Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of communications, and provides a communication method and apparatus. An access network device receives at least two pieces of first information, each piece of first information comprising an operation identifier, and the operation identifier being used for indicating information about a corresponding service operation. If the operation identifiers in the at least two pieces of first information are the same, because in the present application, each operation identifier indicates the information about the corresponding service operation, the access network device receives at least two identical operation identifiers, and it is considered that a plurality of identical operation instructions are received; in this case, the access network device only executes the service operation corresponding to the operation identifiers once. On this basis, the situation of executing identical operation instructions multiple times and reporting multiple identical operation results can be avoided, so that the problem of information redundancy can be avoided and interaction signaling between access network devices can be reduced, thereby saving signaling resources and improving data processing efficiency.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on November 3, 2023, with application number 202311466812.0 and application name “A Communication Method and Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0003] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus. Background Art

[0004] In passive IoT (P-IoT) services, servers can send operational instructions to P-IoT devices via the core network. These instructions may include, but are not limited to, obtaining P-IoT device information and operation types (such as inventory, read, or write). Radio access network (RAN) equipment sends access instructions to P-IoT devices. When a P-IoT device successfully accesses a random connection, the RAN equipment sends instructions (including those forwarded by the base station) to the P-IoT device. The P-IoT device then obtains or sends the corresponding operational information based on the instructions and uploads this information to the core network.

[0005] However, multiple core network devices used to govern multiple areas may select the same RAN device, causing the same RAN device to receive the same operation instructions sent by multiple core network devices for terminals within the coverage area of ​​the RAN device. Since the RAN device cannot perceive the receipt of multiple identical operation instructions in the P-IoT service, the RAN device executes the same operation instruction multiple times to obtain the same operation result. When the RAN device reports multiple identical operation results, information redundancy will occur.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus to avoid executing the same operation instructions multiple times when a RAN device receives multiple identical operation instructions, thereby avoiding the problem of information redundancy.

[0008] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method applied to an access network device, which may be a wireless access network device, a transmission reception point (TRP), a 5th generation (5G) base station (gNodeB, gNB), a pole station, a micro base station, an indoor pole station, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, etc. It may also be a chip for implementing the functions of the access network device. This application is not specifically limited here and is executed as follows:

[0009] The access network device receives at least two first messages, each of which includes an operation identifier, which is used to indicate information of a corresponding service operation; if the operation identifiers in at least two first messages are the same, the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier is executed once.

[0010] Typically, there is a correspondence between the operation identifier and the service operation information. The service operation information typically includes the service operation requested by the service requester for a specific area (wherein the types of service operations include inventory, read operations, write operations, interactive operations, deactivation operations, and positioning operations). For example, service operation information 1 is an inventory operation of service requester 1 for area 1. The service operation identifier determined based on this service operation information is operation identifier 1. Then, operation identifier 1 indicates service operation information 1. If the access network device receives two operation identifiers 1 at the same time, it will only execute the service operation corresponding to operation identifier 1 once, that is, perform an inventory on the corresponding terminal of service requester 1 in area 1.

[0011] In this application, the operation identifier indicates the information of the corresponding business operation. If the access network device receives at least two identical operation identifiers, it is considered that multiple identical operation instructions have been received. Then the access network device only executes the business operation corresponding to the operation identifier once. Based on this, it can avoid executing the same operation instruction multiple times and reporting multiple identical operation results. It can avoid the problem of information redundancy and reduce the signaling of access network device interaction, further saving signaling resources and improving data processing efficiency.

[0012] In an optional manner, the access network device receiving at least two pieces of first information includes: receiving first information from at least two core network devices.

[0013] The above-mentioned core network equipment can be 5G core network equipment such as AMF, TMF, NEF, or it can be 3G, 4G, 6G or even future core network equipment, which is not specifically limited here.

[0014] In an optional manner, if the operation identifiers in at least two first information are the same, the access network device performs a service operation corresponding to the operation identifier, including:

[0015] If the operation identifiers in at least two first messages are the same, random access information is broadcast once; information about the terminal performing the random access is obtained, the terminal information including the terminal identifier; a first target core network device associated with the terminal is determined based on the terminal identifier, the first target core network device being one of the at least two core network devices; and the terminal information is sent to the first target core network device. The first target core network device can then perform a service operation on the terminal, such as reading or writing, based on the service operation information.

[0016] In an optional manner, if the operation identifiers in at least two first information are the same, the access network device performs a service operation corresponding to the operation identifier, including:

[0017] If the operation identifiers in at least two first information are the same, broadcast the random access information once; obtain the information of the terminal that performs random access, the terminal information includes: the terminal identifier and the operation information obtained by the terminal execution and service operation; determine the first target core network device associated with the terminal based on the terminal identifier, the first target core network device is one of at least two core network devices; send the terminal information to the first target core network device.

[0018] The random access information includes: indicating that passive IoT devices within the coverage range of the access network device randomly access the access network device. Optionally, indicating that passive IoT devices within the coverage range randomly access the access network device also includes indicating that IoT devices within the coverage range that meet the mask range randomly access the access network device.

[0019] Optionally, after sending the terminal information to the first target core network device, the access network device may also reject other core network devices among the at least two core network devices. One possible form is to send a rejection message to other core network devices among the at least two core network devices.

[0020] In this application, when the access network device determines that the operation identifiers from multiple core network devices are the same, it only broadcasts the random access information once. This method can avoid executing the same operation instruction multiple times. In addition, the access network device selects the core network device for uplink transmission based on the information of the random access terminal, which can avoid the situation where multiple core network devices exchange terminal context information and perform security verification on the terminal performing random access based on the obtained terminal context information. Once the access network device obtains the information of the terminal performing random access, it can select the core network device associated with the terminal based on the terminal information and send the information obtained by the terminal performing the service operation to the selected core network device. This method reduces the signaling interaction between multiple core network devices and can save signaling resources.

[0021] In an optional manner, if the operation identifiers in at least two first information are the same, the access network device performs a service operation corresponding to the operation identifier, including:

[0022] If the operation identifiers in at least two first information are the same, the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier of the second target core network device from the at least two core network devices is executed, and the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier of other core network devices from the at least two core network devices except the second target core network device is refused to be executed. The second target core network device is one of the at least two core network devices.

[0023] If the access network device determines that the operation identifiers in at least two first information are the same, it randomly selects an operation instruction of a core network device for execution (usually, when the core network device sends the operation identifier to the access network device, it also carries the operation instruction. The operation instruction may include the area requested by the service requester to operate and the service type of the requested service operation, etc., which are not explained in detail here), and then broadcasts random access information once; obtains information about the terminal performing random access, the terminal information including: the terminal identifier; determines the core network device associated with the terminal (that is, the core network device that stores the terminal context information) based on the terminal identifier, the core network device associated with the terminal is one of the at least two core network devices; if the core network device associated with the terminal is the randomly selected core network device mentioned above, the access network device sends the terminal information to the core network device associated with the terminal; if the core network device associated with the terminal is not the randomly selected core network device mentioned above, the randomly selected core network device needs to request the terminal context information from the core network device associated with the terminal, authenticate the terminal identity based on the terminal context information, and after the authentication is successful, the access network device sends the terminal information to the randomly selected core network device. The core network equipment then performs service operations on the terminal, such as reading and writing, based on the service operation information.

[0024] The random access information includes: indicating that passive IoT devices within the coverage range of the access network device randomly access the access network device. Optionally, indicating that passive IoT devices within the coverage range randomly access the access network device also includes indicating that IoT devices within the coverage range that meet the mask range randomly access the access network device.

[0025] In this application, when the access network device determines that the operation identifiers from multiple core network devices are the same, it only executes the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier from one of the at least two core network devices, and rejects the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier from other core network devices among the at least two core network devices. In this way, the execution of the same operation instruction multiple times can be avoided.

[0026] In an optional manner, after refusing to execute the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier from the other core network devices except the second target core network device among the at least two core network devices, the method further includes:

[0027] Send indication information to other core network devices, where the indication information is used to indicate to other core network devices that the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier is a repeated service operation.

[0028] In the present application, the access network device can avoid repeatedly executing random access instructions based on the information used to indicate repeated service operations, thereby reducing the redundancy of the access network device operation.

[0029] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a first core network device. The first core network device may be a network exposure function (NEF). The present application is not specifically limited here and is performed as follows:

[0030] Determine an operation identifier, where the operation identifier is used to indicate information about a corresponding business operation; and send the operation identifier.

[0031] In an optional manner, the first core network device sends an operation identifier, including: sending an operation identifier to at least two second core network devices (the second core network device may be an AMF, a passive IoT device management function (tag management function, TMF), etc.).

[0032] The at least two second core network devices may be core network devices determined by the first core network device to perform corresponding service operations. The first core network device may determine the second core network device based on the location information in the first information of the service requester, or may obtain information from other devices to determine the information of the at least two first core network devices, which is not specifically limited in this application.

[0033] In an optional manner, the first core network device determines the operation identifier, including receiving first information from a service requester, where the first information includes the operation identifier and information about the service operation; and determining the operation identifier based on the first information.

[0034] Optionally, if the first core network device determines that there is only one second core network device, there is no need to construct (generate, determine, or obtain) an operation identifier.

[0035] In an optional manner, the first core network device determines the operation identifier, including: receiving second information from a service requester, where the second information includes information about the service operation; and generating the operation identifier according to the information about the service operation.

[0036] In an optional manner, the information of the service operation indicates at least one of the following information: a service requester, an operation type, a scope to be operated, and a request time of the service operation.

[0037] The service requester may be indicated by at least one of the following information: an identifier of the service requester, an Internet protocol (IP) address of the service requester, a media access control address (MAC address) of the service requester, and a port number of the service requester; the scope to be operated is the area to be operated of the service requester, or an identifier of the group to be operated of the service requester; the area to be operated is indicated by at least one of the following information: cell information covered by the access network device where the area to be operated is located, tracking area information where the area to be operated is located, and geographical location information where the area to be operated is located.

[0038] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a first core network device. The first core network device may be an AMF, a TMF, etc., which is not specifically limited in this application and is performed as follows:

[0039] Obtain information about a core network device group, where the core network device group includes a first core network device and at least one second core network device (the second core network device can be AMF, TMF, etc., and the first core network device and the second core network device have the same device type, such as the first core network device is AMF, the second core network device is also AMF, etc.); receive the identifiers of the second access network devices sent by at least one second core network device respectively, and a second access network device is a candidate device for a corresponding second core network device; select a target access network device based on the identifier of the first access network device and the identifiers of multiple second access network devices, the target access network device is different from the target access network device selected by at least one second core network device, and the first access network device is a candidate device for the first core network device.

[0040] In this application, the first core network device and the second core network device negotiate to select the access network device, which can avoid the situation where the same access network device receives operation instructions from different core network devices and avoid executing the same operation instructions multiple times.

[0041] In an optional manner, before the first core network device selects the target access network device according to the identifier of the first access network device and the identifiers of multiple second access network devices, it also includes: sending the identifier of the first access network device to at least one second core network device.

