A communication method, apparatus and system

Abstract

The application relates to a communication method, device and system. A computing node obtains the code of a first function based on a session establishment request of a terminal device, and the session establishment request is used for requesting to establish a first session. After obtaining the code of the first function, the computing node receives a first request for accessing the first function from the terminal device through the first session, and processes the first request according to the code of the first function. The computing node in the embodiment of the application can obtain the code of the first function before receiving the first request from the terminal device, so that the process of code downloading does not need to be performed after the first request is received, thereby greatly reducing the time delay of function calculation and improving the efficiency of function calculation.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of communication, and in particular to a communication method, device and system. BACKGROUND

[0002] Function computing, also known as serverless computing or serverless, is a new cloud computing programming mode in recent years. Function computing is committed to greatly simplifying the cloud service development process, so that application developers are liberated from the complex server operation and maintenance work. With the help of function computing, developers only need to upload the code of the function and perform simple resource configuration, so as to realize the rapid construction and deployment of services; and the cloud service provider charges according to the function service call quantity and the actual resource usage, so as to help users realize the rapid delivery and low-cost operation of the business.

[0003] Function computing currently supports two types of functions: event functions and hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) functions. The HTTP function is mainly suitable for scenarios such as rapid construction of Web applications. The HTTP function can be regarded as a Web server, which can process HTTP requests and return the processing results to the calling end of the HTTP function.

[0004] Since the function is usually released after executing the request, taking the HTTP function as an example, when the HTTP request arrives, if there is no available function instance, a new function instance needs to be started from zero to process the HTTP request, that is, a cold start is performed. The cold start includes code downloading, starting a function instance container, runtime initialization, and code initialization and other links in the function call link, please refer to Figure 1 When the cold start is completed, the function instance is ready, and at this time the HTTP request can be executed. It can be seen that in the cold start process, code downloading needs to be completed first, and the duration of the process is relatively long, resulting in a long latency of function computing. SUMMARY

[0005] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, device and system for reducing the latency of function computing.

[0006] In a first aspect, a first communication method is provided, which can be performed by a computing node or a chip system capable of implementing the functions of the computing node. The computing node can be, for example, a UPF or a server. The method comprises: obtaining a code of a first function based on a session establishment request of a terminal device, the session establishment request being used to request establishment of a first session; after obtaining the code of the first function, receiving a first request for accessing the first function from the terminal device via the first session; and running the code of the first function according to the first indication information and processing the first request.

[0007] In the embodiments of the present application, the computing node can obtain the code of the first function before receiving the first request from the terminal device, which is equivalent to obtaining the code of the first function before receiving the request for accessing the first function. Therefore, after receiving the first request, the computing node does not need to perform the code downloading process again, but can perform the process after the code downloading process included in the cold start, thereby greatly reducing the time delay of function calculation and improving the efficiency of function calculation.

[0008] In an optional embodiment, the first request comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used to determine the code of the first function. The first indication information can be, for example, an index of the code of the first function or a URL corresponding to the code of the first function, and the code of the first function can be determined according to the first indication information.

[0009] In an optional embodiment, the obtaining of the code of the first function based on the session establishment request of the terminal device comprises: receiving second indication information from a first network element, the second indication information being used to determine the code of the first function, and the second indication information being received in the establishment process of the first session; sending a second request to a second network element, the second request comprising the second indication information, the second request being used to request the code of the first function, and the second indication information being used by the second network element to determine the code of the first function; and receiving the code of the first function from the second network element. The code of the first function can be stored in the second network element, and the computing node can obtain the code of the first function from the second network element according to the second indication information. The second network element can be, for example, an application server, such as an AF. The computing node can request the code of the first function from the AF. Alternatively, the second network element can be a database, which can be located in a core network. The AF can pre-store the code of the first function in the database, and the computing node can request the code of the first function from the database, which can reduce the time delay compared with the request to the AF.

[0010] In an optional implementation, the terminal device-based session establishment request acquires the code of the first function, including: receiving second indication information from the first network element and the code of the first function, the second indication information being used to determine the code of the first function, and the second indication information and the code of the first function being sent by the first network element in the establishment process of the first session. In this implementation, the first network element can directly send the code of the first function to the computing node, and then the computing node does not need to request the code of the first function from other network elements, thereby reducing the interaction process between network elements.

[0011] In an optional implementation, the first network element includes a CMF or a UPF, and can also include other network elements, which are not limited.

[0012] In an optional implementation, the method further includes: receiving a first release indication, the first release indication being used to indicate to release the first session; and deleting (or, releasing) the code of the first function. After the session of the terminal device is established, the session can be released, and then the code of the first function can be released when the session of the terminal device is released, thereby saving the storage space of the computing node.

[0013] In an optional implementation, the deleting of the code of the first function includes: deleting the code of the first function when there is no session for accessing the first function. There can be one or more sessions (corresponding to one or more terminal devices, and one terminal device can correspond to at least one session) that request to access the first function, and then the code of the first function should not be deleted as long as there is a session that still requests to access the first function. Therefore, the computing node can delete the code of the first function when it is determined that there is no session that requests to access the first function, thereby not affecting the access speed of the terminal device to the first function and saving the storage space of the computing node.

[0014] In an optional implementation, after obtaining the code of the first function based on the session establishment request of the terminal device, the method further includes: storing a correspondence between the information of the terminal device and the code of the first function, the correspondence being used to indicate that there is a session for the terminal device to access the first function. As mentioned above, the computing node can delete the code of the first function when it is determined that there is no session for requesting to access the first function. To determine whether there is a session for requesting to access the first function, one way includes that the computing node determines whether there is information of a terminal device corresponding to the code of the first function. If there is information of a terminal device corresponding to the code of the first function, it is determined that there is a session for accessing the first function. If there is no information of a terminal device corresponding to the code of the first function, it is determined that there is no session for accessing the first function. In this way, the computing node can delete the code of the first function at an appropriate time.

[0015] In an optional implementation, the information of the terminal device includes one or more of an identifier of a session corresponding to the terminal device, an identifier of the terminal device, or address information of the terminal device. The session corresponding to the terminal device is, for example, an N4 session. The address of the terminal device is, for example, an IP address, etc.

[0016] In an optional implementation, the computing node includes a UPF or a server.

[0017] In a second aspect, a second communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a first network element or a chip system capable of implementing the functions of the first network element. The first network element includes, for example, a CMF or other network elements. The method includes: receiving a session establishment request from a terminal device, the session establishment request being used to request to establish a first session, the first session being used for the terminal device to access a first function; determining a first DNAI corresponding to location information of the terminal device; determining a first computing node corresponding to the first DNAI, wherein the first computing node supports the first function; sending second indication information to the first computing node, the second indication information being used to determine a code of the first function; and sending a session establishment acceptance message to the terminal device, the session establishment acceptance message being used to indicate that the first session is established, wherein the code of the first function is used to process a request from the terminal device for accessing the first function, the request for accessing the first function being sent by the terminal device after receiving the session establishment acceptance message.

[0018] In an optional implementation, the method further includes: receiving policy information from a PCF, the policy information including a correspondence between the first DNAI and the second indication information.

[0019] In an optional implementation, the method further includes: determining a second DNAI corresponding to the current location information of the terminal device when the terminal device moves from the first access network device to a second access network device; determining a second computing node corresponding to the second DNAI, wherein the second computing node supports the first function; and sending the second indication information to the second computing node, wherein the policy information further includes a correspondence between the second DNAI and the second indication information. If the terminal device has performed cell switching, the first network element can reselect a computing node for the terminal device, for example, the second computing node, and the first network element can send the second indication information to the second computing node. The second computing node can obtain the code of the first function before receiving a request from the terminal device for accessing the first function, thereby greatly reducing the time delay of function calculation and improving the efficiency of function calculation.

[0020] In an optional implementation, the method further includes: sending a second release indication to the first computing node, wherein the second release indication is used to indicate releasing the first session. Since the terminal device has moved and a new computing node has provided services for the terminal device, the first computing node does not have to maintain the session with the terminal device any more, but can release the session. In addition, the first computing node can delete the code of the first function after receiving the second release indication, or can delete the code of the first function when it is determined that no terminal device accesses the first function, thereby saving the storage space of the first computing node.

[0021] In an optional implementation, the method further includes: sending a first release indication to the second computing node, wherein the first release indication is used to indicate releasing a session between the second computing node and the terminal device, and the second computing node is a computing node serving the terminal device after performing path switching for the terminal device. Optionally, the second computing node can delete the code of the first function after receiving the first release indication, or can delete the code of the first function when it is determined that no terminal device accesses the first function, thereby saving the storage space of the second computing node.

[0022] In an optional implementation, the first network element includes a CMF.

[0023] For the technical effects brought by the second aspect or the optional implementation, refer to the introduction of the technical effects of the first aspect or the corresponding implementation.

[0024] In a third aspect, a third communication method is provided, which can be performed by a first network element or a chip system capable of implementing the functions of the first network element. The first network element includes, for example, a CMF or other network elements. The method includes: receiving a session establishment request from a terminal device, the session establishment request being used to request establishment of a first session for the terminal device to access a first function; determining a first DNAI corresponding to location information of the terminal device; determining a first computing node corresponding to the first DNAI, wherein the first computing node supports the first function; sending second indication information and code of the first function to the first computing node, the second indication information being used to determine the code of the first function; and sending a session establishment acceptance message to the terminal device, the session establishment acceptance message being used to indicate that the first session is established with the terminal device, wherein the code of the first function is used to process a request from the terminal device to access the first function, the request to access the first function being received after the session establishment acceptance message is sent.

[0025] In an optional implementation, the method further includes: receiving policy information from a PCF, the policy information including a correspondence between the code of the first function, the first DNAI, and the second indication information.

[0026] In an optional implementation, the method further includes: when the terminal device moves from a first access network device to a second access network device, determining a second DNAI corresponding to current location information of the terminal device; determining a second computing node corresponding to the second DNAI, wherein the second computing node supports the first function; and sending the second indication information and the code of the first function to the second computing node, wherein the policy information further includes a correspondence between the code of the first function, the second DNAI, and the second indication information.

[0027] In an optional implementation, the method further includes: sending a second release indication to the first computing node, the second release indication being used to indicate release of the first session.

[0028] In an optional implementation, the method further includes: sending a first release indication to a second computing node, the first release indication being used to indicate release of a session between the second computing node and the terminal device, the second computing node being a computing node serving the terminal device after path switching is performed for the terminal device.

[0029] In an optional implementation, the first network element includes a CMF.

[0030] As to the technical effects brought by the third aspect or various optional embodiments, reference can be made to the introduction of the technical effects of the first aspect or corresponding embodiments, and / or the introduction of the technical effects of the second aspect or corresponding embodiments.

[0031] In a fourth aspect, a fourth communication method is provided, which can be performed by an application server or a chip system capable of implementing the function of the application server. The application server can be an AF. The method comprises: sending, to a second network element, a third request, the third request comprising a correspondence between a code of a first function and second indication information used to determine the code of the first function, wherein the code of the first function is used for a computing node to process a request from a terminal device for accessing the first function, and the code of the first function is obtained by the computing node before receiving the request for accessing the first function.

[0032] In an optional embodiment, the second network element comprises a database, a PCF or an NEF.

[0033] In an optional embodiment, when the second network element comprises the database, the method further comprises: sending, to a PCF or an NEF, a fourth request, the fourth request comprising a correspondence between the first DNAI and the second indication information.

[0034] In an optional embodiment, when the second network element comprises the PCF or the NEF, the third request comprising a correspondence between the code of the first function and the second indication information comprises: the third request comprising a correspondence between the code of the first function, the first DNAI and the second indication information.

[0035] As to the technical effects brought by the fourth aspect or various optional embodiments, reference can be made to one or more of the following: the introduction of the technical effects of the first aspect or corresponding embodiments, the introduction of the technical effects of the second aspect or corresponding embodiments, or the introduction of the technical effects of the third aspect or corresponding embodiments.

[0036] In a fifth aspect, a fifth communication method is provided, which can be performed by a computing node or a chip system capable of implementing the function of the computing node. The computing node can be a UPF or a server, etc. The method comprises: obtaining a code of a first function based on an indication from an NEF; receiving a first request from a terminal device for accessing the first function, the first request comprising first indication information, the first indication information comprising information used to determine the code of the first function; and running the code of the first function according to the first indication information to process the first request.

[0037] In an optional implementation, the obtaining the code of the first function based on the indication from the NEF comprises: receiving second indication information from the NEF, the second indication information being used to determine the code of the first function; sending a second request to a second network element, the second request comprising the second indication information, the second request being used to request the code of the first function, the second indication information being used by the second network element to determine the code of the first function; and receiving the code of the first function from the second network element.

[0038] In an optional implementation, the obtaining the code of the first function based on the indication from the NEF comprises: receiving second indication information and information of the code of the first function from the NEF, the second indication information being used to determine the code of the first function.

