Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application relate to the technical field of communications. Disclosed are a communication method and apparatus, solving the problem of complex operations when a terminal device enables a data service function. The method comprises: when it is detected that a data service function is enabled, acquiring address information of a data controller, wherein the data controller is configured to manage the data service function of a terminal device; and sending first indication information to the data controller on the basis of the address information of the data controller, wherein the first indication information is used for registering a data service capability of the terminal device in the data controller. The embodiments of the present application are applied to a data service process.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on November 14, 2023, with application number 202311523195.3 and application name “Communication Method and Device,” the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus. Background Art

[0003] In a communication network, terminal devices can act as data producers, providers, or consumers to perform data service-related functions. However, when currently enabling the data service function of a terminal device, the operation must be performed at the operator's business hall or in the operator's APP, which makes the operation of enabling the data service function of the terminal device complicated.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus that can reduce the operational complexity when a terminal device activates a data service function.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, this application provides the following technical solutions:

[0007] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be executed by a terminal device, or by a component of the terminal device, such as a processor, chip, or chip system of the terminal device, or by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the terminal device. The following description uses the method executed by a terminal device as an example. The communication method includes: upon detecting that a data service function is enabled, obtaining address information of a data controller; wherein the data controller is configured to manage the data service function of the terminal device; and sending first indication information to the data controller based on the address information of the data controller; wherein the first indication information is configured to register the data service capability of the terminal device with the data controller.

[0008] In the embodiment of the present application, when the terminal device detects that the data service function is enabled, it obtains the address information of the data controller and registers the data service capability of the terminal device with the data controller. In this way, when the user needs to enable the data service function, they only need to operate on the terminal device to enable the data service function, without having to operate at the operator's business hall or in the operator's app, thereby reducing the operational complexity of enabling the data service function on low-end terminal devices.

[0009] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in a possible implementation method, obtaining the address information of the data controller includes: receiving second indication information from the access and mobility management network element; the second indication information is used to indicate the address information of the data controller; or, reading the address information of the data controller pre-configured in the terminal device; or, reading the address information of the data controller pre-configured in the identity card of the terminal device.

[0010] Based on this, the terminal device can respectively determine the address information of the data controller in different ways, thereby improving the flexibility of the terminal device in obtaining the address information of the data controller.

[0011] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in a possible implementation method, before receiving the first indication information from the access and mobility management network element, the method also includes: sending third indication information to the access and mobility management network element, and the third indication information is used to indicate the acquisition of the address information of the data controller.

[0012] Based on this, the terminal device sends a request message to the access and mobility management network element to obtain the address information of the data controller, so that the access and mobility management network element can feedback the address information of the data controller to the terminal device based on the request message.

[0013] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the third indication information is carried in a packet data unit PDU session establishment request message; and the second indication information is carried in a PDU session establishment response message.

[0014] Based on this, the terminal device can obtain the address information of the data controller through the PDU session establishment request message and the PDU session establishment response message during the process of establishing a PDU session with the access and mobility management network element.

[0015] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in a possible implementation method, before sending the third indication information to the access and mobility management network element, the method also includes: sending a first registration request message to the access and mobility management network element, the first registration request message is used to indicate that the terminal device supports data service capabilities; receiving a first registration acceptance message from the access and mobility management network element, the first registration acceptance message is used to indicate that the network side supports data service capabilities.

[0016] Based on this, when both the terminal device and the network side support data service capabilities, the terminal device requests the access and mobility management network element to obtain the address information of the data controller, thereby avoiding the situation where the terminal device cannot provide data services because the network side does not support data service capabilities after obtaining the address information of the data controller.

[0017] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be executed by a terminal device, or by a component of the terminal device, such as a processor, chip, or chip system of the terminal device, or by a logic module or software that implements all or part of the terminal device. The following description uses the method executed by a terminal device as an example. The communication method includes: upon detecting that a data service function is disabled, sending fourth indication information to a data controller, the fourth indication information being used to register the data service capability of the terminal device with the data controller.

[0018] In an embodiment of the present application, when a terminal device detects that the data service function is turned off, it registers the data service capability of the terminal device with the data controller. In this way, when a user needs to turn off the data service function, they only need to operate on the terminal device to turn off the data service function. There is no need to operate at the operator's business hall or in the operator's app, thereby reducing the complexity of the operation when turning off the data service function of the terminal device. In addition, in an embodiment of the present application, the user can turn the data service function on or off on the terminal device, which can greatly increase the flexibility of the terminal device in using the data service capability.

[0019] In combination with the above second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: sending a second registration request message to the access and mobility management network element, where the second registration request message indicates that the terminal device does not support data service capabilities.

[0020] Based on this, the terminal device can indicate to the access and mobility management network element that the terminal device does not support data service capabilities after detecting that the data service function is turned off, so that the information recorded on the terminal side and the network side on whether the terminal device supports data service capabilities remains consistent.

[0021] In combination with the above-mentioned second aspect, in one possible implementation method, a packet data unit PDU session release request message is sent to the access and mobility management network element; a PDU session release command message is received from the access and mobility management network element; and a PDU session release completion message is sent to the access and mobility management network element.

[0022] Based on this, the terminal device can request to release the PDU session after detecting that the data service function is closed, so as to avoid occupying session resources in the network.

[0023] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be executed by an access and mobility management network element, or by a component of the access and mobility management network element, such as a processor, chip, or chip system of the access and mobility management network element. The method can also be implemented by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the access and mobility management network element. The following description uses the method executed by the access and mobility management network element as an example. The communication method includes: receiving third indication information from a terminal device, the third indication information being used to instruct the acquisition of address information of a data controller; and sending second indication information to the terminal device; the second indication information being used to indicate the address information of the data controller.

[0024] Based on this, the access and mobility management network element may feed back the address information of the data controller to the terminal device according to the request message for obtaining the address information of the data controller sent by the terminal device.

[0025] In combination with the above-mentioned third aspect, in a possible implementation method, before sending the second indication information to the terminal device, the method also includes: sending a first request message to the session management network element, the first request message is used to request to obtain the address information of the data controller; receiving a first response message from the session management network element, the first response message is used to indicate the address information of the data controller.

[0026] Based on this, the access and mobility management network element can obtain the address information of the data controller from the session management network element.

[0027] In combination with the above-mentioned third aspect, in a possible implementation method, the third indication information is carried in the packet data unit PDU session establishment request message; the second indication information is carried in the PDU session establishment response message; the first request message is carried in the PDU session context creation request message, and the first response message is carried in the message of the N1N2 message transmission process.

[0028] Based on this, the terminal device can obtain the address information of the data controller through the PDU session establishment request message and PDU session establishment response message during the process of establishing a PDU session with the access and mobility management network element. The access and mobility management network element can obtain the address information of the data controller during the PDU session context creation and N1N2 message transmission process with the session management network element.

[0029] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the various methods described above. The communication device may be the terminal device described in the first aspect or any implementation of the first aspect, or a device including the terminal device described above, or a device included in the terminal device described above, such as a chip. Alternatively, the communication device may be the terminal device described in the second aspect or any implementation of the second aspect, or a device including the terminal device described above, or a device included in the terminal device described above, such as a chip. Alternatively, the communication device may be the access and mobility management network element described in the third aspect or any implementation of the third aspect, or a device including the access and mobility management network element described above, or a device included in the access and mobility management network element described above, such as a chip. The communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the implementation of the methods described above, which may be implemented by hardware, software, or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the functions described above.

[0030] In some possible designs, the communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. The transceiver module, also referred to as a transceiver unit, is configured to implement the transmitting and / or receiving functions described in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof. The transceiver module may be comprised of a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface. The processing module may be configured to implement the processing functions described in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof.

[0031] In some possible designs, the transceiver module includes a sending module and a receiving module, which are respectively used to implement the sending and receiving functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementation methods.