[0042] In an optional manner, the first core network device obtains information about the core network device group, including: receiving first information from a third core network device (the third core network device may be NEF, etc.), the first information including information about the core network device group; and obtaining information about the core network device group based on the first information.

[0043] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a third core network device. The third core network device may be an NEF, etc., which is not specifically limited in the present application and is performed as follows:

[0044] Determine the information of the core network device group, which includes a first core network device and at least one second core network device (the first core network device and the second core network device can be AMF, TMF, etc., and the first core network device and the second core network device have the same device type, such as the first core network device is AMF, the second core network device is also AMF, etc.); send the information of the core network device group to the first core network device.

[0045] In an optional manner, the third core network device determines the information of the core network device group including: receiving request information from the service requester, the request information including: information on the service operation, the information on the service operation indicating information on the area to be operated for the service operation; determining the information on the core network device group based on the information on the area to be operated; the third core network device sends information on the core network device group to the first core network device including: sending first information to the first core network device, the first information including: information on the core network device group.

[0046] In an optional manner, the first information further includes: an operation identifier, where the operation identifier is used to indicate information of a corresponding business operation.

[0047] In an optional manner, the information of the service operation indicates at least one of the following information: a service requester, an operation type, a scope to be operated, and a request time of the service operation.

[0048] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a first core network device. The first core network device may be a NEF, which is not specifically limited in the present application and is performed as follows:

[0049] Obtain at least one location information and an identifier of an access network device corresponding to each location information; select at least two second core network devices (the second core network devices may be AMF, TMF, etc.) according to the target location information, and the at least two second core network devices are located in the location area corresponding to the target location information, and the target location information is one of the at least one location information; allocate different access network devices to the at least two second core network devices according to the identifier of the access network device corresponding to the target location information, and send the identifier of the allocated access network device to the at least two second core network devices respectively.

[0050] In this application, the first core network device obtains at least one location information and an identifier of the access network device corresponding to each location information, and based on this, different access network devices are assigned to different second core network devices. This can avoid the situation where the same access network device receives operation instructions from different core network devices, and can avoid executing the same operation instructions multiple times.

[0051] In an optional manner, the first core network device obtains at least one location information and an identifier of the access network device corresponding to each location information, including: receiving first information from a data management network element, the first information including at least one location information and an identifier of the access network device corresponding to each location information.

[0052] In an optional manner, the first core network device further receives request information from the service requester, the request information including: service operation information, the service operation information indicating information of an area to be operated for the service operation; and determining target location information based on the information of the area to be operated.

[0053] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a second core network device. The second core network device may be an AMF, a TMF, etc., which is not specifically limited in the present application and is performed as follows:

[0054] Obtain at least one location information and an identifier of an access network device corresponding to each location information; send at least one location information and an identifier of an access network device corresponding to each location information to a data management network element; receive an identifier of a first access network device from a first core network device, the identifier of the first access network device being the identifier of the access network device corresponding to the target location information, the target location information being one of the at least one location information, and the second core network device being located within the location area corresponding to the target location information.

[0055] In the seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be an access network device (such as the access network device in the first aspect or a chip arranged inside the access network device, or a core network device or a chip arranged inside the core network device. The communication device has the function of implementing any one of the above-mentioned first to sixth aspects. For example, the communication device includes a module or unit or means corresponding to the steps involved in any one of the above-mentioned first to sixth aspects. The function or unit or means may be implemented by software, or by hardware, or the corresponding software may be implemented by hardware.

[0056] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processing unit and a transceiver unit, wherein the transceiver unit can be used to send and receive signals to achieve communication between the communication device and other devices, for example, the transceiver unit is used to receive request information from a service requester; the processing unit can be used to perform some internal operations of the communication device. The transceiver unit can be called an input / output unit, a communication unit, etc., and the transceiver unit can be a transceiver; the processing unit can be a processor. When the communication device is a module (such as a chip) in a communication device, the transceiver unit can be an input / output interface, an input / output circuit, or an input / output pin, etc., and can also be called an interface, a communication interface, or an interface circuit, etc.; the processing unit can be a processor, a processing circuit, or a logic circuit, etc.

[0057] In another possible design, the communication device includes a processor and may also include a transceiver, the transceiver is used to send and receive signals, and the processor executes program instructions to complete the method in any possible design or implementation of the first to sixth aspects above. The communication device may also include one or more memories, the memory is used to couple with the processor, and the memory can store the necessary computer programs or instructions for implementing the functions involved in any of the first to sixth aspects above. The processor can execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory, and when the computer program or instructions are executed, the communication device implements the method in any possible design or implementation of the first to sixth aspects above.

[0058] In another possible design, the communication device includes a processor, which can be coupled to a memory. The memory can store the necessary computer programs or instructions for implementing the functions of any of the first to sixth aspects. The processor can execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory. When the computer programs or instructions are executed, the communication device implements the method of any possible design or implementation of the first to sixth aspects.

[0059] In another possible design, the communication device includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the processor is used to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit and execute the method in any possible design or implementation of the first to sixth aspects above.

[0060] It can be understood that in the seventh aspect above, the processor can be implemented by hardware or by software. When implemented by hardware, the processor can be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, etc.; when implemented by software, the processor can be a general-purpose processor, which is implemented by reading the software code stored in the memory. In addition, the above processors can be one or more, and the memories can be one or more. The memory can be integrated with the processor, or the memory and the processor can be set separately. In the specific implementation process, the memory can be integrated with the processor on the same chip, or can be set on different chips respectively. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the type of memory and the setting method of the memory and the processor.

[0061] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes the access network equipment and core network equipment in the above-mentioned first to sixth aspects.

[0062] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a chip system, which includes a processor and may also include a memory, for implementing the method described in any possible design of aspects 1 to 6. The chip system may be composed of a chip or may include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0063] In the tenth aspect, the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores computer-readable instructions. When the computer-readable instructions are run on a computer, the computer executes a method in any possible design as in the first to sixth aspects.

[0064] In an eleventh aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the methods of the various embodiments of the first to sixth aspects described above.

[0065] For the technical effects that can be achieved in the above-mentioned second to eleventh aspects, please refer to the description of the technical effects that can be achieved by the corresponding possible design schemes in the above-mentioned first, third and fifth aspects, and this application will not repeat them here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0066] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG2 shows a schematic diagram of another network architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] FIG3 shows a schematic diagram of a passive IoT service;

[0069] FIG4A shows a schematic diagram of the inventory process;

[0070] FIG4B shows a schematic diagram of the reading and writing process;

[0071] FIG5 shows a schematic diagram of a business operation process of a passive IoT business;

[0072] FIG6 shows a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0073] FIG7 shows a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] FIG8 shows a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] FIG9 shows a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0076] FIG10 shows a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0077] FIG11 is a schematic diagram showing a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0078] FIG12 is a schematic diagram showing a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0079] FIG13 shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0080] FIG14 shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0081] FIG15 shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0082] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of this application clearer, the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The specific operating methods in the method embodiments can also be applied to the device embodiments or system embodiments. In the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" means two or more. Therefore, the implementation of the device and method can refer to each other, and the repeated parts will not be repeated.

[0083] To meet the challenges of wireless broadband technology and maintain the leading edge of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) network, the 3GPP standards group has developed the Next Generation System architecture for mobile communications, known as the 5G network architecture. This architecture not only supports access to the 5G core network (CN) using radio access technologies defined by the 3GPP standards group (such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and RAN), but also supports access to the core network using non-3GPP access technologies via the non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF) or the next generation packet data gateway (ngPDG).

[0084] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a service-oriented architecture. The 5G network architecture shown in Figure 1 may include access network equipment and core network equipment. The terminal accesses the data network (DN) through the access network equipment and the core network equipment. Among them, the core network equipment includes but is not limited to some or all of the following network elements: authentication server function (AUSF) network element (not shown in the figure), unified data management (UDM) network element, unified data repository (UDR) network element, network repository function (NRF) network element (not shown in the figure), network exposure function (NEF) network element (not shown in the figure), application function (AF) network element, policy control function (PCF) network element, access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, session management function (SMF) network element, user plane function (UPF) network element, binding support function (BSF) network element (not shown in the figure).

[0085] Terminals can be user equipment (UE), mobile stations, or mobile terminals. They can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), the Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, and smart cities. Terminals can be mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable devices, vehicles, urban air vehicles (such as drones and helicopters), ships, robots, robotic arms, and smart home devices.

[0086] Access network equipment can be a base station, a pole station, an indoor base station (such as a lamp site), a home base station (such as a home NB), a micro base station, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a mobile base station, a radio access network (RAN) device, or a wired access network (FAN) device. Among them, radio access network equipment includes 3GPP access network equipment, untrusted non-3GPP access network equipment, and trusted non-3GPP access network equipment. 3GPP access network equipment includes, but is not limited to: evolved nodeB (eNodeB) in LTE, next generation nodeB (gNB) in 5G mobile communication systems, base stations in future mobile communication systems, or modules or units that perform some of the functions of base stations, such as centralized units (CU), distributed units (DU), etc. Untrusted non-3GPP access network equipment includes, but is not limited to: untrusted non-3GPP access gateways or N3IWF devices, untrusted wireless local area network (WLAN) access points (APs), switches, and routers. Trusted non-3GPP access network equipment includes but is not limited to: trusted non-3GPP access gateways, trusted WLAN APs, switches, and routers. Wired access network equipment includes but is not limited to: wireline access gateways, fixed-line network equipment, switches, and routers.

[0087] Access network equipment and terminals can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; on water; and in the air on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of access network equipment and terminals.

[0088] The AMF network element performs functions such as mobility management and access authentication / authorization. In addition, it is responsible for transmitting user policies between terminals and PCF network elements.

[0089] The SMF network element includes functions such as performing session management, executing control policies issued by the PCF, selecting the UPF, and allocating terminal IP addresses.

[0090] The UPF network element includes functions such as user plane data forwarding, session / flow-level billing statistics, and bandwidth limitation.

[0091] UDM network element includes functions such as executing and managing contract data and user access authorization.

[0092] The UDR network element includes the access functions for executing contract data, policy data, application data and other types of data.

[0093] NEF network element is used to support the opening of capabilities and events.

[0094] The AF network element communicates application-side requirements to the network, such as quality of service (QoS) requirements or user status event subscriptions. The AF can be a third-party functional entity or an application service deployed by an operator, such as the Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) voice call service. AF network elements include those within the core network (i.e., the operator's AF network element) and third-party AF network elements (such as an enterprise's application server).

[0095] The PCF network element is responsible for policy control functions such as billing for sessions and service flows, QoS bandwidth assurance, mobility management, and terminal policy decisions. PCF network elements include the access and mobility management policy control function (AM PCF) network element and the session management policy control function (SM PCF) network element. The AM PCF network element is used to formulate AM policies for terminals. The AM PCF network element can also be referred to as a policy control network element that provides services for terminals (PCF for a UE). The SM PCF network element is used to formulate session management policies (SM policies) for sessions. The SM PCF network element can also be referred to as a policy control network element that provides services for sessions (PCF for a PDU session).

