Network switching method, device and system, storage medium and computer program product

Abstract

The invention discloses a network switching method, the method is applied to network equipment, and the method comprises the following steps: if it is determined that terminal equipment needs to be switched from a currently accessed first communication network to a second communication network, sending first switching indication information to the terminal equipment; wherein the first switching indication information is used for indicating an access parameter of the second communication network, and the first communication network and the second communication network belong to different communication systems; sending second switching indication information to a second core network element providing the second communication network; wherein the second switching indication information is at least used for indicating equipment parameters of the terminal equipment. The invention further discloses a network switching device and system, a storage medium and a computer program product.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of wireless communication, and particularly relates to a network switching method, device, system, storage medium and computer program product. BACKGROUND

[0002] In a related protocol, a terminal device (User Equipment, UE) in a connected state is switched from a current cell to a cell using other radio access technology (Radio access technology, RAT) through an inter-system handover process. Taking the case of switching of a UE from a 4th generation mobile communication technology (the 4th generation mobile communication technology, 4G) communication system to a 5th generation mobile communication technology (the 5th generation mobile communication technology, 5G) communication system as an example, wherein the source system makes a handover decision and sends a handover request to the target system, the target system generates a handover command, which is transmitted to the UE through the source system, and the UE accesses the target cell according to the handover command. The process needs to interact between the source base station, the target base station, the evolved packet core (Evolved Packet Core, EPC), the 5G core network (Next Generation Core, NGC) and the like. In this way, the current inter-system handover process is complex and has high latency. How to improve the operation process of inter-system handover, especially the operation process of inter-system handover of future communication systems, and reduce the latency has become a technical problem to be solved.

[0003] SUMMARY

[0004] To solve the above technical problems, the present application expects to provide a network switching method, device, system, storage medium and computer program product, which solves the problem of complex inter-system handover operation process, proposes a network switching method, simplifies the system switching process, realizes fast inter-system handover, improves the system switching performance and reduces the handover latency.

[0005] The technical solution of the present application is implemented as follows:

[0006] The present application provides a network switching method, which is applied to a network device, and the method comprises the following steps:

[0007] If it is determined that a terminal device needs to be switched from a first communication network to a second communication network, first handover indication information is sent to the terminal device, wherein the first handover indication information is used to indicate access parameters of the second communication network, and the first communication network and the second communication network belong to different communication systems.

[0008] sending second switching indication information to a second core network element providing the second communication network, wherein the second switching indication information is used to indicate at least a device parameter of the terminal device.

[0009] In the above solution, the first switching indication information comprises one or more of the following information:

[0010] network identification information of the second communication network;

[0011] random access resource indication information.

[0012] In the above solution, the second switching indication information further comprises one or more of the following information:

[0013] switching identification information of a network switching type being inter-system switching within a network device;

[0014] switching reason information;

[0015] first transmission layer information used for transmitting downlink user plane data of the terminal device to the network device.

[0016] In the above solution, the device parameter comprises one or more of the following information:

[0017] device identification information of the terminal device;

[0018] context information of the terminal device.

[0019] In the above solution, the method further comprises:

[0020] receiving first confirmation information sent by the second core network element, wherein the first confirmation information is switching confirmation information generated by the second core network element after receiving the second switching indication information, and the switching confirmation information allows the terminal device to access.

[0021] In the above solution, the first confirmation information comprises one or more of the following information:

[0022] device identification information of the terminal device;

[0023] second transmission layer information used for transmitting uplink user plane data of the terminal device to the second core network element.

[0024] In the above solution, the first transmission layer information and the second transmission layer information comprise one or more of the following information:

[0025] Internet Protocol (IP) address;

[0026] Tunnel Endpoint Identification (TEID).

[0027] In the above solution, the method further includes:

[0028] receiving second confirmation information sent by the terminal device; wherein the second confirmation information is network switching confirmation information sent by the terminal device after accessing the second communication network.

[0029] In the above solution, the communication mode between the terminal device and the network device includes one of the following modes:

[0030] a radio resource control protocol RRC reconfiguration message;

[0031] a medium access control-control element MAC CE;

[0032] downlink control information DCI.

[0033] In the above solution, the method further includes:

[0034] sending release indication information to a first core network element providing the first communication network; wherein the release indication information is used to instruct the first core network element to release the communication link resource parameters of the terminal device.

[0035] In the above solution, before sending the first switching indication information to the terminal device if it is determined that the terminal device needs to switch from the currently accessed first communication network to a second communication network, the method further includes:

[0036] sending network attribute indication / configuration supported by the network device to the terminal device.

[0037] In the above solution, the network attribute indication / configuration includes one or more of the following information:

[0038] network support identification information of the first communication network and the second communication network supported by the network device;

[0039] radio bearers of the first communication network and the second communication network, and / or cell configuration parameters of the first communication network and the second communication network.

[0040] The present application provides a network switching method, which is applied to a second core network element, and the method includes:

[0041] receiving second switching indication information sent by a network device; wherein the second switching indication information is used to at least indicate device parameters of a terminal device;

[0042] storing parameter information indicated in the second switching indication information, so as to subsequently perform access operations allowed for the terminal device.

[0043] In the foregoing solution, the second switching indication information further comprises one or more of the following information:

[0044] The switching identification information of the network switching type is an inter-system switching within the network device.

