UPF network element selection method and device

Abstract

The invention provides a UPF network element selection method and device. According to the UPF network element selection method provided by the invention, the PLMN management system determines the UPF network element deployed at the EAS position as the UPF network element corresponding to the EAS, and ensures that the EAS and the UPF network element corresponding to the EAS are co-deployed at the same position, so that the transmission delay caused by different positions is avoided, and the user experience of using the application service provided by the EAS is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to a method and apparatus for selecting a UPF network element. Background Art

[0002] In a multi-access edge computing (MEC) architecture, a user equipment (UE) exchanges data with an edge application server (EAS) deployed on an edge data network (EDN) through a user plane function (UPF) network element. Therefore, a UE-EAS connection needs to be created. However, in the user plane path of the UE-EAS, the latency between the UPF network element and the EAS is relatively large. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This application provides a method and apparatus for selecting a UPF network element, aiming to co-deploy the EAS and its corresponding UPF network element at the same location, thereby reducing the data interaction latency.

[0004] In a first aspect, this application provides a method for selecting a user plane function network element, which is applied to a public land mobile network (PLMN) management system. The method includes: receiving first request information from an edge computing service provider (ECSP) management system, where the first request information requests to connect a first edge application server (EAS) to a user plane function (UPF) network element; determining the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS, where the deployment location of the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS is the same as the deployment location of the first EAS.

[0005] When the PLMN management system selects a UPF network element for the first EAS, selecting a UPF network element whose deployment location is the same as the deployment location of the first EAS as the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS can ensure that the first EAS and its corresponding UPF network element are co-deployed at the same location, thereby reducing the data transmission latency caused by different locations.

[0006] In some implementation manners, before receiving the first request information from the ECSP management system, the method further includes:

[0007] receiving first indication information from the ECSP management system, where the first indication information indicates the location where the first EAS is expected to be deployed; determining a first location according to the at least one location corresponding to the at least one UPF network element one by one corresponding to the first indication information; sending second request information to the ECSP management system, where the second request information requests to deploy the first EAS at the first location.

[0008] In some implementations, the first location is the location that is the same as the location where the first EAS is expected to be deployed among at least one location corresponding to each of at least one UPF network element, or the first location is the location that is the closest to the location where the first EAS is expected to be deployed among at least one location corresponding to each of at least one UPF network element.

[0009] Deploying the first EAS at the first location can ensure that there is a UPF network element at the deployment location of the first EAS.

[0010] In some implementations, after sending the second request information to the ECSP management system, the method further includes:

[0011] Configuring first access information, where the first access information indicates that the EES corresponding to the first UPF network element is the EES registered by the first EAS, and / or sending a third request information to the ECSP management system, where the third request information requests to create a connection relationship between the EES registered by the first EAS and the first UPF network element, and the first UPF network element is the UPF network element corresponding to the first location.

[0012] Creating a connection relationship between the first UPF network element and the EES registered by the first EAS can provide a prerequisite for creating an optimal user plane path between the UE and the first EAS on the basis that the first EAS and the first UPF network element are co-deployed at the same location.

[0013] In some implementations, before receiving the first request information from the edge computing service provider (ECSP) management system, the method further includes:

[0014] Receiving second indication information from the ECSP management system, where the second indication information indicates a second location, and the second location is the location where the first EAS is deployed; sending a fourth request information to the network function virtualization orchestrator (NFVO) according to the second indication information, where the fourth request information requests to deploy a UPF network element at the second location.

[0015] Deploying a UPF network element at the second location can ensure that there is a UPF network element at the deployment location of the first EAS.

[0016] In some implementations, after sending the fourth request information to the network function virtualization orchestrator (NFVO) according to the second indication information, the method further includes:

[0017] Configuring second access information, where the second access information indicates that the EES corresponding to the second UPF network element is the EES registered by the first EAS, and / or sending a fifth request information to the ECSP management system, where the fifth request information requests to create a connection relationship between the EES registered by the first EAS and the second UPF network element, and the second UPF network element is the UPF network element corresponding to the second location.

[0018] Creating a connection relationship between a second UPF network element and an EES registered with a first EAS can provide a prerequisite for creating an optimal user plane path between a UE and the first EAS on the basis that the first EAS and the second UPF network element are co-deployed at the same location.

[0019] In some implementation manners, the first request message includes first information indicating a UPF network element corresponding to a first edge enabling server EES, and the first EES is the EES registered with the first EAS.

[0020] Among them, determining a UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS includes:

[0021] Determining the UPF network element indicated by the first information as the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS.

[0022] Determining the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES as the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS can ensure an optimal user plane path between the UE and the first EAS on the basis that the first EAS and its corresponding UPF network element are co-deployed at the same location, avoid the occurrence of a transit UPF network element, and further reduce the data transmission delay.

[0023] In a second aspect, the present application provides a method for selecting a user plane function network element, which is applied to a PLMN management system. The method includes: receiving first request information from an ECSP management system, where the first request information requests to connect a first EAS to a UPF network element; determining a UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS, where the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS is the same as the UPF network element corresponding to the EES registered with the first EAS.

[0024] In some implementation manners, the first request message includes first information indicating a UPF network element corresponding to a first EES, and the first EES is the EES registered with the first EAS.

[0025] Among them, determining a UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS includes:

[0026] Determining the UPF network element indicated by the first information as the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS.

[0027] When the PLMN management system selects a UPF network element for the first EAS, using the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES as the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS can ensure that the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS and the associated first EES is the same UPF network element, so as to obtain an optimal user plane path between the UE and the first EAS and reduce the communication delay when data interaction occurs between the UE and the first EAS.

[0028] In some implementations, the first request information further includes second information, and the second information includes at least one of the following information: edge data network (EDN) information of the first EAS, service area information, or N6 traffic routing information.

[0029] Wherein, when the distance between the UPF network element indicated by the first information and the first EAS is greater than a preset threshold, the method further includes:

[0030] Determine a first UPF network element based on the second information; determine the first UPF network element as the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS; configure first access information, where the first access information indicates that the EES corresponding to the first UPF network element is the first EES, and / or send second request information to the ECSP management system, where the second request information requests to create a connection relationship between the first EES and the first UPF network element.

[0031] When the UPF network element corresponding to the EES associated with the first EAS cannot meet the service requirements of the first EAS, the PLMN management system selects a new UPF network element for the first EAS based on the second information to ensure that the user plane path between the UE and the first EAS is the optimal user plane path, thereby reducing the N6 latency.

[0032] In some implementations, the method further includes:

[0033] When the first UPF network element is not deployed, send third request information to the NFVO, where the third request information requests to deploy the first UPF network element.

[0034] In some implementations, when the service area of the first UPF network element does not include the service area of the first EES, the method further includes:

[0035] Determine a second EES according to the service area of the first UPF network element, where the service area of the second EES is included in the service area of the first UPF network element; configure second access information, where the second access information indicates that the EES corresponding to the first UPF network element is the second EES, and / or send fourth request information to the ECSP management system, where the fourth request information requests to create a connection relationship between the second EES and the first UPF network element; send fifth request information to the ECSP management system, where the fifth request information requests to update the EES registered by the first EAS to the second EES.

[0036] In some implementations, the method further includes:

[0037] When the second EES is not deployed, send sixth request information to the ECSP management system, where the sixth request information requests to deploy the second EES.

[0038] When the service area of the first EES cannot match the service area of the first UPF network element selected by the PLMN management system, adaptively adjust the EES associated with the first EAS to ensure that the user plane path between the UE and the first EAS is the optimal user plane path.

[0039] Thirdly, the present application provides a method for selecting a user plane function network element, which is applied to an ECSP management system. The method includes:

[0040] Send a first request message to the PLMN management system, where the first request message requests to connect the first EAS to a UPF network element.