[0039] As to the technical effects brought by the fifth aspect or various optional implementations, reference can be made to one or more of the following: the introduction of the technical effects of the first aspect or corresponding implementation, the introduction of the technical effects of the second aspect or corresponding implementation, or the introduction of the technical effects of the third aspect or corresponding implementation.

[0040] The sixth aspect provides a sixth communication method, which can be executed by a second network element or a chip system capable of implementing the functions of the second network element. The second network element comprises, for example, an NEF. The method comprises: receiving a third request from an application server, the third request comprising a code of a first function, and a correspondence between a first DNAI and second indication information, the second indication information being used to determine the code of the first function; and sending a fifth request to at least one computing node, the fifth request comprising the code of the first function and the second indication information, the at least one computing node being a computing node corresponding to the first DNAI, wherein the code of the first function is used by the at least one computing node to process a request for accessing the first function from a terminal device, and the fifth request is sent before the at least one computing node receives the request for accessing the first function.

[0041] In an optional implementation, the method further comprises: sending the first DNAI to an NRF, the first DNAI being used by the NRF to determine a computing node corresponding to the first DNAI; and receiving information of the at least one computing node from the NRF.

[0042] In an optional implementation, the second network element comprises an NEF.

[0043] In the sixth communication method, the computing node can obtain the code of the function before receiving a request for accessing the function, so that the computing node does not have to perform the code downloading process after receiving the request, for example, the process after the code downloading included in the cold start, thereby greatly reducing the latency of function computation and improving the efficiency of function computation. Moreover, the embodiment of the present application decouples the process of obtaining the function code in advance from the behavior of the terminal device, so that the function code can be obtained earlier, which is beneficial to reducing the signaling transmission process in the session establishment process of the terminal device and improving the efficiency of the terminal device in establishing a session.

[0044] In a seventh aspect, a seventh communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a second network element or by a chip system capable of implementing the functions of the second network element. The second network element can include, for example, an NEF. The method includes receiving a third request from an application server, the third request including a correspondence between a first DNAI and second indication information used to determine a code of a first function, and sending a fifth request including the second indication information to at least one computing node corresponding to the first DNAI, wherein the code of the first function is used by the at least one computing node to process a request for accessing the first function from a terminal device, and the fifth request is sent before the at least one computing node receives the request for accessing the first function.

[0045] In an optional implementation, the method further includes sending the first DNAI to an NRF, the first DNAI being used by the NRF to determine the computing node corresponding to the first DNAI, and receiving information of the at least one computing node from the NRF.

[0046] In an optional implementation, the second network element includes an NEF.

[0047] For the technical effects brought by the seventh aspect or various optional implementations, reference can be made to the introduction of the technical effects of the sixth aspect or the corresponding implementation.

[0048] In an eighth aspect, an eighth communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a second network element or by a chip system capable of implementing the functions of the second network element. The second network element can include, for example, a database. The method includes receiving a second request from a computing node, the second request including second indication information, the second request being used to request a code of a first function, and the second request being sent by the computing node in a process of a terminal device requesting to establish a session, determining the code of the first function according to the second indication information, and sending the code of the first function to the computing node.

[0049] In an alternative implementation, the method further includes receiving a third request from the application server, the third request including the correspondence between the code of the first function and the second indication information.

[0050] In an alternative implementation, the method further includes sending a response to the third request to the application server, the response indicating that the correspondence has been received successfully.

[0051] As to the technical effects brought by the eighth aspect or various alternative implementations, reference can be made to one or more of the introductions of the technical effects of the first aspect or corresponding implementations to the introductions of the technical effects of the seventh aspect or corresponding implementations.

[0052] The ninth aspect provides a communication apparatus. The communication apparatus has the function of implementing the acts in the method embodiments of any one of the first aspect to the eighth aspect, and the beneficial effects can be referred to the foregoing description, which will not be described here again.

[0053] The communication apparatus can implement the functions of the computing node in any of the first aspect to the eighth aspect described above, for example, the communication apparatus is the computing node in any of the first aspect to the eighth aspect described above, or is an electronic device (for example, a chip system) configured in the computing node, or is a larger device including the computing node. The computing node includes corresponding means or modules for performing the above-mentioned method. Alternatively, the communication apparatus can implement the functions of the first network element in any of the first aspect to the eighth aspect described above, for example, the communication apparatus can be the first network element in any of the first aspect to the eighth aspect described above, or be an electronic device (for example, a chip system) configured in the first network element, or be a larger device including the first network element. The first network element includes corresponding means or modules for performing the above-mentioned method. Alternatively, the communication apparatus can implement the functions of the second network element in any of the first aspect to the eighth aspect described above, for example, the communication apparatus can be the second network element in any of the first aspect to the eighth aspect described above, or be an electronic device (for example, a chip system) configured in the second network element, or be a larger device including the second network element. The second network element includes corresponding means or modules for performing the above-mentioned method. Alternatively, the communication apparatus can implement the functions of the application server in any of the first aspect to the eighth aspect described above, and the communication apparatus can be the application server in any of the first aspect to the eighth aspect described above, or be an electronic device (for example, a chip system) configured in the application server, or be a larger device including the application server. The application server includes corresponding means or modules for performing the above-mentioned method. For example, the communication apparatus includes a processing unit (sometimes also referred to as a processing module) and a transceiver unit (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver module).

[0054] When the communication apparatus can implement the functions of the computing node in any of the first aspect to the eighth aspect described above, in an example, the transceiver unit is configured to obtain the code of the first function based on the session establishment request of the terminal device; after obtaining the code of the first function, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive, through the first session, a first request for accessing the first function from the terminal device; and the processing unit is configured to run the code of the first function according to the first indication information, and process the first request.

[0055] Or, when the communication device can implement the function of the computing node in any one of the first aspect to the eighth aspect, in another example, the transceiver is configured to obtain the code of the first function based on the indication from the NEF; the transceiver is further configured to receive a first request for accessing the first function from the terminal device, the first request comprising first indication information comprising information for determining the code of the first function; and the processing unit is configured to run the code of the first function according to the first indication information and process the first request.

[0056] When the communication device can implement the function of the first network element in any one of the first aspect to the eighth aspect, in one example, the transceiver is configured to receive a session establishment request from a terminal device, the session establishment request being used to request to establish a first session, the first session being used for the terminal device to access a first function; the processing unit is configured to determine a first DNAI corresponding to location information of the terminal device; the processing unit is further configured to determine a first computing node corresponding to the first DNAI, wherein the first computing node supports the first function; the transceiver is further configured to send second indication information to the first computing node, the second indication information being used to determine the code of the first function; and the transceiver is further configured to send a session establishment acceptance message to the terminal device, the session establishment acceptance message being used to indicate that the first session with the terminal device is established, wherein the code of the first function is used to process a request for accessing the first function from the terminal device, the request for accessing the first function being sent by the terminal device after receiving the session establishment acceptance message.

[0057] Or, when the communication device can implement the function of the first network element in any one of the first aspect to the eighth aspect, in another example, the transceiver is configured to receive a session establishment request from a terminal device, the session establishment request being used to request to establish a first session for the terminal device to access a first function; the processor is configured to determine a first DNAI corresponding to a location information of the terminal device; the processor is further configured to determine a first computing node corresponding to the first DNAI, wherein the first computing node supports the first function; the transceiver is further configured to send second indication information and a code of the first function to the first computing node, the second indication information being used to determine the code of the first function; the transceiver is further configured to send a session establishment acceptance message to the terminal device, the session establishment acceptance message being used to indicate that the first session establishment with the terminal device is completed, wherein the code of the first function is used to process a request from the terminal device for accessing the first function, the request for accessing the first function being received after the session establishment acceptance message is sent.

[0058] When the communication device can implement the function of the second network element in any one of the first aspect to the eighth aspect, in one example, the transceiver is configured to receive a second request from a computing node, the second request including second indication information, the second request being used to request a code of a first function, the second request being sent by the computing node based on a session establishment request of a terminal device; the processor is configured to determine the code of the first function according to the second indication information; and the transceiver is further configured to send the code of the first function to the computing node.

[0059] Or, when the communication device can implement the function of the second network element in any one of the first aspect to the eighth aspect, in another example, the transceiver is configured to receive a third request from an application server, the third request including a code of a first function, a correspondence between a first DNAI and second indication information, the second indication information being used to determine the code of the first function; and the transceiver is further configured to send a fifth request to at least one computing node, the fifth request including the code of the first function and the second indication information, the at least one computing node being a computing node corresponding to the first DNAI, wherein the code of the first function is used by the at least one computing node to process a request from a terminal device for accessing the first function, the fifth request being sent before the at least one computing node receives the request for accessing the first function.

[0060] Alternatively, when the communication apparatus is capable of implementing the function of the second network element of any one of the first aspect to the eighth aspect, in yet another example, the transceiver is configured to receive a third request from an application server, the third request comprising a correspondence between the first DNAI and second indication information used to determine the code of the first function; and the transceiver is further configured to send a fifth request to at least one computing node, the fifth request comprising the second indication information, the at least one computing node being a computing node corresponding to the first DNAI, wherein the code of the first function is used by the at least one computing node to process a request from a terminal device for accessing the first function, and the fifth request is sent before the at least one computing node receives the request for accessing the first function.

[0061] When the communication apparatus is capable of implementing the function of the application server of any one of the first aspect to the eighth aspect, in one example, the transceiver is configured to send a third request to a second network element, the third request comprising a correspondence between the code of the first function and second indication information used to determine the code of the first function, wherein the code of the first function is used by a computing node to process a request from a terminal device for accessing the first function, and the code of the first function is obtained by the computing node before receiving the request for accessing the first function.

[0062] In an optional implementation, the communication apparatus comprises a storage unit, and the processing unit is coupled with the storage unit and is capable of executing programs or instructions in the storage unit to enable the communication apparatus to perform the functions of the computing node, the first network element, the second network element, or the application server.

[0063] In an optional implementation, the communication apparatus comprises a processor coupled with a memory, and the processor is configured to execute instructions in the memory to implement the method performed by the computing node, the first network element, the second network element, or the application server of any one of the first aspect to the eighth aspect. Optionally, the communication apparatus further comprises other components, such as an antenna, an input / output module, an interface, and the like. These components can be hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0064] In a tenth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided. The communication apparatus can be a computing node, or a chip or chip system used in the computing node. Alternatively, the communication apparatus can be a first network element, or a chip or chip system used in the first network element. Alternatively, the communication apparatus can be a second network element, or a chip or chip system used in the second network element. Alternatively, the communication apparatus can be an application server, or a chip or chip system used in the application server. The communication apparatus comprises a communication interface and a processor, and optionally, a memory. The memory is configured to store a computer program. The processor is coupled to the memory and the communication interface. When the processor reads the computer program or instructions, the communication apparatus performs the method performed by the computing node, the first network element, the second network element or the application server in any one of the first aspect to the eighth aspect.

[0065] In an eleventh aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided. The computer readable storage medium is configured to store a computer program. When the computer program is run on a computer, the computer performs the method in any one of the first aspect to the eighth aspect.

[0066] In a twelfth aspect, a computer program product is provided. The computer program product comprises a computer program. When the computer program is run on a computer, the computer performs the method in any one of the first aspect to the eighth aspect.

[0067] In a thirteenth aspect, a chip system is provided. The chip system comprises a processor and an interface. The processor is configured to invoke and run instructions from the interface. When the processor executes the instructions, the method in any one of the first aspect to the eighth aspect is implemented. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0068] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a cold start process;

[0069] Figure 2A And Figure 2B A schematic diagram of two network architectures to which embodiments of the present application are applied;

[0070] Figure 3A And Figure 3B A flowchart of a communication method provided by embodiments of the present application;

[0071] Figure 4 A schematic diagram that a same computing task can be deployed on multiple computing nodes in embodiments of the present application;

[0072] Figure 5A , Figure 5B , Figure 6A , Figure 6B , Figure 7A ,Figure 7B 、 Figure 8A and Figure 8B a flowchart of several communication methods provided by embodiments of the present application;

[0073] Figure 9 a schematic diagram of an apparatus provided by embodiments of the present application;

[0074] Figure 10 a schematic diagram of another apparatus provided by embodiments of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0075] In order to make the purposes, technical solutions and advantages of embodiments of the present application clearer, the following will further describe the embodiments of the present application with reference to the drawings.

[0076] In the embodiments of the present application, the number of a noun, unless otherwise specified, represents "a singular noun or a plural noun", that is, "one or more". "At least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more than two. "And / or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent the following three cases: A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone, wherein A or B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally represents that the associated objects before and after it are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B represents A or B. "At least one of the following" or "one or more of the following" and the like means any combination of these items, including any combination of single item or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c, or one or more of a, b, or c, represents a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a and b and c. Each of a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0077] The ordinal numbers "first", "second", and the like mentioned in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish multiple objects, and are not used to limit the size, content, order, time sequence, priority, or importance of the multiple objects. In addition, the numbering of steps in each embodiment introduced in the embodiments of the present application is only used to distinguish different steps, and is not used to limit the order of the steps. For example, S501 can occur before S502, or can occur after S502, or can occur simultaneously with S502.

