Session data synchronization processing method and device and related equipment

Abstract

The invention discloses a session data synchronization processing method, a session data synchronization processing device and related equipment, relates to the technical field of 5GC, and aims to solve the problem that the communication quality of a terminal is affected due to interruption of flow of a user under the condition that an SMF and a UPF are disconnected. The method is applied to the UPF, and comprises the following steps: receiving first session data sent by a session management function (SMF) under the condition of re-establishing connection with the SMF, the first session data being session data currently stored by the SMF; and performing data synchronization processing on pre-stored session data based on the first session data to obtain second session data, the second session data being the same as the first session data, and the pre-stored session data being session data pre-stored on the UPF. According to the embodiment of the invention, the influence on the user flow under the condition that the SMF and the UPF are disconnected can be reduced, and the communication quality of the terminal is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of a fifth-generation mobile communication technology core network (5th-Generation Core Network, 5GC), and in particular to a session data synchronization processing method, device and related equipment. Background Art

[0002] The User Plane Function (UPF) is an important part of the 5G core network system architecture of the Third Generation Partnership Projects (3GPP), and is mainly responsible for the routing and forwarding related functions of user plane data packets in the 5G core network. The Session Management Function (SMF) is part of the Control Plane (CP) in the 5G core network system architecture, and is mainly responsible for interacting with the UPF, creating, updating and deleting Protocol Data Unit (PDU) sessions, and managing the session context (Session Context) with the UPF. The N4 interface is the interface between the SMF and the UPF. The control plane is used to transmit node messages and session messages, and uses the Packet Forwarding Control Protocol (PFCP).

[0003] After the connection between UPF and SMF is disconnected, any changes in user data and policies on SMF cannot be notified to UPF. Therefore, when the connection between UPF and SMF is restored, data consistency restoration between SMF and UPF is required.

[0004] In order to ensure the data consistency between SMF and UPF, after UPF and SMF are reconnected, UPF will directly delete the original session data stored by itself, and then receive the new session data sent by SMF. In the process of UPF deleting the original session data stored by itself and waiting for SMF to send new session data, the user's traffic will be interrupted, affecting the communication quality of the terminal. Summary of the invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present invention provide a session data synchronization processing method, apparatus and related equipment to solve the problem that when the SMF and UPF connections are disconnected, the user's traffic is interrupted, affecting the communication quality of the terminal.

[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a session data synchronization processing method, which is applied to a user plane function UPF, including:

[0007] In case of re-establishing a connection with a session management function SMF, receiving first session data sent by the SMF, where the first session data is session data currently stored by the SMF;

[0008] Based on the first session data, data synchronization processing is performed on the pre-stored session data to obtain second session data, where the second session data is the same as the first session data, and the pre-stored session data is session data pre-stored on the UPF.

[0009] Optionally, in the case of re-establishing a connection with a session management function SMF, receiving first session data sent by the SMF includes:

[0010] receiving a connection establishment request sent by the SMF, wherein the connection establishment request carries a first tag, and the first tag is used to indicate whether the SMF starts to send session data;

[0011] Sending a connection establishment response to the SMF, where the connection establishment response carries a second flag, where the second flag is used to indicate whether the UPF starts to receive session data;

[0012] When the first mark indicates that the SMF starts to send session data and the second mark indicates that the UPF starts to receive session data, the first session data sent by the SMF is received.

[0013] Optionally, performing data synchronization processing on pre-stored session data based on the first session data to obtain second session data includes:

[0014] storing the first session data, the first session data corresponding to a first data identifier, the pre-stored session data corresponding to a second data identifier, the first data identifier being different from the second data identifier;

[0015] Delete the session data whose corresponding data identifier is the second data identifier in the session data of the UPF to obtain the second session data.

[0016] Optionally, the first data identifier is N+1, used to characterize that the first session data is session data received during the N+1th connection between the UPF and the SMF; the second data identifier is N, used to characterize that the pre-stored session data is session data received during the Nth connection between the UPF and the SMF, and N is a positive integer.

[0017] Optionally, before performing data synchronization processing on the pre-stored session data based on the first session data to obtain the second session data, the method further includes:

[0018] receiving a connection update request sent by the SMF, wherein the connection update request carries a third tag, and the third tag is used to indicate whether the SMF has finished sending session data;

[0019] A connection update response is sent to the SMF, where the connection update response carries a fourth tag, and the fourth tag is used to indicate whether the UPF has finished receiving session data.

[0020] Optionally, both the connection establishment response and the connection update response carry user plane capability characteristic information, and the user plane capability characteristic information includes at least one of the second mark, the fourth mark and the fifth mark, and the fifth mark is used to characterize that the UPF has the ability to execute the session data synchronization processing method.

[0021] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a session data synchronization processing method, which is applied to SMF, including:

[0022] In case of re-establishing a connection with the UPF, sending first session data to the UPF, where the first session data is the session data currently stored by the SMF;

[0023] The first session data is used to perform data synchronization processing on the pre-stored session data to obtain second session data, the second session data is the same as the first session data, and the pre-stored session data is session data pre-stored on the UPF.

[0024] Optionally, in a case where a connection is reestablished with the UPF, sending the first session data to the UPF includes:

[0025] Send a connection establishment request to the UPF, where the connection establishment request carries a first tag, where the first tag is used to indicate whether the SMF starts to send session data;

[0026] receiving a connection establishment response sent by the UPF, where the connection establishment response carries a second flag, where the second flag is used to indicate whether the UPF starts to receive session data;

[0027] When the first mark indicates that the SMF starts to send session data and the second mark indicates that the UPF starts to receive session data, the first session data is sent to the UPF.

