A session management method, computer device, apparatus and storage medium

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a session management method, device, computer equipment and storage medium, and relates to the field of communication. In the method, when a terminal initiates a session establishment request, if there is an established session of another terminal in a user group to which the terminal belongs, a separate session for the terminal does not need to be newly established, but a shared session for sharing is selected for the terminal from the established session of the other terminal in the user group to which the terminal belongs. The network resources corresponding to the same session are shared by multiple terminals, the limitation that each session corresponds to a unique terminal is broken, the network management complexity is reduced, and the resource utilization efficiency is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and more specifically, to a session management method, computer equipment, apparatus, and storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] In current communication technologies, each User Equipment (UE) needs to establish an independent service session when accessing the network, such as a Packet Data Unit (PDU) session, a data session, or a computing session, so that the UE can exchange data and access resources.

[0003] While this management model, based on independent sessions for each user device, improves the isolation and security of user data, it also leads to increased network management complexity and low resource utilization efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This disclosure provides at least one session management method, computer device, apparatus, and storage medium to address the problems of increased network management complexity and low resource utilization efficiency caused by a management mode based on independent sessions for each user device.

[0005] In a first aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a session management method applied to a terminal, comprising:

[0006] Initiate a session establishment request;

[0007] Receive the first session establishment response; the first session establishment response indicates the session establishment result, and the session establishment result contains the session identifier of the shared session, which is the established session of other terminals in the user group to which the terminal belongs.

[0008] In one optional implementation, the session establishment request includes the identifier of the user group to which the terminal belongs and / or the session identifier of the user group to which the terminal belongs that has already established a session.

[0009] In one alternative implementation, the session establishment request includes at least one of the following:

[0010] Packet Data Unit (PDU) session establishment request for requesting Data Network (DN) services, Computational Session Establishment Request for requesting Computational Services, and Data Session Establishment Request for requesting Data Services.

[0011] In one optional implementation, it further includes:

[0012] Initiate a session release request; the session release request contains the session identifier of the shared session to be released;

[0013] Receive the first session release response; the first session release response indicates the session release result for the shared session; the session release result indicates whether the shared session is released or modified.

[0014] In one optional implementation, if the session release result indicates the release of a shared session, the session release result includes first indication information, which indicates the release of the first access network (AN) resource associated with the terminal; or,

[0015] If the session release result indicates modification of the shared session, the session release result includes a second indication, which indicates the deletion of the Quality of Service (QoS) flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session; or...

[0016] In cases where the session release result indicates modification of the shared session, the session release result includes third indication information, which indicates updating the QoS flow information of the shared session.

[0017] In one alternative implementation, the QoS flow information includes a QoS flow identifier (QFI) and / or a QoS profile.

[0018] In one alternative implementation, different terminals within a user group may access the same or different Radio Access Network (RAN) nodes.

[0019] Secondly, this disclosure also provides another meeting management method applied to a first network function, including:

[0020] Receive a session establishment request initiated by the terminal;

[0021] Send a request to create a session management context to the target network function;

[0022] Receive a request response to create a session management context; the request response contains the session identifier of the shared session, which is an established session of another terminal within the user group to which the terminal belongs;

[0023] Send a first session establishment response to the terminal; the first session establishment response indicates the session establishment result, and the session establishment result contains the session identifier of the shared session.

[0024] In one alternative implementation, the session management context creation request response further includes the service identifier of the terminal's service flow in the shared session.

[0025] In one optional implementation, it further includes:

[0026] Select the second network function that serves other terminals within the user group as the target network function.

[0027] In one alternative implementation, the request to create a session management context includes the identifier of the user group to which the terminal belongs and / or the session identifier of the user group to which the terminal belongs that has an established session.

[0028] In one optional implementation, it further includes:

[0029] Receive a first forwarding message sent by the target network function; the first forwarding message contains a session identifier and Quality of Service (QoS) flow information for the shared session; send a second session establishment response to the radio access network (RAN) node to which the terminal is accessed, the second session establishment response containing the first forwarding message; and / or,

[0030] Receive a second forwarding message sent by the target network function; the second forwarding message contains a session establishment result, and the session establishment result contains a session identifier of the shared session; send a first session establishment response to the terminal, including: sending a first session establishment response to the terminal through the RAN node accessed by the terminal; the first session establishment response contains a second forwarding message.

[0031] In one optional implementation, when different terminals within a user group access different RAN nodes, the first forwarding message also includes updated core network (CN) tunnel information corresponding to the shared session. The updated CN tunnel information indicates the tunnel information through which the terminal communicates with the third network function via the RAN node.

[0032] In one optional implementation, it further includes:

[0033] The receiving terminal initiates a session release request; the session release request contains the session identifier of the shared session to be released;

[0034] Send a Session Management Context Update Request to the target network function; the Session Management Context Update Request contains the session identifier of the shared session to be released;

[0035] Receive a Session Management Context Update response from the target network function; the Session Management Context Update response indicates the session release result for the shared session; the session release result indicates whether the shared session is released or modified.

[0036] Send a first session release response to the terminal; the first session release response indicates the result of the session release for the shared session.

[0037] In one optional implementation, the session management context update response includes a first forwarding message; the method further includes: sending a second session release response to the RAN node connected to the terminal, the second session release response including the first forwarding message; the first forwarding message indicates the release of the second access network (AN) resources associated with the shared session, or, the first forwarding message indicates the deletion of QoS flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session, or, the first forwarding message indicates updating the QoS flow information of the shared session; and / or,

[0038] The session management context update response includes a second forwarding message; sending a first session release response to the terminal includes: sending a first session release response to the terminal through the RAN node, the first session release response including a second forwarding message; the second forwarding message indicates the release of the first access network (AN) resource associated with the terminal, or, the second forwarding message indicates the deletion of the QoS flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session, or, the second forwarding message indicates the update of the QoS flow information of the shared session.

[0039] In one optional implementation, when different terminals within a user group access different RAN nodes, the first forwarding message and / or the second forwarding message indicate that the released AN resources are the AN resources corresponding to the RAN nodes accessed by the terminals.

[0040] Thirdly, embodiments of this disclosure provide another session management method applied to a target network function, including:

[0041] Receive a request from the first network function to create a session management context for the terminal;

[0042] Send a Create Session Management Context Request response to the first network function; the Create Session Management Context Request response contains the session identifier of the shared session, which is an established session of other terminals within the user group to which the terminal belongs.

[0043] In one alternative implementation, before sending the Create Session Management Context Request response, the method further includes:

[0044] The terminal's subscription data is obtained from the fourth network function; the subscription data indicates that the terminal can share established sessions with other terminals in its user group.

[0045] In one alternative implementation, before sending the Create Session Management Context Request response, the method further includes:

[0046] In response to at least one of the following conditions, it is determined that a terminal is capable of sharing established sessions with other terminals within its user group:

[0047] Other terminals within the same user group as the terminal are allowed to share established sessions with the terminal.

[0048] The third-party network function corresponding to the session established by the user group to which the terminal belongs supports multiple terminals sharing the user plane path of the same session.

[0049] Service operators support multiple terminals sharing a session;

[0050] The data network information requested by the terminal is consistent with the data network information of the user group to which the terminal belongs that has already established a session;

[0051] Currently, the service nodes serving other terminals within the user group to which the terminal belongs meet the terminal's service requirements.

[0052] The service node selected for other terminals in the user group to which the terminal belongs is the same as the service node selected for the terminal, or the service node selected for other terminals in the user group to which the terminal belongs is connected to the same PDU session anchor user plane function (PSA UPF) as the service node selected for the terminal.

[0053] The service node currently serving other terminals within the user group to which the terminal belongs is allowed to provide services to multiple terminals.

[0054] In one optional implementation, the method further includes:

[0055] If the user group to which the terminal belongs has multiple shareable sessions, then the terminal-shared session is selected from the multiple sessions based on at least one of the following: priority of the multiple shareable sessions, session path latency, session path length, number of shared terminals, bandwidth size, and resource usage size.

[0056] In one optional implementation, the target network function is a network function used for session management; the method further includes:

[0057] Send a third forwarding message to the third network function of the shared session; the third forwarding message contains the service identifier of the service flow created for the terminal in the shared session.

[0058] In one optional implementation, the third forwarding message further includes Quality of Service (QoS) flow information created for the service flow of the terminal;

[0059] Alternatively, the terminal's service flow shares the QoS flow information already created in the shared session.

[0060] In one optional implementation, it further includes:

[0061] For the service flows of different terminals within a shared session, resources of the shared session are allocated according to priority.

[0062] In one optional implementation, the target network function is a network function used for session management; the method further includes:

[0063] Send a first forwarding message to the first network function; the first forwarding message contains the session identifier of the shared session and QoS flow information; the first forwarding message is used to send to the access network RAN ​​node accessed by the terminal through the first network function; and / or,

[0064] Send a second forwarding message to the first network function; the second forwarding message contains the session establishment result, which contains the session identifier of the shared session, and the second forwarding message is used to send to the terminal through the first network function.

[0065] In one optional implementation, it further includes:

[0066] Receive a session management context update request for the terminal sent by the first network function; the session management context update request contains the session identifier of the shared session to be released;

[0067] Send a Session Management Context Update response to the first network function; the Session Management Context Update response indicates the session release result for the shared session; the session release result indicates whether the shared session is released or modified.

[0068] In one optional implementation, it further includes:

[0069] If only the terminal is currently using the shared session, the session release result is determined to be releasing the shared session;

[0070] If other terminals besides the current terminal are using the shared session, the session release result is determined to be a modification of the shared session.

[0071] In one optional implementation, the target network function is a network function used for session management; the method further includes:

[0072] A fourth forwarding message is sent to the third network function of the shared session. The fourth forwarding message indicates the service identifier of the service flow of the terminal that needs to be deleted for the shared session.

[0073] In one optional implementation, if the QoS flow corresponding to the service flow to be deleted is not used by other terminals within the user group, the fourth forwarding message also includes QoS flow information to be deleted in the shared session; or,

[0074] If the QoS flow corresponding to the service flow that needs to be deleted is still being used by other terminals within the user group, the fourth forwarding message also includes QoS flow update information for the shared session.

[0075] In one optional implementation, the session management context update response includes a second forwarding message and a first forwarding message;

[0076] The second forwarding message indicates the release of the first access network (AN) resources associated with the terminal, and the first forwarding message indicates the release of the second access network (AN) resources associated with the shared session;

[0077] Alternatively, the second forwarding message and the first forwarding message indicate the deletion of the Quality of Service (QoS) flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session;

[0078] Alternatively, the second forwarding message and the first forwarding message may indicate an update to the QoS flow information of the shared session.

[0079] In one alternative implementation, the target network function is a network function used for computational control or data management;

[0080] The method also includes:

[0081] Issue service resource allocation policies to service nodes; the service resource allocation policies contain at least one of the following information:

[0082] User ID, shared session ID, selectable service resource type, service duration, business priority, and session priority.

[0083] In one alternative implementation, the target network function is a network function used for computational control or data management;

[0084] The method also includes:

[0085] Send a session establishment request for the terminal to the network function used for session management. The session establishment request includes the selected service node identifier and the session identifier for the shared session.

[0086] In one alternative implementation, the target network function is a network function used for computational control or data management;

[0087] The method also includes:

[0088] A session release request is triggered when at least one of the following conditions is met:

[0089] Service duration for reaching service resources;

[0090] The current network resource status does not meet the demand, or the service resource status of the service node does not meet the demand;

[0091] A service cancellation request was received from the service node;

[0092] Received a service cancellation notification from the network function used for session management or the first network function;

[0093] According to the locally configured policy, the currently allocated session resources need to be cancelled.

[0094] Fourthly, embodiments of this disclosure also provide a session management device for a terminal, comprising:

[0095] The initiation module is used to initiate session establishment requests.

[0096] The first receiving module is used to receive the first session establishment response; the first session establishment response indicates the session establishment result, and the session establishment result contains the session identifier of the shared session, which is the established session of other terminals within the user group to which the terminal belongs.

[0097] In one optional implementation, the session establishment request includes the identifier of the user group to which the terminal belongs and / or the session identifier of the user group to which the terminal belongs that has already established a session.

[0098] In one alternative implementation, the session establishment request includes at least one of the following:

[0099] Packet Data Unit (PDU) session establishment request for requesting Data Network (DN) services, Computational Session Establishment Request for requesting Computational Services, and Data Session Establishment Request for requesting Data Services.

[0100] In one optional implementation, the initiating module is further configured to:

[0101] Initiate a session release request; the session release request contains the session identifier of the shared session to be released;

[0102] The first receiving module is also used for:

[0103] Receive the first session release response; the first session release response indicates the session release result for the shared session; the session release result indicates whether the shared session is released or modified.

[0104] In one optional implementation, if the session release result indicates the release of a shared session, the session release result includes first indication information, which indicates the release of the first access network (AN) resource associated with the terminal; or,

[0105] If the session release result indicates modification of the shared session, the session release result includes a second indication, which indicates the deletion of the Quality of Service (QoS) flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session; or...

[0106] In cases where the session release result indicates modification of the shared session, the session release result includes third indication information, which indicates updating the QoS flow information of the shared session.

[0107] In one alternative implementation, the QoS flow information includes a QoS flow identifier (QFI) and / or a QoS profile.

[0108] In one alternative implementation, different terminals within a user group may access the same or different Radio Access Network (RAN) nodes.

[0109] Fifthly, embodiments of this disclosure also provide another session management apparatus applied to a first network function, including:

[0110] The second receiving module is used to receive session establishment requests initiated by the terminal;

[0111] The first sending module is used to send a request to the target network function to create a session management context;

[0112] The third receiving module is used to receive the request response for creating a session management context; the request response for creating a session management context contains the session identifier of the shared session, which is an established session of other terminals within the user group to which the terminal belongs;

[0113] The sixth sending module is used to send a first session establishment response to the terminal; the first session establishment response indicates the session establishment result, and the session establishment result contains the session identifier of the shared session.

[0114] In one alternative implementation, the session management context creation request response further includes the service identifier of the terminal's service flow in the shared session.

[0115] In one optional embodiment, the apparatus further includes:

[0116] The selection module is used to select a second network function that serves other terminals within the user group as the target network function.

[0117] In one alternative implementation, the request to create a session management context includes the identifier of the user group to which the terminal belongs and / or the session identifier of the user group to which the terminal belongs that has an established session.

[0118] In one optional implementation, the third receiving module is further configured to:

[0119] Receive a first forwarding message sent by the target network function; the first forwarding message contains a session identifier and Quality of Service (QoS) flow information for the shared session; send a second session establishment response to the radio access network (RAN) node to which the terminal is accessed, the second session establishment response containing the first forwarding message; and / or,

[0120] Receive a second forwarding message sent by the target network function; the second forwarding message contains a session establishment result, and the session establishment result contains a session identifier of the shared session; send a first session establishment response to the terminal, including: sending a first session establishment response to the terminal through the RAN node accessed by the terminal; the first session establishment response contains a second forwarding message.

[0121] In one optional implementation, when different terminals within a user group access different RAN nodes, the first forwarding message also includes updated core network (CN) tunnel information corresponding to the shared session. The updated CN tunnel information indicates the tunnel information through which the terminal communicates with the third network function via the RAN node.

[0122] In one optional implementation, the second receiving module is further configured to:

[0123] The receiving terminal initiates a session release request; the session release request contains the session identifier of the shared session to be released;

[0124] The first sending module is also used to send a session management context update request to the target network function; the session management context update request contains the session identifier of the shared session to be released;

[0125] The third receiving module is also used to receive the session management context update response sent by the target network function; the session management context update response indicates the session release result of the shared session; the session release result indicates whether the shared session is released or modified.

[0126] The sixth sending module is also used to send a first session release response to the terminal; the first session release response indicates the session release result of the shared session.

[0127] In one optional implementation, the session management context update response includes a first forwarding message; the sixth sending module is further configured to: send a second session release response to the RAN node connected to the terminal, the second session release response including the first forwarding message; the first forwarding message indicates the release of the second access network (AN) resources associated with the shared session, or, the first forwarding message indicates the deletion of QoS flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session, or, the first forwarding message indicates updating the QoS flow information of the shared session; and / or,

[0128] The session management context update response includes a second forwarding message; the sixth sending module is further configured to: send a first session release response to the terminal through the RAN node, the first session release response including the second forwarding message; the second forwarding message indicates the release of the first access network AN resource associated with the terminal, or, the second forwarding message indicates the deletion of the QoS flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session, or, the second forwarding message indicates the update of the QoS flow information of the shared session.

[0129] In one optional implementation, when different terminals within a user group access different RAN nodes, the first forwarding message and / or the second forwarding message indicate that the released AN resources are the AN resources corresponding to the RAN nodes accessed by the terminals.

[0130] Sixthly, embodiments of this disclosure also provide another session management apparatus for use with target network functions, including:

[0131] The fourth receiving module is used to receive the session management context creation request sent by the first network function for the terminal;

[0132] The second sending module is used to send a session management context creation request response to the first network function; the session management context creation request response contains a session identifier of the shared session, which is an established session of other terminals within the user group to which the terminal belongs.

[0133] In one optional embodiment, the apparatus further includes:

[0134] The acquisition module is used to acquire the terminal's subscription data from the fourth network function; the subscription data indicates that the terminal can share established sessions with other terminals within its user group.

[0135] In one optional embodiment, the apparatus further includes:

[0136] The first determining module is configured to determine, before sending a request response to create a session management context, that a terminal is capable of sharing established sessions with other terminals within its user group if at least one of the following conditions is met:

[0137] Other terminals within the same user group as the terminal are allowed to share established sessions with the terminal.

[0138] The third-party network function corresponding to the session established by the user group to which the terminal belongs supports multiple terminals sharing the user plane path of the same session.

[0139] Service operators support multiple terminals sharing a session;

[0140] The data network information requested by the terminal is consistent with the data network information of the user group to which the terminal belongs that has already established a session;

[0141] Currently, the service nodes serving other terminals within the user group to which the terminal belongs meet the terminal's service requirements.

[0142] The service node selected for other terminals in the user group to which the terminal belongs is the same as the service node selected for the terminal, or the service node selected for other terminals in the user group to which the terminal belongs is connected to the same PDU session anchor user plane function (PSA UPF) as the service node selected for the terminal.

[0143] The service node currently serving other terminals within the user group to which the terminal belongs is allowed to provide services to multiple terminals.

[0144] In one optional implementation, the first determining module is further configured to:

[0145] If the user group to which the terminal belongs has multiple shareable sessions, then the terminal-shared session is selected from the multiple sessions based on at least one of the following: priority of the multiple shareable sessions, session path latency, session path length, number of shared terminals, bandwidth size, and resource usage size.

[0146] In one optional implementation, the target network function is a network function for session management; the apparatus further includes a third transmitting module for:

[0147] Send a third forwarding message to the third network function of the shared session; the third forwarding message contains the service identifier of the service flow created for the terminal in the shared session.

[0148] In one optional implementation, the third forwarding message further includes Quality of Service (QoS) flow information created for the service flow of the terminal;

[0149] Alternatively, the terminal's service flow shares the QoS flow information already created in the shared session.

[0150] In one optional embodiment, the apparatus further includes:

[0151] The allocation module is used to allocate resources of the shared session according to priority for the service flows of different terminals within the shared session.