[0041] In some implementation manners, before sending the first request message to the PLMN management system, the method further includes:

[0042] Receive a second request message from an application service provider (ASP), where the second request message requests to deploy the first EAS, and the second request message includes second information indicating the location where the first EAS is expected to be deployed; send a first indication message to the PLMN management system, where the first indication message indicates the location where the first EAS is expected to be deployed; receive a third request message from the PLMN management system, where the third request message requests to deploy the first EAS at a first location, and the first location is the same as the location where the first EAS is expected to be deployed among at least one location corresponding to at least one UPF network element one by one, or the first location is the location with the shortest distance from the location where the first EAS is expected to be deployed among at least one location corresponding to at least one UPF network element one by one.

[0043] In some implementation manners, after receiving the third request message from the PLMN management system, the method further includes:

[0044] Receive a fourth request message from the PLMN management system, where the fourth request message requests to create a connection relationship between the EES registered by the first EAS and the first UPF network element, and the first UPF network element is the UPF network element corresponding to the first location; configure first access information, where the first access information indicates that the UPF network element corresponding to the EES registered by the first EAS is the first UPF network element.

[0045] In some implementation manners, before sending the first request message to the PLMN management system, the method further includes:

[0046] Send a second indication message to the PLMN management system, where the second indication message indicates a second location, and the second location is the location where the first EAS is deployed.

[0047] In some implementation manners, after sending the second indication message to the PLMN management system, the method further includes:

[0048] Receive the fifth request message from the PLMN management system. The fifth request message requests to create a connection relationship between the EES registered by the first EAS and the second UPF network element, where the second UPF network element is the UPF network element corresponding to the second location; configure the second access information, and the second access information indicates that the UPF network element corresponding to the EES registered by the first EAS is the second UPF network element.

[0049] In some implementation manners, the first request message includes first information, and the first information indicates the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES, where the first EES is the EES registered by the first EAS.

[0050] In some implementation manners, the method further includes:

[0051] Receive the sixth request message from the PLMN management system. The sixth request message requests to create a connection relationship between the first EES and the third UPF network element, where the third UPF network element is the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS; configure the third access information, and the third access information indicates that the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES is the third UPF network element.

[0052] In some implementation manners, the method further includes:

[0053] Receive the seventh request message from the PLMN management system. The seventh request message requests to create a connection relationship between the second EES and the third UPF network element, where the third UPF network element is the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS, and the second EES is the EES determined according to the service area of the third UPF network element; configure the fourth access information, and the fourth access information indicates the UPF network element corresponding to the second EES and the third UPF network element; receive the eighth request message from the PLMN management system, and the eighth request message requests to update the EES registered by the first EAS to the second EES; send the ninth request message to the NFVO, and the ninth request message requests to update the EES registered by the first EAS to the second EES.

[0054] In some implementation manners, before receiving the seventh request message from the PLMN management system, the method further includes:

[0055] Receive the tenth request message from the PLMN management system. The tenth request message requests to deploy the second EES; send the eleventh request message to the NFVO, and the eleventh request message requests to deploy the second EES.

[0056] Fourthly, this application provides a user plane function network element selection device. The user plane function network element selection device includes each functional module for implementing any one of the user plane function network element selection methods mentioned in the above implementation manners. Optionally, each module can be implemented in a software and / or hardware manner.

[0057] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a user plane function network element selection device, including a processor, which is coupled to a memory and can be used to execute instructions in the memory to implement the method in any one of the possible implementation manners in the first aspect, the second aspect, or the third aspect. Optionally, the device further includes a memory. Optionally, the device further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface.

[0058] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable medium that stores program code for a device to execute. The program code includes methods for executing as in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or any one of the possible implementation manners thereof.

[0059] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, including a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the method as in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or any one of the possible implementation manners thereof. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0060] The accompanying drawings herein are incorporated into the specification and constitute a part of the specification, showing embodiments consistent with the present application, and are used together with the specification to explain the principles of the present application.

[0061] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of an edge application architecture defined for the SA6 group of 3GPP;

[0062] Figure 2 Simplified schematic diagram of a network access architecture under an edge application architecture applicable to the present application;

[0063] Figure 3 Schematic flow diagram of a UPF network element selection method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] Figure 4 Schematic flow diagram of a process for creating a user plane path provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] Figure 5 Schematic flow diagram of a method for deploying a first EAS provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] Figure 6 Schematic flow diagram of a process for deploying a UPF network element provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] Figure 7 Access schematic diagram of an EES and an EAS corresponding to different UPF network elements;

[0068] Figure 8 Schematic flow diagram of a UPF network element selection method provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0069] Figure 9 A schematic flowchart of a UPF network element selection method provided by another embodiment of this application;

[0070] Figure 10 A schematic structural diagram of a user plane function network element selection device provided by an embodiment of this application;

[0071] Figure 11 A schematic structural diagram of a user plane function network element selection device provided by another embodiment of this application.

[0072] Through the above-mentioned drawings, specific embodiments of this application have been shown, and there will be more detailed descriptions hereinafter. These drawings and text descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the concept of this application in any way, but to illustrate the concept of this application to those skilled in the art by referring to specific embodiments. Specific Embodiments

[0073] Here, exemplary embodiments will be described in detail, and examples are shown in the drawings. When the following description refers to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with this application. On the contrary, they are merely examples of devices and methods consistent with some aspects of this application as detailed in the appended claims.

[0074] First, relevant concepts involved in this application are introduced:

[0075] Terminal device: A device with wireless transceiver functions that can send signals to a network device or receive signals from a network device. A terminal can also be referred to as a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a mobile terminal, etc. The terminal device can be various handheld devices, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, computers, and network devices with communication functions. For example, the handheld device can be a smart phone. The vehicle-mounted device can be a vehicle navigation system. The wearable device can be a smart bracelet. The computer can be a personal digital assistant (PDA) computer, a tablet computer, and a laptop computer. The network device can be a residential gateway (RG) and a switch.

[0076] Network device: It can be a base transceiver station (BTS) in a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) system or a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, or a Node B (NB) in a Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) system, or an evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB) in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, or a radio controller in a Cloud Radio Access Network (CRAN), or the network device can be a mobile switching center, a relay station, an access point, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a hub, a switch, a bridge, a router, a network-side device in a 5G network, or a network device in a future-evolved Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), etc.

[0077] Currently, the SA6 group in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) organization is conducting research on Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) enabled under the 5G network architecture. Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the Edge (EDGE) application architecture defined for the SA6 group of 3GPP. As Figure 1 shown, the application architecture includes a terminal device 110, an Edge Data Network (EDN) 120, and an Edge Configuration Server (ECS) 130. Among them, the EDN 120 includes an Edge Application Server (EAS) 121 and an Edge Enabler Server (EES) 122. The terminal device includes an Application Client (AC) 111 and an Edge Enabler Client (EEC) 112.

[0078] Among them, EDN 120 corresponds to a data network, which is a special local data network (local DN) that can be identified using a data network access identifier (DNAI) and a data network name (DNN), and is a network logical concept. In another understanding, EDN is the peer concept of the central cloud and can be understood as a local data center (i.e., a geographical location concept), which can also be identified using DNAI and can contain multiple local data networks (local DN).

[0079] EAS121 can also be referred to as an edge application, which is an application deployed in EDN 120. This edge application can also be called an "application instance". Specifically, it refers to an instance of a server application program (e.g., social media software, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR)) deployed and running in EDN. An application can deploy one or more EAS in one or more EDNs. EAS deployed and running in different EDNs can be considered different EAS of an application. They can share a domain name or use different domain names from applications deployed on the cloud. The domain name can be a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), can use an anycast Internet protocol (IP) address, or can use different IP addresses.

[0080] EES122 is deployed in EDN 120 and can provide some enabling capabilities for the application instances deployed in EDN 120, which can better support the deployment of applications in MEC, and can also support the registration of edge applications, the authentication and authorization of UEs, provide IP address information of application instances to UEs, etc. It can further support obtaining the identification and IP address information of application instances and further sending the identification and IP address information of application instances to the edge data network configuration server. Generally, an EAS registers with an EES, or, through a management system, the information of an EAS is configured on an EES. This EES is called the EES associated with this EAS, and the EES controls / manages the EAS registered / configured on this EES.

