Edge Application Server Discovery Method and Related Devices

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application provide an edge application server discovery method and related devices. In this method, the S-EES can receive a first message from the T-EES, the first message can be used to determine at least one EAS, and at least one EAS corresponds to a first application. In order to effectively ensure that the EAS discovered in the EAS discovery procedure can provide services to the first application in the terminal, the EAS corresponding to the first application can be discovered in the EAS discovery procedure.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application claims the priority of Chinese Patent Application No. 202310426582.9, titled "Edge Application Server Discovery Method and Related Devices", filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on April 11, 2023, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] This application relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular, to an edge application server discovery method and related devices.

Background Art

[0003] 3GPP SA6 is currently researching multi-access edge computing (MEC) technology. An edge data network (EDN) deployed based on MEC technology can provide services to applications in a terminal by using an edge application server (EAS). However, the EAS discovered by the existing EAS discovery procedure may not be able to provide services to a specific application in the terminal. Therefore, how to ensure that the EAS discovered by the EAS discovery procedure can provide services to a specific application in the terminal has become an urgent problem to be solved.

Summary of the Invention

[0004] Embodiments of this application provide an edge application server discovery method and related devices to ensure that the EAS discovered by the EAS discovery procedure can provide services to a specific application in the terminal.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] According to a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for discovering an edge application server. This method can be applied to a source edge enabler server (S-EES), or can be applied to a chip within the S-EES, or can be applied to a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the S-EES functions. Hereinafter, the S-EES is used as an example for explanation. The method includes the step of the S-EES receiving a first message from a target edge enabler server (T-EES), where the first message is used to determine at least one EAS, and at least one EAS corresponds to a first application.

[0006] Optionally, the method according to the first aspect can be applied to the EAS discovery procedure of the application context relocation process.

[0007] Optionally, at least one EAS is an EAS associated with the T-EES, and among at least one EAS, there is an EAS corresponding to the first application. The first application is a specific application within the terminal (for example, an application within the terminal that currently needs to execute application context relocation, or an application currently served by the S-EAS).

[0008] Optionally, the first message may include at least one of an EAS discovery response message, an EAS discovery subscription response message, an EAS discovery subscription update response message, or a service discovery response message.

[0009] From the method of the first aspect, it can be found that the S-EES can determine the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the first message. In order to effectively ensure that the discovered EAS can provide services to the first application in the terminal, the EAS corresponding to the first application can be discovered in the EAS discovery procedure of the application context relocation process. In this way, the EES discovery failure is avoided, the EES discovery procedure is avoided from being repeatedly executed, the service interruption delay is reduced, and the user experience of the application is improved.

[0010] Referring to the first aspect, in an optional implementation, the first message indicates the correspondence between at least one EAS and the first application. Optionally, the first message may not indicate the correspondence between at least one EAS and the first application. Instead, the first indication information indicates the correspondence between at least one EAS and the first application. It should be noted that the first indication information may be carried in the first message or in another message. This is not limited. In this implementation, it can be found that the S-EES can directly determine the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the correspondence.

[0011] Referring to the first aspect, in an optional implementation, the first message includes at least one of the application identifier corresponding to the EAS and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0012] Referring to the first aspect, in an optional implementation, after the S-EES receives the first message from the T-EES, the method further includes the step of the S-EES determining, based on the application identifier of the first application and the application identifier corresponding to the EAS, the EAS corresponding to the first application from at least one EAS.

[0013] Referring to the first aspect, in an optional implementation, after the S-EES receives the first message from the T-EES, the method further includes the step of the S-EES determining, based on the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS, the EAS corresponding to the first application from at least one EAS.

[0014] Referring to the first aspect, in an optional implementation, before the S-EES receives the first message from the T-EES, the method further includes the step of the S-EES sending an EAS discovery request message to the T-EES, where the EAS discovery request message is used to request obtaining at least one EAS from the T-EES, and the first message is an EAS discovery response message.

[0015] Referring to the first aspect, in an optional implementation, the EAS discovery request message includes at least one of the following information, namely, the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application. Since the S-EES can send the application message of the first application to the T-EES in the EAS discovery request message, it can be found that the T-EES determines the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the application identifier of the first application and / or the corresponding EAS bundle identifier.

[0016] Referring to the first aspect, in an optional implementation, before the S-EES sends an EAS discovery request message to the T-EES, the method further includes the step of the S-EES receiving a second message from an Edge Configuration Server (ECS), where the second message is used to determine at least one EES, the EAS associated with at least one EES corresponds to the first application, at least one EES corresponds to the first application, and at least one EES includes the T-EES.

[0017] Optionally, the present implementation method can be applied to the EES discovery procedure of the application context relocation process.

[0018] Optionally, at least one EES is an EES on the ECS, and at least one EES has an EES associated with an EAS corresponding to a first application.

[0019] Optionally, the second message may include at least one of an EES discovery response message, an EES discovery subscription response message, an EES discovery subscription update response message, and a service discovery response message.

[0020] To effectively ensure that the EAS in the EES discovered in the EES discovery procedure of the application context relocation process can provide services to the first application in the terminal, in this implementation, the S-EES can determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the second message, and can discover the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application in the EES discovery procedure of the application context relocation process. Therefore, it can be found that EES discovery failures are avoided, the EES discovery procedure is not repeatedly executed, service interruption delays are reduced, and the user experience of the application is improved.

[0021] Referring to the first aspect, in an optional implementation, the second message further indicates the correspondence between the first application and the EAS associated with at least one EES. Optionally, the second message may not indicate the correspondence between the first application and the EAS associated with at least one EES. Instead, the second indication information indicates the correspondence between the first application and the EAS associated with at least one EES. The second indication information may be carried in the second message or may be carried in another message. This is not limited. In this implementation, it can be found that the S-EES can directly determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the correspondence.

[0022] Referring to the first aspect, in an optional implementation, the second message includes at least one of the application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with at least one EES and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with at least one EES.

[0023] Referring to the first aspect, in an optional implementation, after the S-EES receives the second message from the ECS, the method further includes the step of the S-EES determining, based on the application identifier of the first application and the application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES, the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application from at least one EES.

[0024] Referring to the first aspect, in an optional implementation, after the S-EES receives the second message from the ECS, the method further includes the step of the S-EES determining, based on the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES, the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application from at least one EES.

[0025] Referring to the first aspect, in an optional implementation, before the S-EES receives the second message from the ECS, the method further includes a step of the S-EES sending an EES discovery request message to the ECS, where the EES discovery request message is used to request to obtain at least one EES from the ECS, and the second message is an EES discovery response message.

[0026] Referring to the first aspect, in an optional implementation, the EES discovery request message includes at least one of the following information, namely, the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application. Since the S-EES can send the application identifier of the first application and / or the corresponding EAS bundle identifier to the ECS in the EES discovery request message, it can be found that the ECS can determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the application identifier of the first application and / or the EAS bundle identifier.

[0027] Optionally, in an optional implementation, before the S-EES sends an EAS discovery request message to the T-EES, the method further includes a step of the S-EES receiving an EAS discovery request message from the S-EAS.

[0028] Optionally, in an optional implementation, the EAS discovery request message includes at least one of the following information, namely, the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application. It can be found that the S-EES can send the application identifier of the first application and / or the corresponding EAS bundle identifier to the S-EES in the EAS discovery request message.

[0029] Optionally, in one implementation of the optional selection, after the S-EES receives a first message from the T-EES, the method further includes the step of the S-EES sending an EAS discovery response message to the S-EAS. In this implementation, since the S-EES can forward the EAS discovery response message to the S-EAS, the S-EAS determines the EAS corresponding to the first application. After the S-EAS sends the application context to the T-EAS, when the AC is connected to the T-EAS, the T-EAS determines the EAS bundle required by the AC based on at least one of the application identifier of the T-EAS and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the T-EAS, and it can be found that the EAS in the EAS bundle is called to provide services to the AC.

[0030] According to a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides another edge application server discovery method. This method can be applied to the T-EES, or can be applied to a chip within the T-EES, or can be applied to a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the T-EES functions. Hereinafter, the T-EES is used as an example for explanation. The method includes the step of the T-EES sending a first message to the S-EES, where the first message is used to determine at least one EAS, and at least one EAS corresponds to the first application.

[0031] Optionally, the method according to the second aspect can be applied to the EAS discovery procedure of the application context relocation process.

[0032] To effectively ensure that the discovered EAS can provide services to the first application in the terminal, the T-EES can send a first message to the S-EES, and thus, based on the first message, the S-EES can determine the EAS corresponding to the first application and discover the EAS corresponding to the first application in the EAS discovery procedure of the application context relocation process, which can be learned from the method according to the second aspect. In this way, the EES discovery failure is avoided, the EES discovery procedure is avoided from being repeatedly executed, the service interruption delay is reduced, and the user experience of the application is improved.

[0033] Referring to the second aspect, in an optional implementation, the first message further indicates the correspondence between at least one EAS and the first application. In this implementation, since the T-EES can send the correspondence between at least one EAS and the first application to the S-EES, it can be learned that the S-EES can directly determine the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the correspondence.

[0034] Referring to the second aspect, in an optional implementation, before the T-EES sends the first message to the S-EES, the method further includes a step in which the T-EES determines the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the application identifier of the first application and the application identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0035] Referring to the second aspect, in an optional implementation, before the T-EES sends the first message to the S-EES, the method further includes a step in which the T-EES determines the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0036] Referring to the second aspect, in an optional implementation, the first message includes at least one of an application identifier corresponding to the EAS and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS. In this implementation, it can be found that the T-EES can send the application identifier and / or the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the T-EES to the S-EES, in order to assist the S-EES in determining the EAS corresponding to the first application from the EAS associated with the T-EES based on the application identifier and / or the EAS bundle identifier.

[0037] Referring to the second aspect, in an optional implementation, before the T-EES sends the first message to the S-EES, the method further includes the step that the T-EES receives an EAS discovery request message from the S-EES, where the EAS discovery request message is used to request to obtain at least one EAS from the T-EES, and the first message is an EAS discovery response message.

[0038] Referring to the second aspect, in an optional implementation, the EAS discovery request message includes at least one of the following information, that is, the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application. It can be found that the T-EES can obtain the application identifier of the first application or the corresponding EAS bundle identifier in the EAS discovery request message, in order to determine the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the application identifier of the first application or the corresponding EAS bundle identifier.

[0039] According to a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides another edge application server discovery method. This method can be applied to an ECS, or can be applied to a chip within the ECS, or can be applied to a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the ECS functions. Hereinafter, the ECS is used as an example. This method includes a step in which the ECS sends a second message to the S-EES, where the second message is used to determine at least one EES, the EAS associated with at least one EES corresponds to a first application, and at least one EES corresponds to the first application.

[0040] Optionally, the method according to the third aspect can be applied to the EES discovery procedure of the application context relocation process.

[0041] To effectively ensure that the EAS in the EES discovered in the EES discovery procedure of the application context relocation process can provide services to the first application in the terminal, since the ECS can send a second message to the S-EES, the S-EES can, based on the second message, determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application, and the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application in the EES discovery procedure of the application context relocation process can be discovered. Therefore, it can be known from the method according to the third aspect that the EES discovery obstacle is avoided, the repeated execution of the EES discovery procedure is avoided, the service interruption delay is reduced, and the user experience of the application is improved.

[0042] Referring to the third aspect, in an optional implementation, the second message further indicates the correspondence between the first application and at least one EAS associated with the EES. In this implementation, since the ECS can send the correspondence between the first application and the EAS associated with at least one EES to the S-EES, it can be found that the S-EES can directly determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the correspondence.

[0043] Referring to the third aspect, in an optional implementation, before the ECS sends the second message to the S-EES, the method further includes a step in which the ECS determines the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the application identifier of the first application and the application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES.

[0044] Referring to the third aspect, in an optional implementation, before the ECS sends the second message to the S-EES, the method further includes a step in which the ECS determines the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS corresponding to the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES.

[0045] Referring to the third aspect, in an optional implementation, the second message includes at least one of the application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with at least one EES and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with at least one EES. In this implementation, in order to help the S-EES determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application from at least one EES based on the application identifier and / or the EAS bundle identifier, it can be found that the ECS can send the application identifier and / or the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES in the ECS to the S-EES.

[0046] Referring to the third aspect, in an optional implementation, before the ECS sends a second message to the S-EES, the method comprises the step that the ECS receives an EES discovery request message from the S-EES, where the EES discovery request message is used to request to obtain at least one EES from the ECS, and the second message is an EES discovery response message.

[0047] Referring to the third aspect, in an optional implementation, the EES discovery request message includes at least one of the following information: namely, the application identifier of the first application, and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application. It can be found that based on the application identifier of the first application and / or the corresponding EAS bundle identifier, the ECS can obtain the application identifier of the first application and / or the corresponding EAS bundle identifier in the EES discovery request message to determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application.

[0048] According to the fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides another edge application server discovery method. The method can be applied to the S-EAS, or to the chip within the S-EAS, or to a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the S-EAS functions. Hereinafter, the S-EAS is used as an example. The method comprises the step that the S-EAS sends an EAS discovery request message to the S-EES, where the EAS discovery request message is used to request at least one EAS, and at least one EAS corresponds to the first application.

[0049] Optionally, the method according to the fourth aspect can be applied to the EAS discovery procedure of the application context relocation process.

[0050] It can be found from the method according to the fourth aspect that, in order to trigger the execution of the EES discovery procedure and / or the EAS discovery procedure, the S-EAS can send an EAS discovery request message to the S-EES.

[0051] Referring to the fourth aspect, in an optional implementation, after the S-EAS sends an EAS discovery request message to the S-EES, the method further includes the step of the S-EAS receiving an EAS discovery response message from the S-EES, where the EAS discovery response message is used to determine at least one EAS.

[0052] Referring to the fourth aspect, in an optional implementation, the EAS discovery response message further indicates the correspondence between at least one EAS and the first application. In this implementation, it can be found that the S-EAS can directly determine the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the correspondence.

[0053] Referring to the fourth aspect, in an optional implementation, the EAS discovery response message includes at least one of the application identifier corresponding to the EAS and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0054] Referring to the fourth aspect, in an optional implementation, after the S-EAS receives an EAS discovery response message from the S-EES, the method further includes the step of the S-EAS determining, based on the application identifier of the first application and the application identifier corresponding to the EAS, the EAS corresponding to the first application from at least one EAS.

[0055] Referring to the fourth aspect, in an optional implementation, after the S-EAS receives an EAS discovery response message from the S-EES, the method further includes the step of the S-EES determining, based on the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS, the EAS corresponding to the first application from at least one EAS.

[0056] Referring to the fourth aspect, in an optional implementation, the EAS discovery request message includes at least one of the following information, namely, the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application. In this implementation, since the S-EAS can send the application identifier of the first application and / or the corresponding EAS bundle identifier to the S-EES in the EAS discovery request message, it can be found that the S-EES obtains the application identifier of the first application and / or the corresponding EAS bundle identifier.

[0057] According to the fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides another edge application server discovery method. This method can be applied to the EEC, or to a chip within the EEC, or to a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the EEC functions. Hereinafter, the EEC is used as an example. The method includes the step that the EEC receives a third message from the ECS, where the third message is used to determine at least one EES, the EAS associated with the at least one EES corresponds to a second application, and the at least one EES corresponds to the second application.

[0058] Optionally, the method according to the fifth aspect can be applied to the initial EES discovery procedure.

