Communication method and device

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method and device, and the method comprises the steps: obtaining a first data volume of a first network element, the total power consumption of the first network element, and a second data volume, and determining the first power consumption according to the total power consumption of the first network element, the first data volume, and the second data volume. Wherein the first data volume is the data volume of the first data transmitted by the first network element, the first data is the data of a target area or the data of a target application, and the second data volume is the total amount of the data transmitted by the first network element. According to the scheme, the power consumption information of the network element can be collected by taking the region or application as granularity.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

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

[0002] An operator can deploy an operator network in some areas. After a terminal device in the area accesses the operator network, the terminal device can communicate with an application server in the operator network through a network element in the operator network, and use an application provided by the application server. In some scenarios, the operator network can need to collect power consumption generated by the network element for serving a certain area or a certain application, for example, adjusting the power consumption level of a certain area, charging a certain application according to the power consumption of the application, and the like. Therefore, how to collect power consumption information of the network element with the granularity of an area or an application is an urgent problem to be solved. SUMMARY

[0003] The present application provides a communication method and device, which can collect power consumption information of a network element with the granularity of an area or an application.

[0004] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a sixth network element, or can also be performed by a chip or circuit of the sixth network element, and the present application does not make any limitation in this regard. For ease of description, the following is described by way of example of being performed by the sixth network element. Exemplarily, the sixth network element can be a network data analytics function (NWDAF) network element or an energy efficiency control function (EECF) network element.

[0005] The method includes: obtaining a first data amount of a first network element, a total power consumption of the first network element, and a second data amount, and determining a first power consumption according to the total power consumption of the first network element, the first data amount, and the second data amount.

[0006] The first data amount is a data amount of first data transmitted by the first network element, and the first data is data of a target area or data of a target application. The second data amount is a total amount of data transmitted by the first network element.

[0007] The first power consumption is a power consumption of the first network element for transmitting the first data. Alternatively, the first power consumption is a power consumption of a network for transmitting the first data, and the network includes the first network element.

[0008] In the embodiments of the present application, the power consumption can also be referred to as energy consumption, energy consumption, and the like.

[0009] In the technical solution, the data amount of the data of the target area or the target application transmitted by the first network element, the total amount of the data transmitted by the first network element, and the total power consumption of the first network element can be used to determine the power consumption corresponding to the target area or the target application, thereby achieving the purpose of collecting power consumption information of the first network element in the granularity of area or application.

[0010] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the data of the target area includes data of a terminal device located in the target area. For example, the first network element includes an access network device serving the terminal device, the first data transmitted by the first network element includes downlink data sent by the access network device to the terminal device and / or uplink data from the terminal device received by the access network device from the terminal device. For another example, the first network element includes a user plane network element serving a session of the terminal device, the first data transmitted by the first network element includes data of the session transmitted by the user plane network element.

[0011] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the data of the target area includes data of a cell or a tracking area (TA) corresponding to the target area. For example, the first network element includes an access network device located in the target area, or the coverage area or service range of the access network device includes the target area, the first data transmitted by the first network element includes one or more of the following: downlink data sent by the access network device to a terminal device in the cell or the TA, uplink data from the terminal device received by the access network device from the terminal device in the cell or the TA, or data broadcasted by the access network device to the cell or the TA. For another example, the first network element includes a user plane network element serving one or more terminal devices in the cell or the TA, or serving a session of the one or more terminal devices, the first data transmitted by the first network element includes data of the session of the one or more terminal devices transmitted by the user plane network element.

[0012] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first network element includes one or more user plane network elements, and the first data amount includes a data amount of the first data transmitted by each of the one or more user plane network elements.

[0013] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: sending a first request message to a second network element, the first request message including information indicating the target area or the target application; and receiving the first data amount from the second network element.

[0014] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, before sending the first request message to the second network element, the method further includes: sending a fourth request message to a third network element, the fourth request message including information indicating the target area or the target application; receiving information of the second network element from the third network element, for example, receiving a fourth response message from the third network element, the fourth response message being in response to the fourth request message, and the fourth response message including the information of the second network element. In this implementation, the sending of the first request message to the second network element includes sending the first request message to the second network element according to the information of the second network element.

[0015] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first data is data of the target area, the second network element is a session management network element, and a service area of the second network element includes the target area; or the first data is data of the target application, the second network element is a policy control network element, and the second network element provides policy control for a session used to transmit the data of the target application.

[0016] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving identification information of the one or more user plane network elements from the second network element.

[0017] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving identification information of one or more sessions from the second network element, data of the one or more sessions including the first data; and obtaining the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements according to the identification information of the one or more sessions, the one or more user plane network elements being used to transmit data of at least one session of the one or more sessions.

[0018] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the sending of the second request message includes sending a second request message including the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements; and the receiving includes receiving total power consumption of each user plane network element of the one or more user plane network elements and total amount of data transmitted by the each user plane network element.

[0019] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first network element includes one or more access network devices, and the method further includes: sending a third request message to an access and mobility management network element, the third request message being used to request identification information of access network devices of a service area including a first area, wherein the first area is the target area, or the first area is an area in which a terminal device using the target application is located; and receiving the identification information of the one or more access network devices from the access and mobility management network element.

[0020] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes receiving area information covered by the one or more access network devices of the access and mobility management network element.

[0021] A second aspect provides a communication method, which can be performed by a second network element, or can also be performed by a chip or circuit of the second network element, and the present application does not limit this. For ease of description, the following is described by way of example of being performed by the second network element. Exemplarily, the second network element can be a session management function (SMF) network element.

[0022] The method includes receiving a first request message, the first request message including information indicating a target area or a target application; and sending a first data amount of the first network element, the first data amount being an amount of data of first data transmitted by the first network element, the first data being data of the target area or data of the target application.

[0023] In the above technical solution, the session management network element can obtain and send the data amount of the data of the target area or the target application transmitted by the first network element based on the first request message, so that the sixth network element can determine the power consumption corresponding to the target area or the target application based on the data amount of the data of the target area or the target application transmitted by the first network element, thereby achieving the purpose of collecting the power consumption information of the first network element in the granularity of area or application.

[0024] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes sending identification information of the first network element.

[0025] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first network element includes one or more user plane network elements, and the first data amount includes an amount of data of the first data transmitted by each user plane network element of the one or more user plane network elements.

[0026] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes receiving a third data amount, the third data amount including an amount of data of the first data of each session of one or more sessions; and determining, according to the third data amount, an amount of data of the first data transmitted by each user plane network element of the one or more user plane network elements, the one or more user plane network elements being used to transmit data of at least one session of the one or more sessions.

[0027] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes receiving identification information of the one or more sessions; and determining, according to the identification information of the one or more sessions, identification information of the one or more user plane network elements.

[0028] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first data is data of the target application, and the method further includes: sending information indicating the first region, the first region being a region in which a terminal device using the target application is located.

[0029] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a sixth network element, or can be performed by a chip or circuit of the sixth network element. The sixth network element can be a NWDAF network element or an EECF network element.

[0030] The method includes: obtaining total power consumption of a first network element and a second data amount; and determining a first power consumption based on the total power consumption of the first network element and the second data amount, wherein the first network element includes one or more access network devices.

[0031] The second data amount is a total amount of data transmitted by the first network element.

[0032] The first power consumption is power consumption of the first network element for transmitting the first data. Alternatively, the first power consumption is power consumption of a network for transmitting the first data, the network including the first network element.

[0033] In the above technical solution, based on the total amount of data transmitted by the first network element and the total power consumption of the first network element, the power consumption corresponding to the target region or the target application can be determined, thereby achieving the purpose of collecting power consumption information of the first network element in the granularity of region or application.

[0034] With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: obtaining a first data amount of the first network element; and determining the first power consumption based on the total power consumption of the first network element, the first data amount, and the second data amount.

[0035] With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: sending, to an access and mobility management network element, a third request message for requesting identification information of access network devices of a service region, the third request message indicating that the service region includes a first region, the first region being the target region or a region in which a terminal device using the target application is located; and receiving, from the access and mobility management network element, the identification information of the one or more access network devices.

[0036] With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: receiving, from the access and mobility management network element, information indicating regions respectively covered by the one or more access network devices.

[0037] In some implementations of the third aspect, the data of the target area includes data of terminal devices located in the target area.

[0038] In some implementations of the third aspect, the data of the target area includes data of a cell or a tracking area (TA) corresponding to the target area.

[0039] In some implementations of the third aspect, the first network element further includes one or more user plane network elements, and the first data amount includes a data amount of the first data transmitted by each of the one or more user plane network elements.

[0040] In some implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: sending, to the second network element, a first request message including information indicating the target area or the target application; and receiving the first data amount from the second network element.

[0041] In some implementations of the third aspect, the first data is data of the target area, the second network element is a session management network element, and a service area of the second network element includes the target area; or the first data is data of the target application, the second network element is a policy control network element, and the second network element provides policy control for a session used to transmit the data of the target application.

[0042] In some implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: receiving, from the second network element, identification information of the one or more user plane network elements.

[0043] In some implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: receiving, from the second network element, identification information of one or more sessions, data of the one or more sessions including the first data; and obtaining, according to the identification information of the one or more sessions, identification information of one or more user plane network elements used to transmit data of at least one session of the one or more sessions.

[0044] In some implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: sending, to the second network element, a second request message including the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements; and receiving, from the second network element, total power consumption of each of the one or more user plane network elements and a total amount of data transmitted by the each of the one or more user plane network elements.

[0045] In a fourth aspect, a method of communication is provided. The method can be performed by a second network element, or can be performed by a chip or circuit of the second network element. The method is not limited to this. For ease of description, the method is described below by way of example as being performed by a second network element. The second network element can be, for example, a session management function (SMF) network element.

[0046] It should be understood that the SMF network element can also be referred to as a session management network element.

[0047] The method includes receiving, from a sixth network element, a message for requesting power consumption information of a target area; obtaining a location of a terminal device (e.g., a UE) or a relationship between the terminal device (e.g., the UE) and the target area; obtaining, according to the location of the terminal device (e.g., the UE) or the relationship between the terminal device (e.g., the UE) and the target area, a first data amount of a user plane network element, the first data amount being a data amount of first data transmitted by the user plane network element, the first data being a data amount of data of the target area; and sending, to the sixth network element, the first data amount of the user plane network element.

[0048] In one implementation of the above, the session management network element obtains the first data amount of the user plane network element when the location of the terminal device (e.g., the UE) is in the target area or the relationship between the terminal device (e.g., the UE) and the target area is that the terminal device (e.g., the UE) is in the target area.

[0049] In the above technical solution, the session management network element can obtain the location of the terminal device (e.g., the UE) or the relationship between the terminal device (e.g., the UE) and the target area, thereby obtaining the first data amount of the user plane network element according to the location of the terminal device (e.g., the UE) or the relationship between the terminal device (e.g., the UE) and the target area, and sending the first data amount of the user plane network element to the sixth network element. In this way, the sixth network element can determine the power consumption corresponding to the target area based on the data amount of the data of the target area transmitted by the user plane network element, thereby achieving the purpose of collecting power consumption information of the user plane network element in a region granularity.

[0050] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the session management network element obtaining the location of the terminal device (e.g., the UE) or the relationship between the terminal device (e.g., the UE) and the target area includes the session management network element sending, to an access network device, a message for requesting power consumption information of a target area, and the session management network element receiving, from the access network device, the location of the terminal device (e.g., the UE) or the relationship between the terminal device (e.g., the UE) and the target area.

[0051] For example, the session management network element sends, to the access network device through the access and mobility management network element, a message for requesting to obtain power consumption information of a target area, and the session management network element receives, through the access and mobility management network element, a location of a terminal device (for example, a UE) or a relationship between the terminal device (for example, the UE) and the target area from the access network device.

[0052] With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the UPF sends, to the session management network element, an amount of data transmitted by the UPF for the target area.

[0053] With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the session management network element sends, to the UPF, a request message for requesting an amount of data transmitted by the UPF for the target area, and the UPF sends, to the session management network element, the amount of data transmitted by the UPF for the target area in response to the request message.

[0054] With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the session management network element aggregates and updates the local record information.

[0055] The record information aggregated and updated by the session management network element includes an amount of data of a session of a terminal device, location information related to the terminal device, and identification information of a UPF network element related to the session of the terminal device.

[0056] A fifth aspect provides a method for communication, which can be executed by a second network element or a chip or circuit of the second network element, and the present application does not limit this. For ease of description, the following takes the execution by the second network element as an example. Exemplarily, the second network element can be a session management function (SMF) network element.

[0057] The method includes: receiving a message for requesting power consumption information of a target application; obtaining, in response to the message, a first amount of data of a user plane network element, the first amount of data being an amount of data of first data transmitted by the user plane network element, the first data being an amount of data of data of the target application, and sending the first amount of data to a sixth network element.

[0058] In the technical solution, the session management network element can obtain the message for requesting the power consumption information of the target application, obtain the first amount of data of the user plane network element, and send the first amount of data of the user plane network element to the sixth network element. In this way, the sixth network element can determine the power consumption corresponding to the target application based on the amount of data of the data of the target application transmitted by the user plane network element, thereby achieving the purpose of collecting the power consumption information of the user plane network element in the granularity of the application.

[0059] With reference to the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the UPF sends, to the session management network element, an amount of data transmitted by the UPF for the target application.

[0060] The UPF transmits the data amount transmitted by the UPF for the target application to the session management network element can be that the UPF transmits the data amount transmitted by the UPF for the target application to the session management network element according to certain events or periodically.

[0061] With reference to the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the session management network element transmits a request message to the UPF, the request message being used to request the data amount transmitted by the UPF for the target application, and the UPF transmits the data amount transmitted by the UPF for the target application to the session management network element in response to the request message received by the UPF.

[0062] The request message includes information of the target application.

[0063] With reference to the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the session management network element aggregates and updates the local record information.

[0064] The sixth aspect provides a communication apparatus, including: a processing module, a transceiver module, wherein the processing module is configured to obtain a first data amount of a first network element, for example, obtain the first data amount of the first network element through the transceiver module, the first data amount being a data amount of first data transmitted by the first network element, the first data being data of a target area or data of a target application; the processing module is further configured to obtain total power consumption of the first network element and a second data amount, for example, obtain the total power consumption of the first network element and the second data amount through the transceiver module, the second data amount being a total amount of data transmitted by the first network element; the processing module is further configured to determine a first power consumption according to the total power consumption of the first network element, the first data amount and the second data amount, the first power consumption being power consumption of the first network element for transmitting the first data.

[0065] With reference to the sixth aspect, in some implementations of the sixth aspect, the data of the target area includes data of a terminal device located in the target area.

[0066] With reference to the sixth aspect, in some implementations of the sixth aspect, the data of the target area includes data of a cell corresponding to the target area.

[0067] With reference to the sixth aspect, in some implementations of the sixth aspect, the first network element includes one or more user plane network elements, and the first data amount includes a data amount of the first data transmitted by each user plane network element in the one or more user plane network elements.

[0068] With reference to the sixth aspect, in some implementations of the sixth aspect, the transceiver module is further configured to transmit a first request message to a second network element, the first request message including information used to indicate the target area or the target application; and the transceiver module is further configured to receive the first data amount from the second network element.

[0069] With reference to the sixth aspect, in some implementations of the sixth aspect, the first data is data of the target area, the second network element is a session management network element, and a service area of the second network element includes the target area; or the first data is data of the target application, the second network element is a policy control network element, and the second network element provides policy control for a session used to transmit the data of the target application.

[0070] With reference to the sixth aspect, in some implementations of the sixth aspect, the transceiver is further configured to receive the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements from the second network element.

[0071] With reference to the sixth aspect, in some implementations of the sixth aspect, the transceiver is further configured to receive identification information of one or more sessions from the second network element, and data of the one or more sessions includes the first data; and the processor is further configured to obtain the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements according to the identification information of the one or more sessions, and the one or more user plane network elements are used to transmit data of at least one session of the one or more sessions.

[0072] With reference to the sixth aspect, in some implementations of the sixth aspect, the transceiver is further configured to: send a second request message including the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements; and the transceiver further receives total power consumption of each user plane network element of the one or more user plane network elements and total amount of data transmitted by the each user plane network element.

[0073] With reference to the sixth aspect, in some implementations of the sixth aspect, the first network element includes one or more access network devices, the transceiver is further configured to send a third request message to an access and mobility management network element, the third request message being used to request identification information of the access network devices whose service area includes a first area, wherein the first area is the target area, or the first area is an area where a terminal device using the target application is located; and the transceiver is further configured to receive the identification information of the one or more access network devices from the access and mobility management network element.

[0074] With reference to the sixth aspect, in some implementations of the sixth aspect, the transceiver is further configured to receive area information covered by the one or more access network devices from the access and mobility management network element.

[0075] In a seventh aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, comprising: a processing module, a transceiver module, wherein the transceiver module is configured to receive a first request message, the first request message comprising information indicating a target area or a target application; the processing module is configured to obtain a first data volume of a first network element, and the transceiver module is configured to send the first data volume of the first network element, the first data volume being a data volume of first data transmitted by the first network element, the first data being data of the target area or data of the target application.

[0076] With reference to the seventh aspect, in some implementations of the seventh aspect, the transceiver module is further configured to send identification information of the first network element.

[0077] With reference to the seventh aspect, in some implementations of the seventh aspect, the first network element comprises one or more user plane network elements, and the first data volume comprises a data volume of the first data transmitted by each of the one or more user plane network elements.

[0078] With reference to the seventh aspect, in some implementations of the seventh aspect, the transceiver module is further configured to receive a third data volume, the third data volume comprising a data volume of the first data of each of one or more sessions; and the processing module is further configured to determine, according to the third data volume, a data volume of the first data transmitted by each of the one or more user plane network elements, the one or more user plane network elements being configured to transmit data of at least one of the one or more sessions.

[0079] With reference to the seventh aspect, in some implementations of the seventh aspect, the transceiver module is further configured to receive identification information of the one or more sessions; and the processing module is further configured to determine, according to the identification information of the one or more sessions, identification information of the one or more user plane network elements.

[0080] With reference to the seventh aspect, in some implementations of the seventh aspect, the first data is data of the target application, and the transceiver module is further configured to send information indicating a first area, the first area being an area in which a terminal device using the target application is located.

[0081] In an eighth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, comprising: a processing module, a transceiver module, wherein the processing module is configured to obtain a total power consumption of a first network element and a second data volume, for example, by the transceiver module obtaining the total power consumption of the first network element and the second data volume, and the processing module is further configured to determine a first power consumption according to the total power consumption of the first network element and the second data volume, wherein the first network element comprises one or more access network devices.

[0082] In some implementations of the eighth aspect, in conjunction with the eighth aspect, the processing module is further configured to obtain the first data amount of the first network element, for example, by the transceiver module obtaining the first data amount of the first network element; and determine the first power consumption according to the total power consumption of the first network element, the first data amount, and the second data amount.

[0083] In some implementations of the eighth aspect, in conjunction with the eighth aspect, the transceiver module is further configured to send a third request message to the access and mobility management network element, the third request message being used to request identification information of an access network device whose service area includes a first area, wherein the first area is the target area, or the first area is an area in which a terminal device using the target application is located; and receive the identification information of the one or more access network devices from the access and mobility management network element.