[0045] The switching reason information.

[0046] The first transmission layer information for transmitting downlink user plane data of the terminal device to the network device.

[0047] In the foregoing solution, the method further comprises:

[0048] In response to the second switching indication information, the first confirmation information allowing the terminal device to access is sent to the network device.

[0049] In the foregoing solution, the first confirmation information comprises one or more of the following information:

[0050] The device identification information of the terminal device.

[0051] The second transmission layer information for transmitting uplink user plane data of the terminal device to the second core network element.

[0052] The present application provides a first network switching device, which is applied to a network device, and comprises a first sending unit and a second sending unit; wherein:

[0053] The first sending unit is configured to send first switching indication information to a terminal device if it is determined that the terminal device needs to switch from a first communication network to a second communication network, wherein the first switching indication information is used to indicate access parameters of the second communication network, and the first communication network and the second communication network belong to different communication systems.

[0054] The second sending unit is configured to send second switching indication information to a second core network element providing the second communication network, wherein the second switching indication information is used to indicate at least device parameters of the terminal device.

[0055] The present application provides a second network switching device, which is applied to a second core network element, and comprises a first receiving unit and a storage unit; wherein:

[0056] The first receiving unit is configured to receive second switching indication information sent by a network device, wherein the second switching indication information is used to indicate at least device parameters of a terminal device.

[0057] The storage unit is configured to store parameter information indicated in the second switching indication information, so as to perform subsequent access operations allowing the terminal device to access.

[0058] The application provides a network switching system, comprising at least a network device, a first core network element and a second core network element, wherein:

[0059] The first core network element is configured to provide a first communication network.

[0060] The network device is configured to implement the steps of the network switching method according to any one of the preceding embodiments.

[0061] The second core network element is configured to implement the steps of the network switching method according to any one of the preceding embodiments.

[0062] The application provides a storage medium, wherein the storage medium stores a network switching program, and the network switching program is configured to implement the steps of the network switching method according to any one of the preceding embodiments when executed.

[0063] The application provides a computer program product, comprising a computer program, wherein the computer program is configured to implement the steps of the network switching method according to any one of the preceding embodiments when executed by a processor.

[0064] The network switching method, device, system, storage medium and computer program product provided by the embodiments of the application can be used to determine whether a terminal device needs to switch from a first communication network to a second communication network, send first switching indication information to the terminal device through a network device, send second switching indication information to a second core network element providing the second communication network, and store parameter information indicated in the second switching indication information after the second core network element receives the second switching indication information sent by the network device. In this way, when the network device determines that the terminal device needs to switch between communication networks, the network device directly sends the first switching indication information and the second switching indication information to the terminal device and the second core network element corresponding to the communication network to be switched to, thereby realizing direct control of the network switching of the terminal device by the network device, reducing the interaction signaling between devices when the terminal device switches between two different communication networks, solving the problem of complex system switching operation process, providing a network switching method, simplifying the system switching process, realizing fast switching between systems, improving the system switching performance, and reducing the switching delay. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0065] Figure 1 Flowchart of the network switching method provided by the embodiments of the application Figure 1 ;

[0066] Figure 2 Flowchart of the network switching method provided by the embodiments of the application Figure 2 ;

[0067] Figure 3Flowchart of network switching method provided by an embodiment of the present application Figure 3 ;

[0068] Figure 4 Flowchart of network switching method provided by an embodiment of the present application Figure 4 ;

[0069] Figure 5 Application scenario diagram of network switching method provided by an embodiment of the present application

[0070] Figure 6 Implementation flowchart of application embodiment of network switching method provided by an embodiment of the present application

[0071] Figure 7 Structural diagram of first network switching device provided by an embodiment of the present application

[0072] Figure 8 Structural diagram of second network switching device provided by an embodiment of the present application

[0073] Figure 9 Structural diagram of network switching system provided by an embodiment of the present application DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0074] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0075] An embodiment of the present application provides a network switching method, referring to FIG. 1, the method is applied to a network device, and the method comprises the following steps: Figure 1

[0076] Step 101, if it is determined that a terminal device needs to be switched from a first communication network to a second communication network, first switching indication information is sent to the terminal device.

[0077] The first switching indication information is used to indicate access parameters of the second communication network, and the first communication network and the second communication network belong to different communication systems.

[0078] ​In the embodiments of the present application, the network device can be a device for providing network services for terminal devices, for example, can be a base station, a network node, etc., and the network device can provide services for the first communication network and the second communication network simultaneously. The terminal device can be a device for using the communication network to provide communication services, for example, can be a smart mobile terminal device, for example, can be a smart phone, a smart car, etc. The first communication network and the second communication network can be communication networks provided by different versions of communication systems, for example, the first communication network can be a 4G communication network, and the second communication network can be a 5G communication network, or the first communication network can be a 5G communication network, and the second communication network can be a 6G communication network.

[0079] The process in which the network device determines that the terminal device needs to switch from the currently accessed first communication network to the second communication network can be realized by the network device determining the communication quality parameters reported by the terminal device, for example, when the terminal device currently accesses the first communication network, the detected signal of the first communication network is weak, which meets the signal switching condition, and the second communication network is also detected, the network device determines that the terminal device can switch from the currently accessed first communication network to the second communication network, at this time, the network device can send first switching indication information to the terminal device to make the terminal device perform corresponding network switching operation, wherein the first switching indication information indicates the related access parameter information of the second communication network.

