User identification method and device, relay equipment, storage medium and program product

Abstract

The invention relates to a user identification method and device, relay equipment, a storage medium and a program product. The user identification method is used for a relay directly connected with a base station in a multi-hop access network, and the method comprises the following steps: receiving a remote UE report notification, the remote UE report notification comprising a first remote UE identifier; sending a remote UE report message, wherein the remote UE report message comprises a second remote UE identifier and remote UE IP information; the second remote UE identifier is the same as the first remote UE identifier, and the TCP / UDP port range included in the remote UE IP information is allocated to the remote UE by the relay directly connected with the base station. By adopting the method, the user identification problem in the multi-hop access network can be solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of mobile communication technology, and in particular to a user identification method, apparatus, relay equipment, storage medium and program product. Background Art

[0002] In order to improve the network coverage of mobile communication networks, mobile communication systems have introduced relay technology. Taking the 5G communication system as an example, the remote UE (Remote User Equipment) accesses the base station in the 5G communication system through the Relay UE, and accesses the 5GC (5G core) through the base station.

[0003] In a mobile communication system, the core network needs to perform user identification to carry out network billing and other processes. User identification means that the core network needs to identify all UEs connected to it. User identification methods in traditional technologies are generally aimed at the case where the access network is a single hop (i.e., the number of Relay UEs is 1) access network.

[0004] However, with the increasing complexity of networks, there is an urgent need for a user identification method for multi-hop access networks. Summary of the invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present application provide a user identification method, apparatus, relay device, storage medium and program product, which can solve the user identification problem in a multi-hop access network.

[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a user identification method. The user identification method is used for a relay directly connected to a base station in a multi-hop access network, the multi-hop access network including multiple relays and the remote UE, and the method includes:

[0007] receiving a remote UE report notification, wherein the remote UE report notification includes a first remote UE identifier;

[0008] Send a remote UE report message, wherein the remote UE report message includes a second remote UE identifier and remote UE IP information; the second remote UE identifier is the same as the first remote UE identifier, and the TCP / UDP port range included in the remote UE IP information is allocated to the remote UE by the relay directly connected to the base station.

[0009] In one embodiment, each of the relays has at least two IP addresses, a first IP address of the at least two IP addresses is used for the relay to transmit its own traffic, and a second IP address of the at least two IP addresses is used for the relay to forward traffic.

[0010] In one of the embodiments, a PC5 connection is established between the remote UE in the multi-hop access network and an upper-layer relay of the remote UE; and a PC5 connection is established between two adjacent levels of relays in the multi-hop access network.

[0011] In one of the embodiments, the IP address of the remote UE and the IP address of the relay are both IPv4 addresses.

[0012] In one embodiment, each of the relays has the same IPv4 private address pool;

[0013] The IPv4 private address pool is used by the relay to allocate an IPv4 address to a next-level relay of the relay or the remote UE according to the IPv4 private address pool.

[0014] In one embodiment, each of the relays is a layer 3 relay.

[0015] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a user identification device. The user identification device is arranged in a relay directly connected to a base station in a multi-hop access network, the multi-hop access network includes multiple relays and the remote UE, and the device includes:

[0016] A receiving module, configured to receive a remote UE report notification, wherein the remote UE report notification includes a first remote UE identifier;

[0017] A sending module is used to send a remote UE report message, wherein the remote UE report message includes a second remote UE identifier and remote UE IP information; the second remote UE identifier is the same as the first remote UE identifier, and the TCP / UDP port range included in the remote UE IP information is allocated to the remote UE by the relay directly connected to the base station.

[0018] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a relay device. The relay device is a relay directly connected to a base station in a multi-hop access network, the multi-hop access network includes multiple relays and the remote UE; the relay device includes: a receiver and a transmitter;

[0019] The receiver is configured to receive a remote UE report notification, wherein the remote UE report notification includes a first remote UE identifier;

[0020] The transmitter is used to send a remote UE report message, wherein the remote UE report message includes a second remote UE identifier and remote UE IP information; the second remote UE identifier is the same as the first remote UE identifier, and the TCP / UDP port range included in the remote UE IP information is allocated to the remote UE by the relay directly connected to the base station.

[0021] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the method described in the first aspect are implemented.

[0022] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip, wherein the chip includes a programmable logic circuit and / or program instructions, and when the chip is running, the steps of the method described in the first aspect are implemented.

[0023] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product. The computer program product includes a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the method described in the first aspect are implemented.