[0084] In some implementations of the eighth aspect, in conjunction with the eighth aspect, the transceiver module is further configured to receive information from the access and mobility management network element, the information being used to indicate areas covered by the one or more access network devices respectively.

[0085] In some implementations of the eighth aspect, in conjunction with the eighth aspect, the data of the target area includes data of a terminal device located in the target area.

[0086] In some implementations of the eighth aspect, in conjunction with the eighth aspect, the data of the target area includes data of a cell or a tracking area (TA) corresponding to the target area.

[0087] In some implementations of the eighth aspect, in conjunction with the eighth aspect, the first network element further includes one or more user plane network elements, and the first data amount includes a data amount of the first data transmitted by each of the one or more user plane network elements.

[0088] In some implementations of the eighth aspect, in conjunction with the eighth aspect, the transceiver module is further configured to send a first request message to a second network element, the first request message including information used to indicate the target area or the target application; and receive the first data amount from the second network element.

[0089] In some implementations of the eighth aspect, in conjunction with the eighth aspect, the first data is data of the target area, the second network element is a session management network element, and a service area of the second network element includes the target area; or the first data is data of the target application, the second network element is a policy control network element, and the second network element provides policy control for a session used to transmit the data of the target application.

[0090] In some implementations of the eighth aspect, in conjunction with the eighth aspect, the transceiver is further configured to receive the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements from the second network element.

[0091] In some implementations of the eighth aspect, in conjunction with the eighth aspect, the transceiver is further configured to receive identification information of one or more sessions from the second network element, the data of the one or more sessions including the first data; and the processor is further configured to obtain the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements based on the identification information of the one or more sessions, the one or more user plane network elements being configured to transmit data of at least one session of the one or more sessions.

[0092] In some implementations of the eighth aspect, in conjunction with the eighth aspect, the transceiver is further configured to send a second request message including the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements; and the transceiver is further configured to receive total power consumption of each user plane network element of the one or more user plane network elements and total amount of data transmitted by the each user plane network element.

[0093] In a ninth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, including a processor and a transceiver, wherein the transceiver is configured to receive a message from a sixth network element for requesting to obtain power consumption information of a target area; the processor is configured to obtain a location of a terminal device (e.g., a UE) or a relationship between the terminal device (e.g., a UE) and the target area; the processor is further configured to obtain a first data amount of a user plane network element based on the location of the terminal device (e.g., a UE) or the relationship between the terminal device (e.g., a UE) and the target area, the first data amount being an amount of first data transmitted by the user plane network element, the first data being an amount of data of the target area; and the transceiver is further configured to send the first data amount of the user plane network element to the sixth network element.

[0094] In some implementations of the ninth aspect, in conjunction with the ninth aspect, the session management network element obtaining the location of the terminal device (e.g., a UE) or the relationship between the terminal device (e.g., a UE) and the target area includes: the transceiver is further configured to send a message to an access network device for requesting to obtain power consumption information of a target area; and the transceiver is further configured to receive the location of the terminal device (e.g., a UE) or the relationship between the terminal device (e.g., a UE) and the target area from the access network device.

[0095] For example, the session management network element sends a message to an access network device for requesting to obtain power consumption information of a target area through an access and mobility management network element; and the session management network element receives the location of the terminal device (e.g., a UE) or the relationship between the terminal device (e.g., a UE) and the target area from the access network device through the access and mobility management network element.

[0096] In some implementations of the ninth aspect, the transceiver is further configured to send a request message to the UPF, the request message being used to request the data volume transmitted by the UPF for the target area, and the UPF sends the data volume transmitted by the UPF for the target area to the session management network element based on the request message received by the UPF.

[0097] In some implementations of the ninth aspect, the session management network element aggregates and updates the local record information.

[0098] In the tenth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which includes a transceiver and a processing module. The transceiver is configured to receive a message from a PCF network element, the message being used to request the power consumption information of a target area. The processing module is configured to obtain a first data volume of a user plane network element based on the received message, the first data volume being a data volume of first data transmitted by the user plane network element, the first data being a data volume of data of the target application. The transceiver is further configured to send the first data volume to a sixth network element.

[0099] In some implementations of the tenth aspect, the UPF actively sends the data volume transmitted by the UPF for the target area to the session management network element.

[0100] The UPF actively sending the data volume transmitted by the UPF for the target area to the session management network element means that the UPF sends the data volume transmitted by the UPF for the target application to the session management network element according to certain events or periodically.

[0101] In some implementations of the tenth aspect, the transceiver is further configured to send a request message to the UPF, the request message being used to request the data volume transmitted by the UPF for the target application, and the UPF sends the data volume transmitted by the UPF for the target application to the session management network element based on the request message received by the UPF.

[0102] The request message includes information of the target application.

[0103] In some implementations of the tenth aspect, the session management network element aggregates and updates the local record information.

[0104] In an eleventh aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which comprises a processor configured to cause the communication apparatus to perform the method of the first aspect and any of the implementation forms of the first aspect; or to perform the method of the second aspect and any of the implementation forms of the second aspect; or to perform the method of the third aspect and any of the implementation forms of the third aspect; or to perform the method of the fourth aspect and any of the implementation forms of the fourth aspect; or to perform the method of the fifth aspect and any of the implementation forms of the fifth aspect, by executing computer programs or instructions, or by a logic circuit.

[0105] In a possible implementation form, the communication apparatus further comprises a memory configured to store the computer programs or instructions.

[0106] In a possible implementation form, the communication apparatus further comprises a communication interface configured to input and / or output signals.

[0107] In a twelfth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which comprises a logic circuit and an input / output interface configured to input and / or output signals, and the logic circuit is configured to perform the method of the first aspect and any of the implementation forms of the first aspect; or to perform the method of the second aspect and any of the implementation forms of the second aspect; or to perform the method of the third aspect and any of the implementation forms of the third aspect; or to perform the method of the fourth aspect and any of the implementation forms of the fourth aspect; or to perform the method of the fifth aspect and any of the implementation forms of the fifth aspect.

[0108] In a thirteenth aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided, which stores computer programs or instructions, and when the computer programs or the instructions are run on a computer, the method of the first aspect and any of the implementation forms of the first aspect is performed; or the method of the second aspect and any of the implementation forms of the second aspect is performed; or the method of the third aspect and any of the implementation forms of the third aspect is performed; or the method of the fourth aspect and any of the implementation forms of the fourth aspect is performed; or the method of the fifth aspect and any of the implementation forms of the fifth aspect is performed.

[0109] In a fourteenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, comprising instructions which, when executed on a computer, cause the method of the first aspect and any implementation of the first aspect to be performed; or cause the method of the second aspect and any implementation of the second aspect to be performed; or cause the method of the third aspect and any implementation of the third aspect to be performed; or cause the method of the fourth aspect and any implementation of the fourth aspect to be performed; or cause the method of the fifth aspect and any implementation of the fifth aspect to be performed.

[0110] In a fifteenth aspect, a chip is provided, comprising a processor and an interface, configured to invoke and run a computer program stored in a memory to perform the method of the first aspect and any implementation of the first aspect; or perform the method of the second aspect and any implementation of the second aspect; or perform the method of the third aspect and any implementation of the third aspect; or perform the method of the fourth aspect and any implementation of the fourth aspect; or perform the method of the fifth aspect and any implementation of the fifth aspect.

[0111] In a sixteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising the communication apparatus of the sixth aspect and any implementation of the sixth aspect, and / or the communication apparatus of the seventh aspect and any implementation of the seventh aspect, and / or the communication apparatus of the eighth aspect and any implementation of the eighth aspect, and / or the communication apparatus of the ninth aspect and any implementation of the ninth aspect, and / or the communication apparatus of the tenth aspect and any implementation of the tenth aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0112] Figure 1 FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a service-based architecture.

[0113] Figure 2 FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a target area containing network elements provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0114] Figure 3 FIG. 16 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0115] Figure 4 FIG. 17 is a schematic flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0116] Figure 5 FIG. 18 is a schematic flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0117] Figure 6is a schematic flowchart of another method of communication provided by embodiments of the application.

[0118] Figure 7 is a schematic flowchart of another method of communication provided by embodiments of the application.

[0119] Figure 8 is a schematic flowchart of another method of communication provided by embodiments of the application.

[0120] Figure 9 is a schematic flowchart of another method of communication provided by embodiments of the application.

[0121] Figure 10 is a schematic flowchart of another method of communication provided by embodiments of the application.

[0122] Figure 11 is a schematic flowchart of another method of communication provided by embodiments of the application.

[0123] Figure 12 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 1500 according to an embodiment of the application.

[0124] Figure 13 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 1500 according to an embodiment of the application.

[0125] Figure 14 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 1600 according to an embodiment of the application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0126] The technical solutions in the application will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0127] In order to facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the application, the following points are first explained.

[0128] First, in the present application, unless otherwise specified, the meaning of "a plurality of" is two or more.

[0129] Second, in the present application, unless otherwise specified and there is no logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be mutually referenced, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0130] Third, the various digital numbers involved in the present application are only for the convenience of differentiation, and do not limit the protection scope of the present application. The size of the serial number involved in the present application does not mean the execution order, and the execution order of each process should be determined according to its function and inherent logic. For example, the terms "first", "second", "third", "fourth" and other various term labels in the specification and claims of the present application and the drawings (if any) are used to distinguish similar objects, and do not have to be used to describe a specific order or sequence. Among them, the data thus used can be interchanged under appropriate circumstances, so that the embodiments described herein can be implemented in an order other than that illustrated or described herein.

[0131] At the same time, any embodiment or design scheme described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the present application should not be interpreted as more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. Rather, the use of "exemplary" or "for example" and the like is intended to present the relevant concept in a specific manner for ease of understanding.

[0132] Fourth, the terms "include" and "have" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, for example, a process, method, system, product or device including a series of steps or units does not have to be limited to those steps or units clearly listed, but can include other steps or units not clearly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices.

[0133] Fifth, in the present application, "pre-configuration" can include pre-definition, for example, protocol definition. Among them, "pre-definition" can be realized by pre-saving the corresponding code, table or other means that can be used to indicate relevant information in the device, and the present application does not limit the specific implementation manner thereof.

[0134] Sixth, the "storage" or "save" involved in the present application can refer to saving in one or more memories. The one or more memories can be separately arranged or integrated in the encoder or decoder, processor, or communication device. The one or more memories can also be partially separately arranged and partially integrated in the decoder, processor, or communication device. The type of memory can be any form of storage medium, which is not limited.

[0135] Seventh, the "protocol" involved in the present application can refer to a standard protocol in the field of communication, which can include, for example, fourth generation (4th generation, 4G) network, fifth generation (5th generation, 5G) network protocol, new radio (new radio, NR) protocol, 5.5G network protocol, sixth generation (6th generation, 6G) network protocol and related protocols applied in future communication systems, which is not limited by the present application.

[0136] Eight, the arrows or blocks shown by the dashed lines in the schematic diagrams in the drawing part of the specification of the present application represent optional steps or optional modules.

[0137] Nine, in the present application, unless otherwise specified, " / " represents that the objects before and after are in an "or" relationship, for example, A / B can represent A or B; "and / or" in the present application is only a description of the relationship between the associated objects, which means that there can be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and / or B, which can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone, of which A and B can be singular or plural.

[0138] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: global system of mobile communication (GSM) system, code division multiple access (CDMA) system, wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) system, general packet radio service (GPRS), long term evolution (LTE) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD), universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication system, 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system or new radio (NR). Among them, the 5G mobile communication system can be non-standalone (NSA) or standalone (SA).

[0139] The technical solutions provided in the application can also be applied to machine type communication (MTC), long term evolution-machine (LTE-M), device to device (D2D) network, machine to machine (M2M) network, internet of things (IoT) network or other network. The IoT network may, for example, include a vehicle network. In the vehicle network system, the communication modes are collectively referred to as vehicle to X (V2X, X may represent any thing), for example, the V2X may include vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) communication, vehicle to pedestrian (V2P) communication or vehicle to network (V2N) communication, etc.

[0140] The technical solutions provided in the application can also be applied to future communication systems, such as a 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system. The application is not limited in this regard.

[0141] As an example, Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a service-oriented architecture. Figure 1 The 5G network architecture shown may include three parts, namely a terminal device part, a data network (DN) and an operator network part. The functions of some network elements in the network are briefly introduced below.

[0142] In the embodiments of the application, the terminal device can also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user equipment.

[0143] The terminal device can be a device providing voice / data connectivity to a user, for example, a handheld device with wireless connection function, a vehicle-mounted device, etc. At present, some examples of terminals can be: a mobile phone, a pad, a computer (such as a notebook computer, a palm computer, etc.) with wireless transceiver function, a mobile internet device (MID), a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home (for example, a household appliance such as a television, a smart box, a game console), a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a 5G network, or a terminal device in a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN), etc.

[0144] Among them, the wearable device can also be called a wearable smart device, which is a general term for devices that can be designed and developed by applying wearable technology to daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. The wearable device is a portable device that can be directly worn on the body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. The wearable device is not only a hardware device, but also a powerful function realized through software support and data interaction, cloud interaction. The general wearable smart device includes functions, large size, and can realize complete or partial functions without relying on a smart phone, such as smart watches or smart glasses, etc., and focuses on a certain application function and needs to cooperate with other devices such as a smart phone, such as various smart wristbands, smart jewelry, etc. for monitoring vital signs.

[0145] In addition, the terminal device can also be a terminal device in an Internet of Things (IoT) system. IoT is an important part of future information technology development, and its main technical feature is to connect objects through communication technology and network, so as to realize the intelligent network of man-machine interconnection and object-object interconnection. IoT technology can achieve massive connection, deep coverage and terminal power saving through, for example, narrowband (NB) technology.

[0146] In the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can also be a vehicle or a whole vehicle, which can realize communication through Internet of Vehicles, or a component located in the vehicle (for example, placed in or installed in the vehicle), that is, a vehicle-mounted terminal device, a vehicle-mounted module or an on-board unit (OBU).

[0147] In addition, the terminal device can also include a smart printer, a train detector, a gas station sensor, and the like, and the main functions include collecting data (for some terminal devices), receiving control information and downlink data of a network device, and transmitting electromagnetic waves to transmit uplink data to the network device.

[0148] The operator network can include one or more of the following network elements: a charging function (CHF) network element, a policy control function (PCF) network element, a unified data management (UDM) network element, a network repository function (NRF) network element, an operations, administration and maintenance (OAM) network element, a network data analytics function (NWDAF) network element, an energy efficiency control function (EECF) network element, an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, a session management function (SMF) network element, a radio access network (RAN), and a user plane function (UPF) network element, and the like.

[0149] It should be understood that, in the above operator network, the part other than the radio access network part can be referred to as the core network part.

[0150] The functions of the above-mentioned network elements are described in detail as follows.

[0151] RAN: used to implement wireless-related functions. It includes one or more access network devices or access network elements, which can also be referred to as network devices.

[0152] In one example, the access network element can be any device with wireless transceiver functions. The device includes but is not limited to: an evolved node B (eNB), a radio network controller (RNC), a node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., a home evolved NodeB or home Node B, HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), an access point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, a transmission point (TP), or a transmission and reception point (TRP), etc. It can also be a gNB or a TP in a 5G (e.g., NR) system, one or a group of (including multiple antenna panels) antenna panels of a base station in a 5G system, or a network node constituting a gNB or a TP, such as a baseband unit (BBU) or a distributed unit (DU), or a base station in a next-generation communication 6G system, etc.

[0153] In some deployments, a gNB can include a centralized unit (CU) and a DU. A gNB can also include an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU implements part of the functions of the gNB, and the DU implements part of the functions of the gNB. For example, the CU is responsible for processing non-real-time protocols and services, implements the radio resource control (RRC), and the functions of the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer. The DU is responsible for processing the physical layer protocol and real-time services, and implements the functions of the radio link control (RLC) layer, the medium access control (MAC) layer, and the physical (PHY) layer. The AAU implements part of the physical layer processing functions, radio frequency processing, and related functions of the active antenna. Since the information of the RRC layer eventually becomes the information of the PHY layer, or is transformed from the information of the PHY layer, in this architecture, high-layer signaling, such as RRC layer signaling, can also be considered as being sent by the DU, or being sent by the DU and the CU. It can be understood that the network device can be a device including one or more of the CU node, the DU node, and the AAU node. In addition, the CU can be divided into a network device in the radio access network (RAN), or can be divided into a network device in the core network (CN), which is not limited in the present application.

[0154] The network device serves a cell, and a terminal device communicates with the cell through a transmission resource (for example, a frequency domain resource, or a spectrum resource) allocated by the network device. The cell can belong to a macro base station (for example, a macro eNB or a macro gNB, etc.), or a base station corresponding to a small cell. The small cell can include a metro cell, a micro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, etc. These small cells have the characteristics of small coverage and low transmit power, and are suitable for providing high-speed data transmission services.

[0155] AMF network element: responsible for mobility management of the terminal device, including mobile state management, allocation of a temporary identity of the terminal device, authentication and authorization of the terminal device.

[0156] SMF network element: responsible for the selection of UPF network elements, reselection of UPF network elements, internet protocol (IP) address allocation, responsible for the establishment, modification and release of bearers, quality of service (QoS) control.

[0157] UDM network element: responsible for managing subscription data, and responsible for notifying corresponding network elements when subscription data is modified.

[0158] UPF network element: responsible for supporting all or part of the following functions: communication with the SMF network element, forwarding and processing user plane data based on rules issued by the SMF network element based on packet forwarding control protocol (PFCP); responsible for routing and forwarding 5G core network user plane packets; identify different data and service types to facilitate network differentiation of different types of traffic; based on the identified data and service types, perform corresponding actions and policies such as traffic shaping, priority adjustment, etc. to meet network management and service requirements; record traffic forwarding volume and be responsible for QoS processing to ensure that different types of data can receive corresponding quality of service guarantees; UPF as a connection anchor, all core network data can only flow to external networks after being forwarded by UPF.

[0159] CHF network element: also known as a billing network element, responsible for maintaining billing-related information, including interacting with the SMF network element to obtain billing information, and returning information such as billing quota values, etc.

[0160] OAM network element: it is a general term for a set of network management functions, responsible for including fault monitoring, fault reporting, fault location, and fault repair, etc.

[0161] NRF network element: supports the registration of network functions, enabling each function entity in the network to register in the NRF network element. At the same time, it also provides discovery functions, enabling other network functions to query and discover registered network functions. In addition, the NRF network element is responsible for selecting functions, based on certain policies or rules, to select the most appropriate network function entity for other network functions to interact with.

[0162] PCF network element: responsible for providing policy control rules for terminal device sessions, including session policies, mobility policies, etc. These policy control rules ensure the effectiveness and security of network services. In addition, the PCF network element provides a unified policy framework to implement policy rules for control plane functions.

[0163] NWDAF network element: Based on network data, it automatically senses and analyzes the network. It can also make decisions based on the current network status and terminal device needs, such as dynamically adjusting network resource allocation and optimizing routing. Furthermore, the NWDAF network element participates in the entire lifecycle of network planning, construction, maintenance, optimization, and operations, making the network easier to maintain and control and improving the efficiency of network resource utilization.