[0081] AC 111 is the peer entity of EAS121 on the UE side. AC 111 is used for application users to obtain application services from the application server. The application client is the client program of the application on the terminal side. The application client can connect to the application server on the cloud to obtain application services, or can connect to the EAS deployed and running in one or more EDNs to obtain application services.

[0082] EEC 112 is the peer entity of EES122 on the UE side. EEC 112 is used to register the information of the EEC and the information of the application client with EES122, perform security authentication and authorization, obtain the IP address of EAS121 from EES122, and provide edge computing enabling capabilities to the application client. For example, the EAS121 discovery server returns the IP address of EAS121 to the application client. EEC 112 can be a sub-functional module implemented inside AC 111, or a module integrated in the operating system, or an independent application.

[0083] ECS130 is responsible for the configuration of EDN 120, such as providing the information of EES122 to the UE. ECS130 can also directly provide the information of the application instance to the UE, and interact with the domain name system (DNS) of the application to obtain the information of the application instance. It can further obtain and save the information of the application instance and the IP address from other functional entities.

[0084] Among them, the MEC architecture is a part of cloud computing services. Therefore, through network function virtualization (NFV) technology, software-defined network functions such as EES and EAS can be flexibly deployed into the network architecture. The above software-defined network functions are called virtualized network functions (VNFs). In the NFV system proposed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), the NFV orchestrator (NFVO) allocates and schedules the virtual resources required by the VNFs to be deployed. Deploying VNFs is equivalent to instantiating the VNFs.

[0085] It can be understood that when the UE needs to use the application services deployed in the EDN, it first needs to access the EDN. Figure 2 This is a simple schematic diagram of the network access architecture under an edge application architecture applicable to this application, as Figure 2 shown. The access architecture includes a UE, a radio access network (RAN), a UPF network element, and an EDN.

[0086] Among them, RAN is mainly used to implement functions such as wireless physical layer functions, resource scheduling and wireless resource management, wireless access control, and mobility management; the UPF network element is a network element in the 5G core network (5G core / new generation core, 5GC / NGC) that is responsible for externally connecting to the DN and routing and forwarding user-plane data packets, packet filtering, and performing related functions such as quality of service (QoS) control. Therefore, in the edge application architecture, the UPF network element is responsible for externally connecting to the EDN and interacting with the EDN for user-plane data through the N6 interface. It should be noted that Figure 2 is only an exemplary architecture diagram. In addition to Figure 2 the functional units shown in it, this architecture may also include other functional units, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0087] It can be understood that when the UPF network element interacts with the EDN for user-plane data through the N6 interface, it is actually interacting with the EES or EAS deployed on the EDN. According to the service area information of the EAS provided by the application service provider (ASP), the edge computing service provider (ECSP) management system configures the EDN information, service area information, and N6 traffic routing information of the EAS, and sends the above information to the PLMN management system. The PLMN management system selects a UPF network element that matches the service requirements of the EAS based on the above information. This UPF network element is the UPF network element corresponding to the EAS. It can be understood that the "corresponding" relationship between the EAS and the UPF network element means that when the UE uses the application service provided by the EAS, the user-plane data interaction is implemented through the UPF network element corresponding to the EAS.

[0088] However, the location where the UPF network element selected by the PLMN management system for the EAS is deployed may not be the same as the deployment location of the EAS. Different deployment locations result in an increase in the latency between the UPF network element and the EAS in the user-plane path between the UE and the EAS. It should be noted that the deployment "location" mentioned in this application can be a geographical location, a logical topology location, a data center, or even a deployment computer room. These different deployment "locations" will all result in an increase in the latency between the UPF network element and the EAS.

[0089] To solve the above problems, this application provides a method and device for selecting a UPF network element, aiming to co-deploy the EAS and its corresponding UPF network element at the same location, thereby reducing the data interaction latency.

[0090] The technical concept of this application is that when the PLMN management system selects a corresponding UPF network element for the EAS, it selects the UPF network element deployed at the same location as the EAS as the UPF network element corresponding to the EAS, ensuring that the EAS and its corresponding UPF network element are co-deployed at the same location, thereby reducing the latency in the user plane path between the UE and the EAS.

[0091] Figure 3 It is a schematic flowchart of the UPF network element selection method provided by an embodiment of this application. As Figure 3 shown, the UPF network element selection method provided by this application includes the following steps:

[0092] S301, the ECSP management system sends a first request message to the PLMN management system, and the first request message is used to request to connect the first EAS to a UPF network element.

[0093] If the UE needs to use the edge application service provided by the first EAS, it is necessary to establish a user plane path between the UE and the EAS through the UPF network element. In this step, the ECSP management system requests the PLMN management system to select a corresponding UPF network element instance for the first EAS through the first request message, and the first request message includes one or more of the following information: the deployment location of the first EAS, the EAS EDN information, etc.

[0094] It should be noted that when this application mentions connecting the EAS to the UPF network element, the "connection" here means establishing a corresponding relationship between the EAS and the UPF network element, that is, configuring the address information of its corresponding UPF network element for the EAS, and configuring the address information of its corresponding EAS for the UPF network element, so as to ensure that the subsequent UPF network element can communicate with the EAS through routing.

[0095] S302, the PLMN management system determines the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS, and the deployment location of the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS is the same as the deployment location of the first EAS.

[0096] According to step S301, the first request message includes the deployment location of the first EAS, and the PLMN management system can select the UPF network element deployed at this location as the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS.

[0097] In some implementation manners, there are multiple optional UPF network elements at the deployment location of the first EAS, and the first request message further includes at least one of the following information: the EDN information corresponding to the first EAS, the service area information, or the N6 traffic routing information. The PLMN management system can select the UPF network element with the highest matching degree with the first EAS from multiple UPF network elements at the same deployment location as the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS.

[0098] In this embodiment, when the PLMN management system selects a UPF network element for the first EAS, it selects a UPF network element with the same deployment location as that of the first EAS as the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS, which can ensure that the first EAS and its corresponding UPF network element are co-deployed at the same location, thereby reducing the data transmission delay caused by different locations.

[0099] It can be understood that Figure 3 in the illustrated embodiment, the PLMN management system only selects a UPF network element for the first EAS. To truly establish a user plane path between the UE and the EAS, further configuration processing is required to establish the corresponding relationship between the EAS and the UPF network element. Figure 4 The figure is a schematic flowchart of creating a user plane path provided by an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 4 shown in S303 in

[0100] It should be noted that when the UE uses the edge application service provided by the EAS, the UPF network element can connect to the EAS corresponding to the address information through the address information of the EAS configured in the configuration file, that is, when the PLMN management system configures the associated information of the EAS for the UPF network element, it is equivalent to creating a connection between the UPF and the EAS. Therefore, in step S303, the PLMN management system creates a configuration file corresponding to the first EAS for the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS, and associates the address information of the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS with the address information of the first EAS in the configuration file. As an example, the IP address of the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS and the IP address of the first EAS can be associated in the configuration file.

[0101] Considering that the data interaction between the UPF network element and the EAS is a two-way data transmission interaction process, it is also necessary to configure the associated information of the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS in the first EAS. After step S303, as Figure 4 shown in S304 in

[0102] As Figure 4As shown in S305, the ECSP management system configures the association information of the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS for the first EAS. Similar to step S303, in this step, the ECSP management system creates a corresponding configuration file for the first EAS, and associates the address information of the first EAS with the address information of the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS in the configuration file, so that the first EAS can transmit data to the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS during the data interaction process.

[0103] In the above embodiments, the premise that the deployment location of the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS selected by the PLMN management system is the same as the deployment location of the first EAS is that there is an instantiated UPF network element at the deployment location of the first EAS. To ensure this premise, before the PLMN management system selects the corresponding UPF network element for the first EAS, the present application proposes a method for deploying the EAS and a method for deploying the UPF network element.

[0104] Figure 5 It is a schematic flowchart of the method for deploying the first EAS provided by an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 5 shown, this process is executed before the PLMN management system selects the corresponding UPF network element for the first EAS, and specifically includes the following steps:

[0105] S501, the ASP sends the first deployment request information to the ECSP management system. The first deployment request information requests to deploy the first EAS, and the first deployment request information includes the location where the first EAS is expected to be deployed.