[0024] The above-mentioned user identification method, apparatus, relay device, storage medium and program product, the multi-hop access network includes multiple relays and remote UEs, the relay directly connected to the base station in the multi-hop access network receives a remote UE report notification, the remote UE report notification includes a first remote UE identifier, and then sends a remote UE report message, the remote UE report message includes a second remote UE identifier and remote UE IP information, wherein the second remote UE identifier is the same as the first remote UE identifier, and the TCP / UDP port range included in the remote UE IP information is allocated to the remote UE by the relay, so that after the relay directly connected to the base station receives the remote UE report notification, it will allocate a TCP / UDP port range to the remote UE to form a remote UE report message. Since the relay directly connected to the base station is visible to the network side, after the remote UE report message is transmitted to the network side, the network side can identify the remote UE according to the TCP / UDP port range in the remote UE report message, thereby realizing the user identification process in the multi-hop access network. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 A diagram of an implementation environment of a user identification method in one embodiment;

[0026] Figure 2 is a flowchart of a user identification method in one embodiment;

[0027] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a network connection of a three-stage relay in another embodiment;

[0028] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of network address allocation between each relay and a remote UE in an exemplary two-hop access network;

[0029] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of an exemplary interaction process between SMF, each relay in a two-hop access network and a remote UE;

[0030] Figure 6 is a structural block diagram of a user identification device in one embodiment;

[0031] Figure 7 is an internal structure diagram of a communication device in one embodiment;

[0032] Figure 8 A schematic structural diagram of a chip in one embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present application more clearly understood, the present application is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present application and are not used to limit the present application.

[0034] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an implementation environment of a user identification method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The implementation environment includes a multi-hop access network, and the multi-hop access network includes multiple relays ( Figure 1 Only two relays are shown exemplarily: relay 102 and relay 103 . The multi-hop access network further includes a remote UE (User Equipment) 101 , wherein relay 103 is a relay directly connected to base station 104 .

[0035] Of course, in other possible implementation environments, the multiple relays may also be multi-stage relays whose number is greater than 2, and the multi-stage relays are sequentially network-connected between the remote UE 101 and the base station 104 .

[0036] Among them, the remote UE101 and the upper level relay of the remote UE101 (such as Figure 1 The relay 102 shown in the figure performs data transmission through the network, and the relay 103 and the relay at the next level of the relay 103 (such as Figure 1 Data is transmitted between the relay 102) shown in the figure through the network, and data is transmitted between the relay 103 and the base station 104 through the network.

[0037] Among them, the relay 103, the relay 102 and the remote UE 101 can be wireless terminals, and the wireless terminal can be a device that provides voice and / or other business data connectivity to the user, or a handheld device with a wireless connection function, or other processing equipment connected to a wireless modem. The wireless terminal can communicate with one or more core networks via a radio access network (Radio Access Network, referred to as RAN). The wireless terminal can be a mobile terminal, such as a mobile phone (or "cellular" phone) and a computer with a mobile terminal, for example, a portable, pocket, handheld, computer-built-in or vehicle-mounted mobile device, which exchanges language and / or data with the radio access network. The wireless terminal can also be called a system, a subscriber unit (Subscriber Unit), a subscriber station (Subscriber Station), a mobile station (Mobile Station), a mobile station (Mobile), a remote station (Remote Station), a remote terminal (Remote Terminal), an access terminal (Access Terminal), a user terminal (User Terminal), a user agent (User Agent), a user device (User Device or User Equipment), which is not limited here.

[0038] Of course, relay 103 and relay 102 may also be servers. Base station 104 may be any type of base station, and the type of base station 104 is not specifically limited herein.

[0039] It should be noted that the beneficial effects brought about by the embodiments of the present application or the technical problems solved 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.

[0040] The technical solution of the present application and how the technical solution of the present application solves the above-mentioned technical problems are described in detail below with specific embodiments. 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.

[0041] In one embodiment, Figure 2 As shown, a user identification method is provided, which is applied to Figure 1 Taking the relay 103 directly connected to the base station in the multi-hop access network as an example, the method includes the following steps:

[0042] Step 201: A relay directly connected to a base station receives a remote UE report notification, where the remote UE report notification includes a first remote UE identifier.

[0043] In an embodiment of the present application, a multi-hop access network includes multiple relays and a remote UE, wherein the remote UE and the multiple relays access the network in sequence through a network connection.

[0044] The multiple relays may be two-level relays (ie, the number of relays is 2), or may be relays of more levels. The multiple-level relays are cascaded between the base station and the remote UE according to a preset hierarchical relationship.

[0045] For example, Figure 3 As shown, Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary three-level relay network connection, the three-level relay includes Figure 3 Relay 301, relay 302 and relay 103 are shown. Figure 3 In the figure, the preset hierarchical relationship is: relay 103 is connected to relay 302 and relay 302 is connected to relay 301; that is, relay 302 is the upper-level relay of relay 301, and relay 103 is the upper-level relay of relay 302. In other words, relay 301 is the lower-level relay of relay 302, and relay 302 is the lower-level relay of relay 103. Thus, the multi-level relays and the remote UE together form a multi-hop access network.