[0028] Optionally, when the second mark indicates that the UPF starts to receive session data, after sending the first session data to the UPF, the method further includes:

[0029] Sending a connection update request to the UPF, where the connection update request carries a third tag, where the third tag is used to indicate whether the SMF has finished sending session data;

[0030] Receive a connection update response sent by the UPF, where the connection update response carries a fourth tag, and the fourth tag is used to indicate whether the UPF has finished receiving session data.

[0031] Optionally, both the connection establishment request and the connection update request carry control plane capability characteristic information, and the control plane capability characteristic information includes at least one of the first mark, the third mark and the sixth mark, and the sixth mark is used to characterize that the SMF has the ability to execute the session data synchronization processing method.

[0032] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a session data synchronization processing device, the UPF includes the session data synchronization processing device, and the session data synchronization processing device includes:

[0033] A first receiving module is used to receive first session data sent by a session management function SMF when a connection is reestablished with the SMF, where the first session data is session data currently stored by the SMF;

[0034] A processing module is used to perform data synchronization processing on the pre-stored session data based on the first session data to obtain second session data, where the second session data is the same as the first session data, and the pre-stored session data is the session data pre-stored on the UPF.

[0035] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a session data synchronization processing device, the SMF includes the session data synchronization processing device, and the session data synchronization processing device includes:

[0036] A first sending module, configured to send first session data to the UPF when a connection is reestablished with the UPF, where the first session data is session data currently stored by the SMF;

[0037] The first session data is used to perform data synchronization processing on the pre-stored session data to obtain second session data, the second session data is the same as the first session data, and the pre-stored session data is session data pre-stored on the UPF.

[0038] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a UPF, including: a transceiver, a memory, a processor, and a program stored in the memory and executable on the processor;

[0039] The processor is used to read the program in the memory to implement the steps in the method described in the first aspect.

[0040] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an SMF, comprising: a transceiver, a memory, a processor, and a program stored in the memory and executable on the processor;

[0041] The processor is used to read the program in the memory to implement the steps in the method described in the second aspect.

[0042] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a readable storage medium for storing a program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps in the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0043] In the embodiment of the present application, when the UPF re-establishes the connection with the SMF, it receives the first session data sent by the SMF, and the first session data is the session data currently stored by the SMF; based on the first session data, the pre-stored session data pre-stored on the UPF is synchronized to obtain the second session data, and the second session data is the same as the first session data. Through the above method, the UPF first receives the first session data sent by the SMF, and then synchronizes the pre-stored session data based on the first session data. In this process, for users who are continuously online during the inertial operation and whose user policies have not changed, the traffic can be guaranteed to be uninterrupted, while minimizing the impact on users whose session data has changed, ensuring the continuity and stability of user traffic. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0044] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments of the present invention will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other accompanying drawings can be obtained based on these accompanying drawings without paying creative labor.

[0045] Figure 1 This is one of the flow charts of the session data synchronization processing method provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0046] Figure 2 This is the second flowchart of the session data synchronization processing method provided by the embodiment of the present invention;

[0047] Figure 3 This is the third flow chart of the session data synchronization processing method provided by the embodiment of the present invention;

[0048] Figure 4 This is the fourth flow chart of the session data synchronization processing method provided by the embodiment of the present invention;

[0049] Figure 5It is one of the structural diagrams of the session data synchronization processing device provided by the embodiment of the present invention;

[0050] Figure 6 This is the second structural diagram of the session data synchronization processing device provided by the embodiment of the present invention;

[0051] Figure 7 is a structural diagram of a UPF provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0052] Figure 8 It is a structural diagram of the SMF provided by an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0054] The embodiment of the present invention provides a session data synchronization processing method, which can be applied to the scenario of data synchronization when the SMF and UPF are disconnected and then reconnected. Through the above method, the session data synchronization processing can be performed on the SMF and UPF.

[0055] See also Figure 1 , Figure 1 FIG. 1 is one of the flow charts of the session data synchronization processing method provided by an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 As shown, an embodiment of the present invention provides a session data synchronization processing method, which is applied to UPF. The method specifically includes the following steps:

[0056] Step 101: When re-establishing a connection with the SMF, first session data sent by the SMF is received, where the first session data is session data currently stored in the SMF.

[0057] The connection between UPF and SMF is disconnected, and UPF cannot accept the control of SMF. During the disconnection period, any changes in user data and policies on SMF cannot be notified to UPF. After the connection between UPF and SMF is disconnected, UPF maintains inertial operation. Specifically, UPF interacts with SMF through the N4 interface and is directly controlled and managed by SMF. It creates user sessions based on the session information issued by SMF and performs business flow processing according to various policies issued by SMF. The connection between UPF and SMF is maintained through a heartbeat detection mechanism. When the heartbeat detection times out, the connection between UPF and SMF is disconnected. At this time, UPF does not clear the session, and continues to forward traffic according to the user data and policies issued by SMF before the connection is disconnected. To ensure the stability of user communication, this is called data plane inertial operation.

[0058] When UPF re-establishes the connection with SMF, in order to restore the data consistency between SMF and UPF, SMF sends the session data (first session data) currently stored in SMF to UPF, that is, the latest session data on SMF. UPF receives and stores the first session data sent by SMF.

[0059] It should be understood that the first session data is the final session data stored on the SMF. Therefore, in this embodiment, there is no need to maintain and synchronize the process session data during the disconnection between the SMF and UPF. Only the final session data on the SMF upon reconnection needs to be synchronized, which improves the convenience of session data synchronization processing and reduces the amount of information for session data synchronization.

[0060] It should be understood that since UPF maintains inertial operation, when UPF receives and stores the first session data, the session data is already stored on UPF. During the disconnection between UPF and SMF, UPF continues to forward traffic based on the session data originally stored thereon, thereby ensuring the stability of user communication during the disconnection.