[0059] Optionally, the second application may be any application in the terminal, and the second application may be the same as or different from the first application.

[0060] Optionally, the third message may include at least one of an edge computing platform discovery response message, an edge computing platform discovery subscription response message, an edge computing platform discovery subscription update response message, and a service discovery response message.

[0061] To effectively ensure that the EAS associated with the EES discovered in the first EES discovery procedure can provide services to the second application, the EEC can determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application based on the third message. Therefore, it can be learned from the method according to the fifth aspect that the EES discovery failure is avoided, the EES discovery procedure is avoided from being repeatedly executed, the service interruption delay is reduced, and the application usage experience is improved. In addition, since it is also possible to effectively ensure that the EAS discovered in the first EAS discovery procedure can provide services to the second application in the terminal, the EAS discovery failure is avoided, the EAS discovery procedure is avoided from being repeatedly executed, the service interruption delay is reduced, and the application usage experience is improved.

[0062] Referring to the fifth aspect, in an optional implementation, the third message further indicates the correspondence between the second application and the EAS associated with at least one EES. Optionally, the third message may not indicate the correspondence between the second application and the EAS associated with at least one EES. Instead, the third indication information indicates the correspondence between the second application and the EAS associated with at least one EES. Note that the third indication information may be carried in the edge computing platform discovery response message or may be carried in another message. This is not limited. In this implementation, it can be learned that the EEC can directly determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application based on the received correspondence.

[0063] Referring to the fifth aspect, in an optional implementation, the third message includes at least one of an application identifier corresponding to an EAS associated with at least one EES and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to an EAS associated with at least one EES.

[0064] Referring to the fifth aspect, in an optional implementation, after the EEC receives the third message from the ECS, the method further includes the step of the EEC determining, from at least one EES, an EES associated with an EAS corresponding to a second application based on an application identifier of the second application and an application identifier corresponding to an EAS associated with the EES.

[0065] Referring to the fifth aspect, in an optional implementation, after the EEC receives the third message from the ECS, the method further includes the step of the EEC determining, from at least one EES, an EES associated with an EAS corresponding to a second application based on an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the second application and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to an EAS associated with the EES.

[0066] Referring to the fifth aspect, in an optional implementation, before the EEC receives the third message from the ECS, the method further includes the step of the EEC sending an edge computing platform discovery request message to the ECS, where the edge computing platform discovery request message is used to request to obtain at least one EES from the ECS, and the third message is an edge computing platform discovery response message.

[0067] Referring to the fifth aspect, in an optional implementation, the edge computing platform discovery request message includes at least one of the following information, namely, the application identifier of the second application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the second application. Since the EEC can send the application identifier of the second application and / or the corresponding EAS bundle identifier to the ECS in the edge computing platform discovery request message, it can be found that the ECS can determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application based on the application identifier of the second application and / or the corresponding EAS bundle identifier.

[0068] According to the sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides another method for discovering an edge application server. This method can be applied to the ECS, or to a chip in the ECS, or to a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the ECS functions. Hereinafter, the ECS is used as an example. The method includes the step that the ECS sends a third message to the EEC, where the third message is used to determine at least one EES, and at least one EES corresponds to the second application.

[0069] Optionally, the method according to the sixth aspect can be applied to the initial EES discovery procedure.

[0070] Since the ECS can send a third message to the EEC, it can be learned from the method according to the sixth aspect that the EEC can determine at least one EES based on the third message and discover at least one EES in the initial EES discovery procedure. In order to effectively ensure that the EAS associated with the EES discovered in the initial EES discovery procedure can provide services to the second application, the EAS associated with the EES corresponds to the second application. Therefore, the EES discovery obstacle is avoided, the EES discovery procedure is avoided from being repeatedly executed, the service interruption delay is reduced, and the usage experience of the application is improved. In addition, since it is also possible to effectively ensure that the EAS discovered in the initial EAS discovery procedure can provide services to the second application in the terminal, the EAS discovery obstacle is avoided, the EAS discovery procedure is avoided from being repeatedly executed, the service interruption delay is reduced, and the usage experience of the application is improved.

[0071] Referring to the sixth aspect, in an optional implementation, the third message further indicates the correspondence between the second application and the EAS associated with at least one EES. In this implementation, since the ECS can send the correspondence between the second application and the EAS associated with at least one EES to the EEC, it can be learned that the EEC can directly determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application based on the correspondence.

[0072] Referring to the sixth aspect, in an optional implementation, before the ECS sends the third message to the EEC, the method further includes a step in which the ECS determines the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application based on the application identifier of the second application and the application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES.

[0073] Referring to the sixth aspect, in an optional implementation, before the ECS sends a third message to the EEC, the method further includes a step in which the ECS determines the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application based on the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the second application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES.

[0074] Referring to the sixth aspect, in an optional implementation, the third message includes at least one of the application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with at least one EES and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with at least one EES. In this implementation, since the ECS can send the application identifier and / or the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES within the ECS to the EEC, it can be found that the EEC determines the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application based on the application identifier and / or the EAS bundle identifier.

[0075] Referring to the sixth aspect, in an optional implementation, before the ECS sends a third message to the EEC, the method further includes a step in which the ECS receives an edge computing platform discovery request message from the EEC, where the edge computing platform discovery request message is used to request to obtain at least one EES from the ECS, and the third message is an edge computing platform discovery response message.

[0076] Referring to the sixth aspect, in an optional implementation, the edge computing platform discovery request message includes at least one of the following information, namely, the application identifier of the second application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the second application. It can be found that the ECS can obtain the application identifier of the second application and / or the corresponding EAS bundle identifier in the edge computing platform discovery request message to determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application based on the application identifier and / or the EAS bundle identifier of the second application.

[0077] According to the seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides another method for discovering an edge application server. This method can be applied to the EAS, or to the chips within the EAS, or to the logical modules or software that can implement all or part of the EAS functions. Hereinafter, the EAS is used as an example. The method includes the step that the EAS sends a fourth message to the EES, where the fourth message includes EAS information, and the EAS information includes at least one of the application identifier corresponding to the EAS and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0078] Since the EAS can upload the EAS information to the EES with the fourth information, it can be found from the method according to the seventh aspect that the EES obtains the EAS information of the EAS associated with the EES, and then executes at least one of the first EES discovery procedure, the first EAS discovery procedure, the EES discovery procedure of the application context relocation process, and the EAS discovery procedure of the application context relocation process.

[0079] According to an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides yet another edge application server discovery method. This method can be applied to an EES, or to a chip within the EES, or to a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the EES functions. Hereinafter, the EES is used as an example. The method includes a step in which the EES receives a fourth message from at least one EAS, the fourth message includes EAS information, and the EAS information includes at least one of an application identifier corresponding to the EAS and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0080] Since the EES can receive the EAS information of the EAS with the fourth information, it can be found from the method according to the eighth aspect that the EES obtains the EAS information of the EAS associated with the EES, and then performs at least one of the first EES discovery procedure, the first EAS discovery procedure, the EES discovery procedure of the application context relocation process, and the EAS discovery procedure of the application context relocation process.

[0081] According to a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides yet another edge application server discovery method. This method can be applied to an EES, or to a chip within the EES, or to a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the EES functions. Hereinafter, the EES is used as an example. The method includes a step in which the EES sends a fifth message to the ECS, the fifth message includes EES information, the EES information includes the EAS information of the EAS associated with the EES, and the EAS information includes at least one of an application identifier corresponding to the EAS and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0082] Since EES can upload EES information to ECS in the fifth message, ECS can obtain the EAS information associated with the EES, and then perform at least one of the first EES discovery procedure, the first EAS discovery procedure, the EES discovery procedure of the application context relocation process, and the EAS discovery procedure of the application context relocation process, which can be learned from the method of the ninth aspect.

[0083] According to the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides yet another edge application server discovery method. This method can be applied to ECS, or to the chip within ECS, or to a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the ECS functions. Hereinafter, ECS is used as an example. The method includes the step that ECS receives a fifth message from at least one EES, the fifth message includes EES information, the EES information includes the EAS information of the EAS associated with the EES, and the EAS information includes at least one of the application identifier corresponding to the EAS and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0084] Since ECS can receive the EES information of EES in the fifth message, ECS can obtain the EAS information associated with each EES, and then perform at least one of the first EES discovery procedure, the first EAS discovery procedure, the EES discovery procedure of the application context relocation process, and the EAS discovery procedure of the application context relocation process, which can be learned from the method according to the tenth aspect.

[0085] According to the 11th aspect, the present application provides an edge application server discovery system. This system has a function of implementing part or all of the implementation of the 1st aspect, or a function of implementing part or all of the implementation of the 2nd aspect, or a function of implementing part or all of the implementation of the 3rd aspect, or a function of implementing part or all of the implementation of the 4th aspect, or a function of implementing part or all of the functions of the 5th aspect, or a function of implementing part or all of the functions of the 6th aspect, or a function of implementing part or all of the functions of the 7th aspect, or a function of implementing part or all of the functions of the 8th aspect, or a function of implementing part or all of the functions of the 9th aspect, or a function of implementing part or all of the functions of the 10th aspect.

[0086] According to the 12th aspect, the present application provides an edge application server discovery device. This device has a function of implementing part or all of the implementation of the 1st aspect, or a function of implementing part or all of the implementation of the 2nd aspect, or a function of implementing part or all of the implementation of the 3rd aspect, or a function of implementing part or all of the implementation of the 4th aspect, or a function of implementing part or all of the functions of the 5th aspect, a function of implementing part or all of the functions of the 6th aspect, or a function of implementing part or all of the functions of the 7th aspect, or a function of implementing part or all of the functions of the 8th aspect, or a function of implementing part or all of the functions of the 9th aspect, or a function of implementing part or all of the functions of the 10th aspect. The function may be implemented by hardware or may be implemented by hardware that executes the corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the function.

[0087] In one possible design, the structure of the apparatus may include a processing unit and a communication unit. The processing unit is configured to support the edge application server discovery device when performing corresponding functions in the foregoing manner. The processing unit may be configured to control the communication unit to perform data / signaling transmission and reception. The communication unit is configured to support communication between the edge application server discovery device and another edge application server discovery device. The edge application server discovery device may further include a storage unit. The storage unit is coupled to the processing unit and the communication unit and is configured to store program instructions and data required by the edge application server discovery device. In one implementation process, the processor may be configured to perform, for example but not limited to, baseband-related processing, and the transceiver may be configured to perform, for example but not limited to, radio frequency transmission and reception.

[0088] In one example, the communication unit may be a transceiver or a communication interface, the storage unit may be a memory, and the processing unit may be a processor. The processor may be configured to execute the method of the first aspect to the tenth aspect by using logic circuits or by executing a computer program. The transceiver may be configured to transmit and receive signals, and the memory may be configured to store a computer program.

[0089] Optionally, the foregoing components may be separately arranged on separate chips independent of each other, or at least some or all of the components may be arranged on the same chip. For example, the processor may be divided into an analog baseband processor and a digital baseband processor. The analog baseband processor and the transceiver may be integrated on the same chip, and the digital baseband processor may be arranged on a separate chip. With the continuous development of integrated circuit technology, more and more components can be integrated on the same chip. For example, the digital baseband processor and a plurality of application processors (such as, but not limited to, a graphics processing unit and a multimedia processor) may be integrated on the same chip. Such a chip may be referred to as a system-on-a-chip (SoC). Whether the components are separately arranged on separate chips or integrated and arranged on one or more chips is usually determined according to the requirements of product design. This embodiment of the present application does not impose limitations on the specific implementation of the foregoing components.

[0090] According to a 13th aspect, the present application further provides a processor configured to execute the foregoing method. In the process of executing these methods, the process of transmitting the foregoing signal by the foregoing method and the process of receiving the foregoing signal may be understood as the process of outputting the foregoing signal by the processor and the process of inputting the foregoing signal by the processor. When outputting the foregoing signal, the processor outputs the foregoing signal to the transceiver, and as a result, the transceiver transmits the signal. After the foregoing signal is output by the processor, other processing may need to be further performed on the signal, and then the signal reaches the transceiver. Similarly, when the processor receives an input signal, the transceiver receives the signal and inputs the signal to the processor. Further, after the transceiver receives the signal, other processing may need to be further performed on the signal, and then the signal is input to the processor.

[0091] Unless otherwise specified, operations such as transmission and reception related to the processor may be more generally understood as operations such as output, reception, and input of the processor, instead of operations such as transmission and reception directly performed by the radio frequency circuit and antenna, as long as they do not conflict with the actual functions or internal logic of the operations in the related descriptions of the operations.

[0092] In one implementation process, the processor may be a processor specially configured to execute these methods, or a processor that executes computer instructions in memory to execute these methods, such as a general-purpose processor. The memory may be a non-transitory memory, such as a read only memory (ROM). The memory and the processor may be integrated on the same chip, or may be separately arranged on separate chips. The type of memory and the way of arranging the memory and the processor are not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0093] According to a 14th aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium configured to store instructions. When the instructions are executed by a computer, a method according to any one of the 1st aspect to the 10th aspect is executed.

[0094] According to a 15th aspect, the present application further provides a computer program product including instructions. When the computer program product is executed on a computer, a method according to any one of the 1st aspect to the 10th aspect is executed.

[0095] According to the 16th aspect, the present application provides a chip system, which includes a processor and an interface. The interface is configured to obtain a program or instructions, and the processor is configured to call the program or instructions to implement the functions from the 1st aspect to the 10th aspect. In a possible design, the chip system further includes a memory. The memory is configured to store program instructions and data required by the terminal. The chip system may include a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete components.

[0096] To more clearly explain the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the attached drawings used in the embodiments of the present application will be described below.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0097]

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0098] In this application, "a plurality of" means two or more. In this application, the term "and / or" describes the relationship between related objects and indicates that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent the following cases, namely, when only A exists, when both A and B exist, and when only B exists, and A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " usually indicates an "or" relationship between related objects. "One or more" or its similar expressions mean any combination of items, including any combination of one item or a plurality of items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a, b, and c, and each of a, b, c can be an element or a set containing one or more elements.

[0099] In the embodiments of this application, the terms "system" and "network", as well as "corresponding" and "associated" may be used interchangeably, and the meanings of these terms can be understood by those skilled in the art.

[0100] 3GPP SA6 is currently researching multi-access edge computing (MEC) technology. The MEC technology can provide services and cloud computing functions required by nearby telecommunications users through a wireless access network in order to create a high-performance, low-latency, and high-bandwidth carrier-class service environment. Thereby, it effectively accelerates the download of various contents, services, and applications in the network and guarantees a seamless high-quality network experience.

[0101] In a certain application scenario, an application user can enter into a service contract with an application provider, as a result of which the Edge Data Network (EDN) deployed by the provider can provide corresponding services. Specifically speaking, the application user can log in to the application client on the terminal and obtain services through the connection between the application client and the Edge Application Server (EAS).

[0102] To better meet user requirements, multiple EASs within the EDN can be integrated to provide services to one AC. Specifically speaking, when the AC is connected to an EAS (for example, the main EAS) within the EDN, that EAS can call the data of other EASs within the EDN to provide services to the AC. In FIG. 1, an example is used where EDN 110 includes EAS 111, EAS 112, EAS 113, and EAS 114, and EDN 120 includes EAS 111, EAS 122, and EAS 123. When AC 101 is connected to EAS 111, EAS 111 can call EAS 112 and EAS 113 to obtain corresponding data to complete the corresponding service, combine the data of EAS 111, EAS 112, and EAS 113, and return that data to AC 101.