[0080] Step 102, sending second switching indication information to the second core network element providing the second communication network.

[0081] Among them, the second switching indication information is used at least to indicate the device parameters of the terminal device.

[0082] In the embodiments of the present application, the network device also sends the second switching indication information to the second core network element, indicating the device parameters of the terminal device to be accessed by the terminal device. In this way, when the network device determines that the terminal device needs to switch the network, the network device directly sends the switching information to the terminal device and the communication network to be accessed, reduces the signaling interaction between the network device and the terminal device, between the network device and the communication network to be accessed, and between the communication network to be accessed and the terminal device, simplifies the network switching process, improves the efficiency of network switching, reduces the network switching delay, and guarantees the user experience effect.

[0083] The network switching method provided in the embodiments of the present application is as follows: if it is determined that a terminal device needs to switch from a first communication network to a second communication network, a network device sends first switching indication information to the terminal device and sends second switching indication information to a second core network element providing the second communication network. After receiving the second switching indication information sent by the network device, the second core network element stores the parameter information indicated in the second switching indication information. In this way, when the network device determines that the terminal device needs to switch between communication networks, the network device directly sends the first switching indication information and the second switching indication information to the terminal device and the second core network element corresponding to the communication network to which the terminal device is to switch, thereby realizing direct control of the network device over the network switching of the terminal device, reducing the interaction signaling between devices when the terminal device switches between two different communication networks, solving the problem of complex inter-system switching operation process, and providing a network switching method, simplifying the system switching process, realizing fast inter-system switching, improving the system switching performance, and reducing the switching delay.

[0084] Based on the foregoing embodiments, the embodiments of the present application provide a network switching method. The method is applied to a second core network element. As shown in Figure 2 The method includes the following steps.

[0085] Step 201: receiving second switching indication information sent by a network device.

[0086] The second switching indication information is used to at least indicate the device parameters of the terminal device.

[0087] Step 202: storing the parameter information indicated in the second switching indication information.

[0088] The parameter information indicated in the second switching indication information is stored, so as to subsequently perform an access operation of allowing the terminal device to access.

[0089] In the embodiments of the present application, the second switching indication information indicates that the terminal device will access the second core network element. After receiving the second switching indication information sent by the network device, the second core network element performs analysis and identification processing on the second switching indication information, obtains the parameter information indicated in the second switching indication information, and the parameter information indicated in the second switching indication information at least includes the related parameter information of the terminal device. In this way, after receiving the second switching indication information sent by the network device, the second core network element can realize the network switching operation between the second core network element and the terminal device, and simplifies the network access process between the second core network element and the terminal device.

[0090] The embodiment of the application provides a network switching method, after a second core network element receives second switching indication information sent by a network device, the second core network element stores parameter information indicated in the second switching indication information, so that subsequent access operations of allowing a terminal device to access are performed. In this way, when the network device determines that the terminal device needs to perform communication network switching, the network device directly sends first switching indication information and second switching indication information to the terminal device and a second core network element corresponding to a communication network to be switched to, respectively, so that the network device directly controls network switching of the terminal device, the interaction signaling between devices is reduced when the terminal device switches between two different communication networks, the problem of complex inter-system switching operation process is solved, a network switching method is provided, the system switching process is simplified, inter-system fast switching is realized, the system switching performance is improved, and the switching delay is reduced.

[0091] Based on the foregoing embodiment, the embodiment of the application provides a network switching method, as shown in Figure 3 The method comprises the following steps:

[0092] Step 301, if it is determined that the terminal device needs to switch from a first communication network currently accessed to a second communication network, a network device sends first switching indication information to the terminal device.

[0093] The first switching indication information is used to indicate access parameters of the second communication network, and the first communication network and the second communication network belong to different communication systems.

[0094] In the embodiment of the application, the first communication network is a 5G communication network provided by a 5G communication network system, the second communication network is a 6G communication network provided by a 6G communication network system, and a network device is a 5G-6G dual-mode base station. When the terminal device currently accesses a 5G cell, the dual-mode base station detects that the terminal device moves to the edge of the 5G cell and needs to perform cell switching, and determines that the terminal device can switch to a 6G cell, the dual-mode base station sends first switching indication information to the terminal device, and notifies the terminal device that the terminal device can switch to the 6G cell.

[0095] Step 302, the network device sends second switching indication information to a second core network element providing the second communication network.

[0096] The second switching indication information is used to at least indicate device parameters of the terminal device.

[0097] In the embodiment of the application, the dual-mode base station sends the second switching indication information to the second core network element of the 6G communication network, and indicates that the terminal device will switch network access to the current 6G network cell.

[0098] Step 303, the second core network element receives the second switching indication information sent by the network device.

[0099] The second switching indication information at least indicates a device parameter of the terminal device.

[0100] In step 304, the second core network element stores the parameter information indicated in the second switching indication information.

[0101] The parameter information indicated in the second switching indication information is stored for subsequent execution of an access operation allowing the terminal device to access.