[0096] NRF network elements can be used to provide network element discovery capabilities, providing network element information corresponding to the network element type based on requests from other network elements. NRF also provides network element management services such as network element registration, update, and deregistration, as well as network element status subscription and push.

[0097] The BSF network element can provide BSF service registration / deregistration / update, NRF connection detection, session binding information creation, UE information acquisition, and session binding information query for duplicate IP addresses.

[0098] The AUSF network element is responsible for authenticating users to determine whether users or devices are allowed to access the network.

[0099] A DN is a network located outside of a carrier network. A carrier network can connect to multiple DNs, and a variety of services can be deployed on the DN, providing data and / or voice services to terminals. For example, a DN is the private network of a smart factory. Sensors installed in the workshop can be terminals, and the DN houses a control server for the sensors, which can provide services to the sensors. Sensors can communicate with the control server, receive instructions from the control server, and transmit collected sensor data to the control server based on the instructions. Another example is a DN that is a company's internal office network. An employee's mobile phone or computer can be a terminal, allowing them to access information and data resources on the company's internal office network.

[0100] In Figure 1, Npcf, Nurf, Nudm, Naf, Namf, and Nsmf are service-oriented interfaces provided by the PCF, UDR, UDM, AF, AMF, and SMF, respectively, for invoking corresponding service-oriented operations. N1, N2, N3, N4, and N6 are interface serial numbers, and their meanings are as follows:

[0101] 1) N1: The interface between AMF and the terminal, which can be used to deliver non-access stratum (NAS) signaling (such as QoS rules from AMF) to the terminal.

[0102] 2) N2: The interface between AMF and access network equipment, which can be used to transmit radio bearer control information from the core network side to the access network equipment.

[0103] 3) N3: The interface between the access network equipment and UPF, mainly used to transmit uplink and downlink user plane data between the access network equipment and UPF.

[0104] 4) N4: The interface between SMF and UPF can be used to transmit information between the control plane and the user plane, including controlling the issuance of forwarding rules, QoS rules, traffic statistics rules, etc. for the user plane and reporting information on the user plane.

[0105] 5) N6: Interface between UPF and DN, used to transmit uplink and downlink user data flows between UPF and DN.

[0106] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on point-to-point interfaces. The functions of the network elements in Figure 2 are described in detail in the same way as in Figure 2 and are not repeated here. The main difference between Figure 2 and Figure 1 is that the interfaces between the control plane network elements in Figure 1 are service-oriented interfaces, while the interfaces between the control plane network elements in Figure 2 are point-to-point interfaces.

[0107] In the architecture shown in Figure 2, the interface names and functions between the various network elements are as follows:

[0108] 1) For the meanings of the N1, N2, N3, N4 and N6 interfaces, please refer to the above description.

[0109] 2) N5: The interface between the AF network element and the PCF network element, which can be used to issue application service requests and report network events.

[0110] 3) N7: The interface between the PCF network element and the SMF network element, which can be used to issue the protocol data unit (PDU) session granularity and the service data flow granularity control policy.

[0111] 4) N8: The interface between the AMF network element and the UDM network element, which can be used by the AMF network element to obtain access and mobility management related contract data and authentication data from the UDM network element, and the AMF network element to register terminal mobility management related information with the UDM network element.

[0112] 5) N9: User plane interface between UPF network elements, used to transmit uplink and downlink user data flows between UPF network elements.

[0113] 6) N10: The interface between the SMF network element and the UDM network element, which can be used by the SMF network element to obtain session management related contract data from the UDM network element, and the SMF network element to register terminal session related information with the UDM network element.

[0114] 7) N11: The interface between the SMF network element and the AMF network element, which can be used to transmit PDU session tunnel information between the access network device and the UPF, transmit control messages sent to the terminal, transmit wireless resource control information sent to the access network device, etc.

[0115] 8) N15: The interface between the PCF network element and the AMF network element, which can be used to issue terminal policies and access control related policies.

[0116] 9) N35: The interface between the UDM network element and the UDR network element, which can be used by the UDM network element to obtain user contract data information from the UDR network element.

[0117] 10) N36: Interface between PCF network element and UDR network element, which can be used by PCF network element to obtain policy-related contract data and application data-related information from UDR network element.

[0118] It is understood that the above-mentioned network element or function can be a network element in a hardware device, a software function running on dedicated hardware, or a virtualized function instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). Optionally, the above-mentioned network element or function can be implemented by a single device, or by multiple devices, or can be a functional module within a single device, and this is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0119] The user plane network element, session management network element, and mobility management network element in this application can be the UPF network element, SMF network element, and AMF network element in the 5G system, respectively, or can be a network element having the functions of the above-mentioned UPF network element, SMF network element, and AMF network element in future communications such as the 6th generation (6G) network. This application is not limited to this. In the embodiments of this application, an example is described in which the UPF network element, SMF network element, and AMF network element are respectively the user plane network element, the session management network element, and the mobility management network element. In addition, the UPF network element, the SMF network element, and the AMF network element are referred to as UPF, SMF, and AMF, respectively.

[0120] For ease of explanation, in the embodiments of this application, a base station (such as a 4th generation (4G) eNB, a 5G gNB, or a base station in future communications) is used as an example of an access network device for explanation, and the subsequent "base station" can be replaced with "access network device." In the embodiments of this application, a UE is used as an example of a terminal for explanation, and the subsequent "UE" can be replaced with "terminal."

[0121] It is understandable that the core network may also include other network functional entities, which is not limited in this application.

[0122] The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application can be applied to various communication systems. For example, they can be applied to 5G systems, as well as other future-oriented new systems, such as 6G systems. The embodiments of this application do not specifically limit this. In addition, the term "system" and "network" can be used interchangeably.

[0123] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, several basic concepts involved in the embodiments of the present application are briefly explained.

[0124] 1. P-IoT: Some network nodes can be passive (e.g., passive devices), semi-passive (e.g., semi-passive), semi-active (e.g., semi-active), or active (e.g., active devices), obtaining energy through methods such as solar energy, radio frequency, wind energy, hydropower, or tidal energy. The energy acquisition method itself is not specifically limited here. These nodes may not be equipped with or rely on power devices such as batteries, but instead obtain energy from the environment to support data perception, transmission, and distributed computing. Network nodes can also store the energy they obtain. The passive IoT architecture can include terminals, readers (or reader-writers), and servers. Passive terminals can be in the form of tags or any other terminal form factor, without limitation. Terminals can be passive, semi-passive, semi-active, or active. Terminals may or may not have energy storage capabilities (e.g., no capacitors) or have energy storage capabilities (e.g., capacitors to store electrical energy). Terminal devices can be passive, semi-passive, or active. A reader can be an access network device, such as a base station, pole station, micro base station, or macro base station. A reader can also be a terminal, such as a mobile phone, IoT device, or handheld reader / writer. This example uses a tag as the terminal, but is not limited to tags. A reader uses radio frequency (RF) to conduct contactless, two-way data communication, reading and writing to electronic tags or radio frequency cards (RFID tags) to achieve target identification and data exchange. One approach involves receiving the RF signal from the reader when the tag enters its effective recognition range, and using the energy gained from the induced current to transmit the information stored in the chip (this corresponds to a passive tag). Alternatively, the tag can store some electrical energy, such as through solar energy, allowing it to actively transmit a signal of a certain frequency (this type of tag is also called a semi-passive or semi-active tag). The reader receives and decodes the information, then sends it to a central information system for processing.

[0125] Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of a passive IoT service. Figure 3 uses a reader as a base station (pole station or macro station) as an example for illustration, but this application does not limit the device form of the reader.

[0126] When a server operates a tag, it can send an operation instruction to the core network (e.g., the tag management function (TMF). The TMF can be integrated with core network equipment, access network equipment, or application functions, or it can be an independent core network device; it can also be an AMF. Figure 3 uses TMF as an example). The operation instruction may include an inventory operation (or inventory operation) (which can also be understood as obtaining the tag's identifier. Each tag has its own identifier. The tag identifier can be assigned by the enterprise (i.e., written into the label when the enterprise prints the label) or assigned by the operator. In one possible implementation, the tag identifier can be a globally unique code, such as an electronic product code (EPC), or a temporary identifier or an identifier that is not globally unique. During the inventory process, the server can issue an inventory instruction. Typically, the inventory instruction includes information such as the tag's identifier range, reader identifier, and location information. After receiving the inventory instruction, the reader will perform an inventory on the tag according to the inventory instruction and send the tag identifier to the server. Alternatively, the server sends the instruction, and the reader forwards the instruction to the tag. The following describes the processing logic of different operation types in detail, as follows:

[0127] The tag knows that it is an inventory operation based on the content of the instruction. The tag sends the tag identification to the reader, and the reader sends the tag identification to the server; or, the tag sends the tag identification signal to the core network through the reader, and the core network sends the tag identification to the server. ), read operation (i.e., reading data from the tag. The tag can have a storage function, and its storage area can store data. If the server wants to read the tag, it will send a read instruction. The reader or core network performs a read operation on the tag according to the instruction, reads data from the tag storage area, and sends the data to the server), write operation (i.e., writing data to the tag. The server can send a write instruction. The reader or core network performs a write operation on the tag according to the instruction, and writes data to the tag storage area), deactivation operation (i.e., invalidating or deactivating the tag. The server can send a deactivation instruction, which can include a tag identification (i.e., the identification of the tag you want to deactivate or invalidate). The reader or core network performs an invalidation operation on the tag according to the instruction. After the operation is completed, the tag will be invalidated or deactivated and will no longer be inventoryed or deactivated. Other operations are performed), obtain tag information (which can be understood as a superordinate description of the above-mentioned operations (for example, a superordinate description of inventory operations and read operations), regardless of whether the server is taking inventory of tags or reading tag data, the operation will obtain tag information, which can be the tag identifier or the information stored in the tag storage area), and interact with the tag information operation (which can be understood as a superordinate description of the above-mentioned operations. After the reader receives the instruction sent by the server, it interacts with the tag through information or messages, and sends information from the tag to the server. This operation is mainly for the above-mentioned reader that does not view the instruction content, but is only responsible for forwarding messages sent by the server to the tag and messages sent by the tag to the server. Therefore, in this scenario, the operation performed by the reader on the tag can be understood as a message interaction operation with the tag). The instruction may include regional location information, tag identifier, etc. The base station sends an access instruction to the tag. When the tag random access is successful, the base station will send an instruction to the tag (the base station can forward the instruction sent by the core network to the tag). The tag obtains or sends corresponding information according to the instruction. For example, when the instruction is an inventory command or an inventory operation, the tag will send the tag's identifier; when the instruction is a read instruction or a read operation, the tag will send the data stored in the tag's storage area; when the instruction is a write instruction or a write operation, the tag will store the data to be written to the tag included in the instruction in the tag's storage area. The base station sends (or forwards) the information sent by the tag to the core network; the core network sends this information to the server. The core network performs access management operations on the tag based on the feedback information from the server.

