User plane path management method and device, communication equipment, communication system and storage medium

Abstract

The invention provides a user plane path management method and device, communication equipment, a communication system and a storage medium, and the method comprises the steps that a first network element can receive first information which is sent by a second network element and is related to a third network element, and determines a first user plane path according to the first information, the first user plane path is used for establishing user plane connection between the terminal and the third network element, and the user plane connection is used for the first service. According to the method disclosed by the invention, the first user plane path can effectively support connection to the third network element selected by the second network element, so that the user plane connection established based on the first user plane path can support effective implementation of the first service.

Description

User plane path management method and device, communication equipment, communication system, and storage medium Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a user plane path management method and apparatus, communication equipment, a communication system, and a storage medium. Background Art

[0002] In communication systems, positioning services include regulatory positioning services and commercial positioning services. For non-regulatory positioning services, positioning can be supported on the user plane connection between the terminal and the core network element. The terminal and the core network element can use the user plane connection to transmit auxiliary service information and Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages.

[0003] Summary of the Invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a user plane path management method, apparatus, device, chip system, storage medium, computer program and computer program product, which can be applied in the field of communication technology to solve the technical problem that "the user plane path managed by SMF cannot be effectively connected to the LMF network element, thereby affecting the effective implementation of the services supported by the user plane connection."

[0005] The present disclosure provides a user plane path management method and apparatus, communication equipment, a communication system, and a storage medium.

[0006] According to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a user plane path management method is proposed, which is executed by a first network element, including: receiving first information related to a third network element sent by a second network element; determining a first user plane path based on the first information, wherein the first user plane path is used to establish a user plane connection between a terminal and the third network element, and the user plane connection is used for a first service.

[0007] According to a second aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a user plane path management method is proposed, which is executed by a second network element, including: sending first information related to a third network element to a first network element, wherein the first information is used to determine a first user plane path, the first user plane path is used to establish a user plane connection between a terminal and the third network element, and the user plane connection is used for a first service.

[0008] According to a third aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a user plane path management device is proposed, including: a transceiver module for receiving first information related to a third network element sent by a second network element; a processing module for determining a first user plane path based on the first information, wherein the first user plane path is used to establish a user plane connection between a terminal and the third network element, and the user plane connection is used for a first service.

[0009] According to the fourth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a user plane path management device is proposed, including: a transceiver module, used to send first information related to a third network element to a first network element, wherein the first information is used to determine a first user plane path, the first user plane path is used to establish a user plane connection between a terminal and the third network element, and the user plane connection is used for a first service.

[0010] According to a fifth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication device is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the processor is used to call instructions to enable the communication device to execute the user plane path management method of any one of the first aspect and the second aspect.

[0011] According to the sixth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication system is proposed, characterized in that it includes a first network element, a second network element, a third network element, a fourth network element and / or a terminal, wherein the first network element is configured to implement the user plane path management method of the first aspect, and the second network element is configured to implement the user plane path management method of the second aspect.

[0012] According to the seventh aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure, a storage medium is proposed, which stores instructions, and is characterized in that when the instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device executes a user plane path management method as described in any one of the first and second aspects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure or the background technology, the drawings required for use in the embodiments of the present disclosure or the background technology will be described below.

[0014] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0015] FIG2A is an interactive diagram illustrating a method for user plane path management according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0016] FIG2B is an interactive diagram illustrating a method for user plane path management according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0017] FIG3A is an interactive diagram illustrating a method for user plane path management according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0018] FIG3B is an interactive diagram illustrating a method for user plane path management according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0019] FIG3C is an interactive diagram illustrating a method for user plane path management according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0020] FIG4A is an interactive diagram illustrating a method for user plane path management according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] FIG4B is an interactive diagram illustrating a method for user plane path management according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0022] FIG4C is an interactive diagram illustrating a method for managing a user plane path according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0023] FIG5A is an interactive diagram of a user plane path management method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0024] FIG5B is an interactive diagram of a user plane path management method according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0025] FIG6 is an interactive diagram illustrating a method for user plane path management according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0026] FIG7A is a schematic structural diagram of a user plane path management device proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0027] FIG7B is a schematic structural diagram of a user plane path management device proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0028] FIG8 is a schematic structural diagram of a core network device proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0029] FIG9A is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0030] FIG9B is a schematic diagram of the structure of the chip proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] The present disclosure provides a user plane path management method and apparatus, a communication device, a communication system, and a storage medium. In some embodiments, the terms "user plane path management method" and "information processing method" and "communication method" are interchangeable; the terms "user plane path management apparatus" and "information processing apparatus" and "communication apparatus" are interchangeable; and the terms "information processing system" and "communication system" are interchangeable.

[0032] The embodiments of the present disclosure are not exhaustive and are merely illustrative of some embodiments, and are not intended to be a specific limitation on the scope of protection of the present disclosure. In the absence of contradiction, each step in a certain embodiment can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps can be arbitrarily combined. For example, a solution after removing some steps in a certain embodiment can also be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the order of the steps in a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily exchanged. In addition, the optional implementation methods in a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily combined; in addition, the embodiments can be arbitrarily combined. For example, some or all steps of different embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, and a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily combined with the optional implementation methods of other embodiments.

[0033] In each embodiment of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified or provided for by logic, the terms and / or descriptions between the embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form a new embodiment based on their inherent logical relationships.

[0034] The terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure.

[0035] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, elements expressed in the singular, such as "a", "an", "the", "above", "said", "the", "the", etc., may mean "one and only one", or "one or more", "at least one", etc. For example, when using articles such as "a", "an", "the" in English in translation, the noun following the article may be understood as a singular expression or a plural expression.

[0036] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, “plurality” refers to two or more.

[0037] In some embodiments, the terms "at least one of", "at least one of", "at least one of", "one or more", "a plurality of", "multiple", etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0038] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, descriptions such as “at least one of A, B, C…”, “A and / or B and / or C…”, etc. include the situation where any one of A, B, C… exists alone, and also include any combination of any multiple of A, B, C…, and each situation can exist alone; for example, “at least one of A, B, C” includes the situation where A exists alone, B exists alone, C exists alone, the combination of A and B, the combination of A and C, the combination of B and C, and the combination of A, B, and C; for example, A and / or B includes the situation where A exists alone, B exists alone, and the combination of A and B.

[0039] In some embodiments, descriptions such as "in one case A, in another case B," or "in response to one case A, in response to another case B," may include the following technical solutions depending on the situation: executing A independently of B (in some embodiments, A); executing B independently of A (in some embodiments, B); selectively executing A and B (in some embodiments, selecting between A and B); and executing both A and B (in some embodiments, A and B). The same applies when there are more branches, such as A, B, and C.

[0040] The prefixes such as "first" and "second" in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only used to distinguish different description objects and do not constitute any restriction on the position, order, priority, quantity or content of the description objects. For the statement of the description object, please refer to the description in the context of the claims or embodiments, and no unnecessary restriction should be constituted due to the use of prefixes. For example, if the description object is a "field", the ordinal number before the "field" in the "first field" and the "second field" does not limit the position or order between the "fields". "First" and "second" do not limit whether the "fields" they modify are in the same message, nor do they limit the order of the "first field" and the "second field". For another example, if the description object is a "level", the ordinal number before the "level" in the "first level" and the "second level" does not limit the priority between the "levels". For another example, the number of description objects is not limited by the ordinal number and can be one or more. Taking "first device" as an example, the number of "devices" can be one or more. In addition, the objects modified by different prefixes can be the same or different. For example, if the description object is "device", then the "first device" and the "second device" can be the same device or different devices, and their types can be the same or different; for another example, if the description object is "information", then the "first information" and the "second information" can be the same information or different information, and their contents can be the same or different.

