identification information to which the user belongs.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein, The forwarding layer of the user plane converged network element has a plurality of virtual forwarding routing tables; one virtual forwarding routing table is used for routing forwarding of one candidate address pool; one candidate address pool and one network identification information are bound to each other.

5. A user plane convergence network element, characterized by, comprises: a receiving module configured to receive a session establishment request sent by a control plane converged network element, and extract user-related identification information in the session establishment request; the user plane converged network element has a static IP address configuration interface, and the user-related identification information is obtained by calling the static IP address configuration interface through a multi-access edge computing (MEC) system; a finding module configured to find address pool and mask information bound by network identification information to obtain a candidate address pool; filtering out first IP address information from the candidate address pool; the first IP address information is used to indicate allocable IP address information; sending the first IP address information to the MEC system, so that an IP address is selected from the first IP address information as second IP address information by the MEC system; determining the second IP address information as a static IP address of a target user; searching for static IP address information of the target user in a static address information configuration table based on the user-related identification information; the target user is determined based on the user-related identification information; the static address information configuration table includes a corresponding relationship between user-related identification information and static IP address information; generating a session establishment response based on the static IP address information; the session establishment response includes static IP address information of a user equipment (UE); sending the session establishment response to a control plane converged network element, so that the UE obtains the static IP address information.

6. A user plane IP address allocation system characterized by, The control plane converged network element and a user plane converged network element of a 4G / 5G converged network system; The control plane converged network element is configured to send a session establishment request initiated by a user equipment (UE) to the user plane converged network element; the user plane converged network element has a static IP address configuration interface, and user-related identification information is obtained by invoking the static IP address configuration interface through a multi-access edge computing (MEC) system; The user plane converged network element is configured to extract user-related identification information in the received session establishment request; The user plane converged network element is further configured to search for address pool and mask information bound to network identification information to obtain a candidate address pool; filter out first IP address information from the candidate address pool; the first IP address information is used to indicate allocable IP address information; send the first IP address information to the MEC system, so that an IP address is selected from the first IP address information as second IP address information by the MEC system; determine the second IP address information as a static IP address of a target user; search for static IP address information of the target user in a static address information configuration table based on the user-related identification information; the target user is determined based on the user-related identification information; the static address information configuration table includes a corresponding relationship between user-related identification information and static IP address information; The user plane converged network element is further configured to generate a session establishment response based on the static IP address information; and send the session establishment response to the control plane converged network element; the session establishment response includes static IP address information of a user equipment (UE); The control plane converged network element is further configured to send the session establishment response to the UE, so that the UE obtains the static IP address information.

7. A computer readable medium having stored thereon a computer program, characterized in that The program is executed by a processor to implement the method of any one of claims 1-4.

8. A computing device, comprising: comprise: one or more processors; a storage device for storing one or more programs, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to implement the method of any one of claims 1-4.

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