Method and apparatus for determining service node information

Abstract

Provided in the embodiments of the present application are a method and apparatus for determining service node information. The method comprises: a first access network device receiving first information from a computing management function (CMF), wherein the first information comprises information of at least one node corresponding to a first service, the first service is a service requested by a first terminal device, and the first access network device can determine, on the basis of the information of the at least one node, at least one communication tunnel corresponding to the first service. Therefore, in the solution, a first access network device can maintain, according to requirements, a mapping relationship associated with a first service requested by a terminal device, without the need to maintain mapping relationships associated with all services in a network, thereby effectively reducing the signaling overheads generated by maintaining mapping relationships associated with services.

Description

A method and apparatus for determining service node information Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a method and apparatus for determining service node information. Background Technology

[0002] To address the issues of insufficient dynamism and inability to respond promptly to user mobility and network changes in the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) services using computing power, a novel computing power network architecture (or computing power system architecture) has been proposed. In this new architecture, each network element not only possesses control and forwarding capabilities but also incorporates computing power. Computing nodes are also deployed within the network, allowing computing power to be widely distributed across cloud, edge, terminal, and intermediate network elements, integrating computing power into the network. Furthermore, the control plane of network elements and computing nodes is integrated in this new architecture, compensating for the current shortcomings in computing power integration and enabling timely responses to mobility and network changes.

[0003] In a computing network architecture, each compute node runs a Kubernetes proxy (Kube-proxy), an open-source container orchestration system. This proxy acts as a load balancer within the Kubernetes (K8s) cluster, monitoring changes to services and endpoints on the application program interface (API) server and configuring load balancing for these services through firewalls (iptables). Typically, computing systems provide numerous services. When terminal devices act as compute nodes within the cluster, whether as service providers or service requesters, they need to monitor changes to endpoints unrelated to their own requests or service provision. This results in significant air interface control signaling overhead. Therefore, reducing the signaling overhead caused by nodes monitoring service endpoint changes is a pressing issue that needs to be addressed.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application proposes a method and apparatus for determining service node information, which can effectively reduce the system overhead caused by node monitoring of service endpoint changes.

[0006] Firstly, this application provides a method for determining service node information. This method can be executed by a first access network device or by a chip or chip system corresponding to the first access network device, without limitation. Taking the first access network device as an example, the method specifically includes: the first access network device receiving first information from a computing management function (CMF), the first information including information about at least one node corresponding to a first service; the first service being a service requested by a first terminal device; and determining at least one communication tunnel corresponding to the first service based on the information of the at least one node.

[0007] Optionally, the first information may also include indication information for the first service.

[0008] For example, the indication information of the first service is the identifier ID of the first service. The indication information of the first service may also be the descriptor of the first service, or the corresponding sequence number of the first service, etc. This application does not specifically limit the form of the indication information of the first service.

[0009] For example, the first service is artificial intelligence (AI) splitting and reasoning (part on the terminal side and part on the network side), data processing (data preprocessing, data analysis, etc.), cloud phone services, etc.

[0010] In this embodiment, the Computation Management Function (CMF) can manage and maintain, but is not limited to, the address / ID information of all nodes in the current network and the address / ID information of each node corresponding to the Computation Execution Function (CE) function. The devices corresponding to the nodes involved in this embodiment can be, but are not limited to, one or more of terminal devices, access network devices, and core network devices. Furthermore, the node information involved in this embodiment can be, but is not limited to, one or more of the following:

[0011] The node's address, the node's ID, the address of the computation execution function (CE) corresponding to the node, and the ID of the computation execution function (CE) corresponding to the node.

[0012] In this application, the first access network device receives first information sent by the Computational Management Function (CMF). This first information includes information about at least one node corresponding to a first service, which is a service requested by a first terminal device. The first access network device can then determine at least one communication tunnel corresponding to the first service based on the information of the at least one node. Thus, the first access network device can obtain the communication tunnel corresponding to the first service requested by the first terminal device as needed and maintain the correspondence between the first service and its communication tunnel (or node / CE) to ensure subsequent transmission by the first terminal device. The first access network device does not need to obtain the communication tunnels corresponding to all network services and maintain the correspondence between each service and its communication tunnel (or node / CE), thereby effectively reducing the signaling overhead caused by maintaining the correspondence between services and communication tunnels (or nodes / CE).

[0013] In one possible implementation, at least one communication tunnel corresponding to the first service is a terminal-level tunnel, meaning that at least one communication tunnel corresponding to the first service is limited to use by the corresponding terminal device and cannot be shared with other terminal devices.

[0014] In another possible implementation, at least one communication tunnel corresponding to the first service is a service-level tunnel, meaning that at least one communication tunnel corresponding to the first service is not limited to use by the corresponding terminal device, but can also be shared with other terminal devices requesting the first service.

[0015] In one possible implementation, when at least one communication tunnel at the service level has been established, the at least one communication tunnel corresponds to a terminal list, and the terminal list does not include the identification information of the first terminal device; then, the first access network device determines at least one communication tunnel corresponding to the first service based on the information of the at least one node, which may include: adding the identification information of the first terminal device to the terminal list to obtain an updated terminal list; and maintaining the correspondence between the at least one communication tunnel and the updated terminal list.

[0016] With this implementation, if the at least one communication tunnel at the service level has been established, the first access network device does not need to establish the communication tunnel corresponding to the first service again. Instead, it adds the identifier of the first terminal device requesting the first service to the terminal list corresponding to the first service or the communication tunnel, and maintains the correspondence between the communication tunnel corresponding to the first service and the terminal list. In this way, the first access network device can use the established at least one communication tunnel to transmit the messages of the first terminal device.

[0017] In one possible implementation, if the at least one communication tunnel is not established, the first access network device determines at least one communication tunnel corresponding to the first service based on the information of the at least one node. This may include: establishing the at least one communication tunnel based on the information of the at least one node; and generating first mapping information, which is used to characterize the correspondence between the first service and the at least one communication tunnel.

[0018] In this implementation, if at least one communication tunnel corresponding to the first service is not established, the first access network device establishes the communication tunnel corresponding to the first service based on the information of the at least one node, and generates mapping information between the first service and the at least one communication tunnel. In this way, the first access network device can use the at least one communication tunnel corresponding to the first service to transmit the messages of the first terminal device.

[0019] In one possible implementation, the first service corresponds to the information of N nodes; N is an integer greater than 0; the first access network device establishes at least one communication tunnel based on the information of the at least one node, which may specifically include the establishment methods corresponding to the following situations:

[0020] Case 1: If the information of the N nodes does not include the information of the first access network device: The first access network device establishes a one-to-one communication tunnel with the N nodes based on the information of the N nodes.

[0021] If the first access network device is not included among the N nodes corresponding to the first service, the first access network device can establish effective communication tunnels with each of the N nodes based on the information of the N nodes.

[0022] Case 2: If the information of the N nodes includes the information of the first access network device: The first access network device establishes a one-to-one communication tunnel with the N-1 nodes based on the information of the N-1 nodes, where the N-1 nodes do not include the first access network device.

[0023] When the first service corresponds to N nodes including the first access network device, the first access network device, apart from itself, establishes effective communication tunnels with each of the other nodes based on the information of the other nodes.

[0024] Through the above implementation method, it can be ensured that the first access network device establishes a communication tunnel for the first service and saves and maintains the mapping relationship between the first service and its communication tunnel, so as to effectively and accurately transmit the messages and / or information of the first service in the future.

[0025] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the first access network device receiving a first message from the first terminal device; the first message including information about a first node corresponding to the first service; the first access network device determining a first communication tunnel corresponding to the first node from the at least one communication tunnel based on the information of the first node; and sending the first message to the first node through the first communication tunnel.

[0026] In this implementation, since the first access network device maintains the correspondence between the first terminal device and the at least one communication tunnel or the mapping information between the first service and the at least one communication tunnel, when the first access network device receives the first message sent by the first terminal device, it can quickly determine the communication tunnel corresponding to the first node, and then accurately transmit the first message to the first node through the communication tunnel corresponding to the first node.

[0027] In another possible implementation, the method further includes: the first access network device receiving a first message from the first terminal device; the first message including indication information of the first service; then the first access network device selecting a first communication tunnel corresponding to the first node from the at least one communication tunnel according to the indication information of the first service and the policy information of the first service; and sending the first message to the first node through the first communication tunnel.

[0028] In this implementation, after receiving the first message carrying the indication information of the first service, the first access network device can determine which other nodes' corresponding CEs can meet the service's quality of service (QoS) requirements based on the service's policy information (such as the load of the tunnel / node's computational execution of the CE function, communication quality, etc.), and then select a suitable CE corresponding to the communication tunnel to transmit the first message.

[0029] Secondly, this application provides a method for determining service node information. This method can be executed by a Computational Management Function (CMF) or by a chip or chip system corresponding to the CMF, without limitation. Taking the CMF as an example, the method specifically includes: the CMF receiving service request information from a first terminal device, the service request information including indication information of a first service; the CMF determining information of at least one node corresponding to the first service based on the indication information of the first service; the CMF sending service response information to the first terminal device, the service response information including the information of the at least one node; and sending first information to a first access network device, the first information including the information of the at least one node; the first access network device is a device accessed by the first terminal device.

[0030] Optionally, the first information may also include indication information for the first service.

[0031] For example, the indication information of the first service is the identifier ID of the first service. The indication information of the first service may also be the descriptor of the first service, or the corresponding sequence number of the first service, etc. This application does not specifically limit the form of the indication information of the first service.

[0032] For example, the first service is artificial intelligence (AI) splitting and reasoning (part on the terminal side and part on the network side), data processing (data preprocessing, data analysis, etc.), cloud phone services, etc.

[0033] In this application embodiment, the Computational Management Function (CMF) typically manages and maintains, but is not limited to, the address / ID information of all nodes in the network and the address / ID information of the CEs (Content Execution Units) within each node. Furthermore, the devices corresponding to these nodes may include, but are not limited to, one or more of terminal devices, access network devices, and core network devices. Additionally, the node information involved in this application embodiment may be, but is not limited to, one or more of the following:

[0034] The node's address, the node's ID, the address of the computation execution function (CE) within the node, and the ID of the computation execution function (CE) within the node.

[0035] In this application, when the first terminal device requests a first service, it can send a service request message carrying the indication information of the first service to the Computing Management Function (CMF). Based on the service request message, the CMF can determine the information of at least one node that can provide the first service. Then, the CMF sends the information of the at least one node to the first terminal device and the access network device (i.e., the first access network device) of the first terminal device. This allows the first terminal device and the first access network device to maintain only the mapping information corresponding to the first service, without having to maintain the mapping information corresponding to all services, thereby effectively reducing the system overhead.

[0036] In one possible implementation, the CMF determines the information of at least one node corresponding to the first service based on the indication information of the first service. This may include: the CMF determining the information of at least one node corresponding to the first service based on the indication information of the first service and second mapping information; the second mapping information is used to characterize the correspondence between the indication information of the first service and the information of the at least one node. In this embodiment, the second mapping information may be pre-generated mapping information by the CMF.

[0037] Through this implementation method, CMF can quickly and effectively determine information about all nodes that can provide the first service.

[0038] Thirdly, this application provides a method for determining service node information. This method can be executed by a first terminal device or by a chip or chip system corresponding to the first terminal device, without limitation. Taking the first terminal device as an example, the method specifically includes: sending service request information to a Computational Management Function (CMF), the service request information including indication information of a first service; and receiving service response information from the CMF, the service response information including information about at least one node corresponding to the first service.

[0039] For example, the indication information of the first service is the identifier ID of the first service. The indication information of the first service may also be the descriptor of the first service, or the corresponding sequence number of the first service, etc. This application does not specifically limit the form of the indication information of the first service.

[0040] For example, the first service is artificial intelligence (AI) splitting and reasoning (part on the terminal side and part on the network side), data processing (data preprocessing, data analysis, etc.), cloud phone services, etc.