[0041] In some embodiments, “including A,” “comprising A,” “used to indicate A,” and “carrying A” can be interpreted as directly carrying A or indirectly indicating A.

[0042] In some embodiments, terms such as "in response to...", "in response to determining...", "in the case of...", "at the time of...", "when...", "if...", "if...", etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0043] In some embodiments, terms such as "greater than", "greater than or equal to", "not less than", "more than", "more than or equal to", "not less than", "higher than", "higher than or equal to", "not less than", and "above" can be replaced with each other, and terms such as "less than", "less than or equal to", "not greater than", "less than", "less than or equal to", "not more than", "lower than", "lower than or equal to", "not higher than", and "below" can be replaced with each other.

[0044] In some embodiments, devices, etc. can be interpreted as physical or virtual, and their names are not limited to the names recorded in the embodiments. Terms such as "device", "equipment", "device", "circuit", "network element", "node", "function", "unit", "section", "system", "network", "chip", "chip system", "entity", and "subject" can be used interchangeably.

[0045] In some embodiments, "network" can be interpreted as devices included in the network (eg, access network equipment, core network equipment, etc.).

[0046] In some embodiments, the terms "access network device (AN device)", "radio access network device (RAN device)", "base station (BS)", "radio base station" "fixed station", "node", "access point", "transmission point (TP)", "reception point (RP)", "transmission / reception point (TRP)", "panel", "antenna panel", "antenna array", "cell", "macro cell", "small cell", "femto cell", "pico cell", "sector", "cell group", "carrier", "component carrier", "bandwidth part (BWP)" and the like may be used interchangeably.

[0047] In some embodiments, the terms "terminal", "terminal device", "user equipment (UE)", "user terminal", "mobile station (MS)", "mobile terminal (MT)", subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0048] In some embodiments, obtaining data, information, etc. may comply with the laws and regulations of the country where the data is obtained.

[0049] In some embodiments, data, information, etc. may be obtained with the user's consent.

[0050] In addition, each element, each row, or each column in the table of the embodiment of the present disclosure can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the combination of any elements, any rows, and any columns can also be implemented as an independent embodiment.

[0051] The correspondences shown in the tables of the present disclosure can be configured or predefined. The values ​​of the information in each table are merely examples and can be configured to other values, which are not limited by the present disclosure. When configuring the correspondences between information and parameters, it is not necessarily required to configure all the correspondences shown in each table. For example, in the tables of the present disclosure, the correspondences shown in certain rows may not be configured. For another example, appropriate deformation adjustments can be made based on the above tables, such as splitting, merging, etc. The names of the parameters shown in the titles of the above tables may also adopt other names that can be understood by the communication device, and the values ​​or representations of the parameters may also adopt other values ​​or representations that can be understood by the communication device. When implementing the above tables, other data structures may also be used, such as arrays, queues, containers, stacks, linear lists, pointers, linked lists, trees, graphs, structures, classes, heaps, hash tables or hash tables, etc.

[0052] The predefined in the present disclosure may be understood as defined, predefined, stored, pre-stored, pre-negotiated, pre-configured, solidified, or pre-burned.

[0053] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG1 , a communication system 100 may include a terminal 101 and a core network device 102 .

[0054] In some embodiments, the terminal 101 may include, for example, a mobile phone, a wearable device, an Internet of Things device, a car with communication function, a smart car, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in self-driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, and at least one of a wireless terminal device in a smart home, but is not limited thereto.

[0055] In some embodiments, the core network device 102 may be a single device including a first network element 1021, a second network element 1022, a third network element 1023, a fourth network element 1024, etc., or may be a plurality of devices or a device group including all or part of the first network element 1021, the second network element 1022, the third network element 1023, and the fourth network element 1024. The network elements may be virtual or physical. The core network may include, for example, at least one of an evolved packet core (EPC), a 5G core network (5GCN), and a next generation core (NGC).

[0056] In some embodiments, the second network element 1022 and the fourth network element 1024 may be connected or not connected.

[0057] In some embodiments, the first network element 1021 is, for example, a session management function (SMF) network element.

[0058] In some embodiments, the first network element 1021 is used to provide session management functions, and the name is not limited thereto.

[0059] In some embodiments, the second network element 1022 is, for example, an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element.

[0060] In some embodiments, the second network element 1022 is used to provide access and mobility management functions, and the name is not limited thereto.

[0061] In some embodiments, the third network element 1023 is, for example, a location management function (LMF) network element that provides positioning services.

[0062] In some embodiments, the third network element 1023 is used to provide location management functions, and the name is not limited thereto.

[0063] In some embodiments, the fourth network element 1024 is, for example, a user plane function (UPF) network element.

[0064] In some embodiments, the fourth network element 1024 is used to provide user plane functions, and the name is not limited thereto.

[0065] In some embodiments, the AMF network element and the UPF network element may be connected or not connected.

[0066] In some embodiments, the terminal 101 and the core network device 102 can be connected through an access network device. Optionally, the access network device is, for example, a node or device that accesses the terminal to a wireless network. The access network device may include an evolved NodeB (eNB), a next generation evolved NodeB (ng-eNB), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a node B (NB), a home node B (HNB), a home evolved nodeB (HeNB), a wireless backhaul device, a radio network controller (RNC), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a base band unit (BBU), a mobile switching center, a base station in a 6G communication system, an open base station (Open RAN), a cloud base station (Cloud RAN), a base station in other communication systems, and at least one of an access node in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, but is not limited thereto.

[0067] It can be understood that the communication system described in the embodiment of the present disclosure is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present disclosure, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of the system architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solution proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure is also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0068] The following embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to the communication system 100 shown in Figure 1, or a portion thereof, but are not limited thereto. The entities shown in Figure 1 are illustrative only. The communication system may include all or part of the entities shown in Figure 1, or may include other entities outside of Figure 1. The number and form of the entities may be arbitrary. The connection relationship between the entities is illustrative only. The entities may be connected or disconnected, and the connection may be in any manner, including direct or indirect, wired or wireless.

[0069] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Beyond (LTE-B), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 5G New Radio (NR), Future Radio Access (FRA), New-Radio Access Technology (RAT), New Radio (NR), New Radio Access (NX), Future Generation Radio Access (FX), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM (registered trademark)), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.17 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.18 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.19 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.21 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.22 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.23 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.24 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.25 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.26 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.27 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.28 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.29 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.30 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.31 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.32 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.33 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), 802.20, Ultra-WideBand (UWB), Bluetooth (registered trademark), Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) networks, Device-to-Device (D2D) systems, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) systems, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X), systems utilizing other user plane connection establishment methods, and next-generation systems based on and extending these systems. Furthermore, multiple systems may be combined (for example, a combination of LTE or LTE-A with 5G).

[0070] To facilitate understanding, the terms involved in this disclosure are first introduced.

[0071] 1. Access and mobility management function (AMF) network element.

[0072] The AMF network element is a logical node function network element on the core network side. It is the access point for the terminal and wireless core network control plane. It receives all connection and session related information from the user equipment and performs registration, connection, reachability, and mobility management. In addition, the AMF network element provides a session management message transmission channel for the terminal equipment and the session management function (SMF) device, providing authentication and authorization functions for user access.

[0073] 2. Location management function (LMF) network element.

[0074] The LMF is located in the local radio access network (RAN) or the core network (CN) side and is used to provide location management function services to the UE.

[0075] 3. User plane function (UPF) network elements, including routing and forwarding of user data packets, data interaction with external data networks, user plane quality of service (QoS) processing, and flow control rule implementation (such as gating, redirection, and traffic steering).

[0076] In the communication system, positioning services include regulatory positioning services and commercial positioning services. For non-regulatory positioning services, positioning can be supported on the user plane connection between the UE and the LMF. The LMF and UE can use the user plane connection to transmit auxiliary service information and Long Term Evolution LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages.