[0032] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: at least one processor; the processor is configured to execute a computer program or instruction stored in a memory, so that the communication device performs the method of any of the above aspects. The memory may be coupled to the processor, or may be independent of the processor. The communication device may be the terminal device of the above first aspect, or any implementation of the first aspect, or a device including the above terminal device, or a device included in the above terminal device, such as a chip. Alternatively, the communication device may be the terminal device of the above second aspect, or any implementation of the second aspect, or a device including the above terminal device, or a device included in the above terminal device, such as a chip. Alternatively, the communication device may be the access and mobility management network element of the above third aspect, or any implementation of the third aspect, or a device including the above access and mobility management network element, or a device included in the above access and mobility management network element, such as a chip.

[0033] In some possible designs, the communication device includes a memory for storing necessary program instructions and data.

[0034] In a possible implementation, the processor includes a logic circuit and an input interface and / or an output interface, wherein the output interface is used to perform the sending action in the corresponding method, and the input interface is used to perform the receiving action in the corresponding method.

[0035] In one possible implementation, the communication device further includes a communication interface and a communication bus, and the processor, memory, and communication interface are connected via the communication bus. The communication interface is used to perform the sending and receiving actions in the corresponding method. The communication interface may also be referred to as a transceiver. Optionally, the communication interface includes a transmitter and a receiver. In this case, the transmitter is used to perform the sending action in the corresponding method, and the receiver is used to perform the receiving action in the corresponding method.

[0036] In some possible designs, when the communication device is a chip system, it can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0037] It can be understood that when the communication device provided in any one of the fourth to fifth aspects is a chip, the above-mentioned sending action / function can be understood as output, and the above-mentioned receiving action / function can be understood as input.

[0038] In a sixth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is run on a communication device, the communication device can execute any of the above aspects or any of its implementation methods.

[0039] In a seventh aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed on a communication device, enables the communication device to execute the method of any of the above aspects or any of its implementations.

[0040] In an eighth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes the terminal device in the above-mentioned first aspect, or any implementation of the first aspect, and the access and mobility management network element in the above-mentioned third aspect, or any implementation of the third aspect; or, the communication system includes the terminal device in the above-mentioned second aspect, or any implementation of the second aspect, and the access and mobility management network element in the above-mentioned third aspect, or any implementation of the third aspect.

[0041] The technical effects brought about by any implementation method of the fourth to eighth aspects can be referred to the technical effects brought about by the corresponding implementation method of the first or second aspect or the third aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0042] It should be noted that various possible implementations of any of the above aspects can be combined under the premise that the solutions are not contradictory. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0043] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a 6G data plane system architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a system architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the system architecture of another communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] FIG4 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of an interface showing a data service function switch on a display interface of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG6 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG7 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG8 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] FIG9 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG10 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG11 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0055] In the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, " / " indicates that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship, for example, A / B can represent A or B; "and / or" in this application is merely a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist, for example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural.

[0056] In the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more than two. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, and / or c can mean: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c can be single or plural.

[0057] In addition, to facilitate the clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, the words "first" and "second" are used to distinguish between identical or similar items with substantially the same functions and effects. Those skilled in the art will understand that the words "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and the words "first" and "second" do not necessarily mean different.

[0058] In the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of this application should not be construed as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner to facilitate understanding.

[0059] It will be understood that the “embodiment” mentioned throughout the specification means that the specific features, structures or characteristics related to the embodiment are included in at least one embodiment of the present application. Therefore, the various embodiments throughout the specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, these specific features, structures or characteristics can be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable manner. It will be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the sequence number of each process does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiment of the present application.

[0060] It can be understood that in this application, "when" and "if" both mean that corresponding processing will be taken under certain objective circumstances, and do not limit the time, nor do they require any judgment action when implementing it, nor do they mean that there are other limitations.

[0061] It is understood that some optional features in the embodiments of the present application may, in certain scenarios, be implemented independently of other features, such as the solution on which they are currently based, to solve corresponding technical problems and achieve corresponding effects. They may also be combined with other features in certain scenarios as needed. Accordingly, the devices provided in the embodiments of the present application may also implement these features or functions accordingly, which will not be described in detail here.

[0062] In this application, unless otherwise specified, the same or similar parts between the various embodiments can refer to each other. In the various embodiments in this application, and the various implementation methods / implementation methods / implementation methods in each embodiment, if there is no special explanation and logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments and the various implementation methods / implementation methods / implementation methods in each embodiment are consistent and can be referenced to each other. The technical features in different embodiments and the various implementation methods / implementation methods / implementation methods in each embodiment can be combined to form new embodiments, implementation methods, implementation methods, or implementation methods according to their inherent logical relationships. The implementation methods of this application described below do not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of this application.

[0063] The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application can be used in various communication systems, which may be a third generation partnership project (3GPP) communication system, for example, a fourth generation (4G) long term evolution (LTE) system, a 5G new radio (NR) system, a sixth generation (6G) communication system, a vehicle to everything (V2X) system, a system of hybrid networking of LTE and NR, or a device to device (D2D) system, a machine to machine (M2M) communication system, an Internet of Things (IoT), and other future communication systems. Alternatively, the communication system may also be a non-3GPP communication system, without limitation.

[0064] Among them, the above-mentioned communication system applicable to the present application is only an example, and the communication system applicable to the present application is not limited to this. It is uniformly described here and will not be repeated below.

[0065] The terminal device involved in the present application can be a user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a terminal unit, a user station, a terminal station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a user terminal terminal equipment, a mobile device, a wireless communication device, a terminal agent, a tablet computer (pad), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a vehicle-mounted transceiver unit, a wearable device, or a terminal device. The access terminal can be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a drone, a robot, an intelligent point of sale (POS) machine, a customer-premises equipment (CPE) or a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) device. The terminal device may be a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, or a wireless terminal in smart home. Alternatively, the terminal device may be a terminal with communication capabilities in the Internet of Things (IoT), such as a terminal in V2X (e.g., a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) device), a terminal in D2D communication, or a terminal in M2M communication. The terminal device may be mobile or fixed.

[0066] The embodiments of this application do not limit the form of the terminal device. The device used to implement the functions of the terminal device can be the terminal device; it can also be a device that supports the terminal device to implement the functions, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the terminal device or used in conjunction with the terminal device. In the embodiments of this application, the chip system can be composed of a chip or include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0067] The access network device involved in the present application may be a device for communicating with a terminal device, for example, it may include an evolved base station (NodeB or eNB or e-NodeB, evolutionary Node B) in a long term evolution (LTE) system or an enhanced LTE (LTE-advanced, LTE-A) system, such as a traditional macro base station eNB and a micro base station eNB in ​​a heterogeneous network scenario. Alternatively, it may include a next generation node B (gNB) in an NR system. Alternatively, it may include a transmission reception point (TRP), a home base station (e.g., home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), a base band unit (BBU), a base band pool (BBU pool), or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) access point (AP), etc. Alternatively, it may include a base station in a non-terrestrial network (NTN), which can be deployed on an aircraft or satellite. In an NTN, the access network device can function as a Layer 1 (L1) relay, a base station, or an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node. Alternatively, the access network device can be a device that implements base station functions in the IoT, such as drone communications, V2X, D2D, or machine-to-machine (M2M) devices.

[0068] In some possible scenarios, the access network device may also be a module or unit that can implement some of the functions of the base station. For example, the access network device may be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The CU and DU may be configured separately or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU may be included in a radio frequency device or radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0069] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, the access network device may be an access network device or a module of an access network device in an open radio access network (open RAN, ORAN) system. In the ORAN system, CU may also be referred to as open (open, O)-CU, DU may also be referred to as O-DU, CU-CP may also be referred to as O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be referred to as O-CU-UP, and RU may also be referred to as O-RU. Any of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0070] Optionally, the base station in the embodiment of the present application may include various forms of base stations, such as: macro base stations, micro base stations (also called small stations), relay stations, access points, home base stations, TRPs, transmitting points (TPs), mobile switching centers, etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0071] In the embodiments of the present application, the form of the access network device is not limited. The device used to implement the functions of the access network device can be the access network device; it can also be a device that supports the access network device to implement the functions, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the access network device or used in conjunction with the access network device.

