Communication method and device

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention discloses a communication method and device, relates to the technical field of communication, and solves the problem that operation is complex when a terminal device starts a data service function. The method comprises the steps of obtaining address information of a data controller under the condition that a data service function is detected to be started; wherein the data controller is used for managing a data service function of the terminal equipment; sending first indication information to the data controller based on the address information of the data controller; the first indication information is used for registering the data service capability of the terminal equipment in the data controller. The embodiment of the invention is applied to a data service process.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication technology, and in particular, to a communication method and device. Background Art

[0002] In a communication network, a terminal device can act as a data producer, provider or consumer to perform functions related to data services. However, when a terminal device currently enables a data service function, it needs to be operated in the operator's business hall or in the operator's APP, which makes the operation of enabling the data service function of the terminal device complicated. Summary of the invention

[0003] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus that can reduce the operational complexity of a terminal device when activating a data service function.

[0004] In order to achieve the above objectives, this application provides the following technical solutions:

[0005] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a terminal device, or by a component of the terminal device, such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system of the terminal device, or by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the terminal device. The following is an example of the method being executed by a terminal device. The communication method includes: when it is detected that a data service function is turned on, obtaining address information of a data controller; wherein the data controller is used to manage the data service function of the terminal device; sending a first indication information to the data controller based on the address information of the data controller; the first indication information is used to register the data service capability of the terminal device in the data controller.

[0006] In the embodiment of the present application, when the terminal device detects that the data service function is turned on, it obtains the address information of the data controller and registers the data service capability of the terminal device with the data controller. In this way, when the user needs to turn on the data service function, he only needs to operate on the terminal device to turn on the data service function, without having to operate in the operator's business hall or in the operator's APP, thereby reducing the complexity of the operation when the terminal device turns on the data service function.

[0007] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in a possible implementation method, obtaining the address information of the data controller includes: receiving second indication information from an access and mobility management network element; the second indication information is used to indicate the address information of the data controller; or, reading the address information of the data controller pre-configured in the terminal device; or, reading the address information of the data controller pre-configured in the identity card of the terminal device.

[0008] Based on this, the terminal device can respectively determine the address information of the data controller in different ways, thereby improving the flexibility of the terminal device in obtaining the address information of the data controller.

[0009] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in a possible implementation method, before receiving the first indication information from the access and mobility management network element, the method also includes: sending third indication information to the access and mobility management network element, and the third indication information is used to indicate the acquisition of address information of the data controller.

[0010] Based on this, the terminal device sends a request message for obtaining the address information of the data controller to the access and mobility management network element, so that the access and mobility management network element can feed back the address information of the data controller to the terminal device based on the request message.

[0011] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the third indication information is carried in a packet data unit PDU session establishment request message; and the second indication information is carried in a PDU session establishment response message.

[0012] Based on this, the terminal device can obtain the address information of the data controller through the PDU session establishment request message and the PDU session establishment response message during the process of establishing a PDU session with the access and mobility management network element.

[0013] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in a possible implementation method, before sending the third indication information to the access and mobility management network element, the method also includes: sending a first registration request message to the access and mobility management network element, the first registration request message is used to indicate that the terminal device supports data service capabilities; receiving a first registration acceptance message from the access and mobility management network element, the first registration acceptance message is used to indicate that the network side supports data service capabilities.

[0014] Based on this, when both the terminal device and the network side support data service capabilities, the terminal device requests the access and mobility management network element to obtain the address information of the data controller, thereby avoiding the situation where the terminal device cannot provide data services because the network side does not support data service capabilities after obtaining the address information of the data controller.

[0015] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a terminal device, or by a component of the terminal device, such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system of the terminal device, or can be implemented by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the terminal device. The following is an example of the method being executed by a terminal device. The communication method includes: when it is detected that the data service function is turned off, sending fourth indication information to a data controller, and the fourth indication information is used to register the data service capability of the terminal device in the data controller.

[0016] In the embodiment of the present application, when the terminal device detects that the data service function is turned off, it registers the data service capability of the terminal device with the data controller. In this way, when the user needs to turn off the data service function, he only needs to operate on the terminal device to turn off the data service function. There is no need to operate in the operator's business hall or in the operator's APP, thereby reducing the complexity of the operation when the terminal device turns off the data service function. In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, the user can turn on or off the data service function on the terminal device, which can greatly provide the flexibility of the terminal device in using the data service capability.

[0017] In combination with the above second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: sending a second registration request message to an access and mobility management network element, where the second registration request message indicates that the terminal device does not support data service capabilities.

[0018] Based on this, the terminal device can indicate to the access and mobility management network element that the terminal device does not support data service capabilities after detecting that the data service function is turned off, so that the information recorded on the terminal side and the network side on whether the terminal device supports data service capabilities remains consistent.

[0019] In combination with the above-mentioned second aspect, in a possible implementation method, a packet data unit PDU session release request message is sent to an access and mobility management network element; a PDU session release command message is received from the access and mobility management network element; and a PDU session release completion message is sent to the access and mobility management network element.

[0020] Based on this, the terminal device can request to release the PDU session after detecting that the data service function is turned off, so as to avoid occupying session resources in the network.

[0021] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by an access and mobility management network element, or by a component of the access and mobility management network element, such as a processor, chip, or chip system of the access and mobility management network element, or by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the access and mobility management network element. The following is an example of the method being executed by the access and mobility management network element. The communication method includes: receiving third indication information from a terminal device, the third indication information being used to indicate obtaining address information of a data controller; sending second indication information to the terminal device; the second indication information being used to indicate address information of the data controller.

[0022] Based on this, the access and mobility management network element may feed back the address information of the data controller to the terminal device according to the request message for obtaining the address information of the data controller sent by the terminal device.

[0023] In combination with the above-mentioned third aspect, in a possible implementation method, before sending the second indication information to the terminal device, the method also includes: sending a first request message to the session management network element, the first request message is used to request to obtain the address information of the data controller; receiving a first response message from the session management network element, the first response message is used to indicate the address information of the data controller.

[0024] Based on this, the access and mobility management network element can obtain the address information of the data controller from the session management network element.

[0025] In combination with the above-mentioned third aspect, in a possible implementation method, the third indication information is carried in a packet data unit PDU session establishment request message; the second indication information is carried in a PDU session establishment response message; the first request message is carried in a PDU session context creation request message, and the first response message is carried in a message of the N1N2 message transmission process.

[0026] Based on this, the terminal device can obtain the address information of the data controller through the PDU session establishment request message and the PDU session establishment response message during the process of establishing a PDU session with the access and mobility management network element. The access and mobility management network element can obtain the address information of the data controller during the PDU session context creation and N1N2 message transmission process with the session management network element.

[0027] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the above-mentioned various methods. The communication device may be the terminal device in the above-mentioned first aspect, or any implementation of the first aspect, or a device including the above-mentioned terminal device, or a device included in the above-mentioned terminal device, such as a chip. Alternatively, the communication device may be the terminal device in the above-mentioned second aspect, or any implementation of the second aspect, or a device including the above-mentioned terminal device, or a device included in the above-mentioned terminal device, such as a chip. Alternatively, the communication device may be the access and mobility management network element in the above-mentioned third aspect, or any implementation of the third aspect, or a device including the above-mentioned access and mobility management network element, or a device included in the above-mentioned access and mobility management network element, such as a chip. The communication device includes a module, unit, or means corresponding to the implementation of the above-mentioned method, and the module, unit, or means may be implemented by hardware, software, or by hardware executing the corresponding software implementation. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above-mentioned functions.