[0077] Optionally, positioning can be achieved through a user plane connection. The LMF can act as an application server and be deployed within the 5GC. The user plane connection between the terminal and the LMF can be established within a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session. The user plane path between the terminal and the LMF is used to establish the user plane connection.

[0078] Optionally, the UE can establish a PDU session for user plane positioning based on local configuration or UE Routing Selection Policy (URSP) using PDU session parameters related to user plane positioning services (such as dedicated data network name (DNN) and single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI)).

[0079] Optionally, the SMF may select a PDU session anchor UPF (PDU session anchor UPF, PSA UPF, located at a central site or a local site) connected to the LMF for this PDU session based on the S-NSSAI, DNN and UE location information.

[0080] Optionally, the selection of the local PSA for user plane positioning can be determined by the Internet Protocol Address (IP address), network prefix and Data Network Access Identifier (DNAI) of the local LMF for positioning services within a specific service area pre-configured in the SMF.

[0081] It can be seen that the PDU session used for user plane positioning is managed by SMF, and LMF is selected by AMF. Therefore, there may be a misalignment between the user plane path managed by SMF and the LMF selected by AMF, resulting in the user plane path managed by SMF being unable to be effectively connected to the LMF network element, which will affect the effective implementation of the services supported by the user plane connection.

[0082] FIG2A is an interactive diagram of a user plane path management method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG2A , the present disclosure embodiment relates to a user plane path management method, which can be used in a communication system 100. The method includes:

[0083] Step S2101: The second network element sends a first message to the first network element, where the first message includes: first information related to the third network element.

[0084] In some embodiments, the first network element is, for example, an SMF network element.

[0085] In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, an AMF network element.

[0086] In some embodiments, the AMF network element may send a message to the SMF network element, which may be referred to as a first message.

[0087] In some embodiments, the first message is used to create a session management (SM) context for a protocol data unit (PDU) session. The PDU session can be used to access a first service. The first message can carry first information.

[0088] In some embodiments, the first message may be, for example, Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Request, which may include the first information.

[0089] In some embodiments, the PDU session may be initiated and established by the terminal.

[0090] In some embodiments, the first information is used to determine a first user plane path, the first user plane path is used to establish a user plane connection between the terminal and the third network element, and the user plane connection is used for the first service.

[0091] In some embodiments, the third network element is, for example, a LMF network element.

[0092] In some embodiments, the first information may be used to indicate information of the third network element selected by the second network element.

[0093] In some embodiments, the first information may be referred to as LMF information.

[0094] In some embodiments, the first information may be, for example, LMF information.

[0095] In some embodiments, the LMF information may be selected and determined by the AMF, or may be received from an LMF network element or a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC).

[0096] In some embodiments, the LMF information is used to initially select a LMF or to modify a LMF.

[0097] In some embodiments, the first service may be a user plane positioning service, and of course, may also be any other possible service.

[0098] In some embodiments, the positioning service may share the DNN and S-NSSAI with other services, that is, the positioning service may be deployed on the same DNN and / or S-NSSAI as other services.

[0099] In some embodiments, the first user plane path may be, for example, a user plane path (UP path) that can be effectively connected to a third network element (eg, LMF network element) selected by the second network element.

[0100] In some embodiments, the SMF network element can establish or modify the user plane path based on the first information sent by the AMF network element.

[0101] In some embodiments, the first information may include at least one of an identifier of the third network element, an Internet Protocol IP address of the third network element, and a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the third network element, thereby enabling the first network element to accurately obtain information about the third network element selected by the second network element, thereby facilitating the first network element to accurately determine a user plane path that can effectively connect to the third network element selected by the second network element.

[0102] Step S2102: The first network element receives a first message sent by the second network element.

[0103] In some embodiments, the SMF network element may receive a first message sent by the AMF network element.

[0104] In some embodiments, the SMF network element may obtain the first information from the first message.

[0105] In some embodiments, the SMF network element can determine, based on the first information, a user plane path that can be effectively connected to the third network element selected by the second network element.

[0106] Step S2103: The first network element determines second information that matches the first information.

[0107] In some embodiments, the second information is information related to the third network element that is locally preconfigured by the first network element.

[0108] In some embodiments, the second information may be information related to the LMF network element that is locally pre-configured by the SMF network element.

[0109] In some embodiments, the second information may be used to determine a suitable fourth network element, which may be referred to as a target fourth network element.

[0110] In some embodiments, the fourth network element is, for example, a UPF network element.

[0111] In some embodiments, the target fourth network element may be used to establish the first user plane path, and enable the established first user plane path to support connection to the third network element selected by the second network element.

[0112] In some embodiments, the second information includes at least one of the network prefix of the third network element, the IP address of the third network element, and the data network access identifier DNAI associated with the third network element, thereby enabling the first network element to accurately select the target fourth network element based on the second information to support the establishment of the first user plane path.

[0113] In some embodiments, the first information matches the second information, which may mean that the first information is identical to the second information.

[0114] Step S2104: The first network element selects a target fourth network element from multiple candidate fourth network elements according to the second information.

[0115] In some embodiments, after determining the second information matching the first information, the first network element may determine a candidate fourth network element matching the second information as the selected target fourth network element.

[0116] In some embodiments, a candidate data network access identifier DNAI may be pre-configured for each candidate fourth network element.

[0117] In some embodiments, whether the candidate fourth network element matches the second information can be determined based on whether the second information matches each candidate DNAI.

[0118] In some embodiments, the second information includes at least: a DNAI associated with the third network element.

[0119] In some embodiments, a candidate DNAI that matches the DNAI associated with the third network element can be determined from multiple candidate DNAIs, and a candidate fourth network element corresponding to the matched candidate DNAI from multiple candidate fourth network elements can be used as the target fourth network element, so as to efficiently and accurately select the target fourth network element, and enable the first user plane path established based on the target fourth network element to effectively support connection to the third network element selected by the second network element.

[0120] Step S2105: The first network element establishes a user plane path associated with the target fourth network element, and uses the established user plane path as the first user plane path.

[0121] In some embodiments, after determining the target fourth network element from multiple candidate fourth network elements, the first network element can establish a user plane path associated with the target fourth network element. The established user plane path can be used as a first user plane path, which can effectively support connection to the third network element selected by the second network element.

[0122] The user plane path management method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S2101 to S2105. For example, step S2101 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and so on, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Steps S2101+S2102 can be implemented as independent embodiments, and steps S2101+S2102+S2103 can be implemented as independent embodiments, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0123] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0124] Therefore, in this embodiment, the user plane path is managed during the PDU session establishment process, and a first user plane path can be established during the PDU session establishment process. The first user plane path can effectively support the connection to the third network element selected by the second network element, so that the user plane connection established based on the first user plane path can support the effective implementation of the first service.

[0125] FIG2B is an interactive diagram of a user plane path management method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG2B , the present disclosure embodiment relates to a user plane path management method that can be used in a communication system 100. The method includes:

[0126] Step S2201: The second network element sends a second message to the first network element, where the second message includes: first information related to the third network element.

[0127] In some embodiments, the first network element is, for example, an SMF network element.

[0128] In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, an AMF network element.

[0129] In some embodiments, the AMF network element may send another message to the SMF network element, which may be referred to as a second message.

[0130] In some embodiments, the second message is used to update the SM context for the PDU session, the PDU session is used for the first service, and the second message includes: first information.

[0131] In some embodiments, the second message may be, for example, Nsmf_PDUSession_UpdateSMContext Request, which may include the first information, and the first information may be, for example, LMF information.

[0132] In some embodiments, updating the SM context is triggered by the terminal determining that a user plane connection needs to be established and determining that a PDU session has been established.

[0133] In some embodiments, updating the SM context may also be triggered by an AMF network element.

