Information transmission method, device, related equipment, and storage medium

Abstract

The present disclosure provides an information transmission method, an apparatus, a Network Data Analysis Function (NWDAF), a Session Management Function (SMF), and a storage medium, wherein the method includes: an NWDAF subscribing a terminal located in an Area of ​​Interest (AOI) to an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) to obtain a first terminal list; and sending, to the SMF that satisfies a first condition, first information for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; or an NWDAF subscribing a terminal located in the AOI to the AMF to obtain a first terminal list, determining a second terminal list, and sending, to the SMF that satisfies a second condition, second information for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; or an NWDAF sending, to the SMF that satisfies a third condition, third information for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; or an NWDAF sending, to the SMF that satisfies a fourth condition, fourth information for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority from Chinese Patent Application No. 202211738845.1, filed in China on December 30, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. The present disclosure relates to the field of core networks, and in particular to information transmission methods, devices, related equipment, and storage media. [Background technology]

[0002] In the related art, an information disclosure manner based on a User Plane Function (UPF) has been proposed. However, when user plane information disclosure for an Area of ​​Interest (AOI) is realized based on this manner, a Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF) cannot accurately acquire or collect user plane information of terminals located in the AOI. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0003] To solve the problems of the related art, embodiments of the present disclosure provide an information transmission method, an apparatus, a related device, and a storage medium. [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] The technical aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are realized as follows.

[0005] An embodiment of the present disclosure is an information transmission method applied to NWDAF, subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; and sending first information to a Session Management Function (SMF) that satisfies a first condition, wherein the first condition indicates that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the first terminal list, and the first information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; or Or, or subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; determining a second terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, the second terminal list being obtained or determined through the first terminal list; and sending second information to an SMF that satisfies a second condition, wherein the second condition indicates that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the second terminal list, and the second information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; Or, Sending third information to an SMF that satisfies a third condition, the third condition including that the SMF serves a first Data Network Name (DNN) and / or a first network slice, and the third information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI; or Or, An information transmission method is provided, which includes sending fourth information to an SMF that satisfies a fourth condition, wherein the fourth condition indicates that the SMF is serving an AOI, and the fourth information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

[0006] In the above aspect, determining the second terminal list includes: Obtaining a third terminal list including at least one terminal that needs to subscribe to user plane information; The method includes determining the second terminal list by comparing the terminals included in the third terminal list with the terminals included in the first terminal list.

[0007] In the above aspect, the method comprises: Sending fifth information to the AMF for subscribing to an event in which a terminal moves within or outside the AOI; Receiving a fourth terminal list sent from the AMF, the fourth terminal list including at least one terminal moving within or outside the AOI; The method further includes updating the first terminal list using the fourth terminal list and / or updating the second terminal list using the fourth terminal list.

[0008] An embodiment of the present disclosure is an information transmission method applied to SMF, receiving first information transmitted from an NWDAF when a first condition is satisfied, the first condition including: indicating that the SMF serves at least one terminal in a first terminal list of the NWDAF, the first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, and the first information for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; or Or, receiving second information sent from an NWDAF when a second condition is met, the second condition including: the SMF is serving at least one terminal in a second terminal list of the NWDAF, the second terminal list includes at least one terminal located in the AOI, and the second information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; or Or, If a third condition is satisfied, receiving third information sent from the NWDAF, the third condition indicating that the SMF serves a first DNN and / or a first network slice, and the third information for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI; or Or, The information transmission method further provides an information transmission method including: receiving fourth information transmitted from an NWDAF when a fourth condition is satisfied, the fourth condition indicating that the SMF serves an AOI, and the fourth information for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

[0009] In the above aspect, when the third information is received, the method further comprises: The method further includes: subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; and sending sixth information to a UPF that satisfies a fifth condition, wherein the fifth condition indicates that the UPF serves at least one terminal in the first terminal list, and the sixth information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; or Or, The method further includes subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; determining a fifth terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, the fifth terminal list being obtained or determined through the first terminal list; and sending seventh information to a UPF that satisfies a sixth condition, wherein the sixth condition indicates that the UPF serves at least one terminal in the fifth terminal list, and the seventh information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI.

[0010] In the above aspect, the third information includes at least a third terminal list, and the third terminal list includes at least one terminal that needs to subscribe to user plane information, and determining the fifth terminal list described above includes: Obtaining a sixth terminal list including at least one terminal served by the SMF; The fifth terminal list is determined by comparing the terminals included in the third terminal list, the terminals included in the sixth terminal list, and the terminals included in the first terminal list.

[0011] In the above aspect, the method comprises: Sending eighth information to the AMF for subscribing to an event in which a terminal moves within or outside the AOI; Receiving a fourth terminal list sent from the AMF, the fourth terminal list including at least one terminal moving within or outside the AOI; The method further includes updating the first terminal list using the fourth terminal list and / or updating the fifth terminal list using the fourth terminal list.

[0012] In the above aspect, when the fourth information is received, the method further comprises: The method further includes: subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; and for each terminal included in the first terminal list, when the SMF serves the terminal as an intermediate SMF, sending ninth information for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI to the anchor point SMF of the terminal so that the anchor point SMF of the terminal subscribes the user plane information of the terminal to the anchor point UPF of the terminal; and when the SMF serves the terminal without serving as an intermediate SMF, sending tenth information for subscribing to the user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI to the UPF serving the terminal; or Or, The method further includes subscribing terminals located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; determining a seventh terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, the seventh terminal list being acquired or determined through the first terminal list; and for each terminal included in the seventh terminal list, when the SMF serves the terminal as an intermediate SMF, sending eleventh information for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI to the anchor point SMF of the terminal, so that the user plane information of the terminal is subscribed to the anchor point UPF of the terminal by the anchor point SMF of the terminal; and when the SMF serves the terminal without using the intermediate SMF, sending twelfth information for subscribing to the user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI to the UPF serving the terminal.

[0013] In the above aspect, the fourth information includes at least a third terminal list, and the third terminal list includes at least one terminal that needs to subscribe to user plane information, and determining the seventh terminal list described above includes: Obtaining an eighth terminal list including at least one terminal served by the SMF; The seventh terminal list is determined by comparing the terminals included in the third terminal list, the terminals included in the eighth terminal list, and the terminals included in the first terminal list.

[0014] In the above aspect, the method comprises: Sending thirteenth information to the AMF for subscribing to an event in which a terminal moves within or outside the AOI; Receiving a fourth terminal list sent from the AMF, the fourth terminal list including at least one terminal moving within or outside the AOI; The method further includes updating the first terminal list using the fourth terminal list, and / or updating the seventh terminal list using the fourth terminal list.

[0015] In the above aspect, the first information includes at least a ninth terminal list, and the ninth terminal list includes at least one terminal in the first terminal list served by the SMF. When the first information is received, the method includes: The method further includes sending fourteenth information to a UPF that satisfies a seventh condition, wherein the seventh condition indicates that the UPF serves at least one terminal in the ninth terminal list, and the fourteenth information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

[0016] In the above aspect, the second information includes at least a tenth terminal list, and the tenth terminal list includes at least one terminal in the second terminal list served by the SMF. When the second information is received, the method: The method further includes sending fifteenth information to a UPF that satisfies an eighth condition, wherein the eighth condition indicates that the UPF serves at least one terminal in the tenth terminal list, and the fifteenth information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

[0017] An embodiment of the present disclosure is an information transmission device installed in an NWDAF, including a first communication unit and a first processing unit, The first communication unit is for subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, and sending first information to an SMF that satisfies a first condition, wherein the first condition indicates that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the first terminal list, and the first information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; or Or, The first communication unit is for subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; the first processing unit is for determining a second terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, the second terminal list being obtained or determined through the first terminal list; the first communication unit is also for sending second information to an SMF that satisfies a second condition, the second condition indicating that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the second terminal list; and the second information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; Or, The first communication unit is for sending third information to an SMF that satisfies a third condition, the third condition indicating that the SMF serves a first DNN and / or a first network slice, and the third information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI; or Or, The information transmission device further provides an information transmission device in which the first communication unit is for transmitting fourth information to an SMF that satisfies a fourth condition, the fourth condition indicating that the SMF serves an AOI, and the fourth information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

[0018] An embodiment of the present disclosure is an information transmission device installed in an SMF, including a second communication unit, The second communication unit is for receiving first information sent from an NWDAF when a first condition is satisfied, the first condition representing that the SMF serves at least one terminal in a first terminal list of the NWDAF, the first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, and the first information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; or Or, The second communication unit is for receiving second information sent from an NWDAF when a second condition is satisfied, the second condition representing that the SMF serves at least one terminal in a second terminal list of the NWDAF, the second terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, and the second information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; or Or, The second communication unit is for receiving third information sent from the NWDAF when a third condition is satisfied, the third condition indicating that the SMF serves a first DNN and / or a first network slice, and the third information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI; or Or, The information transmission device further provides an information transmission device, wherein the second communication unit is for receiving fourth information transmitted from an NWDAF when a fourth condition is satisfied, the fourth condition indicating that the SMF serves an AOI, and the fourth information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

[0019] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides an NWDAF including a first communication interface and a first processor, The first communication interface is for subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, and sending first information to an SMF that satisfies a first condition, wherein the first condition indicates that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the first terminal list, and the first information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; Or, The first communication interface is for subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, and the first processor is for determining a second terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, the second terminal list being obtained or determined through the first terminal list, and the first communication interface is also for sending second information to an SMF that satisfies a second condition, the second condition indicating that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the second terminal list, and the second information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; Or, The first communication interface is for transmitting third information to an SMF that satisfies a third condition, the third condition indicating that the SMF serves a first DNN and / or a first network slice, and the third information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI; or Or, The first communication interface further provides an NWDA for transmitting fourth information to an SMF that satisfies a fourth condition, the fourth condition indicating that the SMF serves an AOI, and the fourth information for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

[0020] An embodiment of the present disclosure is an SMF including a second communication interface and a second processor, The second communication interface is for receiving first information sent from an NWDAF when a first condition is satisfied, the first condition representing that the SMF serves at least one terminal in a first terminal list of the NWDAF, the first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, and the first information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; or Or, The second communication interface is for receiving second information sent from an NWDAF when a second condition is satisfied, the second condition representing that the SMF serves at least one terminal in a second terminal list of the NWDAF, the second terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, and the second information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; or Or, The second communication interface is for receiving third information transmitted from the NWDAF when a third condition is satisfied, the third condition indicating that the SMF serves a first DNN and / or a first network slice, and the third information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI; or Or, The second communication interface further provides an SMF for receiving fourth information transmitted from an NWDAF when a fourth condition is satisfied, the fourth condition indicating that the SMF serves an AOI, and the fourth information for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

[0021] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides an NWDAF including a first processor and a first memory for storing a computer program operable on the processor, The first processor further provides an NWDAF, which, when running the computer program, is configured to perform the steps of any one of the methods on the NWDAF side.

[0022] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides an SMF including a second processor and a second memory for storing a computer program operable on the processor, The second processor further provides an SMF for executing the steps of any one of the above SMF-side methods when the second processor runs the computer program.