[0106] Among them, the first EAS is an EAS that has not been instantiated. The location included in the first deployment request information can be a geographical location, a logical topology location, a data center, or even a computer room. For example: the location where the first EAS is expected to be deployed is area A, and area A can indicate a specific geographical address, or the first deployment request information includes DNAI 1, where DNAI 1 indicates the first data center, and the location where the first EAS is expected to be deployed can be determined as the first data center according to the first deployment request information.

[0107] S502, the ECSP management system sends the first deployment response information to the ASP. The first deployment response information is used to indicate that the first EAS is being deployed.

[0108] S503, the ECSP management system sends the first deployment indication information to the PLMN management system. The first deployment indication information includes the location where the first EAS is expected to be deployed.

[0109] In this step, the ECSP management system sends the location where the first EAS is expected to be deployed to the PLMN management system, so that the PLMN management system can select a suitable deployment location for the first EAS from the candidate locations.

[0110] S504. The PLMN management system determines the first location according to the first deployment indication information and the deployment locations of at least one instantiated UPF network element.

[0111] In this embodiment, before the ASP sends the first deployment request information to the ECSP management system, the PLMN management system has deployed at least one UPF network element. That is, the PLMN management system can determine the deployment locations corresponding to at least one instantiated UPF. Similar to the location where the first EAS is expected to be deployed, the location corresponding to the instantiated UPF network element can be a geographical location, a logical topology location, or a data center, or even a specific computer room. It can be understood that the "corresponding" relationship between the instantiated UPF network element and the location here means that the UPF network element is deployed at the location indicated in the first deployment indication information.

[0112] In this step, the PLMN management system needs to determine a deployment location according to the location where the first EAS is expected to be deployed and the locations of at least one instantiated UPF network element. This location is the first location, which is the location where the first EAS will actually be deployed. The UPF network element corresponding to the first location is the first UPF network element.

[0113] As an example, the first location can be the location among the at least one location corresponding to each of the at least one instantiated UPF network elements that is the closest to the location where the first EAS is expected to be deployed. If the location here is a geographical location, the geographical distances between the at least one location corresponding to each of the at least one instantiated UPF network elements and the location where the first EAS is expected to be deployed are calculated respectively. If the location here is a logical topology location, the corresponding distance is calculated according to the "distance" meaning between logical topology locations. It can be understood that geographical distances can be calculated between different data centers or different computer rooms.

[0114] For example: The PLMN management system deploys 3 UPF network elements, namely UPF 1, UPF 2, and UPF 3. Among them, UPF 1 is deployed in area A, UPF 2 is deployed in area B, and UPF 3 is deployed in area C. The location where the first EAS is expected to be deployed included in the first deployment indication information is area A. The PLMN management system calculates the geographical distances between the location where the first EAS is expected to be deployed and area A, area B, and area C respectively, and can determine that area A corresponding to UPF 1 among UPF 1 - UPF 3 is the closest to the location where the first EAS is expected to be deployed. Therefore, area A can be determined as the first location, and area A is the location where the first EAS will actually be deployed.

[0115] It can be understood that, as shown in the above example, when at least one position corresponding to at least one instantiated UPF network element is the same as the position where the first EAS is expected to be deployed, it can be regarded as a special case where the distance to the position where the first EAS is expected to be deployed is the closest, and this position can also be determined as the first position.

[0116] S505, the PLMN management system sends a second deployment request message to the ECSP management system, and the second deployment request message requests to deploy the first EAS at the first position.

[0117] After the PLMN management system determines that the position actually corresponding to the first EAS is the first position, it sends the first position to the ECSP management system through the second deployment request message, and requests to deploy the first EAS at the first position.

[0118] S506, the ECSP management system sends a third deployment request message to the NFVO, and the third deployment request message requests to deploy the first EAS at the first position.

[0119] In this step, the ECSP management system requests the NFVO to allocate and schedule the virtual resources required for the first EAS through the third deployment request message. The above virtual resources are the virtual resources that have not been scheduled at the first position, so as to deploy the first EAS at the first position.

[0120] Correspondingly, the NFVO returns a second deployment response message to the ECSP management system. The second deployment response message is used to indicate whether the first EAS is successfully instantiated, and the ECSP management system passes the second deployment response message to the ASP.

[0121] Figure 5 In the illustrated embodiment, deploying the first EAS at the deployment position of the first UPF network element can ensure that there is a UPF network element at the deployment position of the first EAS. It can be understood that if the deployment position of the first EAS is determined, deploying the UPF network element in advance at this position can achieve the same technical effect.

[0122] Figure 6 This is a schematic flowchart of the process for deploying a UPF network element provided by an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 6 shown, this process is executed before the PLMN management system selects the corresponding UPF network element for the first EAS, and specifically includes the following steps:

[0123] S601, the ECSP management system sends a second deployment indication message to the PLMN management system, and the second deployment indication message is used to indicate the second position.

[0124] In this step, the first EAS is an instantiated EAS, the second location indicated in the second deployment instruction information is the address where the first EAS is deployed, and the location where the first EAS is deployed can be a geographical location, a logical topology location, or a data center, or even a specific computer room. The second location is passed to the PLMN management system so that the PLMN management system can determine the deployment location for the second UPF network element.

[0125] S602. The PLMN management system determines to deploy the second UPF network element at the second location according to the second deployment instruction information.

[0126] Among them, there is no second UPF network element at the expected deployment location. Therefore, in order to ensure that there is a co-deployed UPF network element at the deployment location of the first EAS, after receiving the second deployment instruction information, the PLMN management system can directly determine the location where the first EAS is deployed as the location where the second UPF network element is to be deployed.

[0127] S603. The PLMN management system sends a fourth deployment request message to the NFVO. The fourth deployment request message requests to deploy the second UPF network element at the second location.

[0128] In this step, the PLMN management system requests the NFVO to allocate and schedule the virtual resources required by the second UPF network element through the fourth deployment request message. The above virtual resources are the virtual resources that have not been scheduled at the second location, so as to deploy the second UPF network element at the second location.

[0129] Correspondingly, the NFVO returns a third deployment response message to the PLMN management system. The third deployment response message is used to indicate whether the second UPF network element is successfully instantiated.

[0130] It can be understood that deploying the second UPF network element at the second location actually pre-orders the second UPF network element as the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS.

[0131] Through the method of deploying the first EAS according to the deployment location of the instantiated UPF network element, or the method of deploying the UPF network element according to the deployment location of the first EAS in the above embodiments, it is possible to ensure that there is a UPF network element at the deployment location of the first EAS before the PLMN management system selects the corresponding UPF network element for the first EAS.

[0132] It should be noted that the SA6 standard defines a two-level discovery mechanism. Before creating the user plane path between the UE and the EAS, first the UE needs to request its corresponding EES from the ECS through the EEC, that is, discover the EES platform from the ECS. Since the EAS is registered on the EES, the information of the applications registered on it can be matched according to the EES, so as to discover the specific applications that the UE needs to access from the EES, that is, discover the EAS from the EES platform. Through the above two-level discovery mechanism, the UE can discover the EAS it expects to access. After the EAS is registered on the EES platform, even if the EAS is not instantiated, through the above discovery mechanism, the information of the non-instantiated EAS on the EES platform can still be discovered.

[0133] In the above discovery process, the UE realizes data interaction through the UPF network element corresponding to the EES. Therefore, when the EAS to be accessed by the UE is discovered through the EES, when establishing the user plane path between the UE and the EAS, this user plane path must include the UPF network element corresponding to the EES. The "corresponding" relationship between the EES and the UPF network element here means that when the UE discovers the EAS service through the EES, the two-level discovery process is realized through the UPF network element corresponding to the EES.

[0134] In Figure 3 In the illustrated embodiment, when the PLMN management system selects a UPF network element for the first EAS, only the deployment location of the UPF network element is considered, and the EES registered by the first EAS is not considered. This results in that the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS and the UPF network element corresponding to the EES registered by the first EAS may not be the same UPF network element. When the UE uses the application service provided by the first EAS, even if the first EAS and its corresponding UPF network element are co-deployed at the same location, there may still be a transfer transmission between different UPF network elements in the user plane path between the UE and the EAS. Data is transmitted between different UPF network elements through the N6 interface, resulting in an increase in the N6 delay between the UE and the EAS.