[0134] In some embodiments, assuming that the user plane positioning service between the terminal and the LMF network element is triggered by a UE request and it is determined that there is a related PDU session, the PDU session modification process can be triggered to update the SM context for the PDU session.

[0135] In some embodiments, when the user plane connection between the UE and the LMF is modified, which is triggered by the source LMF or AMF network element, the AMF network element can trigger the PDU session modification process, update the SM context for the PDU session, and update the LMF information to the SMF for user plane path update.

[0136] Step S2202: The first network element receives a second message sent by the second network element.

[0137] In some embodiments, the SMF network element may receive a second message sent by the AMF network element.

[0138] In some embodiments, the SMF network element may obtain the first information from the second message.

[0139] In some embodiments, the SMF network element can determine, based on the first information, a user plane path that can be effectively connected to the third network element selected by the second network element.

[0140] Step S2203: The first network element determines second information that matches the first information.

[0141] In some embodiments, the second information is information related to the third network element that is locally preconfigured by the first network element.

[0142] In some embodiments, the second information may be information related to the LMF network element that is locally pre-configured by the SMF network element.

[0143] In some embodiments, the second information may be used to determine a suitable fourth network element, which may be referred to as a target fourth network element.

[0144] In some embodiments, the fourth network element is, for example, a UPF network element.

[0145] In some embodiments, the target fourth network element may be used to modify (migrate) the first user plane path, and enable the modified (migrated) first user plane path to support connection to the third network element selected by the second network element.

[0146] In some embodiments, the second information includes at least one of a network prefix of the third network element, an IP address of the third network element, and a data network access identifier DNAI associated with the third network element, thereby enabling the first network element to accurately select a target fourth network element based on the second information to support the migration of the first user plane path.

[0147] In some embodiments, the first information matches the second information, which may mean that the first information is identical to the second information.

[0148] Step S2204: The first network element reselects a target fourth network element from multiple candidate fourth network elements according to the second information.

[0149] In some embodiments, after determining the second information that matches the first information, the first network element may determine a candidate fourth network element that matches the second information as a target fourth network element for reselection.

[0150] In some embodiments, a candidate data network access identifier DNAI may be pre-configured for each candidate fourth network element.

[0151] In some embodiments, whether the candidate fourth network element matches the second information can be determined based on whether the second information matches each candidate DNAI.

[0152] In some embodiments, the second information includes at least: a DNAI associated with the third network element.

[0153] In some embodiments, a candidate DNAI that matches the DNAI associated with the third network element can be determined from multiple candidate DNAIs, and a candidate fourth network element corresponding to the matched candidate DNAI from multiple candidate fourth network elements can be used as the target fourth network element, so as to efficiently and accurately reselect the target fourth network element, and enable the first user plane path to which the target fourth network element is migrated to effectively support connection to the third network element selected by the second network element.

[0154] Step S2205: The first network element migrates the second user plane path to a user plane path associated with the target fourth network element, wherein the migrated user plane path is used as the first user plane path.

[0155] In some embodiments, the second user plane path represents a user plane path before migration, the second user plane path is associated with another fourth network element, and the target fourth network element is different from the other fourth network elements.

[0156] In some embodiments, the second user plane path may not be able to support connection to the third network element selected by the second network element. Therefore, the second user plane path is migrated to the user plane path associated with the target fourth network element, so that the migrated first user plane path can effectively support connection to the third network element selected by the second network element, thereby enabling the user plane connection established based on the first user plane path to support the effective implementation of the first service.

[0157] In some embodiments, a first user plane path associated with the target fourth network element can also be added to support the addition of a user plane path, and the second user plane path associated with other fourth network elements can continue to serve related services, thereby effectively improving applicability and effectively supporting personalized communication scenarios.

[0158] The user plane path management method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S2201 to S2205. For example, step S2201 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2202 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and so on, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Steps S2201+S2202 can be implemented as independent embodiments, and steps S2201+S2202+S2203 can be implemented as independent embodiments, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0159] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0160] Therefore, in this embodiment, the user plane path is managed during the PDU session modification process, and the second user plane path can be migrated to the first user plane path during the PDU session modification process. The first user plane path can effectively support the connection to the third network element selected by the second network element, so that the user plane connection established based on the first user plane path can support the effective implementation of the first service.

[0161] Figure 3A is an interactive diagram of a user plane path management method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3A, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a user plane path management method, which can be used in a first network element. The method includes:

[0162] Step S3101: Receive first information related to a third network element sent by a second network element.

[0163] Step S3102: Determine a first user plane path based on the first information, wherein the first user plane path is used to establish a user plane connection between the terminal and the third network element, and the user plane connection is used for the first service.

[0164] The user plane path management method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S3101 and S3102. For example, step S3101 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S3102 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, but are not limited thereto. Steps S3101+S3102 may be implemented as independent embodiments, but are not limited thereto.

[0165] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0166] Therefore, in this embodiment, the first network element can receive the first information related to the third network element sent by the second network element, and determine the first user plane path based on the first information, wherein the first user plane path is used to establish a user plane connection between the terminal and the third network element, and the user plane connection is used for the first service. The first user plane path can effectively support the connection to the third network element selected by the second network element, so that the user plane connection established based on the first user plane path can support the effective implementation of the first service.

[0167] FIG3B is an interactive diagram of a user plane path management method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG3B , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a user plane path management method, which can be used in a first network element. The method includes:

[0168] Step S3201: Receive a first message sent by a second network element, wherein the first message is used to create a session management (SM) context for a protocol data unit (PDU) session, the PDU session is used for a first service, and the first message includes: first information.

[0169] Step S3202: Select a target fourth network element from multiple candidate fourth network elements according to the first information.

[0170] Step S3203: Establish a user plane path associated with the target fourth network element, and use the established user plane path as the first user plane path.

[0171] The user plane path management method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S3201 to S3203. For example, step S3201 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S3202 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, but are not limited thereto. Steps S3201+S3202 may be implemented as independent embodiments, and so on, but are not limited thereto.

[0172] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0173] Thus, in this embodiment, a first network element can receive a first message sent by a second network element, wherein the first message is used to create a session management (SM) context for a protocol data unit (PDU) session, the PDU session being used for a first service, and the first message includes: first information, and based on the first information, a target fourth network element is selected from multiple candidate fourth network elements, a user plane path associated with the target fourth network element is established, and the established user plane path is used as a first user plane path, thereby managing the user plane path during the PDU session establishment process. The first user plane path can be established during the PDU session establishment process, and the first user plane path can effectively support connection to a third network element selected by the second network element, thereby enabling the user plane connection established based on the first user plane path to support the effective implementation of the first service. Furthermore, the first network element can accurately obtain information about the third network element selected by the second network element, facilitating the first network element to accurately determine a user plane path that can effectively connect to the third network element selected by the second network element.

[0174] FIG3C is an interactive diagram of a user plane path management method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG3C , the present disclosure embodiment relates to a user plane path management method, which can be used in a first network element. The method includes:

[0175] Step S3301: Receive a second message sent by a second network element, wherein the second message is used to update the SM context for a PDU session, the PDU session is used for a first service, and the second message includes: first information.

[0176] Step S3302: Select or reselect a target fourth network element from a plurality of candidate fourth network elements according to the first information.

[0177] Step S3303: Migrate the second user plane path to a user plane path associated with a target fourth network element, wherein the migrated user plane path is used as the first user plane path, the second user plane path is associated with another fourth network element, and the target fourth network element is different from the other fourth network elements.

[0178] In some embodiments, the second user plane path represents a user plane path before migration, the second user plane path is associated with another fourth network element, and the target fourth network element is different from the other fourth network elements.

[0179] In some embodiments, the second user plane path may not be able to support connection to the third network element selected by the second network element. Therefore, the second user plane path is migrated to the user plane path associated with the target fourth network element, so that the migrated first user plane path can effectively support connection to the third network element selected by the second network element, thereby enabling the user plane connection established based on the first user plane path to support the effective implementation of the first service.