[0103] However, in the existing EAS discovery procedure, only information about one EAS is considered (for example, only information about the main EAS is considered), and the discovered EAS may not be able to call other EASs in the EDN to jointly provide services for a specific AC. For this reason, an EAS discovery obstacle is caused, the service discovery delay and the service interruption delay are increased, and the user experience of the application is affected. For example, when the EAS bundle required by the AC has an EAS located outside the EDN, the AC cannot obtain the corresponding service when connecting to the EAS in the EDN. Assume that the EAS required by AC 102 includes EAS 111, EAS 122, and EAS 123. Referring to FIG. 1, it can be found that EAS 122 and EAS 123 are located outside the EDN 110. When AC 102 is connected to EAS 111 in the EDN 110, EAS 111 cannot call EAS 122 and EAS 123 to provide services for AC 102. Therefore, how to ensure that the EAS discovered in the EAS discovery procedure can provide services for a specific application in the terminal has become an urgent problem to be solved.

[0104] In consideration of this, an embodiment of the present application provides an edge application server discovery method to effectively ensure that the EAS discovered in the EAS discovery procedure can provide services for a specific application in the terminal. Thereby, the EAS discovery obstacle is avoided, the service discovery delay and the service interruption delay are reduced, and the user experience of the application is improved.

[0105] The edge application server discovery method of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, including, but not limited to, the 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system, the New Radio Access Technology (NR) system, the Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, the LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, the LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) system, the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), and the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication system. The mobile communication system may include Non-Standalone (NSA) networking and / or Standalone (SA) networking. Alternatively, the technical solutions provided in the present application can also be applied to future communication systems, such as the 6th generation mobile communication system. This is not limited in the present application.

[0106] The edge application server discovery method provided in the embodiments of this application can further be applied to machine type communication (MTC), long term evolution-machine (LTE-M) technology, device-to-device (D2D) network, machine-to-machine (M2M) network, internet of things (IoT) network, or other networks. The IoT network can include, for example, internet of vehicles. The communication method in the internet of vehicles system is generally referred to as vehicle-to-X (V2X, where X can represent anything). For example, V2X can include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication, vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication, and the like.

[0107] The edge application server discovery method according to the embodiments of this application can further be applied to various communication scenarios, including but not limited to service continuity scenarios, mobile edge computing (MEC) scenarios, and the like.

[0108] Figure 2 is a diagram of the architecture of a communication system 2000 according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 2, this communication system includes a terminal, a core network, an EDN, and an Edge Configuration Server (ECS). One or more Application Clients and one or more Edge Enabler Clients (EEC) can be deployed within the terminal. It should be noted that the communication system may further include another network device. This is not limited.

[0109] For ease of understanding, some network elements and terms of the present application will be described below.

[0110] 1. Data Network A Data network (DN) is a service network of a carrier or a third party and can provide services (e.g., carrier services or Internet services) to terminals.

[0111] 2. Local Data Network A Local DN can be an access point of a data network that is very close to the user's attachment point.

[0112] 3. Edge Data Network EDN In one understanding, the EDN corresponding to only one data network is a special local data network, includes an edge enabler function, can use a data network access identifier (DNAI) and a data network name (DNN) identifier, and is a network logical concept.

[0113] In another understanding, EDN is a concept equivalent to the central cloud and can be understood as a local data center (in the geographical location concept), can be identified using DNAI, and may include one or more local data networks.

[0114] 4. Edge Application Server EAS An application deployed within the EDN may be called an EAS. Specifically, an EAS can be an instance of a server application (such as social media software, augmented reality (AR), or virtual reality (VR)) that is deployed and executed within the EDN.

[0115] One or more EASs can be deployed in one or more EDNs for an application. EASs deployed and executed in separate EDNs can be considered separate EASs of one application, can share a domain name, and can use one IP address or separate IP addresses.

[0116] Optionally, an EAS has a corresponding application and / or a corresponding EAS bundle. The correspondence between the EAS and the application can be described as the correspondence between an EAS identifier (such as an EAS ID) and an application identifier (such as an AC ID), or as the correspondence between the EAS and the application identifier. This is not limited. The correspondence between the EAS and the EAS bundle can be described as the correspondence between an EAS identifier (such as an EAS ID) and an EAS bundle identifier (such as a composite ID), or as the correspondence between the EAS and the EAS bundle identifier. This is not limited.

[0117] Note that "the application corresponding to the EAS", "the application identifier corresponding to the EAS", "the application associated with the EAS", and "the application identifier associated with the EAS" can be used interchangeably.

[0118] Note that the "EAS bundle corresponding to EAS", "EAS bundle identifier corresponding to EAS", "EAS bundle identifier associated with EAS", and "EAS bundle identifier associated with EAS" can be used interchangeably.

[0119] Alternatively, EAS can be replaced by an edge application, an edge application server, an application instance, an edge application instance, an MEC application, an MEC application server, an EAS function, etc. This is not limited in this application. For ease of explanation, hereinafter EAS is referred to as an edge application server.

[0120] 5. Edge Application Server EAS Bundle (Composite EAS) One or more EASs within the EDN can be combined to obtain an EAS bundle, and different EAS bundles can respectively correspond to different applications (that is, different EAS bundles can provide services to different applications). For example, the EDN includes a first EAS, a second EAS, a third EAS, a fourth EAS, and a fifth EAS. The first EAS, the second EAS, and the third EAS within the EDN can be combined to obtain a first EAS bundle, and the first EAS bundle corresponds to the first application. The first EAS, the fourth EAS, and the fifth EAS within the EDN can be combined to obtain a second EAS bundle, and the second EAS bundle corresponds to the second application.

[0121] Optionally, the EAS bundle has a corresponding EAS bundle identifier, which is used to identify the EAS bundle (i.e., the bundled EAS), and the EAS bundle identifier can be represented as a composite ID or the like. This is not limiting. Optionally, the correspondence between the EAS bundle and the application can be described as the correspondence between the EAS bundle identifier (e.g., composite ID) and the application identifier (e.g., AC ID), or as the correspondence between the EAS bundle and the application identifier. This is not limiting.

[0122] Note that the terms "application corresponding to the EAS bundle", "application identifier corresponding to the EAS bundle", "application associated with the EAS bundle", and "application identifier associated with the EAS bundle" can be used interchangeably.

[0123] 6. Application Client AC AC is a peer entity on the terminal side of the application server and is used by the application user to obtain application services from the application server. AC can be a client program of the application on the terminal side, can be connected to the application server on the cloud to obtain application services, or can be connected to the EAS deployed and executed in one or more EDNs to obtain application services. AC may also be called an application program client. This is not limited in this application.

[0124] Optionally, the AC has a corresponding application identifier, which is used to identify the application client, and the application identifier can be represented as an application ID, an AC ID, etc. This is not limited. Optionally, the application has a corresponding EAS, and the correspondence between the application and the EAS can be described as the correspondence between the application identifier (e.g., AC ID) and the EAS identifier (e.g., composite ID), or as the correspondence between the application and the EAS identifier. This is not limited.

[0125] Note that "EAS corresponding to the application", "EAS identifier corresponding to the application", "EAS identifier associated with the application", and "EAS identifier associated with the application" can be used interchangeably.

[0126] Optionally, the application has a corresponding EAS bundle. The correspondence between the application and the EAS bundle can be described as the correspondence between the application identifier (e.g., AC ID) and the EAS bundle identifier (e.g., composite ID), or as the correspondence between the application and the EAS bundle identifier. This is not limited.

[0127] Note that "EAS bundle corresponding to the application", "tan EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the application", "EAS bundle identifier associated with the application", and "EAS bundle identifier associated with the application" can be used interchangeably.

[0128] 7. Edge Enable Server EES The EES can provide some enabling functions to the EAS deployed within the EDN. The EES can support the registration of edge application servers and the authentication and authorization of terminals, and can provide the IP addresses of edge application servers to terminals, etc. The EES can further support obtaining the identifiers and IP addresses of edge application servers, and can further support sending the obtained identifiers and the obtained IP addresses to the ECS. The EES is deployed within the EDN.

[0129] Generally, in the case of an EAS registered with the EES, or when the management system configures EAS information on the EES or pre-configures EAS information on the EES, or when the EAS information is stored on the EES, or in the case of an EAS managed on the EES, the EAS is called an EAS associated with the EES, the EES is called an EES associated with the EAS, or the EES controls or manages the EAS registered with the EES or the EAS composed of the EES.

[0130] Alternatively, the EAS associated with the EES can be replaced by the EAS corresponding to the EES, and the EES associated with the EAS can be replaced by the EES corresponding to the EAS. This is not limited in this application.

[0131] 8. Edge Enabling Client EEC The EEC is an enabling layer entity on the terminal side. The EEC can be configured to register information about the EEC and information about the AC with the EES, perform security authentication and authorization, obtain the IP address of the EAS from the EES, and provide edge computing enabling capabilities to the AC. For example, the EEC can return the IP address of the EAS to the AC through the EAS discovery service.

[0132] 9. Edge Configuration Server ECS The ECS is mainly responsible for maintaining EDN information. For example, the ECS can provide EES information to the terminal. As another example, the ECS can further communicate with the DNS of the application to obtain EAS information and directly provide the EAS information to the terminal. The ECS can further obtain and store information related to EAS and IP addresses from other functional entities.

[0133] Generally, in the case of EES registered in the ECS, or when the management system configures EES information on the ECS or pre-configures EES information on the ECS, or when EES information is stored on the ECS, or in the case of EES managed on the ECS, the EES is called the EES associated with the ECS, the ECS is called the ECS associated with the EES, or the ECS controls or manages the EES registered in the ECS or the EES configured on the ECS. Optionally, the EES information may further include information related to the EAS associated with the EES.

[0134] 10. Terminal A terminal may also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. The terminal can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D) scenarios, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication scenarios, machine-type communication (MTC) scenarios, internet of things (IoT) scenarios, virtual reality scenarios, augmented reality scenarios, industrial control scenarios, autonomous driving scenarios, telemedicine scenarios, smart grid scenarios, smart furniture scenarios, smart office scenarios, smart wearable scenarios, smart transportation scenarios, and smart city scenarios. The terminal can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with a wireless transceiver function, wearable device, vehicle, unmanned aerial vehicle, helicopter, aircraft, ship, robot, robotic arm, smart home device, etc. The specific technologies and specific device forms used by the terminal are not limited in the embodiments of this application.

[0135] Optionally, the terminal may include an application client AC and / or an edge enable client EEC. For example, if the terminal includes AC, the terminal can be regarded as AC. As another example, if the terminal includes EEC, the terminal can be regarded as EEC. As another example, if the terminal includes both AC and EEC, the terminal can be regarded as a composite device of AC and EEC. This is not limiting.

[0136] 11. Application context relocation (ACR) Application context relocation may also be referred to as application context rearrangement and is not distinguished in this application.

[0137] When the terminal moves outside the current service area during the execution of an edge application, the EAS currently providing the service may not be able to continue providing the service to the currently running application, or the EAS currently providing the service may no longer be the optimal EAS capable of providing the service to the terminal, and another EAS may be more suitable for providing the service to the terminal. In this case, a new EAS may be selected to provide the service to the terminal. For ease of explanation, in the embodiments of this application, the EAS currently providing the service is called the source EAS (S-EAS), the EES associated with the S-EAS is called the S-ESS, the new EAS is called the target EAS (T-EAS), and the EES associated with the T-EAS is called the T-EES.

[0138] 12. The application context relocation process can be mainly divided into the following four stages. The first stage: Detection of application context relocation In this stage, it can be determined that the transfer of context may be required. A target event may be detected by a detection entity. The target event may include a change in the terminal location or an update of the terminal user plane path, etc.

[0139] The second stage: Decision on application context relocation In this stage, a decision entity determines that the transfer of context is required.

[0140] The third stage: Execution of application context relocation At this stage, the execution entity transfers the application context from the source EAS to the target EAS. Further, discovery of the target EAS is included, relevant information of the target EAS can be notified to the terminal, and it is notified to the EAS (which can be the source EAS and the target EAS) to start the application context transmission. The EES or EAS executes an application function (AF) traffic influence and carries the N6 routing information of the T-EAS.

[0141] Stage 4: Cleanup after Application Context Relocation Multiple entities are involved at this stage. The EAS notifies the EEC of the application context transmission result through the EES. The AC starts a new socket connection to the target EAS, etc.

[0142] To facilitate the understanding of the embodiments disclosed in this application, the following three points are described.

[0143] (1) The scenario in the embodiments disclosed in this application is described using an example of the MEC scenario. It should be noted that the solutions of the embodiments disclosed in this application can be further applied to other scenarios, and the corresponding names can be replaced with the names of the corresponding functions in other scenarios.

[0144] (2) The aspects, embodiments, or features of this application are presented in the embodiments disclosed in this application by describing a system including multiple devices, components, modules, etc. It should be recognized and understood that each system may also include other devices, components, modules, etc., and / or may not include all the devices, components, modules, etc. discussed with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, combinations of these solutions may also be used.

[0145] (3) Embodiments disclosed in this application are not limited to the listed message names and may be replaced with other message names. It should be recognized and understood that the relevant information contained in a message may sometimes be alternatively carried by another message. This is not limited in this application document.

[0146] Embodiments of this application provide an edge application server discovery method. In this method, the S-EES can receive a first message from the T-EES, and the first message can be used to determine at least one EAS, and at least one EAS corresponds to a first application. To effectively ensure that the discovered EAS can provide services for the first application in the terminal, the EAS corresponding to the first application can be discovered in the EAS discovery procedure.

[0147] Optionally, the first message further indicates the correspondence between at least one EAS and the first application. In this implementation, note that the T-EES can obtain the application identifier of the first application and / or the corresponding EAS bundle identifier, and based on the application identifier and / or the EAS bundle identifier, the T-EES can determine the EAS corresponding to the first application from the EAS associated with the T-EES. Therefore, since the T-EES can indicate the correspondence between at least one EAS and the first application through the first message, the S-EES can directly determine the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the first message. In other words, the T-EES can determine the EAS corresponding to the first application.

[0148] Optionally, the first message includes at least one of an application identifier corresponding to the EAS and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS. In this implementation, it should be noted that the T-EES does not need to determine the EAS corresponding to the first application, and can directly send the application identifier and / or the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the T-EES to the S-EES. When receiving the application identifier and / or the EAS bundle identifier, the S-EES can determine the EAS corresponding to the first application from the EAS associated with the T-EES based on the application identifier and / or the EAS bundle identifier. In other words, the S-EES can determine the EAS corresponding to the first application.

[0149] Optionally, the first message may include at least one of an EAS discovery response message, an EAS discovery subscription response message, an EAS discovery subscription update response message, or a service discovery response message. The specific bearer message is not limited. For ease of explanation, in the following embodiments, an example where the first message is an EAS discovery response message is used for the explanation.

[0150] FIGS. 3A and 3B are schematic flowcharts of an edge application server discovery method according to an embodiment of the present application. Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B, related embodiments in which the T-EES determines the EAS corresponding to the first application will be described in detail. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the method may include, but is not limited to, S301 to S307.

[0151] S301: The S-EES determines at least one of the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application.