[0041] In this application embodiment, the Computational Management Function (CMF) typically manages and maintains, but is not limited to, the address / ID information of all nodes in the network and the address / ID information of the CEs (Content Execution Units) within each node. Furthermore, the devices corresponding to these nodes may include, but are not limited to, one or more of terminal devices, access network devices, and core network devices. Additionally, the node information involved in this application embodiment may be, but is not limited to, one or more of the following:

[0042] The node's address, the node's ID, the address of the computation execution function (CE) within the node, and the ID of the computation execution function (CE) within the node.

[0043] In this application, when the first terminal device requests a first service, it can send a service request message carrying the indication information of the first service to the Computing Management Function (CMF). In this way, it can obtain the information of at least one node corresponding to the first service from the CMF. Thus, the first terminal device can maintain only the information of the node corresponding to the first service and the corresponding mapping information, without having to maintain the information of the nodes corresponding to all services and the corresponding mapping information, thereby effectively reducing the air interface overhead of the first terminal device.

[0044] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the first terminal device determining a first node from the at least one node based on information of at least one node corresponding to the first service and policy information of the first service; and then sending a first message to the first access network device, the first message including indication information of the first service and / or information of the first node.

[0045] Through this implementation method, the first terminal device can select a suitable destination node for the first message and forward it through the first access network device.

[0046] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the first terminal device sending a first message to the first access network device, the first message including indication information of the first service.

[0047] In this implementation method, the first terminal device sends a first message carrying indication information of the first service to the access network device, and the access network device determines the destination of the first message and forwards it through the corresponding communication tunnel.

[0048] Fourthly, this application provides a method for determining service node information. This method can be executed by a first node or by the chip or chip system corresponding to the first node, without limitation. Taking the first node as an example, the method may specifically include: the first node receiving a first message from a first access network device through a first communication tunnel, the first message including information about a first service; determining a target node based on the information about the first service; and then sending the first message to the target node. The information about the first service may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: indication information of the first service, the address of the computation execution function (CE) corresponding to the first service, the ID of the CE corresponding to the first service, the address of the node providing the first service, and the ID of the node providing the first service.

[0049] For example, the indication information of the first service is the identifier ID of the first service. The indication information of the first service may also be the descriptor of the first service, or the corresponding sequence number of the first service, etc. This application does not specifically limit the form of the indication information of the first service.

[0050] For example, the first service is artificial intelligence (AI) splitting and reasoning (part on the terminal side and part on the network side), data processing (data preprocessing, data analysis, etc.), cloud phone services, etc.

[0051] In this embodiment of the application, the first node may be an access network device, which governs (or serves) one or more terminal devices. Therefore, after receiving the first message from the first terminal device, the first node also determines the target node (i.e. the target terminal device) based on the first service information carried therein, and then sends the first message to the target node.

[0052] In one possible implementation, the first node determines the target node based on the information of the first service, which may include: the first node first obtaining third mapping information from the Computational Execution Function (CMF); the third mapping information is used to characterize the correspondence between the information of the first service and the information of at least one node, where the at least one node refers to the node managed and communicated by the first node; then the first node determines the information of the at least one node corresponding to the first service based on the information of the first service and the third mapping information; and determines the target node from the at least one node based on the policy information of the first service and the information of the at least one node. The node information involved in the fourth aspect may include, but is not limited to: the node's address, the node's ID, the address of the Computational Execution Function (CE) in the node, and the ID of the Computational Execution Function (CE) in the node.

[0053] Through this implementation method, the first node can determine which nodes among the nodes it manages can provide the first service, and then the first node can send the first message to the appropriate target node according to the service policy information.

[0054] Fifthly, this application provides a method for determining service node information. This method can be executed by a Computational Management Function (CMF) or by the chip or chip system corresponding to the CMF, without limitation. Taking the CMF as an example, the method may specifically include: the CMF receiving service capability registration information from a second terminal device, the service capability registration information including indication information of a first service; then, the CMF establishing third mapping information based on the indication information of the first service, the third mapping information being used to characterize the correspondence between the information of the first service and the information of at least one node; and then the CMF sending the third mapping information to the first node.

[0055] For example, the indication information of the first service is the identifier ID of the first service. The indication information of the first service may also be the descriptor of the first service, or the corresponding sequence number of the first service, etc. This application does not specifically limit the form of the indication information of the first service.

[0056] For example, the first service is artificial intelligence (AI) splitting and reasoning (part on the terminal side and part on the network side), data processing (data preprocessing, data analysis, etc.), cloud phone services, etc.

[0057] In this embodiment, the Computation Management Function (CMF) typically manages and maintains, but is not limited to, the address / ID information of all nodes in the network and the address / ID information of the CEs within each node. Furthermore, the devices corresponding to these nodes may include, but are not limited to, one or more of terminal devices, access network devices, and core network devices. The node information involved in this embodiment may include, but is not limited to: the node's address, the node's ID, the address of the Computation Execution Function (CE) within the node, and the ID of the CE within the node. Additionally, as described above, the first node can be a network device accessed by the second terminal device, or it can be a node used to request the first service.

[0058] This application also provides a service capability registration scheme, in which the CMF receives service capability registration information from a second terminal device, the service capability registration information including indication information of a first service, so that the CMF can register the first service for the second terminal device; further, the CMF establishes mapping information between the first service and at least one node that has the first service according to the indication information of the first service; and then sends the mapping information to the first node (the first node may be the access network device of the second terminal device, or it may be the node that requests the first service).

[0059] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the CMF sending service registration confirmation information to the second terminal device, the service registration confirmation information including information about the computational execution function (CE) of the second terminal device, such as the ID or address of the CE of the second terminal device.

[0060] This implementation method enables the second terminal device to effectively and accurately deploy and execute the first service.

[0061] In one possible implementation, the information of the first service may be, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: instruction information of the first service, ID of the CE corresponding to the first service, address of the CE corresponding to the first service, address of the second terminal device providing the first service, and ID of the second terminal device.

[0062] Through this implementation method, CMF can flexibly establish the aforementioned third mapping information according to its needs.

[0063] In a sixth aspect, embodiments of this application also provide a communication device that can be used to perform the method of the first aspect. The device can be a first access network device, or the device can be a component (e.g., a chip, a chip system, or a circuit) in the first access network device, or it can be a device that can be used in conjunction with the first access network device.

[0064] In one possible implementation, the apparatus may include modules or units corresponding to the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the first aspect. These modules or units may be hardware circuits, software, or a combination of hardware circuits and software. In another possible implementation, the apparatus may include a processing unit (also called a processing module) and a communication unit (also called a communication module). The communication unit may be used to perform receiving and / or transmitting functions, and the processing unit may be used to perform the methods described in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0065] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of this application also provide a communication device that can be used to perform the method of the second aspect. The device can be a computing management function (CMF), or it can be a component (e.g., a chip, a chip system, or a circuit) in the computing management function (CMF), or it can be a device that can be used in conjunction with the computing management function (CMF).

[0066] In one possible implementation, the apparatus may include modules or units corresponding to the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the second aspect. These modules or units may be hardware circuits, software, or a combination of hardware circuits and software. In another possible implementation, the apparatus may include a processing unit (also called a processing module) and a communication unit (also called a communication module). The communication unit may be used to perform receiving and / or transmitting functions, and the processing unit may be used to perform the methods described in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0067] Eighthly, embodiments of this application also provide a communication device that can be used to perform the method of the third aspect. The device can be a first terminal device, or the device can be a component (e.g., a chip, a chip system, or a circuit) in the first terminal device, or it can be a device that can be used in conjunction with the first terminal device.

[0068] In one possible implementation, the apparatus may include modules or units corresponding to the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the third aspect. These modules or units may be hardware circuits, software, or a combination of hardware circuits and software. In another possible implementation, the apparatus may include a processing unit (also called a processing module) and a communication unit (also called a communication module). The communication unit may be used to perform receiving and / or transmitting functions, and the processing unit may be used to perform the methods described in the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0069] In a ninth aspect, embodiments of this application also provide a communication device that can be used to perform the method of the fourth aspect. The device can be a first node, or the device can be a component (e.g., a chip, a chip system, or a circuit) in the first node, or it can be a device that can be used in conjunction with the first node.

[0070] In one possible implementation, the apparatus may include modules or units corresponding to the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the fourth aspect. These modules or units may be hardware circuits, software, or a combination of hardware circuits and software. In another possible implementation, the apparatus may include a processing unit (also called a processing module) and a communication unit (also called a communication module). The communication unit may be used to perform receiving and / or transmitting functions, and the processing unit may be used to perform the methods described in the fourth aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0071] In a tenth aspect, embodiments of this application also provide a communication device that can be used to perform the method of the fifth aspect. The device can be a computing management function (CMF), or the device can be a component (e.g., a chip, a chip system, or a circuit) in the computing management function (CMF), or it can be a device that can be used in conjunction with the computing management function (CMF).

[0072] In one possible implementation, the apparatus may include modules or units corresponding to the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the fifth aspect. These modules or units may be hardware circuits, software, or a combination of hardware circuits and software. In another possible implementation, the apparatus may include a processing unit (also called a processing module) and a communication unit (also called a communication module). The communication unit may be used to perform receiving and / or transmitting functions, and the processing unit may be used to perform the methods described in the fifth aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0073] Eleventhly, an apparatus is provided in the embodiments of this application, the apparatus comprising: at least one processor and a communication interface; wherein the communication interface is used to communicate with other apparatus; the processor is used to run a set of programs to cause the apparatus to implement the method provided in the first aspect or any of the possible embodiments described above, or to cause the apparatus to implement the method provided in the second aspect or any of the possible embodiments described above, or to cause the apparatus to implement the method provided in the third aspect or any of the possible embodiments described above, or to cause the apparatus to implement the method provided in the fourth aspect or any of the possible embodiments described above, or to cause the apparatus to implement the method provided in the fifth aspect or any of the possible embodiments described above.

[0074] In a twelfth aspect, embodiments of this application also provide a computer storage medium storing a software program that, when read and executed by one or more processors, can implement the method provided in the first aspect or any of the possible implementations described above, or implement the method provided in the second aspect or any of the possible implementations described above, or implement the method provided in the third aspect or any of the possible implementations described above, or implement the method provided in the fourth aspect or any of the possible implementations described above, or implement the method provided in the fifth aspect or any of the possible implementations described above.

[0075] In a thirteenth aspect, embodiments of this application also provide a computer program product containing instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the method provided in the first aspect or any of the possible embodiments described above to be executed, or cause the method provided in the second aspect or any of the possible embodiments described above to be executed, or cause the method provided in the third aspect or any of the possible embodiments described above to be executed, or cause the method provided in the fourth aspect or any of the possible embodiments described above to be executed, or cause the method provided in the fifth aspect or any of the possible embodiments described above to be executed.

[0076] In a fourteenth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication system, including a first access network device capable of implementing the method provided in the first aspect, a computational management function (CMF) capable of implementing the method provided in the second or fifth aspect, a first terminal device capable of implementing the method provided in the third aspect, and a first node capable of implementing the method provided in the third aspect.

[0077] In a fifteenth aspect, embodiments of this application also provide a chip system, the chip system including a processor, configured to support a first access network device in implementing the functions involved in the first aspect; or to support a computing management function (CMF) in implementing the functions involved in the second or fifth aspect; or to support a first terminal device in implementing the functions involved in the third aspect; or to support a first node in implementing the functions involved in the fourth aspect.

[0078] In one possible design, the chip system further includes a memory for storing necessary program instructions and data to be executed by the loading device. The chip system may consist of chips or may include chips and other discrete components.

[0079] It should be noted that the technical effects that can be achieved by any of the sixth to fifteenth aspects or any of the sixth to fifteenth aspects can be referred to the description of the technical effects that can be achieved by any of the first to fifth aspects or any of the first to fifth aspects; these will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0080] Figure 1A is a schematic diagram of a currently defined converged architecture for network and mobile / multi-access edge computing (MEC).

[0081] Figure 1B is a schematic diagram of the distribution of a proposed mobile / multi-access edge computing (MEC).