[0046] In the embodiment of the present application, each relay in the multi-hop access network and the remote UE can communicate in a near-field communication manner. ProSe (Proximity Service) is a device-to-device (D2D) connection or direct communication between nearby mobile devices defined in 3GPP TS23.303 R12 version. ProSe provides several obvious advantages, such as better network scalability, manageability, privacy and security, etc.

[0047] For example, a remote UE and an upper-level relay of the remote UE communicate with each other using a near-area communication method, a relay directly connected to a base station and a lower-level relay communicate with each other using a near-area communication method, and so on.

[0048] During the user identification process, the relay directly connected to the base station receives a remote UE report notification, which may be sent by a next-level relay of the relay directly connected to the base station (hereinafter, for the sake of convenience of description, the next-level relay of the relay directly connected to the base station will be referred to as a lower-level relay). For example, the lower-level relay may send the remote UE report notification to the relay directly connected to the base station via near-field communication.

[0049] The remote UE report notification includes a first remote UE identifier, which is the UE identifier of the remote UE. Optionally, the remote UE report notification also includes a TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) / UDP (User Datagram Protocol) port range allocated by the lower-level relay to the remote UE, and the port range is carried in the corresponding IP information.

[0050] In one possible implementation, the remote UE is the next-level device of the lower-level relay, that is, the multi-hop access network only includes two levels of relays (the above-mentioned lower-level relay and the relay directly connected to the base station). In this case, the TCP / UDP port range included in the remote UE report notification is allocated by the lower-level relay when allocating an IP address to the remote UE.

[0051] In another possible implementation, there is at least one relay between the remote UE and the lower relay, that is, the multi-hop access network includes more than two levels of multi-level relays. In this case, the TCP / UDP port range included in the remote UE report notification is obtained by the lower relay performing NAPT (Network Address Port Translation). Exemplarily, the upper relay of the remote UE allocates a TCP / UDP port range when allocating an IP address to the remote UE, and then reports the allocated TCP / UDP port range to the upper relay, and the upper relay performs NAPT on the allocated TCP / UDP port range to obtain a new TCP / UDP port range and reports it, and so on.

[0052] After the relay directly connected to the base station receives the remote UE report notification, the relay directly connected to the base station then performs NAPT processing on the IP address of the lower-level relay (which may be carried in the remote UE report notification or pre-stored by the relay directly connected to the base station) and the TCP / UDP port range allocated by the lower-level relay to the remote UE, and obtains the TCP / UDP port range allocated to the remote UE by the relay directly connected to the base station and the public network IP address corresponding to the remote UE, which are configured as the remote UE IP information. That is, the TCP / UDP port range allocated to the remote UE by the relay directly connected to the base station in the remote UE IP information is obtained by the NAPT conversion of the relay directly connected to the base station.

[0053] Step 202, the relay directly connected to the base station sends a remote UE report message, the remote UE report message includes a second remote UE identifier and remote UE IP information, the second remote UE identifier is the same as the first remote UE identifier, and the TCP / UDP port range included in the remote UE IP information is allocated to the remote UE by the relay directly connected to the base station.

[0054] The second remote UE identifier is the same as the first remote UE identifier, and both are UE identifiers of the remote UE. The relay directly connected to the base station sends a remote UE report message. After the remote UE report message is transmitted to the core network, the core network device can identify the remote UE according to the remote UE IP information included in the remote UE report message.

[0055] The following describes the transmission path of the remote UE report message.

[0056] During the communication process, the relay directly connected to the base station can also directly establish a PDU (Protocol Data Unit) session (i.e., PDU session) with the SMF (Session Management Function) network element in the core network: PDU session1 and PDU session2, wherein PDU session1 is used by the relay directly connected to the base station to transmit the traffic generated by itself to the core network, and PDU session2 is used by the relay directly connected to the base station to forward the traffic of other downstream relays or remote UEs. In the embodiment of the present application, the number of PDU session1 and PDU session2 can be one or more.

[0057] The process of establishing a PDU session between the relay directly connected to the base station and the SMF network element can be established through the AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) network element, and the PDU session process will not be repeated here.

[0058] Therefore, the relay directly connected to the base station can send the remote UE report message to the SMF network element through the established PDU session. The PDU session can, for example, be the above-mentioned PDU session2, that is, the relay directly connected to the base station forwards the PDU session of other downstream relays or remote UEs.

[0059] In this way, since the relay directly connected to the base station is visible to the network side, after the remote UE report message is transmitted to the core network device, the core network device can identify the remote UE based on the remote UE IP information in the remote UE report message. Specifically, the remote UE is identified based on the TCP / UDP port range in the remote UE IP information, thereby realizing the user identification process in the multi-hop access network.