[0180] In some embodiments, a first user plane path associated with the target fourth network element can also be added to support the addition of a user plane path, and the second user plane path associated with other fourth network elements can continue to serve related services, thereby effectively improving applicability and effectively supporting personalized communication scenarios.

[0181] The user plane path management method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S3301 to S3303. For example, step S3301 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S3302 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, but are not limited thereto. Steps S3301+S3302 may be implemented as independent embodiments, and so on, but are not limited thereto.

[0182] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0183] Thus, in this embodiment, the first network element can receive a second message sent by the second network element, wherein the second message is used to update the SM context for the PDU session, the PDU session is used for the first service, and the second message includes: first information, and based on the first information, selects or reselects a target fourth network element from multiple candidate fourth network elements, and migrates the second user plane path to a user plane path associated with the target fourth network element. This can achieve management of the user plane path during the PDU session modification process, and can migrate the second user plane path to the first user plane path during the PDU session modification process. The first user plane path can effectively support connection to the third network element selected by the second network element, so that the user plane connection established based on the first user plane path can support the effective implementation of the first service. It also enables the first network element to accurately obtain information about the third network element selected by the second network element, facilitating the first network element to accurately determine a user plane path that can effectively connect to the third network element selected by the second network element.

[0184] FIG4A is an interactive diagram of a user plane path management method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4A , the present disclosure embodiment relates to a user plane path management method, which can be used in a second network element. The method includes:

[0185] Step S4101: Send first information related to a third network element to the first network element, wherein the first information is used to determine a first user plane path, the first user plane path is used to establish a user plane connection between the terminal and the third network element, and the user plane connection is used for the first service.

[0186] The user plane path management method involved in the embodiment of the present disclosure may include step S4101.

[0187] Therefore, in this embodiment, the second network element can send first information related to the third network element to the first network element, wherein the first information is used to determine the first user plane path, the first user plane path is used to establish a user plane connection between the terminal and the third network element, the user plane connection is used for the first service, and the first user plane path can effectively support the connection to the third network element selected by the second network element, so that the user plane connection established based on the first user plane path can support the effective implementation of the first service.

[0188] FIG4B is an interactive diagram of a user plane path management method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4B , the present disclosure embodiment relates to a user plane path management method, which can be used in a second network element. The method includes:

[0189] Step S4201, send a first message to the first network element, wherein the first message is used to create a session management SM context for a protocol data unit PDU session, the PDU session is used for a first service, and the first message includes: first information, the first information is used to determine a first user plane path, the first user plane path is used to establish a user plane connection between the terminal and the third network element, and the user plane connection is used for the first service.

[0190] The user plane path management method involved in the embodiment of the present disclosure may include step S4201.

[0191] Therefore, in this embodiment, the second network element can send a first message to the first network element, wherein the first message is used to create a session management SM context for a protocol data unit PDU session, the PDU session is used for the first service, and the first message includes: first information, which implements the management of the user plane path during the PDU session establishment process, and supports the first network element to establish a first user plane path during the PDU session establishment process. The first user plane path can effectively support the connection to the third network element selected by the second network element, so that the user plane connection established based on the first user plane path can support the effective implementation of the first service.

[0192] FIG4C is an interactive diagram of a user plane path management method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4C , the present disclosure embodiment relates to a user plane path management method, which can be used in a second network element. The method includes:

[0193] Step S4301, send a second message to the first network element, wherein the second message is used to update the SM context for the PDU session, the PDU session is used for the first service, and the second message includes: first information, the first information is used to determine the first user plane path, the first user plane path is used to establish a user plane connection between the terminal and the third network element, and the user plane connection is used for the first service.

[0194] The user plane path management method involved in the embodiment of the present disclosure may include step S4301.

[0195] Therefore, in this embodiment, the second network element can send a second message to the first network element, wherein the second message is used to update the SM context for the PDU session, the PDU session is used for the first service, and the second message includes: first information, the first information is used to determine the first user plane path, the first user plane path is used to establish a user plane connection between the terminal and the third network element, the user plane connection is used for the first service, to manage the user plane path during the PDU session modification process, and to support the first network element to migrate the second user plane path to the first user plane path during the PDU session modification process, and the first user plane path can effectively support the connection to the third network element selected by the second network element, so that the user plane connection established based on the first user plane path can support the effective implementation of the first service.

[0196] The following is an exemplary introduction to the above method.

[0197] Optional embodiment:

[0198] As shown in Figure 5A, Figure 5A is an interactive diagram of a user plane path management method shown in another embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 5A, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first network element is an SMF network element, the second network element is an AMF network element, the third network element is an LMF network element, the fourth network element is a UPF network element, and the terminal is a UE. Figure 5A also includes a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN).

[0199] In this embodiment, it is assumed that the user plane connection between the UE and the LMF network element is triggered by the LMF network element. The LMF network element may trigger the establishment of the user plane connection after receiving a location request from the AMF network element, wherein the location request may be initiated by the UE or the network or application function (AF) network element, and the LMF network element may be selected by the AMF network element or the GMLC network element according to local configuration or through the network repository function (NRF).

[0200] In this embodiment, the relevant PDU session has not been established when the user plane positioning service is triggered. Therefore, a user plane connection to a dedicated DNN and / or S-NSSAI and a PDU session supporting positioning can be established first.

[0201] Such methods may include:

[0202] 1. The LMF network element determines to use the user plane for positioning.

[0203] In some embodiments, the LMF network element may decide whether to perform the positioning process via a user plane connection between the UE and the LMF network element.

[0204] 2. Send Namf_Communication_N1N2Transfer message (including user plane information).

[0205] In some embodiments, the LMF network element may send a Namf_Communication_N1N2Transfer message to the AMF network element, which may include user plane information (User Plane Information).

[0206] In some embodiments, the user plane information may be used to instruct the UE to perform positioning using the user plane on the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol.

[0207] In some embodiments, the user plane information may include the user plane location address and security-related information of the LMF network element.

[0208] 3. Send DL NAS TRANSPORT message (including user plane information).

[0209] In some embodiments, the DL NAS TRANSPORT message refers to a downlink non-access layer transport message, and the DL NAS TRANSPORT message includes user plane information of a LMF network element providing a positioning service.

[0210] In some embodiments, the AMF network element may send a DL NAS TRANSPORT message to the terminal.

[0211] 4. Send PDU Session Establishment Request message.

[0212] In some embodiments, the PDU Session Establishment Request message is, for example, a PDU session establishment request message.

[0213] In some embodiments, if an applicable PDU session has not yet been established for the user plane positioning service, the UE may use the URSP to establish a PDU session that supports the user plane positioning service. The URSP includes PDU session parameters related to user plane positioning, such as a dedicated DNN, S-NSSAI, etc.

[0214] 5. Send Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Request message (including LMF information).

[0215] In some embodiments, the Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Request message may be used to request creation of a session management (SM) context for a PDU session.

[0216] In some embodiments, the AMF network element may request the SMF network element to create an SM context for the PDU session based on the Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Request message.

[0217] In some embodiments, if there is LMF information available for the UE and a PDU session is established for user plane positioning, the LMF information may be included in the request message.

[0218] 6. Send Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Response message.

[0219] In some embodiments, the SMF network element can create an SM context.

[0220] In some embodiments, the SMF network element may send an Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Response message to the AMF network element.

[0221] 7. Select UPF based on LMF information.

[0222] In some embodiments, the SMF network element can select a UPF based on the LMF information received from step 5 and the locally configured IP address and / or network prefix of the LMF network element for positioning services within a specific service area and the DNAI to establish a user plane path for a dedicated PDU session within a specific service area configured in the SMF network element.

[0223] 8. Establish the first user plane path.