[0152] In one optional implementation, the target network function is a network function for session management;

[0153] The second sending module is further configured to send a first forwarding message to the first network function; the first forwarding message contains a session identifier of the shared session and QoS flow information; the first forwarding message is used to send to the access network RAN ​​node accessed by the terminal through the first network function; and / or,

[0154] Send a second forwarding message to the first network function; the second forwarding message contains the session establishment result, which contains the session identifier of the shared session, and the second forwarding message is used to send to the terminal through the first network function.

[0155] In one optional implementation, the fourth receiving module is further configured to:

[0156] Receive a session management context update request for the terminal sent by the first network function; the session management context update request contains the session identifier of the shared session to be released;

[0157] The second sending module is also used for:

[0158] Send a Session Management Context Update response to the first network function; the Session Management Context Update response indicates the session release result for the shared session; the session release result indicates whether the shared session is released or modified.

[0159] In one optional embodiment, the apparatus further includes:

[0160] The second determining module is used to determine that the session release result is to release the shared session when only the terminal is currently using the shared session.

[0161] If other terminals besides the current terminal are using the shared session, the session release result is determined to be a modification of the shared session.

[0162] In one optional implementation, the target network function is a network function for session management; the apparatus further includes a fourth transmitting module for:

[0163] A fourth forwarding message is sent to the third network function of the shared session. The fourth forwarding message indicates the service identifier of the service flow of the terminal that needs to be deleted for the shared session.

[0164] In one optional implementation, if the QoS flow corresponding to the service flow to be deleted is not used by other terminals within the user group, the fourth forwarding message also includes QoS flow information to be deleted in the shared session; or,

[0165] If the QoS flow corresponding to the service flow that needs to be deleted is still being used by other terminals within the user group, the fourth forwarding message also includes QoS flow update information for the shared session.

[0166] In one optional implementation, the session management context update response includes a second forwarding message and a first forwarding message;

[0167] The second forwarding message indicates the release of the first access network (AN) resources associated with the terminal, and the first forwarding message indicates the release of the second access network (AN) resources associated with the shared session;

[0168] Alternatively, the second forwarding message and the first forwarding message indicate the deletion of the Quality of Service (QoS) flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session;

[0169] Alternatively, the second forwarding message and the first forwarding message may indicate an update to the QoS flow information of the shared session.

[0170] In one alternative implementation, the target network function is a network function used for computational control or data management;

[0171] The device also includes:

[0172] The distribution module is used to distribute service resource allocation policies to service nodes; the service resource allocation policy includes at least one of the following information:

[0173] User ID, shared session ID, selectable service resource type, service duration, business priority, and session priority.

[0174] In one alternative implementation, the target network function is a network function used for computational control or data management;

[0175] The device also includes a fifth transmitting module, used for:

[0176] Send a session establishment request for the terminal to the network function used for session management. The session establishment request includes the selected service node identifier and the session identifier for the shared session.

[0177] In one alternative implementation, the target network function is a network function used for computational control or data management;

[0178] The device also includes:

[0179] The triggering module is used to trigger a session release request when at least one of the following conditions is met:

[0180] Service duration for reaching service resources;

[0181] The current network resource status does not meet the demand, or the service resource status of the service node does not meet the demand;

[0182] A service cancellation request was received from the service node;

[0183] Received a service cancellation notification from the network function used for session management or the first network function;

[0184] According to the locally configured policy, the currently allocated session resources need to be cancelled.

[0185] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of this disclosure also provide a computer device deployed in a terminal, including a memory, a transceiver, and a processor:

[0186] Memory is used to store computer programs; transceiver is used to send and receive data under the control of the processor; processor is used to read the computer programs from memory and perform the following operations:

[0187] Initiate a session establishment request;

[0188] Receive the first session establishment response; the first session establishment response indicates the session establishment result, and the session establishment result contains the session identifier of the shared session, which is the established session of other terminals in the user group to which the terminal belongs.

[0189] In one optional implementation, the session establishment request includes the identifier of the user group to which the terminal belongs and / or the session identifier of the user group to which the terminal belongs that has already established a session.

[0190] In one alternative implementation, the session establishment request includes at least one of the following:

[0191] Packet Data Unit (PDU) session establishment request for requesting Data Network (DN) services, Computational Session Establishment Request for requesting Computational Services, and Data Session Establishment Request for requesting Data Services.

[0192] In one alternative implementation, the processor is further configured to perform:

[0193] Initiate a session release request; the session release request contains the session identifier of the shared session to be released;

[0194] Receive the first session release response; the first session release response indicates the session release result for the shared session; the session release result indicates whether the shared session is released or modified.

[0195] In one optional implementation, if the session release result indicates the release of a shared session, the session release result includes first indication information, which indicates the release of the first access network (AN) resource associated with the terminal; or,

[0196] If the session release result indicates modification of the shared session, the session release result includes a second indication, which indicates the deletion of the Quality of Service (QoS) flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session; or...

[0197] In cases where the session release result indicates modification of the shared session, the session release result includes third indication information, which indicates updating the QoS flow information of the shared session.

[0198] In one alternative implementation, the QoS flow information includes a QoS flow identifier (QFI) and / or a QoS profile.

[0199] In one alternative implementation, different terminals within a user group may access the same or different Radio Access Network (RAN) nodes.

[0200] Eighthly, embodiments of this disclosure also provide another computer device deployed in a first network function, including a memory, a transceiver, and a processor:

[0201] Memory is used to store computer programs; transceiver is used to send and receive data under the control of the processor; processor is used to read the computer programs from memory and perform the following operations:

[0202] Receive a session establishment request initiated by the terminal;

[0203] Send a request to create a session management context to the target network function;

[0204] Receive a request response to create a session management context; the request response contains the session identifier of the shared session, which is an established session of another terminal within the user group to which the terminal belongs;

[0205] Send a first session establishment response to the terminal; the first session establishment response indicates the session establishment result, and the session establishment result contains the session identifier of the shared session.

[0206] In one alternative implementation, the session management context creation request response further includes the service identifier of the terminal's service flow in the shared session.

[0207] In one alternative implementation, the processor is further configured to perform:

[0208] Select the second network function that serves other terminals within the user group as the target network function.

[0209] In one alternative implementation, the request to create a session management context includes the identifier of the user group to which the terminal belongs and / or the session identifier of the user group to which the terminal belongs that has an established session.

[0210] In one alternative implementation, the processor is further configured to perform:

[0211] Receive a first forwarding message sent by the target network function; the first forwarding message contains a session identifier and Quality of Service (QoS) flow information for the shared session; send a second session establishment response to the radio access network (RAN) node to which the terminal is accessed, the second session establishment response containing the first forwarding message; and / or,

[0212] Receive a second forwarding message sent by the target network function; the second forwarding message contains a session establishment result, and the session establishment result contains a session identifier of the shared session; send a first session establishment response to the terminal, including: sending a first session establishment response to the terminal through the RAN node accessed by the terminal; the first session establishment response contains a second forwarding message.

[0213] In one optional implementation, when different terminals within a user group access different RAN nodes, the first forwarding message also includes updated core network (CN) tunnel information corresponding to the shared session. The updated CN tunnel information indicates the tunnel information through which the terminal communicates with the third network function via the RAN node.

[0214] In one alternative implementation, the processor is further configured to perform:

[0215] The receiving terminal initiates a session release request; the session release request contains the session identifier of the shared session to be released;

[0216] Send a Session Management Context Update Request to the target network function; the Session Management Context Update Request contains the session identifier of the shared session to be released;

[0217] Receive a Session Management Context Update response from the target network function; the Session Management Context Update response indicates the session release result for the shared session; the session release result indicates whether the shared session is released or modified.

[0218] Send a first session release response to the terminal; the first session release response indicates the result of the session release for the shared session.

[0219] In one optional implementation, the session management context update response includes a first forwarding message; the processor is further configured to: send a second session release response to the RAN node to which the terminal is connected, the second session release response including the first forwarding message; the first forwarding message indicates the release of the second access network (AN) resources associated with the shared session, or, the first forwarding message indicates the deletion of QoS flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session, or, the first forwarding message indicates updating the QoS flow information of the shared session; and / or,

[0220] The session management context update response includes a second forwarding message; sending a first session release response to the terminal includes: sending a first session release response to the terminal through the RAN node, the first session release response including a second forwarding message; the second forwarding message indicates the release of the first access network (AN) resource associated with the terminal, or, the second forwarding message indicates the deletion of the QoS flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session, or, the second forwarding message indicates the update of the QoS flow information of the shared session.

[0221] In one optional implementation, when different terminals within a user group access different RAN nodes, the first forwarding message and / or the second forwarding message indicate that the released AN resources are the AN resources corresponding to the RAN nodes accessed by the terminals.

[0222] In a ninth aspect, embodiments of this disclosure also provide another computer device deployed on a target network function, including a memory, a transceiver, and a processor:

[0223] Memory is used to store computer programs; transceiver is used to send and receive data under the control of the processor; processor is used to read the computer programs from memory and perform the following operations:

[0224] Receive a request from the first network function to create a session management context for the terminal;

[0225] Send a Create Session Management Context Request response to the first network function; the Create Session Management Context Request response contains the session identifier of the shared session, which is an established session of other terminals within the user group to which the terminal belongs.

[0226] In one alternative implementation, before sending the Create Session Management Context Request response, the processor is further configured to:

[0227] The terminal's subscription data is obtained from the fourth network function; the subscription data indicates that the terminal can share established sessions with other terminals in its user group.

[0228] In one alternative implementation, before sending the Create Session Management Context Request response, the processor is further configured to:

[0229] In response to at least one of the following conditions, it is determined that a terminal is capable of sharing established sessions with other terminals within its user group:

[0230] Other terminals within the same user group as the terminal are allowed to share established sessions with the terminal.

[0231] The third-party network function corresponding to the session established by the user group to which the terminal belongs supports multiple terminals sharing the user plane path of the same session.

[0232] Service operators support multiple terminals sharing a session;

[0233] The data network information requested by the terminal is consistent with the data network information of the user group to which the terminal belongs that has already established a session;

[0234] Currently, the service nodes serving other terminals within the user group to which the terminal belongs meet the terminal's service requirements.

[0235] The service node selected for other terminals in the user group to which the terminal belongs is the same as the service node selected for the terminal, or the service node selected for other terminals in the user group to which the terminal belongs is connected to the same PDU session anchor user plane function (PSA UPF) as the service node selected for the terminal.

[0236] The service node currently serving other terminals within the user group to which the terminal belongs is allowed to provide services to multiple terminals.

[0237] In one alternative implementation, the processor is further configured to:

[0238] If the user group to which the terminal belongs has multiple shareable sessions, then the terminal-shared session is selected from the multiple sessions based on at least one of the following: priority of the multiple shareable sessions, session path latency, session path length, number of shared terminals, bandwidth size, and resource usage size.

[0239] In one optional implementation, the target network function is a network function for session management; the processor is further configured to:

[0240] Send a third forwarding message to the third network function of the shared session; the third forwarding message contains the service identifier of the service flow created for the terminal in the shared session.

[0241] In one optional implementation, the third forwarding message further includes Quality of Service (QoS) flow information created for the service flow of the terminal;

[0242] Alternatively, the terminal's service flow shares the QoS flow information already created in the shared session.

[0243] In one alternative implementation, the processor is further configured to:

[0244] For the service flows of different terminals within a shared session, resources of the shared session are allocated according to priority.

[0245] In one optional implementation, the target network function is a network function for session management; the processor is further configured to:

[0246] Send a first forwarding message to the first network function; the first forwarding message contains the session identifier of the shared session and QoS flow information; the first forwarding message is used to send to the access network RAN ​​node accessed by the terminal through the first network function; and / or,

[0247] Send a second forwarding message to the first network function; the second forwarding message contains the session establishment result, which contains the session identifier of the shared session, and the second forwarding message is used to send to the terminal through the first network function.

[0248] In one alternative implementation, the processor is further configured to:

[0249] Receive a session management context update request for the terminal sent by the first network function; the session management context update request contains the session identifier of the shared session to be released;

[0250] Send a Session Management Context Update response to the first network function; the Session Management Context Update response indicates the session release result for the shared session; the session release result indicates whether the shared session is released or modified.

[0251] In one alternative implementation, the processor is further configured to:

[0252] If only the terminal is currently using the shared session, the session release result is determined to be releasing the shared session;

[0253] If other terminals besides the current terminal are using the shared session, the session release result is determined to be a modification of the shared session.

[0254] In one optional implementation, the target network function is a network function for session management; the processor is further configured to:

[0255] A fourth forwarding message is sent to the third network function of the shared session. The fourth forwarding message indicates the service identifier of the service flow of the terminal that needs to be deleted for the shared session.

[0256] In one optional implementation, if the QoS flow corresponding to the service flow to be deleted is not used by other terminals within the user group, the fourth forwarding message also includes QoS flow information to be deleted in the shared session; or,

[0257] If the QoS flow corresponding to the service flow that needs to be deleted is still being used by other terminals within the user group, the fourth forwarding message also includes QoS flow update information for the shared session.

[0258] In one optional implementation, the session management context update response includes a second forwarding message and a first forwarding message;

[0259] The second forwarding message indicates the release of the first access network (AN) resources associated with the terminal, and the first forwarding message indicates the release of the second access network (AN) resources associated with the shared session;

[0260] Alternatively, the second forwarding message and the first forwarding message indicate the deletion of the Quality of Service (QoS) flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session;

[0261] Alternatively, the second forwarding message and the first forwarding message may indicate an update to the QoS flow information of the shared session.

[0262] In one alternative implementation, the target network function is a network function used for computational control or data management;

[0263] The processor is also used for:

[0264] Issue service resource allocation policies to service nodes; the service resource allocation policies contain at least one of the following information:

[0265] User ID, shared session ID, selectable service resource type, service duration, business priority, and session priority.

[0266] In one alternative implementation, the target network function is a network function used for computational control or data management;

[0267] The processor is also used for:

[0268] Send a session establishment request for the terminal to the network function used for session management. The session establishment request includes the selected service node identifier and the session identifier for the shared session.

[0269] In one alternative implementation, the target network function is a network function used for computational control or data management;

[0270] The processor is also used for:

[0271] A session release request is triggered when at least one of the following conditions is met:

[0272] Service duration for reaching service resources;

[0273] The current network resource status does not meet the demand, or the service resource status of the service node does not meet the demand;

[0274] A service cancellation request was received from the service node;

[0275] Received a service cancellation notification from the network function used for session management or the first network function;

[0276] According to the locally configured policy, the currently allocated session resources need to be cancelled.

[0277] In a tenth aspect, embodiments of this disclosure also provide a processor-readable storage medium storing a computer program for causing a processor to perform the steps of the session management method as described in the first aspect or any one of the first aspects, or to perform the steps of the session management method as described in the second aspect or any one of the second aspects, or to perform the steps of the session management method as described in the third aspect or any one of the third aspects.

[0278] The session management method, apparatus, computer equipment, and storage medium provided in this disclosure, when a terminal initiates a session establishment request, if there is an established session on another terminal within the user group to which the terminal belongs, it is not necessary to create a new session for the terminal. Instead, a shared session can be selected from the established sessions on other terminals within the user group to which the terminal belongs. This enables multiple terminals to share the network resources corresponding to the same session, breaking the limitation that each session corresponds to a unique terminal. This reduces the complexity of network management and improves resource utilization efficiency.

[0279] Furthermore, in this embodiment of the present disclosure, when a terminal initiates a session release request, the session resources currently used by the terminal can be modified or released based on the session identifier of the shared session used by the terminal, without affecting the use of other terminals using the shared session. This achieves session sharing between terminals while ensuring that the release of session resources does not affect each other.

[0280] To make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of this disclosure more apparent and understandable, preferred embodiments are described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0281] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this disclosure, the accompanying drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly described below. These drawings are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. They illustrate embodiments conforming to this disclosure and, together with the specification, serve to explain the technical solutions of this disclosure. It should be understood that the following drawings only show some embodiments of this disclosure and should not be considered as limiting the scope. Those skilled in the art can obtain other related drawings based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0282] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a communication system provided by some embodiments of this disclosure is shown;

[0283] Figure 2 A flowchart illustrating a session management method applied to a terminal, provided by some embodiments of this disclosure, is shown.

[0284] Figure 3 A flowchart of a session management method applied to a first network function, provided by some embodiments of this disclosure, is shown;

[0285] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating a session management method applied to a target network function, provided by some embodiments of this disclosure, is shown.

[0286] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a network architecture provided by some embodiments of this disclosure is shown;

[0287] Figure 6 A flowchart illustrating the establishment of a shared PDU session provided by some embodiments of this disclosure is shown;

[0288] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of another network architecture provided by some embodiments of this disclosure is shown;

[0289] Figure 8 A flowchart illustrating the establishment of a shared computing session provided by some embodiments of this disclosure is shown;

[0290] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of another network architecture provided by some embodiments of this disclosure is shown;

[0291] Figure 10 A flowchart illustrating an establishment of a shared data session provided by some embodiments of this disclosure is shown;

[0292] Figure 11 A flowchart illustrating a method for releasing a shared PDU session, as provided in some embodiments of this disclosure, is shown.

[0293] Figure 12 A flowchart illustrating a method for releasing a shared computing session, as provided in some embodiments of this disclosure, is shown.

[0294] Figure 13 A flowchart illustrating a method for releasing a shared data session, as provided in some embodiments of this disclosure, is shown.

[0295] Figure 14 A schematic diagram of another network architecture provided by some embodiments of this disclosure is shown;

[0296] Figure 15 A schematic diagram of a session management apparatus provided by some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0297] Figure 16 A schematic diagram of another session management apparatus provided by some embodiments of this disclosure is shown;

[0298] Figure 17 A schematic diagram of another session management apparatus provided by some embodiments of this disclosure is shown;

[0299] Figure 18 A schematic diagram of a computer device provided by some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0300] Figure 19 A schematic diagram of another computer device provided by some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0301] Figure 20 A schematic diagram of another computer device provided by some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0302] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of this disclosure clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of this disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this disclosure, and not all of them. The components of the embodiments of this disclosure described and shown herein can generally be arranged and designed in various different configurations. Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of this disclosure is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed disclosure, but merely represents selected embodiments of this disclosure. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this disclosure without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of this disclosure.

[0303] The following explanations of some terms used in the embodiments of this disclosure are provided to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0304] In this disclosure, the term "multiple" refers to two or more objects, and other quantifiers are similar. In this disclosure, the term "and / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, or B existing alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0305] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this disclosure, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this disclosure.

[0306] This disclosure provides a session management method, computer device, apparatus, and storage medium to address the problems of increased network management complexity and low resource utilization efficiency caused by a management mode based on independent sessions for each user device.

[0307] The method, apparatus, and computer equipment are based on the same inventive concept. Since the methods, apparatus, and computer equipment solve problems in similar ways, the implementation of the computer equipment, apparatus, and method can refer to each other, and repeated parts will not be described again.

[0308] The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to a variety of systems. For example, applicable systems may include Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) systems, Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A) systems, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) systems, 5G New Radio (NR) systems and their evolved communication systems, and 6G (sixth generation mobile communication technology) systems. These systems may include terminals, access network nodes, core networks, etc. The core network may include, for example, an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) system, a 5G core network (5GC), etc.