[0072] In the related art, in session-based networks, data in the network is typically transmitted point-to-point based on user plane sessions. User plane sessions typically only transmit data based on the destination address and cannot process the data. For example, in 5G networks, user plane sessions are protocol data unit (PDU) sessions, with the terminal device and network device connected at both ends, thereby enabling point-to-point data transmission between the terminal device and the network device. However, based on PDU sessions, only simple data forwarding operations can be performed, and more complex data services cannot be provided for the data.

[0073] With the development of communication network scale, technology, and applications, the amount of data generated in communication networks is increasing, and the value of this data is also increasing. Data needs to be collected, stored, transmitted, processed, analyzed, exchanged, and shared within the network. Moreover, data transmission is no longer limited to point-to-point transmission between two devices, but requires transmission between any nodes in any topology. Current user-plane session-based networks can no longer meet the demands for data transmission and processing. To this end, data-centric network architectures, such as the 6G data plane network architecture, are being proposed to meet these data transmission and processing requirements.

[0074] As an example, the differences between the 5G user plane and the 6G data plane are shown in Table 1 below:

[0075] Table 1

[0076] Furthermore, when forwarding data based on a 5G user plane session, the header information carrying routing information in the data packet remains unchanged, the data payload of the packet remains unchanged, and the data forwarding path is point-to-point. When forwarding data based on a 6G data plane, the header information carrying routing information in the data packet remains unchanged, and the data payload of the packet changes based on the data routing process. This allows for flexible network forwarding topologies.

[0077] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the system architecture of a 6G data plane provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 1, the 6G data plane includes: a data orchestrator (DO), a data controller (DC), a data agent (DA), a trusted anchor agent (TAA), and a data storage function (DSF).

[0078] Both DO and DC are used to orchestrate data pipelines for user transmission within the network. DO is responsible for orchestrating coarse-grained, non-real-time data services. DO typically deploys the following functions: application program interface (API), translation request (Req. Translation), network service orchestration interface (NSO), coarse-grained (CG) DA orchestration (CG DA Orchestration), and data pointer (DPTR). DO can orchestrate data services based on the service capabilities and data service tasks of cross-domain DAs (data service orchestration includes but is not limited to: orchestration and establishment of data pipelines, and DA orchestration). DO can also collaborate with other network services to orchestrate data services. For example, DO can collaborate with computing network services to orchestrate data services. When providing data services for computing tasks, the computing network service orchestrates the computing power, while DO orchestrates the data. DO has a built-in data protection technology repository (DPTR). Based on the technologies in DPTR, DO can provide data security and privacy protection capabilities for data and enable data protection technology (DPT) to DA on demand. DPTR includes but is not limited to at least one of the following technologies: differential privacy, homomorphic encryption, secure multi-party computation, or zero-knowledge proof.

[0079] The DC is responsible for orchestrating fine-grained, real-time data services. The following functions are typically deployed in the DC: fine-grained orchestration (FG), DA orchestration (FG DA Orchestration), DA management, and a trusted anchor client (TAC). On the other hand, the DC orchestrates and establishes data pipelines in the local domain based on the DA's capabilities and data service requests. The DC can also receive capability reports from the DA and register and deregister the DA's capabilities based on the DA's capabilities, and monitor the DA in real time by detecting the DA's heartbeat. Furthermore, the DC has a built-in trusted anchor client, which allows the DC to initiate requests for security mechanisms such as authentication, authorization, and access control to the TAA through the TAC, as well as request traceability and audit services for data access. The DC can be deployed on both the access network side and the core network side.

[0080] The DA communicates with data consumers. Data consumers include, but are not limited to, network operational improvement, network artificial intelligence (AI), and third-party applications. The DA is deployed with an application programming interface (API), which allows the DA to communicate with other devices and invoke relevant functions on those devices. The DA typically implements data service capabilities such as data acquisition, data pre-processing, data storage, data privacy protection, data analytics, and data sharing. The DA can act as either a data demander (consumer) or a data processor (producer / provider). When acting as a data processor, the DA can execute data services such as data acquisition, data pre-processing, data storage, data analytics, and data sharing within the data pipeline orchestrated by the data service provider (DO) based on the data service capabilities deployed within the DA. When acting as a data demander, the DA can report required data service tasks to the DO, enabling the DO to orchestrate data services based on these data service tasks. DA can be deployed on network functions (NF), radio access network (RAN), transfer network (TN) nodes, terminal equipment or operation, administration and maintenance (OAM) in the network, or DA can be deployed independently. Among them, data collection refers to collecting data from the data source, and data collection can be achieved through subscription / notification or request / response. DA can obtain data by sending a data acquisition request to the data source. The data acquisition request indicates the triggering method, triggering conditions, reporting cycle, data volume, etc. for the data source to report data. The data collected by DA can be user data, network data, artificial intelligence (AI) data, IoT data, and the above data can be real-time data or non-real-time data. DA can collect data through streaming data collection or batch data collection. Data preprocessing refers to preprocessing the collected raw data to improve data quality.Since collected raw data often contains dirty data such as missing data, data noise, data redundancy, and dataset imbalance, DA can pre-process the data through cleaning, padding, smoothing, merging, normalization, and consistency checking to improve data quality. Data storage refers to the storage of data by DA. DA typically only stores small amounts of data, data that is short-lived, or data that requires privacy protection. Data privacy protection involves desensitizing data using data privacy protection technologies to prevent attackers from obtaining sensitive information from the desensitized data, thereby protecting data privacy. Data privacy protection technologies include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: k-anonymity, l-diversity, t-closeness, and ε-differential privacy. Data privacy protection technologies can be pre-installed in DA or pushed to DA by DO based on DA requirements. Data analysis is used to analyze collected data. During data analysis, APIs can be used to access DA services at various levels, including data collection, data preprocessing, and storage. Data analysis technologies include, but are not limited to, AI / machine learning (ML), Hive, and Spark. Data analysis technologies can be pre-installed or delivered via a network service. Data analysis functionality can be integrated with DA, built into DA, or installed separately.

[0081] TAA is the data-plane agent of the 6G trusted surface, used to ensure the credibility of 6G data. TAA includes trusted functions such as authentication, authorization, access control, auditability, trustworthiness enablement interface (such as blockchain (BC)), traceability, and provides support interfaces for trusted technologies such as blockchain. TAA can protect the confidentiality, integrity, and reliability of all data. TAA can be used to store tamper-proof data: such as the public keys of terminal devices or network devices, short transactions, indexes, or important data that cannot be tampered with.

[0082] DSF is a storage extension component of DA for large-scale data storage or long-term storage. It is mainly used to store: AI model data, key performance index (KPI) data, log data, and alarm data. DSF supports unified storage of structured / unstructured / semi-structured data, and supports dynamic classification and multi-level storage of various types of files. The data storage technologies used by DSF include but are not limited to at least one of the following: centralized database, distributed database; such as distributed hash table (DHT) or inter planetary file system (IPFS). In addition, the data storage encryption technologies used by DSF include but are not limited to at least one of the following: database appearance encryption, transparent data encryption (TDE), transparent file encryption (TFE), user-defined function (UDF) encryption, and full disk encryption (FDE).

[0083] In 6G networks, data is managed and processed through data pipelines. Data is transmitted in data pipelines and completes data collection, transmission, storage, processing, and other data services when passing through the data pipeline nodes (DA). Since DAs can be deployed in network elements such as terminal devices, access network equipment, and core network equipment in 6G networks, all network elements in the 6G network can participate in data services.