[0023] An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a storage medium storing a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, realizes steps of any one of the methods on the NWDAF side or realizes steps of any one of the methods on the SMF side. [Effects of the Invention]

[0024] In the information transmission method, device, related device, and storage medium according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the NWDAF subscribes a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, and transmits first information to an SMF that satisfies a first condition, the first condition representing that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the first terminal list, and the first information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; or the NWDAF subscribes a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, and determines a second terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, the second terminal list being acquired or determined through the first terminal list, and the second terminal list being acquired or determined through the first terminal list, and the second terminal list being obtained according to Article 2. The NWDAF sends second information to an SMF that satisfies a condition, wherein the second condition indicates that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the second terminal list, and the second information is for subscribing to user plane information of terminals located in the AOI; or the NWDAF sends third information to an SMF that satisfies a third condition, wherein the third condition indicates that the SMF serves a first DNN and / or a first network slice, and the third information is for subscribing to user plane information of terminals located in the AOI; or the NWDAF sends fourth information to an SMF that satisfies a fourth condition, wherein the fourth condition indicates that the SMF serves an AOI, and the fourth information is for subscribing to user plane information of terminals located in the AOI. In an aspect according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, taking into consideration a mobility scenario of a terminal in Session and Service Continuity (SSC) mode 1 (mode1), that is, a case where a terminal accesses a service across an SMF service area, the NWDAF can first determine an SMF that meets certain conditions, and then subscribe user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI to the SMF that meets certain conditions, among which: When the NWDAF subscribes to user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI to an SMF that satisfies the first condition, the first condition indicates that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the first terminal list. The first terminal list obtained via the AMF, which includes at least one terminal located in the AOI, necessarily includes terminals that access services across SMF service areas. Therefore, if the NWDAF subscribes to the user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI to an SMF that satisfies the first condition, the NWDAF will not miss the user plane information of the terminal that accesses services across SMF service areas. That is, the NWDAF can then obtain complete user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI. In other words, the NWDAF can accurately obtain or collect user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI. When the NWDAF subscribes to user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI to an SMF that satisfies the second condition, the second condition indicates that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the second terminal list, and the second terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI is acquired or determined through the first terminal list. Since the first terminal list acquired via the AMF necessarily includes terminals that access services across SMF service areas, the second terminal list also includes terminals that access services across SMF service areas. If the NWDAF subscribes to the user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI to the SMF that satisfies the second condition, the NWDAF will not miss the user plane information of the terminal that accesses services across SMF service areas. That is, the NWDAF can then obtain complete user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI. In other words, the NWDAF can accurately acquire or collect user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI. When the NWDAF subscribes to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI to an SMF that satisfies the third condition, the third condition indicates that the SMF serves a first DNN and / or a first network slice. Therefore, the NWDAF can subscribe to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI to all SMFs that serve a specific network, a specific service, or an operator. These SMFs that satisfy the third condition can then obtain a first terminal list of at least one terminal located in the AOI via the AMF, and then subscribe user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI to the UPF corresponding to the terminal it serves based on the first terminal list. As a result, the NWDAF can then obtain complete user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI and avoid missing user plane information of terminals that access services across SMF service areas. In other words, the NWDAF can accurately obtain or collect user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI. When the NWDAF subscribes to user plane information of terminals located in the AOI to an SMF that satisfies the fourth condition, since the fourth condition indicates that the SMF serves the AOI, the NWDAF can subscribe to user plane information of terminals located in the AOI to all SMFs that serve the AOI. These SMFs that satisfy the fourth condition then obtain, via the AMF, a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI. Then, based on the first terminal list, they can subscribe to the user plane information of the corresponding terminal to the anchor point SMF of the terminal that they serve as an intermediate SMF, or they can subscribe to the user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI to the UPF corresponding to the terminal that they serve without serving as an intermediate SMF, based on the first terminal list. As a result, the NWDAF can then obtain complete user plane information of terminals located in the AOI and avoid missing user plane information of terminals that access services across SMF service areas. In other words, the NWDAF can accurately acquire or collect user plane information of terminals located in the AOI. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0025] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a user plane information disclosure aspect for an AOI in the related art; [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of service access across SMF service areas in related technology. [Figure 3] 1 is a flow diagram of an information transmission method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of another information transmission method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of a UPF data disclosure aspect for an AOI according to an application example of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of a UPF data disclosure aspect for an AOI according to an application example of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of a UPF data disclosure aspect for yet another AOI according to an application example of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] 1 is a structural schematic diagram of an information transmission device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a structural schematic diagram of another information transmission device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] 1 is a structural schematic diagram of an NWDAF according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 1 is a structural schematic diagram of an SMF according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] 1 is a structural schematic diagram of an information transmission system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0026] The present disclosure will be described in more detail below in conjunction with the figures and examples. Prior to describing the embodiments of the present disclosure, the following terms should be interpreted. A non-intermediate SMF refers to an SMF that serves a terminal as an anchor point SMF (which may be expressed as anchor-SMF in English) when the terminal accesses services across SMF service areas (i.e., a terminal mobility scene in SSC mode 1), and that serves a terminal as a general SMF (which may be understood as an SMF when the concepts of anchor point SMF and intermediate SMF (which may be expressed as intermediate-SMF in English and may be abbreviated as I-SMF) do not exist) when the terminal does not access services across SMF service areas. A non-intermediate UPF refers to a UPF that serves the terminal as an anchor point UPF (which may be expressed as anchor-UPF in English) when the terminal accesses services across SMF service areas (i.e., terminal mobility scenarios in SSC mode 1), and that serves the terminal as a general UPF (which may be understood as a UPF when the concepts of anchor point UPF and intermediate UPF (which may be expressed as intermediate-UPF in English, or abbreviated as I-UPF) do not exist) when the terminal does not access services across SMF service areas.

[0027] In the related technology, as shown in case 2 in Figure 1, the NWDAF searches for the corresponding SMF via the AOI, and then subscribes to the AMF via the SMF for existing users in the AOI and update information of users entering or leaving the AOI to confirm which users on the SMF are located within the AOI, and further subscribes to the user plane information of users in the AOI via the SMF to the associated UPF.

[0028] However, the above aspect does not take into consideration user mobility scenarios in SSC mode 1, i.e., does not consider the case where a user accesses services across SMF service areas. For example, as shown in Figure 2, in a scenario where a user in Tianjin accesses the Beijing International Trade Center (i.e., AOI), the anchor point SMF of the Tianjin user is in Tianjin, while the intermediate SMF of the Tianjin user is in Beijing. According to case 2 shown in Figure 1, the NWDAF can only subscribe to user plane information from the intermediate SMF of the Tianjin user. The user plane information needs to be collected via the anchor point UPF and the anchor point SMF, but cannot be collected via the intermediate UPF and the intermediate SMF. Therefore, the NWDAF cannot subscribe to the user plane information of the Tianjin user via the intermediate SMF of the Tianjin user. In other words, according to case 2 shown in Figure 1, the NWDAF cannot obtain complete user plane information of users located in the AOI, i.e., cannot accurately acquire or collect user plane information of users located in the AOI.

[0029] Based on this, in each embodiment of the present disclosure, considering the mobility scenario of the terminal in SSC mode 1, that is, considering the case where the terminal accesses services across SMF service areas, the NWDAF can first determine an SMF that meets certain conditions, and then subscribe the user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI to the SMF that meets certain conditions, among which: When the NWDAF subscribes to user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI to an SMF that satisfies the first condition, the first condition indicates that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the first terminal list. The first terminal list obtained via the AMF, which includes at least one terminal located in the AOI, necessarily includes terminals that access services across SMF service areas. Therefore, if the NWDAF subscribes to the user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI to an SMF that satisfies the first condition, the NWDAF will not miss the user plane information of the terminal that accesses services across SMF service areas. That is, the NWDAF can then obtain complete user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI. In other words, the NWDAF can accurately obtain or collect user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI. When the NWDAF subscribes to user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI to an SMF that satisfies the second condition, the second condition indicates that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the second terminal list, and the second terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI is acquired or determined through the first terminal list. Since the first terminal list acquired via the AMF necessarily includes terminals that access services across SMF service areas, the second terminal list also includes terminals that access services across SMF service areas. If the NWDAF subscribes to the user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI to the SMF that satisfies the second condition, the NWDAF will not miss the user plane information of the terminal that accesses services across SMF service areas. That is, the NWDAF can then obtain complete user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI. In other words, the NWDAF can accurately acquire or collect user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI. When the NWDAF subscribes to user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI to an SMF that satisfies a third condition, the third condition indicates that the SMF serves a first DNN and / or a first network slice (which may be expressed as a slice in English), and therefore the NWDAF can subscribe to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI to all SMFs that serve a specific network, a specific service, or a certain operator. These SMFs that satisfy the third condition can then obtain a first terminal list of at least one terminal located in the AOI via the AMF, and then subscribe user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI to the UPF corresponding to the terminal it serves based on the first terminal list. As a result, the NWDAF can then obtain complete user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI and avoid missing user plane information of the terminal that accesses services across SMF service areas. In other words, the NWDAF can accurately obtain or collect user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI. When the NWDAF subscribes to user plane information of terminals located in the AOI to an SMF that satisfies the fourth condition, since the fourth condition indicates that the SMF serves the AOI, the NWDAF can subscribe to user plane information of terminals located in the AOI to all SMFs that serve the AOI. These SMFs that satisfy the fourth condition then obtain, via the AMF, a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI. Then, based on the first terminal list, they can subscribe to the user plane information of the corresponding terminal to the anchor point SMF of the terminal that they serve as an intermediate SMF, or they can subscribe to the user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI to the UPF corresponding to the terminal that they serve without serving as an intermediate SMF, based on the first terminal list. As a result, the NWDAF can then obtain complete user plane information of terminals located in the AOI and avoid missing user plane information of terminals that access services across SMF service areas. In other words, the NWDAF can accurately acquire or collect user plane information of terminals located in the AOI.

[0030] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides for application to NWDAF, and as shown in FIG. 3, the method includes: a step 301 of determining an SMF that satisfies a specific condition; and step 302 of subscribing to an SMF that satisfies a specific condition for user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

[0031] In one embodiment, step 301 is specifically implemented as follows: Subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; It may include determining an SMF that satisfies a first condition based on the first terminal list, i.e., determining at least one SMF that satisfies a first condition, wherein the first condition indicates that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the first terminal list; Accordingly, the specific implementation of step 302 is as follows: It may also include transmitting first information to an SMF that satisfies a first condition (i.e., each SMF among the at least one SMF that satisfies the first condition), wherein the first information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

[0032] In practical application, the terminal may be referred to as a user equipment (UE) or a user.

[0033] In practical application, the user plane information may include delay, bandwidth, packet loss status, etc. The user plane information may also be referred to as user plane data, UPF information, UPF data, etc., but the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the name of the user plane information.

[0034] In practical application, in each embodiment of the present disclosure, the processing of the NWDAF may be triggered by a user of the NWDAF, for example, by an Application Function (AF) or another core network function other than the NWDAF. In other words, the NWDAF may receive a first request message (for example, a first request message sent from an AF), which is for requesting to subscribe (may be understood as obtaining or collecting) user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI. The first request message may include at least related information of the AOI. For example, the related information of the AOI may include an identifier of at least one tracking area (TA) corresponding to the AOI, or the related information of the AOI may include an identifier of at least one cell corresponding to the AOI.

[0035] In practical application, after receiving the first request message, the NWDAF may subscribe terminals located in an AOI to the AMF based on the first request message. Specifically, the NWDAF may send a second request message to the AMF to subscribe terminals located in an AOI, where the second request message may include at least information related to the AOI. After receiving the second request message, the AMF may determine the first terminal list based on the information related to the AOI and send the first terminal list to the NWDAF. Wherein, the second request message may be referred to as an AMF event exposure subscribe request (which may be expressed as Namf_EventExposure_Subscribe in English). The second request message for subscribing terminals located in an AOI may be understood to mean that the second request message is for subscribing to the number of terminals present in the AOI (which may be expressed as Number of UEs present in a geographical area in English).

[0036] In practical application, the first condition indicating that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the first terminal list may be understood to mean that the first condition indicating that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the first terminal list as a non-intermediate SMF.

[0037] In practical application, it can be understood that the SMF that satisfies the first condition must also have the capability to subscribe to and / or report user plane information (which may be understood as an Event Exposure Service in English), and the NWDAF may determine at least one SMF that satisfies the first condition via a Unified Data Management (UDM) and a Network Repository Function (NRF). Specifically, for each terminal in the first terminal list, the NWDAF may initiate a terminal context management get (which may be expressed as Nudm_UECM_Get in English) request to the UDM to obtain an SMF where the terminal is located (i.e., an SMF serving the terminal as a non-intermediate SMF), and may receive an SMF returned from the UDM via a response (which may be expressed as Response in English) message of the request. The NWDAF may then initiate a network capability discovery request (which may be expressed as Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request in English) message to the NRF to query an SMF capable of subscribing to and / or reporting user plane information, and the network capability discovery request message may include a service name (which may be expressed as Event Exposure Service in English) corresponding to "capability of subscribing to and / or reporting user plane information." The NWDAF may then take the intersection of the SMF returned from the UDM and the SMF returned from the NRF to obtain the SMF where the terminal is located that has the capability to subscribe to and / or report user plane information, i.e., determine at least one SMF that meets the first condition.

[0038] In practical application, the first information sent to each SMF among the at least one SMF that satisfies the first condition may include at least a ninth terminal list, where the ninth terminal list includes at least one terminal in the first terminal list served by the SMF, i.e., the ninth terminal list includes at least one terminal in the first terminal list served by the SMF as a non-intermediate SMF. After receiving the first information, the SMF may subscribe user plane information of the terminals located in the AOI to a corresponding UPF based on the ninth terminal list.

[0039] In practical application, the first request message may further include a third terminal list, which includes at least one terminal that needs to subscribe to user plane information. In this case, the NWDAF needs to obtain a second terminal list by taking the intersection of the third terminal list and the first terminal list, and then subscribe the user plane information of the terminals located in the AOI to an SMF that meets certain conditions based on the second terminal list.