[0102] In the embodiments of the present application, the second core network element analyzes and processes the received second switching indication information, obtains the parameter information indicated in the second switching indication information and stores the same, so as to perform relevant authentication processing based on the stored relevant information when the terminal device requests access in a subsequent terminal device access process, thereby realizing access of the terminal device.

[0103] It should be noted that step 302 and step 303 can be executed simultaneously, step 302 can also be executed before step 303 or after step 303, and the specific execution order can be determined by actual conditions, which is not limited here.

[0104] Based on the foregoing embodiments, in other embodiments of the present application, the first switching indication information includes one or more of the following information:

[0105] Network identification information of the second communication network;

[0106] Random access resource indication information.

[0107] In the embodiments of the present application, the network identification information of the second communication network is identification information for uniquely identifying the second communication network currently determined by the network device to allow the terminal device to access, which can be, for example, cell identification information, cell number information or cell name information of the second communication network detected by the network device. The random access resource indication information includes information such as random access channel (RACH) resource available when the terminal device accesses the second communication network.

[0108] Based on the foregoing embodiments, in other embodiments of the present application, the second switching indication information further includes one or more of the following information:

[0109] Switching identification information of the network switching type being inter-system switching within the network device;

[0110] Switching reason information;

[0111] First transport layer information for transporting downlink user plane data of the terminal device to the network device.

[0112] In the embodiments of the present application, the network switching type can be identified by the switching identification information of the inter-system switching within the network device, or corresponding text description, etc. For example, it can be the switching identification information of 5G network switching to 6G network, or 6G network switching to 5G network, or 5G network switching to 6G network, which is recorded as 0, and the switching identification information of 6G network switching to 5G network is recorded as 1. The switching reason information is the reason for triggering the network switching operation, which can be caused by the location movement of the UE, the indication of the core network, the UE service change, the base station load balancing trigger, etc.

[0113] Based on the foregoing embodiments, in other embodiments of the present application, the device parameters include one or more of the following information:

[0114] Device identification information of the terminal device;

[0115] Context information of the terminal device.

[0116] In the embodiments of the present application, the device identification information of the terminal device is information for uniquely identifying the terminal device, which can be identity information of the terminal device, such as product serial number of the terminal device, identity recognition module installed in the terminal device, such as Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) information, etc.

[0117] Based on the foregoing embodiments, in other embodiments of the present application, referring to Figure 4 As shown in FIG. 3, after step 303, the second core network element is further configured to perform step 305:

[0118] Step 305: The second core network element sends first confirmation information allowing the terminal device to access to the network device in response to the second switching indication information.

[0119] In the embodiments of the present application, the second core network element sends the first confirmation information allowing the terminal device to access to the network device in response to the received second switching indication information, wherein the process of the second core network element responding to the second switching indication information can include that the second core network element verifies and analyzes the second switching indication information, and only sends the first confirmation information to the network device when the verification is passed.

[0120] Correspondingly, the network device performs step 306:

[0121] Step 306: The network device receives the first confirmation information sent by the second core network element.

[0122] The first confirmation information is the switching confirmation information allowing the terminal device to access generated by the second core network element after receiving the second switching indication information.

[0123] Based on the foregoing embodiments, in other embodiments of the present application, the first confirmation information includes one or more of the following information:

[0124] Device identification information of the terminal device;

[0125] Second transport layer information for transmitting uplink user plane data of the terminal device to the second core network element.

[0126] Based on the foregoing embodiments, in other embodiments of the present application, the first transport layer information and the second transport layer information include one or more of the following information:

[0127] Internet Protocol (IP) address;

[0128] Tunnel endpoint identification (TEID).

[0129] Based on the foregoing embodiments, in other embodiments of the present application, referring to Figure 4 the network device is further configured to perform step 307:

[0130] Step 307: The network device receives the second confirmation information sent by the terminal device.

[0131] The second confirmation information is network switching confirmation information sent by the terminal device after accessing the second communication network.

[0132] In the embodiments of the present application, after the terminal device receives the first switching indication information sent by the network device, it confirms to perform network switching, and after the terminal device switches to the second communication network, it sends the second confirmation information to the network device, so that the network device knows that the terminal device has switched to the second communication network.

[0133] Based on the foregoing embodiments, in other embodiments of the present application, the communication mode between the terminal device and the network device includes one of the following modes:

[0134] Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration message;

[0135] Medium Access Control (MAC) control element (CE);

[0136] Downlink Control Information (DCI).

[0137] Based on the foregoing embodiments, in other embodiments of the present application, referring to Figure 4 the network device is further configured to perform step 308:

[0138] Step 308: The network device sends release indication information to the first core network element providing the first communication network.

[0139] The release indication information is used to instruct the first core network element to release the communication link resource parameters of the terminal device.

[0140] In the embodiment of the present application, after receiving the second confirmation information of the terminal device, the network device sends release indication information to the first core network element, so that the first core network element releases the related resources of the terminal device, including the communication link resource parameters of the terminal device.

[0141] It should be noted that step 308 can be performed after step 307, so that the terminal device can still use the communication network service during the network switching process or when the network switching fails, thereby ensuring the user experience effect.

[0142] Based on the foregoing embodiment, in other embodiments of the present application, referring to FIG. 9, before performing step 301, the network device is further configured to perform step 309: Figure 4

[0143] Step 309, the network device sends the network attribute indication / configuration supported by the network device to the terminal device.