[0084] Two new capabilities, endogenous perception and intelligence, have been added to the 6G network. Endogenous perception refers to the perception of the network's own status, surrounding environment, and user / device behavior through sensor devices to generate perception data. Intelligence refers to the use of AI, digital twins and other technologies to perform modeling analysis and automatic decision-making to improve network operation efficiency, improve system performance or provide data services for smart applications. Based on endogenous perception, intelligence and other functions, terminal devices, edge devices, access network devices and core network devices in the 6G network will generate massive amounts of data. Terminal devices, edge devices, access network devices and core network devices in the 6G network can be both producers and providers of data, and consumers of data. The 6G user plane is used to provide data services for these data and meet different data processing requirements. Based on the analysis of many application scenarios and requirements of the 6G network, the types of data services that the 6G data plane can provide are shown in Table 2 below:

[0085] Table 2

[0086] The above describes the 6G network and the data plane of the 6G network in the related art.

[0087] In 6G networks, since DA can be deployed in terminal devices, they can participate in data services as data producers, data consumers, or data providers. Terminal devices can also participate in data services by enabling data service capabilities. However, enabling data service capabilities on terminal devices requires signing up for data. This requires users to bring their terminal devices to a carrier's business hall or operate within the carrier's app, which complicates the process of enabling data service functions on terminal devices.

[0088] To address the above technical issues, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method whereby, upon detecting that a data service function has been enabled, a terminal device obtains the address information of a data controller and registers the terminal device's data service capabilities with the data controller. This allows the user to enable the data service function simply by operating the terminal device, without having to go to the operator's business hall or operate within the operator's app. This reduces the operational complexity of enabling the data service function on low-end terminal devices.

[0089] The communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to a communication system 20 as shown in FIG2 . As shown in FIG2 , the communication system 20 includes a terminal device 201 and a data controller 202 .

[0090] The terminal device 201 is provided with a data service capability switch. The terminal device can enable data service capabilities based on a detected operation to enable the data service capability switch. Alternatively, the terminal device can disable data service capabilities based on a detected operation to disable the data service capability switch. The data controller 202 is configured to manage the data service capabilities of the terminal device 201.

[0091] In one possible implementation, upon detecting that the data service function is enabled, the terminal device 201 obtains the address information of the data controller 202 and registers the data service capability of the terminal device 201 with the data controller 202. After registering the data service capability of the terminal device 201, the data controller 202 may orchestrate the terminal device 201 according to the data service capability of the terminal device 201, for example, orchestrating the processing role of the terminal device 201 when processing data services.

[0092] When the terminal device 201 detects that the data service function is disabled, it registers the data service capability of the terminal device 201 with the data controller 202. After registering the data service capability of the terminal device 201, the data controller 202 will not arrange data services for the terminal device 201.

[0093] In combination with Figure 2, as shown in Figure 3, the communication system provided by the embodiment of the present application also includes: an access and mobility management network element 203, a session management network element 204, and an access network device 205.

[0094] The terminal device 201 can obtain the address information of the data controller 202 from the access and mobility management network element 203 by interacting with the access and mobility management network element 203. The access and mobility management network element 203 can obtain the address information of the data controller 202 from the session management network element 204 by interacting with the session management network element 204. The terminal device 201 can communicate with the access and mobility management network element 203 or the data controller 202 through the access network device 205.

[0095] In one possible implementation, when the terminal device 201 obtains the address information of the data service capability 202, the terminal device 201 first initiates a registration with the access and mobility management network element 203 to indicate that the terminal device 201 supports the data service capability. The access and mobility management network element 203 indicates to the terminal device that the network side supports the data service capability. Furthermore, the terminal device 201 initiates a PDU session establishment process to the access and mobility management network element 203, and in this process indicates to obtain the address information of the data controller 202. The access and mobility management network element 203 creates a PDU session context with the session management network element 204, and obtains the address information of the data controller 202 from the session management network element 204. After this, the access and mobility management network element 203 sends a PDU session establishment completion message to the terminal device through the access network device. The PDU session establishment completion message carries the address information of the data controller 202.

[0096] In combination with the communication system shown in Figure 2 or Figure 3, as shown in Figure 4, a communication method is provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication method is illustrated by taking the terminal device turning on the data service capability and the interactive registration of the data service capability between the terminal device and the data controller as an example. Of course, the subject that executes the terminal device action in the method can also be a device / module in the terminal device, such as a chip, processor, processing unit, etc. in the terminal device; the subject that executes the data controller action in the method can also be a device / module in the data controller, such as a chip, processor, processing unit, etc. in the data controller, and the embodiment of the present application does not make specific limitations on this. The processing performed by a single execution subject (for example, a terminal device or a data controller) in the embodiment of the present application can also be divided into executions by multiple execution subjects, and these execution subjects can be logically and / or physically separated. Exemplarily, as shown in Figure 4, the method includes the following steps:

[0097] S401: When detecting that the data service function is enabled, the terminal device obtains the address information of the data controller.

[0098] The data controller is used to manage the data service function of the terminal device. Optionally, the address information of the data controller can be the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the data controller.

[0099] In one possible implementation, the terminal device can display a data service capability switch on its display interface. Thus, when a user needs to enable the data service function, they can directly enable the data service capability switch on the terminal display interface. The terminal device detects the user's operation of enabling the data service capability switch and enables the data service capability. Thereafter, the terminal device obtains the address information of the data controller.

[0100] As an example, the interface of the terminal device displaying the data service capability switch is shown in FIG5 .

[0101] S402: The terminal device sends first indication information to the data controller based on the address information of the data controller. Correspondingly, the data controller receives the first indication information from the terminal device.

[0102] The first indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device supports data service capabilities.

[0103] In one example, when the address information of the data controller is an IP address, the destination IP of the first indication information is the IP address of the data controller.

[0104] In one possible implementation, after receiving the first indication information from the terminal device, the data controller registers the data service capability of the terminal device in the data controller. When it is necessary to orchestrate the data service task, the data controller determines whether to orchestrate the terminal device to provide data service capabilities for the data service task based on the data service requirements. When the data controller determines to orchestrate the terminal device to provide data service capabilities for the data service task, the role and processing tasks of the terminal device are orchestrated. When the data service task flows to the terminal device through the data pipeline, the terminal device processes the data service task based on the orchestration of the data controller. Alternatively, the terminal device is used as a data source device, and after the terminal device collects data, the collected data is transmitted to the access network device or other nodes in the network through the pipeline orchestrated by the data controller.

[0105] In the embodiment of the present application, when the terminal device detects that the data service function is enabled, it obtains the address information of the data controller and registers the data service capability of the terminal device with the data controller. In this way, when the user needs to enable the data service function, he or she only needs to operate on the terminal device to enable the data service function, without having to operate at the operator's business hall or in the operator's app, thereby reducing the operational complexity of enabling the data service function on low-end terminal devices.

[0106] In one possible implementation method, the terminal device can obtain the address information of the data controller through the following method 1, method 2 or method 3, respectively: Method 1, the terminal device receives the second indication information from the access and mobility management network element, and the second indication information is used to indicate the address information of the data controller; Method 2, the terminal device reads the address information of the data controller pre-configured in the terminal device; Method 3, the terminal device reads the address information of the data controller pre-configured in the terminal device's identity card.

[0107] Among them, the above-mentioned method 2 and method 3 are to pre-configure the address information of the data controller in the terminal device or the identity card of the terminal device (such as the user identity module (SIM) card). Based on the above-mentioned method 2 and method 3, the terminal device can directly obtain the address information of the data controller. This application does not provide a detailed introduction to this.

[0108] In the above-mentioned method 1, the terminal device needs to interact with the network element to obtain the address information of the data controller. The following is an exemplary description of the process of the terminal device obtaining the address information of the data controller in the above-mentioned method 1.