[0028] In some possible designs, the communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. The transceiver module, which may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, is used to implement the sending and / or receiving functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof. The transceiver module may be composed of a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver or a communication interface. The processing module may be used to implement the processing functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof.

[0029] In some possible designs, the transceiver module includes a sending module and a receiving module, which are respectively used to implement the sending and receiving functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementation methods thereof.

[0030] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: at least one processor; the processor is used to execute a computer program or instruction stored in a memory so that the communication device performs the method of any one of the above aspects. The memory may be coupled to the processor, or may be independent of the processor. The communication device may be the terminal device in the above first aspect, or any implementation of the first aspect, or a device including the above terminal device, or a device included in the above terminal device, such as a chip. Alternatively, the communication device may be the terminal device in the above second aspect, or any implementation of the second aspect, or a device including the above terminal device, or a device included in the above terminal device, such as a chip. Alternatively, the communication device may be the access and mobility management network element in the above third aspect, or any implementation of the third aspect, or a device including the above access and mobility management network element, or a device included in the above access and mobility management network element, such as a chip.

[0031] In some possible designs, the communication device includes a memory for storing necessary program instructions and data.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the processor includes a logic circuit and an input interface and / or an output interface, wherein the output interface is used to execute the sending action in the corresponding method, and the input interface is used to execute the receiving action in the corresponding method.

[0033] In a possible implementation, the communication device further includes a communication interface and a communication bus, and the processor, the memory, and the communication interface are connected via the communication bus. The communication interface is used to perform the sending and receiving actions in the corresponding method. The communication interface may also be referred to as a transceiver. Optionally, the communication interface includes a transmitter and a receiver, in which case the transmitter is used to perform the sending action in the corresponding method, and the receiver is used to perform the receiving action in the corresponding method.

[0034] In some possible designs, when the communication device is a chip system, it can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0035] It can be understood that when the communication device provided in any one of the fourth to fifth aspects is a chip, the above-mentioned sending action / function can be understood as output, and the above-mentioned receiving action / function can be understood as input.

[0036] In a sixth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer-readable storage medium is run on a communication device, the communication device can execute any of the above aspects or any of its implementation methods.

[0037] In a seventh aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed on a communication device, enables the communication device to execute any of the above-mentioned aspects or any of its implementation methods.

[0038] In an eighth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes the terminal device of the above-mentioned first aspect, or any implementation of the first aspect, and the access and mobility management network element of the above-mentioned third aspect, or any implementation of the third aspect; or, the communication system includes the terminal device of the above-mentioned second aspect, or any implementation of the second aspect, and the access and mobility management network element of the above-mentioned third aspect, or any implementation of the third aspect.

[0039] The technical effects brought about by any implementation method in the fourth to eighth aspects can refer to the technical effects brought about by the corresponding implementation methods in the first or second or third aspects, and will not be repeated here.

[0040] It should be noted that various possible implementation methods of any one of the above aspects can be combined under the premise that there is no contradiction between the solutions. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a 6G data plane system architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a system architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a system architecture of another communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] Figure 4 A flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of an interface showing a data service function switch on a terminal device display interface provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] Figure 6 A flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] Figure 7 A flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] Figure 8 A flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] Fig. 9 A flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] Fig.10 A flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] Fig.11 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] Fig.12 A schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] In the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, " / " indicates that the objects associated with each other are in an "or" relationship, for example, A / B can represent A or B; "and / or" in this application is merely a description of the association relationship between associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist, for example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural.

[0054] In the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more than two. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b and / or c can be represented by: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0055] In addition, in order to clearly describe the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish the same items or similar items with substantially the same functions and effects. Those skilled in the art can understand that words such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order, and words such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily limit the difference.

[0056] In the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of the present application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a concrete way for easy understanding.

[0057] It is understood that the "embodiment" mentioned throughout the specification means that the specific features, structures or characteristics related to the embodiment are included in at least one embodiment of the present application. Therefore, the various embodiments in the entire specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, these specific features, structures or characteristics can be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable manner. It is understood that in various embodiments of the present application, the size of the sequence number of each process does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiment of the present application.

[0058] It can be understood that in the present application, "when" and "if" both mean that corresponding processing will be carried out under certain objective circumstances, and do not limit the time, nor do they require any judgment action when implementing, nor do they mean the existence of other limitations.

[0059] It can be understood that some optional features in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented independently in certain scenarios without relying on other features, such as the solution on which they are currently based, to solve corresponding technical problems and achieve corresponding effects, or may be combined with other features according to needs in certain scenarios. Accordingly, the devices provided in the embodiments of the present application may also realize these features or functions accordingly, which will not be elaborated here.

[0060] In this application, unless otherwise specified, the same or similar parts between the various embodiments can refer to each other. In the various embodiments in this application, and the various implementation methods / implementation methods / implementation methods in each embodiment, if there is no special explanation and logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments and the various implementation methods / implementation methods / implementation methods in each embodiment are consistent and can be referenced to each other. The technical features in different embodiments and the various implementation methods / implementation methods / implementation methods in each embodiment can be combined to form new embodiments, implementation methods, implementation methods, or implementation methods according to their inherent logical relationships. The implementation methods of this application described below do not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of this application.

[0061] The technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application can be used for various communication systems, and the communication system can be a third generation partnership project (3GPP) communication system, for example, a fourth generation (4G) long term evolution (LTE) system, a 5G new radio (NR) system, a sixth generation (6G) communication system, a vehicle to everything (V2X) system, a system of LTE and NR hybrid networking, or a device-to-device (D2D) system, a machine-to-machine (M2M) communication system, an Internet of Things (IoT), and other next generation communication systems. Alternatively, the communication system may also be a non-3GPP communication system, without limitation.

[0062] Among them, the above-mentioned communication system applicable to the present application is only an example, and the communication system applicable to the present application is not limited to this. It is uniformly explained here and will not be repeated below.

[0063] The terminal equipment involved in the present application can be a user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a terminal unit, a user station, a terminal station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a user terminal terminal equipment, a mobile device, a wireless communication device, a terminal agent, a tablet computer (pad), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a vehicle-mounted transceiver unit, a wearable device, or a terminal device. The access terminal can be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a drone, a robot, a smart point of sale (point of The terminal device may be a point-of-sale (POS) machine, a customer-premises equipment (CPE) or a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, etc. Alternatively, the terminal device may be a terminal with a communication function in the Internet of Things (IoT), such as a terminal in V2X (such as a vehicle networking device), a terminal in D2D communication, or a terminal in M2M communication, etc. The terminal device may be mobile or fixed.

[0064] The embodiments of the present application do not limit the form of the terminal device. The device for realizing the function of the terminal device can be the terminal device; it can also be a device that can support the terminal device to realize the function, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the terminal device or used in combination with the terminal device. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices.

[0065] The access network device involved in the present application may be a device for communicating with a terminal device, for example, it may include an evolved base station (NodeB or eNB or e-NodeB, evolutional Node B) in a long term evolution (LTE) system or an enhanced LTE (LTE-advanced, LTE-A) system, such as a traditional macro base station eNB and a micro base station eNB in ​​a heterogeneous network scenario. Alternatively, it may include a next generation node B (next generation nodeB, gNB) in an NR system. Alternatively, it may include a transmission reception point (TRP), a home base station (e.g., home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), a base band unit (BBU), a base band pool (BBU pool), or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) access point (AP), etc. Alternatively, it may include a base station in a non-terrestrial network (NTN), that is, it may be deployed on a flying platform or a satellite. In the NTN, the access network device may be used as a layer 1 (L1) relay, or as a base station, or as an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node. Alternatively, the access network device may be a device that implements the base station function in IoT, such as a device that implements the base station function in drone communications, V2X, D2D, or machine to machine (M2M).