[0144] In the embodiment of the present application, when the terminal device accesses, the network device will send the network attribute indication / configuration supported by the network device to the terminal device, wherein the network attribute indication / configuration is used to indicate the related information of the communication network supported by the network device. In this way, after the terminal device receives the network attribute indication / configuration sent by the network device,

[0145] Based on the foregoing embodiment, in other embodiments of the present application, the network attribute indication / configuration includes one or more of the following information:

[0146] Network support identification information of the network device supporting the first communication network and the second communication network;

[0147] The radio bearer of the first communication network and the radio bearer of the second communication network, and / or the cell configuration parameters of the first communication network and the cell configuration parameters of the second communication network.

[0148] In the embodiment of the present application, the network support identification information is identification information used to indicate the first communication network and the second communication network at the same time.

[0149] Based on the foregoing embodiment, the embodiment of the present application provides a network switching architecture system, referring to FIG. 12, the architecture system is used for a 5G-6G co-site multi-radio access technology (RAT) spectrum sharing (MRSS) scene, that is, Figure 5 Figure 5 ​​The system architecture shown supports multi-band joint networking of 6G new frequency bands + part of 5G farmed frequency bands. 6G and 5G can use dynamic MRSS shared spectrum resources on the farmed frequency bands, including 5G core network A, 6G core network B, dual-mode base station C, 5G cell D, 6G cell E and UE F. In some application scenarios, the 5G base station can be improved in hardware to add the function of 6G, realizing Figure 5 The architecture system shown can be called a 5G-6G dual-mode base station, which can be referred to as a base station in the future. Among them, the 5G communication network and the 6G communication network in the 5G-6G base station at least share the radio unit (RU) or the distributed unit (DU), realizing the sharing of time-frequency resources. Since the 5G-6G dual-mode base station includes a 5G communication network cell and a 6G communication network cell, the 5G-6G dual-mode base station can be connected to a 5G core network and / or a 6G core network. In this way, when a UE accessing the 5G-6G dual-mode base station switches from a 5G cell of the base station to a 6G cell of the base station, or from a 6G cell of the base station to a 5G cell, the connection on the core network side needs to be switched from the core network corresponding to the source base station to the core network corresponding to the target base station to realize inter-system switching, while the base station side belongs to the switching of different cells within the base station. In this way, based on the above-mentioned architecture system, the 5G-6G dual-mode base station can realize the inter-system network switching within the base station, and the implementation process of the inter-system network switching method of the base station can refer to the implementation process of the inter-system network switching method of the base station shown in the following Figure 5 The implementation process of the inter-system network switching method of the base station shown in the architecture system can refer to the implementation process of the inter-system network switching method of the base station shown in the following Figure 6 As shown, the implementation process of the inter-system network switching method of the base station includes the following steps:

[0150] Step a11, the base station sends a base station indication / configuration to the UE.

[0151] The base station indication / configuration corresponds to the aforementioned network attribute indication / configuration, including: the identification of the base station supporting two systems of 5G and 6G; 5G radio bearer and 6G radio bearer, and / or cell configuration of 5G cell and cell configuration of 6G cell, etc. Further, the cell configuration of the 5G cell and the cell configuration of the 6G cell are usually pre-configured, so that the switching between the 5G cell and the 6G cell on the base station side can be realized more quickly. Among them, the UE currently accesses the source cell provided by the base station for uplink and downlink data transmission, and the source cell is provided by the first core network, which corresponds to the aforementioned first core network element.

[0152] Step a12, the base station determines the switching decision.

[0153] The switching decision is to switch the UE from the 5G cell of the base station to the 6G cell of the base station, or from the 6G cell of the base station to the 5G cell of the base station. The process of determining the switching decision by the base station can be triggered by the base station according to the measurement report of the UE, the indication of the core network, the UE traffic change, and / or the load balancing trigger within the base station, etc.

[0154] Step a13, the base station sends first handover indication information to the UE.

[0155] The first handover indication information includes the identification of the target cell, RACH resource information for accessing the target cell, etc. When the base station sends the first handover indication information to the UE, the first handover indication information can be sent through a radio resource control protocol (RRC) reconfiguration message, or through a MAC control element (MAC CE) or downlink control information (DCI).

[0156] Step a14, the base station sends second handover indication information to the second core network.

[0157] The second handover indication information includes at least an indication identifying the handover type as an inter-system handover within the base station, a UE identifier, a UE context, a handover reason, base station transport layer information, etc. The inter-system handover within the base station is a newly added handover type based on the existing protocol. The base station transport layer information includes an IP address and a tunnel end point identifier (TEID), and the base station transport layer information is used for the second core network to send the downlink user plane data of the UE to the base station. The second core network corresponds to the second core network element described above.

[0158] Step a15, after the second core network receives the second handover indication information, the UE context and other information are obtained from the second handover indication information, and the UE context and other information are saved.

[0159] Step a16, the second core network sends handover indication confirmation information to the base station.

[0160] The handover indication confirmation information includes at least a UE identifier, core network user plane network element transport layer information, etc. The core network user plane network element transport layer information includes an IP address and a TEID, etc., which are used for the base station to transmit the uplink data of the UE to the second core network.