[0040] Based on this, in one embodiment, the specific implementation of step 301 is as follows: Subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; determining a second terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, the second terminal list being acquired or determined through the first terminal list; and determining an SMF that satisfies a second condition based on the second terminal list, i.e., determining at least one SMF that satisfies a second condition, wherein the second condition indicates that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the second terminal list; Accordingly, the specific implementation of step 302 is as follows: It may also include transmitting second information to an SMF that satisfies a second condition (i.e., each SMF among the at least one SMF that satisfies the second condition), wherein the second information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

[0041] Wherein, the second terminal list being acquired or determined through the first terminal list may be understood to mean that the second terminal list is a full set or a subset of the first terminal list.

[0042] Specifically, in one embodiment, determining the second terminal list includes: obtaining the third terminal list; The method may include determining the second terminal list by comparing the terminals included in the third terminal list with the terminals included in the first terminal list, in other words, obtaining the second terminal list by taking the intersection of the third terminal list and the first terminal list.

[0043] In practical application, after receiving the first request message, the NWDAF may locally store the third terminal list, i.e., the NWDAF may obtain the third terminal list from locally stored information.

[0044] In practical application, the second condition indicating that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the second terminal list may be understood to mean that the second condition indicating that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the second terminal list as a non-intermediate SMF.

[0045] In practical application, it can be understood that the SMF satisfying the second condition also needs to have the capability of subscribing to and / or reporting user plane information, and the NWDAF may determine at least one SMF satisfying the second condition via the UDM and the NRF. The specific manner in which the NWDAF determines at least one SMF satisfying the second condition via the UDM and the NRF is the same as the specific manner in which the NWDAF determines at least one SMF satisfying the first condition via the UDM and the NRF, and is not described here.

[0046] In practical application, the second information sent to each SMF among the at least one SMF satisfying the second condition may include at least a tenth terminal list, where the tenth terminal list includes at least one terminal in the second terminal list served by the SMF, i.e., the tenth terminal list includes at least one terminal in the second terminal list served by the SMF as a non-intermediate SMF. After receiving the second information, the SMF may subscribe user plane information of terminals located in the AOI to a corresponding UPF based on the tenth terminal list.

[0047] In actual application, the NWDAF may update (which may be understood as maintenance) the first terminal list and / or the second terminal list by subscribing to the AMF for events of a terminal moving within or outside the AOI.

[0048] Based on this, in one embodiment, the method comprises: Sending fifth information (i.e., an AMF event exposure subscribe (which may be expressed as Namf_EventExposure_Subscribe in English) request) to the AMF, the fifth information being for subscribing to an event of a terminal moving in or out of the AOI (which may be expressed as UE moving in or out of Area of ​​Interest in English); Receiving a fourth terminal list sent from the AMF, the fourth terminal list including at least one terminal moving within or outside the AOI; The method may further include updating the first terminal list using the fourth terminal list and / or updating the second terminal list using the fourth terminal list.

[0049] When transmitting first information to each SMF among at least one SMF that satisfies a first condition, the NWDAF may update the first terminal list using the fourth terminal list. When transmitting second information to each SMF among at least one SMF that satisfies a second condition, the NWDAF may first update the first terminal list using the fourth terminal list, and then update the second terminal list using the third terminal list and the updated first terminal list, or the NWDAF may update the second terminal list directly using the third terminal list and the fourth terminal list.

[0050] In practical application, the SMF may subscribe terminals located in the AOI to the AMF to obtain a first terminal list, and then subscribe user plane information of the terminals located in the AOI to the corresponding UPF based on the first terminal list. In this case, to avoid missing user plane information of terminals accessing services across SMF service areas, the NWDAF needs to start subscribing to as many SMFs as possible.

[0051] Based on this, in one embodiment, the specific implementation of step 301 is as follows: Determining an SMF that satisfies a third condition, i.e., determining at least one SMF that satisfies a third condition, wherein the third condition indicates that the SMF serves the first DNN and / or the first network slice; Accordingly, the specific implementation of step 302 is as follows: It may also include transmitting third information to an SMF that satisfies a third condition (i.e., each SMF among the at least one SMF that satisfies the third condition), wherein the third information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

[0052] In practical application, the first request message may include the first DNN, or the first request message may include related information of the first network slice, such as an identifier (e.g., an ID) of the first network slice, or the first request message may include related information of the first DNN and the first network slice.

[0053] In practical application, the SMF serving the first DNN and / or the first network slice may be understood to mean an SMF serving a specific network, a specific service, or a certain operator. In this way, by determining an SMF that satisfies the third condition, the NWDAF can subscribe to user plane information of terminals located in the AOI to as many SMFs as possible, so that the NWDAF can then obtain complete user plane information of terminals located in the AOI, i.e., the NWDAF can accurately obtain or collect user plane information of terminals located in the AOI.

[0054] In practical application, it can be understood that the SMF satisfying the third condition also needs to be capable of subscribing to and / or reporting user plane information, and the NWDAF may determine at least one SMF satisfying the third condition via the NRF. Specifically, the NWDAF may initiate a network capability discovery request (which may be expressed as Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request in English) message to the NRF to query an SMF serving the first DNN and / or the first network slice that is capable of subscribing to and / or reporting user plane information, and may receive at least one SMF that satisfies the third condition returned from the NRF via a response (which may be expressed as Response in English) message to the request.

[0055] In practical application, the third information sent to each SMF of at least one SMF that satisfies the third condition may include at least the relevant information of the AOI. After receiving the third information, the SMF may subscribe the terminals located in the AOI to the AMF based on the relevant information of the AOI to obtain a first terminal list, and then subscribe the user plane information of the terminals located in the AOI to a corresponding UPF based on the first terminal list.

[0056] In practical application, when the first terminal list is obtained by subscribing terminals located in the AOI from an SMF to an AMF, the NWDAF may start subscribing only to at least one SMF serving the AOI. The SMF serving the AOI obtains the first terminal list by subscribing terminals located in the AOI to an AMF. Then, based on the first terminal list, it can subscribe to the user plane information of the corresponding terminal to the anchor point SMF of the terminal it serves as an intermediate SMF, or subscribe to the user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI to the UPF corresponding to the terminal it serves without serving as an intermediate SMF (i.e., the terminal it serves as a non-intermediate SMF) based on the first terminal list. As a result, the NWDAF can subsequently obtain complete user plane information of the terminals located in the AOI and avoid missing user plane information of terminals that access services across SMF service areas. In other words, the NWDAF can accurately obtain or collect user plane information of the terminals located in the AOI.

[0057] Based on this, in one embodiment, the specific implementation of step 301 is as follows: determining an SMF that satisfies a fourth condition, i.e., determining at least one SMF that satisfies a fourth condition, wherein the fourth condition indicates that the SMF serves an AOI; Accordingly, the specific implementation of step 302 is as follows: It may also include transmitting fourth information to an SMF that satisfies a fourth condition (i.e., each SMF among the at least one SMF that satisfies the fourth condition), wherein the fourth information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

[0058] In practical application, it can be understood that the SMF satisfying the fourth condition also needs to have the capability to subscribe to and / or report user plane information, and the NWDAF may determine at least one SMF satisfying the fourth condition via the NRF. Specifically, the NWDAF may initiate a network capability discovery request (which may be expressed as Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request in English) message to the NRF to query for an SMF serving the AOI that has the capability to subscribe to and / or report user plane information, and may receive at least one SMF that satisfies the fourth condition returned from the NRF via a response (which may be expressed as Response in English) message to the request.

[0059] In practical application, the fourth information sent to each SMF of at least one SMF satisfying the fourth condition may include at least related information of the AOI. After receiving the fourth information, the SMF may subscribe terminals located in the AOI to an AMF based on the related information of the AOI to obtain a first terminal list, and then subscribe user plane information of corresponding terminals to an anchor point SMF of terminals served by the SMF as an intermediate SMF based on the first terminal list, or subscribe user plane information of terminals located in the AOI to a UPF corresponding to terminals served by the SMF without serving as an intermediate SMF (i.e., terminals served by the SMF as a non-intermediate SMF) based on the first terminal list. As a result, the NWDAF can subsequently obtain complete user plane information of terminals located in the AOI and avoid missing user plane information of terminals accessing services across SMF service areas. In other words, the NWDAF can accurately obtain or collect user plane information of terminals located in the AOI.

[0060] Accordingly, the embodiments of the present disclosure further provide an information transmission method applied to SMF, as shown in FIG. 4, the method includes: Step 401 of receiving subscription information sent from the NWDAF; Step 402 includes subscribing to the corresponding UPF for user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI based on the received subscription information.

[0061] In one embodiment, step 401 is specifically implemented as follows: receiving first information transmitted from the NWDAF when a first condition is satisfied, wherein the first condition may include: the SMF serving at least one terminal in a first terminal list of the NWDAF; the first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; and the first information being for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI.

[0062] In practical application, the first information may include at least a ninth terminal list, where the ninth terminal list includes at least one terminal in the first terminal list served by the SMF, i.e., the ninth terminal list includes at least one terminal in the first terminal list served by the SMF as a non-intermediate SMF. After receiving the first information, the SMF may subscribe user plane information of terminals located in the AOI to a corresponding UPF based on the ninth terminal list.

[0063] Based on this, in one embodiment, when the first information is received, step 402 is specifically implemented as follows: Determine a UPF that satisfies a seventh condition based on the ninth terminal list, i.e., determine at least one UPF that satisfies a seventh condition, where the seventh condition indicates that the UPF serves at least one terminal in the ninth terminal list; It may also include transmitting fourteenth information to a UPF that satisfies the seventh condition (i.e., each UPF among at least one UPF that satisfies the seventh condition), wherein the fourteenth information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

[0064] In practical application, the seventh condition indicating that the UPF serves at least one terminal in the ninth terminal list may be understood to mean that the seventh condition indicating that the UPF serves at least one terminal in the ninth terminal list as a non-intermediate UPF.

[0065] In practical application, it can be understood that a UPF that satisfies the seventh condition also needs to have the ability to subscribe to and / or report user plane information, and the SMF may determine at least one UPF that satisfies the seventh condition via the NRF. Specifically, the SMF may first determine the UPF in which each terminal in the ninth terminal list is located (i.e., a UPF serving the terminal as a non-intermediate UPF), and then query for a UPF capable of subscribing to and / or reporting user plane information by initiating a network capability discovery request (which may be expressed as Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request in English) message to the NRF, where the network capability discovery request message may carry a service name (which may be expressed as Event Exposure Service Name in English) corresponding to the "ability to subscribe to and / or report user plane information". The SMF may then receive a UPF returned from the NRF via a response (which may be expressed as Response in English) message to the request, and may intersect the determined UPF in which the terminal is located and the UPF returned from the NRF to obtain a UPF in which the terminal is located that is capable of subscribing to and / or reporting user plane information, i.e., determine at least one UPF that satisfies the seventh condition.

[0066] In practical application, the SMF may send the fourteenth information to each UPF of at least one UPF that satisfies the seventh condition via the N4 interface, and the fourteenth information may include at least an identifier (e.g., an ID) of at least one terminal in the ninth terminal list that the UPF serves as a non-intermediate UPF. After receiving the fourteenth information, the UPF may report user plane information of a corresponding terminal (i.e., an associated terminal of the fourteenth information, which may be understood as a terminal corresponding to the terminal identifier included in the fourteenth information) to the NWDAF via an event exposure notification (which may be expressed as Nupf_EventExposure_Notify in English) message based on the terminal identifier included in the fourteenth information.

[0067] In one embodiment, step 401 is specifically implemented as follows: receiving second information transmitted from the NWDAF when a second condition is satisfied, the second condition may include: the SMF serving at least one terminal in a second terminal list of the NWDAF, the second terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; and the second information being for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI.

[0068] In practical application, the second information may include at least a tenth terminal list, where the tenth terminal list includes at least one terminal in the second terminal list served by the SMF, i.e., the tenth terminal list includes at least one terminal in the second terminal list served by the SMF as a non-intermediate SMF. After receiving the second information, the SMF may subscribe user plane information of terminals located in the AOI to a corresponding UPF based on the tenth terminal list.

[0069] Based on this, in one embodiment, when the second information is received, step 402 is specifically implemented as follows: Determine a UPF that satisfies an eighth condition based on the tenth terminal list, i.e., determine at least one UPF that satisfies an eighth condition, where the eighth condition indicates that the UPF serves at least one terminal in the tenth terminal list; It may also include transmitting fifteenth information to a UPF that satisfies the eighth condition (i.e., each UPF among at least one UPF that satisfies the eighth condition), wherein the fifteenth information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

[0070] In practical application, the eighth condition indicating that the UPF serves at least one terminal in the tenth terminal list may be understood to mean that the eighth condition indicating that the UPF serves at least one terminal in the tenth terminal list as a non-intermediate UPF.