[0066] In some possible scenarios, the access network device may also be a module or unit that can implement some functions of the base station. For example, the access network device may be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The CU and DU may be separately configured or may be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU may be included in a radio frequency device or radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0067] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, the access network device may be an access network device or a module of an access network device in an open radio access network (open RAN, ORAN) system. In the ORAN system, CU may also be referred to as open (open, O)-CU, DU may also be referred to as O-DU, CU-CP may also be referred to as O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be referred to as O-CU-UP, and RU may also be referred to as O-RU. Any of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0068] Optionally, the base station in the embodiment of the present application may include various forms of base stations, such as: macro base stations, micro base stations (also called small stations), relay stations, access points, home base stations, TRPs, transmitting points (TP), mobile switching centers, etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0069] In the embodiments of the present application, the form of the access network device is not limited. The device for realizing the function of the access network device may be the access network device; or it may be a device capable of supporting the access network device to realize the function, such as a chip system. The device may be installed in the access network device or used in combination with the access network device.

[0070] In the related art, in a session-based network, data in the network is usually transmitted point-to-point based on the user plane session. The user plane session usually only transmits data based on the destination address, and cannot process the data. For example, in a 5G network, the user plane session is a protocol data unit (PDU) session, and the two ends of the PDU session are connected to the terminal device and the network device respectively, thereby realizing point-to-point data transmission between the terminal device and the network device. However, based on the PDU session, only simple forwarding operations can be performed on the data, and more complex data services cannot be performed on the data.

[0071] With the development of communication network scale, technology and application, the amount of data generated in communication networks is increasing, and the value of data is also increasing. Data needs to be collected, stored, transmitted, processed, analyzed, exchanged and shared in the network, and data transmission is not limited to point-to-point transmission between two devices, but requires transmission of any topology between any nodes. The current network based on user plane sessions can no longer meet the needs of data transmission and processing. For this reason, a data-centric network architecture, such as the 6G data plane network architecture, is currently proposed to meet the needs of data transmission and processing.

[0072] As an example, the difference between the 5G user plane and the 6G data plane is shown in Table 1 below:

[0073] Table 1

[0074]

[0075]

[0076] In addition, when data is forwarded based on the 5G user plane session, the information in the header of the data message carrying routing information remains unchanged, the data payload of the message remains unchanged, and the path in the data forwarding process is a point-to-point path. When data is forwarded based on the 6G data plane, the information in the header of the data message carrying routing information remains unchanged, the data payload of the message changes based on the data routing process, and data forwarding can be forwarded through a flexible network topology during the data forwarding process.

[0077] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a 6G data plane system architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. Figure 1As shown, the 6G data plane includes: data orchestrator (DO), data controller (DC), data agent (DA), trusted anchor agent (TAA), and data storage function (DSF).

[0078] Both DO and DC are used to orchestrate data pipelines for user transmission in the network. Among them, DO is responsible for the orchestration of coarse-grained, non-real-time data services. The following functions are usually deployed in DO: Application Programming Interface (Interface to application), Translation Request (Req. Translation), Network Service Orchestration Interface (Interface to Network Service Orchestration), coarse-grained (CG) DA Orchestration (CG DA Orchestration), and data pointer (data pointer, DPTR). DO can perform data service orchestration based on the service capabilities and data service tasks of cross-domain DA (data service orchestration includes but is not limited to: orchestration and establishment of data pipelines, orchestration of DA). In addition, DO can also perform data service orchestration together with other network services, for example, DO and computing power network service jointly perform data service orchestration. When providing data services for computing tasks, computing power network service orchestrates computing power, and DO orchestrates data. DO has a built-in data security and privacy protection technology repository (DPTR). Based on the technology in DPTR, DO can provide data security and privacy protection capabilities for data and enable data protection technology (DPT) to DA on demand. DPTR includes but is not limited to at least one of the following technologies: differential privacy, homomorphic encryption, secure multi-party computing, or zero-knowledge proof.

[0079] DC is responsible for the orchestration of fine-grained, real-time data services. The following functions are usually deployed in DC: fine-grained orchestration (FG), DA orchestration (FG DA Orchestration), DA Management, and trusted anchor client (TAC). On the other hand, DC orchestrates and establishes data pipelines in the local domain based on the DA's capabilities and data service requests. DC can also receive DA's capability report and register and deregister DA's capabilities based on DA's capabilities, and monitor DA in real time by detecting DA's heartbeat. In addition, DC has a built-in trusted anchor client. DC can initiate requests for security mechanisms such as authentication, authorization, and access control to TAA through TAC, as well as apply for traceability and audit services for data access. DC can be deployed on the access network side and the core network side.

[0080] DA is used to communicate with data consumers. Data consumers include but are not limited to: network operational improvement, network artificial intelligence (network AI), and third-party applications. DA is deployed with an application programming interface (API), through which DA can communicate with other devices and call related functions of other devices. DA is usually deployed with data service capabilities such as data acquisition, data pre-processing, data storage, data privacy protection, data analysis, and data sharing. DA can act as a data demander (consumer) or a data processor (producer, provider). When DA acts as a data processor, DA can perform data services such as data acquisition, data pre-processing, data storage, data analysis, and data sharing in the data pipeline orchestrated by DO based on the data service capabilities deployed in DA. When DA acts as a data demander, DA can report the required data service tasks to DO so that DO can orchestrate data services based on the data service tasks. DA can be deployed on network functions (NF), radio access network (RAN), transfer network (TN) nodes, terminal equipment or operation, administration and maintenance (OAM) in the network, or DA can be deployed independently. Among them, data collection refers to collecting data from the data source, and data collection can be achieved through subscription / notification or request / response. DA can obtain data by sending a data acquisition request to the data source. The data acquisition request indicates the triggering method, triggering conditions, reporting cycle, data volume, etc. of the data reported by the data source. The data collected by DA can be user data, network data, artificial intelligence (AI) data, IoT data, and the above data can be real-time data or non-real-time data. DA can collect data through streaming data collection or batch data collection. Data preprocessing refers to preprocessing the collected raw data to improve data quality.Since the collected raw data usually contains dirty data such as missing data, data noise, data redundancy, and unbalanced data sets, DA can pre-process the data through cleaning, filling, smoothing, merging, normalization, and consistency checking to improve data quality. Data storage refers to the storage of data by DA. DA usually only stores a small amount of data, or short-term data, or data with privacy protection requirements locally. Data privacy protection refers to the desensitization of data through data privacy protection technology, so that attackers cannot obtain sensitive information from the desensitized data, thereby achieving data privacy protection. Data privacy protection technology includes but is not limited to at least one of the following: k-anonymity, l-diversity, t-closeness, and differential privacy. Data privacy protection technology can be pre-installed in DA or pushed to DA by DO according to DA's needs. Data analysis is used to analyze the collected data. During data analysis, the data services of DA at various levels, such as data collection, data preprocessing, and storage, can be called through the API interface. Data analysis technologies include, but are not limited to: AI / machine learning (ML), Hive, and Spark. Data analysis technologies can be pre-installed or pushed by a network service. Data analysis functions can be coupled with DA, set in DA, or set separately from DA.

[0081] TAA is the agent of the 6G trusted plane on the data plane, used to ensure the credibility of 6G data. TAA includes trusted functions such as authentication, authorization, access control, auditability, interface to trustworthiness enablement (such as blockchain (BC)), traceability, and provides support interfaces for trusted technologies such as blockchain. TAA can protect the confidentiality, integrity and reliability of all data. TAA can be used to store data that cannot be tampered with: such as the public key of a terminal device or network device, short transactions, indexes, or important data that cannot be tampered with.