[0109] In conjunction with FIG4 , as shown in FIG6 , in the above-mentioned method 1, the process of the terminal device obtaining the address information of the data controller can be specifically implemented by the following steps:

[0110] S601: A terminal device sends third indication information to an access and mobility management network element. Correspondingly, the access and mobility management network element receives the third indication information from the terminal device.

[0111] The third indication information is used to instruct to obtain the address information of the data controller.

[0112] S602: The access and mobility management network element sends second indication information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second indication information from the access and mobility management network element.

[0113] Thus, based on the above S601 and S602, the terminal device can obtain the address information of the data controller from the access and mobility management network element. After that, the terminal device can further perform the process in the above S402 to register the data service capability of the terminal device in the data controller.

[0114] In a possible implementation, the third indication information is carried in the PDU session establishment request message; the second indication information is carried in the PDU session establishment response message.

[0115] In other words, the terminal device sends a PDU session establishment request message carrying the third indication information to the access and mobility management network element. After receiving the PDU session establishment request message carrying the third indication information, the access network device performs the subsequent PDU session establishment process and sends the second indication information in a PDU session establishment response message to the terminal device. The terminal device determines the address information of the data controller based on the second indication information carried in the PDU session establishment response message.

[0116] Optionally, after receiving the third indication information from the terminal device, the access and mobility management network element sends a PDU session context creation request to the session management network element, where the PDU session context creation request carries information requesting the address information of the data controller. The session management network element sends the address information of the data controller to the access and mobility management network element based on the PDU session context creation request. Furthermore, the access and mobility management network element generates second indication information based on the address information of the data controller and sends the second indication information to the terminal device.

[0117] In one possible implementation, as shown in FIG6 , before the above S601 , the terminal device may pre-determine whether both the terminal device and the network side support data service capabilities, and execute the above S601 and S602 if both the terminal device and the network side support data service capabilities. The process of the terminal device determining whether both the terminal device and the network side support data service capabilities includes the following S603 and S604 , which are described in detail below:

[0118] S603: The terminal device sends a first registration request message to the access and mobility management network element. Correspondingly, the access and mobility management network element sends the first registration request message to the terminal device.

[0119] The first registration request message is used to indicate that the terminal device supports data service capabilities.

[0120] S604: The access and mobility management network element sends a first registration acceptance message to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first registration acceptance message from the access and mobility management network element.

[0121] The first registration acceptance message is used to indicate that the network side supports data service capabilities.

[0122] In one possible implementation, after the terminal device detects the user's operation of turning on the data service capability switch and turns on the data service capability, it indicates to the access and mobility management network element on the network side that the terminal device supports the data service capability (or the terminal device has turned on the data service capability). The access and mobility management network element indicates to the terminal device that the network side also supports the data service capability. At this time, the terminal device can perform data service tasks based on the data service capabilities of the terminal device and the network side. After this, the terminal device can further obtain the address information of the data controller to facilitate registration of the data service capability of the terminal device in the data controller.

[0123] It should be noted that the network side in the embodiment of the present application includes access and mobility management network elements, as well as other network elements, which are not limited in the present application.

[0124] In one possible implementation, as shown in FIG6 , before S602 above, the access and mobility management network element may obtain the address information of the data controller from the session management network element, and generate the second indication information according to the obtained address information of the data controller. The specific process is shown in S605 and S606 below:

[0125] S605: The access and mobility management network element sends a first request message to the session management network element. Correspondingly, the session management network element receives the first request message from the access and mobility management network element.

[0126] The first request message is used to request to obtain the address information of the data controller.

[0127] S606: The session management network element sends a first response message to the access and mobility management network element. Correspondingly, the access and mobility management network element receives the first response message from the session management network element.

[0128] The first response message is used to indicate the address information of the data controller.

[0129] In one possible implementation, the first request message is carried in a PDU session context creation request message, and the first response message is carried in a message in the N1N2 message transmission process. Based on this, the access and mobility management network element can obtain the address information of the data controller during the PDU session context creation and N1N2 message transmission process with the session management network element.

[0130] In one possible implementation, the access network device may also report to the access and mobility management network element whether the access network device supports data service capabilities. Specifically, the access network device sends an access network configuration update message to the access and mobility management network element. Subsequently, the session management network element sends an access network configuration confirmation message to the access network device.

[0131] The access network configuration update message is used to indicate that the access network device supports data service capabilities. In one example, the access network configuration update message is: ran configuration update. The access network configuration acknowledgement message is: ran configuration acknowledge.

[0132] Optionally, the RAN configuration update includes a data service capability field, which is used to indicate that the access network device supports data service capabilities.

[0133] As an example, the new data service capability fields in the RAN configuration update include:

[0134] {ID id-SupportedDataServiceRITICALITY ignore TYPE SupportedDataService

[0135] ...

[0136] }

[0137] SupportedDataService::=ENUMERATED{true,false}

[0138] The following describes the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application in conjunction with the embodiment shown in Figure 6, taking the data controller as the DC, the access and mobility management network element as the access and mobility management function (AMF), and the session management network element as the session management function (SMF) as an example. As shown in Figure 7, when the data service switch is turned on in the terminal device, the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

[0139] S701: The terminal device determines that the data service switch is turned on.

[0140] In one possible implementation, a user performs an operation to turn on a data service switch in the display interface shown in FIG5 . After the terminal device detects the user's operation to turn on the data service switch, it determines that the data service switch is turned on. At this point, the terminal device supports the data service capability, and the data service capability of the terminal device is turned on.

[0141] S702: The terminal device sends a first registration request message to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the first registration request message from the terminal device.

[0142] The first registration request message is used to indicate that the terminal device supports data service capabilities.

[0143] In one example, the first registration request message is: register request. Optionally, the register request carries a data service capability indication flag of the terminal device. The data service capability indication flag of the terminal device is used to indicate whether the terminal device supports data service capability.

[0144] For example, when the value of the data service capability indication flag of the terminal device is 1, it indicates that the terminal device supports data service capability (or the terminal device has turned on the data service capability); when the value of the data service capability indication flag of the terminal device is 0, it indicates that the terminal device does not support data service capability (or the terminal device has turned off the data service capability). Or for example, when the value of the data service capability indication flag of the terminal device is 0, it indicates that the terminal device supports data service capability (or the terminal device has turned on the data service capability); when the value of the data service capability indication flag of the terminal device is 1, it indicates that the terminal device does not support data service capability (or the terminal device has turned off the data service capability). Of course, the embodiment of the present application takes the data service capability indication flag as 1 bit as an example. The data service capability indication flag can also be multiple bits, and the embodiment of the present application does not make specific limitations on this.

[0145] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, a flag bit for indicating the data service capability of the terminal device can be added to a bit (such as the 8th bit) of the 10th byte in the 10th field (or information element (IE)) 5GMM capability (5G mobility management capability) of the register request, and the value of the flag bit is used to indicate whether the terminal device supports the data service capability.

[0146] As an example, as shown in Table 3 below, in the 5GMM capability field, the first byte is used to represent the information element identity (IEI) of the 5GMM capability (i.e., 5GMM capability IEI). The second byte is used to represent the length of the 5GMM capability field content (i.e., length of 5GMM capability contents).

[0147] Table 3

[0148] Among them, the “**” in the table in the above Table 3 indicates that the content represented in the table can refer to the existing technology, and this application will not elaborate on it.

[0149] S703: The AMF sends a first registration acceptance message to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first registration acceptance message from the AMF.

[0150] The first registration acceptance message is used to indicate that the AMF supports data service capabilities.

[0151] In one example, the first registration accept message is: register accept. Optionally, the register accept message carries a data service capability indicator bit of the network side. The data service capability indicator bit of the network side is used to indicate whether the network side supports the data service capability.