[0135] For example: Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the access of different UPF network elements corresponding to the EES and the EAS. As Figure 7 shown, both the EES1 and the EAS1 are deployed in the data center identified as DNAI 1, and the EAS1 corresponds to the EES1. Among them, the UPF network element corresponding to the EES1 is UPF 1, and the UPF network element corresponding to the EAS1 is UPF 2. UPF 1 and UPF 2 are different UPF instances. Due to the two-level discovery mechanism, the UE first discovers the EES1, and then discovers the EAS1 registered on the EES1 through the EES1. Therefore, the user plane path between the UE and the EAS1 is UE-RAN-UPF 1-UPF 2-EAS1. Obviously, the optimal user plane path between the UE and the EAS1 is UE-RAN-UPF 2-EAS1, andFigure 7 The path shown contains a transit path of UPF 1-UPF 2, which increases the N6 delay between the UE and EAS1 and affects the user experience of the UE when accessing EAS1.

[0136] In a certain implementation, UPF 1 and EAS1 can be connected through at least one router, and the UE is connected to EES1 through RAN and UPF 1. When the UE needs to connect to EAS1, the UE may need to connect to EAS through RAN, UPF 1 and at least one router. At this time, a delay of at least one router forwarding will be introduced between UPF-EAS.

[0137] To address this technical problem, the UPF network element selection method proposed in this application determines a common UPF network element for the first EAS and the EES registered with the first EAS. Figure 5 In the illustrated embodiment, the first EAS has been registered with the first EES, that is, the first EAS is associated with the first EES. In this embodiment, the first EAS is deployed at the first location, which actually means that the first UPF network element corresponding to the first location is reserved as the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS.

[0138] Therefore, the PLMN management system needs to configure the first access information for the first UPF network element. Configuring the first access information is equivalent to creating a configuration file corresponding to the first EES for the first UPF network element. In the configuration file, the address information of the first UPF network element is associated with the address information of the first EES, which is equivalent to indicating that the EES corresponding to the first UPF network element is the first EES. The address information of the first UPF network element and the address information of the first EES that are associated with each other in the configuration file indicate the connection relationship between the first UPF network element and the first EES.

[0139] In some implementations, the ECSP management system may create a configuration file corresponding to the first UPF network element for the first EES, and associate address information of the first EES with address information of the first UPF network element in the configuration file, thereby establishing a connection relationship between the first UPF network element and the first EES.

[0140] Through the above implementation, the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES can be determined as the first UPF network element, thereby ensuring that the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS and the UPF network element corresponding to the EES associated with the first EAS are the same UPF network element. On the basis that the first EAS and the first UPF network element are deployed at the same location, an optimal user plane path is created between the UE and the first EAS to avoid the transit UPF network element, further reducing the N6 delay between the EAS and the UPF network element.

[0141] Similarly, in Figure 6In the illustrated embodiment, the first EAS is associated with the first EES. In this embodiment, the second UPF network element is deployed at the second location, which actually pre - determines the second UPF network element as the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS.

[0142] Correspondingly, considering that the second UPF network element may not be the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES, the PLMN management system configures second access information for the second UPF network element. Configuring the second access information is equivalent to creating a configuration file for the second UPF network element corresponding to the first EES. In the configuration file, the address information of the second UPF network element is associated with the address information of the first EES, which is equivalent to indicating that the EES corresponding to the second UPF network element is the first EES. The mutually associated address information of the second UPF network element and the address information of the first EES in the configuration file indicates the connection relationship between the second UPF network element and the first EES.

[0143] In some implementation manners, the ECSP management system creates a configuration file for the first EES corresponding to the second UPF network element, and associates the address information of the first EES with the address information of the second UPF network element in the configuration file, thereby establishing a connection relationship between the second UPF network element and the first EES.

[0144] As a possible implementation manner, through Figure 5 the illustrated embodiment or Figure 6 the illustrated embodiment, on the premise that there is a UPF network element at the deployment location of the first EAS, Figure 3 the first request information in the illustrated embodiment may further include first information, and the first information is used to indicate the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES.

[0145] According to the above embodiments, when the network management system creates a connection between the EES and the UPF, it configures the IP address and / or the ID of the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES, that is, the IP address and / or the ID of the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES is associated with the address of the first EES. Therefore, the UPF network element corresponding to it can be determined through the address information of the first EES.

[0146] In some implementation manners, as an example, the first information may indicate the address information of the first EES. Since the address information of the first EES is associated with the IP address and / or the ID of its corresponding UPF network element, the IP address of the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES and / or the ID of the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES can be determined according to the address information of the first EES. The IP address or ID of each UPF network element is unique, and a unique UPF network element can be determined according to the IP address and / or ID of the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES. In this implementation manner, the first information does not explicitly indicate the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES, but the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES can be determined through the address information of the corresponding first EES. The first information implicitly indicates the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES to the PLMN management system.

[0147] In some implementation manners, the ECSP management system determines the UPF network element corresponding to it according to the address information of the first EES, and the IP address and / or ID of the UPF network element can be directly indicated in the first information, thereby explicitly indicating the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES to the PLMN management system.

[0148] Since the deployment location of the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES is the same as the deployment location of the first EAS, the PLMN management system can directly determine the UPF network element indicated in the first information as the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS according to the first information. In this implementation manner, the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS and the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES are the same UPF network element, and the optimal user plane path between the UE-EAS can be established. At the same time, it is ensured that the first EAS and its corresponding UPF network element are co-deployed at the same location, which can avoid the transmission delay caused by different deployment locations.

[0149] It should be noted that if only from the perspective of ensuring that the user plane path between the UE-EAS is the optimal path, after receiving the first request information from the ECSP management system, the PLMN management system only needs to ensure that the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS is the same as the UPF network element corresponding to the EES registered by the first EAS. The UPF network element corresponding to the EES registered by the first EAS is not necessarily deployed at the same location as the first EAS. The method for separately establishing the optimal user plane path between the UE-EAS is introduced below.

[0150] Figure 8 It is a schematic flow diagram of the UPF network element selection method provided for another embodiment of this application. As Figure 8 shown, the UPF network element selection method provided in this embodiment includes the following steps:

[0151] S801, The ECSP management system sends a first request message to the PLMN management system. The first request message is used to request connecting a first EAS to a UPF network element.

[0152] In this step, the first request message contains a first piece of information, which is used to indicate the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES. The first EES is the EES platform registered by the first EAS. It can be understood that before step S801, the ECSP management system has requested the NFVO to deploy the first EES, and has selected a corresponding UPF network element for the first EES through the PLMN management system. In addition, the ECSP management system has also requested the NFVO to deploy the first EAS and register the first EAS to the first EES.

[0153] Among them, the first piece of information is used to indicate the first UPF. As a possible implementation, the "indication" here can be an implicit indication, that is, the first piece of information indicates the information of the first EES. As an example, the first piece of information can indicate the first EES ID and / or the address information of the first EES. Since the first EES ID and / or the address information of the first EES are associated with the IP address and / or the ID of its corresponding UPF network element, the PLMN management system can determine the IP address of the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES and / or the ID of the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES through this implicit indication.

[0154] In another possible implementation, the first piece of information can explicitly indicate the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES, that is, the first piece of information directly indicates the IP address and / or the ID of a UPF network element. The above ID and / or IP address of the UPF network element are determined by the ECSP management system based on the information of the first EES, and this UPF network element is the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES.

[0155] S802, The PLMN management system determines the UPF network element indicated by the first piece of information as the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS.

[0156] According to step S801, the first piece of information contained in the first request message indicates a UPF network element in an explicit or implicit manner. When the first piece of information indicates the UPF network element in an implicit manner, the PLMN management system can determine a UPF network element based on the first EES ID and / or the address information of the first EES in the first piece of information and use it as the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS.