[0152] In an optional implementation, the S-EES determines the first application and determines at least one of the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application. It should be noted that in this embodiment of the present application, the application identifier of the first application is used as an example for explanation, or can be replaced by other application information (for example, application type). This is not limited. In this embodiment of the present application, the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application is used as an example for explanation, or can be replaced by other bundle information (for example, EAS bundle type) corresponding to the first application. This is not limited.

[0153] The first application is a specific application in the terminal (for example, an application in the terminal that needs to execute the current application context relocation, or an application currently served by the S-EAS). For example, it is used as an example that the first application is an application in the terminal that needs to execute the current application context relocation. The S-EES determines the first application in the terminal that needs to execute the current application context relocation when detecting an ACR event and executing the ACR.

[0154] Optionally, in some implementations, S-EES may further obtain from S-EAS at least one of the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application. For example, the method may further include step S300 where S-EAS sends an EAS discovery request message to S-EES, and this EAS discovery request message includes at least one of the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application. When S-EES receives the EAS discovery request message from S-EAS, S-EES can directly obtain at least one of the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application from the EAS discovery request message. Note that for the relevant description of determining the application identifier of the first application and / or the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application by S-EAS, reference can be made to step S301. Details will not be described again. Note that the application identifier of the first application and / or the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application may alternatively be carried in another message (e.g., an EAS subscription message). This is not limiting.

[0155] Note that the function implemented in step S300 is similar to the function implemented in step S301, and step S300 is an optional step.

[0156] S302: S-EES sends an EAS discovery request message to T-EES, and correspondingly, T-EES receives the EAS discovery request message from S-EES.

[0157] The EAS discovery request message is used to request obtaining at least one EAS from T-EES.

[0158] Optionally, the EAS discovery request message may include at least one of the following information, namely, the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application.

[0159] Optionally, the EAS discovery request message may further include EAS information of the EAS associated with the S-EES. This EAS information includes, but is not limited to, an EAS identifier, an EAS type, an EAS address, and EAS filter parameters (including at least one of a category, a service level, and an application feature, but not limited thereto).

[0160] S303: The T-EES determines the EAS corresponding to the first application based on at least one of the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application.

[0161] In an optional implementation, the T-EES determines the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the application identifier of the first application and the application identifier corresponding to the EAS in the T-EES. Specifically, the method includes the step of the T-EES comparing the application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the T-EES with the application identifier of the first application respectively. If the application identifier corresponding to the EAS is the same as or matches the application identifier of the first application, the comparison is considered successful, and the T-EES can determine that the EAS with a successful comparison corresponds to the first application, that is, the EAS with a successful comparison can provide services to the first application.

[0162] In another optional implementation, T-EES determines the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS within T-EES. Specifically speaking, this method includes the step of T-EES comparing the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with T-EES with the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application respectively. If the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS is the same as or matches the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application, the comparison is considered successful, and T-EES can determine that the EAS with a successful comparison corresponds to the first application, that is, the EAS with a successful comparison is an EAS that can provide services to the first application.

[0163] It should be noted that in some further implementations, T-EES can further determine the EAS corresponding to the first application based on both the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application. Details will not be described again.

[0164] S304: T-EES sends an EAS discovery response message to S-EES, and correspondingly, S-EES receives the EAS discovery response message from T-EES.

[0165] Optionally, the EAS discovery response message may include EAS information for at least one EAS. This EAS information may include, but is not limited to, at least one of an EAS identifier (EAS ID), an application identifier corresponding to the EAS, and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS. In another implementation, note that the EAS information may further include EAS endpoint information, such as an IP address, a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), and a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI). Note that at least one EAS is an EAS associated with the T-EES.

[0166] Optionally, the EAS discovery response message further indicates the correspondence between at least one EAS and a first application. Optionally, the EAS discovery response message may explicitly indicate the correspondence between at least one EAS and a first application. For example, the EAS discovery response message includes an EAS identifier corresponding to the application identifier of the first application. Optionally, the EAS discovery response message may implicitly indicate the correspondence between at least one EAS and a first application. For example, when the EAS discovery response message indicates that the EAS discovery is successful, at least one EAS in the EAS discovery response message corresponds to the first application. When the EAS discovery response message indicates that the EAS discovery has failed, at least one of the at least one EAS in the EAS discovery response message does not correspond to the first application.

[0167] Optionally, the EAS discovery response message may not indicate the correspondence between at least one EAS and the first application. Instead, the first indication information indicates the correspondence between at least one EAS and the first application. Details are not described in the related embodiments. Note that the first indication information may be carried in the EAS discovery response message or may be carried in another message. This is not limited.

[0168] S305: The S-EES determines the T-EAS based on the EAS discovery response message and sends the EAS information of the determined T-EAS to the S-EAS.

[0169] Note that there may be one or more EASs corresponding to the first application. When there is one EAS corresponding to the first application and the S-EES receives the EAS discovery response message, the S-EES can determine the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the EAS discovery response message, directly use that EAS as the T-EAS, and send the EAS information of the determined T-EAS to the S-EAS. When there are multiple EASs corresponding to the first application and the S-EES receives the EAS discovery response message, the S-EES determines the multiple EASs corresponding to the first application based on the EAS discovery response message and selects one EAS from the multiple EASs as the T-EAS based on a specific rule or randomly, and can send the EAS information of the determined T-EAS to the S-EAS.

[0170] Note that in some embodiments, step S305 may not be executed in this method. In other words, step S305 is optional. This is not limited.

[0171] S306: The S-EES sends the EAS discovery response message to the S-EAS. When the S-EAS receives the EAS discovery response message, it determines the T-EAS based on the EAS discovery response message.

[0172] Note that for the related description of the EAS discovery response message, reference can be made to step S304. Details will not be described again.

[0173] Note that for the related description of determining T-EAS based on the EAS discovery response message by S-EAS, reference can be made to step S305. Details will not be described again.

[0174] Note that steps S305 and S306 are parallel steps. In this method, only step S305 may be executed, step S306 may not be executed, or only step S306 may be executed and step S305 may not be executed, or steps S305 and S306 may be executed simultaneously. In other words, the function implemented in step S306 is the same as the function implemented in step S305, and step S306 is an optional step. For example, when step S300 is executed in this method, step S306 may be executed in this method.

[0175] S307: S-EAS sends the application context to T-EAS. When AC is connected to T-EAS, T-EAS determines the EAS bundle required by AC based on at least one of the application identifier of T-EAS and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to T-EAS, and invokes the EAS in the EAS bundle to provide services to AC.

[0176] Note that in some implementations, step S307 may not be executed in this method. This is not limiting.

[0177] Note that the methods in FIGS. 3A and 3B are described using an example where the first message is an EAS discovery response message. If the first message is not an EAS discovery response message, the method in FIG. 3A may not include step S302. This is not limiting.

[0178] Note that when the method of FIG. 3A does not include step S302, T-EES can obtain the application identifier of the first application and / or the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application in another way. For example, T-EES obtains the application identifier of the first application and / or the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application through an EAS subscription message. This is not limiting.

[0179] To effectively ensure that the EAS discovered in the EAS discovery procedure of the application context relocation process can provide services to the first application in the terminal, in this implementation, T-EES can determine the EAS corresponding to the first application based on at least one of the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application, and can discover the EAS corresponding to the first application in the EAS discovery procedure of the application context relocation process. Therefore, it can be found that the EAS discovery failure is avoided, the EAS discovery procedure is avoided from being repeatedly executed, the service interruption delay is reduced, and the user experience of the application is improved.

[0180] FIGS. 4A and 4B are schematic flowcharts of another edge application server discovery method according to an embodiment of the present application. Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B, related embodiments in which S-EES determines the EAS corresponding to the first application will be described in detail. As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the method may include S401 to S408, but is not limited thereto.

[0181] S401: S-EES determines at least one of the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application.

[0182] Optionally, in some implementations, S-EES may further obtain at least one of the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application from S-EAS. For example, the method may further include step S400 in which S-EAS sends an EAS discovery request message to S-EES, and this EAS discovery request message includes at least one of the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application. When S-EES receives the EAS discovery request message from S-EAS, S-EES can directly obtain at least one of the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application from the EAS discovery request message. For related descriptions, refer to step S300 and / or step S301. Details will not be described again. Note that the function implemented in step S400 is similar to the function implemented in step S401, and step S400 is an optional step.

[0183] S402: S-EES sends an EAS discovery request message to T-EES, and correspondingly, T-EES receives the EAS discovery request message from S-EES.

[0184] The EAS discovery request message is used to request to obtain at least one EAS from T-EES.

[0185] Optionally, the EAS discovery request message includes the EAS information of the EAS associated with S-EES. For related descriptions of the EAS information, refer to step S302. Details will not be described again.

[0186] S403: T-EES sends an EAS discovery response message to S-EES, and correspondingly, S-EES receives the EAS discovery response message from T-EES.

[0187] Optionally, the EAS discovery response message includes EAS information of at least one EAS. For the related description of the EAS information, please refer to step S304. Details will not be described again. Note that at least one EAS is an EAS associated with the T-EES.

[0188] Optionally, the EAS discovery response message includes at least one of an application identifier corresponding to the EAS and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS. Note that in some implementations, at least one of the application identifier corresponding to the EAS and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS may also be carried in the EAS information. This is not limited. Note that the EAS refers to an EAS associated with the T-EES.

[0189] S404: The S-EES determines the EAS corresponding to the first application from at least one EAS based on at least one of the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application.

[0190] At least one EAS is an EAS associated with the T-EES.

[0191] Note that for the related description of step S404, step S303 can be referred to. Details will not be described again.

[0192] S405: The S-EES determines the T-EAS and sends the EAS information of the determined T-EAS to the S-EAS.

[0193] Note that there may be one or more EASs corresponding to the first application. When the S-EES determines, using step S404, that there is one EAS corresponding to the first application, the S-EES can directly use that EAS as the T-EAS and send the EAS information of the determined T-EAS to the S-EAS. When the S-EES determines, using step S404, that there are multiple EASs corresponding to the first application, the S-EES can select one EAS from the multiple EASs as the T-EAS based on a specific rule or randomly, and send the EAS information of the determined T-EAS to the S-EAS.

[0194] S406: The S-EAS determines the T-EAS.

[0195] Note that there may be one or more EASs corresponding to the first application. When the S-EES determines, using step S404, that there is one EAS corresponding to the first application, the S-EES can send the EAS information of that EAS to the S-EAS, and the S-EAS can directly use that EAS as the T-EAS. When the S-EES determines, using step S404, that there are multiple EASs corresponding to the first application, the S-EES can send the EAS information of the multiple EASs to the S-EAS. When receiving the EAS information of the multiple EASs, the S-EAS can select one EAS from the multiple EASs as the T-EAS based on a specific rule or randomly.

[0196] Note that when the S-EAS receives the EAS information of the T-EAS, the S-EAS can determine the T-EAS based on the EAS information of the T-EAS received by the S-EAS.

[0197] Note that in some optional implementations, step S406 is an optional step. For example, when step S400 is executed in this method, step S406 is executed in this method. When step S400 is not executed in this method, step S406 is not executed.

[0198] S407: The S-EES sends an EAS discovery response message to the S-EAS. When the S-EAS receives the EAS discovery response message, the S-EAS determines the EAS corresponding to the first application and determines the T-EAS based on the EAS discovery response message.

[0199] Note that for the related description of the EAS discovery response message, reference can be made to step S403. Details will not be described again.

[0200] Note that for the related description of the S-EAS determining the T-EAS based on the EAS discovery response message, reference can be made to step S404. Details will not be described again. Note that the function implemented in step S407 is the same as the functions implemented in steps S404 to S406, and step S407 is an optional step. For example, if the S-EES cannot determine the application identifier corresponding to the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application, step S404 cannot be executed. In this case, in this method, step S407 may be executed to determine the EAS corresponding to the first application.

[0201] Note that when step S407 is executed in this method, steps S400 and / or step S401 may not be executed. Specifically, when steps S400 and / or step S401 are not executed, the S-EES can directly send at least one of the application identifiers corresponding to the EAS and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS, which are sent by the T-EES, to the S-EAS, and the S-EAS determines the T-EAS.

[0202] S408: The S-EAS sends the application context to the T-EAS. When the AC is connected to the T-EAS, the T-EAS determines the EAS bundle required by the AC based on at least one of the application identifier of the T-EAS and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the T-EAS, and invokes the EAS within the EAS bundle to provide services to the AC.

[0203] Note that in some implementations, step S408 may not be executed in this method. This is not limiting.

[0204] Note that the methods of FIGS. 4A and 4B are described using an example where the first message is an EAS discovery response message. If the first message is not an EAS discovery response message, the method of FIG. 4A may not include step S402. This is not limiting.

[0205] To effectively ensure that the EAS discovered in the EAS discovery procedure of the application context relocation process can provide services to the first application in the terminal, in this implementation, the S-EES can determine the EAS corresponding to the first application based on at least one of the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application, and discover the EAS corresponding to the first application in the EAS discovery procedure of the application context relocation process. Therefore, it can be found that the EAS discovery failure is avoided, the EAS discovery procedure is avoided from being repeatedly executed, the service interruption delay is reduced, and the user experience of the application is improved.

[0206] Note that the methods of FIGS. 3A and 3B and the methods of FIGS. 4A and 4B are parallel solutions. Only the methods of FIGS. 3A and 3B may be executed, or only the methods of FIGS. 4A and 4B may be executed, or both the methods of FIGS. 3A and 3B and the methods of FIGS. 4A and 4B may be executed. This is not limited in this application.

[0207] Embodiments of the present application further provide another method for discovering an edge application server. In order to effectively ensure that the EAS associated with the EES discovered in the EES discovery procedure can provide services to the first application in the terminal, in this method, the S-EES can receive a second message from the ECS, and the second message can be used to determine at least one EES, and the EAS associated with at least one EES corresponds to the first application.

[0208] Optionally, the second message further indicates the correspondence between the first application and the EAS associated with at least one EES. In this implementation, it should be noted that the ECS can obtain the application identifier of the first application and / or the corresponding EAS bundle identifier, and based on the application identifier and / or the EAS bundle identifier, it can determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application. Therefore, since the ECS can indicate the correspondence between the EAS associated with at least one EES and the first application in the second message, the S-EES can directly determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the second message. In other words, the ECS can determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application.

[0209] Optionally, the second message includes at least one of an application identifier corresponding to an EAS associated with at least one EES and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to an EAS associated with at least one EES. In this implementation, it should be noted that the ECS does not need to determine the EAS corresponding to the first application, and the application identifier and / or the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES on the ECS can be directly sent to the S-EES. When receiving the application identifier and / or the EAS bundle identifier, the S-EES can determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application from the EES on the ECS based on the application identifier and / or the EAS bundle identifier. In other words, the S-EES can determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application.

[0210] Optionally, the second message may include at least one of an EES discovery response message, an EES discovery subscription response message, an EES discovery subscription update response message, or a service discovery response message. The specific bearer message is not limited. For ease of explanation, in the following embodiments, an example where the second message is an EES discovery response message is used for the explanation.

[0211] FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of still another edge application server discovery method according to an embodiment of the present application. Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 5, related embodiments in which the ECS determines the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 5, the method may include, but is not limited to, S501 to S505.

[0212] S501: The S-EES determines at least one of the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application.

[0213] Optionally, in some implementations, the S-EES may further obtain at least one of the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application from the S-EAS. For example, the method may further include step S500 in which the S-EAS sends an EAS discovery request message to the S-EES, and this EAS discovery request message includes at least one of the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application. When the S-EES receives the EAS discovery request message from the S-EAS, the S-EES can directly obtain at least one of the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application from the EAS discovery request message. For related explanations, refer to step S300 and / or step S301. Details will not be described again. Note that the function implemented in step S500 is similar to the function implemented in step S501, and step S500 is an optional step.