[0082] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a proposed computing node monitoring service and endpoint changes;

[0083] Figure 3 shows a communication system architecture that can be applied to an embodiment of this application;

[0084] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a computing network provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0085] Figure 5 is a flowchart of a method for determining service node information provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0086] Figure 6 is a flowchart of a service registration method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0087] Figure 7A is a detailed flowchart of the first embodiment provided in this application;

[0088] Figure 7B is a schematic diagram of a terminal-level tunnel transmission provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0089] Figure 8A is a detailed flowchart of the second embodiment provided in this application;

[0090] Figure 8B is a schematic diagram of a service-level tunnel transmission provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0091] Figure 9 is a detailed flowchart of the third embodiment provided in this application;

[0092] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0093] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0094] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0095] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The terminology used in the following embodiments is for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and is not intended to be a limitation of this application. As used in the specification and appended claims of this application, the singular expressions "a," "an," "the," "the," and "the" are intended to include expressions such as "one or more," unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that in the embodiments of this application, "one or more" refers to one, two, or more; "and / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships may exist; for example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0096] References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" as described in this specification mean that one or more embodiments of this application include a specific feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment. The terms "comprising," "including," "having," and variations thereof used in this application mean "including but not limited to," unless otherwise specifically emphasized. Words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions, and any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. The use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner for ease of understanding.

[0097] The "multiple" mentioned in the embodiments of this application refers to two or more. It should be noted that in the description of the embodiments of this application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used only for descriptive purposes and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance, nor as indicating or implying order. Furthermore, the term "used for indicating" mentioned in the description of the embodiments of this application can include both direct and indirect indication. When describing an indication as being used to indicate A, it can include whether the indication directly or indirectly indicates A, but does not necessarily mean that the indication necessarily contains A.

[0098] To better understand the solutions provided in the embodiments of this application, the terms and concepts involved in the embodiments of this application will be explained below. It should be noted that these explanations are for the purpose of making the embodiments of this application easier to understand, and should not be regarded as a limitation on the scope of protection claimed by this application.

[0099] I. Convergence of Mobile / Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) with Networks:

[0100] Mobile edge computing, proposed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), mainly refers to providing an IT service environment and cloud computing capabilities by deploying general-purpose servers close to the network access side. It aims to further reduce latency, improve network operation efficiency, enhance service distribution and transmission capabilities, and optimize and improve the end-user experience.

[0101] Figure 1A illustrates the 5G architecture defined by the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) (TS.23501 System architecture for the 5G System standard document). The MEC (Multi-access Edge Computing) is typically deployed in the wireless network at the local user plane function (UPF) of the 5G core network (UPF marked with a bold box in Figure 1A). The local UPF connects to the local data network (DN) via the N6 interface to achieve local offloading and traffic distribution of services, thereby enabling localized processing and accelerating service delivery. As can be seen from the 3GPP 5G system architecture shown in Figure 1A, the MEC is an invisible network element within the 3GPP system architecture and does not fall within the scope of the network architecture defined by 3GPP; therefore, it does not directly impact the 3GPP system architecture.

[0102] The application of MEC (Multi-access Edge Computing) combines the existing 3GPP core network data local offloading mechanism to offload the processing location of service data from the remote data network (usually the public cloud) to the local MEC, thereby accelerating services. This involves pushing applications that process service data closer to the core network of the wireless network in terms of physical deployment, co-located with the core network element UPF (as shown in the right figure of Figure 1B); or further down to the vicinity of the base station, co-located with the base station on physical nodes (as shown in the left figure of Figure 1B). While MEC deployment meets the industry's requirements for real-time performance and data security to a certain extent, there is still room for optimization in terms of the 3GPP logical architecture and data protocol processing flow. Since communication network capabilities are open to the network management platform, distributed external computing power is also presented on the network management platform; therefore, AI applications and other service providers can comprehensively consider network information and distributed computing resources to optimize and adjust service deployments. However, the deployment of AI and other services on this computing power is achieved through the management plane, which is not very dynamic and cannot achieve the unification of network and computing power on the control plane. It cannot respond to user movement and network changes in a timely manner. Network connection and service connection are relatively independent and belong to the superposition model. Therefore, the use of resources is sometimes not optimal.

[0103] The following is a description of the architecture shown in Figure 1A above:

[0104] Figure 1A illustrates some entities in the MEC architecture. The mobile edge (ME) application (ME APP) is a virtual machine instance running on the ME virtualization infrastructure and can communicate with the mobile edge platform (MEP) through the MP1 reference point. The MEP provides ME Services to the ME APP, including service registration, service discovery, status monitoring, traffic rules control, DNS handling, a Local API gateway, load balancer, firewall, and a series of wireless network capabilities such as wireless network information services, location information services, and bandwidth management services. It receives application rule configurations from the ME platform manager (MEPM) or the ME APP.

[0105] [Corrected according to Rule 91, December 13, 2023] In the 5G network shown in Figure 1A, terminal devices can communicate with the core network through the access network (AN). Terminal devices can refer to user equipment (UE), access terminals, user units, user stations, mobile stations, mobile stations, remote stations, remote terminals, mobile devices, user terminals, terminals, wireless communication equipment, user agents, or user devices. Access terminals can be cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, in-vehicle equipment, wearable devices, and terminals in future 5G networks, etc.

[0106] The Network Exposure Function (NEF) primarily manages the network data exposed to the outside world. All external applications must go through the NEF entity to access the internal data of the 5G core network.

[0107] The Network Repository Function (NRF) entity is used to register, manage, and monitor the status of Network Modules (NFs). Each NF must register with the NRF network element before it can be provided with services.

[0108] Application function (AF) network elements interact with the 5G core network to provide services, such as supporting functions like: impacting service routing, exposing network access capabilities, and interacting with policy decision-making network elements for policy control. Application server (AS) network elements can be deployed alongside AFs, interact with the UPF, and are responsible for sending, receiving, and processing user plane uplink and downlink packets.

[0109] The radio access network (RAN) is primarily responsible for providing wireless connectivity to terminal devices and ensuring reliable uplink and downlink data transmission. RAN entities can be gNBs (generation Node Bs) in 5G systems, or evolved Node Bs (eNBs or eNodeBs) in long-term evolution (LTE) systems.

[0110] The session management function (SMF) is primarily responsible for establishing and managing sessions for terminal devices. It can select a suitable UPF for a terminal device based on its location information.

[0111] User plane functions (UPFs) are functional network elements on the user plane of terminal equipment. Their main functions include packet routing and forwarding, and quality of service (QoS) processing for user plane data. In 5G systems, multiple session anchor UPFs can be inserted into the user plane path of a protocol data unit (PDU) session to support connections to the local data network (DN), allowing terminal equipment to access applications in the local DN from the nearest available network. Specifically, multiple UPFs can exist between the terminal equipment and the DN. Some UPFs can act as uplink classifiers (ULCLs) or branching points (BPs); others can act as PDU session anchors (PSAs).

[0112] Access and mobility management (AMF) functions primarily include being the endpoint of the radio access network control plane, the endpoint of non-access signaling, mobility management, lawful interception, and access authorization or authentication. Policy control function (PCF) is primarily responsible for establishing, releasing, and modifying user plane transmission paths. Authentication server function (AUSF) primarily includes user authentication. User data management (UDM) is primarily responsible for managing user subscription data. Data network (DN) can refer to the network that provides services to terminal devices. Application server (AS) provides data services to applications within terminal devices.

[0113] The solution of this application embodiment can be applied to the architecture shown in Figure 1A. Figure 1A also illustrates possible implementations of the interfaces in each entity. As shown in Figure 1A, Nudm, Nnrf, Nnef, Nausf, Namf, Nsmf, Npcf, and Naf correspond to the service-oriented interfaces provided by UDM, NRF, NEF, AUSF, AMF, SMF, PCF, and AF, respectively, and are used to call the corresponding service-oriented operations. N1, N2, N3, N4, N6, and N9 are interface sequence numbers, and the meanings of these interface sequence numbers are as follows:

[0114] 1) N1: The interface between the AMF and the terminal device, which can be used to transmit non-access stratum (NAS) signaling (such as QoS rules from the AMF) to the terminal device.

[0115] 2) N2: The interface between the AMF and the access network equipment, which can be used to transmit radio bearer control information from the core network side to the access network equipment.

[0116] 3) N3: The interface between the access network device and the UPF, mainly used to transmit uplink and downlink user plane data between the access network device and the UPF.

[0117] 4) N4: The interface between SMF and UPF, which can be used to transmit information between the control plane and the user plane, including the distribution of forwarding rules, QoS rules, traffic statistics rules, etc. from the control plane to the user plane, as well as the reporting of information from the user plane.

[0118] 5) N6: The interface between UPF and DN, used to transmit uplink and downlink user data streams between UPF and DN.

[0119] 6) N9: User plane interface between UPFs, used to transmit uplink and downlink user data streams between UPFs.

[0120] The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0121] In this application, some scenarios are illustrated using NR networks in wireless communication networks as examples. It should be noted that the solutions in this application can also be applied to other wireless communication networks, and the corresponding names can be replaced by the names of the corresponding functions in other wireless communication networks.

[0122] II. Integration of Computing Power and Networks:

[0123] A computing force network (CPN) is a computing force network platform that interconnects multiple computing nodes through a certain protocol to form a large virtual cluster and provides a unified user interface to the outside world.

[0124] In the new computing network architecture, each network element not only has control and forwarding capabilities but also computing power. In addition to network elements, computing nodes are also deployed in the network. The computing power generated by this integrated computing and network model is called network native computing resources. From the initial network design stage, computing power is considered a fundamental element of the network. Computing power is distributed throughout the network, meaning it is widely distributed across cloud, edge, terminal, and intermediate network elements, and is integrated into the network. Computing power services, connectivity services, and services that comprehensively consider both computing power and connectivity are all basic services that the network can provide externally. Network native computing power can promote the development and deployment of intrinsic intelligence, better support ubiquitous base stations and terminals with sensing, communication, and computing capabilities, realize large-scale intelligent distributed collaborative services, maximize the utility of communication and computing power in the network, adapt to the distribution of data, and protect data privacy. In the new network architecture, the control plane of network elements and computing nodes is integrated, which can compensate for the shortcomings of computing power integration and enable timely responses to changes in mobility and the network. Network-native computing power can promote the emergence and development of future intelligent applications, such as immersive cloud XR, holographic communication, sensory interconnection, intelligent interaction, communication sensing, and digital twins.

[0125] In a computing network, each compute node runs a proxy called Kube-proxy, which acts as a load balancer within the Kubernetes cluster. It monitors changes to services and endpoints (endpoints record the access addresses of all pods corresponding to a service) on the application program interface (API) server (API server). It configures load balancing for services using iptables and other methods (supporting only Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP)). As shown in Figure 2, compute node 1 has services 1 (corresponding to pod 1) and 2 (corresponding to pod 2), compute node 2 has services 1 (corresponding to pod 3) and 3 (corresponding to pod 4), and compute node 3 has services 2 (corresponding to pod 5) and 3 (corresponding to pod 6). Each compute node can listen to / obtain all service addresses provided by the API server (i.e., all services correspond to at least one node's pod address) through its kubelete and proxy. For example, Service 1 addresses: compute node 1 - pod1 address, compute node 2 - pod3 address; Service 2 addresses: compute node 1 - pod2 address, compute node 3 - pod5 address; Service 3 addresses: compute node 2 - pod4 address, compute node 3 - pod6 address. Typically, a computing system provides multiple services. When a terminal device acts as a compute node within the cluster, such as a service provider or service requester, the terminal device needs to monitor changes in endpoints unrelated to its own requests or service provision in real time, leading to significant air interface control signaling overhead.

[0126] In view of the above problems, this application proposes a method for determining service node information, which can effectively reduce the signaling overhead caused by node monitoring service endpoint changes.

[0127] The method provided in this application can be applied to fourth-generation (4G) communication systems, such as long-term evolution (LTE) systems, as well as fifth-generation (5G) communication systems, such as 5G new radio (NR) systems, or to various future communication systems, such as sixth-generation (6G) systems. The method provided in this application can also be applied to narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) systems. Furthermore, the method provided in this application can be applied to satellite communication systems, wherein the satellite communication system can be integrated with the aforementioned communication systems.