[0060] In the above embodiment, the multi-hop access network includes multiple relays and remote UEs. The relay directly connected to the base station in the multi-hop access network receives a remote UE report notification, and the remote UE report notification includes a first remote UE identifier, and then sends a remote UE report message, and the remote UE report message includes a second remote UE identifier and remote UE IP information, wherein the second remote UE identifier is the same as the first remote UE identifier, and the TCP / UDP port range included in the remote UE IP information is allocated to the remote UE by the relay. In this way, after the relay directly connected to the base station receives the remote UE report notification, it will allocate a TCP / UDP port range to the remote UE to form a remote UE report message. Since the relay directly connected to the base station is visible to the network side, after the remote UE report message is transmitted to the core network device, the core network device can identify the remote UE according to the remote UE IP information in the remote UE report message, thereby realizing the user identification process in the multi-hop access network.

[0061] The above embodiment introduces the process of the core network identifying the remote UE in the multi-hop access network. The following is an introduction to the process of the core network identifying the relay in the multi-hop access network. It should be noted that the relay directly connected to the base station is visible to the network side and does not need to set a separate identification strategy. Therefore, the core network identifying the relay in the multi-hop access network mentioned here specifically refers to the core network in the multi-hop access network identifying the relay that is not directly connected to the base station.

[0062] In the following, an example is given in which a relay that is not directly connected to a base station is a next-level relay of a relay that is directly connected to a base station. For the convenience of description, the next-level relay is referred to as a lower-level relay.

[0063] In the embodiment of the present application, the user identification method may further include:

[0064] Step A1: The relay directly connected to the base station sends a relay report message, which includes the relay identifier of the subordinate relay and the IP information of the subordinate relay. The TCP / UDP port range included in the IP information of the subordinate relay is allocated to the subordinate relay by the relay directly connected to the base station.

[0065] In the actual communication process, after the lower-level relay accesses the relay directly connected to the base station, the lower-level relay will request IP information from the relay directly connected to the base station to communicate with the relay directly connected to the base station.

[0066] Exemplarily, the lower-level relay sends multiple address allocation requests to the relay directly connected to the base station. The multiple address allocation requests are at least two address allocation requests. Taking the lower-level relay sending two address allocation requests to the relay directly connected to the base station as an example, the two address allocation requests can be two DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) requests, that is, the relay directly connected to the base station acts as a DHCP server for the lower-level relay.

[0067] After receiving the two address allocation requests, the relay directly connected to the base station responds to each address allocation request separately and allocates multiple network addresses and TCP / UDP port ranges to the subordinate relay. The subordinate relay receives the multiple network addresses and TCP / UDP port ranges allocated by the relay directly connected to the base station based on the multiple address allocation requests.

[0068] It should be noted that the relay directly connected to the base station allocates multiple network addresses to the lower-level relay, including a network address for the lower-level relay to forward traffic and a network address for the lower-level relay to transmit its own traffic, that is, the lower-level relay has more than two IP addresses. If there is only one IP address, there will be a port conflict, which will be explained in the following embodiments.

[0069] The relay directly connected to the base station is the TCP / UDP port range allocated by the lower relay, which is used for the lower relay to transmit its own traffic to the relay directly connected to the base station. If the lower relay forwards traffic, it forwards traffic based on the network address for forwarding traffic and the port range of the forwarded device in the relay directly connected to the base station.

[0070] After the relay directly connected to the base station allocates multiple network addresses and TCP / UDP port ranges to the subordinate relay, NAPT processing is performed to obtain the IP information of the subordinate relay (including the IP address and TCP / UDP port range after NAPT conversion), and then the relay identifier of the subordinate relay and the IP information of the subordinate relay are sent as the relay report message of the subordinate relay, and sent to the SMF network element through the established PDU session. In this way, after the relay report message of the subordinate relay is transmitted to the core network device, the core network device can identify the subordinate relay according to the IP information of the subordinate relay in the relay report message of the subordinate relay, thereby realizing the user identification process in the multi-hop access network.

[0071] In the following, taking the relay that is not directly connected to the base station as a downlink relay of the above-mentioned lower-level relay (and for the convenience of description, it is referred to as a downlink relay) as an example, the process of the core network in the multi-hop access network identifying the downlink relay is introduced.

[0072] It can be understood that the downlink relay can be any level of relay between the remote UE and the above-mentioned lower-level relay, for example, it can be an upper-level relay of the remote UE.

[0073] Similar to the above process, after the downstream relay is connected to its upper-level relay, the downstream relay will request IP information from the upper-level relay, that is, send multiple address allocation requests to the upper-level relay, such as sending two DHCP requests.

[0074] The upper-level relay responds to the two DHCP requests and allocates two network addresses (including a network address for the downstream relay to forward traffic and a network address for the downstream relay to transmit its own traffic) and a TCP / UDP port range to the downstream relay.