[0078] In the following, some terms or concepts in the embodiments of the present application are explained and described, so as to facilitate the understanding of the skilled in the art.

[0079] (1) In this embodiment of the application, the terminal device is a device with wireless transceiver function, which may be a fixed device, a mobile device, a handheld device (e.g., a mobile phone), a wearable device, an in-vehicle device, or a wireless device (e.g., a communication module, a modem, or a chip system, etc.) built into the above devices. The terminal device is used to connect people, things, machines, etc., and can be widely used in various scenarios, including but not limited to the following scenarios: cellular communication, device-to-device (D2D) communication, V2X, machine-to-machine / machine-type communication (M2M / MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), industrial control, self-driving, remote medical, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, drones, robots, etc. The terminal equipment may sometimes be referred to as UE, terminal, access station, UE station, remote station, wireless communication equipment, or user equipment, etc.

[0080] In this application embodiment, the communication device used to implement the terminal device function can be the terminal device itself, or it can be a device capable of supporting the terminal device in implementing the function, such as a chip system. This device can be installed in the terminal device. In the technical solutions provided in this application embodiment, the terminal device is used as an example to describe the technical solutions provided in this application embodiment. Furthermore, for ease of description, the terminal device in this application embodiment is described using a UE as an example.

[0081] (2) The network devices in this application embodiment include, for example, access network devices and / or core network devices. The access network device is a device with wireless transceiver functionality, used to communicate with the terminal device. The access network device includes, but is not limited to, base stations (base transceiver stations, BTS, Node B, eNodeB / eNB, or gNodeB / gNB), transmission reception points (TRPs), base stations evolved from the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), access nodes in Wi-Fi systems, wireless relay nodes, wireless backhaul nodes, etc. The base station can be: a macro base station, a micro base station, a pico base station, a small cell, a relay station, etc. Multiple base stations can support networks using the same access technology or networks using different access technologies. A base station can contain one or more co-located or non-co-located transmission and reception points. The access network equipment can also be a radio controller, centralized unit (CU), and / or distributed unit (DU) in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario. The access network equipment can also be a server, etc. For example, the network equipment in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a roadside unit (RSU). The following description uses a base station as an example to illustrate the access network equipment. A base station can communicate with a terminal device, or it can communicate with a terminal device through a relay station. A terminal device can communicate with multiple base stations in different access technologies. The core network equipment is used to implement functions such as mobility management, data processing, session management, policy and billing. The names of the equipment implementing core network functions may differ in systems using different access technologies; this application does not limit this. Taking the 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system as an example, the core network equipment includes: access and mobility management function (AMF), session management function (SMF), policy control function (PCF) or user plane function (UPF), etc.

[0082] In this application embodiment, the communication device used to implement the network device function can be a network device itself, or it can be a device capable of supporting the network device in implementing that function, such as a chip system. This device can be installed within the network device. In the technical solutions provided in this application embodiment, the example of a network device being used to implement the network device function is used to describe the technical solutions provided in this application embodiment.

[0083] Please refer to Figure 2A This is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a service-oriented architecture, which is also a network architecture applied in the embodiments of this application. Figure 2A The 5G network architecture shown can be divided into three parts: the UE part, the DN part, and the operator network part.

[0084] The operator network may include one or more of the following network elements: authentication server function (AUSF) network element, network exposure function (NEF) network element, policy control function (PCF) network element, unified data management (UDM) network element, unified data repository (UDR) network element, network repository function (NRF) network element, application function (AF) network element, access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, SMF network element, radio access network ((R)AN) or user plane function (UPF) network element, etc.

[0085] The aforementioned operator network includes a radio access network and a core network. The UE accesses the core network through (R)AN, which includes user plane network elements and control plane network elements. Among them, the user plane network elements of the core network include UPF; the control plane network elements of the core network include at least one of the following: AUSF, AMF, SMF, NSSF, NEF, NRF, UDM, PCF, or AF.

[0086] User plane network elements (such as UPF) are mainly responsible for packet forwarding, quality of service (QoS) control, and billing information statistics. Control plane network elements are mainly responsible for service process interaction, issuing packet forwarding policies and QoS control policies to the user plane. In the embodiments of this application, it is considered that devices such as sensors can access the core network through UE and (R)AN devices, so that the controller connected to the sensors and other devices in the industrial Ethernet can perform industrial data communication in the user plane through the UPF.

[0087] The core network control plane can adopt a service-oriented architecture, meaning that interactions between control plane network elements use service calls to replace the point-to-point communication method in the traditional architecture. In a service-oriented architecture, one control plane network element exposes services to other control plane network elements for them to call; in point-to-point communication, the communication interface between control plane network elements uses a specific set of messages that can only be used by the control plane network elements at both ends of the interface during communication.

[0088] The functions of network elements in the core network are described below:

[0089] UPF supports all or some of the following functions: interconnecting Protocol Data Unit (PDU) sessions with data networks, packet routing and forwarding (e.g., supporting uplink classifiers for traffic before forwarding to data networks, supporting branching points to support multi-homed PDU sessions), or packet inspection.

[0090] AMF (Access Management Function) manages the UE's access and mobility. It is responsible for maintaining the UE's state, managing UE reachability, forwarding non-access-stratum (NAS) messages (mobility management, MM), and forwarding N2 messages (session management, SM).

[0091] SMF (Session Management for UE) allocates and releases resources for UE sessions. These resources include Session Quality of Service (QoS), session paths, and forwarding rules. SMF is responsible for selecting or reselecting UPFs, allocating Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, and establishing, modifying, and releasing bearers.

[0092] NEF exposes its network functionality to third parties through a northbound application programming interface (API).

[0093] NRF provides other network elements with the functions of storing and selecting network function entity information.

[0094] UDM, or User Subscription Context Management, is responsible for managing the UE's subscription data and notifying the relevant network elements when the subscription data is modified.

[0095] UDR, or Unified Data Repository, is responsible for storing and retrieving subscription data, policy data, and public architecture data, which can be accessed by network elements such as UDM, PCF, or NEF. UDR can employ different data access authentication mechanisms for different types of data (such as subscription data and policy data) to ensure data access security. UDR should be able to return a failure response with an appropriate reason value for unauthorized service operations or data access requests.

[0096] PCF, or User Policy Management, is used to generate and manage user, session, and QoS stream processing policies.

[0097] Application management (AF) provides application-layer services to the user (UE). When providing services to the UE, AF has requirements regarding QoS (policy) and charging policies, and needs to notify the network. Additionally, AF also requires application-related information from the core network.

[0098] The interfaces between network element functions involved in the embodiments of this application include:

[0099] N1: The interface between the UE and the core network control plane.

[0100] N2: Communication interface between (R)AN and the core network control plane.

[0101] N3: The communication interface between (R)AN and UPF, used to transmit user plane data.

[0102] N4: Communication interface between SMF and UPF, used by SMF to configure policies for UPF, etc.

[0103] N6: Communication port between UPF and DN.

[0104] Please refer to this again. Figure 2B This is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a point-to-point interface. This network architecture is another network architecture applied in the embodiments of this application. About Figure 2B For internal network elements, please refer to the following: Figure 2A Introduction to the relevant network elements.Figure 2B and Figure 2A The main difference is that, Figure 2B The interfaces between various network elements are point-to-point interfaces, not service-oriented interfaces.

[0105] The method provided in the embodiments of this application is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In various embodiments of this document, a computing task may correspond to one or more functions, or it can be understood that to execute the computing task, one or more functions corresponding to the computing task must be executed. A function may correspond to a set of code, which can also be understood as a code package. The set of code corresponding to a function can be called the code of that function. In various embodiments of this document, the computing management function (CMF) is, for example, a newly added network element within the core network ( Figure 2A and Figure 2B (Not shown), responsible for selecting or reselecting UPF, etc.; or, CMF can also be an SMF or AMF with added computing power function; or, CMF can also be a module in SMF or AMF; or, CMF can also have the functions of both SMF and AMF, which can be understood as CMF being used to replace SMF and AMF.

[0106] The various embodiments described herein can be applied to Figure 2A or Figure 2B The network architecture is shown. For example, the computing nodes described in the various embodiments of this document can be... Figure 2A or Figure 2B UPF in, or it could be Figure 2A and Figure 2B Servers not shown; the first network element described in the various embodiments of this document may be... Figure 2A or Figure 2B UPF or NEF in the text, or it could also be Figure 2A and Figure 2B CMF (not shown); the second network element described in the various embodiments of this document can be... Figure 2A or Figure 2B PCF or NEF in, or it could be Figure 3A and Figure 3B The database not shown may optionally be called a computation function code hosting database or function code database, for example, a newly added network element within the core network, or it may be implemented through a UDR; the AF described in the various embodiments of this document may be Figure 3A or Figure 3B In the accompanying drawings corresponding to the various embodiments of this application, all steps indicated by dashed lines are optional steps.

[0107] This application provides a first communication method, please refer to [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 3A orFigure 3B These are all flowcharts of the method. Figure 4 or Figure 3A In the illustrated embodiment, the computing node is a UPF, the second network element is a database or PCF, and the first network element is a CMF.

[0108] S301, AF sends Request 1 to the second network element, and the second network element receives Request 1 from AF. Request 1 can also be called a third request. For example, Request 1 is an AF request, or Request 1 is included in an AF request.

[0109] Request 1 may include a correspondence (or association) between at least one function code and at least one indication information, wherein the function (or function code) and the indication information may correspond one-to-one, and one indication information can be used to determine the corresponding function code. For example, if the indication information corresponding to the first function (or the code of the first function) is the second indication information, Request 1 may include a correspondence between the code of the first function and the second indication information (i.e., the code of at least one function includes the code of the first function, and at least one indication information includes the second indication information), then the second indication information can be used to determine the code of the first function. For example, if you want to query the code of the first function, you can use the second indication information to query it. Optionally, for example, if the function is an HTTP function, then the indication information corresponding to the HTTP function (or the code of the function) may be a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) used to call the function, and this indication information may also be called a trigger, etc. Alternatively, the second network element may also obtain the correspondence between the code of at least one function and at least one indication information through other means, therefore S301 is an optional step.

[0110] Optionally, if the second network element is a database ( Figure 3A Taking this as an example, request 1 can be used to store the correspondence between the code of at least one function and at least one indication information in the database. After receiving request 1, the database can reply with response information to the AF, for example, called response 1, which can also be called computing power function hosting response information, etc., which can be used to indicate that request 1 was successfully received, or to indicate that the correspondence was successfully stored, etc. The AF can send request 1 directly to the database, or it can send request 1 to the database through NEF.

[0111] Alternatively, if the second network element is PCF ( Figure 3BTaking this as an example, the correspondence included in request 1 can specifically include the correspondence between at least one function code, at least one indication information, and at least one location information. The location information can be the deployment location of the function corresponding to the code of at least one function. For example, a location information can be represented by a data network access identifier (DNAI). That is, the correspondence can be the correspondence between at least one function code, at least one indication information, and at least one DNAI. The at least one function code includes the code of a first function, the at least one indication information includes second indication information, and the at least one DNAI includes one or more DNAIs corresponding to the code of the first function and the second indication information. The correspondence between a function code and a DNAI means that the function (or the computing task to which the function belongs) is deployed at that DNAI, or deployed on the computing node corresponding to the DNAI, or deployed in the area (or network) indicated by the DNAI, or deployed on a computing node within the area (or network) indicated by the DNAI. When the second network element is a PCF, the AF does not need to store the function code in the database, thus eliminating the need to use the database network element and reducing the interaction process between network elements.

[0112] In the context of future integrated computing and network development, a large number of distributed computing nodes will exist, resulting in a vast number of computing tasks and randomness in how UEs trigger these tasks. Furthermore, considering UE mobility, the network may select different computing nodes for UEs requesting the same computing task in different locations; that is, the same computing task may be deployed across multiple computing nodes. For example, see reference... Figure 3A Both compute node 1 and compute node 2 are deployed with compute task #1. When the UE is at location 1, the network can select compute node 1 for the UE; however, when the UE moves from location 1 to location 2, the network may reselect compute node 2 for the UE. Therefore, in request 1, there can be one or more DNAIs corresponding to the code of a function (or the code of a function and an indication information). That is, a function (or the compute task to which the function belongs) may be deployed in compute nodes corresponding to the regions indicated by one or more DNAIs. For example, in this correspondence, the DNAI corresponding to the code of the first function and the second indication information is the first DNAI, and the first DNAI may include one or more DNAIs. In various embodiments of this application, "selecting" a compute node can also be replaced by "determining" a compute node.