[0061] Optionally, in some embodiments, step 101 includes:

[0062] receiving a connection establishment request sent by the SMF, wherein the connection establishment request carries a first tag, and the first tag is used to indicate whether the SMF starts to send session data;

[0063] Sending a connection establishment response to the SMF, where the connection establishment response carries a second flag, where the second flag is used to indicate whether the UPF starts to receive session data;

[0064] When the first mark indicates that the SMF starts to send session data and the second mark indicates that the UPF starts to receive session data, the first session data sent by the SMF is received.

[0065] SMF sends a connection establishment request to UPF, and the connection establishment request carries a first tag, which is used to indicate whether SMF starts to send session data. UPF receives the connection establishment request sent by SMF. When the first tag indicates that SMF does not start to send session data, UPF and SMF can perform subsequent interactions according to the process in the prior art, and SMF does not send the first session data to UPF.

[0066] When the first mark indicates that the SMF starts to send session data, the UPF determines whether there is session data corresponding to the SMF in the session data previously stored by the UPF. If there is session data corresponding to the SMF in the session data previously stored by the UPF, the UPF needs to synchronize the session data with the SMF, and the UPF sends a connection establishment response to the SMF. The second mark indicates that the UPF starts to receive session data.

[0067] The SMF receives the connection establishment response sent by the UPF, and when the second mark indicates that the UPF starts to receive session data, the SMF sends the first session data to the UPF. The specific process of the SMF sending the first session data can be found in the description of the relevant technology, which will not be described in detail here.

[0068] Step 102: Perform data synchronization processing on the pre-stored session data based on the first session data to obtain second session data, where the second session data is the same as the first session data, and the pre-stored session data is session data pre-stored on the UPF.

[0069] After receiving the first session data, UPF performs data synchronization on the pre-stored session data. After the synchronization, the data stored on UPF is the second session data. The second session data is the same as the first session data. The synchronization of the session data stored on UPF and SMF is completed, and UPF is aligned with the control plane data.

[0070] It should be understood that the specific manner in which the UPF performs data synchronization processing on the pre-stored session data based on the first session data is not limited herein. Optionally, in some embodiments, step 102 includes:

[0071] storing the first session data, the first session data corresponding to a first data identifier, the pre-stored session data corresponding to a second data identifier, the first data identifier being different from the second data identifier;

[0072] Delete the session data whose corresponding data identifier is the second data identifier in the session data of the UPF to obtain the second session data.

[0073] The current UPF stores first session data and pre-stored session data. The first session data and the pre-stored session data are distinguished based on the data identifier corresponding to the session data, and the session data with the data identifier on the UPF as the second data identifier is deleted to obtain the second session data.

[0074] The UPF receives the first session data and stores the first session data. In order to distinguish the first session data from the session data pre-stored on the UPF, the data identifier corresponding to the first session data is the first data identifier, and the data identifier corresponding to the pre-stored session data is the second data identifier, and the first data identifier is different from the second data identifier.

[0075] In this embodiment, SMF and UPF interact with each other on whether session data synchronization is required by carrying the first mark and the second mark, thereby ensuring the smooth progress of the session data synchronization process and improving the fluency of information interaction between SMF and UPF. At the same time, the first session data and the pre-stored session data are distinguished by the first data identifier and the second data identifier, thereby improving the convenience of session data processing.

[0076] Of course, as another optional implementation, the first session data and the pre-stored session data may be distinguished by other methods, and the specific content of the data identifier of the session data is not limited here. For example, as an optional implementation, the time when the UPF receives the session data is used as the data identifier of the session data, and the session data received within a certain time period is the first session data, and the session data received before the time period is the pre-stored session data.

[0077] It should be understood that the specific contents of the first data identifier and the second data identifier are not limited herein. Optionally, in some embodiments, the first data identifier is N+1, which is used to indicate that the first session data is the session data received during the N+1th connection between the UPF and the SMF; the second data identifier is N, which is used to indicate that the pre-stored session data is the session data received during the Nth connection between the UPF and the SMF, and N is a positive integer.

[0078] For ease of understanding, an example is given below. UPF has a Global Epoch, and the value of Global Epoch is updated every time UPF reestablishes a connection with SMF. For example, during the first connection between UPF and SMF, the value of Global Epoch is 1. After the current connection is disconnected, during the second connection between UPF and SMF, the value of Global Epoch is updated to 2, and so on. UPF records data identifiers (recorded as Epoch) in all session data, and the value of the Epoch of the session data is the value of the Global Epoch when the session is created or updated.

[0079] In this embodiment, the data identification of the session data is updated with the number of times the connection between the UPF and the SMF is established. Through the above settings, the session data stored on the UPF can be automatically identified, thereby distinguishing the first session data from the preset session data, and improving the convenience and flexibility of the data identification of the session data.

[0080] In this embodiment, the session data corresponding to the second data identifier in the session data of the UPF is deleted to obtain the second session data. The above method improves the convenience of obtaining the second session data.

[0081] Optionally, in some embodiments, before step 102, the method further includes:

[0082] receiving a connection update request sent by the SMF, wherein the connection update request carries a third tag, and the third tag is used to indicate whether the SMF has finished sending session data;

[0083] A connection update response is sent to the SMF, where the connection update response carries a fourth tag, and the fourth tag is used to indicate whether the UPF has finished receiving session data.

[0084] SMF sends a connection update request to UPF, and the connection update request carries a third tag. UPF receives the connection update request sent by SMF. When the third tag indicates that SMF has finished sending session data, UPF sends a connection update response to SMF, and the connection update response carries a fourth tag, and the fourth tag is used to indicate that UPF has finished receiving session data. When the third tag indicates that SMF has not finished sending session data, SMF continues to send session data until the sending of session data is completed.