[0224] In some embodiments, the SMF network element may interact with the selected UPF network element and the LMF network element to establish a first user plane path (e.g., the established UP path) based on the selected UPF network element.

[0225] 9. Send PDU Session Establishment Accept message.

[0226] In some embodiments, the PDU Session Establishment Accept message is, for example, a PDU Session Establishment Accept message.

[0227] In some embodiments, the SMF network element may send a PDU Session Establishment Accept message to the UE via the AMF network element.

[0228] 10. Send UL NAS TRANSPORT message (user plane location confirmation information).

[0229] In some embodiments, the UL NAS TRANSPORT message represents an uplink non-access stratum transport message.

[0230] In some embodiments, the UE may send user plane positioning confirmation information to the LMF network element through the AMF network element, indicating that the user plane connection positioning service is successful or the user plane connection positioning service fails, for example, a suitable PDU session is not established.

[0231] 11. Send Namf_N1MessageNotify message (user plane positioning confirmation information).

[0232] In some embodiments, the AMF network element may send user plane location confirmation information to the LMF network element via a Namf_N1MessageNotify message.

[0233] In some embodiments, the Namf_N1MessageNotify message may represent an N1 interface notification message.

[0234] 12. Notify the UE via the known UE IP address.

[0235] In some embodiments, if the LMF network element knows the IP address of the UE, the LMF network element may notify the UE to establish a user plane connection through the known IP address.

[0236] 13. The UE establishes a user plane connection.

[0237] In some embodiments, the UE may establish a user plane connection with the LMF network element.

[0238] In some embodiments, if the LMF network element sends the FQDN to the UE, a domain name server (DNS) / resolver is used to resolve the IP address of the LMF network element to discover the LMF network element and establish a user plane connection with the discovered LMF network element.

[0239] 14. Send Nlmf_Location_UPNotify message (user plane positioning confirmation information).

[0240] In some embodiments, the LMF network element may indicate to the AMF network element through the Nlmf_Location_UPNotify message that the user plane connection between the UE and the LMF network element has been established.

[0241] 15. Store the location service user plane connection context.

[0242] In some embodiments, the location service user plane connection may be expressed as Location Service-UP connection (LCS-UP connection).

[0243] In some embodiments, the AMF network element may store the LCS-UP connection context as part of the UE context.

[0244] 16. Transmit UE positioning and auxiliary service information through the user plane.

[0245] In some embodiments, LPP information may be transmitted between the UE and the LMF network element, and the LPP information may be used for UE-based positioning, UE-assisted positioning, and delivery of auxiliary information.

[0246] In some embodiments, the auxiliary service event report message from the UE can be transmitted to the LMF network element via the established user plane connection.

[0247] As shown in Figure 5B, Figure 5B is an interactive diagram of a user plane path management method shown in yet another embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 5B, in the present disclosure embodiment, the first network element is an SMF network element, the second network element is an AMF network element, the third network element is an LMF network element, the fourth network element is a UPF network element, and the terminal is a UE. Figure 5B also includes an NG-RAN.

[0248] In this embodiment, assuming that the user plane positioning service between the terminal and the LMF network element is triggered by a UE request, and it is determined that there is a related PDU session, the PDU session modification process can be triggered to update the SM context for the PDU session.

[0249] The above methods include:

[0250] 1. Send UL NAS TRANSPORT message (start user plane positioning).

[0251] In some embodiments, if the UE decides to prepare a user plane connection for an upcoming positioning request, the UE may send a user plane connection establishment request to the AMF network element via a UL NAS TRANSPORT message.

[0252] 2. Select the LMF network element.

[0253] In some embodiments, if the UE's subscription information indicates that the terminal is authorized to use user plane connection positioning, the AMF network element may select an LMF network element that can establish a user plane positioning session with the UE.

[0254] 3. Send Nlmf_Location_UPConfig message.

[0255] In some embodiments, the AMF network element may send an Nlmf_Location_UPConfig message to the LMF network element to request the establishment of an LCS-UP connection.

[0256] 4. Send Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message (including user plane information).

[0257] In some embodiments, if the LMF network element determines to use the user plane for positioning, and no secure user plane connection is established between the UE and the LMF network element, the LMF network element may send user plane information to the AMF network element, indicating that the UE accepts and uses the user plane for positioning.

[0258] In some embodiments, the user plane information may include the user plane location address and security-related information of the LMF network element.

[0259] 5. Send Nsmf_PDUSession_UpdateSMContext Request message (including LMF information).

[0260] In some embodiments, the AMF network element may request the SMF network element to update the SM context of the PDU session based on the Nsmf_PDUSession_UpdateSMContext Request message.

[0261] In some embodiments, if the LMF information (an optional example of the first information) obtained by the AMF network element from step 2 and / or step 4 above is available to the terminal and there is a PDU session for user plane positioning, the AMF network element may include the LMF information in the request.

[0262] 6. Send Nsmf_PDUSession_UpdateSMContext Response message.

[0263] In some embodiments, the SMF network element can reselect the UPF network element based on the LMF information received from step 5 above and the locally configured IP address and / or network prefix of the LMF used for positioning services within a specific service area and its DNAI to establish a user plane path for a dedicated PDU session within a specific service area configured in the SMF network element.

[0264] 7. Reselect UPF network element based on LMF information.

[0265] In some embodiments, if the UPF network element is reselected according to step 6, the user plane path is modified.

[0266] 8. Modify the user plane path.

[0267] 9. Send DL NAS TRANSPORT message (including user plane information).

[0268] In some embodiments, after the AMF network element receives the user plane information from the LMF network element in the above step 4, the AMF network element may forward the user plane information to the UE via a DL NAS TRANSPORT message.

[0269] 10. The UE establishes a user plane connection.

[0270] In some embodiments, the UE may establish a user plane connection with the LMF network element.

[0271] 11. Send Nlmf_Location_UPConfig Response message.

[0272] In some embodiments, the LMF network element may send an Nlmf_Location_UPConfig Response message to the AMF network element to indicate that the user plane connection between the UE and the LMF network element has been established.

[0273] 12. Store the location service user plane connection context.

[0274] In some embodiments, the location service user plane connection may be expressed as Location Service-UP connection (LCS-UP connection).

[0275] In some embodiments, the AMF network element may store the LCS-UP connection context as part of the UE context.

[0276] 13. Transmit UE positioning and auxiliary service information through the user plane.

[0277] In some embodiments, LPP information may be transmitted between the UE and the LMF network element, and the LPP information may be used for UE-based positioning, UE-assisted positioning, and delivery of auxiliary information.

[0278] In some embodiments, the auxiliary service event report message from the UE can be transmitted to the LMF network element via the established user plane connection.

[0279] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, in addition to implementing the determination of utilizing user plane positioning in the LMF as described in the above embodiments, it can also be implemented in the terminal, that is, the terminal determines the need to utilize user plane positioning and triggers the corresponding PDU session establishment or modification.

[0280] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, in addition to reselecting and modifying the user plane path, a new user plane path may also be selected and added.

[0281] The embodiments of the present disclosure further provide an apparatus for implementing any of the above methods. For example, an apparatus is provided, comprising units or modules for implementing each step performed by a terminal in any of the above methods. For another example, another apparatus is provided, comprising units or modules for implementing each step performed by a network device (e.g., an access network device, a core network function node, a core network device, etc.) in any of the above methods.

[0282] Figure 6 is an interactive diagram of a user plane path management method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 6, the present disclosure embodiment relates to a user plane path management method, which can be used in a communication system. The communication system can include a first network element and a second network element. The method includes:

[0283] S6101: The second network element sends first information related to the third network element to the first network element, wherein the first information is used to determine a first user plane path, the first user plane path is used to establish a user plane connection between the terminal and the third network element, and the user plane connection is used for the first service.

[0284] S6102: The first network element receives first information related to the third network element sent by the second network element, and determines a first user plane path according to the first information.