[0071] In practical application, it can be understood that the UPF satisfying the eighth condition also needs to have the capability of subscribing to and / or reporting user plane information, and the SMF may determine at least one UPF satisfying the eighth condition via the NRF, where the specific manner in which the SMF determines at least one UPF satisfying the eighth condition via the NRF is the same as the specific manner in which the SMF determines at least one UPF satisfying the seventh condition via the NRF, and will not be described here.

[0072] In practical application, the SMF may send the fifteenth information to each UPF of at least one UPF that satisfies the eighth condition via an N4 interface, and the fifteenth information may include at least an identifier (e.g., an ID) of at least one terminal in the tenth terminal list that the UPF serves as a non-intermediate UPF. After receiving the fifteenth information, the UPF may report user plane information of a corresponding terminal (i.e., an associated terminal of the fifteenth information, which may be understood as a terminal corresponding to the terminal identifier included in the fifteenth information) to the NWDAF via an event exposure notification (which may be expressed as Nupf_EventExposure_Notify in English) message based on the terminal identifier included in the fifteenth information.

[0073] In one embodiment, step 401 is specifically implemented as follows: If a third condition is met, receiving third information transmitted from the NWDAF, wherein the third condition indicates that the SMF serves a first DNN and / or a first network slice, and the third information may include subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI.

[0074] In practical application, the third information may include at least related information of the AOI. After receiving the third information, the SMF may subscribe the terminals located in the AOI to the AMF based on the related information of the AOI to obtain a first terminal list, and then subscribe user plane information of the terminals located in the AOI to a corresponding UPF based on the first terminal list.

[0075] Based on this, in one embodiment, when the third information is received, step 402 is specifically implemented as follows: Subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; Determine a UPF that satisfies a fifth condition based on the first terminal list, i.e., determine at least one UPF that satisfies a fifth condition, where the fifth condition indicates that the UPF serves at least one terminal in the first terminal list; It may also include transmitting sixth information to a UPF that satisfies a fifth condition (i.e., each UPF among at least one UPF that satisfies the fifth condition), wherein the sixth information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

[0076] In actual application, the specific manner in which the SMF obtains the first terminal list by subscribing terminals located in the AOI to the AMF is the same as the specific manner in which the NWDAF obtains the first terminal list by subscribing terminals located in the AOI to the AMF, and will not be described in detail here.

[0077] In practical application, the fifth condition indicating that the UPF serves at least one terminal in the first terminal list may be understood to mean that the UPF serves at least one terminal in the first terminal list as a non-intermediate UPF. It can also be understood that for at least one terminal in the first terminal list that the UPF serves as a non-intermediate UPF, the SMF serves these terminals as a non-intermediate SMF.

[0078] In practical application, it can be understood that a UPF that satisfies the fifth condition also needs to have the capability of subscribing to and / or reporting user plane information, and the SMF may determine at least one UPF that satisfies the fifth condition via the NRF, where the specific manner in which the SMF determines at least one UPF that satisfies the fifth condition via the NRF is the same as the specific manner in which the SMF determines at least one UPF that satisfies the seventh condition via the NRF, and will not be described here.

[0079] In practical application, the SMF may send the sixth information to each UPF of at least one UPF that satisfies the fifth condition via an N4 interface, and the sixth information may include at least an identifier (e.g., ID) of at least one terminal in the first terminal list that the UPF serves as a non-intermediate UPF. After receiving the sixth information, the UPF may report user plane information of a corresponding terminal (i.e., an associated terminal of the sixth information, which may be understood as a terminal corresponding to the terminal identifier included in the sixth information) to the NWDAF via an event exposure notification (which may be expressed as Nupf_EventExposure_Notify in English) message based on the terminal identifier included in the sixth information.

[0080] In practical application, if the first request message includes a third terminal list, the third information may also include the third terminal list, which includes at least one terminal that needs to subscribe to user plane information. In this case, the SMF may obtain a fifth terminal list by taking the intersection of the third terminal list, the first terminal list, and a sixth terminal list that includes at least one terminal that it serves, and then subscribe the user plane information of the terminals located in the AOI to the corresponding UPF based on the fifth terminal list.

[0081] Based on this, in one embodiment, when the third information is received, step 402 is specifically implemented as follows: Subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; determining a fifth terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, the fifth terminal list being acquired or determined through the first terminal list; Determine a UPF that satisfies a sixth condition based on the fifth terminal list, i.e., determine at least one UPF that satisfies a sixth condition, where the sixth condition indicates that the UPF serves at least one terminal in the fifth terminal list; The method may further include transmitting seventh information to a UPF that satisfies a sixth condition (i.e., each UPF among at least one UPF that satisfies the sixth condition), wherein the seventh information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

[0082] Wherein, the fifth terminal list is obtained or determined through the first terminal list, the fifth terminal list may be understood to be a full set or a subset of the first terminal list.

[0083] Specifically, in one embodiment, when the third information includes at least the third terminal list, determining the fifth terminal list includes: Obtaining a sixth terminal list including at least one terminal served by the SMF; The method may also include determining the fifth terminal list by comparing the terminals included in the third terminal list, the terminals included in the sixth terminal list, and the terminals included in the first terminal list.

[0084] In practical application, the sixth terminal list including at least one terminal served by the SMF may be understood to mean that the sixth terminal list includes at least one terminal served by the SMF as a non-intermediate SMF.

[0085] In practical application, the sixth condition indicating that the UPF serves at least one terminal in the fifth terminal list may be understood to mean that the sixth condition indicating that the UPF serves at least one terminal in the fifth terminal list as a non-intermediate UPF.

[0086] In practical application, it can be understood that the UPF satisfying the sixth condition also needs to have the capability of subscribing to and / or reporting user plane information, and the SMF may determine at least one UPF satisfying the sixth condition via the NRF, where the specific manner in which the SMF determines at least one UPF satisfying the sixth condition via the NRF is the same as the specific manner in which the SMF determines at least one UPF satisfying the seventh condition via the NRF, and will not be described here.

[0087] In practical application, the SMF may send the seventh information to each UPF of at least one UPF that satisfies the sixth condition via an N4 interface, and the seventh information may include at least an identifier (e.g., ID) of at least one terminal in the fifth terminal list that the UPF serves as a non-intermediate UPF. After receiving the seventh information, the UPF may report user plane information of a corresponding terminal (i.e., an associated terminal of the seventh information, which may be understood as a terminal corresponding to the terminal identifier included in the seventh information) to the NWDAF via an event exposure notification (which may be expressed as Nupf_EventExposure_Notify in English) message based on the terminal identifier included in the seventh information.

[0088] In actual application, the SMF may update (which may be understood as maintenance) the first terminal list and / or the fifth terminal list by subscribing to the AMF for events of a terminal moving within or outside the AOI.

[0089] Based on this, in one embodiment, the method comprises: Sending eighth information (i.e., an AMF event exposure subscribe (which may be expressed as Namf_EventExposure_Subscribe in English) request) to the AMF, the eighth information being for subscribing to an event of a terminal moving in or out of the AOI (which may be expressed as UE moving in or out of Area of ​​Interest in English); Receiving a fourth terminal list sent from the AMF, the fourth terminal list including at least one terminal moving within or outside the AOI; The method may further include updating the first terminal list using the fourth terminal list and / or updating the fifth terminal list using the fourth terminal list.

[0090] When transmitting the sixth information to each UPF among at least one UPF that satisfies the fifth condition, the SMF may update the first terminal list using the fourth terminal list. When transmitting the seventh information to each UPF among at least one UPF that satisfies the sixth condition, the SMF may first update the first terminal list using the fourth terminal list, and then update the fifth terminal list using the third terminal list, the sixth terminal list, and the updated first terminal list, or the SMF may update the fifth terminal list directly using the third terminal list, the fourth terminal list, and the sixth terminal list.

[0091] In one embodiment, step 401 is specifically implemented as follows: If a fourth condition is met, receiving fourth information transmitted from the NWDAF, the fourth condition may include indicating that the SMF serves an AOI, and the fourth information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

[0092] In practical application, the fourth information may include at least related information of the AOI. After receiving the fourth information, the SMF may subscribe the terminals located in the AOI to the AMF based on the related information of the AOI to obtain a first terminal list, and then subscribe user plane information of the corresponding terminals to the anchor point SMF of the terminals served by the SMF itself as an intermediate SMF based on the first terminal list, or subscribe user plane information of the terminals located in the AOI to the UPF corresponding to the terminals served by the SMF itself without serving as an intermediate SMF (i.e., terminals served by the SMF itself as a non-intermediate SMF) based on the first terminal list.

[0093] Based on this, in one embodiment, when the fourth information is received, step 402 is specifically implemented as follows: Subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; For each terminal included in the first terminal list, when the SMF serves the terminal as an intermediate SMF, send ninth information to the anchor point SMF of the terminal to subscribe user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI, so that the anchor point SMF of the terminal subscribes the user plane information of the terminal to the anchor point UPF of the terminal; If the SMF serves the terminal without being an intermediate SMF (i.e., the SMF serves the terminal as a non-intermediate SMF), it may also include sending tenth information for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI to the UPF serving the terminal (i.e., the UPF serving the terminal as a non-intermediate UPF).

[0094] In practical application, the SMF may send the ninth information to the anchor point SMF of the terminal via the N16a interface, where the ninth information may include at least an identifier (e.g., an ID) of the corresponding terminal. After receiving the ninth information, the anchor point SMF of the terminal may send a request message to the anchor point UPF of the terminal to subscribe to user plane information of the terminal (the request message may include the identifier of the terminal). After receiving the request message, the anchor point UPF of the terminal may report the user plane information of the terminal to the NWDAF via an event exposure notification (which may be expressed as Nupf_EventExposure_Notify in English) message based on the identifier of the terminal.

[0095] In practical application, the SMF may send the tenth information to a UPF where the terminal is located (i.e., a UPF serving the terminal as a non-intermediate UPF) via an N4 interface, where the tenth information may include at least an identifier (e.g., ID) of the corresponding terminal. After receiving the tenth information, the UPF where the terminal is located may report user plane information of the terminal to the NWDAF via an event exposure notification (which may be expressed as Nupf_EventExposure_Notify in English) message based on the identifier of the terminal. It can be understood that the UPF where the terminal is located also needs to be capable of subscribing to and / or reporting user plane information, and the SMF may determine via the NRF whether the UPF is capable of subscribing to and / or reporting user plane information, and may send the tenth information to the UPF if it is determined that the UPF is capable of subscribing to and / or reporting user plane information.

[0096] In practical application, if the first request message includes a third terminal list, the fourth information may also include the third terminal list, which includes at least one terminal that needs to subscribe to user plane information. In this case, the SMF may obtain a seventh terminal list by taking the intersection of the third terminal list, the first terminal list, and an eighth terminal list including at least one terminal that it serves, and then, based on the seventh terminal list, subscribe to the user plane information of the corresponding terminal to the anchor point SMF of the terminal that it serves as an intermediate SMF, or based on the seventh terminal list, subscribe to the user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI to the UPF corresponding to the terminal that it serves without being an intermediate SMF (i.e., the terminal that it serves as a non-intermediate SMF).

[0097] Based on this, in one embodiment, when the fourth information is received, step 402 is specifically implemented as follows: Subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; determining a seventh terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, the seventh terminal list being acquired or determined through the first terminal list; For each terminal included in the seventh terminal list, when the SMF serves the terminal as an intermediate SMF, send eleventh information to the anchor point SMF of the terminal to subscribe user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI, so that the anchor point SMF of the terminal subscribes the user plane information of the terminal to the anchor point UPF of the terminal; When the SMF serves the terminal without being an intermediate SMF (i.e., the SMF serves the terminal as a non-intermediate SMF), the method may include sending twelfth information to a UPF serving the terminal (i.e., a UPF serving the terminal as a non-intermediate UPF), which may include sending twelfth information for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI to a UPF serving the terminal (i.e., a UPF serving the terminal as a non-intermediate UPF).

[0098] Wherein, the seventh terminal list is obtained or determined through the first terminal list, it may be understood that the seventh terminal list is a full set or a subset of the first terminal list.

[0099] Specifically, in one embodiment, when the fourth information includes at least the third terminal list, determining the seventh terminal list includes: Obtaining an eighth terminal list including at least one terminal served by the SMF; The method may include determining the seventh terminal list by comparing the terminals included in the third terminal list, the terminals included in the eighth terminal list, and the terminals included in the first terminal list.