[0128] Figure 3 illustrates a possible, non-limiting communication system architecture applicable to embodiments of this application. As shown in Figure 3, the communication system 3000 includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network (CN) 200. Optionally, the communication system 3000 may also include an Internet 300. RAN 100 includes at least one access network device (110a and 110b in Figure 3, collectively referred to as 110) and at least one terminal device (120a-120j in Figure 3, collectively referred to as 120). RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in Figure 3). Terminal device 120 is wirelessly connected to the access network device. The access network device is wirelessly or wiredly connected to the core network 200. The core network device and the access network device in the core network 200 may be different physical devices, or they may be the same physical device integrating core network logical functions and radio access network logical functions.

[0129] RAN 100 can be a 3GPP-related cellular system, such as a 4G, 5G mobile communication system, or an evolutionary system beyond 5G (e.g., a 6G mobile communication system). RAN 100 can also be an open access network (open RAN, O-RAN, or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a WiFi system. RAN 100 can also be a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0130] It is understood that Figure 3 only shows one possible communication system architecture that can be applied to the embodiments of this application, and other devices may also be included in the communication system architecture in other possible scenarios.

[0131] Access network equipment refers to nodes in a radio access network (RAN), also known as access network devices or RAN nodes (or devices). Access network equipment assists terminal devices in achieving wireless access. Multiple access network devices in the communication system 3000 can be nodes of the same type or different types. In some scenarios, the roles of access network equipment and terminal devices 120 are relative. For example, in Figure 3, network element 120i can be a helicopter or drone, which can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminal devices 120j accessing RAN 100 through network element 120i, network element 120i is a base station; however, for base station 110a, network element 120i is a terminal device. Access network equipment and terminal devices 120 are sometimes referred to as communication devices. For example, in Figure 3, network elements 110a and 110b can be understood as communication devices with base station functions, and network elements 120a-120j can be understood as communication devices with terminal device functions.

[0132] In one possible scenario, access network equipment can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmitting and receiving point (TRP), a transmitting point (TP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a next-generation base station in a 6th-generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, an access point (AP) in a satellite or WiFi system, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, or an access network device in a mobile switching center non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication system, i.e., it can be deployed on a high-altitude platform or satellite, etc. Access network equipment can be a macro base station (as shown in Figure 3, 110a), a micro base station or indoor station (as shown in Figure 3, 110b), a relay node or donor node, or a radio controller in a CRAN scenario. Access network equipment can also act as a base station in device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, drone communication, and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication. Optionally, the access network equipment can also be a server, wearable device, vehicle, or in-vehicle equipment. For example, the access network equipment in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a roadside unit (RSU).

[0133] In another possible scenario, multiple access network devices collaborate to assist terminal devices in achieving wireless access, with each access network device implementing a portion of the base station's functions. For example, access network devices can be central units (CUs), distributed units (DUs), CU-control plane (CPs), CU-user plane (UPs), or radio units (RUs), etc. CUs and DUs can be set up separately or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). RUs can be included in radio equipment or radio units, such as remote radio units (RRUs), active antenna units (AAUs), or remote radio heads (RRHs). It is understood that access network devices can be CU nodes, DU nodes, or devices including both CU and DU nodes. Furthermore, CUs can be classified as access network devices within the RAN (RAN) or the CN (CN), without limitation.

[0134] It should be noted that CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP) or DU may have different names in different systems, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an open radio access network (O-RAN) system, CU may also be called O-CU (open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. For ease of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU as examples. Any of the units among CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application may be implemented through a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of software and hardware modules.

[0135] In this embodiment, the form of the access network device is not limited. The device used to implement the function of the access network device can be the access network device itself; or it can be a device that supports the access network device in implementing the function, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the access network device or used in conjunction with the access network device.

[0136] Terminal equipment 120, also known as terminal, user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc., is a device used to provide voice or data connectivity to users, and can also be an Internet of Things (IoT) device. For example, terminal equipment includes handheld devices with wireless connectivity, vehicle-mounted devices, etc. Currently, terminal devices can include: mobile phones, tablets, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices (such as smartwatches, smart bracelets, pedometers, etc.), in-vehicle equipment (such as cars, bicycles, electric vehicles, airplanes, ships, trains, high-speed trains, etc.), satellite terminals, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, smart point-of-sale (POS) machines, customer-premises equipment (CPE), wireless terminals in industrial control, smart home devices (such as refrigerators, televisions, air conditioners, electricity meters, etc.), smart robots, robotic arms, workshop equipment, wireless terminals in autonomous driving, wireless terminals in telemedicine, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, or wireless terminals in smart homes, and flying equipment (such as smart robots, hot air balloons, drones, airplanes), etc. Terminal devices can also be other devices with terminal functions; for example, a terminal device can also be a device that performs terminal functions in D2D communication.

[0137] Access network equipment and terminal equipment can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; and they can be deployed in the air on aircraft, balloons, and artificial satellites—this application embodiment is not limited in this regard. Furthermore, communication between access network equipment and terminal equipment, between access network equipment and other access network equipment, and between terminal equipment and other terminal equipment can be conducted via licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or both simultaneously; communication can be conducted via spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), or via spectrum above 6 GHz, or simultaneously using both spectrum below 6 GHz and spectrum above 6 GHz. This application embodiment does not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0138] In the embodiments of this application, the functions of the access network device can be executed by modules (such as chips) within the access network device, or by a control subsystem that includes the functions of the access network device. This control subsystem, including the functions of the access network device, can be a control center in the aforementioned application scenarios such as smart grids, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart cities. Similarly, the functions of the terminal device can be executed by modules (such as chips or modems) within the terminal device, or by a device that includes the functions of the terminal device.

[0139] This application embodiment can be applied to scenarios where computing power and networks converge. Figure 4 illustrates a computing power network architecture that can be applied to this application embodiment. This computing power network architecture can be a convergence of computing power and the communication system shown in Figure 3 above. In this computing power network architecture, computing resource control (CRC) / radio resource control (RRC) can be integrated with RAN computing control, applied to the computing session between the computing executor (CE) function of the terminal UE and the CE of the radio access network RAN. Computing management function (CMF) / session management function (SMF) can be integrated with core network computing control, applied to the computing session between the CE of the radio access network RAN ​​and the CE of the mobile edge computing MEC / cloud / core network CN.

[0140] Computation Management Function (CMF): Used for execution control of computing tasks and awareness management of computing resources, including computing task control, computing execution control, computing resource awareness, and computing resource management functional units.

[0141] The system comprises several key components: **Computation Task Control:** This includes analysis of computation tasks, allocation and scheduling of computational resources, and fine-grained task orchestration optimization. **Computation Execution (CE):** This controls the real-time perception of computational resource status, allocates resources used by nodes for computational execution, controls the amount of computational operations performed, controls computational quality, and supports terminal mobility. **Computational Resource Awareness:** This involves sensing computational resources, including their measurement information, usage status information, and topology information. This information serves as a crucial basis for computational task orchestration and scheduling. Measuring computational resources requires a unified abstraction and modeling of the computational capabilities of heterogeneous resources. The measurement and status information acquisition methods can be based on control signaling or data channels. Control signaling ensures real-time status information perception, while data channels reduce the overhead of control signaling. **Computational Resource Management:** This involves maintaining the network's overall computational resources to facilitate the scheduling of computational tasks to appropriate computational resources for execution by computation task control.

[0142] The technical solution of this application is described below with reference to specific embodiments.

[0143] This application provides a method for determining service node information, which is applicable to, but not limited to, the computing network architecture shown in Figure 4. This method can be executed by a first access network device, a computing management function (CMF), a first terminal device, and a first node; or it can be executed by components (modules, chips, etc.) corresponding to the first access network device, the CMF, the first terminal device, and the first node; or it can be executed by an entity / network element that matches the first access network device, the CMF, the first terminal device, and the first node. This application does not specifically limit the specific form and quantity of the first access network device, the CMF, the first terminal device, and the first node. Please refer to Figure 5; the specific flow of this method is as follows:

[0144] S501: The first terminal device sends a service request message to the Computing Management Function (CMF), which includes an indication of a first service. Correspondingly, the CMF receives the service request message sent by the first terminal device.

[0145] For example, the indication information of the first service is the identity (ID) of the first service. The indication information of the first service may also be the descriptor of the first service, or the corresponding serial number of the first service, etc. This application does not specifically limit the form of the indication information of the first service.

[0146] For example, the first service is artificial intelligence (AI) splitting and reasoning (part on the terminal side and part on the network side), data processing (data preprocessing, data analysis, etc.), cloud phone services, etc.

[0147] In this embodiment, the CMF can manage and maintain, but is not limited to, the address / ID information of all nodes in the current network and the address / ID information of the computation execution function (CE) in each node. The devices corresponding to these nodes may include, but are not limited to, one or more of terminal devices, access network devices, and core network devices.

[0148] When a node acts as a service node, it can provide at least one service. When a node provides a certain service, it is specifically implemented by one of its computation execution functions (CEs). Therefore, a node may correspond to at least one CE (these CEs can also be called service CEs). Thus, the computation management function (CMF) in this embodiment can also obtain the service capabilities of each node in the current network (i.e., the services that the node can provide), and manage and maintain (monitor) the mapping relationship between services and corresponding nodes and / or CEs in the nodes.

[0149] It should be understood that communication between the first terminal device and the CMF is achieved through the first access network device, which is the network device to which the first terminal device connects. That is, the service request information sent by the first terminal device to the CMF is sent from the first terminal device to the first access network device, and then processed by the first access network device before being forwarded or directly forwarded to the CMF. In other words, in this step, the first access network device also obtains the indication information for the first service.

[0150] S502: The Computation Management Function (CMF) determines the information of at least one node corresponding to the first service based on the instruction information of the first service.

[0151] In one implementation, the CMF determines the information of at least one node corresponding to the first service based on the indication information of the first service, which may include: the CMF determining the information of at least one node corresponding to the first service based on the indication information of the first service and second mapping information; the second mapping information is used to characterize the correspondence between the indication information of the first service and the information of the at least one node.

[0152] In this embodiment, the at least one node corresponding to the first service refers to a node in the current network capable of providing the first service, including but not limited to one or more of terminal devices, access network devices, and core network devices. Since the Computation Management Function (CMF) can manage and maintain (monitor) the mapping relationship between all services in the network and their corresponding nodes and / or CEs within those nodes, the second mapping information described above can be mapping information pre-generated and maintained by the CMF.

[0153] Furthermore, the node information in the embodiments of this application may be, but is not limited to, one or more of the following:

[0154] The node's address, node identifier (e.g., ID, sequence number, index, unique identifier, etc.), address of the computation execution function CE (which can be called service CE) corresponding to the node, and ID of the computation execution function CE (which can be called service CE) corresponding to the node.

[0155] S503: The CMF sends service response information to the first terminal device, the service response information including information about the at least one node. Accordingly, the first terminal device receives the service response information sent by the CMF.

[0156] In this embodiment of the application, the service response information may also include policy information of the CE corresponding to the at least one node, identification information of the base station (xNB) for random / priority service, etc.

[0157] S504: The CMF sends first information to the first access network device, the first information including information about the at least one node. Accordingly, the first access network device receives the first information sent by the CMF.

[0158] Optionally, the first information may also include indication information for the first service.

[0159] For example, if UE1 is currently connected to base station 1, and UE1 is referred to as the first terminal device, then base station 1 is referred to as the first access network device.

[0160] In this embodiment of the application, the first information may also include policy information of the CE corresponding to the at least one node, identification information of the base station (xNB) for random / priority service, etc.

[0161] The above steps S503 and S504 can be executed simultaneously or asynchronously, and this application does not make specific restrictions on the order of execution of S503 and S504.

[0162] S505: The first access network device determines at least one communication tunnel corresponding to the first service based on the information of the at least one node.

[0163] In some embodiments of this application, at least one communication tunnel corresponding to the first service is a terminal-level tunnel, that is, at least one communication tunnel corresponding to the first service is limited to use by the corresponding terminal device and cannot be shared with other terminal devices.

[0164] In some other embodiments of this application, at least one communication tunnel corresponding to the first service is a service-level tunnel, that is, at least one communication tunnel corresponding to the first service is not limited to being used by the corresponding terminal device, but can also be shared with other terminal devices requesting the first service.