[0285] The user plane path management method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S6101 and S6102. For example, step S6101 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S6102 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, but are not limited thereto. Steps S6101+S6102 may be implemented as independent embodiments, and so on, but are not limited thereto.

[0286] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0287] Figure 7A is a schematic diagram of the structure of a user plane path management device proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 7A, the user plane path management device includes: a transceiver module for receiving first information related to a third network element sent by a second network element; and a processing module for determining a first user plane path based on the first information, wherein the first user plane path is used to establish a user plane connection between a terminal and the third network element, and the user plane connection is used for a first service.

[0288] Optionally, the above-mentioned transceiver module is used to execute the relevant steps performed by the first network element in any of the above methods, which will not be repeated here.

[0289] Optionally, the user plane path management device also includes at least one of a sending module and a receiving module. The sending module is used to execute the steps related to sending performed by the first network element in any of the above methods, and the receiving module is used to execute the steps related to receiving performed by the first network element in any of the above methods, which will not be repeated here.

[0290] Figure 7B is a schematic diagram of the structure of a user plane path management device proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 7B, the user plane path management device includes: a transceiver module configured to send first information related to a third network element to a first network element, wherein the first information is used to determine a first user plane path, the first user plane path is used to establish a user plane connection between the terminal and the third network element, and the user plane connection is used for the first service.

[0291] Optionally, the above-mentioned transceiver module is used to execute the relevant steps performed by the second network element in any of the above methods, which will not be repeated here.

[0292] Optionally, the user plane path management device also includes at least one of a sending module and a receiving module. The sending module is used to execute the steps related to sending performed by the second network element in any of the above methods, and the receiving module is used to execute the steps related to receiving performed by the second network element in any of the above methods. No further details are given here.

[0293] It should be understood that the division of the various units or modules in the above device is merely a division of logical functions. In actual implementation, they may be fully or partially integrated into a physical entity, or they may be physically separated. In addition, the units or modules in the device may be implemented in the form of a processor calling software: for example, the device includes a processor, the processor is connected to a memory, and the memory stores instructions. The processor calls the instructions stored in the memory to implement any of the above methods or implement the functions of the various units or modules of the above device, wherein the processor is, for example, a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessor, and the memory is a memory within the device or a memory outside the device. Alternatively, the units or modules in the device can be implemented in the form of hardware circuits, and the functions of some or all of the units or modules can be realized by designing the hardware circuits. The above-mentioned hardware circuits can be understood as one or more processors; for example, in one implementation, the above-mentioned hardware circuit is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), which realizes the functions of some or all of the above units or modules by designing the logical relationship of the components in the circuit; for example, in another implementation, the above-mentioned hardware circuit can be realized by a programmable logic device (PLD). Taking a field programmable gate array (FPGA) as an example, it can include a large number of logic gate circuits, and the connection relationship between the logic gate circuits is configured by configuring the configuration file, thereby realizing the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. All units or modules of the above devices can be realized in the form of software called by the processor, or in the form of hardware circuits, or in part by the form of software called by the processor, and the rest by hardware circuits.

[0294] An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a first network element of a core network, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the processor is configured to call instructions to enable the first network element of the core network to execute the method executed by the first network element in the above embodiment.

[0295] An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a second network element of a core network, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the processor is configured to call instructions to enable the second network element of the core network to execute the method executed by the second network element in the above embodiment.

[0296] FIG8 is a schematic structural diagram of a core network device proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0297] As shown in FIG8 , the core network device 80 includes: a first network element 801 and a second network element 802; wherein,

[0298] The second network element 802 is used to send first information related to the third network element to the first network element 801, wherein the first information is used to determine a first user plane path, the first user plane path is used to establish a user plane connection between the terminal and the third network element, and the user plane connection is used for the first service.

[0299] The first network element 801 is configured to receive first information related to a third network element sent by the second network element 802 .

[0300] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first information includes at least one of the following:

[0301] The identifier of the third network element;

[0302] Internet Protocol (IP) address of the third network element;

[0303] The fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the third network element.

[0304] In some embodiments of the present disclosure,

[0305] The second network element is further configured to send a first message to the first network element, wherein the first message is used to create a session management (SM) context for a protocol data unit (PDU) session, the PDU session being used for a first service, and the first message including: first information;

[0306] The first network element is further configured to receive a first message sent by the second network element.

[0307] In some embodiments of the present disclosure,

[0308] The second network element is further configured to send a second message to the first network element, wherein the second message is used to update the SM context for the PDU session, the PDU session is used for the first service, and the second message includes: the first information;

[0309] The first network element is further configured to receive a second message sent by the second network element.

[0310] As shown in Figure 9A, Figure 9A is a schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication device 9100 includes one or more processors 9101. The processor 9101 can be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, for example, a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process the communication protocol and communication data, and the central processing unit can be used to control the communication device (such as a base station, a baseband chip, a terminal device, a terminal device chip, a DU or a CU, etc.), execute programs, and process program data. The processor 9101 is used to call instructions to enable the communication device 9100 to execute any of the above methods.

[0311] In some embodiments, the communication device 9100 further includes one or more memories 9102 for storing instructions. Optionally, all or part of the memories 9102 may be located outside the communication device 9100.

[0312] In some embodiments, the communication device 9100 further includes one or more transceivers 9103. When the communication device 9100 includes one or more transceivers 9103, the communication steps such as sending and receiving in the above method are performed by the transceiver 9103, and the other steps are performed by the processor 9101.

[0313] In some embodiments, a transceiver may include a receiver and a transmitter, which may be separate or integrated. Optionally, the terms transceiver, transceiver unit, transceiver, and transceiver circuit may be used interchangeably; the terms transmitter, transmitting unit, transmitter, and transmitting circuit may be used interchangeably; and the terms receiver, receiving unit, receiver, and receiving circuit may be used interchangeably.

[0314] Optionally, the communication device 9100 further includes one or more interface circuits 9104, which are connected to the memory 9102. The interface circuits 9104 can be used to receive signals from the memory 9102 or other devices, and can be used to send signals to the memory 9102 or other devices. For example, the interface circuits 9104 can read instructions stored in the memory 9102 and send the instructions to the processor 9101.

[0315] The communication device 9100 described in the above embodiments may be a network device or a terminal, but the scope of the communication device 9100 described in the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device 9100 may not be limited by FIG. 9A. The communication device may be an independent device or may be part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be: 1) an independent integrated circuit IC, or a chip, or a chip system or subsystem; (2) a collection of one or more ICs, optionally, the above IC collection may also include a storage component for storing data or programs; (3) an ASIC, such as a modem; (4) a module that can be embedded in other devices; (5) a receiver, a terminal device, an intelligent terminal device, a cellular phone, a wireless device, a handheld device, a mobile unit, an in-vehicle device, a network device, a cloud device, an artificial intelligence device, etc.; (6) others, etc.

[0316] Figure 9B is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. If the communication device 9100 can be a chip or a chip system, please refer to the schematic diagram of the structure of the chip 9200 shown in Figure 9B, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The chip 9200 includes one or more processors 9201, which are used to call instructions to cause the chip 9200 to execute any of the above methods.

[0317] In some embodiments, chip 9200 further includes one or more interface circuits 9202, which are connected to memory 9203. Interface circuits 9202 can be used to receive signals from memory 9203 or other devices, and can be used to send signals to memory 9203 or other devices. For example, interface circuit 9202 can read instructions stored in memory 9203 and send the instructions to processor 9201. Optionally, the terms interface circuit, interface, transceiver pin, and transceiver are interchangeable.

[0318] In some embodiments, the chip 9200 further includes one or more memories 9203 for storing instructions. Alternatively, all or part of the memories 9203 may be located outside the chip 9200.