[0128] The way the server sends instructions can be through the control plane channel, as shown in Figure 3: the server sends instructions to the tag management function or the passive IoT function; at this time, the server can be an application function (AF), an application server (AS) or a passive IoT application function (P-IoT AF). In one possible implementation, the P-IoT AF sends instructions to the tag management function or the passive IoT function. In another possible implementation, the P-IoT AF sends instructions to the tag management function or the passive IoT function through a control plane device. The control plane device can be an NEF, SMF, PCF, UDM, network slice-specific and SNPN authentication and authorization function (NSSAAF), or AMF. In addition, the server can also send instructions to the reader through the user plane channel. In one possible implementation, the server sends instructions to the base station through the UPF. In one possible implementation, the server sends instructions to the tag management function or the passive IoT function through the user plane device (UPF) and SMF, and the tag management function or the passive IoT function sends instructions to the tag through the RAN device. In another possible implementation, the server sends instructions to the reader through the user plane device and the access network device, such as the RAN device (when the reader is a terminal). In one possible implementation, the tag management function or the passive IoT function can be co-located or co-deployed with the core network device, the access network device or the application function. When two devices or functions are co-deployed, the interaction between the two functions or devices provided in the embodiment of the present application becomes the internal operation of the co-located function or device or can be omitted.

[0129] 2. Random access operation process of tags

[0130] In one implementation, for the tag inventory process, during the inventory process, the tag needs to perform random access (steps 1 to 4) in Figure 4A and send the EPC code to the reader after successful random access, so that the reader can know which tags are within its coverage area. This information will eventually be reported by the reader to the middleware and server. The reading and writing process is roughly as follows:

[0131] Step 1. The reader receives an inventory command from the server (this inventory command can be sent by the server to the middleware, and then from the middleware to the reader), generates a Select command, which carries the tag range (such as a specific range of EPC codes), and issues the Select command. After receiving the Select command, the tag determines whether it falls within the tag range specified in the Select command. If so, it responds with a subsequent Query command. If not, it takes no further action.

[0132] Step 2. The reader sends a Query command. This command can include a numerical value (denoted as a Q value). The tag generates a random number based on the Q value, for example, between 0 and 2 (Q power). The tag then decrements the random number by one after each Query or QueryRep command sent by the reader. When the random number reaches zero, the tag initiates random access.

[0133] Step 3. When the tag finds that it belongs to the tag range selected in the Select command, it will feedback a random number RN16 (which can be understood as a random number with a length of 16 bits) to the reader through a competitive method (for example, by sending a random number RN16 to the reader when the random number is reduced to zero in step 2).

[0134] Step 4. After the reader receives the random number from the tag, it sends an ACK command containing the random number (RN16) just received.

[0135] Step 5. When the tag receives the ACK command sent by the reader and verifies that the random number is correct, it will feedback its EPC code to the reader, thus completing the inventory process.

[0136] Regarding the tag reading and writing process, during the reading and writing process, the reader will set the tag range in the Select command to the tag range to be read and written (for example, if the range in the Select command is a certain EPC code, the tag corresponding to the EPC code will be read and written). Steps 1 to 5 in Figure 4B are the inventory process, but this inventory process is not an inventory process for a group of tags, but an inventory process for a specific tag. Starting from step 6, it is the reading and writing process, which is roughly as follows:

[0137] Step 6. The reader sends a Req_RN command to the tag, which carries the random number RN16 received previously.

[0138] Step 7. If the tag verifies that the random number is correct, it sends a handle to the reader. This handle will be required in all subsequent read and write processes.

[0139] Step 8. The reader sends a read or write command to the tag, which includes a handle. If it is a write command, it also includes the data to be written into the tag's storage area.

[0140] Step 9. If step 8 is a read instruction, the tag needs to feedback the data in its own storage area and also carry a handle.

[0141] It should be noted that the tag deactivation process is similar to this. In step 8, the tag executes the deactivation after receiving the deactivation instruction, and then optionally feedbacks the handle in step 9.

[0142] In the data processing flow of multicast broadcast service (MBS), each RAN device only transmits sessions with different TMGIs (group identifiers). If a session activation request for the same TMGI is received after a session for a specific TMGI has already been activated, the session activation is rejected. However, in P-IoT services, RAN devices cannot perceive the group identifier requested by the core network, and therefore cannot reuse the MBS TMGI-based judgment mechanism.

[0143] As shown in Figure 5, when an active device registers with the core network, different tags under the same RAN device may be registered with different AMFs to account for AMF load balancing. As shown in Figure 5, active device 1 registers with AMF1 through RAN device 1, and active device 2 registers with AMF2 through RAN device 1. AMF1 maintains context information for active device 1, and AMF2 maintains context information for active device 2. When the AF subsequently initiates an operation request, the NEF determines to forward the operation request to both AMF1 and AMF2. If RAN device 1 rejects AMF2's downlink instruction, active device 2 will perform subsequent operations through AMF1 after random access. However, AMF1 does not have active device 2's context information at this time and cannot perform security verification on active device 2. Therefore, it must request active device 2's context information from AMF2, which increases signaling interaction.

[0144] Based on this, the present application provides a communication method to avoid RAN devices from executing the same operation instructions multiple times in P-IoT services, and further reduce the signaling interaction between core network devices. The method can be implemented through data interaction between an access network device and a first device. The access network device can be a RAN device, TRP, gNB, pole station, micro base station, indoor pole station, IAB node, etc., or a chip for implementing the function of an access network device. The first device can be a control plane device or a user plane device or a service requester. The first device can be an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), a tag management function (TMF), a policy control function (PCF), a network exposure function (NEF), a unified data management (UDM), a unified data storage (UDM), etc. Repository, UDR), etc., which are not specifically limited in this application. FIG6 takes the first device as device 1, device 2, and the access network device as a RAN device as an example for illustration. In actual application, it is not limited whether the number and type of the first devices are the same (for example, device 1 is AMF, device 2 is also AMF; or device 1 is AMF, device 2 is TMF, which is only an example and not specifically limited). Referring to FIG6, the following is executed:

[0145] Step 601A: Device 1 sends first information to the RAN device, where the first information includes operation identifier 1.

[0146] Step 601B: Device 2 sends first information to the RAN device, where the first information includes operation identifier 2.

[0147] The execution order of the above steps 601A and 601B does not distinguish between the first and the last, and can also be executed simultaneously. This application does not specifically limit this. If the above-mentioned device 1 and device 2 are not the same type of devices, the first information can be carried in different signalings and sent. For example, if device 1 is the service requester, then the first information can be carried in a service request message (service request). If device 2 is AMF, then the first information can be carried in an N2 message and sent. This is only an example and does not specifically limit which signaling is used to send the first information to the RAN device. If the above-mentioned device 1 and device 2 are the same type of devices, the first information can be carried in the same signaling and sent. For example, if device 1 is AMF1 and device 2 is AMF2, then the first information can be carried in an N2 message and sent. This is only an example and does not specifically limit which signaling is used to send the first information to the RAN device.

[0148] In addition, operation identifier 1 and operation identifier 2 are used to indicate the information of the corresponding business operation. It can be understood that the operation identifier is determined based on the information of the business operation, but the operation identifier does not include the specific information included in the information of the business operation. Usually, there is a corresponding relationship between the operation identifier and the information of the business operation. The business operation information usually includes the business operation requested by the business requester for a certain area (wherein, the operation types of the business operation include: inventory, read operation, write operation, interactive operation, deactivation operation and positioning operation, etc.). For example, business operation information 1 is the inventory operation of business requester 1 for area 1. The business operation identifier determined based on the business operation information is operation identifier 1, then operation identifier 1 indicates business operation information 1. If the access network device receives two operation identifiers 1 at the same time, it will only execute the business operation corresponding to operation identifier 1 once, that is, the corresponding terminal of business requester 1 in area 1 will be inventoried.

[0149] Specifically, the information of the service operation may indicate at least one of the following information: a service requester, an operation type, a scope to be operated, and a request time of the service operation.

[0150] The information of the service requester is indicated by at least one of the following information: the identifier of the service requester, the IP address of the service requester, the MAC address of the service requester, and the port number of the service requester. The scope to be operated is the area to be operated of the service requester, or the group identifier to be operated of the service requester; the area to be operated can be indicated by at least one of the following information: the cell information (Cell) covered by the access network device where the area to be operated is located, the tracking area information (TA) where the area to be operated is located, and the geographical location information of the area to be operated; the group identifier to be operated of the service requester can be an externally defined identifier, or an internally defined identifier agreed upon between the devices, such as TMGI, etc. Operation types include inventory, read operation, write operation, interactive operation, deactivation operation, and positioning operation, etc. The request time of the service operation is the time when the service requester initiates the service request.

[0151] The above-mentioned operation identifier 1 can be determined by device 1 based on the information of the business operation, and can also be received from other devices. This application does not specifically limit the source of the operation identifier. For example, NEF selects two AMFs (AMF1, AMF2) for the inventory request (area 1) from AF1, then generates Operation ID (operation identifier) ​​= 1 and sends it to AMF1 and AMF2; NEF selects two AMFs (AMF1, AMF2) for the read request (area 1) from AF2, then generates Operation ID = 2.

[0152] For example, device 1 and device 2 are the same type of devices and are both first core network devices (taking AMF as an example). The first core network device can receive an operation identifier from a second core network device (taking NEF as an example). Specifically, the second core network device can receive first information from the service requester, and the first information includes an operation identifier and information about the service operation. The first core network device can determine the operation identifier based on the first information. Of course, the second core network device can also receive second information from the service requester, and the second information includes information about the service operation. The second core network device generates an operation identifier based on the information about the service operation. This application does not specifically limit how to determine the operation identifier. It can be flexibly set according to the needs of actual applications. For example, a read operation from AF1 is performed to inventory the device in TA1. The NEF constructs Operation ID = 1 (i.e., the operation identifier). The NEF then selects AMF1 and AMF2 as the two AMFs on TA1 and sends Operation ID = 1 (i.e., the operation identifier) ​​to AMF1 and AMF2, respectively. Some time later, the NEF receives a write operation from AF1 for TA1 and constructs Operation ID = 2. The NEF sends Operation ID = 2 to AMF1 and AMF2, respectively. Some time later, although the operation type is still a write operation, the NEF constructs Operation ID = 3 because the request time is different. This is merely an example and does not specifically limit the construction of the operation identifier.

[0153] In addition, the above-mentioned first information may also include information on service operations, information on random access indication (for example, instructing terminals within the operating range to perform random access), mask information (if the terminal receives the mask information, it determines that the terminal's identifier matches the identifier in the mask information by parsing the mask information, then random access is performed), etc., which are not specifically limited here.

[0154] Step 602: If the operation identifier 1 is the same as the operation identifier 2, the RAN device executes the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier.

[0155] In actual application, the RAN device performing a service operation can be understood as the RAN device only feeding back the terminal identifier (such as the identifier of the terminal that performs random access and the random access is successful) to the core network device, and the core network device performs specific service operations on the terminal based on the terminal identifier, such as read, write, etc.; it can also be understood as the RAN device automatically sending specific operation instructions to the terminal after the terminal random access is successful, performing specific service operations, and then feeding back the operation results, such as the identifier of the terminal that is successfully read or the identifier of the terminal that is successfully written, to the core network device. This application does not specifically limit this, and how the RAN device performs service operations can be flexibly determined according to the actual application situation.