[0085] In this embodiment, SMF and UPF interact on whether to end the sending of session data by carrying the third mark and the fourth mark, thereby ensuring the smooth progress of the session data synchronization process and improving the fluency of information interaction between SMF and UPF.

[0086] Optionally, in some embodiments, the connection establishment response and the connection update response both carry the user plane capability characteristic information, and the user plane capability characteristic information includes at least one of the second mark, the fourth mark and the fifth mark, and the fifth mark is used to characterize that the UPF has the ability to execute the session data synchronization processing method.

[0087] As an optional implementation, at least one of the second tag, the fourth tag and the fifth tag is added to the user plane capability feature information (UP FunctionFeature) specified in the PFCP protocol, and information interaction of session data synchronization capability and information interaction of session data synchronization processing are performed between CP and UP through at least one of the second tag, the fourth tag and the fifth tag.

[0088] In this embodiment, the user plane capability characteristic information includes at least one of the second tag, the fourth tag and the fifth tag. By carrying the user plane capability characteristic information in both the connection establishment response and the connection update response, it is convenient for UPF and SMF to perform information synchronization interaction. At the same time, adding the above-mentioned tags to the user plane capability characteristic information can facilitate the compatibility of the method with existing technologies and protocols, thereby improving the scope of application of the method.

[0089] In the embodiment of the present application, when the UPF re-establishes the connection with the SMF, it receives the first session data sent by the SMF, and the first session data is the session data currently stored by the SMF; based on the first session data, the pre-stored session data is synchronized to obtain the second session data, and the second session data is the same as the first session data. Through the above method, the UPF first receives the first session data sent by the SMF, and then synchronizes the pre-stored session data based on the first session data. In this process, for users who are continuously online during the inertial operation and whose user policies have not changed, the traffic can be guaranteed to be uninterrupted, while minimizing the impact on users whose session data has changed, ensuring the continuity and stability of user traffic.

[0090] The embodiment of the present invention also provides a session data synchronization processing method, which is applied to SMF. Figure 2 As shown, the session data synchronization processing method specifically includes the following steps:

[0091] Step 201, when re-establishing a connection with the UPF, sending first session data to the UPF, where the first session data is the session data currently stored by the SMF;

[0092] The first session data is used to perform data synchronization processing on the pre-stored session data to obtain second session data, the second session data is the same as the first session data, and the pre-stored session data is session data pre-stored on the UPF.

[0093] It should be noted that this embodiment is Figure 1 The implementation method of the SMF side corresponding to the example shown in the figure can be found in Figure 1 To avoid repetition, the relevant introduction in the illustrated embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0094] Optionally, step 201 includes:

[0095] Send a connection establishment request to the UPF, where the connection establishment request carries a first tag, where the first tag is used to indicate whether the SMF starts to send session data;

[0096] receiving a connection establishment response sent by the UPF, where the connection establishment response carries a second flag, where the second flag is used to indicate whether the UPF starts to receive session data;

[0097] When the first mark indicates that the SMF starts to send session data and the second mark indicates that the UPF starts to receive session data, the first session data is sent to the UPF.

[0098] Optionally, after step 201, the method further includes:

[0099] Sending a connection update request to the UPF, where the connection update request carries a third tag, where the third tag is used to indicate whether the SMF has finished sending session data;

[0100] Receive a connection update response sent by the UPF, where the connection update response carries a fourth tag, and the fourth tag is used to indicate whether the UPF has finished receiving session data.

[0101] Optionally, both the connection establishment request and the connection update request carry the control plane capability characteristic information, and the control plane capability characteristic information includes at least one of the first mark, the third mark and the sixth mark, and the sixth mark is used to characterize that the SMF has the ability to execute the session data synchronization processing method.

[0102] As an optional implementation, at least one of the first tag, the third tag and the sixth tag is added to the control plane capability feature information (CP FunctionFeature) specified in the PFCP protocol, and information interaction of session data synchronization capability and information interaction of session data synchronization processing are performed between the CP and the UP through at least one of the first tag, the third tag and the sixth tag.

[0103] In this embodiment, the control plane capability characteristic information includes at least one of the first tag, the third tag and the sixth tag. By carrying the control plane capability characteristic information in both the connection establishment request and the connection update request, it is convenient for the UPF and the SMF to perform information synchronization interaction. At the same time, adding the above-mentioned tags to the control plane capability characteristic information can facilitate the compatibility of the method with existing technologies and protocols, thereby improving the scope of application of the method.

[0104] For ease of understanding, a specific embodiment will be taken as an example below to illustrate the process of the session data synchronization processing method provided by the embodiment of the present invention.

[0105] Add the tags shown in Table 1 to the UP Function Feature, and add the tags shown in Table 2 to the CP Function Feature.

[0106] Specifically, a second tag (denoted as SMOOTHSTART), a fourth tag (denoted as SMOOTHEND) and a fifth tag (denoted as SMOOTH) are added to the UP Function Feature, wherein the lengths of the second tag, the fourth tag and the fifth tag are all 1 bit.

[0107] In the UP Function Feature, SMOOTH is assigned a value of 1, which indicates that the UPF has the ability to execute the session data synchronization processing method and can execute the session data synchronization processing flow. SMOOTH is assigned a value of 0, which indicates that the UPF does not have the ability to execute the session data synchronization processing method and cannot execute the session data synchronization processing flow provided by the embodiment of the present invention. SMOOTHSTART is assigned a value of 1, which indicates that the UPF starts to receive session data (or starts the session data synchronization processing flow); SMOOTHSTART is assigned a value of 0, which indicates that the UPF does not start to receive session data. SMOOTHEND is assigned a value of 1, which indicates that the UPF ends receiving session data (or completes the session data synchronization processing); SMOOTHEND is assigned a value of 0, which indicates that the UPF does not end receiving session data.