[0164] EECF network element: responsible for real-time monitoring and management of devices in the network to optimize energy utilization and reduce energy consumption.

[0165] Figure 1 The network architecture shown also includes an application function (AF) network element, which is responsible for providing certain application layer services to terminal devices. When providing services to terminal devices, the AF network element has requirements for quality of service (QoS) policies and billing policies, and needs to notify the core network. At the same time, the AF network element also needs application-related information fed back by the core network. The AF network element can be a core network element or a network element deployed by a third party. The power consumption collection proposed by the R19 EnergySys project includes but is not limited to: area-based power consumption collection and application-based power consumption collection. The following explains the power consumption collection based on regional granularity and the power consumption collection based on application granularity.

[0166] 1. Area-based power consumption collection:

[0167] Area-based power consumption collection refers to collecting power consumption information of network elements located in a certain area, and / or information on the power consumption consumed by network elements for communicating with devices or network elements in a certain area. For example, in the following scenarios, the operator network needs to collect power consumption at a regional granularity: a) Network elements deployed in remote areas may not be able to connect to the power transmission grid and can only rely on energy sources such as diesel for power supply. The supply of diesel and other energy sources in remote areas is also limited. Therefore, the operator network needs to monitor the power consumption of the area. When it exceeds a certain threshold, it may be necessary to take certain measures to save energy; b) An enterprise rents an operator network to serve the area where a production department of the enterprise is located. If the enterprise wants to monitor the power consumption of this production department to identify whether the equipment of this production department has abnormalities, then the operator network needs to collect and open the power consumption corresponding to the area where this production department is located.

[0168] For example, Figure 2 As shown, the network includes SMF, UPF1, UPF2, UPF3, RAN1, RAN2, and RAN3. SMF controls UPF1, UPF2, and UPF3. UPF1 network element is connected to RAN1, RAN2, and RAN3, and UPF2 is connected to RAN3 network element.

[0169] Assuming the target area contains RAN2, RAN3 and UPF2, the power consumption of the target area includes: the power consumption of RAN2 and RAN3, the power consumption of UPF2, and the part of the power consumption of UPF1 caused by sending data to or receiving data from the network element located in the target area (i.e. RAN2 and RAN3).

[0170] 2. Application-based power consumption collection:

[0171] Application-based power consumption collection refers to collecting the power consumption information of a certain application served by the operator network. For example, the power consumption generated by the operator network in transmitting application data between the terminal device and the server providing a certain application.

[0172] The purposes of collecting area-based power consumption include but are not limited to: a) the operator network needs to charge a certain application according to the power consumption information of the application; b) the application server requests the operator network to open the power consumption information corresponding to the application.

[0173] Therefore, the embodiments of the present application provide a communication method which can collect power consumption information of network elements in granularity of area or application.

[0174] Figure 3 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application. The method can be executed by a sixth network element, or can be executed by a module and / or device (for example, a chip or an integrated circuit, etc.) with corresponding functions installed in the sixth network element. The present application is not limited. For the convenience of description, the following will be described taking the sixth network element as the execution subject. Exemplarily, the sixth network element can be a NWDAF network element or an EECF network element. As shown in the figure, the method can include steps 410-430. The steps 410-430 will be described in detail below, and the parts not described in detail can refer to the description above and the existing protocol. Figure 3

[0175] Step 410: Obtain a first data amount of a first network element.

[0176] In the embodiments of the present application, the sixth network element can obtain a first data amount of a first network element, wherein the first data amount can be the data amount of the first data transmitted by the first network element, and the first data is the data of a target area or the data of a target application.

[0177] The above-mentioned data of the target area can include the data of the terminal device located in the target area, or can include the data of the cell corresponding to the target area, or can include the data of the tracking area (TA) corresponding to the target area, which is not limited by the present application.

[0178] ​The first network element can include one or more user plane network elements, or can also include one or more access network devices, which are not limited in the present application.

[0179] In one example, assuming that the first network element includes one or more user plane network elements, the first data amount includes a data amount of first data transmitted by each of the one or more user plane network elements.

[0180] In another example, assuming that the first network element includes one or more access network devices, the first data amount includes a data amount of first data transmitted by each of the one or more access network devices.

[0181] In a possible implementation, the sixth network element obtaining the first data amount of the first network element includes: the sixth network element receiving the first data amount from the second network element.

[0182] In another possible implementation, the sixth network element obtaining the first data amount of the first network element includes: the sixth network element receiving a fourth data amount from the second network element, and determining the first data amount according to the fourth data amount. In an example, the first network element is a user plane network element, the second network element includes a session management network element #1 and a session management network element #2, and the fourth data amount includes a data amount of data transmitted by a session served by the first network element in a session managed by the session management network element #1 (denoted as data amount #1) and a data amount of data transmitted by the session served by the first network element in a session managed by the session management network element #2 (denoted as data amount #2). That is, the sixth network element receiving the fourth data amount sent by the second network element includes: the sixth network element receiving the data amount #1 from the session management network element #1 and receiving the data amount #2 from the session management network element #2. In this example, the first data amount includes the data amount #1 and the data amount #2. The session can be a protocol data unit (PDU) session.

[0183] In an example, the first network element is a user plane network element, the user plane network element serves a session of a terminal device, the terminal device is located in a target area, and the fourth data amount is a data amount of data of the session of the terminal device transmitted by the user plane network element. In this example, the first data amount includes data amounts of data transmitted by the user plane network element for all sessions meeting the above condition.

[0184] In an example, the first network element is a user plane network element, the user plane network element serves a session of a terminal device, the session of the terminal device is used to transmit data of a target application, and the fourth data amount is a data amount of data of the session used to transmit the data of the target application in the session of the terminal device transmitted by the user plane network element. In this example, the first data amount includes data amounts of data transmitted by the user plane network element for all sessions meeting the above condition.

[0185] Exemplarily, the first network element is a user plane network element, the user plane network element services a session of a terminal device, and the fourth data volume is a data volume of data transmitted by the user plane network element for a session of a terminal device located in the target area and managed by the second network element.

[0186] Exemplarily, the first network element is a user plane network element, the user plane network element services a session of a terminal device, and the fourth data volume is a data volume of data transmitted by the user plane network element for a session of a terminal device located in the target area and managed by the second network element.

[0187] Optionally, when the session managed by the session management network element #1 includes multiple sessions, the data volume #1 can include a data volume of data transmitted by each of the multiple sessions or a total data volume of data transmitted by the multiple sessions, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0188] In another possible implementation, the sixth network element obtaining the first data volume of the first network element includes: the sixth network element receiving the fifth data volume from the first network element, and determining the first data volume according to the fifth data volume.

[0189] Exemplarily, the first network element is a user plane network element, the user plane network element services a session of a terminal device, and the fourth data volume is a data volume of data transmitted by the user plane network element for a session of a terminal device located in the target area and managed by the second network element.

[0190] Exemplarily, the first network element is a user plane network element, the user plane network element services a session of a terminal device, and the fourth data volume is a data volume of data transmitted by the user plane network element for a session of a terminal device located in the target area and managed by the second network element.

[0191] In the embodiments of the present application, before the sixth network element receives the first data volume from the second network element, the sixth network element can also send a first request message to the second network element, the first request message including information for indicating the target area or the target application, and the first request message being used for requesting a data volume of first data transmitted by the first network element.

[0192] For example, the information used to indicate the target area can include, but is not limited to, information used to identify one or more cells included in the target area, such as one or more cell identifiers (IDs), such as a list of cell IDs; information of one or more tracking areas (TAs) included in the target area, such as one or more tracking area codes (TACs), such as a list of TACs, and the like.

[0193] For example, the information used to indicate the target application can include, but is not limited to, address information corresponding to the target application (e.g., an IP address of the target application, information used to describe characteristics of a service data flow of the target application, such as a service data flow description), or identification information of the target application (e.g., an Application ID), and the like.

[0194] Optionally, before the sixth network element sends the first request message to the second network element, the method further includes: the sixth network element obtaining information of the second network element. In this implementation manner, the above-mentioned sending, by the sixth network element, of the first request message to the second network element can be: sending, by the sixth network element, the first request message to the second network element according to the information of the second network element.

[0195] For example, the sixth network element can obtain the information of the second network element through the following steps 411 to 412 (not shown in FIG. 4). Figure 3

[0196] Step 411: The sixth network element sends a fourth request message to a third network element, and correspondingly, the third network element receives the fourth request message from the sixth network element.

[0197] The fourth request message includes information used to indicate the target area or the target application, and the fourth request message is used to request information of the second network element.

[0198] Step 412: The third network element sends a fourth response message to the sixth network element, and correspondingly, the sixth network element receives the fourth response message from the third network element, and the fourth response message includes the information of the second network element.

[0199] For example, after receiving the fourth request message, the third network element obtains the information of the second network element according to the information used to indicate the target area or the target application.

[0200] ​In one example, the first data is data of the target area, the second network element is an SMF network element, the service area of the second network element includes the target area, and the third network element is a network repository function (NRF) network element.

[0201] In another example, the first data is data of the target application, the second network element is a policy control function (PCF) network element, the second network element provides policy control for a session used to transmit the data of the target application, and the third network element is a binding support function (BSF) network element.

[0202] In the case where the first data is data of the target area, the steps 411-412 can be replaced by the following steps 413-416 (not shown in the figure). Figure 3

[0203] Step 413: The sixth network element sends a seventh request message to the fourth network element, and the fourth network element receives the seventh request message from the sixth network element.

[0204] The seventh request message includes information indicating the target area, and the seventh request message is used to obtain information used to identify terminal devices located in the target area.

[0205] Step 414: The fourth network element sends a seventh response message to the sixth network element, and the seventh response message includes information used to identify terminal devices located in the target area.

[0206] For example, after receiving the seventh request message, the fourth network element obtains information used to identify terminal devices located in the target area according to the information indicating the target area in the seventh request message, and sends a seventh response message responding to the seventh request message to the sixth network element, and the seventh response message includes information used to identify terminal devices located in the target area.

[0207] Step 415: The sixth network element sends an eighth request message to the fifth network element, and the fifth network element receives the eighth request message from the sixth network element.

[0208] The eighth request message includes information used to identify terminal devices located in the target area, and the eighth request message is used to request information of the second network element.

[0209] Step 416: The fifth network element sends an eighth response message to the sixth network element, and the eighth response message includes information of the second network element.

[0210] ​For example, after receiving the eighth request message, the fifth network element obtains the information of the second network element according to the information for identifying the terminal device located in the target area, and sends an eighth response message in response to the eighth request message to the sixth network element, wherein the eighth response message comprises the information of the second network element.

[0211] In one example, the first data is data of the target area, the second network element is an SMF network element, the second network element manages a session of a terminal device located in the target area, and the fourth network element is an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element. The fifth network element is a unified data management (UDM) network element.

[0212] Optionally, in some embodiments, the sixth network element can also obtain the identification information of the first network element. Different implementation manners are described below.

[0213] In Example 1, the first network element comprises one or more user plane network elements, and the sixth network element can obtain the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements in the embodiments of the present application. There are various specific implementation manners, and three possible implementation manners are described below.

[0214] In one possible implementation manner, after receiving the first request message sent by the sixth network element, the second network element can also obtain the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements, and send the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements to the sixth network element.

[0215] For example, the second network element can obtain the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements according to the context information of the session stored by the second network element, the service area of the one or more user plane network elements has an overlap with the target area, and the one or more user plane network elements serve the session managed by the second network element. For example, the second network element obtains the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements according to the identification information of the user plane network element contained in the context information of each session managed by the second network element.

[0216] For example, the second network element can obtain the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements according to the context information of the session stored by the second network element, the one or more user plane network elements serve the session managed by the second network element, and the one or more user plane network elements are used to transmit data of the target application. For example, the second network element obtains the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements according to the identification information of the user plane network element contained in the context information of each session managed by the second network element.

[0217] In another possible implementation, after receiving the first request message sent by the sixth network element, the second network element can further obtain the identification information of one or more sessions, and send the identification information of the one or more sessions to the sixth network element. After receiving the identification information of the one or more sessions, the sixth network element can obtain the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements according to the identification information of the one or more sessions. For example, the sixth network element sends an eleventh request message to the charging network element, where the eleventh request message contains the identification information of the one or more sessions. After receiving the request message, the charging network element obtains the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements serving the one or more sessions from the stored information (containing the context information of the session) according to the identification of the one or more sessions, and sends an eleventh response message responding to the eleventh request message to the sixth network element, where the eleventh response message contains the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements.

[0218] In another possible implementation, the first request message sent by the sixth network element contains the address information of the sixth network element. After receiving the first request message sent by the sixth network element, the second network element sends a ninth request message to the first network element, where the ninth request message contains the address information of the first network element, and the first network element is an anchor user plane network element of a session of a terminal device located in the target area managed by the second network element, or one or more user plane network elements of a session requested by a terminal device located in the target area managed by the second network element. After receiving the ninth request message, the first network element sends the fifth data volume and the identification information of the first network element to the sixth network element according to the address information of the sixth network element.

[0219] It should be noted that the "reporting" in the embodiments of the present application can also be "sending". For example, the first network element sends the fifth data volume and the identification information of the first network element to the sixth network element.

[0220] It should be understood that the data of the one or more sessions includes the first data, and the one or more user plane network elements are used to transmit the data of at least one session in the one or more sessions.

[0221] In Example 2, it is assumed that the first network element includes one or more access network devices, and the sixth network element can obtain the identification information of the one or more access network devices in the embodiments of the present application. In one possible implementation, the sixth network element can send a third request message to an access and mobility management network element, where the third request message is used to request the identification information of the access network devices serving the first area. After receiving the third request message, the access and mobility management network element queries the identification information of the one or more access network devices serving the first area, and sends the identification information of the one or more access network devices to the sixth network element.

[0222] It should be understood that the first area can be the target area described above, or can also be an area in which a terminal device using the target application described above is located, and embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations in this regard.

[0223] Optionally, in some embodiments, the sixth network element can also obtain area information covered by the one or more access network devices. In a possible implementation, the sixth network element can obtain the area information covered by the one or more access network devices according to the third request message described above, and send the area information covered by the one or more access network devices to the NWDAF network element or the EECF network element. The area information covered by the access network device can include but is not limited to information for identifying one or more cells included in the target area, such as one or more cell identifiers (IDs), such as a list of cell IDs; information of one or more tracking areas (TAs) included in the target area, such as one or more tracking area codes (TACs), such as a list of TACs, and the like.

[0224] Step 420: Obtain the total power consumption of the first network element and the second data amount.

[0225] In embodiments of the present application, the sixth network element can obtain the total power consumption of the first network element and the second data amount. The second data amount can be the total amount of data transmitted by the first network element, the total power consumption of the first network element can be the total power consumption of the first network element for transmitting data, or the total power consumption of the first network element can be the total power consumption of a physical network function (PNF) of the first network element, or the total power consumption of the first network element can be the total power consumption of a virtualized network function (VNF) of the first network element.

[0226] As an example, taking the first network element including one or more user plane network elements as an example, the total power consumption of the first network element includes the total power consumption of each user plane network element in the one or more user plane network elements, and the second data amount includes the total amount of data transmitted by each user plane network element in the one or more user plane network elements.

[0227] In a possible implementation, after obtaining the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements, the sixth network element can send a second request message including the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements to the OAM network element. After receiving the second request message, the OAM network element can send the total power consumption of each user plane network element in the one or more user plane network elements and the total amount of data transmitted by each user plane network element to the sixth network element.

[0228] Another example, taking the first network element including one or more access network devices as an example, the total power consumption of the first network element includes the total power consumption of each of the one or more access network devices, and the second data amount includes the total amount of data transmitted by each of the one or more access network devices.

[0229] In a possible implementation, after obtaining the identification information of the one or more access network devices, the sixth network element can send a fifth request message to the OAM network element, where the fifth request message includes the identification information of the one or more access network devices. After receiving the fifth request message, the OAM network element can send the total power consumption of each of the one or more access network devices and the total amount of data transmitted by each of the one or more access network devices to the sixth network element.

[0230] Step 430: determining the first power consumption according to the total power consumption of the first network element, the first data amount, and the second data amount.

[0231] In the embodiments of the present application, the sixth network element can determine the first power consumption according to the total power consumption of the first network element, the first data amount, and the second data amount. The first power consumption can be the power consumption of the first network element for transmitting the first data. Alternatively, it can also be understood as the power consumption of the network for transmitting the first data, where the network includes the first network element.

[0232] In a possible implementation, the sixth network element can determine the proportion of the first data amount in the second data amount, and determine the first power consumption of the first network element according to the proportion and the total power consumption of the first network element.

[0233] In the above technical solution, based on the data amount of the data of the target region or the target application transmitted by the first network element, the total amount of data transmitted by the first network element, and the total power consumption of the first network element, the power consumption corresponding to the target region or the target application can be determined, thereby achieving the purpose of collecting the power consumption information of the first network element in the granularity of region or application.

[0234] Figure 4 FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of another method of communication provided by the embodiments of the present application. The method can be executed by a second network element, or by a module and / or device (for example, a chip or an integrated circuit, etc.) having corresponding functions installed in the second network element. The present application does not make any limitation. For the convenience of description, the following will be described taking the second network element as the execution subject. Exemplarily, the second network element can be an SMF network element.

[0235] As shown in FIG. 5, the method can include steps 510-520, which will be described in detail below. Figure 4

[0236] Step 510: receiving a first request message.

[0237] ​As an example, the second network element can receive a first request message, the first request message being used to indicate information about a target area or a target application, and the first request message being used to request a data volume of the first data transmitted by the first network element. The specific information about the target area or the target application can refer to the description in Figure 3 , and will not be described here.

[0238] In a possible implementation, the second network element can receive the first request message sent by the sixth network element.

[0239] In another possible implementation, the second network element can receive the first request message sent by the policy control network element.

[0240] Step 520: sending the data volume of the first network element.

[0241] As an example, the second network element can obtain the data volume of the first network element according to the first request message, and send the data volume of the first network element to the NWDAF network element or the EECF network element.

[0242] In a possible implementation, if the session served by the user plane network element is only managed by one second network element, the second network element obtains the data volume of the first network element according to the first request message, that is, a first data volume of the first network element, and the second network element can send the first data volume to the sixth network element.

[0243] In another possible implementation, if the session served by the user plane network element is managed by multiple second network elements, each second network element obtains the data volume of the first network element according to the first request message, that is, a fourth data volume of the first network element, and each second network element can send the fourth data volume of the first network element obtained by itself to the sixth network element. After receiving the fourth data volume of the first network element sent by each second network element respectively, the sixth network element can obtain the first data volume of the first network element by synthesizing the fourth data volume of the first network element sent by multiple second network elements. For example, the sixth network element determines the sum of the fourth data volume of the first network element sent by multiple second network elements as the first data volume of the first network element.

[0244] It should be understood that the description about the first data volume can refer to the description in Figure 3 , and will not be described here.

[0245] Optionally, in some embodiments, taking an example of the first network element including one or more user plane network elements, the second network element can further obtain identification information of the one or more user plane network elements, and send the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements to the sixth network element.