[0165] In this embodiment of the application, when the first access network device performs step S505, the following situations may occur:

[0166] Scenario 1: If the at least one communication tunnel at the service level has been established, and the at least one communication tunnel corresponds to a terminal list, and the terminal list does not include the identification information of the first terminal device; then the first access network device adds the identification information of the first terminal device to the terminal list to obtain an updated terminal list; and maintains the correspondence between the at least one communication tunnel and the updated terminal list.

[0167] In scenario 1, since the first access network device has already established at least one communication tunnel corresponding to the first service, it does not need to establish another communication tunnel corresponding to the first service. Subsequently, the first access network device can reuse the established at least one communication tunnel to transmit messages from the first terminal device.

[0168] Case 2: If the at least one communication tunnel is not established, then the first access network device establishes the at least one communication tunnel based on the information of the at least one node, and generates first mapping information, which is used to characterize the correspondence between the information of the first service and the at least one communication tunnel.

[0169] For scenario 2 above, let the first service correspond to the information of N nodes; N is an integer greater than 0; the first access network device establishes the at least one communication tunnel based on the information of the at least one node, which may specifically include the following:

[0170] The information of the N nodes includes the information of the first access network device: the first access network device establishes a one-to-one communication tunnel between the first access network device and the N nodes based on the information of the N nodes.

[0171] For example, base station 1 receives information from N nodes sent by CMF, including the address / identifier of base station 2 and the address / identifier of base station 3. Then, base station 1 establishes communication tunnel 1 between base station 1 and base station 2 based on the address / identifier of base station 2. Base station 1 also establishes communication tunnel 2 between base station 1 and base station 3 based on the address / identifier of base station 3.

[0172] The information of the N nodes includes the information of the first access network device: the first access network device establishes a one-to-one communication tunnel between the first access network device and the N-1 nodes based on the information of the N-1 nodes, where the N-1 nodes do not include the first access network device.

[0173] For example, if base station 1 receives information from N nodes sent by CMF, including the address / identifier of base station 1 and the address / identifier of base station 2, then base station 1 will establish a communication tunnel between base station 1 and base station 2 based solely on the address / identifier of base station 2.

[0174] In this embodiment, after the first access network device obtains information about at least one node corresponding to the first service from the CMF, if the at least one node is at least one terminal device served by the first access network device (i.e., a terminal device already connected to the first access network device), the first access network device and these terminal devices can communicate with each other through the corresponding air interface. Therefore, in step S505, the first access network device may not need to establish a corresponding communication tunnel, but can instead generate and maintain mapping information between the first service and at least one air interface. Subsequently, the first access network device can select an appropriate air interface to transmit messages from the first terminal device.

[0175] In steps S501 to S505 above, the first terminal device sends a service request information for the first service to the CMF. Based on this request information, the CMF can provide the first terminal device and the first access network device with at least one node information (including the service CE information providing the first service) corresponding to the first service. The first terminal device and the first access network device then maintain the mapping relationship between the first service and the at least one node information as needed, without needing to maintain the mapping relationship between all services in the network and their corresponding node / service CE information, thereby reducing the signaling overhead caused by maintenance. Furthermore, when the CMF learns that the service CE of a certain node corresponding to the first service has expanded or shrunk or is not working, it can notify the first terminal device and the first access network device to update the mapping relationship between the first service and the service CE information in a timely manner. Correspondingly, the first terminal device / first access network device only needs to update the mapping relationship between the first service and the service CE information, thereby reducing the signaling overhead caused by the update.

[0176] Optionally, this embodiment also includes steps S506 to S508.

[0177] S506: The first terminal device sends a first message to the first access network device, the message including information about the first node corresponding to the first service or indication information of the first service. Accordingly, the first access network device receives the first message.

[0178] In one implementation, before the first terminal device sends the first message to the first access network device, the method further includes: the first terminal device determining a first node from the at least one node based on information about at least one node corresponding to the first service and policy information about the first service. Then, the first message sent by the first terminal device to the first access network device includes information about the first node corresponding to the first service (e.g., the node's address / ID, or the address or ID of the service CE). In this implementation, the first terminal device can select a suitable destination node for the first message itself and forward it through the first access network device.

[0179] In another implementation, the first message includes indication information for the first service. In this implementation, the first terminal device sends a first message carrying the indication information for the first service to the access network device, which can then determine the destination of the first message and forward it through a corresponding communication tunnel.

[0180] S507: The first access network device sends the first message to the first node through the first communication tunnel of the first node. Correspondingly, the first node receives the first message sent by the first access network device.

[0181] In one implementation, the first message received by the first access network device includes information (e.g., address or ID) of the first node corresponding to the first service. Then, the first access network device can determine the first communication tunnel corresponding to the first node from at least one communication tunnel corresponding to the first service. Subsequently, the first access network device sends the first message to the first node through the first communication tunnel.

[0182] In another embodiment, the first message received by the first access network device includes indication information of the first service; then the first access network device can select the first communication tunnel corresponding to the first node from at least one communication tunnel corresponding to the first service according to the indication information of the first service and the policy information of the first service; then the first access network device sends the first message to the first node through the first communication tunnel.

[0183] In the above, the policy information for the first service may include the load status and communication quality of the tunnel / node / CE. The first access network device can determine which compute execution functions (CEs) corresponding to each node can meet the QoS requirements of the first service based on the load status or communication quality of each tunnel / node / CE, and then select the communication tunnel corresponding to the node / CE that meets the QoS requirements to transmit the messages of the first terminal device.

[0184] In all the above implementation methods, the first access network device determines that the destination of the first message is the first node, and sends the first message to the first node through the first communication tunnel corresponding to the first node. In practical applications, the destination of the first message determined by the different implementation methods may not be the same node.

[0185] In this embodiment of the application, if the first node and the first access network device communicate with each other via an air interface, then the first access network device can send the first message to the first node through the air interface corresponding to the first node.

[0186] S508: The first node determines the target node based on the information from the first service and sends the first message to the target node.

[0187] In this embodiment, the first access network device sends a first message to the first node through a first communication tunnel. The first message includes information about a first service. This first service information may include, but is not limited to: indication information for the first service, the address of the compute execution function (CE) corresponding to the first service, the ID of the CE corresponding to the first service, the address of the node providing the first service, or the ID of the node providing the first service. Furthermore, if the first node is not a terminal device but an access network device (e.g., a base station) that can manage / serve at least one terminal device, then the first node further determines the target node corresponding to the first service information (i.e., the terminal device managed / served by the first node).

[0188] In one possible implementation, the first node determines the target node based on the information of the first service, which may include: first obtaining third mapping information from the Computational Management Function (CMF); the third mapping information is used to characterize the correspondence between the information of the first service and the information of at least one node, the at least one node being a node managed and communicated by the first node; then, determining the information of the at least one node corresponding to the first service based on the information of the first service and the third mapping information; and finally, determining the target node from the at least one node based on the policy information of the first service and the information of the at least one node.

[0189] For example, the first node is a second access network device that serves UE2 and UE3. The second access network device obtains the mapping relationship between the first service and UE2 and UE3 (equivalent to the third mapping information mentioned above) from the CMF, meaning that both UE1 and UE3 can provide the first service. Therefore, after receiving a first message carrying the identifier of the first service, the second access network device can select UE2 as the target node from UE2 and UE3 based on the policy information of the first service, such as the load status of UE2 and UE3 or service latency thresholds, and then forward the first message to UE2.

[0190] In summary, this application provides a service information management method, which includes: a first access network device receiving first information from a Computational Management Function (CMF), the first information including information about at least one node corresponding to a first service; the first service being a service requested by a first terminal device; and the first access network device determining at least one communication tunnel corresponding to the first service based on the information of the at least one node. Therefore, in this solution, the first access network device can maintain the mapping relationship associated with the first service requested by the terminal device as needed, without needing to maintain the mapping relationship of all services in the network, thereby effectively reducing the signaling overhead caused by maintaining the mapping relationship of service associations.

[0191] In this embodiment of the application, each node in the computing power network may have different service capabilities. These nodes need to register their service capabilities with the Computing Management Function (CMF) so that the CMF can know the services that each node can provide. This is so that when other nodes request a certain service, the CMF can accurately provide the information of the node corresponding to that service.

[0192] Based on the scheme described in Figure 5 above, this application embodiment also provides a service registration scheme. The following describes the scheme using a second terminal device as a node registering its own service capabilities with the CMF. Referring to Figure 6, the specific registration process is as follows:

[0193] S601: The second terminal device sends service capability registration information to the Computing Management Function (CMF), which includes indication information for the first service. Correspondingly, the CMF receives the service capability registration information sent by the second terminal device.

[0194] In this embodiment of the application, a second terminal device is used as an example of a node capable of providing the first service.

[0195] S602: The Computation Management Function (CMF) generates third mapping information based on the instruction information of the first service. The third mapping information is used to characterize the correspondence between the information of the first service and the information of at least one node.

[0196] In one possible implementation, the CMF can select information about at least one node providing the first service from information on multiple nodes it manages and maintains, based on the indication information of the first service, and establish a correspondence between the first service and the information of the at least one node. The information of each node can be, but is not limited to, one or more of the following:

[0197] The node's address, the node's ID, the address of the computation execution function (CE) in the node (i.e., the CE that provides the first service), and the ID of the computation execution function (CE) in the node (i.e., the CE that provides the first service).

[0198] S603: The Computation Management Function (CMF) sends a service registration confirmation message to the second terminal device, which includes information about the Computation Execution Function (CE) of the second terminal device.

[0199] In one possible implementation, the Computational Management Function (CMF) can send information about the CE (Computer Equipment) of the second terminal device to the second terminal device when confirming that the first service has been deployed. This information could include, for example, the ID or address of the CE of the second terminal device.

[0200] S604: The Computation Management Function (CMF) sends the third mapping information to the first node.

[0201] There is no specific restriction on the order in which steps S603 and S604 are executed.

[0202] In this embodiment, the first node serves as the access network device for the second terminal device. Other terminal devices that access the services of the first node can also register their service capabilities with the Computing Management Function (CMF) in the same way as the second terminal device. These details will not be elaborated here.

[0203] For example, if the UEs served by the first node are: UE2, Node 1, Node 2, and Node 3 (these nodes can be UEs), UE2, Node 1, Node 2, and Node 3 can each register their service capabilities with the CMF. Once the CMF determines that UE2 and Node 2 are providing the first service, it can establish a mapping between the ID of the first service and the IDs / addresses of the nodes (UE2 and Node 2). This mapping is equivalent to the aforementioned third mapping information. The CMF can then send this third mapping information to the first node.

[0204] In other embodiments, the CMF may also send the third mapping information to other nodes that request the first service.

[0205] Based on the schemes described in Figures 5 and 6 above, the following detailed descriptions are provided through several specific embodiments.

[0206] Example 1:

[0207] Example 1 provides a detailed description of the scheme described in Figure 5 above. In this example, taking UE1 as the first terminal device, base station 1 as the first access network device, and base station 2 as the first node, UE1 is currently accessing base station 1; UE1 requests service 3 (equivalent to the first service described in Figure 5) from the Computing Management Function (CMF). Referring to Figure 7A, the process of this example 1 is as follows:

[0208] S701A: UE1 sends a service request message to CMF, which includes the ID of service 3.

[0209] S702A: CMF determines the N nodes and N CEs corresponding to Service 3 based on the mapping relationship between the ID of Service 3 and the ID / address of the node; N is an integer greater than 0.

[0210] In this embodiment, the N nodes corresponding to service 3 refer to the nodes that can provide service 3. These N nodes may include the base station 1 currently accessed by UE1. The CMF side also needs to determine which CE corresponds to each of these N nodes to provide service 3, that is, the CMF also determines the CE that can provide service 3 corresponding to these N nodes.

[0211] For example, if the N nodes corresponding to service 3 include at least one base station and at least one UE, then the CMF determines the ID / address of these base stations and the ID / address of these UEs, and also determines the ID / address of the CE used to provide service 3 in each base station, and the ID / address of the CE used to provide service 3 in each UE.