[0157] When the first piece of information indicates the UPF network element in an explicit manner, the PLMN management system can directly determine a UPF network element based on the IP address and / or the ID of the UPF network element in the first piece of information and use it as the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS.

[0158] In this embodiment, regardless of whether the first information indicates the UPF network element in an explicit or implicit manner, the UPF network element must be the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES.

[0159] S803. The PLMN management system configures the association information of the first EAS for the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES.

[0160] To connect the first EAS to the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES, a corresponding relationship between the first EAS and the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES needs to be established. Therefore, in this step, the PLMN management system creates a configuration file corresponding to the first EAS for the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES, and associates the address information of the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES with the address information of the first EAS in the configuration file.

[0161] S804. The PLMN management system sends the address information of the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES to the ECSP management system.

[0162] S805. The ECSP management system configures the association information of the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES for the first EAS.

[0163] Similar to step S803, in this step, the ECSP management system creates a corresponding configuration file for the first EAS, and associates the address information of the first EAS with the address information of the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES in the configuration file, so that the first EAS can transmit data to the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES during the data interaction process.

[0164] In this embodiment, taking the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES as the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS ensures that the first EAS and the associated UPF network element corresponding to the first EES are the same UPF network element, thereby obtaining the optimal user plane path between the UE and the EAS and reducing the communication delay when the UE and the first EAS perform data interaction. The prerequisite for the PLMN management system to select the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES as the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS is that the UPF network element can match the service requirements of the first EAS. Considering the N6 delay between the UE and the EAS, the first EAS requires that the geographical distance between the deployment location of the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES and the deployment location of the first EAS does not exceed a preset threshold. If the geographical distance between the first EAS and the UPF network element exceeds the preset threshold, the N6 delay between the first EAS and its corresponding UPF network element cannot meet the requirements for data interaction between the UE and the EAS. Therefore, in Figure 8In the illustrated embodiment, the distance between the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES and the first EAS is less than or equal to a preset threshold, and the PLMN management system determines the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES as the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS.

[0165] When the distance between the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES and the first EAS is greater than the preset threshold, the PLMN management system needs to select a new UPF network element for the first EAS. Figure 9 It is a schematic flowchart of a method for selecting a UPF network element provided by another embodiment of the present application. Figure 9 The step S901 shown is the same as Figure 8 the step S801 in the illustrated embodiment. The ECSP management system first requests the PLMN management system to connect the first EAS to the UPF network element through the first request message. The difference is that:

[0166] S902, the PLMN management system determines the first UPF network element based on the second information, and determines the first UPF network element as the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS.

[0167] Figure 9 In the illustrated embodiment, the first request message further includes the second information, and the second information includes at least one of the following information: the EDN information corresponding to the first EAS, the service area information, or the N6 traffic routing information.

[0168] Therefore, in this step, when the distance between the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES and the first EAS is greater than the preset threshold, it indicates that the UPF network element cannot meet the service requirements of the first EAS. The PLMN management system reselects a UPF network element for the first EAS based on the second information. The UPF determined based on the second information is the first UPF network element, and the PLMN management system determines the first UPF network element as the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS.

[0169] It should be noted that, as an indispensable part of the edge application architecture, the UPF network element, like the EES and EAS, is a software-defined network function, that is, a VNF. Similar to the EAS not yet instantiated on the EES platform, the PLMN management system can discover the UPF network element not yet instantiated. Therefore, in step S602, the first UPF network element determined by the PLMN management system based on the second information may be a UPF network element not yet instantiated.

[0170] When establishing the user plane path between the UE and the EAS, the UPF network element therein must be an instantiated UPF network element. In some implementation manners, when the first UPF network element determined by the PLMN management system is not instantiated, the NFVO needs to allocate and schedule the virtual resources required for the first UPF network element. Specifically:

[0171] S903-1, The PLMN management system sends response information to the ECSP management system, and the response information is used to indicate that the first UPF network element is being instantiated.

[0172] S903-2, The PLMN management system sends second request information to the NFVO, and the second request information requests to deploy the first UPF network element.

[0173] Through the above steps, the second request information triggers the NFVO to allocate and schedule the resources required for the instantiation of the first UPF network element. When all the virtual deployment units required by the first UPF network element are deployed, the instantiation of the first UPF network element is completed, and thus it can be used to establish the user plane path between the UE-EAS.

[0174] S904, The PLMN management system configures first access information for the first UPF network element, and the first access information indicates that the EES corresponding to the first UPF network element is the first EES.

[0175] According to step S902, the UPF network element corresponding to the current first EES is not the first UPF network element. After the PLMN management system determines that the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS is the first UPF network element based on the second information, in order to ensure that the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS and the first EES is the same UPF network element, it is necessary to update the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES to the first UPF network element.

[0176] Therefore, in this step, the PLMN management system configures first access information for the first UPF network element. Configuring the first access information is equivalent to creating a configuration file corresponding to the first EES for the first UPF network element, and associating the address information of the first UPF network element with the address information of the first EES in the configuration file, which is equivalent to indicating that the EES corresponding to the first UPF network element is the first EES. The mutually associated address information of the first UPF network element and the first EES in the configuration file indicates the connection relationship between the first UPF network element and the first EES.

[0177] In some implementation manners, in the first EES, it is necessary to configure a configuration file corresponding to the first UPF network element for the first EES. Therefore Figure 9 The illustrated embodiment further includes step S905:

[0178] S905, The PLMN management system sends third request information to the ECSP management system, and the third request information requests to create a connection relationship between the first EES and the first UPF network element.

[0179] Among them, the third request message includes the address information of the first UPF network element. The address information of the first UPF network element is used to indicate the IP address and / or the ID of the first UPF network element. Since the third request message requests to create a connection relationship between the first EES and the first UPF network element, after receiving the third request message, the ECSP management system triggers the creation of a configuration file corresponding to the first UPF network element for the first EES, and associates the address information of the first EES with the address information of the first UPF network element in the configuration file, thereby establishing a connection relationship between the first UPF network element and the first EES.

[0180] In the above steps S904 and S905, when the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES cannot meet the service requirements of the first EAS, the PLMN management system selects the first UPF network element for the first EAS based on the second information. Since the first EAS is registered on the first EES, it is necessary to re-create the connection relationship between the first UPF network element and the first EES.

[0181] It should be noted that the EES, EAS, and UPF network elements all have their respective corresponding service areas. When the distance between the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES and the first EAS exceeds a preset threshold and cannot meet the service requirements of the first EAS, it means that the service area of this UPF network element does not match the service area of the first EAS. Since the first UPF network element is a new UPF network element selected by the PLMN management system for the first EAS, the service area of the first UPF network element must match the service area of the first EAS. However, the service area of the first UPF network element selected by the PLMN management system may not match the service area of the first EES. When the service area of the first UPF network element does not match the service area of the first EES, even after reconstructing the connection between the first UPF network element and the first EES, it will result in the inability to discover the first EAS registered on the first EES.

[0182] In some implementation manners, when the service area of the first UPF network element does not include the service area of the first EES, a second EES can be determined according to the service area of the first UPF network element, and the service area of the second EES is included in the service area of the first UPF network element.

[0183] It can be understood that when the service area of the first UPF network element does not include the service area of the first EES, the service area of the first UPF network element does not match the service area of the first EES at all, so it is necessary to re-determine an EES. The second EES is the EES determined according to the service area of the first UPF network element, and the service area of the second EES is included in the service area of the second UPF. Therefore, the service area of the second EES can match the service area of the first UPF network element. Obviously, the role of the second EES is to replace Figure 9 the first EES in the illustrated embodiment.

[0184] Therefore, the ECSP management system first needs to request the PLMN management system to connect the second EES to the first UPF network element. Similar to step S904, the PLMN management system configures second access information for the second EES, and the second access information is used to indicate that the EES corresponding to the first UPF network element is the second EES. Among them, configuring the second access information is equivalent to creating a configuration file for the first UPF network element corresponding to the second EES, and associating the address information of the first UPF network element with the address information of the second EES in the configuration file. The mutually associated address information of the first UPF network element and the address information of the second EES in the configuration file indicates the connection relationship between the first UPF network element and the second EES.