[0075] After the upper-level relay allocates multiple network addresses and TCP / UDP port ranges to the downstream relay, NAPT processing is performed to obtain the IP information of the downstream relay, including the IP address and TCP / UDP port range after NAPT conversion, and then the relay identifier of the downstream relay and the IP information of the downstream relay are passed upward as the relay report message of the downstream relay. Each level of the upper-level relay will perform NAPT processing respectively, and finally, a relay report message of the downstream relay is generated in the relay directly connected to the base station, and the relay report message includes the relay identifier of the downstream relay and the IP information of the downstream relay. It can be understood that the IP information of the downstream relay includes the TCP / UDP port range allocated to the downstream relay by the relay directly connected to the base station (that is, the TCP / UDP port range after NAPT conversion of the relay directly connected to the base station).

[0076] The relay directly connected to the base station sends the relay report message of the downstream relay to the SMF network element through the established PDU session. In this way, after the relay report message of the downstream relay is transmitted to the core network device, the core network device can identify the downstream relay according to the IP information of the downstream relay in the relay report message of the downstream relay, thereby realizing the user identification process in the multi-hop access network.

[0077] Different relays or remote UEs have different port ranges in the relays directly connected to the base station. Therefore, the core network device can identify relays at various levels and remote UEs based on different port ranges in the relays directly connected to the base station.

[0078] In the embodiment of the present application, each relay has at least two IP addresses, the first IP address of the at least two IP addresses is used for the relay to transmit its own traffic, and the second IP address of the at least two IP addresses is used for the relay to forward traffic. If there is only one IP address, since it is in one IP address domain, there may be a port conflict between the TCP / UDP port range after the relay performs NAT / NAPT and the port range of the socket established when the relay transmits its own traffic. Therefore, more than two IP addresses must be configured for the relay to isolate the channels for relay forwarding traffic and users to transmit their own traffic.

[0079] In the embodiment of the present application, a PC5 connection is established between a remote UE in a multi-hop access network and an upper-layer relay of the remote UE, and a PC5 connection is established between two adjacent levels of relays in the multi-hop access network. As described above, each relay in the multi-hop access network and the remote UE can communicate in a near-field communication manner, and the PC5 interface is an interface used for near-field communication in each relay and the remote UE.

[0080] The following is a brief description of the process of establishing a PC5 connection.

[0081] After accessing, the remote UE sends a PC5 request to its upper-level relay, and in response to the PC5 request, the upper-level relay establishes a PC5 connection with the remote UE; similarly, after the above-mentioned lower-level relay accesses the relay directly connected to the base station, the lower-level relay sends a PC5 request to the relay directly connected to the base station, and in response to the PC5 request, the relay directly connected to the base station establishes a PC5 connection with the lower-level relay.

[0082] In the embodiment of the present application, the IP address of the remote UE and the IP address of the relay are both IPv4 addresses. Each relay has the same IPv4 private address pool; wherein the IPv4 private address pool is used for the relay to allocate IPv4 addresses to the next level relay or remote UE of the relay according to the IPv4 private address pool.

[0083] Taking the remote UE as an example, after the remote UE establishes a PC5 connection with its upper relay, the remote UE sends a DHCP request to the upper relay based on the PC5 connection (the remote UE does not need to forward traffic, so only one IP is needed), and the upper relay allocates an IP address and port range to the remote UE in response to the DHCP request. In the process of allocating IP addresses, the upper relay randomly selects an IPv4 address from the IPv4 private address pool of the upper relay and allocates it to the remote UE.

[0084] As for the relay, after the relay that is not directly connected to the base station establishes a PC5 connection with the upper-level relay, it sends two DHCP requests to the upper-level relay based on the PC5 connection. In response to the two DHCP requests, the upper-level relay randomly selects two IPv4 addresses from the IPv4 private address pool of the upper-level relay and assigns them to the relay that is not directly connected to the base station.

[0085] In the embodiment of the present application, the relay directly connected to the base station and the relay are both layer 3 relays (layer 3 relay without N3IWF), that is, the user identification method in the embodiment of the present application is aimed at the scenario of multi-hop access network transmission by networking multiple layer 3 relays without N3IWF, so as to realize reliable identification of users.

[0086] In the following, the user identification method of the embodiment of the present application is illustrated by taking a multi-hop access network specifically including two relays as an example. The two relays include a relay directly connected to the base station and a next-level relay (referred to as a lower-level relay) of the relay directly connected to the base station, wherein the lower-level relay is the upper-level relay of the remote UE.

[0087] Please combine Figure 4 , Figure 4 The following is a schematic diagram of network address allocation between each relay and a remote UE in an exemplary two-hop access network. The two relays include a relay 103 directly connected to a base station 104 and a relay 102 not directly connected to the base station 104. The relay 102 is connected to a remote UE 101. The method includes:

[0088] Step a, the relay directly connected to the base station establishes multiple PDU sessions with the SMF network element;

[0089] Please combine Figure 5 , Figure 5 The figure is a schematic diagram of an exemplary interaction process between an SMF, each relay in a two-hop access network, and a remote UE.