[0212] S703A: CMF sends first information to base station 1 and second information to UE1. The first information includes the IDs / addresses of N nodes and the IDs / addresses of N CEs corresponding to service 3. The second information includes the IDs / addresses of N CEs.

[0213] For example, the CMF determines the mapping information 1 corresponding to service 3 based on the ID of service 3. This mapping information 1 indicates that service 3 corresponds to N nodes, namely base station 2 and base station 3, and determines that CE2 in base station 2 performs service 3, and CE3 in base station 3 performs service 3. Then, the CMF sends first information to base station 1, which includes: the ID / address of base station 2 and the ID / address of base station 3, the ID / address of CE2, and the ID / address of CE3. The CMF sends second information to UE1, which includes the ID / address of CE2 and the ID / address of CE3, and may also include the ID / address of the CE in UE1.

[0214] Optionally, the second information sent by the CMF to UE1 may also include policy polling randomization for the service CE.

[0215] In this application embodiment, the CMF may send the second information directly to the UE1, or it may send the second information to the UE1 through the base station 1. That is, after the CMF sends the second information to the base station 1, the base station 1 forwards the second information to the UE1. It may also be transmitted through other third-party devices. This application does not make specific limitations on this.

[0216] In one possible implementation, after receiving the first information sent by CMF, base station 1 can save a copy of the first information and then send it to UE1; or UE1 can save a copy of the first information and then send the IDs / addresses of the N nodes in the first information to UE1.

[0217] S704A: Base station 1 establishes N tunnels based on the IDs / addresses of the N nodes and the IDs / addresses of the N CEs corresponding to service 3; and generates and maintains the correspondence between the IDs / addresses of the N CEs and these N tunnels.

[0218] In the above, the correspondence between the IDs / addresses of the N CEs and the N tunnels can be equivalent to the first mapping information in the scheme described in Figure 5.

[0219] For example, if the ID / address of these N nodes does not include the ID / address of base station 1: base station 1 establishes a one-to-one tunnel with the devices corresponding to the ID / address of these N CEs respectively.

[0220] If the ID / address of these N nodes includes the ID / address of base station 1: the base station establishes a one-to-one tunnel with the devices corresponding to the ID / address of N-1 CEs (excluding the CE of base station 1).

[0221] For example, if the nodes providing service 3 are base station 1 and base station 2, and the CEs providing service 3 are CE2 and CE4, then the terminal device 2 corresponding to base station 1 and CE4 establishes a tunnel. Terminal device 2 accesses base station 2.

[0222] In this first embodiment, the N tunnels or N-1 tunnels established by base station 1 based on the IDs / addresses of the N nodes and the IDs / addresses of the N CEs corresponding to service 3 are terminal-level tunnels, that is, they are limited to use by UE1 and cannot be shared with other terminal devices.

[0223] S705A: UE1 determines the destination ID / address of the message as the ID / address of CE4 based on the IDs / addresses of N CEs.

[0224] In one implementation, UE1 can select a suitable destination ID / address, namely the ID / address of CE4, based on the IDs / addresses of N CEs and service policy information (such as load balancing policy, communication quality, service latency threshold, etc.).

[0225] For example, UE1 can determine CE4 based on the IDs / addresses of the N CEs and the service policy information (e.g., load information of each CE), and UE1 can determine that CE4 belongs to base station 2 based on the IDs / addresses of the aforementioned N nodes and the IDs / addresses of the corresponding CEs. Then, UE1 will use base station 2 as the destination of the message.

[0226] S706A: UE1 sends a first message to base station 1, which carries the ID / address of CE4.

[0227] Optionally, the first message may also carry the ID / address of service 3.

[0228] S707A: Base station 1 determines the tunnel corresponding to CE4 based on the ID / address of CE4 and the correspondence between the IDs / addresses of N CEs and N tunnels maintained by base station 1.

[0229] In one implementation, base station 1 determines the tunnel corresponding to CE4 based on the ID / address of CE4 in the message and the correspondence between the IDs / addresses of N CEs and these N tunnels maintained by base station 1, and then sends the message to the device corresponding to CE2 through the tunnel corresponding to CE4.

[0230] S708A: Base station 1 transmits UE1's message to base station 2 through the tunnel corresponding to CE4.

[0231] In one possible implementation, the message of UE1 carries the ID / address of service 3.

[0232] Referring to Figure 7B, UE1 requests service 3. Based on the second information from the CMF, UE1 determines that CE2 and CE4 provide service 3, and selects C4 as the destination of the message. Then, UE1 sends a message carrying the ID / address of CE4 to access base station 1 (also known as sNode1 or xNB1). Access base station 1 already knows that CE2 and CE4 provide service 3. CE2 corresponds to node sNode1 (i.e., access base station 1 itself, also known as xNB1), and CE4 corresponds to node sNode2 (also known as xNB2). Since access base station 1 maintains the correspondence between the ID / address of the CE and the terminal-level tunnel (UE-level tunnel), access base station 1 can determine the tunnel corresponding to CE4, and then forward UE1's message to node sNode2 (also known as xNB2) through the tunnel corresponding to CE4.

[0233] In this embodiment of the application, the node corresponding to the destination CE of UE1's message is base station 2. In fact, the node corresponding to the destination CE of UE1's message may also be a core network element, such as a computing data / processing function (CPF).

[0234] S709A: When base station 2 determines to call service 3, it uses UE2.

[0235] In one possible implementation, base station 2 maintains a correspondence between the information (ID) of service 3 and the information (ID / address) of multiple UEs (including UE2) and the information (ID / address) of the CE of the multiple UEs (which may be equivalent to the third mapping information in the scheme described in Figure 5 above). The multiple UEs refer to the multiple UEs (including UE2) managed by base station 2, and this correspondence may come from CMF.

[0236] Then, base station 2 can select UE2 based on the correspondence between the information (ID) of multiple UEs (including UE2) corresponding to service 3 and the information (ID / address) of the CE of these multiple UEs, as well as the service policy (such as CE load, communication quality, service latency threshold, etc.).

[0237] S710A: Base station 2 sends the first message of UE1 to UE2.

[0238] In this first embodiment, UE1 (or base station 1 to which UE1 accesses) can maintain / update the correspondence or mapping information between service 3 and the partial CEs providing the service as needed, based on the service 3 requested by UE1. It does not need to maintain / update the correspondence or mapping information between all services and CEs in the network, thus effectively reducing the air interface overhead of the system. Furthermore, the base station to which the UE accesses can establish communication tunnels corresponding to CEs as needed, reducing construction costs. Subsequently, UE1 can select a suitable service CE from the partial CEs corresponding to the service it requested based on the service strategy (e.g., load balancing strategy), and then carry the service CE information (ID / address) in a message and send it to the access base station 2. The access base station 2 can then effectively and accurately forward the message to the service CE through the corresponding tunnel based on the service CE information (ID / address) in the message and the maintained correspondence between service CEs and tunnels.

[0239] Example 2:

[0240] Compared to Embodiment 1 described above, the main difference in Embodiment 2 is that the tunnel established by base station 1 for Service 3 requested by UE1 corresponds to a service-level tunnel, and the base station selects a suitable node / CE for the UE's packets. Referring to Figure 8A, the process of Embodiment 2 is as follows:

[0241] S801A: UE1 sends a service request message to CMF, which includes the ID of service 3.

[0242] S802A: CMF determines the N nodes and N CEs corresponding to service 3 based on the mapping relationship between the ID of service 3 and the ID / address of the node, where N is an integer greater than 0.

[0243] S803A: CMF sends first information to base station 1 and second information to UE1. The first information includes the IDs / addresses of N nodes and N CEs corresponding to service 3, and the second information includes the IDs / addresses of N CEs.

[0244] The specific implementation methods of S801A to S803A can be referred to one by one with the specific implementation methods of S701A to S703A, which will not be described in detail here.

[0245] S804A: Base station 1 establishes N service-level tunnels based on the IDs / addresses of the N nodes corresponding to service 3; and generates and maintains the correspondence between the IDs / addresses of the N CEs and these N tunnels.

[0246] Through the steps S801A to S803A described above, base station 1 can obtain the IDs / addresses of N nodes and the IDs / addresses of N CEs corresponding to the service 3 requested by UE1. The specific implementation of step S804A can be referred to the specific implementation of S704A described above, and will not be repeated here.

[0247] Unlike S704A above, in this step S804A, the N or N-1 tunnels established by base station 1 for service 3 correspond to service-level tunnels, which are not limited to use by UE1, but can also be shared with other UEs requesting service 3.

[0248] In this embodiment, there are also other terminal devices requesting service 3, which may be managed by base station 1. Base station 1 does not need to establish a new tunnel for service 3 for these UEs, but can reuse the tunnel for service 3 previously established by base station 1.

[0249] In one implementation, base station 1 also needs to maintain a terminal list, which may include all UEs (including UE1) that can use the tunnel corresponding to service 3.

[0250] In some embodiments, when UE1 requests service 3, base station 1 has already established a tunnel (service-level tunnel) corresponding to service 3, and base station 1 maintains a UE list, which includes the identifiers of multiple UEs, and these multiple UEs can use the tunnel corresponding to service 3.

[0251] If base station 1 determines that the UE list does not contain the identifier of UE1, then base station 1 can add UE1 to the UE list. If the UE list contains the identifier of UE1, then base station 1 will not add the identifier of UE1 to the UE list.

[0252] In other embodiments, base station 1 maintains multiple UE lists, that is, each tunnel of service 3 may correspond to a UE list. Then base station 1 can check whether the UE list of all tunnels corresponding to service 3 contains the identifier of UE1; if not, the identifier of UE1 is added to each list.

[0253] For example, UE1 requests service 3. Base station 1 knows that the tunnels corresponding to service 3 are tunnel 3-1 and tunnel 3-2. Tunnel 3-1 is the tunnel between base station 1 and CE2, and tunnel 3-2 is the tunnel between base station 1 and CE4. Base station 1 stores the UE lists corresponding to tunnel 3-1 and tunnel 3-2, as shown in Table 1. Base station 1 can check whether UE1 is included in either the UE list corresponding to tunnel 3-1 or the UE list corresponding to tunnel 3-2. If UE1 is not included in either list, base station 1 adds the identifier of UE1 to both the UE lists corresponding to tunnel 3-1 and tunnel 3-2, respectively.

[0254] Table 1

[0255] Table 1 above is only an example. Compared to Table 1, the actual list established by base station 1 may contain more or less information. The base station also maintains UE lists for each tunnel of other services, which can be found in Table 1 and will not be shown here.

[0256] Referring to Figure 8B, UE1 requests service 3. Based on the second information from the CMF, UE1 determines that CE2 and CE4 provide service 3, and selects C4 as the destination of the message. Then, UE1 sends a message carrying the ID / address of CE4 to access base station 1 (also known as sNode1 or xNB1). Access base station 1 is aware that CE2 and CE4 provide service 3. CE2 corresponds to node sNode1 (i.e., access base station 1 itself, also known as xNB1), and CE4 corresponds to node sNode2 (also known as xNB2). Since access base station 1 maintains the mapping between the ID / address of the CE and the service-level tunnel, access base station 1 can forward UE1's message to node sNode2 (also known as xNB2) through the tunnel corresponding to CE4.

[0257] S805A: UE1 sends a message to base station 1, which includes the ID / address of service 3.

[0258] S806A: Base station 1 determines at least one tunnel corresponding to CE based on the ID / address of service 3 and the correspondence between service information (ID / address) and tunnel information (ID), and selects the tunnel corresponding to CE4 from the at least one tunnel corresponding to CE according to the policy information.

[0259] For example, base station 1 determines multiple tunnels corresponding to service 3 based on the ID / address of service 3, such as tunnel 3-1, tunnel 3-2, ..., tunnel 3-n (where n is an integer and represents the total number of tunnels corresponding to service 3). Since each tunnel is established by base station 1 based on the ID / address of a CE, it is equivalent to one tunnel corresponding to a known CE ID / address. Therefore, base station 1 can determine the IDs / addresses of multiple CEs based on these tunnels corresponding to service 3. Furthermore, base station 1 selects a suitable CE (such as CE4) from these CEs according to service policies (e.g., tunnel / CE load, communication quality, etc.), and then base station 1 can send UE1's messages through the communication tunnel corresponding to this CE (such as CE4).