[0309] The terminal involved in the embodiments of this application can be a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user, a handheld device with wireless connectivity, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem. The name of the terminal may differ in different systems; for example, in a 5G or 6G system, the terminal may be called a User Equipment (UE). The wireless terminal device can be a USB storage device, other personal computer memory devices, and a dongle. It can also communicate with one or more core networks (CNs) via a Radio Access Network (RAN). The wireless terminal device can be a mobile terminal device, such as a mobile phone (or "cellular" phone) and a computer with a mobile terminal device. For example, it can be a portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-embedded, or vehicle-mounted mobile device that exchanges voice and / or data with the radio access network. Examples of such devices include Personal Communication Service (PCS) phones, cordless phones, Session Initiated Protocol (SIP) phones, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) stations, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), personal computers, tablets, and Machine-type Communication (MTC) terminal devices. Wireless terminal devices can also be referred to as systems, subscriber units, subscriber stations, mobile stations, mobile devices, remote stations, access points, remote terminals, access terminals, user terminals, user agents, user devices, and wireless access devices and routers / modems that meet the limitations of this definition, but are not limited to these in the embodiments of this application.

[0310] The Radio Access Network (RAN) node involved in this application embodiment may include a base station, which may include multiple cells providing services to terminals. Depending on the specific application, the base station may also be called an access point, or a device in the access network that communicates with wireless terminal devices through one or more sectors on the air interface, or other names. The network device can be used to exchange received air frames with Internet Protocol (IP) packets, acting as a router between the wireless terminal device and the rest of the access network, where the rest of the access network may include an Internet Protocol (IP) communication network. The network device can also coordinate the attribute management of the air interface. For example, the network device involved in this application embodiment may be an evolved Node B (eNB or e-NodeB) in a long term evolution (LTE) system, a 5G base station (gNB) in a next generation system, or a Home evolved Node B (HeNB), relay node, femto, pico, network testing equipment, etc., and is not limited in this application embodiment. In some network architectures, network devices may include centralized unit (CU) nodes and distributed unit (DU) nodes, which may also be geographically separated.

[0311] The core network involved in this disclosure may include Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) nodes, Session Management Function (SMF) nodes, User Plane Function (UPF) nodes, etc. The core network can act as a bridge between the terminal and external services. Through the connection between the core network and the data network (DN), computing nodes, and data nodes, it can provide external services such as internet access, computing services, and data services to the terminal.

[0312] See Figure 1The diagram illustrates a communication system provided in this embodiment of the present disclosure, including a terminal, a RAN (including a base station), a core network (including AMF, SMF, and UPF), and external services (including DN, computing services, and data services). The RAN can establish communication connections with both the core network and the terminal. After the core network prepares the service data required by the terminal, it can send the service data to the RAN. The RAN can then transmit the service data to the UE via a wireless link or other means. During the transmission of service data to the UE, the RAN can allocate channel resources, allocating radio resources to the UE, and negotiate with the UE through control plane signaling to determine when and how to transmit data. The base station then transmits the data to the UE through a wireless interface.

[0313] The communication system can provide session management services for terminals, such as PDU session management service, data session management service, or computing session management service. Among them, the PDU session management service is used to allocate and manage data network (DN) service resources for the UE, the data session management service is used to allocate and manage data service resources for the UE, and the computing session management service is used to allocate and manage computing service resources for the UE.

[0314] Typically, each UE needs to establish an independent service session when accessing the network. While this improves the isolation and security of session resources, it also brings the following problems: 1. Each UE's session needs to be managed separately. As the number of sessions increases, the complexity of network management also increases, and it may also lead to the waste of network resources for some sessions; 2. During peak periods of network resource demand, using an independent session per UE may result in idle or over-allocated resources, reducing the overall efficiency of resource utilization; 3. Frequent session establishment and maintenance may increase response latency, affecting user experience, especially in application scenarios that require fast response, where the increased latency problem will be more prominent.

[0315] Therefore, this disclosure provides a session management method to address the problems of increased network management complexity and low resource utilization efficiency caused by per-UE session management mode.

[0316] For the sake of brevity, this article mainly focuses on... Figure 1 The technical solution is described based on the communication system shown. Based on this technical concept, those skilled in the art will be able to implement similar technical solutions based on other communication systems, which will not be elaborated in detail here. Figure 1This is merely an example and does not limit the number or type of devices included in the system. The network architecture and business scenarios described in this disclosure are for illustrating the technical solutions of this disclosure and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in this disclosure. As those skilled in the art will recognize, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in this disclosure are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0317] The session management method provided in this disclosure will now be described in conjunction with specific embodiments.

[0318] Example 1

[0319] See Figure 2 The flowchart below illustrates a session management method for a terminal provided in this embodiment of the present disclosure. The method includes:

[0320] S201: Initiate a session establishment request.

[0321] Here, the terminal initiates a session establishment request to request the network side to establish a session for the terminal so that the terminal can exchange data and access resources with the network side. Depending on the type of service requested, the session establishment request may include a PDU session establishment request for requesting DN services, a computing session establishment request for requesting computing services, and a data session establishment request for requesting data services.

[0322] When the session establishment request is a PDU session request, the request may include the request type (e.g., initial request, existing session modification request, session recovery request, etc.), user identifier, data network name (DNN), and single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSA). When the session establishment request is a data session establishment request, the request may include the request type, user identifier, and data service requirement information. When the session establishment request is a compute session establishment request, the request may include the request type, user identifier, and compute network requirement information. The compute network requirement information may include, for example, information such as the computing power requirements of the central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit (GPU), and field-programmable gate array (FPGA), computing power scale, network bandwidth, storage requirements, and data security requirements.

[0323] Taking the UE as an example, the UE can initiate a session establishment request to the first network function using the access RAN node. The first network function can be the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF).

[0324] Optionally, the session establishment request may include the identifier of the user group to which the terminal belongs and / or the session identifier (ID) of an existing session within the user group. In this way, the network side can select a shared session for the terminal from the existing sessions within the user group based on the user group identifier and / or the session identifier of an existing session within the user group. If the session establishment request does not include the user group identifier and / or the session identifier of an existing session within the user group, the network side may also determine the user group identifier and / or the session identifier of an existing session within the user group by querying based on the user identifier.

[0325] The user group can include other terminals besides the one that initiated the session establishment request. Specifically, the user group can include the device to which the UE belongs, the group to which the UE belongs, the home user group to which the UE belongs, and the regional user group to which the UE belongs. An established session is a session that has been established in a user group.

[0326] Different UEs can obtain the session ID of an established session from the primary UE in the current device / group / home / region through interaction, or obtain the session ID of an established session from the primary UE in the current device / group / home / region.

[0327] S202: Receive first session establishment response; the first session establishment response indicates the session establishment result, and the session establishment result contains the session identifier of the shared session, which is the established session of other terminals in the user group to which the terminal belongs.

[0328] Here, the first session establishment response is the network side's response to the session establishment request. The first session establishment response may indicate the session establishment result, which can include success or failure. If successful, the session establishment result may also include the session identifier of the shared session assigned to the terminal. The shared session is an established session of another terminal within the same user group as the terminal. If the establishment fails, the session establishment result may also include the reason for the failure.

[0329] For example, after the UE initiates a session establishment request to the first network function using the accessed RAN node, the first network function can obtain the session establishment result obtained by the network side performing session establishment, and send a first session establishment response containing the session establishment result back to the UE through the RAN node.

[0330] In one embodiment, the terminal may also release session resources according to the following steps one and two:

[0331] Step 1: Initiate a session release request; the session release request contains the session identifier of the shared session to be released.

[0332] Specifically, any terminal sharing a particular session can initiate a session release request via a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) message. The session release request is used to request the release or modification of session resources of the shared session used by the terminal; therefore, the session release request can include the session identifier of the shared session to be released.

[0333] For example, any UE sharing a session can initiate a session release request to the AMF using the access RAN node.

[0334] Step 2: Receive the first session release response; the first session release response indicates the session release result for the shared session; the session release result indicates whether the shared session is released or modified.

[0335] Releasing a shared session means releasing all resources associated with that shared session, preventing all terminals sharing the current shared session's resources from continuing to use it, thus deleting the shared session. Modifying a shared session prevents only some terminals within the user group from using the current shared session's resources, while allowing the remaining terminals to continue using it. Generally, modifying a shared session may involve modifying the Quality of Service (QoS) flow information of the associated service flows. Here, QoS flow refers to the basic unit of data transmission over the air interface (i.e., the wireless channel between the base station and user equipment) or between core network UPFs in a wireless communication system. Each QoS flow corresponds to a specific set of transmission requirements, such as bandwidth, latency, packet loss rate, and priority. Its purpose is to ensure that different types of service flows (such as voice, video, data, and control information) can obtain appropriate network resources and scheduling according to their specific QoS requirements. Therefore, after some terminals within a user group exit the shared session, the QoS flow of those exiting terminals may still be used by other terminals, although the rules and policies corresponding to the QoS flow (see subsequent descriptions) may be updated.

[0336] The aforementioned downlink service flow refers to the service data flow transmitted from the network side to the terminal. In this embodiment of the disclosure, a downlink service flow can refer to a service transmission data flow, where the service can refer to the aforementioned session management service.

[0337] Optionally, QoS flow information may include a QoS flow identifier (QFI) and / or a QoS profile.

[0338] The QoS configuration file contains various rules and policies corresponding to QoS flows, such as Packet Detection Rule (PDR), Forwarding Action Rule (FAR), QoS Enforcement Rule (QER), Usage Reporting Rule (URR), and Multi-Access Rule (MAR).

[0339] The session release result is used to indicate whether a shared session has been released or modified, and the specific response result can include whether the release was successful or failed.

[0340] For example, after the UE initiates a session release request to the first network function using the accessed RAN node, the first network function can obtain the session release result obtained by the network side performing a session release operation for the shared session, and send a first session release response containing the session release result back to the UE through the RAN node.

[0341] Optionally, when performing a session release operation for a shared session, the network side will determine whether to modify or release the shared session based on the terminal usage of the shared session. Specifically, if it is determined that all terminals using the shared session can no longer use the shared session, the session release result may indicate the release of the shared session. If the session release result received by the terminal indicates the release of the shared session, the session release result may include first indication information, which may instruct the terminal to release the first AN resource associated with the terminal. The first AN resource includes the AN resources occupied by the control plane between the terminal and the RAN node.

[0342] Alternatively, if other terminals using the shared session can continue to use the shared session, and the QoS flow information corresponding to the current terminal's service flow in the shared session is not used by other terminals, then the session release result can indicate modification of the shared session. In the case where the session release result received by the terminal indicates modification of the shared session, the session release result may include second indication information, which may instruct the terminal to delete the QoS flow information corresponding to the terminal's service flow in the shared session.

[0343] Alternatively, if other terminals using the shared session can continue to use the shared session, and the QoS flow information corresponding to the current terminal's service flow in the shared session is used by other terminals, the session release result can also indicate modification of the shared session. In cases where the session release result received by the terminal indicates modification of the shared session, the session release result may include third indication information, which may instruct the terminal to update the QoS flow information of the shared session. Specifically, updating the QoS flow information of the shared session may involve deleting the configuration file and / or QFI in the QoS flow information corresponding to the terminal's service flow in the shared session.

[0344] Optionally, for any user group, different terminals within the user group can access the same or different RAN nodes. That is, in this embodiment of the disclosure, terminals within the same user group can access the same RAN node or different RAN nodes.

[0345] When the terminal that initiates the session release request and other terminals using the shared session are connected to different RAN nodes, if the session release result corresponding to the session release request indicates the release of the shared session, then the first AN resource indicated by the first indication information in the session release result can be the AN resource between the RAN node connected to by the terminal that initiated the session release request and the terminal.

[0346] Example 2

[0347] When a terminal initiates a session establishment request or session release request to the network side, it interacts with a first network function on the network side. This disclosure also provides a session management method applied to the first network function, which may be, for example, an AMF (Active Network Function). See also Figure 3 The flowchart below illustrates a session management method for a first network function provided in an embodiment of this disclosure. The method includes:

[0348] S301: Receive a session establishment request initiated by the terminal.

[0349] In this step, the first network function can receive session establishment requests sent by the terminal through the RAN node.

[0350] S302: Send a request to the target network function to create a session management context.

[0351] Here, the target network function can be determined based on the type of session establishment request. When the session establishment request is a PDU session request, the target network function can be a network function used for session management, specifically a Session Management Function (SMF).

[0352] When the session establishment request is for a compute session, the target network function can be a network function used for compute control, specifically a Composable Control Function (CCF). The CCF is used for compute node registration, periodic maintenance and scheduling of compute and network resource information, and authentication / authorization of compute capabilities / services. By enhancing the existing Unified Data Management (UDM) functionality, user subscription data as compute capability consumers can be stored in the UDM.

[0353] When the session establishment request is a data session establishment request, the target network function can be a network function used for data management, specifically a Data Management Function (DMF). The DMF can be used to receive data service requests and manage the service status of each data service, as well as to manage and orchestrate data services (including selecting and sorting data service nodes, generating control commands, and issuing control commands).

[0354] The request to create a session management context can include information such as the user subscription permanent identifier (SUPI) and the request type. The type of the request can also be determined by the type of session establishment request. When the session establishment request is a PDU session request, the request to create a session management context can be a connection session management context request, specifically a PDU session SM context creation request (PDUSession_CreateSMContextRequest). This request can also include S-NSSA and DNN information. Here, SM stands for Session Management. When the session establishment request is a compute session establishment request, the request to create a session management context can be a compute session context creation request, which can also include compute network requirement information. When the session establishment request is a data session establishment request, the request to create a session management context can be a data session context creation request, which can also include data service requirement information.

[0355] Optionally, the request to create a session management context may include the identifier of the user group to which the terminal belongs and / or the session identifier of an established session within that user group. The identifier of the user group and the identifier of the established session may be included in the session creation request or determined by the first network function based on the user identifier.

[0356] In specific implementation, S302 allows the first network function to select the target network function corresponding to the terminal initiating the session establishment request based on the type of session establishment request and information such as S-NSSA, DNN, access type, and terminal location defined in the existing 5G standard, and to send a request to create a session management context to the target network function.

[0357] Optionally, in addition to determining the target network function based on information defined in the 5G standard, the first network function can also be a second network function that serves other terminals within the user group, serving as the target network function. Here, the second network function is related to the type of session establishment request and can be SMF / CCF / DMF as mentioned above.

[0358] For example, the AMF can determine the user group to which the terminal initiating the session establishment request belongs, and use the second network function that serves other terminals within that user group as the target network function.

[0359] S303: Receive the request response to create a session management context; the request response to create a session management context contains the session identifier of the shared session, which is an established session of other terminals within the user group to which the terminal belongs.

[0360] The response to the request to create a session management context may include the SM context ID, the request result (success / failure, and if it fails, the reason for failure), and the session identifier of the shared session that the terminal can use. The shared session refers to an established session of other terminals within the user group to which the terminal that initiated the session establishment request belongs.

[0361] Optionally, if the request to create a session management context does not include the identifier of the user group to which the terminal belongs or the session identifier of an established session in the user group, the target network function may, when determining the shared session for the terminal, first determine the session identifier of an established session in the user group to which the terminal belongs based on the user identifier, and then determine the shared session and its corresponding session identifier for the terminal from the established sessions in the user group.

[0362] Optionally, the session management context creation request response may also include the service identifier of the terminal's service flow in the shared session. The service identifier is determined by the target network function for the terminal and is used to uniquely identify the session service corresponding to the terminal that initiated the session establishment request. The service identifier can distinguish the service flows of different terminals under the same shared session identifier.

[0363] In a specific implementation of S303, the target network function can, in response to the received Create Session Management Context request, determine the session identifier of the shared session allowed for the terminal and generate the service identifier of the terminal in the shared session. Based on this service identifier, the service flows belonging to the terminal within the shared session can be distinguished. Thus, the target network function sends a Create Session Management Context request response to the first network function. This response may include information such as the session identifier of the shared session and the service identifier of the terminal's service flows within the shared session. Correspondingly, the first network function can receive the aforementioned Create Session Management Context request response from the target network function.

[0364] S304: Send a first session establishment response to the terminal; the first session establishment response indicates the session establishment result, and the session establishment result contains the session identifier of the shared session.

[0365] In this step, the first network function can generate a first session establishment response based on the creation session management context request response of the target network function and forward it to the terminal through the RAN node connected to the terminal.

[0366] In one embodiment, during the interaction between the first network function and the target network function, the target network function may also send other interaction information to the first network function, such as the first forwarding message and the second forwarding message described below. The following will describe the situations in which these two types of forwarding messages are received:

[0367] Receive a first forwarding message sent by the target network function; the first forwarding message contains the session identifier and QoS flow information of the shared session; send a second session establishment response to the radio access network (RAN) node to which the terminal is connected, the second session establishment response containing the first forwarding message.

[0368] Here, the first forwarded message is sent from the AMF to the RAN. The AMF and RAN transmit this message via the N2 interface, and it can be called an N2 message. QoS flow information can specifically include a QoS flow identifier (QFI) and / or a QoS profile. The QFI and QoS profile are used to indicate QoS flow information within a session. Different QoS flow information and service identifiers can distinguish the service flows of different terminals in a shared session. If the existing QoS flow information in the shared session does not meet the QoS requirements of a terminal, a new QoS flow can be created for the terminal. This can specifically include creating a new QoS flow with its corresponding QFI and QoS profile (such as PDR, FAR, QER, URR, MAR, etc.), thus increasing the number of QoS flows in the shared session.

[0369] Alternatively, the terminal can use existing QoS flow information in the shared session. In this case, the QoS configuration file can be updated for that QoS flow, and the number of QoS flows in the shared session remains unchanged.

[0370] For example, after the first network function sends a session management context request response to the target network function, and the target network function determines a usable shared session for the terminal from the established sessions in the user group, it can send a first forwarding message containing the session identifier and QoS flow information of the shared session to the first network function. Upon receiving the first forwarding message, the first network function can send a second session establishment response containing the first forwarding message to the RAN node to which the terminal is connected. Upon receiving the second session establishment response, the RAN node can manage the QoS flow information indicated by the first forwarding message.

[0371] In one embodiment, when different terminals within a user group access different RAN nodes, the first forwarding message also includes updated CN tunnel information corresponding to the shared session. The updated CN tunnel information indicates the tunnel information through which the terminal communicates with the third network function via the RAN node.

[0372] In other words, after the terminal joins the shared session, the N2 message forwarded by the AMF to the RAN needs to include the CN tunnel information of the terminal in the shared session, thus establishing a tunnel from the terminal to the RAN and then to the third network function. The third network function can be the User Plane Function (UPF), and the CN tunnel information is the data interaction tunnel between the terminal, the RAN node accessed by the terminal, and the UPF.

[0373] For example, if a user group includes UE1 and UE2, UE1 is connected to RAN1 node, and UE2 is connected to RAN2 node, and UE2 shares UE1's established session 1, then when the target network function sends a first forwarding message to the first network function, the first forwarding message may contain the updated CN tunnel information corresponding to the established session 1, thereby indicating that the communication tunnel between UE2-RAN2-UPF has been established.

[0374] In another embodiment, the first network function is further used for:

[0375] Receive the second forwarding message sent by the target network function; the second forwarding message contains the session establishment result, which contains the session identifier of the shared session.

[0376] Here, the second forwarding message is a message transmitted between the terminal and the AMF. The terminal and the AMF transmit messages through the N1 interface, which can be called the N1 message. After the target network function determines the shared session to join, it can send the second forwarding message, which contains the session establishment result and the session identifier of the shared session, to the first network function.

[0377] Furthermore, for S304, the RAN node accessed by the terminal can send a first session establishment response to the terminal; the first session establishment response contains a second forwarding message.