[0108] Specifically, a first tag (denoted as SMOOTHSTART), a third tag (denoted as SMOOTHEND) and a sixth tag (denoted as SMOOTH) are added to the CP Function Feature, wherein the length of the first tag, the third tag and the sixth tag is 1 bit.

[0109] In the CP Function Feature, SMOOTH is assigned a value of 1, which indicates that the SMF has the ability to execute the session data synchronization processing method and can execute the session data synchronization processing flow. SMOOTH is assigned a value of 0, which indicates that the SMF does not have the ability to execute the session data synchronization processing method and cannot execute the session data synchronization processing flow provided by the embodiment of the present invention. SMOOTHSTART is assigned a value of 1, which indicates that the SMF starts to send session data (or starts the session data synchronization processing flow); SMOOTHSTART is assigned a value of 0, which indicates that the SMF does not start to send session data. SMOOTHEND is assigned a value of 1, which indicates that the SMF ends sending session data (or completes the session data synchronization processing); SMOOTHEND is assigned a value of 0, which indicates that the SMF does not end sending session data.

[0110] In UP Function Feature and UP Function Feature, whether it is optional (M / O) is used to indicate whether the mark is a mandatory mark (M) or an optional mark (O).

[0111] Table 1 Tags added in UP Function Feature

[0112]

[0113] Table 2 Tags added in UP Function Feature

[0114]

[0115] See also Figure 3 , SMF sends a PFCP connection establishment request (PFCP Association SetupRequest) to UPF. If SMF has the ability to execute the session data synchronization processing method, it sets the values ​​of SMOOTH and SMOOTHSTART to 1 and the value of SMOOTHEND to 0 in the CP Function Feature of PFCP Association SetupRequest.

[0116] If UPF has the ability to execute the session data synchronization processing method, it sets the value of SMOOTH to 1 in the UP Function Feature that responds to the PFCP Association Setup Response. If the NodeID carried by the SMF that currently initiates the association already exists in the UPF, and the UPF has PFCP session data, then the UP Function Feature that UPF responds to the PFCP Association Setup Response sets the value of SMOOTHSTART to 1, indicating that UPF needs to start the session data synchronization processing flow to correct the data consistency between SMF and UPF, otherwise the value of SMOOTHSTART is set to 0.

[0117] After receiving the association response with SMOOTH and SMOOTHSTART values ​​1 in the UP Function Feature of the PFCP Association Setup Response, the SMF starts data synchronization and uses the PFCP Session Establishment process to send the session data and policies allocated to the UPF on the SMF. Otherwise, data synchronization is not performed.

[0118] In the PFCP Session Establishment process, SMF sends session data to UPF through a PFCP session establishment request (PFCPSession Establishment Request), and UPF confirms the receipt of session data to SMF through a session establishment response (PFCPSession Establishment Response). The specific process can be found in the description of the relevant technology, which will not be repeated here.

[0119] After SMF sends all session data and policies, it notifies UPF that the session data delivery has ended by setting the SMOOTHEND value of CP Function Feature in the PFCP Association Update Request to 1. UPF responds by setting the SMOOTHEND value of UP FunctionFeature in the PFCP Association Update Response to 1, indicating that UPF has ended receiving session data and started data consistency correction.

[0120] See also Figure 4 , UPF completes data consistency correction in the following way.

[0121] Global Epoch is used to represent the establishment of a connection. When the value of SMOOTHSTART in the CP Function Feature of the PFCP Association SetupRequest sent by SMF is 1, and UPF has pre-stored session data that needs to be corrected for data consistency, UPF updates the Global Epoch count and starts receiving the first session data.

[0122] All session data records Epoch information, which is the session Epoch, and its value is the Global Epoch value when the session is created or updated. Figure 4 As shown in the upper part of , when the value of Global Epoch is N, the Epoch corresponding to Session 1 to Session M stored on UPF is N. In this embodiment, Session 1 to Session M with Epoch N can be understood as pre-stored session data of UPF.

[0123] When the value of SMOOTHEND in the CP Function Feature of the PFCP Association Update Request sent by SMF is 1, it means that all information on the current SMF has been synchronized. At this time, UPF starts consistency correction, traverses the session data and deletes all session data with different session Epochs and Global Epochs, so that the session data on UPF is aligned with the session data stored on SMF.

[0124] Specifically, after the SMF and UPF re-establish the connection, the UPF updates the Global Epoch count to N+1. Figure 4 As shown in the lower part of the figure, when the SMF and UPF have just established a connection, the UPF still stores Session 1 to Session M with Epoch N. The UPF receives the first session data sent by the SMF, and the corresponding Epoch when these first session data are saved should be N+1. The UPF starts consistency correction, deletes the corresponding Session with Epoch N, and only retains the corresponding Session with Epoch N+1, and obtains the second session data.

[0125] At this point, UPF has completed the alignment with the control plane data, and UPF has achieved consistency with the SMF data. During this period, the unchanged session data will not be changed, and the data plane forwarding will not be affected, thus maintaining the continuity and stability of user traffic to the greatest extent.

[0126] In this solution, UPF maintains inertial operation after SMF and UPF are disconnected, and UPF aligns data with SMF after the connection between SMF and UPF is restored. The alignment process only affects users who have changed during the disconnection period. For users who continue to be online during the inertial operation and whose user policies have not changed, the traffic can be guaranteed to be uninterrupted, thus meeting the user's communication needs to the greatest extent when the SMF and UPF connection is disconnected and restored.

[0127] The embodiment of the present invention further provides a session data synchronization processing device, and the UPF includes the session data synchronization processing device. Figure 5 , Figure 5 This is one of the structural diagrams of the session data synchronization processing device 500 provided in the embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 The session data synchronization processing method shown is similar, so the implementation of the session data synchronization processing device 500 can refer to the implementation of the method, and the repeated parts will not be repeated.