[0161] Step a17, after the UE receives the first handover indication information, the UE accesses the target cell indicated by the first handover indication information based on the first handover indication information.

[0162] Step a18, after the UE accesses the target cell, the UE sends handover confirmation information to the base station.

[0163] The handover confirmation information can be sent in the form of an RRC message, a MAC CE, or a UCI indication.

[0164] Step a19, the base station sends release indication information of releasing the UE connection to the first core network.

[0165] Step a20, after the first core network receives the release indication information, the UE related resources are released.

[0166] Corresponding to the communication process between the base station and the UE in steps a13 and a17-a18 can be executed simultaneously with the communication process between steps a14-a16 and steps a19-a20, so that after the base station determines to perform the communication network switching operation for the terminal device, the base station can notify the Radio Access Network (RAN) side that the UE accesses the new cell while notifying the core network side to perform the switching operation, so as to realize lower switching delay. In some application scenarios, it can also be executed in sequence according to the actual situation, and the specific execution order can be determined by the actual application scenario, which will not be described in detail here.

[0167] In this way, the base station directly initiates the switching to the target core network, avoiding multi-hop forwarding of the source base station, the core network corresponding to the source base station, and the core network corresponding to the target base station, simplifying the switching process, improving the switching efficiency, reducing the switching delay, and ensuring the continuity of communication services during switching. The switching indication sent by the base station to the user can also be carried by MAC CE or DCI, realizing faster switching; further, the switching between different communication network systems such as 5G and 6G cells on the RAN side and the switching from 5G to 6G core network on the core network side can be executed in parallel, improving the switching efficiency; finally, no direct or indirect data forwarding is needed between the source base station and the target base station, improving the communication efficiency.

[0168] It should be noted that the description of the same steps and contents in this embodiment and other embodiments can refer to the description in other embodiments, which will not be described here.

[0169] The network switching method provided by the embodiments of the present application is as follows: if it is determined that a terminal device needs to switch from a first communication network to which the terminal device is currently connected to a second communication network, a first switching indication information is sent by a network device to the terminal device, and a second switching indication information is sent by the network device to a second core network element that provides the second communication network. After receiving the second switching indication information sent by the network device, the second core network element stores the parameter information indicated in the second switching indication information. In this way, when the network device determines that the terminal device needs to switch between communication networks, the network device directly sends the first switching indication information and the second switching indication information to the terminal device and the second core network element corresponding to the communication network to which the terminal device is to be switched, so as to realize direct control of the network device over the network switching of the terminal device, reduce the interaction signaling between devices when the terminal device switches between two different communication networks, solve the problem of complex inter-system switching operation process, and propose a network switching method, which simplifies the system switching process, realizes fast inter-system switching, improves the system switching performance, and reduces the switching delay.

[0170] Based on the foregoing embodiments, the embodiments of the present application provide a first network switching device, which is applied to a network device and can be used to realize Figures 1 to 4 The network switching method provided by the corresponding embodiments is described with reference to Figure 7 The first network switching device 3 can include a first sending unit 31 and a second sending unit 32.

[0171] The first sending unit 31 is configured to send a first switching indication information to a terminal device if it is determined that the terminal device needs to switch from a first communication network to which the terminal device is currently connected to a second communication network. The first switching indication information is used to indicate the access parameters of the second communication network, and the first communication network and the second communication network belong to different communication systems.

[0172] The second sending unit 32 is configured to send a second switching indication information to a second core network element that provides the second communication network. The second switching indication information is used to indicate at least the device parameters of the terminal device.

[0173] In other embodiments of the present application, the first switching indication information includes one or more of the following information:

[0174] Network identification information of the second communication network;

[0175] Random access resource indication information.

[0176] In other embodiments of the present application, the second switching indication information further includes one or more of the following information:

[0177] Switching identification information of the network switching type, which is inter-system switching within the network device;

[0178] Switching reason information;

[0179] The first transport layer information is used for transmitting downlink user plane data of the terminal device to the network device.

[0180] In other embodiments of the present application, the device parameters include one or more of the following information:

[0181] Device identification information of the terminal device;

[0182] Context information of the terminal device.

[0183] In other embodiments of the present application, the first network switching device further comprises a second receiving unit; wherein:

[0184] The second receiving unit is configured to receive first confirmation information sent by the second core network element; wherein, the first confirmation information is switching confirmation information generated by the second core network element after receiving the second switching indication information, and the switching confirmation information allows the terminal device to access.

[0185] In other embodiments of the present application, the first confirmation information includes one or more of the following information:

[0186] Device identification information of the terminal device;

[0187] The second transport layer information is used for transmitting uplink user plane data of the terminal device to the second core network element.

[0188] In other embodiments of the present application, the first transport layer information and the second transport layer information include one or more of the following information:

[0189] Internet Protocol (IP) address;

[0190] Tunnel Endpoint Identifier (TEID).

[0191] In other embodiments of the present application, the second receiving unit is further configured to receive second confirmation information sent by the terminal device; wherein, the second confirmation information is network switching confirmation information sent by the terminal device after accessing the second communication network.

[0192] In other embodiments of the present application, the communication mode between the terminal device and the network device includes one of the following modes:

[0193] Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration message;

[0194] Medium Access Control (MAC) control element (CE);

[0195] Downlink Control Information (DCI).