[0100] In practical application, the SMF may send the eleventh information to the anchor point SMF of the terminal via the N16a interface, where the eleventh information may include at least an identifier (e.g., an ID) of the corresponding terminal. After receiving the eleventh information, the anchor point SMF of the terminal may send a request message to the anchor point UPF of the terminal to subscribe to user plane information of the terminal (the request message may include the identifier of the terminal). After receiving the request message, the anchor point UPF of the terminal may report the user plane information of the terminal to the NWDAF via an event exposure notification (which may be expressed as Nupf_EventExposure_Notify in English) message based on the identifier of the terminal.

[0101] In practical application, the SMF may send the twelfth information to a UPF where the terminal is located (i.e., a UPF serving the terminal as a non-intermediate UPF) via an N4 interface, where the twelfth information may include at least an identifier (e.g., ID) of the corresponding terminal. After receiving the twelfth information, the UPF where the terminal is located may report user plane information of the terminal to the NWDAF via an event exposure notification (which may be expressed as Nupf_EventExposure_Notify in English) message based on the identifier of the terminal. It can be understood that the UPF where the terminal is located also needs to be capable of subscribing to and / or reporting user plane information, and the SMF may determine, via the NRF, whether the UPF is capable of subscribing to and / or reporting user plane information, and may send the twelfth information to the UPF if it is determined that the UPF is capable of subscribing to and / or reporting user plane information.

[0102] In practical application, the SMF may update (which may be understood as maintenance) the first terminal list and / or the seventh terminal list by subscribing to the AMF for events of a terminal moving within or outside the AOI.

[0103] Based on this, in one embodiment, the method comprises: Sending thirteenth information (i.e., an AMF event exposure subscribe (which may be expressed as Namf_EventExposure_Subscribe in English) request) to the AMF, the thirteenth information being for subscribing to an event of a terminal moving in or out of the AOI (which may be expressed as UE moving in or out of Area of ​​Interest in English); Receiving a fourth terminal list sent from the AMF, the fourth terminal list including at least one terminal moving within or outside the AOI; The method may further include updating the first terminal list using the fourth terminal list and / or updating the seventh terminal list using the fourth terminal list.

[0104] Wherein, when subscribing to user plane information of a terminal based on the first terminal list, the SMF may update the first terminal list using the fourth terminal list. When subscribing to user plane information of a terminal based on the seventh terminal list, the SMF may first update the first terminal list using the fourth terminal list, and then update the seventh terminal list using the third terminal list, the eighth terminal list, and the updated first terminal list, or the SMF may update the seventh terminal list directly using the third terminal list, the fourth terminal list, and the eighth terminal list.

[0105] In practical application, in each embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal list (first terminal list, second terminal list, third terminal list, fourth terminal list, fifth terminal list, sixth terminal list, seventh terminal list, eighth terminal list, ninth terminal list, tenth terminal list) may be understood as one or a set of terminals (in English, may be expressed as a group of UE), and may specifically include an identifier (e.g., ID) of each terminal. In addition, the terminal list may be referred to as a user list (in English, may be expressed as a UE list), but the embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit the name of the terminal list.

[0106] In the information transmission method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, an NWDAF subscribes a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, and transmits first information to an SMF that satisfies a first condition, the first condition representing that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the first terminal list, and the first information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; or an NWDAF subscribes a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, and determines a second terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, the second terminal list being acquired or determined through the first terminal list, and transmits first information to an SMF that satisfies a second condition. The NWDAF sends second information to the SMF satisfying a third condition, the third condition indicating that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the second terminal list, and the second information is for subscribing to user plane information of terminals located in the AOI; or the NWDAF sends third information to the SMF satisfying a third condition, the third condition indicating that the SMF serves a first DNN and / or a first network slice, and the third information is for subscribing to user plane information of terminals located in the AOI; or the NWDAF sends fourth information to the SMF satisfying a fourth condition, the fourth condition indicating that the SMF serves an AOI, and the fourth information is for subscribing to user plane information of terminals located in the AOI. In an aspect according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, taking into consideration the mobility scenario of a terminal in SSC mode 1, that is, the case where a terminal accesses a service across SMF service areas, the NWDAF can first determine an SMF that meets certain conditions, and then subscribe user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI to the SMF that meets certain conditions, among which: When the NWDAF subscribes to user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI to an SMF that satisfies the first condition, the first condition indicates that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the first terminal list. The first terminal list obtained via the AMF, which includes at least one terminal located in the AOI, necessarily includes terminals that access services across SMF service areas. Therefore, if the NWDAF subscribes to the user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI to an SMF that satisfies the first condition, the NWDAF will not miss the user plane information of the terminal that accesses services across SMF service areas. That is, the NWDAF can then obtain complete user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI. In other words, the NWDAF can accurately obtain or collect user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI. When the NWDAF subscribes to user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI to an SMF that satisfies the second condition, the second condition indicates that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the second terminal list, and the second terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI is acquired or determined through the first terminal list. Since the first terminal list acquired via the AMF necessarily includes terminals that access services across SMF service areas, the second terminal list also includes terminals that access services across SMF service areas. If the NWDAF subscribes to the user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI to the SMF that satisfies the second condition, the NWDAF will not miss the user plane information of the terminal that accesses services across SMF service areas. That is, the NWDAF can then obtain complete user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI. In other words, the NWDAF can accurately acquire or collect user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI. When the NWDAF subscribes to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI to an SMF that satisfies the third condition, the third condition indicates that the SMF serves a first DNN and / or a first network slice. Therefore, the NWDAF can subscribe to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI to all SMFs that serve a specific network, a specific service, or an operator. These SMFs that satisfy the third condition can then obtain a first terminal list of at least one terminal located in the AOI via the AMF, and then subscribe user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI to the UPF corresponding to the terminal it serves based on the first terminal list. As a result, the NWDAF can then obtain complete user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI and avoid missing user plane information of terminals that access services across SMF service areas. In other words, the NWDAF can accurately obtain or collect user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI. When the NWDAF subscribes to user plane information of terminals located in the AOI to an SMF that satisfies the fourth condition, since the fourth condition indicates that the SMF serves the AOI, the NWDAF can subscribe to user plane information of terminals located in the AOI to all SMFs that serve the AOI. These SMFs that satisfy the fourth condition then obtain, via the AMF, a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI. Then, based on the first terminal list, they can subscribe to the user plane information of the corresponding terminal to the anchor point SMF of the terminal that they serve as an intermediate SMF, or they can subscribe to the user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI to the UPF corresponding to the terminal that they serve without serving as an intermediate SMF, based on the first terminal list. As a result, the NWDAF can then obtain complete user plane information of terminals located in the AOI and avoid missing user plane information of terminals that access services across SMF service areas. In other words, the NWDAF can accurately acquire or collect user plane information of terminals located in the AOI.

[0107] The present disclosure will now be described in more detail with reference to application examples.

[0108] In this application example, the terminal is referred to as a user, the terminal list is referred to as a user list, the user plane information is referred to as UPF data, the anchor point SMF is represented as anchor-SMF, the intermediate SMF is represented as I-SMF, the non-intermediate SMF is represented as non-I-SMF, the anchor point UPF is represented as anchor-UPF, the intermediate UPF is represented as I-UPF, and the non-intermediate UPF is represented as non-I-UPF.

[0109] This application example takes into consideration the user mobility scenario in SSC mode 1, i.e., when a user accesses services across SMF service areas, and proposes the following three modes for disclosing UPF data for AOIs. In aspect 1, the NWDAF first subscribes to a list of users in the AOI via the AMF, and queries the SMF where these users are located (i.e., non-I-SMF) via the UDM, and the NWDAF then initiates UPF data subscriptions for the corresponding users to the SMF. In aspect 2, the NWDAF initiates a UPF data subscription for a user in the AOI to all SMFs associated with a specific DNN (i.e., the first DNN) and a specific slice (i.e., the first network slice), and the SMF subscribes to a user list in the AOI via the AMF and queries the device of the SMF as a non-I-SMF to see if a user in the user list exists. If a user in the user list exists, the NWDAF initiates a UPF data subscription for the user to the corresponding UPF (i.e., non-I-UPF) where the user is located. In aspect 3, the NWDAF queries all SMFs corresponding to the AOI via the NRF and initiates UPF data subscriptions for users in the AOI to these SMFs; the SMF subscribes to a user list in the AOI via the AMF and determines whether a user in the user list exists in the SMF (the SMF is an I-SMF or a non-I-SMF); if a user exists in the SMF, the SMF needs to further determine whether it serves the user as an I-SMF; if the SMF determines that it serves the user as an I-SMF, it needs to forward the UPF data subscription message for the user to the anchor-SMF of the user via the N16a interface to initiate the UPF data subscription for the user to the anchor-UPF by the anchor-SMF; if the SMF determines that it serves the user as a non-I-SMF, it directly initiates the UPF data subscription for the user to the non-I-UPF of the user.

[0110] Specific flows of the above three aspects will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS.

[0111] In this application example, as shown in FIG. 5, aspect 1 may specifically include the following steps 501 to 509. Step 501: The NWDAF initiates an AMF event publication subscribe request (i.e., the above-mentioned second request message) to the AMF to obtain the user list (i.e., the above-mentioned first terminal list) within the AOI, and then executes step 502. Here, the event exposure subscribe request to obtain a list of users within an AOI may be expressed in English as Namf_EventExposure_Subscribe using “Number of UEs present in a geographical area”. Step 502: The NWDAF initiates an AMF event publication subscribe request (i.e., the above-mentioned fifth information) to the AMF to obtain user update information (i.e., the above-mentioned fourth terminal list) within the AOI, and then executes step 503. Here, the event exposure subscribe request to obtain user update information within the AOI may be expressed in English as Namf_EventExposure_Subscribe using “UE moving in or out of Area of ​​Interest”. Step 503: The NWDAF determines the user list for UPF data reporting (i.e., the first terminal list or the second terminal list) (in English, this may be expressed as Determine the UE list for data reporting), and then performs step 504. Here, the first request message received by the NWDAF and sent from the AF or from another core network network function other than the NWDAF, requesting to subscribe to UPF data of users located in the AOI, may include AOI information and one or a set of user identifiers (i.e., the above-mentioned third terminal list), and when the first request message includes only AOI information, the user list for UPF data reporting refers to the above-mentioned first terminal list, and when the first request message includes one or a set of user identifiers, the user list for UPF data reporting refers to the above-mentioned second terminal list. Step 504: The NWDAF queries the SMF (ie, non-I-SMF) where each user in the user list is located via the UDM, and then executes step 505. Here, the NWDAF may send a request message to the UDM to get terminal context management (which may be expressed as Nudm_UECM_Get in English) and receive a response message from the UDM to the request (which may be expressed as Response in English). Step 505: The NWDAF queries the SMF via the NRF for the capability to subscribe to and / or report UPF data, and then executes step 506. Here, the NWDAF may query for an SMF that has the capability to subscribe to and / or report UPF data by initiating a Network Capability Discovery Request (which may be expressed as Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request in English) message to the NRF, which may carry a service name (which may be expressed as Event Exposure Service Name in English) corresponding to the "capability to subscribe to and / or report UPF data", and the NWDAF may receive a response (which may be expressed as Response in English) message from the NRF to the request. Step 506: The NWDAF subscribes to the UPF data of the user in the AOI to the SMF where the user is located and has the capability to subscribe to and / or report UPF data (i.e., the SMF that satisfies the first or second condition above), and then executes step 507. Here, the subscription message (i.e., the above-mentioned first information or second information) sent from the NWDAF to the SMF may be expressed in English as UPF Data Subscription Request with “Event Exposure Service Name”, and this step may be understood as the NWDAF initiating a UPF data subscription to the UPF where the user is located via the SMF where the user is located, which is capable of subscribing to and / or reporting UPF data. Step 507: The SMF queries the UPF via the NRF for the capability to subscribe to and / or report UPF data, and then executes step 508. Step 508: The SMF initiates a UPF data subscription (i.e., the fourteenth or fifteenth information above) to a UPF where the user is located that has the capability to subscribe to and / or report UPF data (i.e., a UPF that meets the seventh or eighth condition above), and then executes step 509. Here, before initiating the subscription to the UPF, the SMF may establish a connection via a Session Establishment Request / Response (which may be expressed in English as Session Establishment Request / Response) message and initiate the subscription to the UPF via the N4 interface. Step 509: The UPF reports the UPF data of relevant users within the AOI to the NWDAF via an Event Exposure Notification (which may be expressed as Nupf_EventExposure_Notify in English) message.