[0214] S502: The S-EES sends an EES discovery request message to the ECS, and correspondingly, the ECS receives the EES discovery request message from the S-EES.

[0215] The EES discovery request message is used to request to obtain at least one EES from the ECS.

[0216] Optionally, the EES discovery request message includes at least one of the following information, namely, the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application.

[0217] Optionally, the EES discovery request message may further include the EAS information of the EAS associated with the S-EES. For the related description of the EAS information, please refer to step S302. Details will not be described again.

[0218] Optionally, the EES discovery request message may further include the terminal identifier of the terminal associated with the S-EES.

[0219] S503: The ECS determines the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application based on at least one of the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application. In one implementation of optional selection, the ECS determines the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the application identifier of the first application and the application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES. Specifically stated, the method includes the step of the ECS comparing the application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES on the ECS with the application identifier of the first application respectively. If the application identifier corresponding to the EAS is the same as or matches the application identifier of the first application, the comparison is considered successful, and the ECS determines that the EAS with a successful comparison corresponds to the first application, and can determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application, that is, the EES corresponding to the first application. In other words, the EAS associated with the EES is an EAS that can provide services to the first application.

[0220] In another optional implementation, the ECS determines the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES. Specifically stated, the method includes the step of the ECS comparing the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES on the ECS with the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application respectively. If the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS is the same as or matches the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application, the comparison is considered successful, and the ECS determines that the EAS with a successful comparison corresponds to the first application, and can determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application, that is, the EES corresponding to the first application. In other words, the EAS associated with the EES is an EAS that can provide services to the first application.

[0221] Note that in some implementations, the ECS can further determine the EAS corresponding to the first application based on both the application identifier of the first application and the corresponding EAS bundle identifier. Details will not be described again.

[0222] Note that the "EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application" described in this embodiment of the present application may also be referred to as the "EES corresponding to the first application". This is not limiting.

[0223] S504: The ECS sends an EES discovery response message to the S-EES. Correspondingly, the S-EES receives the EES discovery response message from the ECS.

[0224] Optionally, the EES discovery response message may include EES information of at least one EES. The EES information includes, but is not limited to, an EES identifier (EES ID), EAS information of an EAS associated with the EES, etc. The EAS information includes at least one of an EAS identifier (EAS ID), an application identifier corresponding to the EAS, and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS, but is not limited thereto. Note that for other descriptions of the EAS information, reference can be made to step S304. Details will not be described again. Optionally, the application identifier and / or the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS may alternatively be directly carried in the EES discovery response message or the EES information. This is not limiting.

[0225] Optionally, the EES discovery response message further indicates the correspondence between the first application and the EAS associated with at least one EES. Optionally, the EES discovery response message may explicitly indicate the correspondence between the first application and the EAS associated with at least one EES. For example, the EES discovery response message includes an EAS identifier corresponding to the application identifier of the first application and an EES identifier corresponding to the EAS identifier. Optionally, the EES discovery response message may implicitly indicate the correspondence between the first application and the EAS associated with at least one EES. For example, when the EES discovery response message indicates that the EES discovery is successful, at least one EES in the EES discovery response message is an EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application. When the EES discovery response message indicates that the EES discovery has failed, none of the at least one EAS in the EES discovery response message is an EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application.

[0226] Optionally, the EES discovery response message may not indicate the correspondence between the first application and the EAS associated with at least one EES. Instead, the second indication information indicates the correspondence between the first application and the EAS associated with at least one EES. Details are not described in related embodiments. Note that the second indication information may be carried in the EES discovery response message or may be carried in another message. This is not limiting.

[0227] Note that at least one EES is an EES on the ECS.

[0228] S505: The S-EES determines the T-EES based on the EES discovery response message.

[0229] Note that there may be one or more EESs associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application. When there is one EES and the S-EES receives the EES discovery response message, the S-EES determines the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the EES discovery response message and can directly use that EES as the T-EES. When there are multiple EESs and the S-EES receives the EES discovery response message, the S-EES determines the multiple EESs associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the EES discovery response message and can select one EES from the multiple EESs as the T-EES based on a specific rule or randomly.

[0230] Note that the method of FIG. 5 is described using an example where the second message is the EES discovery response message. If the second message is not the EES discovery response message, the method of FIG. 5 may not include step S502. This is not limiting.

[0231] Note that when the method of FIG. 5 does not include step S502, the ECS can obtain the application identifier of the first application or the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application in another way. For example, the ECS obtains the application identifier of the first application or the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application through an EAS subscription message. This is not limited.

[0232] To effectively ensure that the EAS on the EES discovered in the EES discovery procedure of the application context relocation process can provide services to the first application in the terminal, in this implementation, the ECS can determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application based on at least one of the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application, and can discover the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application in the EES discovery procedure of the application context relocation process. Therefore, it can be found that the EES discovery failure is avoided, the repeated execution of the EES discovery procedure is avoided, the service interruption delay is reduced, and the user experience of the application is improved. In addition, since it can also be effectively ensured that the EAS discovered in the EAS discovery procedure of the application context relocation process can provide services to the first application in the terminal, the EAS discovery failure is avoided, the repeated execution of the EAS discovery procedure is avoided, the service interruption delay is reduced, and the usage experience of the application is improved.

[0233] FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart of still another edge application server discovery method according to an embodiment of the present application. Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 6, related embodiments in which the S-EES determines the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 6, the method may include, but is not limited to, S601 to S604.

[0234] S601: The S-EES determines at least one of the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application.

[0235] Optionally, in some implementations, the S-EES may further obtain at least one of the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application from the S-EAS. For example, the method may further include step S600 in which the S-EAS sends an EAS discovery request message to the S-EES, and this EAS discovery request message includes at least one of the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application. When the S-EES receives the EAS discovery request message from the S-EAS, the S-EES can directly obtain at least one of the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application from the EAS discovery request message. For related explanations, refer to step S300 and / or step S301. Details will not be described again. Note that the function implemented in step S600 is similar to the function implemented in step S601, and step S600 is an optional step. S602: The S-EES sends an EES discovery request message to the ECS, and correspondingly, the ECS receives the EES discovery request message from the S-EES.

[0236] The EES discovery request message is used to request to obtain at least one EES from the ECS.

[0237] Optionally, the EES discovery request message may further include the EAS information of the EAS associated with the S-EES. For related explanations of the EAS information, refer to step S302. Details will not be described again.

[0238] Optionally, the EES discovery request message may further include the terminal identifier of the terminal associated with the S-EES.

[0239] S603: The ECS sends an EES discovery response message to the S-EES, and correspondingly, the S-EES receives the EAS discovery response message from the ECS.

[0240] Optionally, the EES discovery response message includes at least one of the application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with at least one EES and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with at least one EES. Note that in another implementation, the application identifier and / or the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with at least one EES may be further carried in the EES information or the EAS information. This is not limited. Note that at least one EES is the EES on the ECS.

[0241] S604: The S-EES determines, based on at least one of the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application, the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application from at least one EES, and determines the T-EES.

[0242] In an optional implementation, the S-EES determines the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the application identifier of the first application and the application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with at least one EES. In another optional implementation, the S-EES determines the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with at least one EES. For related explanations, please refer to step S503. Details will not be explained again.

[0243] Note that the "EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application" described in this embodiment of the present application may also be referred to as the "EES corresponding to the first application". This is not limiting.

[0244] At least one EES is an EES on the ECS.

[0245] Note that there may be one or more EESs associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application. If the S-EES determines that there is one EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application, the S-EES can directly use that EES as the T-EES. If the S-EES determines that there are multiple EESs associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application, the S-EES can select one EES from the multiple EESs as the T-EES based on specific rules or randomly.

[0246] Note that the method of FIG. 6 is described using an example where the second message is an EES discovery response message. If the second message is not an EES discovery response message, the method of FIG. 6 may not include step S601. This is not limiting.

[0247] To effectively ensure that the EAS on the EES discovered in the EES discovery procedure of the application context relocation process can provide services to the first application in the terminal, in this implementation, the S-EES can determine, based on at least one of the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application, an EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application from at least one EES, discover the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application in the EES discovery procedure of the application context relocation process, therefore, the EES discovery failure is avoided, the repeated execution of the EES discovery procedure is avoided, the service interruption delay is reduced, and it can be found that the usage experience of the application is improved. In addition, it can also effectively ensure that the EAS discovered in the EAS discovery procedure of the application context relocation process can provide services to the first application in the terminal, so the EAS discovery failure is avoided, the repeated execution of the EAS discovery procedure is avoided, the service interruption delay is reduced, and the usage experience of the application is improved.

[0248] Note that the method of FIG. 5 and the method of FIG. 6 are parallel solutions. Only the method of FIG. 5 may be executed, or only the method of FIG. 6 may be executed, or both the method of FIG. 5 and the method of FIG. 6 may be executed. This is not limited in this application.

[0249] Note that the method of FIG. 5 and the method of FIG. 6 can be further used in combination with the methods of FIGS. 3A and 3B and the method of FIG. 6, respectively. For example, the method of FIG. 5 may be used in combination with the methods of FIGS. 3A and 3B. The EES discovery procedure of the application context relocation process of FIG. 5 is first executed, and then the EAS discovery procedure of the application context relocation processes of FIGS. 3A and 3B is executed. As another example, the method of FIG. 6 may be used in combination with the methods of FIGS. 4A and 4B. The EES discovery procedure of the application context relocation process of FIG. 6 is first executed, and then the EAS discovery procedure of the application context relocation processes of FIGS. 4A and 4B is executed. As another example, the method of FIG. 6 may be used in combination with the methods of FIGS. 3A and 3B. The EES discovery procedure of the application context relocation process of FIG. 6 is first executed, and then the EAS discovery procedure of the application context relocation processes of FIGS. 3A and 3B is executed.

[0250] Embodiments of the present application further provide yet another edge application server discovery method. This method can be applied to the initial EES discovery procedure. In order to effectively ensure that the EAS associated with the EES discovered in the initial EES discovery procedure can provide services to a second application in the terminal, in this method, the EEC can receive a third message from the ECS, and the third message can be used to determine at least one EES.

[0251] Optionally, the third message further indicates the correspondence between the second application and an EAS associated with at least one EES. In this implementation, note that the ECS can obtain the application identifier of the second application and / or the corresponding EAS bundle identifier, and based on the application identifier and / or the EAS bundle identifier, can determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application. Therefore, since the ECS can indicate the correspondence between the second application and the EAS associated with at least one EES in the third message, the EEC can directly determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application based on the third message. In other words, the ECS can determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application.

[0252] Optionally, the third message includes at least one of the application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with at least one EES and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with at least one EES. In this implementation, note that the ECS does not need to determine the EAS corresponding to the second application, and can directly send the application identifier and / or the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES on the ECS to the EEC. When receiving the application identifier and / or the EAS bundle identifier, the EEC can determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application from the EES on the ECS based on the application identifier and / or the EAS bundle identifier. In other words, the EEC can determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application.

[0253] Optionally, the third message may include at least one of an edge computing platform discovery response message, an edge computing platform discovery subscription response message, an edge computing platform discovery subscription update response message, and a service discovery response message. For ease of explanation, in the following embodiments, an example where the third message is an edge computing platform discovery response message is used for the explanation.

[0254] FIG. 7 is a schematic flowchart of yet another edge application server discovery method according to an embodiment of the present application. Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 7, related embodiments in which the ECS determines the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 7, the method may include, but is not limited to, S701 to S705.

[0255] S701: The EEC determines at least one of an application identifier of the second application and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the second application.

[0256] The second application is any application in the terminal. Note that the second application may be the same as or different from the first application.

[0257] S702: The EEC sends an edge computing platform discovery request message to the ECS, and correspondingly, the ECS receives the edge computing platform discovery request message from the EEC.

[0258] The edge computing platform discovery request message is used to request to obtain at least one EES from the ECS.

[0259] Optionally, the edge computing platform discovery request message includes at least one of the following information, namely, the application identifier of the second application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the second application. Note that the application identifier of the second application and / or the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the second application may be directly carried in the edge computing platform discovery request message, or may be carried in the application message of the second application within the edge computing platform discovery request message.

[0260] Optionally, the edge computing platform discovery request message may further include an EAS identifier.

[0261] S703: The ECS determines the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application based on at least one of the application identifier of the second application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the second application.

[0262] In an optional implementation, the ECS determines the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application based on the application identifier of the second application and the application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES on the ECS. In another optional implementation, the ECS determines the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application based on the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the second application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES on the ECS. For related explanations, refer to step S503. Details will not be described again.

[0263] Note that the "EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application" described in this embodiment of the present application may also be referred to as the "EES corresponding to the second application". This is not limiting. S704: The ECS sends an edge computing platform discovery response message to the EEC, and correspondingly, the EEC receives the edge computing platform discovery response message from the ECS.

[0264] Optionally, the edge computing platform discovery response message may include EES information of at least one EES. The EES information includes, but is not limited to, an EES identifier (EES ID), EAS information of the EAS associated with the EES, etc. The EAS information includes, but is not limited to, at least one of an EAS identifier (EAS ID), an application identifier corresponding to the EAS, and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS. Note that for other descriptions of the EAS information, reference can be made to step S304. Details will not be described again. Optionally, the application identifier and / or the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS may alternatively be directly carried in the edge computing platform discovery response message or the EES information. This is not limiting.

[0265] Optionally, the edge computing platform discovery response message further indicates the correspondence between the second application and the EAS associated with at least one EES. Optionally, the edge computing platform discovery response message may explicitly indicate the correspondence between the second application and the EAS associated with at least one EES. For example, the edge computing platform discovery response message includes an EAS identifier corresponding to the application identifier of the second application and an EES identifier corresponding to the EAS identifier. Optionally, the edge computing platform discovery response message may implicitly indicate the correspondence between the second application and the EAS associated with at least one EES. For example, if the edge computing platform discovery response message indicates that the EES discovery is successful, at least one EES in the edge computing platform discovery response message is an EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application. If the edge computing platform discovery response message indicates that the EES discovery fails, none of the at least one EAS in the edge computing platform discovery response message is an EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application.

[0266] Optionally, the edge computing platform discovery response message may not indicate the correspondence between the EAS associated with at least one EES and the second application. Instead, the third indication information indicates the correspondence between the second application and the EAS associated with at least one EES. Details are not described in the related embodiments. Note that the third indication information may be carried in the edge computing platform discovery response message or may be carried in another message. This is not limiting.

[0267] Note that at least one EES is an EES on the ECS.

[0268] S705: The EEC determines an EES associated with an EAS corresponding to a second application based on an edge computing platform discovery response message.

[0269] Note that in some embodiments, step S705 may not be executed in this method. This is not limiting.

[0270] Note that the method of FIG. 7 is described using an example in which the third message is an edge computing platform discovery response message. If the third message is not an edge computing platform discovery response message, the method of FIG. 7 may not include step S702. This is not limiting.

[0271] Note that when the method of FIG. 7 does not include step S702, the ECS can obtain the application identifier of the second application or the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the second application in another way. For example, the ECS obtains the application identifier of the second application or the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the second application through an EAS subscription message. This is not limiting.