[0152] For example, when the value of the data service capability indication bit on the network side is 1, it indicates that the network side supports data service capability; when the value of the data service capability indication bit on the network side is 0, it indicates that the network side does not support data service capability. Or, for example, when the value of the data service capability indication bit on the network side is 0, it indicates that the network side supports data service capability; when the value of the data service capability indication bit on the network side is 1, it indicates that the network side does not support data service capability. Of course, the embodiment of the present application uses the data service capability indication flag bit as 1 as an example. The data service capability indication flag bit can also be multiple bits, and the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0153] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, a flag bit for indicating the data service capability of the network side can be added in a bit of the 6th byte (such as the 2nd bit) in the 6th field (or cell) 5GS network feature support (5G system network function support) of register accept, and the value of the flag bit is used to indicate whether the network side supports the data service capability.

[0154] As an example, as shown in Table 4 below, in the 5GS network feature support field, the first byte is used to represent the 5GS network feature support information element identifier (i.e., 5GS network feature support IEI). The second byte is used to represent the length of the 5GS network feature support field content (i.e., length of 5GS network feature support contents).

[0155] Table 4

[0156] Among them, the “**” in the table in the above Table 4 indicates that the content represented in the table can refer to the existing technology, and this application will not elaborate on it.

[0157] S704. The terminal device sends a first PDU session establishment request message to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the first PDU session establishment request message from the terminal device.

[0158] In a possible implementation, the first PDU session establishment request message carries an extended protocol configuration option field, where the extended protocol configuration option field is used to indicate the address information of the DC to be obtained.

[0159] In one example, the first PDU session establishment request message is: PDU Session Establishment Request. The extended protocol configuration options field carried in the first PDU session establishment request message is: Extended protocol configuration options.

[0160] Illustratively, the fields specifically used to indicate obtaining the address information of the DC in the Extended protocol configuration options field of the PDU Session Establishment Request in S704 are: 001BH (DC IPv6 Address Request); 001CH (DC IPv4 Address Request).

[0161] S705. AMF sends a PDU session context creation request message to SMF. Correspondingly, SMF receives the PDU session context creation request from AMF.

[0162] In a possible implementation, the PDU session context creation request message carries an extended protocol configuration option field, where the extended protocol configuration option field is used to indicate the address information of the DC to be obtained.

[0163] In one example, the PDU session creation context request message is: Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Request. The extended protocol configuration options field carried in the PDU session context creation request message is: Extended protocol configuration options.

[0164] S706. SMF sends a PDU session creation context response message to AMF. Correspondingly, SMF receives the PDU session creation context response message from AMF.

[0165] In one example, the PDU session creation context response message is: Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Response.

[0166] S707. SMF and AMF perform N1N2 message transmission process.

[0167] In one possible implementation, during the N1N2 message transmission process between SMF and AMF, SMF sends the extended protocol configuration option field to AMF through the N1N2 message transmission process.

[0168] In one example, the N1N2 message transmission process is: Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer process. The extended protocol configuration option field sent by SMF to AMF through the N1N2 message transmission process is: Extended protocol configuration options.

[0169] In one possible implementation, the Extended protocol configuration options field in the Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer process carries the DC's address information. Furthermore, the AMF can obtain the DC's address information from the SMF.

[0170] It should be noted that the extended protocol configuration option fields in the above-mentioned different messages may be the same or different, and this embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0171] S708. The AMF sends a second PDU session establishment request to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the second PDU session establishment request from the AMF.

[0172] In one example, the second PDU session establishment request message is: PDU Session Establishment Request.

[0173] S709: The access network device and the terminal device interact to establish a dedicated bearer for data service messages.

[0174] S710. AMF sends a PDU session establishment accept message to the terminal device.

[0175] In a possible implementation, the PDU session establishment accept message carries an extended protocol configuration option field and address information of the DC.

[0176] In one example, the PDU Session Establishment Accept message is: PDU Session Establishment Accept. The extended protocol configuration options field carried in the PDU Session Establishment Accept message is: Extended protocol configuration options. The DC address information is the DC's IP address. The DC's IP address can be carried in the Extended protocol configuration options.

[0177] Illustratively, the fields used to carry the address information of the DC in the Extended protocol configuration options field of the PDU Session Establishment Accept in S710 are: 000AH (DC IPv6 Address); 000BH (DC IPv4 Address).

[0178] S711. The terminal device sends a data service capability registration request message to the DC.

[0179] In the above, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail by taking the interactive registration data service capability between the terminal device and the data controller as an example.

[0180] In combination with the communication system shown in Figure 2 or Figure 3, as shown in Figure 8, a communication method is provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication method is explained by taking the example of the terminal device turning off the data service capability and the interaction between the terminal device and the data controller to register the data service capability. Of course, the subject that executes the terminal device action in the method can also be a device / module in the terminal device, such as a chip, processor, processing unit, etc. in the terminal device; the subject that executes the data controller action in the method can also be a device / module in the data controller, such as a chip, processor, processing unit, etc. in the data controller, and the embodiment of the present application does not make specific limitations on this. The processing performed by a single execution subject (for example, a terminal device or a data controller) in the embodiment of the present application can also be divided into executions by multiple execution subjects, and these execution subjects can be logically and / or physically separated. Exemplarily, as shown in Figure 8, the method includes the following steps:

[0181] S801: When detecting that a data service function is disabled, the terminal device sends fourth indication information to the data controller. Correspondingly, the data controller receives the fourth indication information from the terminal device.

[0182] The fourth indication information is used to register the data service capability of the terminal device in the data controller.

[0183] In one possible implementation, in conjunction with the data service capability switch interface shown in Figure 5, when a user needs to disable the data service function, they can directly perform the data service capability switch operation on the terminal display interface. The terminal device detects the user's operation of turning off the data service capability switch and disables the data service capability. Afterwards, the terminal device registers the data service capability with the data controller.

[0184] In the embodiment of the present application, when the terminal device detects that the data service function is turned off, it registers the data service capability of the terminal device with the data controller. In this way, when the user needs to turn off the data service function, he or she only needs to operate on the terminal device to turn off the data service function, without having to operate at the operator's business hall or in the operator's app, thereby reducing the complexity of the operation when turning off the data service function of the low terminal device. In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, the user can turn the data service function on or off on the terminal device, which can greatly provide the flexibility of the terminal device in using the data service capability.

[0185] In one possible implementation, when the terminal device detects that the data service function is disabled, in addition to registering the data service capability with the data controller, the terminal device may also update the access and mobility management network element that the terminal device does not support the data service capability and request to release the PDU session established for the data service capability. As shown in FIG8 and FIG9 , the process of the terminal device updating the access and mobility management network element that the terminal device does not support the data service capability includes:

[0186] S901: A terminal device sends a second registration request message to an access and mobility management network element. Correspondingly, the access and mobility management network element receives the second registration request message from the terminal device.

[0187] The second registration request message indicates that the terminal device does not support data service capabilities.

[0188] S902: The access and mobility management network element sends a second registration acceptance message to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second registration acceptance message from the access and mobility management network element.

[0189] Based on this, the terminal device can indicate to the access and mobility management network element that the terminal device does not support data service capabilities after detecting that the data service function is turned off, so that the information recorded on the terminal side and the network side on whether the terminal device supports data service capabilities remains consistent.

[0190] As shown in Figure 9, the process in which the terminal device requests to release the PDU session established for the data service capability includes:

[0191] S903: The terminal device sends a PDU session release request message to the access and mobility management network element. Correspondingly, the access and mobility management network element receives the PDU session release request message from the terminal device.

[0192] S904: The access and mobility management network element sends a PDU session release command message to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the PDU session release command message from the access and mobility management network element.

[0193] S905: The terminal device sends a PDU session release complete message to the access and mobility management network element. Correspondingly, the access and mobility management network element receives the PDU session release complete message from the terminal device.

[0194] Optionally, the specific implementation of the above-mentioned PDU session release process can refer to the existing technology, and this application will not go into details.