[0112] In practical application, the above step 502 may be selectively performed, that is, step 502 may be performed or may not be performed, which can be specifically determined according to needs.

[0113] In this application example, as shown in FIG. 6, aspect 2 may specifically include the following steps 601 to 608. Step 601: The NWDAF queries, via the NRF, a specific DNN (i.e., the first DNN), a specific slice (i.e., the first network slice), and an SMF (i.e., an SMF that meets the third condition) that has the capability to subscribe to and / or report UPF data, and then executes step 602. Here, the NWDAF may initiate a network capability discovery request (which may be expressed as Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request in English) message to the NRF to query for an SMF that is a specific DNN, a specific slice, and has the ability to subscribe to and / or report UPF data (i.e., an SMF that meets the third condition above), and the message may carry a service name (which may be expressed as Event Exposure Service Name in English) corresponding to the "ability to subscribe to and / or report UPF data", and the NWDAF may receive a response message (which may be expressed as Response in English) from the NRF to the request. Step 602: The NWDAF subscribes to the UPF data of the user in the AOI to the SMF obtained in step 601 (i.e., sends the above-mentioned third information), and then performs step 603. Here, the subscription message sent from the NWDAF to the SMF may be expressed in English as UPF Data Subscription Request with “Event Exposure Service Name”, and the message may carry AOI information. Step 603: The SMF initiates an AMF event publication subscribe request to the AMF to subscribe to the user list within the AOI (i.e., the above-mentioned first terminal list), and then executes step 604. Here, the event exposure subscribe request to obtain a list of users within an AOI may be expressed in English as Namf_EventExposure_Subscribe using “Number of UEs present in a geographical area”. Step 604: The SMF initiates an AMF event publication subscribe request (i.e., the above-mentioned eighth information) to the AMF to obtain user update information (i.e., the above-mentioned fourth terminal list) within the AOI, and then executes step 605. Here, the event exposure subscribe request to obtain user update information within the AOI may be expressed in English as Namf_EventExposure_Subscribe using “UE moving in or out of Area of ​​Interest”. Step 605: The SMF determines the user list for UPF data reporting (i.e., the first terminal list or the fifth terminal list) (which may also be expressed in English as Determine the UE list for data reporting), and determines whether there is a user in the user list on this SMF (i.e., as a non-I-SMF), and if there is, executes step 606. Here, the first request message received by the NWDAF and sent from the AF or from another core network network function other than the NWDAF, requesting to subscribe to UPF data of a user located in the AOI, may include AOI information and one or a set of user identifiers (i.e., the above-mentioned third terminal list). If the first request message only includes AOI information, the user list for UPF data reporting refers to the above-mentioned first terminal list. If the first request message includes one or a set of user identifiers, the user list for UPF data reporting refers to the above-mentioned fifth terminal list. Also, if the SMF determines that there are no users in the user list in this SMF, the current flow may be terminated. Step 606: The SMF queries the UPF via the NRF for the capability to subscribe to and / or report UPF data, and then executes step 607. Step 607: The SMF initiates a UPF data subscription (i.e., the sixth or seventh information) to a UPF where the user is located and which has the capability to subscribe to and / or report UPF data (i.e., a UPF that meets the fifth or sixth condition above), and then executes step 608. Here, before initiating a subscription to a UPF (i.e., non-I-UPF), the SMF may establish a connection via a Session Establishment Request / Response (which may be expressed as Session Establishment Request / Response in English) message and initiate the subscription to the UPF via the N4 interface. Step 608: The UPF reports the UPF data of relevant users within the AOI to the NWDAF via an Event Exposure Notification (which may be expressed as Nupf_EventExposure_Notify in English) message.

[0114] In practical application, the above step 604 may be selectively performed, that is, step 604 may be performed or step 604 may not be performed, which can be specifically determined according to needs.

[0115] In this application example, as shown in FIG. 7, aspect 3 may specifically include the following steps 701 to 709. Step 701: The NWDAF queries, via the NRF, an SMF that corresponds to the AOI and has the capability to subscribe to and / or report UPF data (i.e., an SMF that meets the above fourth condition), and then executes step 702. Here, the NWDAF may initiate a network capability discovery request (which may be expressed as Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request in English) message to the NRF to query for an SMF that corresponds to the AOI and has the ability to subscribe to and / or report UPF data (i.e., an SMF that meets the fourth condition above), and the message may carry a service name (which may be expressed as Event Exposure Service Name in English) corresponding to the "ability to subscribe to and / or report UPF data", and the NWDAF may receive a response (which may be expressed as Response in English) message from the NRF to the request. Step 702: The NWDAF subscribes to the UPF data of the user in the AOI to the SMF obtained in step 701 (i.e., sends the above-mentioned fourth information), and then performs step 703. Here, the subscription message sent from the NWDAF to the SMF may be expressed in English as UPF Data Subscription Request with “Event Exposure Service Name”, and the message may carry AOI information. Step 703: The SMF initiates an AMF event publication subscribe request to the AMF to subscribe to the user list within the AOI (i.e., the above-mentioned first terminal list), and then executes step 704. Here, the event exposure subscribe request to obtain a list of users within an AOI may be expressed in English as Namf_EventExposure_Subscribe using “Number of UEs present in a geographical area”. Step 704: The SMF initiates an AMF event publication subscribe request (i.e., the above-mentioned thirteenth information) to the AMF to obtain user update information (i.e., the above-mentioned fourth terminal list) within the AOI, and then executes step 705. Here, the event exposure subscribe request to obtain user update information within the AOI may be expressed in English as Namf_EventExposure_Subscribe using “UE moving in or out of Area of ​​Interest”. Step 705: The SMF determines the user list for UPF data reporting (i.e., the first terminal list or the seventh terminal list) (which may also be expressed in English as Determine the UE list for data reporting), and determines whether there is a user in the user list in this SMF (i.e., as an I-SMF or a non-I-SMF), and if there is a user in the user list, the SMF determines whether this SMF serves the user as an I-SMF, and if so, executes step 706; otherwise, executes step 707. Here, the first request message received by the NWDAF and sent from the AF or from another core network network function other than the NWDAF, requesting to subscribe to UPF data of a user located in the AOI, may include AOI information and one or a set of user identifiers (i.e., the above-mentioned third terminal list). If the first request message only includes AOI information, the user list for UPF data reporting refers to the above-mentioned first terminal list. If the first request message includes one or a set of user identifiers, the user list for UPF data reporting refers to the above-mentioned seventh terminal list. Also, if the SMF determines that there are no users in the user list in this SMF, the current flow may be terminated. Step 706: The I-SMF initiates a subscription for the UPF data of the corresponding user to the anchor-SMF (i.e., sends the above-mentioned ninth or eleventh information), and the anchor-SMF initiates a subscription for the UPF data of the corresponding user to the anchor-UPF, and then executes step 709. Here, the I-SMF may initiate a subscription to the UPF data of the corresponding user to the anchor-SMF via a PDU session update request (which may be expressed in English as Nsmf_PDUSession_Update Request). Step 707: The SMF queries the UPF via the NRF for the capability to subscribe to and / or report UPF data, and then executes step 708. Step 708: The SMF initiates a UPF data subscription (i.e., sends the above-mentioned tenth or twelfth information) to the UPF where the user is located and which has the capability to subscribe to and / or report UPF data, and then performs step 709. Here, before initiating a subscription to a UPF (i.e., non-I-UPF), the SMF may establish a connection via a Session Establishment Request / Response (which may be expressed as Session Establishment Request / Response in English) message and initiate the subscription to the UPF via the N4 interface. Step 709: The UPF reports the UPF data of relevant users within the AOI to the NWDAF via an Event Exposure Notification (which may be expressed as Nupf_EventExposure_Notify in English) message.

[0116] In practical application, the above step 704 may be selectively performed, that is, step 704 may be performed or step 704 may not be performed, which can be specifically determined according to needs.

[0117] In the three aspects of this application example, the NWDAF can initiate UPF data subscription of a user located in the AOI to the UPF via the SMF according to the AOI, and also takes into account the user's mobility scenario in SSC mode 1, i.e., the case where a user accesses services across SMF service areas, and UPF data needs to be collected by the anchor-UPF rather than by the I-UPF. Therefore, according to the three aspects of this application example, when a user accesses services across SMF service areas, the NWDAF can fully query the user's anchor-SMF and its corresponding anchor-UPF, so that the NWDAF can obtain complete UPF data of the user located in the AOI, i.e., the NWDAF can accurately obtain or collect UPF data of the user located in the AOI.

[0118] To realize the method on the NWDAF side according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the embodiment of the present disclosure further provides an information transmission device installed in the NWDAF. As shown in FIG. 8, the device includes: a first communication unit 801 and a first processing unit 802, wherein: The first communication unit 801 is for subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, and sending first information to an SMF that satisfies a first condition, wherein the first condition indicates that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the first terminal list, and the first information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; Or, The first communication unit 801 is for subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; the first processing unit 802 is for determining a second terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, the second terminal list being obtained or determined through the first terminal list; the first communication unit 801 is also for sending second information to an SMF that satisfies a second condition, the second condition indicating that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the second terminal list; and the second information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; Or, The first communication unit 801 is for sending third information to an SMF that satisfies a third condition, the third condition indicating that the SMF serves a first DNN and / or a first network slice, and the third information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI; or Or, The first communication unit 801 is for sending fourth information to an SMF that satisfies a fourth condition, the fourth condition indicating that the SMF serves an AOI, and the fourth information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

[0119] In one embodiment, the first processing unit 802 comprises: Obtain a third terminal list including at least one terminal that needs to subscribe to user plane information; The second terminal list is also determined by comparing the terminals included in the third terminal list with the terminals included in the first terminal list.

[0120] In one embodiment, the first communication unit 801: Sending fifth information to the AMF for subscribing to an event that a terminal moves within or outside the AOI; and receiving a fourth terminal list sent from the AMF, the fourth terminal list including at least one terminal moving within or outside the AOI; Accordingly, the first processing unit 802 is also for updating the first terminal list using the fourth terminal list, and / or for updating the second terminal list using the fourth terminal list.

[0121] In practical application, the first communication unit 801 may be realized by a communication interface in an information transmission device, and the first processing unit 802 may be realized by a processor in the information transmission device.

[0122] To realize the method on the SMF side according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the embodiment of the present disclosure further provides an information transmission device installed in the SMF. As shown in FIG. 9, the device includes: a second communication unit 901, wherein: The second communication unit 901 is for receiving first information sent from an NWDAF when a first condition is met, the first condition representing that the SMF serves at least one terminal in a first terminal list of the NWDAF, the first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, and the first information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; or Or, The second communication unit 901 is for receiving second information sent from the NWDAF when a second condition is met, the second condition representing that the SMF serves at least one terminal in a second terminal list of the NWDAF, the second terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, and the second information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; or Or, The second communication unit 901 is for receiving third information sent from the NWDAF when a third condition is met, the third condition representing that the SMF serves a first DNN and / or a first network slice, and the third information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI; or Or, The second communication unit 901 is for receiving fourth information sent from the NWDAF when a fourth condition is met, the fourth condition indicating that the SMF serves an AOI, and the fourth information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

[0123] In one embodiment, when the third information is received, the second communication unit 901 is also for subscribing terminals located in the AOI to the AMF, obtaining a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, and sending sixth information to a UPF that satisfies a fifth condition, wherein the fifth condition indicates that the UPF serves at least one terminal in the first terminal list, and the sixth information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminals located in the AOI.

[0124] In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the apparatus may further include a second processing unit 902; When receiving the third information, the second communication unit 901 is also for subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; Accordingly, the second processing unit 902 is for determining a fifth terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, the fifth terminal list being acquired or determined through the first terminal list; The second communication unit 901 is also for sending seventh information to a UPF that satisfies a sixth condition, wherein the sixth condition indicates that the UPF serves at least one terminal in the fifth terminal list, and the seventh information is for subscribing to user plane information of terminals located in the AOI.

[0125] In one embodiment, the third information includes at least a third terminal list, and the third terminal list includes at least one terminal that needs to subscribe to user plane information, and the second processing unit 902: Obtain a sixth terminal list including at least one terminal served by the SMF; The fifth terminal list is also determined by comparing the terminals included in the third terminal list, the terminals included in the sixth terminal list, and the terminals included in the first terminal list.

[0126] In one embodiment, the second communication unit 901: Sending eighth information to the AMF for subscribing to an event in which a terminal moves within or outside the AOI; and receiving a fourth terminal list sent from the AMF, the fourth terminal list including at least one terminal moving within or outside the AOI; Accordingly, the second processing unit 902 is also for updating the first terminal list using the fourth terminal list, and / or updating the fifth terminal list using the fourth terminal list.