[0156] Here, device 1 and device 2 are taken as the first core network device (ie, AMF) as an example. Specifically, in actual implementation, the following two methods may be included:

[0157] Method 1: RAN equipment selects uplink AMF according to terminal identification

[0158] If the operation identifiers in at least two first messages are the same (i.e., operation identifier 1 and operation identifier 2 are the same), the RAN device broadcasts random access information. The RAN device obtains information about the terminal performing the random access, including the terminal identifier. Based on the terminal identifier, the RAN device determines a first target core network device associated with the terminal, where the first target core network device is one of the at least two first core network devices. The RAN device then sends the terminal information to the first target core network device. The first target core network device can then perform service operations, such as read or write, on the terminal based on the service operation information.

[0159] The random access information includes: indicating that passive IoT devices within the coverage range of the access network device randomly access the access network device. Optionally, indicating that passive IoT devices within the coverage range randomly access the access network device also includes indicating that IoT devices within the coverage range that meet the mask range randomly access the access network device.

[0160] Optionally, after sending the terminal information to the first target core network device, the access network device may also reject the other core network devices in the at least two first core network devices. One possible form is to send a rejection message to the other core network devices in the at least two first core network devices.

[0161] In this application, when the access network device determines that the operation identifiers from multiple core network devices are the same, it only executes the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier once, and can only broadcast the random access information once. In this way, the execution of the same operation instruction multiple times can be avoided. In addition, the access network device selects the core network device for uplink transmission based on the information of the random access terminal, which can avoid the interaction of terminal context information between multiple core network devices (that is, the situation where AMF1 requests context from AMF in Figure 5), and the situation where the terminal performing random access is securely verified based on the obtained terminal context information. Once the access network device obtains the information of the terminal performing random access, it can select the core network device associated with the terminal based on the terminal information, and send the information obtained by the terminal performing the service operation to the selected core network device. This method reduces the signaling interaction between multiple core network devices and can save signaling resources.

[0162] Next, we will use specific examples to illustrate that in actual applications, the terminal can be a terminal in the above-mentioned passive Internet of Things service, such as a passive device, semi-passive, semi-active or active device, etc. This application is not specifically limited here. Here, only the terminal is an active device as an example. Of course, it can also be applied to other types of terminals.

[0163] Referring to Figure 7, the data interaction between active device 1, active device 2, RAN equipment, AMF 1, AMF 2, NEF, and AF (i.e., the service requester) is illustrated. Assuming that the context information of active device 1 is registered in AMF 1 and the context information of active device 2 is registered in AMF 2, the execution is as follows:

[0164] Step 701: The AF sends an operation request to the NEF.

[0165] Specifically, the operation request can be sent via a service request message. If the operation request is for geographic location-based operation, the operation request includes the operation type, the region to be operated, and the AF identifier. If the operation request is for group-based operation, the operation request includes the operation type, the identifier of the group to be operated, and the AF identifier. This information can be understood by referring to the description of the service requester information in step 601 above and will not be repeated here.

[0166] In step 702, the NEF selects an AMF based on the geographical area (the area to be operated or the identifier of the group to be operated). If the geographical area covers multiple AMFs, the NEF generates a corresponding Operation ID (i.e., an operation identifier) ​​based on the current operation request and sends it to the selected AMF.

[0167] In one possible implementation, the AMF is selected by the AF and provided to the NEF, and the AF constructs the Operation ID and sends it to the selected AMF through the NEF.

[0168] In another possible implementation, the AMF is selected by the AF and provided to the NEF. The NEF generates an operation id based on the current operation request and sends it to the selected AMF.

[0169] In addition, the Operation ID is generated only when the AF or NEF selects multiple AMFs. If the NEF finds that only one AMF has been selected for the current operation, the Operation ID may not be generated. The specific construction of the Operation ID can be understood by referring to the above and will not be repeated here.

[0170] In step 703, the NEF forwards the operation request from the AF to the selected AMFs and sends the Operation ID to the AMFs (in FIG. 7 , the AMFs are AMF1 and AMF2).

[0171] Specifically, when NEF forwards an operation request, if the operation request is a geographic location-based operation request, NEF can obtain the corresponding TA / Cell information based on the geographic location information, replace the original geographic location information (such as latitude and longitude) and send it to AMF1 and AMF2; if the operation request is a group-based operation request, NEF can convert the external group ID into an internal group ID.

[0172] In step 704A, AMF1 selects a RAN device according to the geographical area and sends a random access indication, mask information, and the Operation ID obtained from the NEF (ie, the content of the first information) to the selected RAN device.

[0173] In one possible implementation, AMF1 sends an N2 message to the selected RAN device, which carries a random access indication and instructs the RAN device to broadcast a select command carrying a mask. The N2 message also carries an operation ID. Typically, the mask can consist of one or more of a network identifier, a user identifier, and a serial number (serial number of the passive IoT device). After receiving the mask, the passive IoT device determines whether its network identifier and / or user identifier and / or serial number are consistent with the information in the received mask. If so, it responds to the query command after the select and executes the random access process.

[0174] In another possible implementation, AMF1 sends an N2 message to the selected RAN device, which includes a Paging message. The Paging message instructs the RAN device to page the device. The Paging message also includes a mask, which the RAN device sends to the passive IoT device during the paging process. The mask can be included directly in the Paging message or as a separate information element in the N2 message, which is not specifically limited here.

[0175] In step 704B, AMF2 selects a RAN device according to the geographical area, and sends a random access indication, mask information, and the Operation ID obtained from the NEF (ie, the content of the first information) to the selected RAN device.

[0176] Step 704B may be understood by referring to the above step 704A and will not be described in detail here.

[0177] In step 705, the RAN device screens the received Operation IDs. If multiple messages containing the same Operation ID are received, random access is performed only once.

[0178] In step 706A, after accessing the RAN device, active device 1 sends identification information of active device 1, such as S-TMSI or GUAMI, to the RAN device, and sends a NAS message including the identification information of active device 1.

[0179] In step 706B, after accessing the RAN device, active device 2 sends identification information of active device 2, such as S-TMSI or GUAMI, to the RAN device, and sends a NAS message including the identification information of active device 2.

[0180] In step 707A, the RAN device determines AMF1 based on the identification information of active device1 in step 706A and sends a NAS message to AMF1.

[0181] In step 707B, the RAN device determines AMF2 based on the identification information of active device 2 in step 706B and sends a NAS message to AMF2.

[0182] If the operation type is inventory, deactivation, or positioning, the following steps are performed:

[0183] Step 708A: AMF1 sends an operation request response message to AF through NEF.

[0184] Specifically, the operation request response message may be sent via a request message service respones, and include identification information of active device 1.

[0185] Step 708B: AMF2 sends an operation request response message to AF through NEF.

[0186] Specifically, the operation request response message may be sent via a request message service respones, and include identification information of active device 2.

[0187] If the operation type is a read operation or a write operation, etc., the read operation is used as an example to illustrate the operation. The execution is as follows:

[0188] Step 709A: AMF1 sends a read operation request to active device1.

[0189] Step 709B: AMF2 sends a read operation request to active device2.

[0190] Step 710A: Active device 1 feeds back the result of the read operation to AMF 1.

[0191] Specifically, the operation result includes the identification information of the active device 1 that has been read. The figure only takes active device 1 as an example. However, in actual application, there may be multiple active devices (the context information of the active device is stored in AMF1) accessing the RAN device, but not all active devices can necessarily be read.

[0192] In step 710B, active device 2 feeds back the result of the read operation to AMF 2.

[0193] Step 711A: AMF1 sends an operation request response message to AF through NEF.

[0194] Specifically, the operation request response message may be sent via a request message service respones, and includes the identification information of the active device 1 that has been read.

[0195] Step 711B: AMF2 sends an operation request response message to AF through NEF.

[0196] Specifically, the operation request response message may be sent via a request message service respones, and includes the identification information of the active device 2 that has been read.

[0197] It is worth noting that the AF-NEF-AMF / TMF-RAN device in Figure 7 above is only one architecture selection, and can also be applied to AF-UPF-SMF-AMF / TMF-RAN devices, AF-AMF / TMF-RAN devices, AF-RAN devices and other architectures to complete this embodiment, and this application is not specifically limited here.

[0198] Method 2: RAN equipment rejects operation instructions from any AMF

[0199] If the operation identifiers in at least two first information are the same, the RAN device executes the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier of the second target core network device from the at least two first core network devices, and refuses to execute the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier of other core network devices from the at least two core network devices except the second target core network device. The second target core network device is one of the at least two first core network devices.

[0200] Optionally, the RAN device sends information indicating repeated service operations to other first core network devices. This avoids repeated transmission of operation instructions and reduces the redundancy of information transmission between core network devices. When the access network device determines that the operation identifiers from multiple first core network devices are the same, it only executes the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier from one of the at least two first core network devices and rejects the service operations corresponding to the operation identifiers from the other first core network devices among the at least two first core network devices. This method avoids executing the same operation instruction multiple times. However, this method randomly selects an AMF for rejection. Referring to Figure 7, if RAN device 1 rejects the downlink instruction from AMF2, active device 2 will perform subsequent operations through AMF1 after random access. At this time, AMF1 does not have the context information of active device 2 and cannot perform security verification on active device 2. Therefore, it needs to request the context information of active device 2 from AMF2, thereby increasing signaling interaction.

[0201] As can be seen in the embodiment shown in Figure 8, if the access network device determines that the operation identifiers in at least two first information are the same, the operation instruction of a core network device is randomly selected for execution (usually, when the core network device sends the operation identifier to the access network device, it also carries the operation instruction. The operation instruction may include the area requested by the service requester to operate and the service type of the requested service operation, etc., which are not explained in detail here). After that, the random access information can be broadcast once; the information of the terminal performing random access is obtained, and the terminal information includes: the terminal identifier; determining the core network device associated with the terminal (that is, the core network device storing the terminal context information) based on the terminal identifier, the core network device associated with the terminal is one of the at least two core network devices; if the core network device associated with the terminal is the randomly selected core network device mentioned above, the access network device sends the terminal information to the core network device associated with the terminal. If the core network device associated with the terminal is not the randomly selected core network device mentioned above, the randomly selected core network device needs to request the terminal context information from the core network device associated with the terminal, and authenticate the identity of the terminal based on the terminal context information. After the authentication is successful, the access network device sends the terminal information to the randomly selected core network device. The core network equipment then performs service operations on the terminal, such as reading and writing, based on the service operation information.

[0202] The random access information includes: indicating that passive IoT devices within the coverage range of the access network device randomly access the access network device. Optionally, indicating that passive IoT devices within the coverage range randomly access the access network device also includes indicating that IoT devices within the coverage range that meet the mask range randomly access the access network device.

[0203] In this application, when the access network device determines that the operation identifiers from multiple core network devices are the same, it only executes the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier from one of the at least two core network devices, and rejects the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier from other core network devices among the at least two core network devices. In this way, the execution of the same operation instruction multiple times can be avoided.