[0378] That is, after receiving the second forwarding message, the first network function can generate a first session establishment response containing the second forwarding message and send the first session establishment response to the RAN node to which the terminal is connected. Then the RAN node forwards the first session establishment response to the terminal.

[0379] Optionally, the second session establishment response and the first session establishment response can be the same response sent by the target network function to the first network function. For example, after the target network function completes the creation of a new service flow for the terminal in a shared session, it can generate N1 and N2 message passing responses containing a first forwarding message and a second forwarding message. The N1 and N2 message passing responses are then sent as the first session establishment response to the RAN node to which the terminal is connected. Upon receiving the first session establishment response, the RAN node can send a first session establishment response containing only the second forwarding message to the terminal.

[0380] Furthermore, the first and second forwarding messages sent by the Target Network Function (SMF) to the AMF can be sent separately or included in the Connection Session Management Context Request Response. For example, when the SMF sends the first and second forwarding messages to the AMF, it can send the first and second forwarding messages to the AMF after sending the Connection Session Management Context Request Response, or it can include the first and second forwarding messages in the Connection Session Management Context Request Response and send them to the AMF.

[0381] In one embodiment, the first network function can also receive a session release request sent by the terminal and perform a session release operation according to the following steps A1 to A4:

[0382] A1: Receives a session release request initiated by the terminal; the session release request contains the session identifier of the shared session to be released.

[0383] The session release request may also include a user identifier so that the target network function can modify the session based on the user identifier.

[0384] A2: Send a Session Management Context Update Request to the target network function; the Session Management Context Update Request contains the session identifier of the shared session to be released.

[0385] Here, the Session Management Context Update Request is used to instruct the release of a shared session.

[0386] For example, after receiving a session release request from the terminal, the first network function can send a session management context update request containing the session identifier of the shared session to the target network function based on the session identifier of the shared session in the session release request.

[0387] A3: Receive the Session Management Context Update response sent by the target network function; the Session Management Context Update response indicates the session release result of the shared session; the session release result indicates whether the shared session is released or modified.

[0388] For example, after receiving a session management context update request, the target network function can determine whether the operation for the shared session in the request is session release or session modification. If it is determined to release the shared session, it can release the shared session resources through interaction with a third network function, obtain a session release result indicating the release of the shared session, and send a session management context update response containing the session release result to the first network function. If it is determined to modify the shared session, it can delete or modify the QoS flow information in the terminal-related service flow of the shared session through interaction with a third network function, obtain a session release result indicating the modification of the shared session, and send a session management context update response containing the session release result to the first network function.

[0389] Understandably, when a session release request indicates that the shared session to be released is a shared PDU session, the target network function may include an SMF, and the third network function may include a UPF.

[0390] When the session release request indicates that the shared session to be released is a shared computing session, the target network function may include CCF, and the third network function may include UPF. When modifying the shared computing session, CCF can interact with UPF through SMF to release or modify the shared computing session.

[0391] When the session release request indicates that the shared session to be released is a shared data session, the target network function may include DMF and the third network function may include UPF / DPF. When modifying the shared data session, DMF can interact with UPF / DPF through SMF to release or modify the shared data session.

[0392] After the target network function completes the session release or session modification of the shared session, the first network function can receive a session management context update response from the target network function.

[0393] A4: Send a first session release response to the terminal; the first session release response indicates the result of the session release for the shared session.

[0394] For example, the first network function can update the session release result in the response based on the session management context, and send a first session release response containing the session release result to the terminal through the RAN node accessed by the terminal.

[0395] Optionally, the session management context update response may include a first forwarding message; where the first forwarding message is a message that the AMF needs to send to the RAN, and the AMF and RAN are transmitted through the N2 interface, which can be called an N2 message. In this case, the first network function can also send a second session release response to the RAN node to which the terminal is connected; the second session release response contains the first forwarding message.

[0396] Here, after the target network function performs the release operation for the requested shared session, it can also send a second session release response containing an N2 message to the RAN node to which the first network function is connected. Upon receiving the N2 message, the RAN node can perform the relevant resource release operation for the shared session based on the information contained in the N2 message.

[0397] Specifically, the first forwarding message can instruct the release of the second access network (AN) resources associated with the shared session. Here, the second AN resources can specifically be access network resources occupied by the user plane of the shared session, including user plane resources between the RAN node and the third network function, and between the UE and the RAN node. The third network function can specifically be a User Plane Function (UPF). That is, when the target network function determines that the shared session needs to be released, the first forwarding message can include all AN resources associated with the shared session, where these AN resources are the second AN resources. After receiving the second session release response, the RAN node can perform the operation of releasing the second AN resources.

[0398] Alternatively, the first forwarding message may instruct the deletion of QoS flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session. Here, if the target network function determines that the shared session needs to be modified, and the QoS flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session is not used by other terminals, the first forwarding message may include an instruction to delete the QoS flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session. After receiving the second session release response, the RAN node can perform the operation of releasing the QoS flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session.

[0399] Alternatively, the first forwarding message may instruct the updating of the QoS flow information of the shared session. Here, if the target network function determines that the shared session needs modification, and the QoS flow information corresponding to the terminal's service flow in the shared session still needs to be used by other terminals, the first forwarding message may include an instruction to update the QoS flow information corresponding to the terminal's service flow in the shared session. Specifically, updating the QoS flow information of the shared session may involve deleting the configuration file and / or QFI in the QoS flow information corresponding to the terminal's service flow in the shared session. After receiving the second session release response, the RAN node can perform the operation of deleting the configuration file and / or QFI in the QoS flow information corresponding to the terminal's service flow in the shared session.

[0400] Optionally, the session management context update response may also include a second forwarding message. This second forwarding message is a message that needs to be transmitted between the terminal and the AMF. The terminal and AMF transmit messages via the N1 interface, and this can be referred to as an N1 message. After releasing the service flow corresponding to the terminal in the shared session, the target network function can send the session management context update response, containing the session release result and the second forwarding message, to the first network function. Here, the second forwarding message may indicate the release of the first access network (AN) resources associated with the terminal; where the first AN resources refer to the AN resources occupied by the control plane between the terminal and the RAN node; or, the second forwarding message may indicate the deletion of the Quality of Service (QoS) flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session; or, the second forwarding message may indicate the updating of the QoS flow information of the shared session.

[0401] Furthermore, after receiving the session management context update response, the first network function can implement the following steps for A4 mentioned above:

[0402] The RAN node sends a first session release response to the terminal; the first session release response contains a second forwarding message.

[0403] That is, after receiving the first forwarding message, the first network function can generate a first session release response containing a second forwarding message and send the first session release response to the RAN node to which the terminal is connected. Then the RAN node forwards the first session release response to the terminal.

[0404] Optionally, the second session release response and the first session release response can be the same response sent by the target network function to the first network function. For example, after the target network function completes the release of the terminal's service flow in the shared session, it can generate an N1N2 message delivery response containing a first forwarding message and a second forwarding message. The N1N2 message delivery response is then sent as the first session release response to the RAN node to which the terminal is connected. Upon receiving the first session release response, the RAN node can send the first session release response containing only the second forwarding message to the terminal. Simultaneously, the RAN node can perform resource release operations for the shared session based on the first forwarding message.

[0405] Optionally, if different terminals within a user group access different RAN nodes, the first forwarding message and / or the second forwarding message indicate that the released AN resources are the AN resources corresponding to the RAN nodes accessed by the terminals.

[0406] For example, if a user group includes UE1 and UE2, UE1 is connected to RAN1 node, and UE2 is connected to RAN2 node, and UE2 shares UE1's established session 1, then when releasing the shared session corresponding to UE2, when the target network function sends a first forwarding message to the first network function, the first forwarding message (N2 message) indicates that the released AN resources may include the AN resources occupied by the user plane of the shared session used by UE2; when the target network function sends a second forwarding message to the first network function, the second forwarding message indicates that the released AN resources may include the AN resources occupied by the control plane between UE2 and RAN2.

[0407] Example 3

[0408] See Figure 4 The flowchart below illustrates a session management method for a target network function provided in this embodiment of the present disclosure. The method includes:

[0409] S401: Receive a request from the first network function to create a session management context for the terminal.

[0410] S402: Send a Create Session Management Context Request Response to the First Network Function; the Create Session Management Context Request Response contains the session identifier of the shared session, which is an established session of another terminal within the user group to which the terminal belongs.

[0411] Here, depending on the different function types of the session, the target network function may include SMF / CCF / DPF, etc.

[0412] For example, a terminal can send a session establishment request to a first network function through a connected RAN node. After receiving the session establishment request, the first network function sends a create session management context request to a target network function. After receiving the create session management context request, the target network function allocates a shared session to the terminal, creates a corresponding service flow, and sends a create session management context request response containing the session ID of the shared session to the first network function.

[0413] Specifically, when the target network function is SMF, the request to create a session management context can specifically be a request to create a PDU session management context, and the response to the request can be the same as the response to the request to create a PDU session management context. When the target network function is CCF, the request to create a session management context can specifically be a request to establish a computation session context, and the response to the request can be the response to establish a computation session context. When the target network function is DMF, the request to create a session management context can specifically be a request to establish a data session context, and the response to the request can be the response to establish a data session context.

[0414] Optionally, the Create Session Management Context request response may also include the service identifier of the terminal's service flow in the shared session.

[0415] The service identifier is used to identify the service flow created for the terminal. Upon receiving the request to create a session management context, the target network function can generate a service identifier for the service flow corresponding to the terminal and determine the shared session for the terminal. Then, it uses the service identifier to create the corresponding service flow for the terminal within the shared session. After creation, a request to create a session management context is sent to the first network function. This request includes the service identifier, the session ID of the shared session, the SM context ID, and the request result for creating the session management context (including success / failure, and if it fails, the reason for failure).

[0416] Optionally, before the target network function sends a request response to create a session management context, it can also obtain the terminal's subscription data from the fourth network function; the subscription data indicates that the terminal can share established sessions of other terminals within its user group.

[0417] Here, the fourth network function can specifically be a UDM (User Dedicated Module). Upon receiving a request to create a session management context, the target network function can first obtain the terminal's subscription data from the UDM and determine from the subscription data whether the terminal can share established sessions with other terminals within its user group. If so, it can determine the shared session allowed for the terminal from the established sessions of other terminals within the terminal's user group and generate a service identifier corresponding to the terminal. The service identifier is then used to create a corresponding service flow for the terminal within the shared session. If not, a separate session can be created for the terminal according to the existing session establishment process.

[0418] Optionally, before sending a Create Session Management Context Request response, the target network function, in addition to determining whether the terminal can share established sessions of other terminals using the terminal's subscription data, also needs to determine whether the established sessions of other terminals are allowed to be shared. Specifically, the target network function can determine that the terminal can share established sessions of other terminals within its user group in response to at least one of the following conditions:

[0419] Other terminals within the same user group as the terminal are allowed to share established sessions with the terminal.

[0420] The third network function corresponding to the session established by the user group to which the terminal belongs supports multiple terminals sharing the user plane path of the same session; whereby the third network function is UPF;

[0421] The service operator supports multiple terminals sharing a session; when the session establishment request is a PDU session establishment request, the service operator can be a DN service provider; when the session establishment request is a computing session establishment request, the service operator can be a computing service provider; when the session establishment request is a data session establishment request, the service operator can be a data service provider.

[0422] The data network information requested by the terminal is consistent with the data network information of the user group to which the terminal belongs that has established a session; where the session establishment request is a PDU session establishment request, the data network information can specifically be DNN / S-NSSAI.

[0423] The service nodes that currently serve other terminals within the user group to which the terminal belongs meet the service requirements of the terminal; among them, when the session establishment request is a computing session establishment request, the service node can be a computing node; when the session establishment request is a data session establishment request, the service node can be a data processing function (DPF) node.

[0424] The service node selected for other terminals in the user group to which the terminal belongs is the same as the service node selected for the terminal, or the service node selected for other terminals in the user group to which the terminal belongs is connected to the same PDU Session Anchor User Plane Function (PSA UPF) as the service node selected for the terminal.

[0425] The service node currently serving other terminals within the user group to which the terminal belongs is allowed to provide services to multiple terminals.

[0426] Furthermore, when the target network function uses the above conditions to filter shared sessions, if there are multiple shareable sessions in the user group to which the terminal belongs, it selects the session to be shared by the terminal from the multiple sessions based on at least one of the following: priority of multiple shareable sessions, session path latency, session path length, number of shared terminals, bandwidth size, and resource usage size.

[0427] After identifying the shared session, if the target network function is a network function used for session management, it can send a third forwarding message to the third network function of the shared session. This third forwarding message contains the service identifier of the service flow created for the terminal within the shared session. The network function used for session management is the SMF. Specifically, the third forwarding message can be a request sent by the SMF to the UPF, transmitted between the SMF and UPF via the N4 interface, and can be termed an N4 session modification request, containing the service identifier determined for the terminal.

[0428] Optionally, the third forwarding message may also include Quality of Service (QoS) flow information created for the terminal's service flow; or, QoS flow information already created for a shared session shared by the terminal's service flow. The QoS flow information includes a QoS flow identifier (QFI) and / or a QoS profile.

[0429] For example, after determining the shared PDU session and service identifier for the terminal, the SMF can send an N4 session modification request to the UPF selected for the shared PDU session. If a new QoS flow is created for the terminal within the shared session, the N4 session modification request will also include the QoS flow information for the newly created service flow. The UPF can then create a PDU session service flow for the terminal within the shared session that matches the service identifier, based on the service identifier and the newly created QoS flow information (or shared, already created QoS flow information). After creation, the UPF sends an N4 session modification response to the SMF.

[0430] Optionally, resources for the shared session can be allocated according to priority for the service flows of different terminals within the shared session.

[0431] For example, a shared session may include service flows corresponding to multiple terminals. For these service flows, the SMF can allocate shared session resources to each service flow according to service priority or priority between different terminals.

[0432] Optionally, when the target network function is SMF, SMF can also send a first forwarding message to the first network function; the first forwarding message contains the session identifier of the shared session and the quality of service (QoS) flow information; the first forwarding message is used to send to the access network RAN ​​node accessed by the terminal through the first network function.

[0433] For example, the first forwarding message can be an N2 message. After receiving the N4 session modification response, the SMF can send an N2 message to the AMF, which includes the session identifier of the shared PDU session allocated to the terminal and the QoS flow information created for the terminal.

[0434] Optionally, if different terminals within a user group access different RAN nodes, the first forwarding message may also include updated core network (CN) tunnel information corresponding to the shared session. The updated CN tunnel information indicates the tunnel information through which the terminal communicates with the third network function via the RAN node.

[0435] For example, if the terminal sending the PDU session establishment request is connected to a different RAN node than other terminals using the shared PDU session, the N2 message sent by the SMF to the AMF also includes the updated CN tunnel information corresponding to the shared PDU session; wherein, the updated CN tunnel information indicates the tunnel information through which the terminal communicates with the UPF via the RAN node.

[0436] Optionally, when the target network function is SMF, SMF can also send a second forwarding message to the first network function; the second forwarding message contains the session establishment result, which contains the session identifier of the shared session, and the second forwarding message is used to send it to the terminal through the first network function.

[0437] For example, the second forwarding message can be an N1 message. After receiving the N4 session modification response, the SMF can send an N1 message to the AMF, which includes the session identifier of the shared PDU session allocated to the terminal and the PDU session establishment result. The AMF can forward the first session establishment response containing the N1 message to the terminal through the RAN node to which the terminal is connected.

[0438] For ease of understanding, let's take the example of different UEs from the same user group (same device / home / group / area) accessing the network through the same RAN node. This can be based on, for example... Figure 5 The architecture shown establishes a PDU session service flow for the UE within a shared session. Figure 5 In this context, the user group includes UE1 and UE2, and UE1 has a successfully established PDU session. The following explanation uses UE2 initiating a PDU session establishment request as an example to illustrate the process of establishing a shared PDU session:

[0439] like Figure 6 The flowchart shown is a process for establishing a shared PDU session according to an embodiment of this disclosure, which may include the following steps:

[0440] 60. A PDU session that UE1 has successfully established exists in the network.

[0441] 61. UE2 initiates a PDU session establishment request, including the request type, user identifier, DNN, and S-NSSA; optionally, it may also include the identifier of the user group to which UE2 belongs and / or the session ID of the user group that has already created a PDU session.

[0442] 62. The AMF can select the SMF based on information such as DNN, S-NSSA, access type, and UE location defined in the 5G standard. It can also select the SMF that serves other UEs in the user group.

[0443] 63. The AMF sends a request to the SMF to create a connection session management context. The request may include SUPI, request type, DNN, S-NSSA, the identifier of the user group to which UE2 belongs, and / or the session ID of the user group that has created a PDU session.

[0444] 64. The SMF obtains the subscription data of UE2 from the UDM and determines from the subscription data whether UE2 allows sharing of created PDU sessions of other UEs in its user group.

[0445] If permitted, proceed to step 65 below; if not permitted, use the existing procedures to create a new PDU session for UE2.

[0446] 65. The SMF checks whether a PDU session exists within the user group to which UE2 belongs. If it does, it further uses the following conditions to determine whether the created PDU sessions of other terminals are allowed to be shared:

[0447] Other UEs within the user group are allowed to share the created PDU session with UE2;

[0448] The user group has created a UPF corresponding to the PDU session that supports multiple UEs sharing the user plane path of the same PDU session;

[0449] The DNN / S-NSSAI requested by UE2 is consistent with the already created PDU session;

[0450] DN service provider strategy.

[0451] If multiple shared PDU sessions exist, the one with the highest PDU session priority, and / or the shortest PDU session path latency, and / or the shortest PDU session path length, and / or the fewest shared UEs, and / or the largest bandwidth, and / or the most abundant resources will be selected as the shared PDU session.

[0452] 66. The SMF generates the service identifier corresponding to UE2 and sends a connection creation session management context request response to the AMF, which includes the session management context ID, the request result (success / failure, and if it fails, the reason for failure), the service identifier, and the session ID of the shared PDU session.

[0453] 67. Auxiliary Authentication / Authorization: Perform this step if auxiliary authentication is required by the DN-AAA server during PDU session establishment. Proceed to step 68a after successful authentication.

[0454] 68a. The SMF sends an N4 session modification request to the UPF selected for the shared PDU session. A new service flow for UE2 is created within the shared PDU session. Different QoS flows plus service identifiers can distinguish the service flows of different UEs within the shared PDU session. Shared PDU session resources can be allocated based on priority for different service flows. If a new service flow involves creating a new QoS flow, its corresponding QFI and its corresponding rules and policies (such as PDR, FAR, QER, URR, MAR) can be sent to the UPF via the N4 session modification request. The SMF can send the service identifier generated for UE2 in step 66 to the UPF via the N4 session modification request. Alternatively, after generating the service identifier, the SMF can encrypt or perform other processing operations on the service identifier before sending it to the UPF, thus ensuring separation of control and forwarding. That is, the service identifier generated by the SMF for UE2 corresponds one-to-one with the service identifier sent to the UPF.

[0455] 68b. UPF returns an N4 session modification response to SMF.

[0456] 69a. The SMF sends N1 and N2 messages to the AMF, including an N2 message that needs to be forwarded by the AMF to the RAN node connected to UE2, and an N1 message that needs to be forwarded by the RAN node connected to UE2 to UE2. The N2 message contains the session identifier of the shared PDU session, QFI, and QoS flow profile; the QFI and QoS flow profile indicate the QoS flow created by UE2 in the shared PDU session. The N1 message contains the PDU session establishment result and the session identifier of the shared PDU session.