[0127] In one embodiment, when receiving the fourth information, the second communication unit 901: Subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; For each terminal included in the first terminal list, when the SMF serves the terminal as an intermediate SMF, it transmits ninth information for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI to the anchor point SMF of the terminal so that the anchor point SMF of the terminal subscribes to the anchor point UPF of the terminal about the user plane information of the terminal, and when the SMF serves the terminal without being an intermediate SMF, it transmits tenth information for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI to the UPF serving the terminal.

[0128] In one embodiment, when receiving the fourth information, the second communication unit 901 is also for subscribing a terminal located in the AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; The second processing unit 902 is also for determining a seventh terminal list, the seventh terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, the seventh terminal list being acquired or determined through the first terminal list; The second communication unit 901 is also for transmitting, for each terminal included in the seventh terminal list, eleventh information for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI to the anchor point SMF of the terminal when the SMF serves the terminal as an intermediate SMF, so that the anchor point SMF of the terminal subscribes to the anchor point UPF of the terminal for the user plane information of the terminal; and for transmitting twelfth information for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI to the UPF serving the terminal when the SMF serves the terminal without serving the terminal as an intermediate SMF.

[0129] In one embodiment, the fourth information includes at least a third terminal list, and the third terminal list includes at least one terminal that needs to subscribe to user plane information, and the second processing unit 902: Obtain an eighth terminal list including at least one terminal served by the SMF; The seventh terminal list is also determined by comparing the terminals included in the third terminal list, the terminals included in the eighth terminal list, and the terminals included in the first terminal list.

[0130] In one embodiment, the second communication unit 901: Send thirteenth information to the AMF for subscribing to an event in which a terminal moves within or outside the AOI; and receiving a fourth terminal list sent from the AMF, the fourth terminal list including at least one terminal moving within or outside the AOI; Accordingly, the second processing unit 902 is also for updating the first terminal list using the fourth terminal list, and / or updating the seventh terminal list using the fourth terminal list.

[0131] In one embodiment, the first information includes at least a ninth terminal list, and the ninth terminal list includes at least one terminal in the first terminal list served by the SMF; when receiving the first information, the second communication unit 901 is also for sending fourteenth information to a UPF that satisfies a seventh condition, wherein the seventh condition indicates that the UPF serves at least one terminal in the ninth terminal list; and the fourteenth information is for subscribing to user plane information of terminals located in the AOI.

[0132] In one embodiment, the second information includes at least a tenth terminal list, which includes at least one terminal in the second terminal list served by the SMF, and when receiving the second information, the second communication unit 901 is also for sending fifteenth information to a UPF that satisfies an eighth condition, which indicates that the UPF serves at least one terminal in the tenth terminal list, and the fifteenth information is for subscribing to user plane information of terminals located in the AOI.

[0133] In practical application, the second communication unit 901 may be realized by a communication interface in the information transmission device, and the second processing unit 902 may be realized by a processor in the information transmission device.

[0134] It should be noted that, when the information transmission device according to the above embodiment performs information transmission, the division of each program module is described as an example, but in actual application, the above processing may be assigned to be performed by different program modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the device may be divided into different program modules to perform all or part of the processing described above. Furthermore, the information transmission device according to the above embodiment belongs to the same concept as the information transmission method embodiment, and the details of the specific implementation process thereof are to be referred to the method embodiment, and will not be described here in detail.

[0135] Based on the hardware implementation of the above program modules, and in order to realize the method of the NWDAF according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the embodiment of the present disclosure further provides an NWDAF, and as shown in FIG. 10 , the NWDAF 1000: a first communication interface 1001 capable of exchanging information with other network functions (e.g., SMF, AMF, etc.); A first processor 1002 connected to the first communication interface 1001 so as to realize information exchange with other network functions, the first processor 1002 executing a method according to one or more technical aspects of the NWDAF side when a computer program is run; and a first memory 1003 in which the computer program is stored.

[0136] Specifically, the first communication interface 1001 is for subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF, obtaining a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, and sending first information to an SMF that satisfies a first condition, wherein the first condition indicates that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the first terminal list, and the first information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; Or, The first communication interface 1001 is for subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, and the first processor 1002 is for determining a second terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, the second terminal list being obtained or determined through the first terminal list, and the first communication interface 1001 is also for sending second information to an SMF that satisfies a second condition, the second condition indicating that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the second terminal list, and the second information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; Or, The first communication interface 1001 is for sending third information to an SMF that satisfies a third condition, the third condition indicating that the SMF serves a first DNN and / or a first network slice, and the third information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI; or Or, The first communication interface 1001 is for transmitting fourth information to an SMF that satisfies a fourth condition, the fourth condition indicating that the SMF serves an AOI, and the fourth information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

[0137] In one embodiment, the first processor 1002: Obtain a third terminal list including at least one terminal that needs to subscribe to user plane information; The second terminal list is also determined by comparing the terminals included in the third terminal list with the terminals included in the first terminal list.

[0138] In one embodiment, the first communication interface 1001 is: Sending fifth information to the AMF for subscribing to an event that a terminal moves within or outside the AOI; and receiving a fourth terminal list sent from the AMF, the fourth terminal list including at least one terminal moving within or outside the AOI; Accordingly, the first processor 1002 is also configured to use the fourth terminal list to update the first terminal list and / or to use the fourth terminal list to update the second terminal list.

[0139] It should be noted that the specific processing steps of the first communication interface 1001 and the first processor 1002 can be understood by referring to the above method, and will not be described here in detail.

[0140] Of course, in actual application, each component in the NWDAF 1000 is coupled via a bus system 1004. It will be understood that the bus system 1004 is configured to realize connection communication between these components. The bus system 1004 includes a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus in addition to a data bus. However, for clarity of explanation, all of the various buses are shown as the bus system 1004 in FIG. 10.

[0141] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first memory 1003 is configured to store various types of data to support the operation of the NWDAF 1000. Examples of this data include any computer programs for operating on the NWDAF 1000.

[0142] The methods disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented within or realized by the first processor 1002. The first processor 1002 may be an integrated circuit chip having signal processing capabilities. In implementation, each step of the method may be completed by an integrated logic circuit in hardware within the first processor 1002 or by a command in software format. The first processor 1002 may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, or the like. The first processor 1002 may implement or execute each method, step, and logic block diagram disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc. The combination of steps in the methods disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be directly implemented by a hardware decoder processor, or may be implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules within the decoder processor. The software module may be located in a storage medium, which is located in the first memory 1003, and the first processor 1002 reads the information in the first memory 1003 and combines it with its hardware to complete the steps in the above-mentioned method.

[0143] In an example embodiment, the NWDAF 1000 may be implemented by one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), DSPs, Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), general-purpose processors, controllers, Micro Controller Units (MCUs), Microprocessors, or other electronic components and configured to perform the methods described above.

[0144] Based on the hardware implementation of the above program modules, and in order to realize the SMF-side method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the embodiment of the present disclosure further provides an SMF, and as shown in FIG. 11, the SMF 1100: a second communication interface 1101 capable of exchanging information with other network functions (e.g., NWDAF, AMF, UPF, etc.); a second processor 1102 connected to the second communication interface 1101 so as to realize information exchange with other network functions, the second processor 1102 executing a method according to one or more technical aspects of the SMF side when a computer program is run; and a second memory 1103 in which the computer program is stored.

[0145] Specifically, the second communication interface 1101 is for receiving first information transmitted from an NWDAF when a first condition is satisfied, the first condition representing that the SMF 1100 serves at least one terminal in a first terminal list of the NWDAF, the first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, and the first information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; Or, the second communication interface 1101 is for receiving second information transmitted from an NWDAF when a second condition is satisfied, the second condition representing that the SMF 1100 serves at least one terminal in a second terminal list of the NWDAF, the second terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, and the second information is for subscribing to user plane information of terminals located in the AOI; or Or, The second communication interface 1101 is for receiving third information transmitted from the NWDAF when a third condition is satisfied, the third condition indicating that the SMF 1100 serves a first DNN and / or a first network slice, and the third information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI; Or, The second communication interface 1101 is for receiving fourth information transmitted from the NWDAF when a fourth condition is satisfied, the fourth condition indicating that the SMF 1100 is serving an AOI, and the fourth information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

[0146] In one embodiment, when receiving the third information, the second communication interface 1101: Subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; It is also for sending sixth information to a UPF that satisfies a fifth condition, wherein the fifth condition indicates that the UPF serves at least one terminal in the first terminal list, and the sixth information is for subscribing to user plane information of terminals located in the AOI.

[0147] In one embodiment, when receiving the third information, the second communication interface 1101 is also for subscribing a terminal located in the AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; The second processor 1102 is for determining a fifth terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, the fifth terminal list being acquired or determined through the first terminal list; The second communication interface 1101 is also for sending seventh information to a UPF that satisfies a sixth condition, wherein the sixth condition indicates that the UPF serves at least one terminal in the fifth terminal list, and the seventh information is for subscribing to user plane information of terminals located in the AOI.

[0148] In one embodiment, the third information includes at least a third terminal list, and the third terminal list includes at least one terminal that needs to subscribe to user plane information, and the second processor 1102: Obtain a sixth terminal list including at least one terminal served by the SMF 1100; The fifth terminal list is also determined by comparing the terminals included in the third terminal list, the terminals included in the sixth terminal list, and the terminals included in the first terminal list.

[0149] In one embodiment, the second communication interface 1101 is: Sending eighth information to the AMF for subscribing to an event in which a terminal moves within or outside the AOI; and receiving a fourth terminal list sent from the AMF, the fourth terminal list including at least one terminal moving within or outside the AOI; Accordingly, the second processor 1102 is also configured to update the first terminal list using the fourth terminal list and / or to update the fifth terminal list using the fourth terminal list.

[0150] In one embodiment, when receiving the fourth information, the second communication interface 1101: Subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; For each terminal included in the first terminal list, when the SMF 1100 serves the terminal as an intermediate SMF, it transmits ninth information for subscribing to the user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI to the anchor point SMF of the terminal so that the anchor point SMF of the terminal subscribes to the anchor point UPF of the terminal for the user plane information of the terminal, and when the SMF 1100 serves the terminal without serving as an intermediate SMF, it transmits tenth information for subscribing to the UPF serving the terminal for the user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI.

[0151] In one embodiment, when receiving the fourth information, the second communication interface 1101 is also for subscribing a terminal located in the AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; The second processor 1102 is also configured to determine a seventh terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, the seventh terminal list being acquired or determined through the first terminal list; The second communication interface 1101 is also for transmitting, for each terminal included in the seventh terminal list, eleventh information for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI to the anchor point SMF of the terminal when the SMF 1100 serves the terminal as an intermediate SMF, so that the anchor point SMF of the terminal subscribes to the anchor point UPF of the terminal's user plane information, and for transmitting twelfth information for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI to the UPF serving the terminal when the SMF 1100 serves the terminal without serving the terminal as an intermediate SMF.

[0152] In one embodiment, the fourth information includes at least a third terminal list, and the third terminal list includes at least one terminal that needs to subscribe to user plane information, and the second processor 1102: Obtain an eighth terminal list including at least one terminal served by the SMF 1100; The seventh terminal list is also determined by comparing the terminals included in the third terminal list, the terminals included in the eighth terminal list, and the terminals included in the first terminal list.

[0153] In one embodiment, the second communication interface 1101 is: Send thirteenth information to the AMF for subscribing to an event in which a terminal moves within or outside the AOI; and receiving a fourth terminal list sent from the AMF, the fourth terminal list including at least one terminal moving within or outside the AOI; Accordingly, the second processor 1102 is also configured to update the first terminal list using the fourth terminal list and / or to update the seventh terminal list using the fourth terminal list.

[0154] In one embodiment, the first information includes at least a ninth terminal list, which includes at least one terminal in the first terminal list served by the SMF 1100, and when the first information is received, the second communication interface 1101 is for sending fourteenth information to a UPF that satisfies a seventh condition, which indicates that the UPF serves at least one terminal in the ninth terminal list, and the fourteenth information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

[0155] In one embodiment, the second information includes at least a tenth terminal list, which includes at least one terminal in the second terminal list served by the SMF 1100, and when the second information is received, the second communication interface 1101 is for sending fifteenth information to a UPF that satisfies an eighth condition, which indicates that the UPF serves at least one terminal in the tenth terminal list, and the fifteenth information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

[0156] It should be noted that the specific processing steps of the second communication interface 1101 and the second processor 1102 can be understood by referring to the above method, and will not be described here in detail.