[0090] Multiple PDU sessions include Figure 4 or Figure 5 PDU session1 and PDU session2 are shown, wherein PDU session1 is used for the relay directly connected to the base station to transmit its own traffic, and PDU session2 is used for the relay directly connected to the base station to forward traffic.

[0091] Step b, the lower level relay sends a PC5 connection request to the relay directly connected to the base station;

[0092] Step c, the relay directly connected to the base station receives the PC5 connection request sent by the lower-level relay;

[0093] Step d, the relay directly connected to the base station establishes a PC5 connection with the lower-level relay according to the PC5 connection request;

[0094] Step e, based on the PC5 connection, the lower-level relay sends multiple DHCP requests to the relay directly connected to the base station;

[0095] Step f, the relay directly connected to the base station receives multiple DHCP requests sent by the lower-level relay based on the PC5 connection;

[0096] Step g, the relay directly connected to the base station allocates multiple network addresses and TCP / UDP port ranges to the subordinate relays according to the multiple DHCP requests;

[0097] The multiple DHCP requests are two DHCP requests. The relay directly connected to the base station responds to the two DHCP requests and allocates two IP addresses to the lower relay. The two IP addresses are as follows: Figure 4 As shown, IP1: 192.168.2.2, IP2: 192.168.2.3, where IP2 is used for the lower-level relay to forward traffic, and IP1 is used for the lower-level relay to transmit its own traffic.

[0098] Step h, the lower-level relay receives multiple network addresses and TCP / UDP port ranges allocated to the lower-level relay by the relay directly connected to the base station according to multiple DHCP requests;

[0099] Step i, the lower level relay receives the PC5 connection request sent by the remote UE;

[0100] Step j: The lower-level relay establishes a PC5 connection with the remote UE according to the PC5 connection request sent by the remote UE.

[0101] Step k, the lower level relay receives a DHCP request sent by the remote UE based on the PC5 connection established with the remote UE;

[0102] Step 1, the lower-level relay allocates a network address and a TCP / UDP port range to the remote UE according to the DHCP request sent by the remote UE;

[0103] The network address allocated to the remote UE is as follows: Figure 4 The IP3 shown is 192.168.5.3, and IP3 is used by the remote UE to transmit its own traffic.

[0104] Step m, the lower-level relay sends a remote UE report notification to the relay directly connected to the base station;

[0105] The remote UE report notification includes a first remote UE identifier;

[0106] Step n, a relay directly connected to the base station receives a remote UE report notification sent by a lower-level relay;

[0107] Step o, the relay directly connected to the base station sends a remote UE report message, the remote UE report message includes a second remote UE identifier and remote UE IP information; the second remote UE identifier is the same as the first remote UE identifier, and the TCP / UDP port range included in the remote UE IP information is allocated to the remote UE by the relay directly connected to the base station;

[0108] Step p, the relay directly connected to the base station sends a relay report message, the relay report message includes a relay identifier and IP information of a lower-level relay, and the TCP / UDP port range included in the IP information of the lower-level relay is allocated to the lower-level relay by the relay directly connected to the base station;

[0109] Step q, the SMF network element receives a remote UE report message and / or a relay report message sent by a relay directly connected to the base station;

[0110] Step i, the SMF network element identifies the remote UE according to the remote UE report message, and identifies the lower-level relay according to the relay report message;

[0111] The network address is an IPV4 address.

[0112] Among them, the relays and relays directly connected to the base station are all layer 3 relays.

[0113] In addition, it should be noted that the timing of sending the relay report message and the remote UE report message may be different. For example, after the lower-level relay accesses, the relay directly connected to the base station sends the relay report message to the SMF. After the remote UE accesses, the relay directly connected to the base station sends the remote UE report message to the SMF. Of course, the timing of sending the relay report message and the remote UE report message may also be the same, which is not specifically limited here.

[0114] It should be understood that, although the various steps in the above flowchart are displayed in sequence according to the indication of the arrows, these steps are not necessarily executed in sequence according to the order indicated by the arrows. Unless there is a clear description in this article, the execution of these steps is not strictly limited in order, and these steps can be executed in other orders. Moreover, at least a part of the steps in the above flowchart may include multiple steps or multiple stages, and these steps or stages are not necessarily executed at the same time, but can be executed at different times, and the execution order of these steps or stages is not necessarily to be carried out in sequence, but can be executed in turn or alternately with other steps or at least a part of the steps or stages in other steps.

[0115] In one embodiment, Figure 6 As shown, a user identification device is provided, which is arranged in a relay directly connected to a base station in a multi-hop access network, wherein the multi-hop access network includes a plurality of relays and the remote UE, and the device includes:

[0116] The receiving module 601 is configured to receive a remote UE report notification, where the remote UE report notification includes a first remote UE identifier;

[0117] The sending module 602 is used to send a remote UE report message, wherein the remote UE report message includes a second remote UE identifier and a remote UE IP information; the second remote UE identifier is the same as the first remote UE identifier, and the TCP / UDP port range included in the remote UE IP information is allocated to the remote UE by the relay directly connected to the base station.