[0204] In an optional manner, after the RAN device refuses to execute the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier from at least two core network devices other than the second target core network device, it also sends an indication message to the other core network devices, where the indication message is used to indicate that the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier of the other core network devices is a repeated service operation.

[0205] In the present application, the access network device can avoid repeatedly executing random access instructions based on the information used to indicate repeated service operations, thereby reducing the redundancy of the access network device operations.

[0206] Referring to Figure 8, the data interaction between active device 1, active device 2, RAN equipment, AMF 1, AMF 2, NEF, and AF (i.e., the service requester) is illustrated. Assuming that the context information of active device 1 is registered in AMF 1 and the context information of active device 2 is registered in AMF 2, the execution is as follows:

[0207] Step 801: AF sends an operation request to NEF.

[0208] In step 802, the NEF selects an AMF based on the geographical area (the area to be operated or the identifier of the group to be operated). If the geographical area covers multiple AMFs, the NEF generates a corresponding Operation ID (i.e., an operation identifier) ​​based on the current operation request and sends it to the selected AMF.

[0209] In step 803, the NEF forwards the operation request from the AF to the selected AMFs and sends the Operation ID to the AMFs (in FIG8 , the AMFs are AMF1 and AMF2).

[0210] In step 804A, AMF1 selects a RAN device according to the geographical area and sends a random access indication, mask information, and the Operation ID obtained from the NEF (ie, the content of the first information) to the selected RAN device.

[0211] In step 804B, AMF2 selects a RAN device according to the geographical area and sends a random access indication, mask information, and the Operation ID obtained from the NEF (ie, the content of the first information) to the selected RAN device.

[0212] Steps 801 to 804B may be understood by referring to the above steps 701 to 704B, and will not be described in detail here.

[0213] In step 805, the RAN device filters the received Operation ID. If it receives multiple messages containing the same Operation ID (that is, the Operation IDs in AMF1 and AMF2 are the same), it selects the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier from AMF1 and refuses to execute the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier from AMF2.

[0214] Optionally, a data value indicating a repeated operation may be sent to AMF2, whereby the data value indicates that the business operation corresponding to the Operation ID in AMF2 has been executed.

[0215] In step 806A, after accessing the RAN device, active device 1 sends identification information of active device 1, such as S-TMSI or GUAMI, to the RAN device, and sends a NAS message including the identification information of active device 1.

[0216] In step 806B, after accessing the RAN device, active device 2 sends identification information of active device 2, such as S-TMSI or GUAMI, to the RAN device, and sends a NAS message including the identification information of active device 2.

[0217] Step 807: The RAN device sends a NAS message to AMF1.

[0218] In step 808, AMF1 requests context information of active device 2 from AMF2, and authenticates active device 2 using the context information of active device 2.

[0219] If the operation type is inventory, deactivation, or positioning, the following steps are performed:

[0220] Step 809A: AMF1 sends an operation request response message to AF through NEF.

[0221] Specifically, the operation request response message may be sent via a request message service respones, and include identification information of active device 1.

[0222] Step 809B: If AMF1 successfully verifies the identity of active device2, it sends an operation request response message to AF through NEF.

[0223] Specifically, the operation request response message may be sent via a request message service respones, and include identification information of active device 2.

[0224] If the operation type is a read operation or a write operation, etc., the read operation is used as an example to illustrate the operation. The execution is as follows:

[0225] In step 810A, AMF1 sends a read operation request to active device1.

[0226] In step 810B, if AMF1 successfully verifies the identity of active device 2, it sends a read operation request to active device 2.

[0227] In step 811A, active device 1 feeds back the result of the read operation to AMF 1.

[0228] Specifically, the operation result includes the identification information of the active device 1 that has been read. The figure only takes active device 1 as an example. However, in actual application, there may be multiple active devices (the context information of the active device is stored in AMF1) accessing the RAN device, but not all active devices can necessarily be read.

[0229] In step 811B, active device 2 feeds back the result of the read operation to AMF 1.

[0230] Step 812: AMF1 sends an operation request response message to AF through NEF.

[0231] Specifically, the operation request response message may be sent via a request message service respones, and includes the identification information of the active device 1 that has been read and the identification information of the active device 2 that has been read.

[0232] It is worth noting that the AF-NEF-AMF / TMF-RAN device in Figure 8 above is only one architecture selection, and can also be applied to AF-UPF-SMF-AMF / TMF-RAN devices, AF-AMF / TMF-RAN devices, AF-RAN devices and other architectures to complete this embodiment, which is not specifically limited in this application.

[0233] Therefore, compared to Method 1, Method 2 involves more interactive signaling and consumes more signaling resources. Furthermore, a preset time period may be set during the execution of Step 602. If the same operation identifier is received within the preset time period, the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier is executed once. For example, if the preset time period is 10 minutes, if multiple identical operation identifiers are received within 10 minutes, the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier is executed once. If one identical operation identifier is received after 10 minutes, the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier is executed again. The specific execution method needs to be flexibly selected based on the actual application requirements and is not specifically limited in this application.

[0234] In this application, the operation identifier indicates the information of the corresponding business operation. If the access network device receives at least two identical operation identifiers, it is considered that multiple identical operation instructions have been received. Then the access network device only executes the business operation corresponding to the operation identifier once. Based on this, it can avoid executing the same operation instruction multiple times and reporting multiple identical operation results. It can avoid the problem of information redundancy and reduce the signaling of access network device interaction, further saving signaling resources and improving data processing efficiency.

[0235] In actual application, in addition to avoiding executing the same operation instruction multiple times based on the operation identifier, different RAN devices can also be selected through negotiation between core network devices (the core network device can be AMF, TMF, etc., and the first core network device and the second core network device are used as examples for explanation, wherein the first core network device and the second core network device are of the same device type, such as the first core network device is AMF, and the second core network device is also AMF, etc.). Then, the RAN device will receive different operation instructions, and the situation of receiving the same operation instruction will not occur. Referring to Figure 9, the first core network device is AMF1, wherein the number of second core network devices may be multiple, and only AMF2 is used as an example for explanation, and the number of second core network devices is not specifically limited. The third core network device is used as NEF for explanation, and the execution is as follows:

[0236] Step 901: The NEF determines information of a core network device group, where the core network device group includes a first core network device and at least one second core network device.

[0237] Specifically, NEF can receive request information from the service requester, and the request information includes: information on the service operation, the information on the service operation indicates information on the area to be operated of the service operation (it can be understood that the information on the service operation includes information on the area to be operated of the service operation, and it can also be understood that the information on the service operation indicates information on the area to be operated of the service operation through certain information. This application is not specifically limited here, and can be understood by referring to the information on the area to be operated at the above step 601B, which will not be repeated here); determine the information on the core network device group based on the information on the area to be operated.

[0238] Step 902A, NEF sends information about the core network device group to AMF1, where the core network device group includes a first core network device and at least one second core network device.

[0239] Step 902B, NEF sends the core network device group information to AMF2.

[0240] In one embodiment, the NEF may send a first message to each of AMF1 and AMF2, where the first message carries a group message of the core network device. The first message may also carry an operation identifier, which indicates information about the corresponding service operation. This information may be understood by referring to the description of the operation identifier in FIG6 above, and will not be further described here.

[0241] In step 903, AMF1 receives the identifier of the second access network device sent from at least one second core network device. Each second access network device is a candidate device for a corresponding second core network device. In Figure 9, receiving the identifier of the second access network device from AMF2 is used as an example for explanation.

[0242] Optionally, before executing step 903, AMF1 may also send the identifier of the first access network device to at least one second core network device, where the first access network device is a candidate device for the first core network device.

[0243] Step 904: AMF1 selects a target access network device based on the identifier of the first access network device and the identifiers of multiple second access network devices. The target access network device is different from the target access network device selected by at least one second core network device.

[0244] For example, the second access network device of AMF2 is identified as RAN device 1, RAN device 2, and RAN device 3, and the first access network device of AMF1 is identified as RAN device 1, RAN device 3, and RAN device 4. In order to avoid conflicts in the RAN devices selected by AMF, AMF1 can select RAN device 4 as the target access network device.

[0245] Optionally, before executing step 903, AMF1 may also send the identifier of the first access network device to at least one second core network device, where the first access network device is a candidate device for the first core network device, so that AMF2 can also select a RAN device that does not conflict with AMF1.

[0246] In addition, it should be noted that in actual application, AMF1 can determine the identifier of the first access network device it selects and send it to AMF2. AMF2 will determine the identifier of the second access network device that does not conflict with the identifier of the first access network device.

[0247] In this application, the first core network device and the second core network device negotiate to select the access network device, which can avoid the situation where the same access network device receives operation instructions from different core network devices and avoid executing the same operation instructions multiple times.

[0248] Specifically, referring to Figure 10, the data interaction between active device 1, RAN device, AMF1, AMF2, NEF, and AF (i.e., the service requester) is illustrated. Assuming that the context information of active device 1 is registered in AMF1, the execution is as follows:

[0249] Step 1001: AF sends an operation request to NEF.

[0250] Step 1002: NEF selects AMF according to the geographical area (the area to be operated or the group identifier to be operated). If the geographical area covers multiple AMFs, the AMF group information is obtained.

[0251] In step 1003, the NEF forwards the operation request from the AF to the selected AMFs and sends the AMF group information to the AMFs (in FIG. 10 , the AMFs are AMF1 and AMF2).

[0252] Steps 1001 to 1003 may be understood by referring to the above steps 701 to 703 and will not be described in detail here.

[0253] In step 1004, AMF1 negotiates with AMF2 to select a RAN device, and the RAN devices selected by AMF1 and AMF2 do not overlap.

[0254] The negotiation process between AMF1 and AMF2 can be understood by referring to Figure 11 and is performed as follows:

[0255] Step 1101: AMF1 sends a negotiation request to AMF2.

[0256] Optionally, the negotiation request includes information about the RAN device selected by AMF1. The negotiation request may be stored in a per-AF context, where the per-AF context includes the serving AF and the reason for sending the negotiation request, which is the negotiation of the RAN device. Optionally, the negotiation request may also include an Operation ID (i.e., the operation identifier, which can be understood as described above and is not further described here) to ensure that AMF1 and AMF2 confirm that they are negotiating the RAN device for the same service operation.

[0257] In step 1102, after receiving the negotiation request, AMF2 confirms that AMF1 is the AMF in the AMF group and serves the same AF, and then sends the RAN device information selected by AMF2, the AF served, and the reason for sending the information - the negotiated RAN device to AMF1.

[0258] Optionally, carries the Operation ID.

[0259] In step 1103, after AMF1 receives the RAN device information selected by AMF2, if it is found that the RAN device selected by AMF2 overlaps with the RAN device selected by AMF1, it can choose not to use the RAN device as the service RAN device, or notify AMF2 not to use the RAN device.

[0260] Next, we will take the operations related to AMF1 as an example to illustrate. The operations related to AMF2 can be understood by reference and will not be described in detail.