[0157] Of course, in actual applications, the components in the SMF 1100 are coupled via a bus system 1104. It will be understood that the bus system 1104 is configured to realize communication connections between these components. The bus system 1104 includes a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus in addition to a data bus. However, for clarity of explanation, all of the various buses are shown as the bus system 1104 in FIG. 10.

[0158] Second memory 1103 in an embodiment of the present disclosure is configured to store various types of data to support the operation of SMF 1100. Examples of this data include any computer programs for operating on SMF 1100.

[0159] The methods disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in or by the second processor 1102. The second processor 1102 may be an integrated circuit chip having signal processing capabilities. In implementation, each step of the method may be completed by an integrated logic circuit in hardware within the second processor 1102 or by a command in software format. The second processor 1102 may be a general-purpose processor, a DSP, or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, or the like. The second processor 1102 may implement or execute each method, step, and logic block diagram disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc. The combination of steps in the methods disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be directly implemented by a hardware decoder processor, or may be implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules within the decoder processor. The software module may be located in a storage medium, which is located in the second memory 1103, and the second processor 1102 reads the information in the second memory 1103 and combines it with its hardware to complete the steps in the above-mentioned method.

[0160] In an exemplary embodiment, SMF1100 may be implemented by one or more ASICs, DSPs, PLDs, CPLDs, FPGAs, general-purpose processors, controllers, MCUs, microprocessors, or other electronic components and configured to perform the methods described above.

[0161] It can be understood that the memory (first memory 1003, second memory 1103) in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. The nonvolatile memory may be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic random access memory (FRAM), flash memory, magnetic surface memory, optical disk, or compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), and the magnetic surface memory may be magnetic disk memory or magnetic tape memory. The volatile memory may be random access memory (RAM) and used as an external high-speed cache.By way of example, various types of RAM may be used, such as, but not limited to, static random access memory (SRAM), synchronous static random access memory (SSRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDRSDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synclink dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct memory bus random access memory (DRRAM). Memory as described in embodiments of the present disclosure includes, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0162] To realize the method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the embodiment of the present disclosure further provides an information transmission system, which includes an NWDAF 1201 and an SMF 1202, as shown in FIG.

[0163] It should be noted that the specific processing steps of NWDAF1201 and SMF1202 have been described in detail above, and will not be repeated here.

[0164] In an exemplary embodiment, the embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a storage medium, i.e., a computer storage medium, specifically a computer-readable storage medium, including, for example, a first memory 1003 storing a computer program, which can be executed by the first processor 1002 of the NWDAF 1000 to complete the steps of the method on the NWDAF side described above. The computer-readable storage medium may be a memory such as FRAM, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, Flash Memory, magnetic surface memory, optical disk, or CD-ROM.

[0165] It should be clarified that terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish between similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a particular order or chronology.

[0166] Furthermore, the technical aspects described in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be combined in any manner as long as there is no contradiction.

[0167] The above are merely preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. An information transmission method applied to a Network Data Analysis Function (NWDAF), comprising: subscribing terminals located in an Area of ​​Interest (AOI) to an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; and sending first information to a Session Management Function (SMF) that satisfies a first condition, wherein the first condition indicates that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the first terminal list, and the first information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminals located in the AOI; or Or, subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; determining a second terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, the second terminal list being obtained or determined through the first terminal list; and sending second information to an SMF that satisfies a second condition, wherein the second condition indicates that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the second terminal list, and the second information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; or Or, Sending third information to an SMF that satisfies a third condition, the third condition including: the SMF serving a first data network name (DNN) and / or a first network slice; and the third information for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI; or Or, An information transmission method, comprising: sending fourth information to an SMF that satisfies a fourth condition, the fourth condition indicating that the SMF serves an AOI, and the fourth information being for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

2. Determining the second terminal list includes: Obtaining a third terminal list including at least one terminal that needs to subscribe to user plane information; The method of claim 1 , further comprising: determining the second terminal list by comparing the terminals included in the third terminal list with the terminals included in the first terminal list.

3. The method comprises: Sending fifth information to the AMF for subscribing to an event that a terminal moves within or outside the AOI; receiving a fourth terminal list sent from the AMF, the fourth terminal list including at least one terminal moving within or outside the AOI; 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: updating the first terminal list using the fourth terminal list; and / or updating the second terminal list using the fourth terminal list.

4. An information transmission method applied to SMF, receiving first information sent from an NWDAF when a first condition is satisfied, the first condition including: indicating that the SMF serves at least one terminal in a first terminal list of the NWDAF, the first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, and the first information for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; or Or, receiving second information sent from an NWDAF when a second condition is satisfied, the second condition including: the SMF is serving at least one terminal in a second terminal list of the NWDAF, the second terminal list includes at least one terminal located in the AOI, and the second information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; or Or, receiving third information sent from an NWDAF when a third condition is met, the third condition including: indicating that the SMF serves a first DNN and / or a first network slice; and the third information for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI; or Or, receiving fourth information sent from an NWDAF when a fourth condition is satisfied, the fourth condition indicating that the SMF serves an AOI, and the fourth information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

5. When the third information is received, the method further comprises: The method further includes: subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; and sending sixth information to a user plane function (UPF) that satisfies a fifth condition, wherein the fifth condition indicates that the UPF serves at least one terminal in the first terminal list, and the sixth information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; or Or, 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising: subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; determining a fifth terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, the fifth terminal list being acquired or determined through the first terminal list; and sending seventh information to a UPF that satisfies a sixth condition, wherein the sixth condition indicates that the UPF serves at least one terminal in the fifth terminal list, and the seventh information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI.

6. The third information includes at least a third terminal list, and the third terminal list includes at least one terminal that needs to subscribe to user plane information, and determining the fifth terminal list includes: Obtaining a sixth terminal list including at least one terminal served by the SMF; The method of claim 5, further comprising determining the fifth terminal list by comparing the terminals included in the third terminal list, the terminals included in the sixth terminal list, and the terminals included in the first terminal list.

7. The method comprises: Sending eighth information to the AMF for subscribing to an event in which a terminal moves within or outside the AOI; receiving a fourth terminal list sent from the AMF, the fourth terminal list including at least one terminal moving within or outside the AOI; The method of claim 5 , further comprising: updating the first terminal list using the fourth terminal list; and / or updating the fifth terminal list using the fourth terminal list.

8. When the fourth information is received, the method further comprises: or further including: subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; and for each terminal included in the first terminal list, when the SMF serves the terminal as an intermediate SMF, sending ninth information for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI to an anchor point SMF of the terminal, so that the user plane information of the terminal is subscribed to an anchor point UPF of the terminal by the anchor point SMF of the terminal; and when the SMF serves the terminal without serving as an intermediate SMF, sending tenth information for subscribing to the user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI to a UPF serving the terminal; Or, 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising: subscribing terminals located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; determining a seventh terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, the seventh terminal list being acquired or determined through the first terminal list; and for each terminal included in the seventh terminal list, sending eleventh information for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI to an anchor point SMF of the terminal when the SMF serves the terminal as an intermediate SMF, so that the user plane information of the terminal is subscribed to an anchor point UPF of the terminal by the anchor point SMF of the terminal, and when the SMF serves the terminal without serving as an intermediate SMF, sending twelfth information for subscribing to the user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI to a UPF serving the terminal.

9. The fourth information includes at least a third terminal list, and the third terminal list includes at least one terminal that needs to subscribe to user plane information, and determining the seventh terminal list includes: Obtaining an eighth terminal list including at least one terminal served by the SMF; 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: determining the seventh terminal list by comparing the terminals included in the third terminal list, the terminals included in the eighth terminal list, and the terminals included in the first terminal list.

10. The method comprises: Sending thirteenth information to the AMF for subscribing to an event in which the terminal moves within or outside the AOI; receiving a fourth terminal list sent from the AMF, the fourth terminal list including at least one terminal moving within or outside the AOI; 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: updating the first terminal list using the fourth terminal list; and / or updating the seventh terminal list using the fourth terminal list.

11. The first information includes at least a ninth terminal list, and the ninth terminal list includes at least one terminal in the first terminal list that is served by the SMF. When the first information is received, the method includes:

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising: sending fourteenth information to a UPF that satisfies a seventh condition, the seventh condition indicating that the UPF serves at least one terminal in the ninth terminal list, and the fourteenth information being for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

12. The second information includes at least a tenth terminal list, and the tenth terminal list includes at least one terminal in the second terminal list that is served by the SMF. When the second information is received, the method includes:

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising: sending fifteenth information to a UPF that satisfies an eighth condition, the eighth condition indicating that the UPF serves at least one terminal in the tenth terminal list, and the fifteenth information being for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

13. An information transmission device including a first communication unit and a first processing unit, The first communication unit is for subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, and sending first information to an SMF that satisfies a first condition, wherein the first condition indicates that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the first terminal list, and the first information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; or Or, the first communication unit is for subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; the first processing unit is for determining a second terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, the second terminal list being acquired or determined through the first terminal list; the first communication unit is also for sending second information to an SMF that satisfies a second condition, the second condition indicating that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the second terminal list; and the second information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; Or, The first communication unit is for sending third information to an SMF that satisfies a third condition, the third condition indicating that the SMF serves a first DNN and / or a first network slice, and the third information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI; or Or, The first communication unit is for transmitting fourth information to an SMF that satisfies a fourth condition, the fourth condition indicating that the SMF serves an AOI, and the fourth information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

14. An information transmission device including a second communication unit, The second communication unit is for receiving first information sent from an NWDAF when a first condition is satisfied, the first condition representing that an SMF serves at least one terminal in a first terminal list of the NWDAF, the first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, and the first information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; or Or, The second communication unit is for receiving second information sent from an NWDAF when a second condition is satisfied, the second condition representing that the SMF serves at least one terminal in a second terminal list of the NWDAF, the second terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, and the second information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; or Or, The second communication unit is for receiving third information sent from the NWDAF when a third condition is satisfied, the third condition representing that the SMF serves a first DNN and / or a first network slice, and the third information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI; or Or, The second communication unit is for receiving fourth information transmitted from an NWDAF when a fourth condition is satisfied, the fourth condition indicating that an SMF serves an AOI, and the fourth information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI.

15. a NWDAF including a first communication interface and a first processor, The first communication interface is for subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, and sending first information to an SMF that satisfies a first condition, wherein the first condition indicates that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the first terminal list, and the first information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; or Or, the first communication interface is for subscribing a terminal located in an AOI to an AMF to obtain a first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI; the first processor is for determining a second terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, the second terminal list being acquired or determined through the first terminal list; the first communication interface is also for sending second information to an SMF that satisfies a second condition, the second condition indicating that the SMF serves at least one terminal in the second terminal list; and the second information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; Or, The first communication interface is for transmitting third information to an SMF that satisfies a third condition, the third condition indicating that the SMF serves a first DNN and / or a first network slice, and the third information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI; or Or, The first communication interface is for transmitting fourth information to an SMF that satisfies a fourth condition, the fourth condition indicating that the SMF is serving an AOI, and the fourth information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI, an NWDAF.

16. an SMF including a second communication interface and a second processor, The second communication interface is for receiving first information sent from an NWDAF when a first condition is satisfied, the first condition representing that the SMF serves at least one terminal in a first terminal list of the NWDAF, the first terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, and the first information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; Or, The second communication interface is for receiving second information sent from an NWDAF when a second condition is satisfied, the second condition representing that the SMF serves at least one terminal in a second terminal list of the NWDAF, the second terminal list including at least one terminal located in the AOI, and the second information is for subscribing to user plane information of the terminal located in the AOI; or Or, The second communication interface is for receiving third information sent from an NWDAF when a third condition is satisfied, the third condition indicating that the SMF serves a first DNN and / or a first network slice, and the third information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in an AOI; or Or, The second communication interface is for receiving fourth information sent from an NWDAF when a fourth condition is satisfied, the fourth condition indicating that the SMF is serving an AOI, and the fourth information is for subscribing to user plane information of a terminal located in the AOI, an SMF.

17. A NWDAF including a first processor and a first memory for storing a computer program operable on the processor, The first processor is for carrying out the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 when running the computer program.

18. an SMF including a second processor and a second memory for storing a computer program operable on the processor, The SMF, wherein the second processor is adapted to perform the steps of any one of claims 4 to 12 when running the computer program.

19. A storage medium storing a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, causes the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 to be realized, or the steps of the method according to any one of claims 4 to 12 to be realized.

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