[0113] Optionally, if the second network element is a PCF, request 1 may also include a data network name (DNN) or single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI), etc., without restriction.

[0114] If the second network element is a database, then optionally, the method may also include, for example, Figure 3B As shown in S302, the AF sends request 2 to the PCF, and correspondingly, the PCF receives request 2 from the AF. This request 2 can also be referred to as the fourth request. Request 2 may include a correspondence between at least one indication information and at least one location information, wherein the at least one indication information includes second indication information, and the at least one location information includes one or more DNAIs corresponding to the second indication information. Refer to the above description for details on this correspondence.

[0115] Regardless of whether the second network element is a database or a PCF, optionally, the method may also include Figure 3A or Figure 3B S303, as shown, can occur after S301 or after S302. In S303, the UE initiates a session establishment procedure. One implementation involves the UE directly sending a session establishment request message to the CMF via the access network device, indicating that the UE has initiated a session establishment procedure. Alternatively, another implementation involves the UE sending a session establishment request message to the SMF via the access network device, indicating that the UE has initiated a session establishment procedure; the SMF determines that the first session requires CMF processing based on information such as the DNN or S-NSSAI included in the session establishment request message, and further, the SMF sends the session establishment request message to the CMF. The session requested by the UE is, for example, called the first session, which may be a PDU session, or other types of sessions. Optionally, the session establishment request message may carry the DNN or S-NSSAI associated with the PDU session.

[0116] Optionally, the method may also include Figure 3A or Figure 3BIn S304, the CMF receives policy information from the PCF. For example, S304 may include S304a and S304b. In S304a, the CMF can send a request to the PCF, for example, called request 3, which can be used to request policy information. After receiving request 3, the PCF can send the policy information to the CMF in S304b. For example, request 3 is a service message, such as Npcf_SMPolicyControl_createrequest; the PCF can send the policy information to the CMF via Npcf_SMPolicyControl_create response. Wherein, if the second network element is a database, the policy information may include at least one indication information received by the PCF from the AF and a correspondence between at least one DNAI; or, if the second network element is a PCF, the policy information may include the code of at least one function received by the PCF from the AF, at least one indication information, and a correspondence between at least one DNAI.

[0117] Optionally, after receiving the policy information, CMF can execute... Figure 3A or Figure 3B S305 is shown. In S305, the CMF determines a UPF for the UE. For example, the CMF can determine the DNAI that the UE can access based on the UE's current location information. Based on this policy information, the CMF can determine whether the computing node corresponding to the area indicated by the DNAI has deployed computing tasks, and thus the CMF can select a suitable UPF for the UE. In this embodiment, the UPF is the computing node that has deployed computing tasks. For example, if the CMF determines that the UE's current location information corresponds to a first DNAI (or, the CMF determines that the UE can access the first DNAI at its current location), and the CMF determines that the area indicated by the first DNAI has deployed computing tasks, then the CMF can select a computing node corresponding to the first DNAI that has deployed computing tasks. For example, the CMF determines a first computing node, such as the first computing node supporting a first function, or the first computing node deploying the computing task to which the first function belongs. In this embodiment, the first computing node is, for example, the first UPF.

[0118] If the strategy information includes a correspondence between at least one indication information received by the PCF from the AF and at least one DNAI, the at least one indication information may include second indication information, and the at least one DNAI may include a first DNAI corresponding to the second indication information; or, if the strategy information includes a correspondence between the code of at least one function received by the PCF from the AF, at least one indication information, and at least one DNAI, the at least one indication information may include second indication information, the at least one DNAI may include a first DNAI corresponding to the second indication information, and the code of the at least one function may include the code of a first function corresponding to the second indication information. Optionally, after determining the first UPF, the method may further include Figure 3A or Figure 3B S306 is shown. In S306, the CMF sends second indication information to the first UPF, and correspondingly, the first UPF receives the second indication information from the CMF, such as... Figure 3A As shown. Alternatively, in S306, the CMF sends second instruction information and the code of the first function to the first UPF. Correspondingly, the first UPF receives the second instruction information and the code of the first function from the CMF, as shown. Figure 3A As shown, this method can be understood as the first UPF obtaining the code of the first function based on the UE's session establishment request message (or, based on the establishment process of the first session). Figure 3B or Figure 3A S306 in the above can be understood as being executed during the establishment process of the first session. The second instruction information and the code of the first function are obtained by the CMF from the policy information. Since the first UPF supports the first function, the CMF can send the second instruction information corresponding to the code of the first function to the first UPF. Specifically, if the policy information obtained by the CMF includes at least one instruction information and a correspondence between at least one DNAI, then in S306, the CMF can send the second instruction information to the first UPF without sending the code of the first function; or, if the policy information obtained by the CMF includes at least one function code, at least one instruction information, and a correspondence between at least one DNAI, then in S306, the CMF can send the second instruction information and the code of the first function to the first UPF. Optionally, the CMF can execute S306 during the establishment of an N4 session with the first UPF. For example, in S306, the CMF can send a message to the first UPF requesting the establishment of an N4 session, which may include the second instruction information, or may include the second instruction information and the code of the first function.

[0119] If the CMF sends the second indication information and the code of the first function to the first UPF in S306, the first UPF has obtained the code of the first function and can store the second indication information and the code of the first function. Alternatively, if the CMF sends the second indication information to the first UPF in S306 but does not send the code of the first function, the first UPF can further obtain the code of the first function based on the second indication information. In this case, the second indication information from the CMF can be considered as triggering the acquisition of the code of the first function. This can also be understood as the first UPF obtaining the code of the first function based on the UE's session establishment request message (or, based on the establishment process of the first session). Wherein, if the CMF sends the second indication information to the first UPF in S306 but does not send the code of the first function, the method may further include, as follows: Figure 3B As shown in S307, the first UPF obtains the code of the first function from the database. S307 is executed either during the UE's request to establish a session or during the establishment of the first session. After receiving the second indication information, if the first UPF has already stored the code of the first function (e.g., the first UPF has obtained the code of the first function during the session establishment process of another UE), then S307 does not need to be executed; or, if the first UPF has not yet stored the code of the first function, then S307 can be executed. For example, in S307, the first UPF can send request 4 to the database. Correspondingly, the database receives request 4 from the first UPF; this request 4 can also be called the second request. This request 4 can be used to request the code of the first function. For example, this request 4 includes the second indication information, and the database can determine the code of the first function based on the second indication information. Additionally, in S307, the database can send the code of the first function to the first UPF, thus the first UPF obtains the code of the first function.

[0120] Optionally, after obtaining the code of the first function via S306 or S307, the first UPF can store the correspondence (or association) between the code of the first function and the information of the UE. For example, if the first UPF obtains the code of the first function during the establishment of a UE's session, then the first UPF can establish the correspondence between the UE's information and the code of the first function as long as it receives the second indication information during the establishment of a UE's session. For example, the code of the first function can correspond to the information of one or more UEs. Optionally, the information of a UE may include one or more of the following: the UE's identifier (e.g., the UE's identity number (ID)), the UE's address information (e.g., the UE's IP address), or the identifier of the session corresponding to the UE (e.g., the ID of the N4 session corresponding to the UE). The correspondence between a function code and the information of a UE can indicate the existence of a session for the UE to access the function. Therefore, by establishing the correspondence between the UE's information and the code of the first function, the first UPF can know how many UEs have requested to access the first function, or whether the first UPF is currently requesting to access the first function.

[0121] Optionally, the method may also include Figure 3A or Figure 3B As shown in S308, the CMF sends a session establishment accept message to the UE. After the first session of the UE is established, the CMF can send a session establishment accept message to the UE.

[0122] Following S308, the method may further include Figure 1 or Figure 1 As shown in S309, the UE sends request 5 to the first UPF, and correspondingly, the first UPF receives request 5 from the UE. The UE can send request 5 to the first UPF through an established first session, and the first UPF can also receive request 5 through the first session. For example, it can be understood that after obtaining the code of the first function, the first UPF receives request 5 through the first session. In this embodiment, since the first UPF is a computing node, request 5 can be sent to the first UPF. This request 5 can also be called a first request, which can be used to access the first function or to request the execution of the computing task to which the first function belongs. For example, request 5 is an HTTP request. Request 5 may include, for example, first indication information, which can be used to determine the code of the first function. Optionally, the first indication information and the second indication information can be the same information, for example, both being the URL corresponding to the code of the first function, only the sources of these two indication information are different (the first indication information comes from the UE, and the second indication information comes from the AF), and therefore they are named separately.

[0123] After the first UPF receives request 5, it can execute...Figure 3A or Figure 3B As shown in S310, the code of the first function is executed according to the first instruction information to process request 5. After receiving request 5, the first UPF can call the code of the first function according to the first instruction information, thereby executing the first function or executing the computational task to which the first function belongs. For example, after receiving request 5, the first UPF can execute... Figure 3A The cold start process shown includes the following steps: startup function instance container, runtime initialization, and code initialization. Figure 3B The code download process shown in the diagram has been completed. Once the cold start is complete and the function instance is ready, the first UPF can begin executing request 5.

[0124] Optionally, the method may also include Figure 3A or Figure 3B As shown in S311, the first UPF sends response information to the UE, for example, referred to as response 2. Correspondingly, the UE receives response 2 from the first UPF. Response 2 is, for example, an HTTP response, which may be a response to request 5. For example, response 2 includes the processing result of the first UPF for the first function (or, for the computation task to which the first function belongs).

[0125] Using the method described above, the first UPF stores the code of the first function. If no UE requests access to the first function, the first UPF can also release the code of the first function to save storage space. Optionally, the method may further include... Figure 3A or Figure 3B As shown in S312 and S313, in S312, the UE's first session is released, for example, by the UE or the network side. In S313, the CMF sends a first release instruction to the first UPF, and correspondingly, the first UPF receives the first release instruction from the CMF. The first release instruction indicates the release of the UE's first session.

[0126] Optionally, the method may also include Figure 5A or Figure 5BAs shown in S314, the first UPF releases the code of the first function. S314 occurs, for example, after S313. For instance, after receiving the first release instruction, the first UPF can determine whether a session for accessing the first function still exists. If a session for accessing the first function still exists, the first UPF does not need to release the code of the first function but can continue to store it; if no session for accessing the first function exists, the first UPF can release the code of the first function. Specifically, if a UE's session for accessing the first function is not released, it indicates that the UE still needs to access the first function, or that a session for accessing the first function still exists; if a UE's session for accessing the first function is released, it indicates that the UE no longer needs to access the first function, or that the UE no longer has a session for accessing the first function. Since one or more UEs may have established sessions for accessing the first function, only when all these UEs' sessions for accessing the first function are released is it considered that no session for accessing the first function exists.

[0127] For example, after receiving the first release instruction, the first UPF can delete the correspondence between the code of the first function and the information of the UE from the correspondence between the code of the first function and the information of the UE. After deletion, the first UPF can determine whether there is still information of the UE that corresponds to the code of the first function. If there is still information of the UE that corresponds to the code of the first function, it indicates that there is still a session for accessing the first function, and the first UPF does not release the code of the first function; or, if there is no other information of the UE that corresponds to the code of the first function, it indicates that there is no session for accessing the first function, and the first UPF can release the code of the first function. It can be seen that by establishing the correspondence between the code of the function and the information of the UE, the first UPF can determine whether there is still a need to store the code of the first function, so as to release the code of the first function at an appropriate time, which does not affect the UE's access to the first function, and can also release the information stored by the first UPF in a timely manner, saving the storage space of the first UPF. In various embodiments of this application, the code of the "release" function can also be replaced with the code of the "delete" function. For example, it can be described as "releasing the code of the first function" or "deleting the code of the first function", and the two can be considered as equivalent features and can be substituted for each other.

[0128] In this embodiment of the application, the first UPF can obtain the code of the first function before receiving the first request from the UE. This is equivalent to obtaining the code of the first function before receiving the request to access the first function. Therefore, after receiving the first request, it is not necessary to perform the code download process again. For example, the process after the code download included in the cold start can be performed. This greatly reduces the latency of function calculation and improves the efficiency of function calculation.

[0129] Figure 5A or Figure 5B The illustrated embodiment pertains to a scenario where the UE does not move. However, the UE may also move. When the UE moves from its original location to a new location, if the computing node corresponding to the new location does not store the code for the first function, the computing node still needs to download the code for the first function, which consumes considerable time. Therefore, this application provides a second communication method that reduces the latency of function computation even if the UE moves. Please refer to... Figure 3A or Figure 3B This is a flowchart of the method. Figure 3A or Figure 3B In the illustrated embodiment, the example continues with a computing node that is a UPF, a second network element that is a database or a PCF, and a first network element that is a CMF. Here, the first UPF represents the UPF that provides services to the UE before the UE moves, and the second UPF represents the UPF that provides services to the UE after the UE moves.