[0082] DSF is a storage extension component of DA for large-scale data storage or long-term storage. It is mainly used to store: AI model data, key performance index (KPI) data, log data, and alarm data. DSF supports unified storage of structured / unstructured / semi-structured data, and supports dynamic classification and multi-level storage of various types of files. The data storage technology used by DSF includes but is not limited to at least one of the following: centralized database, distributed database; such as distributed hash table (DHT) or inter planetary file system (IPFS). In addition, the data storage encryption technology used by DSF includes but is not limited to at least one of the following: database appearance encryption, transparent data encryption (TDE), transparent file encryption (TFE), user-defined function (UDF) encryption, and full disk encryption (FDE).

[0083] In the 6G network, data is managed and processed in the form of data pipes. Data is transmitted in the data pipes and completes data collection, transmission, storage, processing and other data services when passing through the nodes (DA) of the data pipes. Since DA in the 6G network can be deployed in network elements such as terminal equipment, access network equipment and core network equipment, each network element in the 6G network can participate in data services.

[0084] Two new capabilities, endogenous perception and intelligence, have been added to the 6G network. Endogenous perception refers to the perception of the network's own status, surrounding environment, and user / device behavior through sensor devices to generate perception data. Intelligence refers to modeling analysis and automatic decision-making through technologies such as AI and digital twins to improve network operation efficiency, improve system performance, or provide data services for smart applications. Based on endogenous perception, intelligence and other functions, terminal devices, edge devices, access network devices and core network devices in the 6G network will generate massive amounts of data. Terminal devices, edge devices, access network devices and core network devices in the 6G network can be both producers and providers of data, and consumers of data. The 6G user plane is used to provide data services for these data and meet different data processing requirements. Based on the analysis of many application scenarios and requirements of the 6G network, the types of data services that the 6G data plane can provide are shown in Table 2 below:

[0085] Table 2

[0086]

[0087]

[0088] The above describes the 6G network and the data plane of the 6G network in the related art.

[0089] In the 6G network, since DA can be deployed in terminal devices, terminal devices can also participate in data services as data producers, data consumers, or data providers. Terminal devices can also participate in data services by enabling data service capabilities. However, when the terminal device enables data service capabilities, it needs to enable data service capabilities through contracted data. This requires users to carry terminal devices to the operator's business hall for operation or to operate in the operator's APP, which will make the operation of enabling data service functions on the terminal device complicated.

[0090] In order to solve the above technical problems, the embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, in which the terminal device, when detecting that the data service function is turned on, obtains the address information of the data controller and registers the data service capability of the terminal device with the data controller. In this way, when the user needs to turn on the data service function, he only needs to operate on the terminal device to turn on the data service function, without having to operate in the operator's business hall or in the operator's APP, thereby reducing the operation complexity of turning on the data service function of the low terminal device.

[0091] The communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to Figure 2 In the communication system 20 shown, Figure 2 As shown, the communication system 20 includes a terminal device 201 and a data controller 202 .

[0092] The terminal device 201 is provided with a data service capability switch. The terminal device can turn on the data service capability based on the detected operation of turning on the data service capability switch. Alternatively, the terminal device can turn off the data service capability based on the detected operation of turning off the data service capability switch. The data controller 202 is used to manage the data service capability of the terminal device 201.

[0093] In a possible implementation, when the terminal device 201 detects that the data service function is turned on, it obtains the address information of the data controller 202 and registers the data service capability of the terminal device 201 with the data controller 202. After registering the data service capability of the terminal device 201, the data controller 202 can arrange the terminal device 201 according to the data service capability of the terminal device 201, for example, arrange the processing role of the terminal device 201 when processing the data service.

[0094] When the terminal device 201 detects that the data service function is turned off, it deregisters the data service capability of the terminal device 201 with the data controller 202. After deregistering the data service capability of the terminal device 201, the data controller 202 will not perform data service arrangement for the terminal device 201.

[0095] Combination Figure 2 ,like Figure 3 As shown, the communication system provided by the embodiment of the present application also includes: an access and mobility management network element 203, a session management network element 204, and an access network device 205.

[0096] The terminal device 201 may obtain the address information of the data controller 202 from the access and mobility management network element 203 by interacting with the access and mobility management network element 203. The access and mobility management network element 203 may obtain the address information of the data controller 202 from the session management network element 204 by interacting with the session management network element 204. The terminal device 201 may communicate with the access and mobility management network element 203 or the data controller 202 through the access network device 205.

[0097] In a possible implementation, when the terminal device 201 obtains the address information of the data service capability 202, the terminal device 201 first initiates registration to the access and mobility management network element 203 to indicate that the terminal device 201 supports the data service capability. The access and mobility management network element 203 indicates to the terminal device that the network side supports the data service capability. Further, the terminal device 201 initiates a PDU session establishment process to the access and mobility management network element 203, and indicates to obtain the address information of the data controller 202 in the process. The access and mobility management network element 203 creates a PDU session context with the session management network element 204, and obtains the address information of the data controller 202 from the session management network element 204. Thereafter, the access and mobility management network element 203 sends a PDU session establishment completion message to the terminal device through the access network device, and the PDU session establishment completion message carries the address information of the data controller 202.

[0098] Combination Figure 2 or Figure 3 The communication system shown in Figure 4As shown, a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application is described by taking the example of enabling data service capability of a terminal device and the interactive registration of data service capability between the terminal device and the data controller. Of course, the subject that executes the action of the terminal device in the method may also be a device / module in the terminal device, such as a chip, processor, processing unit, etc. in the terminal device; the subject that executes the action of the data controller in the method may also be a device / module in the data controller, such as a chip, processor, processing unit, etc. in the data controller, and the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this. The processing performed by a single execution subject (for example, a terminal device or a data controller) in the embodiment of the present application may also be divided into executions by multiple execution subjects, and these execution subjects may be logically and / or physically separated. For example, as Figure 4 As shown, the method comprises the following steps:

[0099] S401. When detecting that the data service function is turned on, the terminal device obtains the address information of the data controller.

[0100] The data controller is used to manage the data service function of the terminal device. Optionally, the address information of the data controller can be the Internet protocol (IP) address of the data controller.

[0101] In a possible implementation, the terminal device can display the data service capability switch on the display interface, so that when the user needs to turn on the data service function, the user can directly turn on the data service capability switch in the display interface of the terminal, and the terminal device detects the user's operation of turning on the data service capability switch and turns on the data service capability. After that, the terminal device obtains the address information of the data controller.

[0102] As an example, the interface of the terminal device displaying the data service capability switch is as follows: Figure 5 shown.

[0103] S402: The terminal device sends first indication information to the data controller based on the address information of the data controller. Correspondingly, the data controller receives the first indication information from the terminal device.

[0104] The first indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device supports data service capabilities.

[0105] In one example, when the address information of the data controller is an IP address, the destination IP of the first indication information is the IP address of the data controller.

[0106] In a possible implementation, after receiving the first indication information from the terminal device, the data controller registers the data service capability of the terminal device in the data controller. When it is necessary to schedule a data service task, the data controller determines whether to schedule the terminal device to provide data service capabilities for the data service task based on the data service requirements. When the data controller determines to schedule the terminal device to provide data service capabilities for the data service task, the role and processing tasks of the terminal device are scheduled. When the data service task flows to the terminal device through a data pipeline, the terminal device processes the data service task based on the scheduling of the data controller. Alternatively, the terminal device is used as a data source device, and after the terminal device collects data, the collected data is transmitted to the access network device or other nodes in the network through the pipeline scheduled by the data controller.