[0118] In one embodiment, each of the relays has at least two IP addresses, a first IP address of the at least two IP addresses is used for the relay to transmit its own traffic, and a second IP address of the at least two IP addresses is used for the relay to forward traffic.

[0119] In one of the embodiments, a PC5 connection is established between the remote UE in the multi-hop access network and an upper-layer relay of the remote UE; and a PC5 connection is established between two adjacent levels of relays in the multi-hop access network.

[0120] In one of the embodiments, the IP address of the remote UE and the IP address of the relay are both IPv4 addresses.

[0121] In one embodiment, each of the relays has the same IPv4 private address pool;

[0122] The IPv4 private address pool is used by the relay to allocate an IPv4 address to a next-level relay of the relay or the remote UE according to the IPv4 private address pool.

[0123] In one embodiment, each of the relays is a layer 3 relay.

[0124] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device may include a receiver 31, a memory 32, a processor 33, at least one communication bus 34 and a transmitter 35.

[0125] The communication device is a relay directly connected to a base station in a multi-hop access network, and the multi-hop access network includes a plurality of relays and the remote UE.

[0126] The communication bus 34 is used to realize the communication connection between the 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 can 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 can be a radio frequency processing module or a baseband processing module in the communication device, and the receiver 31 can also be a radio frequency processing module or a baseband processing module in the communication device. The transmitter 35 and the receiver 31 can be integrated together to form a transceiver. The transmitter 35 and the receiver 31 can both be coupled to the processor 33, which can realize the receiving or transmitting action under the instruction or control of the processor 33. A receiver 31 is used to receive a remote UE report notification, wherein the remote UE report notification includes a first remote UE identifier; a transmitter 35 is used to send a remote UE report message, wherein the remote UE report message includes a second remote UE identifier and remote UE IP information; the second remote UE identifier is the same as the first remote UE identifier, and the TCP / UDP port range included in the remote UE IP information is allocated to the remote UE by the relay directly connected to the base station.

[0127] In one implementation, each of the relays has at least two IP addresses, a first IP address of the at least two IP addresses is used for the relay to transmit its own traffic, and a second IP address of the at least two IP addresses is used for the relay to forward traffic.

[0128] In one implementation, a PC5 connection is established between the remote UE in the multi-hop access network and an upper-layer relay of the remote UE; and a PC5 connection is established between two adjacent levels of relays in the multi-hop access network.

[0129] In one implementation, the IP address of the remote UE and the IP address of the relay are both IPv4 addresses.

[0130] In one implementation, each of the relays has the same IPv4 private address pool;

[0131] The IPv4 private address pool is used by the relay to allocate an IPv4 address to a next-level relay of the relay or the remote UE according to the IPv4 private address pool.

[0132] In one implementation, each of the relays is a layer 3 relay.

[0133] In one embodiment, a computer readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the following steps are implemented:

[0134] receiving a remote UE report notification, wherein the remote UE report notification includes a first remote UE identifier;

[0135] Send a remote UE report message, wherein the remote UE report message includes a second remote UE identifier and remote UE IP information; the second remote UE identifier is the same as the first remote UE identifier, and the TCP / UDP port range included in the remote UE IP information is allocated to the remote UE by the relay directly connected to the base station.

[0136] In one implementation, each of the relays has at least two IP addresses, a first IP address of the at least two IP addresses is used for the relay to transmit its own traffic, and a second IP address of the at least two IP addresses is used for the relay to forward traffic.

[0137] In one implementation, a PC5 connection is established between the remote UE in the multi-hop access network and an upper-layer relay of the remote UE; and a PC5 connection is established between two adjacent levels of relays in the multi-hop access network.

[0138] In one implementation, the IP address of the remote UE and the IP address of the relay are both IPv4 addresses.

[0139] In one implementation, each of the relays has the same IPv4 private address pool;

[0140] The IPv4 private address pool is used by the relay to allocate an IPv4 address to a next-level relay of the relay or the remote UE according to the IPv4 private address pool.

[0141] In one implementation, each of the relays is a layer 3 relay.

[0142] Figure 8 It is a schematic structural diagram of the chip of an embodiment of the present application. Figure 8 The chip 1200 shown includes a processor 1210, which can call and run a computer program from a memory to implement the method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0143] Alternatively, if Figure 8 As shown, the chip 1200 may further include a memory 1220. The processor 1210 may call and run a computer program from the memory 1220 to implement the method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0144] The memory 1220 may be a separate device independent of the processor 1210 , or may be integrated into the processor 1210 .

[0145] Optionally, the chip 1200 may further include an input interface 1230. The processor 1210 may control the input interface 1230 to communicate with other devices or chips, and specifically, may obtain information or data sent by other devices or chips.