[0130] S501, the first network device sends a path switching request to the CMF, and correspondingly, the CMF receives the path switching request from the first network device. The first network device is, for example, an access network device, referred to as the first access network device, and can be the target access network device after the UE moves. There is also a second network device, which is the network device serving the UE before the UE moves. For example, the second network device is an access network device, referred to as the second access network device. This path switching request can be used to request a switch of the UE's transmission path to the first network device. That is, after the UE moves, the UE's target access network device can send this path switching request to the CMF.

[0131] Prior to S501, it can be executed Figure 5A or Figure 5B S301 to S311 in the illustrated embodiment will not be described in detail.

[0132] S502, the CMF determines a second UPF for the UE. For example, when the UE moves from a second network device to a first network device (e.g., when the CMF receives a path switching request from the first network device), the CMF can determine the DNAI that the UE can access based on the UE's current location information, such as the second DNAI. Based on this policy information, the CMF can determine whether the computing node corresponding to the area indicated by the second DNAI has deployed computing tasks, and thus the CMF can select a suitable UPF for the UE accordingly, for example, the CMF selects the second UPF. In this embodiment, the second UPF is the new computing node that has deployed the first function (or the computing task to which the first function belongs). The process of selecting (or determining) the second UPF can be found in [reference needed]. Figure 3A orFigure 3B S305 in the illustrated embodiment.

[0133] S503, CMF sends a second instruction message to the second UPF, and correspondingly, the second UPF receives the second instruction message from CMF. Please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 3A Alternatively, S503 can be replaced by the CMF sending a second instruction message and the code of the first function to the second UPF, and correspondingly, the second UPF receiving the second instruction message and the code of the first function from the CMF. Please refer to [reference needed]. Figure 3B .

[0134] Since the second UPF supports the first function, the CMF can send the second instruction information corresponding to the code of the first function to the second UPF. Specifically, if the CMF executes... Figure 5A In the embodiment shown, the strategy information obtained by the CMF includes at least one indication information and a correspondence between at least one DNAI. For example, the at least one indication information includes a second indication information, and the at least one DNAI includes a second DNAI corresponding to the second indication information. In S503, the CMF can send the second indication information to the second UPF without sending the code of the first function.

[0135] Or, if CMF is executed Figure 5B In the illustrated embodiment, the policy information obtained by the CMF includes the code of at least one function, at least one instruction, and a correspondence between at least one DNAI. For example, the at least one instruction may include a second instruction, the at least one DNAI may include a second DNAI corresponding to the second instruction, and the code of the at least one function may include the code of a first function corresponding to the second instruction. Then, in S503, the CMF can send the second instruction and the code of the first function to the second UPF. For details regarding these correspondences, please refer to [reference needed]. Figure 5B or Figure 5A Description of the illustrated embodiments.

[0136] Optionally, the CMF can execute S503 during the establishment of an N4 session with the second UPF, for example in Figure 5A or Figure 3A In S503, the CMF can send a message to the second UPF to request the establishment of an N4 session. This message may include second indication information, or include the second indication information and the code of the first function.

[0137] If the CMF sends the second instruction message and the code of the first function to the second UPF in S503 (see reference) Figure 3AIf the second UPF has already obtained the code of the first function, it can store the second instruction information and the code of the first function. Alternatively, if the CMF sends the second instruction information to the second UPF in S503 but does not send the code of the first function (see reference...), then... Figure 3A Then the second UPF can further obtain the code of the first function based on the second instruction information (e.g., based on...). Figure 3B The code for the first function can be obtained from S504. For more information on S504, please refer to [link / reference needed]. Figure 5A In the illustrated embodiment (S307), the second indication information from the CMF can be considered as code used to trigger the acquisition of the first function. For more information on this part, please refer to... Figure 5B S306 and S307 in the illustrated embodiment.

[0138] Optionally, after obtaining the code of the first function through S503 or S504, the second UPF can store the correspondence (or association) between the code of the first function and the information of the UE. For more information on this part, please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 5A or Figure 5B The example shown.

[0139] Furthermore, when the CMF selects a second UPF as the new compute node for the UE, the CMF can further trigger the first UPF to migrate the UE's context information to the second UPF. For example, the CMF sends a context migration request to the first UPF, which may carry the UE's IP address and the second UPF's IP address. After receiving the context migration request, the first UPF can send the UE's compute task status information to the second UPF. For example, the first UPF can send the UE's context information to the second UPF, which may include the UE's compute task status information.

[0140] Optionally, the method may also include Figure 5A or Figure 5B As shown in S505, the CMF sends a path switching response to the first network device, and the first network device receives the path switching response from the CMF. This path switching response can be used to indicate that the path switching was successful.

[0141] The method may also include Figure 1 or Figure 1As shown in S506, the UE sends request 6 to the second UPF, and correspondingly, the second UPF receives request 6 from the UE. In this embodiment, since the second UPF is a computing node, request 6 can be sent to the second UPF. Request 6 can be used to access the first function or to request the execution of the computing task to which the first function belongs. For example, request 6 is an HTTP request. Request 6 may include, for example, first indication information, which can be used to determine the code of the first function. Optionally, the first indication information and the second indication information can be the same information, for example, both being the URL corresponding to the code of the first function.

[0142] After the second UPF receives request 6, it can execute... Figure 5A or Figure 5B As shown in S507, the code of the first function is executed according to the first instruction information to process request 6. After receiving request 6, the second UPF can call the code of the first function according to the first instruction information, thereby executing the first function or executing the computational task to which the first function belongs. For example, after receiving request 6, the second UPF can execute... Figure 5A The cold start process shown includes the following steps: startup function instance container, runtime initialization, and code initialization. Figure 5B The code download process shown in the diagram has been completed. Once the cold start is complete and the function instance is ready, the second UPF can begin executing request 6.

[0143] Optionally, the method may also include Figure 5A or Figure 5B As shown in S508, the second UPF sends response information to the UE, for example, referred to as response 3. Correspondingly, the UE receives response 3 from the second UPF. Response 3 is, for example, an HTTP response message, which may be a response to request 6. For example, response 3 includes the processing result of the second UPF for the first function (or, for the computation task to which the first function belongs).

[0144] Using the method described above, the second UPF stores the code of the first function. If no UE requests access to the first function, the first UPF can also release the code of the first function to save storage space in the second UPF. Optionally, the method may also include... Figure 3A or Figure 3B As shown in S509 and S510, in S509, the UE's first session is released, for example, by the UE or the network side. In S510, the CMF sends a first release instruction to the first UPF, and correspondingly, the first UPF receives the first release instruction from the CMF. The first release instruction indicates the release of the UE's first session.

[0145] Optionally, the method may also include Figure 5A orFigure 5B As shown in S511, the code that releases the first function from the second UPF occurs, for example, after S510. For more information on S511, please refer to [link / reference needed]. Figure 5A or Figure 5B S314 of the illustrated embodiment.

[0146] Furthermore, since the UE's session has been switched to the second UPF, and the first UPF no longer maintains the UE's session, the method may optionally include... Figure 3A or Figure 3B In step S512, the CMF sends a second release instruction to the first UPF, and correspondingly, the first UPF receives the second release instruction from the CMF. Step S512 occurs, for example, after step S505. The second release instruction can be used to indicate the release of the N4 session with the UE; for example, the second release instruction carries an identifier of the N4 session. After receiving the second release instruction, the first UPF can release the N4 session. Alternatively, the method may also include... Figure 3A or Figure 3B As shown in S513, the first UPF releases the code of the first function. For example, the first UPF can release the code of the first function when no session is available to access it; for details on this process, please refer to [reference needed]. Figure 5A or Figure 5B S314 in the illustrated embodiment.

[0147] In this embodiment of the application, even in the scenario of UE mobility, the new UPF can obtain the code of the first function before receiving the request for accessing the first function, so that after receiving the request, it is not necessary to perform the code download process again, such as the process after the code download included in the cold start, thereby greatly reducing the latency of function calculation and improving the efficiency of function calculation.

[0148] exist Figure 6A , Figure 6B , Figure 6A or Figure 6B In any of the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, the computing node is a UPF. However, the computing node may not be a UPF, but rather a server or similar device used for computation. For example, the computing node and the UPF may be connected via an N6 interface. In this scenario, the computing node and the UPF are decoupled, or loosely coupled. Therefore, this application provides a third communication method in which the computing node is not a UPF, but the latency of function computation can still be reduced. Please refer to... Figure 6A or Figure 6B This is a flowchart of the method. Figure 3A or Figure 3B In the illustrated embodiment, the example is taken where the computing node is not a UPF, the second network element is a database or PCF, and the first network element is a CMF.

[0149] S601, AF sends Request 1 to the second network element, and the second network element receives Request 1 from AF. Request 1 can also be referred to as the third request.

[0150] Request 1 may include a correspondence (or association) between the code of at least one function and at least one indication information, wherein the function (or the code of the function) and the indication information may correspond one-to-one, and one indication information can be used to determine the corresponding function code. For example, if the indication information corresponding to the first function (or the code of the first function) is the second indication information, Request 1 may include a correspondence between the code of the first function and the second indication information (i.e., the code of at least one function includes the code of the first function, and at least one indication information includes the second indication information), then the second indication information can be used to determine the code of the first function.

[0151] Optionally, if the second network element is a database (see reference). Figure 6A If request 1 is received, then request 1 can be used to store the correspondence between the code of at least one function and at least one indication information in the database. After receiving request 1, the database can reply with response information to AF, for example, called response 1. Response 1 can be used to indicate that request 1 was successfully received, or to indicate that the correspondence was successfully stored, etc.

[0152] Alternatively, if the second network element is a PCF (see reference) Figure 6A If the correspondence included in request 1 is specified, it can specifically include a correspondence between at least one function's code, at least one indication information, and at least one location information. The location information can be the deployment location of the function corresponding to the code of at least one function. For example, a location information can be represented by a DNAI. That is, the correspondence can be a correspondence between at least one function's code, at least one indication information, and at least one DNAI. Specifically, the code of at least one function includes the code of a first function, the at least one indication information includes second indication information, and the at least one DNAI includes one or more DNAIs corresponding to the code of the first function and the second indication information.

[0153] Optionally, if the second network element is a PCF, request 1 may also include a DNN or S-NSSAI, etc., without restriction.

[0154] For more information about the S601, please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 6B or Figure 6A S301 in the illustrated embodiment.

[0155] If the second network element is a database, the method may optionally include: Figure 6BIn step S602, the AF sends request 2 to the PCF, and the PCF receives request 2 from the AF. This request 2 can also be referred to as the fourth request. Request 2 may include a correspondence between at least one indication information and at least one location information, wherein the at least one indication information includes second indication information, and the at least one location information includes one or more DNAIs corresponding to the second indication information. Refer to the above description for details on this correspondence.

[0156] Regardless of whether the second network element is a database or a PCF, optionally, the method may also include Figure 3A or Figure 3B As shown in S603, S603 can occur after S601 or after S602. In S603, the UE initiates a session establishment procedure. For example, the UE sends a session establishment request message to the CMF, indicating that the UE has initiated a session establishment procedure. This session is referred to as the first session, which may be a PDU session or other types of sessions. Optionally, the session establishment request message may carry the DNN or S-NSSAI corresponding to the UE's location.

[0157] Optionally, the method may also include Figure 6A or Figure 6B As shown in S604, the CMF receives policy information from the PCF. For example, S604 may include S604a and S604b. In S604a, the CMF can send a request to the PCF, for example, called request 3. Request 3 can be used to request policy information. After receiving request 3, the PCF can send the policy information back to the CMF in S604b. For more information on S604, please refer to [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 3A or Figure 3B S304 in the illustrated embodiment.

[0158] After receiving the policy information, CMF can optionally execute... Figure 6A or Figure 6BS605 is shown. In S605, the CMF determines a UPF for the UE. For example, the CMF determines that the UE's current location information corresponds to a first DNAI (or, the CMF determines that the UE can access the first DNAI from its current location information), and the CMF determines that a computing task is deployed in the area indicated by the first DNAI. Then, the CMF can select the UPF corresponding to the first DNAI, for example, the first UPF, which is, for example, the UPF corresponding to the area indicated by the first DNAI. Alternatively, S605 can be replaced by the CMF determining a computing node for the UE. For example, the CMF determines that the UE's current location information corresponds to a first DNAI (or, the CMF determines that the UE can access the first DNAI from its current location information), and the CMF determines that a computing task is deployed in the area indicated by the first DNAI. Then, the CMF can select a computing node corresponding to the first DNAI that has a computing task deployed, for example, the CMF selects the first computing node. The first computing node, for example, supports a first function, or the first computing node deploys the computing task to which the first function belongs. Alternatively, S605 can be replaced by the CMF determining a UPF and a computing node for the UE, for example, selecting the first UPF and the first computing node. For more information about the S605, please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 6A or Figure 6B S305 in the illustrated embodiment.