[0107] In the embodiment of the present application, when the terminal device detects that the data service function is turned on, it obtains the address information of the data controller and registers the data service capability of the terminal device with the data controller. In this way, when the user needs to turn on the data service function, he only needs to operate on the terminal device to turn on the data service function, without having to operate in the operator's business hall or in the operator's APP, thereby reducing the complexity of the operation when the terminal device turns on the data service function.

[0108] In one possible implementation, the terminal device can obtain the address information of the data controller through the following method 1, method 2 or method 3, which are: method 1, the terminal device receives second indication information from the access and mobility management network element, and the second indication information is used to indicate the address information of the data controller; method 2, the terminal device reads the address information of the data controller pre-configured in the terminal device; method 3, the terminal device reads the address information of the data controller pre-configured in the identity card of the terminal device.

[0109] Among them, the above-mentioned method 2 and method 3 are to pre-configure the address information of the data controller in the terminal device or the identity card of the terminal device (such as a subscriber identity module (SIM) card). Based on the above-mentioned method 2 and method 3, the terminal device can directly obtain the address information of the data controller, which is not introduced in detail in this application.

[0110] In the above-mentioned method 1, the terminal device needs to interact with the network element to obtain the address information of the data controller. The following is an exemplary description of the process of the terminal device obtaining the address information of the data controller in the above-mentioned method 1.

[0111] Combination Figure 4 ,like Figure 6As shown, in the above-mentioned method 1, the process of the terminal device obtaining the address information of the data controller can be specifically implemented by the following steps:

[0112] S601: The terminal device sends third indication information to the access and mobility management network element. Correspondingly, the access and mobility management network element receives the third indication information from the terminal device.

[0113] The third indication information is used to indicate the acquisition of address information of the data controller.

[0114] S602: The access and mobility management network element sends second indication information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second indication information from the access and mobility management network element.

[0115] In this way, based on the above S601 and S602, the terminal device can obtain the address information of the data controller from the access and mobility management network element. After that, the terminal device can further perform the process in the above S402 to register the data service capability of the terminal device in the data controller.

[0116] In a possible implementation, the third indication information is carried in a PDU session establishment request message; and the second indication information is carried in a PDU session establishment response message.

[0117] In other words, the terminal device sends a PDU session establishment request message carrying the third indication information to the access and mobility management network element. After receiving the PDU session establishment request message carrying the third indication information, the access network device performs the subsequent PDU session establishment process and sends the second indication information to the terminal device in a PDU session establishment response message. The terminal device determines the address information of the data controller based on the second indication information carried in the PDU session establishment response message.

[0118] Optionally, after receiving the third indication information from the terminal device, the access and mobility management network element sends a PDU session context creation request to the session management network element, and the PDU session context creation request carries information requesting the address information of the data controller. The session management network element sends the address information of the data controller to the access and mobility management network element based on the PDU session context creation request. Further, the access and mobility management network element generates second indication information based on the address information of the data controller and sends the second indication information to the terminal device.

[0119] In one possible implementation, Figure 6As shown, before the above S601, the terminal device can pre-determine whether the terminal device and the network side both support data service capabilities, and execute the above S601 and S602 when both the terminal device and the network side support data service capabilities. The process of the terminal device determining whether both the terminal device and the network side support data service capabilities includes the following S603 and S604, which are described in detail below:

[0120] S603: The terminal device sends a first registration request message to the access and mobility management network element. Correspondingly, the access and mobility management network element sends a first registration request message to the terminal device.

[0121] The first registration request message is used to indicate that the terminal device supports data service capabilities.

[0122] S604: The access and mobility management network element sends a first registration acceptance message to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first registration acceptance message from the access and mobility management network element.

[0123] The first registration acceptance message is used to indicate that the network side supports data service capabilities.

[0124] In a possible implementation, after the terminal device detects the user's operation of turning on the data service capability switch and turns on the data service capability, it indicates to the access and mobility management network element on the network side that the terminal device supports the data service capability (or the terminal device has turned on the data service capability). The access and mobility management network element indicates to the terminal device that the network side also supports the data service capability. At this time, the terminal device can perform data service tasks based on the data service capability of the terminal device and the network side. After this, the terminal device can further obtain the address information of the data controller to facilitate the registration of the data service capability of the terminal device in the data controller.

[0125] It should be pointed out that the network side in the embodiment of the present application includes access and mobility management network elements, as well as other network elements, which are not limited in the present application.

[0126] In one possible implementation, Figure 6 As shown, before the above S602, the access and mobility management network element can obtain the address information of the data controller from the session management network element, and generate the second indication information according to the obtained address information of the data controller. The specific process is shown in the following S605 and S606:

[0127] S605: The access and mobility management network element sends a first request message to the session management network element. Correspondingly, the session management network element receives the first request message from the access and mobility management network element.

[0128] The first request message is used to request to obtain the address information of the data controller.

[0129] S606: The session management network element sends a first response message to the access and mobility management network element. Correspondingly, the access and mobility management network element receives the first response message from the session management network element.

[0130] The first response message is used to indicate the address information of the data controller.

[0131] In a possible implementation, the first request message is carried in a PDU session context creation request message, and the first response message is carried in a message of an N1N2 message transmission process. Based on this, the access and mobility management network element can obtain the address information of the data controller in the PDU session context creation and N1N2 message transmission process with the session management network element.

[0132] In a possible implementation, the access network device may also report to the access and mobility management network element whether the access network device supports data service capabilities. Specifically, the access network device sends an access network configuration update message to the access and mobility management network element. After that, the session management network element sends an access network configuration confirmation message to the access network device.

[0133] The access network configuration update message is used to indicate that the access network device supports data service capabilities. In one example, the access network configuration update message is: RAN configuration update. The access network configuration confirmation message is: RAN configuration acknowledge.

[0134] Optionally, the RAN Configuration Update includes a data service capability field, which is used to indicate that the access network device supports data service capabilities.

[0135] As an example, the new data service capability fields in the RAN configuration update include:

[0136] {ID id-SupportedDataServiceRITICALITY ignore TYPESupportedDataService ...

[0138] }

[0139] SupportedDataService::=ENUMERATED{true,false}

[0140] Combine the following Figure 6 In the embodiment shown, the data controller is DC, the access and mobility management network element is access and mobility management function (AMF), and the session management network element is session management function (SMF) as an example to explain the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application. Figure 7 As shown, when the data service switch of the terminal device is turned on, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

[0141] S701. The terminal device determines that the data service switch is turned on.

[0142] In a possible implementation, the user Figure 5 The operation of turning on the data service switch is performed in the display interface shown. After the terminal device detects the user's operation of turning on the data service switch, it determines that the data service switch is turned on. At this time, the terminal device supports the data service capability, and the data service capability of the terminal device has been turned on.

[0143] S702: The terminal device sends a first registration request message to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the first registration request message from the terminal device.

[0144] The first registration request message is used to indicate that the terminal device supports data service capabilities.

[0145] In one example, the first registration request message is: register request. Optionally, the register request carries a data service capability indication flag of the terminal device. The data service capability indication flag of the terminal device is used to indicate whether the terminal device supports data service capability.

[0146] For example, when the value of the data service capability indication flag of the terminal device is 1, it indicates that the terminal device supports data service capability (or the terminal device has turned on the data service capability); when the value of the data service capability indication flag of the terminal device is 0, it indicates that the terminal device does not support data service capability (or the terminal device has turned off the data service capability). Or for example, when the value of the data service capability indication flag of the terminal device is 0, it indicates that the terminal device supports data service capability (or the terminal device has turned on the data service capability); when the value of the data service capability indication flag of the terminal device is 1, it indicates that the terminal device does not support data service capability (or the terminal device has turned off the data service capability). Of course, the embodiment of the present application takes the data service capability indication flag as 1 bit as an example, and the data service capability indication flag may also be multiple bits, and the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0147] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, a flag bit for indicating the data service capability of the terminal device can be added in a bit (such as the 8th bit) of the 10th byte in the 10th field (or information element (IE)) 5GMM capability (5G mobility management capability) of the register request, and the value of the flag bit is used to indicate whether the terminal device supports the data service capability.