[0272] To effectively ensure that the EAS associated with the EES discovered in the initial EES discovery procedure can provide services to the second application in the terminal, in this implementation, the ECS can determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application based on at least one of the application identifier of the second application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the second application. Therefore, it can be known that the EES discovery failure is avoided, the EES discovery procedure is avoided from being repeatedly executed, the service interruption delay is reduced, and the usage experience of the application is improved. In addition, since it can also effectively ensure that the EAS discovered in the initial EAS discovery procedure can provide services to the second application in the terminal, the EAS discovery failure is avoided, the EAS discovery procedure is avoided from being repeatedly executed, the service interruption delay is reduced, and the usage experience of the application is improved.

[0273] FIG. 8 is a schematic flowchart of still another edge application server discovery method according to an embodiment of the present application. Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 8, related embodiments in which the EEC determines the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 8, the method may include, but is not limited to, S801 to S804.

[0274] S801: The EEC determines at least one of the application identifier of the second application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the second application.

[0275] It should be noted that for related descriptions, reference can be made to step S701. Details will not be described again.

[0276] S802: The EEC sends an edge computing platform discovery request message to the ECS. Correspondingly, the ECS receives the edge computing platform discovery request message from the EEC.

[0277] The edge computing platform discovery request message is used to request obtaining at least one EES from the ECS.

[0278] Optionally, the EES discovery request message may further include an EAS identifier.

[0279] S803: The ECS sends an edge computing platform discovery response message to the EEC, and correspondingly, the EEC receives the edge computing platform discovery response message from the ECS.

[0280] Optionally, the edge computing platform discovery response message includes at least one of an application identifier corresponding to an EAS associated with at least one EES and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to an EAS associated with at least one EES. Note that in another implementation, the application identifier and / or the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to an EAS associated with at least one EES may be further carried by the EES information or the EAS information. This is not limited. Note that at least one EES is an EES on the ECS.

[0281] S804: The EEC determines an EES associated with an EAS corresponding to a second application from at least one EES based on at least one of an application identifier of the second application and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the second application.

[0282] In an optional implementation, the EEC determines the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application based on the application identifier of the second application and the application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with at least one EES. In another optional implementation, the EEC determines the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application based on the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the second application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with at least one EES. For related explanations, please refer to step S503. Details will not be described again.

[0283] Note that the "EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application" described in this embodiment of the present application may sometimes be referred to as the "EES corresponding to the second application". This is not limiting.

[0284] At least one EES is an EES on the ECS.

[0285] Note that the method in FIG. 8 is described using an example where the third message is an edge computing platform discovery response message. If the third message is not an edge computing platform discovery response message, the method in FIG. 8 may not include step S802. This is not limiting.

[0286] To effectively ensure that the EAS associated with the EES discovered in the initial EES discovery procedure can provide services to the first application, in this implementation, the EEC can determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application based on at least one of the application identifier of the second application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the second application, and can discover the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application in the initial EES discovery procedure. Therefore, it can be found that the EES discovery obstacle is avoided, the EES discovery procedure is avoided from being repeatedly executed, the service interruption delay is reduced, and the usage experience of the application is improved. In addition, since it can also be effectively guaranteed that the EAS discovered in the initial EAS discovery procedure can provide services to the first application in the terminal, the EAS discovery obstacle is avoided, the EAS discovery procedure is avoided from being repeatedly executed, the service interruption delay is reduced, and the usage experience of the application is improved.

[0287] Note that the method of FIG. 7 and the method of FIG. 8 are parallel solutions. Only the method of FIG. 7 may be executed, or only the method of FIG. 8 may be executed, or both the method of FIG. 7 and the method of FIG. 8 may be executed. This is not limited in this application.

[0288] Note that the method of FIG. 7 and the method of FIG. 8 can be further used in combination with at least one of the methods from FIGS. 3A and 3B to the method of FIG. 6. For example, the method of FIG. 7 may be used in combination with the methods of FIGS. 3A and 3B and the method of FIG. 5. The first EES discovery procedure of FIG. 7 is first executed, then the EES discovery procedure of the application context relocation process of FIG. 5 is executed, and finally the EAS discovery procedure of the application context relocation process shown in FIG. 5 is executed. As another example, the method shown in FIG. 8 may be used in combination with the methods shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B and the method shown in FIG. 6. The first EES discovery procedure of FIG. 8 is first executed, then the EES discovery procedure in the application context relocation process of FIG. 6 is executed, and finally the EAS discovery procedure in the application context relocation processes of FIGS. 3A and 3B is executed.

[0289] FIG. 9 is a schematic flowchart of yet another edge application server discovery method. In this method, the EAS can upload information about the application for which the EAS can provide services to the EES. The method of FIG. 9 can be used in combination with at least one of the methods from FIGS. 3A and 3B to the method of FIG. 8. As shown in FIG. 9, this method may include, but is not limited to, S901 to S903.

[0290] S901: The EAS sends a fourth EAS message to the EES, and correspondingly, the EES receives the fourth message from the EAS.

[0291] Optionally, the fourth message may include EAS information, which may include, but is not limited to, at least one of an application identifier corresponding to the EAS and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS. Note that in some implementations, the EAS information may further include an EAS identifier, an EAS address, an EAS type, an EAS feature, etc. This is not limiting. Note that in some implementations, the application identifier corresponding to the EAS and / or the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS may alternatively be directly carried in the fourth message. This is not limiting.

[0292] Note that the EAS can be any EAS. For example, the EAS can be an S-EAS. The S-EAS can send the fourth message to the S-EES, and correspondingly, the S-EES can receive the fourth message from the S-EAS. As another example, the EAS can also be a T-EAS. The T-EAS can send the fourth message to the T-EES, and correspondingly, the T-EES can receive the fourth message from the T-EAS.

[0293] Note that at least one EAS may exist.

[0294] Optionally, the fourth message may be an EAS registration request message. When the EES receives an EAS registration request message from at least one EAS, this method may further include S902.

[0295] S902: The EES separately sends a corresponding EAS registration response message to the EAS, and correspondingly, the EAS receives the EAS registration response message from the EES.

[0296] Optionally, the EAS registration response message may include the registration result of the EAS, and this registration result indicates whether the EAS registration was successful or failed. Optionally, when the registration result indicates that the EAS registration failed, the EAS registration response message may further include the cause of the registration failure.

[0297] Note that in some implementations, the information about the EAS on the EES may alternatively be configured by the network management system or may be pre-configured. This is not limiting. In this case, the EAS can send a registration request message to the EES.

[0298] In some implementations, the method may further include step S903 where the EES determines whether the EAS bundle corresponding to the EAS is included in the EAS associated with the EES.

[0299] In an optional implementation, if the EAS bundle corresponding to the EAS is not included in the EAS associated with the EES, the EES updates the application identifier corresponding to the EAS, and the EAS bundle corresponding to the updated application is included in the EAS associated with the EES.

[0300] In an optional implementation, if the EAS bundle corresponding to the EAS is not included in the EAS associated with the EES, the EES sends an EAS query request message to another EES other than the EES. This EAS query request message includes the EAS identifier of each EAS in the target EAS bundle. There are EASs other than the EAS associated with the EES in the target EAS bundle, and the EES receives an EAS query response message from the other EES.

[0301] Optionally, the EAS query response message may include the query result of the EAS, and this query result can indicate that the EAS query was successful or that the EAS query failed.

[0302] Optionally, the EAS query response message may alternatively include queryable EAS information (e.g., EAS identifier).

[0303] Note that the EAS associated with the EES may alternatively be replaced by the EAS within the EDN or the EAS within a specific range. This is not limited.

[0304] In this implementation, since the EAS can upload the EAS information to the EES with the fourth piece of information, it can be found that the EES obtains the EAS information of the EAS associated with the EES and then executes at least one of the first EES discovery procedure, the first EAS discovery procedure, the EES discovery procedure of the application context relocation process, and the EAS discovery procedure of the application context relocation process. In addition, the EES can further determine whether the EAS associated with the EES can support the application required by the application corresponding to the EAS based on the EAS bundle required by the application corresponding to the EAS, and trigger the EAS to update the EAS information, that is, the EAS can be triggered to update the application that can actually provide services within the EAS range. In this way, the correspondence between the EAS and the application is guaranteed.

[0305] Figure 10 is a schematic flowchart of yet another edge application server discovery method. In this method, the EES can upload the information about the application that the EAS associated with the EES can provide services to the ECS. The method in Figure 10 can be used in combination with at least one of the methods in Figures 3A and 3B to the method in Figure 9. As shown in Figure 10, Figure 10 may include, but is not limited to, S1001 and S1002.

[0306] S1001: The EES sends the fifth EES message to the ECS, and correspondingly, the ECS receives the fifth message from the EES.

[0307] Optionally, the fifth message may include, but is not limited to, EES information. This EES information may include, but is not limited to, the EAS information of the EAS associated with the EES. This EAS information may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the application identifier corresponding to the EAS and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS. Note that in some implementations, the EES information may further include an EES identifier. This is not limiting. Note that in some implementations, the EAS information may further include an EAS identifier. This is not limiting.

[0308] Note that in some implementations, the application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES and / or the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES may alternatively be directly carried in the fifth message. This is not limiting.

[0309] Note that the EES can be any EES. For example, the EES can be an S-EES. The S-EES can send the fifth message to the ECS, and correspondingly, the ECS can receive the fifth message from the S-EES. As another example, the EES can also be a T-EES. The T-EES sends the fifth message to the ECS, and correspondingly, the ECS receives the fifth message from the T-EES.

[0310] Note that at least one EES may exist.

[0311] Optionally, the fifth message may be an EES registration request message. When the ECS receives an EES registration request message from at least one EES, this method may further include S1002.

[0312] S1002: The ECS separately sends the corresponding EES registration response message to the EES, and correspondingly, the EES receives the EES registration response message from the ECS.

[0313] Optionally, the EES registration response message includes the registration result of the EES, which indicates whether the EES registration was successful or failed. Optionally, when the registration result indicates that the EES registration failed, the EES registration response message may further include the cause of the registration failure.

[0314] Note that in some implementations, the EES information on the ECS may be alternatively configured or pre-configured by the network management system. This is not limited. In this case, the EES can send a registration request message to the ECS.

[0315] In this implementation, since the EES can upload the EES information to the ECS in the fifth message, it can be found that the ECS obtains the EAS information associated with each EES and then executes at least one of the first EES discovery procedure, the first EAS discovery procedure, the EES discovery procedure of the application context relocation process, and the EAS discovery procedure of the application context relocation process.

[0316] To implement the functions of the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the S-EES, T-EES, ECS, S-EAS, EAS, or EES may include a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure and a software module for implementing the foregoing functions in combination. Whether one of the foregoing functions is executed using a hardware structure, a software module, or a combination of a hardware structure and a software module depends on the specific use of the technical solution and the design constraints.

[0317] As shown in FIG. 11, one embodiment of the present application provides an edge application server discovery device 1100. The device 1100 may be a component (e.g., an integrated circuit or chip) of S-EES, T-EES, ECS, S-EAS, EEC, EAS, or EES. Alternatively, the device 1100 may be another communication unit configured to implement the method in an embodiment of the method of the present application. The device 1100 may include a communication unit 1101 and a processing unit 1102. The processing unit 1102 is configured to control the communication unit 1101 to perform transmission and reception of data / signaling. Optionally, the device 1100 may further include a storage unit 1103.

[0318] In one possible design, the communication unit 1101 is configured to receive a first message from the T-EES, and the first message is used to determine the EAS, and at least one EAS corresponds to the first application.

[0319] In an optional implementation, the first message further indicates the correspondence between at least one EAS and the first application.

[0320] In an optional implementation, the first message includes at least one of an application identifier corresponding to the EAS and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0321] In an optional implementation, after the communication unit 1101 is configured to receive the first message from the T-EES, the processing unit 1102 is further configured to determine, from at least one EAS, the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the application identifier of the first application and the application identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0322] In an optional implementation, after the communication unit 1101 is configured to receive a first message from the T-EES, the processing unit 1102 is further configured to determine, from at least one EAS, the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0323] In an optional implementation, before the communication unit 1101 is configured to receive a first message from the T-EES, the communication unit 1101 is further configured to send an EAS discovery request message to the T-EES, where the EAS discovery request message is used to request to obtain at least one EAS from the T-EES, and the first message is an EAS discovery response message.

[0324] In an optional implementation, the EAS discovery request message includes at least one of the following information, namely, the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application.

[0325] In an optional implementation, before the communication unit 1101 is configured to send an EAS discovery request message to the T-EES, the communication unit 1101 is further configured to receive a second message from the ECS, where the second message is used to determine at least one EES, the EAS associated with at least one EES corresponds to the first application, at least one EES corresponds to the first application, and at least one EES includes the T-EES.

[0326] In an optional implementation, the second message further indicates the correspondence between the first application and at least one EAS associated with the EES.

[0327] In an optional implementation, the second message includes at least one of an application identifier corresponding to an EAS associated with at least one EES and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to an EAS associated with at least one EES.

[0328] In an optional implementation, after the communication unit 1101 is configured to receive the second message from the ECS, the processing unit 1102 is further configured to determine, from at least one EES, an EES associated with an EAS corresponding to the first application based on an application identifier of the first application and an application identifier corresponding to an EAS associated with the EES.

[0329] In an optional implementation, after the communication unit 1101 is configured to receive the second message from the ECS, the processing unit 1102 is further configured to determine, from at least one EES, an EES associated with an EAS corresponding to the first application based on an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to an EAS associated with the EES.

[0330] In an optional implementation, before the communication unit 1101 is configured to receive the second message from the ECS, the communication unit 1101 is further configured to send an EES discovery request message to the ECS, where the EES discovery request message is used to request to obtain at least one EES from the ECS, and the second message is an EES discovery response message.

[0331] In an optional implementation, the EES discovery request message includes at least one of the following information, namely, an application identifier of the first application and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application.

[0332] In an optional implementation, before the communication unit 1101 is configured to send an EAS discovery request message to the T-EES, the communication unit 1101 is further configured to receive an EAS discovery request message from the S-EAS.

[0333] In an optional implementation, the EAS discovery request message includes at least one of the following information, namely, the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application.

[0334] In an optional implementation, after the communication unit 1101 receives the first message from the T-EES, the communication unit 1101 is further configured to send an EAS discovery response message to the S-EAS.

[0335] In another possible design, the communication unit 1101 is configured to send the first message to the S-EES, where the first message is used to determine at least one EAS, and at least one EAS corresponds to the first application.

[0336] In an optional implementation, the first message further indicates the correspondence between at least one EAS and the first application.

[0337] In an optional implementation, before the communication unit 1101 is configured to send the first message to the S-EES, the processing unit 1102 is further configured to determine the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the application identifier of the first application and the application identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0338] In an optional implementation, before the communication unit 1101 is configured to send a first message to the S-EES, the processing unit 1102 is further configured to determine the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0339] In an optional implementation, the first message includes at least one of the application identifier corresponding to the EAS and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0340] In an optional implementation, before the communication unit 1101 is configured to send a first message to the S-EES, the communication unit 1101 receives an EAS discovery request message from the S-EES, and the EAS discovery request message is used to request to obtain at least one EAS from the T-EES, and the first message is further configured to be an EAS discovery response message.

[0341] In an optional implementation, the EAS discovery request message includes at least one of the following information, that is, the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application.

[0342] In another possible design, the communication unit 1101 sends a second message to the S-EES, the second message is used to determine at least one EES, the EAS associated with at least one EES corresponds to the first application, and at least one EES corresponds to the first application.