[0196] In other embodiments of the present application, the first network switching device further comprises a third sending unit; wherein:

[0197] The third sending unit is configured to send release indication information to the first core network element providing the first communication network, wherein the release indication information is used to instruct the first core network element to release the communication link resource parameter of the terminal device.

[0198] In other embodiments of the present application, before the first sending unit, the third sending unit is further configured to send network attribute indication / configuration supported by the network device to the terminal device.

[0199] In other embodiments of the present application, the network attribute indication / configuration comprises one or more of the following information:

[0200] Network support identification information of the network device supporting the first communication network and the second communication network;

[0201] Radio bearers of the first communication network and radio bearers of the second communication network, and / or cell configuration parameters of the first communication network and cell configuration parameters of the second communication network.

[0202] It should be noted that the process of information interaction between the units and modules in the present embodiment can refer to the description in other embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0203] The first network switching device provided by the embodiments of the present application, if it is determined that the terminal device needs to switch from the currently accessed first communication network to the second communication network, sends the first switching indication information to the terminal device through the network device, and sends the second switching indication information to the second core network element providing the second communication network. After the second core network element receives the second switching indication information sent by the network device, it stores the parameter information indicated in the second switching indication information. In this way, when the network device determines that the terminal device needs to switch between communication networks, the first switching indication information and the second switching indication information are directly sent to the terminal device and the second core network element corresponding to the communication network to be switched to, respectively, so as to realize the network device directly controlling the network switching of the terminal device, reduce the more interaction signaling between devices when the terminal device switches between two different communication networks, solve the problem of complex inter-system switching operation process, propose a network switching method, simplify the system switching process, realize fast inter-system switching, improve the system switching performance, and reduce the switching delay.

[0204] Based on the foregoing embodiments, the embodiments of the present application provide a second network switching device, which is applied to the second core network element and can be used to realize Figures 1 to 4 The network switching method provided by the corresponding embodiments, with reference to Figure 8 The second network switching device 4 can include a first receiving unit 41 and a storage unit 42; wherein:

[0205] The first receiving unit 41 is configured to receive second switching indication information sent by the network device, wherein the second switching indication information is used to indicate at least device parameter of the terminal device.

[0206] The storage unit 42 is configured to store parameter information indicated in the second switching indication information, so as to perform subsequent access operation of allowing the terminal device to access.

[0207] In other embodiments of the present application, the second switching indication information further comprises one or more of the following information:

[0208] Switching identification information of the network switching type being inter-system switching within the network device;

[0209] Switching reason information;

[0210] First transport layer information used for transmitting downlink user plane data of the terminal device to the network device.

[0211] In other embodiments of the present application, the second network switching apparatus further comprises a processing unit, wherein:

[0212] The processing unit is configured to send first confirmation information of allowing the terminal device to access to the network device in response to the second switching indication information.

[0213] In other embodiments of the present application, the first confirmation information comprises one or more of the following information:

[0214] Device identification information of the terminal device;

[0215] Second transport layer information used for transmitting uplink user plane data of the terminal device to the second core network element.

[0216] It should be noted that the process of information interaction between the units and the modules in the present embodiment can refer to the description in other embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0217] The embodiments of the present application provide a second network switching apparatus, which stores parameter information indicated in second switching indication information sent by a network device through a second core network element, so as to perform subsequent access operation of allowing a terminal device to access. In this way, when the network device determines that the terminal device needs to perform communication network switching, the network device directly sends first switching indication information and second switching indication information to the terminal device and a second core network element corresponding to the communication network to be switched to, respectively, so as to realize that the network device directly controls network switching of the terminal device, reduces more interactive signaling between devices when the terminal device switches between two different communication networks, solves the problem of complex inter-system switching operation process, proposes a network switching method, simplifies the system switching process, realizes fast inter-system switching, improves the system switching performance, and reduces the switching delay.

[0218] Based on the foregoing embodiments, the embodiments of the present application provide a network switching system, which can be applied to Figures 1 to 4 The corresponding embodiments provide a network switching method, which will be described in detail with reference to Figure 9 As shown in the figure, the network switching system 5 at least includes: a network device 51, a first core network element 52 and a second core network element 53; wherein:

[0219] The network device 51 is configured to implement the method steps as Figures 1 to 4 The corresponding embodiments provide the implementation process of the network switching method, which will not be repeated here.

[0220] The first core network element 52 is configured to provide a first communication network.

[0221] The second core network element is configured to implement the implementation process of the network switching method as Figures 1 to 4 The corresponding embodiments provide the implementation process of the network switching method, which will not be repeated here.

[0222] Based on the foregoing embodiments, the embodiments of the present application provide a computer readable storage medium, referred to as a storage medium, which stores one or more programs, and the one or more programs can be executed by one or more processors to implement the implementation process of the network switching method as Figures 1 to 4 The corresponding embodiments provide the implementation process of the network switching method, which will not be repeated here.

[0223] Based on the foregoing embodiments, the embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product, which includes a computer program, and the computer program can be executed by a processor of a network device and a processing unit of a second core network element to complete any method steps described above.

[0224] Those skilled in the art should understand that the embodiments of the present application can be provided as a method, a system, or a computer program product. Therefore, the present application can be in the form of a hardware embodiment, a software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Moreover, the present application can be in the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage and optical storage, etc.) containing computer usable program code.