[0148] As an example, as shown in Table 3 below, in the 5GMM capability field, the first byte is used to represent the information element identity (IEI) of the 5GMM capability (ie, 5GMM capabilityIEI). The second byte is used to represent the length of the 5GMM capability field content (ie, length of 5GMMcapability contents).

[0149] Table 3

[0150]

[0151] Among them, the "**" in the table in the above Table 3 indicates that the content represented in the table can refer to the prior art, and this application will not elaborate on it.

[0152] S703, AMF sends a first registration acceptance message to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first registration acceptance message from AMF.

[0153] Among them, the first registration acceptance message is used to indicate that AMF supports data service capabilities.

[0154] In one example, the first registration accept message is: register accept. Optionally, register accept carries a data service capability indication bit of the network side. The data service capability indication bit of the network side is used to indicate whether the network side supports the data service capability.

[0155] For example, when the value of the data service capability indication bit on the network side is 1, it indicates that the network side supports data service capability; when the value of the data service capability indication bit on the network side is 0, it indicates that the network side does not support data service capability. Or for example, when the value of the data service capability indication bit on the network side is 0, it indicates that the network side supports data service capability; when the value of the data service capability indication bit on the network side is 1, it indicates that the network side does not support data service capability. Of course, the embodiment of the present application takes the data service capability indication flag bit as 1 bit as an example, and the data service capability indication flag bit can also be multiple bits, and the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0156] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, a flag bit for indicating the data service capability of the network side can be added in a bit of the 6th byte (such as the 2nd bit) in the 6th field (or cell) 5GS network feature support (5G system network function support) of register accept, and the value of the flag bit can be used to indicate whether the network side supports the data service capability.

[0157] As an example, as shown in Table 4 below, in the 5GS network feature support field, the first byte is used to represent the 5GS network feature support information element identifier (ie, 5GS network feature support IEI). The second byte is used to represent the length of the 5GS network feature support field content (ie, length of 5GS network feature support contents).

[0158] Table 4

[0159]

[0160] Among them, the "**" in the table in the above Table 4 indicates that the content represented in the table can refer to the prior art, and this application will not elaborate on it.

[0161] S704, the terminal device sends a first PDU session establishment request message to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the first PDU session establishment request message from the terminal device.

[0162] In a possible implementation, the first PDU session establishment request message carries an extended protocol configuration option field, where the extended protocol configuration option field is used to indicate the address information of the DC to be obtained.

[0163] In one example, the first PDU session establishment request message is: PDU Session Establishment Request. The extended protocol configuration option field carried in the first PDU session establishment request message is: Extended protocol configuration options.

[0164] Exemplarily, the fields in the Extended protocol configuration options field of the PDU Session Establishment Request in S704 that are specifically used to indicate obtaining the address information of the DC are: 001BH (DC IPv6 Address Request); 001CH (DC IPv4 Address Request).

[0165] S705, AMF sends a PDU session context creation request message to SMF. Correspondingly, SMF receives the PDU session context creation request from AMF.

[0166] In a possible implementation, the PDU session context creation request message carries an extended protocol configuration option field, where the extended protocol configuration option field is used to indicate the address information of the DC to be obtained.

[0167] In one example, the PDU session creation context request message is: Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContextRequest. The extended protocol configuration option field carried in the PDU session creation context request message is: Extendedprotocol configuration options.

[0168] S706, SMF sends a PDU session creation context response message to AMF. Correspondingly, SMF receives a PDU session creation context response message from AMF.

[0169] In one example, the PDU session create context response message is: Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContextResponse.

[0170] S707. SMF and AMF perform N1N2 message transmission process.

[0171] In one possible implementation, in the N1N2 message transmission process between SMF and AMF, SMF sends an extended protocol configuration option field to AMF through the N1N2 message transmission process.

[0172] In one example, the N1N2 message transmission process is: Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer process. The extended protocol configuration option field sent by SMF to AMF through the N1N2 message transmission process is: Extended protocol configuration options.

[0173] In a possible implementation, the Extended protocol configuration options field in the Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer process carries the address information of the DC. Then, the AMF can obtain the address information of the DC from the SMF.

[0174] It should be noted that the extended protocol configuration option fields in the above-mentioned different messages may be the same or different, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0175] S708, AMF sends a second PDU session establishment request to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the second PDU session establishment request from AMF.

[0176] In one example, the second PDU session establishment request message is: PDU Session Establishment Request.

[0177] S709: The access network device and the terminal device interact to establish a dedicated bearer for data service messages.

[0178] S710. AMF sends a PDU session establishment accept message to the terminal device.

[0179] In a possible implementation, the PDU session establishment accept message carries an extended protocol configuration option field and address information of the DC.

[0180] In one example, the PDU session establishment acceptance message is: PDU Session Establishment Accept. The extended protocol configuration options field carried in the PDU session establishment acceptance message is: Extended protocol configuration options. The address information of the DC is the IP address of the DC. The IP address of the DC can be carried in the Extended protocol configuration options.

[0181] Exemplarily, the fields used to carry the address information of the DC in the Extended protocol configuration options field of the PDU Session Establishment Accept in S710 are: 000AH (DC IPv6 Address); 000BH (DC IPv4 Address).

[0182] S711. The terminal device sends a data service capability registration request message to the DC.

[0183] In the above, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail by taking the interactive registration data service capability between the terminal device and the data controller as an example.

[0184] Combination Figure 2 or Figure 3 The communication system shown in Figure 8 As shown, a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application is described by taking the example of a terminal device turning off data service capabilities and the interaction between the terminal device and the data controller to register data service capabilities. Of course, the subject that executes the terminal device action in the method can also be a device / module in the terminal device, such as a chip, processor, processing unit, etc. in the terminal device; the subject that executes the data controller action in the method can also be a device / module in the data controller, such as a chip, processor, processing unit, etc. in the data controller, and the present application embodiment does not specifically limit this. The processing performed by a single execution subject (for example, a terminal device or a data controller) in the embodiment of the present application can also be divided into executions by multiple execution subjects, and these execution subjects can be logically and / or physically separated. For example, as Figure 8 As shown, the method comprises the following steps:

[0185] S801: When detecting that a data service function is turned off, the terminal device sends fourth indication information to the data controller. Correspondingly, the data controller receives the fourth indication information from the terminal device.

[0186] The fourth indication information is used to register the data service capability of the terminal device in the data controller.

[0187] In one possible implementation, combining Figure 5 The interface of the data service capability switch is shown. When the user needs to turn off the data service function, the user can directly perform the operation of turning off the data service capability switch in the display interface of the terminal. The terminal device detects the user's operation of turning off the data service capability switch and turns off the data service capability. After that, the terminal device registers the data service capability with the data controller.

[0188] In the embodiment of the present application, when the terminal device detects that the data service function is turned off, it registers the data service capability of the terminal device with the data controller. In this way, when the user needs to turn off the data service function, he only needs to operate on the terminal device to turn off the data service function, without having to operate in the operator's business hall or in the operator's APP, thereby reducing the complexity of the operation when the terminal device turns off the data service function. In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, the user can turn on or off the data service function on the terminal device, which can greatly provide the flexibility of the terminal device in using the data service capability.