[0261] Step 1005: AMF1 sends a random access indication and mask information to the selected RAN device.

[0262] Step 1006 : After accessing the RAN device, active device 1 sends identification information of active device 1 , such as S-TMSI or GUAMI, to the RAN device, and sends a NAS message including the identification information of active device 1 .

[0263] Step 1007: The RAN device sends a NAS message to AMF1.

[0264] If the operation type is inventory, deactivation, or positioning, the following steps are performed:

[0265] Step 1008: AMF1 sends an operation request response message to AF through NEF.

[0266] Specifically, the operation request response message may be sent via a request message service respones, and include identification information of active device 1.

[0267] If the operation type is a read operation or a write operation, etc., the read operation is used as an example to illustrate the operation. The execution is as follows:

[0268] Step 1009: AMF1 sends a read operation request to active device1.

[0269] Step 1010 , active device 1 feeds back the result of the read operation to AMF 1 .

[0270] Specifically, the operation result includes the identification information of the active device 1 that has been read. The figure only takes active device 1 as an example. However, in actual application, there may be multiple active devices (the context information of the active device is stored in AMF1) accessing the RAN device, but not all active devices can necessarily be read.

[0271] Step 1011: AMF1 sends an operation request response message to AF through NEF.

[0272] Specifically, the operation request response message may be sent via a request message service respones, and includes the identification information of the active device 1 that has been read.

[0273] In actual application, in addition to avoiding the execution of the same operation instruction multiple times based on the operation identifier, different RAN devices can be selected through negotiation between AMFs, and different RAN devices can be directly assigned to different AMFs through NEF. Referring to Figure 12, the first core network device is NEF, where the number of second core network devices may be multiple. Here, only AMF1 and AMF2 are used as examples for explanation. The number of second core network devices is not specifically limited. The data management network element is used as UDM for explanation. Here, active device 1, RAN device, AMF1, AMF2, UDM, NEF and AF (that is, the service requester) are executed as follows:

[0274] Step 1201A, AMF1 obtains at least one location information and the identifier of the access network device corresponding to each location information.

[0275] For example, the access network devices corresponding to geographic location 1 are identified as RAN device 1 and RAN device 2. When the access network device and the core network establish a connection (such as when the access network device is powered on), the access network device provides its own information to the core network device (such as AMF), including the TA information (or geographic location information, etc.) supported by itself. Optionally, it can also provide capability information to indicate that this access network device can support passive IoT operations. The above information can be provided to the AMF by the access network device through the NG setup process in the prior art, so that the AMF can obtain the above information.

[0276] Step 1201B, AMF2 obtains at least one location information and the identifier of the access network device corresponding to each location information.

[0277] Step 1202A, AMF1 sends at least one location information and the identifier of the access network device corresponding to each location information to UDM.

[0278] Step 1202B, AMF2 sends at least one location information and the identifier of the access network device corresponding to each location information to UDM.

[0279] Step 1203: The AF sends an operation request to the NEF. This can be understood by referring to step 701 in FIG. 7 , and will not be described in detail here.

[0280] In step 1204, the NEF selects an AMF according to the geographical area (the area to be operated or the identifier of the group to be operated), and determines the target location information according to the geographical area (such as the information of the area to be operated).

[0281] Step 1205: The NEF obtains at least one piece of location information and an identifier of an access network device corresponding to each piece of location information.

[0282] Specifically, NEF can receive first information from NEF, and the first information includes at least one location information and an identifier of the access network device corresponding to each location information, thereby obtaining at least one location information and an identifier of the access network device corresponding to each location information. It can also be received from other core network devices, which is not specifically limited here.

[0283] In step 1206, NEF selects at least two second core network devices AMF1 and AMF2 according to the target location information, and allocates different access network devices to the at least two second core network devices according to the identifier of the access network device corresponding to the target location information (for example, AMF1 allocates RAN device 1, and AMF2 allocates RAN device 2). The at least two second core network devices are located in the location area corresponding to the target location information, and the target location information is one of the at least one location information.

[0284] In step 1207A, the NEF sends the identifier of the RAN device 1 to the AMF 1.

[0285] Step 1207B: NEF sends the identifier of RAN device 2 to AMF2.

[0286] Next, we will take the operations related to AMF1 as an example to illustrate. The operations related to AMF2 can be understood by reference and will not be described in detail.

[0287] Step 1208: AMF1 sends a random access indication and mask information to the selected RAN device.

[0288] In step 1209 , after accessing the RAN device, active device 1 sends identification information of active device 1 , such as S-TMSI or GUAMI, to the RAN device, and sends a NAS message including the identification information of active device 1 .

[0289] Step 1210: The RAN device sends a NAS message to AMF1.

[0290] If the operation type is inventory, deactivation, or positioning, the following steps are performed:

[0291] Step 1211: AMF1 sends an operation request response message to AF through NEF.

[0292] Specifically, the operation request response message may be sent via a request message service respones, and include identification information of active device 1.

[0293] If the operation type is a read operation or a write operation, etc., the read operation is used as an example to illustrate the operation. The execution is as follows:

[0294] Step 1212: AMF1 sends a read operation request to active device1.

[0295] Step 1213 , active device 1 feeds back the result of the read operation to AMF 1 .

[0296] Specifically, the operation result includes the identification information of the active device 1 that has been read. The figure only takes active device 1 as an example. However, in actual application, there may be multiple active devices (the context information of the active device is stored in AMF1) accessing the RAN device, but not all active devices can necessarily be read.

[0297] Step 1214: AMF1 sends an operation request response message to AF through NEF.

[0298] Specifically, the operation request response message may be sent via a request message service respones, and includes the identification information of the active device 1 that has been read.

[0299] In this application, the first core network device obtains at least one location information and an identifier of the access network device corresponding to each location information, and based on this, different access network devices are assigned to different second core network devices. This can avoid the situation where the same access network device receives operation instructions from different core network devices, and can avoid executing the same operation instructions multiple times.

[0300] The above mainly introduces the solution provided by the embodiment of the present application from the perspective of device interaction. It is understandable that, in order to implement the above functions, each device may include a hardware structure and / or software module that performs each function. Those skilled in the art should easily appreciate that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in a hardware or computer software driven hardware manner depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0301] In the embodiments of the present application, the functional units of the device can be divided according to the above method examples. For example, each functional unit can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one unit. The above integrated unit can be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional units.

[0302] In the case of adopting an integrated unit, Figure 13 shows a possible exemplary block diagram of the communication device involved in the embodiments of the present application. As shown in Figure 13, the communication device 1300 may include: a processing unit 1301 and a transceiver unit 1302. The processing unit 1301 is used to control and manage the actions of the communication device 1300. The transceiver unit 1302 is used to support communication between the communication device 1300 and other devices. Optionally, the transceiver unit 1302 may include a receiving unit and / or a sending unit, which are used to perform receiving and sending operations respectively. Optionally, the communication device 1300 may also include a storage unit for storing program code and / or data of the communication device 1300. The transceiver unit may be referred to as an input / output unit, a communication unit, etc., and the transceiver unit may be a transceiver; the processing unit may be a processor. When the communication device is a module (such as a chip) in a communication device, the transceiver unit may be an input / output interface, an input / output circuit, or an input / output pin, etc., and may also be referred to as an interface, a communication interface, or an interface circuit, etc.; the processing unit may be a processor, a processing circuit, or a logic circuit, etc. Specifically, the device may be the above-mentioned access network equipment, core network equipment, etc.

[0303] In one embodiment, the communication device is an access network device, wherein the transceiver unit 1302 is used to receive at least two first information, each first information includes: an operation identifier, the operation identifier is used to indicate information of a corresponding business operation; and the processing unit 1301 is used to execute a business operation corresponding to the operation identifier if the operation identifiers in at least two first information are the same.

[0304] In an optional manner, the transceiver unit 1302 is specifically configured to receive first information from at least two core network devices.

[0305] In an optional manner, the processing unit 1301 is specifically used to broadcast random access information if the operation identifiers in at least two first information are the same; obtain information about the terminal that performs random access, the terminal information including: the terminal identifier; determine the first target core network device associated with the terminal based on the terminal identifier, the first target core network device is one of at least two core network devices; and send the terminal information to the first target core network device.

[0306] In an optional manner, the processing unit 1301 is specifically used to execute the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier of the second target core network device from the at least two core network devices if the operation identifiers in at least two first information are the same, and refuse to execute the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier of other core network devices from the at least two core network devices except the second target core network device, and the second target core network device is one of the at least two core network devices.

[0307] In an optional manner, the transceiver unit 1302 is further configured to send indication information to other core network devices, where the indication information is configured to indicate that the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier of the other core network devices is a repeated service operation.

[0308] In another embodiment, the communication device is a first core network device, which may be an NEF, etc., wherein the processing unit 1301 is used to determine an operation identifier, which is used to indicate information of a corresponding business operation; and the transceiver unit 1302 is used to send the operation identifier.

[0309] In an optional manner, the transceiver unit 1302 is specifically used to send an operation identifier to at least two second core network devices (the second core network devices may be AMF, TMF, etc.).

[0310] In an optional manner, the transceiver unit 1302 is configured to receive first information from a service requester, where the first information includes an operation identifier and information about the service operation; and the processing unit 1301 is configured to determine the operation identifier according to the first information.

[0311] In an optional manner, the transceiver unit 1302 is configured to receive second information from a service requester, where the second information includes information about a service operation; and the processing unit 1301 is configured to generate an operation identifier according to the information about the service operation.

[0312] In an optional manner, the information of the service operation indicates at least one of the following information: a service requester, an operation type, a scope to be operated, and a request time of the service operation.

[0313] In another embodiment, the communication device is a first core network device, which can be AMF, TMF, etc. The transceiver unit 1302 is used to obtain information of a core network device group, which includes a first core network device and at least one second core network device (the second core network device can be AMF, TMF, etc., and the first core network device and the second core network device have the same device type, such as the first core network device is AMF, the second core network device is also AMF, etc.); respectively receive the identification of the second access network device sent by at least one second core network device, and a second access network device is a candidate device for a corresponding second core network device; the processing unit 1301 is used to select a target access network device according to the identification of the first access network device and the identifications of multiple second access network devices, the target access network device is different from the target access network device selected by at least one second core network device, and the first access network device is a candidate device for the first core network device.

[0314] In an optional manner, the transceiver unit 1302 is further configured to send an identifier of the first access network device to at least one second core network device.

[0315] In an optional manner, the transceiver unit 1302 is specifically used to receive first information from a third core network device (the third core network device may be NEF, etc.), the first information including information of a core network device group; and obtain information of a core network device group according to the first information.

[0316] In another embodiment, the communication device is a third core network device, which may be an NEF, etc. The processing unit 1301 is used to determine the information of the core network device group, which includes a first core network device and at least one second core network device (the first core network device and the second core network device may be AMF, TMF, etc., and the first core network device and the second core network device have the same device type, such as the first core network device is AMF, the second core network device is also AMF, etc.); the transceiver unit 1302 is used to send the information of the core network device group to the first core network device.