[0128] like Figure 5 As shown, the session data synchronization processing device 500 includes:

[0129] A first receiving module 501 is used to receive first session data sent by a session management function SMF when a connection is reestablished with the SMF, where the first session data is session data currently stored by the SMF;

[0130] The processing module 502 is used to perform data synchronization processing on the pre-stored session data based on the first session data to obtain second session data, where the second session data is the same as the first session data, and the pre-stored session data is session data pre-stored on the UPF.

[0131] Optionally, the first receiving module 501 includes:

[0132] A first receiving unit, configured to receive a connection establishment request sent by the SMF, wherein the connection establishment request carries a first tag, and the first tag is used to indicate whether the SMF starts to send session data;

[0133] A first sending unit, configured to send a connection establishment response to the SMF, wherein the connection establishment response carries a second tag, and the second tag is used to indicate whether the UPF starts to receive session data;

[0134] The second receiving unit is used to receive the first session data sent by the SMF when the first mark indicates that the SMF starts to send session data and the second mark indicates that the UPF starts to receive session data.

[0135] Optionally, the processing module 502 is specifically configured to:

[0136] a storage module, configured to store the first session data, the first session data corresponding to a first data identifier, the pre-stored session data corresponding to a second data identifier, the first data identifier being different from the second data identifier;

[0137] Delete the session data whose corresponding data identifier is the second data identifier in the session data of the UPF to obtain the second session data.

[0138] Optionally, the first data identifier is N+1, used to characterize that the first session data is session data received during the N+1th connection between the UPF and the SMF; the second data identifier is N, used to characterize that the pre-stored session data is session data received during the Nth connection between the UPF and the SMF, and N is a positive integer.

[0139] Optionally, the session data synchronization processing device 500 further includes:

[0140] A second receiving module is used to receive a connection update request sent by the SMF, wherein the connection update request carries a third tag, and the third tag is used to indicate whether the SMF has finished sending the session data;

[0141] The second sending module is used to send a connection update response to the SMF, and the connection update response carries a fourth tag, and the fourth tag is used to indicate whether the UPF ends receiving session data.

[0142] Optionally, both the connection establishment response and the connection update response carry user plane capability characteristic information, and the user plane capability characteristic information includes at least one of the second mark, the fourth mark and the fifth mark, and the fifth mark is used to characterize that the UPF has the ability to execute the session data synchronization processing method.

[0143] The session data synchronization processing device 500 provided in the embodiment of the present invention can realize Figure 1 The various processes implemented by the method embodiment shown can achieve the same beneficial effects, and will not be described again here to avoid repetition.

[0144] The embodiment of the present invention further provides a session data synchronization processing device, and the SMF includes the session data synchronization processing device. Figure 6 , Figure 6 This is the second structural diagram of the session data synchronization processing device 600 provided in the embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2The session data synchronization processing method shown is similar, so the implementation of the session data synchronization processing device 600 can refer to the implementation of the method, and the repeated parts will not be repeated.

[0145] like Figure 6 As shown, the session data synchronization processing device 600 includes:

[0146] A first sending module 601 is used to send first session data to the UPF when a connection is reestablished with the UPF, where the first session data is the session data currently stored by the SMF;

[0147] The first session data is used to perform data synchronization processing on the pre-stored session data to obtain second session data, the second session data is the same as the first session data, and the pre-stored session data is session data pre-stored on the UPF.

[0148] Optionally, the first sending module 601 includes:

[0149] A second sending unit is used to send a connection establishment request to the UPF, where the connection establishment request carries a first tag, where the first tag is used to indicate whether the SMF starts to send session data;

[0150] A third receiving unit, configured to receive a connection establishment response sent by the UPF, where the connection establishment response carries a second flag, and the second flag is used to indicate whether the UPF starts to receive session data;

[0151] The third sending unit is used to send the first session data to the UPF when the first mark indicates that the SMF starts to send the session data and the second mark indicates that the UPF starts to receive the session data.

[0152] Optionally, the session data synchronization processing device 600 further includes:

[0153] A third sending module is used to send a connection update request to the UPF, where the connection update request carries a third tag, and the third tag is used to indicate whether the SMF has finished sending the session data;

[0154] The third receiving module is used to receive a connection update response sent by the UPF, where the connection update response carries a fourth tag, and the fourth tag is used to indicate whether the UPF has finished receiving session data.

[0155] Optionally, both the connection establishment request and the connection update request carry control plane capability characteristic information, and the control plane capability characteristic information includes at least one of the first mark, the third mark and the sixth mark, and the sixth mark is used to characterize that the SMF has the ability to execute the session data synchronization processing method.

[0156] The session data synchronization processing device 600 provided in the embodiment of the present invention can realize Figure 2 The various processes implemented by the method embodiment shown can achieve the same beneficial effects, and will not be described again here to avoid repetition.

[0157] The embodiment of the present invention further provides a UPF, comprising: a processor, a memory, and a program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the program is executed by the processor to implement the above-mentioned Figure 1 The various processes of the method embodiment shown can achieve the same technical effect, and will not be described again here to avoid repetition.

[0158] Specifically, see Figure 7 As shown, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a UPF, including a bus 701, a transceiver 702, an antenna 703, a bus interface 704, a processor 705 and a memory 706.

[0159] In one implementation, the transceiver 702 is configured to receive first session data sent by the SMF when reestablishing a connection with the SMF, where the first session data is session data currently stored by the SMF;

[0160] Processor 705 is used to perform data synchronization processing on the pre-stored session data based on the first session data to obtain second session data, where the second session data is the same as the first session data, and the pre-stored session data is session data pre-stored on the UPF.