[0159] If the strategy information includes a correspondence between at least one indication information received by the PCF from the AF and at least one DNAI, the at least one indication information may include second indication information, and the at least one DNAI may include a first DNAI corresponding to the second indication information; or, if the strategy information includes a correspondence between the code of at least one function received by the PCF from the AF, at least one indication information, and at least one DNAI, the at least one indication information may include second indication information, the at least one DNAI may include a first DNAI corresponding to the second indication information, and the code of the at least one function may include the code of a first function corresponding to the second indication information. Optionally, after determining the first UPF, the method may further include Figure 6A or Figure 6B As shown in S606, in S606, the CMF sends second indication information to the first UPF, and correspondingly, the first UPF receives the second indication information from the CMF. (See reference...) Figure 6A Alternatively, in S606, the CMF sends a second instruction message and the code of the first function to the first UPF. Correspondingly, the first UPF receives the second instruction message and the code of the first function from the CMF. (See reference...) Figure 6B Alternatively, if the CMF selects the first compute node for the UE, then Figure 6AS606 in the original text can be replaced by the following: the CMF sends a second indication message to the first computing node, and correspondingly, the first computing node receives the second indication message from the CMF; or Figure 6B S606 in the above can be replaced by the CMF sending the second indication information and the code of the first function to the first computing node. Correspondingly, the first computing node receives the second indication information and the code of the first function from the CMF. This method can be understood as the first computing node obtaining the code of the first function based on the UE's session establishment request message (or based on the first session establishment process). Figure 6A or Figure 3A S606 in the context can be understood as being executed during the establishment process of the first session.

[0160] If the CMF sends a second indication message to the first UPF, the method may optionally include: Figure 3A As shown in S607, the first UPF sends second instruction information to the first compute node. Alternatively, if the CMF sends the second instruction information and the code of the first function to the first UPF, the method may also optionally include... Figure 3B As shown in S607, S607 here includes the first UPF sending second indication information and the code of the first function to the first computing node. This can be understood as the first computing node obtaining the code of the first function based on the UE's session establishment request message (or, based on the establishment process of the first session). Alternatively, if the CMF sends the second indication information, or sends the second indication information and the code of the first function, to the first computing node, then S607 need not be executed.

[0161] Optionally, the first computing node may initiate a subscription process with the first UPF in advance. For example, the first computing node sends a subscription request to the first UPF. This subscription request can be used to indicate that the first UPF should notify the first computing node when a session establishment event and / or release event for accessing the first computing task (or, the first function) occurs. This subscription process may occur before S607, for example, without limitation on the specific timing, such as before S601. If the first computing node has subscribed, then in S607, the first UPF may send a subscription notification message to the first computing node. This subscription notification message includes second indication information, or includes second indication information and the code of the first function. Alternatively, the first computing node may not need to subscribe, and the first UPF may actively execute S607.

[0162] If the CMF sends the second instruction information and the code of the first function to the first compute node in S606, or if the first UPF sends the second instruction information and the code of the first function to the first compute node in S607, then the first compute node has obtained the code of the first function and can store the second instruction information and the code of the first function. Alternatively, if the CMF sends the second instruction information to the first compute node in S606 but does not send the code of the first function, or if the first UPF sends the second instruction information to the first compute node in S607 but does not send the code of the first function, then the first compute node can further obtain the code of the first function based on the second instruction information, for example, through... Figure 6A The S608 code shown here obtains the code for the first function. The second indication information from the CMF can be considered as the code used to trigger the acquisition of the first function. This can also be understood as the first computing node obtaining the code for the first function based on the UE's session establishment request message (or, based on the first session establishment process). For more information on S608, please refer to [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 6B S307 in the illustrated embodiment.

[0163] Optionally, after obtaining the code of the first function via S606, S607, or S608, the first computing node can store the correspondence (or association) between the code of the first function and the information of the UE. More details about this step can be found in [reference needed]. Figure 6A or Figure 6B The illustrated embodiment describes how the first UPF stores this correspondence.

[0164] Optionally, the method may also include Figure 6A or Figure 6B As shown in S609, the CMF sends a session establishment accept message to the UE. After the first session of the UE is established, the CMF can send a session establishment accept message to the UE.

[0165] Following S609, the method may further include Figure 1 or Figure 1In step S610, the UE sends request 5 to the first computing node, and the first computing node receives request 5 from the UE. The UE can send request 5 to the first UPF through an established first session, and the first UPF can also receive request 5 through the first session. For example, this can be understood as the first computing node receiving request 5 through the first session after obtaining the code of the first function. Request 5 can also be called a first request, which can be used to access the first function or to request the execution of the computing task to which the first function belongs. For example, request 5 is an HTTP request. Request 5 may include, for example, first indication information, which can be used to determine the code of the first function. Optionally, the first indication information and the second indication information can be the same information, for example, both being the URL corresponding to the code of the first function.

[0166] After receiving request 5, the first computing node can execute... Figure 6A or Figure 6B As shown in S611, the code of the first function is executed according to the first instruction information to process request 5. After receiving request 5, the first UPF can call the code of the first function according to the first instruction information, thereby executing the first function or executing the computation task to which the first function belongs. For example, after receiving request 5, the first computing node can execute... Figure 6A The cold start process shown includes the following steps: startup function instance container, runtime initialization, and code initialization. Figure 6B The code download process shown in the diagram has been completed. Once the cold start is complete and the function instance is ready, the first compute node can begin executing request 5.

[0167] Optionally, the method may also include Figure 6A or Figure 6B As shown in S612, the first computing node sends response information to the UE, for example, referred to as response 2. Correspondingly, the UE receives response 2 from the first computing node. Response 2 is, for example, an HTTP response, which may be a response to request 5. For example, response 2 includes the processing result of the first computing node for the first function (or, for the computing task to which the first function belongs).

[0168] Using the method described above, the first computing node stores the code of the first function. If no UE requests access to the first function, the first computing node can also release the code of the first function to save storage space. Optionally, the method may further include... Figure 3A or Figure 3BAs shown in S613 and S614, in S613, the UE's first session is released, for example, triggered by the UE or the network side. In S614, the CMF can directly send a first release instruction to the first compute node, and correspondingly, the first compute node receives the first release instruction from the CMF. The first release instruction indicates the release of the UE's first session. Alternatively, the CMF can send a third release instruction to the first UPF. After receiving the third release instruction, the first UPF can send a first release instruction to the first compute node, and the third release instruction indicates the release of the UE's first session.

[0169] Optionally, the method may also include Figure 6A or Figure 6B As shown in S615, the first compute node releases the code of the first function. S615 occurs, for example, after S614. For instance, after receiving the first release instruction, the first compute node can determine whether a session for accessing the first function still exists. If a session exists, the first compute node does not need to release the code of the first function but can continue to store it; otherwise, if no session exists, the first compute node can release the code of the first function. For more information on this step, please refer to [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 7A or Figure 7B S314 in the illustrated embodiment.

[0170] In this embodiment of the application, the first computing node can obtain the code of the first function before receiving the first request from the UE. This is equivalent to obtaining the code of the first function before receiving the request to access the first function. Therefore, after receiving the first request, it is not necessary to perform the code download process again. For example, it is sufficient to perform the process after the code download included in the cold start. This greatly reduces the latency of function computing and improves the efficiency of function computing.

[0171] Figure 7A or Figure 7B The illustrated embodiment pertains to a scenario where the UE does not move. However, in a loosely coupled architecture between the UPF and the compute node, the UE may also move. When the UE moves from its original location to a new location, if the compute node at the new location does not store the code for the first function, the compute node still needs to download the code, which consumes considerable time. Therefore, this application provides a fourth communication method, which reduces the latency of function computation even if the UE moves. Please refer to... Figure 6A or Figure 6B This is a flowchart of the method. Figure 3A or Figure 3BIn the illustrated embodiment, the example continues with the computing node not being a UPF, the second network element being a database or PCF, and the first network element being a CMF. Here, the first UPF represents the UPF that provides services to the UE before the UE moves, and the second UPF represents the UPF that provides services to the UE after the UE moves.

[0172] S701. The first network device sends a path switching request to the CMF, and correspondingly, the CMF receives the path switching request from the first network device. The first network device is, for example, an access network device, referred to as the first access network device, which can be the target access network device after the UE moves. There is also a second network device, which is the network device serving the UE before the UE moves. For example, the second network device is an access network device, referred to as the second access network device. This path switching request can be used to request a switch of the UE's transmission path to the first network device. That is, after the UE moves, the UE's target access network device can send this path switching request to the CMF.

[0173] Prior to S701, it was possible to execute Figure 7A or Figure 7B S601 to S612 in the illustrated embodiment will not be described in detail.

[0174] S702, the CMF determines a second UPF for the UE. For example, when the UE moves from a second network device to a first network device (e.g., when the CMF receives a path switching request from the first network device), the CMF determines that the UE's current location information corresponds to a second DNAI (or, the CMF determines that the UE can access the second DNAI from its current location), and the CMF determines that the area indicated by the second DNAI has a computing task deployed. Then the CMF can select the UPF corresponding to the second DNAI, such as the second UPF, which is, for example, the UPF corresponding to the area indicated by the second DNAI. Alternatively, S702 can be replaced by the CMF determining a computing node for the UE. For example, the CMF determines that the UE's current location information corresponds to a second DNAI (or, the CMF determines that the UE can access the second DNAI from its current location), and the CMF determines that the area indicated by the second DNAI has a computing task deployed. Then the CMF can select a computing node corresponding to the second DNAI that has a computing task deployed, such as selecting a second computing node. The second computing node, for example, supports a first function or has deployed a computing task to which the first function belongs. Alternatively, S702 can be replaced by the CMF determining a second UPF and a second computing node for the UE. For more information about the S702, please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 7A or Figure 7B S305 in the illustrated embodiment.

[0175] S703, CMF sends second instruction information to the second UPF, and correspondingly, the second UPF receives the second instruction information from CMF. (See reference...) Figure 6A Alternatively, S703 can be replaced by the CMF sending a second instruction message and the code of the first function to the second UPF, and correspondingly, the second UPF receiving the second instruction message and the code of the first function from the CMF. (See reference...) Figure 6B Alternatively, if the CMF selects a second computing node for the UE, then S703 can be replaced by the CMF sending a second indication message to the second computing node, or sending the second indication message along with the code of the first function.

[0176] If the CMF sends second indication information to the second UPF (e.g., the strategy information obtained by the CMF includes at least one indication information and a correspondence between at least one DNAI, such that the at least one indication information includes the second indication information and the at least one DNAI includes the second DNAI corresponding to the second indication information), then optionally, the method may further include Figure 7B As shown in S704, the second UPF sends second instruction information to the second computing node. Alternatively, if the CMF sends the second instruction information and the code of the first function to the second UPF (e.g., the policy information obtained by the CMF includes the code of at least one function, at least one instruction, and a correspondence between at least one DNAI, such as the at least one instruction including the second instruction, the at least one DNAI including the second DNAI corresponding to the second instruction, and the code of the at least one function including the code of the first function corresponding to the second instruction), then optionally, the method may also include... Figure 7B The S704 shown here includes the second UPF sending the second instruction information and the code of the first function to the second computing node. Alternatively, if the CMF sends the second instruction information to the second computing node, or sends the second instruction information and the code of the first function, then S704 need not be executed.

[0177] Optionally, the second computing node can initiate a subscription process to the second UPF in advance. In S704, the second UPF can send second instruction information to the second computing node based on the subscription, or include the second instruction information and the code of the first function. For details on this process, please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 7A or Figure 7A The following is a description of the embodiments shown.

[0178] If the CMF sends the second instruction message and the code for the first function to the second compute node in S703 (see reference) Figure 7A ), or if the second UPF sends the second instruction information and the code of the first function to the second compute node in S704 (see reference). Figure 3AIf the second compute node has already obtained the code of the first function, it can store the second instruction information and the code of the first function. Alternatively, if the CMF sends the second instruction information to the second compute node in S703 but does not send the code of the first function (see reference...), then... Figure 3A ), or if the second UPF sends the second instruction information to the second compute node in S704 but does not send the code of the first function (see reference). Figure 3B If so, the second computing node can further obtain the code of the first function based on the second instruction information, for example, through... Figure 7A The code shown in S705 obtains the first function. At this point, the second instruction information from the CMF can be considered as the code used to trigger the acquisition of the first function. For more information on S705, please refer to [link / reference needed]. Figure 7B S307 in the illustrated embodiment.

[0179] Optionally, after obtaining the code of the first function via S703, S704, or S705, the second computing node can store the correspondence (or association) between the code of the first function and the information of the UE. More details about this step can be found in [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 7A or Figure 7B The illustrated embodiment describes how the first UPF stores this correspondence.

[0180] Optionally, the method may also include Figure 7A or Figure 7B As shown in S706, the CMF sends a path switching response to the first network device, and the first network device receives the path switching response from the CMF. This path switching response can be used to indicate that the path switching was successful.