[0146] Optionally, the chip 1200 may further include an output interface 1240. The processor 1210 may control the output interface 1240 to communicate with other devices or chips, and specifically, may output information or data to other devices or chips.

[0147] Optionally, the chip 1200 can be applied to the network element device in the embodiment of the present application, and the chip 1200 can implement the corresponding processes implemented in the various methods in the embodiment of the present application, which will not be described here for the sake of brevity.

[0148] It should be understood that the chip 1200 mentioned in the embodiment of the present application can also be called a system-level chip, a system chip, a chip system or a system-on-chip chip, etc.

[0149] The present application also provides a computer program product including instructions, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the following steps:

[0150] receiving a remote UE report notification, wherein the remote UE report notification includes a first remote UE identifier;

[0151] Send a remote UE report message, wherein the remote UE report message includes a second remote UE identifier and remote UE IP information; the second remote UE identifier is the same as the first remote UE identifier, and the TCP / UDP port range included in the remote UE IP information is allocated to the remote UE by the relay directly connected to the base station.

[0152] In one embodiment, each of the relays has at least two IP addresses, a first IP address of the at least two IP addresses is used for the relay to transmit its own traffic, and a second IP address of the at least two IP addresses is used for the relay to forward traffic.

[0153] In one of the embodiments, a PC5 connection is established between the remote UE in the multi-hop access network and an upper-layer relay of the remote UE; and a PC5 connection is established between two adjacent levels of relays in the multi-hop access network.

[0154] In one of the embodiments, the IP address of the remote UE and the IP address of the relay are both IPv4 addresses.

[0155] In one embodiment, each of the relays has the same IPv4 private address pool;

[0156] The IPv4 private address pool is used by the relay to allocate an IPv4 address to a next-level relay of the relay or the remote UE according to the IPv4 private address pool.

[0157] In one embodiment, each of the relays is a layer 3 relay.

[0158] Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand that all or part of the processes in the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be completed by instructing the relevant hardware through a computer program, and 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 embodiments of the above-mentioned methods. Among them, any reference to memory, storage, 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 or optical memory, etc. Volatile memory can include random access memory (RAM) or external cache memory. As an illustration and not limitation, RAM can be in various forms, such as static random access memory (SRAM) or dynamic random access memory (DRAM).

[0159] The technical features of the above embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. 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.

[0160] The above-mentioned embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present application, and the descriptions thereof are relatively specific and detailed, but they cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the invention patent. It should be pointed out that, for a person of ordinary skill in the art, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present application, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent of the present application shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. A user identification method, characterized in that: A relay directly connected to a base station in a multi-hop access network, wherein the multi-hop access network includes a plurality of relays and the remote UE, and the method includes: receiving a remote UE report notification, wherein the remote UE report notification includes a first remote UE identifier; Send a remote UE report message, wherein the remote UE report message includes a second remote UE identifier and remote UE IP information; the second remote UE identifier is the same as the first remote UE identifier, and the TCP / UDP port range included in the remote UE IP information is allocated to the remote UE by the relay directly connected to the base station.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Each of the relays has at least two IP addresses, a first IP address of the at least two IP addresses is used for the relay to transmit its own traffic, and a second IP address of the at least two IP addresses is used for the relay to forward traffic.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that A PC5 connection is established between the remote UE in the multi-hop access network and an upper-layer relay of the remote UE; and a PC5 connection is established between two adjacent levels of relays in the multi-hop access network.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The IP address of the remote UE and the IP address of the relay are both IPv4 addresses.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that Each of the relays has the same IPv4 private address pool; The IPv4 private address pool is used by the relay to allocate an IPv4 address to a next-level relay of the relay or the remote UE according to the IPv4 private address pool.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Each of the relays is a layer 3 relay.

7. A user identification device, characterized in that: A relay directly connected to a base station is arranged in a multi-hop access network, wherein the multi-hop access network includes a plurality of relays and the remote UE, and the device includes: A receiving module, configured to receive a remote UE report notification, wherein the remote UE report notification includes a first remote UE identifier; A sending module is used to send a remote UE report message, wherein the remote UE report message includes a second remote UE identifier and remote UE IP information; the second remote UE identifier is the same as the first remote UE identifier, and the TCP / UDP port range included in the remote UE IP information is allocated to the remote UE by the relay directly connected to the base station.

8. A relay device, characterized in that: The relay device is a relay directly connected to a base station in a multi-hop access network, wherein the multi-hop access network includes a plurality of relays and the remote UE; the relay device includes: a receiver and a transmitter; The receiver is configured to receive a remote UE report notification, wherein the remote UE report notification includes a first remote UE identifier; The transmitter is used to send a remote UE report message, wherein the remote UE report message includes a second remote UE identifier and remote UE IP information; the second remote UE identifier is the same as the first remote UE identifier, and the TCP / UDP port range included in the remote UE IP information is allocated to the remote UE by the relay directly connected to the base station.

9. 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.

10. 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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