[0246] In a possible implementation, the second network element can obtain the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements according to the stored context information.

[0247] In another possible implementation, the second network element can further send a sixth request message to the charging network element, where the sixth request message comprises information of a target area or a target application, the charging network element obtains the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements according to the information of the target area or the target application, and sends a sixth response message in response to the sixth request message to the SMF network element, where the sixth response message comprises the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements.

[0248] In another possible implementation, after receiving the sixth request message sent by the second network element, the charging network element can obtain the identification of one or more sessions according to the information of the target area or the target application comprised in the sixth request message, and send a sixth response message in response to the sixth request message, where the sixth response message comprises the identification of the one or more sessions. After receiving the identification of the one or more sessions, the SMF network element can determine the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements according to the identification of the one or more sessions.

[0249] There are various possible implementations of the implementation in which the second network element obtains the data volume of the first network element according to the first request message, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations thereon. In the following, taking the case in which the second network element obtains the first data volume of the first network element as an example, several possible implementations are listed.

[0250] In one possible implementation, the second network element can obtain the first data volume of the first network element according to the stored context information.

[0251] In another possible implementation, after receiving the sixth request message sent by the second network element, the charging network element can obtain a third data volume according to the information of the target area or the target application comprised in the sixth request message, where the third data volume comprises the data volume of the first data of each session in the one or more sessions, and send a sixth response message in response to the sixth request message, where the sixth response message comprises the third data volume. After receiving the third data volume, the second network element can determine the data volume of the first data transmitted by each user plane network element in the one or more user plane network elements according to the third data volume, where the one or more user plane network elements are used to transmit the data of at least one session in the one or more sessions.

[0252] In another possible implementation, the second network element receives a fourth data volume from the one or more user plane network elements. For example, after receiving the first request message, the second network element sends a tenth request message to the one or more user plane network elements. After receiving the tenth request message, the one or more user plane network elements respectively send a tenth response message in response to the tenth request message to the second network element, where the tenth response message comprises a fifth data volume, and the second network element determines the first data volume according to the fifth data volume.

[0253] In the following, the embodiments of the present application are described in combination with Figure 5 - Figure 7 andFigure 11 With the sixth network element being a NWDAF network element / EECF network element, and the second network element being a SMF network element, a specific way of the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application is described in detail taking the determination of the power consumption of the target area as an example. It should be understood that, Figure 5 - Figure 7 and Figure 11 The examples are only to help those skilled in the art understand the embodiments of the present application, and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present application to Figure 5 - Figure 7 and Figure 11 the specific values or specific scenarios shown in the examples. Those skilled in the art can obviously make various equivalent modifications or changes according to Figure 5 - Figure 7 and Figure 11 the examples given below, and such modifications and changes also fall within the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0254] Figure 5 is a schematic flowchart of another communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application, as shown in Figure 5 The method can include S610-S685, which are described in detail below.

[0255] It should be understood that S610-S650 below are to obtain the data and power consumption of the UPF network element, and S655-S685 are to obtain the data and power consumption of the access network device. The order of the two parts is not limited by the present application.

[0256] It should also be understood that the UPF network element below corresponds to the user plane network element in the above.

[0257] S610: The AF network element sends a message 1 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0258] The message 1 is used to request related information for determining the power consumption of the target area.

[0259] For example, the AF network element can send the message 1 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element, and the message 1 is used to request the information of the power consumption of the target area.

[0260] As an example, the message 1 can be a Nnwdaf_EventExposure_Subscribe Request message.

[0261] For example, the message 1 can include but is not limited to: information indicating the target area, which can include but is not limited to: a list of cell IDs of the target area, a list of TACs of the target area.

[0262] Optionally, the message 1 can further include at least one of the following information:

[0263] 1) Requested granularity: region-based power consumption;

[0264] 2) Time information: indicates the power consumption of the target region is the energy consumption generated by the network element for serving the target region in the time period indicated by the time information. In an example, the time information includes the start time point and the end time point of the time period. In another example, the time information includes the start time point and the duration of the time period. In yet another example, the time information includes the duration of the time period, and the start time of the time period is the current system time. In yet another example, the time information includes the end time point of the time period, and the start time of the time period is the current system time.

[0265] It should be understood that the above-mentioned current system time can be the time when the AF network element sends message 1, or the time when the NWDAF network element / EECF network element receives message 1.

[0266] S615: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends message 2 to the NRF network element.

[0267] The message 2 is used to request the identifier of the SMF network element corresponding to the target region.

[0268] For example, after receiving the message 1 sent by the AF network element, the NWDAF network element / EECF network element can send the message 2 to the NRF network element, and the message 2 is used to request the identifier of the SMF network element corresponding to the target region.

[0269] It should be understood that the message 2 can correspond to the fourth request message in the above.

[0270] For example, the above-mentioned message 2 can be a Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request message.

[0271] For example, the above-mentioned message 2 can include but is not limited to: information for indicating the target region, which can include but is not limited to: a list of cell IDs corresponding to the target region, and a list of TACs corresponding to the target region.

[0272] Optionally, the message 2 can further include at least one of the following information:

[0273] 1) Requested granularity: region-based power consumption;

[0274] 2) Time information.

[0275] It should be understood that the time information contained in the message 2 is similar to the time information contained in the message 1, and for details, please refer to the description of the time information in the message 1 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0276] S620: The NRF network element sends message 3 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0277] The message 3 includes the identification information of the SMF corresponding to the target area.

[0278] For example, after receiving the message 2 sent by the NWDAF network element / EECF network element, the NRF network element obtains the identification information of the SMF corresponding to the target area contained in the message 2, and can send the message 3 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element, where the message 3 includes the identification information of the SMF corresponding to the target area.

[0279] For example, the message 3 can be a Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request Response message.

[0280] For example, the message 3 can include the identification information of the SMF network element (for example, SMF ID, which can be an IP address or a fully qualified domain name (FQDN)).

[0281] Optionally, the message 3 can also include the area information corresponding to the SMF network element, such as a list of TACs corresponding to the SMF network element, or the service area of the SMF network element.

[0282] It should be noted that the identification information of the SMF network element returned in the message 3 can be the identification information of one SMF network element, or a list containing the identification information of multiple SMF network elements.

[0283] Optionally, the list containing the identification information of multiple SMF network elements can also include the area information corresponding to each of the multiple SMF network elements.

[0284] S625: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends message 4 to the corresponding SMF network element according to the identification information of the SMF network element in the message 3.

[0285] The message 4 is used to request related information for determining the power consumption of the target area.

[0286] The related information for determining the power consumption of the target area can include the identification information of the UPF network element corresponding to the target area and the data volume transmitted by the UPF network element for the target area. The UPF network element corresponding to the target area refers to UPF network elements whose service areas contain the target area, that is, the sessions served by these UPF network elements include the sessions of the terminal devices located in the target area.

[0287] For example, after receiving message 3 sent by the NRF network element, the NWDAF network element / EECF network element can send message 4 to the SMF network element indicated by the identification information of the SMF network element.

[0288] It should be understood that message 4 can correspond to the first request message in the above.

[0289] For example, the above message 4 can be an Nsmf_EnergyEfficiency_EnergyConsumption request message.

[0290] For example, the message 4 sent by the NWDAF network element / EECF network element to the SMF network element can include but is not limited to: area information, which can indicate the target area included in message 1 received by the NWDAF network element / EECF network element in S610, or can also indicate a partial area, for example, the partial area is an area overlapping the target area and the service area of the SMF network element receiving the message 4.

[0291] Optionally, message 4 can also include time information.

[0292] It should be understood that the time information contained in message 4 is similar to the time information contained in message 1, and for details, please refer to the description of the time information in the above message 1, which will not be repeated here.

[0293] S630: The SMF network element sends message 5 to the charging network element.

[0294] Wherein, message 5 is used to request information related to determining the power consumption of the target area.

[0295] For example, after receiving message 4 sent by the NWDAF network element / EECF network element, the SMF network element can send message 5 to the charging network element, and message 5 includes the area information in message 4, and message 5 is used to request information related to determining the power consumption of the area corresponding to the area information.

[0296] For example, the above message 5 can be an Nchf_ConvergedCharging_DataRequest Request message.

[0297] Optionally, message 5 can also include one or more of the following information:

[0298] 1) Identification information of the UPF network element corresponding to the area information in message 4;

[0299] For example, the SMF network element obtains the identification information (such as UPFID, which can be an IP address or FQDN) of the corresponding UPF network element according to the area information in message 4;

[0300] Exemplarily, the SMF network element can obtain the identification information of the UPF network element by querying the NRF network element; or obtain the identification information of the UPF network element whose service area overlaps with the area indicated by the area information included in the message 4 according to the service areas of multiple UPF network elements obtained when the SMF network element and the UPF network element perform N4 interaction; or assuming that the service area of the SMF network element belongs to the area indicated by the area information included in the message 4, the SMF network element can obtain the identification information of the UPF network element by querying the context information of the session it manages locally stored, for example, the SMF network element obtains the identification information of the one or more UPF network elements according to the identification information of the user plane network element contained in the context information of each session it manages.

[0301] 2) the identification information of the UPF network element session corresponding to the area information in the message 4;

[0302] For example, the SMF network element obtains the identification (such as SessionID) of the session containing the UPF according to the obtained identification information of the UPF.

[0303] For another example, when the SMF network element determines the identification (such as SessionID) of the session by querying the context information of the session it manages locally stored.

[0304] 3) time information, which can be the same as the time information in the message 4.

[0305] S635: The charging network element sends a message 6 to the SMF network element, and the message 6 contains the related information used to determine the power consumption of the target area.

[0306] For example, after receiving the message 5 sent by the SMF network element, the charging network element can query the information stored locally to obtain the related information that can be used to calculate the power consumption, and send the related information used to determine the power consumption of the target area to the SMF through the message 6.

[0307] As an example, the charging network element obtains the related information used to calculate the power consumption of the target area according to the message 5 sent by the SMF network element and the stored information (such as the CDR information in Table 2), and the specific obtaining process is exemplified as follows.

[0308] For example, the message 5 includes the area information, and then the charging network element filters out the corresponding entry in the stored information according to the global cell identifier (CGI), tracking area identity (TAI) and other information contained in the provided area information. For example, according to the location information (UE Location Info) of the terminal device in Table 1, the corresponding entry is found out.

[0309] For example, if message 5 includes the identification information (e.g., UPF ID) of the UPF network element, the charging network element can find the same entry in the stored information as the UPF ID in message 5 before filtering the stored information based on the area information included in message 5. In this way, the heavy burden of the charging network element caused by filtering the stored information only through the area information in message 5 can be avoided.

[0310] For example, if message 5 includes the session identification (e.g., Session ID), the charging network element can find the same entry in the stored information as the Session ID in message 5 before filtering the stored information based on the area information included in message 5. In this way, the heavy burden of the CHF caused by filtering the stored information only through the area information in message 5 can be avoided.

[0311] For example, further, if message 5 includes time information, the charging network element can further filter based on the time information when checking. The timing of filtering can not be limited, for example, the filtering result is obtained according to the area information included in message 5, or the UPF ID included in message 5, or the Session ID included in message 5, and then the result is further filtered according to the time information; or the filtering result is obtained according to the time information included in message 5, and then the filtering result is further filtered according to the area information provided in message 5, or the UPF ID included in message 5, or the Session ID included in message 5; or the filtering result is obtained based on the area information included in message 5, the UPF ID, the Session ID and the time information at the same time, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0312] For example, the above-mentioned message 6 can be an Nchf_ConvergedCharging_DataRequest Response message.

[0313] For example, the above-mentioned message 6 can include the data amount of the UPF in the target area in Table 1. Optionally, message 6 can also include other information in Table 1, such as the identification of the UPF, etc.

[0314] Table 1

[0315]

[0316]

[0317] S640: The SMF network element sends message 7 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0318] The message 7 includes information for determining the power consumption of the target area.

[0319] For example, the message 7 described above can be an Nsmf_EnergyEfficiency_EnergyConsumption response message.

[0320] For example, the message 7 described above can include one or more information in Table 1.

[0321] S645: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends message 8 to the OAM system.

[0322] The message 8 includes the identity of the UPF network element, and the message 8 is used to request the total amount of data transmitted by the UPF network element and the power consumption value (total power consumption).

[0323] Optionally, before the NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends the message 8 to the OAM system, the first data amount can be obtained first according to the obtained information in S640. For example, the NWDAF network element / EECF network element obtains the amount of data transmitted by each PDU session managed by each SMF network element at S640. The NWDAF network element / EECF network element can sum the data amount involving a certain UPF to obtain the first data amount.

[0324] For example, after the NWDAF network element / EECF network element receives the message 7 sent by the SMF network element, the message 8 can be sent to the OAM system.

[0325] It should be understood that the message 8 can correspond to the second request message described above.

[0326] It should be noted that the OAM system mentioned above can not be limited to a specific network element, but refers to a network element affiliated to the OAM system. When the network element receives the message 8, it can be processed internally or sent to other network elements for request, which is not limited here.

[0327] For example, the message 8 described above can be a UPFInformationRequest message.

[0328] S650: The OAM system sends message 9 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0329] The message 9 includes the total amount of data transmitted by the given UPF and the total power consumption.

[0330] For example, after receiving the message 8 sent by the NWDAF network element / EECF network element, the OAM system queries the total amount of data transmitted by the given UPF and the total power consumption, and sends the total amount of data transmitted by the given UPF and the total power consumption to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element through the message 9.

[0331] For example, the message 9 can include the following information: the identifier of the UPF, and the total amount of data transmitted by each UPF and the total power consumption.

[0332] Up to now, the NWDAF network element / EECF network element has obtained the following information:

[0333] 1) the identifier list of the UPF network element;

[0334] 2) the total amount of data transmitted by the UPF network element;

[0335] 3) the data transmission amount of the UPF network element in the target area (see totalvolume in Table 1);

[0336] 4) the power consumption value (EnergyConsumption) of the UPF network element.

[0337] S655: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends a message 10 to the NRF network element.

[0338] For example, the NWDAF network element / EECF network element can send the message 10 to the NRF network element, and the message 10 is used to request the identifier of the AMF network element corresponding to the target area.

[0339] For example, the message 10 can be a Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request message.

[0340] For example, the message 10 includes but is not limited to: the information of the target area (Area information).

[0341] Optionally, the message 10 can also include: time information.

[0342] It should be understood that the time information included in the message 10 is similar to the time information included in the message 1, and for details, please refer to the description of the time information in the message 1 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0343] S660: The NRF network element sends a message 11 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0344] The message 11 includes the identifier information of the AMF corresponding to the target area.

[0345] For example, after receiving the message 10 sent by the NWDAF network element / EECF network element, the NRF network element can send a message 11 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element, where the message 11 includes the identification information of the AMF corresponding to the target area.

[0346] For example, the message 11 can be a Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request Response message.

[0347] For example, the message 11 sent by the NRF network element to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element can include the identification information of the AMF network element (for example, AMF ID, which can be an IP address or a fully qualified domain name (FQDN)).

[0348] Optionally, the message 11 can also include the area information corresponding to the AMF network element (for example, a list of TACs corresponding to the AMF network element) or the service area of the AMF network element.

[0349] It should be noted that the identification information of the AMF network element returned in the message 11 can be the identification information of one AMF network element, or a list including identification information of multiple AMF network elements.

[0350] Optionally, the list including identification information of multiple AMF network elements can also include area information corresponding to the multiple AMF network elements respectively.

[0351] It should be noted that S615-S620 and S655-S660 can be executed together (for example, using the same message) or separately, which is not limited herein.

[0352] S665: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends a message 12 to the corresponding AMF network element according to the identification information of the AMF network element indicated in the message 11.

[0353] The message 12 is used to request identification information of the access network device corresponding to the target area.

[0354] For example, after receiving the message 11 sent by the NRF network element, the NWDAF network element / EECF network element can send a message 12 to the corresponding AMF network element according to the identification information of the AMF network element indicated in the message 11, where the message 12 is used to request identification information of the access network device corresponding to the target area.

[0355] It should be understood that the message 12 can correspond to the third request message in the foregoing.

[0356] For example, the message 12 can be a Namf_EnergyEffciency Request message.

[0357] For example, the message 12 sent by the NWDAF / EECF to the AMF can include information of a region, which can be the information of the target region included in the message 1 received by the NWDAF / EECF in S610, or can also be information of a partial region, for example, the information of a region that overlaps the target region in the message 1 and the service region of the AMF receiving the message 12.

[0358] Optionally, the message 12 further includes time information corresponding to the request information, which can be the same as the corresponding time information in the request message 1.

[0359] S670: The AMF sends a message 13 to the NWDAF / EECF.

[0360] The message 13 includes identification information of the access network device corresponding to the region.

[0361] For example, the message 13 can be a Namf_EnergyEffciency Response message.

[0362] For example, the message 13 can include identification information of the access network device. For example, the message 13 can include identification information of the access network device, for example, GlobalRANID (Global base station identification information), such as Global gNB ID, Global ng-eNB ID, etc., which can be a 22 to 32 bit long string; or RANID (base station identification information), such as gNB ID, ng-eNB ID.

[0363] Optionally, the message 13 can further include information of the coverage area corresponding to the access network device, for example, CellID, CGI, TAI, etc.

[0364] S675: The NWDAF / EECF sends a message 14 to the OAM system.

[0365] The message 14 is used to request the total amount of data transmitted by the given access network device and the power consumption value (total power consumption).

[0366] For example, after receiving the message 13 sent by the AMF network element, the NWDAF network element / EECF network element can send a message 14 to the OAM system, where the message 14 is used to request the total amount of data transmitted by the given access network device and the power consumption value (total power consumption).

[0367] It should be understood that the message 14 can correspond to the fifth request message in the above.

[0368] It should be noted that the OAM system mentioned here can not be limited to a specific network element, but refers to a network element affiliated to the OAM system. When the network element receives the message 8, it can be processed internally or sent to other network elements for request, which is not limited here.

[0369] For example, the message 14 can be a RANInformationRequest message.

[0370] S680: The OAM system sends a message 15 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0371] The message 15 includes the total amount of data transmitted by the given access network device and the power consumption value (total power consumption).

[0372] For example, after receiving the message 14 sent by the NWDAF network element / EECF network element, the OAM system queries the total amount of data transmitted by the given access network device and the power consumption value (total power consumption), and sends the total amount of data transmitted by the given access network device and the power consumption value (total power consumption) to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element through the message 15.

[0373] For example, the message 15 can include but not limited to the following information: the identifier of the access network device, the total amount of data transmitted by each access network device, and the power consumption value (EnergyConsumption).

[0374] At this point, the NWDAF network element / EECF network element has obtained the following information:

[0375] 1) The identifier list of the access network device;

[0376] 2) The total amount of data transmitted by the access network device;

[0377] 3) The data transmission amount of the access network device in the target area (for example, through the total volume of table 1);

[0378] 4) The power consumption value (EnergyConsumption) of the access network device.