[0457] 69b. AMF returns N1 and N2 message passing responses to SMF.

[0458] 610. The AMF sends the N2 message to the RAN node connected to UE2 for processing; it forwards the N1 message to the RAN node connected to UE2, and the RAN node returns a PDU session establishment response to UE2 based on the N1 message.

[0459] based on Figure 6 It can be seen that during the establishment of a PDU session, different UEs in the same device / group / home / region can share the same PDU session when accessing through the same RAN.

[0460] Optionally, the target network function can be a network function used for computing control or data management. After the target network function determines the shared session, it can also issue a service resource occupancy policy to the service node. The service resource occupancy policy includes at least one of the following information: user identifier, shared session identifier, selectable service resource type, service duration, service priority, and session priority.

[0461] In the case where the target network function is CCF, the service node can be a compute node, and the service resource can be a compute resource. CCF can issue compute resource occupancy policies to compute nodes. The compute resource occupancy policies can include user identifiers, shared compute session identifiers, and optionally, selectable compute resource types, compute resource service durations, compute network service priorities, compute session priorities, and other information.

[0462] When the target network function is DMF, the service node can be DPF, and the service resource can be data resource. DMF can issue data resource occupancy policies to DPF. The data resource occupancy policy can include user identifier, shared data session identifier, and optionally, information such as selectable data resource type, data resource service duration, data service priority, and data session priority.

[0463] In one embodiment, when the target network function is CCF or DMF, the target network function also needs to complete the creation of the corresponding service flow for the terminal in the shared session by the following steps: sending a session establishment request for the terminal to the network function used for session management, the session establishment request including the selected service node identifier and the session identifier of the shared session.

[0464] For example, when the target network function is CCF, the service node identifier can be the compute node identifier. The CCF can send a network-triggered session establishment request to the SMF, which includes the compute node identifier of the compute node selected for the terminal and the session identifier of the shared computing session. Subsequently, the SMF can respond to the session establishment request by sending an N4 session modification request to the UPF selected for the shared computing session. After the UPF creates a computing service flow for the terminal in the shared computing session, it can send an N4 session modification response to the SMF, thereby establishing a CN tunnel from the terminal to the compute node based on the existing computing session path.

[0465] In this process, the UPF creates a new computing service flow for the terminal within a shared computing session. It distinguishes the computing service flows of different terminals within the shared computing session by using different QoS flows and service identifiers. If creating a new QoS flow involves creating a new computing service flow, the N4 session modification request must include the newly created QoS flow information required for the terminal's computing service flow. If the terminal uses a QoS flow already created in the shared computing session, the N4 session modification request also includes the QoS flow information that the terminal's computing service flow needs to share within the existing QoS flows in the shared computing session. The UPF can create a computing service flow for the terminal within the shared computing session that matches the service identifier based on the service identifier and the newly created QoS flow information (or the shared existing QoS flow information). After creation, the UPF sends an N4 session modification response to the SMF.

[0466] SMF can also send N2 messages to the RAN node to which the terminal is connected via AMF. The N2 message contains information such as the session identifier of the shared computing session, QFI, and QoS flow profile.

[0467] After receiving the N4 session modification response, the SMF can return a network-triggered session establishment response to the CCF. The CCF then returns a computing session context establishment response to the AMF. The AMF returns a computing session establishment response (N1 message) to the terminal through the RAN node. The N1 message contains the session identifier of the shared computing session and the computing session establishment result. Optionally, the AMF also returns an N2 message to the RAN node, and the N2 information is processed accordingly by the RAN node.

[0468] When the target network function is DMF, the serving node identifier can be the DPF identifier. The DMF can send a network-triggered session establishment request to the SMF, which includes the DPF identifier of the DPF selected for the terminal and the session identifier of the shared data session. Subsequently, the SMF can respond to the session establishment request by sending an N4 session modification request to the UPF selected for the shared data session. After the UPF creates a data service flow for the terminal in the shared data session, it can send an N4 session modification response to the SMF, thereby establishing a CN tunnel from the terminal to the DPF based on the existing data session path.

[0469] In this process, the UPF creates a new data service flow for the terminal within a shared data session, distinguishing the data service flows of different terminals within the session using different QoS flows and service identifiers. If creating a new QoS flow involves creating a new data service flow, the N4 session modification request must include the newly created QoS flow information for the terminal's data service flow. If the terminal uses a QoS flow already created in the shared data session, the N4 session modification request also includes the QoS flow information shared by the terminal's data service flow within the already created QoS flows in the shared data session. The UPF can create a data service flow for the terminal within the shared data session that matches the service identifier based on the service identifier and the newly created QoS flow information (or the shared already created QoS flow information). After creation, the UPF sends an N4 session modification response to the SMF.

[0470] SMF can also send N2 messages to the RAN node to which the terminal is connected via AMF. The N2 message contains information such as the session identifier of the shared data session, QFI, and QoS flow profile.

[0471] Upon receiving the N4 session modification response, the SMF can return a network-triggered session establishment response to the DMF. The DMF returns a data session context establishment response to the AMF. The AMF returns a data session establishment response (N1 message) to the terminal through the RAN node to which the terminal is connected. The N1 message contains the session identifier of the shared data session and the data session establishment result. Optionally, the AMF also returns an N2 message to the RAN node, and the N2 information is processed accordingly by the RAN node.

[0472] Optionally, because data services are characterized by in-path processing and arbitrary topology within the network, they can be forwarded without going through the UPF, and instead be processed and forwarded entirely through the DPF. When the data session path does not involve the UPF, the DMF does not need to send a network-triggered session establishment request to the SMF. Instead, the DMF can send a data session modification request to the DPF. The DMF then establishes a tunnel from the terminal to the DPF based on the existing data session path, creates a new data service flow in the existing data session, and sends the corresponding policies to the DPF. After creating a new data service flow for the terminal in the shared data session, the DPF can send a data session modification request response back to the DMF. This response includes QoS flow information corresponding to the new data service flow, the session identifier of the shared data session, and the service identifier. Upon receiving the data session modification request response, the DMF can return a data session context establishment response to the AMF. The AMF returns a data session establishment response to the terminal through the RAN node connected to the terminal.

[0473] To facilitate understanding, let's take the example of different UEs from the same user group accessing the network through the same RAN node. This can be based on, for example... Figure 7 The architecture shown illustrates how a UE establishes a computing session service flow within a shared session. Figure 7 In this context, the user group includes UE1 and UE2, and UE1 already has a successfully established computing session. The following explanation uses UE2 initiating a computing session establishment request as an example to illustrate the process of establishing a shared computing session:

[0474] like Figure 8 The flowchart shown is a method for establishing a shared computing session according to an embodiment of this disclosure, which may include the following steps:

[0475] 80. There is a network where UE1 has successfully established a computing session with the computing node.

[0476] 81. UE2 initiates a computing network service request / computing session establishment request, including request type, user identifier, computing network requirement information; optionally, it may also include the identifier of the user group to which UE2 belongs and / or the session ID of the user group that has created a computing session.

[0477] 82. The AMF can select the CCF based on information such as the access type and UE location defined in the 5G standard, and can also select the CCF that serves other UEs in the user group.

[0478] 83. The AMF sends a computing session context establishment request to the CCF. The request may include SUPI, request type, computing network requirement information, the identifier of the user group to which UE2 belongs, and / or the session ID of the user group that has created a computing session.

[0479] 84. The CCF obtains the subscription data of UE2 from the UDM and determines from the subscription data whether UE2 allows sharing of the created computing sessions of other UEs in its user group.

[0480] If permitted, proceed to step 85 below; if not permitted, use existing procedures to create a new computing session for UE2.

[0481] 85. The CCF checks whether a computing session exists within the user group to which UE2 belongs. If it does, it further uses the following conditions to determine whether the computing sessions created by other terminals are allowed to be shared:

[0482] Other UEs within the same user group as UE2 are allowed to share the created computing session with UE2;

[0483] The user group to which UE2 belongs has created a UPF corresponding to the computing session, which supports multiple UEs sharing the user plane path of the same computing session;

[0484] The computing nodes currently serving other terminals within the user group to which UE2 belongs meet the service requirements of UE2.

[0485] The compute node selected for other terminals (such as UE1) within the user group to which UE2 belongs is the same as the compute node selected for UE2, or the compute node selected for other terminals within the user group to which UE2 belongs is connected to the same PDU session anchor user plane function PSAUPF as the compute node selected for UE2.

[0486] The computing node currently serving other terminals within the user group to which UE2 belongs is allowed to provide computing services to multiple UEs.

[0487] Computing service provider strategy.

[0488] If multiple shared computing sessions exist, the one with the highest computing session priority, and / or the shortest computing session path latency, and / or the shortest computing session path length, and / or the fewest shared UEs, and / or the largest bandwidth, and / or the most abundant resource usage is selected as the shared computing session.

[0489] 86. The CCF issues computing resource allocation policies to computing nodes, which include information such as user identifier, session identifier of shared computing session, selectable computing resource type, computing resource service duration, computing network service priority, and computing session priority.

[0490] 87. Auxiliary Authentication / Authorization: Perform this step if auxiliary authentication is required by the compute node or external server during compute session establishment. Execute step 88a after successful authentication.

[0491] 88a. The CCF initiates a network-triggered session establishment request to the SMF, which includes the selected compute node identifier and the session identifier of the shared compute session;

[0492] 88b. The SMF sends an N4 session modification request to the UPF node selected in the shared computing session and an N2 message to the RAN node. After the UPF creates a new computing service flow for the terminal in the shared computing session, it can send an N4 session modification response to the SMF, thereby establishing a computing session tunnel from UE2 to the computing node based on the existing computing session path.

[0493] The N2 message contains information such as the session identifier, QFI, and QoS flow profile of the shared computing session.

[0494] 88c. SMF returns a session establishment response triggered on the network side to CCF.

[0495] 89. CCF returns a response to AMF regarding the establishment of the computing session.

[0496] 810. The AMF sends the N2 message to the RAN node connected to UE2 for processing; it forwards the N1 message to the RAN node connected to UE2, and the RAN node returns a computing network service response / computing session establishment response to UE2 based on the N1 message.

[0497] based on Figure 8 It can be seen that during the establishment of a computing session, different UEs in the same device / group / home / region can share the same computing session through the same RAN access.

[0498] To facilitate understanding, let's take the example of different UEs from the same user group accessing the network through the same RAN node. This can be based on, for example... Figure 9 The architecture shown illustrates how a UE establishes a data session service flow within a shared session. Figure 9 In this context, the user group includes UE1 and UE2, and UE1 has a successfully established data session. The following explanation uses UE2 initiating a data session establishment request as an example to illustrate the process of establishing a shared data session:

[0499] like Figure 10 The flowchart shown is a method for establishing a shared data session according to an embodiment of this disclosure, which may include the following steps:

[0500] 100. There is a data session in the network where UE1 has successfully established a data session with DPF.

[0501] 101. UE2 initiates a data service request / data session establishment request, including the request type, user identifier, and data service requirement information; optionally, it may also include the identifier of the user group to which UE2 belongs and / or the session ID of the user group that has already created a data session.

[0502] 102. The AMF can be selected based on information such as the access type and UE location defined in the 5G standard, and can also be selected as the DMF that serves other UEs in the user group.

[0503] 103. The AMF sends a data session context establishment request to the DMF. The request may include SUPI, request type, data service requirement information, the identifier of the user group to which UE2 belongs, and / or the session ID of the user group that has created a data session.

[0504] 104. The DMF obtains the subscription data of UE2 from the UDM and determines from the subscription data whether UE2 allows sharing of created data sessions of other UEs in its user group.

[0505] If permitted, proceed to step 105 below; if not permitted, use existing procedures to create a new data session for UE2.

[0506] 105. The DMF checks whether a data session exists within the user group to which UE2 belongs. If it does, it further uses the following conditions to determine whether the data sessions already created by other terminals are allowed to be shared:

[0507] Other UEs within the same user group as UE2 are allowed to share the created data session with UE2;

[0508] The user group to which UE2 belongs has created a UPF corresponding to the data session that supports multiple UEs sharing the same data session's user plane path;

[0509] The DPF nodes currently serving other terminals within the user group to which UE2 belongs meet the service requirements of UE2.

[0510] The DPF node selected for other terminals (such as UE1) in the user group to which UE2 belongs is the same as the DPF node selected for UE2, or the DPF node selected for other terminals in the user group to which UE2 belongs is connected to the same PDU session anchor user plane function PSAUPF as the DPF node selected for UE2.

[0511] The DPF currently serving other terminals within the user group to which UE2 belongs is allowed to provide data services to multiple UEs;

[0512] Data service provider strategy.

[0513] If multiple existing data sessions that meet the criteria for sharing exist, the data session with the highest priority, and / or the shortest data session path latency, and / or the shortest data session path length, and / or the fewest number of shared UEs, and / or the largest bandwidth, and / or the most abundant resources used will be selected as the shared data session.

[0514] 106. The DMF issues a data resource occupancy policy to the DPF, which includes information such as user identifier, session identifier of shared data session, selectable data resource type, data resource service duration, data service business priority, and data session priority.

[0515] 107. Auxiliary Authentication / Authorization: Perform this step if auxiliary authentication is required by the DPF or an external server during the establishment of a data session. Proceed to step 108a after successful authentication.

[0516] 108a. The DMF initiates a network-triggered session establishment request to the SMF, which includes the selected DPF identifier and the session identifier of the shared data session;

[0517] 108b. The SMF sends an N4 session modification request to the UPF node selected in the shared data session and an N2 message to the RAN node. After the UPF creates a new data service flow for the terminal in the shared data session, it can send an N4 session modification response to the SMF, thereby establishing a data session tunnel from UE2 to the DPF based on the existing data session path.

[0518] The N2 message contains information such as the session identifier, QFI, and QoS flow profile of the shared data session.

[0519] 108c, SMF returns a session establishment response triggered on the network side to DMF.

[0520] When the data session path does not involve a UPF, the DMF does not need to send a network-triggered session establishment request to the SMF. Instead, the DMF can send a data session modification request to the DPF. The DMF then establishes a tunnel from the terminal to the DPF based on the existing data session path, creates a new data service flow within the existing data session, and distributes the corresponding policies to the DPF. The DPF sends a data session modification request response back to the DMF, which includes QoS flow information corresponding to the new data service flow, the session identifier of the shared data session, and the service identifier. After receiving the data session modification request response, the DMF can return a data session context establishment response to the AMF. The AMF then returns a data session establishment response to the terminal through the RAN node connected to the terminal.

[0521] 109. The DMF returns a data session response to the AMF following the establishment of the above-mentioned data session.

[0522] 110. The AMF sends the N2 message to the RAN node connected to UE2 for processing; it forwards the N1 message to the RAN node connected to UE2, and the RAN node returns a data service response / data session establishment response to UE2 based on the N1 message.

[0523] based on Figure 10 It can be seen that during the establishment of a data session, different UEs in the same device / group / home / region can share the same data session through the same RAN access.

[0524] In one embodiment, based on the above embodiments, the first network function can also receive a session release request initiated by the terminal and send a session management context update request to the target network function. In this case, the target network function can also perform session release according to the following steps B1 to B2:

[0525] B1: Receives a session management context update request for the terminal sent by the first network function; the session management context update request contains the session identifier of the shared session to be released.

[0526] Here, the session identifier of the shared session included in the session management context update request can be determined by the first network function or by the target network function based on the user identifier.

[0527] B2: Sends a Session Management Context Update response to the first network function; the Session Management Context Update response indicates the session release result for the shared session; the session release result indicates whether the shared session is released or modified.

[0528] Upon receiving a session management context update request, the target network function performs a session modification operation or a session release operation on the shared session to be released, obtaining a session release result. This session release result indicates whether the shared session is being released or modified. A session management context update response containing the session release result is then sent to the first network function.

[0529] Optionally, the target network function can determine whether the operation on the shared session is a session modification operation or a session release operation based on the following steps:

[0530] If a shared session is currently being used only by a terminal, the session release result is determined to be the release of the shared session; that is, if the shared session to be released is only being used by the terminal that initiated the session release request, the target network function determines that a session release operation needs to be performed on the shared session in order to release all AN resources associated with the terminal.

[0531] If a shared session is currently being used by other terminals besides the terminal that initiated the session release request, the session release result is determined to be a modification of the shared session. That is, if the shared session to be released still needs to be used by other terminals besides the terminal that initiated the session release request, the target network function determines that a session modification operation for the shared session needs to be performed. Furthermore, it is also necessary to determine whether to release or modify the QoS flows used by the terminal in the shared session based on whether these flows are used by other terminals.

[0532] Optionally, when the target network function is an SMF, the target network function can send a fourth forwarding message to the third network function of the shared session. The fourth forwarding message indicates the service identifier of the service flow of the terminal that needs to be deleted for the shared session. The fourth forwarding message can be a request sent by the SMF to the UPF, transmitted between the SMF and UPF via the N4 interface, and can be referred to as an N4 session release request or an N4 session modification operation.

[0533] For example, when the target network function is an SMF (Service Management Context), and a session release operation for a shared session needs to be performed, the target network function can send an N4 session release request to a third network function, which includes an N4 session identifier. The third network function can then perform the release operation for the shared session, discarding any remaining packets of the shared session and releasing all AN resources associated with the N4 session. Afterwards, the third network function can confirm the N4 session release request by sending an N4 session modification response (containing the N4 session identifier) ​​to the target network function. In this case, the session management context update response can include a second forwarding message and a first forwarding message; the second forwarding message indicates the release of the first access network AN resources associated with the terminal, and the first forwarding message indicates the release of the second access network AN resources associated with the shared session. The first forwarding message can be referred to as the N2 message, and the second forwarding message can be referred to as the N1 message.

[0534] Alternatively, when the target network function is an SMF (Service Provider Function), and a session modification operation for a shared session is required, the target network function can also send an N4 session modification request to a third network function of the shared session. The N4 session modification request can indicate the service identifier of the service flow of the terminal to be deleted for the shared session. Specifically, the third network function can be a UPF (User Provider Function), and the N4 session modification request can include the service identifier of the service flow of the terminal to be deleted and the N4 session identifier.

[0535] Optionally, if the QoS flow corresponding to the service flow to be deleted is not used by other terminals within the user group, the fourth forwarding message also includes QoS flow information to be deleted in the shared session, such as the QFI corresponding to the QoS flow to be deleted in the shared session. Further, upon receiving the fourth forwarding information, the third network function can delete the QoS flow related to the terminal in the shared session and modify the context information, then send a fourth forwarding information response to the target network function to confirm the fourth forwarding information. In this case, the second forwarding message and the first forwarding message included in the session management context update response sent by the target network function to the first network function can indicate the deletion of the QoS flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session.

[0536] Alternatively, if the QoS flow corresponding to the service flow to be deleted is still used by other terminals within the user group, the fourth forwarding message also includes QoS flow update information for the shared session. This QoS flow update information includes the QFI corresponding to the QoS flow of the shared session and the updated QoS profile; the QoS profile indicates at least one of the following rule information to be updated: PDR, FAR, QER, URR, and MAR. Further, upon receiving the fourth forwarding information, the third network function can update the QoS flow related to the terminal in the shared session and modify the context information, sending a fourth forwarding information response to the target network function to determine the fourth forwarding information. In this case, the second forwarding message and the first forwarding message included in the session management context update response sent by the target network function to the first network function can indicate the update of the QoS flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session.