[0181] The method may also include Figure 1 or Figure 1 In S707, the UE sends request 7 to the second computing node, and the second computing node receives request 7 from the UE. This request 7 can also be referred to as a first request. Request 7 can be used to access a first function or to request the execution of a computing task to which the first function belongs. For example, request 7 is an HTTP request. Request 7 may include, for example, first indication information, which can be used to determine the code of the first function. For example, the first indication information includes information for determining the code of the first function. Optionally, the first indication information and the second indication information can be the same information, for example, both being the URL corresponding to the code of the first function.

[0182] After receiving request 7, the second computing node can execute... Figure 7A or Figure 7BAs shown in S708, the first function's code is executed according to the first instruction information to process request 7. After receiving request 7, the first UPF can call the first function's code according to the first instruction information, thereby executing the first function or the computational task to which the first function belongs. For example, after receiving request 7, the second computing node can execute... Figure 7A The cold start process shown includes the following steps: startup function instance container, runtime initialization, and code initialization. Figure 7B The code download process shown in the diagram has been completed. Once the cold start is complete and the function instance is ready, the second compute node can begin executing request 7.

[0183] Optionally, the method may also include Figure 7A or Figure 7B As shown in S709, the second computing node sends response information to the UE, for example, referred to as response 4. Correspondingly, the UE receives response 4 from the second computing node. Response 4 is, for example, an HTTP response message, which may be a response to request 7. For example, response 4 includes the processing result of the second computing node for the first function (or, for the computing task to which the first function belongs).

[0184] Using the method described above, the second computing node stores the code of the first function. If no UE requests access to the first function, the second computing node can also release the code of the first function to save storage space. Optionally, the method may further include... Figure 3A or Figure 3B As shown in S710 and S711, in S710, the UE's first session is released, for example, triggered by the UE or the network side. In S711, the CMF can directly send a first release instruction to the second compute node, and correspondingly, the second compute node receives the first release instruction from the CMF. The first release instruction indicates the release of the UE's first session. Alternatively, the CMF can also send a third release instruction to the second UPF, and after receiving the third release instruction, the second UPF can send a first release instruction to the second compute node. The third release instruction indicates the release of the first session.

[0185] Optionally, the method may also include Figure 8A or Figure 8B As shown in S712, the code that releases the first function from the second compute node occurs, for example, after S711. For more information on S712, please refer to [link / reference needed]. Figure 8A or Figure 8B S314 of the illustrated embodiment.

[0186] Furthermore, since the UE's session has been switched to the second UPF, and the first UPF no longer maintains the UE's session, the method may optionally include...Figure 8A or Figure 8B As shown in S713, the CMF sends a second release instruction to the first UPF, and correspondingly, the first UPF receives the second release instruction from the CMF. The second release instruction can be used to indicate the release of the N4 session with the UE; for example, the second release instruction carries the identifier of the N4 session. After receiving the second release instruction, the first UPF can release the N4 session. Alternatively, the first UPF can also perform the following actions after receiving the second release instruction: Figure 3A or Figure 3B In step S714, the first UPF sends indication information, for example, indicated by indication information 1, to the first computing node. Indication information 1 indicates that the session used by the UE to access the first function has been released. Indication information 1 can be a second release indication, or it can be indication information generated based on a second release indication. After receiving indication information 1, if the first computing node determines that no session exists for accessing the first function, it can then execute... Figure 8A or Figure 8A The code shown in S715 releases the code of the first function; for details on this process, please refer to [reference needed]. Figure 8B or Figure 8A S314 in the illustrated embodiment. Alternatively, S713 can be replaced by the CMF sending a second release instruction to the first compute node, or in S713, the CMF sending the second release instruction to both the first compute node and the first UPF, thus eliminating the need for S714. After receiving the second release instruction, if the first compute node determines that no session exists for accessing the first function, it can execute S715. Alternatively, S714 can be replaced by the CMF sending instruction information 1 to the first compute node. After receiving the second release instruction, if the first compute node determines that no session exists for accessing the first function, it can execute S715.

[0187] In this embodiment of the application, under the loosely coupled architecture of the computing node and the UPF, even in the scenario of UE movement, the new computing node can obtain the code of the first function before receiving the request for accessing the first function. Therefore, after receiving the request, it is not necessary to perform the code download process again. For example, it is sufficient to perform the process after the code download included in the cold start. This greatly reduces the latency of function computation and improves the efficiency of function computation.

[0188] In the foregoing embodiments, the storage and release of function code are related to the UE. For example, the function code is stored in the computing node during the UE's session establishment process and released when the UE's session is released. In addition, this application provides a fifth communication method in which the storage and release process of function code is independent of the UE. Please refer to... Figure 8B or Figure 8A This is a flowchart of the method.Figure 8B or Figure 8A In the illustrated embodiment, the second network element is, for example, a database or a NEF.

[0189] S801 and AF send Request 1 to the second network element, and the second network element receives Request 1 from AF. Request 1 can also be referred to as the third request.

[0190] Request 1 may include a correspondence (or association) between the code of at least one function and at least one indication information, wherein the function (or the code of a function) and the indication information may correspond one-to-one, and one indication information can be used to determine the corresponding function code. For example, if the indication information corresponding to the first function (or the code of the first function) is the second indication information, and Request 1 includes a correspondence between the code of the first function and the second indication information (i.e., the code of at least one function includes the code of the first function, and at least one indication information includes the second indication information), then the second indication information can be used to determine the code of the first function.

[0191] Optionally, if the second network element is a database (see reference). Figure 8B If request 1 is received, then request 1 can be used to store the correspondence between the code of at least one function and at least one indication information in the database. After receiving request 1, the database can reply with response information to AF, for example, called response 1. Response 1 can be used to indicate that request 1 was successfully received, or to indicate that the correspondence was successfully stored, etc.

[0192] Alternatively, if the second network element is NEF (see reference) Figure 8A If the correspondence included in request 1 is specified, it can specifically include a correspondence between at least one function's code, at least one indication information, and at least one location information. The location information can be the deployment location of the function corresponding to the code of at least one function. For example, a location information can be represented by a DNAI. That is, the correspondence can be a correspondence between at least one function's code, at least one indication information, and at least one DNAI. Specifically, the code of at least one function includes the code of a first function, the at least one indication information includes second indication information, and the at least one DNAI includes one or more DNAIs corresponding to the code of the first function and the second indication information.

[0193] For more information about the S801, please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 8B or Figure 8A S301 in the illustrated embodiment.

[0194] If the second network element is a database, the method may optionally include: Figure 3AIn S802, the AF sends request 2 to the NEF, and the NEF receives request 2 from the AF. This request 2 can also be referred to as the fourth request. Request 2 may include a correspondence between at least one indication information and at least one location information, wherein the at least one indication information includes second indication information, and the at least one location information includes one or more DNAIs corresponding to the second indication information. Refer to the above description for details on this correspondence.

[0195] Regardless of whether the second network element is NEF or a database, optionally, the method also includes Figure 3A or Figure 1 In S803, as shown, the NEF sends a discovery request to the NRF. Correspondingly, the NRF receives this discovery request from the NEF. This discovery request can be used to discover the computing nodes corresponding to the location information of the deployed computing tasks. Optionally, the discovery request may include the location information of the deployed computing tasks, which may be represented, for example, by DNAI. Optionally, the discovery request may include DNN or S-NSSAI.

[0196] Optionally, the method also includes Figure 1 or Figure 9 As shown in S804, the NRF sends information about at least one compute node to the NEF. Correspondingly, the NEF receives this information from the NRF. For example, after receiving a discovery request, the NRF can determine which compute nodes corresponding to DNAIs have compute tasks deployed (which may include any compute tasks), and then the NRF can send information about these compute nodes to the NEF. Optionally, the information about a compute node may include, for example, the identifier of the compute node and / or the address information of the compute node. The at least one compute node may include, for example, compute nodes such as UPFs and / or servers.

[0197] Optionally, the method may also include Figure 3A or Figure 3BAs shown in S805, after receiving information from at least one computing node, the NEF can send request 8 to some or all of the computing nodes in the at least one computing node. Correspondingly, each of these computing nodes receives request 8. Request 8 can also be referred to as the fifth request. The request 8 sent by the NEF to a computing node may include indication information corresponding to all or part of the functions of the computing tasks deployed within that computing node. The content included in the requests 8 received by different computing nodes may be the same or different. For example, if at least one computing node includes computing node 1, and computing task 1 is deployed within computing node 1, and computing task 1 corresponds to a first function, then the request 8 sent by the NEF to computing node 1 may include second indication information corresponding to the code of the first function. As another example, if at least one computing node includes computing node 2, and computing task 1 is not deployed within computing node 2, and the functions corresponding to the computing tasks deployed within computing node 2 do not include the first function, then the request 8 sent by the NEF to computing node 2 may not include the second indication information corresponding to the code of the first function. If the NEF obtains the correspondence between at least one indication information and at least one location information through S802 (see reference...), Figure 5A If the NEF sends request 8, it may include indication information but not function code; or, if the NEF obtains the correspondence between at least one indication message, at least one function code, and at least one location message through S801 (see reference...), then the request 8 sent by the NEF may include indication information but not function code; or, if the NEF obtains the correspondence between at least one indication message, at least one function code, and at least one location message through S801, ... Figure 5B If NEF sends a request 8, it can include instruction information and function code. For example, at least one compute node includes compute node 1, compute node 1 deploys compute task 1, compute task 1 corresponds to the first function, then if NEF sends a request 8, it can include instruction information and function code. Figure 5A The S802 shown obtains the correspondence between at least one indication information and at least one location information (the at least one indication information includes a second indication information). The request 8 sent by NEF to compute node 1 may include the second indication information corresponding to the code of the first function; or, if NEF obtains the correspondence between at least one indication information and at least one location information (the at least one indication information includes a second indication information), the ... Figure 5B If the S801 shown obtains the correspondence between at least one indication information, at least one function code, and at least one location information (at least one indication information includes a second indication information), then the request 8 sent by NEF to compute node 1 may include the second indication information and the code of the first function.

[0198] Optionally, after receiving the instruction information from NEF, or the instruction information and function code, the compute node may send a response message to NEF to indicate that the information was successfully received.

[0199] If NEF sends instruction information and function code to the compute node in S805, the corresponding compute node has already obtained the function code corresponding to the compute task deployed on that compute node. The compute node can store the instruction information corresponding to the function code and the function code itself. Alternatively, if NEF sends instruction information to the compute node in S805 but does not send the function code, the corresponding compute node can further obtain the function code based on the instruction information (e.g., according to...). Figure 6A The code for the function that can be obtained using S806 is shown. For more information on S806, please refer to [link / reference needed]. Figure 6B In the embodiment shown in S307, the indication information from NEF can be considered as code used to trigger the acquisition function. For more information on this part, please refer to [link / reference needed]. Figure 7A S306 and S307 in the illustrated embodiment.

[0200] After obtaining the code of a corresponding function, a compute node can store it. If a compute task or function deployed on that compute node is called, the node can directly invoke the function's code to execute the function, or execute the compute task to which the function belongs. For example, after receiving a request to access a function or a compute task, a compute node can execute... Figure 7B The cold start process shown includes the following steps: startup function instance container, runtime initialization, and code initialization. Figure 7A The code download phase of the cold start process shown has been completed. Once the cold start is complete and the function instance is ready, the compute node can begin executing the request.

[0201] In this embodiment, the computing node can obtain the function code before receiving a request to access the function. Therefore, after receiving the request, it is unnecessary to perform the code download process again; for example, it can simply perform the process following code download during a cold start. This significantly reduces the latency of function computation and improves its efficiency. Furthermore, this embodiment decouples the advance acquisition of function code from the UE's behavior, enabling earlier acquisition of the function code. This helps reduce signaling transmission during UE session establishment and improves the efficiency of UE session establishment.

[0202] Figure 7B A schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of this application is provided. The communication device 900 may be... Figure 3A , Figure 3B , Figure 5A or Figure 5B The first UPF or its circuitry, as shown in any of the accompanying drawings, is used to implement the method corresponding to the first UPF in the above method embodiments. Alternatively, the communication device 900 may be... Figure 6A orFigure 6B The second UPF or its circuitry, as shown in any of the accompanying drawings, is used to implement the method corresponding to the second UPF in the above method embodiments. Alternatively, the communication device 900 may be... Figure 7A , Figure 7B , Figure 3A or Figure 5A The first computing node or its circuitry, as shown in any of the accompanying drawings, is used to implement the method corresponding to the first computing node in the above method embodiments. Alternatively, the communication device 900 may be... Figure 6A or Figure 7A The second computing node or its circuitry, as shown in any of the accompanying drawings, is used to implement the method corresponding to the second computing node in the above method embodiments. Alternatively, the communication device 900 may be... Figure 3A , Figure 3B , Figure 5A , Figure 5B , Figure 6A , Figure 6B , Figure 7A or Figure 7B The CMF or its circuitry, as shown in any of the accompanying drawings, is used to implement the method corresponding to the CMF in the above method embodiments. Alternatively, the communication device 900 may be... Figure 8A , Figure 8B , Figure 9 ,or Figure 3A The database or circuit system of the database described in any of the accompanying drawings is used to implement the method corresponding to the database in the above method embodiments. Alternatively, the communication device 900 may be... Figure 3B , Figure 5A , Figure 5B , Figure 6A , Figure 6B , Figure 7A , Figure 7B , Figure 8A , Figure 8B or Figure 9 The AF or its circuit system, as shown in any of the accompanying drawings, is used to implement the method corresponding to the AF in the above method embodiments. Alternatively, the communication device 900 may be... Figure 9 or Figure 9 The NEF or its circuit system, as shown in any of the accompanying drawings, is used to implement the method corresponding to the NEF in the above method embodiments. For example, one such circuit system is a chip system.