[0260] S807A: Base station 1 transmits the message to base station 2 through the tunnel corresponding to CE4.

[0261] Since CE4 is located at base station 2, base station 1 forwards UE1's messages to base station 2 through the tunnel corresponding to CE4.

[0262] S808A: When base station 2 determines to call service 3, it uses UE2.

[0263] For Service 3, base station 2 may maintain a mapping relationship between the IDs / addresses of multiple UEs (including UE2) and their respective CEs; or base station 2 may maintain a mapping relationship between the ID of Service 3 and the IDs / addresses of multiple UEs (including UE2) and their respective CEs. The at least one UE may be a UE managed by base station 2. The aforementioned mapping relationship may originate from the CMF (Customer Function).

[0264] Therefore, after base station 2 receives the message from UE1 through the tunnel corresponding to CE4, base station 2 can determine that the UE corresponding to CE4 is UE2 based on this correspondence.

[0265] In other embodiments, base station 2 may also maintain a correspondence between the ID / address of at least one CE and the ID / address of at least one UE for other services. For details, please refer to the implementation of service 3, which will not be described in detail here.

[0266] The specific implementation of step S808A can be referred to the specific implementation of S709A above, and will not be described in detail here.

[0267] S809A: Base station 2 sends the message from UE1 to UE2.

[0268] The specific implementation of step S809A can be referred to the specific implementation of S710A above, and will not be described in detail here.

[0269] Unlike Embodiment 1, in Embodiment 2, the base station 1 accessed by UE1 can establish a service-level tunnel corresponding to Service 3 as needed (i.e., shared by multiple UEs) to reduce construction costs. Furthermore, after receiving a message from UE1 carrying the identifier of Service 3, base station 1 can select a suitable service CE from the CEs corresponding to Service 3 according to the service policy (e.g., tunnel / CE load), and then send the message to the corresponding service CE through the tunnel corresponding to that service CE.

[0270] Example 3:

[0271] Example 3 provides a detailed description of the service registration scheme described in Figure 6. In this example, the UE can register its service capabilities with the CMF, enabling the CMF to establish a mapping between services and nodes based on the services registered by the UE. Referring to Figure 9, the process of this example is as follows:

[0272] S901: UE2 sends service capability registration information to CMF, which includes the ID of service 3.

[0273] In this embodiment of the application, taking base station 2 as an example, base station 2 manages one or more UEs (i.e., one or more UEs are accessed). Further, taking UE2 as an example, UE2 registers its service capabilities with CMF, that is, UE2 registers the service 3 that it can provide with CMF.

[0274] Other UEs under the jurisdiction of base station 2 can register their service capabilities with CMF in the same way as UE2, which will not be described in detail here.

[0275] S902: CMF determines the correspondence between the ID of Service 3, the ID of the UE, and the ID / address of the UE CE based on the ID of Service 3.

[0276] [Corrected according to Rule 91, 13.12.2023] Through the above step S901, CMF can obtain the information (ID / address) of at least one UE under the jurisdiction of base station 2 that has the ability to provide service 3, and then generate the correspondence (mapping relationship) between the ID of service 3 and the information (ID / address) of the at least one UE and the information (ID / address) of the CE of the at least one UE.

[0277] For example, UE2 and UE3 under the jurisdiction of base station 2 are both capable of providing service 3. UE2 and UE3 have registered their service capabilities with CMF. CMF generates a mapping relationship between the ID of UE (UE2 / UE3) and the ID / address of UE (UE2 / UE3) CE for the ID of service 3. CMF sends this mapping relationship to base station 2.

[0278] Referring to the list in Table 2, it can be seen that UE2 and UE3 are capable of providing service 3, and this is performed by CE4 in UE2 and by CE6 in UE3. Table 2 is only an example list used to illustrate the mapping relationship for ease of understanding. The specific information in Table 2 should not be directly regarded as the information in the actual mapping list.

[0279] Table 2

[0280] For example, UE2 and UE3, managed by base station 2, have different service capabilities (i.e., they provide different services). UE2 has the capability to provide service 3, and UE3 has the capability to provide service 1. Therefore, UE2 and UE3 register their respective service capability information with the CMF. Furthermore, the CMF can generate a mapping relationship (a) between the ID of UE3 and the ID / address of UE3-CE6 for the ID of service 1; and a mapping relationship (b) between the ID / address of UE2 and the ID / address of UE2-CE4 for the ID of service 3.

[0281] CMF sends mapping relationship a and mapping relationship b to base station 2. Mapping relationship a and mapping relationship b can be represented as follows:

[0282] Mapping relationship a: ID / address of service 1, ID / address of UE3, ID / address of UE3-CE6;

[0283] Mapping relationship b: ID / address of service 3, ID / address of UE2, ID / address of UE2-CE4.

[0284] In practice, mapping relationships a and b can also be displayed as lists, without any specific restrictions.

[0285] S903: CMF sends the correspondence between the ID of Service 3 and the ID of at least one UE and the ID / address of the at least one UE-CE to base station 2.

[0286] [Correction 13.12.2023 according to Rule 91] In the above steps S709A and S808A, the correspondence between the ID of Service 3 and the IDs / addresses of multiple UEs and their CEs maintained by the base station 2 can be sent to the base station 2 by the CMF through step S903.

[0287] Therefore, after receiving a message carrying a request for service 3, base station 2 can forward the message to a UE under its jurisdiction.

[0288] When UE2 moves to another cell, base station 2 will update the mapping list between the service ID, the UE's ID, and the UE's CE ID / address.

[0289] S904: CMF sends registration confirmation information to UE2.

[0290] This registration confirmation message indicates that UE2 has successfully registered its service capabilities with CMF.

[0291] In one possible implementation, the CMF can send the CE ID / address of UE2 to UE2 when deploying services on the network.

[0292] The subsequent steps can be implemented by referring to steps S708A to S710A in Embodiment 1 above, or steps S807A to S809A in Embodiment 2 above, and will not be described in detail here.

[0293] In this third embodiment, the terminal device providing the service can register its service capabilities with the CMF, enabling the CMF to determine the correspondence between the service and the node / CE based on the registered service. The CMF then sends this correspondence (equivalent to the third mapping information in the scheme described in Figure 6) to the node requesting the service (e.g., the first node in the scheme described in Figure 6), allowing the requesting node to use this correspondence to select a suitable CE for the service's packets. Furthermore, the CMF also provides the ID / address information of the corresponding CE to the node that registered the service capability (e.g., the second terminal device), enabling the node to effectively deploy the service.

[0294] Regarding Embodiments 1 to 3 above, it should be noted that:

[0295] (1) The above embodiments one to three can be implemented individually or in combination, and there is no specific limitation. For example, the service registration scheme described in embodiment three can be combined with the schemes in embodiment one or embodiment two.

[0296] (2) The above focuses on describing the differences between Embodiment 1 to Embodiment 3. Except for the differences, Embodiment 1 to Embodiment 3 can be referred to each other.

[0297] (3) The step numbers of the flowcharts described in Embodiments 1 to 3 are merely examples of the execution flow and do not constitute a restriction on the order of execution of the steps. The steps in the embodiments of this application have no temporal dependencies on each other, and there is no strict execution order between them. In addition, not all the steps shown in the flowcharts are mandatory steps, and some steps can be added or deleted based on the actual needs of each flowchart.

[0298] In the embodiments provided above, the methods provided by the embodiments of this application are described from the perspective of interaction between various devices. To implement the functions of the methods provided in the embodiments of this application, the first access network device or computing management function (CMF) or the first terminal device or the first node may include hardware structures and / or software modules, implementing the above functions in the form of hardware structures, software modules, or a combination of hardware structures and software modules. Whether a particular function is executed in the form of hardware structures, software modules, or a combination of hardware structures and software modules depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0299] The module division in this embodiment is illustrative and represents only one logical functional division; in actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional modules in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into a single processor, exist as separate physical entities, or be integrated into a single module. The integrated modules described above can be implemented in hardware or as software functional modules.

[0300] Similar to the above concept, as shown in FIG10, this application embodiment also provides a communication device 1000 for implementing the functions of the first access network device or computing management function (CMF) or the first terminal device or the first node in the above method. For example, the communication device 1000 can be a software module or a chip system. In this application embodiment, the chip system can be composed of chips or can include chips and other discrete devices. The communication device 1000 may include: a communication unit 1001 and a processing unit 1002.

[0301] In this embodiment, the communication unit 1001, also known as the transceiver unit, may include a sending unit and / or a receiving unit, respectively used to execute the sending and receiving steps of the first access network device or computing management function (CMF) or the first terminal device or the first node in the method embodiments described above. The processing unit 1002 may be used to read instructions and / or data from the storage module so that the communication device 1000 implements the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0302] Optionally, the communication device 1000 may further include a storage unit 1003, which is equivalent to a storage module and can be used to store instructions and / or data.

[0303] The communication device provided in the embodiments of this application will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 10 and 11. It should be understood that the description of the device embodiments corresponds to the description of the method embodiments. Therefore, for the contents not described in detail, please refer to the method embodiments described in Figures 5-6, 7A and 8A above and Figure 9. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0304] The communication unit 1001 can also be referred to as a transceiver, transceiver, or transceiver device. The processing unit can also be referred to as a processor, processing board, processing module, or processing device. Optionally, the device in the communication unit 1001 used to implement the receiving function can be considered as a receiving unit, and the device in the communication unit 1001 used to implement the transmitting function can be considered as a transmitting unit; that is, the communication unit 1001 includes both a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The communication unit can sometimes also be referred to as a transceiver, transceiver circuit, or transceiver unit. The receiving unit can sometimes be referred to as a receiver, receiver, or receiving circuit. The transmitting unit can sometimes be referred to as a transmitter, transmitter, or transmitting circuit.

[0305] When the communication device 1000 executes the process shown in Figure 5 of the above embodiment for the first access network device: the communication unit 1001 and the processing unit 1002 in the communication device 1000 are both located within the first access network device; or the communication unit 1001 is located within the DU of the first access network device, and the processing unit 1002 is located within the CU of the first access network device; or in the O-RAN architecture, the communication unit 1001 is located within the O-DU and / or O-RU of the first access network device, and the processing unit 1002 is located within the O-CU and / or O-DU of the first access network device.

[0306] The communication unit 1001 is configured to receive first information from the computing management function (CMF), the first information including information about at least one node corresponding to a first service; the first service is a service requested by a first terminal device; and the processing unit 1002 is configured to determine the communication tunnel corresponding to the first service based on the information of the at least one node.

[0307] When the communication device 1000 executes the computational management function (CMF) in the process shown in Figure 5 of the above embodiment: the communication unit 1001 is used to receive service request information from the first terminal device, the service request information including indication information of the first service; the processing unit 1002 is used to determine the information of at least one node corresponding to the first service according to the indication information of the first service; the communication unit 1001 is also used to send service response information to the first terminal device, the service response information including the information of the at least one node; and send first information to the first access network device, the first information including the information of the at least one node; the first access network device is the device to which the first terminal device is connected.

[0308] When the communication device 1000 executes the process shown in Figure 5 of the above embodiment, the communication unit 1001 is used to send service request information to the Computing Management Function (CMF), the service request information including indication information of a first service. The communication unit 1001 is also used to receive service response information from the CMF, the service response information including information about at least one node corresponding to the first service. The processing unit 1002 is used to process data and / or information and to invoke the communication unit 1001 to execute corresponding steps, etc.

[0309] When the communication device 1000 executes the first node (the first node is an access network device) in the process shown in Figure 5 of the above embodiment: the communication unit 1001 and the processing unit 1002 in the communication device 1000 are both located in the first node; or the communication unit 1001 is located in the DU of the first node, and the processing unit 1002 is located in the CU of the first node; or in the O-RAN architecture, the communication unit 1001 is located in the O-DU and / or O-RU of the first node, and the processing unit 1002 is located in the O-CU and / or O-DU of the first node.