[0537] Optionally, in addition to the UE of the user group initiating a session release request for the shared session to trigger session modification / release for the shared session, the target network function can also actively trigger session modification / release for the shared session. Specifically, when the target network function is SMF, the shared session is a shared PDU session, and SMF can trigger a session release request for the shared PDU session according to the scenario defined in 3GPP TS 23.501.

[0538] When the target network function is a network function used for computing control or data management, the target network function may trigger a session release request if at least one of the following conditions is met:

[0539] Service duration for reaching service resources;

[0540] The current network resource status does not meet the demand, or the service resource status of the service node does not meet the demand;

[0541] A service cancellation request was received from the service node;

[0542] Received a service cancellation notification from the network function used for session management or the first network function;

[0543] According to the locally configured policy, the currently allocated session resources need to be cancelled.

[0544] Still with Figure 5 Taking the architecture shown as an example, and using UE2 initiating a session release request as an example, the process of releasing a shared PDU session is explained:

[0545] like Figure 11 The flowchart shown is a method for releasing a shared PDU session according to an embodiment of this disclosure, which may include the following steps:

[0546] 1100. There is an established shared PDU session in the network.

[0547] 1101. Trigger session release for shared PDU sessions.

[0548] Among them, 1101 can be further divided into the following two cases:

[0549] 1101-a, UE2 initiates a PDU session release request via NAS message, which includes the session ID of the shared PDU session to be released; AMF receives the PDU session release request through the RAN node connected to UE2; AMF sends a PDU session update session management context request to SMF.

[0550] Here, when the target network function is SMF, the session management context update request is a PDU session update session management context request; the session management context update response mentioned below is a PDU session update session management context response.

[0551] 1101-b, SMF can proactively trigger the following PDU session releases based on the scenarios defined in 3GPP TS23.501:

[0552] ①Release the shared PDU session, so that all UEs using the shared PDU session resources can no longer use the shared PDU session;

[0553] ② Modify the shared PDU session so that only some UEs (such as UE2) can no longer use the shared PDU session resources, while the remaining UEs (such as UE1) can still continue to use the shared PDU session resources.

[0554] 1102. SMF determines the operations required for a shared PDU session:

[0555] If only one UE (such as UE2) is using the shared PDU session and triggers the PDU session release request, then the SMF will execute the release procedure for the shared PDU session.

[0556] If a shared PDU session is being used by other UEs (such as UE1) besides the UE that triggered the PDU session release request (such as UE2), then the SMF will execute the modification procedure for the shared PDU session.

[0557] If it is determined that a release procedure for a shared PDU session must be executed, perform the following steps 1103-a and 1103-b:

[0558] 1103-a: The SMF sends an N4 session release request (containing the N4 session ID) to the UPF of the shared PDU session. The UPF will discard all packets of the shared PDU session and release all channel resources and context associated with the N4 session.

[0559] 1103-b: The UPF acknowledges the N4 session release request by sending an N4 session release response (containing the N4 session ID) message to the SMF.

[0560] If it is determined that a modification procedure for a shared PDU session will be executed, execute the following 1104-a and 1104-b:

[0561] 1104-a: The SMF sends an N4 session modification request (containing the N4 session ID) to the UPF of the shared PDU session. If the QoS flow of the UE2 connection service flow and its corresponding rules and policies (PDR, FAR, QER, URR, MAR, etc.) are to be deleted, the N4 session modification request should also include the QFI corresponding to the QoS flow of the UE2 connection service flow. If the QoS flow corresponding to the UE2 connection service flow is still used by other UEs (such as UE1), the N4 session modification request should include updated rules (PDR, FAR, QER, URR, MAR, etc.) and policies to delete the previous rules and policies corresponding to the UE2 connection service flow, thereby updating the QoS flow information of the shared PDU session.

[0562] 1104-b: After the UPF performs the corresponding action and modifies the context information, it confirms the N4 session modification request by sending an N4 session modification response (containing the N4 session ID) to the SMF.

[0563] 1105. The SMF sends a PDU session update session management context response to the AMF. If it is necessary to release all session resources of the shared PDU session, the response will include N2 and N1 messages, which will indicate the release of AN resources associated with the shared PDU session. If a modification procedure for the shared PDU session needs to be executed, and UE2's QoS flow is not used by other UEs (such as UE1), and the QoS flow corresponding to UE2's connection service flow needs to be deleted, the N1 and N2 messages included in the PDU session update session management context response will both indicate the deletion of the QoS flow information corresponding to UE2's service flow in the shared PDU session. If a modification procedure for the shared PDU session needs to be executed, and UE2's QoS flow still needs to be used by other UEs (such as UE1), and the rules and policies under UE2's QoS flow need to be deleted, the N1 and N2 messages included in the PDU session update session management context response will both indicate the update of the QoS flow information corresponding to UE2's service flow in the shared PDU session.

[0564] If the release process for a shared PDU session is automatically triggered by the SMF, the SMF can also send a PDU session update session management context response to the AMF.

[0565] 1106. The AMF sends a PDU session release response based on the N2 message to the RAN node connected to UE2. If the N2 message indicates the release of AN resources associated with the shared PDU session, the RAN node will perform the corresponding AN resource release procedure. If the N2 message indicates the deletion of QoS flows of UE2 in the shared PDU session, the RAN node will perform the corresponding deletion operation of QoS flow information. If the N2 message indicates the update of QoS flows of UE2 in the shared PDU session, the RAN node will perform the corresponding update operation of QoS flow information.

[0566] 1107. The RAN node sends a PDU session release response based on the N1 message to UE2.

[0567] based on Figure 11 It is known that during the PDU session release process, different UEs sharing the same PDU session can initiate a PDU session release request. However, if other UEs are still using the user plane path resources of the current shared PDU session, the session will be retained, and a PDU session modification action will be performed. If no other UEs are using the user plane path resources of the current shared PDU session, the session will be deleted, and a PDU session release action will be performed.

[0568] Still with Figure 7 Taking the architecture shown as an example, and using UE2 initiating a session release request as an example, the process of releasing a shared computing session is explained:

[0569] like Figure 12 The flowchart shown is a method for releasing a shared computing session according to an embodiment of this disclosure, which may include the following steps:

[0570] 1200. There are computing sessions that have been established to computing nodes in the network.

[0571] 1201. Triggers session release for shared computing sessions.

[0572] Among them, 1201 can be further divided into the following two cases:

[0573] 1201-a, UE2 initiates a computing service release request / computing session release request via NAS message. The request includes the session ID of the shared computing session to be released. AMF receives the computing session release request through the RAN node connected to UE2. AMF sends a computing session context update request to CCF.

[0574] Here, when the target network function is CCF, the session management context update request is a computed session context update request; the session management context update response mentioned below is a computed session context update response.

[0575] 1201-b, CCF can decide to trigger a computing network service release request / computing session release request based on the following scenarios:

[0576] ① Service time to reach computing service resources;

[0577] ② The CCF detects that the current network resource status does not meet the requirements, or the computing power resource status of the computing node does not meet the requirements;

[0578] ③ The CCF receives a service cancellation request from the compute node (such as canceling UE2's authorization to the compute node);

[0579] ④ The CCF receives a service cancellation notification from the SMF or AMF (e.g., UE2 is no longer in the authorized service area);

[0580] ⑤ According to the locally configured policy, the currently allocated computing session resources need to be cancelled (such as the user plane path being reassigned).

[0581] Perform the following actions:

[0582] Release the shared computing session, so that all UEs using the shared computing session resources can no longer use the shared computing session;

[0583] Modify the shared computing session so that only some UEs (such as UE2) can no longer use the shared computing session resources, while the remaining UEs (such as UE1) can still continue to use the shared computing session resources.

[0584] 1202. CCF determines the operations required for a shared computing session:

[0585] If only one UE (such as UE2) is using the shared computing session and triggers the computing session release request, then the CCF will execute the release procedure for the shared computing session.

[0586] If, in addition to the UE that triggered the computing session release request (such as UE2), there are other UEs (such as UE1) using the shared computing session, the CCF will execute the modification process for the shared computing session.

[0587] 1203. The CCF issues computing resource occupancy policies to computing nodes, which may include the computing node terminating the provision of computing services to one or more UEs.

[0588] 1204-a, CCF initiates a network-triggered session modification request to SMF.

[0589] 1204-b. SMF performs modification / release of the compute session tunnel from UE2 to the compute node. The execution process of this step can refer to the process in 88a to 88b above, and will not be repeated here.

[0590] 1204-c: SMF returns a session modification response triggered on the network side to CCF.

[0591] 1205. CCF returns a compute session context update response to AMF.

[0592] If the release process for a shared computing session is automatically triggered by the CCF, the CCF can also send a computing session context update response to the AMF.

[0593] 1206. AMF returns a network service release response / computing session release response to UE2, including the response result.

[0594] based on Figure 12 It is known that during the computing session release process, different UEs sharing the same computing session can initiate computing session release requests / computing network service release requests. However, if other UEs are still using the computing resources of the computing node through this shared computing session, the session will still be retained, and a shared computing session modification action will be performed. If no other UEs are using the computing resources of the computing node corresponding to the current shared computing session, the session will be deleted, and a shared computing session release action will be performed.

[0595] Still with Figure 9 Taking the architecture shown as an example, and using UE2 initiating a session release request as an example, the process of releasing a shared data session will be explained:

[0596] like Figure 13The flowchart shown is a method for releasing a shared data session according to an embodiment of this disclosure, which may include the following steps:

[0597] 1300. There is a data session established to the DPF in the network, and multiple UEs share it.

[0598] 1301. Triggers session release for shared data sessions.

[0599] Among them, 1301 can be further divided into the following two cases:

[0600] 1301-a, UE2 initiates a data service release request / data session release request via NAS message. The request includes the session ID of the shared data session to be released. AMF receives the data session release request through the RAN node connected to UE2. AMF sends a data session context update request to DMF.

[0601] Here, when the target network function is DMF, the session management context update request is a data session context update request; the session management context update response mentioned below is a data session context update response.

[0602] 1301-b, DMF can decide to trigger data service release requests / data session release requests based on the following scenarios:

[0603] ① Service duration for data service resources to be accessed;

[0604] ②The DMF detects that the current network resource status does not meet the requirements, or the DPF's data resource status does not meet the requirements;

[0605] ③ The DMF receives a service cancellation request from the DPF (e.g., canceling UE2's authorization to the DPF);

[0606] ④ The DMF receives a service cancellation notification from the SMF or AMF (e.g., UE2 is no longer in the authorized service area);

[0607] ⑤ According to the locally configured policy, the currently allocated data session resources need to be cancelled (e.g., data path reallocation).

[0608] Perform the following actions:

[0609] Release the shared data session so that all UEs using the shared data session resources can no longer use the shared data session;

[0610] ⑦ Modify the shared data session so that only some UEs (such as UE2) can no longer use the shared data session resources, while the remaining UEs (such as UE1) can still continue to use the shared data session resources.

[0611] 1302. DMF determines the operations required for a shared data session:

[0612] If only one UE (such as UE2) is using the shared data session that triggered the data session release request, then the DMF will execute the release procedure for the shared data session.

[0613] If a shared data session is being used by other UEs (such as UE1) besides the UE that triggered the data session release request (such as UE2), then the DMF will execute the modification procedure for the shared data session.

[0614] 1303. The DMF issues a data resource occupancy policy to the DPF, which may include the DPF terminating the provision of data services to one or more UEs.

[0615] 1304-a: The DMF initiates a network-triggered session modification request to the SMF.

[0616] 1304-b. SMF performs modification / release of the data session tunnel from UE2 to DPF. The execution process of this step can refer to the process in 108a to 108b above, and will not be repeated here.

[0617] 1304-c: The SMF returns a session modification response triggered on the network side to the DMF.

[0618] 1305. The DMF returns a data session context update response to the AMF.

[0619] If the release process for the shared data session is automatically triggered by the DMF, the DMF can also send a compute session context update response to the AMF.

[0620] 1306. AMF returns a data service release response / data session release response to UE2, including the response result.

[0621] based on Figure 13 It is known that during the data session release process, different UEs sharing the same data session can initiate a data session release request / data service release request. However, if other UEs are still using the DPF's data resources through this shared data session, the session will be retained, and a shared data session modification action will be performed. If no other UEs are using the DPF's data resources corresponding to the current shared data session, the session will be deleted, and a shared data session release action will be performed.

[0622] Taking the example of different UEs in the same user group accessing the network through different RAN nodes, it can be based on, for example... Figure 14 The architecture shown illustrates the service flow for the UE to establish a shared PDU session / computing session / data session within a shared session. Figure 14In the user group, which includes UE1 connected to the RAN1 node and UE2 connected to the RAN2 node, the user can use the following when establishing / modifying / releasing a shared PDU session: Figure 4 The DN service in the context of shared computing sessions can be used when creating, modifying, or releasing a shared computing session. Figure 4 The CCF and compute nodes in the data; when establishing / modifying / releasing a shared data session, you can use... Figure 4 DMF and DPF in the solution.

[0623] Regarding based on Figure 14 The architecture shown differs from the architecture in the above embodiment, which is based on different UEs accessing the network through the same RAN node, when UE2 creates a shared PDU session / computation session / data session service flow. In this difference, the updated CN tunnel information corresponding to the PDU session / computation session / data session already established by UE1 needs to be added to the N2 message forwarded by AMF to RAN in order to open the communication tunnel between UE2-RAN2-UPF.

[0624] Regarding based on Figure 14 The architecture shown differs from the architecture described above, where different UEs access the network through the same RAN node, when UE2 modifies or releases shared PDU session / computation session / data session service flows. Specifically, it requires adding AN resources related to UE2 that need to be released to the N1 and N2 messages forwarded by the AMF to RAN2, in order to release the AN resources between RAN2 and UPF. Alternatively, it requires adding QoS flow information related to UE2 that needs to be released or updated to the N1 and N2 messages forwarded by the AMF to RAN2, in order to release or update the QoS flow between RAN2 and UPF.

[0625] Corresponding to the session management method applied to terminals described above, this disclosure also provides a session management device. See also... Figure 15 The diagram shown is a schematic representation of a session management device provided in an embodiment of this disclosure. This device can be applied to a terminal and may include:

[0626] Initiation module 1501 is used to initiate a session establishment request;

[0627] The first receiving module 1502 is used to receive a first session establishment response; the first session establishment response indicates the session establishment result, and the session establishment result includes the session identifier of the shared session, which is an established session of other terminals within the user group to which the terminal belongs.

[0628] In one optional implementation, the session establishment request includes the identifier of the user group to which the terminal belongs and / or the session identifier of the user group to which the terminal belongs that has already established a session.

[0629] In one alternative implementation, the session establishment request includes at least one of the following:

[0630] Packet Data Unit (PDU) session establishment request for requesting Data Network (DN) services, Computational Session Establishment Request for requesting Computational Services, and Data Session Establishment Request for requesting Data Services.

[0631] In one optional implementation, the initiating module 1501 is further configured to:

[0632] Initiate a session release request; the session release request contains the session identifier of the shared session to be released;

[0633] The first receiving module 1502 is also used for:

[0634] Receive the first session release response; the first session release response indicates the session release result for the shared session; the session release result indicates whether the shared session is released or modified.

[0635] In one optional implementation, if the session release result indicates the release of a shared session, the session release result includes first indication information, which indicates the release of the first access network (AN) resource associated with the terminal; or,

[0636] If the session release result indicates modification of the shared session, the session release result includes a second indication, which indicates the deletion of the Quality of Service (QoS) flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session; or...

[0637] In cases where the session release result indicates modification of the shared session, the session release result includes third indication information, which indicates updating the QoS flow information of the shared session.

[0638] In one alternative implementation, the QoS flow information includes a QoS flow identifier (QFI) and / or a QoS profile.

[0639] In one alternative implementation, different terminals within a user group may access the same or different Radio Access Network (RAN) nodes.

[0640] Corresponding to the session management method applied to the first network function described above, this disclosure also provides a session management device. See also... Figure 16 The diagram shown is a schematic representation of another session management apparatus provided in an embodiment of this disclosure. This apparatus can be applied to a first network function and may include:

[0641] The second receiving module 1601 is used to receive a session establishment request initiated by the terminal;

[0642] The first sending module 1602 is used to send a request to create a session management context to the target network function;

[0643] The third receiving module 1603 is used to receive the request response for creating a session management context; the request response for creating a session management context contains the session identifier of the shared session, and the shared session is an established session of other terminals within the user group to which the terminal belongs;

[0644] The sixth sending module 1604 is used to send a first session establishment response to the terminal; the first session establishment response indicates the session establishment result, and the session establishment result contains the session identifier of the shared session.

[0645] In one alternative implementation, the session management context creation request response further includes the service identifier of the terminal's service flow in the shared session.

[0646] In one optional embodiment, the apparatus further includes:

[0647] Selection module 1605 is used to select a second network function that serves other terminals within the user group as the target network function.

[0648] In one alternative implementation, the request to create a session management context includes the identifier of the user group to which the terminal belongs and / or the session identifier of the user group to which the terminal belongs that has an established session.

[0649] In an optional implementation, the third receiving module 1603 is further configured to:

[0650] Receive a first forwarding message sent by the target network function; the first forwarding message contains a session identifier and Quality of Service (QoS) flow information for the shared session; send a second session establishment response to the radio access network (RAN) node to which the terminal is accessed, the second session establishment response containing the first forwarding message; and / or,

[0651] Receive a second forwarding message sent by the target network function; the second forwarding message contains a session establishment result, and the session establishment result contains a session identifier of the shared session; send a first session establishment response to the terminal, including: sending a first session establishment response to the terminal through the RAN node accessed by the terminal; the first session establishment response contains a second forwarding message.

[0652] In one optional implementation, when different terminals within a user group access different RAN nodes, the first forwarding message also includes updated core network (CN) tunnel information corresponding to the shared session. The updated CN tunnel information indicates the tunnel information through which the terminal communicates with the third network function via the RAN node.

[0653] In one optional implementation, the second receiving module 1601 is further configured to:

[0654] The receiving terminal initiates a session release request; the session release request contains the session identifier of the shared session to be released;

[0655] The first sending module 1602 is also used to send a session management context update request to the target network function; the session management context update request includes the session identifier of the shared session to be released;

[0656] The third receiving module 1603 is also used to receive a session management context update response sent by the target network function; the session management context update response indicates the session release result of the shared session; the session release result indicates the release of the shared session or the modification of the shared session;

[0657] The sixth sending module 1604 is also used to send a first session release response to the terminal; the first session release response indicates the session release result of the shared session.

[0658] In one optional implementation, the session management context update response includes a first forwarding message; the sixth sending module 1604 is further configured to: send a second session release response to the RAN node connected to the terminal, the second session release response including the first forwarding message; the first forwarding message indicates the release of the second access network (AN) resources associated with the shared session, or, the first forwarding message indicates the deletion of the Quality of Service (QoS) flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session, or, the first forwarding message indicates updating the QoS flow information of the shared session; and / or,

[0659] The session management context update response includes a second forwarding message; the sixth sending module 1604 is further configured to: send a first session release response to the terminal through the RAN node, the first session release response including the second forwarding message; the second forwarding message indicates the release of the first access network AN resource associated with the terminal, or, the second forwarding message indicates the deletion of the QoS flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session, or, the second forwarding message indicates the updating of the QoS flow information of the shared session.

[0660] In one optional implementation, when different terminals within a user group access different RAN nodes, the first forwarding message and / or the second forwarding message indicate that the released AN resources are the AN resources corresponding to the RAN nodes accessed by the terminals.