[0319] The present disclosure also proposes a storage medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed on the communication device 9100, causes the communication device 9100 to execute any of the above methods. Optionally, the storage medium is an electronic storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium is a computer-readable storage medium, but is not limited thereto and may also be a storage medium readable by other devices. Optionally, the storage medium may be a non-transitory storage medium, but is not limited thereto and may also be a temporary storage medium.

[0320] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the processor is a circuit with signal processing capabilities. In one implementation, the processor can be a circuit with instruction reading and execution capabilities, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU) (which can be understood as a microprocessor), or a digital signal processor (DSP). In another implementation, the processor can implement certain functions through the logical relationship of the hardware circuit. The logical relationship of the above-mentioned hardware circuit is fixed or reconfigurable. For example, the processor is a hardware circuit implemented by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD), such as an FPGA. In a reconfigurable hardware circuit, the process of the processor loading a configuration document and implementing the hardware circuit configuration can be understood as the process of the processor loading instructions to implement the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. In addition, it can also be a hardware circuit designed for artificial intelligence, which can be understood as an ASIC, such as a neural network processing unit (NPU), a tensor processing unit (TPU), a deep learning processing unit (DPU), etc.

[0321] The present disclosure also provides a program product, which, when executed by the communication device 9100, enables the communication device 9100 to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, the program product is a computer program product.

[0322] The present disclosure also proposes a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform any one of the above methods.

[0323] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs. When the computer program is loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present disclosure are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer program can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0324] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professionals and technicians can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this disclosure.

[0325] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0326] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, but the scope of protection of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this disclosure should be included in the scope of protection of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present disclosure should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A user plane path management method, characterized in that: The method is performed by a first network element and includes: receiving first information related to a third network element sent by the second network element; A first user plane path is determined according to the first information, wherein the first user plane path is used to establish a user plane connection between the terminal and the third network element, and the user plane connection is used for a first service.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of the third network element; The Internet Protocol IP address of the third network element; The fully qualified domain name FQDN of the third network element.

3. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Receive a first message sent by the second network element, wherein the first message is used to create a session management SM context for a protocol data unit PDU session, the PDU session is used for the first service, and the first message includes: the first information.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The determining, according to the first information, a first user plane path includes: selecting a target fourth network element from a plurality of candidate fourth network elements according to the first information; A user plane path associated with the target fourth network element is established, and the established user plane path is used as the first user plane path.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Receive a second message sent by the second network element, wherein the second message is used to update the SM context for the PDU session, the PDU session is used for the first service, and the second message includes: the first information.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The updating of the SM context is triggered by the terminal determining that the user plane connection needs to be established and determining that the PDU session has been established.

7. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The determining, according to the first information, a first user plane path includes: selecting or reselecting a target fourth network element from a plurality of candidate fourth network elements according to the first information; Migrate the second user plane path to a user plane path associated with the target fourth network element, wherein the migrated user plane path is used as the first user plane path, the second user plane path is associated with other fourth network elements, and the target fourth network element is different from the other fourth network elements; or A user plane path associated with the target fourth network element is established, and the established user plane path is used as the first user plane path.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The method further comprises: Add the first user plane path associated with the target fourth network element.

9. The method according to any one of claims 4, 7-8, characterized in that: Selecting or reselecting a target fourth network element from a plurality of candidate fourth network elements according to the first information includes: Determine second information matching the first information, wherein the second information is information related to the third network element that is locally preconfigured by the first network element; The target fourth network element is selected or reselected from a plurality of candidate fourth network elements according to the second information.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The second information includes at least one of the following: The network prefix of the third network element; The IP address of the third network element; A data network access identifier DNAI associated with the third network element.

11. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 10, characterized in that: Each of the candidate fourth network elements corresponds to a candidate data network access identifier DNAI, and the second information includes at least: a DNAI associated with the third network element; The selecting or reselecting the target fourth network element from a plurality of candidate fourth network elements according to the second information includes: Determine a candidate DNAI from the plurality of candidate DNAIs that matches the DNAI associated with the third network element; The candidate fourth network element among the multiple candidate fourth network elements corresponding to the matched candidate DNAI is used as the target fourth network element.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that: The first service is a user plane positioning service.

13. A user plane path management method, characterized in that: Executed by the second network element, the method includes: Sending first information related to a third network element to the first network element, wherein the first information is used to determine a first user plane path, the first user plane path is used to establish a user plane connection between a terminal and the third network element, and the user plane connection is used for a first service.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The first information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of the third network element; The Internet Protocol IP address of the third network element; The fully qualified domain name FQDN of the third network element.

15. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 14, characterized in that: The method further comprises: A first message is sent to the first network element, wherein the first message is used to create a session management SM context for a protocol data unit PDU session, the PDU session is used for the first service, and the first message includes: the first information.

16. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 14, characterized in that: The method further comprises: A second message is sent to the first network element, wherein the second message is used to update the SM context for a PDU session, the PDU session is used for the first service, and the second message includes: the first information.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The updating of the SM context is triggered by the terminal determining that the user plane connection needs to be established and determining that the PDU session has been established.

18. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 17, characterized in that: The first service is a user plane positioning service.

19. A user plane path management method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The second network element sends first information related to the third network element to the first network element, wherein the first information is used to determine a first user plane path, the first user plane path is used to establish a user plane connection between the terminal and the third network element, and the user plane connection is used for a first service; The first network element receives first information related to the third network element sent by the second network element, and determines a first user plane path according to the first information.

20. A user plane path management device, characterized in that: The device comprises: A transceiver module, configured to receive first information related to a third network element sent by the second network element; A processing module is used to determine a first user plane path according to the first information, wherein the first user plane path is used to establish a user plane connection between the terminal and the third network element, and the user plane connection is used for a first service.

21. A user plane path management device, characterized in that: The device comprises: A transceiver module is used to send first information related to a third network element to a first network element, wherein the first information is used to determine a first user plane path, the first user plane path is used to establish a user plane connection between a terminal and the third network element, and the user plane connection is used for a first service.

22. A core network device, characterized in that: The core network device includes: a first network element and a second network element; wherein, The second network element is used to send first information related to a third network element to the first network element, wherein the first information is used to determine a first user plane path, the first user plane path is used to establish a user plane connection between the terminal and the third network element, and the user plane connection is used for a first service; The first network element is used to receive first information related to the third network element sent by the second network element.

23. The core network device according to claim 22, characterized in that: The first information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of the third network element; The Internet Protocol IP address of the third network element; The fully qualified domain name FQDN of the third network element.

24. The core network device according to any one of claims 22 to 23, characterized in that: in, The second network element is further used to send a first message to the first network element, wherein the first message is used to create a session management SM context for a protocol data unit PDU session, the PDU session is used for the first service, and the first message includes: the first information; The first network element is further used to receive a first message sent by the second network element.

25. The core network device according to any one of claims 22 to 23, characterized in that: in, The second network element is further used to send a second message to the first network element, wherein the second message is used to update the SM context for the PDU session, the PDU session is used for the first service, and the second message includes: the first information; The first network element is further used to receive a second message sent by the second network element.

26. A first network element of a core network, characterized in that: include: One or more processors; The processor is used to call instructions so that the first network element of the core network executes the method described in any one of claims 1-12.

27. A second network element of a core network, characterized in that: include: One or more processors; The processor is used to call instructions so that the second network element of the core network executes the method described in any one of claims 13-18.

28. A communication device, characterized in that: include: One or more processors; The processor is used to call instructions so that the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 1-18.

29. A communication system, characterized in that: It includes a first network element, a second network element, a third network element, a fourth network element and / or a terminal, wherein the first network element is configured to implement the method described in any one of claims 1-12, and the second network element is configured to implement the method described in any one of claims 13-18.

30. A storage medium storing instructions, characterized in that: When the instruction is executed on a communication device, the communication device is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 18.

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