[0317] In an optional manner, the transceiver unit 1302 is specifically configured to receive request information from a service requester, the request information including: information about a service operation, the information about the service operation indicating information about a pending operation area for the service operation; the processing unit 1301 is configured to determine information about a core network device group based on the pending operation area information;

[0318] In an optional manner, the transceiver unit 1302 is further configured to send first information to the first core network device, where the first information includes: information about the core network device group.

[0319] In an optional manner, the first information further includes: an operation identifier, where the operation identifier is used to indicate information of a corresponding business operation.

[0320] In an optional manner, the information of the service operation indicates at least one of the following information: a service requester, an operation type, a scope to be operated, and a request time of the service operation.

[0321] In another embodiment, the communication device is a first core network device, which can be an NEF, and the transceiver unit 1302 is used to obtain at least one location information and an identifier of an access network device corresponding to each location information; the processing unit 1301 is used to select at least two second core network devices according to the target location information, and the at least two second core network devices are located in the location area corresponding to the target location information, and different access network devices are allocated to the at least two second core network devices according to the identifier of the access network device corresponding to the target location information, and the target location information is one of the at least one location information; the transceiver unit 1302 is also used to send the identifier of the access network device allocated by the first core network device to the at least two second core network devices respectively.

[0322] In an optional manner, the transceiver unit 1302 is further configured to receive first information from a data management network element, where the first information includes at least one piece of location information and an identifier of an access network device corresponding to each piece of location information.

[0323] In an optional manner, the transceiver unit 1302 is further configured to receive request information from a service requester, the request information including: information on the service operation, the information on the service operation indicating information on an area to be operated; and determining target location information based on the information on the area to be operated.

[0324] In another embodiment, the communication device is a second core network device, which can be an AMF, TMF, etc. The transceiver unit 1302 is used to obtain at least one location information and an identifier of the access network device corresponding to each location information; send at least one location information and an identifier of the access network device corresponding to each location information to the data management network element; receive the identifier of the first access network device from the first core network device, the identifier of the first access network device is the identifier of the access network device corresponding to the target location information, the target location information is one of the at least one location information, and the second core network device is located in the location area corresponding to the target location information.

[0325] As shown in Figure 14, this application also provides a communication device 1400. Communication device 1400 can be a chip or a chip system. The communication device can be located in the device involved in any of the above method embodiments, such as an access network device or a first core network device, to perform the corresponding actions of the device.

[0326] Optionally, the chip system may consist of the chip, or may include the chip and other discrete devices.

[0327] The communication device 1400 includes a processor 1410 .

[0328] The processor 1410 is configured to execute the computer program stored in the memory 1420 to implement the actions of each device in any of the above method embodiments.

[0329] The communication device 1400 may further include a memory 1420 for storing computer programs.

[0330] Optionally, memory 1420 and processor 1410 are coupled. Coupling is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, and can be electrical, mechanical, or other forms, for information exchange between devices, units, or modules. Optionally, memory 1420 and processor 1410 are integrated.

[0331] The processor 1410 and the memory 1420 can be one or more without limitation.

[0332] Optionally, in actual applications, the communication device 1400 may or may not include a transceiver 1430, as illustrated by a dashed box in the figure. The communication device 1400 can exchange information with other devices via the transceiver 1430. The transceiver 1430 can be a circuit, a bus, a transceiver, or any other device capable of exchanging information.

[0333] In a possible implementation, the communication device 1400 may be an access network device or a first core network device in the implementation of the above methods.

[0334] The specific connection medium between the transceiver 1430, processor 1410, and memory 1420 is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In FIG. 14 , the memory 1420, processor 1410, and transceiver 1430 are connected via a bus. The bus is represented by a bold line in FIG. The connection between other components is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to be limiting. Buses can be classified as address buses, data buses, control buses, etc. For ease of illustration, FIG. 14 uses only one bold line, but this does not imply that there is only one bus or type of bus. In the embodiments of the present application, the processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field-programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component, and can implement or execute the various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be directly executed by a hardware processor or by a combination of hardware and software modules within the processor.

[0335] In the embodiments of the present application, the memory may be a non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), or a volatile memory, such as a random access memory (RAM). The memory may also be any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory in the embodiments of the present application may also be a circuit or any other device that can implement a storage function, for storing computer programs, program instructions and / or data.

[0336] Based on the above embodiments, referring to FIG15 , the embodiment of the present application also provides another communication device 1500, including: an interface circuit 1510 and a logic circuit 1520; the interface circuit 1510 can be understood as an input and output interface, which can be used to execute the receiving and sending steps of each device in any of the above method embodiments, and the logic circuit 1520 can be used to run code or instructions to execute the method executed by each device in any of the above embodiments, which will not be repeated.

[0337] Based on the above embodiments, embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause the method executed by each device in any of the above method embodiments to be implemented. The computer-readable storage medium may include any medium capable of storing program code, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard drive, a read-only memory, a random access memory, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0338] Based on the above embodiments, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes the access network equipment (such as RAN equipment) and core network equipment (such as AMF, NEF, UDM) mentioned in any of the above method embodiments, and can be used to execute the method executed by each device in any of the above method embodiments.

[0339] In addition, the above-mentioned communication system may further include a terminal (eg, UE), which may perform data interaction with an access network device and a core network device to execute a related method in any of the above-mentioned method embodiments.

[0340] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of the present application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present application can adopt the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment in combination with software and hardware. Moreover, the present application can adopt the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to magnetic disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) that contain computer-usable program code.

[0341] The present application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the present application. It should be understood that each process and / or box in the flowchart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of the processes and / or boxes in the flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device produce a device for implementing the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0342] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce a manufactured product including an instruction device that implements the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0343] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to access network equipment, including: Receive at least two first information, each of which includes: an operation identifier, where the operation identifier is used to indicate information of a corresponding business operation; If the operation identifiers in the at least two first information are the same, the business operation corresponding to the operation identifier is executed once.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The receiving at least two first information comprises: The first information is received from at least two core network devices.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that If the operation identifiers in the at least two first information are the same, executing the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier once includes: If the operation identifiers in the at least two first information are the same, broadcasting random access information once; Acquire information of a terminal that performs random access, the information of the terminal including: an identifier of the terminal; Determine, according to the identifier of the terminal, a first target core network device associated with the terminal, where the first target core network device is one of the at least two core network devices; Send the information of the terminal to the first target core network device.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that: If the operation identifiers in the at least two first information are the same, executing the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier once includes: If the operation identifiers in the at least two first information are the same, the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier from the second target core network device among the at least two core network devices is executed, and the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier from other core network devices among the at least two core network devices except the second target core network device is refused to be executed, and the second target core network device is one of the at least two core network devices.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that After the refusing to execute the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier of the other core network devices except the second target core network device from at least two core network devices, the method further includes: Send indication information to the other core network devices, where the indication information is used to indicate that the service operation corresponding to the operation identifier of the other core network device is a repeated service operation.

6. A communication method, characterized in that: Applicable to the first core network equipment, including: Determine an operation identifier, where the operation identifier is used to indicate information of a corresponding business operation; The operation identifier is sent.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The sending of the operation identifier includes: The operation identifier is sent to at least two second core network devices.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that: The determining of the operation identifier includes: receiving the first information from the service requester, where the first information includes the operation identifier and information about the service operation; The operation identifier is determined according to the first information.

9. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that: The determining of the operation identifier includes: receiving second information from a service requester, wherein the second information includes information about the service operation; The operation identifier is generated according to the information of the business operation.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The business operation information indicates at least one of the following information: The service requester, the operation type, the scope to be operated, and the request time of the service operation.

11. A communication method, characterized in that: Applicable to the first core network equipment, including: Acquire information of a core network device group, where the core network device group includes the first core network device and at least one second core network device; Respectively receiving identifiers of second access network devices respectively sent from the at least one second core network device, one of the second access network devices being a candidate device for a corresponding second core network device; A target access network device is selected based on an identifier of a first access network device and identifiers of multiple second access network devices, wherein the target access network device is different from the target access network device selected by at least one second core network device, and the first access network device is a candidate device for the first core network device.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that Before selecting the target access network device according to the identifier of the first access network device and the identifiers of the plurality of second access network devices, the method further includes: Sending an identifier of the first access network device to the at least one second core network device.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that: The obtaining of the core network device group information includes: First information is received from a third core network device, where the first information includes information of the core network device group.

14. A communication method, characterized in that: Applicable to the third core network equipment, including: Determine information of a core network device group, where the core network device group includes a first core network device and at least one second core network device; Send information about the core network device group to the first core network device.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The information for determining the core network device group includes: Receiving request information from a service requester, the request information including: information of a service operation, the information of the service operation indicating information of a region to be operated on the service operation; Determining information of the core network device group according to the information of the area to be operated; The sending the information of the core network device group to the first core network device includes: Sending first information to the first core network device, wherein the first information includes: information of the core network device group.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The first information also includes: an operation identifier, where the operation identifier is used to indicate information of a corresponding business operation.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The business operation information indicates at least one of the following information: The service requester, the operation type, the scope to be operated, and the request time of the service operation.

18. A communication method, characterized in that: Applicable to the first core network equipment, including: Acquire at least one piece of location information and an identifier of an access network device corresponding to each piece of location information; Select at least two second core network devices according to the target location information, the at least two second core network devices are located in a location area corresponding to the target location information, and the target location information is one of the at least one location information; Allocating different access network device identifiers to the at least two second core network devices according to the access network device identifier corresponding to the target location information; The allocated identifier of the access network device is sent to the at least two second core network devices respectively.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that Acquiring at least one piece of location information and an identifier of an access network device corresponding to each piece of location information includes: First information is received from a data management network element, where the first information includes at least one piece of location information and an identifier of an access network device corresponding to each piece of location information.

20. The method according to claim 18 or 19, characterized in that Also includes: Receiving request information from a service requester, the request information including: information of a service operation, the information of the service operation indicating information of a region to be operated on the service operation; The target position information is determined according to the information of the area to be operated.

21. A communication method, characterized in that: Applicable to the second core network equipment, including: Acquire at least one piece of location information and an identifier of an access network device corresponding to each piece of location information; Sending the at least one location information and an identifier of an access network device corresponding to each location information to a data management network element; Receive an identifier of a first access network device from a first core network device, where the identifier of the first access network device is the identifier of the access network device corresponding to the target location information, the target location information is one of the at least one location information, and the second core network device is located in a location area corresponding to the target location information.

22. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A functional module for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 21.

23. A communication device, characterized in that: include: at least one processor and memory; The memory is used to store computer programs or instructions; The at least one processor is configured to execute the computer program or instructions so that the method according to any one of claims 1 to 21 is performed.

24. A chip system, characterized in that: The chip system comprises: a processing circuit; the processing circuit is coupled to a storage medium; The processing circuit is used to execute part or all of the computer programs or instructions in the storage medium, and when the part or all of the computer programs or instructions are executed, it is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 21.

25. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores instructions, and when the instructions are executed by a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 21 is executed.

26. A computer program product comprising a computer program or instructions, characterized in that When the computer program or instruction is executed on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 21 is executed.

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