[0379] Optionally, the data transmission amount of the access network device in the target area can be obtained in the following ways: 1) the access network device returns the information of the coverage area corresponding to the access network device in S670; 2) the NWDAF network element / EECF network element obtains the data transmission amount corresponding to a certain UE location info in message 7 of S640; 3) the NWDAF network element / EECF network element can associate the information obtained in 1) and 2) to obtain the data transmission amount of the access network device in the target area.

[0380] Optionally, in some embodiments, assuming that the OAM system stores (or can calculate) the content similar to Table 3, the above S655-S680 can also only perform S675-S680.

[0381] Table 3

[0382] Information name Brief introduction RAN ID RAN identification RAN serving area List of Cell ID, List of TAC ID Total Volume Total volume of transmitted data Uplink Volume Uplink volume of transmitted data Downlink Volume Downlink volume of transmitted data Energy Consumption Energy consumption information

[0383] S685: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element calculates the power consumption corresponding to the target area according to the information obtained thereby.

[0384] For example, the NWDAF network element / EECF network element can calculate the power consumption corresponding to the target area according to the following information obtained thereby.

[0385] 1) a list of identifiers of UPF network elements;

[0386] 2) the total amount of data transmitted by the UPF network element;

[0387] 3) the data transmission amount of the UPF network element in the target area (see totalvolume in Table 1);

[0388] 4) the power consumption value (EnergyConsumption) of the UPF network element;

[0389] 5) a list of identifiers of access network devices;

[0390] 6) the total amount of data transmitted by the access network device;

[0391] 7) the data transmission amount of the access network device in the target area (see S680);

[0392] 8) the power consumption value (EnergyConsumption) of the access network device.

[0393] In the technical solution, the NWDAF / EECF can obtain the energy consumption and data volume of the network element related to the target area through interaction between the NWDAF / EECF network element and the SMF network element, the AMF network element and the OAM according to the target area requested, thereby supporting the network to "count the total power consumption in a certain area", which has less change to the existing process and does not require additional recording of other content.

[0394] Figure 6 is a schematic flowchart of another method of communication provided by an embodiment of the application, as shown in Figure 6 The method can include S710-S799, which are described in detail below.

[0395] It should be understood that S710-S770 below are for obtaining data and power consumption of the UPF network element, and S770-S799 are for obtaining data and power consumption of the access network device (access network device). The order of the two parts is not limited by the application.

[0396] S710: The AF network element sends message 1 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0397] The message 1 is used to request to obtain relevant information for determining the power consumption of the target area.

[0398] Similar to S610, please refer to the description in S610 for details, which will not be repeated here.

[0399] S715: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends message 2 to the NRF network element.

[0400] The message 2 is used to request the identifier of the SMF network element corresponding to the target area.

[0401] Similar to S615, please refer to the description in S615 for details, which will not be repeated here.

[0402] S720: The NRF network element sends message 3 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0403] The message 3 includes the identifier information of the SMF corresponding to the target area.

[0404] Similar to S620, please refer to the description in S620 for details, which will not be repeated here.

[0405] S725: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends message 4 to the corresponding SMF network element according to the identifier information of the SMF network element indicated in message 3.

[0406] The message 4 is used to request relevant information for determining the power consumption of the target area.

[0407] Similar to S625, please refer to the description in S625 for details, which will not be repeated here.

[0408] S730: The SMF network element sends message 16 to the AMF network element.

[0409] The message 16 is used to request the location information of the UE, or the relationship between the UE and the area received in S725.

[0410] For example, the message 16 can be a Namf_EventExposure_Subscribe Request message.

[0411] For example, the message 16 can be a message sent by the SMF network element to the AMF network element for each PDU session managed by the SMF network element.

[0412] For example, the message 16 can include one or more of the following information:

[0413] 1) Area information received in S725;

[0414] 2) Indicative information of the UE location.

[0415] S735: The AMF network element sends message 17 to the access network device.

[0416] The message 17 includes area information, or indicative information of the UE location.

[0417] For example, if the message 16 in S730 includes area information, the message 17 sent by the AMF network element to the access network device where the UE currently resides can be a Locationreportcontrol message, which includes the area information received in S730.

[0418] For example, if the message 16 in S730 includes indicative information of the UE location, the message 17 sent by the AMF network element to the access network device where the UE currently resides can be a Locationreportcontrol message, which includes indicative information of the current location of the UE.

[0419] S740: The access network device sends message 18 to the AMF network element.

[0420] The message 18 includes the current location of the UE, or the corresponding relationship between the UE and the target area.

[0421] For example, when the access network device receives the request message 17 from the AMF network element, if the message 17 received in S735 contains area information, the access network device detects the relationship between the current location of the UE and the area information, and if the UE enters or leaves the area, the access network device sends a message 18 to the AMF network element, and the message 18 includes the current location of the UE or the correspondence between the UE and the current area.

[0422] For example, the message 18 can be a Location report message.

[0423] For example, when the access network device receives the message 17, it can immediately send a Location report message once.

[0424] For example, the message 18 can contain one or more of the following information:

[0425] 1) the correspondence between the UE and the current area, for example, "the UE is in the area" or "the UE is not in the area";

[0426] 2) the current location of the UE.

[0427] S745: The AMF network element sends a message 19 to the SMF network element.

[0428] The message 19 includes the current location of the UE or the correspondence between the UE and the current area.

[0429] For example, the message 19 can be a Namf_EventExposure_Subscribe notify message.

[0430] For example, the message 19 can contain one or more of the following information:

[0431] 1) the correspondence between the UE and the current area, for example, "the UE is in the area" or "the UE is not in the area";

[0432] 2) the current location of the UE.

[0433] S750: The SMF network element judges whether the UE is in the target area.

[0434] In the embodiment of the application, after receiving the message 19 from the AMF network element, the SMF network element judges whether the UE is in the target area (the corresponding area in S725) according to the current information. When the UE is in the target area, S755-758 is executed; or another implementation manner is that the SMF network element or based on a periodic manner or based on an event triggered manner, based on S755-758, the data amount transmitted from the UPF network element is acquired, and when the SMF network element judges that the UE is in the target area, it is recorded.

[0435] S755: The SMF network element sends message 20 to the UPF network element.

[0436] The message 20 is used to request the UPF network element to send the data volume transmitted by it for the target area.

[0437] For example, the message 20 can be an N4 modification request message.

[0438] For example, the message 20 can contain indication information of the transmitted data volume.

[0439] Optionally, the message 20 also contains the transmission period of the transmitted data volume.

[0440] It should be understood that if the UPF network element will continuously send the transmitted data volume without the SMF network element actively subscribing, S755 is optional.

[0441] S758: The UPF network element sends message 21 to the SMF network element.

[0442] The message 21 includes the data volume transmitted by the UPF network element for the target area.

[0443] For example, the message 21 can be an N4 notification message.

[0444] For example, the message 21 can contain the data volume transmitted by the UPF network element.

[0445] Optionally, the message 21 also contains time information corresponding to the data volume transmitted by the UPF network element, such as time length information, start time and end time information, etc.

[0446] S760: The SMF network element updates the local record information according to the information sent by the UPF network element.

[0447] In the embodiments of the present application, the SMF network element can aggregate the total data volume of the UPF network element, for example, the SMF network element adds up the transmission data of all PDU sessions of a given location and a given UPF network element.

[0448] It should be understood that if the SMF network element can directly send to the NWDAF network element, and the NWDAF network element is used to make aggregation calculation, S760 is optional.

[0449] S765: The SMF network element sends message 22 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0450] For example, the message 22 can be an Nsmf_EnergyEfficiency_EnergyConsumption response message.

[0451] For example, the message 22 can include one or more of the following information:

[0452] 1) identification information of the PDU session;

[0453] 2) location information of the terminal, such as CellID, CGI, TAC, TAI, etc.;

[0454] 3) data volume information of the transmission, such as the data volume information of the PDU session transmitted at a certain location, such as bit, byte (B), kb, kB, Mb, MB, etc.;

[0455] 4) identification information of the UPF involved, such as FQDN, IP address, etc.

[0456] For example, the message 22 can include at least one of the information in the following Tables 4-6.

[0457] Table 4

[0458]

[0459] Table 5

[0460]

[0461] Table 6

[0462] Data volume #x+y UPF #1, 2, 3 Data volume #z+w UPF #1, 4 Data volume #w UPF #5

[0463] S768: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends a message 8 to the OAM system.

[0464] The message 8 is used to request the total amount of data transmitted by a given UPF network element and the power consumption value (total power consumption).

[0465] Similar to S645, for details, please refer to the description in S645, which will not be repeated here.

[0466] S770: The OAM system sends a message 9 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0467] The message 9 includes the total amount of data transmitted by a given UPF and the power consumption value (total power consumption).

[0468] Similar to S650, for details, please refer to the description in S650, which will not be repeated here.

[0469] S775: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends a message 10 to the NRF network element.

[0470] The message 10 is used to request the identifier of the AMF network element corresponding to the target area.

[0471] Similar to S655, for details, please refer to the description in S655, which will not be repeated here.

[0472] S780: The NRF network element sends a message 11 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0473] The message 11 includes the identifier information of the AMF corresponding to the target area.

[0474] Similar to S660, for details, please refer to the description in S660, which will not be repeated here.

[0475] S785: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends a message 12 to the corresponding AMF network element according to the identifier information of the AMF network element indicated in the message 11.

[0476] The message 12 is used to request the identifier information of the access network device corresponding to the target area.

[0477] Similar to S665, for details, please refer to the description in S665, which will not be repeated here.

[0478] S790: The AMF network element sends a message 13 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0479] The message 13 includes the identifier information of the access network device corresponding to the area.

[0480] Similar to S670, for details, please refer to the description in S670, which will not be repeated here.

[0481] S795: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends a message 14 to the OAM system.

[0482] The message 14 is used to request the total amount of data transmitted by the given access network device and the power consumption value (total power consumption).

[0483] Similar to S675, for details, please refer to the description in S675, which will not be repeated here.

[0484] S798: The OAM system sends a message 15 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0485] The message 15 includes the total amount of data transmitted by the given access network device and the power consumption value (total power consumption).

[0486] Similar to S680, for details, please refer to the description in S680, which will not be repeated here.

[0487] S799: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element calculates the power consumption corresponding to the target area according to the information obtained thereby.

[0488] Similar to S685, for details, please refer to the description in S685, which will not be repeated here.

[0489] In the above technical solution, the NWDAF network element / EECF network element can obtain the energy consumption, data volume and other information of the network element according to the requested area through the interaction between the NWDAF network element / EECF network element and the SMF network element, AMF network element and OAM, support the network to "statistically calculate the total power consumption in a certain area" without relying on charging information. This makes relatively small changes to the existing process, and does not require additional recording of other content.

[0490] Figure 7 is another schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application, as shown in Figure 7 The method can include S810-S885, which will be described in detail below.

[0491] It should be understood that S810-S850 below are to obtain data and power consumption of the UPF network element, and S855-S885 are to obtain data and power consumption of the access network device (access network device). The order of the two parts is not limited by the present application.

[0492] S810: The AF network element sends message 1 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0493] The message 1 is used to request information for determining the power consumption of the target area.

[0494] Similar to S610, for details, please refer to the description in S610, which will not be repeated here.

[0495] S815: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends message 23 to the charging network element.

[0496] The message 23 requests information related to determining the power consumption of the target area.

[0497] For example, the message 23 can be a Nchf_ConvergedCharging_DataRequest Request message.

[0498] For example, the SMF network element can include the information of the area received in the message 1 in the message 23 sent to the charging network element.

[0499] Optionally, the time information can also be included in the message 23.

[0500] S820: The charging network element sends a message 24 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0501] The message 24 contains information related to the determination of the power consumption of the target area.

[0502] After receiving the message 23 sent by the NWDAF network element / EECF network element, the charging network element queries the locally stored information, obtains the information that can be used to calculate the power consumption, and returns the relevant information to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element, specifically:

[0503] For example, if the information of the area is included in the message 23, the charging network element filters out the corresponding entries in the stored information according to the CGI, cellID, TAC, TAI, etc. contained in the provided information of the area. For example, according to the location information of the terminal device (UE Location Info) in Table 2, the corresponding entries are found out;

[0504] For another example, if the time information is included in the message 23, the charging network element can further filter based on the time information. The timing of the filtering can not be limited, for example, first filtering according to the area information provided in the message 23 to obtain the filtering result, and then filtering the filtering result again according to the time information; or first filtering according to the time information to obtain the filtering result, and then filtering according to the area information provided in the message 23; or filtering based on the area information provided in the message 23 and the time information at the same time to obtain the filtering result, which is not limited by the present scheme.

[0505] For example, the above message 24 can be a Nchf_ConvergedCharging_DataRequest Response message.

[0506] For example, the message 24 can include one or more information in Table 1.

[0507] S825: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends a message 2 to the NRF network element.

[0508] The message 2 is used to request the identifier of the SMF network element corresponding to the target area.

[0509] Similar to S615, please refer to the description in S615 for details, which will not be repeated here.

[0510] S830: The NRF network element sends a message 3 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0511] The message 3 comprises the identification information of the SMF corresponding to the target area.

[0512] S620 is similar to S620, and details are described in S620, which will not be repeated here.

[0513] S835: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends message 4 to the corresponding SMF network element according to the identification information of the SMF network element indicated in message 3.

[0514] The message 4 is used to request information for determining the power consumption of the target area.

[0515] S625 is similar to S625, and details are described in S625, which will not be repeated here.

[0516] In another possible implementation, the NWDAF network element / EECF network element includes all PDU session information or part of the PDU session information in the PDU session information obtained from message 24 in message 4. The part of the PDU session information can refer to the PDU session information managed by the corresponding SMF.

[0517] S840: The SMF network element sends message 7 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0518] The message 7 comprises information for determining the power consumption of the target area.

[0519] S640 is similar to S640, and details are described in S640, which will not be repeated here.

[0520] In another possible implementation, the SMF network element obtains the information of the UPF corresponding to the PDU session according to the PDU session information contained in message 24, for example, it can contain the identification information of the anchor UPF, the identification information of the intermediate UPF (I-UPF, I-UPF), etc.

[0521] It should be understood that S825-S840 are optional, and only when the NWDAF network element / EECF network element cannot obtain the UPF ID from the charging network element. This is because the CDR stored in the charging network element may not contain all UPF network elements (such as I-UPF network elements, that is, those other UPF network elements in the PDU session that do not belong to the anchor UPF network element), so the information can only be obtained from the SMF network element.

[0522] S845: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends message 8 to the OAM system.

[0523] The message 8 is used to request the total amount of data transmitted by the given UPF network element and the power consumption value (total power consumption).

[0524] Similar to S645, for details, please refer to the description in S645, which will not be repeated here.

[0525] S850: The OAM system sends message 9 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0526] The message 9 includes the total amount of data transmitted by the given UPF and the power consumption value (total power consumption).

[0527] Similar to S650, for details, please refer to the description in S650, which will not be repeated here.

[0528] S855: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends message 10 to the NRF network element.

[0529] The message 10 is used to request the identifier of the AMF network element corresponding to the target area.

[0530] Similar to S655, for details, please refer to the description in S655, which will not be repeated here.

[0531] S860: The NRF network element sends message 11 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0532] The message 11 includes the identifier information of the AMF corresponding to the target area.

[0533] Similar to S660, for details, please refer to the description in S660, which will not be repeated here.

[0534] S865: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends message 12 to the corresponding AMF network element according to the identifier information of the AMF network element indicated in message 11.

[0535] The message 12 is used to request the identifier information of the access network device corresponding to the target area.

[0536] Similar to S665, for details, please refer to the description in S665, which will not be repeated here.

[0537] S870: The AMF network element sends message 13 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0538] The message 13 includes the identifier information of the access network device corresponding to the area.

[0539] Similar to S670, for details, please refer to the description in S670, which will not be repeated here.

[0540] S875: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends a message 14 to the OAM system.

[0541] The message 14 is used to request the total amount of data transmitted by the given access network device and the power consumption value (total power consumption).

[0542] Similar to S675, please refer to the description in S675 for details, which will not be repeated here.

[0543] S880: The OAM system sends a message 15 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0544] The message 15 includes the total amount of data transmitted by the given access network device and the power consumption value (total power consumption).

[0545] Similar to S680, please refer to the description in S680 for details, which will not be repeated here.

[0546] S885: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element calculates the power consumption corresponding to the target area according to the information obtained thereby.

[0547] Similar to S685, please refer to the description in S685 for details, which will not be repeated here.

[0548] The following will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings Figure 8 - Figure 10 , taking the sixth network element as the NWDAF network element / EECF network element, the second network element as the SMF network element, and taking the power consumption of the target application as an example, to describe a specific way of the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that Figure 8 - Figure 10 the examples are only to help those skilled in the art to understand the embodiments of the present application, and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present application to Figure 8 - Figure 10 the specific values or specific scenarios shown in the examples. Those skilled in the art can obviously make various equivalent modifications or changes to the examples given below according to Figure 8 - Figure 10 the embodiments of the present application fall within the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0549] Figure 8 is a schematic flowchart of another communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application, as shown in Figure 8 , the method can include S910-S990, which will be described in detail below.

[0550] It should be understood that the following S910-S955 is to obtain the data and power consumption of the UPF network element, and S960-S990 is to obtain the data and power consumption of the access network device (access network device). The order of the two parts is not limited by the present application.

[0551] S910: The AF network element sends a message 25 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0552] The message 25 is used to request to obtain relevant information for determining the power consumption of the target application.

[0553] For example, the AF network element can send the message 25 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element, the message 25 is used to request to obtain information for determining the power consumption of the target application.

[0554] As an example, the message 25 can be a Nnwdaf_EventExposure_Subscribe Request message.

[0555] For example, the message 25 sent by the AF network element to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element can include specific information indicating the target application, which can include but is not limited to: address information corresponding to the target application, such as IP address, service data flow description, etc.

[0556] Optionally, the message 25 can further include at least one of the following information:

[0557] 1) Requested granularity: power consumption based on application;

[0558] 2) Application identifier (AF Application Identifier) of the AF network element, which can be a string or a series of numbers, etc.

[0559] 3) Time information, for example: time point, time span. For example, the time point can be two coordinated universal times (UTC); the time span can include a start time and a corresponding duration; or the time span can only include a duration (which means the start time is the current system time); or only include a time point information (which means the start time point is the current system time).

[0560] It should be understood that the above-mentioned time information is the time for determining the power consumption of the target application, for example, the start time and the end time for determining the power consumption of the target application.

[0561] S915: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends a message 26 to the BSF network element.

[0562] The message 26 is used to request the identifier of the PCF network element corresponding to the target application.

[0563] For example, the message 26 can be a Nbsf_Management_Discovery_Request message.

[0564] For example, the message 26 can include specific information indicating the target application.

[0565] Optionally, the message 26 can further include at least one of the following information:

[0566] 1) Requested granularity: power consumption based on application;

[0567] 2) Time information.

[0568] It should be understood that the time information included in the message 26 is similar to the time information included in the message 25, and for details, please refer to the description of the time information in the message 25 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0569] S920: The BSF network element sends a message 27 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0570] The message 27 includes the identification information of the PCF corresponding to the target application.