[0195] Based on this, the terminal device can request to release the PDU session after detecting that the data service function is closed, so as to avoid occupying session resources in the network.

[0196] The following describes the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application in conjunction with the embodiment of Figure 9, taking the data controller as DC, the access and mobility management network element as AMF, and the session management network element as SMF as an example. As shown in Figure 10, when the data service switch is turned on in the terminal device, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

[0197] S1001. The terminal device determines that the data service switch is turned off.

[0198] In one possible implementation, a user performs an operation to turn off the data service switch in the display interface shown in FIG5 . After the terminal device detects the user's operation to turn off the data service switch, it determines that the data service switch is turned off. At this time, the terminal device does not support data service capabilities, and the data service capabilities of the terminal device are turned off.

[0199] S1002: The terminal device sends a data service capability deregistration message to the DC. Correspondingly, the DC receives the data service capability deregistration message from the terminal device.

[0200] It is understandable that after the DC receives the data service capability registration message from the terminal device, the DC registers the data service capability of the terminal device. In the subsequent data service task scheduling process, the DC will no longer schedule the terminal device.

[0201] S1003. The terminal device sends a second registration request message to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the second registration request message from the terminal device.

[0202] The second registration request message is used to indicate that the terminal device does not support data service capabilities.

[0203] In one example, the second registration request message is: register request.

[0204] Exemplarily, in combination with the above S702, when the value of the data service capability indication flag of the terminal device is 1, it indicates that the terminal device supports data service capability (or the terminal device has turned on the data service capability); when the value of the data service capability indication flag of the terminal device is 0, it indicates that the terminal device does not support data service capability (or the terminal device has turned off the data service capability), the terminal device may adjust the value of the flag in the register request used to indicate the data service capability of the terminal device to 0, to indicate that the terminal device does not support data service capability. Alternatively, when the value of the data service capability indication flag of the terminal device is 0, it indicates that the terminal device supports data service capability (or the terminal device has turned on the data service capability); when the value of the data service capability indication flag of the terminal device is 1, it indicates that the terminal device does not support data service capability (or the terminal device has turned off the data service capability), the terminal device may adjust the value of the flag in the register request used to indicate the data service capability of the terminal device to 1, to indicate that the terminal device does not support data service capability.

[0205] The specific content of the second registration request message can be understood by referring to Table 3 in the above S702, and this application will not elaborate on it.

[0206] S1004. The AMF sends a second registration acceptance message to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second registration acceptance message from the AMF.

[0207] In one example, the second registration accept message is: Register Accept.

[0208] It should be noted that the second registration acceptance message may indicate whether the AMF supports data service capabilities, or may not indicate whether the AMF supports data service capabilities. This application does not limit this.

[0209] In the case where the second registration accept message indicates whether the network side supports data service capabilities, the specific content of the second registration accept message can refer to the content of Table 4 in S703 above. In the case where the second registration accept message does not indicate whether the network side supports data service capabilities, the specific content of the second registration accept message can refer to the existing technology, and this application will not repeat it here.

[0210] S1005. The terminal device sends a first PDU session release request message to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the first PDU session release request message from the terminal device.

[0211] In one example, the first PDU session release request message is: PDU Session Release Request.

[0212] S1006. The AMF sends a second PDU session release request message to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the second PDU session release request message from the AMF.

[0213] In one example, the second PDU session release request message is: PDU Session Release Request.

[0214] S1007. The access network device and the terminal device interact to delete the dedicated bearer for data service messages.

[0215] S1008. The AMF sends a PDU session release command message to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the PDU session release command message from the AMF.

[0216] In one example, the PDU session release command message is: PDU Session Release Command.

[0217] S1009. The terminal device sends a PDU session release complete message to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the PDU session release complete message from the terminal device.

[0218] In one example, the PDU session release completion message is: PDU Session Release Complete.

[0219] Optionally, the specific contents of the above S1005-S1009 can refer to the relevant technology, and this application will not go into details.

[0220] The above description primarily describes the solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application from the perspective of interaction between network elements. Accordingly, the embodiments of the present application also provide a communication device for implementing the various methods described above. The communication device may be the access and mobility management network element described in the method embodiments described above, or a device including the access and mobility management network element, or a component that can be used in the access and mobility management network element; or the communication device may be the terminal device described in the method embodiments described above, or a device including the terminal device, or a component that can be used in the terminal device. It will be understood that, to implement the aforementioned functions, the communication device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to each function. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that, in conjunction with the various exemplary units and algorithm steps described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is implemented in hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professionals may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementations should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0221] In the embodiment of the present application, the communication device can be divided into functional modules according to the above method embodiment. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be understood that the division of modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0222] 11 shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 110, including a processing module 1101 and a communication module 1102. Optionally, the communication device 110 may further include a storage module 1103. The storage module 1103 is used to store program codes and data of the communication device 110.

[0223] For example, the communication device 110 may be the terminal device in the above method embodiment, or a device including the above terminal device, or a component that can be used for the terminal device, then:

[0224] The processing module 1101 is configured to obtain the address information of the data controller when detecting that the data service function is enabled; wherein the data controller is configured to manage the data service function of the terminal device;

[0225] The processing module 1101 is further configured to instruct the communication module 1102 to send first indication information to the data controller based on the address information of the data controller; the first indication information is used to register the data service capability of the terminal device in the data controller.

[0226] In one possible implementation, the processing module 1101 is also used to: instruct the communication module 1102 to receive second indication information from the access and mobility management network element; the second indication information is used to indicate the address information of the data controller; or, read the address information of the data controller pre-configured in the terminal device; or, read the address information of the data controller pre-configured in the identity card of the terminal device.

[0227] The processing module 1101 is further configured to instruct the communication module 1102 to send third indication information to the access and mobility management network element, where the third indication information is used to instruct the acquisition of address information of the data controller.

[0228] In a possible implementation, the third indication information is carried in a packet data unit (PDU) session establishment request message; and the second indication information is carried in a PDU session establishment response message.

[0229] In one possible implementation, the processing module 1101 is also used to instruct the communication module 1102: send a first registration request message to the access and mobility management network element, the first registration request message is used to indicate that the terminal device supports data service capabilities; receive a first registration acceptance message from the access and mobility management network element, the first registration acceptance message is used to indicate that the network side supports data service capabilities.

[0230] For example, the communication device 110 may be the terminal device in the above method embodiment, or a device including the above terminal device, or a component that can be used for the terminal device, then:

[0231] The processing module 1101 is used to instruct the communication module 1102 to send fourth indication information to the data controller when it is detected that the data service function is closed. The fourth indication information is used to register the data service capability of the terminal device in the data controller.

[0232] In a possible implementation, the processing module 1101 is further configured to instruct the communication module 1102 to send a second registration request message to the access and mobility management network element, where the second registration request message indicates that the terminal device does not support data service capabilities.

[0233] In one possible implementation, the processing module 1101 is also used to instruct the communication module 1102 to send a packet data unit PDU session release request message to the access and mobility management network element; receive a PDU session release command message from the access and mobility management network element; and send a PDU session release completion message to the access and mobility management network element.

[0234] Taking the communication device 110 as an example, which may be the access and mobility management network element in the above method embodiment, or a device including the above access and mobility management network element, or a component that can be used for the access and mobility management network element, then:

[0235] The processing module 1101 is used to instruct the communication module 1102 to receive a third indication message from the terminal device, where the third indication message is used to instruct the acquisition of the address information of the data controller; and to send a second indication message to the terminal device; the second indication message is used to indicate the address information of the data controller.

[0236] In one possible implementation, the processing module 1101 is further used to instruct the communication module 1102 to send a first request message to the session management network element, where the first request message is used to request address information of the data controller; and receive a first response message from the session management network element, where the first response message is used to indicate the address information of the data controller.