[0225] The computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks. Figure 1 one or more flow or blocks Figure 1 one or more flow or blocks

[0226] These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the function specified in the flowchart block or blocks. Figure 1 one or more flow or blocks Figure 1 one or more flow or blocks

[0227] The computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks. Figure 1 one or more flow or blocks Figure 1 one or more flow or blocks

[0228] The above description is only preferred embodiment of the present application, but not used to limit the protection range of the present application.

Claims

1. A network handover method, characterized in that, The method is applied to a network device, and the method includes: If it is determined that the terminal device needs to switch from the currently accessed first communication network to the second communication network, a first switching instruction information is sent to the terminal device; wherein, the first switching instruction information is used to indicate the access parameters of the second communication network, and the first communication network and the second communication network belong to different communication systems; Send a second handover instruction to the second core network element providing the second communication network; wherein the second handover instruction is used at least to indicate the device parameters of the terminal device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first switching indication information includes one or more of the following: The network identification information of the second communication network; Random access resource indication information.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The second switching indication information also includes one or more of the following: The network handover type is the handover identifier information for handover between systems within a network device; Switch reason information; First transport layer information used to transmit downlink user plane data from the terminal device to the network device.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The device parameters include one or more of the following: The device identification information of the terminal device; The context information of the terminal device.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: The system receives a first confirmation message sent by the second core network element; wherein the first confirmation message is a handover confirmation message generated by the second core network element after receiving the second handover instruction message, allowing the terminal device to access the network.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The first confirmation information includes one or more of the following: The device identification information of the terminal device; Second transport layer information used to transmit uplink user plane data of the terminal device to the second core network element.

7. The method according to claim 3 or 6, characterized in that, The first transport layer information and the second transport layer information include one or more of the following: Internet Protocol (IP) address; Tunnel endpoint identifier TEID.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: The terminal device receives a second confirmation message; wherein the second confirmation message is a network switching confirmation message sent by the terminal device after it accesses the second communication network.

9. The method according to claim 1 or 8, characterized in that, The communication method between the terminal device and the network device includes one of the following: Radio Resource Control Protocol (RRC) reconfiguration message; Media Access Control - Control Unit (MAC CE); Downlink Control Information (DCI).

10. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a release instruction message to the first core network element providing the first communication network; wherein the release instruction message is used to instruct the first core network element to release the communication link resource parameters of the terminal device.

11. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Before sending the first handover instruction information to the terminal device after determining that the terminal device needs to switch from the currently accessed first communication network to the second communication network, the method further includes: Send network attribute indications / configurations supported by the network device to the terminal device.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The network attribute indication / configuration includes one or more of the following: The network device supports network support identification information for the first communication network and the second communication network; The radio bearer of the first communication network and the radio bearer of the second communication network, and / or the cell configuration parameters of the first communication network and the cell configuration parameters of the second communication network.

13. A network handover method, characterized in that, The method is applied to the second core network element, and the method includes: The device receives a second handover indication message sent by a network device; wherein the second handover indication message is used to indicate at least the device parameters of the terminal device. The parameter information indicated in the second switching indication information is stored so that an access operation allowing the terminal device to access can be performed subsequently.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, The second switching indication information also includes one or more of the following: The network handover type is the handover identifier information for handover between systems within a network device; Switch reason information; First transport layer information used to transmit downlink user plane data from the terminal device to the network device.

15. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, The method further includes: In response to the second handover instruction information, a first confirmation message allowing the terminal device to access the network device is sent.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The first confirmation information includes one or more of the following: The device identification information of the terminal device; Second transport layer information used to transmit uplink user plane data of the terminal device to the second core network element.

17. A first network switching device, characterized in that, The device is applied to a network equipment, and the device includes: a first transmitting unit and a second transmitting unit; wherein: The first sending unit is configured to send first switching indication information to the terminal device if it is determined that the terminal device needs to switch from the currently accessed first communication network to the second communication network; wherein, the first switching indication information is used to indicate the access parameters of the second communication network, and the first communication network and the second communication network belong to different communication systems; The second sending unit is configured to send second handover indication information to the second core network element providing the second communication network; wherein the second handover indication information is at least used to indicate the device parameters of the terminal device.

18. A second network switching device, characterized in that, The device is applied to a second core network element, characterized in that the device comprises: a first receiving unit and a storage unit; wherein: The first receiving unit is configured to receive second handover indication information sent by the network device; wherein the second handover indication information is used to indicate at least the device parameters of the terminal device; The storage unit is used to store the parameter information indicated in the second switching indication information, so as to perform the access operation that allows the terminal device to access in the future.

19. A network switching system, characterized in that, The system includes at least: network equipment, a first core network element, and a second core network element; wherein: The first core network element is used to provide the first communication network; The network device is configured to implement the steps of the network switching method as described in any one of claims 1 to 12; The second core network element is used to implement the steps of the network handover method as described in any one of claims 13 to 16.

20. A storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium stores a network switching program, which, when executed, implements the steps of the network switching method as described in any one of claims 1 to 12 or 13 to 16.

21. A computer program product, comprising a computer program, characterized in that, When the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the steps of the network switching method as described in any one of claims 1 to 12 or 13 to 16.

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