[0571] For example, after receiving the message 26 sent by the NWDAF network element / EECF network element, the BSF network element obtains the identification information of the PCF network element corresponding to the target application included in the message 26, and then sends a message 27 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element, the message 27 includes the identification information of the PCF network element corresponding to the target area.

[0572] For example, the message 27 can be a Nbsf_Management_Discovery_Request Response message.

[0573] For example, the message 3 sent by the NRF network element to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element can include: identification information of the PCF network element (such as PCF ID, which can be an IP address or a fully qualified domain name (FQDN));

[0574] It should be noted that the identification information of the PCF network element returned in the message 27 can be the identification information of one PCF network element, or a list of identification information of multiple PCF network elements.

[0575] S925: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends a message 28 to the corresponding PCF network element.

[0576] The message 28 is used to request to obtain related information for determining the power consumption of the target application.

[0577] For example, after receiving the message 27 sent by the BSF network element, the NWDAF network element / EECF network element can send a message 28 to the corresponding PCF network element according to the identification information of the PCF network element indicated in the message 27, and the message 28 is used to request information used to determine the power consumption of the target application.

[0578] For example, the message 28 described above can be a Npcf_EnergyEfficiency_PolicyAuthorizationRequest request message.

[0579] For example, the message 28 sent by the NWDAF network element / EECF network element to the PCF network element can include but is not limited to the following information: information of the application, and information of the area can be the information of the target area included in the message 25 received by the NWDAF network element / EECF network element in S910.

[0580] Optionally, the message 28 can further include time information.

[0581] It should be understood that the time information included in the message 28 is similar to the time information included in the message 25, and for details, please refer to the description of the time information in the message 25 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0582] S930: The PCF network element sends a message 29 to the corresponding SMF network element, and the message 29 is used to request to obtain related information used to determine the power consumption of the target application.

[0583] For example, after receiving the message 28 sent by the NWDAF network element / EECF network element, the PCF network element can send a message 29 to the corresponding SMF network element according to the identification information of the SMF network element indicated in the message 28.

[0584] The message 29 is used to request to obtain related information used to determine the power consumption of the target application.

[0585] For example, the message 29 described above can be a Nsmf_EnergyEfficiency_EnergyConsumption request message.

[0586] For example, the message 29 sent by the PCF network element to the SMF network element can include but is not limited to the following information: information of the application.

[0587] Optionally, the message 29 can further include time information.

[0588] S935: The SMF network element sends a message 30 to the charging network element.

[0589] The message 30 is used to request relevant information for determining the power consumption of the target application.

[0590] For example, after receiving the message 29 sent by the PCF network element, the SMF network element can send a message 30 to the charging network element, and the message 30 is used to request relevant information for calculating the power consumption of the target application.

[0591] For example, the message 30 described above can be an Nchf_ConvergedCharging_DataRequest message.

[0592] For example, the SMF network element can include the information of the application in the message 30 sent to the charging network element.

[0593] Optionally, the message 30 can further include one or more of the following information, but is not limited to:

[0594] 1) The SMF network element obtains the identification information (such as UPF ID, which can be an IP address or FQDN) of the corresponding UPF network element according to the received application information;

[0595] For example, the SMF network element can obtain the identification information of the UPF network element by querying the NRF network element, or obtain the identification information of the UPF network element corresponding to the service area of the UPF network element having an overlapping area with the target area from the service areas of multiple UPF network elements obtained by the SMF network element when performing N4 interaction with the UPF network element, or the SMF network element can obtain the identification information of the UPF network element by querying the locally stored context information of the session, for example, the SMF network element obtains the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements according to the identification information of the user plane network element contained in the context information of each session managed by the SMF network element.

[0596] 2) The SMF obtains the identification (such as PDUSessionID) of the session containing the identification information of the UPF according to the obtained identification information of the UPF;

[0597] 3) Time information.

[0598] S940: The charging network element sends a message 31 to the SMF network element.

[0599] The message 31 contains relevant information for determining the power consumption of the target area.

[0600] In the embodiments of the present application, after receiving the message 30 sent by the SMF network element, the charging network element can query the locally stored information, obtain the relevant information for determining the power consumption of the target area, and send the relevant information for determining the power consumption of the target area to the SMF through the message 31.

[0601] As an example, the charging network element, according to the message 30 sent by the SMF network element, combines the stored information (such as the CDR information in Table 2) to obtain relevant information for determining the power consumption of the target area, and the specific obtaining process is exemplified as follows.

[0602] For example, if the message 30 includes application information, the charging network element can filter out the corresponding entry in the stored information according to the provided application information. For example, according to the UE Service Identifier or PDUAddress information in Table 2, the corresponding entry is found.

[0603] For another example, if the message 30 includes a UPF ID, the charging network element can find the entry in the stored information that is the same as the UPF ID included in the message 30 before filtering the stored information based on the application information included in the message 30. In this way, the heavy burden caused by filtering the stored information only through the application information in the message 30 can be avoided.

[0604] For another example, if the message 30 includes a PDU Session ID, the charging network element can find the entry in the stored information that is the same as the PDU Session ID included in the message 30 before filtering the stored information based on the application information included in the message 30. In this way, the heavy burden caused by filtering the stored information only through the application information in the message 30 can be avoided.

[0605] For another example, further, if the message 30 includes time information when the charging network element checks, the charging network element can further filter based on the time information. The timing of filtering can not be limited, for example, the filtering result is obtained according to the domain information provided in the message 30, or the UPF ID provided in the message 30, or the Session ID provided in the message 30, and the result is further filtered according to the time information; or the filtering result is obtained according to the time information provided in the message 30, and the filtering result is further filtered according to the area information provided in the message 30, or the UPF ID provided in the message 30, or the Session ID provided in the message 30; or the filtering is performed based on the area information provided in the message 30, the UPF ID, the Session ID and the time information provided in the message 30 at the same time to obtain the filtering result, and the present scheme is not limited.

[0606] As an example, the message 31 described above can be a Nchf_ConvergedCharging_DataRequest Response message.

[0607] For example, the message 31 can include, but is not limited to, one or more information in Table 7:

[0608] Table 7

[0609]

[0610]

[0611] S945: The SMF network element sends a message 32 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element through the PCF network element.

[0612] In the message 32, information for determining the power consumption of the target application is included.

[0613] For example, the message 32 can be an Nsmf_EnergyEfficiency_EnergyConsumption response message, and an Npcf_EnergyEffciency_PolicyAuthorization response message.

[0614] For example, the message 32 can include one or more information in Table 7.

[0615] S950: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends a message 8 to the OAM system.

[0616] The message 8 is used to request the total amount of data transmitted by a given UPF network element and the power consumption value (total power consumption).

[0617] Similar to S645, for details, please refer to the description in S645, which will not be repeated here.

[0618] S955: The OAM system sends a message 9 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0619] The message 9 includes the total amount of data transmitted by a given UPF and the power consumption value (total power consumption).

[0620] Similar to S650, for details, please refer to the description in S650, which will not be repeated here.

[0621] At this point, the NWDAF network element / EECF network element has obtained the following information:

[0622] 1) A list of identifiers of UPF network elements;

[0623] 2) The total amount of data transmitted by the UPF network element;

[0624] 3) The amount of data transmitted by the UPF network element for the target application (see totalvolume in Table 7);

[0625] 4) EnergyConsumption of UPF network element.

[0626] S960: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends a message 33 to the NRF network element.

[0627] The message 33 is used to request the identifier of the AMF network element corresponding to the target application.

[0628] For example, the NWDAF network element / EECF network element generates the area information (for example, list of cellID, list of TAI, etc.) according to the UE location information (for example, UELocationInformation) obtained in S945, and sends the message 33 to the NRF network element to request the identifier of the AMF network element corresponding to the area information corresponding to the UE location information. For example, the NWDAF network element / EECF network element obtains the area information by performing set operation on the UE location information.

[0629] For example, the message 33 can be a Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request message, which includes but is not limited to: UE location information.

[0630] S965: The NRF network element sends a message 34 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element, and the message 34 includes the identifier information of the AMF corresponding to the above area information (determined according to the UE location information).

[0631] For example, after receiving the message 33 sent by the NWDAF network element / EECF network element, the NRF network element obtains the area information (determined according to the UE location information) contained in the message 33, and can send a message 34 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element, and the message 34 includes the identifier information of the AMF corresponding to the above area information (determined according to the UE location information).

[0632] For example, the message 33 can be a Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request Response message.

[0633] For example, the message 33 sent by the NRF network element to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element can include: the identifier information (for example, AMFID, which can be an IP address or a fully qualified domain name (FQDN)) of the AMF network element.

[0634] Optionally, the message 33 can further include: area information corresponding to the AMF network element (for example, a list of TACs corresponding to the AMF network element), or a service area of the AMF network element.

[0635] It is worth noting that the AMF identifier returned in the message 33 can be one, or a list containing the identifier information of multiple AMF network elements.

[0636] Optionally, the list containing the identifier information of multiple AMF network elements can further include area information corresponding to the multiple AMF network elements respectively.

[0637] S970: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends a message 34-1 to the corresponding AMF network element according to the identifier information of the AMF network element indicated in the message 33.

[0638] The message 34-1 is used to request the identifier information of the access network device corresponding to the area.

[0639] For example, after receiving the message 33 sent by the NRF network element, the NWDAF network element / EECF network element can select the corresponding AMF network element according to the area corresponding to the location information of the UE and the area covered by the service area of the AMF, and send a message 34-1 to the corresponding AMF network element, the message 34-1 is used to request the identifier information of the access network device corresponding to the area.

[0640] For example, the above-mentioned message 34-1 can be a Namf_EnergyEffciency Request message.

[0641] For example, the message 34-1 sent by the NWDAF network element / EECF network element to the AMF network element can include but is not limited to the following information: area information, which can be the entire area information corresponding to the location information of the UE; or partial area information, for example, the partial area information refers to the area information overlapping the area information corresponding to the AMF network element in the location information of the UE.

[0642] S975: The AMF network element sends a message 35 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0643] The message 35 includes the identifier information of the access network device corresponding to the area.

[0644] For example, the above-mentioned message 35 can be a Namf_EnergyEffciency response message.

[0645] For example, the message 35 can include the identification information of the access network device. For example, the message 35 can include the identification information of the access network device, such as Global RAN ID (Global base station identification information), for example, Global gNB ID, Global ng-eNB ID, etc., which can be a 22 to 32 bit long string, or the identification information of the access network device, such as gNB ID, ng-eNB ID.

[0646] Optionally, the message 35 can also include the information of the coverage area corresponding to the access network device, such as Cell ID, CGI, TAI, etc.

[0647] S980: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends a message 36 to the OAM system.

[0648] The message 36 is used to request the total amount of data transmitted by the given access network device and the power consumption value (total power consumption).

[0649] For example, the message 36 can be a RANInformationRequest message.

[0650] S985: The OAM system sends a message 37 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0651] The message 37 includes the total amount of data transmitted by the given access network device and the power consumption value (total power consumption).

[0652] For example, the message 37 can include, but is not limited to, the following information: the identification of the access network device, the total amount of data transmitted by each access network device, and the power consumption value (EnergyConsumption).

[0653] At this point, the NWDAF network element / EECF network element has obtained the following information:

[0654] 1) The identification list of the access network device;

[0655] 2) The total amount of data transmitted by the access network device;

[0656] 3) The data transmission amount transmitted by the access network device for the target application (see Table 8 and Table 9);

[0657] 4) The power consumption value (EnergyConsumption) of the access network device.

[0658] Optionally, in some embodiments, assuming that the OAM system stores (or can calculate) the content similar to Table 3, only S980-S985 can be performed in the above S960-S985.

[0659] S990: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element calculates the power consumption corresponding to the target application according to the information obtained thereby.

[0660] It should be noted that unlike the data amount corresponding to the target area, the granularity of the application may not be able to directly determine the data transmitted by the access network device for a certain application. As an example, one way of calculation can be as shown in Tables 8-9.

[0661] Table 8

[0662] RAN ID Coverage area RAN 1 CGI a, b RAN 2 CGI c RAN 3 CGI d

[0663] Table 9

[0664]

[0665] For example, the NWDAF network element / EECF network element can associate the data according to the information in the UElocationinfo returned by the SMF network element and the coveragearea returned by the AMF or OAM. Thus, the actual data amount transmitted by a certain access network device for a certain target application can be obtained.

[0666] In the above technical solution, the NWDAF / EECF can obtain the energy consumption, data amount, etc. of the network element related to the target application through the interaction between the NWDAF / EECF network element and the SMF network element, the AMF network element and the OAM according to the requested target application, support the network to "statistically calculate the total power consumption of a certain application", which has less modification to the existing process and does not require additional recording of other content.

[0667] Figure 9 is a schematic flow chart of another method of communication provided by an embodiment of the present application, as shown in Figure 9 The method can include S1010-S1090, which are described in detail below.

[0668] It should be understood that the following S1010-S1055 is to obtain the data and power consumption of the UPF network element, and S1060-S1090 is to obtain the data and power consumption of the access network device (access network device). The order of the two parts is not limited by the present application.

[0669] S1010: The AF network element sends message 25 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0670] The message 25 is used to request information related to determining the power consumption of the target application.

[0671] Similar to S910, refer to the description in S910 for details, which will not be repeated here.

[0672] S1015: The NWDAF / EECF sends a message 38 to a unified data repository (UDR).

[0673] The message 38 is used to request information related to determining the power consumption of the target application stored by the UDR.

[0674] For example, the message 38 can include specific information of the target application. Optionally, the message 38 can also include a start time and an end time of the requested information.

[0675] S1020: The UDR sends a message 39 to a PCF.

[0676] The message 39 is used to request information related to determining the power consumption of the target application.

[0677] In the embodiments of the present application, after receiving the message 38 sent by the NWDAF / EECF, the UDR can send a message 39 to the corresponding PCF according to the specific information of the target application indicated in the message 38. The message 39 is used to request information related to determining the power consumption of the target application.

[0678] For example, the message 39 can be a Nudr_DM_Notify message.

[0679] For example, the message 39 can include specific information of the application.

[0680] Optionally, the message 39 can also include a start time and an end time of the requested information.

[0681] S1025: The PCF sends a message 40 to a corresponding SMF.

[0682] The message 40 is used to request information related to determining the power consumption of the target application.

[0683] In the embodiments of the present application, the SMF is used to manage the PDU session corresponding to the application.

[0684] For example, the message 40 can be a Npcf_SMPolicyControl_Control_Update_Notify message.

[0685] For example, the message 40 can include specific information of the application.

[0686] Optionally, the message 40 can further include time information corresponding to the request information.

[0687] S1030: The SMF network element sends a message 41 to the UPF network element.

[0688] The message 41 is used to request the UPF network element to transmit the data volume for the target application.

[0689] For example, the message 41 can be a N4 modification request message.

[0690] For example, the message 41 can include specific information of the application.

[0691] Optionally, the message 41 can further include one or more of the following:

[0692] 1) indication information of the transmitted data volume;

[0693] 3) transmission period of the transmitted data volume.

[0694] It should be understood that if the UPF network element will continuously transmit the transmitted data volume without the SMF network element actively subscribing, S1030 is optional.

[0695] S1035: The UPF network element sends a message 42 to the SMF network element.

[0696] The message 42 includes the data volume transmitted by the UPF network element for the target application.

[0697] For example, the message 42 can be a N4 notification message.

[0698] For example, the message 42 can include the data volume transmitted by the UPF network element.

[0699] Optionally, the message 42 can further include time information.

[0700] S1040: The SMF network element aggregates and updates the local record information according to the information sent by the UPF network element.

[0701] Similar to S760, for details, please refer to the description in S760, which will not be repeated here.

[0702] S1045: The SMF network element sends a message 43 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0703] For example, the message 43 can be an Nsmf_EnergyEfficiency_EnergyConsumption response message.

[0704] For example, the message 43 can contain at least one of the information in the following tables 4-6.

[0705] S1050: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends a message 8 to the OAM system.

[0706] The message 8 is used to request the total amount of data transmitted by the given UPF and the power consumption value (total power consumption).

[0707] Similar to S950, for details, please refer to the description in S950, which will not be repeated here.

[0708] S1055: The OAM system sends a message 9 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0709] The message 9 includes the total amount of data transmitted by the given UPF and the power consumption value (total power consumption).

[0710] Similar to S955, for details, please refer to the description in S955, which will not be repeated here.

[0711] At this point, the NWDAF network element / EECF network element has obtained the following information:

[0712] 1) The list of identifiers of the UPF network element;

[0713] 2) The total amount of data transmitted by the UPF network element;

[0714] 3) The amount of data transmitted by the UPF network element for the target application (see totalvolume in Table 7);

[0715] 4) The power consumption value (EnergyConsumption) of the UPF network element.

[0716] S1060: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends a message 33 to the NRF network element.

[0717] The message 33 is used to request the identifier of the AMF network element corresponding to the target application.

[0718] Similar to S960, for details, please refer to the description in S960, which will not be repeated here.

[0719] S1065: The NRF network element sends a message 34 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0720] The message 34 includes the identification information of the AMF corresponding to the above-mentioned area information (determined according to the location information of the UE).

[0721] Similar to S965, for details, please refer to the description in S965, which will not be repeated here.

[0722] S1070: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends a message 34-1 to the corresponding AMF network element according to the identification information of the AMF network element indicated in the message 33.

[0723] The message 34-1 is used to request the identification information of the access network device corresponding to the area.

[0724] Similar to S970, for details, please refer to the description in S970, which will not be repeated here.

[0725] S1075: The AMF network element sends a message 35 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0726] The message 35 includes the identification information of the access network device corresponding to the area.

[0727] Similar to S975, for details, please refer to the description in S975, which will not be repeated here.

[0728] S1080: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends a message 36 to the OAM system.

[0729] The message 36 is used to request the total amount of data transmitted by the given access network device and the power consumption value (total power consumption).

[0730] Similar to S980, for details, please refer to the description in S980, which will not be repeated here.

[0731] S1085: The OAM system sends a message 37 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0732] The message 37 includes the total amount of data transmitted by the given access network device and the power consumption value (total power consumption).

[0733] Similar to S985, for details, please refer to the description in S985, which will not be repeated here.

[0734] At this point, the NWDAF network element / EECF network element has obtained the following information:

[0735] 1) The identification list of the access network device;

[0736] 2) The total amount of data transmitted by the access network device;

[0737] 3) Access network device for the target application transmitted data transmission volume (see Table 8 and Table 9);

[0738] 4) Access network device power consumption value (Energy Consumption).

[0739] S1090: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element calculates the power consumption corresponding to the target application according to the information obtained thereby.

[0740] Similar to S990, for details, please refer to the description in S990, which will not be repeated here.

[0741] In the above technical solution, the NWDAF / EECF can obtain the energy consumption, data volume and other information of the network element related to the target application through the interaction between the NWDAF / EECF network element and the SMF, AMF and OAM according to the requested target application, without relying on the charging information, support the network to "count the total power consumption in a certain application", which makes the change to the existing process is small, and does not require additional record other content.

[0742] Figure 10 is another schematic flowchart of the communication method provided by the embodiment of the application, as shown in Figure 10 The method can include S1110-S1195, which will be described in detail below.