[0310] The communication unit 1001 is configured to receive a first message from a first access network device through a first communication tunnel, the first message including information about a first service; the processing unit 1002 is configured to determine a target node based on the information about the first service; and the communication unit 1001 is configured to send the first message to the target node.

[0311] The above are just examples. The processing unit 1002 and the communication unit 1001 can also perform other functions. For a more detailed description, please refer to the relevant descriptions in the method embodiments shown in Figures 5-6, 7A, 8A and 9. They will not be repeated here.

[0312] Figure 11 shows a communication device 1100 provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device shown in Figure 11 can be a hardware circuit implementation of the communication device shown in Figure 10. This communication device 1100 can be applied to the flowcharts shown above to perform the functions of the first access network device, the computing management function (CMF), the first terminal device, or the first node in the above method embodiments. For ease of explanation, Figure 11 only shows the main components of the communication device.

[0313] As shown in Figure 11, the communication device 1100 includes a communication interface 1101 and a processor 1102. The communication interface 1101 and the processor 1102 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the communication interface 1101 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface, or an interface circuit such as a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the communication device 1100 may further include a memory 1103 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1102, or storing input data required by the processor 1102 to execute instructions, or storing data generated after the processor 1102 executes instructions.

[0314] When the communication device 1100 is used to implement the methods shown in FIG5-6, FIG7A and FIG8A and FIG9, the communication interface 1101 is used to implement the functions of the communication unit 1001, and the processor 1102 is used to implement the functions of the processing unit 1002.

[0315] This embodiment does not limit the specific connection medium between the communication interface 1101, processor 1102, and memory 1103. In Figure 11, the memory 1103, processor 1102, and communication interface 1101 are connected via a communication bus 1104, which is represented by a thick line. The connection methods between other components are merely illustrative and not intended to be limiting. The communication bus 1104 can be divided into an address bus, data bus, control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is used in Figure 11, but this does not indicate that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0316] When the aforementioned communication device is a chip, Figure 12 shows a simplified schematic diagram of the chip's device structure. The chip 1200 includes an interface circuit 1201 and one or more processors 1202. Optionally, the chip 1200 may also include a bus. Wherein:

[0317] The processor 1202 may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. In implementation, each step of the method for determining the service node information described above can be completed through integrated logic circuits in the hardware of the processor 1202 or through software instructions. The processor 1202 may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. It can implement or execute the methods and steps disclosed in the embodiments of this application. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0318] The interface circuit 1201 can be used to send or receive data, instructions or information. The processor 1202 can use the data, instructions or other information received by the interface circuit 1201 to process the data, instructions or other information, and can send the processed information out through the interface circuit 1201.

[0319] Optionally, the chip also includes memory 1203, which may include read-only memory and random access memory, and provides operation instructions and data to the processor. A portion of memory 1203 may also include non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM).

[0320] Optionally, the memory stores executable software modules or data structures, and the processor can execute corresponding operations by calling the operation instructions stored in the memory (which may be stored in the operating system).

[0321] Optionally, the chip can be used in the first access network device, computing management function (CMF), first terminal device, or first node involved in the embodiments of this application. Optionally, the interface circuit 1201 can be used to output the execution result of the processor 1202. For the methods of determining service node information provided by one or more embodiments of this application, please refer to the foregoing embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0322] It should be noted that the functions of the interface circuit 1201 and the processor 1202 can be implemented through hardware design, software design, or a combination of hardware and software; no restrictions are imposed here.

[0323] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions for implementing the methods executed by the first access network device, the computing management function (CMF), the first terminal device, or the first node in the above-described method embodiments.

[0324] For example, when the computer program is executed by a computer, it enables the computer to implement the method performed by the first access network device or computing management function (CMF) or the first terminal device or the first node in the above method embodiments.

[0325] This application also provides a computer program product containing instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to implement the method described above, which is executed by the first access network device, the computing management function (CMF), the first terminal device, or the first node.

[0326] This application also provides a chip, including a processor, for calling computer programs or computer instructions stored in the memory to cause the processor to execute the method for determining service node information of the embodiments shown in Figures 5-6, 7A and 8A and Figure 9.

[0327] In one possible implementation, the input of the chip corresponds to the receiving operation in the embodiments shown in Figures 5-6, 7A, 8A, and 9, and the output of the chip corresponds to the transmitting operation in the embodiments shown in Figures 5-6, 7A, 8A, and 9.

[0328] Optionally, the processor is coupled to the memory via an interface.

[0329] Optionally, the chip also includes a memory that stores computer programs or computer instructions.

[0330] The processor mentioned above can be a general-purpose central processing unit, a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits used to control the execution of a program for determining service node information in the embodiments shown in Figures 5-6, 7A, 8A, and 9. The memory mentioned above can be read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices capable of storing static information and instructions, such as random access memory (RAM).

[0331] It should be noted that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the explanations and beneficial effects of the relevant content in any of the communication devices provided above can be referred to the corresponding service node information determination method embodiments provided above, and will not be repeated here.

[0332] In this application, the communication devices may further include a hardware layer, an operating system layer running on top of the hardware layer, and an application layer running on the operating system layer. The hardware layer may include hardware such as a central processing unit (CPU), a memory management unit (MMU), and memory (also known as main memory). The operating system layer may be any one or more computer operating systems that implement business processing through processes, such as Linux, Unix, Android, iOS, or Windows. The application layer may include applications such as browsers, address books, word processing software, and instant messaging software.

[0333] The module division in this embodiment is illustrative and represents only one logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional modules in each embodiment of this application can be integrated into a single processor, exist as separate physical entities, or be integrated into a single module. The integrated modules described above can be implemented in hardware or as software functional modules.

[0334] Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art will clearly understand that the embodiments of this application can be implemented in hardware, firmware, or a combination thereof. When implemented in software, the above functions can be stored in a computer-readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include computer storage media and communication media, wherein communication media include any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Storage media can be any available medium accessible to a computer. For example, but not limited to, computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, magnetic disk storage media, or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and accessible to a computer. Furthermore, any connection can suitably be a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of the medium. As used in embodiments of this application, disks and discs include compact discs (CDs), laser discs, optical discs, digital video discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs, wherein disks typically magnetically copy data, while discs optically copy data using lasers. The combinations above should also be included within the scope of protection for computer-readable media.

[0335] In summary, the above descriptions are merely embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made based on the disclosure of this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A method for determining service node information, characterized in that, The method is applied to a first access network device, including: Receive first information from the Computation Management Function (CMF), the first information including information about at least one node corresponding to the first service; the first service is a service requested by the first terminal device. Based on the information from the at least one node, at least one communication tunnel corresponding to the first service is determined.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first information also includes indication information for the first service.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The at least one communication tunnel corresponds to a terminal-level tunnel.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The at least one communication tunnel corresponds to a service-level tunnel.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, When at least one communication tunnel has been established, the at least one communication tunnel corresponds to a terminal list, and the terminal list does not include the identification information of the first terminal device; Determining at least one communication tunnel corresponding to the first service based on the information of the at least one node includes: The identification information of the first terminal device is added to the terminal list to obtain the updated terminal list.

6. The method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that, In the event that at least one of the communication tunnels has not been established; Determining at least one communication tunnel corresponding to the first service based on the information of the at least one node includes: Based on the information from the at least one node, establish the at least one communication tunnel; And generate first mapping information, which is used to characterize the correspondence between the first service and the at least one communication tunnel.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The first service corresponds to information about N nodes; N is an integer greater than 0; establishing the at least one communication tunnel based on the information of the at least one node includes: When the information of the N nodes does not include the information of the first access network device; Based on the information of the N nodes, establish a one-to-one communication tunnel between the N nodes; If the information of the first access network device is included in the information of the N nodes, a communication tunnel corresponding one-to-one with the N-1 nodes is established based on the information of the N-1 nodes, wherein the N-1 nodes do not include the first access network device.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive a first message from the first terminal device; the first message includes information about the first node corresponding to the first service; Based on the information of the first node, determine the first communication tunnel corresponding to the first node from the at least one communication tunnel; The first message is sent to the first node through the first communication tunnel.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive a first message from the first terminal device; the first message includes indication information of the first service; Based on the instruction information and policy information of the first service, select the first communication tunnel corresponding to the first node from the at least one communication tunnel; The first message is sent to the first node through the first communication tunnel.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, The information of the node includes one or more of the following: The node's address, the node's identifier (ID), the address of the computation execution function (CE) within the node, and the ID of the computation execution function (CE) within the node.

11. A method for determining service node information, characterized in that, The method is applied to the Computational Management Function (CMF), including: Receive service request information from a first terminal device, wherein the service request information includes indication information of a first service requested by the first terminal device; Based on the instruction information of the first service, determine the information of at least one node corresponding to the first service; Send service response information to the first terminal device, wherein the service response information includes information about the at least one node; And send first information to the first access network device, the first information including information of the at least one node; the first access network device is the device to which the first terminal device is connected.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The first information also includes indication information for the first service.

13. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The step of determining the information of at least one node corresponding to the first service based on the indication information of the first service includes: Based on the indication information of the first service and the second mapping information, the information of at least one node corresponding to the first service is determined; the second mapping information is used to characterize the correspondence between the indication information of the first service and the information of the at least one node.

14. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that, The information of the node includes one or more of the following: The node's address, the node's ID, the address of the computation execution function (CE) within the node, and the ID of the computation execution function (CE) within the node.

15. A method for determining service node information, characterized in that, The method is applied to a first terminal device and includes: Send service request information to the Computation Management Function (CMF), the service request information including indication information for a first service; Receive service response information from the CMF, the service response information including information about at least one node corresponding to the first service.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The method further includes: Based on the information of at least one node corresponding to the first service and the policy information of the first service, the first node is determined from the at least one node; Send a first message to the first access network device, the first message including information about the first node corresponding to the first service.

17. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a first message to the first access network device, the first message including indication information of the first service.

18. The method according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that, The information of the node includes one or more of the following: The node's address, the node's ID, the address of the computation execution function (CE) within the node, and the ID of the computation execution function (CE) within the node.

19. A method for determining service node information, characterized in that, The method is applied to the first node and includes: A first message is received from a first access network device through a first communication tunnel, the first message including information about a first service; Based on the information from the first service, the target node is determined; The first message is sent to the target node.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that, The step of determining the target node based on the information from the first service includes: The third mapping information is obtained from the Computational Management Function (CMF); the third mapping information is used to characterize the correspondence between the information of the first service and the information of at least one node, wherein the at least one node is a node managed and communicated by the first node. Based on the information of the first service and the third mapping information, determine the information of the at least one node corresponding to the first service; The target node is determined from the at least one node based on the policy information of the first service and the information of the at least one node.

21. The method according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that, The information for the first service includes one or more of the following: The instruction information of the first service, the address of the computation execution function (CE) corresponding to the first service, the ID of the CE corresponding to the first service, the address of the node providing the first service, and the ID of the node providing the first service.

22. The method according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that, The information of the node includes one or more of the following: The node's address, the node's ID, the address of the computation execution function (CE) within the node, and the ID of the computation execution function (CE) within the node.

23. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes modules or units for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 10, or modules or units for performing the method as described in any one of claims 11 to 14, or modules or units for performing the method as described in any one of claims 15 to 18, or modules or units for performing the method as described in any one of claims 19 to 22.

24. A communication device, characterized in that, The device includes a processor and an interface circuit. The interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices besides the communication device and transmit them to the processor, or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices besides the communication device. The processor is used to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 10, or the processor is used to implement the method as described in any one of claims 11 to 14, or the processor is used to implement the method as described in any one of claims 15 to 18, or the processor is used to implement the method as described in any one of claims 19 to 22.

25. A communication system, characterized in that, include: A first access network device for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 10, a computing management function (CMF) for performing the method as described in any one of claims 11 to 14, a first terminal device for performing the method as described in any one of claims 15 to 18, and a first node for performing the method as described in any one of claims 19 to 22.

26. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium stores a computer program or instructions, which, when executed by a communication device, implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 22.

27. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product stores computer-readable instructions, and when the computer-readable instructions are executed, the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 22 is performed.

28. A chip, characterized in that, The chip includes at least one processor, which is used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 22.

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