[0343] In an optional implementation, the second message further indicates the correspondence between the first application and at least one EAS associated with the EES.

[0344] In an optional implementation, before the communication unit 1101 is configured to send a second message to the S-EES, the processing unit 1102 is further configured to determine, from at least one EES, the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the application identifier of the first application and the application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES.

[0345] In an optional implementation, before the communication unit 1101 is configured to send a second message to the S-EES, the processing unit 1102 is further configured to determine, from at least one EES, the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES.

[0346] In an optional implementation, the second message includes at least one of the application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with at least one EES and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with at least one EES.

[0347] In an optional implementation, before the communication unit 1101 is configured to send a second message to the S-EES, the communication unit 1101 receives an EES discovery request message from the S-EES, and the EES discovery request message is used to request to obtain at least one EES from the ECS, and the second message is further configured to be an EES discovery response message.

[0348] In an optional implementation, the EES discovery request message includes at least one of the following information, namely, the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application.

[0349] In another possible design, the communication unit 1101 is configured to send an EAS discovery request message to the S-EES, where the EAS discovery request message is used to request obtaining at least one EAS, and at least one EAS corresponds to the first application.

[0350] In an optional implementation, after the communication unit 1101 is configured to send an EAS discovery request message to the S-EES, the communication unit 1101 is further configured to receive an EAS discovery response message from the S-EES, where the EAS discovery response message is used to determine at least one EAS.

[0351] In an optional implementation, the EAS discovery response message further indicates the correspondence between at least one EAS and the first application.

[0352] In an optional implementation, the EAS discovery response message includes at least one of an application identifier corresponding to the EAS and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0353] In an optional implementation, after the communication unit 1101 is configured to receive an EAS discovery response message from the S-EES, the processing unit 1102 is further configured to determine, based on the application identifier of the first application and the application identifier corresponding to the EAS, the EAS corresponding to the first application from at least one EAS.

[0354] In an optional implementation, after the communication unit 1101 is configured to receive an EAS discovery response message from the S-EES, the processing unit 1102 is further configured to determine, based on the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS, the EAS corresponding to the first application from at least one EAS.

[0355] In an optional implementation, the EAS discovery request message includes at least one of the following information, namely, the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application.

[0356] In another possible design, the communication unit 1101 is configured to send a third message to the EEC, where the third message is used to determine at least one EES, and the EAS associated with the at least one EES corresponds to a second application, and the at least one EES corresponds to the second application.

[0357] In an optional implementation, the third message further indicates the correspondence between the second application and the EAS associated with the at least one EES.

[0358] In an optional implementation, before the communication unit 1101 is configured to send the third message to the EEC, the processing unit 1102 is further configured to determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application based on the application identifier of the second application and the application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES.

[0359] In an optional implementation, before the communication unit 1101 is configured to send the third message to the EEC, the processing unit 1102 is further configured to determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application based on the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the second application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES.

[0360] In an optional implementation, the third message includes at least one of the application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the at least one EES and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the at least one EES.

[0361] In an optional implementation, before the communication unit 1101 is configured to send a third message to the EEC, the communication unit 1101 receives an edge computing platform discovery request message from the EEC, and the edge computing platform discovery request message is used to request obtaining at least one EES from the ECS, and the third message is further configured to be an edge computing platform discovery response message.

[0362] In an optional implementation, the edge computing platform discovery request message includes at least one of the following information, that is, the application identifier of the second application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the second application.

[0363] In another possible design, the communication unit 1101 is configured to send a fourth message to the EES, the fourth message includes EAS information of the EAS, and the EAS information includes at least one of the application identifier corresponding to the EAS and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0364] In another possible design, the communication unit 1101 is configured to receive a fourth message from at least one EAS, the fourth message includes EAS information, and the EAS information includes at least one of the application identifier corresponding to the EAS and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0365] In another possible design, the communication unit 1101 is configured to send a fifth message to the ECS, the fifth message includes EES information, the EES information includes the EAS information of the EAS associated with the EES, and the EAS information includes at least one of the application identifier corresponding to the EAS and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0366] In another possible design, the communication unit 1101 is configured to receive a fifth message from at least one EES, where the fifth message includes EES information, the EES information includes EAS information associated with the EES, and the EAS information includes at least one of an application identifier corresponding to the EAS and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0367] This embodiment of the present application is based on the same concept as the methods shown in FIGS. 3A to 10, and the technical effects brought about by this embodiment of the present application and the methods shown in FIGS. 3A to 10 are also the same. For the specific principle, please refer to the description of the foregoing embodiments. Details will not be described.

[0368] To implement the functions of the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the EEC may include a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure and a software module combination for implementing the foregoing functions. Whether one of the foregoing functions is executed using a hardware structure, a software module, or a combination of a hardware structure and a software module depends on the specific use of the technical solution and the design constraints.

[0369] As shown in FIG. 12, an embodiment of the present application provides another edge application server discovery device 1200. The device 1200 may be an EEC component (for example, an integrated circuit or a chip). Alternatively, the device 1200 may be another communication unit configured to implement the method in the embodiment of the method of the present application. The device 1200 may include a communication unit 1101 and a processing unit 1102. The processing unit 1202 is configured to control the communication unit 1201 to execute data / signaling transmission and reception. Optionally, the device 1200 may further include a storage unit 1203.

[0370] In one possible design, the communication unit 1201 is configured to receive a third message from the ECS, where the third message is used to determine at least one EES, the EAS associated with the at least one EES corresponds to a second application, and the at least one EES corresponds to the second application.

[0371] In an optional implementation, the third message further indicates the correspondence between the second application and the EAS associated with the at least one EES.

[0372] In an optional implementation, the third message includes at least one of an application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the at least one EES and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the at least one EES.

[0373] In an optional implementation, after the communication unit 1201 is configured to receive the third message from the ECS, the processing unit 1202 is configured to determine, based on the application identifier of the second application and the application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES, the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application from the at least one EES.

[0374] In an optional implementation, after the communication unit 1201 is configured to receive the third message from the ECS, the processing unit 1202 is further configured to determine, based on the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the second application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES, the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application from the at least one EES.

[0375] In an optional implementation, before the communication unit 1201 is configured to receive a third message from the ECS, the communication unit 1101 transmits an edge computing platform discovery request message to the ECS, and the edge computing platform discovery request message is used to request to obtain at least one EES from the ECS, and the third message is further configured to be an edge computing platform discovery response message.

[0376] In an optional implementation, the edge computing platform discovery request message includes at least one of the following information: an application identifier of the second application and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the second application.

[0377] This embodiment of the present application is based on the same concept as the methods shown in FIGS. 3A to 10, and the technical effects brought about by this embodiment of the present application and the methods shown in FIGS. 3A to 10 are also the same. For specific principles, please refer to the description of the foregoing embodiments. Details are not described.

[0378] The embodiment of the present application further provides another edge application server discovery device 1300 as shown in FIG. 13. The device 1300 may be an S-EES, a T-EES, an ECS, an S-EAS, an EAS, or an EES, or may be a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports an S-EES, a T-EES, an ECS, an S-EAS, an EAS, or an EES for implementing the foregoing method. The device may be configured to implement the method described in the embodiment of the foregoing method. For details, please refer to the description of the embodiment of the foregoing method.

[0379] The apparatus 1300 may include one or more processors 1301. The processor may be configured to implement some or all of the functions of S-EES, T-EES, ECS, S-EAS, EAS, or EES by using logic circuits or by executing a computer program. The processor 1301 may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, etc. For example, the processor may be a baseband processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or another programmable logic device, discrete gates or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, or a central processing unit (CPU). The baseband processor may be configured to process communication protocols and communication data. The central processing unit may be configured to control an apparatus (e.g., a base station, a baseband chip, a terminal, a terminal chip, a DU, or a CU), execute a software program, and process data of the software program.

[0380] Optionally, the apparatus 1300 may include one or more memories 1302. The memory 1302 can store instructions 1304, and the instructions can be executed on the processor 1301. As a result, the edge application server discovery apparatus 1300 executes the methods described in the embodiments of the foregoing methods. Optionally, the memory 1302 may further store data. The processor 1301 and the memory 1302 may be separately arranged or integrated.

[0381] Memory 1302 may include, but is not limited to, non-volatile memory such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD), random access memory (RAM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), ROM, or compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM).

[0382] Optionally, the edge application server discovery device 1300 may further include a transceiver 1305 and an antenna 1306. The transceiver 1305 may be referred to as a transceiver unit, transceiver machine, transceiver circuit, etc., and is configured to implement a transceiver function. The transceiver 1305 may include a receiver and a transmitter. The receiver may be referred to as a receiver or a receiving circuit, etc., and is configured to implement a receiving function. The transmitter may be referred to as a transmitter or a transmitting circuit, etc., and is configured to implement a transmitting function.

[0383] In one possible design, the transceiver 1305 is configured to receive a first message from the T-EES, where the first message is used to determine an EAS, and at least one EAS corresponds to the first application.

[0384] In an optional implementation, the first message further indicates the correspondence between at least one EAS and the first application.

[0385] In an optional implementation, the first message includes at least one of an application identifier corresponding to the EAS and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0386] In an optional implementation, after the transceiver 1305 is configured to receive a first message from the T-EES, the processor 1301 is further configured to determine, from at least one EAS, an EAS corresponding to the first application based on the application identifier of the first application and the application identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0387] In an optional implementation, after the transceiver 1305 is configured to receive a first message from the T-EES, the processor 1301 is further configured to determine, from at least one EAS, an EAS corresponding to the first application based on the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0388] In an optional implementation, before the transceiver 1305 is configured to receive a first message from the T-EES, the transceiver 1305 is further configured to send an EAS discovery request message to the T-EES, where the EAS discovery request message is used to request to obtain at least one EAS from the T-EES, and the first message is an EAS discovery response message.

[0389] In an optional implementation, the EAS discovery request message includes at least one of the following information, namely, the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application.

[0390] In an optional implementation, before the transceiver 1305 is configured to send an EAS discovery request message to the T-EES, the transceiver 1305 is further configured to receive a second message from the ECS, where the second message is used to determine at least one EES, the EAS associated with at least one EES corresponds to the first application, at least one EES corresponds to the first application, and at least one EES includes the T-EES.

[0391] In an optional implementation, the second message further indicates a correspondence relationship between the first application and at least one EAS associated with the EES.

[0392] In an optional implementation, the second message includes at least one of an application identifier corresponding to an EAS associated with at least one EES and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to an EAS associated with at least one EES.

[0393] In an optional implementation, after the transceiver 1305 is configured to receive the second message from the ECS, the processor 1301 is further configured to determine, from at least one EES, an EES associated with an EAS corresponding to the first application based on the application identifier of the first application and the application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES.

[0394] In an optional implementation, after the transceiver 1305 is configured to receive the second message from the ECS, the processor 1301 is further configured to determine, from at least one EES, an EES associated with an EAS corresponding to the first application based on the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES.

[0395] In an optional implementation, before the transceiver 1305 is configured to receive the second message from the ECS, the transceiver 1305 is further configured to send an EES discovery request message to the ECS, where the EES discovery request message is used to request to obtain at least one EES from the ECS, and the second message is an EES discovery response message.

[0396] In an optional implementation, the EES discovery request message includes at least one of the following information, namely, the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application.

[0397] In an optional implementation, before the transceiver 1305 is configured to send an EAS discovery request message to the T-EES, the transceiver 1305 is further configured to receive an EAS discovery request message from the S-EAS.

[0398] In an optional implementation, the EAS discovery request message includes at least one of the following information, namely, the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application.

[0399] In an optional implementation, after the transceiver 1305 receives the first message from the T-EES, the transceiver 1305 is further configured to send an EAS discovery response message to the S-EAS.

[0400] In another possible design, the transceiver 1305 is configured to send a first message to the S-EES, where the first message is used to determine at least one EAS, and at least one EAS corresponds to the first application.

[0401] In an optional implementation, the first message further indicates the correspondence between at least one EAS and the first application.

[0402] In an optional implementation, before the transceiver 1305 is configured to send the first message to the S-EES, the processor 1301 is further configured to determine the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the application identifier of the first application and the application identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0403] In an optional implementation, before the transceiver 1305 is configured to send a first message to the S-EES, the processor 1301 is further configured to determine the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0404] In an optional implementation, the first message includes at least one of the application identifier corresponding to the EAS and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0405] In an optional implementation, before the transceiver 1305 is configured to send a first message to the S-EES, the transceiver 1305 is further configured to receive an EAS discovery request message from the S-EES, where the EAS discovery request message is used to request obtaining at least one EAS from the T-EES, and the first message is an EAS discovery response message.

[0406] In an optional implementation, the EAS discovery request message includes at least one of the following information, namely, the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application.

[0407] In another possible design, the transceiver 1305 sends a second message to the S-EES, where the second message is used to determine at least one EES, and the EAS associated with the at least one EES corresponds to the first application, and the at least one EES corresponds to the first application.

[0408] In an optional implementation, the second message further indicates the correspondence between the first application and at least one EAS associated with the EES.

[0409] In an optional implementation, before the transceiver 1305 is configured to send a second message to the S-EES, the processor 1301 is further configured to determine, from at least one EES, an EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the application identifier of the first application and the application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES.

[0410] In an optional implementation, before the transceiver 1305 is configured to send a second message to the S-EES, the processor 1301 is further configured to determine, from at least one EES, an EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES.

[0411] In an optional implementation, the second message includes at least one of the application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with at least one EES and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with at least one EES.

[0412] In an optional implementation, before the transceiver 1305 is configured to send a second message to the S-EES, the transceiver 1305 is further configured to receive an EES discovery request message from the S-EES, where the EES discovery request message is used to request to obtain at least one EES from the ECS, and the second message is an EES discovery response message.

[0413] In an optional implementation, the EES discovery request message includes at least one of the following information, namely, the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application.

[0414] In another possible design, the transceiver 1305 is configured to send an EAS discovery request message to the S-EES, where the EAS discovery request message is used to request obtaining at least one EAS, and at least one EAS corresponds to the first application.

[0415] In an optional implementation, after the transceiver 1305 is configured to send an EAS discovery request message to the S-EES, the transceiver 1305 is further configured to receive an EAS discovery response message from the S-EES, where the EAS discovery response message is used to determine at least one EAS.

[0416] In an optional implementation, the EAS discovery response message further indicates the correspondence between at least one EAS and the first application.

[0417] In an optional implementation, the EAS discovery response message includes at least one of an application identifier corresponding to the EAS and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0418] In an optional implementation, after the transceiver 1305 is configured to receive an EAS discovery response message from the S-EES, the processor 1301 is further configured to determine, from at least one EAS, the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the application identifier of the first application and the application identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0419] In an optional implementation, after the transceiver 1305 is configured to receive an EAS discovery response message from the S-EES, the processor 1301 is further configured to determine, from at least one EAS, the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0420] In an optional implementation, the EAS discovery request message includes at least one of the following information, namely, the application identifier of the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application.

[0421] In another possible design, the transceiver 1305 is configured to send a third message to the EEC, where the third message is used to determine at least one EES, and the EAS associated with the at least one EES corresponds to a second application, and the at least one EES corresponds to the second application.

[0422] In an optional implementation, the third message further indicates the correspondence between the second application and the EAS associated with the at least one EES.