[0189] In a possible implementation, when the terminal device detects that the data service function is turned off, in addition to registering the data service capability with the data controller, the terminal device can also update the access and mobility management network element that the terminal device does not support the data service capability and request to release the PDU session established for the data service capability. Figure 8 ,like Fig. 9 As shown in the figure, the process of the terminal device updating the access and mobility management network element that the terminal device does not support data service capabilities includes:

[0190] S901: A terminal device sends a second registration request message to an access and mobility management network element. Correspondingly, the access and mobility management network element receives the second registration request message from the terminal device.

[0191] The second registration request message indicates that the terminal device does not support data service capabilities.

[0192] S902: The access and mobility management network element sends a second registration acceptance message to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second registration acceptance message from the access and mobility management network element.

[0193] Based on this, the terminal device can indicate to the access and mobility management network element that the terminal device does not support data service capabilities after detecting that the data service function is turned off, so that the information recorded on the terminal side and the network side on whether the terminal device supports data service capabilities remains consistent.

[0194] like Fig. 9 As shown, the process in which the terminal device requests to release the PDU session established for the data service capability includes:

[0195] S903: The terminal device sends a PDU session release request message to the access and mobility management network element. Correspondingly, the access and mobility management network element receives the PDU session release request message from the terminal device.

[0196] S904: The access and mobility management network element sends a PDU session release command message to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the PDU session release command message from the access and mobility management network element.

[0197] S905: The terminal device sends a PDU session release completion message to the access and mobility management network element. Correspondingly, the access and mobility management network element receives the PDU session release completion message from the terminal device.

[0198] Optionally, the specific implementation of the above-mentioned PDU session release process can refer to the existing technology, and this application will not go into details.

[0199] Based on this, the terminal device can request to release the PDU session after detecting that the data service function is turned off, so as to avoid occupying session resources in the network.

[0200] Combine the following Fig. 9 In the embodiment of the present application, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described by taking the data controller as DC, the access and mobility management network element as AMF, and the session management network element as SMF as an example. Fig.10 As shown, when the data service switch of the terminal device is turned on, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

[0201] S1001. The terminal device determines that the data service switch is turned off.

[0202] In a possible implementation, the user Figure 5 The operation of turning off the data service switch is performed in the display interface shown. After the terminal device detects the user's operation of turning off the data service switch, it determines that the data service switch is turned off. At this time, the terminal device does not support the data service capability, and the data service capability of the terminal device has been turned off.

[0203] S1002: The terminal device sends a data service capability deregistration message to the DC. Correspondingly, the DC receives the data service capability deregistration message from the terminal device.

[0204] It is understandable that after the DC receives the data service capability registration message from the terminal device, the DC registers the data service capability of the terminal device, and in the subsequent data service task scheduling process, the DC will no longer schedule the terminal device.

[0205] S1003. The terminal device sends a second registration request message to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the second registration request message from the terminal device.

[0206] The second registration request message is used to indicate that the terminal device does not support data service capabilities.

[0207] In one example, the second registration request message is: register request.

[0208] Exemplarily, in combination with the above S702, when the value of the data service capability indication flag bit of the terminal device is 1, it indicates that the terminal device supports data service capability (or the terminal device has turned on the data service capability); when the value of the data service capability indication flag bit of the terminal device is 0, it indicates that the terminal device does not support data service capability (or the terminal device has turned off the data service capability), the terminal device can adjust the value of the flag bit used to indicate the data service capability of the terminal device in the register request to 0, so as to indicate that the terminal device does not support data service capability. Alternatively, when the value of the data service capability indication flag bit of the terminal device is 0, it indicates that the terminal device supports data service capability (or the terminal device has turned on the data service capability); when the value of the data service capability indication flag bit of the terminal device is 1, it indicates that the terminal device does not support data service capability (or the terminal device has turned off the data service capability), the terminal device can adjust the value of the flag bit used to indicate the data service capability of the terminal device in the register request to 1, so as to indicate that the terminal device does not support data service capability.

[0209] The specific content of the second registration request message can be understood by referring to Table 3 in the above S702, and this application will not elaborate on it.

[0210] S1004. AMF sends a second registration acceptance message to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second registration acceptance message from AMF.

[0211] In one example, the second registration acceptance message is: Register Accept.

[0212] It should be noted that the second registration acceptance message may indicate whether the AMF supports data service capabilities, or may not indicate whether the AMF supports data service capabilities. This application does not limit this.

[0213] In the case where the second registration acceptance message indicates whether the network side supports data service capabilities, the specific content of the second registration acceptance message can refer to the content of Table 4 in S703 above. In the case where the second registration acceptance message does not indicate whether the network side supports data service capabilities, the specific content of the second registration acceptance message can refer to the prior art, and this application will not repeat it.

[0214] S1005. The terminal device sends a first PDU session release request message to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the first PDU session release request message from the terminal device.

[0215] In one example, the first PDU session release request message is: PDU Session Release Request.

[0216] S1006. AMF sends a second PDU session release request message to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the second PDU session release request message from AMF.

[0217] In one example, the second PDU session release request message is: PDU Session Release Request.

[0218] S1007. The access network device and the terminal device interact to delete the dedicated bearer for data service messages.

[0219] S1008. AMF sends a PDU session release command message to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the PDU session release command message from AMF.

[0220] In one example, the PDU session release command message is: PDU Session Release Command.

[0221] S1009, the terminal device sends a PDU session release completion message to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the PDU session release completion message from the terminal device.

[0222] In one example, the PDU session release completion message is: PDU Session Release Complete.

[0223] Optionally, the specific contents of the above S1005-S1009 can refer to the relevant technology, and this application will not go into details.

[0224] The above mainly introduces the scheme provided by the embodiment of the present application from the perspective of interaction between network elements. Accordingly, the embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device, which is used to implement the above various methods. The communication device can be the access and mobility management network element in the above method embodiment, or a device including the above access and mobility management network element, or a component that can be used for the access and mobility management network element; or, the communication device can be the terminal device in the above method embodiment, or a device including the above terminal device, or a component that can be used for the terminal device. It can be understood that in order to implement the above functions, the communication device includes a hardware structure and / or software module corresponding to each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in this article, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of the present application.

[0225] The embodiment of the present application can divide the functional modules of the communication device according to the above method embodiment. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated module can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be understood that the division of modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic and is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation.

[0226] For example, Fig.11 The structure diagram of a communication device 110 is shown, including: a processing module 1101 and a communication module 1102. Optionally, a storage module 1103 is further included. The storage module 1103 is used to store program codes and data of the communication device 110.

[0227] For example, the communication device 110 may be the terminal device in the above method embodiment, or a device including the above terminal device, or a component that can be used for the terminal device, then:

[0228] The processing module 1101 is used to obtain the address information of the data controller when it is detected that the data service function is turned on; wherein the data controller is used to manage the data service function of the terminal device;

[0229] The processing module 1101 is further used to instruct the communication module 1102 to send first indication information to the data controller based on the address information of the data controller; the first indication information is used to register the data service capability of the terminal device in the data controller.

[0230] In one possible implementation, the processing module 1101 is also used to: instruct the communication module 1102 to receive second indication information from the access and mobility management network element; the second indication information is used to indicate the address information of the data controller; or, read the address information of the data controller pre-configured in the terminal device; or, read the address information of the data controller pre-configured in the identity card of the terminal device.

[0231] The processing module 1101 is further used to instruct the communication module 1102 to send third indication information to the access and mobility management network element, where the third indication information is used to instruct to obtain address information of the data controller.

[0232] In a possible implementation, the third indication information is carried in a packet data unit PDU session establishment request message; and the second indication information is carried in a PDU session establishment response message.