[0185] Similarly, in some implementation manners, a configuration file corresponding to the first UPF network element needs to be configured for the second EES in the second EES. Therefore, the PLMN management system sends a fourth request message to the ECSP management system, and the fourth request message is used to request to create a connection relationship between the second EES and the first UPF network element. Similar to step S905, the fourth request message includes the address information of the first UPF network element, and the address information of the first UPF network element is used to indicate the IP address of the first UPF network element and / or the ID of the first UPF network element. After receiving the fourth request message, the ECSP management system can trigger the creation of a configuration file for the second EES corresponding to the first UPF network element, and associate the address information of the second EES and the address information of the first UPF network element in the configuration file corresponding to the first UPF network element, so as to establish a connection relationship between the first UPF network element - the second EES.

[0186] Considering that the first EAS is registered on the first EES, that is, the EES associated with the first EAS is still the first EES, the PLMN management system also needs to send a fifth request message to the ECSP management system, and the fifth request message requests to update the EES registered by the first EAS to the second EES. After receiving the fifth request message, the ECSP management system sends a sixth request message to the NFVO, and the sixth request message requests to update the EES associated with the first EAS to the second EES.

[0187] When the NFVO instantiates the EAS, it writes the address information of the EES associated with the EAS into the configuration information of the EAS. When the first EAS is registered on the first EES, the configuration information of the first EAS contains the address information of the first EES. Therefore, if you want to register the first EAS on a different EES, you need to update the address information of the EES in the configuration information of the first EAS through the NFVO. Since the UPF network element selected by the PLMN management system for the first EAS is the first UPF network element, after creating the connection relationship between the first UPF network element and the second EES, the NFVO updates the address information of the EES associated with the first EAS to the address information of the second EES according to the sixth request information, so that the EES associated with the first EAS is modified from the first EES to the second EES, that is, the first EAS is registered on the second EES.

[0188] Correspondingly, the NFVO returns modification indication information to the ECSP management system, and the modification indication information is used to indicate whether the address information of the EES associated with the first EAS is successfully modified.

[0189] By modifying the EES platform information registered by the first EAS, it is ensured that the first UPF network element selected by the UE through the PLMN management system directly realizes data interaction with the first EAS, ensuring that the user plane path between the UE and the first EAS is optimal and shortening the communication delay.

[0190] It should be noted that the second EES determined based on the service area of the first UPF network element may also be an EES that has not been instantiated. In some implementation manners, when the second EES is not deployed, the PLMN management system sends a seventh request information to the ECSP management system, and the seventh request information is used to request the deployment of the second EES. The deployment process of the second EES will not be elaborated here.

[0191] As Figure 9 shown in step S902, the PLMN management system determines that the first UPF network element is the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS based on the second information, and Figure 3 similar to the embodiment shown, in Figure 9 the embodiment shown, the user plane path between the UE and the EAS is not really established. Therefore, in the above implementation manners, whether it is necessary to modify the EES associated with the first EAS or not, in the subsequent process, it is necessary to refer to Figure 8 the embodiment shown, configure the configuration file corresponding to the first EAS in the first UPF network element, configure the configuration file corresponding to the first UPF network element in the first EAS, and associate the address information of the first EAS with the address information of the first UPF network element, so as to establish the connection between the first EAS and the first UPF network element.

[0192] In this embodiment, when the UPF network element corresponding to the EES associated with the first EAS cannot meet the service requirements of the first EAS, the PLMN management system selects a new UPF network element for the first EAS based on the second information, and adaptively adjusts the EES associated with the first EAS to ensure that the user plane path between the UE and the first EAS is the optimal user plane path, thereby reducing the N6 latency.

[0193] Figure 10 FIG. is a schematic structural diagram of a user plane function network element selection device provided by an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 10 shown, the device 1000 of this embodiment may include: a communication module 1001 and a processing module 1002. It should be understood that the device 1000 is embodied in the form of functional modules. The term "module" may refer to a software module, an application specific integrated circuit, an electronic circuit, a processor (such as a shared processor, a dedicated processor or a group of processors, etc.) for executing one or more software or firmware programs, and a memory, a combined logic circuit and / or other suitable components that support the described functions.

[0194] The above device 1000 has the functions of implementing the corresponding processes and / or steps in the above method embodiments; the above functions can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0195] Figure 11 FIG. is a schematic structural diagram of a user plane function network element selection device provided by another embodiment of the present application. Figure 11 The device 1100 shown can be used to execute the method executed by the network management system in any of the foregoing methods.

[0196] As Figure 11 shown, the device 1100 of this embodiment includes: a memory 1101, a processor 1102, a communication interface 1103, and a bus 1104. Among them, the memory 1101, the processor 1102, and the communication interface 1103 are communicatively connected to each other through the bus 1104.

[0197] The memory 1101 may be a read only memory (ROM), a static storage device, a dynamic storage device, or a random access memory (RAM). The memory 1101 may store a program, and when the program stored in the memory 1101 is executed by the processor 1102, the processor 1102 is used to execute any of the foregoing methods.

[0198] The processor 1102 may adopt a general - purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application - specific integrated circuit, or one or more integrated circuits to execute related programs.

[0199] The processor 1102 may also be an integrated circuit chip with signal - processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each relevant step in the embodiments of the present application may be completed by the integrated logic circuit in the hardware of the processor 1102 or instructions in software form.

[0200] The above - mentioned processor 1102 may also be a general - purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application - specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field - programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components. It can implement or execute the various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. The general - purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may also be any conventional processor, etc.

[0201] The steps of the method disclosed in combination with the embodiments of the present application may be directly embodied as being completed by a hardware decoding processor, or completed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module may be located in a mature storage medium in the art such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read - only memory, a programmable read - only memory, or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. This storage medium is located in the memory 1101, and the processor 1102 reads the information in the memory 1101 and combines its hardware to complete the functions required to be executed by the units included in the device of the present application.

[0202] The communication interface 1103 may use, but is not limited to, a transceiver device such as a transceiver to implement the communication between the device 1100 and other devices or apparatuses.

[0203] The bus 1104 may include a path for transmitting information between various components of the device 1100 (for example, the memory 1101, the processor 1102, the communication interface 1103).

[0204] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer - readable storage medium. Computer instructions are stored in the computer - readable storage medium. When the processor executes the computer instructions, each step in the method in the above - mentioned embodiments is implemented.

[0205] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product, including computer instructions. When the computer instructions are executed by the processor, each step in the method in the above - mentioned embodiments is implemented.

[0206] It should be noted that the modules or components shown in the above embodiments may be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods. For example, one or more application-specific integrated circuits, or, one or more microprocessors, or, one or more field-programmable gate arrays, etc. Again, when a certain module above is implemented in the form of a processing element calling program code, the processing element may be a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit or other processors that can call program code, such as a controller. Again, these modules may be integrated together and implemented in the form of a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

[0207] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, software modules, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, 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 processes or functions according to the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from a website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center in a wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) manner. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that the computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more integrated available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (for example, a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (for example, a solid-state drive (SSD)).

[0208] Those skilled in the art will readily conceive of other embodiments of the present application after considering the specification and practicing the content disclosed herein. The present application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the present application that follow the general principles of the present application and include well-known common knowledge or conventional technical means in the technical field not disclosed in the present application. The specification and embodiments are only regarded as exemplary, and the true scope and spirit of the present application are pointed out by the following claims.

[0209] It should be understood that the present application is not limited to the exact structures described above and shown in the drawings, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from its scope. The scope of the present application is only limited by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for selecting a user plane function network element, which is applied to a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) management system. Characterized in that, the method includes: Receiving first request information from an Edge Computing Service Provider (ECSP) management system, where the first request information requests to connect a first Edge Application Server (EAS) to a User Plane Function (UPF) network element; Determining the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS, where the deployment location of the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS is the same as the deployment location of the first EAS.