[0161] Optionally, the transceiver 702 is further configured to receive a connection establishment request sent by the SMF, where the connection establishment request carries a first tag, and the first tag is used to indicate whether the SMF starts to send session data;

[0162] The transceiver 702 is further configured to send a connection establishment response to the SMF, wherein the connection establishment response carries a second tag, and the second tag is used to indicate whether the UPF starts to receive session data;

[0163] The transceiver 702 is further configured to receive the first session data sent by the SMF when the first mark indicates that the SMF starts to send session data and the second mark indicates that the UPF starts to receive session data.

[0164] Optionally, the processor 705 is further configured to:

[0165] storing the first session data, the first session data corresponding to a first data identifier, the pre-stored session data corresponding to a second data identifier, the first data identifier being different from the second data identifier;

[0166] Delete the session data whose corresponding data identifier is the second data identifier in the session data of the UPF to obtain the second session data.

[0167] Optionally, the first data identifier is N+1, used to characterize that the first session data is session data received during the N+1th connection between the UPF and the SMF; the second data identifier is N, used to characterize that the pre-stored session data is session data received during the Nth connection between the UPF and the SMF, and N is a positive integer.

[0168] Optionally, the transceiver 702 is further used to receive a connection update request sent by the SMF, where the connection update request carries a third tag, and the third tag is used to indicate whether the SMF has finished sending the session data;

[0169] The transceiver 702 is also used to send a connection update response to the SMF, where the connection update response carries a fourth tag, and the fourth tag is used to indicate whether the UPF has finished receiving session data.

[0170] Optionally, both the connection establishment response and the connection update response carry user plane capability characteristic information, and the user plane capability characteristic information includes at least one of the second mark, the fourth mark and the fifth mark, and the fifth mark is used to characterize that the UPF has the ability to execute the session data synchronization processing method.

[0171] exist Figure 7 In the embodiment, the bus architecture (represented by bus 701) may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, and bus 701 links various circuits including one or more processors represented by processor 705 and memory represented by memory 706. Bus 701 may also link various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and are therefore not further described herein. Bus interface 704 provides an interface between bus 701 and transceiver 702. Transceiver 702 may be one element or multiple elements, such as multiple receivers and transmitters, providing a unit for communicating with various other devices on a transmission medium. Data processed by processor 705 is transmitted on a wireless medium via antenna 703, and further, antenna 703 also receives data and transmits the data to processor 705.

[0172] The processor 705 is responsible for managing the bus 701 and general processing, and can also provide various functions, including timing, peripheral interfaces, voltage regulation, power management and other control functions. The memory 706 can be used to store data used by the processor 705 when performing operations.

[0173] Optionally, the processor 705 may be a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA or a CPLD.

[0174] The embodiment of the present invention further provides an SMF, comprising: a processor, a memory, and a program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the program is executed by the processor to implement the above-mentioned Figure 2 The various processes of the method embodiment shown can achieve the same technical effect, and will not be described again here to avoid repetition.

[0175] Specifically, see Figure 8 As shown, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an SMF, including a bus 801, a transceiver 802, an antenna 803, a bus interface 804, a processor 805 and a memory 806.

[0176] In one implementation, the transceiver 802 is configured to send first session data to the UPF when reestablishing a connection with the UPF, where the first session data is session data currently stored by the SMF;

[0177] The first session data is used to perform data synchronization processing on the pre-stored session data to obtain second session data, the second session data is the same as the first session data, and the pre-stored session data is session data pre-stored on the UPF.

[0178] Optionally, the transceiver 802 is further configured to send a connection establishment request to the UPF, where the connection establishment request carries a first tag, where the first tag is used to indicate whether the SMF starts to send session data;

[0179] The transceiver 802 is further configured to receive a connection establishment response sent by the UPF, where the connection establishment response carries a second flag, where the second flag is used to indicate whether the UPF starts to receive session data;

[0180] The transceiver 802 is further configured to send the first session data to the UPF when the first mark indicates that the SMF starts to send the session data and the second mark indicates that the UPF starts to receive the session data.

[0181] Optionally, the transceiver 802 is further used to send a connection update request to the UPF, where the connection update request carries a third tag, and the third tag is used to indicate whether the SMF ends sending the session data;

[0182] The transceiver 802 is also used to receive a connection update response sent by the UPF, where the connection update response carries a fourth tag, and the fourth tag is used to indicate whether the UPF has finished receiving session data.

[0183] Optionally, both the connection establishment request and the connection update request carry control plane capability characteristic information, and the control plane capability characteristic information includes at least one of the first mark, the third mark and the sixth mark, and the sixth mark is used to characterize that the SMF has the ability to execute the session data synchronization processing method.

[0184] exist Figure 8 In the embodiment, the bus architecture (represented by bus 801) is shown, and bus 801 may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, and bus 801 links various circuits including one or more processors represented by processor 805 and memory represented by memory 806. Bus 801 may also link various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and are therefore not further described herein. Bus interface 804 provides an interface between bus 801 and transceiver 802. Transceiver 802 may be one element or multiple elements, such as multiple receivers and transmitters, providing a unit for communicating with various other devices on a transmission medium. Data processed by processor 805 is transmitted on a wireless medium via antenna 803, and further, antenna 803 also receives data and transmits the data to processor 805.

[0185] The processor 805 is responsible for managing the bus 801 and general processing, and can also provide various functions, including timing, peripheral interfaces, voltage regulation, power management and other control functions. The memory 806 can be used to store data used by the processor 805 when performing operations.

[0186] Optionally, the processor 805 may be a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA or a CPLD.