[0237] In one possible implementation, the third indication information is carried in a packet data unit PDU session establishment request message; the second indication information is carried in a PDU session establishment response message; the first request message is carried in a PDU session context creation request message, and the first response message is carried in a message of the N1N2 message transmission process.

[0238] Among them, all relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiment can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module and will not be repeated here.

[0239] Alternatively, the modules in FIG11 may also be referred to as units. For example, the processing module may be referred to as a processing unit, and the transceiver module may be referred to as a transceiver unit. In addition, in the embodiment shown in FIG11 , the names of the units may not be those shown in the figure. For example, the transceiver module may also be referred to as a communication module or a communication unit.

[0240] If the various units in Figure 11 are implemented in the form of software function modules and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including a number of instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or an access network device, etc.) or a processor to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The storage medium for storing computer software products includes various media that can store program codes, such as a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0241] In the embodiment of the present application, the communication device 110 is presented in the form of various functional modules divided in an integrated manner. The "module" here can refer to a specific ASIC, circuit, processor and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, integrated logic circuit, and / or other devices that can provide the above functions. In a simple embodiment, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the communication device 110 can take the form of the communication device shown in Figure 12.

[0242] Referring to FIG. 12 , the communication device includes a processor 1201 and a transceiver 1202 , and optionally, further includes a memory 1203 connected to the processor 1201 .

[0243] Processor 1201 may be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of the program of the present application. Processor 1201 may also include multiple CPUs, and processor 1201 may be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. The processor here may refer to one or more devices, circuits, or processing cores for processing data (such as computer program instructions).

[0244] The processor 1201, memory 1203, and transceiver 1202 are connected via a bus. The transceiver 1202 is used to communicate with other communication devices. Optionally, the transceiver 1202 may include a transmitter and a receiver. The device used to implement the receiving function in the transceiver 1202 can be considered a receiver, and the receiver is used to perform the receiving steps in the embodiments of the present application. The device used to implement the transmitting function in the transceiver 1202 can be considered a transmitter, and the transmitter is used to perform the transmitting steps in the embodiments of the present application.

[0245] In a first possible implementation, referring to FIG12 , the communication device further includes a memory 1203. The memory 1203 may be a ROM or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a RAM or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compressed optical disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or 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, and the present embodiment of the application does not impose any restrictions on this. The memory 1203 may exist independently or be integrated with the processor 1201. Among them, the memory 1203 may contain computer program code. The processor 1201 is used to execute the computer program code stored in the memory 1203, thereby implementing the method provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0246] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute any of the above methods.

[0247] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute any of the above methods.

[0248] An embodiment of the present application also provides a chip, including: a processor and an interface, the processor is coupled to a memory via the interface, and when the processor executes a computer program or instruction in the memory, any one of the methods provided in the above embodiments is executed.

[0249] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, including: the terminal device, data controller, access network device and core network device in the above embodiment.

[0250] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more media integrated therein. The available media may be magnetic media (eg, floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (eg, DVDs), or semiconductor media (eg, solid state disks (SSDs)).

[0251] Although the present application is described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, in the process of implementing the claimed application, those skilled in the art may understand and implement other variations of the disclosed embodiments by reviewing the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "a" or "an" does not exclude multiple situations. A single processor or other unit may implement several functions listed in the claims. Certain measures are recorded in different dependent claims, but this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce good results.

[0252] Although the present application has been described in conjunction with features and embodiments thereof, it is apparent that various modifications and combinations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Accordingly, this specification and drawings are merely illustrative of the present application as defined by the appended claims and are deemed to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations or equivalents within the scope of the present application. Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various modifications and variations to the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Thus, the present application is intended to include such modifications and variations as fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents.

[0253] The above is merely an embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application shall be included in the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application shall be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to terminal equipment, including: When it is detected that the data service function is turned on, obtaining address information of a data controller; wherein the data controller is used to manage the data service function of the terminal device; First indication information is sent to the data controller based on the address information of the data controller; the first indication information is used to register the data service capability of the terminal device in the data controller.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The obtaining the address information of the data controller includes: receiving second indication information from an access and mobility management network element; the second indication information is used to indicate address information of the data controller; Alternatively, reading the address information of the data controller preconfigured in the terminal device; Alternatively, the address information of the data controller preconfigured in the identity card of the terminal device is read.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that Before receiving the first indication information from the access and mobility management network element, the method further includes: Send third indication information to the access and mobility management network element, where the third indication information is used to instruct to obtain address information of the data controller.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The third indication information is carried in a packet data unit PDU session establishment request message; the second indication information is carried in a PDU session establishment response message.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: Before sending the third indication information to the access and mobility management network element, the method further includes: Sending a first registration request message to the access and mobility management network element, where the first registration request message is used to indicate that the terminal device supports the data service capability; A first registration accept message is received from the access and mobility management network element, where the first registration accept message is used to indicate that the network side supports the data service capability.

6. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to terminal equipment, including: When it is detected that the data service function is turned off, fourth indication information is sent to the data controller, where the fourth indication information is used to register the data service capability of the terminal device in the data controller.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The method further comprises: A second registration request message is sent to the access and mobility management network element, where the second registration request message indicates that the terminal device does not support the data service capability.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Sending a packet data unit (PDU) session release request message to the access and mobility management network element; Receiving a PDU session release command message from the access and mobility management network element; Send a PDU session release completion message to the access and mobility management network element.

9. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A functional unit for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8; wherein the actions performed by the functional unit are implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations.

10. A communication device, characterized in that: Including processing unit and transceiver unit, The processing unit is used to obtain the address information of the data controller when detecting that the data service function is turned on; wherein the data controller is used to manage the data service function of the communication device; The transceiver unit is used to send first indication information to the data controller based on the address information of the data controller; the first indication information is used to register the data service capability of the communication device in the data controller.

11. The communication device according to claim 10, characterized in that: The processing unit is specifically used to obtain the second indication information received by the transceiver unit from the access and mobility management network element; the second indication information is used to indicate the address information of the data controller; Alternatively, the processing unit is specifically used to read the address information of the data controller preconfigured in the communication device; Alternatively, the processing unit is specifically configured to read the address information of the data controller preconfigured in an identity card of the communication device.

12. The communication device according to claim 11, characterized in that: The transceiver unit is used to send third indication information to the access and mobility management network element before receiving the first indication information from the access and mobility management network element, where the third indication information is used to instruct to obtain the address information of the data controller.

13. The communication device according to claim 12, characterized in that: The third indication information is carried in a packet data unit PDU session establishment request message; the second indication information is carried in a PDU session establishment response message.

14. The communication device according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that: The transceiver unit is further configured to send a first registration request message to the access and mobility management network element before sending the third indication information to the access and mobility management network element, wherein the first registration request message is used to indicate that the communication device supports the data service capability; And receiving a first registration acceptance message from the access and mobility management network element, wherein the first registration acceptance message is used to indicate that the network side supports the data service capability.

15. A communication device, characterized in that: Including transceiver unit, The transceiver unit is used to send fourth indication information to the data controller when detecting that the data service function is turned off, and the fourth indication information is used to register the data service capability of the terminal device in the data controller.

16. The communication device according to claim 15, characterized in that: The transceiver unit is further configured to send a second registration request message to the access and mobility management network element, where the second registration request message indicates that the terminal device does not support the data service capability.

17. The communication device according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that: The transceiver unit is further used to send a packet data unit PDU session release request message to the access and mobility management network element; and receive a PDU session release command message from the access and mobility management network element; And sending a PDU session release completion message to the access and mobility management network element.

18. A communication device, characterized in that: include: processor; The processor is connected to a memory, the memory is used to store computer-executable instructions, and the processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory, so that the communication device implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

19. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The method comprises instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

20. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises computer instructions, and when the computer instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

21. A communication system, characterized in that: The communication system comprises a communication device for executing the method according to any one of claims 1-8.

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