[0233] In one possible implementation, the processing module 1101 is also used to instruct the communication module 1102: send a first registration request message to the access and mobility management network element, the first registration request message is used to indicate that the terminal device supports data service capabilities; receive a first registration acceptance message from the access and mobility management network element, the first registration acceptance message is used to indicate that the network side supports data service capabilities.

[0234] For example, the communication device 110 may be the terminal device in the above method embodiment, or a device including the above terminal device, or a component that can be used for the terminal device, then:

[0235] The processing module 1101 is used to instruct the communication module 1102 to send fourth indication information to the data controller when it is detected that the data service function is turned off, and the fourth indication information is used to register the data service capability of the terminal device in the data controller.

[0236] In a possible implementation, the processing module 1101 is further configured to instruct the communication module 1102 to send a second registration request message to the access and mobility management network element, where the second registration request message indicates that the terminal device does not support data service capabilities.

[0237] In one possible implementation, the processing module 1101 is also used to instruct the communication module 1102 to send a packet data unit PDU session release request message to the access and mobility management network element; receive a PDU session release command message from the access and mobility management network element; and send a PDU session release completion message to the access and mobility management network element.

[0238] Taking the communication device 110 as an example, which may be the access and mobility management network element in the above method embodiment, or a device including the above access and mobility management network element, or a component that can be used for the access and mobility management network element, then:

[0239] The processing module 1101 is used to instruct the communication module 1102 to receive the third indication information from the terminal device, the third indication information is used to instruct to obtain the address information of the data controller; send the second indication information to the terminal device; the second indication information is used to indicate the address information of the data controller.

[0240] In a possible implementation, the processing module 1101 is also used to instruct the communication module 1102 to send a first request message to the session management network element, where the first request message is used to request address information of the data controller; and receive a first response message from the session management network element, where the first response message is used to indicate the address information of the data controller.

[0241] In a possible implementation, the third indication information is carried in a packet data unit PDU session establishment request message; the second indication information is carried in a PDU session establishment response message; the first request message is carried in a PDU session context creation request message, and the first response message is carried in a message of the N1N2 message transmission process.

[0242] Among them, all relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiment can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and will not be repeated here.

[0243] Optionally, Fig.11 The modules in the system may also be referred to as units. For example, the processing module may be referred to as a processing unit, and the transceiver module may be referred to as a transceiver unit. Fig.11 In the illustrated embodiment, the names of the various units may not be the names shown in the figure. For example, the transceiver module may also be called a communication module or a communication unit.

[0244] Fig.11If each unit in the embodiment is implemented in the form of a software function module and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including a number of instructions to enable a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or an access network device, etc.) or a processor (processor) to perform all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The storage medium for storing computer software products includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), disk or optical disk and other media that can store program codes.

[0245] In the embodiment of the present application, the communication device 110 is presented in the form of dividing various functional modules in an integrated manner. The "module" here may refer to a specific ASIC, a circuit, a processor and a memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and / or other devices that can provide the above functions. In a simple embodiment, a person skilled in the art can imagine that the communication device 110 can be used Fig.12 The form of the communication device shown.

[0246] See also Fig.12 The communication device includes a processor 1201 and a transceiver 1202, and optionally, also includes a memory 1203 connected to the processor 1201.

[0247] Processor 1201 may be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of the program of the present application. Processor 1201 may also include multiple CPUs, and processor 1201 may be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. The processor here may refer to one or more devices, circuits, or processing cores for processing data (such as computer program instructions).

[0248] The processor 1201, the memory 1203 and the transceiver 1202 are connected via a bus. The transceiver 1202 is used to communicate with other communication devices. Optionally, the transceiver 1202 may include a transmitter and a receiver. The device used to implement the receiving function in the transceiver 1202 can be regarded as a receiver, and the receiver is used to perform the receiving step in the embodiment of the present application. The device used to implement the sending function in the transceiver 1202 can be regarded as a transmitter, and the transmitter is used to perform the sending step in the embodiment of the present application.

[0249] In the first possible implementation, see Fig.12 , the communication device also includes a memory 1203. The memory 1203 can be a ROM or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a RAM or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compressed optical disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), a disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of an instruction or data structure and can be accessed by a computer, and the embodiment of the present application does not impose any restrictions on this. The memory 1203 can exist independently or be integrated with the processor 1201. Among them, the memory 1203 can contain computer program code. The processor 1201 is used to execute the computer program code stored in the memory 1203, so as to realize the method provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0250] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, including instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enable the computer to execute any of the above methods.

[0251] The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product including instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute any of the above methods.

[0252] An embodiment of the present application also provides a chip, including: a processor and an interface, wherein the processor is coupled to a memory via the interface, and when the processor executes a computer program or instruction in the memory, any one of the methods provided in the above embodiments is executed.

[0253] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, including: the terminal device, data controller, access network device and core network device in the above embodiment.

[0254] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from a website site, computer, server or data center by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode to another website site, computer, server or data center. 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, data center, etc. that contains one or more servers that can be integrated with the medium. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0255] Although the present application is described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, in the process of implementing the claimed application, those skilled in the art may understand and implement other changes to the disclosed embodiments by viewing the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "one" or "an" does not exclude multiple situations. A single processor or other unit may implement several functions listed in the claims. Certain measures are recorded in different dependent claims, but this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce good results.

[0256] Although the present application has been described in conjunction with features and embodiments thereof, it is apparent that various modifications and combinations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Accordingly, this specification and the drawings are merely exemplary illustrations of the present application as defined by the appended claims, and are deemed to have covered any and all modifications, variations, combinations or equivalents within the scope of the present application. Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various modifications and variations to the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

[0257] The above is only an implementation method of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to terminal equipment, including: When it is detected that the data service function is turned on, obtaining address information of a data controller; wherein the data controller is used to manage the data service function of the terminal device; First indication information is sent to the data controller based on the address information of the data controller; the first indication information is used to register the data service capability of the terminal device in the data controller.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The obtaining the address information of the data controller includes: receiving second indication information from an access and mobility management network element; the second indication information is used to indicate address information of the data controller; Alternatively, reading the address information of the data controller preconfigured in the terminal device; Alternatively, the address information of the data controller preconfigured in the identity card of the terminal device is read.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that Before receiving the first indication information from the access and mobility management network element, the method further includes: Send third indication information to the access and mobility management network element, where the third indication information is used to instruct to obtain address information of the data controller.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The third indication information is carried in a packet data unit PDU session establishment request message; the second indication information is carried in a PDU session establishment response message.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: Before sending the third indication information to the access and mobility management network element, the method further includes: Sending a first registration request message to the access and mobility management network element, where the first registration request message is used to indicate that the terminal device supports the data service capability; A first registration accept message is received from the access and mobility management network element, where the first registration accept message is used to indicate that the network side supports the data service capability.

6. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to terminal equipment, including: When it is detected that the data service function is turned off, fourth indication information is sent to the data controller, where the fourth indication information is used to register the data service capability of the terminal device in the data controller.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The method further comprises: A second registration request message is sent to the access and mobility management network element, where the second registration request message indicates that the terminal device does not support the data service capability.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Sending a packet data unit (PDU) session release request message to the access and mobility management network element; Receiving a PDU session release command message from the access and mobility management network element; Send a PDU session release completion message to the access and mobility management network element.

9. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A functional unit for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8; wherein the actions performed by the functional unit are implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations.

10. A communication device, characterized in that: include: processor; The processor is connected to a memory, the memory is used to store computer-executable instructions, and the processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory, so that the communication device implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

11. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The method comprises instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

Images