[0743] It should be understood that the following S1110-S1160 is to obtain the data and power consumption of the UPF network element, and S1165-S1195 is to obtain the data and power consumption of the access network device (access network device). The order of the two parts is not limited by the present application.

[0744] S1110: The AF network element sends message 25 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0745] Wherein, the message 25 is used to request to obtain the related information for determining the power consumption of the target application.

[0746] Corresponding to S910, for details, please refer to the description of S910, which will not be repeated here.

[0747] S1115: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends message 44 to the charging network element.

[0748] Wherein, message 44 requests to obtain the related information for determining the power consumption of the target application.

[0749] For example, after receiving the message 25 sent by the AF network element, the NWDAF network element / EECF network element can send the message 44 to the charging network element.

[0750] The message 44 is used to request information related to calculating the power consumption of the target application.

[0751] For example, the message 44 can be an Nchf_ConvergedCharging_DataRequest Request message.

[0752] For example, the message 44 sent by the NWDAF / EECF to the charging network element can include, but is not limited to, information of the application.

[0753] Optionally, the message 44 can further include time information corresponding to the request information.

[0754] S1120: The charging network element sends a message 45 to the NWDAF / EECF.

[0755] The message 45 includes information related to determining the power consumption of the target application.

[0756] For example, after receiving the message 44 sent by the NWDAF / EECF, the charging network element queries the locally stored information, obtains information related to determining the power consumption of the target application, and returns the information to the NWDAF / EECF. Specifically:

[0757] For example, if the message 44 includes information of the application, the charging network element filters the corresponding entries in the stored information according to the provided information of the application. For example, according to the UE Service Identifier or PDUAddress in Table 2, the corresponding entries are found.

[0758] For another example, if the message 44 includes time information, the charging network element can further filter according to the time information. The timing of the filtering can not be limited, for example, the stored information is first filtered according to the application information included in the message 44 to obtain a filtering result, and then the filtering result is filtered again according to the time information; or the stored information is first filtered according to the time information included in the message 44 to obtain a filtering result, and then the filtering result is filtered again according to the application information included in the message 44; or the stored information is filtered according to the time information and the application information included in the message 44 at the same time to obtain a filtering result. This solution is not limited.

[0759] For example, the message 45 can be an Nchf_ConvergedCharging_DataRequest Response message.

[0760] For example, the message 45 can include, but is not limited to, one or more information in Table 7.

[0761] S1125: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends a message 26 to the BSF network element.

[0762] The message 26 is used to request the identifier of the PCF network element corresponding to the target application.

[0763] Similar to S915, for details, please refer to the description in S915, which will not be repeated here.

[0764] S1130: The BSF network element sends a message 27 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0765] The message 27 includes the identifier information of the PCF corresponding to the target application.

[0766] Similar to S920, for details, please refer to the description in S920, which will not be repeated here.

[0767] S1135: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends a message 28 to the corresponding PCF network element.

[0768] The message 28 is used to request to obtain the related information used to determine the power consumption of the target application.

[0769] Similar to S925, for details, please refer to the description in S925, which will not be repeated here.

[0770] It is worth mentioning that S1125 to 1135 can be replaced by S1137 to 1139.

[0771] S1137: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends a message 38 to the UDR network element.

[0772] The message 38 is used to request to determine the related information used to calculate the power consumption of the target application according to the information stored in the UDR.

[0773] For example, the message 38 can include specific information indicating the target application.

[0774] Optionally, the message 38 can also include the start time and end time of the request information.

[0775] S1137 is similar to S1015, for details, please refer to the description in S1015, which will not be repeated here.

[0776] S1139: The UDR network element sends a message 39 to the PCF network element.

[0777] The message 39 is used to request to obtain the related information used to determine the power consumption of the target application.

[0778] For example, the message 39 can include specific information indicating the target application. Optionally, the start time and end time of the request information can also be included.

[0779] S1139 is similar to S1020. For details, refer to the description in S1020, which will not be repeated here.

[0780] S1140: The PCF network element sends a message 29 to the corresponding SMF network element.

[0781] The message 29 is used to request relevant information for determining the power consumption of the target application.

[0782] S1145: The SMF network element sends a message 30 to the charging network element.

[0783] The message 30 is used to request relevant information for determining the power consumption of the target application.

[0784] S1150: The charging network element sends a message 31 to the SMF network element.

[0785] The message 31 includes relevant information for determining the power consumption of the target application.

[0786] S1155: The SMF network element sends a message 32 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element through the PCF network element.

[0787] The message 32 includes relevant information for determining the power consumption of the target application.

[0788] S1158: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends a message 8 to the OAM system.

[0789] The message 8 is used to request the total amount of data transmitted by a given UPF network element and the power consumption value (total power consumption).

[0790] S1150 is similar to S950. For details, refer to the description in S950, which will not be repeated here.

[0791] S1158 is similar to S945. For details, refer to the description in S945, which will not be repeated here.

[0792] S1158: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends a message 8 to the OAM system.

[0793] The message 8 is used to request the total amount of data transmitted by a given UPF network element and the power consumption value (total power consumption).

[0794] S1150 is similar to S950. For details, refer to the description in S950, which will not be repeated here.

[0795] S1160: The OAM system sends message 9 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0796] The message 9 includes the total amount of data transmitted by the given UPF and the power consumption value (total power consumption).

[0797] Similar to S955, for details, please refer to the description in S955, which will not be repeated here.

[0798] S1165: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends message 33 to the NRF network element.

[0799] The message 33 is used to request the identifier of the AMF network element corresponding to the target application.

[0800] Similar to S960, for details, please refer to the description in S960, which will not be repeated here.

[0801] S1170: The NRF network element sends message 34 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0802] The message 34 includes the identifier information of the AMF corresponding to the above-mentioned area information (determined according to the location information of the UE).

[0803] Similar to S965, for details, please refer to the description in S965, which will not be repeated here.

[0804] S1175: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends message 34-1 to the corresponding AMF network element according to the identifier information of the AMF network element indicated in the message 33.

[0805] The message 34-1 is used to request the identifier information of the access network device corresponding to the area.

[0806] Similar to S970, for details, please refer to the description in S970, which will not be repeated here.

[0807] S1180: The AMF network element sends message 35 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0808] The message 35 includes the identifier information of the access network device corresponding to the area.

[0809] Similar to S9750, for details, please refer to the description in S975, which will not be repeated here.

[0810] S1185: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends message 36 to the OAM system.

[0811] The message 36 is used to request the total amount of data transmitted by the given access network device and the power consumption value (total power consumption).

[0812] Similar to S980, for details, please refer to the description in S980, which will not be repeated here.

[0813] S1190: The OAM system sends message 37 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0814] Among them, the message 37 includes the total amount of data transmitted by the given access network device and the power consumption value (total power consumption).

[0815] Similar to S985, for details, please refer to the description in S985, which will not be repeated here.

[0816] S1195: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element calculates the power consumption corresponding to the target application according to the information obtained thereby.

[0817] Similar to S990, for details, please refer to the description in S990, which will not be repeated here.

[0818] In the above technical solution, the NWDAF / EECF can obtain data volume information and the like directly from the charging network element according to the requested target application, so as to realize the "total power consumption of a certain application" of the network, making the implementation simpler.

[0819] Figure 11 is another schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application, as shown in Figure 11 The method can include S1210-S1299, which will be described in detail below.

[0820] It should be understood that the following S1210-S1270 is to obtain the data and power consumption of the UPF network element, and S1270-S1299 is to obtain the data and power consumption of the access network device (access network device). The order of the two parts is not limited by the present application.

[0821] S1210: The AF network element sends message 1 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0822] Among them, the message 1 is used to request to obtain information for determining the power consumption of the target area.

[0823] Similar to S610, for details, please refer to the description in S610, which will not be repeated here.

[0824] S1215: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends message 2 to the NRF network element.

[0825] Among them, the message 2 is used to request the identifier of the AMF network element corresponding to the above-mentioned target area.

[0826] For example, the message 2 can be a Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request message, and the message 2 can include Area information.

[0827] S1220: The NRF network element sends a message 3 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0828] The message 3 includes identification information of the AMF corresponding to the target area.

[0829] For example, the message 3 can be a Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request Response message.

[0830] For example, the message 3 sent by the NRF network element to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element can include identification information of the AMF network element (for example, AMF ID, which can be an IP address or a fully qualified domain name (FQDN)).

[0831] Optionally, the message 3 can further include area information corresponding to the SMF network element, such as a list of TACs corresponding to the SMF network element, or a service area of the SMF network element.

[0832] It should be noted that the identification information of the AMF network element returned in the message 3 can be identification information of one AMF network element, or a list including identification information of multiple AMF network elements.

[0833] Optionally, the list including identification information of multiple AMF network elements can further include area information corresponding to the multiple AMF network elements respectively.

[0834] S1225: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends a message 46 to the corresponding AMF network element according to the identification information of the AMF network element indicated in the message 3.

[0835] The message 46 is used to request identification information of a terminal device (for example, UE) corresponding to the target area.

[0836] It should be understood that the message 46 can correspond to the seventh request message in the above.

[0837] For example, the message 46 can be a Namf_EnergyEfficiency_EnergyConsumption request message.

[0838] For example, the message 46 sent by the NWDAF network element / EECF network element to the AMF network element can include information of a region, which can be the information of the target region included in the message 1 received by the NWDAF network element / EECF network element in S1210, or can also be information of a partial region, for example, the information of the partial region refers to a region that overlaps the target region in the message 1 and the service region of the SMF network element receiving the message 46.

[0839] Optionally, the message 46 can also include time information corresponding to the request information.

[0840] S1230: The AMF network element sends a message 17 to the access network device according to S1225.

[0841] The message 17 is used to request to obtain the location information of the terminal device (for example, UE) or the relationship between the terminal device and the region received in the message 46.

[0842] For example, the message 17 can be a Location report control message.

[0843] For example, the message 17 can be a message sent by the AMF network element to the access network device corresponding to each terminal device managed by the AMF network element.

[0844] For example, the message 17 can include one or more of the following information:

[0845] 1) The region information received in S1225;

[0846] 2) Indicative information of the UE location.

[0847] For example, if the message 17 sent in S1230 contains region information, the message 17 sent by the AMF network element to the access network device where the UE currently resides can be a Location report control message, which includes the region information received in S1230.

[0848] For example, if the message 17 sent in S1230 contains indicative information of the UE location, the message 17 sent by the AMF network element to the access network device where the UE currently resides can be a Location report control message, which includes the indicative information of the current location of the UE.

[0849] S1240: The access network device sends a message 18 to the AMF network element.

[0850] The message 18 includes the current location of the UE or the correspondence between the UE and the current region.

[0851] In the embodiments of the present application, when the access network device receives the request message 17 from the AMF network element, if the area information contained in the message 17 sent in S1230, the access network device detects the relationship between the current location of the UE and the area information, if the current UE enters this area, or leaves this area, the access network device sends a message 18 to the AMF network element, the message 18 includes the current location of the UE, or the corresponding relationship between the UE and the current area.

[0852] For example, the message 18 can be a Location report message.

[0853] For example, when the RAN receives the message 17, it can immediately send a Location report message once.

[0854] For example, the message 18 can contain one or more of the following information:

[0855] 1) The corresponding relationship between the UE and the current area, for example, "UE in area", "UE not in area";

[0856] 2) The current location of the UE.

[0857] S1245: The AMF network element sends a message 47 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element according to the message 18.

[0858] Among them, the message 47 includes the identification information of the terminal device (for example, UE) corresponding to the target area.

[0859] It should be understood that the message 18 can correspond to the seventh response message in the above.

[0860] For example, the AMF obtains the identification information of the terminal corresponding to the target area, which can be after the AMF network element receives the message 18 of the access network device, according to the current information to determine whether the UE is in the target area (the corresponding area in S1225). For example, when the message 18 contains the corresponding relationship between the UE and the current area, the AMF can record the identification (i.e. UEID) of the terminal device returned by the access network device that the UE is in the area. When the message 18 contains the current location of the UE, the AMF can record the identification (i.e. UEID) of the terminal device whose current location belongs to the target area according to the relationship between the current location of the UE and the target area.

[0861] For example, the message 47 can be a Namf_EnergyEfficiency_EnergyConsumption Response message.

[0862] For example, the message 47 can include one or more of the following information:

[0863] 1) identification information of the terminal device, for example, SUPI, GPSI, GUTI, etc.; it should be noted that the identification information of the terminal device here can correspond to one terminal device, or can correspond to multiple terminal devices (for example, UEIDlist);

[0864] 2) identification information of the AMF, for example, FQDN, IP address, etc.;

[0865] 3) location information of the terminal device, for example, the "correspondence between UE and current area" contained in the message X3, for example, "UE is in the area", "UE is not in the area", or the current location of the UE.

[0866] S1255: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends a message 48 to the UDM network element.

[0867] The message 48 is used to request information of the SMF network element.

[0868] It should be understood that the message 48 can correspond to the eighth request message in the foregoing.

[0869] For example, the NWDAF network element / EECF network element can send a message 48 for each terminal device (for example, UEID) corresponding to the message 47, and the message 48 is used to request information of the corresponding SMF network element.

[0870] For example, the NWDAF network element / EECF network element can include multiple terminal devices (for example, UEIDlist) corresponding to the message 47 in the message 48, and the message 48 is used to request information (for example, SMFlist) of the corresponding SMF network element.

[0871] For example, the message 48 can be a Nudm_UECM_Get message.

[0872] For example, the message 48 can include identification information of the terminal device, for example, SUPI, GPSI, GUTI, etc.

[0873] It should be noted that the identification information of the terminal device here can be identification information of one terminal device, or identification information of multiple terminal devices, for example, a terminal device identification list (UEIDlist).

[0874] S1258: The UDM network element sends a message 49 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0875] The message 49 includes identification information of the SMF network element.

[0876] It should be understood that the message 49 can correspond to the eighth response message above.

[0877] For example, the message 49 can be an Nudm_UECM_Get Response message.

[0878] For example, the message 49 can contain the identification information (such as FQDN, IP address, etc.) of the SMF network element, which can be one or multiple.

[0879] S1260: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends a message 50 to the corresponding SMF network element according to the message 49 sent by the UDM network element.

[0880] For example, the NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends the message 50 to the corresponding SMF network element according to the identification information of the SMF network element contained in the message 49.

[0881] For example, the message 50 can be an Nsmf_EventExposure Subscription message.

[0882] For example, the message 50 can contain one or more of the following information:

[0883] 1) Address information for receiving notification messages, such as IP address information, FQDN, etc.

[0884] 2) Indication information of open data transmission volume.

[0885] For example, after receiving the message 50, the SMF network element can send a response message to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element, and the response message contains the current location information of the UE obtained by the SMF network element.

[0886] S1265: After receiving the message 50, the SMF network element sends a message 51 to the UPF network element.

[0887] For example, the SMF can send the message 51 to each UPF network element in the PDU session according to the locally stored session context information.

[0888] For example, the message 51 can be an Nupf_event exposure subscribe request message.

[0889] For example, the message 51 can contain one or more of the following information:

[0890] 1) Address information for receiving notification messages, such as IP address information, FQDN, etc.

[0891] 2) Indication information of open data transmission volume.

[0892] S1266: After receiving the message 51, the UPF network element sends a message 52 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0893] For example, the message 52 can be a Nupf_EventExposure_Notify message.

[0894] For example, the target address of the message 52 can be the address information of the receiving notification message included in the message 51.

[0895] For example, the message 52 can include one or more of the following information:

[0896] 1) Identification information of the PDU session, such as PDUSessionID, PFCP (Packet Forwarding Control Protocol) SessionID;

[0897] 2) Data transmission volume, such as Byte, bit, KB, Kb, Mb, MB, etc.

[0898] 3) Identification information of the SMF network element, such as SMFID, IP address information, FQDN, etc.

[0899] 4) Identification information of the UPF network element, such as UPFID, IP address information, FQDN, etc.

[0900] It is worth noting that after S1266, the NWDAF network element / EECF network element can obtain the data volume information transmitted by the UPF network element in each PDU session of the terminal device located in the target area. The NWDAF network element / EECF network element can obtain the data transmission volume of the UPF network element in the target area according to the data volume information.

[0901] S1268: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends a message 8 to the OAM system.

[0902] The message 8 is used to request the total amount of data transmitted by the given UPF network element and the power consumption value (total power consumption).

[0903] Similar to S645, for details, please refer to the description in S645, which will not be repeated here.

[0904] S1270: The OAM system sends a message 9 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0905] The message 9 includes the total amount of data transmitted by the given UPF and the power consumption value (total power consumption).

[0906] Similar to S650, for details, please refer to the description in S650, which will not be repeated here.

[0907] S1275: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends message 10 to the NRF network element.

[0908] The message 10 is used to request the identifier of the AMF network element corresponding to the target area.

[0909] Similar to S655, for details, please refer to the description in S655, which will not be repeated here.

[0910] S1280: The NRF network element sends message 11 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0911] The message 11 includes the identifier information of the AMF corresponding to the target area.

[0912] Similar to S660, for details, please refer to the description in S660, which will not be repeated here.

[0913] S1285: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends message 12 to the corresponding AMF network element according to the identifier information of the AMF network element indicated in the message 11.

[0914] The message 12 is used to request the identifier information of the access network device corresponding to the target area.

[0915] Similar to S665, for details, please refer to the description in S665, which will not be repeated here.

[0916] S1290: The AMF network element sends message 13 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0917] The message 13 includes the identifier information of the access network device corresponding to the area.

[0918] Similar to S670, for details, please refer to the description in S670, which will not be repeated here.

[0919] S1295: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends message 14 to the OAM system.

[0920] The message 14 is used to request the total amount of data transmitted by the given access network device and the power consumption value (total power consumption).

[0921] Similar to S675, for details, please refer to the description in S675, which will not be repeated here.

[0922] S1298: The OAM system sends message 15 to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element.

[0923] wherein the message 15 comprises the total amount of data transmitted by the given access network device and the power consumption value (total power consumption).

[0924] Similar to S680, for details, please refer to the description in S680, which will not be repeated here.

[0925] S1299: The NWDAF network element / EECF network element calculates the power consumption corresponding to the target area according to the information obtained thereby.

[0926] Similar to S685, for details, please refer to the description in S685, which will not be repeated here.

[0927] In the above technical solution, the NWDAF / EECF can obtain the energy consumption and data volume of the network elements related to the target area through the interaction between the NWDAF / EECF network element and the SMF network element, the AMF network element and the OAM according to the requested target area, support the network to "statistically calculate the total power consumption in a certain area" without relying on the charging information, which has less impact on the existing process and does not require additional recording of other content.

[0928] It should be noted that, Figure 3 - Figure 11 All message names in the above are only examples, and the message names are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0929] Taking the sixth network element as the NWDAF network element or the EECF network element as an example, the NWDAF network element / EECF network element in the above method can discover the network elements in the target area and obtain the corresponding transmitted data volume (first data volume) according to the following process.

[0930] As an example, different implementation manners of how to discover the SMF network element and obtain the data volume (fourth data volume) sent to the target area are listed as follows.