[0661] Corresponding to the session management method applied to target network functions described above, this disclosure also provides a session management apparatus. See also... Figure 17 The diagram shown is a schematic representation of another session management apparatus provided in an embodiment of this disclosure. This apparatus can be applied to a target network function and may include:

[0662] The fourth receiving module 1701 is used to receive the session management context creation request sent by the first network function for the terminal;

[0663] The second sending module 1702 is used to send a session management context creation request response to the first network function; the session management context creation request response contains a session identifier of the shared session, and the shared session is an established session of other terminals within the user group to which the terminal belongs.

[0664] In one optional embodiment, the apparatus further includes:

[0665] The acquisition module 1703 is used to acquire the terminal's subscription data from the fourth network function; the subscription data indicates that the terminal can share the established sessions of other terminals within its user group.

[0666] In one optional embodiment, the apparatus further includes:

[0667] The first determining module 1704 is configured to determine, before sending a session management context creation request response, that a terminal is capable of sharing established sessions with other terminals within its user group, in response to at least one of the following conditions:

[0668] Other terminals within the same user group as the terminal are allowed to share established sessions with the terminal.

[0669] The third-party network function corresponding to the session established by the user group to which the terminal belongs supports multiple terminals sharing the user plane path of the same session.

[0670] Service operators support multiple terminals sharing a session;

[0671] The data network information requested by the terminal is consistent with the data network information of the user group to which the terminal belongs that has already established a session;

[0672] Currently, the service nodes serving other terminals within the user group to which the terminal belongs meet the terminal's service requirements.

[0673] The service node selected for other terminals in the user group to which the terminal belongs is the same as the service node selected for the terminal, or the service node selected for other terminals in the user group to which the terminal belongs is connected to the same PDU session anchor user plane function (PSA UPF) as the service node selected for the terminal.

[0674] The service node currently serving other terminals within the user group to which the terminal belongs is allowed to provide services to multiple terminals.

[0675] In one optional implementation, the first determining module 1704 is further configured to:

[0676] If the user group to which the terminal belongs has multiple shareable sessions, then the terminal is selected to share a session from among the multiple sessions based on at least one of the following: priority of the multiple shareable sessions, session path latency, session path length, number of terminals already sharing, bandwidth size, and resource usage size.

[0677] In one optional implementation, the target network function is a network function for session management; the apparatus further includes a third transmitting module 1705, for:

[0678] Send a third forwarding message to the third network function of the shared session; the third forwarding message contains the service identifier of the service flow created for the terminal in the shared session.

[0679] In one optional implementation, the third forwarding message further includes Quality of Service (QoS) flow information created for the service flow of the terminal;

[0680] Alternatively, the terminal's service flow shares the QoS flow information already created in the shared session.

[0681] In one optional embodiment, the apparatus further includes:

[0682] The allocation module 1706 is used to allocate resources of the shared session according to priority for the service flows of different terminals within the shared session.

[0683] In one optional implementation, the target network function is a network function for session management;

[0684] The second sending module 1702 is further configured to send a first forwarding message to the first network function; the first forwarding message contains a session identifier of the shared session and QoS flow information; the first forwarding message is used to send to the access network RAN ​​node accessed by the terminal through the first network function; and / or,

[0685] Send a second forwarding message to the first network function; the second forwarding message contains the session establishment result, which contains the session identifier of the shared session, and the second forwarding message is used to send to the terminal through the first network function.

[0686] In an optional implementation, the fourth receiving module 1701 is further configured to:

[0687] Receive a session management context update request for the terminal sent by the first network function; the session management context update request contains the session identifier of the shared session to be released;

[0688] The second transmitting module 1702 is also used for:

[0689] Send a Session Management Context Update response to the first network function; the Session Management Context Update response indicates the session release result for the shared session; the session release result indicates whether the shared session is released or modified.

[0690] In one optional embodiment, the apparatus further includes:

[0691] The second determining module 1707 is used to determine that the session release result is to release the shared session when only the terminal is currently using the shared session.

[0692] If other terminals besides the current terminal are using the shared session, the session release result is determined to be a modification of the shared session.

[0693] In one optional implementation, the target network function is a network function for session management; the apparatus further includes a fourth transmitting module 1708, for:

[0694] A fourth forwarding message is sent to the third network function of the shared session. The fourth forwarding message indicates the service identifier of the service flow of the terminal that needs to be deleted for the shared session.

[0695] In one optional implementation, if the QoS flow corresponding to the service flow to be deleted is not used by other terminals within the user group, the fourth forwarding message also includes QoS flow information to be deleted in the shared session; or,

[0696] If the QoS flow corresponding to the service flow that needs to be deleted is still being used by other terminals within the user group, the fourth forwarding message also includes QoS flow update information for the shared session.

[0697] In one optional implementation, the session management context update response includes a second forwarding message and a first forwarding message;

[0698] The second forwarding message indicates the release of the first access network (AN) resources associated with the terminal, and the first forwarding message indicates the release of the second access network (AN) resources associated with the shared session;

[0699] Alternatively, the second forwarding message and the first forwarding message indicate the deletion of the Quality of Service (QoS) flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session;

[0700] Alternatively, the second forwarding message and the first forwarding message may indicate an update to the QoS flow information of the shared session.

[0701] In one alternative implementation, the target network function is a network function used for computational control or data management;

[0702] The device also includes:

[0703] The distribution module 1709 is used to distribute service resource allocation policies to service nodes; the service resource allocation policy includes at least one of the following information:

[0704] User ID, shared session ID, selectable service resource type, service duration, business priority, and session priority.

[0705] In one alternative implementation, the target network function is a network function used for computational control or data management;

[0706] The device also includes a fifth transmitting module 1710, used for:

[0707] Send a session establishment request for the terminal to the network function used for session management. The session establishment request includes the selected service node identifier and the session identifier for the shared session.

[0708] In one alternative implementation, the target network function is a network function used for computational control or data management;

[0709] The device also includes:

[0710] Trigger module 1711 is configured to trigger a session release request when at least one of the following conditions is met:

[0711] Service duration for reaching service resources;

[0712] The current network resource status does not meet the demand, or the service resource status of the service node does not meet the demand;

[0713] A service cancellation request was received from the service node;

[0714] Received a service cancellation notification from the network function used for session management or the first network function;

[0715] According to the locally configured policy, the currently allocated session resources need to be cancelled.

[0716] Corresponding to the session management method applied to terminals described above, this disclosure also provides a computer device. See also... Figure 18 The diagram shown is a schematic representation of a computer device provided in an embodiment of this disclosure. This computer device can be deployed on a terminal and may include:

[0717] The memory 1801 is used to store computer programs; the transceiver 1802 is used to send and receive data under the control of the processor 1803. The processor 1803 and the memory 1801 can also be physically separated.

[0718] Among them, Figure 18In this context, the bus architecture can include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, specifically linking various circuits together, represented by one or more processors (processor 1803) and memory (memory 1801). The bus architecture can also link various other circuits such as peripheral devices, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and therefore will not be described further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 1802 can be multiple elements, including transmitters and receivers, providing a unit for communicating with various other devices over transmission media, including wireless channels, wired channels, optical fibers, etc. The processor 1803 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 1801 can store data used by the processor 1803 during operation.

[0719] The processor 1803 can be a central processing unit (CPU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or a complex programmable logic device (CPLD). The processor can also adopt a multi-core architecture.

[0720] The processor 1803 executes any of the methods provided in this disclosure embodiment according to the obtained executable instructions by calling the computer program stored in the memory 1801, for example:

[0721] Initiate a session establishment request;

[0722] Receive the first session establishment response; the first session establishment response indicates the session establishment result, and the session establishment result contains the session identifier of the shared session, which is the established session of other terminals in the user group to which the terminal belongs.

[0723] In one optional implementation, the session establishment request includes the identifier of the user group to which the terminal belongs and / or the session identifier of the user group to which the terminal belongs that has already established a session.

[0724] In one alternative implementation, the session establishment request includes at least one of the following:

[0725] Packet Data Unit (PDU) session establishment request for requesting Data Network (DN) services, Computational Session Establishment Request for requesting Computational Services, and Data Session Establishment Request for requesting Data Services.

[0726] In an alternative implementation, the processor 1803 is further configured to perform:

[0727] Initiate a session release request; the session release request contains the session identifier of the shared session to be released;

[0728] Receive the first session release response; the first session release response indicates the session release result for the shared session; the session release result indicates whether the shared session is released or modified.

[0729] In one optional implementation, if the session release result indicates the release of a shared session, the session release result includes first indication information, which indicates the release of the first access network (AN) resource associated with the terminal; or,

[0730] If the session release result indicates modification of the shared session, the session release result includes a second indication, which indicates the deletion of the Quality of Service (QoS) flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session; or...

[0731] In cases where the session release result indicates modification of the shared session, the session release result includes third indication information, which indicates updating the QoS flow information of the shared session.

[0732] In one alternative implementation, the QoS flow information includes a QoS flow identifier (QFI) and / or a QoS profile.

[0733] In one alternative implementation, different terminals within a user group may access the same or different Radio Access Network (RAN) nodes.

[0734] Corresponding to the session management method applied to the first network function described above, this disclosure also provides a computer device. See also... Figure 19 The diagram shown is a schematic representation of another computer device provided in an embodiment of this disclosure. This computer device can be deployed in a first network function and may include:

[0735] The memory 1901 is used to store computer programs; the transceiver 1902 is used to send and receive data under the control of the processor 1903. The processor 1903 and the memory 1901 can also be physically separated.

[0736] Among them, Figure 19In this context, the bus architecture can include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, specifically linking various circuits together, represented by one or more processors (processor 1903) and memory (memory 1901). The bus architecture can also link various other circuits such as peripheral devices, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and therefore will not be described further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 1902 can be multiple elements, including transmitters and receivers, providing a unit for communicating with various other devices over transmission media, including wireless channels, wired channels, optical fibers, etc. The processor 1903 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 1901 can store data used by the processor 1903 during operation.

[0737] The processor 1903 can be a central processing unit (CPU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or a complex programmable logic device (CPLD). The processor can also adopt a multi-core architecture.

[0738] Processor 1903 executes any of the methods provided in the embodiments of this disclosure according to the obtained executable instructions by calling the computer program stored in memory 1901, for example:

[0739] Receive a session establishment request initiated by the terminal;

[0740] Send a request to create a session management context to the target network function;

[0741] Receive a request response to create a session management context; the request response contains the session identifier of the shared session, which is an established session of another terminal within the user group to which the terminal belongs;

[0742] Send a first session establishment response to the terminal; the first session establishment response indicates the session establishment result, and the session establishment result contains the session identifier of the shared session.

[0743] In one alternative implementation, the session management context creation request response further includes the service identifier of the terminal's service flow in the shared session.

[0744] In an alternative implementation, the processor 1903 is further configured to perform:

[0745] Select the second network function that serves other terminals within the user group as the target network function.

[0746] In one alternative implementation, the request to create a session management context includes the identifier of the user group to which the terminal belongs and / or the session identifier of the user group to which the terminal belongs that has an established session.

[0747] In an alternative implementation, the processor 1903 is further configured to perform:

[0748] Receive a first forwarding message sent by the target network function; the first forwarding message contains a session identifier and Quality of Service (QoS) flow information for the shared session; send a second session establishment response to the radio access network (RAN) node to which the terminal is accessed, the second session establishment response containing the first forwarding message; and / or,

[0749] Receive a second forwarding message sent by the target network function; the second forwarding message contains a session establishment result, and the session establishment result contains a session identifier of the shared session; send a first session establishment response to the terminal, including: sending a first session establishment response to the terminal through the RAN node accessed by the terminal; the first session establishment response contains a second forwarding message.

[0750] In one optional implementation, when different terminals within a user group access different RAN nodes, the first forwarding message also includes updated core network (CN) tunnel information corresponding to the shared session. The updated CN tunnel information indicates the tunnel information through which the terminal communicates with the third network function via the RAN node.

[0751] In an alternative implementation, the processor 1903 is further configured to perform:

[0752] The receiving terminal initiates a session release request; the session release request contains the session identifier of the shared session to be released;

[0753] Send a Session Management Context Update Request to the target network function; the Session Management Context Update Request contains the session identifier of the shared session to be released;

[0754] Receive a Session Management Context Update response from the target network function; the Session Management Context Update response indicates the session release result for the shared session; the session release result indicates whether the shared session is released or modified.

[0755] Send a first session release response to the terminal; the first session release response indicates the result of the session release for the shared session.

[0756] In one optional implementation, the session management context update response includes a first forwarding message; the processor 1903 is further configured to: send a second session release response to the RAN node to which the terminal is connected, the second session release response including the first forwarding message; the first forwarding message indicates the release of the second access network (AN) resources associated with the shared session, or, the first forwarding message indicates the deletion of QoS flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session, or, the first forwarding message indicates updating the QoS flow information of the shared session; and / or,

[0757] The session management context update response includes a second forwarding message; sending a first session release response to the terminal includes: sending a first session release response to the terminal through the RAN node, the first session release response including a second forwarding message; the second forwarding message indicates the release of the first access network (AN) resource associated with the terminal, or, the second forwarding message indicates the deletion of the QoS flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session, or, the second forwarding message indicates the update of the QoS flow information of the shared session.

[0758] In one optional implementation, when different terminals within a user group access different RAN nodes, the first forwarding message and / or the second forwarding message indicate that the released AN resources are the AN resources corresponding to the RAN nodes accessed by the terminals.

[0759] Corresponding to the session management method applied to target network functions described above, this disclosure also provides a computer device. See also... Figure 20 The diagram shown is a schematic representation of another computer device provided in an embodiment of this disclosure. This computer device can be deployed on a target network function and may include:

[0760] The memory 2001 is used to store computer programs; the transceiver 2002 is used to send and receive data under the control of the processor 2003. The processor 2003 and the memory 2001 can also be physically separated.

[0761] Among them, Figure 20In this context, the bus architecture can include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, specifically linking various circuits together, represented by one or more processors (processor 2003) and memory (memory 2001). The bus architecture can also link various other circuits such as peripheral devices, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and therefore will not be described further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 2002 can be multiple elements, including transmitters and receivers, providing a unit for communicating with various other devices over transmission media, including wireless channels, wired channels, optical fibers, etc. The processor 2003 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 2001 can store data used by the processor 2003 during operation.

[0762] The processor 2003 can be a central processing unit (CPU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or a complex programmable logic device (CPLD). The processor can also adopt a multi-core architecture.

[0763] The processor 2003 executes any of the methods provided in the embodiments of this disclosure according to the obtained executable instructions by calling the computer program stored in the memory 2001, for example:

[0764] Receive a request from the first network function to create a session management context for the terminal;

[0765] Send a Create Session Management Context Request response to the first network function; the Create Session Management Context Request response contains the session identifier of the shared session, which is an established session of other terminals within the user group to which the terminal belongs.

[0766] In one alternative implementation, before sending the Create Session Management Context Request response, the processor 2003 is further configured to:

[0767] The terminal's subscription data is obtained from the fourth network function; the subscription data indicates that the terminal can share established sessions with other terminals in its user group.

[0768] In one alternative implementation, before sending the Create Session Management Context Request response, the processor 2003 is further configured to:

[0769] In response to at least one of the following conditions, it is determined that a terminal is capable of sharing established sessions with other terminals within its user group:

[0770] Other terminals within the same user group as the terminal are allowed to share established sessions with the terminal.

[0771] The third-party network function corresponding to the session established by the user group to which the terminal belongs supports multiple terminals sharing the user plane path of the same session.

[0772] Service operators support multiple terminals sharing a session;

[0773] The data network information requested by the terminal is consistent with the data network information of the user group to which the terminal belongs that has already established a session;

[0774] Currently, the service nodes serving other terminals within the user group to which the terminal belongs meet the terminal's service requirements.

[0775] The service node selected for other terminals in the user group to which the terminal belongs is the same as the service node selected for the terminal, or the service node selected for other terminals in the user group to which the terminal belongs is connected to the same PDU session anchor user plane function PSAUPF as the service node selected for the terminal.

[0776] The service node currently serving other terminals within the user group to which the terminal belongs is allowed to provide services to multiple terminals.

[0777] In an optional implementation, the processor 2003 is further configured to:

[0778] If the user group to which the terminal belongs has multiple shareable sessions, then the terminal is selected to share a session from among the multiple sessions based on at least one of the following: priority of the multiple shareable sessions, session path latency, session path length, number of terminals already sharing, bandwidth size, and resource usage size.

[0779] In one optional implementation, the target network function is a network function for session management; the processor 2003 is further configured to:

[0780] Send a third forwarding message to the third network function of the shared session; the third forwarding message contains the service identifier of the service flow created for the terminal in the shared session.

[0781] In one optional implementation, the third forwarding message further includes Quality of Service (QoS) flow information created for the service flow of the terminal;

[0782] Alternatively, the terminal's service flow shares the QoS flow information already created in the shared session.

[0783] In an optional implementation, the processor 2003 is further configured to:

[0784] For the service flows of different terminals within a shared session, resources of the shared session are allocated according to priority.

[0785] In one optional implementation, the target network function is a network function for session management; the processor 2003 is further configured to:

[0786] Send a first forwarding message to the first network function; the first forwarding message contains the session identifier of the shared session and QoS flow information; the first forwarding message is used to send to the access network RAN ​​node accessed by the terminal through the first network function; and / or,

[0787] Send a second forwarding message to the first network function; the second forwarding message contains the session establishment result, which contains the session identifier of the shared session, and the second forwarding message is used to send to the terminal through the first network function.

[0788] In an optional implementation, the processor 2003 is further configured to:

[0789] Receive a session management context update request for the terminal sent by the first network function; the session management context update request contains the session identifier of the shared session to be released;

[0790] Send a Session Management Context Update response to the first network function; the Session Management Context Update response indicates the session release result for the shared session; the session release result indicates whether the shared session is released or modified.

[0791] In an optional implementation, the processor 2003 is further configured to:

[0792] If only the terminal is currently using the shared session, the session release result is determined to be releasing the shared session;

[0793] If other terminals besides the current terminal are using the shared session, the session release result is determined to be a modification of the shared session.

[0794] In one optional implementation, the target network function is a network function for session management; the processor 2003 is further configured to:

[0795] A fourth forwarding message is sent to the third network function of the shared session. The fourth forwarding message indicates the service identifier of the service flow of the terminal that needs to be deleted for the shared session.

[0796] In one optional implementation, if the QoS flow corresponding to the service flow to be deleted is not used by other terminals within the user group, the fourth forwarding message also includes QoS flow information to be deleted in the shared session; or,

[0797] If the QoS flow corresponding to the service flow that needs to be deleted is still being used by other terminals within the user group, the fourth forwarding message also includes QoS flow update information for the shared session.

[0798] In one optional implementation, the session management context update response includes a second forwarding message and a first forwarding message;

[0799] The second forwarding message indicates the release of the first access network (AN) resources associated with the terminal, and the first forwarding message indicates the release of the second access network (AN) resources associated with the shared session;

[0800] Alternatively, the second forwarding message and the first forwarding message indicate the deletion of the Quality of Service (QoS) flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session;

[0801] Alternatively, the second forwarding message and the first forwarding message may indicate an update to the QoS flow information of the shared session.

[0802] In one alternative implementation, the target network function is a network function used for computational control or data management;

[0803] Processor 2003 is also used for:

[0804] Issue service resource allocation policies to service nodes; the service resource allocation policies contain at least one of the following information:

[0805] User ID, shared session ID, selectable service resource type, service duration, business priority, and session priority.