[0187] The embodiment of the present invention further provides a readable storage medium, on which a program is stored, and when the program is executed by a processor, the above-mentioned Figure 1 or Figure 2The various processes of the method embodiments shown in the figure can achieve the same technical effect, and are not described here in detail to avoid repetition. The computer-readable storage medium is, for example, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0188] In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed methods and devices can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0189] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may be physically included separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The above-mentioned integrated unit may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of hardware plus software functional units.

[0190] The above-mentioned integrated unit implemented in the form of a software functional unit can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The above-mentioned software functional unit is stored in a storage medium, including a number of instructions for a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to perform some steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present invention. The aforementioned storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (Read-Only Memory, ROM), random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), disk or optical disk and other media that can store program codes.

[0191] The above is a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this technical field, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principles of the present invention. These improvements and modifications should also be regarded as the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A session data synchronization processing method, applied to a user plane function UPF, characterized in that: include: In case of re-establishing a connection with a session management function SMF, receiving first session data sent by the SMF, where the first session data is session data currently stored by the SMF; Based on the first session data, data synchronization processing is performed on the pre-stored session data to obtain second session data, where the second session data is the same as the first session data, and the pre-stored session data is session data pre-stored on the UPF.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The step of receiving the first session data sent by the session management function SMF when the connection is reestablished with the SMF comprises: receiving a connection establishment request sent by the SMF, wherein the connection establishment request carries a first tag, and the first tag is used to indicate whether the SMF starts to send session data; Sending a connection establishment response to the SMF, where the connection establishment response carries a second flag, where the second flag is used to indicate whether the UPF starts to receive session data; When the first mark indicates that the SMF starts to send session data and the second mark indicates that the UPF starts to receive session data, the first session data sent by the SMF is received.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The step of performing data synchronization processing on the pre-stored session data based on the first session data to obtain the second session data includes: storing the first session data, the first session data corresponding to a first data identifier, the pre-stored session data corresponding to a second data identifier, the first data identifier being different from the second data identifier; Delete the session data whose corresponding data identifier is the second data identifier in the session data of the UPF to obtain the second session data.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The first data identifier is N+1, which is used to indicate that the first session data is session data received during the N+1th connection between the UPF and the SMF; The second data identifier is N, which is used to represent that the pre-stored session data is the session data received during the Nth connection between the UPF and the SMF, and N is a positive integer.

5. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that: Before performing data synchronization processing on the pre-stored session data based on the first session data to obtain the second session data, the method further includes: receiving a connection update request sent by the SMF, wherein the connection update request carries a third tag, and the third tag is used to indicate whether the SMF has finished sending session data; A connection update response is sent to the SMF, where the connection update response carries a fourth tag, and the fourth tag is used to indicate whether the UPF has finished receiving session data.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The connection establishment response and the connection update response both carry user plane capability characteristic information, and the user plane capability characteristic information includes at least one of the second mark, the fourth mark and the fifth mark, and the fifth mark is used to characterize that the UPF has the ability to execute the session data synchronization processing method.

7. A session data synchronization processing method, applied to SMF, characterized in that: include: In case of re-establishing a connection with the UPF, sending first session data to the UPF, where the first session data is the session data currently stored by the SMF; The first session data is used to perform data synchronization processing on the pre-stored session data to obtain second session data, the second session data is the same as the first session data, and the pre-stored session data is session data pre-stored on the UPF.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The sending the first session data to the UPF in case of re-establishing the connection with the UPF comprises: Send a connection establishment request to the UPF, where the connection establishment request carries a first tag, where the first tag is used to indicate whether the SMF starts to send session data; receiving a connection establishment response sent by the UPF, where the connection establishment response carries a second flag, where the second flag is used to indicate whether the UPF starts to receive session data; When the first mark indicates that the SMF starts to send session data and the second mark indicates that the UPF starts to receive session data, the first session data is sent to the UPF.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that In the case where the second mark indicates that the UPF starts to receive session data, after sending the first session data to the UPF, the method further includes: Sending a connection update request to the UPF, where the connection update request carries a third tag, where the third tag is used to indicate whether the SMF has finished sending session data; Receive a connection update response sent by the UPF, where the connection update response carries a fourth tag, and the fourth tag is used to indicate whether the UPF has finished receiving session data.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The connection establishment request and the connection update request both carry control plane capability characteristic information, and the control plane capability characteristic information includes at least one of the first mark, the third mark and the sixth mark, and the sixth mark is used to characterize that the SMF has the ability to execute the session data synchronization processing method.

11. A session data synchronization processing device, UPF includes the session data synchronization processing device, characterized in that: The session data synchronization processing device comprises: A first receiving module is used to receive first session data sent by a session management function SMF when a connection is reestablished with the SMF, where the first session data is session data currently stored by the SMF; A processing module is used to perform data synchronization processing on the pre-stored session data based on the first session data to obtain second session data, where the second session data is the same as the first session data, and the pre-stored session data is the session data pre-stored on the UPF.

12. A session data synchronization processing device, SMF includes the session data synchronization processing device, characterized in that: The session data synchronization processing device comprises: A first sending module, configured to send first session data to the UPF when a connection is reestablished with the UPF, where the first session data is session data currently stored by the SMF; The first session data is used to perform data synchronization processing on the pre-stored session data to obtain second session data, the second session data is the same as the first session data, and the pre-stored session data is session data pre-stored on the UPF.

13. A UPF comprising: A transceiver, a memory, a processor, and a program stored in the memory and executable on the processor; characterized in that: The processor is used to read the program in the memory to implement the steps in any one of the methods according to claims 1 to 6.

14. A SMF comprising: A transceiver, a memory, a processor, and a program stored in the memory and executable on the processor; characterized in that: The processor is used to read the program in the memory to implement the steps in any one of the methods according to claims 7 to 10.

15. A readable storage medium for storing a program, characterized in that: When the program is executed by a processor, the steps in the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 are implemented.

Images