[0203] The communication device 900 includes at least one processor 901. The processor 901 can be used for internal processing within the device to implement certain control processing functions. Optionally, the processor 901 includes instructions. Optionally, the processor 901 can store data. Optionally, different processors can be independent devices, located in different physical locations, or located on different integrated circuits. Optionally, different processors can be integrated into one or more processors, for example, integrated on one or more integrated circuits.

[0204] Optionally, the communication device 900 includes one or more memories 903 for storing instructions. Optionally, the memories 903 may also store data. The processor and the memories may be separate or integrated together.

[0205] Optionally, the communication device 900 includes a communication line 902 and at least one communication interface 904. Since the memory 903, communication line 902, and communication interface 904 are all optional, therefore... Figure 10 All are represented by dashed lines.

[0206] Optionally, the communication device 900 may further include a transceiver and / or an antenna. The transceiver can be used to send information to or receive information from other devices. The transceiver may be referred to as a transceiver unit, transceiver circuit, input / output interface, etc., and is used to realize the transmission and reception functions of the communication device 900 via the antenna. Optionally, the transceiver includes a transmitter and a receiver. For example, the transmitter can be used to generate a radio frequency (RF) signal from a baseband signal, and the receiver can be used to convert the RF signal back into a baseband signal.

[0207] The processor 901 may include a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of programs according to the present application.

[0208] Communication line 902 may include a path for transmitting information between the aforementioned components.

[0209] Communication interface 904 uses any transceiver-like device for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as Ethernet, radio access network (RAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), wired access network, etc.

[0210] Memory 903 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device capable of storing static information and instructions, random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device capable of storing information and instructions, or electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compressed optical discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital universal optical discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and accessible by a computer, but not limited thereto. Memory 903 may exist independently and be connected to processor 901 via communication line 902. Alternatively, memory 903 may be integrated with processor 901.

[0211] The memory 903 stores computer execution instructions for implementing the scheme of this application, and its execution is controlled by the processor 901. The processor 901 executes the computer execution instructions stored in the memory 903, thereby realizing... Figure 3A , Figure 3B , Figure 5A , Figure 5B , Figure 6A , Figure 6B , Figure 7A , Figure 7B , Figure 8A or Figure 8B The steps performed by the computing node, first computing node, second computing node, CMF, AF, database, or NEF as shown in any of the embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

[0212] Optionally, the computer execution instructions in the embodiments of this application may also be referred to as application code, and the embodiments of this application do not specifically limit this.

[0213] In a specific implementation, as one example, the processor 901 may include one or more CPUs, for example... Figure 10 CPU0 and CPU1 in the CPU.

[0214] In a specific implementation, as one example, the communication device 900 may include multiple processors, such as... Figure 9Processors 901 and 905 are mentioned. Each of these processors can be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. Here, "processor" can refer to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores used to process data (such as computer program instructions).

[0215] when Figure 10 When the device shown is a chip, such as a chip for a computing node, a chip for a first computing node, a chip for a second computing node, a chip for CMF, a chip for AF, a chip for a database, or a chip for NEF, then the chip includes a processor 901 (and may also include a processor 905), a communication line 902, and a communication interface 904. Optionally, it may include a memory 903. Specifically, the communication interface 904 may be an input interface, pins, or circuits, etc. The memory 903 may be a register, cache, etc. The processor 901 and processor 905 may be a general-purpose CPU, a microprocessor, an ASIC, or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of a program that controls the communication method of any of the above embodiments.

[0216] This application embodiment can divide the device into functional modules according to the above method example. For example, each function can be divided into its own functional modules, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The integrated modules can be implemented in hardware or as software functional modules. It should be noted that the module division in this application embodiment is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, when dividing the device into functional modules according to each function, Figure 9 A schematic diagram of an apparatus is shown. The apparatus 1000 can be a computing node, a first computing node, a second computing node, a CMF, an AF, a database, or a NEF involved in the above-described method embodiments. Alternatively, the apparatus 1000 can be a chip in a computing node, a chip in a first computing node, a chip in a second computing node, a chip in a CMF, a chip in an AF, a chip in a database, or a chip in a NEF involved in the above-described method embodiments. The apparatus 1000 includes a transmitting unit 1001, a processing unit 1002, and a receiving unit 1003.

[0217] It should be understood that the device 1000 can be used to implement the steps performed by a computing node, a first computing node, a second computing node, a CMF, an AF, a database, or a NEF in the communication method of the embodiments of this application, and the relevant features can be referred to above. Figure 10 , Figure 9 , Figure 1 , Figure 1 , ​ ,​ , ​ , ​ , ​ or ​ The embodiments shown in any of the accompanying drawings will not be described in detail here.

[0218] Optional, ​ The functions / implementation processes of the transmitting unit 1001, receiving unit 1003, and processing unit 1002 can be understood through... ​ The processor 901 in the memory calls computer execution instructions stored in memory 903 to implement the function. Alternatively, ​ The function / implementation process of the processing unit 1002 can be achieved through... ​ The processor 901 in the memory calls computer execution instructions stored in the memory 903 to implement this. ​ The functions / implementation process of the transmitting unit 1001 and the receiving unit 1003 can be obtained through ​ It is implemented using the 904 communication interface.

[0219] Optionally, when the device 1000 is a chip or circuit, the functions / implementation of the transmitting unit 1001 and the receiving unit 1003 can also be implemented through pins or circuits, etc.

[0220] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions that, when executed, implement the methods performed by the computing node, first computing node, second computing node, CMF, AF, database, or NEF in the aforementioned method embodiments. Thus, the functions described in the above embodiments can be implemented as software functional units and sold or used as independent products. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to it, or a part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, ROM, RAM, magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0221] This application also provides a computer program product comprising: computer program code, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method executed by a computing node, a first computing node, a second computing node, a CMF, an AF, a database, or a NEF in any of the foregoing method embodiments.

[0222] This application also provides a processing apparatus, including a processor and an interface; the processor is used to execute the methods performed by the computing node, first computing node, second computing node, CMF, AF, database, or NEF involved in any of the above method embodiments.

[0223] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., solid-state disk (SSD)).

[0224] The various illustrative logic units and circuits described in the embodiments of this application can be implemented or operate the described functions using a general-purpose processor, digital signal processor (DSP), ASIC, field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor; alternatively, it can be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor can also be implemented using a combination of computing devices, such as a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a digital signal processor core, or any other similar configuration.

[0225] The steps of the methods or algorithms described in the embodiments of this application can be directly embedded in hardware, software units executed by a processor, or a combination of both. The software units can be stored in RAM, flash memory, ROM, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), EEPROM, registers, hard disks, removable disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium in the art. Exemplarily, the storage medium can be connected to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium can also be integrated into the processor. The processor and storage medium can be disposed in an ASIC, which can be disposed in the terminal device. Optionally, the processor and storage medium can also be disposed in different components of the terminal device.

[0226] These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable equipment to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable equipment for implementing the process. ​ One or more processes and / or boxes ​ The steps of the function specified in one or more boxes.

[0227] The contents of the various embodiments of this application can be referenced to each other. Unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced to each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0228] It is understood that in the embodiments of this application, the computing node, the first computing node, the second computing node, the CMF, the AF, the database, or the NEF can perform some or all of the steps in the embodiments of this application. These steps or operations are merely examples. In the embodiments of this application, other operations or variations of various operations can also be performed. Furthermore, the steps can be performed in different orders as presented in the embodiments of this application, and it is not necessary to perform all the operations in the embodiments of this application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a computing node, the method includes: The code for obtaining the first function based on the session establishment request of the terminal device, wherein the session establishment request is used to request the establishment of the first session; After obtaining the code of the first function, a first request for accessing the first function is received from the terminal device through the first session; The code of the first function is executed according to the first request to process the first request.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first request includes first indication information, which is used to determine the code of the first function.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The code for obtaining the first function based on the session establishment request of the terminal device includes: Receive second indication information from the first network element, the second indication information being used to determine the code of the first function, the second indication information being received during the establishment process of the first session; Send a second request to the second network element. The second request includes the second indication information. The second request is used to request the code of the first function. The second indication information is used by the second network element to determine the code of the first function. The code of the first function received from the second network element.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The code for obtaining the first function based on the session establishment request of the terminal device includes: The system receives a second indication message from the first network element and the code of the first function. The second indication message is used to determine the code of the first function. The second indication message and the code of the first function are sent by the first network element during the establishment process of the first session.

5. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The first network element includes a computing power management function (CMF) or a user plane function (UPF).

6. The method according to any one of claims 1, 2, and 5, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive a first release instruction, which indicates the release of the first session; Delete the code in the first function.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, Delete the code from the first function, including: If no session exists for accessing the first function, delete the code of the first function.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1, 2, 5, and 7, characterized in that, After obtaining the first function based on the session establishment request of the terminal device, the method further includes: The system stores the correspondence between information of the terminal device and the code of the first function, the correspondence being used to indicate the existence of a session for the terminal device to access the first function.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The information of the terminal device includes one or more of the following: the identifier of the session corresponding to the terminal device, the identifier of the terminal device, or the address information of the terminal device.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1, 2, 5, 7, and 9, characterized in that, The computing nodes include UPFs or servers.

11. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to the first network element, the method includes: Receive a session establishment request from a terminal device, the session establishment request being used to request the establishment of a first session, the first session being used by the terminal device to access a first function; Determine the first data network access identifier (DNAI) corresponding to the location information of the terminal device; Determine the first computing node corresponding to the first DNAI, wherein the first computing node supports the first function; Send a second indication message to the first computing node, the second indication message being used to determine the code of the first function; A session establishment acceptance message is sent to the terminal device, the session establishment acceptance message being used to indicate that the first session has been established. The code of the first function is used to process a request from the terminal device to access the first function, the request to access the first function being sent by the terminal device after receiving the session establishment acceptance message.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The method further includes: The system receives policy information from the policy control function (PCF), the policy information including the correspondence between the first DNAI and the second indication information.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The method further includes: When the terminal device moves from the first access network device to the second access network device, the second DNAI corresponding to the current location information of the terminal device is determined; Determine the second computing node corresponding to the second DNAI, wherein the second computing node supports the first function; The second instruction information is sent to the second computing node, wherein the strategy information further includes the correspondence between the second DNAI and the second instruction information.

14. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, Send a second instruction message to the first computing node, including: Send the second instruction information and the code of the first function to the first computing node.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive policy information from PCF, the policy information including the code of the first function, the first DNAI and the correspondence between the second indication information.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The method further includes: When the terminal device moves from the first access network device to the second access network device, the second DNAI corresponding to the current location information of the terminal device is determined; Determine the second computing node corresponding to the second DNAI, wherein the second computing node supports the first function; The second instruction information and the code of the first function are sent to the second computing node, wherein the strategy information further includes the code of the first function, the second DNAI, and the correspondence between the second instruction information.

17. The method according to claim 13 or 16, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a second release instruction to the first computing node, the second release instruction being used to indicate the release of the first session.

18. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 16, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a first release instruction to the second computing node, the first release instruction being used to indicate the release of the session between the second computing node and the terminal device, the second computing node being the computing node that serves the terminal device after the terminal device is moved.

19. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 16, characterized in that, The first network element includes CMF.

20. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes a processing unit and a transceiver unit, wherein the processing unit is coupled to the transceiver unit to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 10, or to perform the method as described in any one of claims 11 to 19.

21. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes a processor and a memory, the memory for storing a computer program, and the processor for executing the computer program stored in the memory, causing the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 10, or causing the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 11 to 19.

22. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium is used to store a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 10, or causes the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 11 to 19.

23. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 10, or causes the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 11 to 19.

24. A chip system, characterized in that, The chip system includes: A processor and an interface, the processor being configured to call and execute instructions from the interface, wherein when the processor executes the instructions, it implements the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 10, or implements the method as described in any one of claims 11 to 19.

25. A communication system, characterized in that, The communication system includes a computing node and a first network element, wherein... The computing node is configured to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 10; The first network element is configured to perform the method as described in any one of claims 11 to 19.

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