[0806] In one alternative implementation, the target network function is a network function used for computational control or data management;

[0807] Processor 2003 is also used for:

[0808] Send a session establishment request for the terminal to the network function used for session management. The session establishment request includes the selected service node identifier and the session identifier for the shared session.

[0809] In one alternative implementation, the target network function is a network function used for computational control or data management;

[0810] Processor 2003 is also used for:

[0811] A session release request is triggered when at least one of the following conditions is met:

[0812] Service duration for reaching service resources;

[0813] The current network resource status does not meet the demand, or the service resource status of the service node does not meet the demand;

[0814] A service cancellation request was received from the service node;

[0815] Received a service cancellation notification from the network function used for session management or the first network function;

[0816] According to the locally configured policy, the currently allocated session resources need to be cancelled.

[0817] It should be noted that the division of units (or modules) in the embodiments of this disclosure is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this disclosure can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The integrated units described above can be implemented in hardware or as software functional units.

[0818] If the integrated unit is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a processor-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this disclosure, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) or processor to execute all or part of the steps of the methods of the various embodiments of this disclosure. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0819] It should be noted that the apparatus or device provided in this disclosure can implement all the method steps implemented in the above method embodiments and can achieve the same technical effect. Therefore, the parts and beneficial effects that are the same as those in the method embodiments will not be described in detail here.

[0820] On the other hand, embodiments of this disclosure also provide a processor-readable storage medium storing a computer program for causing a computer to execute the session management methods provided in the above embodiments.

[0821] It should be noted that the processor-readable storage medium provided in this embodiment can implement all the method steps implemented in the above method embodiments and achieve the same technical effect. Therefore, the parts and beneficial effects that are the same as those in the method embodiments will not be described in detail here.

[0822] Processor-readable storage media can be any available medium or data storage device that a computer can access, including but not limited to magnetic storage (such as floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes, magneto-optical disks (MOs), etc.), optical storage (such as CDs, DVDs, BDs, HVDs, etc.), and semiconductor storage (such as ROMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, non-volatile memory (NAND flash), solid-state drives (SSDs)).

[0823] This disclosure also provides a computer program product that, when invoked by a computer, causes the computer to execute the steps of the session management method described above.

[0824] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this disclosure can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this disclosure can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this disclosure can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage and optical storage) containing computer-usable program code.

[0825] This disclosure is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of this disclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer-executable instructions. These computer-executable instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, generate instructions for implementing the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams. Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in one or more boxes.

[0826] These processor-executable instructions may also be stored in a processor-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the processor-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means, which are implemented in a process Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The function specified in one or more boxes.

[0827] These processors can execute instructions that can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device, causing a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable device for implementing the process. Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The steps of the function specified in one or more boxes.

[0828] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to this disclosure without departing from its spirit and scope. Therefore, if such modifications and variations fall within the scope of the claims of this disclosure and their equivalents, this disclosure is also intended to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A session management method, characterized in that, Applied to terminals, including: Initiate a session establishment request; Receive a first session establishment response; the first session establishment response indicates the session establishment result, the session establishment result includes the session identifier of the shared session, the shared session is an established session of other terminals within the user group to which the terminal belongs.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The session establishment request includes the identifier of the user group to which the terminal belongs and / or the session identifier of the user group to which the terminal belongs that has an established session.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The session establishment request includes at least one of the following: Packet Data Unit (PDU) session establishment request for requesting Data Network (DN) services, Computational Session Establishment Request for requesting Computational Services, and Data Session Establishment Request for requesting Data Services.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, Also includes: Initiate a session release request; the session release request includes the session identifier of the shared session to be released; Receive the first session release response; The first session release response indicates the session release result of the shared session; the session release result indicates whether the shared session is released or modified.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, In the case where the session release result indicates the release of the shared session, the session release result includes first indication information, which indicates the release of the first access network (AN) resource associated with the terminal; or, In the case where the session release result indicates modification of the shared session, the session release result includes second indication information, which indicates the deletion of the Quality of Service (QoS) flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session; or, If the session release result indicates modification of the shared session, the session release result includes third indication information, which indicates updating the QoS flow information of the shared session.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The QoS flow information includes the QoS flow identifier QFI and / or QoS profile.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The RAN nodes accessed by different terminals within the user group may be the same or different.

8. A session management method, characterized in that, Applied to the first network function, including: Receive a session establishment request initiated by the terminal; Send a request to create a session management context to the target network function; Receive a request response to create a session management context; the request response contains a session identifier for a shared session, which is an established session of another terminal within the user group to which the terminal belongs; Send a first session establishment response to the terminal; the first session establishment response indicates the session establishment result, and the session establishment result includes the session identifier of the shared session.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The request response for creating a session management context also includes the service identifier of the terminal's service flow in the shared session.

10. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, Also includes: The second network function that serves other terminals within the user group is selected as the target network function.

11. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The request to create a session management context includes the identifier of the user group to which the terminal belongs and / or the session identifier of the user group to which the terminal belongs that has an established session.

12. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, Also includes: Receive the first forwarding message sent by the target network function; The first forwarding message contains the session identifier and QoS flow information of the shared session; Send a second session establishment response to the radio access network (RAN) node to which the terminal is connected, the second session establishment response containing the first forwarding message; And / or, Receive the second forwarding message sent by the target network function; The second forwarding message contains a session establishment result, and the session establishment result contains the session identifier of the shared session; Sending the first session establishment response to the terminal includes: sending the first session establishment response to the terminal through the RAN node accessed by the terminal; The first session establishment response contains the second forwarding message.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, When different terminals within the user group access different RAN nodes, the first forwarding message also includes the updated core network (CN) tunnel information corresponding to the shared session. The updated CN tunnel information indicates the tunnel information through which the terminal communicates with the third network function via the RAN node.

14. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 13, characterized in that, Also includes: The receiving terminal initiates a session release request; the session release request includes the session identifier of the shared session to be released; Send a Session Management Context Update Request to the target network function; the Session Management Context Update Request includes the session identifier of the shared session to be released; Receive a session management context update response sent by the target network function; the session management context update response indicates the session release result of the shared session; the session release result indicates the release of the shared session or the modification of the shared session; Send a first session release response to the terminal; the first session release response indicates the session release result for the shared session.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, The session management context update response includes a first forwarding message; the method further includes: sending a second session release response to the RAN node connected to the terminal, the second session release response including the first forwarding message; the first forwarding message indicates the release of the second access network (AN) resources associated with the shared session, or, the first forwarding message indicates the deletion of QoS flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session, or, the first forwarding message indicates updating the QoS flow information of the shared session; and / or, The session management context update response includes a second forwarding message; sending the first session release response to the terminal includes: sending the first session release response to the terminal through the RAN node, wherein the first session release response includes the second forwarding message; the second forwarding message indicates the release of the first access network (AN) resource associated with the terminal, or the second forwarding message indicates the deletion of the QoS flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session, or the second forwarding message indicates the updating of the QoS flow information of the shared session.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, When different terminals within the user group access different RAN nodes, the first forwarding message and / or the second forwarding message indicate that the released AN resources are the AN resources corresponding to the RAN node accessed by the terminal.

17. A session management method, characterized in that, Applied to target network functions, including: Receive a request from the first network function to create a session management context for the terminal; Send a Create Session Management Context Request Response to the first network function; the Create Session Management Context Request Response contains a session identifier for a shared session, wherein the shared session is an established session of another terminal within the user group to which the terminal belongs.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, Before sending the Create Session Management Context Request response, the following is also included: The terminal's subscription data is obtained from the fourth network function; the subscription data indicates that the terminal can share established sessions with other terminals within its user group.

19. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, Before sending the Create Session Management Context Request response, the following is also included: In response to at least one of the following conditions, it is determined that the terminal is capable of sharing established sessions with other terminals within its user group: Other terminals within the user group to which the terminal belongs are allowed to share established sessions with the terminal. The third network function corresponding to the session established by the user group to which the terminal belongs supports multiple terminals sharing the user plane path of the same session. Service operators support multiple terminals sharing a session; The data network information requested by the terminal is consistent with the data network information of the user group to which the terminal belongs that has already established a session; The service nodes currently serving other terminals within the user group to which the terminal belongs meet the service requirements of the terminal. The service node selected for other terminals in the user group to which the terminal belongs is the same as the service node selected for the terminal, or the service node selected for other terminals in the user group to which the terminal belongs is connected to the same PDU Session Anchor User Plane Function (PSA UPF) as the service node selected for the terminal. The service node currently serving other terminals within the user group to which the terminal belongs is allowed to provide services to multiple terminals.

20. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, The method further includes: If the user group to which the terminal belongs has multiple shareable sessions, then the session to be shared by the terminal is selected from the multiple sessions based on at least one of the following: priority of the multiple shareable sessions, session path latency, session path length, number of shared terminals, bandwidth size, and resource usage size.

21. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, The target network function is a network function used for session management; the method further includes: A third forwarding message is sent to the third network function of the shared session; the third forwarding message contains the service identifier of the service flow created for the terminal in the shared session.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that, The third forwarding message also includes Quality of Service (QoS) flow information created for the service flow of the terminal; Alternatively, the terminal's service flow may share the QoS flow information already created by the shared session.

23. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, Also includes: Resources of the shared session are allocated according to priority for the service flows of different terminals within the shared session.

24. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, The target network function is a network function used for session management; the method further includes: Sending a first forwarding message to the first network function; the first forwarding message contains the session identifier and QoS flow information of the shared session; the first forwarding message is used to send to the access network RAN ​​node accessed by the terminal through the first network function; and / or, A second forwarding message is sent to the first network function; the second forwarding message contains a session establishment result, the session establishment result contains a session identifier of the shared session, and the second forwarding message is used to send to the terminal through the first network function.

25. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, Also includes: Receive a session management context update request for the terminal sent by a first network function; the session management context update request includes the session identifier of the shared session to be released; Send a session management context update response to the first network function; the session management context update response indicates the session release result of the shared session; the session release result indicates the release of the shared session or the modification of the shared session.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that, Also includes: If the shared session is currently being used only by the terminal, the session release result is determined to be releasing the shared session; If other terminals besides the aforementioned terminal are currently using the shared session, the session release result is determined to be modifying the shared session.

27. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that, The target network function is a network function used for session management; the method further includes: A fourth forwarding message is sent to the third network function of the shared session, the fourth forwarding message indicating the service identifier of the service flow of the terminal that needs to be deleted for the shared session.

28. The method according to claim 27, characterized in that, If the QoS flow corresponding to the service flow to be deleted is not used by other terminals within the user group, the fourth forwarding message also includes the QoS flow information to be deleted in the shared session; or, If the QoS flow corresponding to the service flow that needs to be deleted is still being used by other terminals within the user group, the fourth forwarding message also includes the QoS flow update information of the shared session.

29. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that, The session management context update response includes a second forwarding message and a first forwarding message; The second forwarding message indicates the release of the first access network (AN) resources associated with the terminal, and the first forwarding message indicates the release of the second access network (AN) resources associated with the shared session; Alternatively, the second forwarding message and the first forwarding message indicate the deletion of the Quality of Service (QoS) flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session; Alternatively, the second forwarding message and the first forwarding message may indicate an update to the QoS flow information of the shared session.

30. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, The target network function is a network function used for computational control or data management; The method further includes: A service resource allocation policy is issued to the service node; the service resource allocation policy includes at least one of the following information: User ID, shared session ID, selectable service resource type, service duration, business priority, and session priority.

31. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, The target network function is a network function used for computational control or data management; The method further includes: A session establishment request for the terminal is sent to the network function used for session management. The session establishment request includes the selected service node identifier and the session identifier for the shared session.

32. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, The target network function is a network function used for computational control or data management; The method further includes: A session release request is triggered when at least one of the following conditions is met: Service duration for reaching service resources; The current network resource status does not meet the demand, or the service resource status of the service node does not meet the demand; A service cancellation request was received from the service node; Receive a service cancellation notification from the network function used for session management or the first network function; According to the locally configured policy, the currently allocated session resources need to be cancelled.

33. A computer device, characterized in that, Deployed on the terminal, including memory, transceiver, and processor: The memory is used to store computer programs; the transceiver is used to send and receive data under the control of the processor. Processor, configured to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: Initiate a session establishment request; Receive a first session establishment response; the first session establishment response indicates the session establishment result, the session establishment result includes the session identifier of the shared session, the shared session is an established session of other terminals within the user group to which the terminal belongs.

34. The device according to claim 33, characterized in that, The session establishment request includes the identifier of the user group to which the terminal belongs and / or the session identifier of the user group to which the terminal belongs that has an established session.

35. The device according to claim 33 or 34, characterized in that, The processor is also used to perform: Initiate a session release request; the session release request includes the session identifier of the shared session to be released; Receive a first session release response; the first session release response indicates the session release result of the shared session; the session release result indicates releasing the shared session or modifying the shared session.

36. A computer device, characterized in that, Deployed in the first network function, including memory, transceiver, and processor: A memory for storing computer programs; a transceiver for sending and receiving data under the control of the processor; and a processor for reading the computer programs from the memory and performing the following operations: Receive a session establishment request initiated by the terminal; Send a request to create a session management context to the target network function; Receive a request response to create a session management context; the request response contains a session identifier for a shared session, which is an established session of another terminal within the user group to which the terminal belongs; Send a first session establishment response to the terminal; the first session establishment response indicates the session establishment result, and the session establishment result includes the session identifier of the shared session.

37. The device according to claim 36, characterized in that, The processor is also used to perform: The second network function that serves other terminals within the user group is selected as the target network function.

38. The device according to claim 36, characterized in that, The processor is also used to perform: Receive a first forwarding message sent by the target network function; the first forwarding message contains the session identifier and QoS flow information of the shared session; send a second session establishment response to the radio access network (RAN) node accessed by the terminal, the second session establishment response containing the first forwarding message; And / or, Receive the second forwarding message sent by the target network function; The second forwarding message contains a session establishment result, and the session establishment result contains the session identifier of the shared session; Sending the first session establishment response to the terminal includes: sending the first session establishment response to the terminal through the RAN node accessed by the terminal; The first session establishment response contains the second forwarding message.

39. The device according to claim 38, characterized in that, When different terminals within the user group access different RAN nodes, the first forwarding message also includes the updated core network (CN) tunnel information corresponding to the shared session. The updated CN tunnel information indicates the tunnel information through which the terminal communicates with the third network function via the RAN node.

40. The device according to any one of claims 36 to 39, characterized in that, The processor is also used to perform: The receiving terminal initiates a session release request; the session release request includes the session identifier of the shared session to be released; Send a Session Management Context Update Request to the target network function; the Session Management Context Update Request includes the session identifier of the shared session to be released; Receive a session management context update response sent by the target network function; the session management context update response indicates the session release result of the shared session; the session release result indicates the release of the shared session or the modification of the shared session; Send a first session release response to the terminal; the first session release response indicates the session release result for the shared session.

41. The device according to claim 40, characterized in that, The session management context update response includes a first forwarding message; the processor is further configured to execute: send a second session release response to the RAN node connected to the terminal, the second session release response including the first forwarding message; the first forwarding message indicates the release of the second access network AN resource associated with the shared session, or, the first forwarding message indicates the deletion of the QoS flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session, or, the first forwarding message indicates the updating of the QoS flow information of the shared session; And / or, The session management context update response includes a second forwarding message; Sending the first session release response to the terminal includes: sending the first session release response to the terminal through the RAN node, wherein the first session release response contains the second forwarding message; The second forwarding message indicates the release of the first access network (AN) resources associated with the terminal, or the second forwarding message indicates the deletion of the QoS flow information corresponding to the service flow of the terminal in the shared session, or the second forwarding message indicates the updating of the QoS flow information of the shared session.

42. A computer device, characterized in that, Deployed in target network functions, including memory, transceivers, and processors: A memory for storing computer programs; a transceiver for sending and receiving data under the control of the processor; and a processor for reading the computer programs from the memory and performing the following operations: Receive a request from the first network function to create a session management context for the terminal; Send a Create Session Management Context Request Response to the first network function; the Create Session Management Context Request Response contains a session identifier for a shared session, wherein the shared session is an established session of another terminal within the user group to which the terminal belongs.

43. The device according to claim 42, characterized in that, Before sending the Create Session Management Context Request response, the processor is also used to: The terminal's subscription data is obtained from the fourth network function; the subscription data indicates that the terminal can share established sessions with other terminals within its user group.

44. The device according to claim 42, characterized in that, The processor is also used for: Resources of the shared session are allocated according to priority for the service flows of different terminals within the shared session.

45. The device according to claim 42, characterized in that, The target network function is a network function used for session management; the method further includes: Sending a first forwarding message to the first network function; the first forwarding message contains the session identifier and QoS flow information of the shared session; the first forwarding message is used to send to the access network RAN ​​node accessed by the terminal through the first network function; and / or, A second forwarding message is sent to the first network function; the second forwarding message contains a session establishment result, the session establishment result contains a session identifier of the shared session, and the second forwarding message is used to send to the terminal through the first network function.

46. ​​The device according to claim 42, characterized in that, The processor is also used for: Receive a session management context update request for the terminal sent by a first network function; the session management context update request includes the session identifier of the shared session to be released; Send a session management context update response to the first network function; the session management context update response indicates the session release result of the shared session; the session release result indicates the release of the shared session or the modification of the shared session.

47. The device according to claim 42, characterized in that, The target network function is a network function used for computational control or data management; The processor is also used for: A service resource allocation policy is issued to the service node; the service resource allocation policy includes at least one of the following information: User ID, shared session ID, selectable service resource type, service duration, business priority, and session priority.

48. The device according to claim 42, characterized in that, The target network function is a network function used for computational control or data management; The processor is also used for: A session establishment request for the terminal is sent to the network function used for session management. The session establishment request includes the selected service node identifier and the session identifier for the shared session.

49. The device according to claim 42, characterized in that, The target network function is a network function used for computational control or data management; The processor is also used for: A session release request is triggered when at least one of the following conditions is met: Service duration for reaching service resources; The current network resource status does not meet the demand, or the service resource status of the service node does not meet the demand; A service cancellation request was received from the service node; Receive a service cancellation notification from the network function used for session management or the first network function; According to the locally configured policy, the currently allocated session resources need to be cancelled.

50. A session management device, characterized in that, Applied to terminals, including: The initiation module is used to initiate session establishment requests; The first receiving module is used to receive a first session establishment response; the first session establishment response indicates the session establishment result, and the session establishment result includes a session identifier of a shared session, wherein the shared session is an established session of other terminals within the user group to which the terminal belongs.

51. A session management device, characterized in that, Applied to the first network function, including: The second receiving module is used to receive session establishment requests initiated by the terminal; The first sending module is used to send a request to the target network function to create a session management context; The third receiving module is used to receive a request response to create a session management context; the request response to create a session management context includes a session identifier of a shared session, and the shared session is an established session of another terminal within the user group to which the terminal belongs; The sixth sending module is used to send a first session establishment response to the terminal; the first session establishment response indicates the session establishment result, and the session establishment result includes the session identifier of the shared session.

52. A session management device, characterized in that, Applied to target network functions, including: The fourth receiving module is used to receive the session management context creation request sent by the first network function for the terminal; The second sending module is used to send a Create Session Management Context Request Response to the first network function; the Create Session Management Context Request Response contains a session identifier of a shared session, and the shared session is an established session of another terminal within the user group to which the terminal belongs.

53. A processor-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The processor-readable storage medium stores a program for causing the processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 32.

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