[0931] The first implementation manner is:

[0932] 1. The NWDAF network element / EECF network element receives the information of the target area from the AF network element, and optionally receives the time information.

[0933] Here, it corresponds to S610 above, for details, please refer to the description in S610, which will not be repeated here.

[0934] 2. The NWDAF network element / EECF network element obtains the SMF network element serving the target area from the AF network element.

[0935] For example, the SMF network element serving the target area is obtained by the network element function profile (NF profile) of the SMF network element stored at the NRF network element. Here, it corresponds to S615-S620 in the foregoing, and details are described in S615-S620, which will not be repeated here.

[0936] Thereafter, the NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends the corresponding area information and optionally time information to the selected SMF network element. Here, it corresponds to S625 in the foregoing, and details are described in S625, which will not be repeated here.

[0937] 3. For each PDU session managed by the SMF network element, when the UE (requesting to establish a PDU session) is located in the target area, the SMF network element collects the uplink / downlink data volume (the fourth data volume) of the PDU session.

[0938] Implementation 1. When the SMF network element knows that the UE is located in the target area, for example, the SMF network element obtains the location information of the UE from the AMF network element, or the SMF network element obtains the correspondence between the UE and the target area from the AMF network element, the SMF network element requests the UPF network element to provide the data volume of the PDU session transmission.

[0939] The above-mentioned implementation 1 corresponds to S730-S745 in the foregoing, and details are described in S730-S745, which will not be repeated here.

[0940] Implementation 2. The UPF network element reports the data volume to the SMF.

[0941] The above-mentioned implementation 2 corresponds to S758 in the foregoing, and details are described in S758, which will not be repeated here.

[0942] Implementation 3. The SMF network element updates the data volume of the PDU session of the UE and the location information related to the UE in its storage. At the same time, the SMF network element also records the identification information of the UPF network element related to the PDU session.

[0943] The above-mentioned implementation 3 corresponds to S760 in the foregoing, and details are described in S760, which will not be repeated here.

[0944] 4. The SMF network element provides the information stored in its storage to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element. Optionally, the SMF network element can provide the information stored in its storage to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element after the time expires. Here, it corresponds to S640 in the foregoing, and details are described in S640, which will not be repeated here.

[0945] Second implementation:

[0946] The NWDAF network element / EECF network element can invoke the service provided by the CHF network element to query the CDR information to obtain the same information. For this purpose, the NWDAF network element / EECF network element provides the target area information and time information to the CHF network element, and in response, the CHF network element provides the (qualifying) data volume, the identity of the UPF network element, and the location information of the UE to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element. Here, corresponding to S815-S820 above, please refer to the description in S815-S820 for details, which will not be repeated here.

[0947] Another example, the following lists how to discover the implementation of the RAN network element located in the target area.

[0948] 1. The NWDAF network element / EECF network element finds the AMF network element that can serve the target area, for example, by the NFProfile of the AMF network element stored at the NRF network element to find the AMF network element that can serve the target area. Thereafter, the NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends the corresponding area information to the selected AMF network element. Here, corresponding to S655-S665 above, please refer to the description in S655-S665 for details, which will not be repeated here.

[0949] 2. In response, the AMF network element returns the identity information of the RAN network element that can serve the target area, for example, by the (returned) TAI list obtained at the NG connection establishment provided by the RAN network element, and the TAI list associated with the RAN network element to obtain the identity information of the RAN network element that can serve the target area. Here, corresponding to S670 above, please refer to the description in S670 for details, which will not be repeated here.

[0950] As an example, for how the NWDAF network element / EECF network element discovers the network element serving a certain application and the corresponding transmitted data volume (first data volume), there is the following process:

[0951] An example, the following lists how to discover the SMF network element and obtain the data volume sent to a certain application (fourth data volume) implementation.

[0952] 1. The NWDAF network element / EECF network element receives the application information (in other words, filter information - such as IP address information, FQDN, etc., or applicationID) from the AF network element, and optionally, time information. Here, corresponding to S910 above, please refer to the description in S910 for details, which will not be repeated here.

[0953] 2、NWDAF network element / EECF network element notifies the involved PCF network element (these PCF network elements control the policy of the PDU session that transmits application data) through the BSF network element or the UDR network element, and the notification information includes application information and possible time information. Here, it corresponds to S915-S925 or S1015-S1020 in the foregoing, and details are referred to the description in S915-S925 or S1015-S1020, which will not be described herein again.

[0954] 3、The PCF network element notifies the SMF network element. Here, it corresponds to S930 or S1025 in the foregoing, and details are referred to the description in S930 or S1025, which will not be described herein again.

[0955] 4、The SMF network element requests the UPF network element to provide the data volume corresponding to the transmitted application data by including the application information in the N4 message. Here, it corresponds to S1030 in the foregoing, and details are referred to the description in S1030, which will not be described herein again.

[0956] For example, the UPF reports the data volume of the data transmitted for the application to the SMF. Here, it corresponds to S1035 in the foregoing, and details are referred to the description in S1035, which will not be described herein again.

[0957] For another example, the SMF network element updates the data volume of the PDU session of the UE and the location information related to the UE in its storage. Meanwhile, the SMF network element also records the identification information of the UPF network element related to the PDU session. Here, it corresponds to S1040 in the foregoing, and details are referred to the description in S1040, which will not be described herein again.

[0958] 5、The SMF network element directly or through the PCF network element provides the information stored in it to the NWDAF / EECF network element. Optionally, the SMF can provide the information stored in it to the NWDAF network element / EECF network element after the time expires. Here, it corresponds to S1045 or S945 in the foregoing, and details are referred to the description in S1045 or S945, which will not be described herein again.

[0959] Another example, the following lists how to find the implementation of the RAN network element serving a certain application.

[0960] 1、The NWDAF network element / EECF network element can find the AMF network element that can serve the area according to the TAI area in the returned user location information collected from the SMF network element. For example, the AMF network element that can serve the target area is found through the NFProfile of the AMF network element, and then the NWDAF network element / EECF network element sends the information of the corresponding application to the selected AMF network element. Here, it corresponds to S960-S970 in the foregoing, and details are referred to the description in S960-S970, which will not be described herein again.

[0961] 2、As a response, the AMF network element returns the identification information of the RAN network element that can serve the area provided by the NWDAF network element / EECF network element, for example, through the (returned) TAI list obtained at the NG connection establishment provided by the RAN network element, and the TAI list associated with the RAN network element. Here, it corresponds to S975 in the foregoing, and details are described in S975, which will not be described here.

[0962] The method provided by the embodiments of the present application is described in detail above Figure 1 to Figure 11 , and the embodiments of the device of the present application will be described in detail below Figure 12 - Figure 14 . It should be understood that the description of the method embodiments corresponds to the description of the device embodiments, and therefore, the parts not described in detail can be referred to the foregoing method embodiments.

[0963] The above mainly introduces the scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application from the perspective of the interaction between various network elements. It can be understood that, in order to realize the above functions, each network element, such as a transmitting end device or a receiving end device, contains a corresponding hardware structure and / or software module for executing each function. Those skilled in the art should realize that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be realized in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional technicians can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0964] The embodiments of the present application can divide the transmitting end device or the receiving end device into functional modules according to the above method examples, for example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated module can be realized in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional module. It should be noted that the division of the modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative, and is only a logical function division. Actual implementation can have another division manner. The following will be described taking the division of each functional module according to each function as an example.

[0965] Figure 12 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication device 1300 provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0966] The communication device 1300 includes a transceiver module 1310 and a processing module 1320, wherein the transceiver module 1310 can be used to realize corresponding communication functions, and the processing module 1320 can be used for data processing.

[0967] Optionally, the processing module 1320 can be a processor (which can include one or more), a processing circuitry with processor function, etc., which can be used to perform other steps in the above method embodiments except for the sending and receiving.

[0968] Optionally, the apparatus 1300 further includes a storage unit, which can be a memory, an internal storage unit (e.g., register, cache, etc.), an external storage unit (e.g., read-only memory, random access memory, etc.), etc. The storage unit is used to store instructions, which are executed by the above processing module 1320 to make the communication apparatus perform the above method.

[0969] In one example, the processing module 1320 is configured to obtain a first data amount of a first network element, e.g., by the transceiver module 1310, the first data amount being a data amount of first data transmitted by the first network element, the first data being data of a target area or data of a target application; the processing module 1320 is further configured to obtain a total power consumption of the first network element and a second data amount, e.g., by the transceiver module 1310, the second data amount being a total amount of data transmitted by the first network element; the processing module 1320 is further configured to determine a first power consumption according to the total power consumption of the first network element, the first data amount and the second data amount, the first power consumption being a power consumption of the first network element for transmitting the first data.

[0970] Optionally, the data of the target area includes data of a terminal device located in the target area.

[0971] Optionally, the data of the target area includes data of a cell corresponding to the target area.

[0972] Optionally, the first network element includes one or more user plane network elements, and the first data amount includes a data amount of the first data transmitted by each of the one or more user plane network elements.

[0973] Optionally, the transceiver module 1310 is further configured to send a first request message to a second network element, the first request message including information indicating the target area or the target application; and the transceiver module 1310 is further configured to receive the first data amount from the second network element.

[0974] Optionally, the first data is data of the target area, the second network element is a session management network element, and a service area of the second network element includes the target area; or the first data is data of the target application, the second network element is a policy control network element, and the second network element provides policy control for a session for transmitting the data of the target application.

[0975] Optionally, the transceiver 1310 is further configured to receive the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements from the second network element.

[0976] Optionally, the transceiver 1310 is further configured to receive identification information of one or more sessions from the second network element, data of the one or more sessions comprising the first data; and the processing module 1320 is further configured to acquire the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements according to the identification information of the one or more sessions, the one or more user plane network elements being used to transmit data of at least one session of the one or more sessions.

[0977] Optionally, the transceiver 1310 is further configured to send a second request message, the second request message comprising the identification information of the one or more user plane network elements; and the transceiver 1310 is further configured to receive total power consumption of each user plane network element of the one or more user plane network elements and total amount of data transmitted by the each user plane network element.

[0978] Optionally, the first network element comprises one or more access network devices, the transceiver 1310 is further configured to send a third request message to an access and mobility management network element, the third request message being used to request identification information of the access network devices whose service area comprises a first area, wherein the first area is the target area, or the first area is an area where a terminal device using the target application is located; and the transceiver 1310 is further configured to receive the identification information of the one or more access network devices from the access and mobility management network element.

[0979] Optionally, the transceiver 1310 is further configured to receive area information covered by the one or more access network devices from the access and mobility management network element.

[0980] In another example, the transceiver 1310 is configured to receive a first request message, the first request message comprising information used to indicate a target area or a target application; the processing module 1320 is configured to acquire a first data amount of the first network element, and the transceiver 1310 is configured to send the first data amount of the first network element, the first data amount being an amount of data of first data transmitted by the first network element, the first data being data of the target area or data of the target application.

[0981] Optionally, the transceiver 1310 is further configured to send the identification information of the first network element.

[0982] Optionally, the first network element comprises one or more user plane network elements, and the first data amount comprises an amount of data of the first data transmitted by each user plane network element of the one or more user plane network elements.

[0983] Optionally, the transceiver 1310 is further configured to receive a third data amount, the third data amount comprising a data amount of the first data of each session of one or more sessions; and the processing module 1320 is further configured to determine, according to the third data amount, a data amount of the first data transmitted by each user plane network element of one or more user plane network elements, the one or more user plane network elements being configured to transmit data of at least one session of the one or more sessions.

[0984] Optionally, the transceiver 1310 is further configured to receive identification information of the one or more sessions; and the processing module 1320 is further configured to determine, according to the identification information of the one or more sessions, identification information of the one or more user plane network elements.

[0985] Optionally, the first data is data of the target application, and the transceiver 1310 is further configured to send information indicating a first region, the first region being a region in which a terminal device using the target application is located.

[0986] Figure 13 is a schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus 1500 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication apparatus 1500 comprises a processor 1510 and a communication interface 1520, which can be connected to each other through a bus 1530.

[0987] Optionally, the communication apparatus 500 can further comprise a memory 1540. The processor 1510 is coupled to the memory 1540, and is configured to execute instructions stored in the memory 1540 to control the communication interface 1520 to send and / or receive signals.

[0988] It should be understood that the processor 1510 and the memory 1540 described above can be combined into one processing device, and the processor 1510 is configured to execute program codes stored in the memory 1540 to implement the functions described above. In a specific implementation, the memory 1540 can also be integrated in the processor 1510, or be independent of the processor 1510.

[0989] The memory 540 comprises, but is not limited to, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), or a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), and is configured to store relevant instructions and data.

[0990] The processor 510 can be one or more central processing units (CPUs). In the case where the processor 510 is a CPU, the CPU can be a single-core CPU or a multi-core CPU.

[0991] The above description is only an exemplary description. Details can refer to the content shown in the above method embodiments.

[0992] Figure 14 is a schematic block diagram of the communication apparatus 1600 of an embodiment of the present application.

[0993] The communication apparatus 1600 includes an input / output interface 1620 and a processor 1610. The input / output interface 1620 can be an input / output circuit. The processor 1610 can be a signal processor, a chip, or other integrated circuit that can implement the method of the present application. The input / output interface 1620 is configured to input or output signals or data.

[0994] In one possible implementation, the processor 1610 implements the functions of the network device or the terminal device by executing instructions stored in the memory.

[0995] Optionally, the communication apparatus 1600 further includes a memory.

[0996] Optionally, the processor and the memory are integrated.

[0997] Optionally, the memory is outside the communication apparatus 1600.

[0998] In one possible implementation, the processor 1610 can be a logic circuit, and the processor 1610 inputs / outputs messages or signaling through the input / output interface 1620. The logic circuit can be a signal processor, a chip, or other integrated circuit that can implement the method of the embodiments of the present application.

[0999] The above description of the communication apparatus 1600 is only an exemplary description, and the communication apparatus 1600 can be used to execute the method described in the above embodiments. Details can refer to the description of the above method embodiments, which will not be described here.

[1000] The present application also provides a chip including a processor, configured to call and run instructions stored in a memory, so that a communication device installed with the chip executes the method in each of the above examples.

[1001] The application further provides another chip, comprising: an input interface, an output interface, and a processor, which are connected through internal connection paths, and the processor is configured to execute code in a memory, and when the code is executed, the processor is configured to execute the method in any of the above examples. Optionally, the chip further comprises the memory configured to store the computer program or code.

[1002] The application further provides a processor configured to be coupled with a memory, and configured to execute the method and function related to the network device or the terminal device in any of the above examples.

[1003] In another embodiment of the application, a computer program product comprising instructions which, when the computer program product is executed on a computer, cause the method of the preceding embodiments to be implemented.

[1004] The application further provides a computer program which, when executed on a computer, causes the method of the preceding embodiments to be implemented.

[1005] In another embodiment of the application, a computer readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program, and the computer program is executed by a computer to implement the method of the preceding embodiments.

[1006] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in combination with the embodiments disclosed herein can be realized by electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are realized in hardware or software mode depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. The skilled person can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the application.

[1007] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of the description, the specific working process of the above-described system, device and unit can refer to the corresponding process in the preceding method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[1008] In several embodiments provided by the application, the disclosed system, device and method can be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described device embodiments are only schematic, and the division of units is only a logical function division, and other division manners can be used in actual implementation, for example, a plurality of units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between the units shown or discussed can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[1009] Units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[1010] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[1011] If the function is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[1012] The above is only a specific implementation of the embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the embodiment of the present application, and they should be included in the scope of protection of the embodiment of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the embodiment of the present application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Acquire a first data volume of a first network element, where the first data volume is a data volume of first data transmitted by the first network element, and the first data is data of a target area or data of a target application; Obtaining total power consumption and a second data volume of the first network element, where the second data volume is a total amount of data transmitted by the first network element; A first power consumption is determined according to the total power consumption of the first network element, the first data volume, and the second data volume, where the first power consumption is the power consumption of the first network element used to transmit the first data.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The data of the target area includes: data of terminal devices located in the target area.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The data of the target area includes: data of a cell corresponding to the target area.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The first network element includes one or more user plane network elements, and the first data volume includes a data volume of the first data transmitted by each user plane network element in the one or more user plane network elements.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending a first request message to the second network element, where the first request message includes information indicating the target area or the target application; The obtaining of the first data volume of the first network element includes: Receive the first data volume from the second network element.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The first data is data of the target area, the second network element is a session management network element, and a service area of ​​the second network element includes the target area; or, The first data is data of the target application, and the second network element is a policy control network element, which provides policy control for a session used to transmit the data of the target application.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive identification information of the one or more user plane network elements from the second network element.

8. The method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving identification information of one or more sessions from the second network element, where data of the one or more sessions includes the first data; The identification information of the one or more user plane network elements is obtained according to the identification information of the one or more sessions, and the one or more user plane network elements are used to transmit data of at least one session of the one or more sessions.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that The obtaining the total power consumption and the second data volume of the first network element includes: Sending a second request message, where the second request message includes identification information of the one or more user plane network elements; The total power consumption of each user plane network element among the one or more user plane network elements and the total amount of data transmitted by each user plane network element are received.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that The first network element includes one or more access network devices, and the method further includes: Sending a third request message to the access and mobility management network element, where the third request message is used to request identification information of an access network device whose service area includes a first area, where the first area is the target area, or the first area is an area where a terminal device using the target application is located; Receive identification information of the one or more access network devices from the access and mobility management network element.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive area information covered by the one or more access network devices from the access and mobility management network element.

12. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: receiving a first request message, where the first request message includes information indicating a target area or a target application; A first data volume of a first network element is sent, where the first data volume is a data volume of first data transmitted by the first network element, and the first data is data of the target area or data of the target application.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The method further comprises: Send identification information of the first network element.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that The first network element includes one or more user plane network elements, and the first data volume includes a data volume of the first data transmitted by each user plane network element in the one or more user plane network elements.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving a third data amount, the third data amount including a data amount of the first data for each of one or more sessions; The data volume of the first data transmitted by each user plane network element of the one or more user plane network elements is determined based on the third data volume, and the one or more user plane network elements are used to transmit data of at least one session of the one or more sessions.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving identification information of the one or more sessions; The identification information of the one or more user plane network elements is determined according to the identification information of the one or more sessions.

17. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 16, characterized in that The first data is data of the target application, and the method further includes: Information indicating a first area is sent, where the first area is an area where a terminal device using the target application is located.

18. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises modules or units for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

19. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises modules or units for executing the method according to any one of claims 12 to 17.

20. A communication device, characterized in that: The apparatus includes a processor coupled to a memory, wherein the memory stores instructions, and when the instructions are executed by the processor, the processor performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11 or the method according to any one of claims 12 to 17.

21. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that A computer program or instruction is stored, wherein the computer program or instruction is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, or the method according to any one of claims 12 to 17.

22. A chip, characterized in that: include: A processor and an interface, configured to call from a memory and run a computer program stored in the memory to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, or the method according to any one of claims 12 to 17.

23. A computer program product, characterized in that The method comprises instructions which, when executed on a computer, cause the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11 or the method according to any one of claims 12 to 17 to be performed.

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