2. The method according to claim 1, Characterized in that, before receiving the first request information from the Edge Computing Service Provider (ECSP) management system, the method further includes: Receiving first indication information from the ECSP management system, where the first indication information indicates the location where the first EAS is expected to be deployed; Determining a first location according to the at least one location corresponding to the at least one UPF network element one by one corresponding to the first indication information; Sending second request information to the ECSP management system, where the second request information requests to deploy the first EAS at the first location.

3. The method according to claim 2, Characterized in that, the first location is the location among the at least one location corresponding to the at least one UPF network element one by one corresponding to the first indication information that is the same as the location where the first EAS is expected to be deployed, or the first location is the location among the at least one location corresponding to the at least one UPF network element one by one corresponding to the first indication information that is the closest to the location where the first EAS is expected to be deployed.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, Characterized in that, after sending the second request information to the ECSP management system, the method further includes: Configuring first access information, where the first access information indicates that the Edge Egress Service (EES) corresponding to the first UPF network element is the EES registered for the first EAS, and / or sending third request information to the ECSP management system, where the third request information requests to create a connection relationship between the EES registered for the first EAS and the first UPF network element, and the first UPF network element is the UPF network element corresponding to the first location.

5. The method according to claim 1, Characterized in that, before receiving the first request information from the Edge Computing Service Provider (ECSP) management system, the method further includes: Receiving second indication information from the ECSP management system, where the second indication information indicates a second location, and the second location is the location where the first EAS is deployed; Sending fourth request information to a Network Function Virtualization Orchestrator (NFVO) according to the second indication information, where the fourth request information requests to deploy a UPF network element at the second location.

6. The method according to claim 5, Characterized in that, after sending the fourth request information to the Network Function Virtualization Orchestrator (NFVO) according to the second indication information, the method further includes: Configure second access information, where the second access information indicates that the EES corresponding to the second UPF network element is the EES registered for the first EAS, and / or send a fifth request message to the ECSP management system, where the fifth request message requests to create a connection relationship between the EES registered for the first EAS and the second UPF network element, and the second UPF network element is the UPF network element corresponding to the second location.

7. The method according to claim 4 or 6, characterized in that the first request message includes first information, and the first information indicates the UPF network element corresponding to the first edge enabling server EES, and the first EES is the EES registered for the first EAS; wherein, determining the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS includes: determining the UPF network element indicated by the first information as the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS.

8. A method for selecting a user plane function network element, applied to a PLMN management system, characterized in that the method includes: receiving a first request message from an ECSP management system, where the first request message requests to connect a first EAS to a UPF network element; determining the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS, where the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS is the same as the UPF network element corresponding to the EES registered for the first EAS.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that the first request message includes first information, and the first information indicates the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES, and the first EES is the EES registered for the first EAS; wherein, determining the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS includes: determining the UPF network element indicated by the first information as the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that the first request message further includes second information, and the second information includes at least one of the following information: the edge data network EDN information of the first EAS, service area information, or N6 traffic routing information; wherein, when the distance between the UPF network element indicated by the first information and the first EAS is greater than a preset threshold, the method further includes: determining a first UPF network element based on the second information; determining the first UPF network element as the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS; configuring first access information, where the first access information indicates that the EES corresponding to the first UPF network element is the first EES, and / or sending a second request message to the ECSP management system, where the second request message requests to create a connection relationship between the first EES and the first UPF network element.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that the method further includes: when the first UPF network element is not deployed, sending a third request message to the NFVO, where the third request message requests to deploy the first UPF network element.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that When the service area of the first UPF network element does not include the service area of the first EES, the method further includes: Determining a second EES according to the service area of the first UPF network element, where the service area of the second EES is included in the service area of the first UPF network element; Configuring second access information, where the second access information indicates that the EES corresponding to the first UPF network element is the second EES, and / or sending a fourth request message to the ECSP management system, where the fourth request message requests to create a connection relationship between the second EES and the first UPF network element; Sending a fifth request message to the ECSP management system, where the fifth request message requests to update the EES registered by the first EAS to the second EES.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, the method further includes: When the second EES is not deployed, sending a sixth request message to the ECSP management system, where the sixth request message requests to deploy the second EES.

14. A user plane function network element selection method, applied to an ECSP management system, characterized in that, the method includes: Sending a first request message to the PLMN management system, where the first request message requests to connect a first EAS to a UPF network element.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, Before sending the first request message to the PLMN management system, the method further includes: Receiving a second request message from an application service provider ASP, where the second request message requests to deploy the first EAS, and the second request message includes second information, where the second information indicates the location where the first EAS is expected to be deployed; Sending a first indication message to the PLMN management system, where the first indication message indicates the location where the first EAS is expected to be deployed; Receiving a third request message from the PLMN management system, where the third request message requests to deploy the first EAS at a first location, where the first location is the same as the location where the first EAS is expected to be deployed among at least one location corresponding to at least one UPF network element one by one, or, the first location is the location with the shortest distance from the location where the first EAS is expected to be deployed among at least one location corresponding to at least one UPF network element one by one.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, After receiving the third request message from the PLMN management system, the method further includes: Receiving a fourth request message from the PLMN management system, where the fourth request message requests to create a connection relationship between the EES registered by the first EAS and a first UPF network element, and the first UPF network element is the UPF network element corresponding to the first location; Configuring first access information, where the first access information indicates that the UPF network element corresponding to the EES registered by the first EAS is the first UPF network element.

17. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, Before sending the first request message to the PLMN management system, the method further includes: Send second indication information to the PLMN management system, where the second indication information indicates a second location, and the second location is the location where the first EAS is deployed.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein, after sending the second indication information to the PLMN management system, the method further includes: receiving fifth request information from the PLMN management system, where the fifth request information requests to create a connection relationship between the EES registered by the first EAS and a second UPF network element, and the second UPF network element is the UPF network element corresponding to the second location; configuring second access information, where the second access information indicates that the UPF network element corresponding to the EES registered by the first EAS is the second UPF network element.

19. The method according to claim 14, wherein, the first request information includes first information, and the first information indicates the UPF network element corresponding to a first EES, and the first EES is the EES registered by the first EAS.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein, the method further includes: receiving sixth request information from the PLMN management system, where the sixth request information requests to create a connection relationship between the first EES and a third UPF network element, and the third UPF network element is the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS; configuring third access information, where the third access information indicates that the UPF network element corresponding to the first EES is the third UPF network element.

21. The method according to claim 19, wherein, the method further includes: receiving seventh request information from the PLMN management system, where the seventh request information requests to create a connection relationship between a second EES and a third UPF network element, and the third UPF network element is the UPF network element corresponding to the first EAS, and the second EES is an EES determined according to the service area of the third UPF network element; configuring fourth access information, where the fourth access information indicates the UPF network element corresponding to the second EES and the third UPF network element; receiving eighth request information from the PLMN management system, where the eighth request information requests to update the EES registered by the first EAS to the second EES; sending ninth request information to the NFVO, where the ninth request information requests to update the EES registered by the first EAS to the second EES.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein, before receiving the seventh request information from the PLMN management system, the method further includes: receiving tenth request information from the PLMN management system, where the tenth request information requests to deploy the second EES; sending eleventh request information to the NFVO, where the eleventh request information requests to deploy the second EES.

23. A user plane function network element selection device, wherein, The user plane function network element selection device includes a function module for implementing the user plane function network element selection method described in any one of claims 1 to 8, or any one of 8 to 13, or any one of 14 to 22.

24. A user plane function network element selection device, characterized in that, it includes: a processor and a memory; the memory stores computer-executable instructions; the processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory, so that the user plane function network element selection device executes the user plane function network element selection method described in any one of claims 1 to 7, or any one of 8 to 13, or any one of 14 to 22.

25. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, the computer-readable storage medium stores computer-executable instructions, and when the computer-executable instructions are executed by a processor, they are used to implement the user plane function network element selection method described in any one of claims 1 to 7, or any one of 8 to 13, or any one of 14 to 22.

26. A computer program product, characterized in that, it includes a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the user plane function network element selection method described in any one of claims 1 to 7, or any one of 8 to 13, or any one of 14 to 22.

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