[0423] In an optional implementation, before the transceiver 1305 is configured to send a third message to the EEC, the processor 1301 is further configured to determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application based on the application identifier of the second application and the application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES.

[0424] In an optional implementation, before the transceiver 1305 is configured to send a third message to the EEC, the processor 1301 is further configured to determine the EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the second application based on the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the second application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES.

[0425] In an optional implementation, the third message includes at least one of the application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the at least one EES and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the at least one EES.

[0426] In an optional implementation, before the transceiver 1305 is configured to send a third message to the EEC, the transceiver 1305 receives an edge computing platform discovery request message from the EEC, the edge computing platform discovery request message is used to request obtaining at least one EES from the ECS, and the third message is further configured to be an edge computing platform discovery response message.

[0427] In an optional implementation, the edge computing platform discovery request message includes at least one of the following information, namely, the application identifier of the second application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the second application.

[0428] In another possible design, the transceiver 1305 is configured to send a fourth message to the EES, the fourth message includes EAS information of the EAS, and the EAS information includes at least one of the application identifier corresponding to the EAS and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0429] In another possible design, the transceiver 1305 is configured to receive a fourth message from at least one EAS, the fourth message includes EAS information, and the EAS information includes at least one of the application identifier corresponding to the EAS and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0430] In another possible design, the transceiver 1305 is configured to send a fifth message to the ECS, the fifth message includes EES information, the EES information includes EAS information of the EAS associated with the EES, and the EAS information includes at least one of the application identifier corresponding to the EAS and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0431] In another possible design, the transceiver 1305 is configured to receive a fifth message from at least one EES, where the fifth message includes EES information, the EES information includes EAS information associated with the EES, and the EAS information includes at least one of an application identifier corresponding to the EAS and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS.

[0432] In another possible design, the processor 1301 may include a transceiver configured to perform a transceiver function. For example, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit, an interface, or an interface circuit. The transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit configured to perform the transceiver function may be separate or integrated. The transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit may be configured to read and write code / data. Alternatively, the transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit may be configured to transmit or transfer signals.

[0433] In yet another possible design, optionally, the processor 1301 can store the instruction 1303, and the instruction 1303 is executed on the processor 1301, as a result of which the edge application server discovery device 1300 can execute the method described in the embodiments of the foregoing method. The instruction 1303 may be incorporated into the processor 1301. In this case, the processor 1301 may be implemented using hardware.

[0434] In yet another possible design, the edge application server discovery apparatus 1300 may include circuitry that can perform the transmission, reception, or communication functions in the embodiments of the foregoing method. The processors and transceivers described in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented in an integrated circuit (IC), an analog IC, a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), a mixed-signal IC, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a printed circuit board (PCB), an electronic device, or the like. The processors and transceivers may alternatively be manufactured using various IC technologies, such as complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), N-type metal-oxide-semiconductor (NMOS), P-type metal oxide semiconductor (PMOS), bipolar junction transistor (BJT), bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS), silicon germanium (SiGe), and gallium arsenide (GaAs).

[0435] This embodiment of the present application is based on the same concept as the methods shown in FIGS. 3A to 10, and the technical effects brought about by this embodiment of the present application and the methods shown in FIGS. 3A to 10 are also the same. For specific principles, please refer to the description of the foregoing embodiments. Details will not be described.

[0436] Embodiments of the present application further provide yet another edge application server discovery apparatus 1400, as shown in FIG. 14. The apparatus 1400 may be an EEC, or may be a chip, chip system, processor, etc. that supports the EEC when implementing the foregoing method. The apparatus may be configured to implement the methods described in the embodiments of the foregoing method. For details, please refer to the description of the embodiments of the foregoing method.

[0437] The apparatus 1400 may include one or more processors 1401. The processor may be configured to implement some or all of the functions of the EEC by using logic circuits or by executing a computer program. The processor 1401 may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, etc. For example, the processor may be a baseband processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or another programmable logic device, discrete gates or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, or a central processing unit (CPU). The baseband processor may be configured to process communication protocols and communication data. The central processing unit may be configured to control an apparatus (e.g., a base station, a baseband chip, a terminal, a terminal chip, a DU, or a CU), execute a software program, and process data of the software program.

[0438] Optionally, the apparatus 1400 may include one or more memories 1402. The memory 1402 can store instructions 1404, and the instructions can be executed on the processor 1401. As a result, the edge application server discovery apparatus 1400 executes the methods described in the embodiments of the foregoing method. Optionally, the memory 1402 may further store data. The processor 1401 and the memory 1402 may be separately arranged or integrated.

[0439] Memory 1402 may include, but is not limited to, non-volatile memory such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD), random access memory (RAM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), ROM, or compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM).

[0440] Optionally, the edge application server discovery device 1400 may further include a transceiver 1405 and an antenna 1406. The transceiver 1405 may be referred to as a transceiver unit, transceiver machine, transceiver circuit, etc., and is configured to implement a transceiver function. The transceiver 1405 may include a receiver and a transmitter. The receiver may be referred to as a receiver or a receiving circuit, etc., and is configured to implement a receiving function. The transmitter may be referred to as a transmitter or a transmitting circuit, etc., and is configured to implement a transmitting function.

[0441] In one possible design, the transceiver 1405 is configured to receive a third message from the ECS, the third message is used to determine at least one EES, the EAS associated with the at least one EES corresponds to a second application, and the at least one EES corresponds to the second application.

[0442] In an optional implementation, the third message further indicates the correspondence between the second application and the EAS associated with the at least one EES.

[0443] In an optional implementation, the third message includes at least one of an application identifier corresponding to an EAS associated with at least one EES and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to an EAS associated with at least one EES.

[0444] In an optional implementation, after the transceiver 1405 is configured to receive the third message from the ECS, the processor 1401 is configured to determine, from at least one EES, an EES associated with an EAS corresponding to a second application based on an application identifier of the second application and an application identifier corresponding to an EAS associated with the EES.

[0445] In an optional implementation, after the transceiver 1405 is configured to receive the third message from the ECS, the processor 1401 is further configured to determine, from at least one EES, an EES associated with an EAS corresponding to a second application based on an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the second application and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to an EAS associated with the EES.

[0446] In an optional implementation, before the transceiver 1405 is configured to receive the third message from the ECS, the communication unit 1101 transmits an edge computing platform discovery request message to the ECS, and the edge computing platform discovery request message is used to request to obtain at least one EES from the ECS, and the third message is further configured to be an edge computing platform discovery response message.

[0447] In an optional implementation, the edge computing platform discovery request message includes at least one of the following information: an application identifier of the second application and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the second application.

[0448] In another possible design, the processor 1401 may include a transceiver configured to perform a transceiver function. For example, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit, an interface, or an interface circuit. The transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit configured to perform the transceiver function may be separate or integrated. The transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit may be configured to read and write code / data. Alternatively, the transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit may be configured to transmit or transfer signals.

[0449] In yet another possible design, optionally, the processor 1401 can store an instruction 1403, and the instruction 1403 is executed on the processor 1401. As a result, the edge application server discovery device 1400 can execute the methods described in the embodiments of the foregoing methods. The instruction 1403 may be incorporated into the processor 1401. In this case, the processor 1401 may be implemented using hardware.

[0450] In yet another possible design, the edge application server discovery device 1400 may include circuitry that can perform the sending, receiving, or communication functions in the embodiments of the methods described above. The processors and transceivers described in the embodiments of this application may be implemented in an integrated circuit (IC), an analog IC, a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), a mixed-signal IC, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a printed circuit board (PCB), an electronic device, and the like. The processors and transceivers may alternatively be manufactured using various IC technologies such as complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), N-type metal-oxide-semiconductor (NMOS), P-type metal-oxide semiconductor (PMOS), bipolar junction transistor (BJT), bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS), silicon germanium (SiGe), and gallium arsenide (GaAs).

[0451] This embodiment of the present application is based on the same concept as the methods shown in FIGS. 3A to 10, and the technical effects brought about by this embodiment of the present application and the methods shown in FIGS. 3A to 10 are also the same. For specific principles, please refer to the description of the foregoing embodiments. Details will not be described.

[0452] One of ordinary skill in the art can further understand that the various illustrative logic blocks and steps listed in the embodiments of this application can be implemented by using electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination thereof. Whether a function is implemented using hardware or software depends on the specific application and the overall design requirements of the system. One of ordinary skill in the art can implement the functions described in various ways for each specific application, but the implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of the embodiments of this application.

[0453] This application further provides a computer-readable storage medium configured to store computer software instructions. When the instructions are executed by an edge application server discovery device, any one of the functions of the foregoing method embodiments is implemented.

[0454] This application further provides a computer program product configured to store computer software instructions. When the instructions are executed by an edge application server discovery device, any one of the functions of the foregoing method embodiments is implemented.

[0455] This application further provides a computer program. When this computer program is executed on a computer, any one of the functions of the foregoing method embodiments is implemented.

[0456] All or part of the foregoing embodiments may be implemented by using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implementing the embodiments using software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the procedures or functions according to the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from a certain website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center in a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, or digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, radio wave, or microwave) manner. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium accessible by a computer or a data storage device integrating one or more available media, such as a server or a data center. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., digital video disc (DVD)), a semiconductor medium (e.g., SSD), etc.

[0457] The foregoing description is only a specific implementation of the present application and is not intended to limit the protection scope of the present application. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application shall fall within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Description of Reference Signs

[0458] 110 EDN 111 EAS 112 EAS 113 EAS 114 EAS 120 EDN 122 EAS 123 EAS 101 AC 102 AC 2000 Communication System 1100 Edge Application Server Discovery Device 1101 Communication Unit 1102 Processing Unit 1103 Memory Unit 1200 Edge Application Server Discovery Device 1201 Communication Unit 1202 Processing Unit 1203 Memory Unit 1300 Edge Application Server Discovery Device 1301 Processor 1302 Memory 1304 Instruction 1305 Transceiver 1306 Antenna 1303 Instruction 1400 Edge Application Server Discovery Device 1401 Processor 1402 Memory 1404 Instruction 1405 Transceiver 1406 Antenna 1403 Instruction

Claims

1. 1. An edge application server discovery method, comprising: sending a second message by an edge configuration server ECS to a source edge enabler server S-EES, the second message being used to determine at least one edge enabler server EES, an edge application server EAS associated with the at least one EES corresponding to a first application, and the at least one EES corresponding to the first application; An edge application server discovery method comprising:

2. Prior to the step of transmitting, by the ECS, a second message to the S-EES, the method further comprises: determining, by the ECS, from the at least one EES, an EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application based on an EAS bundle identifier of the first application and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES; The method of claim 1, further comprising:

3. Prior to the step of transmitting, by the ECS, a second message to the S-EES, the method further comprises: determining, by the ECS, from the at least one EES, an EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application based on an application identifier of the first application and an application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES; The method of claim 1, further comprising:

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second message further indicates a correspondence between the first application and the EAS associated with the at least one EES.

5. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second message includes at least one of the application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the at least one EES and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the at least one EES.

6. Prior to the step of transmitting, by the ECS, a second message to the S-EES, the method further comprises: receiving, by the ECS, an EES discovery request message from the S-EES, the EES discovery request message being used to request obtaining the at least one EES from the ECS; Further comprising: the second message is an EES discovery response message; 6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the EES discovery request message includes at least one of the following information: the application identifier of the first application, and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application.

8. 1. An edge application server discovery method, comprising: sending a fifth message by an edge enabler server EES to an edge configuration server ECS, the fifth message including EES information, the EES information including EAS information of an EAS associated with the EES, the EAS information including at least one of an application identifier corresponding to the EAS and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS; An edge application server discovery method comprising:

9. 1. An edge application server discovery method, comprising: receiving a first message from a target edge enabler server T-EES by a source edge enabler server S-EES, the first message being used to determine at least one edge application server EAS, the at least one EAS corresponding to a first application; An edge application server discovery method comprising:

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the first message further indicates a correspondence between the at least one EAS and the first application.

11. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first message includes at least one of an application identifier corresponding to an EAS and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS.

12. After the step of receiving, by the S-EES, a first message from the T-EES, the method further comprises: determining, by the S-EES, an EAS corresponding to the first application from the at least one EAS based on an application identifier of the first application and the application identifier corresponding to the EAS; 12. The method of any one of claims 9 to 11, further comprising:

13. After the step of receiving, by the S-EES, a first message from the T-EES, the method further comprises: determining, by the S-EES, an EAS corresponding to the first application from the at least one EAS based on an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS; 12. The method of any one of claims 9 to 11, further comprising:

14. Prior to the step of receiving, by the S-EES, a first message from the T-EES, the method further comprises: sending an EAS discovery request message by the S-EES to the T-EES, the EAS discovery request message being used to request obtaining the at least one EAS from the T-EES; Further comprising: the first message is an EAS discovery response message; 14. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 13.

15. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the EAS discovery request message includes at least one of the following information: the application identifier of the first application, and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application.

16. Prior to the step of sending, by the S-EES, an EAS discovery request message to the T-EES, the method further comprises: receiving, by the S-EES, a second message from an edge configuration server ECS, the second message being used to determine at least one edge enabler server EES, an EAS associated with the at least one EES corresponding to the first application, the at least one EES corresponding to the first application, and the at least one EES including the T-EES; 16. The method of claim 14 or 15, further comprising:

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the second message further indicates a correspondence between the first application and the EAS associated with the at least one EES.

18. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the second message includes at least one of an application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the at least one EES and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the at least one EES.

19. After the step of receiving, by the S-EES, a second message from an ECS, the method further comprises: determining, by the S-EES, from the at least one EES, an EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the application identifier of the first application and the application identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES; 19. The method of any one of claims 16 to 18, further comprising:

20. After the step of receiving, by the S-EES, a second message from an ECS, the method further comprises: determining, by the S-EES, from the at least one EES, an EES associated with the EAS corresponding to the first application based on the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS associated with the EES; 19. The method of any one of claims 16 to 18, further comprising:

21. Prior to the step of receiving, by the S-EES, a second message from an ECS, the method further comprises: sending, by the S-EES, an EES discovery request message to the ECS, the EES discovery request message being used to request obtaining the at least one EES from the ECS; Further comprising: the second message is an EES discovery response message; 21. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 20.

22. 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the EES discovery request message includes at least one of the following information: the application identifier of the first application, and the EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the first application.

23. 1. An edge application server discovery method, comprising: receiving, by an edge configuration server ECS, a fifth message from at least one edge enabler server EES, the fifth message including EES information, the EES information including EAS information of an EAS associated with the EES, the EAS information including at least one of an application identifier corresponding to the EAS and an EAS bundle identifier corresponding to the EAS; An edge application server discovery method comprising:

24. An edge application server discovery system, the system being configured to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, or to perform a method according to claim 8, or to perform a method according to claims 9 to 22, or to perform a method according to claim 23.

25. An edge application server discovery device comprising a memory and a processor, the memory is configured to store instructions or computer programs; The processor is configured to execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory, such that the device performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, or performs the method according to claim 8, or performs the method according to claims 9 to 22, or performs the method according to claim 23. Edge application server discovery device.

26. A computer readable storage medium storing a computer program, the computer readable storage medium being configured to, when executed, perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, or to perform the method according to claim 8, or to perform the method according to claims 9 to 22, or to perform the method according to claim 23.

27. 23. A computer program product comprising computer program code which, when executed, performs the method of any one of claims 1 to 7, or the method of claim 8, or the method of claims 9 to 22, or the method of claim 23.

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